I jolted awake.
"Haaa... haaa... what the hell was tha—hah?"
The last thing I remember was... I was drowning in the river, then I saw a light.
But where am I now?
My eyes scanned the room. It was a small living room.
A closed window was on the side, and two rooms were attached to this one.
Pulling the blanket aside, I crawled down from the bed.
As soon as my feet touched the ground, an unfamiliar sensation ran through my body.
'Strange.'
Did someone save me?
In the distance, I saw a mirror.
Although I wanted to know where I was, somehow I instinctively moved toward it.
My eyes locked onto it, but the reflection wasn't what I expected at all.
A complete stranger stared back at me.
He had messy black hair and golden eyes.
"What?"
I truly didn't understand what was happening. My mind plunged into a state of chaos and confusion.
What happened to me? Why did I look like that?
Th-this is a dream, right? A bad dream.
My eyes fell on a letter on the mirror table.
I tried to control my rising heartbeat. I didn't know what it was, but I somehow knew it was bad news.
An envelope, sealed with wax stamped in the shape of a burning phoenix, lay on the table.
Ember Academy was scrawled across it in ink that shimmered like embers.
I tore it open,
----
To Nicolas Frey,
By decree of the Eclipse Council, you are hereby summoned to participate in the Entrance Examination of Ember Academy.
Date: 5th of June
Location: Skyward Spire, District 7
Failure to appear will result in immediate revocation of your Awakener status.
—Headmaster Ignis Veyne.
----
Seeing that, my heart unnaturally calmed down.
A smile bloomed on my face as I laughed,
"Haa... haha... hahaha..."
"Damn, what kind of dream comes with this much dark humor? What's next? A status window?"
As soon as those words left my mouth, a blue window glitched into view before me.
==STATUS==
Name: Nicolas Frey
Race: Human
Age: 16
Rank: Awakener
Potential: Master
Discipline: Wielding
Secondary Attributes:
STR: F
AGI: F
END: F
INT: D
CHA: E
Skills:(empty)
============
My smile turned into a frown, then into horror.
"What the actual fuck?"
How is this possible?
Now I am... Nicolas? That bastard from the early arcs.
No, no no no.
This can't be happening.
I pinched myself. I could feel the pain, and the environment was too real to be a dream.
Suddenly, it came without any warning, pain.
Like hundreds of scorpions were stinging my brain.
The pain was unbearable. I was screaming before I even realised it.
"ARRRHHHHHHHHH!"
After who knows how long, it slowly began to subside, but then the second wave hit me.
I gritted my teeth as my hand clenched. This time, along with the pain, foreign memories started flooding into my mind.
After some time, it ended.
"Haaa... haaa... haaa..."
I began taking quick breaths.
My mind was a complete mess.
All my memories were jumbled.
I took my time sorting through them, his memories, to be exact: Nicolas Frey's.
Now I had no choice but to accept it. I was transmigrated, and I had become Nicolas.
==STATUS UPDATE==
INT: D —> C
=================
This is so messed up.
I can't just always cling to the past, can I?
Let me think for a second.
My life was always shit. And now, this world is straight-up cringe.
I was bored in that world, but this one is interesting. After all, this is a fantasy world.
Now I've become this idiot, what should I do?
He is of no use to the plot.
Leonard Shade, the MC of the story, is absurdly overpowered.
I'm sure Leonard will take care of world-threatening problems.
As long as I stay away from trouble and those calamity-bringers, I can live.
Honestly, I was bored just a few hours ago. But now,
I'm getting excited.
This is no ordinary world, after all.
This is a world of flying islands, hovering cars, superpowers, virtual reality, and so much more.
Am I forgetting something?
Right! Nicolas, this asshole. I am him, so even if I stay low, people won't let me.
So... what now, you ask?
I just don't care. Even if the world thinks I'm Nicolas, I know that I'm not.
If someone blames me for his mistakes, the best thing I can do is just ignore them.
Trust me, it's better than mindlessly fighting back when I don't even have any evidence to prove.
Fate's a bitch, people are hypocrites, life is never fair.
So the best thing I'll do is take advantage of the very future I know.
I checked the date. Today is the 15th of May.
There are 20 days before the start of the academy.
I stripped off my loose T-shirt I started inspecting myself.
Very skinny body, almost no muscles. I get why his stats are F.
The face was pale and lightly wrinkled, the eyes were darker, hair was very messy.
I need to make this body better.
Turning around, I walked toward the window and opened it.
Immediately, bright sunlight blinded me.
My eyes blurred as they adjusted, and what I saw took my breath away.
Towering skyscrapers were everywhere. In fact, I was in one.
Looking below, my eyes caught many hovering cars.
Scratching my messy hair, a smile bloomed on my face.
"It was... a nice welcome, I guess."
"I should get ready."