I woke up. Sunlight hit my window. I stared at it for a few minutes before rolling over. Same day. Same life.
I was going to meet a friend… well, my only friend, but that didn't matter. On my way there, my thoughts drifted to my life—how my parents abandoned me at the orphanage, how the other kids avoided me, how no one ever chose me. All because I didn't smile.
It's not that I couldn't smile. Life was just… boring. I couldn't force happiness, so I didn't. I didn't regret it.
"Hey Eric! How are you today?!" Jessica's voice, full of energy, pulled me from my thoughts.
I still don't know how I became friends with someone like her. She'd just said I seemed like a good person, I thought.
"I'm good," I said flatly.
"Well, you seem good. Enough pleasantries—let's check out that new coffee shop!"
"Sure." And we started walking.
When we arrived, we were greeted by a polite server. "What would you like to order, sir, ma'am?"
"I'll have a medium latte with chocolate cake, please," Jessica said, matching the server's tone.
At least she could restrain herself in public, I thought.
"I'll have a large black coffee and chocolate cake too." The only thing that still brought me any joy these days was food. Thank God for variety, or my boring life would be unbearable.
We talked about our daily lives, though mostly she did the talking. An hour passed, and we said our goodbyes.
I guess that's why we're friends—she talks too much, I talk too little. A Perfect match.
I decided to take a walk in the park, wandering aimlessly. Shadows stretched long across the empty paths, and the breeze carried a strange chill—like the world was waiting for something.
By the time the sun dipped below the horizon, a faint unease had settled over me. Nothing had changed, yet everything felt… different.
When I returned home, I picked up a book—my escape since childhood, my only way to break free from the monotony of my life and my empty home.
"Finally done," I muttered hours later, setting the book aside.
I lay down, rested my head on the soft pillow, and closed my eyes—unaware it would be my last boring day.
And then… everything went black.
----------------
Sunlight hit my eyes through the window and woke me up.
I blinked a few times. "Weird… why is the sunlight hitting my eyes like this?"
I rolled over what should have been my bed. Instead, I saw ragged clothes scattered across the floor and a room that looked nothing like mine. More like… a haunted house.
A sharp, musty smell hit me. Old clothes… and fungus?
"What the hell?!" I muttered, trying not to make a sound.
Had I been kidnapped?
I stood up quietly and started searching the place. Nothing valuable. Just a few copper coins and some old, tattered clothes.
"I've never seen coins like these… rough, worn. Definitely traded too many times," I muttered under my breath.
Then—pain. Sharp. Like a hammer smashing into my skull. My vision blurred. Thoughts scattered. I felt like my brain would explode. Just when I thought I couldn't survive it, the pain began to fade. Slowly, clarity returned. Memories… or should I say two lives… came rushing back.
"OMG… I'm screwed! What do I do now?!" I yelled, but the sound didn't even feel like mine.
Half an hour later, I could think straight again.
I'd been transmigrated into the worst possible novel ever.
The Light Between the Ruins. Yeah, one of the hundreds of novels I'd read, and let's just say it's not the type you'd be happy to live in. At all.
The world of Lunis is fractured. Death is an everyday sight. The kind-hearted get doomed, the rich get richer, the poor get crushed. And don't get me started on the monsters from other dimensions—they're a whole different level of nightmare.
Truly a doomed world, I thought, staring at the ceiling expressionless.
Well… at least there are the Awakened. People who ascend the ranks. Each tier makes them stronger, able to fight monsters or other humans. Not everyone gets awakened. Most don't. They just live miserable, doomed lives, or end up under someone powerful.
I needed to know. Was I Awakened, or had I just been kicked straight into misery? But before that, I might as well try my luck. See if I had the System.
"System," I said, barely keeping my voice steady.
[System Initialize]
[System failed to initialize]
[Unknown entity detected]
"Wait… what?!"
[Optimizing to the new entity… Complete]
[requesting the world system...request denied]
[requesting again...access granted]
"What exactly is happening now?!" I was on the verge of panicking.
DING
[Welcome to the system, wanderer]
[Would you like to start your awakening process?]
"...yes," I said flatly, slightly overwhelmed.
Pain hit me again. Heart racing. Sweat rolling down my face. Eyes burning red. Every nerve screamed. I tried not to scream, but the pain was relentless. Slowly… surely, it subsided, leaving me gasping for air.
DING
[The mana Core has been successfully created]
[Congratulations on awakening]
I slumped onto the floor. Weakly, I muttered: "Status."
Suddenly, a black interference flickered in front of me.
Before reading, I couldn't help but notice the color. "Wait... shouldn't it be light blue?"
Well, I could think about that later. Not now.
=================
status
class
quests
shop
locked
=================
=== status ===
name: Eric Valorn
tier: awakened ( 0/100)
class: The Wanderer
______
strength: 15
agility: 12
intelligence: 25
will: 17
preservation: 8
charm: 35
=================
"My status is above average, nothing special except intelligence and charm, which is unusually high," I muttered, slightly disappointed.
I need to go to the mirror after this.
"We do share the same name, huh?" A bit surprised and happy not to have to change it.
"Ok, let's view the most important stuff, the class." I focused on the class option.
=================
CLASS: The Wanderer | MYTHIC
CLASS DESCRIPTION:
An exile of fate, untethered from all realms.
Your path is your own to choose or to create.
Your fate is woven in shadow, hidden from the sight of gods and seers.
Go forth, then. Wander ever on, O Unchained Soul.
SKILLS AND ATTRIBUTES:
CHOOSE ATTRIBUTES: (0/2)
CELESTIAL FORGE
Your mana core's capacity is increased by 200%.
Your rate of mana absorption is 50% faster.
Your core can channel both mana and aura.
PATHFINDER'S INTUITION
You have an innate, low-level sense of direction and spatial awareness.
You can intuitively feel the general "lay of the land" around you and sense the weakest point in a physical structure or magical barrier.
SOUL OF OBSCURITY
Your unique existence makes it difficult for divination magic, identification skills, or system scans to accurately read your status, level, or true intentions.
You appear as a blurry or "unknown" entity to such effects.
=================
UNIQUE SKILL: SOUL-SCRIBE'S QUILL
TYPE: Active (Channeled)
TIER: Mythic
COST: Mana, A Fragment of Your Own Soul (Permanent loss of a small amount of max MP)
DESCRIPTION: Your soul is both the ink and the parchment. You can manifest a quill of solidified will and literally inscribe a new law of power upon the fabric of your own being. This process is permanent, transformative, and sacrifices a piece of your potential to birth something new.
SKILL SLOTS: (0/2 Per Tier)
=================
"Mythic!!! And these skills! And what do you mean, choosing your affinity is even allowed?!!" I yelled, a torrent of emotions—disbelief, euphoria, sheer awe—crashing over me all at once.
"And 'The Wanderer'... so that's why the system talked about a new entity," I whispered, the pieces clicking into place as I thought back to the chaotic messages during my awakening. The shock began to settle, replaced by a deep, contemplative understanding.