Markhram City.
The city was abuzz with energy, alive with the hopes and dreams of countless youths, each one chasing the promise of something greater. Streets were crowded with eager faces, some filled with wide-eyed wonder, others with determination hardened by long journeys from distant, quieter places.
Skyscrapers stretched toward the sky, towering symbols of success that loomed like beacons of possibility. It was a city that never slept, where each sunrise was a renewed chance, and every night buzzed with the glow of endless potential. The city was a living, breathing organism of ambition.
Markhram commanded a major economic and strategic significance amongst the metropolitan cities in the Laquis Dukedom, a domain of a rather prominent standing even amongst the vastness of the Solaris Empire.
The current bustling microcosm was once a simple urban town with nothing overtly distinguishable about its existence, exerting no sense of identity and culture, a fate that had plagued the city for a long time. It all changed when a certain company invested in the dying town and established a research facility turned educational institution, Singularity Insitute of Studies and Research for the Enlightened, or Singularity Awakener Academy, that had become renowned throughout the star system and beyond.
The town expanded, developed, and innovated around the institution. The management grasped the opportunity with all their strength, and the results were much better than anyone could have imagined, for the institution revitalized the declining domain with fresh blood and further investment interest from various parties. The process was slow, but eventually, the impoverished town transformed into a glittering paradise.
In this very academy that represented Markhram's pride and development, a rather peculiar scene unfolded in one of the many classrooms.
"-llister-"
"Mr.Allis—"
"Mr.Al—"
The professor stood in front of an expansive classroom with a teaching terminal in his hand and called out to grab the attention of a certain boy. It was apparent at a glance that this particular student's attention was far detached from the proceedings of the classroom for he held his chin in his palms and gazed dazedly outside the window.
"Mr. Aldred Allister!"
"Huh!?"
Amidst the loud beckoning of the teacher who was moving toward the back of the class, the other students in the class began chattering in low voices, their gaze lingering on the distracted boy. As he approached Aldred's table, the teacher's voice finally seemed to have penetrated the void the boy had found himself in and made the unattentive student snap out of his reverie.
"W-what?"
Aldred's voice croaked out in utter bewilderment. He then proceeded to ignore the towering presence of his teacher and observed his surroundings in avid puzzlement before he brought his gaze back to the figure that now stood mere inches from his table.
The middle-aged man's face was covered with facial hair to an amusing degree, with the only visible features being his stubby nose covered in oil, his ears that seemed too small for a man of his structure, and the blue beady eyes that were barely poking through his bushy eyebrows and thick brown hair. He sported a robust physique and bulging muscles that couldn't be concealed by his oversized white shirt and brown coat.
After what seemed to be an eternity of awkward silence between the pair, the boy finally looked up from his table and into the teacher's eyes.
"Lionel?" Aldred's voice was low and uncertain. "Lionel Waquiro?"
Lionel's bushy eyebrows jumped, his eyes clouded in perplexity.
"Yes…?"
Lionel observed in silence as the boy ignored him after calling him by his full name and proceeded to fiddle around his body as if looking for something. After ten seconds or so of idle twiddling, Aldred retrieved a device from his pant pocket. Under Lionel's watchful eyes, Aldred peered at his visage that was barely reflected on the sleek black screen and instantly froze up.
"What is it, Mr. Allister?" Lionel's impatience was met with no response.
All the students in the class and Lionel, a total of thirty-three people had their gazes focused on Aldred Allister, as Lionel referred to him, but the boy seemed completely oblivious to his surroundings and continued to stare dazedly at his face reflected in the device's black screen.
'What the hell is happening?'
Lionel's thoughts were in complete disarray and he was at a loss as to how to proceed in this situation, for though he wished to admonish Aldred for this peculiar behavior that the boy had never exhibited before, he had to hold his tongue because of Aldred's special identity, one that even he, an esteemed professor of the Singularity Awakener Academy and one of the strongest warriors in the Solaris Empire, wasn't privy to, but was ordered to respect.
"Aldred Allister was special," was the only information he had received from his superiors, and had been instructed to watch over the boy without any direct intervention unless completely necessary, however, Lionel was curious, extremely so, for even the noblest of families' scions were considered commonplace at this academy, and yet Aldred was treated with such caution.
Lionel's thoughts were interrupted as Aldred finally tore himself away from the unresponsive screen and the countenance reflected within it and raised his face to match gazes with him and spoke with a low voice.
"I am feeling a little unwell, Sir. I would like to go to the medical room."
Lionel's bushy eyebrows moved again as he frowned.
'Sick? How can that be?'
Lionel had countless queries, but he held back and merely nodded and watched as Aldred rose from his seat and made his way out of the classroom under the gaze of his classmates. As soon as the door closed following his departure, the classroom instantly descended into a frenzy.
"Was that really Aldred just now?"
"No fucking way, right?"
"He seemed so weird—"
"I've never seen him like that."
"Unwell? Must've been an excuse, there is no way any of us can get sick."
"He's usually so scary, but just now he… you know—"
"So what do you think happened?"
Lionel's eyebrows knitted at the incessant chatter that overtook the classroom following Aldred's departure but withheld lashing out, for he was quite interested in what had happened to his student himself, for despite his bulging muscles and manly appearance, he was quite the gossip.
Aldred was a composed young man who had seldom shown a change in expression during the two weeks Lionel had observed him, one might even call Aldred cold and callous, and for the same boy to have an erratic episode like this was without a doubt something curious.
