"Huh? What the hell is happening?"
Kaiser quickly surveyed his environment. This was a reflexive action he learnt in his days of working.
Everything was different. But not completely alien.
He was at the centre of something that resembled a fighting ring with obstacles and metal walls that served the purpose of a barricade.
People sat around the arena, spectators to what seemed like a tournament.
The sky was blue but felt fabricated; the sun shone weirdly, making the grass outside the arena look greener.
High-rising skyscrapers could be seen from the stage. At the top of the spectator's area was a private room with people whose aura could be felt from where he stood.
This was the opening arc for ICU: WSA.
The academy entrance exam and the starting point for Matthew's journey.
Kaiser shifted his gaze to the young woman who stood metres away from him.
A wooden staff gripped tightly in her hands.
Orange hair packed in a bun.
"Are you done staring?"
A navy blue suit with a tailored coat, wavy skirt, long leather boots that almost reached her knees and a plain white shirt with a navy blue tie.
"Is this Noctis Academy?"
The crowd murmured, sounds of laughter, scorn and pity.
"Get off the arena, will you?" One of the spectators shouted.
"Lady Hestia, teach that commoner a lesson." Another said.
Kaiser was now sure of it. A world where monarchy still existed with the advancement of technology.
A magnificent school that taught awakened how to wield their power. The academy where Matthew and his coven started.
'So I really got transmigrated? But why? How is that even possible? Is this just a hallucination? Or did resigning from work trigger a mental illness?'
Kai knew the answer.
It wasn't any of that. He really was transmigrated.
The fresh smell of spring.
The cherry blossoms he hadn't seen in ages.
The cheering crowd.
The girl who stood in front of him.
And his body that felt like it could fall at any moment.
It was all real.
"I don't care what you're thinking about, but I will take it that you have given up."
Kai didn't have any problem with that idea, but he doubted Radiant Sword, who was watching from the private room, would think the same.
But who was he kidding fighting someone who was a walking tank?
'I think I've exhausted my bravery already.'
He looked at the girl who was ready for her next set of attacks, her orange eyes flickering with light.
'Yeah, no way I'm fighting that.'
"I give....." Before he could finish his sentence, a massive fireball formed just above him.
'Hell...no.'
Hestia sent it plummeting down. Kaiser didn't have time to react; it was either move or die.
Dragging his unresponsive body. He barely managed to dodge to the left as the sound of the final clash with the marble ground ran through the arena.
Smoke and debris filled the arena, blocking everyone's vision, but it could only last so long.
Kaiser had to make use of that chance.
He screamed out the words any veteran otaku would in that situation.
"Status window!" He waited for some time, but nothing happened.
Shame. Embarrassment. All came down on him at once.
He was undisputably a twenty-eight-year-old man. But saying such a cringe line without any feedback was utterly embarrassing.
'Maybe something else?'
"System." This time in a barely audible voice.
"XXXcode." This time lower than a whisper.
'What the hell is going on?'
But as he was about to throw in the towel, he said a word that was only used by Matthew.
"UI"
A window appeared in front of him instantaneously.
'Finally'
*****
The smoke screen finally cleared, and the young man who was shaking a few minutes ago stood in place nonchalantly.
"Are you ready to die?" She asked him in a confident, almost arrogant tone.
Kai shrugged. "I could ask the same thing."
Hestia's eyes twitched as she swirled her staff in the air, conjuring arrows of flame with it. "What can a weakling like you even do."
"Kids these days sure don't have respect."
Kai ran further to the left as soon as Hestia was ready to launch her attack.
He pulled onto something. To others, it felt like he was gripping air itself, but to Hestia, it was different.
The split second was enough to tell. Strings. The whole arena had been wired with thin strings.
"How?" She asked, falling to the ground unnaturally slowly.
"Never disrespect your elders, kid."
*********
(Before any of this happened)
The game like window popped out in front of Kaiser. Just like he always read and how it was depicted in manhwas and webtoons.
A bright sky-blue interface with necessary information written on it.
It flickered a little before stabilizing.
'It worked.'
His brightened expression soon darkened. Nothing. The owner of the body wasn't just trash; he was beyond redemption.
[CUBE INTERFACE]
Name: Kaiser Vanguard.
--
Affiliation: None
--
Rank: Apprentice/Awakened
Core: Black
--
Status: [Evaluating... ]
--
Total Stats[Core Capacity]: 11/1000
--
Trait:
Weaver[X-rank] -
Description – You are proficient at using a needle and thread.
Ability:
Appraisal – Can peer into the contentof any form of substance, either tangible or intangible.
--
Vespers:
Seamstress [Weapon] –
Ability:
Stainless Steel – Spirit – [Description] – Just a silver thread given by Mom.
***
'Hah...'
Kaiser let out a long sigh. Today he had learnt a valuable lesson. Even the greatest things could still be shitty.
The stats were nothing if not complete and utter garbage.
But what surprised him was the rank of the former Kaiser's shitty trait.
'X rank, that's the highest of the seven rankings of traits.'
In ICUWSA there were ranks to the traits or talents people could get after awakening.
'If only they knew what rank this kid had.'
Kai laughed at his absurd remark.
'As if getting an X rank trait mattered when your ability was trash. What the hell is proficient at needles and threads? What am I, a seamstress?'
But no matter how he cursed the stats, he couldn't change it.
It was still better than an E-rank or D-rank trait.
'At least I could brag about it.'
He smiled, putting every other thought behind him. And summoned the vesper.
A spark of light ignited in front of him as a small yarn of silver thread formed in his hands.
The thread was sharp and thin, but except for that, it was just plain.
'What did I expect? At least I have an appraisal ability.'
He looked through the arena as the smoke screen slowly vanished. His opponent stood without a care in the world.
'That works for me.'
Activating the appraisal skill felt as natural as breathing, which made many questions appear in his head, but he had no time to attend to them.
One of the reasons he didn't get into straight panic mode after viewing his stats was because of one redeeming factor.
Appraisal. One of the most famous isekai abilities. The white bearded god couldn't send you to a new world without giving you a way to navigate the world and tell food from poison.
But that was far from the point. Scanning the arena again and again, Kai started picking up on inconsistencies in the design of the floor.
And he was right. He didn't know anything about mana in the practical aspect, but when it came to theories, he knew more than most arcane mages.
The slight craving that appeared on the floor of the arena was meant to keep the invisible barrier around the arena activated.
That alone sold away a path to victory. He dropped the threads on the floor. Looking at his hands that were covered with leather hand gloves, he could tell that the former Kaiser was hard-working.
And he also knew reality. Hard work can never surpass talent.
But another quote still said. Knowledge is power, and Kai had all the knowledge he needed.
As he held the ends of the thread. They clung to his gloves as if knowing where they were meant to be.
He moved his hands up and down. Trying to get used to the threads. All the previous accumulated experience of Kaiser Vanguard had long merged with his knowledge.
The threads followed his movement like thin almost invisible extensions of his arm.
Swirling around with the wind but still following his trajectory.
For others, they might have been invisible, but he could see them clearly.
One step, then another. As the smoke screen was finally vanishing, he moved his hands, sending the strings directly above the cravings, and as he thought, they floated. Forming intricate layers of circles around Hestia, and as she made a move, he pulled them.
Before she could finish her attack, she was on the floor screaming in pain. Not from the bondage of the strings but from the mana the strings absorbed from the cravings flowing into her.
As she struggled, he pulled harder. The crowd's mouth opened in disbelief. Before anyone could voice their opinion, she was out.
He had won.