Unbearable.

This was the idea I always had on life.

I wake up, go to school, return, do my work, go to sleep.

The same actions over and over and over…

Truly unbearable.

I sincerely wish to escape this unbearable repetition.

Perhaps it will end when you grow up, or so I thought at first.

But no.

I realized that it is no different.

Wake up, get ready, go to the workplace, go back home, rest, repeat.

Unbearable…. I hate this kind of life.

In my free time, I had always tried to seek out the unknown, as a hobby.

Be it stargazing or researching history.

I wasn’t able to find anything worth it up until now.

For one, I never neglected any of my work.

I fought for the best, and became the best.

But it is still unbearable.

If I look at my life from another person’s perspective, I might think that I’m living a luxury.

I’m not rich.

Yet, I’m not poor.

Whomever I meet, their attitude was made as if I was a prince.

Unbearable.

For that reason, I was unable to have friends.

But I don’t really mind.

Yet, it pains me whenever I become a target for a person to use.

I was never careless.

They would leave me disappointed since they failed to manipulate me.

But truly, I couldn’t care less

Today was the day I would graduate from middle school.

Summer holiday, the time that everyone looks over to (Except parents).

I’m still in my class, doing nothing.

I finished my exam, and currently assuming a sleeping pose.

It helps me concentrate my mind.

But suddenly, the world was enveloped in darkness.

No, I’m not talking about me sleeping.

My eyes are open, glancing quickly around my floating body.

Pure darkness.

Somehow, my body seems to glow in that darkness.

This isn’t right….

Immediately, the darkness began entering me.

What?

I cannot feel pain, but it feels uncomfortable.

After what seemed to be an eternity, I could finally see light other than myself.

The darkness fully retracted inside of me, forcing me to close my eyes to the sudden surge of light.

Oh.

Where am I?

Below a tree, I am laying.

Hmm...

What is the correct response….

Ah, yes.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! WHERE AM I!”

-Would be the best option.

But…

I’d rather not.

-Oh?

A… rabbit?

I’m not sure.

It has a dark fur and a grey horn from the middle of it’s forehead.

Exact measurements are not really possible since it is far from me.

Actually… where am I?

This type of rabbit doesn’t exist as far as I know.

I have no clue since the type of trees and grass are unknown as well.

Have I been forsaken from my unbearable life and given another chance?

Or is this a punishment for disliking my original life.

...Hmm…

Doesn’t really matter.

What matters is that I’m here and it’s all fine.

Ugh...

My head feels dizzy..

Again, darkness surrounded me for a while, then it started retracting inside of me.

Hmm…

I wonder how long it will take to bring me to wherever next.

Looking back at my wristwatch, it seems that time has stopped?

I’m very sure that the watch was in a good condition.

Well, the only reason I take it with me is for checking time in the exams.

Makes a person feel excited, and I’m not excluded.

Well, let us make use of this ‘Stop’.

I call it a ‘Stop’ since time stops, very obvious and uncreative.

Nevertheless, I start pondering over my answers in the exam.

Thankfully, I’m able to remember things more vividly in this state, so it is as if I am seeing the paper in front of me.

Hmmm…..

Nope, all fine.

Actually, this is very interesting.

Either I’m dreaming or I got stuck in something supernatural.

I doubt the latter.

But I’m not sure of the former either.

I’m too wide awake for this to be a dream.

More so, if this was a dream, I would most likely be able to manipulate it for my benefit.

Or fun?

The point is, I’m not in control.

Ahhh…

Should I sleep?

Yeah..

Ironically, the only thing that is fine in this repeatitive life is sleep.

Sleeping allows me to experience many things, ranging from known to unknown.

That is good and all, but I have noticed that since a few years, nightmares stopped popping up.

I think my last nightmare was 5 years ago?

Yeah…

I’ll just go to sleep.

Shouldn’t miss a good opportunity, eh?

I curl up into a ball and close my eyes.

….

Hmm..

I think I’m back.

I raise up my head, it seems that we are still in class.

A glance at my watch tells me that 3 minutes have passed since that incident happened.

