I studied the shimmering chessboard floating in mid-air.
It hovered just a few feet away - translucent, elegant, unsettling - each square pulsing faintly like distant stars trapped under glass. At the center stood the lone King piece.
Don't ask me how, but it had a presence. Confident. Powerful. Smug.
"…That's supposed to be me?"
I turned slowly, taking in the room.
Lavish didn't even begin to cover it - gilded walls, polished marble, furniture that probably cost more than my old apartment complex. A noble's room, through and through. But cold. Lifeless. Like someone had thrown gold at it without ever planning to breathe in it.
Not that I was complaining. Anything was an upgrade from my old place.
I caught my reflection in the mirror again. Same scrawny frame, eerily close to my old one - like staring at a projection of what I'd look like if I stuck to my ramen-and-energy-drink diet, skipped sleep for a month, and then got battered for good measure.
'Definitely not an upgrade.'
The chessboard hovered beside me, pulsing faintly. Yet in the mirror, there was nothing. No glow, no board - just me, looking like someone who was days away from dying.
'Only I can see it. Great. At least I won't be hauled off immediately.'
With a thought, the board blinked away. Another thought, and it was back again. Handy.
I focused on the King piece. The air hummed, a soft chime rang in my skull, and a window unfolded beside the board - lines of light snapping into place with clinical precision.
[Status Window: King Piece - Ashen Thorn]
Name: Ashen Thorn
Title: None
Condition: Battered, pathetic loser with a new host
Age: 23
Rank: N/A
Class: None
Aura Path Potential: F
Mana Path Potential: F
Special Trait:[King] – Command your pieces
Piece Count: 0
Skills: None
I raised an eyebrow.
"…Roasted by the system. That's new."
The insult wasn't the part that caught my attention.
It was the name.
Ashen Thorn.
No memories. No convenient download of his life. No insider knowledge of this world's rules and the current setting. Just me, a wrecked body, and a system grading me like a disappointed teacher.
'At least the first name and age match my old self. Convenient.'
My eyes skimmed the status again. F-rank potential in both aura and mana. That wasn't just weak - that was don't-even-bother weak.
'Great. I'm a dying noble with no power, no skills, and a snarky UI.'
And yet… just the fact that aura and mana existed sent a thrill through me that I couldn't put into words. Everything I'd written, read, watched, and fantasised about could now be real.
People soaring through the sky, healing wounds with a touch, and bending storms to their will.
People who could slice mountains in half and leap over cities like stepping stones.
Anything was possible.
More importantly, the system's motif clicked instantly. Chess - a game of strategy, patience, and control. Something I knew better than most people knew themselves.
The King trait was obvious: I was meant to lead. The problem? I had no one to lead. Yet.
That was fine. The best games began with an empty board.
'King, huh. I'll take it. My people skills aren't exactly award-winning, but how could I turn down a crown I'm clearly destined for?' I let out a quiet laugh.
The King piece stood tall at the board's center, glowing faintly as if it had actually heard me.
'But I'll need information first. Who Ashen Thorn was, where I stand, and what bastard beat this body half to death.'
Anyone watching me right now would probably think I'd lost a few screws - maybe the whole toolkit - given how fast I'd adapted to waking up in a new body. No panic, no existential crisis. Just calm acceptance, like this was an average Tuesday… and I was already planning my next moves.
But maybe it wasn't insanity.
'I've binged more isekai than I can count, watched hundreds of hours of anime, and written a dozen webnovels about shut-ins becoming world-dominating overlords. Compared to that? This is basically the tutorial zone.'
'One move at a time. I can do this. But first…'
I turned toward the bed - it was practically calling my name.
All I wanted was to collapse into it, let the softness swallow me, and sleep the pain away.
But I stopped cold.
A prickle ran down the back of my neck.
On the carpet, stretched thin by sunlight from the balcony, lay a shadow. Long. Motionless.
Someone was in the doorway. Watching me.
How long had they been there?
I turned slowly, forcing my heartbeat to stay even, my eyes locking in.
A figure stood just beyond the threshold - silent and unreadable...