'Barely moments I was a deadbeat streamer without anything to live for,' Silas lifted his hands to his gaze, 'I died and somehow reincarnated in this weird place.'
Silas remembered suffocating from the fumes of the fire, but everything after that was just blank. He wore a cold expression on his face, lowering his raised arm.
The man, Luke, slowly returned after seeing Silas kill the demon. His head was soaked in sweat, "I knew it! Your strength wasn't affected by their stupid sealing."
'A seal?' Silas raised a brow. He clenched his hands into fists, feeling the power surging through his body like waves, "Human, how much stronger am I now?"
"Lord Silas, I know of a place where you can get the measurements for your strength." Luke answered as he rushed forward, grabbing Silas' hands to his chest.
Silas scowled, tearing his hands out of Luke's grasp a moment later. Luke chuckled awkwardly, staggering back as Silas' condescending gaze bore upon him.
"You'd better lead the way." Silas commanded, his brows knitted. His gaze snapped to the side, where the stream interface floated at the edge of his gaze.
He completed the tutorial — killing the tiger — and earned two gacha coins. Silas searched the interface till he found the area where he could spend the coins.
[Lucky Life]
["Draw, Snooze or Lose"]
[Draw 1X]/[Draw 10X]
"Hmm," Silas lifted his hands to his chin. He scrolled through the screens with his vision, 'It's something of some virtual reality game. I was reborn in this gacha game?'
For a game, these sensations were way too real. The scowl on his face intensifies, and he sighed, "Can you tell me where we are going, Luke? Is it a safe place?"
Luke paused, turning around and flashing Silas a soft smile. He fidgeted with his fingers, "If we move down this path we will reach the road that leads to the city."
City? Hearing that word, Silas lifted a brow. He had hoped he was reincarnated in some medieval world, but his bad luck had chased him down to this place.
He returned his attention to the gacha draws. Silas' pupils narrowed as he entered deep thoughts, 'This is not a good idea, but I need to take this chance.'
[Drop Rates]
– [Common] 57.9%
– [Special] 35.7%
– [Epic] 5.3%
– [Mythic] 0.9%
– [Grand] 0.2%
[A
After checking the drop rates, Silas slowed down. As he shifted his gaze to the number of gacha coins that he received from the tutorial, he gulped down saliva.
He shifted his trembling gaze from the number that he had to the Interface. The pulsing golden button in his sights made his heart race, until he drew a breath.
The bright golden coin at the center of the interface spun and spun, speeding up then slowing down to its halt. Then, a soft chime sounded as the results came.
[Congratulations!]
[You Drew, "Thin Stick"!]
"..."
——
"So, this is the place huh?" Silas asked, turning to Luke who stood by his side. A cold frown formed on his face seeing the bustling metropolis— everything seemed too familiar.
The buildings, the roads, the busy walkway. Silas staggered forward, his hands in his robes, his gaze darting from left to right, searching the crowd for more familiar feelings.
"Yes, this is the place." Luke answered, rubbing his palms together. He led the way in the crowd, weaving through the rushing mass with ease, "We can test your power here."
Luke, on the way to this location, droned on and on about the hierarchy of power this world had. He talked all about the weakest E-Type Heroes, to the strongest S-Type Heroes.
'E-Type Heroes' strength were on par with the average man, and the higher up in type, the stronger the strength.' Silas reminded himself, 'The hero types were E, D, C, B, A and S.'
In this world, there were only 10 S-Type Heroes. Their strengths were on par with gods, making them a considerable powerhouse, putting them in powerful positions in this world.
'Heroes are just terminology for the ones who awakened their powers,' Silas paused, his brow jumped seeing Luke stop and turn to a grey house, 'Not all the S-Type are real heroes.'
Luke led Silas into the building and through the open door. Silas sank his hands into his pockets, waving his head from left to right, "There are a lot of people here. Where is this?"
"This is the lobby. They are waiting to be tested," Luke said, observing the crowd, most sitting on plain benches while others stood, with his brows knitted, "They all look anxious."
