Fate Hates You

It felt like a punchline to a joke he never asked to be a part of.

The last thing he remembered was collapsing onto the floor of his bedroom after returning home from work and beating a video game called Paradox of The Olympian Gods.

A few seconds later, he wakes up to excruciating pain and an agonizing migraine.

Just what had happened to him?

To add salt to the wound, he quickly pieced together why he looked like his original character, Vortex.

"I've been transmigrated..." he concluded, his tired eyes growing wider and his heart burning.

"Calm down... Panicking won't help..." he told himself as he took slow breaths and shook his head.

"First and foremost, I need to find out where I am. Judging from these decrepit buildings, I'm either in Pyrros or Chryseon Hollow..."

Nico then thought of something that seemed logical to have in a transmigrator's arsenal.

"Status."

A holographic red screen popped open right in front of him, displaying his statistics, similar to how an RPG would.

The red hues were stylistic with clear fonts and Greek key patterns surrounding the interface.

「PLAYER STATUS – [V777 (Vortex_7)]」

◆ Level: 1

◆ Race: Phoenix

◆ Class: [Locked] (Lvl. 30 Required)

◆ HP: 75 / 100

◆ MP: 150 / 150

◆ Aestrol Coins: 0.00

— ATTRIBUTES —

◆ Strength (STR): 15

◆ Endurance (END): 20

◆ Dexterity (DEX): 18

◆ Luck (LUK): ★☆☆☆☆ [Fate Hates You]

— RANKINGS —

◆ Overall Value: 1,579th Place

◆ Location: Pyrros

◆ Allies: None

— ABILITIES —

None Unlocked

— INVENTORY —

0 / 30 Used

Nico furrowed his brows as he read his stats.

"With 18 Dexterity, you'd think I'd tank hits better. This game's broken."

He inspected the rest of his screen and smiled wryly. 'Ah, that makes sense...'

His luck was 1 out of 5 stars, which meant that he was 1 star away from certain death.

"'Fate Hates You...'" he read the text beside the luck stat. "I suppose it's better than having zero stars. Plus, my luck can increase over time, so I won't dwell too much on it."

He glanced at his left arm and noticed a health bar that was at an alarming orange colour.

Then, he finally concluded that he was in Pyrros, which was known as the bloody paradise and the worst starter area to spawn in.

Most new players spawn in Athanatos Drymos, which had a direct Adventurer's Guild and low chances of danger lurking.

Then again, his luck was at a disappointing 1 star, so it made sense.

He rubbed his chin in contemplation. 'The guys that attacked me are players... I know that because they identified me as one as well. That means there are others here.'

'My top priority should be to get gear before asking about how the others got here.'

Nico looked through the map and began walking towards the Adventurer's Guild.

His feet stomped onto the cold, hard and cracked tar road, his eyes inspecting every corner his peripheral vision would let him.

As he walked through Pyrros, he saw just how terrible the state of the town was.

Broken windows, moss and other fauna growing in places they shouldn't be, and abandoned cars with no wheels or doors.

Swords, empty mags, knives and other broken items were scattered around the floor.

Not to mention, the town reeked of sewerage and scattered trash, which Nico didn't mind too much.

In his old life, he lived in a neighbourhood that was relatively similar to Pyrros, so he had little room to be surprised.

Apart from the fact that he has a system and has been transmigrated, he had no reason to be stunned.

Just as he was lost in his thoughts, he heard footsteps approaching him.

He stopped abruptly and subtly glanced behind him, his eyes slightly widening.

A man with a thick beard, torn brown coat, ripped black pants and rain boots was breathing heavily as he stared at Nico.

Nico turned around and noticed that the man was carrying a knife in his hands.

Nico slowly raised his arms. "Look, man. I don't want any trouble..."

"S-Shut up, and cough up the dough!" the homeless man retorted as he pointed his blunt knife at Nico.

Nico did his best not to panic, but his heart wasn't doing him any favours. 'Unless that thing lands a direct hit, I should be fine.'

"You think I won't do it?! Gimme the coins, pretty boy, or I'll fucking gut ya!"

「Player Synchronisation Begun...」

「Vortex_7 has been synched with Player!」

Nico watched the system screen in front of him display those very words and he suddenly felt his entire body change.

His entire body, mind and character felt lighter than a second ago.

He felt stronger, faster and more versatile.

It was almost as if he knew how to use his body to its greatest potential.

The feeling was too natural, almost scary, but he enjoyed it.

"Rraahhh!" the homeless man suddenly charged towards Nico with his knife held up in the air.

He swung his knife and Nico evaded instinctively, shocking the hobo and himself.

He then grabbed the man's arm and punched him on the nose, making him skid back and rub his bloody nose.

"Huh, I can't believe I did that!" Nico shouted in excitement.

The homeless man gritted his teeth and screamed as he ran towards Nico.

Then, he swung his knife even faster than before, forcing Nico into a corner.

His eyes suddenly glowed red as the man shoved his knife straight towards Nico's stomach.

SPLURT

Nico's body fell silent as blood pooled onto the ground, staining his hands and probably his soul.

His eyes were plastered on the blood on the floor, but when he slowly raised his head, he noticed the expression on the man's face.

He was bleeding from his eyes, ears and nose, vomiting blood immediately afterwards, some of it spilling on Nico's cheeks.

The man groaned with tears in his eyes and fell to the ground, the knife he was using stuck inside his stomach.

Nico's hands shook as he stared at his bloodied palms.

His breathing hitched and his stomach churned, bubbling and causing his stomach acid to rise.

He turned his body and bent over, vomiting a green and red substance, landing on his knees and coughing up a storm afterwards.

Nico scoffed and chuckled before vomiting again.

His eyes watered and he cried as he laughed in a low voice.

He glanced at the corpse that had emptied it's bowels and cried even harder.

Now, he had blood on his hands...

「+1 Value Added!

+500 Aestrol Coins

(Bonus Coins: æ500) – First Kill」

「Old Value: #1,579th Place

New Value: #1,578th Place」

「Level Up!

+3 system points earned!」

「WELCOME TO: PARADOX OF THE OLYMPIAN GODS

You are not special. You are a number.

The gods grow tired of filth clogging their world.

Humanity is diseased, plagued. You are the scalpel, the anti-virus.

Eliminate players. Increase your Value. Rise—or rot.

■ Bonus rewards scale with carnage.

■ Mercy is a weakness. Weakness is death.

Good luck, pawn.

— System」