- I like you too... for a long time. I agree to be your boyfriend.

With trembling hands, hidden behind his back, the black-haired boy anxiously awaited an answer. His eyes stared at the floor, out of fear he dared not even look at the girl standing in front of him.

- What makes you think I want to go out with you?

The cold voice rang in his ears like a sentence. The face of the girl who said it showed no emotion. No anger, no mockery, no interest. It was as if she were asking him a question about the weather.

She threw back a lock of her blond hair with her hand, which was resting on her school uniform. Her beautiful blue eyes matched perfectly with a blue skirt that couldn't hide her long, slender legs. Her black school jacket was neatly buttoned up and her back was straight. She gave the impression of a model student.

Maria Sato was half Japanese, half European. There wasn't a person in the school who didn't know that name. Not only the prettiest girl but also had the highest grades in the class. Not a day went by that some unfortunate boy didn't confess his love for her. But none of them ever got her attention. Each one is left with a broken heart after an unconditional rejection.

- Did you get hit somewhere? Become what? Boyfriend? Come to your senses, loser.

The merciless words came down on the poor guy. They were uttered by the redheaded student standing next to Maria. Unlike the "ice princess", her friend was known for her rough temper. Her school jacket was tied around her waist and the top buttons of her white shirt were undone, emphasizing her large breasts.

- Hm...I...I...- the boy began to stutter. All his determination, which he had been gathering for a long time then, had ended on the previous sentence. Now all he had to do was stand helplessly under the powerful pressure.

- How can you be her boyfriend? You can't even say anything. Stop mumbling, - the redheaded girl continued to pummel him.

- Diane, stop it. I got this. You said you agreed to be my boyfriend. What was that supposed to mean? - Maria stopped her friend and asked the question in a serious tone.

The boy could hardly stand on his feet. Tears were gathering in his eyes, he wanted to run away and hide somewhere from shame.

"Daniel, stop. You can't run away now. Remember, you're a man. You're a man. We've rehearsed so much, don't you dare run away."

Daniel gathered the last of his strength, clenched his hands into fists, and looked at his beloved girl.

- You were the one who texted me yesterday. You texted me that you liked me. I've had feelings for you for a long time too, since junior high. Go out with me. - Shouted the guy so hard that everyone in the class turned their heads in his direction.

- But I didn't send you anything. - Maria replied with icy calmness.

-But...but...how come? Wait, there's your message! - Daniel rummaged in his pocket, took out his smartphone, and handed it to the girl. While Maria read it, the boy held his breath and was afraid to move.

- I don't know who sent you this. The text is not from me...

Before Maria could finish her words, there sounded a low chuckle nearby.

Leaning against the wall, the tall handsome blond boy covered his mouth with one hand. It was obvious he could barely hold back his laugh.

The trio looked at him at the same time.

"I see." - Maria thought.

- 'This is your doing, isn't it, Arthur? - If looks could kill, Arthur wouldn't stand a chance. Anyone in his position would have cringed in fear long ago under the pressure of the "ice princess." But Arthur only carelessly shrugged and smiled innocently.

- What are you talking about?

- Let's not play this game, Arthur. It's obviously your message.

Daniel's heart skipped a beat. He felt completely ashamed of himself. When he got the message yesterday, he was over the moon, but it was all just an idiotic prank. They had made a complete idiot out of him.

He turned around and, covering his eyes with his hand so no one would see the tears streaming down his face, quickly ran away.

In the classroom, you could hear the students whispering and even laughing. Most were merrily discussing the situation, mocking the failed confession.

"Damn, I guess I overdid it. Why is he such a crybaby?" sighed Arthur.

- Well, why did you do that? - Maria continued her questioning in a cold tone.

-I wanted to help him.

- Help him? Help him how?

- You know... that idiot has been in love with you since junior high school. All he does is dream about you. I wanted to finally push him into action. He got rejected, he got upset, but now he can move on.

"Also because it's incredibly funny. Who knew he was so naive. To fall for such an idiotic message." the blond guy mentally chuckled.

- "In that way? Couldn't you have made it gentler?

- It's like teaching kids to swim. I just threw him in the water. He has to swim out on his own. That's the best way.

- Isn't it? I think you just wanted to make fun of him.

"Wow, she's perceptive."

- Well... I can mix business with pleasure. Is that so bad? - Arthur answered honestly and smiled.

