"I have to hurry…"
A brown-haired, painfully average young man muttered under his breath as he practically sprinted down the pristine hallway of Harrington College, his sneakers squeaking against the polished linoleum floor.
His phone, clutched tightly in his right hand vibrated insistently like it was screaming at him to check the notification.
The janitor wheeling his yellow mop bucket looked up from his work, eyebrows raising as the young man dashed past him in a blur of desperation.
"Hey! No running in the hallways, young man!" Mr. Gerald called out, his weathered voice echoing down the corridor.
"Sorry, Mr. Gerald!" Klaus shouted back without slowing down, throwing an apologetic wave over his shoulder.
He skidded to a halt in front of the men's restroom, yanked the door open, and practically threw himself inside.
Klaus dove into an empty stall, slammed the door behind him, and locked it with a satisfying click.
The toilet lid was mercifully closed, and he immediately sat down, pulled out his phone, and let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding.
His hands were shaking.
'After so many years… The second game is finally out. This is far better than listening to Professor Henderson drone on about the Agricultural Revolution of 14th Century Flanders for another two hours.' he thought.
His thumb was already hovering over the App Store notification.
Just minutes ago, he'd been sitting in History 201, desperately trying to keep his eyes open while Professor Henderson lectured about crop rotation with the enthusiasm of a man reading a phone book.
Then his phone buzzed… there had been no prior warning… no advertisements and no countdown timer.
It was just a single notification.
[Artemis Online 2 - Now Available for Download]
Klaus had nearly dropped his phone. When he was absolutely certain it wasn't some fever dream, he'd shoved his notebook into his bag, stood up, and made the strategic decision that his college education could wait.
Artemis Online could not.
Now, sitting in a bathroom stall, Klaus watched the download bar crawl forward with agonizing slowness.
47%... 52%... 58%...
He'd first encountered Artemis Online when he was sixteen… a broke high school kid with nothing but time and determination.
Back then, the game had been a hidden gem, a niche RPG with a surprisingly deep story and an insane gacha system that had consumed his entire life for the better part of four years.
Sure, the Protagonist was the textbook definition of a nepo-baby. The guy literally stumbled over divine weapons in the street, had some hidden royal bloodline, and was blessed by an angel mother who'd conveniently ascended to heaven after giving birth.
But who cared about him?
The real draw of Artemis Online was the gacha… Legendary heroines with tragic backstories, Villainesses with complex motivations. The character roster was chef's kiss perfection, and Klaus had spent countless hours pulling for his favorites.
The game had exploded in popularity over the years, evolving into a full competitive phenomenon.
Klaus had even won a tournament back in the day and some recently, walking away with enough cash to pay for his textbooks for an entire semester.
'Speaking of long-awaited sequels… it's 2030 and GTA VI still hasn't come out.' Klaus thought absently as the download bar ticked up to 89%. 'Rockstar's really milking GTA V for everything it's worth.'
94%... 97%... 100%.
[Download Complete]
Klaus's breath hitched. He tapped the app icon, and the screen went black before the title screen faded into view.
The graphics were stunning… there were richer colors, smoother animations, and an orchestral theme that made him want to cry manly tears of joy.
A login screen appeared.
[Welcome Back, Player]
[Would you like to Login?]
Klaus grinned.
They'd kept the old accounts so he typed in his username:
Heavenly_Commoner
The screen loaded, and then a new message appeared.
「Welcome back, Heavenly_Commoner」
「For winning several online tournaments, the developers have decided to reward your loyalty with a special gift」
Klaus's heart stopped.
No way.
「1 Legendary Spin Ticket has been added to your inventory」
His throat went dry and his hands started trembling so hard he nearly dropped his phone.
A Legendary Spin Ticket.
In the original Artemis Online, gacha pulls were divided into tiers: Common, Rare, Ultra, and Legendary but Legendary tickets didn't exist.
You couldn't buy them… You couldn't earn them and they were just seen as myths whispered about in player forums.
And now, he had one.
「Would you like to spin the Gacha Wheel?」
「Y / N」
Klaus's thumb slammed down on Y so hard he nearly cracked the screen.
The Gacha Wheel materialized in all its golden, majestic glory.
The wheel itself seemed to glow, rotating slowly. The segments were filled with legendary rewards… the Sword of Gazza, the Grimoire of the First Hero, the Shield of Eternal Aegis and the characters.
Klaus's eyes widened as he spotted several new faces. One in particular caught his eye as the wheel spun past… a black-haired woman in elegant robes.
The name read: Professor Viora Ashlo.
'Wait. Isn't she that unplayable professor from the Academy?' Klaus thought, squinting as the wheel continued to rotate. She's supposed to be one of the weakest professors but as the wheel slowed and her character card briefly came into focus, Klaus caught a glimpse of her stats.
