Roan had found heaven.

Well, not exactly, but it was sure as damn hell close to it. He might have even found the very solution to world hunger!

While yes, he still couldn’t find the ideal time-dilated alternate earth he was looking for, Roan did find something that made his efforts not go down in vain.

A world of vast extravaganza greeted his mortal eyes. Mountains molded out of cookies, volcanoes formed out of waffles dripping with maple syrup, rivers of barbeque sauce, and luscious land of medium rare meat; the air smelled of a myriad of foods, and the clouds were cotton cadies drifting along winged candies.

Food Heaven. Roan couldn’t find a more fitting name to designate this multiverse cluster. He fell to his knees, crying tears of wicked joy as he voraciously pulled out cheese grass and ate it. It was delicious.

“I’ve found it…” He struggled to wipe his tears. “I’ve found heaven.”

…

“Fuck.” Roan fell to his bed, his stomach bloated beyond the limits of the human body. Every minor movement made the man feel like he would explode, and all of the cheese, meat, waffles, maple syrup, marshmallows, and everything else he had eaten would erupt.

“A moment of weakness.” Roan recognized his mistake. “To have lost control to gluttony, I truly am just a sinful man in the end.”

No biggie, for the food he had eaten, the mistake he had made, was fuel for a greater cause—of power!

He slowly flipped himself up to stare at the ceiling and weakly waved his hand. A screen popped into existence, showing his inventory filled to the brim with food reserves, enough food to keep him fed for years.

Yag-Shath, my goat, you even stopped the passage of time in my inventory. Roan thanked the almighty game designer in his mind. You’re truly a master in catering to the player’s desires.

As he scrolled through his inventory, he eventually found one of the many strength potions he had concocted, clicked on it, and pressed the ‘use’ button. Immediately, the strength potion disappeared, and a warm stream of power coursed through his veins.

He felt his body roar to life, his vigor spewing endlessly. The food in his stomach burned from the overflowing heat, transforming into pure energy. Amidst the changes of power, Roan felt his body deflate like a balloon, the pleasure so great that he collapsed deeper and deeper into the cloudiness of his bed.

His eyelids felt heavy and his body felt weightless. He was like a piece of wood rocking along the waves of the boundless sea, undisturbed by the winds nor the screeching of birds, for only silence accompanied him.

Roan, raptured by bliss, fell asleep, drunk on pleasure.

…

The next day was not as enjoyable, much to his displeasure.

“Damn!” Ethan gawked as he heard the news, almost falling off his chair. He even had to pause his game to check if he was hearing things right. “You guys got into the nationals?”

“Wow…” Daniel gasped in amazement. “Even we only got into the regionals.”

“I know, I know.” Roan sighed with an annoyed look on his face. “Pretty damn amazing.”

“You don’t look amazed,” Ethan pointed out.

“What? Suffering from your own success?” Daniel laughed.

“Yes!” Roan slammed his hand on the table, surprising the two. “Yes, I’m suffering.”

“Why though?” Ethan couldn’t even begin to understand Roan’s dilemma. To be fair though, nobody else could understand his problem, because who else would be in his situation, having to prioritize some stupid competition over acquiring great strength across the multiverse?

“It’s complicated,” Roan grumbled. “But the point is, I don’t wanna do this stupid competition. It’s just an annoying, needless thing.”

“And throw away guaranteed perfect scores for the first half of the semester?” Daniel almost sounded like his parents at this point.

“Who gives a damn?” Roan clicked his tongue. “I’d be falling behind in lessons because I wouldn’t be able to attend classes, and when the finals for the semester come rolling around, I’d be cooked! My cheat codes only apply till the midterm exams.”

“Can’t you just study?” Daniel suggested.

“Are you willing to tutor me?” Roan rebutted.

He was met with silence.

“I thought so.” Roan groaned, massaging his temples. “I would have quit the club before classes started if I knew this was going to happen.”

“You did win the gold medals, so it’s kind of your fault,” Ethan smirked. “Sounds like your mistake if you ask me.”

“It is.” The young man accepted the vile truth.

“Well, if I were you.” Daniel took out his notebook. “I would just enjoy the month-long training session. I’ve had my fair share of perfect scores as a player for the basketball team, it’s not that bad.”

