"Cold…"
The first sensation Seo Jin registered was the chill. Icy, bone-deep cold pressed against his skin like he'd been left outside during winter. He groaned, his body aching in ways that felt both familiar and foreign. His chest was tight, every breath dragging through his lungs like sandpaper.
His eyes fluttered open, but the light blinded him. Golden light. He blinked rapidly, his mind swimming. Where am I?
The ceiling above him was ornate. Intricate designs of swirling vines and gold trim adorned the high arches. A chandelier of glowing crystal hung overhead, casting a warm, inviting glow. It looked like something out of a palace or a fantasy novel.
For a moment, Seo Jin thought he was dreaming. Then his chest tightened again, and the pain in his ribs reminded him that whatever this was, it wasn't a dream.
His fingers twitched as he tried to sit up, but his arms felt weak, trembling under his own weight. He managed to push himself upright, his breath coming in shallow gasps as he glanced around the room.
It was massive. The bed he was on was easily three times the size of his old futon, draped in silk sheets that shimmered in the golden light. The walls were lined with towering bookshelves, each filled with tomes bound in leather and gilded with silver text. A tall mirror stood in one corner, framed in what looked like solid gold.
Seo Jin's first thought was, This can't be real.
But then he moved, and the sharp ache in his body reminded him that it was.
He swung his legs over the side of the bed, his bare feet touching the cool marble floor. His reflection caught his eye, and he froze.
That wasn't his face.
The person staring back at him in the mirror was younger, thinner, and almost sickly. His skin was pale, with a slight translucence that made the veins in his arms visible. His dark brown hair hung in uneven, messy strands around his face, and his eyes were sunken but sharp, glinting with a hint of intelligence.
He reached up, touching his cheek as though it might disappear. The boy in the mirror mimicked him.
What the hell is this?
Memories of his death came rushing back, pushing the woman out of the truck's path, the pain of impact, the world fading around him. He shivered as the images played in his mind, but his reflection didn't change. This wasn't a hallucination.
Seo Jin took a shaky step toward the mirror, his legs trembling beneath him. He looked like a stiff wind could knock him over.
"I'm not… Kang Jin-ho anymore," he muttered, his voice rasping in his throat.
He turned away from the mirror, scanning the room for answers. A large wooden desk sat near the window, papers and books stacked haphazardly on its surface. Seo Jin dragged himself toward it, gripping the back of the chair for support as he sat down.
A strange, glowing object on the desk caught his attention. It looked like a floating, translucent screen; it was like something from a sci-fi movie. Words were etched across its surface, glowing faintly in blue light.
[STATUS WINDOW]
Seo Jin blinked. "What the…?"
As if sensing his confusion, the window shifted, lines of text appearing before his eyes:
[Name: Seo Jin]
[Strength: 2]
[Agility: 3]
[Dexterity: 1]
[Stamina: 1]
[Mana Affinity: 0]
[Luck: 10]
Seo Jin stared at the screen, his mind racing. He knew this. The layout, the stats, and it was straight out of a novel. Battleborn Academy. He'd read it a year ago during a week-long binge, devouring its plot about a hero rising from obscurity to save the world from an apocalyptic threat.
Except… he wasn't the hero.
He wasn't even a side character.
"Shit," Seo Jin muttered, leaning back in the chair as the realization hit him.
The Status Window flickered, and another line of text appeared at the bottom.
[Ability: Devourer - Locked]
"Devourer?" Seo Jin frowned. The name felt familiar, but he couldn't place it. He stared at the word, willing the system to give him more information, but nothing happened.
Locked. Whatever it was, it wasn't something he could use yet.
He glanced back at the stats, his gaze landing on "Luck: 10." It was the only number that didn't make him cringe. Strength, agility, dexterity, and stamina were all pathetic. But luck? It was almost absurdly high.
"What the hell am I supposed to do with luck?" Seo Jin muttered under his breath. Luck wasn't going to save him from the death traps he knew this world had in store.
His mind raced, piecing together fragments of the novel's plot. Battleborn Academy wasn't some lighthearted coming-of-age story. It was brutal, filled with death and betrayal at every turn. The academy trained the elite, those with powerful stats and abilities to fight monsters, but it was also a cesspool of politics and rivalries.
Worse, the novel's difficulty was SSS+. Seo Jin had thought it was ridiculous when he read it, marveling at how the protagonist survived impossible odds with skill and sheer determination.
Except Seo Jin wasn't the protagonist. He wasn't even a side character. He didn't recognize this body, this name, or this room.
He stood shakily, moving toward the window. The world outside was both familiar and alien. The academy stretched out before him, a sprawling campus of towering buildings and lush gardens. Beyond the academy walls, mountains loomed in the distance, their peaks shrouded in mist.
Seo Jin felt a knot of dread tighten in his chest. This wasn't just some elaborate dream or hallucination. This was real.
"SSS+ difficulty," he muttered, his voice laced with sarcasm. "Of course I'd get dumped into the hardest world possible. Lucky me."
His gaze fell back to the Status Window, still hovering faintly in the air beside him. The words "Luck: 10" seemed to taunt him, glowing brighter than the others.
Maybe this was a sign. Maybe luck was all he needed to start.
Seo Jin clenched his fists, his frail body trembling under the weight of his determination. He didn't know how he'd survive in this world, but one thing was clear: he wasn't about to die again.
Not without a fight.
"Luck? What the hell am I supposed to do with luck?"