Chapter 1

"Fuuu~" he took a deep breath while holding his phone. He could feel his hands trembling. It's as if he had forgotten his homework which a strict teacher had given him. Sweat was dripping off his hands, making it difficult for him to use his cell phone. It was a mixed feeling. A battle of "Go for it" versus "Better wait for the perfect moment."

Today's the day for Dan. He was fully aware of it. He knew if he didn't take this chance, he would regret it someday.

"Who dares wins, right?" Dan tried to motivate himself with a well-known proverb.

[Calling 0175-XXX-XXX...]

For his fortune, he chose the first route, although he almost wanted to back off.

"Hello? Dan? What are you up to?"

"U-Uhm..."

It was a completely new experience for Dan. His nervousness and the fear of getting rejected by his first big love were hindering him from continuing.

A fear that a lot of people share.

**3 hours before

"Bro! Do you want to watch the new superhero movie by Larvem with me? I've already ordered two tickets online. At first, I intended to go with my little brother, but since he caught the flu, I have no choice but to ask my best friend, right?" Laurent offers to Dan in the classroom with a big smile.

Laurent was considered one of the hottest boys in school, he may look like a thug from the outside, but inside he was undoubtedly a human angel.

Precisely he always loved to help others, whether it was personal problems, academic problems, or any other problem you could think of.

It also came with a side-effect. Although he desired to make the world a better place by helping all kinds of people in need, you should consider his mentality.

Naturally, for someone like him, these people always care for other people more than themselves. In some situations, it may turn out to be critical to still think like that.

This is what at least Dan thought of him but never had the guts to speak it out loud.

"Sorry but I can't watch the movie today, I have something planned. It's an urgent matter..." Dan confessed with a feeling of guilt while closing his left eye. The sunshine's light pierced through the window and hit his eyes.

Dan's spot was really an unfortunate one because he sat in front, by the door of the classroom, to the left. There was a big opening for the light to appear.

His friend also happened to stand right behind the window where he was forced to look in the direction of the sun source.

"Ehhhh...? Tell me... it's not about girls, right? Right?" his friend replied with an excited glance.

A completely different reaction from what Dan had expected.

"W-well, it's not important here right?"

"Eh? I knew it. I know my bro too well. You've never had rejected me when I asked you to hang out with me. Now, who's the lucky lady here? Do you want me to help you? Oh! Yes! I will arrange a place for you to confess!" The excitement, the happiness, the feeling of being proud of his friend were too great, caused him to talk too loud by accident.

"YOU IMBECILE!" Dan shouted at him.

Despite Dan remaining embarrassed and mad at his friend, everyone in his class was in fact happy for him too.

It wasn't surprising. Dan was considered one of the pure students. Like his best friend, he also loved to help others. His respectful manner left every teacher amazed. Not to forget the most important part: his innocence.

Many, if not, almost everyone was sure that he wouldn't fall in love with any girls someday. Not until he had graduated.

It didn't take too long and every one of his classmates gathered around his sit and asked him questions. Way too many questions.

Questions like:

"I'm so proud of you, you are growing up way too fast. Hey, don't mind telling us the name of your princess, will you?"

"Hey, hey, who is she? Is she treating you well?"

"Go ask her out today! It's your chance! Here, take my money. Perhaps tell us more about her, okay? Please!"

That wasn't even half of the questions his classmates asked him.

With each passing second, he became more embarrassed, until he finally revealed too much information by accident.

By taking a deep breath and preparing himself to not cause his heart to shatter out of shame, the action was ready to start.

"OKAY! OKAY! Her name is Nina, 17 years old, Class B, the class next door. I truly love her, okay. Today, I will ask her out. I WILL ASK HER OUT, YOU HEAR ME?"

Suddenly the classroom fell in silence. What all the others could hear was something beating frequently in a fast rhythm. The beating-something could be compared with the sound of a silenced pistol.

It was Dan's heartbeat after he realized what he has just done.