Hopefully, it was real.

Would be really disappointing for an unknown seeker such as myself, hm?

I take my pen and stare at it.

Why?

Just to pass time.

I’m not a person that is always in the center of attention.

At least I don’t think I am.

I still want to escape this unbearable loop.

But….

I don’t really know what happened.

Objective of the day:

-Look for what I just experienced

-Find a way to repeat it

I don’t really need to repeat it, but if I was right, this was the solution for my problems.

Probably..

For the first time in years, I could feel my heart pound from excitement.

Of course I would.

For now, let’s try to find the trigger.

I went back in my sleeping on a desk pose, and closed my eyes, and tried to remember what I did before it happened.

I did absolutely nothing.

Hmm…

Maybe I was having a lucid dream?

That would clearly explain the horned rabbit, but it doesn’t explain how vivid it was.

Well, I will try clearing my mind.

….

5 minutes later, no results.

What should I do?

Feeling disappointment, I stop trying.

Just after that, a yawn escaped my mouth.

Boring..

Well, all I can do right now is hope for the best.

“.....-loooo…”

Am I hearing things?

“Did we do it incorrectly?”

Huh.

I open my eyes and look at the source of the voice.

To my surprise, I’m not at the forest, but in a spacious hall.

Around me I could see about 7 old aged men, which have two features that are shared.

One, they are wearing dark purple material, somehow glowing.

The other is the white long beard that goes down to their feet.

Out of nowhere, they start collapsing while panting heavily.

“Huh?”

My surprise was shown at that moment.

The place feels surreal, as well as the situation itself.

“Oh, he’s alive!”

A feminine voice resounds in my ear.

When I look at her, a red haired, mature looking woman enters my field of vision.

“Yes?”

My brain was working overdrive to ingest the current information as it bombarded itself with questions, mostly about the person before me.

But thankfully, I was able to calm myself and arrange my priorities.

“What are you?”

Although she looks exactly like a human, there is a very specific difference.

There are two horns protruding out of her forehead.

Her reaction looked like she expected another question, but I glared at her the longer the silence continued.

Eventually, she was the one who broke the silence.

“Ugh… I am the daughter of the King, Ashetalia Rehoven, and thi-”

“I said ‘What are you’.”

I broke off her introduction as that isn’t what i'm interested in right now.

But that gave me glares full of bloodlust, of which I never felt before.

With that, she turned away from me, but she never left my vision.

What she was walking towards was a blond, blue eyed man in the primes.

I stood there, doing nothing but staring.

After she reached him, I could hear her speak.

“Dad, I don’t think that I can do it this time either…”

This time either, she said?

Just after that, his eyes pointed towards me.

“Welcome, hero!”

With a loud voice that resounded in the hall, he spoke.

The ideal question should be ‘Hero?’

But that didn’t cross my mind for a moment.

Instead, I was excited.

People with horns supposedly don’t exist.

But where I am right now, it spells the opposite.

Although I wanted to explore right now, the situation made it impossible.

For one, all the entrances are sealed, be it closed or guarded.

Thus, I decided to play along.

“Her-”

Suddenly, the darkness appeared again, engulfing my surroundings.

And as per usual, it took it’s dear time to be retracted.

And my destination was…

The place I was sent to last time.

For the sake of simplicity, let’s call it Rabtree.

Now, just how long will I need to wait for the next transportation?

I adapted surprisingly quickly, but I can’t predict the time it happens.

For the time being, I started carefully strolling.

The fragrant smell of nature filled the air, so it was quite enjoyable.

5 minutes later, I reached what seems to be the rabbit’s home.

Surprisingly, it was docile when I approached it.

I thought that it would use it’s horn and attack me, but it didn’t.

Since it showed no signs of hostility, I slowly extended my hand to its head, as an attempt to pet it.

Contrary to my appearance, I like cute and cuddly things, but I never show that to others.

The horned rabbit stared at my hand for a while, smelling it, then it lowered its head.

With that, I started stroking it.

Ooh..

I’m enjoying this..

After a few seconds, it pushed my hand off its head, then jumped into its nest.

