đźź Chapter One:
"Sorry, Rin, but you're expelled."
These were the words Rin Suzuki, a member of the Literature Club at Horikoshi High School, heard from his club president after the school administration announced that their club would be downsized.
Rin tried to convince the president to change his mind, arguing that he had always stood by everyone in tough times:
"But, President, I've always supported everyone through their hardships. How can you do this to me?"
One of the members replied in a dull tone:
"We know that, but you've been the least active lately… Sorry."
It wasn't Rin's lack of participation that bothered him most; it was his lack of talent in comparison to the others. He had wanted to be a professional storyteller like anyone else in the club, but his progress had been painfully slow.
Even though he was one of the club's oldest members and had helped every member in their early days, it wasn't enough for recognition.
He left the clubroom angrily without looking back, the voices of his former friends fading step by step as he walked down the empty corridor.
He passed by the school board, which had elegantly written on it:
"Horikoshi High School – The Path to Tomorrow Starts Here"
He smiled wryly.
"Path to tomorrow, huh… seems my path ended before it even began."
Outside, the sky was gray, and light rain fell like emotionless tears. He walked toward the school gate, his bag swinging lightly on his shoulder, hands in his pockets, eyes staring forward without focus.
The club had been his only family; without them, he had no friends, no siblings, no parents. But for the first time, he felt like nothing more than an obsolete tool to them.
He arrived at his small home, despair etched on his face. The rain softened, and the city around him was immersed in a heavy silence.
He threw down his bag and went straight to his bed to lie down. He took out his phone to find something to occupy himself and forget his troubles, even for a moment—but the screen remained black, as if refusing to reflect his face.
Then… a faint flash.
In a strange instant, the screen filled with intertwining digital lines, and a transparent window appeared, floating in the air right in front of his eyes:
[Suzuki Rin will be transferred to the world of Evolara]
Rin didn't understand what was happening. At first, he thought his eyes were deceiving him from fatigue, but the glowing window didn't disappear. Instead, it slowly expanded until it filled the room with a cold blue light, like the glow of the sea under the moon.
He froze in place. There was no sound except his racing heartbeat and the drizzle mixing with a strange electronic buzzing.
He tried to scream or move, but his body didn't respond.
[System initializing…]
[Synchronization in progress…]
The words echoed in his head in a mechanical voice, as if bypassing his ears and speaking directly to his mind.
At that moment, he felt something pulling his soul from within—a faint current at first… then a powerful force engulfing him from the inside out.
The room around him shattered into fragments of light, scattering into space like vaporized glass.
He fell into an abyss of light, no ground beneath his feet, no horizon—only a whirl of symbols dancing around him, forming and vanishing in rapid flashes.
[Welcome to Evolara]
A female voice echoed in his mind, followed by another flash that tore open his eyes like the first light of dawn…
Then everything vanished.
When he opened his eyes, he was no longer in his room but in a vast meadow under a purple sky. Before he could comprehend what had happened, the voice returned in his head, like notifications from a phone:
[Transfer rewards for entering Evolara…]
[Physical strength +200%]
[Speed +200%]
[Durability & stamina +200%]
[Agility & dexterity +200%]
He froze for a moment, reading the floating words. Suddenly, his body felt incredibly light yet far stronger than before.
But despite all this, he couldn't accept what was happening around him. After all, he had no idea where he was or what he was supposed to do here. Though he loved reading online novels, he had never considered experiencing one himself.
He had always placed himself as a reader, not a protagonist who could adapt to any situation or place. So he simply tried to deny what he saw and convince himself that he was dreaming.
Yet the cold on his skin and the feel of the ground beneath his feet were far too real to ignore.
[System successfully loaded]
[Suzuki Rin: Level "Beginner"]
[Progress to Amateur Level: 27%]
[First Quest: Make a Friend]
When Rin heard the last message, he panicked. He couldn't tolerate what he was hearing and demanded the system return him to his room:
"You stupid screen! There's no way I'm doing this. Send me back!"
[First Quest: Refusal = Punishment]
[You will face a Giant Bear Monster as compensation]
"Ehhh…"
He didn't comprehend the system's last words. His stubbornness had landed him in real trouble in his first few minutes in this world. No sooner had the sentence ended in his head than the ground beneath him trembled slightly.
A low roar came from the distant trees. Rin slowly raised his head and shivered as he saw something massive moving toward him, heavy steps shaking the grass with each stride.
It was a bear—not just any bear, but a monstrous one, covered in thick black fur, fangs gleaming under the purple sky, eyes glowing red like embers.
Another notification appeared above him:
[Monster: Iron Forest Bear]
[Expected Survival Rate: 3%]
"Three percent?! Is this some kind of joke?!"
Rin shouted, stumbling backward, but the beast gave him no time to think, charging at him with a speed that defied its size.
The system offered him the fastest way to avoid the threat:
[Undo refusal… You have ten seconds]
As soon as Rin heard the system, he didn't hesitate and agreed.
"Okay… okay, I'm undoing it. Just get this bear away from me."
[Refusal undone… Danger removed]
Suddenly, the bear disappeared from behind Rin. He collapsed onto the ground, gasping. He felt both anger and panic at the same time.
He had no choice but to follow the system's quests if he wanted to survive.
And with his first quest in this new world, Rin realized that survival wouldn't depend on strength…
But on what he hated more than anything else: friendship.