The Bodyguard System - Chapter 385 The Lab

Ethan's head throbbed violently as he opened his eyes, his vision hazy and unfocused. A dull ringing filled his ears, drowning out his thoughts.“What’s happening…?” he thought, his mind sluggish, struggling to catch up with reality. One moment, he was asleep—or at least, he thought he was—and the next, searing pain forced him awake.His vision swam, shapes blurring together in a disorienting mess. But then, muffled noises filtered through the haze—frantic, panicked sounds. Someone was trying to scream, their voice smothered, choked by something.A cold shiver ran down his spine.As his sight gradually sharpened, Ethan's breath hitched.He was on all fours, looming over someone. A girl.Her body twisted and writhed beneath him, ropes biting into her wrists and ankles. Her mouth was gagged, muffling her cries. Her wide brown eyes, brimming with fear and fury, glared up at him.Ethan's body locked in place, his blood running cold.“What the…?” His mind reeled, thoughts slamming into each other in chaotic disarray. “What kind of bizarre dream is this?”Panic clawed at his chest. His breath came in ragged, uneven gasps as he scrambled backward, only to realize his limbs felt sluggish, uncooperative, like they didn’t belong to him.“Is this… is this some kind of twisted fantasy I never knew I had?” A sickening thought slithered through his mind, making his stomach churn.The girl's frantic squirming slowed for a moment, her gaze flickering with confusion as she took in his expression—his trembling hands, his wide, horrified eyes. But the fear returned just as quickly. She struggled harder, her body arching, her muffled screams rising in pitch.Ethan wanted to speak, to say something, anything, but before he could force out a word, a glowing blue window materialized before his eyes.His breath caught.A translucent, hovering screen?“What…?”Lines of glowing text scrolled across its surface.---[System Activated…][Host Confirmed.][Simulating Previous Data…]Ethan awakens in a mysterious world, shackled by a curse that clouds his judgment and drives him toward choices he never wished to make. Burdened by guilt and responsibility, he must navigate the fallout of his actions while unraveling the truth behind the curse—and his place in this enigmatic new reality.

Rael screwed up badly. One reckless gamble later, and his guild's entire emergency fund was gone. With debt collectors ready to harvest his organs, his only hope was a single, desperate gacha pull.Ding![Congratulations! Player: Quarterpounder69 has obtained the (Divine) Grade item, Eye of the Beast!][Divine Grade item obtained! All Stats +250][First Divine Grade item obtained! All Stats +100][New title unlocked! [Heavenly Attraction] (Divine)]With no other choice, he consumed the item—only to be thrown into a situation no player had ever faced before.[To ensure fairness, please select a random number. This will determine which boss monster variation you become.]'Uh, I don't fucking know? 69... hmm, maybe not...'[Confirmed.]'Wait—'[Congratulations! You've chosen the Special-Type Boss Monster Variation: The Pay-to-Win Boss.][Congratulations! You've become a Boss Monster!]Armed with broken perks like [Premium Leveling], [Premium Evolution], and [Premium Shop], Rael was thrust into the world of the VRMMORPG game he had been playing.The issue was, he went back in time, specifically, 150 days before the launch of version 1.0.

It was in the middle of the night that the woman who would be the Duchess came to see me.

She said my father and mother died, and my kind uncle became king.

She said it’s not worth it for me, the crown prince, to be living in hiding, too.

“A while ago, Your Highness had been hiding from me. With all due respect, is that for the sake of survival? Just because your parents died doesn’t mean you have no reason to survive. Actually, that fact alone made it all the more reason why you should live. If you die now…”

If I died now?

When I asked her while looking at her eyes, the woman eventually brought out the harsh truth with empathetic eyes.

“It’s like a dog’s death.”

“That’s rude….”

It’s been a long time since I said that. In a short while, he has been treated as a madman and beaten to death just by saying similar things. She loosened her arms that held me and I suddenly stiffened up due to it. Because I thought she might have loosened her arm to hit me. But she didn’t.

She knelt down with one knee in front of me, just like a knight.

“Hastred’s Sarian raised her salutations. May you accept it gladly.”

My first knight is beautiful and kind.

“Are you on my side?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

It was all a lie.

The world ended in 2012. Hao Xuan was transported to a new realm along with the rest of humanity. The novel follows his adventures through this vast new plane, fighting men and beasts alike, making friends, finding love, and etching out his own existence in the boundless universe all the while trying to unravel an insidious plot that he has unwittingly become a part of.Romance, humor, friendship, betrayal, loss, schemes, light, and darkness.All the creatures from your dreams, stories, and movies are real in this absurdly wonderous world.TLDR: A Xuanhuan Eastern High fantasy novel centered around a displaced teen from earth in a world of cultivators, mythical monsters, Archaic Demons, and Old Gods.Tags: Magic, Adventure, Cultivation, Martial Arts, XianXia, Romance, Futuristic, Story Buildup, Demons and Gods, Gore and Violence, Armies, Kingdom Building, mystery, exploration, sci-fi, Mech, World Jumping.Official Discord (contains all new reference images): https://discord.gg/AHdSBFQPatreon with the first 8 Privileged Chapters among other benefits: https://www.patreon.com/shinigami8671