I returned home from school. Why am I so exhausted today? I glanced around the house—I don't even know why I bothered, everything was exactly where it always was. And as usual, there was no one else here. I grabbed a piece of bread to eat and sat down to do my homework. Before starting, I picked up a short fantasy novel. I have no idea why I bought it; in all my years, I've never read a single fantasy book. Yet, suddenly, I felt like reading one? Whatever. I'll read it tomorrow. I closed the book and went straight to bed. For some reason, I felt like tonight was going to be strangely short. My chest hurt like hell, but I didn't pay it much mind—I've had this pain several times before, and it usually vanishes within a few seconds. I slowly closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.
Huh! I snapped my eyes open. Where the hell am I? I looked around; there was nothing but a vast, stretching void as far as the eye could see. Suddenly, the emptiness transformed into an ocean that reflected everything above it perfectly. The strangest part was that I was standing right on top of the water. Then, out of nowhere, a woman with gray wings appeared in front of me. What the...? She smiled—but at whom? She waved toward me, but I still couldn't tell who she was waving at. (Author's Note: She's waving at you, idiot! Who else would be there?)
"Hello... uh, you're Phukan, right?" the woman greeted me before asking.
"Uh... no," I replied jokingly.
A look of visible irritation flashed across her face for a split second before vanishing. "Uh... okay. Well, Phukan, do you know what happened to you?"
"Huh! How would I know? And hey, kidnapping is illegal, you know!"
"Oh, this isn't a kidnapping. You're actually dead," the woman said with a bright, cheerful expression.
"What? Wait, I must be dreaming." As soon as I said that, I slammed my head against the surface of the water. "Ow! That hurts! So it's not a dream? But wait, if I'm really dead, how did I die?" I asked, filled with suspicion.
"Heart attack," she answered instantly. She snapped her fingers, and a vision appeared—a human heart with tearing muscle fibers, beating slower and slower. Wait, is that my heart? Then, the heart stopped. "This is your heart, the evidence that you died of a heart attack. Though, it's quite strange... you weren't on the list of people supposed to die today. Honestly, you weren't meant to die for another 54 years."
"What?! Then how the hell did I die early?" I punched the ground, only to hurt my own hand. Why did I have to die before my time?
"You don't have to go that far. But don't worry, you're lucky. For some reason, I've taken a liking to you. So, I'm going to send you into the body of a young boy who is exactly your age. But don't expect too much; just me saving you from falling into the 'Void' is a huge favor."
The Void? What did she mean? "The Void?"
She turned to look at me again. "Oh, sorry, I forgot to explain. The Void is where people who understand the universe through a purely scientific lens go when they die. They're a special category—unlike those who follow a religion or those who don't believe in anything at all. People like you rely solely on science. And believe me, the Void is a terrible place. Anyway, enough talk. See you again on that day."
She spoke with a rather happy smile before snapping her fingers. "Hey—!"
I woke up in a strange room filled with peculiar objects. The interior design looked exactly like something out of the European nobility, but the stuff in here… ugh. I scrambled out of bed and rushed to the mirror. I stared at the reflection. Who the hell is this?! And of all things, why does he have to be blond?! I need to find a way to dye it black as soon as possible. I knew I'd wake up in someone else's body, but I still can't wrap my head around this. I scanned the room, looking for any clue as to whose life I had just hijacked. Then, my eyes landed on a notebook resting on the desk. I dashed over and snatched it up.
"Reminders: Written by Xenos Aistheros."
Why is this family name so hard to spell? I flipped to the first page. Wait… this guy suffers from amnesia? Crap. If I'm using the same brain as him, am I going to lose my memory too? Probably not… I hope.
Whatever. I slowly flipped through the pages. By the time I finished, I let out a long, heavy sigh. Just how much of a scumbag was this kid? Thievery, brawling, attempted sexual assault (failed, thank god), and the bastard always used the "I can't remember" excuse to get away with it. Wait a second, why does this plot feel exactly like those generic Korean fantasy novels on the market? (Author's Note: How do you even know that? It's only the year 2000 in this story!) Well, at least this brat didn't drink or smoke. But wait… he has a twin? What a massive headache. I've never had siblings in my life, and now I've got a twin sister?
I sighed again before grabbing all the weird, useless junk in the room and shoving it into the trash. Keeping them around would just be a nuisance. Am I supposed to just sit here doing nothing? I looked around the room for the hundredth time—still not a single book in sight. This kid was a 100% certified brat! I'm going to lose my mind!
