Penulis : Fuyuhara Patora
Ilustrator : Usatsuka Eiji
Penerjemah : Lumia
Editor : Lumia 
PDF : Lumia
http://uebu-novel.blogspot.co.id/

I would like to download and read others books. It is for private use and I went to their site to find it. Please read it on their site or if you want to also download and read it please copy it from their site so they get the same amount of hits as if it is being read on their site.


During lunch, the ladies came up to Alex and began to stuff him with the food they brought from home. By the time lunch was over, Alex was overwhelmed by the gesture both in his heart and his stomach. His stomach swelled and bulged enough to almost tear apart his shirt.
After lunch, when all the ladies and Alex came back, they were immediately called by Karen in the meeting room.
In the meeting room, Karen was sitting in the middle while all the others were either on her right or on her left.
Alex and Amber being the newbies, were sitting at the far end opposite to each other.
"You must know why we are having a meeting now. Many of you know our company acquired another company a month ago". Karen said as she addressed all of them.
All of them nodded except for Amber and Alex.
Amber raised her hand to ask about it, but Karen who saw it ignored her, and said, "As for those who are new, let me tell you about it".
Listening to Karen, Amber brought her hand down. Karen continued, "Last month 'Theation' acquired a book publishing company".
Listening to this, there were complicated expressions on the faces of all those who were present there. Even though they knew about it, they thought it was completely unrelated to their own venture. They all began to gossip with each other.
"I know what you all feel, but it's not our job to question the decisions made by our superiors on what they should or should not do. Our job here is to do our best in promoting what we are asked to. Now we are asked to promote this new company. We all are here to discuss this matter and map out a strategy for promotion". Karen said as she was well aware of what all of them were thinking.
All the ladies nodded their head in understanding. Alex was amazed as to how focused his chief was that she would never partake in any gossip around the office. The respect he had for her increased by a notch.
The ladies began to discuss among themselves and give suggestions to the chief.
"Boss, why don't we ask one of the celebrities from the ongoing shootings to promote the company on their social media? Instead of making them the brand ambassador of the company, we can enter into a pay per post kind of agreement with them" Elaine said. She was the social media manager, so it was easy for her to keep an eye on that.
"That's a good idea, make a list of all the celebrities which fit our requirements in fees, popularity and their image," Karen said as she liked the idea, but she reminded, " Keep this in mind, the image of the celebrity is the deciding factor here.
"Yes, boss" Ellaine said as she wrote down the details in her pad.
"Boss, how about shooting an advertisement?" Amber said as she raised her hand.
"I don't think it is the right time". before Karen could say anything, Hazel pinched in.
"Why?" Amber asked confused.
"When companies start, they don't just outright jump into the market with advertisements. They need to make a small local market for themselves first". Hazel explained to Amber.
"Ohh..." Amber nodded in agreement.
After that, all the ladies present, again involved themselves in a discussion.
The discussion kept on going for some time.
Karen looked at Alex who was sitting silently, at the very end of the table, not taking part in the discussion, "Alex, are you not feeling comfortable?".
Hearing Karen, the chattering in the meeting room stopped, and the focus of all the ladies in the room shifted towards Alex.
"No, I am feeling fine". Alex said as he straightened himself.
"Then, don't you have any suggestions for us?" Karen asked, placing her palms on her chin as she supported herself with her arms on the chair. She looked curiously towards Alex.
"I have, in fact, I have two suggestions, but I don't know if you will like them". Alex said while scratching the back of his head, embarrassed.
"Owww... Alex, why are you being so shy? Just tell us even if nobody likes them, you will get to know what and where you are lacking". Elaine said as she encouraged him.
"Yeah, and it's even possible that we might end up using them with some or no changes". Jennifer said, mentioning him the possibilities.
"You listened to them, go on". Karen said as she gestured him to go on.
"Well, I don't know why the upper echelon of this company is so adamant on going with this publishing company. We need to keep in mind that everything is available online, not many people might end up buying our books" Alex said as he told everyone to not have their hopes high.
All of them nodded while Karen knitted her eyebrows. This problem, she was well aware of already.
"Well, first of all, we all know shooting is always going on here. One movie or TV series after the other, right?" Alex said.
All of them nodded, on hearing Alex.
"Now Ellaine here, suggested that we ask for a celebrity to endorse the company, right?" Alex asked.
"In a sense, yeah," Ellaine said.
"Now, on the same idea, we can have a different method of promotion. The projects here are of different genres too, so why don't we use a bookstore or cafe scenes to promote the books of our publications? Seeing the leads of the movie or series, reading a book people might get curious and end up searching about them or even buy them" Alex said, and by the end, he was very excited about his idea.
All of them looked amazed at his suggestion, this was such a basic and a very good idea to promote their books. It won't even cost them a bit.
"Why didn't I think about it? We don't need any resources for this. We can just go to any set and hand them over a book". Hazel said as she lamented over her foolishness.
"But it may not necessarily increase the sell of our hard copies. People might just download pdf from the internet". Alex soon poured water on their excitement.
"So what do you suggest we can do to increase that?" Karen asked. She was beginning to get interested in Alex's ideas. He might end up helping the boss a lot.
"Chief let me ask you something if for about two or three hours you have no access to the internet, nor do you have anything else all you can do is sleep, if I were to give you a book will you read it?" Alex asked with a smile.
"Well, I have to, if I can't do anything else". Karen said.
"This can be our way to sell our books".
"What are you saying tell us properly". Karen asked.
"The second suggestion is...".

* * * 

#3 in #WPC 108.

Support us with power stones, comments and if possible reviews.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

This is the story of Alex Rutherford.

He was known by many names among his peers, 'Yama'[The God of Death] or 'Asura'[The Devil himself]. 
NO one dared to approach him. He was the god of killing, without any emotions.

Every life he took, was just another assignment for him...
Every life he took, was just one more number added to the count... 
Every life he took, was to reach a certain someone...

"Please spare me, I will give you as much money as you want". A middle-aged man pleaded.

"Sorry but you have already paid me. By becoming my target" The young man said while fidgeting the dagger in his hand.

Splash... The dagger in the young man's hand, slit his target's neck. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

But what will happen, if he suddenly lost his memory?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now he is adopted by a couple. He has a job, friends and a peaceful life. He does not remember anything about his past life.

