I was going to be a god.
No—the god.
The kind who rides dragons made of lightning, whose shadow alone starts religions. The kind who builds floating cities because the ground just feels too ordinary. Who laughs in the face of logic and says, "I want a pocket dimension full of spicy noodles," and gets it.
"System," I said, arms folded like a conquering emperor, "open the military tab. I want to build a dragon army."
[Searching military assets...]
[...]
[Warning: Insufficient system access. Your current level does not permit large-scale military procurement.]
I blinked.
"Okay, then how about one dragon? A baby one. Toothless junior."
[Access denied.]
[Due to World Will interference, summoning mythical-class creatures is prohibited at your current access level.]
My smile twitched. "Wait, what?"
[Explanation: The World Will of this realm is an active regulatory entity. It is aware of external foreign systems and is suppressing most functionalities to maintain balance.]
Something in my gut pulled tight.
"You're telling me this world is… aware?"
[Correct.]
[And deeply suspicious of you.]
I sat down—hard. The soft grass beneath me felt less like velvet and more like smug mockery.
[System Access Level: 1]
[System Sync: 4%]
[Gold Generation Rate: 1,000/day (base income)]
"…That's it?" I muttered.
[Correction: That is quite generous. Most local beings earn less than 50 gold per month.]
I opened the shop panel again.
All the good stuff—the good good stuff—was locked behind shimmering tiles grayed out like they were laughing at me.
A self-cleaning toothbrush? 200 gold.
A cloak of minor invisibility? 10,000 gold.
A dragon egg?
[Unavailable until System Level 5 and clearance from World Will.]
I groaned and flopped onto my back.
My dragon-riding, gold-throne-building dreams crumbled like a knockoff biscuit dunked too long in disappointment.
I cursed the World Will under my breath.
Then over it. Loudly. For a full minute.
"…Tyrannical cosmic landlord," I muttered. "What's next, taxes?"
[Warning: Local tax laws do not exempt divine anomalies.]
I shut my eyes and let it all crash into me.
It wasn't just frustration—it was grief, slow and strange.
All that buildup. The dream. The system. The throne.
And now… bureaucracy?
No fanfare. No divine lightning. Just a spreadsheet that hated dragons.
A breeze passed over me. Gentle. Uncaring.
And for a moment, the weight of it all returned. The ceiling stains. Auntie's yelling. The way the world used to pretend I didn't matter.
I was here now, but still a glitch in someone else's story.
Still nobody.
I sat up slowly.
Laughed quietly.
Because despite everything?
I wasn't dying. I wasn't starving. I had clothes, a healthy body, a sarcastic system, and even a fruit basket.
And a thousand gold a day? That made me rich by local standards.
Fine. I could work with this.
"Alright," I sighed, "what can I buy right now that's actually useful?"
[Suggested Purchases (within budget):
• Basic World Knowledge Pack (Outskirts Edition): 200 gold
• Local Language Proficiency Boost: 100 gold
• Disguise Kit (Commoner Appearance): 150 gold
• Personal Hygiene Spell: 50 gold
• Beginner's Guide to Cultivation (Local Format): 250 gold]
"…You had me at 'hygiene spell' and 'sleep.' Let's do it."
I selected the items. My gold ticked down like a receipt at a magical discount store, and a soft shimmer rolled over me.
Knowledge, language, and customs embedded themselves in my brain like half-remembered dreams. Images, names, instinctual nods of understanding. It felt like waking up inside someone else's memories.
---
This place was called Vaelcrest—a kingdom tucked into the western third of a continent named Eldralore.
I was in its rural belt. No noble estates. No mage towers. No capital guards. Just scattered villages, wandering merchants, beast-watchers, and the occasional militia drunk on goat-wine.
Good. Fewer eyes.
The nearest town was called Feldenreach.
It sounded vaguely important, but the system confirmed otherwise.
A trading post with beds, bread, and bored shopkeepers.
And that's where I was headed—disguised as a nobody, armed with gold, knowledge, and the eerie sense that I was still being watched.
[System Note: World Will anomaly detection is increasing.]
I looked up.
The sky was too clear.
The wind too polite.
And just for a second—only a second—something inside me shivered.
A part of me knew this wouldn't stay easy.
Magic was real.
But paradise?
Paradise always has a price.
---
[End of Chapter 4]
---