Chapter 1 · My Dad Is My Cheat Code

I was hijacked by a cosmic troll of a System.

It told me that I, along with another "Chosen One," had been dropped into the Kingdom of Aethelgard to compete in a growth race.

High score wins; the loser gets erased from existence.

The rules were simple: one modern item and one "cheat code" buff each.

My rival, Seraphina Cross, didn't hesitate.

"I want the Siren's Soul," she blurted out. "Total charisma. Irresistible to everyone."

The System approved it instantly. [Buff Active: Max Charisma, Natural Affinity.]

Then it was my turn.

"Choose your item and your buff," the System urged.

For my buff, I went with God-Tier Immunity, making me immune to every poison and disease in this world.

As for my item? The System probably expected me to bring a stash of fake jewelry or some miracle tech to scam the locals.

Instead, I said six words that made the System's internal gears grind to a halt. "I want to bring my dad."

The System glitched. "Request granted."

A second later, my father, Alistair Thorne, materialized beside me.

He looked eighteen again, but his aura was pure "Master of the Universe." One cold glance from him was enough to silence a riot.

Seraphina was busy gloating over her Siren buff, convinced she'd already won.

Poor girl. She didn't get it.

Most people cross over with a cheat code. I crossed over with the ultimate Boss.

The game was over before it even started.

*****

When I opened my eyes, I was staring at a drafty mud wall, moldy straw, and a spider crawling toward my face.

I stared at it for three seconds, then addressed the void. "System, get out here. We need to talk."

System: [Welcome, Host, to the Intergalactic Dual-System Championship!]

[The Rules: You will compete against Seraphina Cross for five months. We track five metrics: Health, Wealth, Happiness, Safety, and Reputation.

[Scores are tallied monthly. The loser gets their memories wiped and is dumped back in the original world.]

[Bonus: You may bring one modern object and receive one exclusive buff.]

I went silent for a moment. "One modern item, right?"

[Yes.]

"What do people usually pick?"

[Data shows 99.7% of hosts choose firearms, blueprints for advanced technology, or medical encyclopedias.]

I nodded. "I pick my dad."

[Please make a valid selection, Host.]

"I pick my dad."

[Host, please be serious. Bringing a person is not standard procedure.]

"The rules say I can bring one thing from my world. My dad is an object of my affection, isn't he? Now stop stalling."

The System went dead silent for a full three seconds.

I could practically feel a cosmic AI frantically searching for a loophole.

Finally, it emitted a very human-sounding, defeated sigh.

[Rules verified. Selection is valid. Scanning target...

[Target found: Alistair Thorne, 38, modern business legend, net worth... actually, that is irrelevant now.

[Establishing connection...

[Connection successful.]

The next moment, a man appeared beside me.

My father was wearing his loungewear and holding a half-eaten apple.

He looked down at his hand, glanced at the squalor surrounding us, and finally locked eyes with me.

"Clara," he said, his voice as calm as if he were asking what I wanted for dinner. "Where are we?"

"The past," I replied.

"Oh." He took a crisp bite of his apple. "Are you cold?"

"No, I'm good."

"Hungry?"

"I just woke up. Not yet."

"We will handle that in a minute." He scanned the room, noting the holes in the wall and the moldy straw. "This place is a dump. We are moving."

He examined the structure with the focused intensity he usually reserved for a multi-billion dollar merger.

I sat on my pile of straw, watching him. My throat felt a little tight.

Anyone else would have panicked or had an existential crisis. My dad? His first thought was my comfort, followed immediately by a renovation plan.

System: [Unique combination detected. Recalculating buffs...

[Host Clara Thorne receives: God-Tier Immunity. You cannot be poisoned, you cannot get sick, and you can eat whatever you want without an upset stomach. You are basically indestructible.

[Companion Alistair Thorne receives...]

The System froze.

[Error. Unable to bind. Target refuses to accept System Buff. Attempting forced binding...

[Binding failed. Retrying... Failed.

