I woke up on soft, green grass, blinking as sunlight filtered through the leaves of a massive tree above me. A light breeze brushed against my skin as I sat up, rubbing my head.
Right in front of me, in the distance, stood a massive kingdom—its towering walls and grand castles gleaming under the sun.
"Damn, that looks impressive… Maybe I'll rule it one day," I muttered with a smirk.
Then I caught myself.
"Oh god, what am I even thinking?" I chuckled, shaking my head.
Before I could process my situation further, a familiar glowing blue window popped up in front of me, accompanied by a soft, teasing female voice.
"Welcome, Kelvin, to another world~!"
I stared at the floating text before crossing my arms.
"Man, you're kinda late for the welcome party, huh?" I smirked.
A light giggle followed.
"Hehe, my bad, my bad~ But let's focus—do you see that kingdom in front of you?"
I turned back to the distant kingdom and nodded.
"Yeah, I see it. Pretty huge."
"That, my dear master, is the Kingdom of Ruin, ruled by a powerful king and queen. Also… they have a beautiful daughter—known as the princess."
I raised an eyebrow. "Ruin? Never heard of that name before."
A playful hum echoed.
"Well, of course you haven't! You've never been to another world before, silly~!"
"Alright, alright, no need to tease me," I grumbled. "So, what's the princess's name?"
"Oho~? Why so eager?" she teased before continuing, "Well, her name is Evelyn Reve."
I blinked. "That's a pretty… unusual name."
A soft chuckle followed.
"Master, this isn't Earth. This is a fantasy world! Names here are supposed to sound cool and mysterious~!"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," I waved off the explanation. "Now, can you finally show me my status window?"
"Hehe~ Well, if my poor master desperately wants to see his stats, then here you go~!"
The system window flickered for a moment before loading up my status screen.
[STATUS WINDOW]
Name: Kelvin
Race: Human
Title: Chosen One
Level: 1
HP: 100/100
Mana: 50/50
Strength: 12
Agility: 14
Endurance: 11
Intelligence: 15
Charisma: 30
Luck: 10
Rank: F
You are under Gaia's blessing.
"This is insane..." I muttered, staring at the glowing window in front of me.
"It shows my every detail… like I'm some kind of game character," I said, my voice filled with disbelief.
And at the bottom of the screen, the words stood out clearly—
"You are under Gaia's blessing."
"Thank you again, Gaia…" I whispered.
Before I could dwell on it, the system's voice chimed in, light and teasing.
"Oho~ Finally realizing how special you are? Took you long enough!"
"You know, you don't need to pop your voice so suddenly. What if anyone can hear you?" I said.
"Aw~ My dear Master, are you worried about me? But let me tell you—no one can see the system window or hear my voice except you. I exist only in your mind~ Hehe~"
"Fine, just don't use those pet names. But don't you have any other name instead of just 'System'?" I asked.
"Master, you don't like my name? Mm? No worries~ You can change my name in the system window!"
"Oh really? Then show me."
The system window refreshed, displaying a new option.
DO YOU WANT TO CHANGE THE SYSTEM NAME?
[1000 MANA REQUIRED]
I stared at the requirement in disbelief.
"What the heck is this? Just to change a name, it takes 1000 mana?!"
"Aw, my Master~ Looks like you don't have enough mana to rename your beloved system~ Mm~"
"Stop talking like that! And yes, I will change your name—just not now. The word 'system' doesn't sound right for a girl's voice," I muttered. "Anyway, show me my Ability Window."
"Fine, fine~ Here's your Ability Window!" she giggled.
The screen flickered, refreshing itself to reveal a list of abilities.
[Abilities]
Appraiser
Speed Boost
Reality Change
Teleportation
Authority Touch
Healing
I stared at the list, completely stunned.
"These abilities… I never thought I'd ever have something like this. They always felt like something out of fiction."
A new message popped up.
"Note: More abilities are available in the store. Your level determines which abilities you can unlock, with stronger skills becoming accessible as you progress."
I smirked. "Heh… So that means I'm already pretty powerful with these, right?"
The system let out a playful laugh.
"Ara~ Ara~ Someone's getting cocky already! Hate to break it to you, but check your level first, genius."
[Level: 1]
"...Tch." I clicked my tongue.
"See? You're just a baby right now. Your abilities won't work at their full potential yet. You'll need to level up first, my dear hero~" she teased.
"Yeah, yeah… Figures," I muttered, crossing my arms.
But before I could say anything else—
Rustle.
A sound from behind me.
I turned my head slightly, my body tensing.
From the forest, a group of knights on horseback emerged, their armor gleaming in the sunlight. Within seconds, they had surrounded me, their spears pointed directly at me.
"Looks like we've found a spy," one of them—likely their captain—spoke, his sharp gaze locking onto me.
"A suspicious outsider lurking near the kingdom… You must be here to gather intel, aren't you?"
I swallowed hard.
Well… this is bad.
I frowned and looked down.