「Base Magic Stat: 10,000」
'Ten THOUSAND?! How is she the weakest professor?! And what's with all those affinity icons?!'
Before he could process that revelation, the wheel slowed further, the pointer ticking past Professor Viora's card.
'Come on, come on.' Klaus chanted internally. 'Give me something good—'
The pointer landed, the wheel stopped and a cheerful jingle played.
As for Klaus, his soul left his body. The character card was not a legendary heroine. It was an average-looking young man with messy black hair and a forgettable face.
The name read: Klaus.
He had no family name and no title. It was just… Klaus.
"What the hell is a common character doing in the Legendary Spin?!" he shouted, kicking his leg against the toilet in frustration.
He frantically tapped on the character card, pulling up the stat screen.
「Name: Klaus」
「Age: 17」
「Class: First-Class Wizard Apprentice」
「Resonance: Red ★☆☆」
「Mana Capacity: 115」
「Magic Power: 70」
「Magicraft Affinity: Metal Magic (D-Rank)」
「Skills: [Empty]」
Klaus felt his eye twitch.
Red Resonance which was the worst growth potential a wizard apprentice could have.
He was also 17 years old which meant that he was an adult and a late bloomer, a mana capacity of 115 was pathetic but expected of the average first class apprentice, his magic power was well below average and Metal Magic was the most common, least impressive elemental affinity in the entire game.
'He should just become a miner and save everyone the trouble,' Klaus thought bitterly.
"Fuc—"
BANG.
The sound of a gunshot shattered the silence. Klaus felt something hot trail down his forehead. His vision blurred. He looked down and saw a small hole in the stall door.. right at head height.
His phone slipped from his fingers, clattering to the floor. The screen still showed that worthless character named Klaus.
Outside the stall, a boy with shaking hands clutched a smoking pistol.
"They definitely heard that," He muttered under his breath. "I think I killed someone… so I should just kill everyone… right?"
He bolted out of the bathroom, firing wildly into the hallway. Inside the stall, Klaus's body slumped against the toilet.
He was dead before he hit the ground.
…
"I died… I'm sure of it."
Klaus muttered the words as he sat at a small wooden table in a cramped, one-room apartment. He was holding a feather pen, and the paper in front of him was covered in a language he'd never seen before and yet, somehow, he could read it perfectly.
"So where did I go?" he wondered aloud, glancing around the tiny room.
The apartment was rustic with simple wooden furniture, bare stone walls, and an oil lamp flickering on the table.
It was a far cry from his cluttered college dorm.
Klaus wasn't panicking… He'd just died, but the truth was, there wasn't much waiting for him back in his old life.
He was a scholarship student with no family, no close friends and the only people who'd miss him were probably his manager at the pizza shop and maybe Mr. Gerald since they saw each other every morning..
"Did I… reincarnate?" he muttered, pushing himself up from the chair. There was one way to confirm his suspicions.
Klaus crossed the room and pulled aside the curtain covering the window and his heart stopped.
The view outside was a fantasy city. Cobblestone streets, timber-framed buildings, people in tunics and cloaks. And the carriages… being pulled by massive white mares with crystals embedded in their foreheads.
Klaus's breath caught.
He recognized those crystals and he recognized those carriages too.
"No way…" he whispered. "I'm in Artemis?"
His heart pounded with excitement.
This was the dream. He'd been dropped into the world of his favorite game. A world of magic, adventure, and legendary heroes.
Klaus felt a grin spread across his face.
"Okay," he said, pacing around the apartment. "Let's think logically. I'm in Artemis. The question is… who am I?"
If he was the Protagonist… the nepo-baby with plot armor and divine weapons, he'd basically won the lottery. If he was the Main Villain with insane resources, that was fine too. He'd stay away from the main plot and live in luxury.
Hell, even being a random Extra would be fine. Most named Extras were nobles with decent stats.
As long as he wasn't some nobody—
Klaus's eyes landed on the mirror hanging on the wall.
He froze.
Slowly… very slowly, he walked toward it, his stomach twisting. 'Please don't be a commoner. Please don't be—'
He looked into the mirror and his world came crashing down.
Staring back at him was the face of an average-looking young man with messy black hair and plain brown eyes.
The same face from his Legendary Spin.
The face of Klaus… the First-Class Wizard Apprentice with Red Resonance and Metal Magic.
Klaus collapsed to his knees, his hands hitting the wooden floor.
"Damn it," he whispered. "Damn it, damn it, damn it."
He wasn't the Protagonist, he wasn't the Villain, hell he wasn't even a useful Extra! He was a mob character right now, a throwaway NPC with no future.
"Why do we even have the same name?!" Klaus shouted at the ceiling.
The universe, predictably, did not respond.
Klaus slumped forward, pressing his forehead against the floor.
His reincarnation fantasy had been successfully and utterly ruined… all because of a Legendary Spin.