In a place where time didn't exist and space was an infinite void, Sugawa Shou floated aimlessly.
There was no light, no shadow, no up or down.
Only the perpetual sensation of falling, an endless vertigo that, far from being uncomfortable, became strangely comforting.
His eyelids trembled before opening slowly.
Drowsiness still enveloped him; it was as if he were trying to wake from a deep dream he didn't want to leave.
"This feeling..." he murmured, his voice barely an echo in that void.
His eyes explored the emptiness before him, a black, pure immensity that seemed to extend beyond comprehension. For the first time in a long while, his mind was at peace.
'It's not bad... I could stay like this forever.'
A slight smile began to form on his lips, but it died the instant a blue light broke the darkness.
It was faint, but enough to catch his attention.
Floating before him, a luminous text appeared from nowhere.
[Character Creation: -]
The light it emitted slightly illuminated his features, tearing him from the fullness he had begun to accept.
Shou blinked, confused. The calm he had felt moments before vanished, replaced by a slight discomfort.
"What...?" he whispered.
Before him, the blue light expanded, revealing a series of options that seemed straight out of an MMORPG. Menus and submenus floated in the air, all related to physical characteristics: height, weight, skin color, hair, eyes. Everything was there, perfectly detailed.
Except nothing could be modified.
Each option had a small lock icon next to it, indicating they were blocked.
'What's the point of showing me all this if I can't change anything?' he thought with frustration. 'Ah, whatever. I'll just accept.'
With a dismissive gesture, he pressed the button confirming the default options. The screen before him vanished immediately, but there was no relief.
A buzz resonated in the darkness.
Another message emerged before him, brighter than the previous one.
[Use the roulette to obtain your unique skill!]
This time, there was only one active option: a button adorned with the symbol of a pair of dice. Shou understood immediately.
'What an annoying system... everything depends on chance.'
He sighed heavily.
Although he despised the video game, he knew perfectly well how these mechanics worked.
His younger brother, obsessed with Primera Online, had explained more than he ever wanted to know. He remembered how he helped him create characters over and over again, just to get unique skills that were worthwhile.
But there was one detail he would never forget: his own luck.
'He stopped asking for my help when he got tired of only getting D-rank skills.'
'In the end, he pays his friends to create accounts... He would be a great businessman, but he wastes his talent on these things.'
A mixture of pride and frustration crossed his mind as he remembered his brother's exploits. Even a touch of envy, but those thoughts were quickly dismissed as his finger approached the dice button.
Cha-ching!
A metallic sound resonated, and a text box appeared before him. The words changed rapidly, one after another, like a whirlwind of possibilities.
Shou narrowed his eyes, trying to catch any detail amid the chaos of letters and colors.
His eyes followed the hypnotic movement of the words that changed ceaselessly, too fast to be read.
'From what I know, even though billions play Primera Online, not even 40% of the unique skills have been discovered yet... It's ridiculous.'
The speed of the text began to slow down.
The words, previously impossible to read, could now be clearly distinguished, each more extravagant than the last.
[Beloved by Mana]
[Beast Master]
[Limit Breaker]
[Devil Eyes]
The noise of the roulette resonated with each text change.
Tick!
Tick!
Tick!
Shou's heart began to beat strongly, keeping time with the sound.
Thump!
Thump!
'Am I excited about this nonsense?'
"Tch!" He clicked his tongue and clenched his fist with some annoyance, but couldn't look away.
Finally, the text stopped changing. A red-purple light illuminated his face as the words settled on a final result.
[Unique Skill: Bi-monthly Passive Roulette]
For a moment, Shou didn't react. His gaze fixed on the screen, slowly processing the description that appeared below the words.
[The unique skill "Bi-monthly Passive Roulette" grants the user a passive skill that changes every 15 days.
All actions performed with the granted skills will have permanent effects on the environment or on people.
Knowledge acquired with skills that maximize understanding will remain with the user.
A skill that has been possessed once cannot be obtained again. It is recommended not to waste the 15 days each skill lasts.
Skills are assigned randomly. Some might be considered useless. There is no way to alter the selection, except to wait for the next cycle.
Skill Rank: ULR.]
Shou inhaled deeply, reading each word carefully.
"Is that all?" he murmured, pressing his lips together. "This... This is too dependent on luck. How am I supposed to trust something like that?"
However, a small relief crossed his mind upon seeing the rank.
'UR... According to my brother, it means "Ultra Rare." I guess it's not a bad skill, but with my bad luck...'
Before he could sink further into his thoughts, something changed.
