Devin Thomas was just laying down for bed after binge reading light novels on his favorite app when...

John Smith grew up in foster care. Though he was a good kid, he always got paired up with families that kept him for a year or so. Many of these families were abusive, and didn't provide for him properly. Because of how often he moved around, he was never able to really have friends. Instead of wallowing in his sorrows, he read and learned. By the time he was ten, he knew more things than most highschool kids. He understood calculus and was fascinated with science. He knew that he likely wouldn't get anywhere with friends because of his situation, but his education would. When he turned nine, he joined the Brilliant family. They were quite nice people, and had two younger kids of their own. They wanted to take on foster care in hopes of helping a kid, as well as learning how to deal with older ones. John really liked his new placement, and was the first place he remembered where he could not worry about if he was going to eat that night. On the night of John's birthday, he went out for a walk by himself. It was the first time he recalled having such a large amount of interpersonal activity that he just needed some time to think. As he continued on, he felt a sudden shock swell through his body. Then, a large boot of purple lightning went through his body. The lightning continued for a few seconds, and by that time people had come out to see what was going on. As they looked at where John was standing, they saw electrical currents flowing through and around him. As someone tried to approach him, the lightning flowed over to him. John soon reality that his power would transfer over to anyone near him, so he quickly ran off down the street. There was a junkyard down the road and he hoped that it would act as a large battery to hold his electrical charge. As he entered, the electrical currents flowed into the nearby metal scraps and old cars. Soon the whole junkyard was lit up by purple electricity. He was finally able to stabilize himself, but not without a cost. The family never looked at him the same afterwards, and almost saw him as some sort of monster. After that point, John spent much of his free time alone reading, or down by the junkyard. After the events that played out that night, all of his friends stayed away from him at school. He was left to his own graces again, and found out ways to pass the time. Using old directions from the manuals in the junkyard, he was able to wire up a old computer and tap into a nearby cell tower reception. Because of how old it was, the tower didn't see it as another line being attached to it. When summer came around, he set himself out to learn as much about his new found powers as possible. He figured that he could try to get into a special school for kids with powers, but it cost money that he didn't have, and that his foster family likely wouldn't give out. With that in mind, he focused all his attention on practicing and learning ways to improve. He learned from public websites that the electrical power affinity was the weakest of all the known ones. This was because it involves either taking in electrical energy from an outside source, or self generation. Because of how these operated, it would be like using a battery or using a steam powered generator to power a city. So he began to research different types of metals that would conduct electricity better in hopes of maybe gathering radiant energy. He found out that a lot of these old pieces of junk had valuable material in them in high amounts such as gold, silver, osmium, titanium z and many other rare materials. After a few weeks of scavenging, he got around two pounds of gold and silver. He also gathered about six pounds of rare metals. With his gathered items, he used an old blast furnace and tapped into the power lines to create a Plasma chamber. He then made a cast for a rod and spear tip. Using the new plasma chamber and his gathered materials, he made himself a spear/lightning rod. It then took him the rest of the summer to refine it and make it smooth and sharp. The spear in it's final product didn't look that abnormal in color, but bad hints of gold and blue in it. He then took the remaining material and saved it for a time where he could sell it for money if he needed to. He continued his training into the next school year, when things started to really rev up.

In the year 2030, Humanity was faced with a cataclysmic event. A large meteor was going to hit the earth, so world leaders took the risk and fired nukes at it in a last ditch attempt. Far from what they expected, the reaction with the meteors material sent a shockwave around the planet. This shockwave killed thousands, and knocked out power for weeks. After all had settled down, humanity began to rebuild. In that aftermath, children starting at the age of 8 began developing new found powers and abilities. They did research on it, and found that there was a mutation on chromosome 23. With this, a new age if humanity commenced.

Mara Hardsand is just a poor girl trying to stay alive on the City-Station of Wakefield. Denys Harcrow is just a son coming into adulthood under a father he's never earned the respect of. And Ashton Coppatt is just an outlaw in search of a place to lay low as the anniversary of humanity's tragic first-contact with an alien species known as the 'Rhea Massacre.’ But the lives of all three of them are about to be changed forever as Colonel Basileus Ryker arrives on the City-Station, bringing with him a dark conspiracy. A young orphan named Sorena has fled to Wakefield in search of sanctuary and Mara has sworn to protect her at all costs. With the aid of Denys, Mara enlists Ash to help them get to the Rogue Sectors aboard the stolen ship, Maid Marian, to escape the military commander and live free from the Government of humanity which has grown more tyrannical in the wake of first-contact.

*Ding* Absorption complete....

Hearing this Axel smirked.

'Status'

Name: Axel Ryder / Gabriel Orion Drackon Speed

Title: Fastest Man Alive / Godspeed/ Comic Creator/ Famous

Age: 23

Earth: 1 / 38

Speed: MACH 32.1 / 24,629.34 MPH

<Ability>

{Super-Speed, Flash Time, Speed Force/Speed Force Manipulation

Throw Lightning, Tornadoes/Vaccums, Manipulate Air (Air Cushion)

Run on Water/Walls, Vibrating enough allows him to somewhat grip to air

Time Travel, Time Remnants/Self-Duplication, Dimension/Multiverse Travel

Voice Changing, Telepathic Resistance (Due to his brain being overwhelmingly fast)

Speed Actions (Thinking, Writing, Reading, Speaking etc...)

Kinetic Absorption, Quick Healing, Phasing/Vibrating, Super-Speed Punch/Vibrating Punch

Travel faster than anything including the speed of light by many folds

High Metabolism, Energy Construct Creation, Electrical Manipulation (Mind Control)

EMP Creator, Battery charge, Creation(Change Eye Colour / Hair Colour, Invisible to the human and low speedsters eyes due to vibrating too fast.}

"Ok, lets test this new speed out" He thought aloud.

And with that he struck a starting stance as his knees bent signalling his preparation to take off. His eyes flashed golden as blue electricity coursed through them as he took off leaving a terrifying sound, as if the god of thunder just obliterated a city. Everyone in Central had heard this but only a few people understood what it meant...

Unfortunately for Axel, this speed was faster than he had anticipated and a breach opened...

'Wh- What, where am I?" he started until he heard it in the background...

{"This time YOU'RE gonna watch your parent die just like I did THIS is gonna make you just like it made ME!" Jay screams.

As he begins to vibrate his arm ready to puncture Henry's heart Barry screams "NOOO"}

As Axel's mind continued to ponder and figure out what happened he realized something... As he traveled back in time his 'younger' self wasn't there, so it was up to him again to save Henry. As his mind processed everything it took much less than second and he saw the benefits within this 'accident' that he unleashed.

The events played out exactly the same and he heard the same noise earlier.

*Ding* Absorption complete....

'Status'

Name: Axel Ryder / Gabriel Orion Drackon Speed

Title: Fastest Man Alive / Godspeed/ Comic Creator/ Famous

Age: 23

Earth: 1 / 38

Speed: MACH 39.9 / 30,614.04 MPH

<Ability>

{Super-Speed, Flash Time, Speed Force/Speed Force Manipulation

Throw Lightning, Tornadoes/Vaccums, Manipulate Air (Air Cushion)

Run on Water/Walls, Vibrating enough allows him to somewhat grip to air

Time Travel, Time Remnants/Self-Duplication, Dimension/Multiverse Travel

Voice Changing, Telepathic Resistance (Due to his brain being overwhelmingly fast)

Speed Actions (Thinking, Writing, Reading, Speaking etc...)

Kinetic Absorption, Quick Healing, Phasing/Vibrating, Super-Speed Punch/Vibrating Punch

Travel faster than anything including the speed of light by many folds

High Metabolism, Energy Construct Creation, Electrical Manipulation (Mind Control)

EMP Creator, Battery charge, Creation(Change Eye Colour / Hair Colour, Invisible to the human and low speedsters eyes due to vibrating too fast.}

He yet again lifted his lips upwards at the easiest gains he had received, nearly doubling his initial space in such a short time, but what the system said next made him even happier.

[Recommend host to spend 30 days (1 day in real time) in your speed-force to get acquainted to the new speed, and with the new input of two speedsters energy host's training will skyrocket.] The system said.

