The moment I passed through the hole in reality, I lost consciousness. Everything just went dark.
By the time I woke up again, it felt like ages had passed, my body felt sore all over.
"Ugh... my head..." — I muttered, sitting up and touching my forehead with my right hand.
'Hol' up, I have hands?!' — My eyes widened in realization, and I just couldn't help but laugh out loud like a madman.
"This is great!" — I shouted in excitement. That old saying really was true: you only start valuing what you once took for granted when it's gone.
As I was too busy studying my own body, checking if there were any problems, it took me a while longer to notice my surroundings — and realize I wasn't alone.
I was sitting on bare dirt, in a vast open field with patches of wild grass scattered here and there. A very generic-looking place, honestly — the kind you could find almost anywhere.
All around me were people wearing plain brown clothes and simple leather sandals. Some were sitting on the ground, others were just getting up. I was relieved to know nobody was looking in my direction.
They all looked completely confused. You know? That look people get when they've been dropped into an unfamiliar place surrounded by strangers under some weird-ass circumstances? Yeah, that one.
We all just stood there, staring at each other in dazed silence. A few kids started crying. The older folks looked utterly lost. One guy even burst into hysterical laughter, crying tears of joy as he shouted:
"I can see! I can see!" — over and over like a broken record.
Another person was waving his left arm around with his mouth open, giggling like a kid testing if he was in a dream.
I feel you, buddies, I feel you...
Surrounding us was a nearly transparent screen of light, glowing faintly with motes of gold — like some kind of barrier or force field resembling one big bubble.
Were we just transmigrated into another world? From the looks of it, some people had even recovered from their disabilities.
Then, I noticed a strange black stone pillar covered in unknown carvings. It stood at about seven meters tall, right in the center of the glowing dome.
Was this some kind of newbie protection zone?
Either way, with nothing better to do — and not particularly interested in being the first dumbass to test the barrier — I made my way through the crowd of stunned people, all whom were having what was probably the biggest existential crisis of their lives. Soon, I reached the pillar.
It looked like obsidian — smooth and cold to the touch — etched with symbols that resembled hieroglyphs or ancient runes.
'Heh... seems like some cool magical stuff...' — I thought, amused.
Unexpectedly, the moment I focused on it, something appeared before my eyes.
It was a light screen, like a hologram. The text read:
[Inspecting...]
Then it shifted, expanding into something that looked suspiciously like a wiki entry.
A blessing from the world to its inhabitants. It allows the deceased to return once more to the realm of the living under certain conditions. No fighting is permitted within its confines.
Special Properties:
-
-
I stared at it, dumbfounded. I'd been expecting weird stuff, sure, but this was way too much like a video game.
Was this not a magical world at all, but some kind of videogame?
I had a lot to process. Everything was getting weirder by the second.
I used to be a huge fan of games, manga, and anime — even if I hadn't really kept up with them lately for... reasons. So, the concept wasn't exactly foreign to me.
But actually seeing something like this happen? In real life? Yeah, still a bit hard to swallow.
'Haa... nothing I can do about that. Guess this is my life now. Not necessarily a bad thing.' — I mused.
'Since I apparently have some sort of inspection or appraisal skill... maybe I also have a status sheet of some kind?' — I thought, only to be interrupted by some noise coming from the people on the edge of the barrier.
Turning around, I saw a group of people approaching from outside. There were only three of them, but they stood out immediately.
At the front was a veiled woman dressed in a pristine white gown — clearly their leader. Behind her, two men clad in light iron armor carried halberds and kept a vigilant stance.
When they reached the barrier's perimeter, the two men stopped to stand guard while the woman entered. Those of us near that side immediately scrambled away, doing their best impressions of background NPCs.
"Greetings, otherworlders. I am a priest from the Shrine of Heroes, sent to guide you out of the ward of the Resurrection Stele and into the village." — she said, her voice soft and soothing.
"Your world has been absorbed into Elysium — a place where miracles can happen to those deemed worthy. If you say, or even think, 'Status' you will be able to view your personal information."
Immediately, a few people gasped and began mumbling in disbelief. I held myself back, deciding to let her finish speaking before testing it out. No need to put the carriage before the horses.
"We are currently in the wilderness, so please follow me. I will guide you to safety." — With that, she turned on her heel and started walking away.
'Not wasting any time, huh? How considerate of you...' — I thought snarkily, shaking my head inwardly.
Feeling that there was no real danger in following her, I joined the group heading out of the barrier — all the while chanting 'Status!' in my head.
What I saw made me freeze.
'No way...' — I muttered internally, staring at the screen in disbelief. — 'Was I secretly the protagonist all along?'
[Status]
[Name]: Valerius Everett
[Race]: Human
[Gender]: Male
[Age]: 22
[Class]: (None)
[Tier]: 0
[Stats]:
- VIT: 13 F
- STG: 12 F
- AGI: 13 F
- DEX: 14 F (3.0x) (42)
- SPI: 11 F (5.0x) (55)
- ARC: 10 F
Overall: F
[Special]:
- LUK: 2 (2.0x) (4)
[Masteries]:
-
[Skills]:
-
[Traits]:
-
-
[Fame]:
Level 1
(0/250)
[Valor Opus]:
Active: 2/2
-
-
Inactive: (None)