Tokyo, Japan. 03:45 AM.
The penthouse office at the top of the 120-story skyscraper was dead silent, save for the rhythmic tapping of a platinum fountain pen against a mahogany desk.
Stephanie Vane, the ruthless thirty-two-year-old CEO of Asia's largest logistics and tech conglomerate, stared at the massive curved monitors in front of her. The screens reflected a sea of red graphs—the plummeting stock prices of her biggest rival company.
She took a sip of her seventh double-shot espresso. It tasted like bitter ash, but it did its job. She had been awake for seventy-two consecutive hours.
"Madam President," a mechanical AI voice hummed from her smartwatch. "Your heart rate is currently at 140 beats per minute. Blood pressure is dangerously high. Medical protocols suggest immediate rest."
"Mute notifications," Stephanie ordered coldly, not taking her eyes off the screen.
Rest is for the bankrupt, she thought.
Tonight was the climax of a six-month-long corporate war. Her rival had tried to sabotage her supply chains, bribe her executives, and crash her market value. They played dirty. But Stephanie played lethal.
Her slender finger hovered over the glowing 'EXECUTE' button on her keyboard. With one press, her company would aggressively buy out 51% of the rival's plummeting shares. It was a flawless hostile takeover.
A sharp, sudden sting pierced her chest.
Stephanie winced, her free hand clutching the fabric of her tailored silk blouse right above her heart. The pain was dull at first, but then it rapidly twisted into a suffocating, crushing pressure. It felt as if a heavy iron vault had been dropped directly onto her ribcage.
She gasped for air, her vision blurring at the edges.
"Warning. Cardiac anomaly detected. Calling emergency services," the smartwatch blared, no longer obeying the mute command.
"No... wait..." Stephanie wheezed, her forehead breaking out in a cold sweat.
She couldn't pass out now. The market would open in two hours. If she didn't execute the buyout now, the rival would secure a bailout from the bank. She had sacrificed her youth, her social life, and her health to build this empire from scratch. She wasn't going to let it slip away.
Using every last ounce of her fading willpower, Stephanie slammed her finger onto the 'EXECUTE' button.
[TRANSACTION APPROVED. MAJORITY SHAREHOLDER STATUS ACQUIRED.]
A faint, triumphant smirk touched her pale lips.
Checkmate.
Then, the world tilted.
Stephanie collapsed forward, her head hitting the cold, hard mahogany desk. The pain in her chest exploded into pure agony before suddenly fading into complete, weightless nothingness. The sound of the emergency siren from her watch grew distant, swallowed by an endless, silent darkness.
Is this death? Stephanie thought, her consciousness drifting in the void. How inefficient. I didn't even get to read the final quarterly report.
Suddenly, the endless darkness was pierced by a blinding, unnatural blue light.
A mechanical voice, completely different from her smartwatch AI, echoed directly inside her soul.
[Ding! Scanning for an anomalous soul with extreme management capabilities...]
[Target Found: Stephanie Vane. Profession: Apex Capitalist.]
[Soul matches the criteria for the 'Ultimate Tycoon System'.]
[Initiating Emergency Transmigration Protocol. Destination: The Northern Wasteland of Aethelgard.]
[Welcome to your new startup, Host.]
Stephanie didn't even have time to process the absurd robotic voice before a sensation of falling overwhelmed her.
And then...
WHACK!
The deafening, physical sound of a wooden gavel striking a hard surface jolted her awake.
[Nymphaearoot the Author]: Welcome to a brand new journey! Our workaholic CEO just died winning a corporate war, only to be thrown into a medieval trial! Turn to Chapter 1 to see how she handles her newest (and most ruined) "startup"!