Chapter 0003:

Life offers two choices: either you walk the path of good or evil. It had been a year since Loki's reincarnation, and after waking up every day seeing the same majestic ceiling, he embraced the undeniable fact that the author was mad.

"He could have just said he wanted a fair play," thought Loki, observing as Ella kept her eagle eyes on her.

"Mother's apprentice," thought Loki.

After selecting who it was he'd be hunting down, and putting in much thought, he ended up teaming up with a formidable character who wanted the same thing as he did.

"Of course, he obviously has a different goal in mind, but... Guess this all ends up with siblings against siblings."

The only person who would be of use was his so-called step-sister, Diva. The one thing Loki would die trying to avoid was getting his ass mopped on the floor by a girl.

"What could be worse than that?"

Although he would later dislike Diva's cruel and unjust methods, he could work with her.

He never blamed her for being a cold and emotionless character, all thanks to her mother. "Only God knows what Alia is feeding that child," thought Loki, the thought alone making him stick out his tongue.

Only he knew the calamity the Southgate daughter would bring; the family had no clue of the anomaly living inside the mansion.

"I've been sitting all day; scratch that... Every day, though there's nothing I can do as a child now..."

But somehow, he felt uncomfortable sitting all day, knowing the trouble that lay ahead.

Loki sighed and tapped the bed three consecutive times with both palms out of frustration.

A frustration that every child feels when sleepy. He yawned, and after that, the door opened.

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"Lady Sylvia is asking for your presence," said a guard who had walked in with the news.

Ella stood up and was about to carry Loki along with her; however, the boy had fallen asleep. Not wanting anyone to disturb him, he instructed the guard to remain outside.

As the door closed, Loki opened his eyes and jumped down from the bed. "Phew... I played her well. I don't want to use my eyes to see that little devil before five," said Loki, tucking his hand in his diapers.

He managed to climb his way outside the other door of his room, feeling amazed and enticed by the view and wind kissing his face.

Ever since birth, he had remained inside the mansion and hadn't seen his father after his reincarnation; not that he was missing him, but having a father was a new welcoming twist since he had nobody before.

While feeling engrossed and watching Sylvia and Ella in the garden, he made sure he wasn't spotted. From the looks of things... The duo seemed to be finding something.

"I think it must have run the other way, Lady Sylvia," said Ella.

Loki turned his neck to the left, already spotting the raccoon hiding on top of the tree.

However, any action was restricted when he heard the unpleasant but familiar notification sound of the system.

-[You have yet to open the last message]

Loki glanced at it, feeling provoked. The last two messages he opened were regrettably unpleasant ones. For all he cared about, this one could be far worse.

-[You have yet to open the last message]

-[You have yet to open the last message]

This time, the notifications came tenfold, relentlessly reminding him of the unread message. Letting a grunt slip from his throat, Loki walked back inside.

-[You have yet to open the last message]

But it changed nothing in terms of the system's unpleasant notification.

"Fine... Open your ass down, you fucker!" Loki cursed, but nothing happened. He was so sure the system was telepathic just like last time. He sighed, having figured out the reason.

"Open," thought Loki. As the message opened, he spoke again, "Ass fucker."

-[The author has granted you the Life Stealing System: Steal life essence to grow stronger]

Perplexed, Loki stared at the screen longer than the rest, then the notification blinked and formed another word.

-[Author: Yo, it's your not-so-favorite author who wants entertainment. I mean... It's not only the author who should entertain the readers... Bwahaha... Anyway, like I said, I need you to entertain me...

And I hope you've selected a good opponent. Scratch that, both are try-and-die missions... Bwahaha. Just know that if you die, another reader comes in just like the circle of reincarnation. Wait, am I talking too much? I think I'm talking too much, so I'll skip to the explanation of the golden finger I've sent to aid you...]

Honestly, Loki had no words for what he was seeing; it was expected. Another mad message from the mad author. However, this one he seemed to like after seeing "golden finger."

"Has to be something good," thought Loki while analyzing the system, writing down the explanation.

-[So basically, you've got the Life Stealing System: Whatever you kill, you can steal its life essence, which is used to level up your status... And better still, kill anyone or anything with strength or any other affinity. After extracting the life essence, you get the Lv Max capacity of that affinity.

Hope you understand. I've run out of ink. I'll leave some clue in further chapters... Bwahaha. Reminder of your death, actually... So, get strong and entertain us.]

Mouth dropped, mind exploded. Situation critical, tides turned. Godly thoughts awakening inside Loki's head.

"If what he says is true... Damn, I can actually have a chance if I team up with Diva... This could be a trick. I gotta run a quick test. I gotta find something to kill. I gotta..."

Loki's thought halted. Under his bed, he could hear the sound of an animal for quite a while before getting carried away by the system.

Now that he was free, he was glad the system and the raccoon's tail showed up at the right time.

Slowly and quietly, Loki climbed off the bed and locked the door he used to go out. He searched for a sharp object but couldn't find any.

"Pfft... It's just a raccoon; I don't need a weapon," thought Loki.

And as the raccoon heard Loki's feeble footsteps, it rose from underneath the bed. Hell, the raccoon was twice his size. Loki gulped and thought,

"And I'm just a child." Gulp.