Suddenly, darkness enveloped me once again, ruining the moment.

Ugh… it will becoming slightly annoying if I can’t control this.

Maybe more than slightly.

Thankfully, it didn’t take so long for the darkness to retract, or so I think.

The target right now was…

My class, again.

No more for now, please.

As an attempt to avoid being sent over, I get up from my sleeping pose and straighten my back.

Now that I think about it, something feels off.

As if superman was laser-eyeing my back.

I look behind me and I see…

Nothing.

No one had their attention directed at me, so it must be my imagination.

I turn back and stare in front of me, just 2 seconds later, my back starts burning again.

Ugh..

It really is abnormal, since the rest of my body is fine.

Guess I have to….

Glance quickly!

Tch, nothing again.

This is annoying..

To avoid attention from the teacher, I stop turning my back and stay calm.

Huff…

I raise my hand and ask the teacher to let me go to the toilet, which he accepts.

I slowly stand up, give my paper to the teacher, and normally walk outside.

Just as I close the door, I could feel the burning sensation on my back dissipate.

Phew.

I walk off to the bathroom and enter a stall, then proceed to relieve myself.

Let’s hope I don’t get transferred in that position..

..

Thankfully, nothing happened so I proceed to wash my hands, then leave.

Just a single step from the door, darkness enveloped me.

Oh for the love of god..

And this time I’m at..

The place where I was labeled as a hero.

This time, it seems another set of mages were present, but unfortunately, they all collapsed like the first set.

It feels terrible, but right now, I couldn’t careless due to the surprised faces of the king(?) and his daughter.

“Hello.”

I broke the silence with a carefree tone.

“Er.. Welcome again, Hero.”

His composed expression broke but he fixed it quickly.

A true king, I suppose.

His aura is not a joke either.

“So, continuing off… What hero?”

He clears his throat then starts talking.

“I am Rolish Hilc the Third, the ruler of the country Sefai Lopie.”

“Okay, what is my purpose for coming here?”

I decided not to dwell a lot on introductions, since I have a hunch that he is not the most trustworthy.

“Ignorant fool--! How dare you speak to his majesty like such!”

A man clad in a silver, full plated armor threatens me using his halberd.

Shiny..

On a side note, the king is sitting on a golden throne embedded with gems of various colours and sizes.

He is wearing a white, fur coat with a crest on his right chest, as well as a golden crown carved with beautiful patterns while adorned with a blue circular gem in the very middle.

Huh… Since when were my eyes so attentive.

Well, it doesn’t really matter right now.

I stare at the brown bearded halberd wielding man, inspecting him thoroughly while he does the same.

“Alfred, that is enough.”

The king gave his order, which resulted in Alfred giving me a scowl then held way the halberd from me.

That was scary..

“Please excuse him.. Anyways, if you truly want to get to the point, then so be it.”

That is better.

“For now, at the very least, you need to know how this world works.”

He motions his hand to someone behind me, so I glance behind me curiously.

A woman wearing a blue robe with flower patterns approaches me.

She has blue eyes and pale blue straight hair that falls down to her hips.

While she is walking, I notice an iron staff with a huge, circular orb embedded on the top.

“Young Hero,I would like to ask you to repeat those words in your mind : ‘Status Screen’.”

Since no harm will be done, or so my intuition tells me, I repeat them in my mind, suddenly showing a dark purple screen with words on it.

This is what is written on it :

Name : Archillies Duane

Class : Beginner World Traveller (Unique)

Level : 1

HP : 1000

MP : 2500

-Stats :

STR : 10

AGI : 12

DEF : 8

VIT : 15

INT : 13

WIS : 20

WIL : 17

LUK : 56

Stat Points : 500

Skill Points : 100

--Status Effects

N/A

Well..

That is surprising..

“What do you see?”

The woman in robes asked me.

Since I have nothing to compare to, I will be honest in my answers.

“A menu that shows me name, level, class, etc.”

“Good, and what is your class?”

“World Traveller.”

“I see..”

“Is there anything else I must know?”

