Sitting on a wooden chair.
Dazed, I observed the wooden desk that was in front of me.
Books clearly meant for academics filled my sight and a small lamp powered by an unknown force, bright enough to illuminate the entire room with soft radiance that doesn't hurt the eyes.
It was filled with worn-down books, evident that some of the books had torn pages and were in a battered state, all scattered around, which all of that combined made the sight quite a mess.
Yet my gaze landed on one specific book–a rather thick book– and what seemed to be a piece of paper on top of it.
Specifically the luxurious-looking letter with a golden stamp in the middle.
Reaching out my hands to grab the letter, what appeared before me was a golden stamp in the middle of the letter and the logo that had a small mark of what seemed to be a sun and it's a sight I'm very familiar with.
I put down the letter, having no intention of reading the contents for now, and started to grab one of the books to read its title, seemingly in a hurry.
'A guide for controlling mana.'
Silence filled the room, but the sudden sound of my hands slamming on top of the wooden table and books falling off due to impact caused a rather loud noise but I paid it no mind, not even the throbbing sensation of slamming my hands on the table.
I quickly stood up and observed my surroundings.
A rather small room, clearly just for a single person to live in.
The room is so small that the desk is already nearly touching the head of the bed on my right side, and on the left side is a door which would definitely lead outside.
Yet, my attention is not focused on those things. As I've turned around my body to completely observe the entire room.
A tall mirror is standing perfectly perpendicular to the desk I was sitting at.
What is reflected is the reflection of a girl with a youthful appearance, height reaching 164 cm(5.4 ft), fair white skin, deep dark eyes, long black hair with a tint of violet, slender body, and a face which gives the impression of a cool beauty.
Wearing a dark cape with a relatively short shirt underneath and a relatively long skirt covering the knees.
Because the shirt underneath is relatively short, minor scratches and small bruises are visible on the arms.
With a baffled expression, trembling eyes, and a trembling voice, an immense change in the indifferent expression that was being displayed just a few seconds ago.
I lightly caress my face, and when my fingers and face completely felt the sensation of being touched.
I laughed at the absurdity of this entire thing; my head felt like it had just short-circuited.
"Ha...haha…Absurd.. this... really absurd…"
***
After a few minutes of contemplation. I have countless questions on what is happening, yet none of them answer the most pressing question: 'Is this a dream?'
So the first thing I did was to truly make sure whether this was reality or a dream was that...
To test the 2 most reliable senses when it came to differentiating dreams from reality: the sense of touch and pain.
I pinched both my cheeks and pulled them apart with both my hands.
"It.. huwts"
Definitely working.
'...I don't know about other people, but I've never felt pain in my dreams'
Which made me accept this reality and... For some reason, being a girl on top of that, actually, there's a reason for that, but that is a story for later.
'Even so, turning into a girl wasn't really enough to make me want to jump off a cliff... I just find it extremely inconvenient. After all, I have lived as a man my entire life.
I've never really cared much about romance or gender in the first place, which probably explains why I don't obsess over certain things the way others might have if they were in the same situation.
Anyway, I'd rather not compromise too much, even if that is unlikely to be the case since turning into a girl is not just about those kinds of things.'
"... Besides, isn't being a girl much better at this point? Maybe all those stupid things that happened in my life wouldn't have happened in the first place..."
'No, that's a stupid thought, it's not a matter of gender. Regardless, if I was really truly transmigrated and this will be now my actual new body, this is a second chance for me to live properly.'
I had quickly dismissed such thoughts, as there's no point in thinking about the future, as I'm still completely unsure about the situation in the present.
There was a reason why I did not go too deep in thoughts such as 'was I kidnapped?' or 'did my body get experimented on and get turned into a girl?' It is because of the existence of something you would only see in video games.
So while still standing in front of the mirror and my cheeks slightly turning red with embarrassment at the words that were about to come out of my mouth, instead of saying it normally, I murmured:
"Status"
A sharp ping followed alongside the appearance of a floating transparent window before my naked eyes.
