My name is Johnrey Reolando, a Grade 12 student at Louse International High School. Around campus, I was known as the strongest fighter—someone who never backed down. It didn't matter if others brought bats, knives, or brass knuckles, or even if thirty people ganged up on me. I fought them all with nothing but the gloves I always wore.
Because I fought alone, I was called the Lone Wolf. Feared, avoided, isolated. Everyone kept their distance. No friends, no one to share lunch with, no one to talk to. All I knew was bruises, broken bones, and endless fights.
I thought that was my life.
Until one day—everything changed.
---
It happened after class. I was walking down the sidewalk when I heard a commotion in a small convenience store. People—adults and elderly—ran out in a panic. Then I heard the screams of two girls trapped inside.
I didn't think twice. My legs moved on their own, and I charged inside.
Two masked men stood there, waving guns. The moment they saw me, they fired. Bullets cracked past my head as I dove behind a shelf. The store owner and the two girls were crouched on the floor, terrified.
One of the gunmen advanced toward me. I waited, timing his steps. When he got close, I lunged. We wrestled for the gun, its muzzle flashing wildly toward the ceiling. His partner couldn't shoot, afraid of hitting him.
Seizing the moment, the store owner mustered his courage and struck the second gunman across the face. But the masked man retaliated, grabbing him by the collar and kicking him into a shelf. The old man collapsed, groaning in pain.
Rage boiled inside me. I grabbed the first gunman by the collar and hurled him into a shelf with all my strength.
Then—BANG!
A deafening crack. My body froze. My eyes widened. Heat spread through my chest. I looked down. Blood was spilling across my clothes.
The second gunman had fired.
I fell backward. My vision blurred. The masked men snatched the cash and fled as sirens wailed in the distance.
The two girls rushed to me, their voices trembling.
"Hey—are you okay? Don't worry! We already called an ambulance!"
But my strength faded. Darkness crept in as memories flooded my mind—fights, regrets, my parents, my cousin… people I never said goodbye to.
---
When I opened my eyes again, I wasn't in the store.
A radiant figure stood before me, clothed in white sleeves, a golden scroll in hand, angelic wings spreading wide.
"Johnrey Reolando," the figure spoke.
I stiffened. "Who… who are you?"
"I am a god—the one who decides your destiny."
My breath caught. "Am I… dead?"
The figure nodded. "Yes. At first, I intended to send you to hell. Your violence in school nearly killed others. Your hands are stained with blood."
My throat tightened. Fear gripped me.
"But," the god continued, "I changed my mind. I saw what you did—you risked your life to save two innocent girls and the store owner. That act has changed your fate. Instead of damnation, you shall be reincarnated into another world—a world of magic and monsters."
My eyes widened. "That… that only happens in anime. Not real life."
The god smiled faintly. "It is real. You are not the first to be reincarnated, nor will you be the last."
I couldn't find words.
"Enough talking," the god said. "It is time for your story to continue. Farewell, Johnrey Reolando."
Before I could reply, my body was pulled into darkness.
---
When I opened my eyes again, sunlight poured through a wooden window. I was lying in a bed inside a small house.
A woman entered, carrying a bowl of soup. Her eyes widened when she saw me awake. She set the bowl down, rushed to me, and embraced me tightly. Tears fell as she cried,
"Souta… you're finally awake!"
Souta?
I realized—this must be my new name.
After she fed me, I noticed a mirror nearby. I staggered toward it and froze. The face staring back wasn't mine. Gone were my black hair and brown eyes. Instead, I had yellow eyes with orange pupils and brown hair. And my body… it was small. I looked no older than four.
When I opened the window, my jaw dropped. The sky was alive with strange creatures—beasts soaring on wings. People walked below, each holding wands, casting fire, water, ice, and lightning. Magic. It was real.
A man waved at me from outside. His voice was deep and warm.
"You're finally awake, Souta Suzuki! My son has been very worried!"
I waved back uncertainly.
At dinner, I learned the truth.
The woman was my new mother—Sarah Suzuki, wielder of fire and earth magic. The man was my father—Naoto Suzuki, who commanded water and lightning. My sister, three years older, was Shyreine Suzuki, gifted with earth and water magic.
And this place—our home—was the village of Eldoria, west of the capital.
A new family.
A new world.
And a new life… one I had no idea would soon test me harder than any fight I'd faced before.