Ever since I was a child I've loved to read. It started with the nutrition facts on the back of packages and cereal boxes, then it was posters and magazines, and finally novels at school.
I've always had fun reading, even the trashy little online stories I'd find sometimes. I could deal with plot holes and bad writing sure! However, there has only been one story that I've dreaded reading.
If I had to rank the hundreds, perhaps thousands of books I've read, it wouldn't even make last place! I wished to forget that book altogether.
'The Grand Wizard Reincarnates to Another Magical World'
See I love reading, and I've never had more fun than when I immerse myself completely in a new magical world whilst reading. That is... because I've never actually understood what it meant to be completely immersed in a world. Uh, but now it seems that I've really gone and done it, like... physically immersed. But if I had to choose, this would be the last world I'd do it in.
Son of a bitch.
---
"Spare change!? Help a growing boy out!"
I begged as I looked upon the flowing crowd, not even an eye glanced down at me as I fake shivered on the floor covered in mud.
I looked down my empty tin can and found bugs and flies making sweet love.
"Stupid bastards!"
After tossing the can I got up and dusted myself off.
What do I do where do I go? God damnit..
I walked for a while like that. Staring aimlessly whilst kicking rocks on the floor.
I'd found a few things in the few hours I'd been in this world…
One was that I was in the city of Greenstove. If you're wondering what that means… how the fuck would I know?!
The tall man I asked said it like a matter of fact
Ah of course Greenstove! How silly of me.
Was that how I was supposed to react?
So, I basically don't know where I am. Also, I don't even know who I am! I checked out this body of mine and it certainly is not the same. My skin tone in this body is very pale, and I was a young guy with black hair and green eyes. Also, I'm short as shit! Though, that's probably cause I'm a kid. I look 14 at most.
Sigh… I wish I was back to being a grown and mature 16-year-old. Now people will think I'm a naïve know-it-all 14-year-old! Wrong! I'm actually 16, so I'm very grown and mature!
Did this body have parents? Did it have a name? Ugh.. I don't know anything anymore.
I walked around quite aimlessly for a while, stomach growling. I eyed a seemingly defenseless cart of bread on the side of the road. As I slowly built up the courage to snag a loaf…
Beep!
At that moment, something popped up in front of my eyes.
[System Message]
(Escape From Immediate Danger!)
[Reward: [Trait] Intermediate Magic Talent ]
[Failure: DEATH]
What. The. Fuck?!
As soon as I read escape from immediate danger, I instantly broke out into a sprint bypassing a few people on the street, almost bumping into them.
Should I stay in a crowded area or keep running away?? I could hear shuffling behind me but turning back showed me no pursuers.
Is any of this even real? Am I hallucinating that screen in front of me? Am I actually hallucinating all of this altogether? There's no way I really died; I think. Also, an angel of death angrily sending me to hell after? If I died, I'd probably go to heaven, I think. I'm not such a bad person, right?
As I was stuck in my thoughts while running through the crowd, I felt a sharp tug at my skull which made my eyes roll back for a second and jolted me still. That pulling force dragged me into an alleyway.
There's no way they can do this to me in front of all these people! Help, someone!
I couldn't even speak out of fear. But as I watched the crowd while getting pulled away by someone unknown into an alleyway, I finally got them to pay attention to me like I had wanted when I begged them. Though this time, they only glanced at me with indifference.
Ah, this story was like this right? What a cruel world.
That thought sparked something in me. A cold, seething rage. Not at my pursuer, not at the people watching, but at the shitty author who wrote this awful story.
I pulled my head forwards, resisting the pull on my hair, I was met with a stronger pulling force, but I didn't give in. At that point, we were already in the alleyway as the smell of alcohol and piss assaulted me. This sobered me up and served to motivate me more. I pulled my head away so hard I heard a rip.
Warm fluid ran down my head to my neck. I turned around to see my pursuer and saw him look at me bewildered with a chunk of my hair in his hand.
Bastard, you don't touch another man's hair!
I punched him as hard as I could in the nuts while he was still distracted. He groaned and keeled over.
"You brat!" He yelled at me while glaring.
Promptly, I made my getaway.
"Sayonara sucka!"
---
I stared at the screen in front of me while sitting on a park bench.
I'd already run far far away so I believed I was in the clear. Furthermore, I had something that would confirm whether I was in the clear or not.
[System Message]
(Escape From Immediate Danger: Complete)
[Reward: [Trait] Intermediate Magic Talent: Obtained]
At this point, the pain in the back of my head was assaulting me heavily. I now knew 100% that this was in fact real. And that none of this was a hallucination.
Son of a bitch…
I didn't really have to do anything, as long as I thought about that screen it would pop up.
[System]
Name: Charles Luciano
Age: 14 (DOB: 05/23/348 A.A.)
Title: None
(Status)
Strength: 4.5
Agility: 6.4
Stamina: 3.0
Constitution: 2.5
Sense: 7.0
Dexterity: 5.0
Magic Pool: 0.1
Magic Density: 0.1
Magic Purity: 0.1
[Traits]
Intermediate Magic Talent F-
Determines one's ability to cast, learn, and use magic. Increases growth rate of the 3 magic stats prolifically.
Fast Reader D-
Increases reading speed. That's it.
Fast Learner D –
Increases learning speed. Bolsters the growth rate of dexterity moderately and all other physical stats slightly
[Skills]
None
There were some random pop ups and tips, so I basically got the gist of all of it.
Essentially. I'm here in this trash novel's world. I can receive random traits or rewards based on certain tasks given to me. However, something like magic talent in the end is just talent. It won't magically make me strong, but it allows me to become strong.
I sooo don't wanna train!
It looks like this really is hell…
---
I've managed to figure out where I really was by asking around plenty of places. One of these people was bound to have human emotions and empathy right?
A fat butcher told me I was in Greenstove again, surprise surprise. When I pushed him further on the matter, he explained that we were southeast of Pennington. If he had named another random city, I'd have been lost but I luckily recognized Pennington!
Yes, Asha was from Pennington, right? What did she say about it again?
I couldn't fully remember the small details of that awful novel, but I did indeed finish the book. Why you ask? Well, I've never not completed a book and I didn't plan for that awful novel to ruin that for me too.
Asha was a character from the novel, a spoiled rich girl with an unbelievable talent for magic. She gave the main character a tough time in the beginning before falling in love with him later.
Gah! What a shitty author. How does every girl happen to fall in love with the same guy? Huh? He wasn't the only nice one or strong one or attractive one in the academy. It makes zero sense! No realism! He also had like no chemistry with anyone!!
It never ceased to amaze me how the main character was always the most bland and boring guy but everyone acts like they've never met anyone like him in their life. Well.. he was a 1,000-year-old mage sent from a different world, so they probably never did meet anyone like him but still!
But nevermind all that.
Considering what I knew about Asha and Pennington, a plan began to blossom in my head.