The first thing I noticed was the wind.
The second thing I noticed was that I was falling.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
I had absolutely no idea how long I'd been falling.
Five seconds?
Ten?
An eternity?
I couldn't tell.
All I knew was that there was a lot of sky.
And clouds.
And—
"THAT'S THE GROUND!"
I immediately regretted looking down.
"Oh, that's really far!"
The landscape below me looked like a painting.
Mountains stretched beyond the horizon.
Forests covered entire valleys.
A massive river cut through the land like a silver ribbon.
And somewhere in the distance...
I saw a city.
A huge one.
Walls surrounded it, towers rose above them, and something that looked suspiciously like a dragon was flying around the outskirts.
I blinked.
"...Is that a dragon?"
The dragon disappeared behind a mountain.
"THAT WAS A DRAGON!"
I started laughing.
"IT'S REAL!"
Then I remembered something.
I was still falling.
"OH, RIGHT!"
I flailed my arms.
"HOW DO I STOP?!"
Nothing happened.
"Magic!"
Nothing.
"FLY!"
Nothing.
"LEVITATE!"
Nothing.
"PLEASE?!"
Still nothing.
"...Okay."
I looked at the ground.
It was getting closer.
"I've made a terrible mistake."
---
Then something flashed in front of my eyes.
[AUTO-APPRAISAL SYSTEM]
I stopped screaming.
"...What?"
A translucent screen appeared in front of me.
Blue.
Floating.
Completely impossible.
I reached toward it.
My finger went through.
"What is this?"
[CODE X DETECTED]
[SYSTEM ACCESS GRANTED]
The words changed.
[WELCOME, HOST.]
I stared.
"Host?"
Another line appeared.
[Would you like to activate automatic assistance?]
"YES!"
[Confirmed.]
A new window appeared.
[Please note that the System is not responsible for injuries caused by improper landing.]
"...Excuse me?"
The ground was approaching.
Very quickly.
"WAIT!"
[Good luck.]
"YOU CAN'T JUST SAY GOOD LUCK!"
---
I hit something.
Not the ground.
A tree.
Then another.
Then a third.
Then I rolled down a hill.
I don't remember how many times I flipped.
At some point, I think I screamed my grandfather's name.
Eventually—
THUD.
I landed in a bush.
Silence.
I stayed there.
Face down.
"...Am I dead?"
[Negative.]
"Oh."
I slowly lifted my head.
"...That's unfortunate."
I pushed myself out of the bush.
Nothing seemed broken.
A few scratches.
My clothes were covered in dirt.
My hair was probably a disaster.
But I was alive.
More importantly—
I looked around.
The forest was enormous.
Trees towered above me.
Strange flowers grew along the ground.
Tiny glowing insects flew between the branches.
And somewhere far away, I heard an animal roar.
I smiled.
"So this is..."
I slowly stood.
"...another world."
My heart started pounding.
Not from fear.
From excitement.
I grabbed my hair.
"I'm actually here."
I laughed.
"I'm actually here!"
I spun around.
"THERE'S MAGIC!"
[Confirmed.]
"There are monsters!"
[Likely.]
"Dragons!"
[Unconfirmed.]
"Adventures!"
[Possible.]
"Heroes!"
[Possible.]
"Demon Kings!"
[Confirmed.]
I froze.
"...What?"
[Demon King: Confirmed.]
My smile slowly returned.
"You're serious."
[Yes.]
I stared at the System.
Then raised both fists.
"THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!"
[Host emotional state: Extremely unstable.]
"LET ME HAVE THIS!"
---
I spent the next several minutes exploring.
Not very far.
Because I had absolutely no idea where I was.
Still, everything I saw felt impossible.
A flower that glowed when I touched it.
A small animal with two tails.
A tree with blue leaves.
A stream so clear I could see every stone underneath it.
I crouched beside the water.
I touched the surface.
Cold.
Real.
Everything was real.
I stared at my reflection.
For sixteen years, I had looked at the same face in the same world.
Now...
That face belonged to someone who had crossed into another universe.
I smiled.
"Grandpa..."
For a moment, I wished he could see this.
