The room was adorned with intricately carved Gothic-style marble columns and lavishly woven rugs. Silver candelabras held flickering candles, casting a warm glow over the elegant chamber.
On a grand bed draped in deep purple velvet, a teenage boy lay motionless, his body trembling as though trapped in a nightmare.
With the arrival of dawn, the first rays of sunlight pierced the thick darkness, illuminating the face of the young man.
His forehead was damp with sweat, his complexion pallid with a faint flush of fever. His fingers clutched the sheets tightly, as if grasping onto something slipping away into the abyss of his subconscious.
His body convulsed as though shackled by an invisible force, his expression twisted in a struggle against some unseen torment.
A sharp, searing pain surged through his skull, as though his head was on the verge of splitting apart. He attempted to rise, but his limbs felt impossibly heavy, as if an unseen weight had drained him of all strength. He writhed in agony, caught in the throes of an inescapable nightmare.
Suddenly, his entire body shuddered violently, a wave of piercing cold flooding his veins.
"Ah!" he gasped, jolting upright with a desperate cry. His eyes flickered open, disoriented and aching. A dull pain throbbed in his head as he forced himself upright, his shaky hands gripping the edge of the bed for support.
As his awareness gradually returned, he took in his surroundings with a mixture of shock and confusion. This was not his home. He found himself in an opulent chamber filled with an air of nobility and history.
The stone walls bore intricate engravings, and an elaborate painting of an ancient battle adorned one side. Sunlight filtered through stained-glass windows, casting fragmented hues across the room. Nearby, a wooden table with elaborate carvings held an open book, with several more stacked beside it.
He reached for the luxurious bedding beneath him, feeling the rich fabric against his fingertips. The sheer grandeur of the place filled him with both awe and unease.
"Where am I?" he murmured aloud, his voice hoarse with uncertainty. "This place... it belongs to someone wealthy. A noble, perhaps?"
An unsettling thought struck him—how had he come to be here? Who had brought him? He tried to recall any recent events that could explain his predicament, but his mind was blank.
Then, a more disturbing realization dawned upon him. Something felt fundamentally different. Lifting his hands, he examined them closely. They were smaller than he expected, smoother, unblemished by the faint scars he had grown familiar with.
"What happened to me?" he whispered, a creeping dread settling over him.
His fingers traced his face, encountering youthful, flawless skin. He swallowed hard. Everything about his body felt different—lighter, younger.
He glanced around the room again, as though searching for something to anchor himself to reality.
"This... this can't be what I think it is," he muttered, immediately shaking off the absurd notion.
Yet, as he sat in that grand room, the unfamiliarity of his own form gnawed at him. He could no longer deny the evidence before him.
A flood of foreign memories surged through his mind, unfolding like a high-speed reel of someone else's life.
Each scene brought emotions that felt simultaneously alien and intimately familiar, leaving him gasping for breath as he absorbed the deluge of knowledge.
When the influx of memories finally subsided, he exhaled deeply, his fingers pressing against his temples to soothe the lingering ache.
"Arthur Werner..." he murmured, the name surfacing from the depths of his newly inherited recollections.
He slowly stood, his legs slightly unsteady as he made his way toward an ornate golden-framed mirror in the room. He hesitated before gazing into it, almost afraid of what he would see.
The reflection staring back at him was not his own.
A strikingly handsome boy with golden-blonde hair and piercing blue eyes stood in his place. His features were sharp, regal even, exuding an aura of nobility. He looked to be around fifteen years old, a far cry from his previous self.
According to the memories now embedded within him, this was Arthur Werner—the third son of Viscount Rawson of the Alon Kingdom.
This room was his personal chamber within the Rockas Castle, the seat of his family's dominion.
Despite his noble lineage, Arthur held no significant influence as the third-born son. Yet, unlike his past life, he now possessed a foundation upon which to build his future.
A starting point that, if played wisely, could lead to limitless possibilities.
But if given the choice, he would have preferred to return to his previous life, where the exhausting 996 work system seemed more realistic than this strange world!
