Tonight, the red moonlight shone brightly in the sky, enveloping the night in an eerie aura. However, the sparkling blue stars above gave a sense of calm, like points of light that soothed the soul. The night wind carried an unfamiliar scent that he had never smelled before, making him curious.
From the window, Lucian Alistair stood staring at the ceiling, realising that he was in an unfamiliar place. In fact, he could not hear any sound in his ears, so that he could clearly hear every breath and heartbeat. Confusion clouded his mind. Where was he, actually?
Shortly after that, he sat down and glanced to his right, right at the window. He did not know how this could have happened. Lucian thought that this was just a dream, and that it would fade away, but reality proved otherwise. He was in another world, inhabiting the body of a twenty-year-old man, Kyle Xirius.
The buildings surrounding his house confused him. He sighed as he thought about it, then stood up and moved to the back, standing in front of a wardrobe with a mirror. In the glass, his reflection had changed into someone else—blue eyes sparkling in the darkness of the room, messy black hair falling to his ears, forming an interesting contrast with a face that was no longer his own.
Kyle's house was located on the main street of Shrie, in the eastern part of the city. Lucian was currently on the second floor, and to the right of his room was the room of Kyle's older sister, Isabelle. There was also a storage room in the hallway next to his room, which was still locked and held a secret inside.
Nana Xirius, Kyle's mother, had lost her husband about seventeen years ago, leaving behind his two children and wife to rest in peace. Kyle's father was believed to have died in an accident while he was working. However, Nana, his wife, did not believe that reason. But seeing her two children, including Kyle, who was holding her thumb tightly at the time, made Nana accept it all. Since then, she has taken on two roles, as a surrogate father and mother. Nana also works hard to support her two young children.
When he first moved into Kyle's body, Lucian could remember a very terrible event, namely the murder of Archie Miscall three hours before Lucian transmigrated.
Lucian tried to solve the case of Kyle's death. His longing for RPG games drove him to solve the mystery that had dragged him into this body.
On Earth, in his house, Lucian always locked himself in his room after coming home from a full day of work. His reason was simple: he didn't want to be disturbed by other people and wanted to enjoy his games in peace.
Lucian played games because of the unreasonable pressure from his job. From morning until around eight in the evening, he stared at his work monitor without moving an inch. Overtime, but the income he received did not match the effort he put in.
Seeing this, Lucian was speechless and chose to stay because finding a job in his city was almost impossible and job vacancies were just nonsense. He chose to vent his emotions into the game without having to do it to other people. Even when his stomach growled, Lucian was unaware because he was so engrossed in playing the game with his co-workers.
Unfortunately, the activity had ended, and now he had moved to a world he knew nothing about. The technology was not as advanced as he had imagined in this world; even telephones were only available in certain locations, such as on public roads, and were owned by influential people in the kingdom of 'Weart' and the city.
Thinking about technology, Lucian became increasingly restless, so he decided to walk back to the table and sit down quietly.
"Damn... Why did I end up in this place? Damn it!" Lucian shouted loudly, his voice echoing and being heard in every corner of the house.
Shortly after those words came out, from the stairs to the left of his room, he heard footsteps that made his body tremble instantly. He didn't know what he was experiencing when he heard those footsteps, but reflexively, Lucian turned to the left side of his bedroom door, staring with sweat beading on his forehead.
The door to his room opened loudly, causing everything in the room to shake. Standing in the doorway was a beautiful woman with long black hair cascading down her back, her sparkling blue eyes staring at him without blinking.
"Why are you shouting in the middle of the night?" the voice pierced his ears, making Lucian's hair stand on end after hearing it.
The woman's name was Isabelle Miscall. She was five years older than Kyle. Currently, Isabelle worked at a large agricultural company in the centre of Shire. Her monthly salary was enough to cover her daily needs, including three meals a day.
Her mother's job alone was not enough to cover the living expenses of the three of them, because every year, the cost of living rose by about 10% from the previous year. Two litres of kerosene cost about 10 pounds. Not only that, wheat and other foods, drinks including sake rose by about 5%, and spices were even more expensive than that.
The city of Shire is famous for its delicious herbal tea, which is perfect for brewing in the morning. Due to the increasing number of orders from tea distribution factories, the city leaders raised the price of spices, which became much higher and more profitable for the city.
Lucian just stared at her silently, not knowing what to say. Finally, he chose to answer as best he could.
"Ahh... It's okay. I had a nightmare earlier," Lucian said frantically.
Hearing her brother's strange answer and manner of speaking, Isabelle was curious. She walked towards him to get a closer look. On the other hand, Lucian reflexively swallowed his saliva. He thought that his identity had been revealed so easily.
However, Lucian chose to stay calm and not act strangely. As Isabelle took another step towards him, suddenly... a scream from downstairs was heard.
The scream came from their mother, Nana Miscall, who had just returned from her job as a saleswoman, serving at a close friend's shop.
The sound of footsteps on the stairs was clearly audible to both of them. Hearing this, Isabelle changed her mind and chose to leave her sister's room.
Finally, Lucian could breathe easily. Hearing the sound made him curious, so he decided to follow his sister and welcome their mother.
As he was about to take a step, he glanced at the open window. The window shutter was blown by the wind, making a squeaking sound that bothered his ears. Therefore, Lucian decided to close it because it was already nighttime.
He turned and left his room. As he was about to go down the stairs, he saw his older sister and mother chatting below. Whether it was because of his previous memories or just his feelings, seeing them chatting made his heart feel very comfortable. A small smile appeared on his face.
His mother saw Lucian standing silently in the middle of the stairs. The conversation had ended, and Nana immediately asked him in a soft tone.
"What's wrong, Kyle? Are you thinking about something?"
Lucian suddenly realised what he was doing and tapped his forehead with his hand. After that, he gave up on going downstairs and went back up to his room.
Seeing this, his mother and sister were confused by his behaviour, and Isabelle's curiosity peaked.
Nana walked away from Isabelle, placed her bag on the table, and went to the room next to the living room to rest.
Since her mother had gone into her room, Isabelle decided to go back to her sister's room and ask the question that had previously gone unanswered.
She climbed the stairs and hurried down the left-hand corridor. Before entering her sister's room, she knocked on the door first. After knocking several times, there was no answer or invitation to enter from inside.
Isabelle panicked. With no other choice, she decided to open it... And when the door opened, she did not see her sister in her room.
"Huh, she's gone! Could she have gone to the bathroom?"
Isabelle muttered in confusion.
She closed the door and planned to check the bathroom on the left side of the living room. But when she got there, Isabelle was stunned to find the bathroom empty with the door slightly open.
Seeing this, she thought something strange had happened, that Kyle had left or been kidnapped by a supernatural being. Her face showed a hint of fear, making her think to check his room again.
But strangely, when Isabelle opened her brother's door, she saw Kyle sitting at his desk writing something. Her eyes widened after witnessing this, and Isabelle approached him to ask.
"Where did you go, Kyle?" she asked with a shivering voice and goosebumps.
Lucian was confused by the question and didn't answer immediately.
"What do you mean? I've been sitting here quietly writing a job application..." Lucian muttered, showing her the letter containing his identity.
Isabelle immediately took the application letter without hesitation and read it right away. The letter was very detailed, containing his identity and the skills he possessed.
Seeing the letter, Isabelle thought that she was hallucinating, seeing younger brother not in his room.
"Maybe I'm too tired and hallucinating." After saying that, she returned the application letter to Lucian, turned around, and chose to rest because her mood was unsettled and bad.
Seeing Isabelle leave the room, Lucian could breathe a sigh of relief. And finally, he decided to open the page behind it and write down his goals in this world.