After hearing that he didn't need anything else as he quickly entered his own 'palace' full of thunder clouds, golden and blue. 

<Time-Skip 1 month (1 day)>

'Speed'

Speed: MACH 61.3 / 47,033.6 MPH

'It's still a long way from the speed of light, but it's the fastest so far... Until Savitar comes.'

As he was thinking this he started to vibrate himself again as he fell into another blue portal only to pop out into an apartment in National City.

Why wish to be 'The Flash' or a 'Speedster' when you could wish for your very own Speed-Force with no restrictions...

Oc X Supergirl pairing.
Potential Lemon?
Probably not a harém.

	The sound of the music box was replaced by a heavy silence. The people recorded might've been from another species, but the fear inherent in a child’s keening for her parent was something that was instinctual. The child’s mewling understandably pulled a few heartstrings. 
	10 seconds later, Yao Yuan said firmly, "Alright, let’s all first collect our feelings. I know what we’ve heard is difficult to stomach, but we need to understand that this might have happened thousands of years ago… It shouldn’t weigh us down. If anything, we should be that much more wary if we don’t want the devastation that happened in the recording to happen to us."
	Yao Yuan continued, in a measured voice, "Continue analyzing this music box. I want to know everything there is to know about this music box. There is no detail that is too small."
	Before Yao Yuan could finish, a scientist stepped forth. "Captain, it is my belief that this music box is no less valuable than say a weapon blueprint or a computer chip. Of course, we need more analysis to be precise, but for starters, this music box has an incredibly powerful battery.
	"As you’ve said, this music box might be from thousands of years ago, but as we’ve seen for ourselves, it’s still fully functional. The only plausible rationale is that it is supported by a powerful battery, and the battery itself must be small, because the whole music box is only so big. With that theory in mind, one can’t help but draw a parallel to the lights emanating from the spaceship carcasses. Why do you think the lights on the spaceship pieces are still functional?"
	Yao Yuan turned back to the music box and concluded, "Yes, a small power system that could store an impressive amount of energy for an extended period of time. That would be a valuable technology for us to learn… What else?"
	With fear of being overshadowed, another scientist came forth and uttered excitedly, "Captain, there is also a small software program that we could study. Even though we already have a certain degree of mastery over sound-operated technology, there are still ways to go until we reach perfection. For example, we can turn lights on and off using our voices, but that is limited by volume and accents. Furthermore, because this function is directed by a written software program, the intended device has to be connected to a computer."
	Pointing at the music box, he continued, "Our analysis showed that the sound trigger for this music box is not influenced by conventional nuances like volume. It also responds to recorded clapping sounds. Such high sensitivity could only be explained by the presence of a highly effective sound recognition program. In other words, there exists a computer within this fist-sized object, one that is as powerful as our common home PC!"
	Yao Yuan started to view the music box in a new light. He was surprised to realize that this unassuming object of a child’s fist-size could harbor so many valuable technological marvels. He couldn’t help but feel delighted at the discovery. 
	"The technology for this civilization is, as expected, far more advanced than ours, but…" Yao Yuan hesitated before adding, "These are imaginable technologies… They’re not science fiction-esque technologies like the ones on U…" he caught himself and coughed, "Like the ones we have on the Hope, like the space-warping and anti-gravitational technologies."
	Yao Yuan almost blurted out the word ‘UFO,’ but thankfully he was quick to realize his mistake, because most of the people in the room had no inkling of its existence. 
	A girl among the scientists caught Yao Yuan’s verbal faux pas, and that girl was Bo Li. She narrowed her eyes at Yao Yuan as if admonishing him for almost accidentally spilling top secret information. Cornered into an uncomfortable position, Yao Yuan hacked out a few dry coughs. 
	In an attempt to divert attention, Bo Li said, "Further analysis could be done on this music box’s structural construction, raw materials, and even internal circuits. This reminds me. The metallic planks that Captain brought back were identified as a type of feather-weight alloy. Its light weight aside, it also has a tensile strength and melting point that is greater than all known metals. We’ve only managed to melt a tiny section of it by using plasma rays. We’ve learned of its empirical formula, but we still can’t manufacture this alloy because its atomic arrangement is one that we’re not familiar with."
	Recovered from his previous faux pas, Yao Yuan continued after some serious consideration. "Then could anyone ballpark for me how far ahead is this civilization’s technology from ours? We don’t need to go into something as detailed as how many years because too many factors could play into that, so describe it instead in terms of revolution. This civilization would represent which of our industrial revolutions?"
	"The fourth!"
	"The end of the fourth revolution!"
	"The middle of the fourth…"
	"The early fifth…"
	There were multiple answers, but they fell within the general duration from the late middle of the fourth industrial revolution to the cusp of the fifth. 
	Yao Yuan had studied plenty of scientific treatises ever since he got on the Hope, but he was ultimately not a trained scientist, so he asked, "Why are all of you so sure? Is there a huge difference between the end of the fourth revolution to the start of the fifth that there needs a distinction? Also, could such a huge fleet of warships really be created during the fourth revolution?"
	The leading scientist, Silewei, stepped forth to answer. "Captain, to understand all that, you first have to fix a misconception, one about industrial revolution… First, did you know that the advancement from the 20th century to the early 21st century is several hundred times greater than the total scientific advancement for the whole history of humanity? And the scientific progress achieved in the 10 years after the start of the 3rd revolution was about 100 times greater than the progress accumulated by man throughout both the first and second industrial revolutions?
	"Industrial or scientific revolutions are scientific progress calculated in exponential and not incremental increase. For example, if the first revolution is represented by the multiplier of 1, the second revolution would not be 2, instead it could 20 or even 200, and when it reaches the third revolution, the multiplier could be in the thousands or millions!"
	Silewei continued firmly, "Traditionally speaking, we can only predict what will happen in the next revolution. It is impossible to predict the one after that. Take the first revolution for an example, people in the 18th and 19th century couldn’t possibly imagine what things would look like in the third revolution. Important events like the moon landing, personal computers, and genetic engineering were for them stuff of science fiction. In contrast, they managed to predict the promises our second revolution would usher in, most notably being the discovery of electricity. This proves once more that my theory that man could only correctly predict the discoveries in the approaching scientific revolution but not the ones after that."
	Silewei stopped before pointing straight at the music box. "Captain, it is undeniable that this music box has opened a door for us. Instead of technologies like space-warping and anti-gravitational systems that we couldn’t wrap our heads around, this music box provides us with familiar but decidedly far more advanced technologies in fields of electrical systems, manufacturing, and computer science. This is definite proof that this alien civilization, with this music box as an example of its scientific product, is at the end of our fourth industrial revolution!"
	Yao Yuan sighed in relief. "That’s definitely good to know… I’ll be frank, I’ve been afraid the technology from this civilization would be far too advanced for us to study. Just like how it was with the space-warping technology, we couldn’t make headway into understanding it even though it is technically in our possession. That would also seriously deter our exploratory plans because its defensive system would probably be powerful enough to annihilate us with just one hit.
	So thank you for relieving me of my worries. This also confirms my suspicion that we will enter the fourth revolution after we acquire more of this civilization’s technologies. That will prove invaluable to our overall survival in space. Knowing this, I’m also less worried about sending our men into the junkyard."
	Pausing for thought, Yao Yuan breathed in and out several times before stressing adamantly, "The mission to scour the outer perimeter of the junkyard will resume tomorrow. Please do not stop with your analyses and experiments, because after we’ve acquired several more pieces of the alien product to ascertain its technological level…
	"We shall venture into one of the warship husks!"


Endless sky and infinite space, the cosmos isn’t some paradise waiting to be found, it is full of darkness and danger, death and terror of the great unknown. However, for that glittering swath of blue, we have no fear! For the longevity of men, we have no regrets! Nothing shall stand in our way because it is finally our time, our age! The age of cosmos exploration! 