Emotions can really take control of humans sometimes.

**

"L-let's meet us at the usual place, I-I have something important to tell you"

At this moment Dan put all his care and doubts away, with a final blast he decided to bring fate over his side. A hole left deep in his stomach, sucking everything away. Was it similar to the gap when you rode an extreme rollercoaster? Probably. After all his soul released a massive amount of negative feeling, thanks to that several endorphins had been produced. Confidence, the will to confess, and last but not least his mindset had been boosted a lot. Now was the perfect time to confess. Preparation set.

Not only were his emotions flawless, but the atmosphere outside was fabulous too. It was Friday, a relief for every student outside.

"For sure! I wanted to ask you if you would hang out with me anyways. Meet us in 10, okay? See ya!" Nina replied in a rushed-motivated way.

"As always cute as usual," he thought.

Based on what Dan could observe of her, she was always a kind-hearted person. She was the type of person everyone needed. Emotional support, simply put.

But that wasn't the reason why his heart got flustered, causing his mind to strengthen the feeling of luck more. It was due to her voice, her more high-pitched voice that came with a touch of cuteness always caught him off guard. Around Nina he wasn't reacting, as usual, you could say it was the downsides of love.

After her consent, Dan decided to go home, his clothes had to be changed. He must prepare everything well for his confession.

Walking along the streets on a bright day, he saw a wounded cat running to an alley behind a restaurant. It didn't need to be a pet doctor to be aware of the cat's state. The poor cat had lost her tail, there was evidence of her tail been cut. The pain and the fear she felt, made her run, leaving a blood trait over the streets.

Dan chased after her, he couldn't simply let an injured poor being go.

After a 2 minute chase which felt like ages for Dan, since his physical skills weren't that great, he saw the cat looking with great fear in the direction of him. But she was not looking at him, she was looking at someone behind him. A warm but somehow cold breath blasted on his skin.

"Keke!"

The demonic laughter Dan had heard, suddenly changed his attitude. In the middle of the alley, with no way to escape, Dan froze.

*Dok* *Dok* *Dok*

Cold sweat appeared out of nowhere, his mind went blank directly, his heart had been beating fast continuously. Faster than ever before.

*stab*

A rusty, sharp blade pierced through his chest. Immediately the knife moved from Dan's insides in all directions. Starting from the viscera to the bones, he planned to injure him lethally. No one could survive these wounds as a living being.

"Gak-"

A lot of blood came out of Dan's mouth. He tried to hold it back, but his body forced him to spit out the blood. The pain and the blood loss forced him to close his eyes. All the sounds around him fell silent as if there was no life left in the world. Dan could lose his consciousness at any time. Perhaps this was his last time on Earth. Although his legs were shaking, signaling that his life would end sooner or later, his will didn't give up.

"1... 2... 3... 4... 5... Farewell" he whispered.

The man who stood right behind him counted until he died. He wasn't just an ordinary killer, he took everything into account, every possibility that could've happen. The plan of luring him to a place where no people are around wasn't half of his efforts.

(Dan's Monologue)

You can't be serious right now. I can't die like that. Not until I confessed! Why? Why did it have to be me? I see... being a victim of someone I don't know, using me to satisfy his killing intends... that's how I will die, right? Harsh. It's harsh to face the reality. At least I lived a beautiful, fun life. I was raised well, I truly loved my parents. My friends were always there for me, they patched me up when I felt down. It's a shame that I didn't get to see my loved ones for the last time.

Please. Remember me. Always. In your hearts.

May God be with you.

Dad.

Mom.

Laurent.

Nina.

and all the others.

(Dan's Monologue End)

"Huh?"

Immediately after getting stabbed to death, Dan woke up in a very dark place, a place that felt enormously big, even though you couldn't see anything. Furthermore, this unknown place gave a cold, intimidating aura away.

"I am still alive? How is it even possible? I died. I know it. I literally got stabbed and you are telling me that my senses, my consciousness, everything that's important to a human being, was maintained?"