Right now, I didn't even dare to open the door. I didn't know a single soul out there. Why on earth didn't this brat keep a family tree or some kind of "Who's Who" guide for his own relatives?! But then again... I couldn't really blame him. I wasn't exactly the type to keep a meticulous record of my own family back home either.
"Forget it," I muttered. I dragged myself up, walked to the door, took a deep breath, and slowly pushed it open.
Whoa... "How is this place so massive?!" This wasn't just a house; it was a full-blown manor. I was in deep trouble. Was I really expected to memorize the floor plan of this entire fortress? Whatever, I'd probably figure it out eventually if I stayed here long enough. I stepped out of my room. It looked like I was on the second floor of a three-story mansion. The scale of this place was absolutely ridiculous. Looking down, I could see servants scurrying about everywhere.
But wait... a sudden realization hit me. I ducked back into my room immediately. Close call. I almost forgot I was still in my pajamas. I slammed the door shut and rushed to take a shower. To my surprise, there was a functioning plumbing system! Looking out the window earlier, the tech level didn't seem that advanced, but hey, I wasn't going to complain about modern comforts.
After finishing my shower, I stepped out and flung open the wardrobe...
"What the hell are all these?!"
Lace, frills, and more lace. Was there not a single piece of "normal" clothing in here? I rummaged through the piles until I spotted one outfit. It was still noble attire, but significantly less cluttered. The only problem was... why did it have to be blue? I definitely needed to find a chance to buy some black clothes later.
Wait, why did this outfit look so familiar? It reminded me of a knight from a novel I once read... the protagonist who are water, if I recall correctly. (Author's Note: Can my protagonist time travel or something?) I threw the clothes on, marched to the door, and swung it open.
"Ouch!"
The door slammed right into a maid who was walking by. Why was she walking so close to the wall? Usually, people walk down the center of the hallway, don't they? She looked like a young girl, and she was carrying a tray of food.
"Are you okay?" I asked instinctively.
But instead of answering, she squeezed her eyes shut. Huh? She was acting like she was about to be executed or something. I quickly scrambled to pick up the spilled food and apologized.
"I'm sorry for swinging the door open like that."
"Pardon? Huh...?" She looked completely bewildered. Am I that weird? Oh, wait. I forgot. This Xenos guy was a total scumbag.
"P-please don't fire me, Young Master! You can punish me however you like, just please don't kick me out!"
I let out a long sigh and scanned the area. There—a mop was leaning against the wall nearby. Talk about luck. I dashed over, grabbed the mop, and started scrubbing the floor myself. Once it was spotless, I put the mop back and sprinted toward the library immediately, leaving the maid sitting there in a state of total shock.
After bursting into the library, I ignored the librarian's stare and dashed straight for the bookshelves. I scanned the spines for anything useful. "Magic? Pffft, useless." .
Ah, here we go. History. I sat down and started skimming through it. "What the hell is this? Dragons? Magic? What kind of monsters are these?" The book was packed with nothing but bizarre nonsense. I quickly shoved the history book back and searched for something specifically about the Aistheros Family—the house this scumbag Xenos belonged to.
I flipped it open. "Oh... I see..."
Why the hell is this family history so over-the-top? Apparently, this house managed to defeat the 13th Demon King. Sure, it was the weakest Demon King in history, but a Demon King is still a Demon King, I guess. Thanks to that feat, the family head was promoted to Duke and granted their own city. Still, their rewards were pretty meager compared to other families who had slain Demon Kings—but then again, they did take down the absolute weakest one.
The book also mentioned that their strength is hereditary; every heir in every generation was supposed to be a genius. So, did Xenos get some kind of defective genes or what? Why does this body look so painfully average?
I let out a long sigh. I'm going to have to train like a dog, aren't I? If the stories in this history book are even half-true, my life is about to become a living hell. Wait... if it wasn't true, why would it even be in a history book? God, I'm an idiot. I'm seriously going to lose my mind.
I wandered around looking for books on magic. "Where is it... ah, found it." I snatched it up and started reading. "Hmm... this is actually pretty simple." Everyone is born with Mana. Once you hit 15, you can awaken the element within you. There are two ways: get it awakened at a Church or wait for it to awaken naturally—though the latter might be delayed.
"That's all I need to know for now," I muttered. The rest of the technical mumbo-jumbo wasn't necessary yet.