While Jim was unconscious, a pale green aura began spreading from his mangled hadn, moving up his arm and rotting it to the point where it was unrecognizable as a human limb. A golden light surfaced from his head and moved to his shoulder, forcing the pale aura backwards. Hours passed with the two mystical forces clashing, the golden arm attempting to repair his arm as it regained ground, finally the pale green aura was exhausted, it flickered out of existence, the golden light began it's work on the mangled flesh.

Jim woke with a start, his right arm was numb, looking over he found his hand to be in far better condition than before, but he couldn't move, nor the rest of his arm, he immediately started channeling Reiki through his left hand into his right, two hours passed before a slight tingle was felt, he released the breath he wasn't aware he was holding.

"Status."

[Name: Jim Garrett]
[Species: Human]
[Level: 7]
[Experience: 273/8,000]
[Job]
[Stats]
[Cultivation Realm: Lower Foundation]
[Qi: 140,912/241,372]
[Skills]
[Powers]
[System Functions Unlocked: Log, Status, Shop, Skill Assist, Cooking Assist, Level Up, Improved Rest, Stat Allocation, Inventory Lv. 2, Job System, Powers]
[Host, Nerve Damaged Detected, Muscle Atrophy Detected, Death Energy Detected, Recovery Progress 47% Complete]

Finding his level had increased, Jim was not particularly happy, that experience in the illusion barrier had shocked him, he was starting to feel invincible by running at speeds above other humans and blasting things apart with his fists, when suddenly he was reduced to helplessness and paralyzing fear. His hand no longer being in such an extremely bad state made him thank the Improved Rest function, but also made him aware it had its limits.

'What WAS that thing!?', The sudden appearance of such a strong monster was completely unexpected, the illusion barrier world was created by himself albeit using the system, so far all of the enemies had been managable. Thinking it over, if the pressure didn't fall on his that soundless extremely fast cloud would have reached him before he noticed what was happening, if he didn't already have the Fear Resistance and Willpower skills he would have just been unable to move at all.

'Unacceptable, I have to be more careful from now on.' Jim started entering the Illusion Barrier world to become stronger, he enjoyed the feeling of growth but wasn't one of those battle maniac story characters, a terrible creature that could kill him in an instant was not something he ever wanted to face again.

'I need to be tougher!', spending a long time pondering, Jim formed a resolve, his system allowed for growth at a ridiculous speed and the ability to break through human limits, Power and Speed were both useful, but it was meaningless if he just died in one hit, he needed an unbreakable Defense, as soon as possible, Jim began practicing Copper Body again.

[Copper Body Outer Technique Level Up]
[Copper Body Outer Technique Has Reached Level 5]

Jim was afraid of pain but the need to grow overwhelmed that fear, he took the spear out of his Inventory and slightly pressed the tip against his leg, he needed to test how tough he is, the skin bent with elasticity but wasn't punctured. Jim placed more pressure, he needed nearly his entire strength before the skin broke, he withdrew the spear before it sunk in too deep and started chanelling Reiki, the newly formed small pool of blood stopped coming out at a noticable pace. 'Not nearly enough'

He started actively circulating Copper Body, once his skin took on a bronze sheen he attempted to press down with the spear again, the elasticity of the skin seemed to be the same, but after applying slowly applying up to 100% strength didn't allow the spear to penetrate. Jim took a deep breath, lifted the spear up, and drove it down, the force of the blow penetrated the skin and some muscle, it was very painful, but not as much as he thought it would be.

[Piercing Resistance Skill Obtained]
[Sensory Control Level Up]
[Sensory Control Has Reached Level 2]

'Huh?' Jim began chanelling Reiki, once he was comfortable with the amount of healing done he investigated the skill list.

[Skills: Cooking Lv. 9, Appraisal Lv. 3, Focus Lv. Max, Reading Lv. Max, Fear Resistance Lv. Max, Willpower Lv. Max, Mental Corruption Resistance Lv. Max, Nausea Resistance Lv. Max, Distant Reading Lv. Max, Parallel Processing Lv. 3, Reiki Healing Technique Lv. 4, Copper Body Outer Technique Lv. 5, Jade Crane Inner Technique Lv. Max, Snow Treading Steps Lv. Max, Lower Dark Fist Technique Lv. Max, Iron Gut Lv. 1, Spearmanship Lv. 7, Surprise Attack Lv. 6, Pain Resistance Lv. Max, Physical Attack Resistance Lv. 2, Intimidating Presence Lv. 3, Qi Manipulation Lv. 9, Qi Battery Lv. 5, Soaring Immortal Bird Lv. 1, Bursting Thunder Steps Lv. 2, Great Dark Fist Lv. 2, Unarmed Combat Lv. 4, Punch Lv. 9, Lower Light Fist Lv. 1, Serene Mind Mental Technique Lv. 1, Pressure Resistance Lv. 1, Death Resistance Lv. 3, Magic Resistance Lv. 2, Indomitable Will Lv. 1, Sensory Control Lv. 2, Piercing Resistance Lv. 1]

Several things had changed, Fear Resistance and Pain Resistance had maxed out, Pressure Resistance, Death Resistance, Magic Resistance, Indomitable Will, and Sensory Control had been added, following the trend of a skill maxing and granting a derived skill, Jim assumed Indomitable Will and Sensory Control were generated this way, which means the other three had been generated independantly, That weight on his shoulders making him unable to move must be the Pressure. 'Oh god...' He realized one of them was resisting Death, just how close had he actually been to meeting his maker?

Calming himself down, he resumed training.

[Copper Body Outer Technique Level Up]
[Copper Body Outer Technique Level Max]
[Copper Body Outer Technique Derivation Skill - Iron Body Outer Technique Obtained]
[Congratulations Host, Host Has Achieved Maximum Level In A Skill, Skill Max Gift Pack x 1 Awarded]
[Reiki Healing Technique Level Up]
[Reiki Healing Technique Level Max]
[Reiki Healing Technique Derivation Skill - Automatic Recovery Obtained]
[Congratulations Host, Host Has Achieved Maximum Level In A Skill, Skill Max Gift Pack x 1 Awarded]
[Parallel Processing Level Up]
[Parallel Processing Has Reached Level 7]
[Piercing Resistance Level Up]
[Piercing Resistance Has Reached Level 8]
[Physical Resistance Level Up]
[Physical Resistand Has Reached Level 5]
[Bleeding Resistance Obtained]
[Bleeding Resistance Level Up]
[Bleeding Resistance Level Max]
[Bleeding Resistance Derivation Skill - Blood Generation Obtained]
[Congratulations Host, Host Has Achieved Maximum Level In A Skill, Skill Max Gift Pack x 1 Awarded]
[Sensory Control Level Up]
[Sensory Control Has Reached Level 4]
[Qi Manipulation Level Up]
[Qi Manipulation Level Max]
[Qi Manipulation Derivation Skill - Qi Sense Obtained]
[Qi Battery Level Up]
[Qi Battery Has Reached Level 6]

Spending two days, Jim stayed cooped up in his room, if someone had entered they would have smelled blood and seen him sitting on the floor repeatedly stabbing himself while muttering under his breath, it was a rather disturbing sight. 

Sensory Control had an interesting effect, Jim could focus and dial one of his senses up or down, lowering his feeling of touch to almost completely remove pain left him hardly able to hold the spear, he couldn't feel it in his hand anymore, Jim had to resort to feeling only half pain. His Hand and Arm had fully recovered by now, the wounds inflicted on his legs were healed in full without even leaving behind scar tissue every night.

Jim no longer felt anemic from blood loss after the first day, he guessed it was related to the Blood Generation skill, it had started at max level. Using Copper Body, Stabbing the Spear, healing with Reiki, and controlling his senses were performed at the same time. Jim could now stab at his abdomen with full force and just be pushed back slightly, Copper Body had been doing it's work, but he felt it wasn't enough, his small strength would surely pale in comparison to other existing creatures.