“Besides.” Ethan sneered with arrogance. “We’re seniors, the classes are kind of a breeze.”

“You’re right.” Roan drooped his shoulders, staring at the cloud sky outside, and the bullshit that would soon come his way. “But does it really have to be this intense though?”

As if on cue, a young girl arrived, opening the door to their class. Roan recognized her as one of the promising members of his club, a student a year below him, and one who would hopefully take his mantle when he’s gone.

Hopefully, I’ll be gone sooner rather than later.

She soon saw Roan among the students in the class, and shouted, “Roan! The bus is here!”

Fuck me. Roan cursed and stood up from his desk. Fucking hell, fuck, fuckidy fuck!

“Well, I guess I’ll see you guys in a month as the country’s number one kendo prodigy.” Roan beamed the two a smile.

“Oohhhh.” Ethan rolled his eyes. “I can just taste the arrogance, the pride, the sheer unbridled confidence in your tone.”

“I’ll send you notes later,” Daniel said.

Since when have you been so handsome, Daniel? Roan smiled genuinely. “You know, if you ever decide to become an e-boy streamer, I’ll make sure to support your dreams.”

“Uh… Sure?” Daniel was confused but accepted it nonetheless.

Now. Roan turned around, stepping out of his classroom with a frown on his face. What kind of bullshit will I have to deal with for the next month?

…

As Roan had expected, the trip was a headache. They had gotten on a bus, with Roan finally taking off his stupid school uniform and replacing it with more casual, loose-fitting clothes. The others in his club were more direct, going to school late without even bothering to wear the school uniform.

Roan had to admit they were smart, and he would have done the same if not for the fact that he wanted to complain a little bit to his friends before his departure.

He clicked his tongue. This school is needlessly wasting its money on a stupid competition. Can’t they spend it to fix the goddamn bathrooms or the air conditioners?

Roan wondered what kind of stupidity had prompted them to rent out a whole training camp for a whole month, to house ten plus kids in a forest of all places, so they could train in the woods and connect with nature.

So we could train without distraction my ass. Roan held back his urge to murder the people behind this decision outright.

You really think these buffoons could do anything on a national level? Roan glanced at the rest of his rowdy clubmates on the bus. Them?

He almost laughed at the absurdity of the situation. These goons could barely clutch a bronze medal, and the best among them, my supposed ‘successor’ barely gained a silver.

Me! Roan clenched his jaw. I’m the one who made this pathetic group somewhat decent! Take me out of the equation and we would have even struggled to qualify for the regionals.

“Hey, Roan, you alright?” The same young girl who called for him back then, his ‘successor,’ Karlie Nixon, asked. She had blond hair cut short, and tied into a ponytail. Her eyes were a shade of dark blue, her lips thin and peach in color. She was on the taller side for girls and was almost the same height as Roan, but missed by an inch to a half.

“I’m fine.” Roan’s mind snapped as he gave her his biggest, brightest, smile. “I’m fine, Karlie.”

“You… you sure?” Roan’s grin appeared rather terrifying for the young girl.

“Yes, I am,” he answered mechanically. SHUT THE FUCK UP, WOMAN!

“If you say so,” she murmured. Karlie then went back to minding her own business by browsing through her phone, rotting her brain as any third-rate kendo practitioner would do.

For the rest of the trip to their camp in the goddamn forest, Roan was in a mental struggle between staying sane and just killing everybody on the bus. He still had his gun in his inventory and he was happy to press the trigger anytime, but he eventually cooled down.

This was his home universe, not some parallel reality where he could just fuck around without giving a damn about the consequences. Here, consequences existed; consequences mattered; consequences held weight.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

As he continued to endlessly ramble in his mind about the needlessness of the whole situation, the bus finally stopped. Roan stared at the dense pack of trees outside, the rustling leaves, the filtered sunlight peeking through the roof of leaves.

He could hear the howling winds, the whispers of his clubmates inside the bus as they gaped at the sight in awe, and the footsteps of the people at the front as they went out of the bus and onto the clearing outside.

Roan stepped foot on the solid ground and smelled the earthy scent of the forest. The air was fresh, and clean, without any sort of pollution to be found. The wind felt refreshing, a damp of cold as autumn slowly approached after the passing of summer.

