Chapter 2

Back home, Cole made a call.

"Well, well, if it isn't the love-struck fool. What made you suddenly remember I exist?" A grating voice came through the line.

Cole's voice was ice-cold. "Cut the crap, Wes. You've wanted my shares for a while now, haven't you? 200 million. One lump sum. You buying or not?"

"You're selling your shares?"

Wes's voice instantly sharpened with excitement. "Of course I'll buy! But your shares are only worth 100 million. Asking for 200 million is a bit much, don't you think?"

Cole didn't budge an inch. "200 million. Not a penny less. You don't want them? I'll find someone else."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Wes's voice turned desperate. "Bro. Come on. Let's talk this out. Whatever you do, don't sell those shares to anyone else. 200 million it is."

"Five days. Get all the paperwork done and wire the money to my account. With your connections, that shouldn't be a problem, right?" Cole said lazily.

Wes hesitated for a moment. "It's doable. But moving that much cash requires pulling strings. There'll be some loss along the way, plus taxes..."

Cole cut him off. "That's your problem. Five days. I want to see the money. Short me a single cent, and you won't get the shares."

With that, he hung up without a second thought. He wasn't worried about the deal falling through.

Cole knew one thing for certain: no one wanted these shares more than his cousin, Wes Morrow.

Everyone at Nyxon High knew Cole Morrow was a rich kid with family assets in the millions.

But no one knew the real story went even deeper.

The now-famous Morrow Group—a leading enterprise in Dracoterra—had been built from the ground up by Cole's parents. It was worth billions.

If you wanted to find a richer second-generation heir, you'd be hard-pressed to find one anywhere in the country.

But then, ten years ago, an accident took both of his parents.

At just eight years old, Cole couldn't hold onto the massive conglomerate. Relatives and so-called friends picked it clean.

All that remained was a small portion of shares and assets his parents had set aside for him in advance.

Altogether, it was worth just over 100 million. Enough to live comfortably for the rest of his life.

If not for Sera Kane in his past life...

But maybe it was precisely because of that lack of family that Cole had thrown himself so completely into loving someone else. Trying to fill the void.

Even when Sera hurt him again and again, he kept going back.

If his parents were still alive—if his family had been whole—he never would have done something so incomprehensible.

'But... That's all in the past,' Cole thought, pressing a hand to his chest. His expression hardened.

It was precisely because he craved affection so desperately that he met such a miserable end in his previous life.

This time, he wouldn't repeat the same mistake.

He would ascend the throne alone.

And as for that "accident" back then—he would uncover the truth.

Right now, the battle for control of the Morrow Group was fiercer than ever. Whoever secured Cole's shares would gain the dominant voice in the company.

That was why—even though 200 million was double the actual value of his shares, Cole knew with absolute certainty that Wes wouldn't hesitate for a second.

If he hadn't needed the cash in hand within five days, he could have asked for even more.

Truth be told, he was selling at a loss.

But that loss was nothing compared to the advantage those 200 million would give him in the early days of Doomsday.

With the knowledge from his previous life, Cole was confident he could turn that 200 million into a thousand times—ten thousand times—its value.

And sure enough.

Just as he predicted, five days later, Wes showed up with all the paperwork, practically salivating to close the deal.

Only after confirming the funds had arrived did Cole sign the dozens of documents, one by one.

"I don't know why you suddenly came to your senses," Wes said, clearly in high spirits now that he had the shares. "But this is the smartest thing you've ever done.

"From now on, just sit back and enjoy being a rich nobody. Stop chasing pipe dreams. The Morrow Group used to belong to your parents, but that's ancient history.

"From now on, the Group has nothing to do with you. It belongs to me now. I've been more than generous in giving you this money."

Wes left, thoroughly satisfied, clutching the share authorization.

"Oh, and one more thing."

At the door, he paused as if remembering something. "Since we're family, let me give you some advice. Stop wasting your time on that fake-ass girl, Sera. She's not worth it.

"No matter what, you're still a Morrow. Don't embarrass the family name by acting like a lovesick puppy."

Cole nearly laughed. The absurdity of it all.

Even his mortal enemy—the man who'd been circling his shares like a vulture—could see that Sera Kane was a fake.

How had he been so blind in his past life?

As for Wes's little speech? He didn't give it a second thought.

He looked at the long string of zeros in his bank account and smiled.

'When Doomsday arrives... we'll see who gets to look down on whom.'

...

[Welcome to the game 'Doomsday.']

[The current game version is the Closed Beta. Player 'Cole Morrow,' you have been lucky enough to receive a Closed Beta invitation.]

[This test will last only three days. After three days, the Open Beta will begin.]

[Player 'Cole Morrow,' please choose your starting class.]

It was a Sunday. Just like in his past life, Cole clicked on that mysterious website and entered the Closed Beta of Doomsday.

There were many starting classes: Warrior, Knight, Mage, Farmer...

In his past life, he'd chosen Knight. Back then, he'd naively thought that being a knight willingly guarding his princess was romantic.

That thought? Kind of stupid at first glance.

But on second thought... it was actually even stupider than that.

Cole almost threw up his breakfast. The secondhand embarrassment hit him like reading his own angsty social media posts from his awkward teenage years.

What the hell was that "knight guarding the princess" nonsense? That wasn't romantic. That was textbook backup boy material.

And Sera—a princess? Please.

Even if she were, he'd been the one who put her in that castle. Now, all he wanted was to shove her into a grave.

"Screw that knight class. Let someone else play the fool. I'm going to be a noble Beastmaster."

Grumbling under his breath, Cole selected Beastmaster.

He'd chosen this class after careful consideration.

Because among all classes in Doomsday, Beastmaster had the highest ceiling. Bar none.

In his past life, he'd heard a story. A top-tier guild in Dracoterra, relying on their numbers, crossed a god-tier Beastmaster.

That Beastmaster showed up with his god-tier companion beast—the Abyssal Dragon. Just the two of them. And they slaughtered that guild until it disbanded.

The guild master died in real life too—his attributes had dropped below the critical threshold from dying too many times.

No other class could pull off something like that.

But Beastmaster had a serious downside. Raising companion beasts was insanely expensive. Way beyond what ordinary players could afford.

A god-tier pet like the Abyssal Dragon? The resources required were unimaginable.

But for Cole?

That wasn't a problem.

'Money? That's the least of my worries,' Cole thought, putting on an Elon Musk-like smug smile.

[Class selection complete. Please set your in-game nickname.]

"Darkcole." No hesitation there.

Once everything was set, Cole appeared in the game after a flash of white light.

Without bothering to check his surroundings, he immediately pulled up his status panel and nervously shifted his gaze to the bottom right corner.

And there it was. A gleaming golden button with two bright words: CASH SHOP.

Cole let out a long, relieved breath.

Even after rebirth, the game's direction hadn't changed.

Now came the best part.