Sitting on a roadside bench, the young man held his head tightly, his fingers pressing against his temples as confusion overwhelmed him.
"Just where am I?!" he exclaimed, unable to suppress the frustration in his voice.
He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. Panicking would not help him understand the situation he was in. Slowly, he began to recall the last thing he remembered before waking up in this strange place.
Last night, he had been in his room—if it could even be called that. It was nothing more than a small, run-down space that barely qualified as a place to live. He remembered the emptiness in his stomach and the exhaustion weighing heavily on his body. He had been too tired to cook, too tired to think, and so he simply lay down, hoping sleep would ease his hunger.
However, his memories ended there. No matter how much he tried to remember, there was nothing beyond that point.
"What is this…?" he muttered under his breath, his confusion only growing.
Opening his eyes, he began observing his surroundings more carefully. At first glance, everything appeared normal. People walked along the streets, engaged in their daily routines, talking, moving, living as if nothing was out of the ordinary. However, the longer he watched, the more he began to notice that something was clearly wrong.
It started with a man casually floating past him, a few inches above the ground, as if gravity simply did not apply to him. Not far away, a woman raised her hand and conjured a small flame, letting it flicker for a moment before extinguishing it as if it were nothing unusual. Another individual moved past him at an unnatural speed, their figure almost blurring as they crossed the street.
The young man stared at the scene in silence, trying to process what he was seeing.
"…Not again…" he said quietly, letting out a faint sigh.
"I thought I was just dreaming earlier… but now there are more people doing the same thing?"
There was no panic in his voice this time, only disbelief as he struggled to make sense of it. His gaze slowly shifted toward his hands, examining them carefully as if expecting something to change. They looked completely normal, no different from what he remembered. He turned them over, flexing his fingers slightly, searching for anything unusual.
"…Can I do that too?" he murmured.
However, before he could dwell on the thought any longer, a sudden sharp pain shot through his head.
"Argh!"
He immediately clutched his head as his vision blurred, his body tensing from the intensity of the pain. It felt as though something was being forcefully pushed into his mind. Memories that did not belong to him began flooding in—names, places, and faces he had never seen before appeared one after another, overwhelming his senses.
"…Lucas… Ironhart…" he muttered unconsciously as the name echoed within his mind.
As the pain in his head continued, more memories began to surface, clearer than before, no longer fragmented but flowing as if they belonged to him from the very beginning.
The owner of this body—Lucas Ironhart.
A fourteen-year-old boy born into the prestigious Ironhart family, a name known for its strength and influence. Every member of that family carried expectations, and each of them had lived up to it… except one.
Lucas.
He was the weakest among his siblings, lacking both talent and strength. No matter how hard he tried, he could never meet the standards expected of someone bearing the Ironhart name. In the end, his existence itself became an embarrassment to the family.
And so, they discarded him without hesitation, without regret.
The memories showed it clearly—the cold expressions, the indifference in their eyes, and the moment he was thrown out of the estate along with his belongings, as if he were nothing more than an unwanted burden.
A faint breath escaped his lips as those memories settled into place.
"So… am I in another body now?" he murmured, clutching the cloth near his collar as he tried to process everything.
The weight of the situation slowly began to sink in, yet before he could fully grasp it, movement in front of him caught his attention.
A merchant was passing by, transporting a large amount of cargo. Just like the others, the goods floated effortlessly behind him, defying all logic he once knew.
Among the cargo, A large mirror stood out. As it moved into his line of sight, his gaze instinctively locked onto it and the moment he saw his reflection, his eyes widened.
"What!?"
The face staring back at him was completely unfamiliar.
White hair, clean and striking, framing a face that looked far more refined than anything he had seen before. His eyes—sharp and red—carried an intensity that made him look almost unreal. It was the kind of appearance that would naturally draw attention, the kind that people would not easily ignore.
For a brief moment, he simply stared.
Then the mirror moved past him, carried away along with the merchant.
His hands immediately rose to his face, touching his skin, running through his hair as if trying to confirm what he had just seen.
"T-This is real… I'm not Reji anymore!"
His voice trembled slightly, the realization finally settling in.
Before he could gather his thoughts any further, something suddenly appeared in front of his eyes.
A translucent screen.
[System activating]
He froze, staring at the words in silence.
"Huh? System?" he muttered, his confusion returning.
The text continued to appear.
[Player successfully Transmigrated]
[Player – Lucas Ironhart]
[Level – 1]
[Health – 100]
[Mana – 10]
[Strength – 4]
[Agility – 3]
[Defense – 5]
[Stamina – 7]
[Unallocated Stat – 0]
[Magic - not awakened yet]
[Age - 14]
[Skills - null]
He remained silent as he read through everything, his mind trying to piece it all together.
"Player… and these stats…" he murmured, narrowing his eyes slightly. "Wait… am I playing a game?" Instinctively, he touched his arms, his face, confirming once again that everything felt real.
"…No, this isn't a game," he said under his breath. "Then what am I seeing?" Before he could question it further, another line appeared on the screen.
[Task: Immediately head to Silvas Magic Academy]