A young girl, dressed in heavy white clothes despite the scorching summer weather, took a step outside of her small apartment unit.
Her skin was smoother than marble and it was paler than a swan's feather soaked in snow.
Although she was only in her teens, two years away from being considered a full-fledged adult, her figure had this grace to it that made her seem even more like a swan.
Despite the tranquility of each step she was taking, in her eyes, there was this darkness. It was shaking at times, and other times, it burned, then it froze.
She looked exhausted like she had gone through multiple lifetimes.
As her foot touched the top step of the staircase, she tried to move her body forward and make it take that next step downwards in the direction of the double doors that would lead her outside but — no matter how hard she screamed for it to move in her mind, her body refused.
Finally, after a gruesome torturous minute that felt like it lasted a year, she collapsed as a name bounced around in her mind.
A name and a face that she would never forget for the rest of her life.
Bell Gideon Agnus.
* * *
The Agnus family had been around for centuries and was one of the founding families when the empire that eventually became the country of Valdonia was established.
Despite nobility losing much of their ruling power after democracy and elected governing bodies became more prevalent, the Agnus family themselves maintained much of their influence over the people, not because of the law, but because of the respect they naturally drew as well as their strong ties to many organizations and companies that worked closely with them.
And the one responsible for these ties that've lasted for multiple generations was Bell's grandfather — Godfrey Ashcomb Agnus.
Despite being 85 years old, he looked like he was still in his mid-30s. His wavy black hair split down the middle and some of the longer strands would cascade in front of his eyes.
His skin was an unnatural grey color, and his red eyes would sometimes dim to a point that they nearly matched his skin color.
Rather than fleshly human arms, in place of them were these black metallic gauntlets that extended all the way to his shoulders. They weren't just there because he liked wearing them, but because they were literally scorched onto his body and he was unable to remove them.
"Welcome home," he greeted Bell.
"I'm back."
"Is there anything you'd like for dinner? Your mother is in the kitchen," he said. Although he disapproved of the Duchess being the one to personally cook rather than having her chef do all the work, he didn't want to argue with his in-law, especially not that strong-headed woman who could run her mouth for hours on end without the need for a single sip of water.
"Anything's fine with me," Bell responded as he began making his way up the stairs.
Godfrey, who was sitting in a chair that was suited for a king, watched Bell with the corner of his eye.
As his footsteps got softer and softer, someone walked over to his side.
"Is it the same as usual?"
"Yeah."
"Does he just plan on heading to the library every day, come home, eat whatever's on the table, then return to his room?"
"...Probably."
"I was so happy to see him finally leave that room after an entire month of self-confinement. But… why does it feel like my son who locked himself in that room is not the same one who walked out?"
Godfrey couldn't help but agree internally with his daughter-in-law's comment. It did seem like Bell had changed drastically as a person ever since he left that room.
He expected some sort of change to occur, especially after the incident, but… he didn't think it was going to be this much.
Where was his grandson who bounced around with more joy and energy than a dog?
Where was his grandson who was pickier with his food than a baby?
Where was his grandson who had zero hint of noble blood in him? The grandson who acted like he was a common person and never bothered with any formalized etiquette.
Where had that old grandson gone?
"How long till he returns to normal, Father?" the Duchess asked.
"...I'm not sure. I've been on countless battlefields, fought numerous enemies, battled creatures that threatened the lives of thousands, and yet… this is the most difficult situation I've ever dealt with in my life," Godfrey stated.
Tiara, the Duchess, could only nod with a sad look on her face.
"At least he's consuming food now," she sighed. She had been worried that her youngest son was going to starve himself to death, so at the very minimum, this was a nice change to see.
Upstairs on the third floor, Bell was in his bedroom organizing his thoughts. Writing them down in his journal, he was slowly piecing together more and more about this world as well as making sense of a lot of the questions and confusion he had when he first arrived.
After putting down his fountain pen, he sighed.
'And these answers… and I still don't know the answer to the most important question.'
Why was he brought to this world?
What was his purpose here?
And why Bell?
Why was Bell Agnus the body that he was placed inside of?
Why not the protagonist?
Why not one of the other characters that appeared in the novel?
"Whoever brought me here, couldn't you have at least done the very minimum and granted me some sort of cheat? I don't even need a system. Just anything to help me at least make sense of why I'm here."
Crossing into another world, the biggest danger he was facing wasn't any villains or monsters. The biggest danger in his path was the unknown.
