Eiden, an otaku, was walking his way to college with reluctant resolve, as he wanted to play the new game he bought yesterday. He was a normal-looking guy with normal stature. He wasn't too tall nor too short. His personality was no different than any average person. But there was more to him—that was, he had a talent too.
Despite how normal he was, he had a talent for adapting. But the talent hadn't shined much, as he wasn't really enthusiastic about nurturing it too much—besides games. As he was very good in playing games, due to his adaptability, he became good in almost any game he played.
> "Man, I really hope the lecture finishes fast today. I really wanna go home and play that new game that everyone says is very difficult to play. I'm sure, despite how hard it is, I will become the best at it too. Hahhha! Behold the Overlord of Games!"
And then he started cringing at his own thoughts. He kept on walking when—
"Hey! Wait up!"
Eiden turned back to see a girl running towards him. She was his childhood friend named Zelia. She was a beauty, with blue eyes and blonde hair reaching down her waist, and had all the curves desired by men. Eiden too was attracted, but he had become numb towards the beauty, as he had known her for far too long that he somehow started seeing her as a sister—but not entirely. So it was a mixed feeling of both attraction and seeing her as a sister. He calls her Zeli, which is a pet name for her.
"How can you just go by yourself without telling me? Is this how you treat your childhood friend?" said Zelia.
"I don't wanna. Though your house is farther back than mine, and I'm already feeling lazy to go to college. Why would I make it harder for me just to walk together with you?" Eiden said with a nonchalant expression.
"You will never get a girlfriend with that kind of attitude," said Zelia. "Besides, I'm your cute childhood friend. Anyone would give their life to walk with me and protect me."
"Ya, ya," Eiden shrugged her off.
They began walking side by side as Eiden and Zelia were making small talks and began to cross a bridge. While the only thought he had was of playing games later, Zelia kept on being chatty with him. He tried his best to just focus on his thoughts. Just then—
Screeech!! Vroom!
Suddenly they heard a noise and instinctively turned around to see a biker had lost control of his bike and was speeding towards Eiden and Zelia. Before they could dodge or react, Eiden pushed Zelia out of the way with all his force—
BAMM! The bike hit him in the ribs.
"Eiden!!!" shouted Zelia as his body flung straight down the bridge and into the river—
Splashh!!
Under the water, he was feeling all sorts of things.
> "It hurts! It hurts so much. I don't know where, but it hurts. Am I dying? I can't believe this..."
He was bleeding from his head and abdomen. The blood was making the water reddish as he sank deeper.
> "I can't breathe... Is this my fate? Well, at least I saved her. Maybe I will be rewarded in heaven."
He closed his eyes.
> "I was really looking forward to playing that game..."
And he sank deeper and deeper—until he saw a bright light.
---
> "Hmmph... Did I die? Ughh, my head hurts. Why does my head hurt when I'm already dead? Or did I survive? Am I in a hospital?"
The pain felt like a splitting headache, which began to dissipate little by little. He then opened his eyes to see a dark chamber.
> "What? Where am I? Hospital? No… doesn't seem like it."
He looked around to see that he was sitting on a throne.
> "Huh?? Why am I—"
Then he noticed—
> "What am I wearing??"
He was wearing some kind of medieval black clothes that appeared in video games. He recollected his thoughts and said:
> "Transmigration?? No, that's ridiculous..."
Suddenly a splitting headache came again. He started hearing voices.
> "CURSE YOU THIEF!!"
The words repeated for a few seconds, then dissipated once more. He then stood up and walked. The room gave Harry Potter vibes—but more badass. He looked back to see the throne that looked intimidating and majestic.
> "Woow..." he exclaimed.
Eiden began thinking rationally once more. He pinched himself and felt it.
> "Not a dream. Then prank?! Nah… no one would do that to a dying patient."
Then there's only one possibility left—
> "Yes… transmigration. It's cliché, but that's the only thing that comes to mind. And not just any transmigration, but some kind of body possession—as I feel taller and strength welling up inside me."
He then proceeded to walk and opened the door of the room to see a complex structure with a long straight path. He walked along the path to see it led to different paths, and those paths had many doors with rooms.
He checked one of the rooms and saw a mirror. He curiously went towards the mirror to see himself.
> "Damn… I'm handsome. Too handsome. It's like a game character—perfected. But not just handsome, some kind of domineering aura could be felt."
> "Thank God I didn't become some kind of possession into a crippled and make-my-way-to-the-top type," he sighed.
He then began investigating the place once more and saw a crystal the size of a fist in one of the rooms.
> "What is this? Some kind of artifact?" he mumbled.
He then felt as if naturally something was to be poured into the crystal.
> "Ohh... don't tell me magic or mana has to be poured into it. But how? Do I possess magic?"
He then tried to put his magic into it—but nothing.
> "Weird... I thought I had one. Or maybe I should concentrate?"
He tried the abdomen—nothing.
The heart—nothing.
> "Damn. Then where?"
As he was thinking, he felt something. He concentrated again to see a floating letter.
> "Bravo! There it is—the clue."
He then began trying everything to understand what the letters were. But then, suddenly, he felt electricity surging in his body, and the crystal began to glow.
> "Ohhh!!"
He then looked at it curiously and saw the throne he was sitting on.
> "Hmm… some kind of camera-type artifact?"
He then concentrated again to find that he could move the vision.
> "Woow…"
He began tracing the path he had walked.
> "Oh, some kind of drone thing! Wait… can I see myself?"
He concentrated again to see himself—but something was wrong.
> "I can't see my face?"
He focused the view and saw himself holding the crystal—but he couldn't see his own face.
> "What's going on? It's covered by some kind of mist or something…"
He thought hard but couldn't figure it out. He gave up and went back to the throne, looking into the crystal and exploring the place. The image the crystal showed was like a live drone, but it could go through walls.
He then began going upwards to see what the place looked like. As he looked down, he saw a magnificent dark castle.
> "Wow… so I'm here."
He then began scrolling around the castle from above.
> "This place is big."
Just then, something caught his eyes.
> "What are those?"
He saw something moving far away and went to have a look. Since it was some kind of invisible drone, he was sure that even if it was dangerous, he'd be okay to have a look.
Thus, the view became closer to the movement. He saw some girls walking around.
> "Hmm… residents of this world?"
He thought. But something was weird.
> "What?"
Then it clicked.
> "That's it! The castle is fairly—or quite—big… but it seems like they haven't even noticed this place. What's going on??"
They just kept walking—completely ignoring the giant castle.
> "Is the castle… invisible??
To be continued...