It's dark.
Darker than darkness itself.
The air suffocates, and power leaves Sora Li's limbs and organs.
Still, he wanted to at least damage the thing that was doing this to him, so he bit the skeleton hand but couldn't get through.
A cold robotic voice spoke again.
"Exactly… That's what readers want, you freak."
Sora Li got completely crushed.
His body lifeless in the deep, dark depths of the lake.
A bright light.
Gulp.
"Arghh! Let me go!"
Sora jumped out of bed, sweaty and terrified.
"???"
'Why am I alive?'
Sora was unsure.
What happened? Where is he? Is this the afterlife? What will happen to his sister?
He began looking at his hand.
Long fingers, pale skin—but clearly, it reacts to his brain signals.
He looked around the room.
It looked normal.
A sofa there and just the necessities for a student dorm.
However, it looked more modern than what Sora was used to from his previous life.
Blue lights, robots cleaning his apartment. There were human-sized robots in his apartment, looking human—just with the difference that they had a symbol of a half-moon on their necks and light-blue eyes. Additionally, their movements weren't as fluid as a human's, which was the best indicator.
He clicked his tongue.
"Whatever."
If this was the afterlife or reincarnation, why didn't he gain any information?
He quickly decided that if he had no information, he should search around the apartment to at least adjust to his new life.
Sora searched through different drawers, looking for a phone, documents, or photos—but he found neither a phone nor any information about where he even was.
"Bruh."
Sora needed to use the bathroom.
Alarm stage: red.
He checked every room and finally found the bathroom, which was sleek black and looked clean as well.
…
"Ugh, finally done. Wh—"
His words cut off as he saw his face in the mirror while washing.
"Who's this punk?"
He started making silly faces to see if that was his new face.
'Yes, it was.'
Sora's new face looked different from the one in his previous life. His prior appearance was just slicked-back black hair and brown eyes. Still, he'd found himself pretty handsome.
In contrast—
"This doesn't even make sense!!"
Sora wanted to scream—which he did.
To sum it up, now he looked different. Unreal. He had long blonde hair resting on his shoulders and pale white skin. Here comes the part that threw him off, though: his eyes were a deep crimson red.
Albinos sometimes have red eyes, but he clearly wasn't one.
Furthermore, Sora's new body was tall and good-looking—better than in his previous life, he had to admit quietly.
Yet his teeth were too white and sharp.
Was he a vampire?
He shook his head. He'd been standing in sunlight when checking the apartment for info.
In the end, Sora decided to get outside to survey his surroundings and learn more about his new life.
The city looked grand and almost sci-fi-like, with robots walking everywhere. The tall towers were the main thing, he guessed, since they blocked his view.
A person came up to him.
…
'What on earth are you talking about??'
Sora couldn't understand a single word, but it sounded Asian. He was Chinese in his previous life, but this clearly wasn't—still, it was somehow alike.
Ping.
[System Message: Initialization Complete]
[Automated Language Module download finished]
Suddenly, he could understand the man.
He was just a beggar who wanted money.
Sora checked his pockets, and there was a bill inside—though it looked strange.
The beggar looked at Sora pitifully before leaving.
'Am I broke or what?'
He checked the bill in his hand.
It was colorful, to say the least. Strangely, the bill had three country flags on it, which Sora immediately recognized: China, Japan, and at last, the Korean one. Deep down, Sora already began connecting the dots but still wasn't sure.
"5 TriMark" was written on the paper bill in black ink.
'What a great name.'
Still, what had pinged just now?
Sora looked up as he tucked the bill back into his pocket—and there it was.
A strange red hologram floating in front of his face.
'Am I mentally sick?'
Was his first thought, since nobody else seemed to see it, from what he could perceive.
Or maybe it was ordinary.
Shortly after, the hologram changed.
[System Version 1.2]
User: Anti Solaris V.
Strength: F-
Agility: F-
MP: 0
KR: F-
PC: 0
Skills: None
Class: Third-rate bully.
[--> User is especially good at pissing others off and being persistent.]
Viewers: 0
Sora bit his lip bloody in the middle of the street, looking like some lost case.
As mentioned earlier, there were many hints he was in the situation he thought he was—but this just confirmed it.