[Iron Body Outer Technique Level Up]
[Iron Body Outer Technique Level Max]
[Iron Body Outer Technique Derivation Skill - Steel Body Outer Technique Obtained]
[Congratulations Host, Host Has Achieved Maximum Level In A Skill, Skill Max Gift Pack x 1 Awarded]
[Automatic Recovery Level Up]
[Automatic Recovery Has Reached Level 4]
[Piercing Resistance Level Up]
[Piercing Resistance Level Max]
[Slashing Resistance Skill Obtained]
[Slashing Resistance Level Up]
[Slashing Resistance Level Max]
[Crushing Resistance Skill Obtained]
[Crushing Resistance Level Up]
[Crushing Resistance Level Max]
[Physical Resistance Level Up]
[Physical Resistance Has Reached Level 7]
[Sensory Control Level Up]
[Sensory Control Has Reached Level 6]
[Qi Sense Level Up]
[Qi Sense Has Reached Level 3]

Another 3 days had passed, this training, if you could call it that, was painful and maddening. Qi Sense allowed him to feel all of the qi energy within his body, it was like having x-ray vision but only for himself. Near his chest Jim discovered a small darkly colored orb, reaching his senses into it revealed a lake of energy, he realized this must be his Dantian. Near the center of the lake were 10 clumps of qi reaching upwards like plants sprouting from the ground, he felt a boundless power from them and assumed they were his spirit roots. Searching around, Jim spotted what looked like a large green feather bird, it was completely still as though someone had taken a 3-dimensional photograph. Being able to sense inside his dantian would normally make him very happy, but he quickly lost interest in the face of his new focus.

Jim had purchased a short sword and club from the System Shop to gain more resistances, he was saddened by no derivation skill appearing from maxing them out. Jim felt he could now take a speeding bus to the chest and come out unharmed, but thinking of explosives and antitank rifles made him feel he was still too fragile, there may be mystical techniques that could far outstrip them, he didn't fall to fall prey to anything ever again, his hellish defense training continued.

[Steel Body Outer Technique Level Up]
[Steel Body Outer Technique Level Max]
[Steel Body Outer Technique Derivation Skill - Titanium Body Outer Technique Obtained]
[Congratulations Host, Host Has Achieved Maximum Level In A Skill, Skill Max Gift Pack x 1 Awarded]
[Titanium Body Outer Technique Level Up]
[Titanium Body Outer Technique Level Max]
[Titanium Body Outer Technique Derivation Skill - Persistent Body Skill Obtained]
[Congratulations Host, Host Has Achieved Maximum Level In A Skill, Skill Max Gift Pack x 1 Awarded]
[Automatic Recovery Level Up]
[Automatic Recovery Had Reached Level 7]
[Physical Resistance Level Up]
[Physical Resistance Level Max]
[Physical Resistance Lv. Max, Piercing Resistance Lv. Max, Slashing Resistance Lv. Max, Crushing Resistance Lv. Max Confirmed - Conditions Fulfilled - Great Physical Resistance Skill Obtained]
[Parallel Processing Level Up]
[Parallel Processing Has Reached Level 9]
[Sensory Control Level Up]
[Sensory Control Has Reached Level 9]
[Qi Sense Level Up]
[Qi Sense Has Reached Level 5]
[Qi Battery Level Up]
[Qi Battery Has Reached Level 7]

*Crack, Crack, Crack*
This round of training caused unpleasant sounds to echo from Jim's body, it was a bit painful but strangely relaxing, like he had just let go of some invisible weight.

Finding his Qi had increased by 21,000, Jim had caught on by now that each level of Qi Battery seemed to follow the Fibonacci Sequence, each level giving sum of itself and the previous number * 10,000, with Qi Battery Level 7 his Qi Capacity had reached an astounding 581,372. Checking his skill list he was disappointed that Persistent Body was already Max Level, he decided to check it with appraisal

[Appraisal Level Up]
[Appraisal Has Reached Level 4]
[Persistent Body]
[Weak Points Removed, Body Continues Functioning Until Vitality Is Depleted, Body Reinforcement Techniques Now Persistent]

'Wait, weak points removed? What does that mean? I still have my brain, eyes, and throat.' After a bit of testing, he found that every part of his body had gained the effects of actively circulating Titanium Body despite not circulating it, including normally soft targets, it was like his entire body had suddenly gained an exoskeleton or barrier which was invisible and consumed no Qi.

Jim no longer had a body technique to practice and his physical resistance skills had reach maximum save for the new Great Physical Resistance, he felt it was finally time to stop this self inflicted torture, with the two granted while unconscious before, he had 8 Max Skill Gift Packs, he opened them immediately.

[Skill Max Gift Pack x 8 Opened]
[Congratulations Host, System Upgrade Module x 16 Obtained]
[Congratulations Host, 80,000 Points Obtained]

A middle aged man stumbles across an artifact which changes his life in ways he could not imagine.

Author's Note: I'm sure you guys have noticed the lack of updates. I don't have writer's block nor are there any events preventing me from writing. I honestly just don't have to motivation to keep going for now. Thus, I'm putting the novel on Hiatus, I hope everyone has enjoyed what I've written, thank you.

Bright light hit my eyes… It seemed like I had been sitting at home just recently and trying to translate an article that I had been working on. I had gone to sleep, and the next thing I knew, I was standing in the middle of a street! More precisely, I had found myself in the middle of the very street in which I had worked five years ago when I was a student... What was that squeal? It sounded like tires grinding against the asphalt. Light, screeching tires… Is that a car coming directly toward me?

I jumped back, but the car still hit me, although not as badly as it would've had I stayed in place. I managed to remain standing. I wondered why that psycho had been driving so fast. Was he not paying attention to pedestrians at all? Wait, it could've been my fault. I must've zoned out and somehow ended up in the middle of the intersection.

"Are you a complete idiot?" asked a voice with an unfamiliar accent. The door of a car with tinted windows, the make of which was unfamiliar to me, opened. Perhaps its driver wasn't a local. Not that that would excuse my behavior.

"I'm sorry." I could forgive him calling me an idiot, but I would defend myself if he didn't calm down, or if he started a fight. I really wanted to take a swing at somebody, and maybe even get hit myself. It would hurt, but that would pass. It wasn't like I was made of glass. That would, at least for a while, break up this monotony that had already started to plague me.

"Oh, he's sorry! You humans are such strange beings!" At that moment, I finally got my shit together and noticed the taxi sign on the roof of the car. "What about the battery deterioration caused by the sharp maneuvers I had to make? And my nerves! And my wife who's waiting at home, worried about me?" shouted the taxi driver.

I listened to the list of troubles that had befallen him, but it all seemed so unimportant to me. What if this wasn't real? Maybe I was just dreaming? How else could I explain the fact that there was a 6'6, blue-skinned man standing in front of me, whose wide nostrils made his nose look more like a pig's snout than an ordinary human nose?

"Ten credits and we can part ways civilly." The unusual taxi driver unexpectedly finished his speech and stared at me.

"I don't understand..." I raised my hands and rubbed my eyes, hoping that this would help me wake up.

"If you don't want to do this the easy way, fine, I'll act according to law."

He pulled out his phone, which looked rather weird in his hands, and made a call. After just a couple of minutes, two patrol police cars appeared at the scene. Fortunately, ordinary-looking humans came out of them. For some reason, they, unlike me, didn't find what was happening strange at all. What's going on here?

"I've uploaded the information about the incident and my certified statement to the city server," my blue-skinned hallucination greeted them. Maybe I'm just imagining this whole thing?

"Then we'll take the offender with us. The compensation fee will be sent to you after we've analyzed the situation, within the regulated time limits." Even if I was imagining things, it would be better if I didn't show it. I really didn't need any additional troubles; I was already in over my head.

In the meantime, the conversations ended. I was carefully placed in the backseat of the police car, and we set off. Now, having come to my senses a little, I realized that the car wasn't exactly flying, but sort of floating. But it moved quickly, smoothly, and seemed very real. No, something weird must be going on around me. I have to try to figure it out. I should be casual about it, there's no need to openly show my interest or ignorance.

"And who was that?" I said as calmly as I could.

"The blue-skinned one?"

So, my question wasn't an unusual one.

I nodded in response. The policemen seemed rather relaxed now. They couldn't be seen from the outside. Maybe they would tell me something useful.

"He's an ordinary Velly migrant. They send them to the new worlds to maintain the infrastructure. The salary is mediocre, but, this has its benefits. Every now and again a psycho like you appears."