"Alex, what are you doing at home on Sunday morning?" a woman asked Alex.

"What happened, mom?" Alex said while playing on his PS 5.

"Get out of the house and find yourself a girlfriend".

"Why?" Alex asked lazily.

"If I don't see you bring a girl to introduce to us within a week, I will...will... I will throw that stupid game of yours" the woman said pointing towards the gaming console in front of her.

"Mom, where are my clothes?" Alex asked ready to go find a girl.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Will he able to continue living like this?

Will he remember his past? If so will he return to his old ways or will he use his skills to help the people?

What will happen when his past comes haunting him?

Support us on: https://www.paypal.me/bababakchod

For more works and advanced chapters:
https://www.patreon.com/bababkchod

discord: https://discord.gg/vMRVyWE

"Yes." Secretary Xiao Liu nodded. Then, he got agitated again. "Currently, because our Zhong Dian website is too explosively popular, many companies contacted us to purchase the copyright to adapt our app. Negotiations are currently going on for all the copyrights for the novels of the five Supreme Gods, and many have already been sold. And the amount earned from these copyrights…" Speaking up to this point, he paused for a while, then cautiously said, "Extremely high!"
Copyright! The explosive popularity on the internet had resulted in various developments regarding the copyrights of the novels!
This was indeed a super good piece of big news. Though a single copyright alone might not be able to be sold for much, with so many books, if they were all sold, how much money would that bring in?! 
"This is good news!" Hong Weiguo was shocked. "Then, Xiao Liu, currently, how much have we earned from the various copyrights?"
Hong Weiguo understood the value of the copyrights. However, he didn't have a clear idea of how much the copyrights for the online novels could be sold for. He only knew that the copyrights would definitely be worth a lot of money!
"CEO Hong, currently, the movie adaptation copyright for the novels of the Supreme God, Dark Dragon of the Universe, has been sold for 1.2 million, the copyright for the television drama has been sold for 850,000, the copyright for the online gaming adaptation has been sold for 1.6 million, the copyright for the publication of the simplified Chinese version has been sold for 2 million, and the copyright for the comic has been sold for 1.5 million." Speaking up to this point, Xiao Liu looked at the document again. "Adding up everything, the total is… 7.15 million. This is only for the copyright of one novel."
Upon hearing what he said, Hong Weiguo and the others stared at each other and took in deep breaths at the same time.
7.15 million!
This figure seemed much inferior to the one from the smartphone reading app, but the significance behind this was definitely extraordinary!
Copyright development, what did this mean? This meant that the online novel website still had much more potential to be discovered!
If one novel's copyright was sold, there would be a second one! A third one!
By then, the authors would also write better works, and then it would snowball till a solid and huge amount. In that case, coupled with the earnings from the subscriptions, it would increase in many folds!
Reputation effect, this was the reputation effect!
"Old Hong, looks like this time, we've earned big money!" Mu Tie sighed. "Though it looks only so-so now, in the future, when it increases in scale, we can better join forces with various companies in various aspects and form a big network! A true network formed between the internet and reality!"
"Yes!" Liu Yihui remarked. "We can venture into other aspects through the novel website. After there are more sales of copyrights, by then, we can firmly take control of the publishing, film, drama, online gaming, comic, and other various channels! Once these channels open… Hehe, we can expand towards anything related to literature and words!" 
Three people, by only saying these few sentences, had decided on so many business services. No wonder Xiao Liu said that these were even more impressive compared to purely earning from subscriptions!
After all, there was a limit to the subscription earnings, because there was only a limited number of people who were willing to read books. It was very possible that once it grew towards a certain extent, it would reach a point of saturation.
But there was no limit to carrying out expansions through the copyrights!
If people didn't read books, they would still watch movies and dramas. If they didn't watch movies and dramas, they would play games. If they didn't play games, there would still be other aspects that they would come into contact with. Even little children would read comics adapted from novels to kill time.
And once all these had been expanded, by then, the level of influence of Sangle, Jianbao Plaza and Turkey Software would definitely be more wide-reaching!
"Sigh," Hong Weiguo took in a deep breath. "This child Dali…" Speaking up to this point, he didn't really know what kind of tone he should use. He only sighed and helplessly said, "Who would think that such a big thing was initially just for that small rascal to squander on?"
"This…" Mu Tie also felt that the world was pretty amazing. "Back then, how much money did Dali spend to make this? It would cost at least tens of millions, right?"
"How is it possible to cost so much." Hong Weiguo shrugged. "Back then, he only spent 2 million to buy a novel website that was on the verge of closing down."
Mu Tie: "…" Liu Yihui: "…"
The office was silent for a full one minute, then Secretary Xiao Liu cautiously said, "Oh right, CEO Hong, there is something else that I forgot to say just now…"
"Something else?" Hong Weiguo felt that there was too much information to take in today. "What else is there?"
"Mm…" Xiao Liu looked at the document. "Currently, a few novels at our website have been spotted by an editor at Merika. They're planning to translate it to English, then publish and sell it in Merika. Currently, the copyright fee that they offered is one million USD per novel."
