JAXON CROSS

As the faint light of dawn peeked through the dusty blinds, it filled the cluttered office with a soft glow. Piles of cardboard boxes loomed in one corner, threatening to spill their contents into the already cramped space.

Across from this chaotic display, was a makeshift table, made out of one of the cardboard boxes that still held remnants of the late-night Chinese noodles.

Amidst the chaos, empty beer and whiskey bottles stood as silent reminders of the night's festivities.

And beneath the illumination of the morning sun, two figures lay entwined on a simple mattress, their naked bodies illuminated by the soft glow of dawn, a testament to the lingering aftermath of passion.

*Knock!*

"I know you're in there!" A voice called out continuously knocking on the already broken door making the whole door shake, "Jaxon? Hey, say something? I am coming in alright!"

Jaxon who had just woken up by the noise heard the lock on his door being opened, as Emily walked in, her delightful look immediately turned into a look of horror and disgust at the sight she was blessed with so early in the morning.

"Ah!" She screamed, hurriedly closing the door, "Jesus! Jaxon... speak when spoken to dammit! Ah! Fuck you dude!"

Clearly frustrated and embarrassed, she ran down the stairs stomping her feet for everyone to hear.

"What's going on?" The girl beside him asked with a look of confusion, 

"Nothing to be concerned about!" Jaxon stood up, putting his pants on, as he fiddled his pockets for his cigarette, finally finding it.

Taking a cigarette out, he put it in between his lips as he lit it up, "You want one?"

"No, I am good." The girl said, "How the hell do you still look so fine!"

"What can I say, I was born like this." Jaxon flirted back with a wink,

"No, I mean seriously, we drank so much yesterday. I am dying with a headache and you somehow still look fine."

"Oh!" Jaxon said a bit disappointed, "I just have a high tolerance... and yes, my college days were wild."

"I can see that." The girl smiled getting up as she looked around the room for her clothes which were thrown in all different directions, picking up the clothes she turned towards Jaxon who was checking her body out as he smoked his cigarette, "You still remember my name, right?"

"Jessica?" Jaxon said after thinking a bit, "Is that not it? Ah! Bianca? No, that was a different girl... was it, seleee- not that either, uh!..."

The girl kept getting more annoyed, every time a new name was thrown at her. With how romantic and extremely passionate last night had been, she had expected something more out of him. But the guy in front of him was no better than any sleezebag she had been with before.

Without waiting much on him, she put on her clothes, tied the laces to her heels, and stormed out of the room, leaving Jaxon who was still guessing her name, a bit flabbergasted.

"I was pretty sure it was Jessica... wait, maybe it was Rebecaa." Jaxon said to himself as he laid back a little on his mattress, his gaze laid directly on the pair of black panties on top of the blanket, "So she's the only one who's allowed to forget things, huh?"

Putting out his cigarette, Jaxon went to the small bathroom next door.

As he entered, the bathroom mirror greeted him with its familiar reflection. He couldn't help but meet his own gaze, his ember-colored eyes holding a glint of determination.

In the reflection, he saw the image of a man in his prime - tousled black hair framing a face adorned with an enigmatic smirk. His physique spoke of years of athleticism, toned muscles rippling beneath taut skin.

But amidst the self-admiration, a hint of regret tugged at his consciousness, reminding him of the circumstances that had led him here.

He was a reincarnator, who was living a completely different life as a whole new person.

In his previous life, he had been a corporate lackey, a mere pawn in the cutthroat world of business. The memory of his mundane existence haunted him, a constant reminder of the life he had left behind.

He still remembered the day he died, he was running an errand for his boss, delivering flowers to his boss' mistress who lived 30 miles away from his office not to mention the fact, that the weight of the flower alone was one of the causes of his accident leading to his death.

"I'll never be that guy again, A damn bootlicker!" he vowed silently, shaking off the remnants of his past like dust from his shoulders.

Born into the world as an orphan, Jaxon had known hardship from a young age but due to the experiences of his previous life, he was unfazed by most difficulties a child would have to face at that age.

Shuffled from one foster home to another, he had learned to adapt and survive in a world of uncertainty, which although completely different from his previous life allowed him to experience new forms of ups and downs.

As an average man, he didn't have much of a talent to show for. But his sharp intellect and quick wit, followed by his experiences of his past life, had set him apart from the other children, earning him accolades and opportunities that others could only dream of.

He had breezed through high school and college with ease, scholarships paving the way for his further education.

It was one of his foster parents who had recognized his potential and nurtured his talents. The old man had been a private detective, a relic from a bygone era of trench coats and fedoras.

