The Mastermind's Return to Retribution

One hundred years of bitterness. One chance to erase it all. In the 21st century, the world didn’t just change; it rotted. As the "Awakening" granted god-like powers to the elite, the gap between the empowered and the "Dormant" became a death sentence. Erik lived through a century of it, watching his family starve, witnessing the corruption of presidents, and surviving a war that left him with nothing but a thirst for revenge. When a dying stranger offers him a mysterious drug marked with a Golden Lion, Erik doesn't hesitate. He wakes up in the past, housed in his twenty-year-old body, back when his family was still the elite of the nation. But the "Awakening" he finally receives is far from what he expected. With a Strength stat of 0 and an Agility of 1, he is physically the weakest man on the planet. However, his Intelligence (100) and Luck (120) are off the charts, granting him the rarest of designations: The Mastermind. Armed with a "Guide Book" that reveals the hidden stats and tragic futures of those around him, Erik begins a high-stakes game of human chess. His first move? Rescuing Ezekiel Brown, a naive teenage prodigy destined to become the government’s greatest enslaved weapon. In this life, Erik won't be the one fighting on the front lines. He will be the one holding the leash. From the shadows of his family’s mansion, he will build an army of the world's strongest warriors, outsmart the corrupt leaders of the future, and ensure that those who stepped on the weak finally learn to crawl. "The world thinks power is found in a sword or a spell. I’m going to show them that power is knowing exactly where to strike."