I wished Mary could see this too.
She would've loved it.
Probably more than me.
I imagined her standing beside the river, pointing at some ridiculous magical creature and telling me not to touch it.
I laughed.
"...You were right."
I looked toward the sky.
"You really were."
Then I remembered.
Grandpa once told me:
If such a world exists, Eulyseas...
I think you have to be there, not here.
I had always thought it was just something he said to encourage me.
Now I understood.
He wasn't telling me to abandon the world.
He was telling me to keep searching.
My smile softened.
"Thank you."
A notification appeared.
[Emotional fluctuation detected.]
[Would the Host like psychological assistance?]
"No."
[Are you sure?]
"Yes."
[You appear to be crying.]
I wiped my eyes.
"I'm not."
[You are.]
"Shut up."
[Understood.]
I laughed.
The System was annoying.
But somehow...
It was nice having someone—or something—to talk to.
Then another window appeared.
[Beginning full appraisal.]
"Finally."
I stood up straight.
This was the moment.
My first real magical status screen.
I had seen them countless times in games.
Now I was finally getting one.
[NAME: EULYSEAS STRONGHOLD]
[AGE: 16]
[RACE: HUMAN]
[OCCUPATION: UNEMPLOYED]
I frowned.
"Why did you have to include that?"
[CLASS: MAGIC SWORDSMAN]
My eyes widened.
"Magic Swordsman..."
That sounded cool.
Very cool.
I imagined myself holding a sword.
Fire surrounding the blade.
Lightning exploding around me.
Enemies trembling.
Me standing heroically—
[MAGIC ATTRIBUTES: NONE]
"..."
I blinked.
Then blinked again.
"None?"
[MAGIC ATTRIBUTES MUST BE LEARNED.]
"But..."
I pointed at myself.
"I've spent sixteen years preparing for this!"
[The System acknowledges your enthusiasm.]
"Then give me magic!"
[Negative.]
"What do you mean negative?!"
[Magic must be learned through experience, training, knowledge, or other applicable means.]
I stared at the screen.
"...So I crossed dimensions just to attend magic school?"
[Potentially.]
I sighed.
"Fine."
I clenched my fists.
"Then I'll learn."
I had waited sixteen years.
I could wait a little longer.
Then the System displayed another message.
[SPECIAL SYSTEM CONDITION DETECTED.]
The tone suddenly felt different.
More serious.
[SYSTEM 50/50]
[The Host has received access to the System through CODE X.]
[Permanent acquisition of System-provided abilities is subject to the following condition:]
I read the next line.
[DEFEAT THE DEMON KING.]
I stared.
"...That's all?"
[Affirmative.]
"You make it sound easy."
[It is not.]
"...Right."
For the first time since arriving, I felt nervous.
A Demon King.
That wasn't some video game boss.
That was a real being.
Somewhere in this world, there was something powerful enough to earn that title.
And apparently...
I was supposed to defeat it.
I looked at my hands.
They were still the same hands that had failed to cast a single spell for sixteen years.
But now they were here.
In a world where magic existed.
I smiled.
Maybe I wasn't ready.
Maybe I wasn't strong.
Maybe I had no idea what I was doing.
But I'd spent my entire life being told that magic was impossible.
I wasn't going to let the first impossible thing I achieved scare me away.
I looked toward the distant city.
"Alright."
I took my first step.
"Let's see what this world has."
[Quest unlocked.]
[FIRST STEP]
Objective: Reach the nearest settlement.
Reward: 10 System Points.
I stopped.
"...Ten?"
[Yes.]
"That's pathetic."
[The Host is free to walk.]
"...Fair."
I continued walking.
Behind me, the forest remained silent.
Ahead of me was an unknown world.
A world Grandpa had once told me might exist.
A world Mary would have probably loved.
And for the first time in years...
I wasn't walking toward home.
I was walking toward somewhere new.
I didn't know what awaited me.
Monsters.
Magic.
Friends.
Enemies.
The Demon King.
Or perhaps something far stranger.
But I knew one thing.
I had spent sixteen years waiting for magic.
Now that it had finally appeared...
I wasn't going to waste a second of it.