Felix didn’t want to go to work today.
Not that he ever wanted to go to work, mind you. As you might imagine, being an office drone was soul-crushingly boring. But so was quite literally everything else he had ever tried. At least this one paid well. Still, today, he especially didn’t want to be there. Why? Because the cubicle is right next to his, it belonged to Rebecca Anderson. His former partner of three years now turned ex-girlfriend. Today would be the first time he saw her since she broke up with him on Saturday. Two days ago.
Honestly, office romances are the worst.
Logically, Felix knew it would be fine. He didn’t make a big deal out of it and Rebecca was, if nothing else, professional. She had made it abundantly clear their break-up wouldn’t affect their work relationship and, truthfully, Felix believed her. That didn’t make things less awkward. But ultimately, his failed office romance didn’t matter at the end of the day. He still had to go to work.
Getting dressed and eating a single piece of toast for breakfast, Felix headed off to work. The traffic was terrible like usual and, again like usual, Felix wished that his workplace was just a few minutes closer so he could bike to it instead.
Eventually arriving at his destination, he spent another five minutes finding a good parking space. Somebody took his usual one. When he finally found one, Felix got out of his car and entered the five-story brutalist stone building that was his workplace.
Greeting the receptionist, who Felix was mostly sure was named Karla, as he always does, he walked to the elevator. Pressing the button for the fourth floor, Felix was interrupted by a familiar voice shouting, “Hold the elevator!”
Stopping the doors, Felix waited for a moment before his friend Caleb rushed in. “Thanks, man.”
“No problem. Although, I’m surprised I got here before you.” Caleb was always one of the first people here.
“Yeah, traffic was killer. I think there was an accident or something. How have you been?”
Felix nodded as the elevator doors closed. Caleb was the closest thing he had had to a friend at the office. They have been, almost since the day Felix first joined the company.
“Good.” Felix thought about whether or not to mention the break-up, but he figured everyone would likely find out about it soon enough anyway. “Reb broke up with me.”
Caleb’s mood immediately lowered. “Oh, damn. Sorry man.”
Felix shrugged. “It’s alright.” He really wasn’t that broken up about it. He never was. It was just another dull event in a life that seemed eternally gray. That’s part of the reason Rebecca ended things in the first place.
The elevator doors opened.
Stepping out into the hallway, Felix was about to part ways when Caleb said, “You should join my buddies and me for lunch later. We’re going to CCs.”
Felix smiled. “I’ll think about it.” He didn’t remember who the rest of Caleb’s work friends were, but he didn’t really have a reason to turn him down.
“Great! See ya later!”
Seeing Caleb go on his way, Felix did the same and continued to his cubicle. As he approached his desk, he glanced at the cubicle next to his. To his complete lack of surprise, it was empty. Rebecca was always one of the last people to arrive on time, and Felix had arrived earlier than usual today.
Sitting down at his desk, Felix started prepping for the workday. As the old office computer booted up, Felix couldn’t help but think about what he would say when he saw Rebbeca. Should he apologize? For what? Was there even anything to say?
Shaking his head, he focused on the screen that lit up in front of him. Except it wasn’t the computer’s screen.
[Chaos] Breached
There, floating just a foot in front of his face, was a blue screen. Felix blinked, baffled at the sight before him. He wasn’t the only one, if the confused shouting of his coworkers were anything to go by. Felix didn’t have time to figure the screen out, either, as more began to appear. Faster and faster, one after the other.
Analyzing Universe [Order]… 100%
…
…
Unknown [Order] Type [Null] Discovered
…
Analyzing [Null] Type… 100%
[Null] Type Profile Created
…
…
…
Getting [Null] Type Compatibility… 120%
Error 579202: Compatibility Overflow
Attempting Error Resolution… 78%
Error Resolution Result: Acceptable
Stolen story; please report.
…
…
Updating [System_7.9417931]… 100%
Update Complete
Initializing [System_8.0]… 100%
…
Imposing [Order]... 100%
…
…
Activating [Integration]… 100%
The screens flooded his vision, most getting replaced before he could even read what was on them. But finally, the onslaught ended, leaving just one blue screen that read:
Congratulations!
Your universe is being integrated into the [Order] of the greater multiverse.
Warning: Integration may cause minor disruption to the fabric of reality.
As soon as Felix finished reading the message, it vanished. Which was unfortunate because Felix was still trying to process everything that was happening. Like, what the hell a “minor disruption to the fabric of reality” could possibly be.
His question was answered when everything started to violently shake.
The shaking was so intense it hurled Felix and his entire desk to the side. Crashing onto the ground hard, Felix tried to catch himself and move out of the way of the falling debris, but it was pointless. The ground wouldn’t stop moving long enough for him to manage that. Even trying to breathe was difficult as the air itself was vibrating so hard it almost felt more like a liquid than a gas.
Felix was trying to figure out what the hell was going on. He had never even felt an earthquake on the East Coast before, and now a seemingly world-ending one had come out of nowhere. Before he could overcome the sheer shock, everything went dark as the world stuttered. Like a corrupted film.
