'My life is boring.'
I thought when I was 14 years old.
I wanted an exciting life...
I've been an orphan pretty much since I was born. I don't even know who my parents are... They abandoned me near the orphanage a few weeks after I came into this world.
There's nothing special about me, not even my name, Cole, which just means black. How special is that? Did they even think about it?
When I turned 16 years old, I developed a hobby of reading novels.
When I started reading, it was just to pass the time, but novels are more entertaining than I thought, and I got hooked. Ever since then, I've been reading novels whenever I have the time.
Whenever I'm reading, I get this feeling that something inside me is being filled, and emotions that I really don't understand or feel normally overwhelms me.
And those emotions made me think that maybe, this life is still worth living...
Don't get me wrong, though, I was not planning to kill myself.
It's just that I was so bored in the past that I thought dying might not be that bad...
If someone had asked me why I was still alive back then... I'd probably have just answered, "Because I'm not dead yet."
So novels really mean a lot to me, they are a big part of my life...
Anyway, I got a scholarship to a university near the orphanage I grew up in when I turned 18 years old. That's cool...
But I still needed money to provide for my daily needs and some school stuffs.
So I found myself a job, and I fucking hate it, also the fact that I'm lazy.
Add that reading is starting to get boring for me too... I just can't find a novel I enjoy, which is bad for me because it's the only thing giving me entertainment in this world.
But then I thought...
'If I can't find a novel I like, why not just make one myself?'
Which might be a good idea, as there's a possibility that it could also solve my money problem!
And so, I made one.
Creating a novel is harder than I thought. I would sometimes suddenly stop midway and then continue again later on because of laziness. There are a lot more problems, but I'm too lazy to list them all...
But in the end, I successfully created one.
My first novel was inspired by a novel that I really liked. I got the idea there and created a whole different story out of it.
And surprisingly, people started reading my work! Reading their comments about it also made me happy, so I came to enjoy writing.
I found a new hobby for myself...
With that, I continued writing... Again and again.
And now, I'm already 29 years old.
*****
"Haa..."
A sigh escaped my mouth as soon as I finished publishing the latest chapter of my ongoing novel.
"Now what?"
I asked myself.
Writing is fun and all, but after that, I have nothing else to do...
It was so boring...
So I started reading the comments and reviews about my work.
Many comments were positive, but some were negative. They don't affect me anymore, as it's normal anyway. I can't satisfy everyone, so I just continued writing based on my taste, not caring about them...
Ping!
"Hm?"
Then, while I was reading some comments... I received an email.
Out of boredom, I opened it.
Click-
What greeted me was a weird and confusing message.
=====
[YOUR WORK HAS BEEN SELECTED BY A HIGHER BEING!]
[Congratulations! A Higher Being will use your work for their new creation! In exchange, they will grant your wish and add some bonus rewards too!!!]
=====
...
...
"What bullshit is this?"
I grumbled and frowned after reading the content of the mail.
I was about to close it without replying, as it would just be a waste of time.
Swaahh—
When a sudden bright light erupted from my whole body and dyed the whole room white!
"Argh! What the fuck?"
I screamed.
The light coming from my body was so bright that it looked like I was some godly shit descending from heaven!
Strangely, though, the light didn't hurt my eyes...
"What the fuck is happening?!"
I exclaimed.
'Okay, let's calm down.'
I tried to calm myself down and started racking my brain.
But while I was thinking... I suddenly felt like I was being 'sucked' into something!
"OKAY! WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?! THIS IS SO CREEPY!"
I yelled unconsciously, unable to see anything but white, so I was panicking.
Calling for help didn't cross my mind... Why?
Because what's happening to me doesn't feel dangerous at all. It's just... weird?
Also, I bet nobody can help me in this kind of situation anyway.
Worst-case scenario, the one trying to help might get caught up in this too.
I'm also an introvert with a small number of friends, so I bet nobody will take the risk to help me anyway...
Yep, even with all this shit happening, I'm still assessing the situation.
I developed this thing when I was a kid where, on any occasion or event, my thoughts would still work properly.
Which is good because just panicking wouldn't do anything beneficial for me in any way.
So, what conclusion did I get amid this situation by racking my brain?
Heh... Nothing.
So I just stopped struggling and shut my mouth.
"Thanks for nothing, brain..."
I mumbled as I stayed still.
Anything I do will be just a waste of time and energy, so I just went with the flow.
