Villain Hiring: Help! Author Wants Me Dead

It had been almost 8 hours before I woke up again, still feeling fatigued probably due to it being my first time today using a VR Pod and that too for 2 virtual days—

Not like that was a thing, Maxin had said.

But for someone like me who was slow when it came to technology, calling it like that nade it easier for me to understand.

Luckily, I had changed into my sleepwear before passing out on this velvet sofa, saving me the efforts of getting out of this comfy sofa-cum-bed and go change again.

It was night already, around 8 pm.

And judging from the closed door to what was supposed to be my room in my childhood, I guessed that Pixie must have returned back and signed off to rest.

Not to forget the fact that unlike me, she did not even have any powers.

Still, that girl had guts.

The kind that didn't always scream or fight or swing a sword—but the quiet kind.

The kind that endured.

Anyways, keeping my thoughts about her aside.

I was starting to feel hungry.

Night had fallen.

The estate was always quieter around this time.

No energy weapons clanking.

No training dummies exploding.

No cousins yelling about strategy or team formations.

Just soft ambient lights and the occasional chirp of birds that calmed the brain.

My stomach growled like a Tier 1 beast had been denied evolution.

I needed food.

Groaning. I forced myself upright, folding the blanket I'd been curled up in.

My joints cracked like I was eighty.

Probably all that simulated damage catching up with me.

After folding the sheet and tossing it onto the couch's side arm like some exhausted bachelor from a bad sitcom, I shuffled toward the kitchenette.

Now, when I say kitchenette, don't imagine something classy with mana-infused blenders or an AI-operated stovetop.

No, this was your classic old kitchen that shouted home.

Home sweet home.

I opened the top cabinet and there it was—The Golden Treasure.

Instant noodles.

The good kind.

Rich in sodium, low in life decisions.

I held the packet like it was some sacred relic. "You and me, buddy. Like the good ol' times." I said, feeling giddy.

It was stupid how something so simple made me feel happy and rejuvenated.

I filled a pot with water, let it boil, and began my ritual.

Tearing the packet open with reverence, I dumped the dry noodle brick into the pot, the smell of preserved wheat and stale spice powder hitting me like all the nostalgia at once.

While it cooked, I leaned against the counter, eyes hazy, just…remembering the past.

Back in the outskirts of the Von-Stein Empire, when I used to live with grandma Sylvie, I used to do this almost every night.

Not because I had some deep craving for cheap noodles, but because I had to.

The money grandma earned from backery for the two of us was barely enough to keep us afloat.

Not to forget that Ma also needed medicines at that time to cope up with her health.

And so, Instant noodles were what I could afford as my new comfort food.

I'd sit under the dim light of my study table on the first floor, reading those old scroll-like textbooks about combat theory, mana training, while slurping them like a poor man's child.

No VR pods.

No enchanted beasts.

And definitely nothing to do with these scheming old gods.

Just silence, broken by my slurps and the wind beating against the half-broken window.

And now?

Now, so much time had passed that even the Von-Stein Empire had changed.

After the System descended, it didn't even keep its name.

It was just the Subcontinent of Rome now—fancy title slapped on by the all powerful Gods after a thousand restructures.

Borders were redrawn and Cities were merged.

Mana towers had started to be constructed everywhere as the trend of cults popped out of nowhere.

Nit only this, but because of the system, even people with untapped or unawakened potential had started to arise and gain power.

The whole hierarchy and power system made through ao many trials and errors throughout the century had all vanished from existence like some texts of the past.

All that old familiarity, gone.

I used to hate how small my world was.

How stuck I felt.

But now that I think back to it, I kind of miss it.

To be honest?

I'd been missing it since the day Ma said that we had to leave.

Siiii*

A loud whistling sound woke me from my thoughts, looking behind me, I realised that the noodles were ready.

Turning of the flame, I grabbed a ceramic bowl—yes, I had one, and poured it all in.

The steam rose like incense at a shrine, fogging up my face for a moment and I excitedly looked forward to the taste I had become so uses to eating that it had actually become my comfort food.

Adding the flavor powder, I gave it a mix, and took the bowl back to the couch.

Deciding not to turn on the lights since it was night already, I just sat there, bowl in hand as the room became dim except for the soft streetlights outside filtering in through the blinds.

Not wasting another precious moment, I slurped the hot and juicy noodles down my mouth.

They were salty…and slightly too spicy. I thought.

Perfect, just the way I like em.

For a second, nothing else mattered.

Not the missions.

Not the pressure.

Not the bloodlines or heirship or powers.

Not even the crazy system that had turned our world into some level-grinding nightmare.

Just noodles.

In the house that contained all of my memories with my mom...

'It felt good.' I thought, realising that I should do this more often.

The hum of the estate generators buzzed in the distance.

This, I realised—

This was peace.

Even if it only lasted until the next emergency or family drama or weird god-thing, I was going to enjoy it.

***