"Fuck, that fall hurt like hell," Lloyd muttered as he tried to get himself together.
He was sore—beaten up and dropped from the sky—though a few trees had at least softened the fall.
Lloyd pushed himself up, dusting the dirt from his clothes.
His gaze went back to the factory. It lay in ruins.
No signs of life. Reinhart probably hadn't survived.
"Ha! Serves that bastard right, psycho," Lloyd spat onto the ground.
Then he glanced at his hand. His grimoire had returned to its original form: a single line.
"This is insane. Did I really transmigrate into that dumb novel?" Lloyd remembered—he'd been reading it when the truck hit him. "This is bad... I didn't even finish the first chapter. What the hell am I supposed to do?"
He clutched his head, stranded in an unknown world and feeling utterly lost.
"They could at least give you a tutorial, right?"
A sound came from his pocket. A notification.
"Huh—funny, this thing didn't break," Lloyd said, fishing his phone out to look. "What's this?"
He frowned. The notification came from an app he had never installed.
Curiosity won; he opened it.
[Congratulations! You have completed Chapter One: Escaping the Mad Hero.]
[Rewards: Lineage Awakening — Alpha-class badge — Access to original novel (25 chapters)]
[You have altered the story. Now you must assume the role of the protagonist. Write your new tale!]
[Next chapter: Departing for the Academy]
[Notice: If you miss the arcane locomotive tomorrow, you will be unable to enter the academy. If that happens... you will die.]
"Oh... great," Lloyd said, exhausted. That was a lot to take in.
"Well, I can't be lazy now..."
He kept exploring the app.
It let him access the digital version of the original novel—and his own personalized novel. There was also a character menu listing him and Reinhart.
Lloyd opened his own profile. It looked like a digital RPG character sheet. Nothing new popped up—the data was sparse—but one line caught his eye.
[Lineage: Awakening available]
He tapped the box. The status changed.
[Lineage: Awakening...]
A pressure squeezed his chest. Darkness curled at the edges of his vision, like sinuous shadows swallowing everything.
A sharp pain raced through his veins, as if his blood were boiling inside him.
He doubled over, a strangled cry ripping out of him.
Then, abruptly, the pain vanished, leaving only confusion.
"What just happened?" he mumbled.
He felt different—taller, broader-shouldered, muscles more defined. His uniform now fit like it was two sizes too small.
Curious, he opened his phone camera to check his reflection.
"Wow..."
Lloyd wasn't attracted to men, but he couldn't deny the man in the screen was striking.
His face looked carved from marble: a strong jaw, high cheekbones, full lips. His skin was a pale olive, so flawless it might as well have been filtered.
His hair was black and silky; even a messy look suited him. And his eyes—two dark abysses you could lose yourself in.
"Hmm, must be the lineage? Though I just got hot, that's all."
Back in the app, the lineage section had updated.
[Lineage: Incubus {Awakened}]
[The Incubus lineage grants multiple benefits. Current bonuses: improved physical appearance — increased vitality — peak human physical traits — significant enhancement of senses.]
[Stage: Sigma (0%)]
[To progress the Incubus lineage, you must satisfy your own carnal desires and feed on the lust of others.]
"So... I get stronger by doing snu-snu. Got it."
Lloyd scratched his head. An unorthodox training method, but it made sense if he really was an incubus.
"But how does that actually make me stronger? My race doesn't seem to grant huge boosts," he complained, clicking his tongue.
"The real problem is—where the hell am I?"
He needed information. Time to catch up on the novel; there might be useful details there.
"Someone's coming..."
His enhanced senses picked it up. He turned as a figure approached at speed.
"Shit. Now?" Lloyd thought. Since awakening his lineage, the pain from the earlier fight had dulled, but he didn't feel ready to take someone on in his current state.
He assumed a cautious stance. The approaching presence didn't feel hostile; in fact, Lloyd's body relaxed a bit.
"Who's there?" he called, using the most intimidating voice he could muster.
The figure froze about three meters away.
"Master Lloyd? Is that you?" came a soft voice—tender, with a note of worry.
"Huh?" Lloyd tilted his head. Who was she?
She closed the distance cautiously, putting him on guard. She didn't attack. Instead she reached out and gently stroked his cheek.
"You look different…but this scent is yours," she said. One glimpse beneath her hood revealed a hint of the beauty she hid. "Lloyd?"
Two ruby-clear eyes locked onto him with hopeful desperation—as if begging for him to be the one.
"Y-yes?" Lloyd answered awkwardly, enveloped by her sweet fragrance.
"Thank goodness," she breathed, then hugged him in a quick, relieved motion.
Her hood slipped down, revealing stunning white hair with tips dyed a vivid crimson.
What surprised him most were the ears atop her head: white fox ears with red tips, matching her hair.
"I was so worried you hadn't returned. Mr. Salazar told me not to do anything, but something felt off, so I followed your trail here."
A warm feeling crept through Lloyd; it was strange and pleasant.
"Oh, I apologize—I overstepped with you." He felt awkward as she pulled back. He hadn't minded the hug continuing.
"I'm glad I found you, Master Lloyd," she said with a small bow, her tone suddenly formal. "It's late. Tomorrow you mustn't miss the train to the academy. Would you like to go home? Or would you prefer I take you to a hotel near the station? Don't worry—I can bring your belongings myself."
Lloyd considered it. The hotel sounded easiest, and he was still bewildered by the whole encounter—after all, he didn't even know this girl.
"Alright, I'll take the hotel option," he replied.
"As you wish, Master Lloyd," she answered.
With a plan set, they departed. But the scene wasn't yet abandoned.
"Tick-tock, tick-tock, time is running out. The great hero ended up humiliated by a pathetic nobody. No matter your travels, if you get cocky, how do you expect to succeed?"
A figure hovered before the ruined factory, watching with a wide—smile?
It was hard to define. This was no ordinary creature.
It had no name: an indistinct mass of inexplicable shadow, its surface trembling as if the world couldn't even cast a true shadow over it.
It wasn't matter, not a being—more of a void, a hole, a shadow projected by something outside any known ontological model.
It watched as a hand rose from the rubble, then another... Reinhart had never truly fallen.
"SHIT!" the boy shouted, clawing at the debris, brow furrowed and eyes bloodshot. "I'll kill him! I swear I will!"
"Ooh, of course you'll do that... But not now. You've already proven your pitiful efficiency in fulfilling your contract... Now we do things my way," the voice hissed like a snake, a sinister echo that made the whisper reverberate.
Reinhart's fury melted into terror at those words.
"No... No, I can still... Don't do it! I can still be useful!"
His screams turned to shrieks as shadows poured from the being and swallowed him.
"Oh, you can still be useful to me, young Reinhart... Only you might not like the way you'll be useful."
A guttural laugh rose through the murmuring shadows; under the glow of the twin moons, they slithered back into the darkness.