Love... trust... are such idiotic things.
They say it's pure and selfless.
Heh! What a joke.
It's just an excuse to get close to someone.
A dressed-up word for loneliness. A mask people wear to satisfy their desires without feeling guilty. Not that I complain.
I always had an unanswered question.
Why does the hero risk everything for a stranger?
Did he not want to live? Did he have no goals? No dreams?
Honestly… It's just nonsense.
No one can live without desires.
That's why I think villains are more honest than heroes.
At least they admit what they want. Power. Revenge. Freedom. Whatever it is, they chase it without lying to themselves.
But heroes?
They're just hypocrites in shining armour.
If a villain kills to grow stronger, he's evil.
If a hero does the same, he's "fighting to survive."
Please… even bullshit has limits.
Sigh! Let's not talk about it.
...
My gaze landed on the laptop screen.
-----
Title: The Ascension of Trailblazers
Chapters: 967
Status: End of Volume 8, final volume will drop next year.
-----
This story… I practically grew up with it.
It was thirteen years ago. I was just nine years old.
My father had an accident. The doctors said he needed immediate brain surgery.
Sadly... the operation failed. And just like that, he was gone, along with my happy life.
I thought, 'I need to support my mother.'
But the moment we got home from the hospital, the first thing my mother did was search for the property documents.
By the next day, I was sitting in an orphanage like an idiot, waiting for her to come pick me up.
One day passed: I waited.
One week passed: I started to worry.
One month passed: hope began to crumble.
One year passed: I finally gave up.
On my fifteenth birthday, one of the other orphans gave me a gift.
It was 'The Ascension of Trailblazers', Volume 1.
Back then, I didn't think much of it. The story had only 60 chapters.
So, I read it.
A year later, a new volume dropped.
With a little money in hand, I bought it.
And just like that, the twelve years went by.
I became a company employee. The income was stable. If I got promoted, I could live without much trouble.
A few days ago, Volume 8 dropped.
Of course, I bought it.
From time to time, I reread the older volumes to recall forgotten details. After all, thirteen years is a long time.
Now that I've finally finished volume 8, I can say this with confidence.
"It's bullshit."
The Protagonist's friend made a noble sacrifice and saved the harem member.
Why? Just why?
She isn't even your girl.
Power of friendship, what a load of crap.
It's not that I hate MC.
No, I do hate him.
His naive personality. His stupid choices. All of it.
And yet, I don't know why the hell I kept reading.
Maybe… maybe I wanted to be loved like he was.
Or maybe I just needed someone to hate.
'Stupid.'
He wasn't the stupid one.
I was.
If not, why else would I waste so much time complaining about a fictional character?
I hate myself.
I hate my life so much that I've thought about ending it more times than I can count.
But I haven't.
There were still things I wanted to try.
Dreams I want to chase.
Though I couldn't move forward due to financial reasons, I hadn't let go either.
I didn't know what I was going to do with my future.
Honestly, I was just drifting.
A wanderer with no purpose in life.
'Sigh, maybe I should find myself a girlfriend.'
I stood up from my chair and stepped out of my dull apartment.
The moon hung high in the night sky, and the wind greeted me with a cool breeze.
I found myself walking toward the riverbank nearby.
It was as beautiful as always.
One of the few things I've always wanted to do is explore new places and soak in peaceful views.
I don't know why, but it felt like they healed me.
Whenever I saw a beautiful scene, I'd just stare at it, silently, letting it wash over me.
As I stared out at the river's quiet shimmer, a voice broke the silence.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?"
"Yes... It is," I replied, turning toward the stranger.
The moment my eyes landed on her, I froze.
She had long white hair with piercing ruby-like red eyes. A beauty that didn't seem real.
Her black dress shone under the moonlight.
A small smile on her face, yet her eyes tell a different story.
'So... beautiful'
It took effort just to tear my gaze away.
Maybe... beautiful is an understatement to evaluate her.
A cosplayer? Or perhaps a model?
Then, her voice reached me again.
"How long are you planning to live like that?"
...Was she talking to me?
We didn't even know each other.
I stayed silent, hoping she'd lose interest and walk away.
But again, her voice came, gentle yet relentless.
"You have so much potential... and yet, you're not even using the bare minimum of it. But I... I can't blame you."
Did she perhaps mistake me for someone else?
I turned toward her, ready to tell her off.
"Look, I—huh?"
I didn't get to finish, and the world tilted.
Suddenly, I was falling into the river.
My eyes snapped back to her; The lady's arms were outstretched... as she had just pushed me.
Why?
-SPLASH.
The freezing water swallowed me whole.
Panic surged.
I tried to swim, but my limbs wouldn't respond.
My eyelids felt heavy as I closed my eyes.
But I can't die like this.
Using the last bit of strength, I opened my eyes.
And the first thing I saw was... blue snow.
I was transmigrated into the very world that I was complaining few minutes ago.