"My lady, please stop fooling around, it's almost time for breakfast."
The maid walked over, helping the girl up to her feet.
"…Breakfast?" The girl blinked, rubbing her eyes. "What time is it?"
"It's half past seven, my lady. The duke expects you to be at the table by eight."
'Duke? What in the world is-' The girl's eyes widened with sudden understanding as she looked around the room for the first time.
The king-size bed in the middle, surrounded by expensive furniture with a big chandelier hanging in the ceiling.
"My lady, are you alright?" The maid looked concerned.
"I-I'm fine."
'From the looks of my surroundings, I am in the Anaxagoras mansion. Oh my days, I'm actually in my own story!' The girl thought out loud.
"My lady, your bath has been prepared." The maid gestured towards a door on the left.
"My bath?"
"Yes, my lady."
They walked into the bathing room. Steam rose from a large tub in the center, rose petals floating on the surface.
"I'll help you undress, my lady."
"Undress?" The girl repeated, looking at the maid with a strange expression.
"No!" She exclaimed, taking a step back. "I mean… I can do it myself."
The maid was surprised. "Are you feeling well, my lady?"
"I'm fine… just give me some privacy, please."
The maid stood for a while but eventually nodded and left the room.
The girl let out a sigh and walked over to a large mirror hanging on the wall. She stared at her reflection, and her reflection stared back: long white hair scattered across her shoulders, light purple eyes, smooth pale skin.
She touched her face, and her reflection did the same.
'This is actually me…' She looked down at herself, her hands rolled down her smooth body curves.
'The hell, this body is… wow. Picking hourglass was the right call. Hehe…' Just as she was about to look away, a strange feeling flashed through her mind.
She instinctively closed her eyes.
[Ding! You have successfully transmigrated into your "The life of an Evergreen"]
[You have received the title
[You have been given the skill
In the midst of all the strange-looking notifications, a panel appeared in the darkness of her thoughts.
[ Status ]
» Name - Acheron Anaxagoras
» Title – The One who writes
» Age - 18
» Core - Origin
» Stage - 4th of the Descendant Sun
[ Stats ]
» Mana: 1200 / 1200
» Arcana Power: 150✶
» Agility: 79✶
» Endurance: 50✶
» IQ: 208✶
[Basic skills – Mana Mastery(B), Casting Speed(C), Perception(C)… details]
[Origin skills – Predominance(B), Author's View… details]
'Wow, a status screen… this really looks like one of those manhwas… the stats aren't bad. Seems this body had pre-built skills and power.'
「 Yeah, I designed it to look like something familiar from your world… 」
Another message popped up.
'Stellar, is that you?!'
「 Yep, I'm stuck with you from now on… 」
Acheron felt a small spark of delight knowing Stellar was with her. She had never expected the communication between her and the forgotten god to become this close when she first chose the ability.
'Do I have to level up my stats now?'
「 Yes… to grow strong, you have to defeat people stronger than you to raise your stats. 」
A message appeared under her status screen.
[ Story Completion ---...…. 7.8% ]
'Story completion?'
「 It shows how far you have gone in trying to complete the story… 」
Acheron focused on the option, and more information popped up.
[ Story Completion Breakdown ]
Nieves's Childhood: Complete
Act 1: 7.8% Complete
'Hmm, Nieves is already on her way to the Academy; the story is progressing even without me…'
[Mana: 1200→1029]
'What?! 170+ Mana gone already?!'
Knock. Knock.
"My lady, it's almost 8, please hurry up."
'Oh right, I forgot.' Acheron undressed and stepped into the bath, the water sinking into her skin.
After she finished bathing, stepping out of the tub, she wrapped her towel around her body as she walked to the door.
She passed by the mirror again and was still amazed by how her new body looked, the towel barely covering her curves.
「 You know… with a body like that, every boy you pass by will turn his head. 」
Acheron laughed softly as she opened the door. The maid was waiting with a dress draped over her arm.
"Here's your outfit for the day, my lady."
The next fifteen minutes were spent getting dressed. The maid helped her into a blue dress, lacing up a corset which made breathing very difficult.
'I can't breathe! How do nobles wear this all the time? Ahh… my back!' After dressing, the maid styled her hair into an elegant updo. Then she finally opened the door.
"My lady, it's time."
Acheron stepped into the hallway. Servants passed by occasionally, bowing their heads. The walls had portraits of the family ancestors, all of them lined in order.
They walked through the corridors, then descended a staircase.
There, two figures appeared from another hallway. A boy with blonde hair, wearing formal clothes. The other was a girl who also had blonde hair, walking majestically on her heels. Both of them were twins!
'Jamie! Arthur!' Acheron quickly recognized them.
The three of them stopped at the same time. Jamie's face lit up immediately.
"Neyrene!" She whispered urgently, rushing to hug Acheron.
Arthur quickly pulled her back, glancing at the maid behind Acheron.
Acheron turned to the maid. "You can leave; we'll head to breakfast ourselves."
