Telltale Chronicles. A book created by the well-known author, Akemi Sato. He was known for his incredible storytelling, character development, and pacing when writing a story.
I was envious of that man.
I wanted to be an author, just like him, but I didn't have what it took to become something so grand; being an author requires hard work and discipline, at least that's what my mom told me. However, I was lazy—and it was hard to get motivated with a lot of things—especially writing.
The only thing I can really do is read a book and absorb its contents rather than making my own, but don't get me wrong, I did start writing for a little while, however, I stopped.
I wrote a book called Apex System.
It only had a few fans out of one hundred chapters, so I kinda gave up after a little while.
The Main Character in my story, Soichi, has a powerful skill that can make him learn any ability, as long as he understands how it works.
It was pretty generic.
No wonder why nobody bothered reading my stuff.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!
The sound of my door rattled from the brutal knocking, which nearly jumped me out of my skin.
"Sable, are you awake in there?"
It was my mother. She was a beautiful, middle-aged woman with short black hair and a voluptuous build. I'm surprised she didn't have any boyfriends yet after Dad left us.
(Not like I wanted any stepfather.)
She was currently checking if I was asleep or not. Why? Because I usually stay up all night to 6am in the morning, reading novels or playing Gacha games.
While I was lying in bed, I could see sunlight peeking through my window, lighting up my room.
I stayed up way too late this time. It was nearly 7am.
Turning off my phone, I didn't bother answering my mother, so I closed my eyes and tucked my cellular device underneath my pillow, hoping to fall asleep soon.
"It may be Saturday, but that doesn't give you the right to stay up all night. You need to fix your sleep schedule, young lady!"
I sighed and tucked myself underneath the covers to close my eyes, hoping she would go back to cooking breakfast. Hearing lectures this early in the morning gives me a headache.
"When you awake, you'll have your breakfast kept in the microwave. Sleep well dear."
My mother left, already knowing I was up, so I didn't bother hiding it anymore.
"Thanks, Mom!"
Even though I hated her lectures, I was appreciative of her parenting.
Slowly drifting off to sleep, I prayed to the almighty god upstairs that I'd wake up at 3pm, rather than 7pm in the evening.
My eyelids felt like anvils, and I couldn't keep them open no matter how hard I tried.
In little to no time, I eventually fell asleep as everything went pitch black.
+
[Flair Volume System, installed]
. . .
[Synchronizing Gifts—]
. . .
[Gifts Installed. Analyzing Magical Energy—]
. . .
[Magical Energy installed. Deciding Level—]
. . .
[Level concluded]
. . .
The sounds of birds chirped in the distance as the morning sun rose above the clouds, shining upon fields of greenery and a giant lake.
Deers feasted upon the grass, bears slept by waterfalls, and moose ran through the grassy terrain, minding their business.
My finger twitched as I felt the heat of the sun touch my pale skin.
It was enough to make me open my eyes and see a bunny standing right in front of me.
I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
Blinking my eyes a few times, I tried to process the situation, believing I was lucid dreaming.
But that couldn't be it.
No—
"…A bunny?"
It looked at me, tilting its head to the side before hopping away, startled.
"What the…?"
Slowly standing up from the ground, I looked around me to see wildlife everywhere.
This didn't make any sense.
"Uhm… hello? Mom?!" I shouted in the distance, expecting to hear my mother respond, but there was nothing.
None of this made any sense.
"Mom??!"
I shouted once more, waiting for at least thirty seconds, but there was still no response.
"What the hell is happening?! Where am I?!"
I could feel my heartbeat accelerate as everything felt woozy.
I turned in circles to look all around me, hoping to see someone I knew. This had to be some cruel joke.
"Th-This isn't funny! Mom, if this is your way of punishing me for sleeping so late, then I'm sorry! Can we just go back home? I learned my lesson!!"
All of a sudden, I froze.
My eyes widened as a massive shadow covered my body with a heavy gust of wind blowing me on my butt.
Looking into the sky, I saw the unbelievable.
It had two massive wings stretching sixty meters in length, and its body resembled that of… a dragon.
No, there's no way.
A dragon? I'm tripping major fucking balls right now.
"How is this real…?"
I could barely muster any words.
There was no logical explanation behind this.
It transcended all logic and reasoning.
The humongous flying reptile flapped its wings and headed toward the mountains, but along the way, I could see its beautiful pink and white scales.
Is that… Tiamat?
Staring off in the distance, I was paralyzed, realizing the truth of the situation.
This wasn't my homeworld.
I was in a different universe altogether…
No—
This was Telltales Chronicles.
But where was the truck? Aren't I supposed to be hit by some moving truck and be reincarnated like the rest of those Isekai protagonists? Why was I brought here like this?
I have to confirm my suspicions.
"Let's see…"
Extending my hand forward, anxiety coursed through my body. "Open!" and upon command, a holographic display appeared in my field of vision, showing me various categories; from Weapons, Equipments, Items, and even Gifts.
There was no doubt in my mind; this was Telltale Chronicles.
All of this proved it.
But how does something like this make any sense?! It's a fictional story created by some perverted man. No offense to Akemi Sato of course.
"This feels like Virtual Reality…" I mumbled to myself, scrolling over to the gift section.
This is where things get more serious.
In the world of Telltale Chronicles, everyone is installed with the "The System", or some would call it, The Flair Volume System.
The Flair Volume is a program that people use in this world. It is something that everyone in the world has since their birth, thus, it acts as the main source of magic.
By chanting "Open", a status is displayed by the System to show our level and gifts.
Within the Flair Volume System, one's level represents the total amount of magical energy their existence holds. As such, in order to raise one's level, it is necessary to kill stronger enemies, complete challenges, train, and also explore dungeons.
For Gifts, they are given to individuals by the Flair Volume System. They're engraved into one's core, and cannot be destroyed. A person can have one gift intertwined with their core, and an unlimited number of other gifts as well.
One can be born with useful and powerful gifts to weak and useless ones. It's all RNG.
Last but not least, we have Magical Energy. This mystical energy fuels one's gifts, rituals, and enchanted equipment. The amount of magical energy an individual has will determine their level in the Flair Volume System, and also determine things like their overall strength, toughness, and even speed in most cases.
Looking at mine, I was pretty darn weak.
How disappointing.
"Level one, huh?"
I huffed a deep sigh, now inspecting my gift.
It was rather peculiar.
Out of all my years of reading Telltale Chronicles, there was never any skill named "[Sage]", so I found it interesting.
Tapping on its description, I could read its contents.
[Sage] was a gift that allowed me to analyze any and all phenomena, giving me its history and functions.
It sounded incredible, though… that was it.
"Eh? Is that really all it does?!"
I couldn't believe it.
My gift was useless!
Utterly useless!
I've read telltale chronicles forever, imagining myself with gifts that could rival even the heroes in the story, yet I was given something impractical.
I closed my hub and stared off into the distance, disappointed, but also mesmerized by everything in front of me.
But I couldn't stay here forever.
"I have to find a way back home…"
There was no way I was going to spend my life in another world.
Even if it was a dream come true.
My mother needed me, and I needed her.
And to make matters worse, she's going to think I ran away from home which is going to spark a lot of problems.
What a total freaking pain!
"…"
I lifted my head and wanted to scream to the heavens to release all of my frustration, but I only took a deep breath and sighed.
This was my journey into a world of chaos.