"Ugh..."
A sharp pain forced me to wake up. My head was throbbing, as if someone had whipped me over and over again.
"Ugh... I shouldn't have drunk so much last night."
[Synchronising... 40%...
I got out of bed and put my hands on my forehead, trying to relieve the severe hangover a little. I could feel the light shining through the curtains and bathing my face.
I opened my eyes very slowly, tired and with a migraine, and found myself in a small hotel room.
I rubbed my eyes to make sure I wasn't dreaming, blinked a couple of times, and looked around once more.
"Where am I...?" I muttered.
My voice sounded hoarse and shrill, but I didn't think much of it.
[Synchronising... 88%...
From time to time, I could hear an irritating mechanical sound whispering in my ear.
"Am I going insane? What is this place?"
Confused, I stood up from the bed to investigate. No, but first… (sighs).
Fortunately, I still had my pants on… huh? Why are my feet so small? Ah… wait…
What the hell?!
I rushed into what seemed to be a bathroom. There was a mirror with two cracks in it. Its lower frame was made of wood, with simple and plain patterns.
***
Haha…
The mirror reflected a strange young man with light-colored eyes, his blink carrying a subtle caress of sadness, as if with every flutter his life was slowly fading away.
His hair, black and straight, delicately descended over his shoulders. His features were unusually refined: a slightly sharp jawline, thin lips of a pale color, and a straight nose that highlighted the impossible balance of his face.
…[…]
After a few minutes, I finally regained my senses. It seemed that the young man reflected in the mirror was around 16 or 17 years old.
–"Is that… me?"
"What is this…? What's going on…?"
Calm down, calm down, calm down… panic slowly began to take over me, with countless crazy and confusing thoughts rushing through my mind.
C-could it be… I transmigrated? Is that even possible?
I wanted to deny it. No! I tried to deny it.
My first reaction was shock, then anger, anxiety, despair, fear…
I felt all kinds of emotions nesting inside me at once, but no matter what I did, reality came back to hit me hard.
I felt suffocated…
My eyes began to blur, my vision was hazy, and soon tears slid down my cheeks.
"What the hell…?"
Ruined.
Everything was completely rotten.
I had read many web novels and fantasized about having an adventure like this, but it's one thing to dream… and another to throw away your life for such a whim. With a gloomy heart and moisture filling my eyes, I tried to think about how I ended up in this situation when…
Tring!
A holographic screen materialized in front of me.
[Syncing… 100%... complete…]
I had no time to react when an endless flood of unfamiliar memories invaded my mind.
"Aaaargh!"
I screamed so loud my voice started to break. I could feel a sharp pain, like needles scraping under my fingernails, piercing into my skull along with hundreds — no, thousands — of memories flashing one after another.
I clenched my fists so hard that blood dripped from my palms, but the pain didn't ease; it only became more unbearable.
"Aaaargh!"
Fragments of memories I didn't recognize raced through my head — the tears of an unknown woman, the loss of a loved one… Slowly, I began to assimilate every memory.
"M… mother…" I stammered before fainting.
***
When I opened my eyes again, my memory was somewhat hazy, though my thoughts gradually became clearer with each passing second. After a few minutes, I was finally able to distinguish where my memories began and "his" ended. For some reason, I was strangely calm. The panic that had once consumed me… had vanished, as if it had never been there at all.
It left me slightly unsettled, but I managed to stabilize my emotions again.
Tring!
A sharp notification sound echoed, and suddenly a kind of holographic screen appeared out of nowhere.
[Sender: ???]
Achievements [OUTSIDER]
‐ First sentient being to cross dimensions, the **** rewards you for your courage. Your name will be recorded in Amon's Library.
‐ [ÆGIS SYSTEM] [unlocked]
Name: Lucen Dusk
Age: 17
[Stats]
Strength: G+ [1/2]
Agility: F [3/5]
Endurance: F [1/5]
Magic Power: F+ [5/10]
[Talent]
‐ Dimensional Transmitter (active)
[Trait]
Communication (B+) [0%]
[Skills]
Resilience (A+) [10%] (passive)
[Multidimensional Exchange Shop] (locked)
.
.
.
"Holy… … it's a system!" I exclaimed in shock.
Seconds later, all my excitement vanished, and I just stood there, muttering curses under my breath.
"How the hell did all this happen?"
The reality I was facing was brutally overwhelming.
I felt like crying, thrown into a strange world without friends, without family — completely alone.
"…"
Somehow, I managed to calm down. A rationality I never thought I possessed began to take over my mind.
"I don't know what sin I committed or how grave it was, but since this happened… now's not the time to grieve," I whispered to myself.
I took a deep breath and walked out of the bathroom…
During the following days, I tried to understand my situation.
According to this body's memories — my memories…
"It's confusing to draw the line between our egos, but slowly… I was starting to get used to it."
…I was in a hotel on the way to the Imperial Academy to take the entrance exam, when a ray of light filtered through the windows, bathing me from head to toe. Moments later, I… appeared.
"Damn…"
A sigh escaped my lips as I covered my face with both hands. There was no way to deny it.
My memories… and this strange vision of the world…
It means… I fell into the game.