"The reason I gathered these…"
Damien's fingers trailed over the bundled herbs as his mind wandered—back to the mechanics of Shackles of Fate, the so-called 'game' that had become his reality.
Even though the original Damien Elford had been a pathetic excuse for a protagonist—spineless, indulgent, and allergic to effort—the game itself had options.
Unconventional ones.
The kind of methods designed for cowards who refused to train, who wanted power without effort.
The lazy ways.
And, of course, the bugs.
The developers had locked conventional strength behind relentless grinding. Training sessions had been tedious, stamina drained too quickly, and the original Damien never made it far because he never tried. Even the rare players who wanted to break free of his fate had struggled against the game's rigid limitations.
One of those limitations?
Stamina.
