Chapter 1: The Insult

The scent of money and Italian leather filled the office, a combination so potent it felt like a statement. From his position on the wrong side of a vast mahogany desk, Alex Thorne watched the late-afternoon sun glint off the skyline of the city, a view worth millions. For three years, he had poured his life into building the software that afforded his CEO, Julian Vance, this very panorama. Three years of seventy-hour weeks, cancelled plans, and a diet consisting primarily of lukewarm coffee and takeout.

All for a promised bonus. A sum of $50,000 in overtime, meticulously tracked and long overdue.

“Alex, you have to think big picture,” Julian said, his voice as smooth and polished as the crystal tumbler of whiskey in his hand. He swirled the amber liquid, the ice clinking softly. He was the picture of success—a tailored suit that cost more than Alex’s rent for a year, a charismatic smile that charmed investors, and an air of unshakeable confidence. “Cash is… tactical. Equity is strategic. It’s about ownership, a piece of the dream we’re building together.”

Alex kept his hands clasped in his lap, forcing a calm he didn’t feel. “Julian, we discussed this. The agreement was for the overtime to be paid out upon the completion of the Helios Engine rollout. That was two weeks ago.” He slid a single sheet of paper across the desk. It was a simple printout of his logged hours, the final tally circled in red ink: $49,875.

Julian didn’t even glance at it. He set down his whiskey and leaned forward, his smile becoming conspiratorial. “And I’m giving you something far better. I’ve been authorized by the board—which is to say, myself—to offer you a truly exceptional equity package.”

He produced a folder with a theatrical flourish. “We’re making you a stakeholder, Alex. A partner.”

Desire tightened its grip in Alex’s chest. This was it. The reason he had endured the endless nights. The obstacle, Julian’s slick corporate doublespeak, stood before him. Alex took the folder, his analytical mind already calculating possibilities. Maybe this was better. Maybe Julian was right.

He opened it.

The numbers stared back at him, stark and insulting. 0.01% of company stock, vested over a four-year period.

A cold knot formed in Alex’s stomach. He did the math in a fraction of a second. Innovatech’s last valuation was generous, but even at that inflated number, the total value of this “exceptional package” after four long years would be, if he was lucky, less than the price of a used car. It was less than the bonus he was owed right now.

It wasn't a strategic offer. It was an insult wrapped in corporate jargon. Julian was betting Alex was too timid, too grateful for the job, to call him on it.

“This is… nothing, Julian,” Alex said, his voice dangerously quiet. The paper in his hands trembled slightly. “This is a rounding error. You want three years of my life, the core engine of this entire company, for a pittance.”

The smile on Julian’s face tightened. The mask of the visionary CEO slipped, revealing the predator beneath. “Watch your tone, Alex. That’s a founder’s-level opportunity for an employee. Most coders would kill for a slice of a pre-IPO company like this. It shows a lack of loyalty to even question it.”

Loyalty. The word was a slap in the face. Alex thought of the birthdays he’d missed, the relationships that had withered, the sheer exhaustion he’d felt every single morning, all in the name of loyalty to Julian’s vision. A vision he now realized was built on exploiting people like him.

“My loyalty was demonstrated in the 1,425 hours of unpaid overtime I worked to build the Helios Engine from scratch,” Alex retorted, his voice gaining an edge of cold steel. “The engine you just licensed to OmniCorp for eight figures. An engine you barely understand but have no problem taking credit for in every magazine interview.”

Julian’s face flushed with anger. “You’re just a coder, Alex. You write the lines; I build the empire. You don’t seem to understand your place in the food chain.”

That was it. The final illusion shattered. Alex had always told himself that Julian, for all his flaws, respected the work. But he didn’t. To Julian, he was just a resource. A tool to be used and discarded.

The action was no longer a negotiation. It was a declaration.

Alex stood up, his chair scraping back against the polished floor. The movement was so abrupt it made Julian flinch.

“You’re right,” Alex said, his voice devoid of all emotion. “I’ve misunderstood my place.” He placed the insulting equity offer back on the gleaming desk. “I quit.”

The result was immediate and satisfying. The smug confidence evaporated from Julian’s face, replaced by pure shock, which quickly curdled into rage.

“You what?” he snarled, rising from his chair. “You can’t quit! You’re the only one who understands the Helios architecture. We have support contracts, scheduled updates…”

“That sounds like a problem for the stakeholders,” Alex said, turning his back on the CEO. “You’ll have my company laptop and keycard with HR.”

“You’ll be blacklisted!” Julian roared at his back. “You’ll never work in this city again! I’ll destroy you!”

Alex didn’t even pause. He walked out of the opulent office, past Julian’s stunned personal assistant, and into the open-plan workspace. The hum of servers and the quiet clatter of keyboards fell silent as heads turned. Everyone knew. The closed-door meeting, the raised voices. They saw the grim finality on Alex’s face. He gave a short, sharp nod to a couple of junior programmers he’d mentored, and then he was at the elevator, stabbing the ‘down’ button.

As the doors slid shut, sealing him off from the chaos he had unleashed, Alex felt a surge of pure, unadulterated fury. It was a clean, righteous anger that burned away three years of frustration. He had lost $50,000, but he had reclaimed his self-respect.

The elevator descended, and he stepped out into the pristine, soulless lobby of the Innovatech tower. He pushed through the heavy glass doors and into the bracing chill of the evening air. The city noise washed over him—the blare of horns, the distant wail of a siren.

He was free. And royally screwed.

But as he took his first step onto the pavement, a turning point, a surprise beyond all comprehension, occurred.

A flicker of light, like a digital glitch, bloomed at the edge of his vision. He blinked, thinking it was a stress-induced migraine. But it didn’t disappear. It solidified. A translucent, azure-blue box materialized in his field of view, humming with a faint, almost imperceptible energy. Lines of pristine white text scrolled into existence, as clear as if they were projected onto a screen inches from his face.

[Host Betrayal Detected. Threshold of Injustice Met.]

[Initializing System Protocol: R.E.V.E.N.G.E.]

[Recompense & Exacting Vengeful Equity Nexus Generation Engine… Activated.]

Alex froze mid-stride, his heart hammering against his ribs. He looked around wildly. No one else seemed to see it. A woman on her phone walked right through the space where the box seemed to be floating. It was only for him.

[New Quest Generated: The Insult] [Objective 1: Retrieve What Is Owed. ($49,875.00)] [Objective 2: Teach a Lesson in Consequences. (Punitive Damages Must Exceed Principal)] [Quest Rewards: Financial Freedom, System Upgrade, Peace of Mind.] [Accept Quest? Y/N]

A maelstrom of confusion and disbelief warred with the cold, logical part of his brain. This was impossible. A hallucination. A breakdown.

But the anger, still simmering beneath the surface, saw it for what it was. Not an illusion, but an opportunity. A weapon.

The cold glint in Alex’s eyes sharpened into a calculating focus. He looked back up at the glittering Innovatech logo on the tower, at the window of Julian’s office high above. The man thought he’d won. He thought he could steal a man’s work and time and get away with it for the price of a worthless piece of paper.

A slow, predatory smile touched Alex’s lips for the first time in years.

He focused his gaze on the glowing ‘Y’ in his vision.

Yes.