The leaves had already begun to turn to a shade of orange, indicating the changing of seasons.

“We’re here.” Karlie was enthusiastic as she stared at their new lodging in the distance and the fields outside where they could train extensively. She could already envision swinging her sword while leaves fell from the trees above, with cold winds bristling against her skin.

The place just screamed aesthetic.

As for Roan? Not so much. He appeared even vaguely disgusted by the trees surrounding him. It’s not that he hated trees, heck, he loved them to death along with his appreciation for flora and natural sceneries in general, but forests were just a little too icky for him.

“Just why does it have to be a forest.” Roan thought he spoke low enough that only he could hear it, but Karlie, the ever-annoying ‘protege’ of his, heard his murmur.

“You don’t like the place?” She was surprised to hear that from their club’s most skilled member.

“I do.” Roan had to admit the camp was pleasant and was the kind of place he’d like to train at if he were a hermit. “I’m just disturbed by forests.”

“Forests?” Karlie glanced at the dense trees around them. “What’s wrong with forests? I think they’re super cool; well, besides the mosquitoes at night.”

“There’s nothing wrong with forests intrinsically speaking.” Roan began to head towards their lodging and avoided staring at the surroundings for too long. More than a decade may have passed since that event, but Roan only got a little better.

Karlie stared at the trees around her for a second, wondering what could make one be disturbed by them, before catching up with Roan.

Their lodging was a large, three-floor building mainly made out of wood, blending nicely with the rest of the forests. Tall glass panes acted as windows, most of which were open to let the fresh air in. On the first floor, Roan was met with pool tables, sofas, couches, televisions, and many other amenities to cater to the people who had rented the place.

The second and third floors were dedicated to housing, with relatively large rooms for the students who would stay at this place for a whole month straight. A bit extravagant and unnecessary in Roan’s opinion, but maybe not so much when he considered that this was the school’s first time to reach the nationals for kendo.

Why the hell is kendo even so popular in Norava? Roan walked up the stairs, arriving in his room on the second floor. We’re not even Afrilians.

As he glanced at the door leading to his room, he looked to his side and saw Karlie staring back at him, smiling.

“It looks like we’re room buddies,” she said playfully. Maybe it was a coincidence, maybe it was fate annoying him even further, but Roan’s dear successor’s room was placed right to his side.

“Yeah.” Roan couldn’t be bothered to socialize, his mind just stuck on the vast multiverse that he could barely access because he got cockblocked by a stupid kendo competition.

Festival of Talents my ass. Roan sighed, inspecting his room. It was a bit larger than his own room, with a bed placed in a corner, a TV opposite it, a couch, a table with a chair, and other stuff.

Overall, it was nice and acceptable.

Placing his luggage on the ground and rolling onto the bed, Roan stared at the fleeting clouds outside the bedside window and ruffled his hair.

Just why did he have to deal with all this bullcrap? He could be exploring the multiverse right now, seeing sights beyond the comprehension of the human mind, acquiring power surpassing human limits!

But no, he was stuck here, training.

And if I do travel to another reality and accidentally get fucked over by time dilation, I’m dead. Roan clenched his jaw. The dungeon would be fine, but I’ll be busy grinding scrolls of upgrades with a goddamn time limit.

He was worried that those parallel dungeon worlds would have a different rate of time compared to Dungeon One. If that were the case, maybe a second he had spent there was a whole day on Earth, and that’d be one huge problem.

Not to mention I only have the evening to myself starting tomorrow. Roan cursed their schedule.

He had to wake up early in the morning, eat breakfast, then train, then eat lunch, then train, then eat dinner, and chill.

Do they really think we have a decent chance at winning the nationals? Roan scoffed. If you guys really want to win, just let me chill, and I’ll nab ourselves a gold medal without problem!

Roan sighed, and let go.

Whatever, I’ll just half-ass this tomfoolery.

…

Roan could not half-ass this tomfoolery.

“Roan, why aren’t you training seriously?” The kendo club’s coach, an Afrilian man of a staggering 5’8 height, with short neat black hair and plain brown eyes, lightly tanned skin, wearing a red tracksuit, Mister Anton, berated Roan. “I know you could do better than that. We’ve seen how you perform back then.”