Let's wait and see what happens, then decide what to do after that.
'I'm bored anyway.'
So I stood still, letting the weird sucking phenomenon have its way.
"This better be good."
I mumbled.
And that's the last thing I remember before my consciousness got cut off...
*****
I don't know how long I was out, but immediately after I regained consciousness...
I opened my eyes and sat up.
And looking around me...
'Um... Where?'
Is what I first thought after seeing my surroundings...
I'm sitting on a bed in a small, unfamiliar room with very little furniture. All the items in the room are just for the daily needs of a single person.
"There's not even a TV in here."
Anyway...
I continued to look around.
At first, I thought that maybe I was in a hospital room, but the lack of medical equipment around makes that unlikely.
'Let's explore the room first.'
So I decided to investigate more.
I got up from the bed...
And started roaming around the room.
Moving my body feels a bit weird, but I thought it was just an aftereffect of the light before or me fainting, so I didn't mind it that much.
Anyway, after getting a proper look at the room...
"Messy."
Is what came out of my mouth unconsciously.
It's messy as hell here, it's like someone is preparing to move out...
I know this isn't my room, but the mess is bothering me.
"Let's clean up for a while."
So I decided to clean up.
And while cleaning the room, I'm also organizing my thoughts...
After some time, I decided to enter the bathroom to check the toilet.
And as soon as I entered...
I was greeted by a huge mirror!
I was shocked...
"Dirty."
The mirror was so dirty that I couldn't see my reflection in it! So I started cleaning it.
And just after a few wipes, the mirror finally started reflecting things.
Which made me stop moving... Why?
Because I noticed that the mirror was reflecting, not me...
But someone else I didn't know!
"Who the hell?"
I started moving... And the reflection moved the same way I did!
I tried finding another mirror, maybe this one was just special.
But all the mirrors I tried were the same!
"No way."
I mumbled...
Disbelief washed over me as I sat down on the bed while holding a small, circular mirror.
I'm not stupid...
So I know that either I got transferred into another body... Or the owner of this room is a jerk who bought defective mirrors and placed them all over the room.
Looking at the mirror in my hand again...
I can see an average-looking young man... All of his facial features are not worth mentioning, except for his sharp eyes, which I think are really cool. He has black eyes and deep-black hair.
My previous body was also skinny, but this body is skinnier... And maybe because it's identical, moving now feels normal.
...
...
"Can someone explain what's happening?"
I asked into the air after calming down for a bit.
And right after that...
Swish—
A transparent window that normally appears in fantasy stories or games appeared in front of me.
Looks like it came from the watch-like device that I was wearing.
I was startled, but I calmed down right away because waking up in a different body was more surprising than this.
"Since when did I have this thing on me?"
I asked, looking at the watch device on my right wrist.
No answer came, but the transparent window remained.
It had something written on it, so I tried reading it.
[Hello, you inferior being, be glad because what's happening to you right now is a rare thing! So just shut up and your additional rewards will be given with a few explanations soon.]
... Is what's written on it...
I don't know who sent this message, but they sure are cocky and annoying.
Anyway... Not long after that, another transparent window appeared.
Swish—
Then letters started to appear in it.
[You received 2 traits and 1 skill!]
After reading what was on the window... I tilted my head.
"What is that for?"
I asked.
And I received an answer from the same window!
The letters changed as a form of response to my question!
[Please shut up, I'll explain it soon.]
But when I read the reply, a frown formed on my face.
'Jerk.'
I thought.
[Bastard, I can read your thoughts.]
And the thing replied again!
'Then better you shit.'
Looks like I can communicate with this thing.
[At least call me 'System', you punk.]
"Yeah, sure, whatever."
The system doesn't just project words and sentences to communicate with me.
I can hear a voice inside my mind saying the same thing that the system writes in real-time... So I concluded that the voice inside my head and the system are the same.
The voice sounds robotic, so it's hard to distinguish if it has a gender.
But I'm sure annoyed to hear a voice inside my head.
"Whatever, just start explaining things to me."
[Then shut up... Well anyway, you received 2 traits and 1 skill.]
"I know, you just said that earlier."
[...]
After a short pause...
[Well anyway, this is what you received:]
The system continued, ignoring my words.
And a new transparent window appeared.
=====
[TRAITS]
-Understanding
-I like the spotlight
[SKILL]
-Monarch's Presence Lvl.1
=====
And right before me were the so-called 'rewards' that I received.
