Adrian Hale, age 19, a student at Ashford University majoring in technology.
An orphan, living with his 17-year-old sister named Alicia Hale, and his aunt Maya Hale, who has raised him since childhood.
He older Brother, Erickson Hale, is a Rank S Hunter and rarely comes home because she's busy...
In the darkness, waves of memories kept assaulting me relentlessly, as if I were tapping into the brain cells of the real Adrian, making those memories not just images or videos, but something that seeped directly into me as my own, including his habits.
Then suddenly, I felt a splash of water hit my face. I frowned, then slowly opened my eyes. My guess was correct: a silver-haired man was splashing his drinking water onto my face. From Adrian's memories, this was Azrael, a Rank B hunter and the leader of this party.
"Stop it, Azrael," I murmured weakly, unconsciously calling his name. However, Azrael kept splashing water on my face as if he hadn't heard me.
"Stop that!" I said more firmly, though my voice was hoarse.
"Oh, you're awake?" Azrael chuckled, then drank his water.
I sat up, my head throbbing. My current location wasn't the crystal-filled cave, but an open field shaded by a large tree. It seemed Azrael was the one who brought me out, as there was no one else here but him. Then I noticed something beneath me: protruding roots glowing green – these weren't the tree's roots, but healing magic.
'Whose magic is this?' It couldn't be Azrael's, judging by his appearance and the sword hanging at his waist, he was a close-range fighter. 'Then who?'
Setting that aside, my eyes fixed on a massive wall about 50 meters high not far from where I was.
'Hmm... Seeing that wall makes me even more certain I've entered my own novel's world.' That wall is the protection for the humans who survived the Great Calamity 150 years ago, and the area enclosed by the wall is called a "Safe Zone." And supposedly, there are other Safe Zones out there, but the people inside don't know that, and those outside don't either – they all believe they are the sole survivors of the Great Calamity.
For some reason, my heart felt incredibly at ease, as if I had come home.
"Adrian, you're awake?" a soft woman's voice came from behind me.
Turning, I saw a beautiful woman with fair skin and platinum-blonde hair. She wore a cream-colored wizard's outfit that made her look gentle and somewhat elegant.
'So that's the woman named Sierra?' She must be the owner of this healing magic.
I gaped, mesmerized. Suddenly, something unexpected happened: she rushed over and began checking my entire body, starting with my hands, then my shoulders.
"Is everything alright?"
"Ah... Yes, thank you," I replied, studying her face – trying to detect any hidden intentions. Anyone can lie with words, but not with their face; it shows who they truly are.
But this time, I found nothing. She seemed genuinely worried, and all I got was my own face heating up because she was too close.
'I've never been this close to a girl before.'
Then, from behind Sierra, Aaron and Emily appeared carrying sacks of crystals, Emily's being smaller. Those were likely the crystals from the earlier dungeon.
"You're awake?" Aaron set down his sack and leaned exhaustedly against the tree.
Meanwhile, Emily stood farther away, brushing dust off her dirty robe. She shot me a disdainful glance before returning to her task.
'I'm a little scared of her.'
"What's this? Why is there a red handprint on your face?" Sierra was now touching my face, inspecting it like someone afraid their prized possession had been scratched.
"This... Because..." How could I say it was Emily's slap while she was right here?
Suddenly, a burst of laughter erupted from Aaron. He said something unclear between his laughs.
"That... You know?" He laughed again. "Adrian seemed to have lost his memory earlier and was shouting nonsense. Then Emily came and slapped him hard. Well, he came to his senses afterward."
Azrael let out a small chuckle beside Aaron.
Emily snorted. "That's because he could attract monsters. I didn't want to do it either."
"Is that true?" Sierra asked, still touching my face.
"Yeah, earlier... But I'm back to normal now, mostly." For some reason, I felt embarrassed by my own behavior.
"What's my name?" Sierra asked again.
"Emil... S-Sierra?" I already knew her name, so why did I mess it up?!
"Emily? Did I hear that wrong?" Sierra's face suddenly turned serious; I didn't know why, but it was very confusing.
–Clap!
Azrael broke the silence. "It'll be dusk soon, we should head back now." He lifted a sack of crystals. "Wow, we were really lucky to find a dungeon with crystals."
"Huh?" Aaron smiled, then lifted two sacks of crystals he took from Emily. "You had it easy, just walking around with Sierra, while we were fighting for our lives."
"Idiot, that's because you didn't watch for holes! And for your information, I also fought a few monsters while looking for you," Azrael retorted playfully.
The two of them shook their heads, still smiling.
Azrael shifted his gaze to me, his expression turning calm. "Since Adrian just ran out of mana, no dungeons for a week."
Aaron and Emily agreed.
