I sat on the edge of my chair, the hum of my gaming console filling the room. I'd just finished some work, the weight of it still pressing on my shoulders, and now I needed a distraction. A PvP battle with my brother seemed like the perfect way to unwind. The screen flashed in rapid succession, the game's colors blurring into a chaotic dance.
I won.
> Score: Me – 8, Him – 4.
"Ha! Victory's mine," I said, unable to hide the grin that spread across my face.
My brother scowled, a frown deepening on his face, his eyes narrowed in frustration. Losing never sat well with him. I knew better than to push him too far when his temper flared, so I tried to keep things light.
"It's just a game, you know?" I said, my voice almost too casual, hoping to smooth things over.
But the truth was far more complicated. I had cheated. Just a little. A small advantage here, a slip of the thumb there. And I felt the guilt gnaw at me, but it wasn't enough to stop me. It didn't matter. Did it?
"Alright, it's late. Go to your room," I said, my tone almost dismissive now. It was easier to ignore the unease bubbling beneath the surface.
He muttered something under his breath, but I didn't care. He'd cool off soon enough, I knew that.
The door clicked shut behind him, and I was alone in my room. The familiar space, the faint smell of incense, and the cool night air outside didn't offer the comfort they usually did. Instead, a suffocating weight seemed to settle in. My mind felt too heavy, too crowded.
A single thought flashed through my mind:
> How much time do I have left?
It was fleeting, like a whisper in the dark. Why did I think that? Why now?
I shook my head, brushing it aside as I lay back on my bed. My brother was better than me at everything, anyway. It didn't matter if I played games or tried to outdo him in anything else—he'd always win. Always.
And then... sleep.
---
A Dark Dream
The world was cold. Dark. Silent. I floated in an endless expanse of void, the void stretching beyond anything I could comprehend. It felt like space, yet I could breathe as though it were a room, not the vacuum of the stars.
I saw it then. My body, lying still inside an empty coffin. The cold pressed against me, though it didn't seem to come from anywhere. The world beyond it was a blur, and my heart beat louder than the silence surrounding me.
Before I could make sense of it, a figure appeared. A witch, her form twisted, shadows curling around her like smoke. And standing before her, a knight, sword raised high in readiness.
The knight swung. The witch screamed, a sound that pierced the very fabric of the dream.
I gasped and turned to run. My surroundings shifted, the barren emptiness giving way to the rocky walls of a cave. The air was thick, oppressive. I didn't stop. I ran, my feet pounding against the rough ground until I burst into a graveyard.
Glowing butterflies fluttered around me, their wings pulsing with an eerie light. I tried to swat them away, but they were too quick, too sharp. Each brush of their wings against my skin left cuts, shallow but stinging.
> Not butterflies… Pixies.
I panicked, heart racing as I stumbled backward. The pixies circled me like a storm, their wings cutting through the air, my skin, everything.
Then, ahead of me, I saw it. A bullock cart, lumbering slowly down a dirt path. The driver—a strange humanoid pig—saw me and called out.
"Master! Hurry, get in!"
Without hesitation, I leapt into the cart, my breath ragged with fear. The cart jolted forward, its wheels creaking as we sped away, the graveyard growing distant behind us.
"I'm safe..." I whispered, my voice barely audible over the rush of the wind.
But then the pig-like driver spoke again, his voice tinged with disbelief.
"Torffie! Why did you go there?! Master Geno will be furious!"
> Who is Torffie?
The name hit me like a blow to the chest. I froze.
"Wait... me? Torffie?"
I reached up, my fingers trembling as I touched my face. My hands. My body felt... different. Smaller. Lighter. My arms... they weren't real. Plastic? Metal? Something synthetic, something that didn't belong to me.
> I got isekai'd?!
The thought echoed in my mind, but it wasn't until I pinched myself that I felt the sharp pain, the realness of it.
> It's real.
I turned slowly to face the pig-man. "Where are we going?"
The driver looked at me with wide, confused eyes. "Master, you don't remember?"
I shook my head, the weight of the confusion sinking in. "No."
He sighed, clearly frustrated. "To First Claw."
"First Claw?" I repeated, trying to latch onto something, anything that might make sense.
"The Institute of Arms and Wands," he explained, his tone growing more urgent. "The academy where you'll train in magic and combat!"
A cold wave of realization hit me like a thunderclap.
> This body... I was going to an academy to train?
I glanced at the bag beside me—probably filled with the belongings of whatever life I was supposed to lead now.
The driver, Torffie, yawned loudly, but I could barely focus on him. "Master, get some sleep. We'll reach First Claw by morning."
Sleep? How could I sleep with everything spinning out of control?
But despite myself, I closed my eyes. The night was endless. My heart raced with questions.
> Who was Geno? What was this world? And why... was I here?