Once Human, Now a Parasite - Chapter 11

Have you heard of it?In the dead of night, if you turn on a music player, put on earphones, hide under the blanket, and listen to a single on loop…After it loops forty-four times, you will fall asleep. If you are unlucky when you open your eyes again, you will no longer be lying on your bed, but you will enter a strange space completely isolated from reality.That space… On the surface, it looks like the places we usually see—your bedroom, living room, underground parking garage, bathroom, basketball court, construction site, and so on. But if you observe carefully, you will discover that they are different… Everything is different.***This is the experience of an ordinary person who, after acquiring superpowers, transforms and grows step by step in Dead Ends to reach the peak.

Riding out the apocalypse on a tropical island isn't exactly a vacation. When mana arrives on Earth, Coop finds himself isolated in paradise with only one real option to survive. He needs to claim a civilization shard and level up. Coop maximizes his chances by carefully selecting a class and committing to progression. He’ll need to grind thousands of monsters to compete on the system's leaderboards while upgrading his settlement to represent the factionless.

In a fantasy world where martial artists can split mountains and creeks with a wave of their hand and break rivers with a kick, there exists a little restaurant like this.

The restaurant isn’t large, but it is a place where countless apex existences will rush into.

There, you can taste egg-fried rice made from phoenix eggs and dragon blood rice.

There, you can drink strong wine brewed from vermillion fruit and water from the fountain of life.

There, you can taste the barbecued meat of a ninth grade supreme beast sprinkled with black pepper.

What? You want to abduct the chef? That’s not going to happen, because there’s a divine beast of unfathomable level, the Hellhound, lying at the entrance.

Oh, that chef also has a robotic assistant that killed a ninth grade supreme being with a single hand and a group of crazy women whose stomachs were conquered.

“Aria,” he said softly. “Today is your birthday.”It wasn't a question, but I nodded nevertheless.“The moon is full tonight,” he added, his voice quiet. “You will attend the ceremony.”“Of course, Elder,” I replied, puzzled. All eighteen-year-olds attended the ceremony. It was essential.He leaned in, smelling gently. “You already feel it, don't you? ”The change.My heartbeat skipped. “What change?”Elder Malin's eyes narrowed. Interesting. “Very interesting.” He reached inside his pocket and retrieved a little pouch. “Wear this tonight.”I accepted it hesitantly. Inside was a simple moonstone pendant with a leather cord.“But this is for—”“Wear it,” he interjected. “Hide it under your clothes if you must, but wear it.”Moonstones were precious. They aided our connection to the Moon Goddess during ceremonies. However, they were only given to wolves from influential families (Alphas and Betas). Not Omegas like me.“Why?” I questioned.Elder Malin glanced at Mira before returning his attention to me. “Because someone is harboring secrets about you, child. And tonight, those secrets may be revealed.”I never mattered in our pack. Omegas like me serve, submit, and survive. We don't dream of love. We don't dream of power.She was the future Luna. I was just the girl who watched from the shadows.But everything changed on my 18th birthday.I felt the bond. I met my mate.One of the Alpha's sons.But the Alpha has triplets, and I felt the mate bond with all three and it seems the three of them felt it too — three perfect warriors, three powerful Alphas, three secrets buried beneath the surface.One of them is my destiny.One of them is lying.And one of them might be the death of me.The Moon Goddess doesn't make mistakes... but this time, I think she might've given me too much to handle.