Roan’s ears twitch as he tightened his hold on his bamboo sword. He couldn’t believe the things he was hearing right now.

“Sir, I am doing my best right now,” Roan lied with an amicable smile. “I’m just really tired all of a sudden.”

“That won’t do, that won’t do!” Mister Anton, perhaps the most invested man in the success of the club’s success, sighed. “Take a rest for now and continue training half an hour later. Training sub-optimally would just bring sub-optimal results.”

“If you say so.” Roan shrugged his shoulders, leaving his sword on a nearby bench and returning to their lodging.

On the way back, he met Karlie, who eyed him suspiciously. “You really don’t want to train, huh?”

“It’s because I’m scared of trees.” Roan rolled his eyes. That’s not even true right now. He was way too angry and incensed that he couldn’t give a damn about his trauma over forests.

“Sure.” Clearly, she didn’t believe him, but what proof did they have on Roan?

Nothing.

He was their star player, and they better treat him like one before he explodes and does something malicious.

Just as he arrived in the kitchen on the first floor and drank a glass of cold water, he unexpectedly saw Mister Anton entering the same room, an unclear expression on his face.

“You need anything, Mister Anton?” Roan asked, returning his glass to the counter.

“You don’t want to train, right?” Mister Anton bluntly asked.

“Uh…” Roan deliberated for a moment. “No.”

“Why?” Anton, the dumbass, questioned. “You clearly have the potential to contest at a national level! We could perhaps even win the nationals! This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance, your last chance at competing at this level in high school!”

“Why?” Roan echoed. “It’s because I don’t give a single damn about kendo, sir.” Roan decided that he might as well be honest right now. “I don’t care about winning a stupid little competition. What good would winning bring me? Is it gonna help me in getting into the university I want? Would it further my education?”

“But you have the potential to be an athlete! A professional—“

“I don’t want to be a professional athlete, Mister Anton. I want to be a software engineer and work in the comfort of my own home.” Roan spread his arms. “Not whatever this is.”

Mister Anton’s gaze darkened. While he was angered by this, deep down, he knew their chance at winning relied on their star player. So, he does what any good teacher does, “If you continue to act like this, Roan, I’ll have to report your behavior to your parents.”

Roan squinted his eyes. He wasn’t threatened by that since he clearly said the same thing to his parents days ago, so they wouldn’t be surprised. No, he snapped because this motherfucker right here tried to threaten him.

“Alright, Mister Anton.” Roan’s grin darkened as he finally realized the most cruel joke he could do to torment this bastard, one that would take nearly a month to finish. After all, you’d feel the pain most when you fall at the highest peak. “I’ll play along with your game… I’ll play with your game till the nationals.”

“Thank you.” Mister Anton grinned as if he had won. Oh, how Roan wishes to tear that smile off when he drops the biggest news after he wins that stupid competition. This man doesn’t even realize whatever future success he was wishing was in the palm of Roan’s hands. “I’m glad you finally came to your senses, Roan.”

“Right…” Roan’s gaze shone with a depraved red light. You might live scott-free right now, Mister Anton… But another version of you will have to suffer because of it.

…

As night descended, and the moon hung high in the sky, an eruption of bright light appeared in a random alley, and a masked figure wielding a metallic bat walked out. The figure then disappeared with another eruption of white light, reappearing kilometers away.

Roan stood in front of a normal, modern house. Mister Anton was married to a pretty woman and was a father to a young child. They lived quite near the school, and Roan had occasionally passed by their house whenever he walked back home.

“Anton, Anton.” Roan kicked the door open with a cruel glint in his eyes. “You just had to be a stupid fucking bastard, don’t you?”

“You gotta have to relieve my stress now.” Roan grinned maniacally. “You gotta be my personal stress ball.”

A woman screamed as the door broke, jumping off the couch, disturbing her from her nightly movie marathon.

“W-Who are you!” Anton’s wife shouted, stepping back.

“Honey?!” A surprised Anton came running down the stairs, shocked to see a masked, hooded figure standing at their broken entrance. “W-Who…“

Roan didn’t bother to speak as he simply walked towards his wife. Anton was shocked for a moment, before hastily trying to rush in, arms raised. While he was an expert at kendo, he was also skilled in hand-to-hand martial arts.