"A Velly migrant?"

"Are you kidding? Or are you high?" The policeman inspected me with some kind of device, and sighed in disappointment.

It looked like I wasn't high, which was good. However, the fact that everything that was going on was normal for everyone except me was really bad. But there was nothing I could do about it. Any additional questions would only bring me more unnecessary trouble.

"Sam, we've received information about our offender."

"What does it say? Have the charges been confirmed?"

"Yes, he's been sentenced. His reputation has been lowered by two, and there's a twenty-credit fine."

I was listening and taking mental notes. I would definitely find out what had happened, but for now, I had to make sure not to get into even more trouble. So, everyone here had some kind of reputation which was, judging by the policeman's voice, much more important than the credits. By the way, they charged me double. The taxi driver had requested only ten credits. Had he been trying to do me a favor?

"Well, did he have enough money on his account to pay the fine?" The policemen continued their conversation without paying any attention to me, and I must admit that I was a little taken aback by them talking about a detainee like that while they were present.

"Yes. What's more, a corporate lawyer from RosEnergy took his case. Not only do we have to let him go, but we also have to take him home."

"Geez, and why does this wimp deserve such an honor? RosEnergy lawyers don't work with just anyone."

RosEnergy seemed to be a state-owned energy corporation. And I was inclined to agree with them — why would I be granted such an honor?

"According to our documents, he's a level two battery, so this shouldn't come as a surprise. He's a valuable employee; the company is making sure that he doesn't miss a workday."

"Wow!" Both policemen looked at me through the rearview mirror, and I could see respect in their eyes.

A battery? Level two? I really wanted to ask them a couple of questions but I stayed silent, knowing that that wouldn't end well. They can take me home in silence, and then I'll deal with everything else myself. I hoped that the Internet was still a thing in this world of flying machines and blue-skinned people. I believed that I didn't need anything else except the web.

Having moved closer to the window, I began to look around, paying attention to all sorts of things that were unusual to me; there was an obscene amount of them. A group of blue-skinned people was walking down the street, talking about something. If it weren't for the color of their skin and the pig snouts, they wouldn't be distinguishable from ordinary teenagers. I saw one more leaving a night club. Unlike the taxi driver and that clique, he had a perfectly normal nose; small and neat. He looked somehow better off than they did. He had a suit, a shiny watch on his wrist, and an expensive car that was obviously waiting for him.

Thinking about the difference between them, I continued looking out the window. Advertising posters caught my attention this time. One of them was of a man, smiling, dipping his hands into a container full of yellow liquid.

Being a battery isn't a shame! Discharge the energy for the good of your home planet!

There was another unusual one depicting a spaceship that was flying away from the familiar blue ball. It had a slogan written in gorgeous golden letters at the bottom.

The Velly Empire is grateful to Earth for its contribution to the energy supply.

What was happening? Were the blue-skinned ones aliens? But how could I have missed their appearance?

I spotted another poster.

Ninety-three percent of the inhabitants of the empire can accumulate energy. Don't stop, develop your skills and become the pride of Velly!

The last poster had no pictures. Its simple, white background attracted my attention for two reasons: first, the name of the sponsor, RosEnergy, was written at the bottom, and according to the policemen, that was where I worked; the second being the entire battery and energy thing. They called me a level two battery, which meant that there was a level one battery, which also meant there was some sort of a ranking system for it. When did I become a battery?

"We're here." I had almost missed when we stopped and they politely opened the door for me, suggesting that I walk to my apartment.

Fortunately, my house hadn't changed. I quickly said goodbye to my escort and hurried to my studio apartment. Where are my keys? Having found them, I quickly opened and closed the door.

I found myself in an unfamiliar place. The wallpaper and the stove were the same, and the coat rack was on the left, next to the mirror, as always, but everything else… A huge, 100-inch screen was hanging in front of something that was either a futuristic-looking bed or a dentist's chair. Strange containers with a liquid similar to that from the poster stood on my table. What's that projection display with a clock right above my old gas oven…? Why is it showing July? I remember it being September! And the year? Next year? What's happening?

I could guess what I would discover, but I rushed to my laptop nonetheless and opened a couple of websites to check the date's accuracy. The numbers that were on the kitchen clock were displayed everywhere. I didn't know how it had happened, but I had managed to forget the entire previous year.

I spent the next hour sitting and reading, going through article archives on a couple of websites. I was filling in gaps in my knowledge about what had happened during the ten months that were missing from my memory. There were both short and long reports on how Earth was conquered in one day, how we were given new technologies, and how those who were against it were punished. One after another, the old professions died out, and the majority of the population became batteries. This was one of the technologies that the Velly, the blue-faced aliens, had given us in hopes of uniting us with their civilization. As it turned out, a mysterious source in the center of the galaxy emitted strange types of cosmic energy and almost every living creature could collect it and release it. And its power was quite decent.

A level one battery could produce as much energy as a nuclear reactor after just a week of training. Level two batteries, that is, those who spent a lot of time training and were able to, like me, increase the efficiency of their body, could produce ten times more. Levels three and four were admitted to work on spaceships. They powered the anti-ship cannons, and even the main-caliber ones. Level five could power the main reactors of any civil vessel as well as the planetary shields. Levels six and up were military psychics who served the Velly army, suppressed rebellions, and urged planets to accept compromises.

Judging by the booklets scattered around me about various ships and star systems, I still wanted to go into space. I wanted to increase my battery level and then fly away to explore the universe. For that reason, I had training containers full of yellow liquid that should aid me in discharging energy. Why not? There are new worlds, new races, and new experiences. And even though a big chunk of my memory is missing, this idea sounds great.

 

Attention, residents! Close your windows and move away from them as far as possible! There's a counter-intelligence operation underway in your area. For any questions about the compensation fee, you can contact the Velly Prefecture. Attention, residents…

 

Just as I had convinced myself that everything would be fine — well, if not now, then in the near future for sure — a mechanical voice pierced my ears, followed by the deafening sound of a distant explosion. Stay away from the windows? Hell no! Without losing any time, I got closer and observed the nearest building, over which black smoke had already begun to rise. What's going on there?

A plane, or something similar to it, flew over the building, and three figures in black space suits jumped out onto the roof. Are they a part of Special Forces or what? They had no parachutes, nor any other special weapons; they just jumped onto the roof, rising from a cloud of soaring dust. However, there weren't three of them, but four. Or was the fourth guy the reason why they came there? Damn, they're too far, I can't see anything. I tried to use my phone. I turned on the camera and pointed it at my target. That's better… Huh, it has focus, zoom, and even slow-motion. A couple of years ago, even the military couldn't dream of such technology, and today I had such a thing in my pocket.

In the meantime, the Special Forces trio and the stranger attacked each other. Shots were fired, followed by several explosions; I couldn't make heads or tails of it. And then the whole building began to shake, threatening to collapse, but it remained standing, held in place by a huge energy field. I couldn't resist rewinding the video and then watching it in slow motion. The trio was shooting at the fourth guy, who was repelling the bullets with his bare hands. And he wasn't a blue-skinned — I wouldn't be surprised if they were really capable of doing that — but an ordinary man. A pale-blue ray came out of his hands and, having gone through the defense of one of the guys, blew him up from the inside. The other two immediately wrapped themselves up in energy shields, but the man had no intention of attacking them. Instead, he threw some kind of a ball behind his back, and then caught a glider that rushed past the roof and flew away. And then came the explosion. The ball must've been a bomb designed to divert attention. And it worked. One of the armed guys, a blue-skinned, was forced to stay back on the roof and hold the building until all the residents were evacuated.

Having made sure that everything was over, I moved away from the window and fell onto my chair-bed, which was surprisingly comfortable, and probably the only positive thing that had happened to me so far. The future, in which I had unexpectedly found myself, turned out to be not the most peaceful place. And earlier, when I was reading about those high-level batteries, potential troubles seemed far, far away. Only now did I realize how close the danger really was.

Max, I remind you that you have to leave in ten minutes if you don't want to be late for work.

The phone, on which the video kept playing on loop, flashed the notification that somebody, probably me, had previously entered. Work? Right, I'm a level two battery, I have to go and make a living. If only I knew how I was supposed to do that...