"This looks like the perfect spot for heroes to hide, doesn't it?" Silas bluntly added, his cold gaze sweeping across the crowd then returning to Luke's back, "Are we going to wait?"
"Hey!" a loud booming voice cried out as soon as Silas' voice fell. A man, tall with a nice bulky build, pointed a finger at the walking Silas, "Hiding from the heroes? Are you villain?"
Silas paused, turning around to face the man. There was a stern gleam in his eyes, but a shred of entitlement flashed past, causing Silas to tilt his chin up, "I am a villain, so what?"
"Lord Silas, please ignore him." Luke muttered under his breath, casting his gaze to the ground. His hair glued to his forehead from perspiration seeing Silas was not backing down.
[A Hero Has Challenged Your Identity!]
[Pick a Choice,]
[Choice A — Reveal Your Power]
—Rewards:
[Skill, Iron Fist]
[Skill, Cold Fist]
[Choice B — Hide Your Power]
—Rewards:
[(1) Gacha Coin]
[Skill, Authority]
[Choice C — Slaughter Everyone]
—Rewards:
[(10) Gacha Coins]
[Skill, No-Time Zone]
[Skill, Absolute Calm]
"Oh." Silas chuckled, stepping forward. He counted at least three dozens of people here, and guessed most if not all had one or two superpowers he'd need to deal with, "Say, Luke."
"If you killed everyone, we wouldn't be able to leave the city safely." Luke knew what he would ask, and answered accordingly. He stepped back, not wanting to get involved in that.
"Killed everyone? I am one of the strongest heroes of the Metropolis." The man groaned, sweeping his hand through his golden locks, a look of contempt on his face, "You are a fool."
As soon as he said those words, the man appeared right in front of Silas. Silas raised his brows, staring into the eyes of the golden haired man, not even removing his hands to fight.
The man raised his fist high, then punched down on Silas' face. Silas stared, keeping his peace until the blow landed square in his face. Silas sighed, the tiles cracked up around him.
"Huh?" The man blinked, stepping back from Silas. He stared at his disfigured fist, then at Silas' unscathed face. He blinked, confused, "What kind of superpower did you awaken?"
"I can't remember." Silas replied honestly, shaking his head. As he spoke, the young man tilted over and crashed on his back, causing everyone seated in the room to rise up in shock.
"Oh, don't worry. He's not dead." Someone stepped out from the ground, walking to the body and staring down at it. He wore a black mask over his face, "I can see him breathing."
The crowd heaved a sigh of relief as Silas turned away with his hands in his pockets. He was so fast in punching the guy that no one noticed him remove his hands from his pockets.
"My name is Argus." The man with a black mask lifted his gaze from the one on the tiles to Silas, his goggle mask hiding the emotions in his gaze, "We need super-humans like you."
"No, you don't." Silas replied with a frown on his face, turning away from the man with a belittling gleam in his eyes. He joined Luke, feeling the piercing glares as he strolled away.
'This,' Silas closed his eyes, drawing in a deep breath, clasping his hands behind his back and relaxing his tensed muscles, 'Moments ago I was a worthless outcast. I am used to this.'
In this life, he was going to turn a new leaf as a video game streamer. He wasn't going to be some loser chasing validation but playing at his best to enjoy this— all of it.
"So, this testing you talk about," Silas started, causing Luke to jump with all his hair on ends. Silas raised a brow noticing the sweat on Luke's face when he turned around to speak.
"What about it?" Luke asked, ignoring the side glances he got from everyone else sitting or standing close to them, beads of sweat rolling down the side of his face.
"How long is it going to take?" Silas asked, cracking his fingers. Hearing the satisfying pop, and seeing those nearby back away from him, brought a mocking smirk on his face.
"Not very long. Is there a problem?" Luke heaved a sigh of relief, wiping the sweat off his brows, "You shouldn't worry much about those pestering wannabes. They're harmless."
"It's not that." Silas turned to the side where a pair of translucent grey eyes locked with his cold gaze, causing him to wear a frown, "I just feel a bit uneasy from all the icy stares."