There was a game called Rise of Altera.It was a fantasy RPG simulation where you played as Arthur, The Chosen One.Blah, blah, blah... save the world, the usual stuff.
But there was one character, just one among the thousands in the story, known as The Dumb Villain.Why? Because he was made to be a joke.Yep, even his background story was no more than three sentences long.
Leon Moriet, a noble from the Moriet family.He looked down on others, acting arrogantly.However, because of his family name, everyone feared him.
That was it. That was his entire backstory.Why was he considered a villain? Because he kept messing with the main character poisoning him, framing him, or threatening his family. And every single attempt failed miserably.
I read about him on the internet. He was voted almost 99% as the most pathetic villain ever written.
And I agreed completely. Seriously.When I played the game, I only needed three basic attacks to beat him.He felt cursed to be the absolute worst among the worst.
Now back to the point.Why am I focusing on Leon? Because of what happened to me.
As a gamer, I had played this game over and over again, scoring higher than anyone else.I played every mode easy, normal, hard, hardcore, survival, and impossible.I managed to get perfect scores in all of them.
Until one day, the company behind the game contacted me, saying they wanted to reward me for my achievements.
Then, I received a cartridge. It was labeled Rise of Altera, but something was strange.No image, no description. Only a note that said, "The final version of Rise of Altera."
I immediately played it.Apparently, it was a version where you could play as any character in the world of Rise of Altera.
You can see where this is going, right?
I picked Leon, just for fun.I thought it would be a hilarious challenge to play as the weakest character in the story.
That was when everything happened.
My monitor began to glow brightly, flooding the entire room with light.My body felt like it was breaking apart into tiny bubbles, and then... I lost consciousness.
That is enough of the backstory.Now, back to the present.
"Ouch... why did things turn out like this?"
I lay flat on my back, my body heavy, my head spinning.This could not be real. I had become Leon Moriet?
I got up from the bed and looked into the mirror.Blue eyes, red hair, and an annoyingly handsome face. Yep. I was Leon Moriet.
"Ah! If I knew this would happen, I would have picked Arthur!"
I regretted my choice deeply.Why, out of all the characters, did I pick Leon?
No. I had played this game so many times I stopped counting after four digits. I could not give up now.
"But seriously... is this real?"
It might still be a game, but on a completely different level.I had to make sure.
"Status!"
..... Nothing happened.
"Um... system? Or anything?"
....
Seriously!? How could there be a game without a status window!?How was I supposed to log out of here?
What if I died? Would I return to the real world?
I pinched myself. That hurt. Really hurt. Everything felt too real. Did that mean I was stuck here forever?
"Ahhh! I should not have opened that package!"
Knock! Knock!
The door startled me. Without thinking, I asked who it was.
"Who is it?"
"It is me, young master."The voice was deep and calm, like that of a man.
I opened the door slightly and saw a man dressed as a butler.Black hair, sharp eyes. I instantly knew who he was.
"Ah, Sebastian."
Funny, right? Almost every butler in games or anime seems to be named Sebastian.
"I heard some noise from your room, young master. Is everything alright?" Sebastian asked politely.
"Ah, no, it is fine, Sebastian."
"Yes, young master?"
I suddenly punched him. Hard. But his body did not even budge.It felt like I had hit a wall made of stone. What was his body made of?
"Did that hurt?"
"Not really. But I could feel a little impact if you had used proper technique," Sebastian said, clearly confused.
"Ahaha, sorry. I will be quiet now. You can go," I said quickly and closed the door.
His body felt real.Everything here felt real.Had I really entered the world of Rise of Altera?
Maybe if I died, I could return to the real world.But that was too risky. What if I actually died for real?
I scratched my head, trying to think of a way back.There was no clue, no hint at all.I really had to survive in this fantasy world... as Leon, The Dumb Villain.
"Huuh... calm down."
I slapped my cheeks to focus.This was a game I had completed thousands of times.I could survive this. I had to.
"Before figuring out how to return, I need to make sure I can survive first.That means... I have to get stronger!"
The Next Morning
"Hiah! Ha!"
Sebastian watched from a distance as I swung a wooden sword at a training dummy.He used to be a Knight Commander, but after failing to protect a royal child, he lost his title and status.Since then, he had served the Moriet family as a butler.
"So? How was that?" I asked.
As a former Knight Commander, he must have great swordsmanship.That was why I asked him to judge whether I could handle a sword or not.
"If I am to give my honest opinion, swordsmanship is not your talent," Sebastian said, his face as expressionless as ever.
"Huh, I kind of expected that. So I brought every weapon I could find in the storage room. Please evaluate me using all of them."
Although Sebastian seemed confused, he simply stood there and watched me try every weapon I had.I wanted to see if Leon had any natural affinity with any weapon.
In the game, there was a system that determined whether a character could effectively use certain weapons or not.
Since I had no status or system now, I had to rely on Sebastian's judgment.
From spears to bows and shields, I tried them all until the sun began to set.
Sebastian did not move the entire time, until I picked up the final weapon I found — a rapier.
"Haa... haa... so, how was that?"
"It seems you truly have no talent for any kind of weapon," Sebastian said calmly.
Ouch.
"You are kidding me! How useless am I!?" I shouted, collapsing onto the ground.In the story, Leon was also terrible with weapons.Even though he used a sword, I was sure it was only to look cool.
"Why not try magic or alchemy instead?" Sebastian suggested.
"I already did. But it seems my Mana is not enough to create a magic manifestation, and as for alchemy... I almost blew up my room this morning," I said while Sebastian handed me a towel and some water.
"Why are you working so hard, young master?"
I did not answer.He would never understand what was about to happen at the academy.Even if I told him, he would never believe me.
"If that is how it is, then I just need to do something else," I said, leaving Sebastian once again looking confused.