“Ah yes, you see those Skill Points? There is a menu called Skill Tree, try to imagine it.”

I do so and what appears in front of me is branches upon branches of ‘Skills’.

The first skill that is the roots, called ‘Fledgling’, which increases all stats by 2 for the cost of 1 skill point.

“How to unlock skills?”

“Firstly, you must have 2 skill points to unlock ‘Fledgling’, which is the first skill avaliable for every living being.”

“I see.”

She says 2 points, but mine is available for one.

I won’t complain.

I unlock it then proceed to the next 3 skills.

My choices are ‘Warrior’, ‘Mage’ and ‘Rogue’.

‘Warrior’ increases the power of melee abilities by 15% and increases physical stats (STR,AGI,DEF,VIT).

‘Mage’ increases the magic power and regeneration by 25%, as well as mental stats with 2 points. (INT-WIS-WIL)

Note : WIL is willpower.

‘Rogue’ is more focused towards stealth, giving a 40% increase in the power of stealthy abilities and 4 stats towards AGI and INT.

“Could you tell me about skills and ‘Abilities’?”

I asked.

“Yes, skills are earned from the skill tree, and are the same for every person until they reach their 10th upgrade in their respective choice, after that, it differs from one person to another.”

“How many skill points per level?”

“As for that, 2, there have yet been reports of a person earning more.”

“And stat points?”

“4 Per level.”

Hmm..

“How about abilities?”

“Ah yes, those are not affiliated with skills, they are gained by an individual's hard work, and are only exclusive to that person, however, basic abilities such as ‘Run’, can be gained by every person.”

“How do they work?”

“Rather than Skill Points, frequent use of the ability will increase the efficiency and power, depending on the type of ability.”

“I see, do you know anything about my class?”

“Sadly, no, however, the person possessing the class should be able to see information on it if they tap it on the status screen.”

Following that, I did what she said and a new menu appeared before me.

-Beginner World Traveller (Unique)

As a person that transversed between worlds, you will have an advantage than the normal world dwellers.

--Abilities :

World Travel : The ability to travel between worlds. Current worlds avaliable : 3

--Effects :

Levels and ability requirement to evolve will not increase every time, however, you will hard start. (Unique) Stat Points gained from one level equals 20 Skill Points gained from one level equals 10 Unlocking any skills only require 1 skill point. (Unique) Gaining abilities by work or from observing others is easier, and is possible to pick up an ability by observing alone. Items are x10 as powerful in the user’s hands. (Unique) Gaining stats by labor is x10 easier and more effective (Unique) Ability to identify other World Travellers and the like.

Well now.

I don’t know what this world’s standard is, but if I may say, those numbers look nice in my eyes.

“Now young Hero, we do not wish to impose many questions on you, so we will get to the point.”

This time it was the king speaking.

“As you are aware, this is a different world from the one you came from.”

“Yes, I am aware.”

“The reason we had to summon you was due to the demon king’s return.”

Demon king?

The king saw the confusing on my face, so he started explaining.

“Every 500 years, a demon king is born, and due to that, the monster tribes combine under them, and set towards laying waste to our lands and conquering them.”

“Are you not able to beat him yourselves?”

I asked a somewhat foolish question, but it is still relevant.

They all got sullen faces as their heads faced down.

“....We tried, however, his power is too strong, even for our strongest guards.”

“Hooh.. I see.. So my job is beating him and ending this war, aye?”

“Yes, it is very selfish from us, but we hope you could do us this favor, and we will forever be in your debt.”

He lowered his body and bowed, and so did the mage and his daughter.

The pressure is too great.

But I still had a very important question.

“How will I return home?”

Their faces turned blue all of the sudden, as if they saw a ghost.

“I can’t..?”

While somewhat hypocritical of me, I still held my home and family close, it is just the lifestyle that I dislike.

Maybe the ability ‘World Travel’ can solve it, but I’m not planning on leaving so soon.

“Fine… But I can’t just go at the demon king so soon, could I?”

The instant they heard that, they faces brightened up like a child receiving a gift.

“y-Yes of course! We will support you as much as we could, you have my gratitude.”