I suddenly remembered what happened in the dungeon – going wild from overexcitement. It was because of a creator's arrogance, thinking I could do anything when I was just a Rank D with limited mana. To be honest, I couldn't even control my magic properly. When I shot that fireball, I didn't intend to make it that big, but it just happened. It seemed my knowledge of magic in this world was vast – it was like having the key to unlock magic's full potential, but this Rank D body couldn't handle it, causing mana leakage.
'Alright, let this be a lesson. I'm no longer the creator who can do anything; I'm just Adrian Hale.' It would be very dangerous if my mana ran out again. My immune system would weaken, and in the worst case, I might experience cardiac arrest.
'Uh, that's terrifying.'
"Adrian, we're going to sell these crystals at the guild. I'll send you your share later. You should just go home and rest; I'm afraid you might go crazy again," Aaron said jokingly.
He seemed sincere, without any hidden intentions... 'Just for this world, maybe I'll try trusting someone.'
"Yeah, be careful," I replied. They started walking away, with Emily following behind without a word.
'I've decided. I will be Adrian Hale in this world. This is my destiny. Perhaps my novel gave me a gift by creating a version of myself who is happy, without my knowledge. And I don't need to worry about those on Earth, right?'
'Hmm... I'm curious: where is Lucas's city? My current city is Havient, right? I don't remember creating Havient City. So, does that mean I'm far from the main plot?' I felt relieved to be away from the main plot.
'It would be very dangerous if I were close to the main plot, because I could cause a Butterfly Effect.'
Suddenly, I remembered something:
'Oh right, don't I have a younger sister? Alicia Hale... Wow, I've always wanted a younger sister.' I stood up, about to head home, and only then did I realize – Sierra was still standing beside me with an annoyed expression.
"W-why haven't you gone home?" My mind raced: Was she angry because I mispronounced her name earlier? Or what?
"You just ran out of mana, so I have to accompany you home," she replied flatly, without expression.
I was utterly confused.
"Oh, alright... Shall we go home now?"
She nodded, then walked ahead. I followed beside her.
Seeing how she cared for me earlier but suddenly acted like this... It seemed she really was upset because I mispronounced her name. She was the one who healed me, who checked my injuries, and I messed up her name. But I truly didn't mean to; Emily's slap left a strong impression on my mind.
So, does that mean our relationship is closer than I thought?! No, no, don't get ahead of yourself.
After a few minutes, we finally arrived at Havient City, which turned out not to be far from where I was earlier. In this city, tall buildings towered, and several cars traveled along asphalt roads. Life here seemed normal, as if no calamity had ever occurred. I also saw a dungeon entrance in front of a building, with hunters preparing to enter. Even though humans built walls, dungeon threats still existed because they appeared randomly, but it was still better than 'Rifts' – cracks in the ground that opened gates to the Underworld, where demons dwelled. Those were rare, and if they appeared, only low-level demons emerged.
I suddenly shuddered imagining what would happen if Lucifer, the Demon King, broke free from his confinement in the Underworld. That was terrifying. I described Lucifer as a demon capable of destroying a city with a single hand gesture because he could manipulate gravity – and that wasn't even his full power, as half of it was taken by Angels when he lost a battle.
'This world is incredibly dangerous, I can't just sit idle. I must become strong. But for now, I need to adapt to this world first.' Besides, something felt off when I saw the skyscrapers. From what I remember, the only city with tall buildings was Scattern City, and even that was in the center of a Safe Zone. But my current location was at the edge – close to the wall, yet the civilization was advanced.
'Hmm, maybe it exists, but I just didn't write about it, like how I didn't write about Adrian Hale – yet he exists here.' Hopefully.
A few minutes later, I finally arrived at the gate of the Olstree District residential complex. I turned to say goodbye to Sierra, as her house was in a different district, not far from here.
"Thank you for accompanying me. Can you get home on your own?" I asked.
"Yes, I can," she replied. Her annoyed expression had faded, perhaps because we walked together for a bit.
"Alright then. Thank you again for healing me and... I'm sorry if I did anything wrong. I didn't mean to; my mind was a mess. But it's back to normal now."
"That's good," she smiled. "I'll head home; I have things to do."
She turned and left.
"Be careful on your way, Sierra!" I waved with a smile as she disappeared into the crowd.
After that, I walked through the gate. One of the security guards greeted me warmly; I just smiled back.
Then, I felt slightly amazed by the houses here. They were harmoniously painted white, with spacious yards perfect for playing and roofs featuring a central spire. Any differences were likely just in decoration.
I stopped in front of House No. 7, which was supposed to be my home. I took a deep breath, then:
Knock! Knock! Knock!
After nearly a minute, I heard slow, shuffling footsteps approaching, followed by the sound of a key. The door slowly opened, revealing a girl…