Ugh... ah... harder...
Philip slowly removed his headset and stared blankly at the ceiling.
The sounds from the next bed mixed perfectly with the storm outside. Rain slammed heavily against the apartment windows while thunder rolled across the night sky, but somehow none of it was louder than his roommate and girlfriend going at it like they were training for a marathon.
Another loud moan echoed through the room.
Philip rubbed his face.
"John," he said calmly, "one day your ancestors are going to personally apologize to me."
A laugh came from the darkness.
"Jealousy is dangerous for the heart, bro."
"Your stamina is dangerous for society."
The girl burst into laughter while John sounded way too proud of himself.
Philip sighed and leaned back in his chair. Honestly, at this point, he was already used to it. This wasn’t even the worst night. Last week they somehow broke the bed frame and still kept going.
He didn’t ask questions anymore.
Instead, he looked back toward his monitor with tired eyes.
His game character stood right outside the boss dungeon.
Again.
For the past few days, he had done almost nothing except grind this stupid boss for one rare item.
A mythical drop.
One weapon.
One.
The drop rate was disgustingly low, but somehow everyone online kept posting screenshots after ten or fifteen attempts like the game personally loved them.
Meanwhile?
Philip had fought the boss over a hundred times.
Killed it forty six times.
Died enough times to nearly uninstall the game twice.
Still nothing.
At this point, he was convinced his account had been cursed at birth.
He opened the guild chat again.
[ShadowKing]: GOT IT FIRST TRY LMAOOO
[DivineBlade]: Bro I got two drops today.
Philip closed the chat instantly.
"Animals," he muttered.
Another sound came from behind him.
Philip paused for a second before speaking again.
"You people are still going?"
John sounded offended. "What do you mean ’you people’?"
"You’ve been fighting longer than my boss raid."
"Skill difference."
Philip stared silently at the wall.
Then he slowly nodded.
"Fair enough."
Oddly enough, the stupidity helped calm him down.
His frustration faded little by little and eventually he cracked a small smile.
Maybe tonight would finally be the night.
He adjusted his cheap headset, ignoring the loose wire he had taped together three different times already. The storm outside only got worse. Lightning flashed through the room every few seconds while thunder shook the apartment walls.
Still, Philip focused completely.
Mouse.
Keyboard.
Energy drink.
Dungeon.
His fingers moved quickly across the keys as his character rushed through the familiar path toward the boss chamber.
Twentieth attempt today.
Maybe more.
He honestly stopped counting after fifteen.
"This time feels lucky," he muttered.
Then he immediately shook his head.
"That’s exactly what I said last time."
The dungeon gate opened.
The boss appeared.
A massive armored beast covered in dark flames stepped forward while the screen shook violently.
The fight started instantly.
Philip’s expression sharpened.
Everything else disappeared.
Rain.
Thunder.
Moaning.
None of it mattered anymore.
His fingers moved rapidly across the keyboard as attacks chained perfectly together. He dodged by inches, countered at exact timings, and squeezed damage into every opening he could find.
Then disaster happened.
One mistake.
A delayed dodge.
The boss slammed him directly.
His health dropped instantly.
1%.
Philip froze.
"So we’re doing this again."
The boss roared and charged.
Philip leaned forward calmly instead of panicking.
His eyes narrowed.
"Alright then."
His character slid under another attack with barely enough space to survive. Cooldowns rotated perfectly. Every movement became sharper. Cleaner.
The boss health dropped.
8%.
5%.
3%.
One final attack crashed toward him.
Philip pressed the key at the last second.
Perfect dodge.
Counter.
Critical hit.
The boss exploded.
VICTORY.
Philip exhaled heavily and leaned back in disbelief.
"Still alive."
Then the loot screen appeared.
His heart immediately sped up.
No matter how many times he failed, this moment always hit differently.
The drop animation slowly began.
Golden light filled the screen.
Philip closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"Please," he muttered quietly. "Just once."
Honestly, he wasn’t even hoping too much anymore. Hope only made disappointment worse.
Then suddenly...
DING!
A different sound echoed through his headset.
Philip’s eyes snapped open.
Silence.
Then his mouth slowly opened.
"No way..."
Rare drop music.
His body stiffened instantly.
The golden animation became brighter as the reveal sequence started playing across the screen.
After all these tries...
After all those deaths...
After all the suffering...
HE FINALLY GOT IT.
"Yes!"
Philip nearly jumped out of his chair.
"I knew it! I freaking knew it!"
Even John paused behind him.
"Wait, did you finally get the drop?"
Philip grinned so hard his face almost hurt.
"Who’s cursed now?"
The reveal animation kept playing dramatically.
Too slowly.
Way too slowly.
Philip immediately started smashing his keyboard.
"Skip it already!"
Another flash of lightning lit up the room.
But this one felt wrong.
Much brighter.
Much louder.
Philip turned instinctively.
BOOM!!
The window exploded inward.
"What the—"
Lightning crashed directly into his gaming desktop.
The monitor exploded with sparks.
Smoke burst everywhere.
Philip fell backward in shock while the room went completely dark.
The smell of burnt plastic instantly filled the air.
For a few seconds, nobody spoke.
Rain poured through the shattered window.
Philip slowly looked toward his destroyed setup.
His setup.
The setup that survived three years.
The setup held together mostly by hope and tape.
Gone.
And worst of all...
He never saw the item.
Philip stared at the burning screen with empty eyes.
Then he looked upward.
"You know what?" he said weakly. "At this point just strike me too."
Silence.
Then John whispered from the darkness.
"Bro... don’t say things like that during a thunderstorm."
Philip opened his mouth.
Another flash appeared.
His eyes widened.
"Oh you’ve got to be kidding m—"
BOOOOM!!
The second bolt came straight through the broken window.
This time, it hit him directly.
White light swallowed everything instantly.
The last thing Philip felt was the smell of burnt hair.
Then darkness.
A/N:
If you enjoyed this Chapter, please add to library! And stay updated on posted Chapters.
Thank you for giving the book a chance, I’m confident it’d leave you wanting more.
Ps: It wasn’t a mistake the MC’s name began as "Philip" in contrast to the synopsis. "Damon" is the name he inherited after transmigration.