They all bowed once again, making me scratch my head in embarrassment.

“Could you introduce me to this world?”

“Ah. Yes, this world is called Dila, and as I said before, we are in the country Sefai Lopie, and we are currently in the capital Azurell.”

“Hmm.. Could you show me a map?”

“Yes, of course.”

He motions the mage and she takes out a bundle of papers from.. her ring?

After arranging the papers, she puts the rest in her ring, then approaches me.

“This is the world map, this here is Sefai Lopie.”

She points her finger towards the left side of the map.

The Continent is divided into 4 sections, the East, West, North and South countries.

Sefai Lopie rules over the East, and the capital is at the middle where a river flows from the center of the continent.

The source of the river seems to branch into the other sides as well, giving water to all of them equally, and ending at the sea.

I wonder, where does all this water come from?

Either way, she begins telling me about the other 3 countries, the ruler of the north : Rezal Kingdom. The ruler of the west : Howser Kingdom. The ruler of the south, which is currently occupied by the demon king, Jevilia Centauros.

Actually, a question has been on my mind since the king introduced himself.

“I have a question, why does your daughter have a different second name?”

“You see, depending on the child’s choice, they could take up the surname of the father’s family or the mother’s, and at the end, she chose her mother’s, as a retribution to her death.”

The king said so with an upset face.

“I see…”

“Now please, do you need anything else?”

“Yes, as I’d still like to familiarize myself with this world even more.”

“Yes, of course.”

“Firstly, I want somewhere to stay, secondly I want books that would help me in my battles, and lastly I would like someone to train me.”

“Consider it done. As for the last one, Alfred could do the job, could he not?”

The king sent a glare at Alfred who looked like he disagreed with my very existence itself.

Not that I blame him, I’m already stretching it with talking to the king very casually.

But no matter.

Since the conversation was finished, the king called for a maid to lead me to my room.

On the way, I tried to bring up my ability menu.

--Abilities :

Run Lv3 World Travel LvMAX Ability Creator LvMAX (Unique) Revival LvMAX (Unique) Tame Lv1 Poker Face Lv4 Inspect Lv5 Absolute Luck Lv1 Negotiate Lv3 Withstand Aura Lv6 Void Mind Lv76

Surprisingly, I had a lot of abilities for my first level.

Out of curiousity, I chose the Lv part of Void Mind, showing me 0/1000.

As a comparison, I did the same for Tame, and it showed me the same number.

Huh..

Is that what the unique effect of my class make?

Still walking to my room, I asked the maid.

“Hey, how much XP does one need to level up abilities?”

“From 1 to 2 takes 100 XP, 2 to 3 is 200, 3 to 4 is 400, and so on.”

Hmmm..

That means at the start I get an disadvantageous position, but later on it gets incredibly easy.

Oh, it seems we reached my room.

The maid opens the room then I enter.

After asking me if I need anything, she bowed and left.

As for today, I decided that I’m going to spend my few days learning about stats and my abilities.

Before that, I tried unlocking a few skills from the skill tree, and as the unique effect says, all of them had the cost of one.

Since I felt that sooner or later I will have an abundance of points, I started unlocking all the skills in the warrior category, until the branches reached a point where the 3 main branches connect.

When I tried finding out what the skill is about, it said ‘Sleepless’, which makes my body not require sleep.

It branched into 3 other routes, but I decided to hold up for now and unlock the rest of the main routes.

By the time I unlocked them all, 45 of my points were taken, not counting the personal skill and the new hidden routes.

If we count the total taken points, 85 is the number.

However, I do not have regrets as the effects were incredibly helpful, and they connect to my personal skills too.

I used the rest of my points to unlock the first 5 in each one of the 3 personal routes, leaving me broke with no points.

As for the stats, I went for 100 for VIT and 100 in DEF then 50 in the rest.

Just as I was done, I felt sharper and more rejuvenated, allowing me to observe more accurately.

Before the maid had left, she told me about a convenient tool to call for her, just like a bell.

I use it and in just a few minutes, I could hear knocking on the door.

“Who’s this?”