___________________________________________
The Last Time Loop: Max of the Rebellion is one of the top-rated sci-fi LitRPG novels in Russia.

We have been writing this story for one and a half years now, but it already has about 440 chapters spanning six books. The Last Time Loop series has become very popular in Russia, and we're overjoyed that so many people, who might have never heard of us until recently, might now get a chance to become our readers and, hopefully, fans.

We hope you will enjoy it too.

The Last Time Loop: Max of the Rebellion is live on Amazon.

US: https://www.amazon.com/Last-Time-Loop.../dp/B07WTW984V
UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Last-Time-Loop.../dp/B07WTW984V
CA: https://www.amazon.ca/Last-Time-Loop.../dp/B07WTW984V
DE: https://www.amazon.de/Last-Time-Loop.../dp/B07WTW984V

Max finds himself in a time loop. Any kind of death annuls everything except his present knowledge, and returns him into the past. This is a good way to test all sorts of things. That is, it would be, if not for one little thing... This loop has real Lords and it’s unlikely that they will be happy to find out about an uninvited guest.

And that isn’t his only problem; all of his memories of the last year have simply disappeared. But the world around him changed in the meantime. Earth has been seized by the Velly clan and is now part of their Star Empire. Max has also discovered his gift of being a psychic.

However, the latter isn’t that big of a deal.
 
Everyone can be a level one “battery;” for everything else, however, it’s necessary to have some talent, money, and connections, which only complicates things further.

A whole new world, great opportunities, and big troubles... Welcome to the Last Time Loop!

Bright light hit my eyes… It seems that only recently I've been sitting home and trying to translate an article that I was working on. I went to sleep and the next thing I knew, I was standing in the middle of a street! More precisely, I found myself in the middle of the very street in which I worked five years ago when I was a student... What was that squeal? It sounded like tires grinding against the asphalt. Light, screeching tires… Is that a car coming directly at me? 
I jumped back, but the car still hit me, although not as badly as it would've had I stayed in place. I managed to remain standing. I wondered why that psycho was driving so fast. Was he not paying attention to pedestrians at all? Wait, it could've been my fault. I must've zoned out and somehow ended up in the middle of the intersection.
"Are you a complete idiot?" spoke a voice in an unfamiliar accent. The door of a car with tinted windows, the mark of which was unfamiliar to me, opened. Perhaps its driver wasn't a local. Not that that would excuse my behavior. 
"I'm sorry." I could forgive them calling me an idiot, but I would defend myself if they didn't calm down or start a fight. I really wanted to take a swing at somebody, and maybe even get hit myself. It would hurt, but it would pass. It wasn't like I was made of glass. That would, at least for a while, break this monotony that had already started to plague me. 
"Oh, he's sorry! You people are such strange beings!" At that moment I finally got my shit together and noticed the taxi sign on the roof of the car. "And what about battery deterioration due to sharp maneuvers? And my nerves?! And my wife who's waiting at home, worried about me?!" shouted the taxi driver.
I listened to the list of troubles that had befallen him; it all seemed to fly past me. What if this wasn't real? Maybe I was just dreaming? How else could I explain that there was a 6.5-feet-tall, blue-skinned man standing in front of me, whose wide nostrils made his nose look more like a pig's snout than an ordinary human nose? 
"Ten credits and we can part ways." The unusual taxi driver unexpectedly finished his speech and stared at me.
"I don't understand..." I raised my hands and rubbed my eyes, hoping that that would help me wake up. 
"If you don't want to do this nicely, fine, I will act according to law."
He pulled out his phone, which looked rather weird in his hands, and made a call. After just a couple of minutes, two patrol police cars appeared at the scene. Fortunately, ordinary-looking humans came out of them. For some reason, they, unlike me, didn't find what was happening strange at all. What's going on here?
"I've uploaded the information about the incident and my certified statement to the city server," my blue-skinned hallucination greeted them. Maybe I'm just imagining this whole thing?
"Then we'll take the offender with us. The compensation fee will be sent to you after we've analyzed the situation, within the regulated time limits." Even if I was imagining things, it would be better if I didn't show it. I really didn't need any additional troubles; I was already in over my head. 
In the meantime, the conversations ended. I was carefully placed in the backseat of the police car, and we set off. Now, having come to my senses a little, I realized that the car wasn't exactly flying, but sort of floating. But it moved quickly, smoothly and seemed very real. No, something weird must be going on around me. I have to try to figure it out. I should be casual about it, there's no need to openly show my interest or ignorance. 
"And who was that?" I said as calmly as I could.
"The blue-skinned one?"
So, my question wasn't an unusual one.
I nodded in response. The policemen seemed rather relaxed now. They couldn't be seen from the outside. Maybe they would tell me something useful. 
"He's an ordinary Velly migrant. They send them to the new worlds to maintain the infrastructure. The salary is mediocre, but, this has its benefits. Every now and again a psycho like you appears."
"A Velly migrant?"
"Are you kidding? Or are you high?" The policeman inspected me with some kind of device, and sighed in disappointment.
It looked like I wasn't high, which was good. However, the fact that everything that was going on was normal for everyone except me was really bad. But there was nothing I could do about it. Any additional questions would only bring me more unnecessary trouble.
"Sam, we've received information about our offender."
"What does it say? Have the charges been confirmed?"
"Yes, he's been sentenced. His reputation has been lowered by two, and there's a twenty credits fine."
I was listening and taking mental notes. I would definitely find out what had happened, but for now, I had to make sure not to get into even more trouble. So, everyone here had some kind of reputation which was, judging by the policeman's voice, much more important than the credits. By the way, they charged double. The taxi driver had requested ten credits. Was he trying to do me a favor?
"Well, did he have enough money on his account to pay the fine?" The policemen continued their conversation without paying any attention to me, and I must admit that I was a little taken aback by them talking about a detainee like that while they were present. 
"Yes. What's more, a corporate lawyer from RosEnergy took his case. Not only do we have to let him go, but we also have to take him home."
"Geez, and why does this wimp deserve such an honor? RosEnergy lawyers don't work with just anyone."
RosEnergy seemed to be a state-owned energy corporation. And I was inclined to agree with them — why would I be granted such an honor?
"According to our documents, he's a level two battery, so this shouldn't come as a surprise. He's a valuable employee; the company is making sure that he doesn't miss a workday."
"Wow!" Both policemen looked at me through the rearview mirror, and I could see respect in their eyes.
A battery? Level two? I really wanted to ask them a couple of questions but I stayed silent, knowing that that wouldn't end well. They can take me home in silence, and then I will deal with everything else myself. I hoped that the internet was still a thing in this world of flying machines and the blue-skinned people. I believed that I didn't need anything else except the web. 
Having moved closer to the window, I began to look around, paying attention to all sorts of things that were unusual to me; there was an obscene amount of them. A group of blue-skinned people was walking down the street, talking about something. If it weren't for the color of their skin and the pig snouts, they wouldn't be distinguishable from ordinary teenagers. I saw one more leaving a night club. Unlike the taxi driver and that clique, he had a perfectly normal nose; small and neat. He looked somehow better off than them. He had a suit, a shiny watch on his wrist, and an expensive car that was obviously waiting for him.
Thinking about the difference between them, I continued looking out the window. Advertising posters caught my attention this time. One of them was of a man, smiling, dipping his hands into a container full of yellow liquid. 
Being a battery isn't a shame! Discharge the energy for the good of your home planet!
There was another unusual one depicting a spaceship that was flying away from the familiar blue ball. It had a slogan written in gorgeous golden letters at the bottom. 
The Velly Empire is grateful to Earth for its contribution to the energy supply.
What was happening? Were the blue-skinned ones aliens? But how could I have missed their appearance?
I spotted another poster.
Ninety-three percent of the inhabitants of the empire can accumulate energy. Don't stop, develop your skills and become the pride of Velly!
The last poster had no pictures. Its simple, white background attracted my attention for two reasons: first, the name of the sponsor, RosEnergy, was written at the bottom, and according to the policemen, that was where I worked; the second being the entire battery and energy thing. They called me a level two battery, which meant that there was a level one battery, which also meant there was some sort of a ranking system for it. When did I become a battery?
"We're here." I had almost missed when we stopped and they politely opened the door for me, suggesting that I walk to my apartment. 
Fortunately, my house hadn't changed. I quickly said goodbye to my escort and hurried to my studio apartment. Where are my keys? Having found them, I quickly opened and closed the door.
I found myself in an unfamiliar place. The wallpaper and the stove were the same, and the coat rack was on the left, next to the mirror, as always, but everything else… A huge, 100-inch screen was hanging in front of something that was either a futuristic-looking bed or a dentist's chair. Strange containers with a liquid similar to that from the poster stood on my table. What's that projection display with a clock right above my old gas oven…? Why is it showing July? I remember it being September! And the year? Next year? What's happening?
I could guess what I would discover, but I rushed to my laptop nonetheless and opened a couple of websites to check the date's accuracy. The numbers that were on the kitchen clock were displayed everywhere. I didn't know how it had happened, but I had managed to forget everything that happened the previous year. 
I spent the next hour sitting and reading, going through article archives on a couple of websites. I was filling in gaps in my knowledge about what had happened during the ten months that were missing from my memory. There were both short and long reports on how Earth was conquered in one day, how we were given new technologies and how those who were against it were punished. One after another, the old professions died out, and the majority of the population became batteries. This was one of the technologies that the Velly, the blue-faced aliens, had given us in hopes of uniting us with their civilization. As it turned out, a mysterious source in the center of the galaxy emitted strange types of cosmic energy and almost every living creature could collect it and release it. And its power was quite decent. 
A level one battery could produce as much energy as a nuclear reactor after just a week of training. Level two batteries, that is, those who spent a lot of time training and were able to, like me, increase the efficiency of their body, could produce ten times more. Levels three and four were admitted to work on spaceships. They powered the anti-ship cannons, and even the main caliber ones. Level five ones could power the main reactors of any civil vessel as well as the planetary shields. Levels six and up were military psychics who served the Velly army, suppressed rebellions, and urged planets to revolt. 
Judging by the booklets scattered around me about various ships and star systems, I still wanted to go into space. I wanted to increase my battery level and then fly away to explore the universe. For that reason, I had training containers full of yellow liquid that should aid me in discharging energy. Why not? There are new worlds, new races, and new experiences. And even though a big chunk of my memory is missing, this idea sounds great.

