Aiden sat on the floor of his flat for a long time, just staring at the familiar ceiling.
He'd just lived an entire life in another world. Fought assassins, met a dragon and claimed an ancient inheritance. And now he was back in his moldy London flat like none of it had happened.
Except it had.
His hands still remembered the weight of Long Chen's sword. The power he once wielded fading like an illusion and the cultivation technique sat in his memory like a second set of instincts.
But none of that changed the fact that he was broke. The thought hit him like a splash of cold water.
He still had rent to pay.
Aiden scrambled for his phone, fingers clumsy as he pulled up his banking app. The screen loaded slowly, each second stretching.
Current Balance: £50.47
Rent Due: £1,300.00
Overdue: 2 Days
His stomach dropped. Two days. He'd been gone for almost a week in the story world, but here it had only been two days. Time didn't sync up.
And he was still fucked.
"System!" he shouted at the empty room. "Nabu! Anyone!"
A notification appeared.
[Divine Influence Active]
[Your published works will be enhanced by Nabu's blessing]
[Expected manifestation: 3-5 days]
[Royalties and reader engagement will increase significantly]
Aiden stared at the message. Then he bursted out laughing. It was a harsh, bitter sound.
"Three to five days," he said flatly. "Great. Fantastic. And what am I supposed to do until then? Starve? Get evicted?"
The system didn't respond.
"I risked my life!" His voice rose, cracking. "I fought assassins, I jumped into an abyss, got beaten half to death by a dead guy's ghost. And you're telling me I have to wait three to five days for my books to maybe start selling?!"
Still nothing.
Aiden kicked the desk. Pain shot through his foot but he didn't care. "You left me with nothing! No money, no plan, nothing! What kind of bullshit divine contract is this?!"
Silence.
He grabbed his jacket off the chair and stormed toward the door. He didn't know where he was going, he just needed to get out before he put his fist through the wall.
The door slammed behind him as he exited the room.
-----
Aiden walked aimlessly for nearly an hour before he found himself standing outside Westfield shopping center. The massive building loomed ahead, all glass and steel, people streaming in and out like ants.
He looked down at his phone. £50.47.
'Fuck it,' he thought. 'If I'm going to be homeless in three days, might as well spend it on something that isn't instant noodles.'
He pushed through the doors and let the noise swallow him. Shops lined every wall, bright and loud and full of things he couldn't afford. Families walked past with shopping bags. Teenagers clustered around phone kiosks and a couple argued near the escalators.
Normal people doing normal things.
Aiden headed for the food court on the second floor. If he was burning his last fifty quid, he'd at least get a decent meal out of it.
He was halfway up the escalator when someone called his name.
"Aiden? Aiden Jus?"
He turned and immediately regretted it.
Marcus Grant stood at the bottom of the escalator, grinning like he'd just won something. Two others flanked him, it was Claire and that tall guy whose name Aiden had never bothered learning. All three wore hunter gear. Casual stuff, but the insignia on their jackets made it clear.
They were E-rank hunters.
Marcus jogged up the escalator to catch him, still grinning. "Mate, I knew that was you! How've you been?"
"Fine," Aiden said shortly.
"Fine?" Marcus laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. "Come on, it's been what, ten years? Don't be like that."
The others caught up. Claire gave him a polite smile that didn't reach her eyes. The tall guy just looked bored.
"So what've you been up to?" Marcus asked. "Still writing those books?"
Aiden's jaw tightened. "Yeah."
"Any luck with that?"
"Not really."
Marcus winced theatrically. "Ah, that's rough, mate. Really rough." He gestured to himself and the others. "We've been doing alright though. Just got certified last year. E-rank, but it's honest work, yeah?"
Claire nodded. "The pay's decent. Better than most office jobs."
"And the benefits," the tall guy added. "Guild insurance, dungeon access, hazard bonuses."
Marcus grinned wider. "Remember when we all took the awakening test together? Man, that feels like forever ago."
Aiden said nothing, clenching his jaw so tight he was half-scared he'd break a tooth.
"You failed yours, didn't you?" Marcus continued, his tone shifting just slightly. Still friendly on the surface, but with an edge underneath. "That must've been hard. I mean, we all got through, but you… yeah."
"I'm aware," Aiden replied flatly.
"No shame in it though," Claire said quickly. "Plenty of people live normal lives without awakening. You've got your writing, right?"
"Which doesn't sell," the tall guy muttered.
Marcus elbowed him but didn't disagree. "Still, it's good you're keeping busy. Doing… something."
"Yeah," he said instead. "Something."
Marcus opened his mouth to say more when the ground shook.
It wasn't subtle. The entire mall trembled, hard enough to rattle the escalator beneath them. People stumbled. Someone screamed and the lights flickered once, twice, then went out.
Emergency lights kicked in, bathing everything in red.
Then the floor cracked.
It started near the center of the food court, a thin line that spread rapidly, branching out like lightning. Tiles buckled and shattered. The crack widened, and something moved underneath.
People started running.
A clawed hand burst through the floor. Then another. A creature dragged itself up and stood to its full height. It was hulking and gray-skinned, with too many teeth and eyes that glowed faintly in the dim light.
A goblin. No, bigger. It was an orc.
More followed. Dozens of them, pouring out of the widening crack like rats from a sewer.
"Dungeon break!" someone shouted.
Chaos erupted. People screamed and stampeded toward the exits. The orcs roared and charged after them, tearing through anyone too slow to move.
Marcus swore and yanked a short sword from his belt. Claire pulled out a staff. The tall guy summoned a shield of blue light around his arm.
"Stay back!" Marcus yelled at Aiden. "We'll handle this!"
The three of them rushed forward, engaging the nearest orcs. Marcus's blade flashed, cutting into gray flesh. Claire's staff crackled with electricity. The tall guy blocked a heavy strike with his shield and countered with a punch that sent an orc stumbling.
They were trained. Competent.
But they were outmatched.
More orcs climbed out of the crack, followed by something worse. A larger creature, easily twice the size of the others, with armor made of bone and a weapon that looked like a huge thigh bone with spikes driven through it.
An orc chieftain.
It roared, and the sound shook the air.
Marcus's face went pale as he saw it. "Shit. That's at least B-rank."
"We can't handle that!" Claire shouted.
One of the orcs swung its weapon. The tall guy raised his shield and the impact shattered the barrier, sending him flying into a nearby shop window. He didn't get up.
Claire screamed his name and rushed toward him. An orc grabbed her from behind. She blasted it with lightning, but two more tackled her to the ground.
Marcus tried to help, but three orcs surrounded him, forcing him back step by step.
Aiden stood frozen, watching.
The chieftain turned toward him.
Its eyes locked onto him, glowing red and hungry.
Panic ran through Aiden as he ran for his life, desperately searching for a hiding spot in the mall.
He dashed into a clothing store and saw a stroller with a crying baby in the path of one of the rampaging orcs with its weapon raised high.
Gritting his teeth, he ran with all his might trying his best to get to the baby before the orc crushes the baby.
Realising he wouldn't be able to get the child out in time, he jumps in front of the incoming club with his eyes closed and hands crossed bracing himself for the impact.
Boom!
The sound akin to a grenade going off rang out.
Aiden opened his eyes as the expected heavy impact did not come, he saw the wooden club shattering as a familiar aura surrounded his hands.
"Sword aura?"
A/N
Merry Christmas to everyone❤️.
Sorry I stopped uploading. Had a problem coming up with ideas for this books and what to write but anyways I've gone pass that.