Chapter 1

I was an average teenager, wasting my life away in countless works of fiction, seeking an escape from my dull and mundane world. I had a good life, family, and everything I could ever need, but I dreamed of something... more.

Life passed too fast; one day, I was in the back of the car going to soccer games, and the next, I was driving to college. I hoped I would get through this next stage in life, make friends, and find a path for a promising future. All I heard was a loud horn and, then... nothing.

Those hopes and dreams were crushed into a bloody mess by an 18-wheeler.

I was dead.

***

"Congratulations, little worm! You have won the Samsara Lottery sponsored by the Guild of Gamers!"

'Wh-what the fuck!'

I am staring at a short, creepy, yeti-lookin' ass dude, wearing a grin that seems to split his face.

"Aww, that's not very nice!" He says, wagging his finger at me.

'Shit, he can read my mind.'

"Or, more accurately, your soul; you no longer have a brain! Moving on, rejoice, little one, for you have won an all-inclusive reincarnation provided by the lovely folks at the Guild of Gamers!"

'So I won some sort of universal lottery?'

"More like omniversal lottery! To keep it short, every fictional thing there ever was, exists! The package you have won already includes a destination for your reincarnation, so you don't have to worry about that!"

'HOLY FUCKING SHIT, FUCK SHIT FUCK!!!!!'

"Yes, well, moving on from your existential crisis, I am going to spin this colorful-looking wheel over here, and whatever it lands on, you win!"

Using one of his stubby yeti arms, he pushes the wheel solidly, making it spin so fast it looked like one color.

'PLEASE, SOMETHING GOOD!!!! PLEASE, GOD!!'

The wheel slows and slows, the words on the wheel indiscernible until it finally stops.

!Essence of the Warlord!

'YES YES YES YES YES, HOLY SHIT YES!!!!!'

"Well well, arent you a lucky boy? That's one of the mid-level rolls still good though."

'So do I need to do something or...?'

"You are good to go; enjoy yourself. hopefully, your luck doesn't run out too quickly..." His eyes flash red while he gives me a grin way too wide.

He snaps his fingers, and all turns black once again.

***

A small form could be seen hiding behind a dumpster glaring at a particularly happy-looking hoodlum. It darted from its hiding, crashing into the man before dashing away.

The victim dashes after the thief into an alley; scowling as he sees his wallet, he runs to it, only to get a wooden plank to the face.

The thief lets out a childish laugh and takes everything from the man leaving him in his boxers lying on the filth-ridden ground.

Finally, in safety, he removes his hood showing a grinning young boy's face covered in dirt and dust. He had long wavy black hair that went to his shoulders and sharp purple eyes.

"What a cheap bastard he barely had any credits."

He pocketed his gain, re-hooded himself, and stood up.

"Time to head back to the shithole."

***

Living in the outskirts sucked.

It was like an Indian slum, except you had to worry about the occasional super-powered junky, giant fucking rats, and somebody falling asleep and waking up as a monster that looks like it was pulled out of Cthulhu's ass.

Yeah, when I found out I was in the world of a novel I used to read, I freaked the fuck out. Especially when I knew I was living on a planet where 50% of the landmass was filled with eldritch creatures from a different realm that barely anybody knew anything about.

I would be lying if I said I didn't feel excited at all though, imagining myself slinging around lightning and fire, destroying monsters.

But over time, I had adapted, the essence warping my personality little by little each year; some might be scared, but I embraced the change.

Every month the cold, the blood-curdling screams at night, and eating whatever I could find became more bearable. The world tried to break me down, but I had endured.

Over the years, I had done everything I could to improve myself, but with being born in the outskirts, I could only do so much.

I'll tell ya that winning a lottery to get reincarnated in my dream world, only to end up coming out of a hollowed whores womb in the middle of a human hive, sucked balls.

But, I had hope, I would start a new stage in my life today because today I was getting taken to a government childcare facility where; I would get adopted. You might ask, *cue dumb voice* you might not get adopted; you're just a no-good thieving street rat!

Due to the Essence, my face was the epitome of cuteness, even covered with who knows what. Now I just have to act the part of a curious, intelligent child and flash my cute charm, and I will get adopted by a wealthy lady in no time!

However, I had to return to the hive for them to pick me up. Human hives were just giant prisons you paid to stay at, hundreds of families lived in one hive, and each cell was a ten by ten room. The hive I stayed at used to be a hospital hundreds of years ago, which is ironic.

And well, since over 20% of The City's population was sent to the outskirts, the hive meaning became literal.

Walking past the depressed families and sleeping? bodies, I walked into my "luxury" cell, filled with more rat shit and blood than last time.

Over the years, I had gathered all the credits I had sto-*cough* borrowed in a bag under a loose tile, and today would be the first time I took it out with me.

Sitting on the cold hard floor waiting for the government workers to arrive, I planned.

***

A man in a grey suit stood before my cell, scowling at the filth around him.

"Son of Mysha?"

"Yeah, that's me."

He proceeds to write something down on a clipboard. "Do you have a name?"

"Yeah, it's Atlas."

He gives me a weird look. "odd name." he mumbles, writing it down.

"Okay, come along now."

We walk down the flight of stairs to the bottom of the hive. Walking out of it, I see a large bus, somewhat reminiscent of a school bus, except for its dark exterior.

He takes a paper off his clipboard and sticks it in a folder. "Join the others in the bus; find an empty seat."

I climb the stairs onto the bus and see dozens of dreary eyes staring. I ignore it and walk into the first empty seat I spot. Slowly the bus starts up, and we are moving.

***

It has been a few months since I left the outskirts.

The facility wasn't anything extraordinary, but it might as well be a six-star hotel compared to my previous living situation.

Clean floors, clothes, and bathrooms; we could even take showers! After a few months of decent food and a clean face, I looked as cute as a button, ready to use my boyish charm on rich old ladies!

They had taken all of our pictures to show off, so we could get adopted. I had made sure to smile like an innocent, pure boy and had even reddened my cheeks to look cuter.

Adoption had opened today, and it was only a matter of time before I was chosen.

I would use my looks to get adopted and get my new parents attached to me, and my rise would be assured!

***

AN: Hey, this is my first chapter; please comment on anything I should do differently or any ideas you have. I need all the critiques you can give me to improve my writing! I wanted to make this longer, but I felt this was a good place to stop; the next chapter will be a time skip anyways.

PLEASE READ THE INFO AUXILARY CHAPTER

If you enjoyed this chapter, give me stones!