Talentless Manipulator: I Can Exploit Other Players' Talents!

In a beautiful apartment with huge windows that gave a view into the city of Los Angeles, only the sound of typing could be heard.

"Is it finished yet?" Trevor asked the frail young man who was typing.

Lucian, the frail young man, slowly raised his head with a deadpan expression on his face. He simply had no energy left in him. He had started writing when the sun was rising, and it was now gone. Darkness had replaced it.

For the past five years, Lucian had been ghostwriting Trevor's books. He was supposedly one of the best authors in the world, with all his books being bestsellers. However, what his fans and everyone who had once read his books ignored was that Lucian had written all of them, and one thing they also ignored was his true character.

"Hello! Answer me! Are you going to finish soon?"

Lucian sighed, ignoring him.

"Oh… ignoring me?" Trevor waited for a few seconds, but there was still no answer. "Getting cocky now? Don't forget that you're only a writer."

"Then replace me? What are you waiting for?" 

A slight smile appeared on Trevor's face. "I have no reason to do that… now do I?"

Lucian was on the verge of cursing him, but he held back, knowing there was no point. 

What was done… was done.

It happened years ago when Lucian signed a contract that would make him the ghostwriter of the arrogant little shit that was right in front of him. The worst part about this contract was that there was no way out. He couldn't dissolve it. Lucian would be forced to write all of Trevor's books until he had enough of him.

Ever since he had signed that contract, Lucian had become a slave, listening to every single thing that Trevor would tell him. He was worked to the bones without any breaks.

"Now tell me, will you be done writing it soon?"

"Yes… it'll be done soon."

Trevor smiled. "And what's soon exactly?"

Lucian calmed himself. He knew it was to tease him, so he took a deep breath.

"Just give me a few hours, and it should be done."

Trevor's smile only widened when he heard that answer.

"All right, make sure that you don't take too long. I want you to keep writing until you finish it. It doesn't matter if you faint. You will finish the book. Did I make myself clear?"

Lucian looked up and couldn't help but be disgusted by him. He was right there smiling, right in his face. Still, he knew that he could do nothing for him. Trevor was right... he wasn't the star. He was just a nobody… writing books.

'It's not like I have much choice either way.' He clenched his fist. 'That fucking contract.'

Lucian continued writing for hours without any breaks. Sometimes, he looked up and saw Trevor sleeping peacefully in his bed, making him grit his teeth every time.

'If only I was the one who had been in the limelight, the one everyone would look up to…'

However, Lucian knew he wasn't fit for it, or at least, that's what he had thought a few years ago. 

The cameras, the interviews, the public, being the person who would go up and talk to the media. All his life, he had lived in the shadows. And as time passed, he had become used to it. But over time, Lucian realized being in front of the cameras would have been much better than slaving away for pennies.

'If only there were a way to change things. A way for everything to change.'

He looked out the window, depressed. He knew his life would look like this for eternity, which was extremely depressing. The only thing he could see was the darkness enveloping everything outside. He spent a few minutes looking at it. Then, he closed his eyes out of lack of sleep.

Minutes passed, and nothing changed. Only darkness reigned.

Until he felt sunlight go against his eyelids and his skin. However, that made no sense. It was night. The sun shouldn't be out at this time of the day.

Lucian tried opening his eyes as the light blinded him.

'There is light, but why… how?'

It made no sense. There was light at night. How was such a thing even possible?

Lucian was curious. He opened his eyes a little more, trying to see the source of all that light. The light was so strong that it was illuminating all the close buildings. Lucian noticed something weird: the light wasn't coming from the sky. It came from a small shiny ball the same height as his apartment building.

"Just who… who is that?" He stuttered, realizing that there was someone inside that ball of light.

He tried to get a better look, but he couldn't. He was too far away from it.

"Close the blinds, dumbass," Trevor muttered in a sleepy voice.

It seemed that the light had woken him up. But Lucian didn't care. He wasn't about to close anything for him. He might be witnessing history, and he wanted to see it with his own two eyes.

"What did I fucking say? Close those blinds. I want to sleep!" 

Lucian simply ignored him, not bothered by his shouts. He paid even more attention to the giant ball of light in the middle of the city. After a few seconds, Lucian was almost sure of it. He could faintly see a silhouette inside it.

However, the silhouette looked special. It had the shape of a human, but not completely. There was clearly something in its back, wings?

'I wonder what it is?'

Trevor, who was still trying to sleep, had no choice but to finally open his eyes because it was impossible to sleep in those conditions.

"Why do I have to do everything around here?!" 

Trevor barely managed to stand up and headed toward the giant apartment window.

He had his eyes half-closed because of the light. When he got closer to the window, he had to figure out where the button was to close the blinds, so he opened his eyes completely, and that's when he was also shocked by what he saw.

At this instant, sleeping became secondary for him.

"Uh…W-What's happening?" Trevor asked right away. "Wait, I think I see something in there?"

Lucian couldn't believe that Trevor had been able to see the silhouette so easily. It had taken him some time, and he still wasn't sure of himself.

"You see it too?"

Trevor had a confused expression.

"Someone is flying in the middle of Los Angeles! How could I miss it? Are you fucking stupid?"

Lucian had only been able to see a faint silhouette, and Trevor wasn't able to determine if it was a guy or a girl. Lucian was about to question Trevor. 

"You can see that?! What does she look like?"

"Uh… I don't know, a strange-looking human? I only know that she has something massive on her back. No idea what it is, though."

As the two of them were trying to figure out what that silhouette was, a beautiful yet cold voice started speaking to them in their minds.

"Hello, humans," the voice first declared. "My name is Ariel, and... I'm an Angel. I come from a place that's very far away from here called the Otherworld. I'm the one who has been chosen this year to take care of you guys. Well… it's more like my family forced me… but whatever! I'm here because your world is about to get destroyed!"

'Destruction?!' Lucian shouted in his mind, not understanding where she was getting at.

"I'll explain a bit more. Mana has entered the boundaries of your world. However, because your world isn't made to endure such a powerful and mystical energy, it will be destroyed in a few days, or even worse, hours."

"Then, aren't we all going to die!" Trevor yelled into the apartment.

He probably wasn't the only one who got such a reaction since what the angel had just said was a big deal. However, from how the angel spoke, it seemed like a routine for her…

"However, don't worry too much. This situation happens often, and there is a simple solution: you guys will go to the Otherworld, the world I come from, which is… uh… quite the interesting place. It's a place where all sorts of worlds that got destroyed like yours gather, there are all sorts of species that you have never seen before like vampires, angels, demons, etc...

Lucian frowned. 'The Otherworld? An interesting place? What the hell is she talking about?'

The enchanting voice continued talking before he could think about it any further.

"However, while this might look nice… the Otherworld cannot welcome all of you... which means that only half the population will be able to go. And the rest of you, well… will have to die."

Lucian felt shivers run down his spine as he heard how emotionless her voice was. "H-Half of us…"

"But it won't be random. Instead of randomly choosing who will go, we'll play a fun little game. Oh, sorry, I almost forgot, a fun little deadly game."