"Hey system, what are these for?"
I asked.
[Try pressing the rewards, they have explanations attached to them.]
And the system properly answered this time.
Click-
I pressed the only 'skill' in the rewards, and another blueish transparent window appeared.
Swish~
=====
[Monarch's Presence Lvl.1]
-Lets you emit the pressure or aura of a monarch. This skill reacts to your emotions.
-The skill's strength is based on how much mana you use and the skill's level.
=====
...
...
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Staring at the explanation in front of me...
My heart started beating faster. I was getting excited, I don't know why, but it's a good feeling for me.
[You received that skill because you are like the creator of this whole place.]
The system then said.
"Me? Creator? Why?"
Then I asked it multiple times consecutively.
[Check the other things you got first, Tsk... You're so nosy.]
I know the system has a point, but I really want to slap it.
Fwip—
Too bad my hand just passed through it when I tried to...
'What a shame.'
I thought.
[Bitch, what did you just try to do?]
I ignored the weird 'thing' talking to me and checked the first 'trait' I got instead.
=====
[Understanding]
-Makes it easier for you to understand and learn things, it also improves your memory drastically.
=====
...
...
"This is what I really need right now, as I still don't understand what's going on."
I said with a smile on my face as soon as I read what it is.
[The Higher Being also predicted that that's the case, so they personally selected it for you.]
The system explained.
"Ohh, really..? That higher-being thing is so nice... But, you aren't the Higher Being? I guess you're just some product, huh?"
[Well, I'm still a superior being to you, so nothing changes, peasant.]
I tried to insult the system, but it was ineffective...
"Your insults are getting harsher with time."
I mumbled.
[So what?]
"Aren't I like... Your customer?"
[Your mom.]
Then the system tried to insult me more, as an act of petty revenge.
"I never met my mom."
Too bad, I'm an orphan, so I don't really care about 'your mom' jokes.
[...]
"..."
But after my casual reply... an awkward silence engulfed the room.
[Shit, I'm sorry.]
Then the system apologized!
It was pretty creepy, honestly.
"No, it's fine, I don't care either way, growing up without parents is better than growing up with irresponsible ones."
That's my personal opinion.
[Just... Sorry. The last 'trait' is what I selected for you. I was just created like an hour ago to help you as one of your rewards, and I already have the knowledge I need to assist you.]
I don't know why, but the system got surprisingly nice and started explaining things about itself.
That put a small smile on my face.
Moving on...
Click-
I pressed the last 'trait' that the system picked just for me. I'm pretty excited.
=====
[I like the spotlight]
-Uses attention that you gain to boost your growth.
-The strength of the growth boost changes based on how much attention you are receiving.
=====
"..."
I blankly looked at the transparent window as I re-read the trait's description again and again...
And after snapping out of my daze—
My head shifted in the system's direction, and I glared at it.
"You bitch! Are you telling me to become an attention whore?!"
I exclaimed.
[Well... First, I picked that just to mess with you... Sorry.]
And the system explained.
I didn't reply and just continued to glare at the system...
[Hey, look, it will help you with your training, right? I'm sure you'll need it.]
But then its next words caught my attention.
"How am I gonna need it?"
I asked with a hint of curiosity.
'Why would I need to train anyway?'
I thought to myself.
[Check your status.]
The system then said.
I looked at it doubtfully for a second, then...
'Status'
I muttered that in my mind.
FWISH—
And another transparent window appeared in front of me.
=====
[STATUS]
Name: Raven Obadiah
Rank: F-
Mana Control: F
Strength: F-
Agility: F-
Stamina: F-
Intelligence: E-
Luck: E-
Charm: F-
[SKILLS]
[TRAITS]
=====
[Oh, you can open it without me teaching you.]
The system said in surprise.
"I'm not that stupid. People with common sense can do that too."
I replied casually.
I read a lot of fantasy novels, so I know.
Anyway, I scanned through 'My status'.
"But aren't these stats way too low? What happened to the charm?"
I complained.
I don't know anything about this status thing... But seeing the Fs, I just know they're not good.
"Hmm... My new name is Raven? It has the same meaning as my previous one... Just cooler."
I mumbled curiously.
And after that, I started asking a bunch of questions to the system.
It responded and cooperated nicely, probably to make up with trying to embarrass me by picking the [I like the spotlight] trait.