While Rex stood there, paralyzed and dazed by his surroundings, "thump," something landed behind him. Rex slowly turned his head, then immediately lunged forward and spun around. A giant lizard with a long neck, a long tail, and a head like a dragon—its wings fused to its arms—had landed on top of the ruins of his shop, which was now only half a building. Rex, having just returned from another world where monsters were common and very real, knew exactly what was staring him down with such ferocity: a wyvern.
"Skraaaaaak!"
The wyvern let out a roar, opening a wide mouth filled with jagged teeth and dripping saliva right in front of Rex. He scrambled backward.
"Why is there a wyvern here?" Rex asked, baffled.
Before he could find an answer, the wyvern dug its claws in and lunged. Rex dove and rolled to the side, popping back up into a low crouch as the wyvern circled him. Instinctively, he reached for the sword at his waist, only to realize he wasn't carrying one. He had no weapons at all.
"Crap... am I really about to die again?" Rex muttered to himself, eyes locked on the beast.
The wyvern shrieked again and dove. Rex rolled once more, but this time the wyvern whipped its tail around, catching him square. Rex blocked by crossing his arms over his face, "thwack," "ugh!" The force of the blow sent him flying backward. He managed to stick the landing, though his feet tore a path through the dirt and the few remaining patches of asphalt. He stood up, his arms trembling. The wyvern circled again, this time settling into a predatory crouch, its eyes glaring at Rex with pure malice.
"Damn it... damn it... damn it... if only I still had my power... huh... maybe it's worth a shot," Rex said in his head.
Rex stood tall, bracing himself. He held one palm out and gripped his trembling arm with the other. The wyvern screeched again, arching its neck as a glow began to rise from its throat; it was getting ready to blast him with a fireball. Rex closed his eyes and searched for the flow of energy in his body. He could feel it—the energy he had trained for years in the other world was still there, deep inside. He snapped his eyes open, and this time, his gaze was steady and certain.
White and gray energy spiraled up from Rex's feet like a tornado, surging toward his palm. A faint outline of a massive conical spear began to form, rapidly filling with a brilliant white light that started spinning like a drill.
"Prism Spear!"
Rex shouted as he unleashed the projectile. The massive, rotating cone of gray and white light tore through the air just as the wyvern spat a massive fireball. Rex's spear pierced straight through the flames, scattering them, and slammed into the wyvern's chest. "Skraaaaaak!" The wyvern shrieked as the spear bored through its heart. It flared its wings, its head snapping back in a final cry before, "boom," it crashed to the ground, dead, with a charred hole through its torso.
"Haah... huff..."
Rex panted, catching his breath. He wiped the sweat from his chin with his sleeve and stared at his palm.
"I still have my power... thank god... I really thought I was a goner," Rex muttered breathlessly, a look of relief washing over his face.
Suddenly, the sound of an engine reached his ears. Rex stood up straight and scanned the area. At the end of the road, an open-top Jeep was heading his way. He squinted and saw three people—a man driving and two women—all dressed in military fatigues.
"People," Rex muttered, looking unimpressed. He placed a hand on his injured arm, healing it with a flash of white Holy magic.
***
Okay, let's fast forward. The people who rescued me were three "adventurers" in a Jeep... which is honestly absurd. They were each carrying two types of weapons: traditional stuff like swords, axes, and spears, but also carbine rifles and pistols. Crazy, right? I had no clue what had happened to Earth. Oh, right—the world is called Terra now, and there's only one city left for humanity. There are only about two million people left out of over eight billion.
This Earth is a parallel version of the one I knew. In 2026, right after I was shot and sent to the world of Arendel, a portal opened in the sky across the entire globe. It was caused by scientists messing around with different energies that eventually exploded. Because of that accident, monsters from other worlds—everything from slimes, horned rabbits, and goblins to full-on kaiju—showed up here. I ended up coming back to this world and waking up in the year 2196, 170 years after I was shot.
Those three adventurers—John, Katie, and Nora—took me to a place called Neo Subterra. It's a high-tech metropolis that can retract underground and is protected by a dome. Magic exists here on Terra too, not much different from Arendel. They registered me with the city government, which turns out to be an AI, under the name Rex—no last name. So, after being betrayed twice and dying twice, I ended up in a world that's basically mid-apocalypse. The universe really loves its jokes, and fate is a real piece of work.
I've been in this city for two years now. I live alone in an apartment paid for by online trading, investments, and the occasional trading stream. I even built my own website for my business. I get a lot of sponsors and investors because I'm always honest in business, but lately, I've tried being a food reviewer. It's a good gig—no need to leave the house, I just order in, wear a mask, eat, and say it's delicious. My apartment is basically a studio now, haha. Life is safe. I'm not rich, but I'm not poor either. Just decent.
Why do I stay inside? I can't socialize. My trust issues are massive, and I just feel safer being a shut-in. But there's something weird here: even though I should be nineteen by now, I still look seventeen. Because of that, the system constantly flags me for school since education is mandatory here. And what do they teach? Magic. Same as Arendel. They have regular and military classes too, but the end goal is always the same: go outside the city, kill monsters, be an adventurer, and "save the world." No thanks. I'm done with that after Arendel. I killed the Demon King just to get stabbed in the back. Never again.
Don't get me wrong, I'm still enrolled and I take online classes sometimes, but I rarely show up in person. Luckily, a female classmate of mine comes over every day to bring me papers, exams, and assignments. She hangs out at my place until late and helps me clean up. It's nice, but as for romance? Forget it. My heart is frozen. It's hard for me to accept her, even though she's gorgeous—like a model. She'd probably put Grace and that damn princess to shame.
Aside from her, there's my nineteen-year-old neighbor. She's stunning and loves to drop by with food. Sometimes I review her cooking and praise her online, which helps her get orders. It's good to help a friend, right? She just likes to ask for photos sometimes, which is fine—it's just a photo. So, that's my life in this city. Only problem is, lately, some of my stuff has been going missing. Maybe I just misplaced it because my place is a mess, haha.
Now, about the city. Subterra is a miserable place to live. The government and bureaucracy are just like they were back on the old Earth, except the rulers aren't human—they're AI like I said before. Everything from laws to the economy is run by artificial intelligence. Jobs are the same as before, but everything is monitored and must be reported to the AI. If you commit a crime and get caught—even just stealing a piece of candy—the AI kicks you out of the city as punishment and bans you for life. Nobody who gets kicked out ever comes back. No one knows if they're dead or alive.
Then there's the caste system. You have the Elites, who work directly under the AI. They're trusted to carry out its orders and are basically above the law. They do whatever they want, so you might as well call them the mafia. Keep that in mind, it's important. Then there are the Workers—people like me—and the ones who usually get kicked out for stuff like embezzlement or petty theft.
The last caste is the poor, the outcasts, or the slaves. They do the grunt work, from being hired thugs to sex work. Doesn't matter if you're a guy or a girl, it's all the same. That's another reason I hate going out. As long as I'm safe, I don't need to use my power. But if someone messes with me, I'll level this city, hehe.
So, that's the intro. Let's get the story started, because my comfortable little life is about to get wrecked.