I wake up somehow knowing exactly what just happened to me.
A few moments ago I was just like any other 24-year-old fresh out of an engineering degree, half of which was done online due to Covid. I was excited to start my career and make a name for myself. However, my job quickly became overwhelming as I realized that I didn't have the skills or knowledge that I thought I did. I was filled with self-doubt and fear that I would be fired, and eventually, I made the stupid decision to quit. The next six months were a struggle for me as I struggled to find employment and felt like a failure. My parents, who had always told me that I was a genius, were disappointed in me, and I fell into a deep depression. To cope with my emotions, I turned to my old unhealthy habits of drinking and getting stoned. One night, after drinking heavily, I made the reckless decision to get behind the wheel. The bright lights and loud noises were the last things I remembered before everything went black.
Now, I had read a fair share of fanfiction in my life, but I was still not prepared to wake up as what I assumed to be the body of a 15-year-old boy in an alleyway in a medieval town covered in snow. Whatever being that landed me here at least drilled into my head that I had been "isekaid" so I wouldn't waste time denying the truth. The fact that it was a medieval world was probably some sort of lesson about how bad life could actually be because of all the complaining I had done in my last life. I lay in the snow for a few moments, trying to wrap my head around what had happened.
I knew I couldn't just stay there. I had to try and figure out where I was and what was going on. So, with a mix of fear and determination, I got up and ventured out into the snowy town. As I walked through the streets, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was completely out of my depth.
After walking around for a good hour, most of which was spent admiring the snow (I was originally from India and had never seen snow with my own eyes before), I had gathered some information about my surroundings. From what bits and pieces of conversation I could overhear on the street, the good news was that everyone was speaking English, albeit with a British accent. The bad news was that I also heard a few mentions of the name Winterfell and Stark, which could only mean one thing.
"Fuck, I'm in Game of Thrones," I thought as the realization dawned on me.
While some people might cheer at that discovery, I was on the verge of a panic attack. The logical part of my brain made my legs walk towards the outskirts of the town, so I could have my mental breakdown in a place where no one could see me, instead of on a busy street. Once I found a secluded spot, I sat down on the ground with my back against a wall and tried to think of what I could do from the situation I found myself in.
As I sat there, a wave of emotions crashed over me. I was overwhelmed by the sudden change in circumstances and the realization that I was now in the world of Game of Thrones. Fear, anxiety, and confusion all competed for dominance in my mind. I knew I needed to come up with a plan, but I wasn't sure where to start.
As I sat there, trying to come to terms with my situation, a sense of despair and hopelessness washed over me.
"So I'm in Westeros, in the body of a 15-year-old peasant with no food or money. I'm not sure what year it is, but based on the vibe of the town, I don't think there is a war going on. Ideally, this is the time when my gamer system would activate and I could chill with the knowledge that I'm eventually going to be an overpowered god…
…
…okay, fuck it, no gamer system. But I've gotta have some superpower, right?"
As I muttered the words to myself, I couldn't help but feel frustrated and angry. I had no idea what had happened to me or how I was going to get out of this mess. All I knew was that I was completely out of my depth, and that filled me with a sense of fear and uncertainty.
After twenty minutes of doing stupid power-up poses, I got nothing. Frustrated, I punched the wall, and all I got for my efforts was a bleeding knuckle. Just as I was watching my bleeding knuckle and about to have another mental breakdown about dying from an infection, it finally happened: my hand stopped bleeding and the torn skin just got instantly fixed.
It takes some time for me to process what just happened, I finally laugh like a maniac.
"I think I can work with that."
After I realized that I had some kind of healing ability, I felt hope and excitement inside me. Suddenly, my situation didn't seem quite so dire. I had a superpower, and that meant I had some control over my fate. I still had no idea what I was going to do or how I was going to survive, but at least now I had a fighting chance.
I decided to go out of town to a nearby forest to practice my powers, as I didn't want anyone to see me trying to mutilate myself. After walking about thirty minutes into the forest, I looked for sharp stones that I could use to test the limits of my self-healing powers.
After a few cuts all over my body, I realized that basic cuts and deep wounds on muscles healed almost instantly, but they still hurt exactly as much as they should. Not having the courage to cut off my fingers, I started thinking in a different direction and saw if I could extend my powers beyond myself. I spent about five minutes looking for a squirrel and another hour trying to catch it before I gave up and started looking for smaller animals. I eventually found a few insects that I could start experimenting on.
As soon as I touched a small spider and tried to exert my powers, I staggered as a wave of information got downloaded into my brain about the functions of each and every cell present in the spider. It took me a few moments to orient myself and I realized that my powers were much more than just self-healing. I basically had the powers of Panacea from Worm, meaning I could completely change the biology of any organic creature, as long as I had the biomass for it.
As I absorbed this new information, a mix of excitement and fear coursed through me. On the one hand, I had the potential to do some amazing things with my powers. On the other hand, I had no idea how to control them or what the limits were. I knew I had to be careful and not get carried away, but I couldn't help the thrill of possibility that ran through me.
After playing around with my powers for a few hours, I was now holding an unholy abomination in my hand. It looked like a mosquito-spider hybrid, twice as big as my hand, with really sharp legs whose main function was to turn things into pincushions rather than for mobility, as legs were pointless for walking when you have wings. Normally, holding a giant bug would have scared the shit out of me, but my powers had made sure that it was asleep and I had somehow programmed its brain to follow some basic commands from me.
As I woke up my creation, it opened its eyes immediately and I flinched as I saw its black eyes staring at me. After waiting a few seconds to make sure it wouldn't attack me, I gave it a command to go hunt a squirrel and bring it back to me. It instantly flew away at speeds that should not be possible for something of its size. It returned in about thirty seconds with a dead
squirrel in tow, hanging off two of its legs inside the squirrel's neck, and lands in front of me for further instructions.
As I inspected the dead squirrel, I noticed that it had only two small wounds on its neck and was otherwise fine. I smile at my creation,
"Your name shall be Skitter, my little friend, for you are absolutely terrifying."
As I gave Skitter her name, a sense of excitement and wonder filled me. I had created something truly amazing, and I couldn't wait to see what else I could do with my powers. At the same time, I knew I had to be careful and not get carried away. The potential for my powers was immense, but I also knew that if I was careless I could accidentally create a plague. I knew I needed to think carefully about how I used my abilities and make sure I didn't cause any harm. But for now, I couldn't help but feel a sense of accomplishment as I looked at Skitter, my very own, unique creation.
As I started to think about experimenting with the dead squirrel, I was hit with a wave of exhaustion and hunger and remembered that I hadn't eaten anything since arriving in this world, about eight hours ago. I felt like I would pass out any second now and knew I needed to eat something fast before that happened.
As I looked at the dead squirrel, I came to a realization about what I had to do, and almost vomited at the thought. I knew I had to eat the squirrel, and I didn't have the ability or time to cook it over a fire. But I knew I had to do whatever it took to survive. So, I begrudgingly used my powers to turn the entire squirrel into a thick, green biomass paste and tried to make it as tasteless as possible before gulping it down. It took all of my willpower not to throw up the disgusting paste, and a few minutes after trying to get the taste out of my tongue, I felt the exhaustion hit again.
"Kill anything that comes near me."
As I gave Skitter one last command before passing out, a feeling of desperation and protectiveness washed over me. I knew that he was vulnerable in my unconscious state, and the thought of something attacking me while I was defenseless terrified me. I hoped that Skitter would be enough to protect me, and with that thought, I let the darkness take me.