Tales of Hero was a sandbox tactical RPG that was immensely popular on Earth, thanks to its advanced features that made NPCs far more interactive, each possessing their own thoughts and decision-making. The game imposed no restrictions on players, allowing them to interact and build relationships with countless NPCs. With realistic mechanics and branching storylines, every playthrough felt different.
This time, Elian was playing a character named Elian Arcadia. Despite sharing the same name, he was deeply curious about this character—mainly because Elian Arcadia always died at the very beginning of the game.
However, after truly playing the character, Elian realized just how miserable he was.
His stats were very low. Despite holding the status of a noble, he received none of the buffs other nobles enjoyed. As a starting bonus, he was given only two loyal NPCs.
"Damn it! You're telling me I have to restart just to find a single NPC willing to give me one quest?!" Elian shouted in frustration.
He had been playing for an entire week, yet every attempt ended the same way—death at the very beginning of the story. By design, Elian Arcadia was classified as an evil character, making it extremely rare for good-aligned NPCs to offer him quests. Worse part is, he only had one roaming opportunity to gather Goodwill Points by completing quests from kind NPCs in order to survive the first arc.
Feeling utterly frustrated, Elian picked up his phone and searched the community forums.
[If you're playing as Elian Arcadia, just give up. That trash character has no early-game advantages to save him unless you're insanely lucky and somehow raise your goodwill.]
[I'm not sure, but when I played as Liana, she mentioned that her brother Elian killed their father.]
[I built good relationships with many NPCs, but for some reason, all of them hated Elian. I don't think it's bad luck—the NPCs simply despise him, making it impossible to get quests.]
Reading this, Elian felt slightly calmer. Perhaps Elian Arcadia truly had been designed to die—an unplayable character.
Even so, Elian couldn't suppress his curiosity about the character's background, especially when his eyes lingered on the dialogue displayed on his screen.
"No one truly sides with justice and truth, everyone only sides with what they believed"
Elian decided not to think about it any further and lay down on his bed. Slowly, he closed his eyes.
This time, he found himself drifting in a vast void—his body floating for what felt like an eternity.
"Ah… this dream again. How many years has it been now?" Elian sighed softly.
Since the age of ten, he had repeatedly dreamed of floating in this emptiness. It had been seven years. At first, the dream terrified him—but over time, he had grown accustomed to it.
Suddenly, a horrifying voice filled with rage echoed into his ears.
"I will not allow you."
The voice was terrifying. Even after all these years, fear still gripped Elian's heart. Slowly, a massive hand began reaching toward him. When it was about to grasp him, Elian shut his eyes tightly, overwhelmed by terror.
He jolted awake.
His breathing was ragged, sweat soaking his forehead. As his consciousness returned, he realized that his surroundings were unfamiliar.
"Where am I? Is this another dream?" Elian murmured as he sat up.
Looking around, he noticed the room resembled a dormitory—though strangely classical in design.
When his gaze fell upon a mirror, Elian froze and hurried toward it.
"This isn't me… this is Elian Arcadia," he whispered in disbelief.
His mind raced as he tried to process what was happening. Why had he dreamed of Elian Arcadia? And how had the nightmare that haunted him for seven years suddenly changed?
After a moment of contemplation, Elian noticed his body felt sticky and uncomfortable. Without hesitation, he went to the bathroom to clean himself.
After bathing, he opened the wardrobe and found several neatly hung outfits. He instinctively grabbed a uniform and put it on. Strangely, the process felt natural—he had no trouble wearing clothes that should have been unfamiliar.
"No… why did I choose this uniform out of all the clothes here?" he muttered.
Suddenly, the sound of a bell echoed from afar.
Snapping back to his senses, Elian decided to step outside and explore. As he walked, he noticed something heavy in his pocket. Pulling it out, he found a gold-plated pocket watch, its hands ticking softly.
Seeing it, Elian recalled a line he once read while researching nightmares.
[It's impossible to see a clock while dreaming.]
He tried imagining various objects, but nothing appeared.
"This isn't a dream. Not even a lucid one. Did I transmigrate into the world of Tales of Hero?"
Despite the realization, Elian forced himself to stay calm and began thinking about his next move.
As he walked through a corridor, he heard a commotion and hurried toward it.
Before him, two young men were beating a girl who lay on the ground. The scene was so pitiful that Elian immediately stepped forward.
"What do you think you're doing?" Elian grabbed one of the young men's arms and yanked him back.
When their eyes met, the young man smiled warmly.
"Good morning, Lord Elian. Please forgive us for being late to pick you up today."
"That's right. It's all because of this commoner," the man said as he kicked the unconscious girl.
Recognizing their faces, Elian remembered—they were Finn and Max, his subordinates.
"Why are you beating this girl?" Elian asked angrily.
"My lord, this lowly commoner wasn't watching where she was going and bumped into me. Finn and I decided to teach her a lesson. That's why we're late."
"I—I didn't mean to! I just bumped into him while turning the corner!" the girl cried out.
Hearing this, Finn immediately kicked her head.
Before the kick could land, Elian released a gust of wind magic, blowing the girl away to keep her from being hit.
"Amelia!"
A shout rang out as a young man ran toward them from afar. He was handsome and masculine, with blue eyes and golden hair. His face was filled with fury as he rushed over and pulled the girl into his arms.
Elian sighed softly as he watched the scene unfold—he had seen this plot hundreds of times.
The young man stood and faced Elian's group. Elian stepped forward as well, restraining his subordinates.
"What's going on here? Why did you attack Amelia?" the young man demanded angrily.
In the game, Elian needed Goodwill Points to unlock a route that supposedly allowed him to survive the first arc by forming a good relationship with Reinhard, the young man before him. But given the current situation, such a route seemed impossible—and That route didn't even existing in the game.
In the original story, Elian would mock Amelia, causing Reinhard to hate him even more. But now that Elian had taken over, his choices were limitless.
Elian bowed slightly.
"Please forgive my companions. They collided with Lady Amelia, and due to their lack of self-awareness, they chose to vent their emotions by bullying her. If you wish to blame someone, blame me."
The two men froze.
Their eyes widened, and unconsciously, joyful smiles appeared on their faces.
"Lord Elian… called us his companions," one of them whispered, his voice trembling.
But the smiles quickly faded.
"L-Lord Elian," the other said, lowering his head, voice strained, "you don't need to bow to commoners like him."
He clenched his fists, his face flushed with anger—directed at Reinhard.
Reinhard scoffed coldly at the sight.
"Who do you think you're fooling?" he said."Do you really think I didn't see the wind magic you used to throw Amelia aside?"
His gaze sharpened.
"On top of that, your reputation for bullying commoners is already well known. I truly didn't expect it… but it seems the rumors were true after all."
Footsteps echoed through the corridor.
From the shadows emerged a young woman with golden-blonde hair and calm emerald-green eyes.
She was beautiful and mature, exuding a natural adult charm. Every movement was graceful and confident, as though she were accustomed to standing above others. Her figure was slender with gentle curves, her chest modestly full—feminine without being excessive.
Her presence was calm yet authoritative, unconsciously bringing order to the chaotic atmosphere.
Elian stared at her, goosebumps rising along his skin.
He knew then—He was in serious trouble.