Sora may never have written his novel on his own, but as the author, he'd had to participate in different Q&As and interviews, so he could grasp information.
Without a doubt, he was in the world of Flowery.
Not only were his stats out of this world, but this garbage class…
Was he a side character?
Still, there were some good things—and weird ones.
He could use Ki, even if his Ki Reserve was at F-. He could use it somehow.
The reason Sora was happy with that was because Ki, in comparison to Mana and Flower powers, was easier to use. Of course, martial arts manuals were an exception, but still…
He could strengthen his body and sharpen his senses.
Also, his name.
Solaris the Fifth. Did that mean Sora had other siblings and parents in this world?
And if yes, why didn't he have any belongings or pictures with them at home?
He shook his head.
'Viewers: 0'
What does that mean?
Since he'd read some summaries of his novel to freshen up his memory for meetings, he should know the power system inside and out—but this surely wasn't there.
Sora rushed back home quickly to make a plan for this new life—and maybe get back to his original world.
Or was he dead there?
The robot wasn't here anymore, since it was likely a cleaning bot for the whole complex, Sora guessed.
He sat at the black table with white LEDs surrounding it and took out a notebook, which he would write in a hidden language so that, in case somebody saw it, they couldn't read the content.
'What do I know?'
His thoughts were a mess.
He began writing and writing in that notebook and was quite disappointed since this wasn't useful at all—more like demotivating.
He wrote about the power system and how each one worked—something everyone in this world knew from school for Awakeners.
→ Not important info.
But here it was.
He knew some things about the main character.
Including: Name, appearance and some abilites…
~Facepalm.
He barely knew the rest since 'Arti' did the job.
What was he gonna do now?
Search for a job and live quietly, letting the main party handle the rest?
The answer is…
Yes.
Sora had fought sometimes back in school when his family was insulted—since it was like a trigger from his traumatic childhood.
He laid on the couch, looking outside the window.
'Quite peaceful.'
Just as his eyes began closing to sleep—
Ping.
"This piece of—"
[Warning!]
If a user stays at 0 Viewers for 3 months, they will die via atomic extermination.
Users can gain Viewers by interacting in the main story.
"ATOMIC what?!"
His breath caught in his throat.
This was a death sentence, just worded differently.
'Just 3 months, huh?'
He got up, annoyed, and found a pair of glasses that looked weird.
[Iris ID confirmed.]
[User can access the internet.]
Somehow, this simple pair of glasses was like a smartphone.
'Smart glasses.'
Besides, they could read brain signals, so the user didn't even need to lift a finger while using them.
'Let's see.'
He searched the web for the date and how to apply for 'Primal.'
Luckily, the test would begin in two and a half months, and there would be a variety of tests—none revealed beforehand.
There was a single form to fill out, which just contained his name.
No questions about stats or skills, etc.
They would be sorted out by the test, so there was no need for that.
He quickly got an automated message with his test ID for the entrance.
There was still one big problem.
With his current stats and skills, there was no way Sora would survive the main scenario—at least, that's what he guessed, since he didn't know the actual villains and threats waiting for him.
Also, he had Ki but didn't know how to use it.
Desperate, Sora searched for the term 'Ki training center,' hoping he'd find one—and…
~Tada.
None were found, since everyone was taught by their parents.
A lightbulb popped in Sora's head, so he quickly changed into something non-attention-grabbing and comfy: a simple jogger.
He went outside with a smirk…
After around 20 minutes of walking, he arrived at a library.
He entered it like it was some weapon arsenal.
But why did Sora act like that?
The reason was simple—he hoped to find some cheap martial arts manuals that would teach him at least the basics of Ki and martial arts itself.
It looked normal…
Just some wooden bookshelves and a kind old grandma at the counter, reading a book with her glasses on.
Sora walked through the different shelves.
'Action… Fantasy…'
'Just where are the martial arts manuals?'
'Huh?'
There was a book on the left shelf, clearly for kids because of the cover. There was a cute panda on it with big eyes, drawn in a cartoony, colorful style.
Even so…
The title of the book was something that made Sora happy.
'Basics of KI Control with Mr. Panda'