*Cring!* *Cring!*
The shrill sound of the alarm clock pierced the stillness of the room, jolting the man from his peaceful slumber.
His eyelids fluttered open, revealing bleary eyes that struggled to adjust to the soft morning light filtering through the curtains.
As he lay there, disoriented, the lingering tendrils of his dreams slowly dissipated, replaced by the creeping awareness of reality.
His body felt heavy, weighed down by the remnants of sleep, as he reluctantly stretched his limbs beneath the warm cocoon of his blankets.
The crisp, cool air of the room nipped at his exposed skin, sending a shiver down his spine and urging him to retreat further under the covers.
But the persistent blare of the alarm clock was a cruel reminder that there was no time for such indulgences.
With a groan, he swung his legs over the side of the bed, his feet making contact with the cold, unforgiving floor.
The shock of the chill sent a jolt of energy through his body, jumpstarting his senses and forcing him to confront the day ahead.
As he reached out to silence the alarm clock, the man took a deep breath, suddenly interrupted by a soft, familiar sound.
"Meow~…" A fluffy gray cat brushed against his calf, its tail swaying lazily back and forth.
He yawned and stretched his arm upward, his eyes still teary from the abrupt awakening. "Good morning, Grey," he murmured, his voice husky with sleep.
Continuing the gentle interaction, he emitted a soft purring sound, to which the cat replied with a contented "Meow~…"
*Knock!* *Knock!*
Suddenly, a knock echoed through the room, interrupting their peaceful moment.
A soothing voice, tender and familiar, called out from the other side of the door. "Michael, your classmates are here."
"I'm coming, Mom. Just give me a second," he replied, his voice still groggy with sleep.
An eerie silence enveloped the room as the cat inexplicably disappeared. He felt something warm and viscous beneath his feet, causing his heart to pound wildly within his chest.
Hesitantly, he glanced down, only to find a pool of blood encircling his foot.
*Creeeeak!*
The door creaked open slowly, revealing an empty hallway. However, a grotesque hand, marred and adorned with sharp nails reached out to grip the wall. A half-face peeked around the corner, a visage devoid of skin, lacking a nose, with large, black pupils and a sinister, unsettling smile.
***
"Arrrrgh…" Suddenly, Sucura jolted awake from his nightmarish dream. His heart pounded fiercely, and beads of sweat trickled down his forehead as he panted heavily, cursing under his breath "Damn it..."
He pinched the bridge of his nose, wondering, 'What was that?'
Surveying the ornate room, he gazed at his hand and clenched his fist, murmuring, "I'm still in this body."
He sighed and mused, "Five stages of grief, huh."
Sucura stood up and approached the mirror, lost in thought. 'I didn't see my features, though. My mind was so exhausted yesterday, filled with countless theories and questions.'
As he gazed into the mirror, he contemplated, 'I seem to be the embodiment of a sophisticated, handsome villain, with disheveled dark crimson hair, enigmatic monolid dark crimson eyes, and chiseled features, all atop a towering 188 cm frame.'
Upon closer examination, he noted, 'This figure is taller than I am and appears to be around 21 years old. Yet, I am but a 19 year old standing at 177 centimeters on Earth.'
As he looked at his desk, he noticed his backpack lying beside it, along with the talking rock he had purchased the day before, some parchments, a half-mask, and some fruits. He sat down on his chair and picked up one of the talking rocks.
"Now, for the mana," he sighed inwardly. He closed his eyes and concentrated, and soon he felt something intangible and saw orbs that seemed to be an extension of his body. "So this is mana core," he thought, "the source of sorcery and magic."
After a few minutes of concentration, he realized that he had only a few mana reserves, as he had expected from his Rebirth. The mana reserves appeared as a circular shape with water inside, and its color was a blazing sky blue. Fortunately, using the talking rock had only consumed a minuscule amount of mana.
The mana flowed from his chest cavity to his arms and fingertips, connecting him to the talking rock. Sucura said, "I'm cute," and felt the connection to the rock before throwing it into the distance.
The Talking Rock serves as a mere junk item within the expansive open world of the Netorare Game. It is primarily used to catch friends off guard, providing an element of surprise or even a jump scare.
There was game features a Player versus Player (PVP) mode, where teams of five characters compete against one another. However, the outcome of these battles often hinges on the financial investment of the players, rather than their strategic prowess or skill.
Sucura felt the connection to the rock as he activated it using his mana, and it produced the sound, "I'm cute," in a perfectly parroted version of his own voice.
He nodded in satisfaction at the result.
As he made a humorous statement, "I can make a band with these… that's a great idea. Regrettably, it would only be capable of performing the chorus."
The talking rock was a one-time use item, and it had a maximum limit of 50 words.
As Sucura pondered the Elf princess's current state, he imagined her being cautious, overthinking, and irritable. 'How does he know, yet I still haven't been caught?' She might wonder.
Sucura surmised that, due to his awareness of her true identity, the princess would undoubtedly try to dispose of him as silently as possible.
'She's rude, peeking into people's thoughts without their consent. But this is a world of magic, and I need to learn from my mistakes and move on.'
'Now, I need to learn the [Mind Blank] and [Noise Barrier] spell, but it costs probably in 300 gold coins each or more in the Black Market.'
'The issue I faced now as well was my inability to recall my Sucura's memories, as if they had been erased from childhood to the present, despite my mind feeling refreshed and fully functional. The entanglement of memories was likely a result of the Rebirth skill, causing even my Earth memories to become somewhat hazy at times.'
'There are many problems in my hands. I need to acquire a Blazing Fire Lamp, a letter contracts with God Aldhunz, Dark Spectacles, Potions and most importantly, the Angel's Quill.
My final plan, after all, is to go towards the Final Boss of Event VIII: Queerly Word of Catastrophe.'