Kael Voss's POV
No… This couldn't be real.
My thoughts were spiraling wildly. Everything I believed in felt shattered.
"So I was beheaded back in that basement… only to wake up trapped inside the only video game I ever played?" I muttered under my breath, drawing curious stares from a few people on the street. I ignored them.
I took a deep breath to steady myself.
Stay calm. Think clearly.
The game was The Quest of the Mythical World — a fantasy dating sim I used to play during middle school. It centered around a commoner boy named Lumin Rayne, who was chosen by the goddess Elora to become the hero. His task was to slay the Demon King and prevent the revival of an ancient dark god.
He journeyed with three powerful female companions and eventually saved the world after countless struggles.
The story had its moments, but the game was poorly made.
You could only follow the hero's route. Side characters were barely developed. The difficulty was punishing — one small mistake often led to dark and depressing bad endings. Achieving a true happy ending was nearly impossible due to plot holes. The complicated power system and world hierarchy frustrated most players into quitting.
Only a handful of stubborn players like me stuck with it till the end.
Until my real life became a nonstop cycle of revenge and I had to abandon the game.
I exhaled slowly.
Odd… I actually miss the sensation of killing someone.
Shaking the thought away, I stared at the glowing blue window still hovering in front of me.
[Welcome to the World, Player.]
If it was calling me "Player," then this really was the game world.
"So where's the god or goddess who dragged me here?" I thought. "Anyone going to explain the situation?"
Ding!
A new window appeared with a clean layout:
──────────────────────────── Status Window
Name: Nyx Vale Age: 15 Race: Human
Strength: 9/100 Mana: 5/100 Intelligence: 8/10
Primary Attribute: Earth (10/10000)
Other Attributes: • Fire (0/10000) • Water (0/10000)
Spirits: None Bloodline: None
Skills:
Body Strengthening Fireball
────────────────────────────
The name at the top made my stomach drop.
"Nyx Vale…?"
This weak body belonged to Nyx Vale — a pathetic third-rate villain from the game. A mere stepping stone whose only notable role was being the unwanted childhood fiancé of one of the main heroines.
Her name was Elyra.
She had long, flowing golden-blonde hair and striking emerald-green eyes. She was the same girl who had slapped me hard in the tavern and warned me to stop following her.
In the original story, Nyx was obsessively attached to Elyra. Even after countless rejections, he continued shadowing her. When she left for the academy and grew closer to the hero Lumin Rayne, Nyx tried every petty scheme to separate them. But every attempt backfired and only pushed the hero and heroine closer together.
In the end, Nyx challenged Lumin to a duel, got utterly defeated, had his mana core shattered, and later committed suicide.
A dull, insignificant ending.
I almost smirked at the bitter irony.
Not everyone gets to die the way I did.
Ding!
──────────────────────────── Do you wish to initiate Memory Transfer? [Yes / No] ────────────────────────────
The warning was straightforward: refusing could lead to personality disorder or heavy memory loss.
I had no intention of losing control over this new body.
"Fine," I said in a cold, emotionless tone. "Initiate the Memory Transfer."
Ding!
──────────────────────────── (1) Initiating Memory Transfer Process… (2) Merging Souls of Original Owner and Player… (3) Integration in Progress… ────────────────────────────
A crushing wave of dizziness slammed into me. The world spun violently. My knees buckled.
My consciousness began fading as the two souls started to merge.
I collapsed onto the street, everything going black around me.