— 10 Minutes Before The Grand Alteration Spell —
Amidst the gleaming towers and bustling streets of Sector Alpha City, nestled in a prestigious district, lies the luxury condominium of Aryan Sharma, CEO of Astral Tech. His residence exudes modern elegance and comfort, a testament to his status.
In his master bedroom, where the CEO usually finds rest, Aryan is hard at work on projects assigned by Daniel. Tonight, he focuses on launching a new line of affordable prosthetics and smartphones featuring cutting-edge technology.
However, Aryan's concentration is fractured by a myriad of concerns weighing on his mind. Recent events, including the conflict with Tessia Kingdom and the outbreak of a bio-weapon from an underground lab, as reported by UN personnel, have left him uneasy.
During the chaos, Aryan observed unsettling phenomena and found himself among evacuees escorted to shelters by soldiers clad in formidable battle armor. Later, he discovered that these soldiers were mercenaries from his boss's private military company.
The Director of his boss's PMC, Penthesilea, and her Vice Director, Odysseus, met with him to discuss cooperation due to essential resource shortages such as food and daily necessities that needed to be imported from elsewhere because of the massive influx of refugees from the Tessia Kingdom.
Currently, the security of Sector Alpha City was fully managed by the PMC, along with traditional authorities like the fire department and police, who were integrating into the company's employee system. Frankly, he believed that in terms of authority, the PMC seemed to hold more sway than the traditional establishments.
However, as the CEO of Astral Tech, his position afforded him the opportunity to witness many peculiar occurrences that cast doubt on the UN staff's claims that the demon-like creatures were products of science.
During his time working under his boss, he had a chance to talk with Don Veneciale and even went out to eat with him and some of his confidantes. During that time, Don Veneciale seemed intoxicated enough to speak unfiltered. He once mentioned that in this world, there existed hidden realms where magic and creatures from myth and nightmare, such as vampires, ghosts, and demons, were real.
Initially, Aryan dismissed it as drunken ramblings. But after the war and witnessing numerous strange phenomena, along with the grotesque corpses of demonic beings washing ashore, his skepticism waned. The swift intervention of UN personnel to collect the bodies and evacuate the area further fueled his doubts.
All of this led him to consider the possibility that magic might indeed be real. He found himself leaning towards believing that Don Veneciale's drunken babble held some truth about the hidden realities of the world.
At that moment, a strange light emanated from the west, the same direction as his panoramic window. The yellow glow intensified as it approached, causing his laptop to abruptly shut down, as if power had vanished into thin air.
"Is that... magic?" Aryan uttered, before the light enveloped him and the entire city.
Aryan braced himself for the anticipated pain, expecting the searing burn of whatever strange force enveloped him. But instead of agony, he felt an intense pressure building in his head, threatening to split it open. The pain was unbearable, and he longed for relief from the torment.
Isn't this the same situation as those manhwa!? A strange, mischievous smile spread across Aryan's face as he approached the side of the boyfriend, poking his cheek with his finger.
poke poke...
There was no response, no retaliation in the form of a fist aimed at his face. "This plastic surgery face is really good; it has the same texture as the real thing," Aryan mused to himself, amused by the lifelike touch of the frozen plastic surgery face guy.
Seeing this, Aryan giggled as if he had been given a jolt of energy. He quickly retrieved his pen and began to draw on the man's face, adding a "men's jewel" picture near the man's mouth and some cut-like drawings here and there, finishing it off with the words "Plastic Man."
"Hahahahahaha!" Aryan laughed to himself before heading toward the elevator. However, he suddenly stopped, as if remembering something important.
Turning toward the frozen, beautiful woman in the tempting outfit, Aryan hesitated, pacing back and forth. He didn't want to be the kind of person who would take advantage of a woman in a situation like this, reminiscent of the peculiar manhwa with a tag of "Time Stop." He wasn't a degenerate.
...Okay, maybe he was a little bit degenerate, but he wasn't that bad. [But maybe... just a touch. A small touch wouldn't hurt.] Aryan thought, his gaze lingering on the woman's chest.
Moving closer, his heart rate intensified as his hand inched toward its target.
DING!!
"Arrrrg! It's not me! It's not what you think, officer!" Aryan screamed in alarm, hastily retreating at the sound of the elevator.
The doors opened, revealing an African descent skinhead man stepping out, eyeing Aryan with a puzzled expression.
"What the hell are you talking about..." the man began, but then he noticed the couple and the man's face covered in drawings. He also observed the woman, her beauty undeniable.
"Ooohhh hohohoooo, you degenerate. You want to do those things from those degenerate manhwa with the Time Stop tag? Ohhh buoyyyy." The man said with a knowing, mischievous smile as he approached the CEO.
The man was none other than Viper, the mage hunter, who had arrived on a job from The Hightower.
"So, you're one of the natural awakened mages? Can you come with me, Mr. CEO?" asked Viper.