“Have you called, sir”

I was able to distinguish the sound behind the door.

Thus, I opened the door and told her what I requested, giving me a nod then leaving quickly.

I closed the door then sat back on the bed, this time inspecting my surroundings.

The walls were coloured gold, with a mahogany-like wood furniture surrounding it.

The bed was made with what seems to be luxurious beddings, with the skeleton carved with beautiful drawings of fire.

A nice blanket was covering the bed while giving off a warm feel to it.

I laid down on the bed, looking at the ceiling painted with the night sky.

The atmosphere gave an extremely drowsy feeling, making me close my eyes in comfort.

Just as I closed them, I heard knocking on the door as it opened.

I got up and stared at the maid who filled my room with books of different sizes and colours.

Some of which glowed, while others sucked the light around them, and those frozen on themselves.

Although I imagined they exist, I never had believed they did.

The maid bowed before asking me for food, which I had agreed to.

She excused herself, then left while closing the door as quietly as possible.

I got up from the bed and took the nearest book in my hands, then sat down at the desk.

However, just as I opened it, a text appeared before my eyes.

‘Do you wish to learn -Body Strengthening-? Y/N’

Huh.

I don’t see a reason to not.

I said yes, and I suddenly felt a difference.

The book in my hand glowed brightly for a few seconds, then calmed down soon after.

I looked back at it, but somehow, it felt familiar holding the book, as if I held and kept reading it for years.

I checked my abilities and found Body Strengthening Lv1.

For the safety of it, I did not activate it and decided to ‘Read’ the rest of the books.

…

1 hour later, I was finally able to learn all of them.

Phew, I feel exhausted..

Suddenly, the door started knocking.

“Sir, food is here.”

“Enter.”

She opened the door while carrying a tray, skillfully avoiding slipping food.

She placed it on the table, then asked me if I needed anything.

I told her that if I need her, I will ring the bell, thus she excused herself.

I sat down at the table then started eating slowly, savoring the supreme taste of the cook.

Wow.

After I finished eating, I used the newly acquired ability ‘Water Manipulation’ to wash my hands, then dried them with ‘Air Manipulation’.

I opened my status screen once again to look at my new self.

Name : Archillies Duane

Class : Beginner World Traveller (Unique)

Level : 1

HP : 9050 (1000+ (161*50))

MP : 12900 (2500+(104*100))

-Stats :

STR : 89

AGI : 86

DEF : 154

VIT : 176

INT : 124

WIS : 132

WIL : 90

LUK : 150

--Achievements :

>The Educated : One who learned and understood the concepts of the world. +20 INT and WIS

>All-Elements Dabbler : -20% Cost of all magicks.

>Headstarter : By surpassing 50 points in all stats, gain +4 stat and skill points per level.

>Skill Master : Unlock all of the skill tree. -70% Cost of all abilities, +400% power of all abilities.

>Sleepless : Sleep is no longer needed, however, fatigue might accumulate.

>Hidden Skill Routes Master : Unlock all of the hidden skills. Abilities will have 0% chance of failure, learning abilities and creating hybrid abilities is 500% Easier.

>World Traveller : Gain access to the world traveller exclusive effects and abilities.

Unconsciously, I whistled.

Those are some great hauls, if I may say.

Although I unconsciously understand the concepts of this world, I still need to read them with my eyes to know the contents.

While ‘Reading’ them, I gained stats as well as abilities, explaining why I got more than what I submitted.

Even if I don’t need to sleep, it is needed for having a better mood and concentration.

I look out of the window to find that the day is still young.

Thus, I go out to explore.

Due to one of my new abilities, I’m able to create a permenant, detailed mental map, thankfully, I had enough stats to acquire it.

There were a few books that I wasn’t able to ‘Read’ beforehand, however, after reading other books, I gained enough stats to suit the requirement.

I take the key left on the desk by the maid and leave the room.

I turned on the ability and anything within the range of 3 meters show up on my ‘Map’.

If I were to compare it, it is like a game’s minimap.

Now, time to awaken my explorer instinct.

…

=========Prologue End.===