"But, my lady, the duke expects-"
"We'll be fine." Acheron replied firmly.
The maid bowed then left.
The moment she was out of sight, Jamie rushed to hug Acheron.
"Oh my god, girl! You're here! You're actually here!" She squeezed the life out of Acheron's neck. "I woke up in this crazy mansion and there were these servants everywhere… urgh! It was so annoying, oh and there was this guy-" She pointed her finger at Arthur. "…was freaking out in the hallway."
"I wasn't freaking out." Arthur responded hastily, defending his pride.
"Yes, you were!"
Acheron couldn't help but smile.
'At least Jamie's still Jamie…' Acheron sighed and asked, "So… you both remember everything?"
Jamie and Arthur stopped their argument, turning to face Acheron.
"Well, not everything." Arthur answered. "Everything after our death is a bit of a blur."
"Same here, apparently, we have memories of living here our whole life." Jamie added.
Acheron nodded.
"When you woke up, did you see any… strange screen? Like a status window?"
"A what?"
"Like a… never mind."
'It seems the status window only shows to me, probably because I am the author…'
Arthur looked down the hallway.
"We should go; the duke will question why we're late."
"Right…" Acheron agreed. "Just act normal."
"Got it."
They went towards the double doors, the guard stationed outside opened it as they arrived.
Inside was a long dining table covered with all kinds of food: Pastries, fruits, meats, and glass cups filled with yellow juice.
Three people sat at the table: At the middle was a man with gray hair. He held in his hands some newspaper and was reading through it when his eyes raised to meet hers.
Sitting close to the duke on the right was William Anaxagoras, her younger brother and the fourth born to the family. He had white hair and deep blue eyes. He ate his food with elegance, hardly noticing their presence.
Next to William sat Nyerere, the last born. She also had white hair tied in pigtails, dark eyes. She ate rather roughly, munching down at the pastry, licking her plate afterwards.
The duke lowered his newspaper, looking up.
"You're late." His quiet tone made the room tense in an instant.
"We're sorry, father, we got held up on the way." Acheron bowed gracefully. Jamie and Arthur did the same.
The duke studied them for a long moment, his gaze shifting from Acheron to Jamie then Arthur.
"Held up by what?"
Acheron's mind went blank under the pressure her father's gaze exerted.
"Nothing of importance, father." She forced the words out.
"Have your seats then." Duke Anaxagoras replied, raising his newspaper back to the original position.
Acheron and Jamie hurried to the left side of the table, both of them sitting close to their father. Arthur sat beside Nyerere.
"…"
For a while, nobody talked. Jamie began to eat with zero worries and she was quite elegant too.
Acheron picked up her fork, sampling the delicacies before her. The food tasted normal, most of the dishes resembled actual cuisine from the real world.
The story had too many holes that Neyrene never covered. Well, she never got the chance to. The forgotten god had used all her power trying to fill these gaps, imitating events from the real world. Foods. Houses. Everyday objects. All made normal within the story's framework.
She dabbed her mouth with a napkin, raising her head. Her eyes landed on William, who was just finishing his food.
Suddenly, a panel appeared in front of him.
[ Status ]
» Name - William Anaxagoras
» Age - 16
» Core - Cryo
» Rank - Mage
» Stage - 1st Stage of the Ascendant Sun […Details]
'Ah!' Acheron was startled for a moment. 'I can see his stats? Seems he is as I wrote him to be in the early stages. 16 years? He was much older…'
She quickly turned towards Nyerere who was licking jam off her fingers.
[ Status ]
» Name - Nyerere Anaxagoras
» Age - 14
» Core - Twilight
» Rank - Mage
» Stage - 4th Stage of the Ascension Sun […Details]
'I don't remember much about Nyerere but she's a mage too?? I remember writing about a guy who spent 20 years just to go from Novice to Mage. I mustn't come across him. I wonder how mad he'll be if he found out I was the one who wrote him that way...' Acheron's lips curved into a mischievous smile.
She looked at Arthur and Jamie, both of whom had finished their meals. They shared similar stats, both Archmages, both at the 4th Stage of the Ascendant Sun.
Children born into noble bloodlines were different from commoners in every way possible. Their Arcana Cores awakened earlier, their progression through stages came swifter, their very potential seemed boundless. It all traced back to resources. Nobles possessed divine artifacts, rare elixirs, and access to ancient grimoires that accelerated growth in ways commoners could only dream of.
Meanwhile, those without titles or bloodlines scraped by on natural talent alone, if they had any. Most never advanced beyond Novice in their entire lifetime.
'Now that I actually think about it, I was cruel in my writing. Well, I never expected to enter my own story…' The thought came with a hint of irony.
Duke Anaxagoras folded his newspaper, dropping it on the table. He signaled for the maids to come clear the plates; he was about to ask us for our daily progress in training.
'I should check father's status too…' She casually turned towards her father.
[ Status ]
» Name - Duke Aventurine Anaxagoras
» Age - 35
» Core - ???
» Rank - ???
» Stage - ???
'Huh?'