Sadly, Roan’s raw stats were far higher than that bloke of a coach.

As Anton rushed in, Roan swiftly swung his bat at breakneck speeds, hitting Anton right on the kneecaps. He cried out in pain, his knee bending to an unnatural degree.

“Anton!’ The woman screamed in horror.

“Shut up, bitch.” Roan glared at her and punched her right in the face. Her nose broke, blood leaking out as she fell to the ground.

“Selah!” Anton’s eyes widened in horror.

“Not so fun anymore, right Mister Anton?” Roan mocked, dragging Selah by the ends of her hair so she could clearly face his dear coach. “You really just had to torment me with a month full of suffering. Now, I’m gracing you with life-long trauma!”

“Who are you, you bastard!” Anton growled, trying to lunge at Roan as his anger dulled the pain.

“You’re still trying to fight back?” Roan kicked him right in the face, breaking a couple of teeth in the process. “You’re not the victim here, Anton! I’m the victim you tormented. I’m just bringing you your just desserts.”

“What did you say to us back then?” Roan snapped his fingers. “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, right?”

“You… You madman…” Anton said weakly, his mouth leaking out blood on the ground.

“Where’s your annoying child anyways?” Roan began to open random doors. “That little bitch was always an annoyance, especially when we competed in the regionals.”

“Child?” Anton murmured.

“Wait…” Roan turned to look back at Anton and noticed he appeared… young.

“Oh…” Roan stared at the bulging belly of Selah, and his grin widened even further. “She’s pregnant.”

“What… What are you planning on doing?” As if he could read Roan’s thoughts, Anton widened his eyes in terror as Roan approached his wife, his bat raised to the sky.

“NO! NO! PLEASE, NO!” Anton begged.

“Look at you, begging.” Roan laughed. “You tried to fucking threaten me, Anton. YOU TRIED TO THREATEN ME!”

He swung his bat, hitting Selah right in the belly. She screamed out in hellish pain, while tears streamed down Anton’s baleful gaze.

“YOU’RE ANGRY?” Roan screamed mockingly. “I SHOULD BE THE ONLY ONE ANGRY HERE, YOU BASTARD.”

“What did I do to you, DEVIL!” Anton screamed, lunging forward with unnatural strength.

“You were an annoying bastard, that’s what.” Roan swung his bat, hitting Anton right in the face. His face was deformed, his jaw broken, with more blood pouring out of his mouth. “You were an ambitious motherfucker that dragged me with your foolish dreams. I could have been gaining the power of gods right now, but I’m stuck dealing with a stupid national kendo competition because of you.”

“And for that.” Roan smacked Selah on the belly once more, with a disgusting squishy sound echoing in the silent living room. “You’ll pay.”

“You… madman…,” Anton said weakly, staring into the traumatized eyes of his wife.

“Maybe.” Roan shrugged his shoulders. “But did you care when I said I didn’t want to participate in the national tourney? Nope!”

And so, as Anton’s cries for help and Selah’s whimpers blurred in the background, Roan kept swinging, and swinging, as blood splattered onto the walls, the ground, and on his plain white mask with an eerie grin.

After a while, Roan gazed at the unconscious woman, at the traumatized man, and the loot floating in the air. It appeared that the baby had died, and replacing him was a nice pile of gold coins.

“Huh, I’ve been amassing a whole lot of gold coins now.” Roan grabbed the gold coins and disappeared with a flash of white light.

I love the multiverse. Roan returned to his room, tossing all of his clothes into his inventory and replacing them with a plain black shirt and loose-fitting black pants. Now Anton is permanently traumatized, his wife is paralyzed from the waist down, and no crime could be placed on a person that never existed in that universe.

Roan could physically feel his body lighten as if a heavy weight had been finally removed. Was this what it’s like to cast proper judgement on sinful souls? To revenge fallen comrades? To bring justice to light?

This is nice. Roan lied down on his bed, one that felt like fluffy clouds. He felt his body a weightless vessel, floating above the skies, his heart pumping out clear, warm blood. I feel… rejuvenated.

Roan sighed happily. If that bastard of a man annoys me again, I’ll just continue to torment his other selves. This is such a pleasant way to deal with stress.