Aldred denied any opportunity for anyone to approach, no, it would be more accurate to say that he scared people away. However, it wasn't as if Aldred himself had done something to intimidate the populace, it was more so that the man carried himself with a certain gait that deterred others, hence his lack of companionship. Aldred was merely seventeen years old, but even some of Lionel's colleagues, full-fledged enlightened masters who could raze a city to the ground given the chance, chose to stay clear of him.
"And it has only been two weeks."
Lionel looked at the door and muttered under his breath.
"Alright, alright, Mr. Allister seems to be occupied with something, but that doesn't give you all a free coupon to turn this class into a cheap bloodline market!"
Lionel's heavy voice resounded in the classroom, his scruffy mustache and bushy eyebrows moving with his every word.
x-X-x
"What the fuck?"
Aldred, who had left the class under the guise of an illness, now stood in a weirdly luxurious bathroom and stared wide-eyed at the oversized mirror with various icons floating about at the edges.
The image reflected within it was completely foreign to 'Aldred.' The figure sported raven black hair, deep amethyst purple eyes, a sharp jawline, and fair, almost glowing skin. All in all, he was the epitome of masculine beauty.
Aldred touched his cheeks to confirm if the perfection personified was indeed him. He moved back from the mirror with slow measured steps which eventually revealed his entire body. Aldred looked over his physique which was one of muscular marvel, and though he wasn't overly brawny like Lionel, his ripped musculature could be discerned even from outside the uniform, which was impressive considering he was standing at over a staggering 190 centimeters tall.
"Oh."
Aldred moved his hands over his body, feeling every muscle and contour of his physique, and he sure was amazed by what he felt.
"My."
Everywhere his hands went, they found bursting muscles filled with strength. From his back to his feet, from his shoulders to his calves, from his abdomen to his—
"God"
Even the sword was mighty.
"There is no way I just got transmigrated."
Aldred, or at the very least, the body of Aldred, moved about in the spacious and well-lit washroom. He sometimes leaned against a stall gate to contemplate his circumstances, sometimes halted his anxious steps in front of the mirror as he enjoyed what was reflected, and sometimes just solemnly sat in a corner without any disregard for personal hygiene.
After more of his brooding, Aldred finally seemed to have come to terms with his situation as he slapped his cheeks and stomped towards the mirror, and with his hands around the sink and body leaning uncomfortably close to the mirror, he looked ready to take on the world.
"Okay, let's reorganize. My name is—" He shook his head with a sigh. "My name was Triton Bancroft."
Triton pushed against the sink and walked over to a stall door.
"I was coming back from that event and then… And then what? Did I die? That's how these things work, right?"
Triton placed his fingers on his chin, scratching at his non-existent beard.
"But how? I was in a cab reading the last chapter of—" Triton's eyes widened as his knees buckled and he slumped against the stall door, his ass eventually hitting the cold bathroom floor. "I completed it. The Vow of Interstellar Supremacy."
The Vow of Interstellar Supremacy was a phenomenon of the internet and a title that defined the fourth decade of the twenty-first century. Initially, it was a simple yet well-written fiction novel that was uploaded on the internet in early 2028, but merely a year after its debut, the book blew up like no other. The rise of the book was unprecedented, with a comic based on the story being sanctioned in late 2029.
It was beloved amongst fiction enthusiasts, sure, but it truly exploded in popularity when, convinced by the success of the comic and the show that aired in late 2030, a certain big-name studio decided to develop a game based on the lore of The Vow of Interstellar Supremacy, and what a game it was. Released in 2033, five years after the initial debut of the book, the game took the world by storm.
A virtual reality massive multiplayer open-world live-service role-playing game with captivating lore, breathtaking visuals, interactive NPCs, gripping combat, intense bosses, and dating-sim elements along with beautiful girls, the game had everything and more. As such, it wasn't a surprise when it reached a 500-million concurrent player count in 2036 with its major expansion, which was more than seven percent of the global population. This milestone cemented its legacy as one of the greatest games ever produced.
Triton was born in 2014 and was an avid fan of the property, no, calling him a mere fan would be an understatement, he was obsessed, disturbingly so. He was one of the initial supporters of The Vow of Interstellar Supremacy, for the book had helped him through some nightmarish days as a teenager, so he continued to support it in every form, whether it be the comic, the merchandise, the live events, or the television show, Triton was there, always.
When the game was released, the 19-year-old Trition gathered up all of his savings from his part-time job, borrowed money from his parents and friends, and bought the game pod required to play the game, which wasn't exactly budget-friendly by any stretch of the imagination.
Over the eight years that Triton had invested in the game, he had achieved every milestone, racked up all of the achievements, mastered all of the available classes, maxed out a myriad of items, ruled over the competitive leaderboard, and charmed every potential love interest. Triton had managed to complete everything the game had to offer, which was considered impossible by fellow players given the immensity of the game world, but Trition had done it and made a career out of it along the way, streaming and posting content on the internet.
Even after all of the success the property had achieved, the original novel hadn't ceased publishing. A whole thirteen years after its debut, it was still free to read on the original domain and was constantly updated by the unknown author with the story marching towards its inevitable end. On that day, 23rd of August 2041, the 27-year-old Triton along with millions of fans waited with bated breath for the final chapter, chapter 6148, to be released.
Unfortunately, Triton was in a cab returning from an event, but that didn't stop him from joining in on the excitement. He, along with fellow aficionados, looked on as the 'next chapter' button turned green, and dove head first into the final installment of his favorite novel, a property that had practically defined his existence. And as soon as he was done reading the chapter—
"What? What happened after? How did I end up in the world of the book?"