Questions over questions. It was only natural for everyone to question this phenomenon.

"Choose the dark side or the bright side, user."

Suddenly a low-pitched and high-pitched voice appeared, which confused Dan because both voices spoke at the same time.

The voice from the dark was obviously the low-pitched one, he had heard it from the right ear. It gave him a somehow mighty sense that straight up invited him to join the dark side.

However, the voice from the bright side, which he could hear from the left ear, pierced through his soul and got him to feel something close, something familiar.

"What's going on here? Why do I suddenly feel weird? If I remember I have read a theory from a so-called mad scientist Johnson Berynx. He claimed that after death our brain could still function, this should lead to the fact that our brain can recall the last wishes, illusions, and so on in the form of a dream. Kinda trippy. Guess I have nothing to lose, this is not real. Let's choose the dark side then."

Suddenly the dark place began to transform into a world. No, the dark place began to dissolve. A lot of dark matter had dissolved.

A bright sun caught in his eyes. The heat from the sun directed at his skin, birds were chirping happily and the crystal-clear sky was too real to be an illusion made by the brain.

He was lying in the middle of a meadow in forest mountains. A big meadow, you could say so.

Out of nowhere, a blue, nearly transparent window popped in front of Dan's face.

[Welcome]

Initializing the user's data...

Uploading the only necessary information to the user's memory...

Finishing the system completely...

Done!

[Notification]

Your class has been automatically set as a "Dominator"

All settings were adjusted to the user's preference.

[Dominator]

The supremes nominated you as an absolute dominator. Summon element and necromancy are your mains in your set.

With the affection from the supremes, you get 10% fewer costs in the shop system for everything related to the summon element or necromancy, all stats from the summons are improved by 10%, the loyalty from the summons (necromancy related only) is raised by 10%.

Due to your class, you've received +2 Magic and +1 Sense.

"A system, huh? From everything I had witnessed so far, this is an amazing function. Let alone this is just the beginning. There are way many more unknown things that await me, I suppose. Apparently, from what I got from the system, this system is based off your every typical MMORPG game with a leveling system. But Dominator? As a class? That's something new. And it also gave me some stats points for free! Quite awesome! Anyways, by the command "System, open!", the window should pop up again, beginning at the start page. Let's test it out, shall we?" Dan's confidence has been boosted, now is the time to play around, Dan thought so.

The reason why Dan didn't freak out was that he already accepted this reality, this world, the unbelievable encounters. And he was smart enough to realize that there are way more mind-blowing occurrences.

"System open!"

{Profile}[Skills][Magic][Titles][Achievements][Quests][Inventory][Shop]

Da Yin – 17 – Level 1 – Class: Dominator

Title: Novice

Mana: 256/256

Vitality: 1

Agility: 1

Stamina: 1

Strength: 1

Sense: 2

Magic: 3

Skill: 1

Remaining skill points: 0

"Magic, Skill? Never heard of these stats. Probably something useful.

System, stats help!"

[Help]

Vitality – affects the durability of the body, but also gains 0.33% resistance per level of all elements.

Agility – affects the flexibility and the speed

Stamina – affects the stamina, but also gains 0.50% faster mana regeneration + 0.25% lesser mana use per level

Strength – affects the strength of the body, but also gains a 0.25% chance of crit per level

Sense – affects all the 5 senses but also the 6th sense.

Magic – affects the proficiency of mana-control, mana-efficiency, and mana-concentration

Skill – affects the proficiency of using skills, using weapons and other items such as tools

"Interesting. I wonder what happens if I touch the tabs? Let's start on [Skills]"

Without any hesitation, Dan touched the [Skills] tab with his index finger.

[Attention]

This tab [Skills] hasn't been unlocked yet.

Requirements to unlock: Reach level 5

"Uhm... okay, let's go on."

[Attention]

This tab [Magic] hasn't been unlocked yet.