And then, as suddenly as it started, the shaking stopped.
It took several seconds for Felix to regain his bearings and actually stand up, albeit on shaky legs. As soon as he did, however, his vision blurred, his ears started ringing, and a wave of nausea came over him. Catching himself on the edge of his fallen desk, Felix managed to keep himself up on his feet. Taking deep breaths, the air felt heavy, choking. Still, he forced the breaths down and, slowly, with each breath the pain began to fade away. Once he regained enough sense to do so, Felix looked around.
The building was completely wrecked. Desks had been flipped, objects thrown, and cubicle walls were strewn about. Honestly, Felix was shocked that the whole building hadn’t come down. Stumbling through the rubble, it took a moment for Felix to realize what he needed to do. Get help. Pulling out his phone, he began dialing 911 and-
A blue light coalesced in front of him.
Frozen in shock, Felix watched as the light expanded before it solidified into a humanoid and then, with a pop, a tall, vomit-green creature with a bulbous head and boiled skin stood in front of him. All it had on it was a dirty loincloth and a crude knife.
For a moment, Felix just stared, mouth agape, trying to understand what had just happened. Then, locking eyes with the creature's crazed yellow gaze, he realized the danger he was in. Before he could react, the creature lunged at him with its knife, a cackling laughter filling the air. Moving purely on instinct, Felix grabbed the nearest possible object, a metal lamp, and swung it at the monster. Which, to Felix's complete surprise, connected.
The lamp bent as the strike sent the creature tumbling back. Shaking its head at the impact, the monster, because what else could it be, hissed before charging forward again with an almost animalistic gait. Felix swung his lamp again. He was not nearly as lucky this time, as the creature nimbly dodged, and Felix felt the blade cut into his side as the thing continued to laugh.
The pain was like a light switch.
The confusion, the panic, even the pain itself. It all faded into the background. Replaced by a single overwhelming emotion, Felix had never felt before. Excitement. Pure, unadulterated excitement borne from the pain-fueled realization that his life was in danger.
His heart thundered in his chest for the first time in his life.
The monster jumped back- and Felix desperately chased forward after it, swinging the remains of the lamp with wild abandon. But, while the creature was taken off guard by the sudden change in attitude, it was way too fast to be hit by those wide attacks. The lamp only barely clipped its shoulder once before the beast slipped past his guard and stabbed him in the stomach.
Driving the knife deeper, the monster grinned and looked up into Felix’s eyes, hoping to bask in the fear of its prey.
Felix responded by punching it in the face with his free hand. That did the trick. The creature staggered back, and before it regained its bearings, Felix lunged at it, dropping the lamp and slamming the monster against the wall. Smashing his fist against the creature’s face with all his strength. Over and over again. Even as the dazed monster began stabbing back at him.
He had never felt so alive.
It was a race. Competing to see who could kill the other first. A race Felix should have lost. A race that any normal human would have lost. And yet, somehow, he held his own. Seemingly unaffected by his wounds, emboldened by them even! The monster bled. Felix bled. His fists bled as they broke themselves against the creature.
He didn’t even know when the monster went limp.
You have [Vanquished] a Level 10 [Hobgoblin]!
He didn’t know when he fell to the ground.
The entire front of Felix’s body was a bloody and broken mess. His flesh was torn so thoroughly in some places you could see bone. And yet, despite the agony he should have been in, Felix had a massive smile on his face. A genuine smile marred only by his own blood.
Laying on the ground, Felix gurgled out words that, had he not been stabbed in the chest multiple times, would sound like, “This… is the best day of my life.” Felix was sure that even if he died at this moment, he would be happy. That was when the System decided to make itself known again.
Congratulations!
You have discovered the Bloodline Skill [Neverbleed]!
You have discovered the Bloodline Skill [Death’s Thrill]!
Minor Bleeding Resisted x34
Major Bleeding Resisted x8
Internal Hemorrhaging Resisted x2
Congratulations!
You have Leveled Up! x12
EXP deferred until [Class] selection.
Congratulations!
For [Vanquishing] a monster 9 Levels above you, you have received the title [Novice Slayer]!
Select a [Class]
[Warrior] - [Archer] - [Rouge] - [Mage]
For a moment, Felix stared at the new screen, uncomprehending. The fading adrenaline, extreme blood loss, and screams made it hard to focus. Screams? Felix bolted up, ignoring his wounds as he realized that likely wasn’t the only hobgoblin here. Swiping the screen out of his face—Felix fell to his knees as what felt like pure fire suddenly flooded his body. It swept through his veins like molten lava, reforging him from the inside out and, more importantly, healing his wounds.
The burning went on for what felt like an eternity, but it couldn't have been more than a couple of seconds. Then the pain vanished just as quickly as it came, leaving Felix gasping, a new screen appeared in front of him with a simple message.
Welcome to the Multiverse