[Target has generated his own Buff: 'My daughter is always right; anyone who touches her dies.'

[System accepts this Buff.]

I blinked. "Wait, what?"

My dad finished his apple, tossed the core out the window, and wiped his hands. "Let's go. Let's see what passes for breakfast in this century."

I scrambled to my feet and followed him.

At the door, I remembered something. "Dad, we are broke. We don't have a cent of the local currency."

"I know."

"In a place like this, you can't do anything without money."

"I know."

"Do you have a plan?"

He stopped and looked back at me.

It was a look I had known my whole life.

It was the look that meant someone was about to lose a lot of money, and it wasn't going to be him.

"Clara," he said. "Do you know what I am best at?"

I thought for a second. "Making money?"

"Nope." He shook his head. "It is making sure you have the best of everything."

He stepped out into the sunlight.

Following him, I realized that maybe this survival thing was not going to be so scary after all.

System: [Positive mindset detected. Triggering Hidden Perk: Age Lock.

[You and your companion's physical ages are permanently locked at 18.

[To outsiders, you will appear as a pair of strikingly attractive siblings with elite charisma.]

I stared at my dad's now-eighteen-year-old face.

He was, objectively, a heartthrob.

Knowing he was my father made the "sibling" thing feel a little weird, but I could work with it.

[Current Growth Score: 0. Please work harder.

[Warning: Rival Seraphina Cross has activated her Hidden Talent: 'Chosen One.'

[Effect: Every time she fails, her Growth Ceiling increases by 10%. The more she loses, the higher her potential becomes.]

I paused, looking at the stale bread I had just found.

My dad looked back at me. "Something wrong?"

I caught up and showed him the System message.

He read it and smirked.

It was the kind of smile a tiger gives when it heard a rabbit had learned a new trick.

"Clara," he said. "Do you know what I am best at? It isn't just winning."

"Then what is it?" I asked.

"It is making sure the people who think they are going to win realize exactly how it feels to lose."

Seeing that smile, I couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for Seraphina, even though I'd never met her.

Chapter 1

I was hijacked by a cosmic troll of a System.

It told me that I, along with another "Chosen One," had been dropped into the Kingdom of Aethelgard to compete in a growth race.

High score wins; the loser gets erased from existence.

The rules were simple: one modern item and one "cheat code" buff each.

My rival, Seraphina Cross, didn't hesitate.

"I want the Siren's Soul," she blurted out. "Total charisma. Irresistible to everyone."

The System approved it instantly. [Buff Active: Max Charisma, Natural Affinity.]

Then it was my turn.

"Choose your item and your buff," the System urged.

For my buff, I went with God-Tier Immunity, making me immune to every poison and disease in this world.

As for my item? The System probably expected me to bring a stash of fake jewelry or some miracle tech to scam the locals.

Instead, I said six words that made the System's internal gears grind to a halt. "I want to bring my dad."

The System glitched. "Request granted."

A second later, my father, Alistair Thorne, materialized beside me.

He looked eighteen again, but his aura was pure "Master of the Universe." One cold glance from him was enough to silence a riot.

Seraphina was busy gloating over her Siren buff, convinced she'd already won.

Poor girl. She didn't get it.

Most people cross over with a cheat code. I crossed over with the ultimate Boss.

The game was over before it even started.

*****

When I opened my eyes, I was staring at a drafty mud wall, moldy straw, and a spider crawling toward my face.

I stared at it for three seconds, then addressed the void. "System, get out here. We need to talk."

System: [Welcome, Host, to the Intergalactic Dual-System Championship!]

[The Rules: You will compete against Seraphina Cross for five months. We track five metrics: Health, Wealth, Happiness, Safety, and Reputation.

[Scores are tallied monthly. The loser gets their memories wiped and is dumped back in the original world.]

[Bonus: You may bring one modern object and receive one exclusive buff.]

I went silent for a moment. "One modern item, right?"

[Yes.]

"What do people usually pick?"

