I leaned back in my apartment's leather chair, still faintly reeling from the whirlwind of the last few days. A fountain of youth potion. A cream that reversed age like time itself bent to my will. And now, I was moving on to building a company. Honestly, I didn't have much interest in being the head of a company—it was more or less just a way to support my family and a front for how I slowly wanted to introduce change to reality. For now, it was youth cream; eventually, I might even move on to taking Earth interstellar. All it would take was a quick trip to a universe like Star Trek or Star Wars.
"Ugh, finally off the phone… I'm definitely outsourcing all of this in the future." I grumbled. The patent lawyer I'd been talking to having agreed to meet me the next day. I let the phone slip from my hand onto the desk. The city lights flickered outside my apartment's wide windows, reflecting in my eyes as my lips curved into a smile.
"Step one," I murmured.
Behind me, Aqua walked in from the kitchen, carrying two beers with all the grace of a a drunken cat. She plopped onto the couch, nearly spilling both cans, her long blue hair cascading like a waterfall as she shouted "Keep it up, dear! The more money we make, the more we can slack off later!"
I swiveled in my chair, smirking. "Heh, I guess you're right. Besides, there's a certain appeal to showing off my success and being famous. I'm ready to get back to the grind soon though and level up some more."
Aqua nodded her head, red in the cheeks under my gaze as I slid an arm around her waist and pulled her close. The teasing smirk gave way to something softer as I leaned in. Our lips met, sweet and lingering — not just a kiss, but a promise of everything I intended to build.
When she finally pulled back, her face was scarlet. She coughed and jabbed a finger at the TV. "W-Well, I'll just… watch something in the living room while you do your boring business scheming."
I chuckled as she went to the living room curled up, flipping through reruns of some reality TV show where some blonde guy was yelling at people in a kitchen. Turning back to my desk, my laptop displayed the movie Limitless. I stared at Eddie Morra's transformation, at the crystalline sharpness of thought that came from a single pill.
My eyes drifted to the capsule sitting on my desk — real NZT, freshly acquired through my ability. I rolled it between my fingers, watching the light glint on its surface.
"With the fountain of youth, healing talisman, and healing spells available to me the side of effects of NZT may as well not even existed.
And then I swallowed it.
After just a few minutes the effects kicked in.
The world snapped into focus. My vision had sharpened, every sound distinct. My brain hummed, alive with impossible clarity. Memories I'd half-forgotten bloomed in full color. Childhood lessons, trivia, snippets of conversation — all weaving into a flawless web of understanding. My thoughts weren't linear anymore; my brain was the difference between old dial up and fiber optics.
I blinked at the screen, and suddenly I understood every decision Eddie Morra had made before Eddie even made them.
But unlike Eddie, there there would be no burn in my chest, no impending crash clawing at my mind. I wouldn't experience black out periods or any side effects. The eternal vitality of the Fountain of Youth surged through my veins, scrubbing away side effects, leaving only brilliance.
Grinning, I paced the apartment like with renewed energy and focus. My mind spun with plans: product distribution networks, marketing strategies, corporate structures. I could almost see the flowcharts glowing in the air around me.
And then came the serum.
The vial gleamed faint blue beneath the desk lamp: the Super Soldier Serum, courtesy of a certain Marvel show ripe for the picking. I drew a breath, rolled up my sleeve, and drove the syringe home.
Fire lanced through my veins. My muscles clenched, tightened, expanded as if sculpted by invisible hands. My chest broadened, my stance straightened. I stumbled once, gasping, before the pain gave way to power. Stronger. Sharper. Faster. My body was the vessel my mind deserved — no longer merely clever, but unstoppable. I had already gained some definition from the adventuring and stat gains, but now I was something else. Throwing several punches to test out my new speed and hearing the violent compression of air as my fist sailed forward. I could easily beat the me of just a couple minutes ago with ease.
I caught my reflection in the window: taller, leaner, every muscle defined. A man reborn. "Man im gonna need to buy some new clothes." I chuckled as the shirt that fit me just moments ago looked like awkward belly shirt now.
"Man am I hungry though, lets get something to eat." as I went towards the kitchen and opened a meal delivery app ordering enough food to feed a family of four for a day.
As I walked into the living room Aqua sat up from the couch, Aqua squinted over her soda. "Uh… are you… still Ethan? with a look of shock."
I flexed my hand, watching muscle ripple like corded steel. "Relax love. This is… progress."
"Progress looks like steroids and the cover of those magazines," she muttered, turning back to her show.
The next morning, I strode into the patent lawyer's office. The tailored suit hugged my physique perfectly, tie sharp, shoes gleaming. Aqua wasn't with me this time staying at home relaxing.
The lawyer — a sharp-eyed woman in her forties with a no-nonsense bob — adjusted her glasses as I laid my files across the table. I spoke with precision, weaving scientific terminology with visionary passion. My voice was low, steady, but every word rang with charisma.
