Where I'm I?

I gasped awake.

"Wh-Where am I?"

The first thing I noticed was my voice. It sounded... strange. Off.

I blinked rapidly, adjusting to the brightness around me. The room was sterile, unnervingly clean—pristine white walls, gleaming floors, and not a single speck of dust.

A mechanical hum caught my attention. Across from me, a cleaning bot diligently wiped down a desk, its tiny arms moving with precise efficiency.

"Wait… a cleaning bot?"

Panic surged through me. I threw the covers off and scrambled out of bed. My heart pounded as my mind raced to make sense of my surroundings.

Then—

A sharp pain shot through my skull.

I groaned, clutching my head as an avalanche of memories crashed into me.

"Desmond Slick. Stone Academy. Ceremony tomorrow."

No.

No, no, no.

I knew those names. Those words.

Because they belonged to a story.

A novel.

"Ascend Through Darkness."

The book that had consumed my every waking moment. The story I had practically memorized.

Somehow… I had transmigrated into it.

I wasn't me anymore. I was—

"Desmond Slick?"

I tried to dig deeper, searching my mind for more memories, but the only thing I knew for sure was that I was in Desmond's body now.

I needed to see for myself.

Spinning around, I scanned the room, looking for a mirror.

"The bathroom. There's always a mirror in the bathroom."

I stumbled through the door, gripping the sink as I finally saw my reflection.

A stranger stared back at me.

No—I stared back at me.

Desmond Slick.

Sharp jawline, a well-defined nose, tousled black hair that fell over my forehead. And those eyes—deep red, like glimmering rubies in the light.

"Damn. I look… good."

This was definitely an upgrade.

But before I could admire myself further—

BEEP.

A high-pitched noise echoed from the other room.

My stomach dropped.

"Wait… am I just an Extra?"

In this world, Extras had one fate—expendable cannon fodder.

If I was just a minor background character, my survival chances were next to nothing.

I turned back to the mirror, eyes narrowing.

"No. I refuse to be an Extra. If I'm here, I'll carve out my own path."

I forced myself to focus.

I needed to remember everything about this world.

Atalia.

A world eerily similar to Earth—until five hundred years ago, when everything changed.

That was when they arrived.

The Faltic.

Monstrous creatures that emerged from nowhere, decimating humanity. Cities burned. Entire populations were wiped out. The initial war had been a massacre. For every Faltic slain, ten humans died.

Desperate, humanity fought back.

Scientists dissected the corpses of the Faltic, studying their unnatural abilities. Eventually, they uncovered the secret—Chips.

Using advanced technology, they found a way to extract power from the Faltic and implant it into humans.

These Chips changed everything.

Enhanced vision, elemental control, superhuman strength—abilities beyond imagination. With this newfound power, the tide of war shifted. Humanity reclaimed their world.

But peace came with a price.

The powerful thrived, while the weak were left behind. Wealthy families controlled the strongest Chips, while the poor scraped by with scraps.

And in the middle of it all—Edward Locati.

The protagonist of Ascend Through Darkness.

A nobody from the slums. A struggling student with no connections, no power. Until fate threw him into chaos.

Against all odds, Edward stumbled upon an S-rank Chip. A legendary artifact that turned him from an underdog into the most dangerous person in the novel.

"Right. The ranking system."

Chips were classified by strength:

S-Rank – Mythical power. Nearly unstoppable.

A-Rank – Elite-tier, wielded by nobles and prodigies.

B-Rank – Advanced, still incredibly powerful.

C-Rank – Average abilities, good but not exceptional.

D-Rank – Decent, but limited in combat.

E-Rank – Weak, mostly utility-based.

F-Rank – Practically useless.

I swallowed hard.

"What if I have an F-Rank chip?"

No. I refused to accept that.

I clenched my fists.

"Alright. Time to check my status and see what power I have."