An unfamiliar world… no, an unnatural one!
On the surface, this world appeared to follow the political structure of medieval Europe, but that was merely a deceptive illusion.
At its core, it somewhat resembled Western Europe of that era, yet it was filled with mysterious forces and mythical races—elves, dwarves, goblins, sea dwellers, and even the undead...
In other aspects, everything remained nearly the same: subservient serfs, free men seeking opportunities, lurking bandits, singing poets, ruling lords, scheming nobles… and a king sitting on the throne.
However, unlike medieval Europe, there was no unified church controlling the fate of mankind. Instead, other forces shared the balance of power.
Wars never ceased, and lords were either mounting their steeds in preparation for battle or gearing up for endless wars.
They had to fend off bandits, confront non-human creatures, and repel demonic beasts threatening their lands.
Regional conflicts were aflame, resource wars never-ending, while kings and great lords issued their commands, and churches summoned armies for holy wars.
Professions and legends once confined to fantasy games and novels were now a part of reality… And this world, from the moment of its birth, was doomed to chaos and eternal conflict.
Although Arthur was the youngest son of Alvis, a count, and belonged to an aristocratic family, he was not the rightful heir to the land of Rokas.
In a world ruled by the rigid laws of nobility, a non-inheriting son had limited choices. Arthur chose the path of knighthood, the most common route for exceptional warriors, but he quickly realized that having noble blood did not guarantee him the same treatment as his elder brother.
In his family, tradition dictated that only the eldest son received elite knight training and the best combat techniques, while the other sons were granted far fewer resources.
Arthur, for instance, was given modified combat techniques—far inferior to the advanced skills his brother trained in.
And this deprivation wasn't limited to training alone; it extended to essential resources that knights depended on, such as special potions that enhanced the body and accelerated combat skill progression.
These potions were rare and precious, reserved only for those expected to carry the family name into the future. Non-inheriting sons were left to fend for themselves, training with whatever they could find or seeking alternative ways to grow stronger.
This system was a product of noble traditions that had endured for decades. In the past, dividing inheritance among sons had led to the fragmentation of territories, weakening noble families against military and political challenges within the kingdom.
For this reason, primogeniture developed, ensuring that only the eldest son inherited the title and land.
As for the other sons of noble families like Arthur's, they had only two choices: either become knights in service to a lord, earning land and titles through military achievements, or, upon reaching sixteen, receive a small estate or sum of money and be left to build their own lives.
The purpose of this system was not to cast off non-inheriting sons but to maintain the stability and power of noble lands.
Keeping territories united was essential for survival amidst military threats, as land division often led to internal strife. It was not uncommon for noble families to be destroyed by sibling rivalries over power.
"The third son... just a spare card to be used when needed, and if not needed, left to wither in the shadows."
As the third son of Count Darius Werner, Arthur had only two paths: to prove himself on the battlefield or become a mere footnote in history—a forgotten shadow within the castle walls.
This reality was harsh. While he had been raised in comfort, he knew such comfort would not last forever. With no inheritance guaranteed and no resources to rely on, he had to forge his own path.
After much thought, he found himself considering a dangerous option: sneaking into the alchemy lab where the family's alchemist prepared the potions used to train knights and young nobles.
But his goal was not to steal the potions meant for his siblings or father—he wasn't that foolish.
He fully understood that any such attempt wouldn't go unnoticed, and the consequences could be catastrophic—not just a severe punishment but possibly even expulsion from the family before reaching legal adulthood.
That would mean losing access to resources and the nominal protection of his family, a risk far greater than any potential gains.
So, he set his sights on the failed or unusable potions—those deemed unsafe due to severe side effects. These were discarded as hazardous, yet he believed they still held some benefits... or so he thought.
Somehow, he had managed to obtain those potions and consume them, only to truly understand why they were classified as unstable—unknown side effects. All he could remember was pain, followed by unconsciousness.
"Looking at it from another perspective, I don't know whether to call the owner of this body reckless and foolish or brave and quick-witted," the current Arthur thought.
