My name is Leon Heartfelt.
It's been exactly two years since I was sent to this world.
Before that, I was nothing special—short, chubby, and an easy target. The kind of kid bullies could sniff out without even trying. I was just another high school nobody, living a miserable life I didn't ask for, unloved by parents who barely noticed me and surrounded by peers who either ignored me or made my life hell.
And like any cliché transmigration story I used to read back on Earth… I died.
Truck-kun, of all things.
I remember running—heart pounding, lungs burning—trying to get away from my bullies. Then headlights. A blinding flash. And silence.
At that moment, I didn't feel fear.
I felt relief.
Relief that it was over. That the misery had finally ended.
Or at least… that's what I thought.
Darkness swallowed me. Not the kind that fades in and out like sleep, but something heavy and endless. Time stopped making sense. Seconds felt like years. Years like centuries.
Then suddenly—
I woke up.
I opened my eyes to a ceiling I didn't recognize, in a body that wasn't mine. Small hands. Too small. When I looked into a mirror for the first time, I nearly froze.
Ruby-red eyes stared back at me.
Raven-black hair framed a six-year-old's face.
At first, I was overwhelmed. Shocked. Confused. But slowly—painfully—another set of memories surfaced. They blended with my own, meshing together until I couldn't tell where he ended and I began.
The boy I had become hadn't died.
I had simply… replaced him.
Devoured his soul, if I'm being honest.
That thought made my stomach twist back then. But guilt didn't last long.
Because I had just been reborn into a world of mages, knights, demons, and heroes.
A real fantasy world—the kind my past self had only ever dreamed of escaping into.
And better yet?
My new parents were royalty.
My father was Regald Heartfelt, ruler of the Heartfelt Country. My mother was Cecilia Heartfelt, his queen. Powerful. Loving. Present.
Once that realization sank in, any lingering guilt vanished like smoke.
I embraced my new life wholeheartedly.
I lived earnestly as Leon Heartfelt.
And just like that… two years passed.
During that time, I learned I would soon have a younger brother. His name would be Dereck Heartfelt. The news filled the palace with warmth and excitement—and to my surprise, it made me genuinely happy too.
I was happy.
Truly happy.
For the first time in either of my lives, I had loving parents who doted on me, servants who treated me like a treasure, and a future that felt bright instead of suffocating.
It almost felt unreal.
Too good to be true.
And as I would soon learn—it was.
Today was a special day.
Today marked the Heartfelt Country's annual Awakening Ceremony.
At my age—six years old—children were considered "ripe." Old enough for their path to be revealed, yet young enough to be molded by it. All across the nation, children gathered at the Magic Tower to have their potential awakened and evaluated.
The ceremony itself was simple in concept.
A Magic Ball, housed within the tower, would read a person's aptitude—determining their class, their affinities, and the path their life would take.
For example, if someone awakened as a Mage, their aptitude would align with Mana, revealing elemental or conceptual affinities.
But this world wasn't so simple.
There were hundreds of classes. Thousands, if you counted sub-classes.
All of them fell under five major categories:
Category of Mana (COM)
Category of Aura (COAU)
Category of Armory (COARM)
Category of Stars (COS)
Category of Rune Empowerment (COREM)
Mages naturally belonged to COM.
COAU housed aura-based fighters—classes like Fighters and Barbarians.
COARM was… strange. Gunslingers, Snipers, Battalion Commanders. Weapon-based classes that could be empowered by both mana and aura. Rare. Dangerous. Highly valued.
Then there was COS.
Those who drew power from the stars.
Their classes varied in name, but they were all collectively known as Seers. They were incredibly rare—so rare that only a handful existed across the world.
And finally… COREM.
The Category of Rune Empowerment.
No one knew much about it. No recorded awakenings. Barely any information in history books. It was as if the category had been deliberately erased from existence.
Classes also had ranks, which determined rarity and potential:
Common.
Rare.
Epic.
Legendary.
Mythical.
High Mythical.
Legendary classes were rare but known. Mythical classes had appeared only a handful of times in recorded history.
But High Mythical?
Never.
Some speculated that such classes existed during the Primordial Era—but there was no proof. Only myths layered on top of myths.
That was enough history for one day.
After my mother finished adjusting my suit and smoothing back my messy, wavy hair, we prepared to leave for the Magic Tower. The royal carriage waited outside, drawn by a massive FeatherBed Owl.
It was larger than a bull. Faster than a cheetah.
How that worked, I had no idea.
But I loved it.
My mother sat beside me as guards took the front, and just like that—we were off.
As the palace faded behind us, I couldn't help but smile.
I had no idea that before the day ended—
I would regret ever wanting to attend this ceremony.
TO BE CONTINUED