The soft, sprawling darkness was slowly disturbed by a small glimmer, flickering like a candle that refused to fade.
As his consciousness stirred, the boy's eyes fluttered gently as he saw a systematic, armor-plated ceiling filled with a cold glint. His mouth instantly fell open.
"...Unfamiliar ceilings!"
His abdomen contracted, pulling his upper body into a sitting position.
A sheet covering his body fell, revealing a healthy teenager's body in simple attire: a comfortable shirt and shorts.
His black eyes glanced to the side, gazing vacantly at a narrow room, enough for one person to live. The bed he occupied was in one corner, while the adjacent corner held a futuristic metal desk.
"Where is this?"
Just as he spoke, a 'beep' echoed, drawing his attention to the upper corner where a long, curved monitor hung. Its screen came to life, giving the dim room a little light.
Again, an electric sound started chirping, followed by a 'click' that immediately opened the window next to the desk, breathing life into the cold room.
Seeing the strange sight before him, the boy's eyes widened. His trembling lips gaped as a thought escaped the turmoil in his heart.
'What is this place? It's so different from my room?'
What was in his mind was a simple room filled with small memories: a console game, a flat-screen TV, a bookshelf, and a study desk, all exposed to the warmth of the sun's rays.
However, in this place, even though the window was open and the internal clock in his brain told him it was morning, the sunlight never arrived.
He got out of bed. His feet flinched as they touched the cold floor, stimulating his senses, which were slowly becoming aware of the strange things happening.
Taking a quick breath, the boy lifted his frozen feet to approach the window. But his body stiffened when a gentle tune began to play from the television above.
{...Good morning, cadet! Your first training will start in an hour; fight hard! I'll always be here supporting you as your partner...}
A feminine voice with a cheerful, cute tone reverberated in the room, piercing his heart like an arrow.
With a choked breath, he shook his head right and left, exhaling lightly when he noticed he was alone.
The boy rubbed his chest, feeling a hot, throbbing heat that flowed through his body like lava, full of vitality.
'That's insane, good thing I'm the only one here!'
Although he was an otaku, using an alarm that alerted him with a cute voice like his favorite voice actor was still too embarrassing for him.
'No, forget about it!'
Shaking his head, the boy moved closer to the window. He stood in front of the desk that connected to the armor-plated wall, and a chair shaped like a half-capsule.
His fingers couldn't resist touching, then tracing the table's flat surface. Its high-precision craftsmanship and a touch of coldness that felt distant from human touch became a testament to the advancement of civilization.
He reached for a terminal, like the smartphone or tablet he remembered, but a hunch told him the object in his hand was hundreds of times more advanced than anything he knew.
The boy swallowed to wet his dry throat. His other hand reached for the terminal, but a shadow beyond the window caught his attention.
"What's that?"
He vaguely saw the shadow of a young man with grey hair and black eyes staring back at him through the translucent glass.
But all of that was irrelevant because his mind was focused on what was behind the transparent glass.
"Wha?!"
His throat constricted, holding back a word that was about to escape as he looked at a metropolis filled with futuristic architecture.
Skyscrapers stood tall, adorned with a giant screen that read "Babylonia" and flickering neon lights that dimmed in the sunlight.
A suspended track circled the entire city, coiling like a snake. On its track, the boy saw a train running perfectly without the slightest flaw.
Symmetrical streets stretched in every corner, filled with people dressed like they were in a science fiction movie.
"Oh, My Lord?!"
That religious phrase came out of his mouth instantly, overwhelmed by the whole event.
His body swayed, and the boy's palm slammed onto the desk with a dry 'Thud' to support his balance.
"Ahaha... What the hell is that futuristic city? It's so different from the city I lived in, ugh!"
Suddenly, the boy's expression twisted, both hands clutching his boiling head as if it were about to burst.
The incessant throbbing, like a hammer striking his head again and again, made him scream from the top of his lungs.
"Aaaaakkhh!"
A hoarse howl echoed in the room. The boy gritted his teeth as he tried to hold back the pain that was gnawing at his consciousness.
From his closed eyes, a tear began to stream down his cheeks before dripping onto the floor. His eyes snapped open as a memory began to replay his life history in his head.