***
[Status Window]
Name: Nyx
Level: 20
Title: None
Gender: Female
[Attributes]
Age: 18
Intelligence: 20
Strength: 5
Dexterity: 15
Speed: 10
Mana capacity: 20,000
[Traits]
Hollow Born(SS), Gravitational Magic(S), Mental Clarity (A)
[Abilities]
Hollow Born (SS|Passive), Mental Corruption (SS|Passive|Restrained), Impulsive Desires (SS|Passive|Inactive), Gravity Command(S), Gravity Control (S), Mental Clarity (A|Passive|Active)
> Reward Available <
---
Yep, a transparent floating screen like those you would see in video games does appear while numbers and attributes you would only see in video games are in full display.
'It's even floating just right above my eyes, like some AR technology. It definitely has a mystical feeling towards it.'
Reading the abilities, I couldn't help but grimace–especially at the one ominous–looking trait highlighted in red as contrast to others being white: Mental Corruption.
'... How is that even considered a trait? Its rank is also very high... well, it does make sense since traits could also have negative side effects.'
Thankfully, it seems that it is being restrained by some unknown force.
I gulped from anxiety, and looking back, my arms were filled with scratches and bruises...
I let a small laugh out of bewilderment at the sudden realization.
'... This does seem to be self-inflicted.'
***
There's no point in dwelling on it any further. I'm also rather tired of overthinking already. So I quickly shifted my attention to the original identity of this body.
Looking back again in the mirror and focusing my attention on the face...
'... Yeah, this is definitely 'that' character.'
I had already figured out the identity of this body in the first place.
The reason why i was so surprised after seeing the appearance of myself is not just because I suddenly turned into a girl–coughs – 'it is definitely a part of it.' – but also because the appearance of this body is in the game i was familiar with... despite not even playing it myself.
I lightly step forward to be drawn even closer to the mirror.
I thought about closing the status window so I could analyze my appearance more clearly, and it disappeared instantaneously.
I focused my gaze on the girl in the reflection of the mirror.
Regarding the identity of this body, this is the most mysterious and unknown character in the game [Echoes of the Fallen Sun], and the final heroine and the hidden heroine...
"...Nyx"
At that, a sudden realization struck me, and my eyebrows furrowed.
If any onlookers were to see it tho... What seems to be a grimace, they would probably just find it adorable.
'That pretty much means… I'm screwed, I don't know anything about this character at all except, that she's the final main heroine and is totally hidden in the entire game, and will only appear with some specific requirements.
There were also no memories to help as there were no memories given to me when I came to myself, and my memories from the streams also just briefly mention her and her appearance.'
I found myself in a rather inconvenient situation. I'm not even completely knowledgeable about everything on the lore itself as I did not even play the game.
The streams I've watched all just pretty much focus on the romance aspect rather than deep diving into the lore. On top of that, a character that is completely unknown to me?
'…Annoying.'
With a heavy sigh of resignation.
I regained my composure and focus.
Then, focusing my attention back, I thought of 'status', then a floating transparent screen opened. It seems like it could be accessed by thoughts alone, which is great.
I don't want to be treated as some kind of mental patient. But that might not be a big deal in this world... Anyways, someone might overhear me muttering status in the middle of the street which would definitely give me some weird looks.
'... Damn it, stop overthinking, myself.'
Dismissing such thoughts, I sat down at the edge of the bed and shifted my gaze to the status window and decided to focus my attention on its contents.
---
[Status Window]
Name: Nyx
Level: 20
Title: None
Gender: Female
[Attributes]
Age: 18
Intelligence: 20
Strength: 5
Dexterity: 15
Speed: 10
Mana capacity: 20,000
[Traits]
Hollow Born(SS), Gravitational Magic(S), Mental Clarity (A)
[Abilities]
Hollow Born (SS|Passive), Mental Corruption (SS|Passive|Restrained), Impulsive Desires (SS|Passive|Inactive), Gravity Command(S), Gravity Control (S), Mental Clarity (A|Passive|Active)
>Reward Available<
---
There's no point in uncovering something I have no knowledge of.
So instead, I focused my attention on what seems to be a clue on why I've transmigrated here in the first place.
My gaze landed on it, my thoughts clouded by anxiety.
Unconsciously, my heart gradually started beating faster, and my overall composure started to waver, visible in my eyes and hands that were slightly trembling, seemingly being amplified by some unknown force.
'... This thing is most likely connected to what sent me here in the first place.'
> Reward Available <
|Chapter 1 - The Hidden Heroine (End)