Chapter 1: one way ticket to another world
Luck has always played fair with me. Whenever something good happened, misfortune soon followed as if balance must always be restored.
For the past ten years, I played a mobile RPG game called Tales of Arcania. It had its flaws a punishing drop rate, pay-to-win elements, and a story that hadn't updated in over a year. Still, I stuck with it. Not because I was loyal, but because I found comfort in the challenge, in the grind.
As content dried up, players got... creative. No-armor boss raids. Reverse builds. One guy even beat the final dungeon using a frying pan and basic spells. It became less about victory and more about style.
Me? I just liked making characters that looked cool.
Then came the event that changed everything.
"Realmwalker's Gambit: One-Time Gacha."
The rules were simple. Hidden across the game world were special coins. Collect enough, and you could spin the gacha wheel once. Just once. The prize? A single, unique item only one player could win it.
The forums exploded. Coin locations were tracked, optimized, theorized. I joined the hunt casually. Not because I thought I'd win, but because it gave me something to do.
It took me days to collect them all. I still remember the moment. I was lying in bed, phone above my head, dim light flickering off the cracked screen. I hit the spin.
A flash of white illuminated. Then darkness.
---
When I opened my eyes, I couldn't move. I couldn't even feel my limbs. Everything was warm… and quiet.
A system window flickered into view.
[Congratulations! You have obtained the Unique Item: One-Way Ticket to Another World!]
Beneath it, smaller text glowed:
Initializing Transfer Protocol… Complete. Welcome to Arcania. [Status]: Rebirth Successful.
What?
The words shimmered away, replaced by a glowing [Status] button.
I blinked. No phone. No screen. A panel screen hovered in my vision, just like in the game.
[Status Window]
Name: ???
Tier: (Colorless Tier)
Class: -
Title: -
[Stats]
Health: 20/20
Mana: 5/5
Strength: 1
Stamina: 1
Agility: 1
Dexterity: 1
Endurance: 1
Intelligence: 1
Perception: 1
Skills: [None]
[Quest]: -
Realization hit like a truck.
I wasn't just in the game world—I was a baby.
---
Voices stirred the air. Footsteps. Slow. Careful.
I felt myself lifted.
A bearded man stood above me, cloaked in a heavy coat, face weathered by time. His brows furrowed as he inspected the hollow I'd been hidden in and the body of the woman lying nearby. My mother.
He crouched beside her, silent. Then he whispered, "May your soul find peace."
I didn't cry. I didn't move. But something in me wanted to scream.
He looked at me again and frowned. His eyes flicked to the faintly glowing brooch tucked into my wrappings. He gently pulled it free and studied it.
"…A veil charm... strong enough to fool most beasts. Not bad."
Without another word, he tucked the gem back in and held me close.
"You've got guts, boy," he murmured. "Looks like the world doesn't want you dead just yet."
Then he turned and walked into the woods, cradling me in one arm.
---
Time passed in fragments—days blurred into nights, cries into warmth, hunger into comfort. The old man, Aeren, as I came to know him, never spoke much. But he took care of me. Fed me. Cleaned me. Protected me.
And when I was old enough to crawl, he began testing me.
Simple things at first. Balance. Grip. Awareness. Aeren was no ordinary caretaker—he was a swordmaster. A reclusive warrior who lived far from civilization, his past wrapped in silence and scars.
One night, he spoke while sharpening his blade. "You're not just any child. You were placed in that tree for a reason."
I watched the sparks fly off the whetstone.
"You're weak now. Colorless tier. But that can change."
That was the first time he mentioned the tiers. In Arcania, power wasn't just measured in stats, but in color. A system of classification:
Colorless – The weakest, barely above ordinary humans. Capable of basic spells, no aura control.
Red – The first true step into combat capability. Where aura awakens.
Orange, Yellow, Green – Advanced tiers for elite warriors and mages.
Blue, Indigo – Rare talents. Nation-level assets.
Purple – The realm of legendary heroes
Transcendent – A mystery. Only whispered about. Said to command the world itself.
Aeren made one thing clear: stats alone weren't enough. Even a strength 99 Colorless couldn't defeat a strength 1 Red. Tiers were walls and to break through, one needed both raw talent and refined mastery.
And I was at the very bottom.
But not for long.
---
[Quest Unlocked: Beginner's Path]
Objective: Survive to Age 10
Reward: Stat Allocation +10, Skill Unlocked: [System Adaptation I]
Bonus Objective: Complete Basic Physical Training with Aeren
Bonus Reward: Unlock Red Tier Potential
For the first time, I smiled.
The game hadn't left me alone.
And this time… I wasn't just a player.
I was a part of the world.