The rain battered the window of the small apartment where Lior lived. He sat in front of his computer, as he did almost every single day.
His eyes were bloodshot from the accumulated exhaustion of spending yet another night without sleep. At twenty-eight years old, his life had become a predictable and draining routine.
He worked as a programmer for a company in his city, one that did not value his effort.
He returned to his apartment late at night only to eat something and escape from reality by playing video games until the early hours of the morning.
'Another day in this paradise.' Lior thought sarcastically as he stared at the screen displaying the main menu of "Conquest of Hearts," his favorite Otome game.
It was ironic if you thought about it, a grown man like him playing a game designed primarily for women.
But even so, he played it; he could enjoy a fantasy "life" that his real life could never give him: adventures, romance, and a sense of purpose.
He had completed every possible route at least three times, knew every line of dialogue, every secret event, and every alternate ending.
But that particular night, Lior could feel a pain in his chest, something he had begun to experience a few days ago.
Even so, he ignored it, like any signal his body sent to tell him that something was wrong.He had to work to pay the rent and… to live.
Although lately he wasn't very sure what that really meant, thinking about it as he selected a new game.
Lior felt a sharp, sudden pain pierce straight through his chest. His hand clenched instinctively around his mouse as he tried to breathe, but the air simply wouldn't reach his lungs.
'No, not now.' That was the only thing he could think in that moment.
His body began to fold forward, and the room seemed to spin in a way that made him dizzy.
Unable to remain seated, he collapsed onto the floor with a dull thud. His vision blurred, and the only thing he could see clearly was his computer screen, still showing the menu of his favorite Otome game.
'At least… at least I'll die looking at something so beautiful.' He thought as he looked at the game's striking artwork.
His consciousness began to fade rapidly. There was no one in the apartment who could help him, no one would notice that he was dying alone in a small apartment.
Although he should have felt sadness over that situation, strangely enough, he felt… peace.
And just like that, his eyes closed completely and darkness swallowed him.
'I wish… I wish I could live in that world… where things make sense… where I could be someone important…' was the last thing that passed through his mind.
✧ ✧ ✧
When Lior opened his eyes, the first thing he experienced was absolute confusion.
He wasn't on the floor of his apartment, he didn't feel that pain in his chest, and for some strange reason, he was lying on an enormous bed.
One that was incredibly comfortable, with silk sheets that felt soft against his skin.
Looking up at the ceiling, he could make out how it was decorated with elaborate paintings depicting epic battle scenes and creatures that did not exist in his world.
'What… what is going on?' he thought as he slowly sat up in the bed, feeling how his body responded in a way that felt strangely different.
He looked at his hands, and at first glance they were younger and stronger. He didn't have the scars he had acquired over several years of work.
Then he turned his head toward one of the walls, where there was a full-length mirror.
And what he saw reflected there left him in shock: the person in the mirror was not Lior, but someone much younger, no more than around twenty years old.
With short jet-black hair and deep blue eyes that seemed to glow with an inner light.
And his facial features were no less impressive; he could only be described as extremely attractive.
In addition, he was dressed in clothes that looked as if they had come straight out of a fantasy novel: a white linen shirt with golden details, dark, elegantly cut trousers, and leather boots.
'I must… I must be dreaming, right?' he thought as he got out of bed and walked toward the mirror with unsteady steps.
He touched his own face as if to confirm whether what he was seeing was real, but then he glanced out the window. All doubt vanished from his mind in an instant.
Outside was a vast campus he would recognize anywhere because he had seen it hundreds of times on his computer screen: the Royal Academy of Aerindel.
'No… this can't be, is this… is this real?' he thought, his heart pounding faster and faster as he watched the students walking through the perfectly manicured gardens.
They all wore uniforms he recognized perfectly, and as if that weren't enough, there were magical creatures flying through the sky, spheres of light floating everywhere.
And in the distance, the towers of the main castle rose majestically toward the clouds. There was no denying it, in some impossible-to-believe way, he was inside "Conquest of Hearts."
'I died… I definitely died.' He thought in disbelief. He let himself fall into a nearby chair, trying to process all that overwhelming information.
He now had memories of two lives: his life as Lior, a lonely programmer, and that of Aldric Thorne, a student at the Royal Academy of Aerindel who seemed to be a minor character in the game, someone who didn't even have his own routes or important events.
"Aldric Thorne...", he spoke the name out loud, and it sounded strangely natural coming from his lips, as if it had always been his.
At that moment, a strange translucent screen appeared in front of him, floating directly before his eyes.
Aldric jumped out of the chair with a startled shout, falling backward and almost hitting his head against the wall.
"What… what the hell is that?" He thought as he stared wide-eyed at the screen floating in the air.
[Supreme Conquest System Initialized]
[Analyzing new player entity...]
[Analysis complete]
[Welcome, Aldric Thorne (previously known as Lior)]
[Level: 1 | EXP: 0/100]
[Status: Confused | Health: 100% | Energy: 100%]
'A… a system?... Like in the web novels I used to read?' Aldric thought in amazement as he read the contents in front of his eyes.
Carefully, he extended one of his trembling hands toward the screen, and to his surprise, his fingers passed straight through it as if it were holographic.
[System: Hello, player. You have been selected to participate in the Supreme Conquest System]
[Main Objective: Conquer the 20 main heroines of the world of "Conquest of Hearts"]
[Rewards: For each heroine conquered, you will receive significant increases to your statistics and special abilities]
[Warning: Failure to complete the main objective will result in severe consequences]
Aldric froze as he read that. 'Wait, wait, wait...' he thought as he read more carefully what the screen in front of him displayed.
"Do I have to… conquer ALL THE HEROINES? All twenty of them?" he shouted, unable to believe what he had just read.