"Older women are into me...
The first time I realized this was when I started noticing older ladies staring at me. I mean, you'll know a seductive gaze when you see one, right?
Then I became even more sure when my boss's wife gave me a kiss on the cheek.
I still remember how hot her breath felt.
It's not that I'm not happy about that fact... It's just that there's this satisfaction that comes with knowing the girls your age are attracted to you."
Gary finally leaned back on his chair after answering the question.
He took a sip of his orange juice as he stared at Andy, who was frozen beside him.
Gary just rolled his eyes, ignoring his friend's over-exaggerated expression.
Andy was genuinely shocked by everything Gary just said, but what made him even more shocked was the fact that he had only asked Gary a simple question:
"Why don't you have a girlfriend?"
And yet, he didn't realize that there was so much story to it.
After a few seconds, Andy finally blinked.
"Uhm... How old is your boss's wife again?"
"She's 43 years old, if I remember correctly," Gary answered, taking another sip.
Andy adjusted.
"And did I hear you say girls your age? What the actual fuck is wrong with you?!"
Andy spoke a little too loud, making everyone in the cafe look at him and Gary.
Staring at Gary with a rage-filled expression, he continued,
"Do you know how many guys dream of having this superpower you're taking for granted? Heck, if I had this, I would've slep—"
"It's not that deep, Andy," Gary cut him off. "Stop being delusional and start thinking of how to get a job."
Andy sighed.
"Well, if I were you, I would start getting closer to that boss's wife. There's no greater feeling than losing your virginity to an experienced woman."
Andy added,
"Take this advice from a man of culture."
Gary scoffed. "Just shut up, bro."
After speaking with Andy a bit more, Gary entered a bus, ready to head home.
As usual, he found his way to the last seat at the back, directly next to the window.
It was his favorite spot.
While waiting for the bus to get filled, he unlocked his phone and opened the novel app.
His gaze lingered on the novel that was first in his library.
It read:
Rise Of The Strongest Ability User.
'Still no updates,' he thought. 'It's been three weeks now.'
A few minutes later, all the seats were finally occupied and the bus began moving.
Gary kept his phone and began looking outside through the window.
Finally, the moment he was waiting for arrived.
The golden hue of the sunset hit his face as a smile formed on his lips.
The golden hue also cast itself in the sky and on the busy road.
Gary's smile widened.
"I live for moments like this."
But then...
BOOM!
"AGHHHHHHH!!!"
Gary's head instantly snapped forward, looking ahead to see what was going on.
And what he saw left him awestruck.
Flaming rocks tore through the sky, slamming into buildings, cars, and screaming people. The bus jerked as chaos erupted all around.
"AGHHHHH!"
People on the road screamed as they ran for their dear lives.
"What the fuck!?" Gary blurted out as the occupants of the bus began screaming.
The driver instantly accelerated, trying to move as far as possible from the road.
'What the hell is going on?!' Gary screamed in his mind. 'An apocalypse?!'
But then, another blazing rock tore through the sky, heading towards the back of the bus.
Before Gary could react...
BOOM!
A blinding blaze engulfed his vision.
Gary laid on the ground in the pool of his own blood, his eyes fixated on the sky.
'So this is it...? No heroic death?' he thought.
'Sorry, mum, dad... and... Andy...'
With that, he died.
**********
"Young Master, please wake up..."
A melodic voice drifted into Gary's ears like a whisper. Though, for some reason, he found it hard to open his eyes.
'Ah... I survived, huh?' he thought. 'Someone must have taken me to the hospital.'
Finally managing to open his eyes, he was met with the pretty face of a girl... Something he was able to realize even though his vision was quite hazy.
'Nurses are really pretty...'
But then, his brows furrowed as he realized something.
'Did she call me young master?'
At this point, Gary had regained a bit of strength.
He raised his upper body and sat upright on the bed. But as soon as he looked around, his eyes widened.
'W... What? Whose room is this?'
In that same moment, memories flooded his brain, making him frown a little.
It wasn't painful. It just stung a bit.
As soon as the maid noticed the frown on his face, she quickly knelt down and placed her head on the floor.
"I'm sorry if I've done anything that annoyed you, Young Master. I will accept any punishment you give me."
Gary would've been startled by what the maid just did, but he had already realized what was going on through the memories he just received.
'I'm in the world of Rise Of The Strongest Ability User, huh?' he thought, his eyes still a bit widened.
This was his favorite novel when he was on earth, and even when the author was releasing chapters at a really slow rate, he would re-read the novel while waiting for the new chapter.
'Hmm, so I'm in the body of Raiven Ashland... An extra.'
Gary squinted his eyes.
'The Ashland name appeared quite a few times in the novel.'
Realizing that he was already spacing out, he quickly snapped out of it and looked at the maid.
"Stand up, Lily. You didn't do anything wrong."
Lily quickly stood up and straightened her maid uniform. Though, she had a slightly surprised expression on her face, which Gary noticed.
"I ended up in the body of an idiot," Gary muttered under his breath.
Raiven usually bullied his maid and spoke to her like she was trash even when she didn't do anything.
'Bullying is an understatement,' Gary thought. 'This guy literally does inappropriate things to her.'
That was why she was so scared when she saw the frown on his face.
Gary looked at her again.
"Why did you wake me up?" he asked gently.
"Lord Ashland asked me to get you prepared. He wants to see you," Lily answered.
"Okay," Gary said.
Lily continued,
"I've prepared the bath. Just the way you usually like it."
Nodding, Gary got up from the bed and began walking towards the bathroom.
But as he was about to open the door, he noticed that Lily was following him.
'I can just stop her, but it'll be too suspicious,' Gary thought.
He entered the bathroom with Lily following behind him.
Within a few seconds, he was already relaxed in the bathtub.
Lily began washing his back, but then, her hands began moving downwards.
Gary quickly caught her hand.
"Just my back is okay."
"Huh? B-but that was your or-order," Lily stuttered.
"It's okay," Gary said. "You don't have to do that anymore."
"O-okay."
Gary almost let out a sigh as he closed his eyes.
'I have to focus on the Awakening Ceremony today and also think of how I'll survive the "Armageddon". Since today is the Awakening Ceremony, then there's just six months before Armageddon begins,' Gary thought.
But there was something bugging him.
'I know the Ashland name is quite reputable, but why do I feel like I've seen this Raiven name in the novel before?'
Even though he had already regained all the memories of the original Raiven, he still couldn't access them completely. It was like his brain was arranging the memories in different folders before they would be completely available to him.
But after a few seconds of thinking, he suddenly remembered.
'Wait... My name is Raiven Ashland. That means I'm among those who...'
Raiven's expression instantly changed.
A look of horror appeared on his face after remembering what he did.
'Shit... I'm dead.'
A few minutes later, "Raiven" left the bathroom and wore a simple shirt with trousers.
The Academy he applied for had a special training for individuals who were yet to become students at the academy.
There, Avin Lionheart, the protagonist, was always bullied before he awakened in the ceremony.
As soon as he awakened his Disaster Rank Flame Ability, the first thing he did the next day was kill his bullies.
Raiven opened the door and stepped out of his luxurious room.
'Today is the Awakening Ceremony, and tomorrow is the day Avin kills his bullies.'
'And unfortunately...'
Raiven began walking towards his father's study room.
'... I'm one of those bullies.'