It was a day just like any other, with the figure of a young man lying on the bed, nestled within his sheets as the alarm blared beside him. The room was cold and dark, to others it might have been a place to avoid, but for Arlo, it was a safe haven.
As the alarm continued to sound, Arlo remained in bed. He wasn't asleep; on the contrary, his eyes slowly fluttered open, revealing that he was wide awake.
With a heavy sigh, he turned to face the alarm, staring at the glowing numbers displayed on its face.
7:00 PM.
Once again, Arlo had wasted an entire day trapped alone within the confines of his room. The longer he stared at the clock, the more bitterness welled up inside him.
He closed his eyes, tempted to drift back into the embrace of sleep, but the growing hunger in his stomach had other plans.
"What a pain..." Arlo muttered as he grudgingly rose from his bed and made his way to the door.
His room was a chaotic mess, with clothes and bin bags scattered across the floor. As he carefully navigated through the clutter, he made a mental note to clean it all up soon.
With that thought in mind, he opened the door to his room, stepping out into the hallway of his house. There, he found an empty food tray, a note, and a ten-dollar bill resting on top.
[Hey brother, I saw that the food Mom left for you was getting cold, so I ate it to avoid wasting it again. Don't worry, I left some money here so you can go buy something to eat if you're hungry.
-From your dear sister.]
Reading the note, Arlo's brow furrowed, and a vein bulged on his forehead.
"'Dear,' my ass. Just another attempt to get me to leave the house," he grumbled.
Despite the irritation that surged through him, Arlo swallowed his anger and made his way to the bathroom to prepare himself for the inevitable trip outside.
After a quick shower, Arlo brushed his teeth, got dressed, and grabbed the money his sister had left him. As he stepped out the door, a chilly wind greeted him under the night sky.
"It's cold..." Arlo muttered under his breath, making his way to the nearest grocery store.
As he walked, he kept his head down, as if afraid to make eye contact with anyone who passed by. It had been a while since he'd last ventured outside, and the experience left him feeling both anxious and somewhat liberated.
The closest grocery store was only a ten-minute walk from his house, and he reached it in no time. Once inside, he headed straight for the aisle with the instant noodles.
Grabbing his usual plain salted flavor, Arlo made his way to the checkout line, only to find himself standing behind a group of students.
The sight of them stirred up unpleasant memories, prompting Arlo to quickly avert his gaze. Instead, his attention was drawn to the news playing on a television screen mounted in the corner of the room.
The channel featured a reporter broadcasting the latest developments.
"Once again, the number of gates opening has been increasing. There's a chance the human habitation zone will continue to shrink at this rate. Fortunately for us, there's also been a rise in the number of hunters, but will that be enough to combat this change of events?"
As Arlo stared at the screen with hollow eyes, he muttered under his breath, "Looks like things are getting bad, huh? Well, not like I can do anything about it. I'm just a high school dropout and a shitty F-rank hunter, after all..."
He turned his attention back to the checkout line, noticing that the students who had been in front of him had already paid for their items and left. Finally, it was his turn.
After paying for his meal, Arlo quickly left the store and began his journey home. Hunger gnawed at his stomach, and he wanted nothing more than to devour his food as soon as possible.
However, during his hasty walk back, something bizarre occurred. Out of nowhere, an object fell from above, striking him on the head before landing on the ground in front of him.
"Ow!" Arlo groaned, rubbing his head as he stared at the object that had hit him.
It was a small book, its white cover adorned with strange, unreadable symbols. Confused, Arlo looked up and around, trying to determine where the book had fallen from, but there were no apartment buildings or tall structures nearby.
Moreover, there was no one in the vicinity who seemed to have dropped it.
His curiosity piqued, Arlo crouched down to pick up the book. The moment his fingers touched its surface, something extraordinary happened.
[New Host Detected.]
[Initiating connection sequence.]
Startled, Arlo quickly retracted his hand and watched in awe as the letters on the book's cover began to glow and morph into something comprehensible.
As this transformation unfolded, Arlo frantically scanned his surroundings, searching for the source of the voices echoing inside his head. But the street remained empty, with no one else in sight.
[Connection sequence established.]
[Transferring ownership rights.]
[New Host has been appointed.]
Upon hearing these words, Arlo's gaze snapped back to the book. To his astonishment, the previously unreadable symbols on the cover had ceased glowing and now displayed a clear, readable title:
[A Magician's Grimoire.]
"...A magician's grimoire?" Arlo muttered, his brow furrowed in suspicion.
At first, he stood there, scowling at the book, wondering if someone was playing an elaborate prank on him. But who would go to such lengths, and what would they have to gain?
After contemplating his next move for a few moments, Arlo cautiously crouched down and tapped the book again, bracing himself for another unexpected occurrence. To his surprise, nothing changed.
With a mix of relief and intrigue, he picked up the thick tome and placed it in his shopping bag.
"I don't know what this is, but... my hunter's instinct is telling me that it might be worth something," he mused.
Driven by a growing sense of urgency, Arlo hurried home, his mind torn between anxiety and excitement at the prospect of examining the mysterious book.