"This cream," I explained, sliding over the formula, "isn't just a skincare product. It's a medical revolution. It repairs at the cellular level, undoing damage that once seemed permanent. It's beauty, health, and even longevity in a jar."
She flipped through diagrams and testing data. I saw her skepticism crumble piece by piece, her eyes lighting up.
Finally, she leaned forward, eyes gleaming. "Mr. Cross… what you're sitting on isn't just a product. It also has the potential to be the future of medicine."
I smiled, my reflection glinting in her glasses. "Then let's make sure it's mine."
Two weeks later, Cross Pharmaceuticals was everywhere. My debut as the mysterious young genius disrupting the pharmaceutical and skincare industries dominated the news. My product captured the public's imagination, my charisma captured their hearts. Cameras followed my every step, journalists scrambled for quotes.
Aqua nearly ruined my first press conference by blurting something out "I'm a Goddess and it even makes my skin better!" when asked a question into a live microphone. Instead of anything, it trended on social media and Aqua somehow ended up becoming the model for the product line. I filed that one under "happy accidents."
The first interview was here.
Vanessa Steele was gorgeous, the network's rising star anchor — red lipstick, long legs, and a wit as sharp as her heels. The studio lights were overbearingly hot, but I looked entirely at ease across from her on the plush couch, my suit immaculate, my tie perfectly knotted, muscular physique obvious under the tailored suit.
"So, Mr. Cross," she began, voice silky, "people are calling you the next great mind of our generation. Some even say you're… too good to be true. What do you say to that?"
I leaned back, lips curving into a smile equal parts charm and challenge. "The truth is simple. Innovation should never be feared. It should be embraced. If people think I'm too good to be true, then maybe it's time they raised their standards."
The audience chuckled. The anchor's lips parted in surprise before she returned my smile, a faint blush touching her cheeks. She leaned in just a fraction closer than professionalism allowed.
"Tell me, Ethan… what drives you?"
I held her gaze, unflinching. "A future where people live without fear of time. Where beauty, health, and strength are not luxuries, but guarantees. And I intend to be the man who delivers that future. I intend to do much more in the future and this is just the first product of many."
"Oh my can you give us a sneak peek of the next product or is it Top Secret?" she teasingly asked
"Well I might be able to give you a peek, maybe you can visit the company when I have some free time and be the first to report on what we have going on I said looking into her eyes."
She swallowed, visibly flustered, before redirecting the segment. But I already knew — I'd just won not only the audience, but the public's heart.
That night, champagne bottles popped in my brand new penthouse office. Investors toasted, journalists hovered, and Aqua clung to my arm, tipsy and affectionate as she babbled about how she should've been the one on TV with me.
But I stood apart, leaning against the glass wall, the city glittering below like a treasure chest. My mind hummed with possibilities, sharpened by NZT's brilliance. Cross Pharmaceuticals was born, but it needed more. More than me. More than Aqua. I didn't want to dedicate all my time to running the company.
It needed visionaries. Strategists. Leaders.
Names and faces flitted through my mind like cards in a deck. Potential characters to recruit into the company with business experience I could use. People like Togo Tomari perhaps, maybe even get Natasha Romanoff as a secretary. They could be the face of the company helping me to run it day to day while I had an AI to help in the background accomplishing what a whole team could by itself. Jarvis could work, Cortana, maybe even a suped up Joi from Blade Runner 2049.
I sipped champagne, smiling. "Time to build my empire." I muttered as I evil laughed.
Aqua tugged my sleeve, slurring happily. "Empire? Does that mean I get a castle?"
I kissed her cheek, amused. "Something like that."
But while Earth blazed with the buzz of my rising empire, I knew better than to neglect the other world. Axel. Konosuba. It was time to head back, while there if I felt like it I could even have Luna help me take my business multiversal just for shits and giggles. Would you like to freeze time in current world. Yes/No
"Yes." I said the familiar feeling rushing through me as I held Aquas hand going back to Konosuba.
When I returned, the guild hall was alive as ever. The smell of ale and roasting meat, the crash of tankards, the boisterous laughter of adventurers. And standing there, like a blonde Valkyrie in a suit of armor.
Darkness.
She turned, golden hair catching the light like a halo. Her face was noble beauty personified, but I knew what really lay under the layer of beauty and false poise.
"I hear you're recruiting," she said, strong and confident. "I'm a crusader. My body is a shield. My resolve is unshakable." Then, with a blush so fierce it rivaled Megumin's explosions, she added, "So if you'd like to use me… in any way… I am yours to command! I will gladly take the blows on this body! I yearn for it! Use me and abuse me as you wish!"
I blinked. Aqua choked on her drink. Kazuma, who had tagged along, muttered, "Oh no, not her."
My grin spread slow and dangerous. Kazuma shaking his head back and forth in dread, Megumin not minding at all eating a chicken leg muttering about explosions "Welcome to the team."
And just like that another piece acquired and I knew just how she wanted to be used.
Time to get back to the grind.