[Data shows 99.7% of hosts choose firearms, blueprints for advanced technology, or medical encyclopedias.]

I nodded. "I pick my dad."

[Please make a valid selection, Host.]

"I pick my dad."

[Host, please be serious. Bringing a person is not standard procedure.]

"The rules say I can bring one thing from my world. My dad is an object of my affection, isn't he? Now stop stalling."

The System went dead silent for a full three seconds.

I could practically feel a cosmic AI frantically searching for a loophole.

Finally, it emitted a very human-sounding, defeated sigh.

[Rules verified. Selection is valid. Scanning target...

[Target found: Alistair Thorne, 38, modern business legend, net worth... actually, that is irrelevant now.

[Establishing connection...

[Connection successful.]

The next moment, a man appeared beside me.

My father was wearing his loungewear and holding a half-eaten apple.

He looked down at his hand, glanced at the squalor surrounding us, and finally locked eyes with me.

"Clara," he said, his voice as calm as if he were asking what I wanted for dinner. "Where are we?"

"The past," I replied.

"Oh." He took a crisp bite of his apple. "Are you cold?"

"No, I'm good."

"Hungry?"

"I just woke up. Not yet."

"We will handle that in a minute." He scanned the room, noting the holes in the wall and the moldy straw. "This place is a dump. We are moving."

He examined the structure with the focused intensity he usually reserved for a multi-billion dollar merger.

I sat on my pile of straw, watching him. My throat felt a little tight.

Anyone else would have panicked or had an existential crisis. My dad? His first thought was my comfort, followed immediately by a renovation plan.

System: [Unique combination detected. Recalculating buffs...

[Host Clara Thorne receives: God-Tier Immunity. You cannot be poisoned, you cannot get sick, and you can eat whatever you want without an upset stomach. You are basically indestructible.

[Companion Alistair Thorne receives...]

The System froze.

[Error. Unable to bind. Target refuses to accept System Buff. Attempting forced binding...

[Binding failed. Retrying... Failed.

[Target has generated his own Buff: 'My daughter is always right; anyone who touches her dies.'

[System accepts this Buff.]

I blinked. "Wait, what?"

My dad finished his apple, tossed the core out the window, and wiped his hands. "Let's go. Let's see what passes for breakfast in this century."

I scrambled to my feet and followed him.

At the door, I remembered something. "Dad, we are broke. We don't have a cent of the local currency."

"I know."

"In a place like this, you can't do anything without money."

"I know."

"Do you have a plan?"

He stopped and looked back at me.

It was a look I had known my whole life.

It was the look that meant someone was about to lose a lot of money, and it wasn't going to be him.

"Clara," he said. "Do you know what I am best at?"

I thought for a second. "Making money?"

"Nope." He shook his head. "It is making sure you have the best of everything."

He stepped out into the sunlight.

Following him, I realized that maybe this survival thing was not going to be so scary after all.

System: [Positive mindset detected. Triggering Hidden Perk: Age Lock.

[You and your companion's physical ages are permanently locked at 18.

[To outsiders, you will appear as a pair of strikingly attractive siblings with elite charisma.]

I stared at my dad's now-eighteen-year-old face.

He was, objectively, a heartthrob.

Knowing he was my father made the "sibling" thing feel a little weird, but I could work with it.

[Current Growth Score: 0. Please work harder.

[Warning: Rival Seraphina Cross has activated her Hidden Talent: 'Chosen One.'

[Effect: Every time she fails, her Growth Ceiling increases by 10%. The more she loses, the higher her potential becomes.]

I paused, looking at the stale bread I had just found.

My dad looked back at me. "Something wrong?"

I caught up and showed him the System message.

He read it and smirked.

It was the kind of smile a tiger gives when it heard a rabbit had learned a new trick.

"Clara," he said. "Do you know what I am best at? It isn't just winning."

"Then what is it?" I asked.

"It is making sure the people who think they are going to win realize exactly how it feels to lose."

Seeing that smile, I couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for Seraphina, even though I'd never met her.