XXXXX/XX/XXXX 5:45 AM

It was early morning, the sun was about to rise, the birds were tweeting. Though most people were still fast asleep.

Unfortunately Kim Minho's supposed peaceful slumber was disturbed by an ear-splitting screech outside his window.

He groaned awake. What vile creature dares to disturb his sleepー oh there was one. A f*cking rooster

Suddenly the screaming cut off, followed by the sound of a blade hitting a plank of wood.

Was this...the start of the apocalypse? No, it was just his neighbor Mr. Williams slaughtering a chicken.

He got off his bed, opening the windows to see why his neighbor was killing chickens this early.

Minho peeked out at the window, the smell of fresh blood and the morning breeze filled his lungs.

"Oh Johan my boy! You're up pretty early today."

A loud voice came from below, it was Mr. Williams. He was waving at him while carrying a dead chicken by its neck. So it wasn't a rooster, just a regular hen.

Minho- no, Johan just waved back and chuckled awkwardly. Right... His name was Johan. That's odd, for some reason it didn't feel right to be called by that name...

Did he drink too much last night? Either way he had to get ready. He has a job now after all, no... he's had this same job for 3 years now. But it felt like his first day all over again.

He put on his dress shirt, a pair of slacks, and a vest. He stared at his reflection on the mirror, something felt so wrong.

He had the same old features; the same old messy auburn hair, and the same old amber eyes. Even his dark circles; which never seemed to disappearー were still there.

Yet it felt like this face he was looking at right now, wasn't his.

Johan opened one of the drawers on his desk, scrambling around for something. Eventually he picked up a pair of round glasses, the frame was bit rusted but it still served it's purpose.

Sighing in relief, Johan put them on. They fit his face perfectlyー well almost, it was a bit crooked.

"So that's why it felt weird.. damn glasses."

He chuckled to himself. With the glasses on he was finally able seeing a clear view of his surroundings.

It looked exactly the same as last night, just with brighter lighting.

Johan looked at the mirror once again and noticed blotches of brown on his shirt. Mud? Are you serious..

He tried to wipe it off but the mud had dried off already, thankfully it didn't stink. For now he changed and set the soiled shirt aside, he could pass by the dry cleaners later and have it washed.

Johan walked out of his apartment door, this time making sure to bring his keys with him before he headed out.

It was starting to get brighter outside; the sun slowly rose as morning arrived.

Most people were just starting to wake up. Some were like him; heading to work already.

The walk to his workplace wasn't so bad, the streets weren't too crowded at this time. A few more steps and he could see the large signage; .

He took a deep breath and headed inside, only to be met with empty desks. Huh?

Whilst he was busy doing nothing; the door behind him opened suddenly, slamming onto his back in the process.

He fell on the floor, like a ragdoll. That hit took 5 years off his life span, and maybe gave him scoliosis too.

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"Ah sorry! I didn't think there'd be anyone here yetー"

The person helped him up on his feet while apologizing profusely. Johan pretended he didn't mind, but deep inside he was praying for misfortune to come their way.

Johan: "By the way, is it normally this... desolate?"

Janitor: "Of course not! Work hours start..."

The janitor trailed off, checking their pocket watch to confirm the time. It's was 6 o'clock now.

Janitor: "..2 hours from now!"

Johan stared at the janitor in disbelief. Two hours.. he wasted two hours of sleep! It's definitely that damned chicken's fault.

What's worse is he was too early to even waste his time on working.

He left the building to loiter around, maybe he'd find a library and waste time reading some old fashioned book there.

Bzzt..

There it was again, the electric buzzing from last night.

His headache was long gone but he could still hear the sound of a faulty electronic device against his ear. It was faint but annoying, maybe his tinnitus upgraded or something. Either way he wanted it to buzz off. (More like bzzt off haha)

Despite being a publishing company, there wasn't a library nearby. The closest one being 2 blocks away.

There was a bakery nearby though, how convenient for Johan who forgot to eat his breakfast.

Once he stepped inside the bakery, his nostrils were met with the scent of freshly baked bread. There were many options; pies, cookies, brioche buns, cinnamon rolls, croissantsー all sorts of pastries.

He bought two croissants for the price of 50 bronze bezels each.

Other than walking around there was nothing to do, so Johan sat down on a wooden bench by the street; and watch people to pass time.

"Extra! Extra!"

Around the corner, was a newspaper boy;flailing a newspaper around while shouting. Even kids went to work early these days.