Maria said nothing to these words, just shook her head. She threw a hard look at him. Then she turned around and walked on.

"Is she mad at me? No...something else. Disappointment?" - Arthur was bewildered.

- You're such a jerk! - Shouted Diana and followed her friend.

Arthur scratched his head.

- That's how you do good to people. No one appreciates my efforts.

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

- You bastard! Does it feel good to make an idiot out of me?

Arthur heard Daniel's angry shout and turned around. But all he managed to see was his fist coming toward his face.

The blow was already very close, Arthur tried to dodge on reflexes, but fell a little short. The fist hit him in the jaw. He couldn't keep his footing from the surprise and fell backwards unluckily. He felt a severe pain in the back of his head as he hit the corner of the school desk.

Immediately thereafter, his consciousness was plunged into darkness.

No telling how long it took before Arthur tried to open his eyes. The bright light blinded him, causing him to squint.

But he immediately felt a pain in his neck, something was choking him. Arthur found it hard to breathe and his face turned red. He instinctively reached for his throat and felt something that looked like a rope around his neck.

There was no way to tear it off. The oxygen was gradually running out. To make matters worse, his feet were dangling freely in the air, there was no ground beneath them.

Arthur pulled himself together; there was no time to panic. He had to assess the situation. He looked up and noticed that the rope was tied to a tree. With the last of his strength, he began to swing in the air from side to side. Time ticked by in seconds.

Bang.

Luckily, the rope was old and couldn't take the weight.

Arthur collapsed to the ground and coughed. His neck burned with pain.

After catching his breath, Arthur looked around. The classroom he had been in a few minutes ago had been replaced by the scenery of an unknown forest. Instead of the annoying voices of his classmates, there was now the rustling of leaves and the crackling of crickets.

- Where the hell am I?

Arthur shifted his gaze to the nearest tree. It was the same one he had just fallen from. Half of the torn rope was still dangling in the wind. Underneath lay a black man's bag, stuffed to the brim.

Now, however, it was the strange iron object that caught Arthur's attention the most. It looked as if it had been hammered into the wood. A small piece of paper was sticking out from under it.

Unknowingly Arthur had the idea that perhaps on this note, he would find his answers. What was his disappointment when he tore off the iron object and read it.

"Everything is a lie. The whole world is a lie."

Only these words were written in a sloppy handwriting on the paper.

- What the hell? I have no idea where I am. And all I got were the words, "The whole world is a lie." That's just great.

Arthur felt dizzy, no strength left in his legs. He almost collapsed on the spot. He sat down, leaning his back against a tree. He needed to clear his thoughts.

After resting for a few minutes, Arthur turned his attention to an unknown object in his hand, under which was a note. At first, he thought it was just a strange piece of metal. But now, after twisting it and looking closer, he realized that it was something more.

It was small and fit in the palm of his hand. It was a ball of iron, from which four sharp claws protruded. At the top of the ball was what Arthur described as an "eye", which looked like a normal video camera.

- Hmm...Looks like a four-legged spider. And what is that? A drone?

But no matter how much he tried to find the activation button or anything like it, he never succeeded. He sighed in frustration.

- Huh? What's wrong with my hands? Why are they so thin and small?

Now his hands suddenly caught his eye. Arthur jumped to his feet, forgetting his fatigue. He had a bad feeling.

He began to examine his body. He almost screamed in shock.

- It isn't my body. I'm obviously shorter. It's weak, with almost no muscle. And why was I so thin?

The only thing that looked the same was the color of my hair. But even then, it was long and shaggy, unlike Arthur's well-tailored short hair.

- Calm down, Arthur. Breathe. What's the last thing you remember? I was in class, and then I got hit and fell down. I woke up hanging from a tree. More than that, not in my body. So the million-dollar question is, what does all this mean?

Arthur began to walk in circles, holding his arms around his neck. He spoke his thoughts out loud, it made it easier for him to concentrate.

- Huh...it's like the novels, isn't it? I moved into someone else's body? I'm wearing some kind of fantastic gray armor now, and a few seconds ago I was holding a weird robot spider in my hand. I bet I'm in another world.

Arthur laughed at the ridiculous idea. He laughed so hard for so long that his stomach began to hurt. But toward the end, the realization that this was no joke at all came over him painfully.