Requirements to unlock: Reach level 5

"What about the others?"

[Profile][Skills][Magic]{Titles}[Achievements][Quests][Inventory][Shop]

>Novice

The standard of the standard titles.

No effects.

[Profile][Skills][Magic][Titles]{Achievements}[Quests][Inventory][Shop]

>N/A

[Profile][Skills][Magic][Titles][Achievements]{Quests}[Inventory][Shop]

[Quest]

You've received a new quest request!

Since you have chosen the dark side, it's your duty to act like one.

Objective: Be a villain

Time Limit: Permanent

Rewards: None

Penalties: 1000x more pain than the most pain in the world, caused by the supremes.

"Hold up! Hold up, hold up! What the hell is the system talking about? Me, a villain? No way in hell, am I going to do that! Not to forget, what kind of a penalty is this? What do you mean 1000x more pain than the most pain in the world? Who even are the supremes? It's the second time I hear of them. Are they some kind of sadistic gods or what?"

This quest had thoroughly shocked Dan. A feeling of anger, disappointment, and regrets came up to Dan. He only had chosen for the dark side because back at the time he thought it was only an illusion. Now, there is no turning back, he was aware of that. It's not that he couldn't act as a villain but that he won't. His heart is too pure to actually fulfill the purposes.

Actually, Dan didn't even know what exactly he had to do as a villain. If only being a villain was simple, this quest wouldn't be half of his problems.

"Recap my mind, recap my mind. Now I get it. The definition of a villain is a bad person who harms other people or breaks the law. Possible character traits are common: being an asshole, don't care for others, think that you are superior to everyone else, arrogance, stubbornness when it comes to his goals, and ignorance."

"So what if I just act like Diablo from How To Summon A God Lord? This will be fine, right? This gotta be fine. No doubts." Dan continued.

By Dan's passion for watching animes, some of his knowledge could be luckily used for situations like this.

"Enough talking. This can be handled out later."

His purpose was not to waste time. There were many questions to be answered. Where was he? Were there creatures existing in this world who never existed on Earth in the first place? Take oaks or beasts as an example. Were there other people like him who transferred to this world too?

At last, Dan checked out the last two tabs but without success.

The inventory tab would get unlocked when he had reached Level 5 and the shop tab would get unlocked when he had reached Level 10.

"In conclusion, I need to be Level 5 for Magic, Skills, and Inventory plus for the shop I need to be Level 10. Good to know. The best way is to farm XP to level up properly. And the most convenient way is to kill living beings by myself. For the beginning at least."

Dan thought about every possibility and the best outcome to level up conveniently. It was better than immediately causing a ruckus.

"Right, I have this permanent quest with me. Unfortunately, I will be killed or from the law, if this even exists in this world, getting pursued, when acting as a villain in front of humans... Are there even humans existing in the first place? Avoiding them is a big must for now. Until I am stronger. There's a catch though. There are probably no other ways than asking someone "nicely" to obtain some information. If I would ask someone then in a frightening way since my quest forces me into it. A ruckus would be caused immediately. Speaking of information, it can be really dangerous and probably fatal if I just simply go into the forest. Certainly, there are no more options, so...I have to deal with it"

Dan's quest, the most challenging and the biggest enemy for him. Not a big surprise if he would want to outplay this system.

In Dan's state, leveling up was a must to survive in this world. By grinding XP, you'll get stronger and stronger, obviously. Reaching a level would raise your mana capacity higher, you would also gain 2 skill points and 500 karma, a currency for the system's shop. As a bonus, you would get a random skill at every tenth level you've reached. Starting from 10, 20, 30, and so on.

"...this is going to be a fun journey, I can feel it. Off you go, villain-kun!" Dan had joked around while walking through the forest, in the hope to find food and something worth being called as a weapon.

It was better to not catch the attention of other people. Staying hidden and undiscovered was a part of Dan's so-good mastermind plan.

The forest was an ideal way to be so, he thought.