Suddenly, out of nowhere; a malfunctioning automobile lurched forward, aiming right for the newsie.

The driver held onto the steering wheel tightly, trying to turn the car around and stop it from crashing into the poor boy. But it proved to be meaningless now, no matter how much the driver slammed onto the brakesー the vehicle just couldn't stop.

It was out of control, the bystanders stood in horror as the automobile was about to run into the boy.

But instead there was a flash of icy blue light, followed by thick layers of frost emerging from the city's drainage system.

The ice latched onto the runaway vehicle, plucking it off the ground and maintaining it immobile midair.

The driver was shocked, so was the boy and all the other onlookers around them.

"Are you alright?"

A man in uniform extended his hand to the newspaper boy. His demeanor was that of ice, like there was a cold aura surrounding him. He was quite goodlooking too.

The boy had to blink twice, he hadn't noticed the man at all. It seemed like he just materialized from thin air.The young lad took the man's hand and thanked him endlessly.

People around were cheering and praising the man for his heroic deed.

Witnessing all this left Johan flabbergasted. Magic?!

"Isn't that.. Sir Liam?!"

Several onlookers looked even more excited, specifically the young men and women. The man just waved bashfully at them in response.

"Who?" A clueless bystander asked.

"Liam Solei! The first son of the Solei family, one of the most powerful families in Albia!!" An eager fan kindly explained.

Wow he's a celebrity? I'm not even surprised. Johan was amused, he didn't expect to see such a show this early.

Magic... It's said that every living thing has mana inside them, though not all can harness the energy and use it.

Johan was one of those people, unfortunately.

If he did; he could probably do something cool like joining the Metropolitan Police, maybe apply for magic schoolー it'd be a bit too late for that though.. Or he could be a wanderer.

But of course, he can't do magic so he's stuck with being a journalist. Atleast he works for one of the most well known publishing companies in Beacon city, ratherー the only publishing company in Beacon city.

It had many branches scattered across the districts.

Speaking of workー it's about time to go back now.

　　　　　　　　　▶▶▶

"You met the Liam Solei??!! and you just walked away?!!!"

His female colleague, Claire; was gripping his collar and swinging him back and forth. Feeling exasperated that her nonchalant coworker met the person she was a fan of, instead of her.

Johan: "wellー I didn't exactly meet him, I just saw."

He felt like the molecules of the crossaints he ate earlier, were swaying inside his stomach. Oh god, please make this die-hard fan stop...

"Now now, stop shaking him so much. He's getting dizzy."

Johan looked gratefully at Owen, his other colleague; who just saved him from potential brain damage. He almost even cried tears of joy.

Owen:"Besidesー you know Johan doesn't care about that stuff, he only has eyes for that one guy"

That guy..? Who??

Nora:"That's exactly why I'm so pissed! It should've been me!!! Not thisー agh!!"

Her frustrations rendered her unable to even express herself, though you could still tell how annoyed she was.

Johan could somewhat understand. It's the same feeling as when your friend gets an SSR that you really wanted, and they just shrug it off; while you stay bitter about the fact that you spent money and still didn't get it.

Eventually their boss noticed the commotion and came in to tell them to stop slacking off.

Bzzt

There it was again, while he was working too. It was really ruining his focus. It's just was worse as a crying baby, except you could actually make a baby shut upー this? No.

Heck, he doesn't even know where it's coming from.

He gave in and stood up for a short break.

Johan:"what's the date today again?"

Nora:"oh it'sー the last day of the season of sunburst."

She could've just said August 31ー Johan then suddenly came to a realization, making him run out of the office quickly.

His coworkers looked at him with a mixture of concern and confusion as to why he was in such a rush.

Unfamiliar terms, unfamiliar face, unfamiliar memories, A job he wasn't accustomed toー and not to mention magic?!

No wonder he felt so strange this morning.. he's not from this world is he.

Johan was retracing his memories now, from playing the game... To falling into the toilet... To waking up in that dark alleyway.

That must've been the point where he transmigrated into this body.

The point where Kim Minho became Johan Wright.

So the landlady didn't confuse him with "Johan Wright" that night, it was because he was Johan Wright.

To think he actually thought of robbing his "own" house.

While he was busy gathering his thoughts, the buzzing sound in his ear turned into a clearer; more crisp sound.

The particles of light around him converged together into a white translucent screen.

[Congratulations on completing the quest "self-awareness" you can now access ]