Lex jolted awake, sitting up as he yelled, "Please don't kill me!" "Not yet!" His eyes were heavy; he was drenched in an ocean of sweat from top to bottom. Something was definitely strange; he was sure he was dead a few moments ago.
He opened his eyes; around him was an unending white mist, in which he floated amidst. "What is this place?" "Am I dead or alive?" Lex muttered to himself.
He was so engrossed in the mist he barely noticed the stray hair dangling down towards his forehead. It was blonde.
Lex was shocked; the last time he saw his hair, he remembered it was pitch black, no less. "Where am I?" He felt a sudden ache in his head and around his body.
He tried to scream but couldn't, as a severe pain coursed through his entire being. Strange memories began forcing their way into his head – foreign memories. He muttered through the pain, "What's going on?"
About thirty minutes later, Lex could move again. He felt absolutely different. He took a stare at his hands; there were various callouses attached at various parts. A translucent screen flashed right before his eyes; he touched the screen, it flickered. The screen showed his reflection. Lex was amused at what he saw – a perfect jawline, matching the sharpness of a blade, glowing blue eyes, and a well-structured teenage face.
He held his face with both of his hands, caressing it.
He had a few doubts, but all that was happening to him could only mean he had been transmigrated into another person's body.
{Ding!}
{Survival system online}
{Updating host status}
{Update complete}
{Welcome host! To the survival system}
{Main objective: upgrade from your servant role to a new occupational role.}
"Huh," muttered Lex as an emotionless voice echoed in his mind. A bunch of messages also appeared on the translucent screen ahead of him. He stood up as he held his breath. "System, is that you?"
{Yes host}
"Yes!" Lex spoke, clenching his fists. Tears of water threatened to fall from his eyes; he was thrilled, finally, he yearned.
Back on Earth, his life was boring. All Earth could offer was nothing but normalcy, a simple life, and nothing more. Multidimensional beings never invaded to spark an interdimensional war.
Though he seemed to have loved it, the truth was, he despised it – a whole lot. That was why he had immersed himself in comics, manga, and novels, to keep out of the world.
But now, now the moment any Isekai fan had always dreamed of – the system, had just awakened right before him. "Looks like my boring life is finally over," Lex spoke to himself.
"Maybe I could go on a quest to slay the demon king." "And probably join an adventurer guild in the process, even get married on the way. What should I choose – demon baddies, elven baddies, or beast kin baddies?
Am so excited!"
He then heard the cold, emotionless voice of the system speak again. {Host, please refrain from daydreaming; you're in the middle of the noble's party}
Lex was shocked to the hilt as the translucent screen vanished. He hadn't noticed he was no longer in the white mist anymore.
The system was right; he was amidst a noble's party. Now all eyes were on him. He hadn't even realized he was holding a tray filled with glass cups. He looked down at his outfit; he wore a pale leather wear with some ragged brown leather boots, stained in all parts.
He glanced around; the interior of the building was well-designed, bronze templates attached to the wall as decor. Lex was sure he had heard music, which had now stopped because of his continuous bickering about adventure guilds and baddies. He quickly glanced around, analyzing the situation.
With the aid of the foreign memories, he understood a few things – that he was in a party for the noble's daughter, as he could see her standing in the middle of the hall in a dazzling and most exotic dress.
Her beauty overshadowed all that were around her.
Lex's left hand was immediately held as he was pinned to the ground by a knight who suddenly appeared behind him. Lex balanced the tray, dropping it on the ground. "My apologies, Sire Barristan," the knight spoke, his voice slightly cracking as he seemed afraid. The knight then went ahead to bow curtly, pushing Lex further to the ground.
"I ask for forgiveness for Gorin's unruly behavior, sire. It won't happen again." Lex recognized the knight from somewhere but where?
He asked himself, baffled. The knight wore a thick, shining green leather armor, two cups of steel attaching the chest plate to both of his shoulders, a helmet on his head.
He held a sword in his hand. He was slightly taller than Lex (in his Gorin form), with a strong build and a cape flowing at his back.
Sire Barristan nodded, positioning his half-filled cup forward as he spoke. "As a watchful treat, this servant would be executed tomorrow." There was a corresponding shout of gladness from the others that stood by in the hall. A look of absolute fear crossed Lex's face as he was being pulled out of the hall. He just got reincarnated; how could this possibly be happening? "I'm finished," muttered Lex as the knight dragged him out of the hall.
After a few minutes of continuous walking, they arrived at a regular dungeon. The dungeon was dark except for a few torches hung on the wall. Centimeters apart from each other, they lit up the place. Rats nonchalantly strutted from one cell to another, with no care for who or what was passing by.
Ignoring these, Lex asked the system a question. "So, what type of system are you? Level up type, harem type, mission type, ascension type?"
{I'm a survival system; my sole purpose is to assist you in surviving in the dangerous world of Aetheria}
Lex blinked in disbelief.
As he spoke, "System, could you repeat that?"
{I'm a survival system; my objective is to help you in surviving in the dangerous world of Aetheria}
That's when it occurred to Lex, the reason he seemed to recognize the knight. He had somehow reincarnated in his novel as a side character, and yet this was no ordinary novel.
It was the world of Aetheria, which he had crafted to favor the elite.
Lex snapped out of his reverie as he was flonged by the green armored knight into one of the empty cells.
The knight then locked it with a bunch of chains. He sat up, pausing, then closed his eyes. The translucent screen appeared once more.
{Survival system}
{Corruption interference}
{Host, your first mission is to upgrade to a new occupational role. You can upgrade by gathering mana stones from magical beasts after annihilating them. The more powerful mana stones you get, the stronger occupation becomes.}
{ Do you accept?}
{Yes} or {No}