Lloyd felt like his life was that of a slave.
Believe it or not, in this world – on Earth – supernatural powers truly existed. The thing was, they were kept highly secret; only a few people knew. In fact, those who could wield them were only small groups.
One of those small groups was the Pendragon Clan.
Lloyd was born into that clan.
But that was nothing to be happy about.
Since childhood, he had been forced to train in supernatural powers. The training was extremely harsh. Lloyd didn't just vomit repeatedly, but also bled, and had even been on the brink of death. While other children played and had fun, he was tormented in hell.
Even so, Lloyd remained optimistic. He thought that once he grew up, he could flaunt his power to the world and be respected by many. Ironically, that never happened.
The clan forbade him from revealing supernatural powers.
But what was most infuriating was that after all his brutal training and becoming strong, instead of being respected and standing above others, he was reduced to being someone else's subordinate. The clan ordered him to become a bodyguard for a wealthy conglomerate family.
"You've got to be kidding me?! Why did I have to train myself nearly to death if in the end I can't even use my power for myself?!"
He wanted nothing more than to destroy the clan and end his suffering. Unfortunately, the clan was filled with elders far stronger than him. Running away and seeking freedom wasn't an option either, for the same reason.
In the end, he could only obey the clan like a slave.
To soothe his frustration, Lloyd played a game. Its name was Wonderful World. It was a power fantasy that allowed players to experience being a hero respected by the whole world, adored by many women, and free to adventure.
"I really want to live freely in a fantasy world like this."
Unexpectedly, his wish came true.
While he was sleeping, his soul was transferred into Wonderful World. But his soul didn't enter the protagonist's body – instead, it went into the body of a background character whose name and origin were unknown.
So, in this world, he still went by Lloyd. But he refused to use Pendragon as his surname, out of the hatred he held for the clan.
"All right, I'll register at the Hunter Association right away."
Humanity in this world stood on the brink of destruction. Once, humans had ruled over six continents, but now only one remained – and even that was on the verge of collapse. The cause of it all: Monsters, creatures that preyed on humans.
To survive, humanity formed the Hunter Association, whose job was to hunt down Monsters. Since Hunters fought humanity's predators and protected mankind, they were automatically respected and revered.
That respect was exactly what Lloyd sought.
But when he tried to register as a Hunter, he hit a wall.
"The Class you possess is only Culinarian," said the receptionist.
This world was like an RPG or DnD. Everyone could grow stronger by gaining EXP and leveling up, could learn and collect Skills, and possessed a Class that determined what Skills they could acquire.
Lloyd's Class was Culinarian. It wasn't a combat Class. In the world of Hunters who fought Monsters, Culinarian was the weakest.
Ironically, in this world Classes were fixed at birth. So Lloyd couldn't change his Class, no matter how much he wanted to – not until death.
"It doesn't matter. I have another power."
Lloyd still had the supernatural power he had brought from Earth. He had trained it rigorously. Even if his Class was weak, he was confident he could still slay Monsters with this power.
"Very well, then," said the receptionist. "One of the requirements to become a Hunter is to kill five Slimes. So, kill five Slimes, bring me proof, and then you'll be a Hunter."
"Fine, I'll go now."
Slimes were the weakest Monsters in this world. They looked like blue jelly blobs the size of humans. They moved slowly and could be found everywhere. Their way of killing humans was by engulfing them inside their bodies, suffocating them to death.
Defeating a Slime was relatively simple – just keep hitting it until it died. Lloyd had defeated countless Slimes in the game to the point of boredom.
"This request is way too easy."
He said that arrogantly.
But in reality, when he fought a Slime... he died.
"Seriously... I died to the weakest monster...?!"
Lloyd's supernatural power allowed him to rewind time to before his death. The exact moment was random – sometimes an hour, sometimes a day before dying.
"AAAAAAHHHHH!!!!" he screamed at the sky in frustration. "I trained so hard for my power! But on Earth, it was only used for others! I thought that if I went to another world, I could finally use it freely. But here, it's completely useless! Why is my life so pathetic?!!"
Lloyd panted heavily after shouting.
Then he looked around.
He was now in a forest, near the edge of a river. The sky was still dark, but dawn was breaking. Birds sang sweetly around him. Lloyd recognized this plLloyd – it was where he had first set foot in this world.
"I need to get back to the city."
He followed the river upstream.
Before long, he saw a beautiful city standing by a great lake. That was Aqua, the city for Beginner Hunters. All Hunters began their journeys there before venturing out into the world to exterminate Monsters.
Once inside the city, he went straight to the Hunter Association.
The building was massive and tall.
As he stepped inside, Lloyd was greeted by a bustling crowd.
It was autumn, and many people were registering to become Hunters. The receptionist's line was long. Before, Lloyd had simply joined the line. But now, he didn't feel like it.
So, he looked for a seat.
Because of the crowd, all seats were taken – except one table in the corner with two chairs. One of the chairs was occupied by a beautiful woman. Lloyd headed there.
"Excuse me, would you mind if I shared this seat?"
"Go ahead, I don't mind."
"Thank you."
Lloyd glanced at the woman before being stunned by her beauty. She was breathtaking, even more beautiful than top models on Earth.
Her skin was pale as snow. Her straight black hair reached her waist, with bangs covering her forehead. Her eyes and lips were a shade of red. Her slender, tall body was wrapped in an elegant black gothic dress.
But what caught his attention most were her ears.
They were slender, long, and pointed.
'An Elf... a fantasy rLloyd renowned for beauty. This is the first time I've seen one,' Lloyd thought, captivated, before recalling a familiar character from Wonderful World. 'Wait... isn't this the mysterious side character...?'
This woman was also a background character, like Lloyd, but they were completely different.
If Lloyd was an unnamed extra who never appeared on-screen, this woman was an extra who did appear – and was widely known among players for her beauty. Many even claimed she was more beautiful than any heroine.
'I was so annoyed at the developers for not making her a heroine. As a player, I really wanted to marry her.'
Her background was unknown, her name was unknown. The only known thing was that she had the highest-ranking Class: Goddess of Alchemy. But because of that Class, no one wanted to team up with her.
In this world, the higher the Class rank, the more EXP it required to level up. If someone of a low Class teamed up with someone of a high Class, most of the EXP from killing Monsters would go to the higher-Class individual. That was why this woman was always alone.
'But that was only in the game. Now, this is reality. In the game, I couldn't form a team with her, but here in real life, I should be able to.'
As a player – or rather, as a man – Lloyd was drawn to her.
Besides, maybe she could help him kill Slimes.
"Hello, I'm Lloyd. Would you like to work together with me?"
A little surprised that someone approached her, the Elf replied with her eyes closed. "Are you aware that you are speaking with the abyss of darkness? If you gaze into the abyss, the abyss will gaze back at you."
Lloyd froze. 'Huh? What's with the way she talks?! That's so edgy. She looks elegant and grLloydful, but she's an edgelord?! Damn, this reminds me of my embarrassing past.'
"But actually, it is neither an evil nor a curse. For within the abyss, treasures lie hidden in the dark," the Elf continued. "Very well, I like your courage. But you must fulfill one condition of mine."
"A condition? What condition?"
The woman opened her eyes dramatically and said:
"You must marry me."