Kaito's eyes lit up, a wide grin spreading across his face. "Woah, that's amazing!" he exclaimed, his voice filled with genuine excitement. "It's almost identical to the game's menu!"
Without a second's delay, like a child with a brand-new toy, he called out, "Player Status! Show my player status!"
The blue system screen instantly shimmered, transforming once more to display Kaito's personal data:
Player Status
Name: Kaito Kuromaku Lv.: 1 Age: 16
Race: Human
HP: 50/50 MP: 10/10 SP: 30/30
Market Coins: 0
Stat Point Available: 0
Unclaimed Rewards: 0
Stats:
Strength (STR): 5
Agility (AGI): 5
Vitality (VIT): 5
Intelligence (INT): 5
Resolve (RES): 5
Charisma (CHA): 5
Luck (LCK): 5
Kaito's brow furrowed as he scanned the familiar layout, a creeping realization dawning on him.
His initial excitement slowly deflated.
These weren't the stats of a prodigy, or even a specialized build.
Every single stat was a baseline '5'.
His HP, MP, SP were laughably low compared to what a real player, main character or even a competent NPC might start with.
He was literally average in every way.
The "Luck: 5" almost made him snort.
Kaito stared at the screen, his initial excitement curdling into incredulity.
His eyes darted from the floating blue interface to the unseen corners of the room, then swept across the ceiling, as if trying to pinpoint the divine audience he'd been told about.
"Are you freaking kidding me?!" he exploded, his voice laced with pure exasperation.
"Is this some kind of prank?"
"Did I do something to make you gods angry at me?!"
He gestured wildly at the paltry numbers on his Player Status.
"This base stat can't even win against the weakest monster!"
"Heck, I could even lose to a cockroach if it tries to attack me!"
A bitter, defiant laugh escaped him.
"You probably are laughing right now somewhere, aren't you?"
"You think you can just do this and thought it's impossible to get stronger now, huh?"
His gaze hardened, meeting the invisible scrutiny of his divine spectators.
"Don't worry," he snarled, a familiar spark of unyielding will igniting in his eyes.
"This is nothing. Nothing for someone like me."
Kaito glared at the floating blue screen, his chest heaving slightly from his outburst.
Despite his defiance, a flicker of uncertainty remained.
He couldn't just will his stats higher.
He needed a plan. He looked back at the system.
"So, System," he asked, his voice calmer now, but still edged with impatience, "when are you going to give me my first mission, or maybe a tutorial?"
The system instantly flashed, displaying new text:
Main Quest
Attend the academy's welcome freshmen grand ceremony.
Reward:
Stat Point +1
Market Coins +100
The screen flashed again, replaced by another quest:
Main Quest
Attend the homeroom class meeting.
Reward:
Stat Point +1
Market Coins +50
Then, a final, unexpected quest appeared, highlighted slightly differently:
Side Quest
Make a friend.
Reward: Stat Point +2
Market Coins +200
Kaito's eyebrows shot up.
"Three missions already? That was fast."
But then, his surprise quickly morphed into confusion.
"What?" he mumbled, staring at the list.
"These are... easy? Like, ridiculously easy. Is this a joke?"
His gaze settled on the last quest, his confusion deepening.
"And why is the third one, 'make a friend,' got the best rewards?"
"Two stat points and two hundred Market Coins? For that?"
He ran a hand through his hair, a bewildered expression on his face.
"This isn't how SpellxEdge Online quests usually work."
He sighed, shaking his head at the oddity of it all. Looking out the window, he asked the system, "What time is it?"
The system instantly replied: "15 minutes before 7:00 AM."
"What?!" Kaito's eyes went wide, the realization hitting him like a punch. "The ceremony starts at exactly 7:00 AM!"
He panicked, bolting across the room. He tore open a drawer, scrambling for his uniform, which looked like standard academy attire.
He quickly pulled on the dark trousers and white shirt, fumbling with the unfamiliar buttons, then grabbed whatever belongings seemed important from around the room, stuffing them into a simple backpack he found.