"This…" This time, Hong Weiguo and the other two were truly shocked. "Our novels are going out of Asia and onto the global scale?!"
Xiao Liu nodded. "S… Seems like it…"
…
While Hong Weiguo and the others were exclaiming in awe, Hong Dali was preparing for his end-of-year examinations bored out of his mind…
This world was slightly different from his previous life—the lessons here were simpler, and consequently, the holidays were slightly shorter by about half a month or so… 
After all, Hong Dali was an outstanding university student in his previous life. He could still handle all these high school lessons, but the problem was that the history of this world was completely different from that in his previous life, so he decisively became a freeloader—
Hong Dali winked at Ji Zhiruo who was not far away from him. "Zhiruo, multiple choice question, multiple choice question!" 
Ji Zhiruo stared at the invigilator and didn't dare to move. However, Hong Dali had provided much help to her family, so she couldn't reject him. The little lass was, however, quite witty, and very soon, her eyes lit up and she stretched out a finger—question one!
Hong Dali fiercely nodded and asked, "The answer?"
Then, Ji Zhiruo pointed at her chest…
Hong Dali: "What does this mean?"
Ling Yi at the side instantly understood. "C!"
"Oh…" Hong Dali didn't care about what it meant and directly chose C.
Then, Ji Zhiruo stretched out two fingers. Question two. Then, she pointed at another girl in the class. Ling Yi: "Choose B!"
For the subsequent questions, while Ling Yi wrote his own answers, he relayed the answers to Hong Dali: "A… D… D… C… B… A… D… B… C…"
Very soon, he completed all the multiple choice questions. Hong Dali heaved a long sigh of relief. "Hope that I'll be able to pass…"
Ring—
Very soon, the examination ended. All the students in the class stood up and cheered, "We've finally finished taking the exams! It's vacation time now, hahahaha!"
Meanwhile, Hong Dali curiously asked Ling Yi, "Ling Yi, how did you know which answers Zhiruo was referring to?"
Ling Yi straightly answered, "Bra size!"
The boys in the class "oh-ed" in unison, and the girls' faces turned very red!
But after all, it was vacation. He had to go out and celebrate. Hong Dali laughed heartily, ignoring the shy faces of the girls around him as he loudly said, "Summer vacation! Brothers, let Brother Dali bring you to play! Whoever wants to come along, quickly sign up for it!"
"I'll go, I'll go!" In no time, all the students in the class raised their hands.
"OK! Then let's set off! Hahaha!" Hong Dali snapped his finger. "The outer area of Tianjing Mountain, let's go!"
Everyone instantly went out. Tang Muxin was waiting outside the room long ago, and once she saw Hong Dali, she went forward, smiled and said, "Dali, how was the exam?"
Hong Dali: "No problem, I wrote all the bra sizes correctly!"
All the girls were greatly embarrassed again…
Tang Muxin ferociously stepped on Hong Dali's feet. "Despicable!"
"Pain pain pain!" Hong Dali jumped up. "I said it wrong. I mean that I've managed to answer all the multiple choice questions… Let's not talk about this, quickly quickly, to the outer area of Tianjing Mountain. I've just received a message. Uncle Chief's side is going to send the Mechanical Holy Garments over!"
…
Tianjing City, southern city area, in the Qian Family's secret villa.
Through the meticulous styling of the makeup artist, Shiroishi Kazuma had completely changed his style. Now, he looked like a middle-aged man around 40 years or above, and his mustache had been shaved completely. He was bald, and his eyes were not big but were very expressive.
It wasn't an overstatement to say that unless someone really knew that he was Shiroishi Kazuma, even if they sat opposite him, they would definitely be unable to recognize him.
"Young Master Qian, how are things going regarding the things I've instructed on?" Currently, Shiroishi Kazuma was sitting on the sofa, looking through the information regarding online gaming. The two online games that Ko Gohon had managed back then were called "Spiritual Sword" and "Dragon Domain" respectively. They were both the big productions by a Korean company and were full 3D online games. The scene was grand, the magic effects were magnificent, and there was diverse content in the game. Based on this, it proved that Ko Gohon's taste was still not too bad. 
"Mr. Shi, it has all been arranged." Qian Youjin respectfully said, "Our men have already applied and registered for two readymade companies to create a smoke screen. I believe that nobody will be able to discover us behind it." 
"Mm, that's good." Shiroishi Kazuma nodded. "We definitely cannot give them any opportunity to attack me. How's the development of the online games?"
"They can already be publicly tested." Qian Youjin slowly said, "The internal testing in the company has been completed; there aren't any problems. But there are many able people on the internet, and it's unsure whether someone would find out any BUGs, so the company's suggestion is to publicly test it for half a month or so, and if there isn't any problem, then we can officially launch it."
"OK, I understand." 
Qian Youjin thought for a while, then asked, "But, Mr. Shi, how should we advertise it to achieve the best results?"
Shiroishi Kazuma took a sip of tea, smiled and said, "Speaking of advertising, we can also think about it in another way. If you're a player and you see a gaming product on the online shop, what would cause you to download it? Most of the players would refer to the introductory page to decide whether to download the game. So, go and get the company to write a complete game introduction right away. The more detailed, the better."
"Also, create two good-looking and grand webpages for the online games. We definitely cannot neglect the introductory page for the gaming products. This is where the players will form their first impression of the game. And when a player enters in the website out of curiosity, we have only about one minute or less to introduce the game, and from there, let the player decide whether to try playing it or not."