The void surrounding him seemed to waver.
His vision began to distort, and a strange pressure took hold of his mind.
The darkness began to crumble, and with it, his consciousness became blurred.
The last thing he felt was his body dissolving into a whirlwind of light.
He closed his eyes.
A rapid blink sent a sharp pain through Shou's eyes.
The sunlight, bright and blinding, was an unbearable contrast to the absolute nothingness in which he had been floating, suspended in the void.
For a moment, he felt as if his body and mind were still trapped in the darkness, as if everything he had experienced up to that moment was a dream.
But soon, the sun's glints began to dissipate, and his dark brown eyes reflected the sky, blue, clear, and distant.
Fluffy clouds passed slowly, as if the world were awakening around him.
Shou closed his eyes for an instant, trying to gather his thoughts, trying to process everything that was happening.
He took a breath and, with effort, sat up.
He looked around, observing the people who shared the same experience of confusion.
Everyone was sitting or lying on the ground, hands pressed against their heads, murmuring among themselves, as if trying to comprehend the impossible.
The atmosphere was filled with whispers.
"Is this the afterlife?" a young man asked the air.
A strange silence spread, but someone else spoke.
"Damn it, I was in the middle of my lunch." Someone said aloud, in an attempt to ease the attention of the surrounding people, but no one laughed.
"If you want to eat so badly, then find a way to go back!" A girl next to him shouted while hitting him on the head.
Ignoring the exchanges, Shou turned his head.
Next to him, a blond-haired boy was sitting, eyes closed, equally absorbed in what was happening around him. The expression on his face wasn't much different from the others.
Just as he was about to try to ask, firm footsteps were heard on the ground.
The sound, unmistakable and constant, made everyone look up.
A figure approached them.
A woman with long, slightly wavy white hair; her pale blue eyes shone under the sun, but her gaze was hard, severe. Her medieval plate armor fit perfectly to her figure, reflecting the light coming from the sky.
She walked with determination towards what seemed to be a platform in the center of the crowd.
The footsteps that had previously resonated on the ground became lighter, now on wood. The woman reached her destination and, with a precise movement, pulled a parchment from her belt, and before reading it, a small blue magic circle appeared at her throat.
"Ahem!"
"Greetings, everyone," she said with a firm and clear voice, as if accustomed to speaking to a crowd. "I am Lady Elisandora Ambaris, Class S Special Mage, in service of the cavalry of the Alumina kingdom, currently director of the Northern Knights Academy."
The murmurs ceased instantly.
Not because she really had authority, but simply because they had heard the word "Magic."
"I know you are confused, and I ask for your understanding. In our kingdom, we are too... 400 years ago, it was prophesied that a great wave of people from another world would come to this place. We were given the exact year and location, but that was all the information conferred to us... I won't deny it's our negligence not to have prepared for that day to be today."
Shou couldn't help but tense upon hearing this.
'This seems like something my brother would read in a light novel...'
"Currently, in the year 725, we have the obligation to guide you for your adaptation. I truly hope we can count on your full cooperation as fellow beings. We humans must help each other, remaining united."
Lady Elisandora closed the parchment with a decisive motion and, for a moment, her gaze swept over the crowd.
Shou felt a pang of rage rise in his chest.
'Adaptation, you say...?'
A biological or social phenomenon that allows organisms or systems to adjust to their environment, improving their chances of survival and success. But didn't they force him to come to this place without the possibility of genuinely opposing it?
When her eyes met Sugawa Shou's, something in her face hardened, as if she saw something beyond his simple gaze.
Lady Elisandora continued, as if she already knew what was going through the minds of the newcomers.
"I know many of you are dismayed and upset about having had to leave your world behind. But I want to clarify something: it has nothing to do with us, the inhabitants of this world. We can do nothing to appease your pain, so I ask you, please, do not take out your frustration on us."
The woman had left no room for doubt or contradiction; in this place, it was clear she was the authority. And, although her words made Shou feel a strange guilt, there was nothing he could do to change what he had just heard.
"I know many of you are tired, but you must learn some important things first. After this, you can rest peacefully. Please, follow me, we will go to a classroom to explain the essential details."
With one last look at the crowd, Lady Elisandora began to walk.
At first, few stood up.
Most remained lost in their thoughts, trapped by surprise and confusion.
But, like a snowball, people began to stand one by one, until everyone, in silence, began to walk behind her.
Shou walked, but his mind was far away.
His gaze once again lost itself in the sky.
He watched the clouds, drifting aimlessly.