- Okay...so many questions. We should start with the easiest ones. If I'm in another world and I'm in someone else's body, shouldn't I usually get some sort of system, or the memories of the previous owner. Hey...almighty god, if you can hear me, I'm waiting! - Arthur shouted. he put his hands on his waist and looked up at the sky with the challenge.

A second passed. Another one. Nothing happened.

- Well, of course...what was I counting on. I couldn't have been that lucky.

[System activated! Welcome, Host!]

Suddenly a cold unemotional voice sounded.

Arthur froze; he just couldn't move a muscle. It took a few moments before he was finally able to pull himself together and regain his composure.

Rubbing his eyes, Arthur was even more confused, a large virtual screen appeared before his eyes.

[Status.]

Name: Arno Mann

Overall Rank: G-

Experience: 0/870

Mana Core: -

Bloodline Grade: -

Strength: 1.2

Agility: 1.1

Stamina: 0.8

Perception: 1.7

Luck: 0.5

Charisma: 0.1

Skills:

[Manipulation of Mana]: Advanced.

Note: There is no mana in your body. However, your level of control of external mana has reached a high level.

- Okay... this must be legendary status. Only why aren't my stats legendary at all? I wonder what the averages are in this world? - Arthur asked aimlessly, not expecting an answer.

[The stats of an ordinary person are at the level of 2.5. A standard G-class hunter is more than 5.]

- Wow...seriously? Well, that explains a lot. I really feel like a ton was dropped on top of me.

The blond guy started swinging his arms and legs vigorously from side to side. Each movement was difficult. He checked his status one more time.

"Who could possibly have such a low status? Has he spent half his life in a coma and had all his body parts atrophied?"

Arthur said [Status] and the screen reappeared before his eyes.

- M...that's not my name. Arno Mann?...hmmm. I've heard it somewhere before. Where? ... Isn't that the name I saw yesterday in a novel I was reading?

Yesterday Arthur came across a new novel with the pretentious title "Rise of Darkness." He wasn't expecting much from a work with such a silly title, but to his surprise it hooked him hard. Arthur spent half the night reading and managed to read a little more than half of it before he finally convinced himself to go to bed. Still, he had interesting things planned for the morning, he couldn't miss such delicious entertainment!

Honestly, it was the usual story of a hero rising from the bottom. His name was Eric Mann. And like any self-respecting hero-he was a poor commoner. But his talent and perseverance got him into the best academy in the Helios Empire.

However, there was also a character in this story who interested Arthur even more than the main hero.

After Eric was abandoned by his mother, and his father died because of alcohol addiction, he was left with only a younger sister and brother.

The younger sister's name was Elia and from the middle of the novel this girl begins to play quite an important role. There is even an entire arc devoted to the brother-sister relationship, where Eric tries to establish a relationship with her. And, of course, thanks to the halo of the "hero" he succeeds.

But what about his brother? Arthur strained his memory hard, but all he could recall was one scene with him and a couple of mentions in the book. So insignificant was the character.

Why, then, was he of such interest to Arthur? It's all very simple. In addition to his super talented sister, Arnaud also had a wife, Sophia. Super beautiful and smart, but even more ridiculously, she wasn't just a person. She was a goddess.

Yes, yes, a bloody goddess. And, of course, like Elia, from the middle of the book, she also becomes part of the story. Moreover, a relationship gradually develops between Eric and Sophia, too. In a romantic way. Unfortunately, Arthur never finished reading the book. And where he left off, it wasn't clear how it would end. But given the already fairly large harem of the protagonist, ( and how is MC without one?) Arthur was willing to put his soul on the line that she would be another member of it.

What about Arno? What about her husband? Obviously...

- Congratulations unlocked the achievement "You were Ntr'ed." - laughed Arthur as he was reading the novel.

"How can this guy's whole family be so powerful and he's the only loser? Is that even real," Arthur wondered last night. That's why this character, useless throughout the novel, was so interesting to him.

Arthur sighed bitterly.

- Is it karma? Was I so bad in a past life that I got this exact body for all my sins? I wasn't a saint, of course, but I didn't kill or rob anyone. Then why? - Arthur shouted with hatred and kicked the wood with his foot. He grabbed for it immediately, even that blow hurt him.

After hopping on one leg for a while, a thought suddenly came to his mind.

- If I understand correctly what happened here, Arno hanged himself. And the paper I found is a strange suicide note. But in the novel, he's definitely alive. How is that possible?

[Ding! The first mission is received!]