I entered the city to spend the night in a hotel and go look for my friend first thing in the morning. As soon as I stepped into the lobby, I saw something I never expected: the boss and his daughter were there.
I instantly pulled my hood down over my face and walked straight to the reception desk to get a room.
The boss stared at me hard and said:
"You… you look kinda familiar."
I answered calmly:
"You must be mistaken."
The boss barked an order:
"Take off his hat!"
I resisted, but the servants grabbed me and yanked the hat off. My face was exposed; the same miserable employee who used to get beaten every day.
The boss roared with disgust:
"You filthy rat! Why do you have to appear wherever I go?! Listen up… you don't even deserve to rent a room here. Your very presence makes everything dirty! You bring bad luck and misery wherever you go!"
Rage boiled inside me. My eyes burned with hatred, my lips trembled, and I whispered under my breath:
"I won't forgive… I won't forgive… I'll kill all of you… torture first, then death!"
The servants beat me and threw me out onto the street.
Burning with the fire of revenge, I muttered to myself:
"Just a few more days, my friend… after I get my revenge, I'll come find you."
Then I headed straight for my secret hideout: Thousand-To. A place only I knew. The place where my revenge would truly begin.
Demonic laughter echoed through the darkness.
Thousand-To was the dungeon I had built myself to upgrade my skills. I had the Level Appraisal skill.
I walked in without a shred of fear; I knew every path and every secret like the back of my hand. Suddenly an A-rank monster appeared in front of me.
I smiled, drew my dagger, and with a single thrust into its left eye, I dropped it dead. The glowing XP window appeared again, but no points were added. I didn't care. I kept moving forward, cutting down every A-rank monster like they were leaves, without losing even a single point of HP.
Finally I reached the gate of the Thousand-To King; an enormous door covered in precious gems and gold.
I gouged out the eye of the guard statue in front of the gate, placed it into a socket on the door, and with a thunderous roar the gate swung open.
King of the Giants (The Black Titan)
The king spoke:
"So you managed to get past my powerful guardians."
A devilish smile spread across Yagami's lips.
The king roared in fury:
"You insolent worm! How dare you smile in the presence of a king?!"
"You're not even worth me using my true power to crush you."
He raised his great sword to strike, unaware that this man had already defeated him once before.
I dodged instantly, lunged at his legs, and carved a tiny wound into the king's foot with my dagger.
The king bellowed in rage:
"How dare you mock me?! I'll finish you with one blow!"
He gripped his sword tighter, but suddenly the blade slipped from his hands. Blood sprayed from his mouth and eyes. He collapsed to the ground and, with a trembling voice, gasped:
"How… how could you know my weakness… you were nothing but a worthless human…
I should never have underestimated you…"
His vision faded. The last thing he saw was Yagami's hateful, demonic laughter.
I stepped forward, pried open the king's forehead, and with a terrifying laugh declared:
"From this moment on… live in nothing but fear and despair!"