"I have to squander; otherwise, won't it be a waste of my parent's talent at earning money?" Hong Dali answers a reporter's question matter-of-factly. 

Just after the interview ends, Hong Dali opens the Great Prodigal System's interface and looks at the various good stuff displayed in it. Stroking his chin, he mumbles to himself, "I just need to squander 200 billion yuan more to exchange for the blueprint of the core technology, Engine Destruction, found in the strongest humanoid mecha weapon, Neo Granzon. Looks like I'll have to work harder!"

"I want to splurge! I want to squander!"


12th of September - The competition was held as scheduled!
The day before the competition, Lu Zhou and the others took the school bus and went from the new campus to the old campus. They would be living in the temporary dorms arranged by the school. 
The mattresses and pillows were prepared and so, the students only had to bring their own covers. Some people did not even bring the covers. After all, the competition would only last for 72 hours. The average bedtime for each student was less than 10 hours. 
For example, Lu Zhou was like this. 
His task was the heaviest as he had to finish the most amount of work. He could only sleep for a bit during the second night and so, he did not even bring a change of clothes. The first thing he did when he moved into the new dorm was to lay in bed and try to sleep. 
He had to force himself to fall asleep. 
When Lu Zhou woke up at five in the morning, he laid in bed until seven before he went for breakfast. He met up with Wang Xiaodong and Lin Yuxiang before they all headed to the dedicated computer room that the school prepared. 
According to the official registration information, there were more than 70,000 university students from 23,347 teams, across 1338 universities. There were teams from 33 provinces, autonomous regions (including Hong Kong and Macao), and the United States. Everyone clicked on the competition website at the same time and downloaded the questions. 
The competition was co-sponsored by the Higher Education Department of the Ministry of Education and the China Institute of Industrial and Applied Mathematics. Therefore it was rigorous and fair. Its influence was lesser than the "Challenger Cup", but the reward was in some sense more valuable than the "Challenger Cup". 
It was half-past seven in the morning when the ten teams sat in a computer room. 
Even though most people chose to use their own laptop to answer questions, they brought their laptop to the computer room. After all, wifi in the computer room and library could allow students to download theses online for free. They were expected to win this kind of competition through resources on Baidu. 
When Professor Liu came, he smiled and said hello to his three students. He did not talk about the competition. Instead, he asked how they slept or how were the dorms. After that, he walked out of the computer room, drove the school bus, and went back to do his own projects. 
At eight o'clock, the bell rang. 
Everyone quickly logged into the official website and downloaded the questions.
The questions were divided into ABCD for four major questions. Of which, AB was for undergraduate students, while CD was for students doing a specialized degree. Every team had to choose one question. The teams were given an md5 hash from the official website and they had to upload the thesis in PDF form and pass the md5 check. 
In general, as they only had half an hour to choose the question, everyone was scrambling to read the question. 
However, when they saw the questions, they were dumbfounded. 
"Question A is the design and control of the landing trajectory for Chang'e 3 spacecraft… Question B is designing a folding table! F*ck! What the hell are these questions this year?" 
"These are totally different from the training questions we did!"
"I did something similar a few days ago. It was something like designing the launch of the Shenzhou Rocket… But I didn't expect that question to come up in the competition… I'm too careless!"
"For f*ck sake, didn't you get 95 in advanced algebra? Think about something!"
"I studied advanced algebra, not rocket science!"
"Designing a table… How are you supposed to do that? Aren't there only four legs? Foldable… We can try adding a spring behind the legs?" 
The computer room was quite lively and it was obvious that the students were troubled by these questions as they had no idea where to begin. 
However, some students were different. 
For example, Luo Rundong from Lu Zhou's class was quietly communicating with his teammates. 
And Liu Rui… That kid seemed to be quite reliable as he had already finished reading the questions and was already assigning work to his teammates. 
Wang Xiaodong looked at the two questions and frowned. 
The sky seemed to have collapsed. 
The two questions were both related to physics. 
The first question was related to space trajectory calculations which certainly impossible to solve with just high school physics knowledge. On the surface, the second question looked simple, but it actually was not much easier than the first question. It involved the dynamic motion analysis of the table legs, material stress analysis, and a dozen other problems. Not only would it require mathematical modeling knowledge, but it also required a certain degree of involvement in structural mechanics as well as materials science. 
However…
The "mathematical genius" Lu Zhou in the group was only a second-year student and he had only just started his physics class. 
They had to choose the easier question. 
The first question was impossible to do without physics knowledge. They could try to turn the second question into a mathematical problem by using resources online. 
Wang Xiaodong looked at Lu Zhou, "Should we choose question B?"
Lu Zhou shook his head, "Choose question A."
"Question A?" asked Wang Xiaodong. He frowned, "Are you sure?"
"I've already finished studying university-level physics. Even though aerospace physics seems complicated, the content only spans three chapters," said Lu Zhou. He paused for a second before looking around and said, "Also, look at how many teams that are choosing question B."
Since question A was so scary, it was natural that most teams selected question B. Lu Zhou had to be brave and confront the dragon! 
Of course, Lu Zhou made this selection because he was confident about question A. 
Wang Xiaodong nodded and naturally understood the meaning behind Lu Zhou's last sentence. 
"Okay, then you'll have to do the modeling."
"I got this."
The two geniuses had reached a consensus. 
Lin Yuxiang looked at her teammates and asked weakly, "Which… Part can I help?"
Wang Xiaodong gave her a gentle smile. He was about to say "I'll do everything" when Lu Zhou, who was busy writing on an A4 paper, interrupted Wang Xiaodong and said impolitely, "Bring food and water, thanks." 
Programming, thesis writing, and modeling. All these three tasks were allocated already and the only thing they needed was someone for food delivery. 
Lu Zhou thought, "Don't think it's that easy to get a free win." He had to make this girl do something at least. 
Wang Xiaodong: "…"
Lin Yuxiang did not complain. Instead, she nodded energetically, "Ok, I'll do it!"
The advantage of one person doing both mathematical modeling and thesis writing was that it removed the problem of communication. 
At the same time, as the captain, Lu Zhou could issue orders to Wang Xiaodong, who was responsible for coding. 
Therefore, there would not be any disagreements between the teammates!
There were three sub-questions:
(1) Determine the position of the moon's far side and close side landings. Also, determine the speed and location of Chang'e 3. 
(2) Determine the optimal trajectory of Chang'e 3 and the optimal control of the six stages. 
(3) Make corresponding error analysis and sensitivity analysis for your designed landing trajectory and control strategy. 
"The next part is the summary. This part can be left until the entire thesis is written. The focus is on the question's analysis, which involves the entire thought process of the modeling, which is the entire soul of the paper," murmured Lu Zhou as he bit down on his pen and tapped his fingers on the keyboard. He wrote the outline of the thesis and began to define the critical soul of this paper based on his calculations. 
[Question 1. In order to get the far and close side moon locations of the landing, as well as the size and direction of the corresponding velocity of Chang'e 3, we first use the Newtonian physics combined with the known conditions for calculation. The motion of the main deceleration stage of Chang'e 3 is divided into a uniform variable speed linear motion. Using MATLAB, the main deceleration phase of the iterative operation…] 
[Question 2. In order to ensure optimal landing trajectory of the Chang'e 3 and the optimal control of the six stages, take minimum fuel consumption as the goal. Using the parameters given by the problem, use MATLAB to identify obstacles on the digital elevation map. To achieve the identification of obstacles and location of landing points, simulate an optimal landing orbit mode…"]
[To analyze the error or the landing orbit control strategy designed in part 2, we need to first list all possible variables that can cause an error…] 
Lu Zhou went into a state of being deep in his own thoughts. He was entirely focused on the question. 
After he analyzed the question, he felt like his brain was definitely clearer. Even the entire general framework of the thesis started to form in his mind. 
What was left was to translate the outline into a mathematical question…
For most teams, they did the thesis after the programming and modeling, but for Lu Zhou, he could do both at the same time!
This was their team's biggest advantage!