But beneath the gruff exterior lay a heart of gold, a kindred spirit who saw something special in the young boy with the ember-colored eyes. The old man had taught him several things, including investigation, minds of how common criminals worked, and so on.

Although the old man as a private detective was left with nothing but incredibly monotonous tasks, such as investigating infidelity for most of his remaining years, he was still an ex-marine turned police detective, who'd solved many crimes and had experiences with tons of criminals throughout his glorious days.

But the biggest factor concerning who he was as a person in his new life was none of those things. Every decision he had made since he came to this world had relied on nothing but one particular thing.

A damn system!

Every web novel dweller and anime nerd knew about it, of course, he wasn't any different. It was a fantasy turned to reality, that helped reincarnators, transmigrators, and even some lucky protagonists who used the system to grow stronger by the day and become some invincible god.

But the damn thing just wouldn't work.

All he had to show for a system was a screen that read, "Reputation points required to open the system!"

And beneath it read the requirement points for opening the system, "0/250"

He had been able to see the system the moment he was reincarnated, but the mere fact that he couldn't use it left him hopeless.

But the idea of it drove him to do everything in his power to be able to use the damn system.

"If the world was as simple as it looked, I wouldn't be given a system, right?" That was his mantra throughout his reincarnated life to date, after all, who wouldn't think that way?

And early on some of the factors did play into his thoughts, the fact such as how the current world he was in was clearly different from his original world.

The fact that he was born in 1981 gave him enough of an excuse to influence the world around him, with his knowledge of the future, he was certain that as long as he played his card right, he was going to be a rich man, and maybe send someone else to death running his errand.

But the bitter reality left his dreams broken. 

This world was completely different from his original one. No companies from his previous world existed by their damn name, in fact, some of the technologies were still in the process of developing or had yet to be developed.

The few companies that matched the name of his previous world were mostly useless to him but the major companies like Microsoft, Apple, and a few others to name were no longer around.

With a broken dream, all he could do was fuel his thoughts about how the system could change his life for good and help him overcome the dangers and challenges that might lie ahead. So he did his best to fill up the so-called reputation points.

After a couple of experiments, he realized what the reputation point really meant, any time he left a deep favorable impression on people, or people around him respected him, or even when he left an impact on someone's life, the reputation point would add up by a single point per person.

That was the beginning of his journey, any time a friend needed help he was there with the brightest smile, when he started boxing and participated in minor competitions, he learned to control his strength and purposely get beaten up enough to have the people cheer for him and even root for him.

He studied hard, to make sure to garner the respect of his foster parents, teachers, and professors. He was the most respectful boy that one could ever be, he was the guy that parents would compare their child to belittle them.

He had earned those points through blood, sweat, and charisma, his magnetic personality drawing people to him like moths to a flame, smooth-talking girls into swooning over him, acing exams with effortless grace - Jaxon had done it all. And had done it all over and over again.

He had done so much, that things started wearing him down day after day. On the road to riches, power, and influence, to not be a boot licker and to live his life as a true hedonist, he had become an even more miserable existence.

With no clear direction in his life any longer after experiencing the harsh new reality of this new world, he decided to pick up the old man's mantle, to be a private detective himself, through which he could gain more reputation points.

He thought about being a detective, an actual real detective but the whole process of being in a system, under a boss, fighting over promotions, the experiences of his past life irked him just thinking about joining a job like that. The same thought bothered him when he thought about other professions,

Doctor? Too much studying was required and he wasn't confident in his experiences to take him that far.

Army? The problem with this one was even worse than being a police.

Actor? He didn't want to get molested by some creepy director, not to mention the fact that a brick wall could act better than him.

Singer? He could be one when he dies again and enters hell, to punish people with his singing.

Every job he thought of he encountered the same problem over and over again.

So a freelancing job as a private detective seemed fitting than every other option he could think of.

So with that determination in mind, with the old man guiding him, he aced through all the necessary exams and processes. He was even close to finishing his objective as the screen before him read, "245/250", making him extremely close to finishing the desired points needed by the system.

Unfortunately, the old man passed away a few months prior before he could get his license, which impacted Jaxon more than he was pleased to admit, after having been through dozens of foster homes, the old man was the one person he had met who truly seemed to care for his well being. A real father figure, which he lacked in both his life, he found it through the old man.

But it was time he stood up and stopped wallowing around, and make the old man proud.

With a final glance in the mirror, Jaxon straightened his shoulders and exited the bathroom, ready to face whatever challenges lay ahead. The world was his oyster, and he intended to seize every opportunity that came his way.