He burst out of the room, spotting a few other students already walking briskly towards an elevator.
"Good thing SpellxEdge Online was an open-world RPG with incredibly detailed maps."
He might be an "extra" now, but his years of obsessive gameplay meant he remembered the general direction of the Grand Ceremony Hall.
He quickly fell in behind the other students, who were now starting to quicken their pace into a hurried jog.
Kaito pushed himself, matching their speed, his new body feeling surprisingly responsive.
He ran, following the flow of students until they reached the massive, ornate doors of the Grand Ceremony Hall.
He burst inside, sweating and gasping for air, leaning against the doorframe for a moment.
He suddenly remembered his current Stamina was only 30.
"No wonder I'm so tired."
He quickly pulled a water bottle from his bag, uncapped it, and chugged half the contents down.
The refreshing liquid helped settle his breathing.
Scanning the vast hall, already filling with other freshmen, he spotted an empty seat near the stage, off to the side.
He navigated through the rows, sinking into the chair, trying to cool down from the heat and the unexpected sprint.
A slow, genuine smile crept onto his face.
He couldn't remember the last time he had run, truly run, or even walked that well in the outside world.
This healthy, young body felt like an impossible dream come true.
"I will definitely make the most out of this opportunity," he thought, watching the last few students file in.
Now that he was relaxed and just waiting for the start of the ceremony, a familiar curiosity began to stir in Kaito.
He decided to try and find the main characters of the game.
"If I remember correctly," he mused, scanning the rows of newly arrived students, "they both sit somewhere near the very middle, the main character and his childhood friend."
A small smirk touched his lips.
"Aha, I knew it," he thought, his gaze locking onto a specific pair.
"They looked exactly how the default characters looked in the game's character selection."
For context, SpellxEdge Online was an open-world role-playing game.
This meant that aside from being able to explore maps freely, players would choose a job or character class to start their journey.
However, the game offered extensive customization options, players could completely personalize how their character looked, changing gender, hair, face structure, height, and more, to fit their style and be unique from everyone else.
This made the sight of the default-looking characters even more distinct to Kaito.
The main character Kaito was looking at right now was named Eric Brandt Lionheart.
He was a noble, kind kid and very annoyingly righteous, who specialized in using a sword and flame magic.
He had short, fiery red hair that seemed to defy gravity, and bright red eyes that gleamed with an almost naive enthusiasm.
*Illustration
His smile was so wide, so bright, radiating a heart full of passion and righteousness that practically screamed "hero."
He was loud, an undeniable attention-seeker, always at the center of any group.
In the game, he was a very strong front-line attack character, capable of dishing out immense damage.
But to Kaito, he was also incredibly boring.
Almost every single player who chose that starting template would max out the same skills, learn the same spells, and even use the same equipment and cosmetic skins.
"He is so boring," Kaito thought, a hint of his old competitive disdain surfacing.
"One of the easiest to beat in the game because of how much I already fought a player with an identical fighting style."
Then, Kaito's gaze shifted to the girl seated beside the annoying red-haired guy.
"The poor innocent friend," he thought, a flicker of cynical amusement in his eyes.
The unfortunate loser of all types of romance stories.
Kaito knew her type well from countless game playthroughs and generic fantasy tropes.
She had shoulder-length, somewhat voluminous reddish-brown hair that framed a kind, open face.
Tucked neatly into the back of her hair, almost like a signature, was a prominent green ribbon, tied into a cheerful bow.
She seemed to radiate an almost childlike earnestness, even at sixteen.
*Illustration
But she is a childhood friend that is doomed from the start because falling in love for their oblivious friend.
The scenario best represented by the quote, "can't see what is right in front of you."
She is a solid 10/10 in terms of looks and personality within the game's design, yet she was "destined to never win the heart of the man she loves."
Then, a dark chuckle escaped in Kaito's mouth.
"I still can't imagine that she loses to someone like the other girl that shows up in the story."
His mind flashed back to a specific plot point in SpellxEdge Online.
"It's always the seemingly manipulative homewrecker type that wins in these kinds of stories."
"What a cliché."