After suffering from a heat stroke while working under the scorching heat of summer, Lu Zhou, a hardworking but poor university student, somehow becomes the owner of an advanced technological system. With the cheat given by the system, his university life changes overnight. 
  
A Master's degree? Easy. 
  
PhD? Not a problem.   
  
From a nobody, he quickly becomes a huge celebrity in the world of science. With the missions given by the system, he is on his way to winning a Nobel Prize.   

"System, can points be exchanged for money?"
  
"No."
  
"F**k, what use are you then!?"
  
"This system will make you the ultimate scholar, the kind that lords over all of humanity. What use will money be to you?"

It's been ten years since we met and she still looks the same.

Maybe, she really is a ghost.

I stood in front of my bedroom mirror and adjusted my tie.

"Is this some sort of fancy private school?"

"Yup." I answered.

"And you're going to be gone the whole day, everyday?"

I buttoned up my shirt's collar and pulled up my tie until it was a snug fit. 

"I'll be free on weekends."

I fished my shoes from under my bed and looked up to see that her supple lips were pursed and her mesmerizing eyes were filled with apprehension.

Hamu was lying on top of my bed. She had already put on my high school uniform, as if to  encourage me. 

Her pants looked really baggy and the shirt she wore was so big it was downright comical.

"What's the point? You might move away tomorrow. Might as well study on the internet. If you ever need to know something just Moogle it."

"I can't live off the internet."

"Tell that to your mom. Isn't she doing online spamming now?"

"It's Marketing. Online marketing. C'mon don't make fun of her. She's doing this for us."

Hamu batted her pretty eyelids mischievously and said, "You mean she's doing this for you. According to her I'm just an imaginary friend that you won't get over!"

I ignored her provocative words and packed some exercise books, a couple textbooks and my laptop into my backpack.

"Why are you carrying all that junk? Are you aiming for a retro vibe? Can't you just download the textbooks and record the lessons with your smartphone?"

I sucked in a few nervous gulps of air and tried to steady my thunderous heartbeat.

"I'm really nervous." I confessed. "This is the first time I've gone to school."

Hamu knitted her brow. "But didn't you register just last week? Or did you go to city hall to do that?"

"Ha." I laughed lightly. "I'm going either way, you can't stop me."

"Why would I want to stop you? If you want to become a cog in the machine and allow private industry to turn you into a mindless wage slave, have at it."

I sighed, deeply.

Last week, when I received my admission letter, I had nervously begun to fill out the registration papers when Hamu floated behind me and started chattering non-stop.

I gave her the book, 'Capital' by Karl Marx, hoping that it would keep her busy. Having little to do in the lead up to my new semester, she practically swallowed it in two days and I've been regretting it ever since.

I went into the bathroom and picked up my comb, but Hamu plucked it out of my hand.

She expertly styled my hair until it was not as ruffled as it was usually. She then straightened my tie and properly zipped up my bag.

"Thanks mom." I said with a silly smile. 

"Your welcome sweety." She crooned and shot back an impish smile of her own.

I laughed quietly, and then hesitantly asked, "I thought you didn't want me to go?"

"Who says I don't want you to go? You're so annoying! You know what? I think I'll take a vacation. I've been babysitting you for ten years. If you add up all my off days I should get at least half a year of downtime."

Tomoya was only five years old when he learned that his father had died in a freak car accident.

Torn by a mixture of grief and confusion, he ran away from home only to return late in the night, to the relief of his teary-eyed mother.

But he was not alone.

The ghost of a teenage girl had somehow drifted into his life and over the course of ten years the unlikely duo had grown to be inseparable.

Together, they stumble across a series of clues that shed light on the truth of his father's disappearance, only to have their desperate search overshadowed by another, more dangerous conspiracy.

Tomoya couldn't help but ask himself, 'If she is a ghost, then how did she die? And why has she never left my side?'

Author's note.
This chapter has magic in it. Unfortunately, I can't use the font for magic on this site. Therefore I've set up a ******* where you can download a PDF of this chapter for free. If you wish to read this chapter with the magical text I suggest you go to https://www.*******.com/drblackbooksstoriesandpoems?fan_landing=true 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


My heart leaped from my chest as the strange person turned the corner. His stature and physical features were that of a human child, but his eyes were that of a demon. Not one speck of white was shown, only red, the same deep red from the orb. Surely he was the one that the monsters feared. "Well, where's the orb you two?"

"" Master's voice echoed, but just before she could finish the spell, the child's hand tore through the person in front of me. That person slowly turned invisible while coughing up blood.

"Marcia!" Jonah's voice barely resonated. My ears rang as I caught Marcia in my hands. "Bastard!"

"Jonah! Get them out of here!" Master stepped between the child and me. My magic seeped out of me, and all I could think of was how I wished I was better at healing.

"Master! I'll fight with you!" Jonah ran over to Master's side, ready for a fight.

"YOU'LL DIE! He's not someone we can fight."

"" I chanted as I was pulled away. Jonah ran. Pain coursed through me as Marcia took a deep breath. Ah! She's still alive. I clutched my chest as I threw Marcia over my shoulder and ran away from that- that red-eyed beast.

We ran while warding off monsters — nothing on our minds but to survive. Finally, we made it to the safe house, and after sealing the door, Jonah and I fell to the ground, covered in wounds. Death surely awaits us.

"Wake up! Wake up, or you will surely die! Wake up, my child! Awaken your powers and rescue your friends."

"But that kid will find us."

"That man has gone. Now leave and find help. Don't die here. WAKE UP!"

My body heated up. I opened my eyes, Jonah was on the floor beside me, and Marcia was sitting in a corner rocking back and forth. Every move brought searing pain, blinding me. I forced myself to my feet. If that kid is really gone, then I need to get Jonah to a doctor.

I picked my brother up and threw him over my shoulder. He groaned in pain. I headed over to Marcia; she backed away from me for a second, almost like she didn't recognize me. Her wound disappeared after I poured my magic into her, but she didn't seem right. I held my hand out, and she reluctantly reached for it.

