A collection of short stories made by yours truly!

Welcome to Beach Read containing nine of Marie Force's single title contemporary romances, all of which have been reader favorites! Here you’ll find everything from steamy couples in Marfa, Texas, to an unlucky-in-love super model to a prominent doctor who falls in love with his best friend’s girlfriend to a woman putting her life back together after the death of her mother to a young couple separated by tragedy but brought back together by love. Each title offers a sizzling love story and a guaranteed happy ending. So get comfortable and be prepared to fall in love—nine times!

Beach Reads is created by Marie Force, an
eGlobal Creative Publishing Signed Author.

This is about a boy who gains power from everything he reads. He also has some other issues to deal with, like the chaos, but he is also part of the chaos. His abilities and powers will continue to grow and manifest, but which side will he stand on?

P.S. I am just in 8th grade so don't judge too much, but leave some suggestions or reviews so I can continue to grow as a writer and make the story better.

The next day came as every student went out for the fieldtrip
Natsu was with Hisui and a couple of policemen as they went around the area
"my! This is so adorable!" Hisui said as they were near a store that was selling dolls and she had in her hands an adorable white mouse doll "and this one too!"
Hisui started looking around the variety of animal dolls while Natsu just stands by, watching her with the policemen
"this is getting tiring for me" Natsu thought before he takes out his lacrima phone as he got a notification of a message. Reading it, before typing back a message, he pocketed his phone and Natsu created a copy of himself while Hisui was looking at the dolls
"stay with her" Natsu told his copy who nodded as the original went away
 
Meanwhile at another part of the town
Éclair was looking at her lacrima phone with a smile before she pocketed it
She and the others were by a clothing store, everyone else were checking them out while she was just standing by near the entrance
"Éclair, what do you think of these two?" Lucy asked while holding two short dresses as one was red and the other yellow
"um" Éclair think and was about to answer when Natsu came in
"the yellow one suits yourself better but the red one suits Éclair better" Natsu said as Éclair turns and got a kiss on the forehead by him "yo"
"that was fast" Éclair said as she hugs Natsu who hugs her back before separating
"I texted you, didn't i?" Natsu said holding his lacrima phone as the message he received was from Éclair who asked him if he could come to the clothe store that they were in right now and he replied that he would be there quick "I always keep my word"
Éclair smiled before hugging Natsu again, the man caressing her back and gives her a kiss on the head
Everyone soon realized Natsu was with them as they started hogging him while going around town
 
At the moment now, everyone stopped by a store that was selling dessert, and drinks
They sat by a long bench as they ate their dessert
"aaah" Éclair said while holding a slice of cake and was feeding a piece to Natsu who opened his mouth and ate it "is it good?"
"yeah, sweet and sour at the same time" Natsu said before Éclair wiped a small amount of cream around his lips and licks it
"you got something there" Éclair said giggling as Natsu smiled in return
Mira and the others had an ominous aura around them as Éclair was the most strongest love adversary that they have ever seen.
"what a strong opponent she is!" "I wanted to feed Master!" "such cunningness and such innocent!" they thought before seeing Ikaruga sitting beside Natsu
"would you like to taste their Lunar Cake?" Ikaruga said while holding a small cake that was in the shape of a crescent moon "they are quite delicious"
"Really?" Natsu asked before taking a bite and chewed it "sweet, yet minty"
"even Ikaruga!?" "I knew that she was cunning but she is very cunning!" "I wanted to do it too!"
"try their Lunar Cola" Ultear said going near Natsu and holds a bottle with a straw in it "it's refreshing like sake"
"ULTEAR?!" sparks of rivalry started to fly around them as Éclair, Ikaruga, and Ultear are fearful opponents for them
"thanks" Natsu said taking a few sips before hearing his lacrima phone ringing
He picks it up as the caller was Dan
"what is it?" Natsu asked as he hears Dan talking at the other end "I know…I know….nighttime?...oh yeah…..i got it….how much time?...5 hours, huh?...alright"
Ending the call, a copy of Natsu appeared and walked away
"what's wrong?" Cana asked seeing the copy walking away
"Dan and the others need some help, so I'm just sending a copy of mine away to help" Natsu replied as Éclair feeds him another piece of cake "there's about 5 hours left before the concert starts..so I better spend it wisely"
"then, can we still go to the Lunaria Shrine? I heard that in Luminia town that if a couple goes there and takes a fortune together, their fates are sealed together" Éclair asked as the girls gawked a bit
"taking a fortune..that doesn't sound so bad" Natsu said rubbing his chin a bit before smiling "let's go then"
"me too!" "I want to go too!" "let's go too!" Erza and the others exclaimed as Natsu looks at them and sigh
"how long are you three going to keep this up?" Natsu asked sighing again while taking a glance at them "this is getting old way too quick"
"eh?" Mira, Erza, and Kamika said in unison
"if you want some time with me, you can just ask. If you want to go somewhere with me just ask" Natsu said "even Kagura knew what to do"
The three girls looks at Kagura who was spoonfeeding pudding to a Natsu copy
"start being more mature" Natsu said as he stands up and three copies of him appeared and took Ultear, Ikaruga, and Cana's hands "be more conceive in thinking, that's what a mage is"
More copies of him appeared near the three girls as they hold their hands out to them
Soon everyone went their own direction to where they wanted to go, some went to the shrine, some went to the shopping street, and some went sightseeing
 
Meanwhile
Hisui was in a clothing store with a copy of Natsu who just accompanied her while the policemen were outside
"all of these clothes are adorable!" Hisui said as she looks at each one with amazement
"I see" Natsu replied before he got sight of something flashing near the wall
His eyes glowed red as he saw someone having a sniper gun and was pointing it at the window where it had sight on Hisui
"assasins?" Natsu thought as he snapped a finger and a copy of him appeared behind the assassin before taking him down "I guess it's to be expected when the princess of the country is here"
"Natsu-sama! Which one do you think fits better?" Hisui asked while holding two red dresses as one is nearly magenta and the other scarlet
"the right one" Natsu replied as Hisui smiled and went to the changing room
Natsu keeps an eye as he saw more assassins coming nearby
"this is going to be a taxing day" Natsu thought as his eyes glowed black
 
At the Lunaria Shrine
Natsu and Éclair were in front of the shrine as they did a prayer together before clapping their hands once and move aside to let other people pray to the shrine
"what did you wish for, Natsu?" Éclair asked while hugging Natsu's arm
"if I told you then it won't come true, now would it?" Natsu replied with a smile
"just a whisper" Éclair said pouting a bit as Natsu chuckled
"well then" Natsu said as he leans close to her ear and whispered "I wished that I would have a happy family with the girls I love, especially my number one girl, Éclair"
Éclair blushed a bit as she started imagining having kids with Natsu
Natsu chuckled more to see her reaction
They then went to the fortune slots where people randomly picked folded fortune paper and there were Mira, Erza, Kagura, and Kamika with their copy of Natsus
"alright! good luck in this year to come!" Mira said grinning as she got a good luck fortune
"medium luck, but you shall find many thoughts to be lost things in places you did not check" Kamika said as she reads her fortune paper "lost things…"
"bad luck, you shall be receiving mind breaking results of the next month, be cautious in eating" Erza said with a pale face as the fortune paper was telling her that she'll get fat next month
"looks like you guys didn't get any great luck, now did you?" Mira said grinning as her fortune paper was the best as the moment, Mira turns to Kagura who was blushing while reading her fortune paper "what did you get, Kagura?"
"g-great luck..you shall r-receive endless amount of love..from your l-lover who shall g-give you great offsprings" Kagura read out as Mira gawked
"give me this!" Mira exclaimed grabbing the fortune paper and reads it with Erza and Kamika who gawked in reading it "you're kidding me, right!?"
"great offsprings?!" "endless amount of love from lover!?" Erza and Kamika exclaimed as Kagura got the best luck of them all
Before long the three got knocks on their head by three copies of Natsu
"be quiet, we're at a shrine" they said
Natsu and Éclair went to take their fortune as they randomly choose one
"let's see" Éclair said as she opens her fortune and reads it "lovely luck, you shall receive love and great fortune to the day of the next spring, be cautious in taking big actions"
"nice fortune" Natsu said as he opens his and reads it, at the moment he reads it, Natsu's eyes squinted a bit
"what is it?" Éclair asked as Natsu showed her his fortune paper
"worst luck, in this year, you shall face hardships from many areas, may it be love, life, and death itself" Éclair read out before looking at Natsu who just sighs
"let's not think about it too much, it's just fortune paper" Kagura said, hearing the fortune
"yeah," Natsu said as he looks at his fortune paper "just a fortune paper"
 
Somewhere in the shadows
Zancrow and Rustyrose were walking around before they meet up with 3 figures covered in shadows
"so? most of the gangs are here, huh?" Zancrow asked with a grin
"the Devil's heart is beating once again" someone spoke out "and it craves blood"

a young teenager in a famous all Girl school that had just gone coed. surrounded by thousands of beautiful girls while trying to live peacefully, with a dark past and entity living in himself. find out...what he truly is

Ethan Shawn's POV
"Have you published the next part of your story yet?"
I was picking up my bag which was on the floor when Claire asked me about my story. School was over for the day and I was just getting ready to go home when my friend Claire came over and asked me if I published my story yet.
"Oh, Claire, I didn't notice you. Yes, I just published it last week." I smiled at her as I picked up the small pieces of paper which fell from my bag. I throw pieces of paper at the top of my bag when I'm bored, what else am I supposed to do to pass the time? I can't talk to Claire because she's in a different section than me.
"How many reads did it get?" Claire said as she sat on one of the tables and started chewing a gum. Are you even a girl? I mean the way you sit is not lady like, I get that you are one of the tough girls at school but be a bit lady like. Know what? I'm not going to focus on the way she acts, I'm just going to let her be. That's her life anyway, I won't ruin her fun.
"It got to about 5 reads." I replied as I picked up the last piece of paper.
"Only 5?"
"Yeah. By the way, how was it?"
"How was what?"
"My story, how was the new update? Did I do good?"
"Oh, I didn't know that you already updated it."
I was about to put on my bag but I stopped and I looked at Claire. "You didn't know?"
"Well how was I supposed to know if you don't inform your readers that you have already published the next part of your story? Why don't you announce your story anyway?"
"What do you mean?" I asked as I began walking outside the door and Claire followed me. Me and Claire walk home together, even though she is part of a group in school, she still likes walking home with me, she says that the atmosphere with me hits different than that of the atmosphere with her group.
"I mean what I mean dummy. Your stories are great, but they don't have any audience so really they're just going to waste."
"Your point is?"
"What I mean is, you should tell people about your story, you should endorse it. Your story needs to have great audiences."
"I don't think endorse is the right word you are looking for."
"Whatever word it is that I am looking for, I'm pretty sure that it's endorse, so shut up and endorse your stories." Claire said as she spit out the gum she was chewing and started chewing another one. How is her jaw still working?
"Well, that's the thing, I want people to see and read my stories its just, I don't know how."
"Are you even listening to me? I just literally said what you need to do, you need to endorse them!"
"Again, endorse is not the correct term!"
"Endorse them!" Claire kept on forcing that the term endorse is the term she is looking for, it's not! And if you ask me what is the correct term, I don't know it.
"I can't, okay? I'm shy."
"What?" Claire looked at me with this expression, the most annoyed expression in the world is plastered on Claire's face right now.
"I'm shy, I feel like I'm bothering someone whenever I'm promoting my stories. I feel like I'm disturbing people whenever I ask them to read and support my stories. I'm scared." It's true, I don't have the courage to tell people to support and read my story because I'm scared, when I'm about to send a link to my story to someone, I can't seem to send it. Thoughts of me annoying people and asking too much attention comes to my mind, stopping me from sending the link to my stories.
"You're scared?" Claire asked as she kept looking at me.
"Yeah, I'm scared that people will think of me like an attention seeker, I'm scared that people will say that I lack attention that I need to force people to read my stories."
"Well how will your stories be known if you don't even tell them to people?"
"I don't know. I'll just sit around and do nothing, I guess? Hoping that someone famous will read it and give my story a shoutout or something."
Claire just looked at me, again, with the most annoyed look on her face. I can tell that one more word which she doesn't like comes out from my mouth, she'll kill me.
"You do know that there is no way that that will happen to someone, right? And if it will and/or does happen, there's just a small chance that your story is the one story that that famous person is reading. Little to no chance that that will happen." Listening to what Claire said made my heart get broke. I know that that won't happen, but still, I hoped for it to happen one day.
"Well, a guy can dream right?"
"You're right, but if it happens, chances are you are already done with writing."
"Done with writing?"
"Yeah, like when you get old and you have a job. Chances are you already stopped writing and already started working."
I took a moment and gave a thought to what Claire said. Why am I writing again? What's the purpose of writing my stories if no one ever reads them?
I stopped and looked at Claire.
"What's wrong?" Claire asked as she looked back at me.
"What do I need to do to get more readers?"
Claire smiled as she gave me a pat on the back. "That's the spirit! Now, what you need to do is go to every social media platform you know, and start sharing and posting your stories! Readers will come in overnight!"
I took Claire's advice and did what she did. I was hesitant at first, I was scared that people will see me as an attention seeker. It took me 15 minutes to get the courage, but when I got the courage, I posted on every social media I know of.
A few days passed and I checked how many readers I got. I felt my heart being shattered at the sight. The number of my readers stayed the same, well, not the same, I mean I received a few more reads, from 5 reads it went to 9 reads. I'm happy that new people read my story, and I'm thankful for that, but there's something in my heart, like I expected for big numbers, but I didn't get what I expected.
I took deep breathes while I lay down on my bed, thinking if I should keep writing or not. I mean, what's the point in making stories if no one even reads them?
I kept taking deep breathes, trying my best to look on the bright side.
"Why did I start writing? What was the reason why I started writing in the first place?" I asked myself as I stared at the ceiling of my room.
I closed my eyes trying to think why I wrote stories. Minutes passed by and I was still trying to remember the reason why I started writing, then it finally hit me.
I started writing not because I wanted to be famous, I wrote stories not because I wanted to have many readers or something. But I started writing so that I could share my feelings with other people, I started writing because it gave me joy, it made me happy whenever I write stories. I didn't write because I wanted to be famous, but I started writing because I wanted to be happy.
That was the reason why I started writing stories. I stood up from my bed and went toward my desk and started writing stories, not thinking about who will read it. I wrote stories not thinking if someone will see or read it, I didn't think about who or how many people will read my story, I just wrote my story knowing that I'm happy, with or without readers.
-The End-

This book is a compilation of different stories ranging from 2 to 5 parts. When one story has ended, another story will begin.

Zeke sits down and looks at the mess his Loonies made.

— Okay, i assume you both had something to do with this. But for now i want to just see what i got from the chests and packs they gave me on the city.

Zeke taps first on the Botany Upgrade Starter Chest and the three Epic Ability Chests. Fortunately, he checks that his energy doesn't deplete when doing so.

— So... I guess i should first reveal them. Right, took?

— I dunno. — Took says. 

So Zeke reveals one of the ability chests first, and when he does, it begins to jump in its place and cracking open. From it, trails of light emerge and five new items appear in the air. First, from a trail of green light, a card that reads:

ECO FRIENDLY 
JUICER ABILITY
25% Chance to produce double juice from a recycled card.

Another green trail shows another card that reads like this:

GRASSY ALLEGIANCE
TAMER ABILITY
5% chance to tame Grass element loonies if your level is greater than theirs. +1% chance based on the level difference on your favor.

Zeke quickly deduces from this card that his level may be 1. So it's useless for now, but may come handy later.

Now a trail of green suddenly becomes a blue light wich suddenly reveals another card:

GILDED SHOVEL
LANDLORD ABILITY
Active Ability
Cost: 25 NRG
Cooldown: 72 Hours.
50% NRG discount on shovel usage during the cooldown.

Zeke can see great potential in this card, tough he knows he should be careful, specially because he doesn't know whether getting too much terrain too fast may be troublesome or not.

Now a blue trail reveals yet another card.

QUICK DRAWER
FIGHTER ABILITY
When engaged in combat, you can draw 7 cards at no NRG cost.

And finally a purple trail reveals an item.
Landlord Ability Pack x 3
So, Zeke deduces that the difference between chests and packs is basically that chests can contain packs, so they may be even more valuable. That explains why people were given five packs but only one chest.

Zeke grabs the cards and saves them. Then he grabs the packs.

— Okay, that was awesome. — Anewbie comments.

— Yeah, I felt the same, and there's still more. — Zeke says, opening a pack. He expected to see yet another flashy spectacle, but they were preety normal card packs. Each contained three cards, so he got a total of nine Landlord Abilities, conveniently marked with coloured jewels to indicate their rarity and therefore their power.

He sorted them by that, surprised to see two purple jewels and an orange one. Again quick to assume that those were the rarest, he left them for the last and started with the green ones.

URBAN MASTERY
Grants a +10% boost to your stongest stat while you are near a structure you own (Stacks up to +50%)
ROAD RUNNER
Boosts your speed by +25% while you move in a road.
SAFE CONDUIT
Reduces 75% of any fall damage taken.
WORKING BARRIER
Prevents wild loonies from getting nearby you when you are nearby machines you own.

Nothing special it seems. Boosts for stats he doesn't really have that much of, and some security tools. After he reads them, he goes through the blue ones, there's only two of them.

THUNDER CATCHER
During thunderstorms, grants immunity to lightning. You will attract all nearby lightnings to you and get +20 NRG for each. (Can bypass your max NRG)
HASTY HEART
+ 2 to your base NRG Regeneration, Halves your NRG Regeneration period.

A few tools to manipulate energy consumption and recovery. As he remembers getting depleted of it, he realizes that this may be something usual between Landlord abilities. Then he reads the purple ones.

GREEN THUMB
Active Ability
Cost: 175 NRG
Choose one: Instantly grows and harvests all crops in a wide area. Or: Instantly spawns up to 50 loonies spread through a wide area.
LEADER CHARISMA
Loonies willing to join you will be instantly saved if they are wild and spawned in your territory.

This seems interesting, Leader Charisma could be great in the future, maybe even providing a reliable source of new loonies at no cost, if combines with some other cards. As long as said card exists.

Finally he reads the last, golden one.
DUNGEON DOMAIN
Active Ability
Cost: 500 NRG
Cooldown: 420 Hours
You can modify all dungeons in your terrain for free during the cooldown period of this Ability.

Dungeons? Well, it seems powerful. At 500 NRG it seems like it, specially because it's five times Zeke's maximum.
He then opens the other Ability chests. No packs this time, but he gets some interesting cards.  Seven green ones, two blues and a purple.
This time he read the purple first

COVALENT CONVERSION
JUICER AND ALCHEMIST ABILITY
Active Ability
Cost: 1 NRG per 5 uses.
Transforms a card into another card from the same rarity, category and expansion. At random.

Useful. Maybe he could convert the scrap he got to something else, or even abilities he doesn't use. Also it seems like some of this abilities are shared by two classes, curious. Zeke then checks the blue cards. 

FLUTTERY FLUTE
MUSICIAN ABILITY
5% chance for Wild Sound element loonies to will to join you if they like your music.

INVERT DISCOUNT
SHOPKEEPER ABILITY
ACTIVE ABILITY
Cost: 50 NRG
Cooldown: 24 HS.
Transforms 15% of the discounts you gave into earnings.

— Interesting! — Zeke says.
— What? — Took responds.
— This ability breaks some basic principles of logic, economics and thermodynamics.
— Do you know that most things you have seen in the last day do that, too. Right?
Zeke didn't want to admit it, but the bird had a point. Zeke had been accepting way weirder stuff without questioning, he had even been thinking about the juicing machine as if it were a normal thing.
Thinking about that, he forgets to read the rest of the cards and saves them.

Zeke awakes suddenly, just to see that the world he knew is nowhere to be seen. But then he discovers that he had became the landlord of a critter filled sky island, in a world where everything works with playing cards. Maybe being summoned here was the best thing that could have happened to him.

The system read, "Egg Fried Rice, priced at 188 RMB."
"Are you freaking serious?"
Yuan Zhou felt that even if he was a money monger, he would still strive to earn it in a proper and just way, but it seems that the system was far superior to him in that sense. It made sense if five-star hotels charged 188 RMB for an Egg Fried Rice due to their superior environment and excellent service which they provided. Just what kind of services could his small restaurant provide?
The system reads, "The host can try his own cooking first."
The system rarely gave suggestions, furthermore, Yuan Zhou was anxious to try the Egg Fried Rice dish rewarded by the system.
He found the rice cooker next to the hand sink and made the necessary preparations to start. The cooker was really strange. 
For ordinary cookers, there would be nothing else but the Cook and Heat Preservation selections. Better ones may have Stewed Soup and Steamed Dishes selections. But the cooker rewarded by the system even had Rice Used for Egg Fried Rice and Temperature options.
Yuan Zhou took out rice from the cabinet and washed them. Then he chose the option, Rice Used for Egg Fried Rice. He felt that the rice was different from what he usually used. Therefore, he couldn’t help but picked handful to have a closer look.
The rice glowed with a bright luster and each grain was approximately the same size. Tempted by the clean rice fragrance, one couldn’t help but give in to the urge to sample those grains.
"It seems the system really does provide the best materials."
"Ding"
In less than half a minute, the rice was done.
 "So quickly? What kind of science fiction technology is this?" Yuan Zhou was shocked. He went to open the cooker, surprisingly, there wasn’t any heat emitting from it, only the fragrance of cooked rice tickled his nose.
"It’s actually cooled." Yuan Zhou had never seen freshly cooked rice that was cooled before. This technology was really astonishing.
Yuan Zhou wasn’t an idiot. He realized at once, "This technology provided helps me prepare the dishes, such as Egg Fried Rice, as soon as possible."
Taking a deep breath, Yuan Zhou took out two eggs and started to beat them in the snow- white bowl. The egg yolk was a golden yellow, giving a stark contrast compared to the clear and bright egg white. There was also a slight aroma instead of the usual offensive smell.
Both the eggs and the rice were top graded materials. Neither of them could be said to be ordinary.
"Ping Ping Pang Pang"
At the instant, Yuan Zhou’s actions were natural and smooth, just like floating clouds and flowing water. It was as if he had been possessed by a Cooking God. There were no wasted movements at all and the actions were all textbook worthy. His mature face revealed the typical charm of an earnest man, hard at work.
How long does it take to cook Egg Fried Rice?
In less than 3 minutes, under Yuan Zhou’s whole-hearted endeavor, a plate of piping hot Egg Fried Rice had been made. Not a single grain was wasted and the rice was a bright gold, carefully piled up on the white plate. 
What do you call a fantastic, superb, delicious dish?
THIS is what you call a fantastic, superb, delicious dish!
The size of this Egg Fried Rice was 8 times smaller than the ordinary one’s served outside. However, they were definitely not on the same level judging by its luster and fragrance.
The scent of the egg blended perfectly with the rice fragrance which had gotten stronger after frying. Furthermore, the egg was wrapped beautifully around each grain of rice, each one a luxurious gold. They were loosely piled up just like the golden wheat harvested in the autumn. 
This was the highest level of Egg Fried Rice, the Golden Fried Rice. It didn’t look any different from the Golden Fried Rice in the movie of Cooking Master Boy, except that his Golden Fried Rice couldn't glitter. Never had he expected that one day, he would be able to produce the exaggerated delicacy from that movie.
It was not only the smell that aroused one’s appetite, but also the appearance that made people want to dig in immediately. Yuan Zhou’s spoon was like a whirlwind as he immersed himself in eating. With only one bite, he couldn’t believe that such a taste came from his own cooking. He never imagined that a simple Egg Fried Rice could be so delicious. Not until then did Yuan Zhou understood the phrase "Food Fit for Kings".
Once, when he was working in the kitchen of a Three-Star Hotel, the head chef had developed a new dish. Afterwards he invited the workers to taste and give suggestions. It was a Chrysanthemum Sea Cucumber, combining the fragrance of the flower and the good taste of the sea cucumber. Yuan Zhou could only concentrate on eating and had almost forgotten to give his suggestions. At that time, he felt that that was the perfect combination between color, fragrance and taste.
But compared to his Egg Fried Rice, the Chrysanthemum Sea Cucumber was… No, the two dishes were incomparable. This Egg Fried Rice was the perfect when it came to blending the color, fragrance and taste of both ingredients.
 "Burp."
Yuan Zhou patted on his belly contentedly. The feeling of being cheated and restricted by the system had vanished completely. The Egg Fried Rice well deserved the so-called God Tier title. 
While Yuan Zhou was still reminiscing about the aftertaste of his Egg Fried Rice, the system revealed some words again.
The system reads, "Thank you for tasting. You are charged 188 RMB."
"I know. It’s the price. Now, I understand that the food is indeed deserving of that price." Yuan Zhou smacked his lips pleasantly as he agreed.
The system reads, "The host just consumed one Egg Fried Rice. 188 RMB is to be paid."
"Do you mean I also have to pay for the felt myself?" Yuan Zhou said in disbelief.
The system reads, "Thank you for tasting. You are charged 188 RMB."
"HeHe"
THAT SUCKS. Yuan Zhou’s current mood was portrayed entirely by those two words.
The system reads, "As the host is now at level 0, the payment will be split 9/1 with the host where 90% goes to the system. Of course, the host can only get 10 percent."
"So I have to give you 90% of the money I earn, right?" Yuan Zhou tried his best to control his irritated mood and asked for confirmation.
The system reads, "All materials provided by the system are of utmost superior quality."
"Of utmost superior quality? What rice is it? Isn’t it just rice?"
Yuan Zhou asked with distrust. Although the rice indeed seemed great, where did the utmost superior quality come from?
The system reads, "The rice is of Xiangshui origin. In the ancient dynasties of Ming and Qing, Xiangshui Rice was regarded as the emperor’s foodstuff. Xiangshui Rice along with the Crucian Carp from Jingbo Lake and the sable from the mountains were paid as a yearly tribute to the emperor. Xiangshui rice is currently used in state banquets at the Great Hall of the People.
Having read the two sentences, Yuan Zhou had nothing more to say. This was surprisingly, Xiangshui rice. Yuan Zhou had heard of this type of rice before. 
It is said that Xiangshui rice had only yield of 0.16 acres every year due to the limits from climate and temperature in its production area. It is planted and weeded by hand completely. Besides, the fertilizers used on the rice were all natural. It was already very rare to get your hands on some. Your average person would never see it in their lifetime, not to mention eat it. 
 "Then what about the eggs?" The rice was Xiangshui rice. So what could be special about those eggs?
The system reads, "The laying hens are fed even better than Wagyu cattle. For 40 days, starting from the selection date until the incubation day, each egg is maintained at a fixed temperature, the same temperature as a hen’s body heat, and exposed to the live performance of world class musicians for two hours every day. After the incubation, the strongest hens will be selected; the water provided comes from a spring where no human has ever reached; the worms in its diet were specially-nurtured mealworm; a special grassland is kept for feeding the hens; a special sports ground developed for the hens to maintain their health. These hens are bred specially for laying eggs. Therefore, every egg contains the quintessence unfound in any other egg.
In the ancient time, people played the lute to a cow, now people played the piano to hens. Yuan Zhou felt his previous 24 years of living had been completely wasted. His poor life was even worse than a chicken, no, even worse than a laying hen. 
"This edible oil is pure natural olive oil without any bit of additives."
"The salt is the well salt of Sichuan Province, which was formerly used for paying tribute to the emperor. The well salt lacks the foul acerbic taste. Furthermore, it is rich in mineral substances."
"Does the host have more questions?"

In a remote oriental country, there is a small and odd restaurant that has refused the three-star rating by the Michelin Guide several times. 
“The price is fairly expensive over there, 288RMB for a set meal of Egg Fried Rice and a bowl of soup. Ah, and an extra small plate of pickled vegetables as well. Even so, there are still a long line of people queuing up and waiting for a taste. Reservations are not accepted there, only waiting and queuing personally is allowed. 
“Numerous people fly there on their private planes just to queue up. Furthermore, parking bays and parking spots are not provided there. The service is terrible here. Customers have to clear the tableware themselves and wipe the table as well. For god’s sake, the boss is literally crazy.” 
---Michelin Guide
-----
Release Rate: 5 Chapters/Week; will be released on Mon, Wed, Fri and Weekend;


"Bring bring"... "Bring bring"

I awaken to hear the loud and unforgiving ring of my alarm. 

Checking my phone I notice that I left myself a message reading, "Malek, tournament today. GL!".

"Finally" I mutter to myself. "I can finally get outta this dump and become a warrior".

I have been waiting for this moment my whole life. You see when someone decides to join the light empire they don't get the glory of being a great and noble servant to the law right away. 

They become a lowly grunt.

The only way to rank-up from a grunt is to collect 50 stars and fight someone of the next higher rank. Well. I only have 5.

I have been waiting to earn my glory and fight against the Dark alliance for far too long. But alas its finally time.

I get up and get ready to begin my journey to the hub system in my galaxy Ethron.

While on the taxi ship heading there I reread the tournament invitation email. It reads, "Welcome! Grunts and Warriors living in the Kaaba galaxy are invited to join a tournament in hub world Etheria in system Ethron." I scroll down from the info to look at the rewards. Out of the 1000 people who register top 125 get 50 stars. This means you need to win all 3 fights that you do. 

I turn off my wrist-phone and prepare my mind for the tribulation that will soon occur.

The taxi ship drops me right off at the building entrance. The great tournament building! 

I reach into my pocket and find my relic that reads [Berries] I hold it and say "Obtain" which causes it to fade away and replace it with actual berries. I eat them and feel ready to fight.

As I enter the building I am surrounded by people similar to me. On our badges, they read different numbers signifying our star-count. 

As I walk to the waiting spot I notice a warrior rank with a whopping 248 stars. Fear strikes as I realize that I might have to fight him.

I clench my fist and wait for instructions.

In a universe where conflict between two warring factions is all there is. What happens when someone refuses to fight for either.

Henry- The next day at school I told a really really short story about a girl on her first date.
STORY-
"In my junior year of high school, this guy asked me on a date. He rented a Redbox movie and made a pizza. We were watching the movie and the oven beeped so the pizza was done. He looked me dead in the eye and said, "This is the worst part." I then watched this boy open the oven and pull the pizza out with his bare hands, rack and all, screaming at the top of his lungs. We never had a second date."
Henry- But apparently that was to short and was not funny at all so I had to tell my next story I had planned out for the next day.
STORY 2-
"Rosie Hall buys a self-assembly, flat-pack, cupboard from her local Homebase store.  Reaching home Rosie reads the instructions carefully, counts the pieces then assembles the cupboard in the bedroom. It looks really great and she is delighted. Now, Rosie lives near a railway line and as the train passes by the cupboard collapses.  Undaunted by this misfortune she re-reads the instructions and reassembles the cupboard.  Once more, another train passes and the whole cupboard collapses again. Rosie now frustrated and thinking that she must have done something "wrong" re-re-reads the instructions and re-re-assembles the cupboard.  Shortly, a train passes and the whole cupboard collapses yet again for the 3rd time. Rosie is now fed up, cross and rather angry so she 'phones the customer service department.  She is told that this is quite impossible and that they'll send along a fitter to take a look.The fitter arrives and assembles the cupboard.  Again, a train passes and the cupboard collapses.  Completely baffled by this unexpected event, the fitter decides to reassemble the cupboard and sit inside it to see whether he can find out what causes the cupboard to collapse.  At this point, Rosie's husband comes home, sees the cupboard and says, 'Oh, that's a splendid looking cupboard,' and he opens it to look inside. The fitter, who had been wondering how to explain his position in Rosie's bedroom cupboard, blurts out, 'You probably won't believe me, but I'm standing here waiting for a train."
Henry- "And that's it for today" The class clapped as I walked to my seat and sat down.

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