A flood of images and sensations, not his own, erupted in his mind. Memories of who he was, how he ended up in this place, and where he was now.
His trembling body immediately turned stiff, and then fell like a puppet whose strings had been cut, lifeless.
Silence pierced the place with an eerie darkness that merged with the boy's squirming shadow.
"A-Ahahaha... this is crazy, so transmigration to another world is real, and, and, ahahaha."
Laughter broke out. It resonated throughout the small space, accompanied by tears flowing profusely, this time not from physical but mental pain, or more precisely, memories.
His hands curled into tight fists before he slammed the hard floor, pounding it several times.
'Damn it! Why is this happening to me!? I'm content just being a reader, why do I have to experience the difficulties and trials waiting for me in this world?'
Veins bulged from his tightened fists. The boy bit his lips to hold back the massive wave of tears that almost came.
'This is madness!'
In his previous world, the boy was just a teenager who had lost his parents a year ago and was now living on their substantial inheritance.
He also diligently took part-time jobs to meet his daily needs and, probably, to buy something to fill his lonely heart.
Something like novels, games, anime, or movies. He enjoyed it all, but of course, after carefully considering his spending necessity.
With his jumbled memories, he finally realized that the world he was currently visiting had an exact resemblance to the novel he had recently read.
'The Lost Light!' It was a new work adapted from the popular Cyberpunk game with action and RPG genres.
A realization dawned upon him, making him push the floor to stand up and grab the terminal on the desk.
"...I-If I'm not mistaken."
While wiping his wet eyes, the boy turned the terminal over until he saw a small button in the upper left corner.
He pressed the button, and the terminal screen lit up, displaying a simple interface with only one folder, which he tapped, revealing his complete identity.
[Cadet Information]
Name: Cain
Sex: Male
Age: 17 Years
Mutation Potential: 1 Star (Lowest)
Candidate as a Soldier.
"Damn, I'm cooked! In another meaning."
A person's Mutation Potential was ranked from 1 to 8, with higher numbers indicating a greater likelihood that the person could become the strongest in this apocalyptic world.
And Cain's potential is 1, the weakest. It doesn't mean one is rare either; in fact, most people have a potential of 1, the same as him, and having two is already considered normal.
But it is different from 3 and above, and from what Cain remembers, the Main Character has a potential that matches a cheat: 9.
The first Mutation Potential in the history of humankind.
Remembering that made him unable to help, but he let out a long sigh. Cain pulled his capsule chair, which screeched sharply in his ears.
He sat down, leaning his back against it. The soft cushioning massaged the tension in his back, making his body feel more relaxed.
Cain closed his eyes and massaged his forehead, trying to sort out the information in his brain.
After feeling calm, he took a deep breath and opened his eyes.
"...So, I'm just a side character?"
Not only was he unilaterally kidnapped, but the world mocked him again by giving him the worst potential.
"Damn it!"
Cain knew this world very well —a grim world, scarred by a meteoric explosion hundreds of years ago that spread a vicious virus across the earth's surface.
From that virus, the term "corrupted" was born —a mixed, amalgamated identity of half flesh and machine that roamed the land.
With his current state, it wouldn't be strange if he died easily in his first battle, and that was the last thing he wanted to experience.
The reality before him seemed to crumble after he managed to swallow all the information in his head.
Cain wanted to sigh, but the energy slowly disappeared from his body, and the terminal in his hand fell to the floor, still coldly showing his identity.
'...What should I do?'
A few seconds passed, and he shook his head and leaned forward, both his eyebrows furrowed.
"No, don't give up yet, think of your next step!"
Unlike other transmigration novels, this world does not offer things like legendary relics, high-level skills as a reward after clearing a dungeon, or bought in a black market.
Talent was everything in this world.
Therefore, even if Cain tried to steal something from the main character or another character's legacy power, with his potential, it would only be wasted on him.
"Come on...? Please, whatever, come out, my brain, remember all the contents of that novel!"
Cain's teeth gnashed against each other, the wrinkles in his forehead deepened until something blue flickered in front of his eyes.
"H-Huh!?"
His eyes widened as he saw a blue panel floating with text.
[Null Sequence requesting your permission to install!]