Leo always thought of his life in shades of gray. The gray of the concrete jungle outside his window, the gray of his textbooks, the gray of the endless cycle of school and homework. His only escape was through the vibrant portals of webnovels, where heroes wielded magic, conquered dungeons, and navigated worlds filled with floating islands and mythical beasts. He was an expert on transmigration, a connoisseur of "systems," and a firm believer that his own world was desperately lacking in adventure.
That belief changed the day he found the bookstore. Tucked away on a side street he'd never noticed, it smelled of old paper and dust. As he browsed the cluttered shelves, his fingers brushed against a book with a cover unlike any he had ever seen. It was bound in a soft, supple leather that hummed with a faint energy, and its pages seemed to ripple with a dim, inner light. The title was in a language he couldn't read, but he felt an undeniable pull. He bought it, not knowing why.
He didn't make it home. As soon as he stepped out of the store, the book in his hands began to glow, its hum growing into a deafening roar. The light intensified, blinding him, and a strange sensation—like being stretched across a cosmic canvas—overwhelmed his senses. The world around him dissolved into a chaotic swirl of light and sound, and then there was nothing but silence and darkness.
When he opened his eyes, the gray was gone. He was in a forest, but not like any he had ever seen. The trees were a brilliant, shimmering silver, their leaves an impossible shade of cerulean blue. Giant, luminous fungi glowed softly at their bases, casting the ground in an ethereal light. High above, suspended in the sky like colossal, moss-covered ships, were massive islands of rock and earth, a waterfall spilling from the underside of one and evaporating into a fine mist before it hit the ground. The air tasted clean, like rain and something he couldn't name—something electric and alive.
Panic seized him. He stumbled back against a tree, his heart hammering against his ribs. This was real. This was the vibrant, impossible world he'd only ever read about. Just as his mind threatened to unravel, a transparent, glowing screen flickered into existence before his eyes. It was a grid, filled with text he instantly understood, as if the knowledge had been imprinted directly into his mind.
STATUS
Name: Leo
Title: The Aetherbound
Race: Human
Level: 1
Class: None
Aether Affinity: 1%
Health: 10/10
Mana: 5/5
Strength: 3
Dexterity: 4
Stamina: 3
Intelligence: 12
Wisdom: 11
A new notification appeared at the bottom of the screen.
Welcome, Aetherbound. Your journey begins. Aether is the life blood of this world, the source of all magic and power. Your arrival has granted you a unique connection to it, a gift you must now learn to control.
His head was swimming, but another message, starker and more urgent, flashed to the forefront.
QUEST: SURVIVE THE NIGHT.
REWARD: 10EXP, 1AetherShard.