"Sure, he practically threw himself into ruin, but for people in his position, the real disaster is remaining worthless and becoming entirely dependent on others' mercy and sympathy."
"Well, the previous owner of this body is dead. I should think about myself now."
After a long internal struggle while lying in bed, he reluctantly accepted the truth—he was now Arthur Luvian.
His first small goal? Survival.
In a world where religions flourished and myths intertwined, any unnatural behavior could lead to a deadly disaster. To avoid trouble, he had to maintain his identity. He could adapt to many things, but morals, actions, and behavioral habits weren't so easy to imitate.
"Wait a minute... I don't remember how I died."
According to the stories he had read in his previous life, reincarnation or rebirth usually required the protagonist to die first.
Typically, that death was the result of a heroic sacrifice to save others or a terminal illness that led to despair in one's final moments. Then, mysterious forces would intervene, granting a second chance at life.
But Arthur was well aware of his past life. Sure, he was a single otaku in his mid-thirties, but having been raised by his grandparents, he took good care of his health.
He never ignored any strange symptoms, always visited the doctor at the first sign of trouble, avoided smoking and alcohol, and had no family history of genetic diseases.
As for sacrificing himself for others? His contributions were limited to annual donations to charities, blood donations during awareness campaigns, and reluctantly participating in social events organized by his company.
Risking his life for anything? He wasn't exactly the type to reach that level of selflessness.
So, how did he die?
As he continued trying to process his new reality and recall what had happened before he woke up, something unfamiliar appeared before him...
It looked like an old-fashioned television. A flickering square screen hovered in front of his eyes, as if trying to stabilize its signal. As the flickering subsided, the image gradually cleared, revealing a strangely familiar interface.
[Operation Code Integrated.][Main System: "War of the Eternal Throne."](Ding! Host Synchronization – 100%.)[All custom modifications and expansions for "War of the Eternal Throne" have been successfully loaded.]
At that moment, a countdown that had been ticking in his mind reached zero, and a digital window—visible only to him—appeared before his eyes.
"War of the Eternal Throne?!"
Amidst his shock, memories rushed back into his mind:
"Before I traveled through time, I was working on a plugin for the third expansion of the game developed by my company… Could it be that it came with me?!"
A virtual screen materialized in his thoughts, followed by faint, blurry memories that gradually resurfaced. Suddenly, new notifications popped up before him. His mind moved swiftly, and another virtual interface appeared—along with forgotten memories returning to his consciousness.
"What I remember before traveling is that I went out to buy something from a nearby store. As I was crossing the pedestrian lane, I was engrossed in testing the game's new plugins on my smartphone. I heard a warning scream, and then… I must have been in an accident."
Arthur's thoughts raced, filled with shock and confusion.
"But this game… Did it somehow cross over with me?"
"Does this mean I can directly use all the armies and special powers in the game? Damn… I take back what I said. Reincarnation is awesome, and this new world is incredible!"
But now was not the time to dwell on it. His gaze shifted to the contents of the interface in front of him, and without thinking, he instinctively muttered:
"Start the game!"
A dialogue box appeared on Arthur's retinal display.
[War of the Eternal Throne][Summoning military commanders and nobles...][Summoning warrior units, combat equipment, tactical manuals, strategic formations...][Data error detected... Repairing data...]
Then, a white light enveloped Arthur the moment the dialogue box appeared. Upon closer inspection, one could see that the white light was actually a stream of countless zeros and ones!
The data stream emerged from between Arthur's brows and materialized into the real world—right inside his bedroom!
However, the data-formed white light lasted only three to five seconds before dissipating almost instantly. A new dialogue box soon followed.
[Activating virtual environment... Identifying settings.][Analyzing cross-temporal conditions...][Retrieving memories...](Ding! Environment analysis 100% - Character synchronization complete.)[Integration successful - Ready.][Repair successful.][Log in once per month to receive a random summoning card. Time until next login: 31 days.][Current number of summon cards: - 1]