I let out a long breath and pushed myself off the bed.
"Alright… let's go."
Staying here wouldn't help anything. I needed to take a bath and prepare myself for the ceremony.
Like the girl said earlier, tonight was the Art Awakening Ceremony.
The most important ceremony in the Human Empire.It was also the moment where the story of Arcadia truly began.
The moment the protagonist awakened his power.
And apparently…It would also be the moment I awakened mine.
Which meant I couldn't just sit around doing nothing.
"I should get ready.
"
I stretched slightly before walking toward a door on the side of the bedroom.
If this room followed the same logic as normal houses…
Then that should be the bathroom.I grabbed the handle and opened the door.
And immediately froze.
"…What the hell is this?"
The "bathroom" in front of me looked less like a bathroom and more like a luxurious spa.
The room was almost as big as the bedroom itself.
Marble tiles covered the floor and the walls.
A massive stone bathtub sat in the center of the room.
Golden pipes connected to strange crystal mechanisms embedded in the wall, while small glowing runes faintly illuminated the entire space.
"…You've got to be kidding me."
I stepped inside slowly.
Back in my previous life, my bathroom had exactly three things.
A shower.
A sink.
And a toilet.
Basic and simple.
Fast and efficient.
But this place?
It looked like something designed for royalty.
"Okay… how does this thing even work?"
I stared at the strange crystal mechanisms on the wall.
After hesitating for a moment, I pressed one of the glowing runes.
Nothing happened.
"Alright… good start."
I turned one of the nearby dials slightly.
The next moment—
CLANG
A loud metallic noise echoed through the pipes.
Then—
WHOOSH
A violent stream of freezing water suddenly blasted out of the wall.
"WHAT THE—?!"
I jumped back instantly, nearly slipping on the marble floor.
Cold water splashed everywhere, turning the bathroom into something that looked more like a swimming pool.
"Okay! That was definitely the wrong one!"
But what surprised me more than the water was something else.
My reaction speed.
I hadn't expected the water to surge like that
and yet somehow I had dodged it.
At the speed that water came out, I should have been completely soaked.
And yet…
I wasn't.
Either I was extremely lucky…
Or this body was far more capable than I expected.
"Well… it is a fantasy world."
I looked down at my hands thoughtfully.
"Which means…"
If this body was really stronger than my previous one—
Maybe I could react faster next time.
I turned the dial again with confidence.
"Let's try th—"
WHOOSH
A stream of boiling hot water shot straight into my face and slammed me back against the wall.
"…Okay."
I slid down slowly.
"Maybe I got a little too confident."
"This is a nightmare."
Back when I worked on Arcadia, I had helped write some lore about magical plumbing systems in noble estates.
At the time, I thought it sounded cool.
Now that I actually had to use one, it felt like torture.
If I had known I would reincarnate here, I definitely wouldn't have suggested that idea.
Though to be fair…
This system looked way more complicated than what I originally imagined.
"Alright… think."
I looked carefully at the glowing runes again.
'Think, think, think…'
As I stared at them, I started noticing something strange.
The rune I had pressed earlier didn't really look like a dragon like I first thought.
Looking closer…
It actually looked more like—
"…an Undine?"
My eyes widened slightly.
Now that I focused, I could see the shapes more clearly.
The first rune depicted a water spirit.
The second one looked like a Sylph, a spirit of wind and nature.
And the third one…
"…Is that a slime?"
I stepped back slightly and finally noticed something else.
The entire mechanism was designed like a mythological diagram.
"This bastard personalized his bathroom?"
The words slipped out of my mouth in disbelief and admiration.
The system represented creatures capable of controlling the natural world.
The Undine for water.
The Sylph for atmosphere and nature.
And the slime…
If I remembered correctly…
"…Gorr. The alchemical slime."
A creature capable of producing natural elixirs.
I looked at the main lever again.
Now that I understood the theme, its design became obvious.
It was shaped like a Leviathan, the mythical ruler of the seas.
"Alright…"
I slowly reached for the lever.
"So if I do this…"
I moved it carefully to the center position.