I ran down the mountain with Marcia in tow. The sun peeked over the horizon as dawn passed over the forest. That village gets closer and closer. As I rush towards it, I only wish to run in the opposite direction. The weight of Jonah on my shoulders presses me forward. The people most important to me keep me from fleeing. They saved me from that village once, so now I'll use that village to save them.

A young boy who is rejected by his village finds himself being taken into a loving home by two other orphaned children. Their caregiver "Master" raises them to learn how to be a Guardian and protect the world from monsters by using magic.

*bzzt* *bzzt* *bzzt*

My phone starts to vibrate as my alarm goes off in the morning. The soft morning light filtering through my bedroom window. I slowly wake up and reach for my phone under my pillow and turn off the alarm.

As I get up and stretch my body still a little tired from waking up. I look at the time on my phone only to be confused as to why it's 7 am, much earlier than I usually get up. As if to answer my question a reminder goes off on my phone.

Reminder: Ingenuity Online release today.

It took me a second to process the reminder, but as it sank in I was ecstatic. Today was the release date of the most awaited immersive VR game in history, Ingenuity Online.

I rush out of bed and grab a pair of jeans and then a blue blouse out of my closet. Thankfully I had the foresight braid my hair last night to minimize prep time in the morning. I undo the braid and let my wavy snow white hair cascade down my shoulders. As I look in the mirror I see pale but delicate skin, pink lips, and a pair of stunning amethyst colored eyes (purple). The only makeup I decide to apply today is a tube of black lipstick and some mascara.

I go to the kitchen of my two bedroom apartment and reminisced on how I got here as I made breakfast. When I was seventeen a friend said that since I was good at seeing patterns, and that I should look into trying penny stocks. So I learned how to analyze penny stocks and earned $10,000 by the time I graduated high school. So a few months latter I found this apartment and have lived there ever since. Soon after I purchased a VR game cabin and had it installed in the second room, because I have always loved video games.

At 7:30 I finished up my breakfast and cleaning up. I went out to my car and triple clicked the lock to remote start my BMW 8 series Coup. I get in the car and drive to the nearest game shop to pick up my preorder copy for Ingenuity Online.

As I get out of my car I start hearing catcalls all around me, to which I rolled my eyes and kept going. I walk up to the entrance and wait for the shop to open.

A little before the shop opens a bulky guy, about half a foot taller than me at 5'9", walks over to me with an unveiled look of lust in his eyes.

"A small girl like you shouldn't be..."

Before he could even finish speaking I grabbed his arm, twisted it, kicked the back of his knee and pushed him face first into the ground.

"Don't worry jack ass, I can take care of myself," not veiling the disgust in my voice for a second.

As all this happened the game shop employee came and unlocked the store. As soon as the store opened I walked in to avoid further conflict. I walk around the shop as I wait for the register to get ready.

"Morning Winter, I'm ready for you over here."

"Hey John, sucks that you have to work today right?"

"It really does, I'm gonna have to set up really quick to start as soon as servers go up for Ingenuity, you here to pick that up?"

I confirmed and scanned my thumb chip. After the facial recognition the game was sent directly to my game cabin and started to download. With a dazzling smile I said bye to John wishing him luck for when he started the game.

I look out the glass doors of the shop to make sure jack ass and his friends were gone, thankfully they were. No matter how skilled I am it's only possible to take on that many people alone in a game. So I head back to my Coup and go back to my apartment.

It's 8:30 by the time I reach home and since I have a while before the download I go to my computer. I've always loved playing those retro games from the early 2010's. I play until the my phone tells me the download is complete and quickly found a save point.

I get comfortable and change into some sweats, before I get into the game cabin. I go and check the nutrient solutions to make sure it's full. After all this is done I jump into the cabin and close it over top of me.

-"Welcome Winter Jenson, what game would you like to start?"

"Start Ingenuity Online"

-Ding "Only character creation is available right now, servers come online at UTC - 5:00. Would player like to continue and start character creation?"

"Start Ingenuity Online."

"Booting creation server... Ding, Welcome to Ingenuity Online."

In 2083 a revolutionary VR game was released to the world. The game allowed players to create their own skills making a unique class to themselves. The game was called Ingenuity Online and encouraged ingenuity and innovative character creation. Winter Jenson has always loved VR games and played them most her life. With the announcement and release of the game she prepares the become the best in the game as Tess Cryo.


Disclaimer: the cover is not mine I found it on photobucket. All picture rights go to scott_101-prince

Zhang Zian decided to continue the pet store until he couldn’t support it anymore. His parents had loved pets very much. If they were looking down from heaven, they would be sad to see the store go.

Although it was a good wish, he knew nothing about running a pet store. There was a first time for everything, though; he believed he would find a way, one step at a time. 

His first goal would be relatively small—to establish a solid footing in the city. 

He had a big breakfast at a street vendor and felt energized. He returned to the store, moved the cages and display cases out, dusted with a broom, soaked the mop in disinfected water, and mopped the floor until it was nice and shiny. He moved the cages and display cases back after the floor had dried.

He also wanted to renovate the store, but he gave up on that thought after realizing the shortage in cash flow.

When he was cleaning the store, some neighbors walked by and expressed their sympathies for his loss. Some neighbors didn’t know him and just looked at the cages and display cases with curiosity.

When the sun started to rise, he finished cleaning. All the dust and odors were completely gone, leaving only the fresh scent from the disinfecting water. It smelled just like before.

His parents had always taught him to keep a clean mind and live a clean life. 

He had gotten all sweaty from cleaning the store. He moved the reclining chair to the door and rested for a few minutes. 

Now that he had decided to take over the pet store, there had to be some paperwork to handle. First, he needed to change the owner’s name from his parents to his name on the business license. He was not familiar with the procedure, so he started researching online using his cell phone.  

"I have to go to the notary’s office. So much work!"

In order to inherit and transfer the pet store to his name, he needed to get an inheritance notarization using his ID card, the deed for the pet store, and his parents’ death certificates.

Zhang Zian always tried to avoid dealing with troublesome matters like that because he hated them. He was not even sure how he made such an irrational decision like inheriting the pet store.

He wanted to have a fresh mind and pull himself together. No matter how sad he was, he should not show his tears to the customers.