Attention, residents! Close your windows and move as far away as possible from them! There's a counter-intelligence operation underway in your area. For any questions about the compensation fee, you can contact the Velly Prefecture. Attention, residents…

Just as I had convinced myself that everything would be fine — well, if not now, then in the near future for sure — a mechanical voice pierced my ears, followed by the deafening sound of a distant explosion. Stay away from the windows? Hell no! Without losing any time, I got closer and observed the nearest building, over which black smoke had already begun to rise. What's going on there?
A plane, or something similar to it, flew over the building, and three figures in black space suits jumped out onto the roof. Are they a part of Special Forces or what? They had no parachutes, nor any other special weapons; they just jumped onto the roof, rising from a cloud of souring dust. However, there weren't three of them, but four. Or was the fourth guy the reason why they came there? Damn, they're too far, I can't see anything. I tried to use my phone. I turned on the camera and pointed it at my target. That's better… Huh, it has focus, zoom, and even slow-motion. A couple of years ago, even the military couldn't dream of such technology, and today I had such a thing on my pocket.
In the meantime, the Special Forces trio and the stranger attacked each other. Shots were fired, followed by several explosions; I couldn't make heads or tails of it. And then the whole building began to shake, threatening to collapse, but it remained standing, held in place by a huge energy field. Without holding back, I rewound the video and watched it in slow motion. The trio was shooting at the fourth guy, who was repelling the bullets with his bare hands. And he wasn't a blue-skinned — I wouldn't be surprised if they were really capable of doing that — but an ordinary man. A pale-blue ray came out of his hands and, having gone through the defense of one of the guys, exploded him from the inside. The other two immediately wrapped themselves up in energy shields, but the man had no intention of attacking them. Instead, he threw some kind of a ball behind his back, and then caught a glider that rushed past the roof and flew away. And then came the explosion. The ball must've been a bomb designed to divert attention. And it worked. One of the armed guys, a blue-skinned, was forced to stay back on the roof and hold the building until all the residents were evacuated.
Having made sure that everything was over, I moved away from the window and fell onto my chair-bed that was surprisingly comfortable, and probably the only positive thing that had happened to me so far. The future, in which I had unexpectedly found myself, turned out to be not the most peaceful place. And earlier, when I was reading about those high-level batteries, potential troubles seemed far, far away. Only now did I realize how close the danger really was. 
Max, I remind you that you have to leave in ten minutes if you don't want to be late for work.
The phone, on which the video kept playing on loop, flashed the notification that somebody, probably me, had previously entered. Work? Right, I'm a level two battery, I have to go and make a living. If only I knew how I'm supposed to do that...

I don't know where I am. I woke up in a room with black flooring and walls. I look around and there's nothing. It's all black, no exit, no entrance, no ventilation..There's no signs of life in the room. Everything is a pristine dark marble texture. I'm writing this hoping to get a reply from somebody, but I don't know where I'm gonna post it. 

If you're reading this, I am trapped somewhere. I don't know where, I don't know how I got here, all I know is that it's pitch black and the walls are slowly closing in. I've been here for multiple hours at this point and I'm afraid I'll never escape. All I have is my clothes and my phone. The room is completely sealed. No signs of anyone being able to enter or exit, and due to how clear the floors and walls are, nobody's ever been here before.

I aimlessly bash my hands on the wall, but to no avail. The walls don't react, but after a while, my hands are bloody. I try to wrap my shirt around my fist to cushion the blow to my hands, but nothing works. The room is too dark to see in. I can barely see my hands and feet. The phone's flashlight helps slightly, but not too much. I eventually give up and slide onto the glossy marble floors of my tomb.

If you're reading this, I've been here for what feels like days. There's no food, or water, or anything. There's no internet, either. The walls have closed in, and now I'm curled up in the middle of the room, tears staining my face. It's so dark. All I see is the light of my phone. My phone is at 3% battery, and it's getting more and more cramped.

If I ever escape, I'm never turning off the lights.

Multiple short stories based around one thing; fears.

