The logout screen flickered.
Then it vanished.
Elias Knox exhaled, slowly.
The warm, familiar hum of the neural immersion faded from his skull, replaced by darkness. For a moment, there was nothing-no sound, no gravity, just the afterglow of his last in-game raid still ticking in his nerves.
He closed his eyes.
One. Two. Three…
It was routine. Log out. Count to sixty. Wake up in the real world-well, technically real. A crumbling apartment complex twelve levels underground in the Federal Housing Sector didn't exactly scream "reality."
Fourteen. Fifteen…
Strange.
He could feel his hands already. Legs too. Everything was coming back faster than it should.
Thirty… thirty-one… thirty-three-
Wait.
A flicker of warmth pressed against his face.
Sunlight?
No.
That was impossible.
There were no windows in Federal Tier-4 housing. There were no skylights. There wasn't even filtered lighting most days. Sunlight was something people with money had.
His brows furrowed, still closed.
But he felt it again. That radiant, gentle heat crawling across his skin, tingling like he was basking under an open sky.
And then something even stranger.
His body. It didn't feel… right.
No stiffness. No numb limbs from lying in the sim gel too long. No ache in the back. In fact-
He opened his eyes.
And immediately froze.
He lay on a massive bed. Soft velvet sheets, golden embroidery, curtains draped from a carved canopy overhead. Beyond the bed, a chandelier. Real crystal. Hanging from a vaulted ceiling etched in swirling stonework.
To his right: a stained-glass window.
Through it, sunlight poured in-actual, physical sunlight-casting a warm sheen over the cherrywood floor.
He sat up in a slow, deliberate motion.
His arm moved with fluid grace. Too fluid. His fingers were lean, strong, dusted with calluses. This wasn't the arm of a man who'd spent the last decade glued to a simulation pod in a corporate basement.
This body was trained. Clean. Lethal.
And absolutely not his.
A wardrobe stood in the corner. Next to it, a full-length mirror framed in dark iron. Elias rose-again, too smoothly-and stepped toward it.
The man staring back at him was tall, broad-shouldered, with black hair just long enough to look accidental. His jaw was strong, his eyes sharp and green. There was a scar over one brow-faint but permanent. He looked like the sort of man you didn't interrupt.
Elias Knox was 5'9", hollow-faced, and borderline malnourished.
This guy? He looked like he ate problems for breakfast.
And worse?
Elias knew that face.
Sanctum.
He'd seen this exact man before.
Elias Merrick. A minor NPC noble. Background character. Low-tier baron from a forgotten province in the western marches. He showed up in two quests. Both optional. Neither important.
But now?
Elias was in his body.
He staggered back, heart pounding.
This wasn't a glitch.
It wasn't a dream.
And it sure as hell wasn't his pod.
There were no wires. No HUD. No system re-entry lag.
Only him. A mirror. A new body. And a warm breeze drifting in from an open window.
Then came the knock.
"Baron Merrick?" a voice called-soft, female, uncertain. "Are you awake?"
Baron?
The door creaked open.
A maid stepped in. Blonde hair in a tight bun, modest black-and-white dress, eyes wide with worry.
When she saw him standing, she bowed low. "Apologies, my lord. Miss Belmont is downstairs. She requests your presence."
Elias didn't respond right away.
His mind was still chasing itself in circles.
Baron Merrick. Sanctum. This room. This world.
How the hell-?
No. No time for that.
Focus.
He nodded. "Tell her… I'll be down shortly."
The maid looked relieved. "Of course, my lord."
She exited as quickly as she came, shutting the door with a soft click.
Alone again, Elias turned away from the mirror. He took a steadying breath.
Then he did what came instinctively:
He flicked his wrist forward-mimicking the gesture used in Sanctum to open the character menu.
A soft chime rang in his ears.
A glowing panel appeared in front of him.
Exactly like in the game.
[STATUS – Elias Merrick]
Title: Baron of Merrick Vale
Age: 29
Race: Human
Class: Warrior (Martial Path)
Level: 17 (EXP: 31 / 17,000)
HP: 732 / 732
Stamina: 431 / 431
Attributes:
Strength: 13Vitality: 12Agility: 11Intelligence: 13
Skills:
Merrick Swordsmanship [Rare] – LV3 (EXP: 21 / 30,000)
→ Precision strikes. Damage: 282–354 (scales with Strength)
→ Cooldown: 6 secondsMerrick Breathing Technique [Passive | Tierless] – LV2 (EXP: 0 / 20,000)
→ +2 Strength per level. Passive effect.
Overall Rating: F-Class
Total EXP: 1,031
Elias stared at the panel for a long time.
Then his eyes narrowed.
Level 17. Stats barely into double digits. An F-Class rating. This guy wasn't just a background NPC-he was inefficiently built.
But then he saw it.
The passive skill.
Merrick Breathing Technique.
Tierless. No upper limit. A permanent stat bonus every level.
A seed.
A spark.
A loophole.
And possibly… an exploit.
His mouth twitched into a small smile.
Whatever game he was now trapped in, it was still playing by the old rules.
That was a mistake.
And he intended to make the world regret it.