"Huh? Where is this?"
After the outlandish experience that happened before he lost consciousness, Noir found himself inside a cave with a low light. The only light source should come from the torches lying on the ground, but they were all extinguished.
Putting that problem aside, he had to tend to the unknown girl who had passed out.
His mind was still a mess. He didn't know where he was or who that girl was.
Looking around, he noticed there were so many dead bodies scattered in one place. He wondered why there were so many humans all of a sudden. The number even surpassed the survivors he had gathered.
"Could there be more survivors out there?"
Noir checked each of the corpses, rummaging through their clothes in the hope he could find their identities.
After a while, he returned to the unknown girl's side, who was still unconscious. Noir opened each of the deceased's wallets and checked their ID Card.
It took him a few minutes to get it done, and when he did, he concluded that he didn't recognize any of them.
Suddenly, when he was about to move again, he felt pain racking his brain. At that moment, the memories he didn't recognize were forcing their way to integrate with him, or more like they were trying to reoccupy their position.
When the process of memory integration finished, Noir found himself grappling with vertigo, a disorienting sensation where the world seemed to twist and distort around him. Eventually, he vomited blood.
"Ghk! What was that...? I'm in a different world?"
What he saw from the foreign memories was a life journey or an experience of the body he had reincarnated into, which surprisingly had the same name.
Noir Teundre.
He lost his parents when he was six years old and now had to live with his older sister. On top of that, he was so weak he often became a target of bullying.
Even though his sister became a "high-rank individual," it only served as a subject that the bullies used against him, and the boy eventually hated his sister for being consistently compared.
At the age of 18, when everyone in this world should gain a chance to awaken a superpower - you hear me right, there is a fantasy-like power here - he decided to take a trial within the tower along with the other candidates. However, as expected, he struggled and even died in the process.
Thanks to that, Noir from another world could have his Metempsychosis (reincarnation) as Noir from this place.
Surprisingly, this world, Earth, was similar to Earthium. The name of the world, the continents, the countries, and so on sounded like it only changed a few letters.
For example, Continent Amirice in Earthium was America in Earth, Europa was Europe, etc.
"So, this is myself in another universe?" Noir said while looking at his palm.
"I loathe him!"
Of course, Noir had the right to hate this universe of himself. This guy was not only weak, but he was also a stupid, idiot, selfish bastard who was all barks, no bites.
He massaged his head and shook it.
"Hating your sister just because you're being compared to? What a trash!"
What made him so angry about that, though?
Well, in his past world, he lost not only both his parents but also his older sister. Not to mention, Earthium was not a world filled with magical, supernatural, fantasy-like powers. At least, it was not that kind of magical world until the Day Of Retribution.
With the aid of supernatural powers like that, it should have been easy to live, no? Considering not everyone would have the chance to gain something like that.
Once someone failed or missed their first and last chance, they would become an ordinary human with an ordinary job or a corpse filled with regret.
Noir ruffled his long, dirty blond hair, styling it into a messy ponytail using the rubber he scavenged from the dead.
"But... my sister here is alive, huh? Moreover, she is a powerful figure..." Noir sighed. "I'm glad."
"More importantly... what was the screen I saw earlier?"
Right after his consciousness entered the new body, Noir had a screen text floating in his vision. It displayed something like an announcement in a game.
"Let me see..."
He looked into his memories.
Superpower did exist in this world. However, it was in the form of a game-like system where someone became a character in that game.
It did not necessarily mean that this was a game world. It was just that the power system was similar to that in the game.
Everyone who was born here could open their status screen through a simple command word [Resonant Status]. But only those who have awakened a superpower could see the advanced version of their status.
"Ah, so it's like that."
So he opened his status screen.
//Name: Noir Teundre
Class: Neophyte
Soul Depth: Surface
Resonance: [Stormbringer]
Arts: [Azure Lightning]//
That was how the screen of those who had awakened their superpowers looked like.
"Wait? I thought I was not yet awakened, nor did I have a Resonance?"
Supposedly, it should only show him his name, class, and soul depth because he hadn't received his Resonance yet, which would affect his growth as a superhuman.
No matter what one did to raise their class and soul depth, it would turn futile if one didn't have a Resonance.
This Resonance was like the name or the title of the power that the "system" bestowed upon someone who passed the test. Other than that, it was also an important aspect, a core, so an awakened individual could become stronger. A key to unlock their potential.
In other words, if one wanted to raise their class and soul depth or simply become stronger, one needed to receive a Resonance first.
"How did I get it when I've not even finished the test?"
Noir thought for a while.
"If it's something like a storm and lightning... could it be that the power I have is transferred too?"
That seemed to be the case. But Noir didn't have enough evidence to prove it. It was just his wild guess. But again, it was likely that.
He looked at the girl, noticing that her fingers were moving.
'Oh, she finally woke up. But how should I act? Do I do it my way or the bastard's way?'
He spent a while contemplating his plan, although the answer was obvious from the start.
'I'll just do it my way. I'm confident I can talk it out smoothly.'
Before the girl was fully conscious, Noir thought to himself.
'If this is really a different universe. Maybe those guys exist here, too? Well, they probably don't know me, though."
As the girl opened her eyes, Noir leaned on a cave wall in front of the girl. So when her vision became clear, he would be the first thing she saw.
"Ughh..." the girl groaned as her eyes adjusted to the low light.
With a smirk, Noir said, "Oh. You're finally awake."