Not knowing made him feel uncomfortable. It made him toss and turn at night.
The easiest answer for his questions was probably that he was brought into this world, into Bell's body as a form of punishment for all of the nasty comments and reviews he left on the novel, but he wasn't sure it was as simple as that.
What kind of punishment leaves the victim a million times wealthier than he was in his previous life?
According to his memories of what he retained from the novel, disaster was soon to strike, but as long as the protagonist was around, he didn't really have to lift a finger.
Couldn't he just spend the rest of his days splurging his wealth and living like a snotty noble bastard?
But no matter how much he tried to wrap his head around this idea, it just didn't seem feasible. Bell was convinced without a single evidence to support his theory that he was brought here in this world for a reason, and living in the background was the opposite of what it was.
"...No matter how much I contemplate, if I don't have any clues to work with, any theory I come up with will just be baseless, so…"
He might as well put it to the side in the meantime.
Getting off his chair, he grabbed a glass vial that was on the desk and chugged the purple liquid contained inside. Lying down on his bed, he closed his eyes and slowly began drifting to sleep.
When he opened his eyes again, he was in a black space — a void that seemed to stretch on for eternity.
Except it wasn't entirely black.
Tilting his head upwards, Bell stared up at all of the stars that illuminated the darkness. At first glance, these stars looked like they were placed in an order of a constellation, but taking a deeper look, you could see that some were dimmer than others, and the one that was as bright as possible had a faint white line that connected them to the star beneath them. It was—
A skill tree.
A common feature you'd often find in RPG games.
This was the power system of the novel. And now, it was the power system that was going to dictate Bell's new life in this world.
In this world, deities exist, and they're separated into two kinds. Familial Gods and Unbound Gods.
Familial Gods are interlinked with a bloodline. For example, the Agnus family is all born under the umbrella of Solmire.
Unbound Gods are gods that can accept anyone, regardless of their bloodline, as long as they deem them worthy based on talent or character.
When you're in the care of a god, you're blessed with their skill tree, and as you progress in your journey of becoming more powerful, the more aspects of the tree you're able to unlock.
Neither type of God is better than the other. Rather, the way to categorize which God is better is based on their skill tree. How far up does it go? How many paths are there? How powerful are the stars that you can select?
And for those whose skill trees are within the top 100, they're called Inner Gods.
Solmire is an Inner God, ranked at no. 32.
"Hello, Solmire," Bell called out to his Familial God as if he were calling out to a close friend or a sibling.
Typically, Gods rarely respond to their followers. Only if they were to achieve something incredible, bolstering the reputation of the deity — only then would the Gods take time out of their days to entertain these feeble creatures known as humans.
"Welcome back, Bell," a voice that sounded like a thousand voices layered over each other sounded in the void.
"I think… I think I've made up my mind."
"...Are you sure about this? As a fair God who views all his followers as his own children, I tend to be unbiased, but amongst your siblings, cousins, and distant cousins, you were the one I deemed was going to go the furthest down the numerous paths I have paved for your family."
Bell sighed.
"I know, but… no matter how many scenarios I've run in my head — trust me, I've run over thousands."
"I'm aware."
"All of them lead to a single answer."
"Abandoning me?"
"...Sorry."
There was a brief moment of silence.
"Don't be sorry, little one," Solmire said in a reassuring voice akin to a caring parent's. "Although you refuse to explain why you deem this choice of yours to be the right one, I trust that you're making the right decision. Or at least, what you believe to be the right choice."
"But how? How can you trust me? We only started talking to one another a week ago."
"Hahaha," Solmire laughed. "Do not underestiminate us, Gods. Although we're not all-knowing, all-present, or all-powerful, we know more than you think. Especially when it comes to those that we consider ours."
"..."
"Go ahead. Do what you have to do and sever the link."
"Will this be the last time we talk?"
Although Bell had only known this deity for a week, he had felt a certain fondness for it, even though in his mind, he still considered the God a stranger.
"No little one. I'll always be around. Don't forget, I'm still taking care of the rest of your family hahaha. We'll speak again someday."
Bell nodded and reached in front of him. Suddenly, a string appeared and he pulled it until it snapped.
"Talk to you again someday, Bell Gideon Agnus. The Boy who will save this world."
"!"
Before Bell could utter another word, he was awake, pulled out of the void.
"...The Boy who will save the world?" he muttered.