When Gabriel opened his eyes, he wasn't in New York anymore.
He was lying in a soft bed, covered in warm blankets, inside a room far too clean and luxurious for someone like him. The ceiling was carved with intricate symbols that glowed faintly with blue light.
"What the hell…?" he whispered, sitting up.
Suddenly, knowledge flooded his mind—not his own, but something new, something unnatural.
[Welcome to the World System.]
[Name: Gabriel Alvarez]
[Race: Human]
[Class: Unawakened]
[Skills: None]
[Status: Malnourished, Weak]
He gasped, clutching his head. A screen floated in the air before him, just like something out of a video game. But this wasn't a game—his hunger was gone, his body felt different. Stronger, despite the system telling him otherwise.
The door creaked open.
A woman with long silver hair and sharp golden eyes entered. She wore a form-fitting uniform with glowing circuits embedded in the fabric, and on her hip rested a sleek, futuristic firearm.
"You're awake," she said. "Good. That means the system accepted you."
Gabriel blinked. "Who… are you?"
She crossed her arms. "I should be asking you that. We found you unconscious in the streets of Veylen, barely breathing. If it weren't for the city's automated medical drones, you'd be dead."
He shuddered at the familiar circumstances. Even in another world, he had nearly died from hunger.
She studied him carefully. "Your accent is strange, your clothes were rags, and yet the system has registered you as someone with potential. What are you?"
Gabriel hesitated. If he told her the truth, would she think he was insane?
Instead, he asked, "Where… am I?"
Her golden eyes narrowed. Then, after a moment, she smirked.
"You're in Neo-Terra, the capital of the Allied Technomancer Federation. Welcome to the future, kid."