[Status Window Loading...]
I let out a tired chuckle. "Finally. Took you long enough."
Unlike some poor souls who transmigrated into fantasy worlds and had to stumble around cluelessly, I at least knew how things worked here.
Arcadia Magic Academy was a game world. And in this world, having a status window wasn't just normal—it was practically a requirement.
Whether you were a noble, a commoner, or even an overworked side character destined for irrelevance, everyone had access to their status.
And given my current predicament, I was banking on mine giving me at least a little hope.
The loading bar crawled forward at the speed of a lethargic snail.
"…C'mon, I'm dying here," I muttered.
As if the universe had taken my words literally, my vision blurred.
The exhaustion, the hunger, the weight of my drenched clothes—all of it hit me at once.
I barely managed to read the glowing text before my knees buckled.
[Status Window]
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Name: Cedric Veyne
Age: 17
Race: Human
Class: [None]
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Attributes:
[Strength]: 7
[Agility]: 9
[Endurance]: 6
[Intelligence]: 10
[Mana]: 15
[Charm]: 11
[Luck]: 2
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Skills:
◇ [Basic Swordsmanship] (E) – Bare minimum proficiency in wielding a sword.
◇ [Mana Manipulation] (F) – Struggles with controlling mana efficiently.
◇ [Steady Footwork] (E) – Can maintain balance in normal combat.
◇ [Basic Magic Theory] (D) – Understands fundamental magic principles.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Status Effects:
✦ [Hunger] – Slight reduction in stamina recovery.
✦ [Drenched] – Mild discomfort.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
I blinked, my vision swaying as I tried to focus on the glowing text in front of me.
The numbers swam before my eyes, blurring together as my body gave out.
Wait—what were my stats again?
My knees buckled, and before I could even process what I was reading, the world tilted sideways.
The cold, wet ground rushed up to meet me, and the last thing I saw before darkness took over was the dimly glowing status window flickering in the rain.
I had barely gotten a glimpse of my own capabilities, and already, I was out cold.
***
A strange sensation settled over me—not quite cold, not quite warm. Just… empty.
I opened my eyes.
Darkness stretched endlessly in every direction. No sky, no ground, no sound. Just an endless void.
And then—light.
Faint at first, then growing brighter, flickering like a candle against the abyss.
A warmth spread through me as the darkness shifted, twisting and unraveling. The void gave way to something familiar—soft golden light, the scent of home-cooked meals, the distant murmur of laughter.
I knew this place.
My childhood home.
I stood in the small, cluttered living room, just as I remembered it. The old wooden table with uneven legs, the threadbare couch where my siblings used to pile up after long days, the tiny bookshelf filled with mismatched novels and faded journals.
And there—standing in the warm glow of the kitchen—was my mother.
She looked younger, just as she had in my memories, her tired but gentle smile as radiant as ever. The scent of stew lingered in the air as she stirred a pot, humming softly.
At the table, my little sister swung her legs beneath her chair, pouting over a book she clearly didn't want to read.
And beside her—my father.
He sat with his arms crossed, a knowing smirk tugging at his lips as he watched me.
"You look lost, dear," he said, his voice calm yet firm, just as I remembered. "What's with that expression?"
I opened my mouth, but no words came out. My throat tightened.
This wasn't real.
It couldn't be.
My mother glanced over her shoulder, her eyes soft with warmth. "Dinner's almost ready, dear. Wash your hands."
A lump formed in my throat.
I wasn't supposed to be here.
My family—my real family—was long gone.
This was just a dream.
But even if it was…
Even if it was just an illusion…
I didn't want to leave.
I took a step forward, my hand trembling as I reached out—
Then everything shattered.
The warmth. The light. The scent of home.
Gone.
Cold air rushed back in as the darkness swallowed me whole.
And then—pain.
My entire body ached, my limbs heavy as if weighed down by stones.
With a sharp gasp, I woke up.
Cold sweat clung to my skin as I bolted upright, my breath ragged. The scent of herbs and damp fabric filled my nose. The golden hues of evening sunlight trickled through a nearby window.
I wasn't home.
I was still here.
Weak. Lost. Pathetic.
But as the ache in my chest faded, a different kind of warmth lingered.
My father's words echoed in my mind.
"You look lost, dear."
I clenched my fists.
I was lost.
Considering the situation I am in, with nothing but a few coins in my back pocket and some books, normally, I would have just given in to whatever time had prepared for me.
Yet, I have a desire burning within me now.
To survive.
I got up from the alleyway and stood straight with two drenched bags in my hands.
I exhaled slowly, tightening my grip on the bags.
No more hesitation. It was time to move.
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Author's Note:
Please comment below about what you think of the story so far.
Also, add to library, if you find it interesting.
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