The high-rank spirit tool, North Star Sword, shattered into fragments of light.
A five-hundred-thousand-spirit-stone tycoon attack was activated at this moment.
Whoosh Whoosh Whoosh!
A series of dazzling stars appeared in the air, creating a starry sky formation above the demonic baby as a white pillar of light fell from the sky, shaking the very heavens with its outrageous might.
The stars fell from the sky, and they went crashing down toward the demonic baby as it let loose cries of anguish.
Dong Guo stared blankly at the indescribably fearsome spell techniques An Lin was unleashing, and he felt as if he would never be able to close his gaping mouth again.
Especially when all those extremely valuable spirit tools shattered before his very eyes; he felt like his entire outlook on cultivating had been completely transformed.
What a monstrous sword-shattering technique!
One had to realize that among the spirit swords that had just been shattered, three of them were comparable to his sword, the Green Dawn Spirit Sword. But they were shattered just like that! What could he even say?
What a heartless tycoon!
But how many spirit swords did An Lin had left to shatter? What if he ran out of swords? Would he…
With this in mind, Dong Guo's body suddenly trembled as he gripped tightly onto his storage ring while wondering if he should hide it. After all, he had a few spirit tools within his storage ring too…
Just how powerful was a million-spirit-stone tycoon attack?
Nine immortal locks, falling stars, and devastating wind and lightning.
The demonic baby unleashed a power that was close to the power of the divine dao, but it was still temporarily immobilized by the sealing spell technique as falling stars crashed into its body, making its skin crack open and cave in.
"Baaah!"
The demonic baby suddenly let loose a strange cry.
Boom!
Extremely formidable might emanated from its body and An Lin's breathing faltered momentarily as a result.
The demonic baby's muscles suddenly expanded as green energy enshrouded its entire body. Its head of green hair also stood up like a head full of green porcupine spines, and it became a bodybuilder baby!
The demonic baby swept its black spear through the air in a semi-circle trajectory as a series of miniature skulls created a black ripple imbued with a devastating destructive force that proliferated outward before instantly destroying the nine black dragons.
An Lin's expression shifted drastically as he pulled out another high-rank spirit sword.
The North Star Formation was still in operation as the demonic baby stabbed its black spear directly into the sky above.
Boom!
Space collapsed as a black hole materialized while completely vanquishing the North Star Formation.
There were thirty seconds left!
An Lin held his sword before him in preparation for another sword burial.
However, right at this moment, a black spear had already crashed into the high-rank spirit sword.
Crack… bam!
The high-rank spirit sword did shatter, but it had been shattered by the black spear.
A black halo revolved around the tip of the black spear, signifying death and annihilation.
It flashed through the air in an unimaginable trajectory before stabbing straight toward An Lin.
This strike was imbued with the demonic baby's full power, and it seemed to be able to puncture even the great dao of heaven and earth.
Even though An Lin had his Divine Inspection Technique and Wings of Wind, he was still unable to evade the attack as his body of the War God was punctured again, leaving a ghastly hole in his chest.
The agony of being torn apart spread throughout An Lin's entire body as he threw up a mouthful of blood.
Gundam Three charged toward the demonic baby as a purple halo radiated outward, signifying the activation of its gravitational manipulation. At the same time, the particle sword extended to over a thousand feet in length before flashing through the air, leaving a dazzling blue trajectory in its wake.
The demonic baby's bones creaked under the force of the gravity field, but its movements were still astonishingly fast.
It pulled out the spear from An Lin's body, which was used to parry Gundam Three's attack, and at the same time, a white halo imbued with holy aura surfaced around its left fist. The projection of an archangel appeared behind the demonic baby, and it recited a holy mantra as the strength in its fists soared explosively once again!
Boom!
The demonic baby launched a punch toward Gundam Three, and heaven and earth completely dimmed as the holy light radiating from its fist became the only light in this world.
The space within a radius of several hundred meters twisted and cracked open as Gundam Three's alloy shell caved in and fractured while sending countless sparks flying through the air. Its body fell like a shooting star before crashing into a wall, where it left a massive indentation in the metallic material.
Buzz buzz buzz… Crackle crackle…
Gundam Three's body spasmed uncontrollably as sparks flew through the air. It was clearly completely out of commission.
There were twenty seconds left!
An Lin had already taken this opportunity to retreat over a hundred meters away before unleashing another sword burial!
High-rank spirit sword, Demon Slaying Spirit Sword!
The spirit sword, which had already been shattered by the demonic baby, instantly exploded into specks of golden light.
That's right, even though the sword had been broken, its spirit had still yet to fade. As long as its essence remained, it was still able to be used in a sword burial. This was like slicing one portion of petrol into two; this would essentially accomplish nothing as it could still burn like normal.
This was an even higher quality high-rank spirit sword that Lin Junjun had evaluated at five hundred and fifty thousand spirit stones!
The demonic baby had only just knocked Gundam Three flying when the entire space was colored gold.
The sound of Buddhist mantras erupted as countless golden Buddhist symbols engulfed the demonic baby, all of which were imbued with extremely powerful sealing force. The power of purification caused the demonic baby's body to falter as the black spear in its hand screeched and hissed.
The green flames on the demonic baby's body roared to keep all the golden symbols at bay.
It turned to An Lin, upon which it saw a massive golden fist crashing down upon him with seemingly enough force to flatten the heavens.
Boom!
The demonic baby's body was squashed into a pancake by the overwhelming power behind the fist as a large mouthful of white blood gushed from its mouth. Its body flew back several hundred meters like a cannonball, where it was embedded into a huge indentation on the wall.
Hmm, what a nostalgic scene.
An Lin had avenged Gundam Three.
There were still ten seconds left.
An Lin was panting heavily. Even though the Sword Burial technique wasn't a taxing technique, using it six times in rapid succession still placed quite a strain on his body. On top of that, he had two gaping holes on his body, and he needed to activate the Origin Energy of the Netherworld each time he used the Sword Burial technique. This was already taking him beyond his limits, and his body was severely exhausted. 
He rummaged through his storage ring again, only to find that there were no more high-rank spirit swords left… There were, however, a bunch of other spirit tools…
An Lin: "…"
Holy sh*t! Why did this have to happen at such a critical juncture?!
If he had known that this would happen, he would've gone and purchased a bunch of spirit swords from the Spirit Treasure Pavilion of the Heavenly Court!
He turned his eyes upon the intermediate-rank spirit swords to find that there were still a few of them left.
Screw it. Even if it resulted in less power output, he would have to get by with them!
However, before he even had a chance to pull out another spirit sword, an indescribably powerful force suddenly rammed into his body.
The demonic baby had launched a punch at An Lin from afar, and the force behind its fist pierced through the air before directly impacting his body. He felt as if all his internal organs had been split open as a large mouthful of blood mixed with fragments of internal organs gushed forth from his mouth.
An Lin had only just tumbled to the ground when a huge baby with white blood still flowing from its mouth appeared right before him with a sinister smile on its face.
An Lin had zero reaction time against hack abilities like spatial flickering.
The black spear was ready to plunge down, and An Lin's brain operated at an extreme speed during this crucial split second of life and death.
What could he use? What could he use to defend himself against the demonic baby?
The Vermilion Bird Mirror wouldn't do. It could only reflect energy attacks, and this was a purely physical attack.
The Chaotic Alloy Brick wouldn't do either. He would be squashed to death by it…
The black spear was already falling!
An Lin's eyes widened in a glare as invisible ripples instantly proliferated outward.
Make You Cry!
Bam!
The demonic baby's green eyes suddenly exploded. Fake eyes couldn't shed tears, so they could only explode.
Tears of blood began running down its cheeks.
The demonic baby wailed in anguish as it stabbed its black spear down blindly. An Lin took advantage of this opportunity to dodge to the side, barely evading this lethal strike in the process.
It was also at this moment that An Lin pulled out an inky-black box.
This was the powerful artifact he had received from Lin Junjun, the Thousand Possibility Box!
After charging it for so long, it was finally at fifty percent battery power!
"Thousand Possibility Box, kill this demonic baby!"
With the black hole facing the demonic baby, An Lin roared as he poured forth all his energy into the Thousand Possibility Box.
Boom!
The projection of a divine maiden appeared in the air with holy light enshrouding her entire body.
She was so flawless and so powerful.
The divine maiden extended a beautiful hand before viciously striking the demonic baby!
Slap!
An ear-splitting slap erupted!
An Lin stared at the scenes unfolding before him with shock on his face.
The demonic baby's body swayed upon being slapped out of the blue, and a searing pain shot through its cheek.
The divine maiden glowered at the demonic baby with a stern expression that was tinged with profound disappointment before slowly dissipating…
The battery power of the Thousand Possibility Box fell from fifty percent to forty-nine percent.
This slap of benevolence made everyone fall deathly silent.
An Lin and the demonic baby were both rooted to the spot as they stared blankly at one another.


On modern-day Earth, An Lin seems to have been abandoned by God. 
When his father suddenly disappears, An Lin is left with his father's immense debt, putting his life at risk. 
After being forced to a rooftop by his pursuing creditors, An Lin is unexpectedly swept off his feet and brought to the ground safely.
    
After learning that he was saved by an Immortal, An Lin is gifted, seemingly out of pure generosity, the 'God Of War System,' and a pass to a new realm.
Follow An Lin as he experiences a whole new world of legends, meets many new friends, acquires legendary weapons and tools, and starts on his path of becoming a powerful cultivator. There is never a dull time in An Lin's new life with his ‘great’ new system!

battery operated reading light

The Elect

X-23

The Empty Desert

Lightning Before Thunder

Age of Cosmic Exploration

Revolution System

The Last Time Loop: Max of the Rebellion

Max of the Rebellion

Library Of Horrors

I Might Be A Fake Cultivator

People search battery operated reading light also like: