1 Chapter 1
"My head!" Chen growled as he put his hand on his forehead.
His glass dropped, spilling his drink all over the table.
"You are going to clean that!" The bartender yelled from the other side.
Other people didn't seem to care about Chen, who seemed to suffer. Chen neither cared about them. Only criminals gathered in this bar.
The pain took over each cell in his body. Memories and flashes invaded his mind. They were about another life.
This world, where the Avatar saved the world and stopped the Hundred Years War, was just a TV show and comics in his previous life. Given that he lived in Republic City, Chen realised that he is in a similar world to the show that was called: Legend of Korra.
He would usually think that he was hallucinating. But the pain was so real, so the memories.
-x-X-x-
Flashback:
Joseph stared blankly at the endless dark space in front of him.
He didn't know how he'd gotten here.
Before coming into this space, he had been a part of a mafia conflict.
He had been there to act as a bodyguard. He'd been hired just to stand next to the boss. He'd never thought that some crazy man would show up from nowhere with a gun to shoot his boss.
As Joseph had been about to get away from his boss, the shooter missed. The bullet got Joseph, and he'd fallen. He hadn't believed what happened to him and how unlucky he'd been.
All he'd wanted was to get away from the shooter's way. Although he'd been a bodyguard, he was only loyal to himself. Alas, it seems that no one can change their fate.
After his pain was over, everything turned dark. Now, Joseph was in this empty space. He had nothing. The only thing he had was his awareness.
Soon, a screen appeared in his vision. The space was no longer dark, and shinny words flashed on the screen.
[Game is over]
[Do you want to play again (y/n)]
Joseph stared at the screen in disbelief.
A normal person would be freaked out. Maybe have a panic attack.
Joseph, however, didn't have a body in the first place. His heart didn't beat faster. His brain didn't unleash the chemicals that make him afraid.
Have you ever wondered, why you never think about logic when you are dreaming? For example, you would never wonder why aliens are invading earth. You would just act in that dream. Maybe some times end up fighting the aliens, or maybe get kidnapped. In rare cases, you may find a hot green female in your way.
You'd never think about the series of events that lead you to this illogical point. You'd just live the moment.
In Joseph's case, the same happened. He found it very easy to accept that he died, and this screen is asking him to play again.
Joseph thought of what he should choose.
He had been tired of life already. He's an orphan. He had done whatever he needed to survive. He fought, stole, and dirty jobs just to survive. He had no one to love.
Not wanting to live again looked like a good option.
However, things may be good in the new life. He was curious.
(Yes) he chose.
The screen changed.
[Chose a game type]
Two options appeared in front of him: Survival and Player.
Survival type meant that he won't have access to the screen. It gives the game a more realistic view of the 'game'. There were no levels up. Just like real life.
And there was Player Mode. Classical skills and level-ups.
[Do you want to keep your memories (y/n)]
Although he wanted to forget his life, it had valuable lessons. He chose yes.
[Choose a world]
Many options appeared in front of him. There were Anime worlds, movie worlds, serials worlds… etc.
Although it sounded illogical, he couldn't even question it.
'I haven't watched much anime, but I won't choose Naruto or Attack on Titans. Let's see, I've always liked Avatar world. There is always that avatar to take responsibility for. Let's pick this.
[Legend of Korra has been chosen]
[Character background will be chosen randomly]
The screen said. A loading bar then appeared. Joseph shrugged, and he said.
"Just let me keep my dick."
[Request accepted]
-x-X-x-
The pain faded, and Chen held the glass before it fell from the table. He felt a bit dizzy.
'Fuck.' He sighed as he stared at the roof. 'It feels like I've been possessed by some spirit. In this case, I'm the spirit, and I'm the possessor'
'So, there should be a screen thing, a system or whatever.
Suddenly, a screen appeared in front of him. A surge of information came to his brain. He got a system, and he subconsciously knew how to use it.
[Ding, the system has been set up]
[Playing in story mode]
[Ding, do whatever you want and gain experience]
Staring blankly at the empty air, he was the only one to see this.
With a mental command, he could navigate through the screen.
Few options appeared. There's storage. And there were stats.
[Stats:
Name: Chen
Age: 20
Level: 1 (0/100)
Chi: 500 points
Skills:
- Chi Control level 1 (0/100)
- Flame Generation level 1 (0/100)
(Burns Chi to generate a flame to use. Current colour: yellow)
Specialities:
- Firebending level 3 (0/300) - amateur (associated skills included)
Accumulated experience: 0
]
That sounded interesting. Only if he knew how things work, it would have been better. But it seems he is still a noob in this game.
Chen leaned his back on the chair. He thought of how this new life was.
There is no difference between his previous life and the current one.
Both of the characters were orphans. They did whatever they had to do to survive.
Joseph had debts and worked for the mafia. On the other hand, Chen had done a few works for the triads in the city. He had gotten few debts, and he ended up doing some jobs to pay them.
'This is a fucked up life in my opinion.'
He reached for his glass to take a sip. However, the glass was empty since he had spilt his drink on the table.
He put the glass down.
Back to the comparison of their lives.
Chen has to pay a specific amount each month to the Agni Kai Triad.
Chen had always loved gambling. He had believed that his life was bad due to luck. Luck changed daily. He'd believed he would become rich one day. Reading some stupid self-confidence quotes served to make his life worse.
He'd always believed that if he gave up, he would miss the big opportunity tomorrow. He'd think that the next day may be the day.
"Hahaha…" Joseph, who currently was Chen, couldn't help but laugh at the previous host of the body. He was so naive.
The people didn't look at him. Everyone minded their own business.
When he stopped laughing, Chen sighed and muttered. "Wishful thinking only leads to disappointment."
At any rate, the previous person's beliefs don't exist anymore. Both this life and the previous seemed to be very similar.
The current one, however, gave him a chance. He had a system, and he can level up.
It meant that he can raise. A desperate man wouldn't try to fight. But if you give him hope, he will fight to his death.
"Hey, you!" the bartender called Chen, who turned at him. "Clean your mess."
"Move on with your life." Chen saw a towel flying at him. He held it and swept the table. It wasn't much alcohol already.
He then added. "And another drink."
"On the way." Replied the bartender.
Chen started thinking of what will he do, and what he does desire.
He wanted to be free. He always believed that his freedom was as important as himself. So he thought about how to get this achieved.
"I will pay my debts, change this life, and become rich, a very rich man."
He believed that nothing is better than just sitting and having people serve him. By becoming rich, he would be able to enjoy all of the kinds of food he desire. He would drink without thinking about tomorrow.
And most importantly. He wouldn't have to work.
He would live the slacker life.
But that would be left at the end of the game. To achieve such a dream, Chen has to work very hard and plan carefully.
The most important thing to do now is to get rid of the debts, instead of increasing them.
"Here is your drink."
Chen stopped thinking when a full glass was placed in front of him. He lifted his head. A waiter was there.
"Thanks," Chen said. He held the glass and sipped.
The waiter left, and Chen finished the glass in one go.
Sometimes, Alcohol gives a man creative ideas. They can be what he needed.
'I need to get stronger to have freedom, and to get stronger, I need to fight. Fighting underground would allow me to level up. Then, I will gain money, and thus, freedom.'
There are illegal bending duels that happened underground. Participating in these matches could lead him to his death. On the other side, it's very rewarding.
'I'm not very good at firebending in the first place. Let's just practise and participate.'
Well, he can always improve.