He opened the app store in his cell phone and started a search with "pet" as a keyword. He wanted to see if there was an app which would teach people how to run a pet store, although deep in his mind he didn’t think he would be able to find it.

Umm, what was that?

A game with a "limited time download" sign showed up in the search results.

Some apps and software were free for a limited time, but this was the first time he ran into something tagged "limited time download."

"<Pet Hunter>?"

[Game Description]: This is a magical game! You can capture real or virtual pets in this game. You can even capture mythical creatures and turn them into your faithful friends or partners! Download now and run towards the sunset, young man!

Ha!

He laughed. He achieved his goal to freshen up his mood. 

Exaggerating! This was way over the line!

It might be possible to capture virtual pets, but how was it possible to capture a real pet with a cell phone? It even mentioned capturing mythical creatures... Unbelievable!

There was a countdown next to the game, showing that there were only 00 hours, 00 minutes, and 49 seconds left to download.

"Let’s see if this really is a ‘limited time download’!"

He hit the "download" button, and the download shortly reached full speed. 

This game was pretty large. Hopefully it wasn’t a virus!

He hesitated. When he was about to cancel the download, it showed "download completed!" on his cell phone.

Almost at the same time, the downloading page disappeared. The app store went back to the home page automatically. 

He put the keyword "pet" in the search bar again.

"Oh really?! Nothing?!"

The result showed nothing was matching his keyword. 

He didn’t want to give up yet. He added "hunter" after "pet" as keywords, but still nothing came up.

"This game is really a limited time download… What does the developer want?" he murmured to himself, confused.

Developers made games for marketing. The more players there were, the broader the influence. The broader the influence, the more money the game would make. Even free games earned reputation for the developer. Limiting the time to download meant limiting traffic. Who would do something like that? 

A dialogue popped up on his cell phone: Install? 

He chose "Yes."

Installing…

Installation completed. "Confirmed" or "Open"?

He chose "Open."

Initiating game…

The logo of "Pet Hunter" showed up on the screen.

[Game Hint]: This is an augmented reality game. It requires you to turn on your mobile camera and needs your location information. 

[Game Hint]: This is your first time entering the game. Please register an account. 

[Game Hint]: "Register for free" or "Have an account? Log in immediately."

He chose "Register for free."

[Game Hint]: To ensure user uniqueness and login safety, we need to record your fingerprint. Please place your finger in the fingerprint recognition area and record from different angles as per the instructions. 

"Record fingerprints?! What if it’s a scam…" He frowned.

He used the fingerprints on his right hands for online banking. Just in case it was a scam, he used his left hand to record the fingerprints. 

[Game Hint]: Fingerprint recorded successfully. Logging in automatically…  

The background looked like the deep dark night. A shining white light was jumping lightly.

[Navigation Elf]: Hello! Welcome to Pet Hunter’s World. I am your navigation elf.

[Navigation Elf]: I will try my best to assist you throughout the game. I hope that we can experience an extraordinary adventure together. 

The sudden voice caught him off guard. He almost threw away his cell phone. 

[Navigation Elf]: If you encounter any problems during the game, feel free to contact me!

"Ugh, is it the customer service representative? How do I contact her…I don’t see where to input words…" Zhang Zian was speaking to himself, feeling confused. 

[Navigation Elf]: You may speak to me!

"Really?! You can hear me?!" he asked, once again surprised. 

[Navigation Elf]: Yes! I can hear you nice and clear!

"OMG! This is a 24-hour one-on-one customer service representative! No wonder the download was limited…" He shrugged his shoulders and thought, "This game must be high in costs. How come I didn’t see the developer’s name… What is it? Hiding from fame?"

[Navigation Elf]: This is your first login. Before launching the game, would you like to go through the beginner tutorial? Alternatively, you may skip the tutorial and start immediately.

"What’s your recommendation? Is this game difficult?" he asked.

[Navigation Elf]: You are unable to save your state during the game. For a better experience, I recommend you take the beginner tutorial. 

"Okay, whatever you say. Let’s start the beginner tutorial," he said. 

[Navigation Elf]: Beginner tutorial starting, retrieving data…


1. Download a suspicious game
2. Catch a few magical pets as partners
3. Go through interesting daily routines and lead the pet shop to a whole new level

The closer we got to Matebelmam more flying humanoids can be seen. Avian was the language Jodroun wanted Mark to learn. Could these be birdmen? Land of myths, so will I get to meet a harpy or other similar beings? Arriving at dock you can see about a third of the buildings are taller then the rest. Landings can be seen around these buildings making one think of aeries. A rope is pulled out of nowhere tying down the boat to dock. Inventory space something Mark would like to obtain somehow.

Jodroun suddenly shouts a few words to his clan, then turns to Mark. "We'll be settling in, then you and I will head out to buy a few books for you." Of course the fee will be added to your debt."

Great more debt, at this rate I should find some way to just join the clan. Based on the 25 copper per day fee, books are expensive here. Though if I am correct about this civilization then only the rich can read and write. I need to assimilate the latest book, but having a 2nd one while doing so will double my training.

"Since I am going further into debt can we look at new clothing and maybe gloves to prevent additional books from fading?"

Arriving at an inn just then, Jodroun turns "That actually sounds like a great idea!" Stepping inside to arrange rooms. Each room has a cost of 10 coppers for doubles while Jordoun's room costs 22 coppers. Must be equivalent to a suite in value. Looking around Mark realizes that 4 dwarfs stayed back at the boat. With 5 doubles apparently Mark gets to share a room with someone he can't communicate with sheesh. With no personal belongings doesn't take long to settle in and wait for Jodroun in the lobby.

"Ready to get materials to train with?" "I think we will get 4 books of 3 different languages. May place you in a position to help pay off your debt to me quicker."

"Yea debt, I would really like some way to communicate with other people then just you." "If I can read then I can write but what is the average literacy in this region?"

"Nobles and rich merchants usually can read and write their native tongue. Unless some special reason arises most others aren't very literate."

Frowning contemplatively Mark accompanies the dwarf to various shops. Most of the books cost 5 silver a few were more. Altogether he is now 1 gold further in debt. Though he has learned that 100 copper equals 1 silver and 100 silver equals 1 gold. Any additional currencies most likely follow that same process. Along with the books 2 sets of clothes and 3 pairs of gloves were also purchased increasing debt by 35 silver.

