After calming his mind and body, another realization struck him. He hadn't noticed it until now—confused by the sudden mixing of his two sets of memories—but suddenly, words began to connect and make sense in his mind.
Satoru Suzuki, the year 2137, shady mega-corporations, this entire dystopian reality, and most importantly, the word 'Yggdrasil.'
According to the memories of Satoru Suzuki, Yggdrasil was the name of his favorite DMMORPG (Dive Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) that he played. It was like his second home and, in fact, more important to him than his real life. It was a form of escape for him, as he found companionship, purpose, and joy through the friends he made in the game and the guild they created.
However, that was not true for Rahul.
According to the memories of Rahul, Yggdrasil was the name of a fictional VR game he read about in a novel, specifically the light novel titled 'Overlord.' It was a story about a Japanese salaryman named Satoru Suzuki who got transported to another world as his game character, along with his guild base and NPCs.
Although it had been a while since he read the light novel series, the entire story was still fresh in his mind, as it was one of his favorites.
Remembering everything he could about the story and comparing it to what he knew from the memories of Satoru, he quickly came to the obvious conclusion: he had transmigrated. Specifically, he had transmigrated as Satoru Suzuki, the main protagonist of the light novel 'Overlord.'
Realizing this was shocking, but not in the way it should have been. Instead, he recognized the ludicrous opportunity that was currently staring him in the face. In another year, in 2138, the DMMORPG Yggdrasil would shut down, and the remaining players would be transported to the 'New World.'
In the blink of an eye, he could evolve from a helpless little human, probably less than level 1, to a level 100 mighty god, powerful enough to destroy entire countries.
As that realization settled in, a strange excitement filled him; he almost wanted to dance like a madman. If he were only Satoru, a serious Japanese salaryman, he might have decided to control himself. But as it turned out, he was also a 19-year-old Indian teenager, and he didn't care.
He stood up from his bed and started dancing like crazy. Hindi music was currently playing in his mind as he enjoyed himself to the fullest. He was moving his hands up and down and shaking his entire body in excitement. Unfortunately, his current body was ill-cared-for and malnourished, so he got exhausted quickly and soon found himself gasping while lying on his bed.
As his excitement wore down, he was finally able to think clearly about his situation, and a frown appeared on his forehead.
"Although it is fortunate that I arrived in this world, there are still some issues."
Personally, he felt immensely fortunate for his transmigration. There was no one in his world who would particularly miss him, and the opportunity to eventually become a god only improved his opinion of the occurrence.
But despite everything, he couldn't feel entirely fortunate about his circumstances.
The reason for this was his current world, the 'World of 2138.'
At least, that was how it was named in the novel.
From the memories of Satoru, it was clear to him that the entire world was poisoned to the neck. In fact, taking everything in, he was surprised that the human race was still surviving.
He was both awed and disgusted by this world, impressed by the resilience of his species and abhorred by what they had done to the planet.
The Earth he remembered, although polluted, was still beautiful and filled with stunning rivers and vast forests all over the planet.
Reading a few words on a page was far different from actually experiencing it, and the memories of Satoru gave him enough insight into how horrible the world was.
Going out without a gas mask was practically a death sentence, and he was not rich enough to afford an expensive breathing implant.
It was not greatly discussed in the novel, but Satoru was really at the lower rungs of society. By the standards of his life in 2024, it could be said that he was barely alive. Although that could also be seen as fortunate, as life was pretty cheap in this world.
As he pondered his circumstances, a curious feeling assaulted his mind. It felt strange, almost unexplainable in human words or any other language for that matter.
It felt like an endless gray void, and the blankness it conveyed awed him. Despite its strangeness, it didn't disturb him in the slightest; instead, it gave him a feeling of endless potential and limitless growth.
As he became intoxicated by this feeling, he sensed the emergence of the 'truth,' and all of a sudden, his eyes widened like never before.
…
[Essence of the Blank]
By taking this essence, you gain but one benefit:
Your potential becomes limitless. You can learn any discipline or skill set, even if you shouldn't be capable of it, without forgetting it, and practice them into mastery, no matter how many you learn. Any abilities you have from other Essences will increase where possible and develop in ways beyond their initial purposes.
…
As the understanding and implications of the 'Essence' appeared in his mind, he was finally able to relax, and a sigh escaped his lips.
Even though the concept of an Essence was absurd, after his transmigration, he could almost believe anything. At this point, he had accepted defeat and acknowledged in his mind that the world was a crazy place.
'Probably the god is also a lunatic.'
Thinking that he might be going crazy for having such useless thoughts, he shook his head and stood up from the bed.
Instead of wasting his precious time, it was better to think about his situation.
"It'll probably be better if I start making plans for my future." Talking to himself, Satoru walked toward the bathroom attached to his apartment.
It was small but useful enough for his needs. He walked toward a mirror, and a blank look was all he could see as he looked at his new appearance. Satoru was only a decade older than his original appearance, but he looked much older than he should, probably due to the rampant pollution and unhealthy lifestyle he lived as a corporate slave.
He could at least confirm that he was mostly 'Rahul' and that 'Satoru' was just a small part of him now, a part mostly filled with memories of working endlessly for a small branch of a mega-corp in the city. But although it was filled mostly with pain, like the loss of his mother, there were bright moments as well.
"Saving someone who is in trouble is common sense!"
As the image of a warrior in silver armor appeared in his mind, unconsciously, a small, imperceptible smile appeared on his face. It was a scary face; when he looked in the mirror, he saw a middle-aged Japanese man with horrible dark circles smiling creepily. It was a visage that would traumatize small children if they saw it. His lips twitched, and he drooped his shoulders.
'My handsome face!!'
Deep down, he was crying at the loss of his once-handsome face, as he was stuck with this horrible appearance at least until the server shut down.