WHOOSH
This time, water flowed into the bathtub smoothly.
Not too cold.
Not too hot.
Perfect.
"Eureka."
Excitement bubbled inside me.
Next, I pressed the rune representing the slime.
Immediately, the water in the bathtub shifted slightly in color.
If my theory was correct, that slime represented an alchemical creature capable of creating elixirs.
Which meant the bath water now probably had some kind of relaxing or healing property.
Thought I didn't know If my théorie was exactly but I don't think that edward would use a elixir who could harm himself.
I then turned toward the final rune.
The Sylph.
"What exactly do you do?"
I pressed it.
Suddenly, the air inside the bathroom shifted.
A soft floral fragrance filled the room.
The marble walls shimmered faintly.
And for a brief moment, the ceiling above me transformed into an illusion of a beautiful night sky filled with countless constellations.
I blinked slowly.
"…You're kidding me."
There was nothing like this in the game.
Either this was something exclusive to high nobility…
Or the original Edward had personally designed this place.
Either way…
It must have cost a ridiculous amount of money.
"Rich people are terrifying."
***
After several minutes of trial and error, the bathtub was finally filled with warm water.
I stared proudly at my work.
After a long and painful battle against noble engineering…
"Ugh… I'm really stupid."i sighed.
Most protagonists face their first challenge against some terrifying monster.
For me?
It was a bathroom.
Don't you dare laugh.
I quickly undressed and stepped into the water.
"…Oh."
A relaxed sigh escaped my mouth.
"That's actually amazing."
Warmth spread through my body as I leaned back against the smooth stone.
For the first time since waking up in this world…
My mind finally began to calm down.
But there were still things I needed to clarify.
Actually…
I realized something.
I hadn't even explained the story of Arcadia yet.
"…Right."
So let's start from the beginning.
Arcadia was a very successful fantasy RPG that I "worked" on.
The protagonist was the illegitimate child of one of the Six Great Noble Families that ruled the Human Empire.
Because of his birth, he was rejected by almost everyone.
Even his own father refused to acknowledge him.
Only a few people stayed by his side.
But tonight everything would change.
During the Art Awakening Ceremony, the protagonist wouldn't awaken just one Art.
He would awaken three.
And all three would be Divine Rank.
As if that wasn't ridiculous enough, he would also receive a Stigma from one of the most powerful Constellations in existence.
From that moment on, his journey would begin.
He would travel across the world.
Fight monsters.
Form alliances.
Build a harem.
And prove to everyone how wrong they were for rejecting him.
…You thought that was the whole story?
Well, good for you.
Only the first part is true.
Because after his awakening, something much worse happens.
The Constellation of Corruption begins its descent.
And its goal is simple.
To infect and corrupt the entire world.
In Arcadia, fighting monsters and leveling up wasn't enough.
Players also needed to form strong emotional bonds with characters.
If those bonds were weak…
The characters could become corrupted.
And once someone was corrupted…
They were basically already dead.
The only way to free them was to kill them.
Most players never understood that.
They were more interested in saving their favorite waifus than actually protecting the world.
Which is why the game had so many bad endings.
And me?
I was just an NPC.
An extra.
Someone who barely mattered.
But even so…
I wasn't planning to sit around and wait for things to happen.
At the same time, I also had no intention of interfering too much.
I wasn't a fighter.
And I definitely didn't have the kind of determination needed to suddenly start training like crazy.
So the best plan was simple.
Stay safe.
Stay alive.
And avoid the main story as much as possible.
'Yep that a great plan' I thought to myself. I was a extra after all why would I intervene in think I was definitely not mean too.
All I have to do was just go the Art ceremony awaken my art and live in the shadow while letting the protagonist do everything.
I stood up of the bathroom as I clearly found my next plan and the most important part was to attend this ceremony.
I diriged myself toward the blanket trying to choose a convenable tenue.
The chear mount of it make it difficult but after some time I was able to find one who was suitable then after finishing.
I walked toward the door ready to confront the world ahead.
Because the moment I do I will need to be a person I was...not.