As I said, the cousin of the Empress had requested me—me, Akai Akanji—as her personal joy toy. Disrespectful? Maybe. But let's be honest, who wouldn't request a late-night snack like me if given the chance?
She passed away under… mysterious circumstances. No poison, no trauma. Just gone. But hey, her death got me a room in her apartment—right below the Empress herself.
Now, I have one goal.
Win her heart. Rule the ocean.Simple plan, right? Like a Disney prince… if Disney had more cursing and sword fights.
Sure, I just got whooped by a burglar with a chip addiction, but let's not dwell on setbacks.
(Sound of heels echoing in the corridor)
Wait… someone's coming up the stairs.
Akai leaned against the door like a spy on a sugar rush, eye pressed against the peephole. There she was—the Empress—walking like she owned gravity itself. Two female royal guards flanked her, both armed and polished like museum pieces.
Green eyes behind thin, circular glasses, sharp enough to slice a man's pride.Her hair tied in a sleek ponytail, giving the impression that she'd choked the concept of elegance into submission.And that fragrance—like moonlight had learned to make perfume.
Akai was entranced, part love-struck, part power-hungry.
But mostly, he wanted the throne beneath the waves.
A tournament was approaching—the Abyssus Gauntlet, where only the fiercest warriors from every aquatic clan would compete. The winner? Immense power, fame, and direct access to the Empress.
The problem?
"I can't even beat my own meat," Akai muttered, face deadpan. "How the hell am I gonna beat sentient sea monsters?"
That's when a memory hit him like a toxic ex's text at 3AM.The old man. The one who always blocked the street and tried to sell him a crusty piece of paper labeled System Activation.
Akai used to laugh. Insult him. Sometimes flipped him off while drinking bubble tea.
Looking at his broken piggy bank, Akai sighed. "I'm the poor person I was mocking."
That night, cloaked and masked, Akai sprinted through alleys like a shadow with unresolved issues. He snatched the paper from the geezer's hand.
The man exploded in fury."You motherf—! Run into your mama's holes, you ugly d*-sucking bastard! Total PUSSY! AND I DON'T MEAN CATS!"**
Akai dodged a cane swing and bolted. "Those insults… will live rent-free in my head."
But more importantly—he had the papers.
Flipping through them, his eyes widened. The map led to a dungeon where a 500,000-year-old Sacred Serpent once reigned. A monster who devoured millions of mystic beasts. Its pearl—holding eons of raw power—still rested in its tomb.
And it was located in the Eastern Society.
"No time to nap."
Akai armed up. Gears locked. Blades magnetized. Reishi ignited around his body, forming a streak of violet-blue energy.
He moved like vengeance incarnate—at 270km/h—shredding through the ocean winds. Whales turned around. Sharks swam sideways. Even the octopus saluted as he passed.
A few hours later, he arrived.
The Eastern Society was a ghost town. Death hung in the air like smoke from an ancient funeral.
"This place was cursed after the Serpent's final rampage," Akai whispered. "My grandmother used to tell me bedtime stories about it—how a hundred monks sealed it with their last breath."
Now he was here to take its power.
The dungeon loomed, broken and jagged. Darkness leaked out like blood from an old wound. A sign at the entrance blinked with a warning:
"ABANDON HOPE. SERPENT DREAMS ARE NIGHTMARES."
Akai cracked his neck and smirked. "Good. I never had much hope to begin with."
He dove in. Swinging through stone arches, evading bone-spewing traps and mutant bugs the size of mini-coopers. Ghosts hissed. Shadows whispered.
But he was too fast. Too determined.
He reached the core.
There, laid the massive corpse of the Sacred Serpent. Its eye sockets hollow. Surrounding it were hundreds of armored skeletons—fallen warriors of past centuries. The pearl, glowing like a dying sun, sat in the skeletal palm of one long-forgotten knight.
Akai reached out—but froze.
He had no idea how to absorb it.
No training. No chant. No fancy hand sign. Just panic.
Behind him, something moved.
The shadows came alive. Skeletons clanked forward. Shadow beasts rose. A titan the size of a building cracked its knuckles.
Akai panicked, snatched the pearl, tried to run—boom!Dungeon gates slammed shut.
No escape. Only war.
And the pearl? It messed with his grip. His blades jittered like faulty Wi-Fi. No choice left.
He shoved the pearl in his mouth.
It tasted like cosmic regret and raw lightning. But it worked.
Akai unleashed hell. He bounced off walls, spun through midair, slicing down creatures like a blender from another dimension. Screams echoed. Darkness screamed back.
Then—WHAM!
A tank-like beast landed a punch straight to his jaw.
Akai hit the floor. Nose broken. Jaw cracked. Vision swimming.
He was surrounded.
The pearl was gone.
He closed his eyes.
"I wish I could've met you, Sensei…"
"SYSTEM ACTIVATED."
Suddenly, Akai woke up in a blooming garden, vibrant and warm. His wounds were gone. Pain erased.
And standing before him, sipping tea with annoying peace, was Sensei Akutaki.
"Hey, son. Unexpected meet-ups are kinda… well, unexpected."He pointed at a table. "Tea? I have biscuits shaped like fish. Very on-theme."
Akai chuckled weakly. "Sensei, I just came to check in. Glad you're alive."
"Of course I am. I'm under contract." He winked. "Come visit again. Maybe on my marriage anniversary?"
"Sure. Sounds nice."
Akai walked away into golden mist.
Then whispered: "Wipe the dirt out of me."
FLASH!He reappeared in his bathroom, soaked in energy. A voice crackled from inside his mind.
"Do it yourself, son of a bitch."
Akai blinked. "Wait… You're the pearl's power?"
"Nah. I'm your System Ally."
"Like Windows or Mac?"
"More like Linux. Unstable, deadly, and underappreciated."
Akai smirked. "Do you have a name?"
"Call me Kwame. Now—wanna configure some upgrades?"
Akai grinned, feeling his blood surge with new strength.
"Hell yeah. Let's get started."
Chapter 3: GLOW UP ARC BEGINS!