Back at the inn Mark takes his new belongings to his room. Taking his new gloves off and holding a random book. Upon entering his meditative state once again surrounded by a darkened region. As expected dwarfish was raised to 4 and once the headache fades avian is learned to 1. Checking time looks to be no decrease this time. Grabbing 2 more random books the night goes by. By morning Mark has realized that through meditation actual sleep is unnecessary.

????? soul level 1

Sojourn level 1
Clock - 1

Library level 1
Download Book - 1
Text translation – 1
Dwarfish – 4
Avian – 3
Harpy – 1
Cherubim - 1

Mapping level 1
Current location - 1

Chat level 1

Energy scanner level 1

"-Daily assimilation complete-"

The results as expected are double what a normal soul practitioner could accomplish. No improvement in meditation timing. If he could improve this to the 2 hours that Jodroun stated, even a slight increase in training speed would be worth while. That law of 5 needs further explaining as Text Translation didn't raise in level? Though maybe it is a multiple of 5 if so then my next meditation will result in an increase of level. Just as this thought occurs numbers begin to appear in similar position as the map and clock from before.

2*5=10

"AUG!! a calculator why is that a skill NO! NO! NO!" Mark shouts waking up not only the dwarf sharing his room but also those in adjoining rooms too. As they all come in to ready for battle and find nothing but a screaming human. Once things settle a dwarf pulls on Marks shirt pointing down stairs. Following the rest while calming down from his disappointment. Everyone gathers in the dinging area for breakfast. Along the way a bath section was pointed out.

As everyone finishes their meal up Jodroun asks. "So how close are you to being able to translate my avian books?"

"If I am correct then I just one more session will do it. Though I noticed with the dwarfish that a few words still cause me trouble."

"That is fine, you will still be able to tell me enough to properly price them for sale. Also reduce the chance of these birds from cheating me." "Come to my room once you are ready, I have something I want to try."

Slowly returning to his room the disappointment not fully gone. Calculator! How is a calculator skill going to help me survive this world. How am I going to learn to communicate with others? I need to somehow learn fighting skills, how do I accomplish that? Well studying will be easy as I can learn to read and write multiple languages in days rather then years. Eventually his mind settles and he can meditate once more. This time there is no headache when the book fades from his hands. While the fading and changing of words is skipped. It would appear that things are settling around the increased training process.

????? soul level 1

Sojourn level 1
Clock – 1
Calculator - 1

Library level 1
Download Book - 1
Text translation – 2
Dwarfish – 4
Avian – 4
Harpy – 1
Cherubim - 1

Mapping level 1
Current location - 1

Chat level 1

Energy scanner level 1

"-Daily assimilation complete-"

Coming out of meditation still no reduction in time. Yes the translation level went up, so it is multiple of 5. That damn calculator took up a training space. Hmm 9 books have been absorbed does that mean next time Download level will go up? What will the result of that be I wonder? Well lets go see what Jodroun has for me other then translating those books.

Knocking on the door Mark enters once Jodroun speaks aloud. "Enter find a place to sit at the table." The voice coming from the other room . Sounds like he is moving things around. After a couple of minutes Jodroun appears with several soul stones in hand. Oh no what has he in mind, those things already caused me enough trouble that I haven't completely worked out.

Stepping closer to Mark "I want you to hold one of these and concentrate on the hunter's book flowing into it." Jodroun explains quickly. Reaching out trustingly Mark barely touches the soul stone when something strange happens. Words appear directly ahead where the original ones from day 1 appeared. What the?

"-Chat connection available-"

"-Add Jodroun Hillbrew as chat member?-"

"-Assimilate answer Yes / No-"

Though Mark is dumb founded this situation can only happen so many times before the speed of resolution improves. Thus after only 5 seconds max Mark concentrates on a yes answer. Jodroun has been helpful even if it can all be boiled down to business. Curious on how a chat function operates without the internet. While also pondering how many 'friends' he can add. Will this sub skill be equivalent to a magical social network? Excitement wells up in Mark as this is a soul skill that has close ties to life on earth. Of course not both parties appear to be happy.

"NO!!! I will not swear to any liege soul holder!!!" "How can you have a liege soul and scholar soul!"

"Calm down Jodroun, I don't know what a liege soul is but this function is merely the ability to communicate with each other from a distance." As Mark attempts to explain the chat function, he steps outside the door. However no matter how much he thinks about the way to use a chat room nothing happens. All the excitement from a skill representing home fades to dust. Entering the room once more "Well looks like there is yet another sub skill needed to communicate." Calming down from Mark's antics Jodroun realizes there was no vow request on his end.

After that Mark translates 3 books for the dwarf. The atmosphere between the two a little more tense then it has been. Remembering the process Jodroun did before to assimilate English Mark takes the soul stone with him. Another random book and Download skill should level up time to meditate.

????? soul level 1
Sojourn level 1
Clock – 1
Calculator - 1

Library level 1
Download Book - 2
Text translation – 2
Dwarfish – 4
Avian – 4
Harpy – 1
Cherubim - 2

Mapping level 1
Current location - 1

Chat level 1
Jodroun Hillbrew - 1

Energy scanner level 1
"-Daily assimilation complete-"

So the connection is there, but no chat function. O.K. Social networks back home required a friends request be made that must be the connection. So obviously there is another sub skill to be able to communicate. Looks like the download book skill went up a level, not sure what can be done with that right now. Lets take some time to really think about these prime skills and how to improve them.

Mark operates a online stream debunking many of the myths throughout the world. latest target the supposed vortices in Sedona Arizona. Yes great place to practice yoga but no portals to other dimensions here. RIGHT???

Little did he know that picking up a random rock would transport him to a land of myths dwarves, elves, goblins. All the things he does not believe in will become reality.

In order to prosper he must learn how to level up his soul practitioner skills.

download pdf books online

Isekai wa Smartphone to Tomoni

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The Lost Devil

Rebirth of the Godly Prodigal

Scholar's Advanced Technological System

Haunting My Boyfriend (Dropped)

D.R. Black

Ingenuity Online

Pet King

Myth Buster in a Fantasy World

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