Kaymelin lifted his body out of the bath.
His waist-long white hair pulled out streams of warm bath water. The fragrant atmosphere of humidity was a cloud that shrouded his frail body. He covered his face with his hand and combed through his hair, allowing the mirror to reflect his feminine features, sparklingly pale. A finely cut opal.
Vertical, sapphire blue irises were like an ocean hiding within his curious gaze. A feline curiosity.
From the sound of falling water droplets came a sigh. Kaymelin scanned the back of his pale hand.
"This is such a... jarring perspective." His voice was a smooth melody. As if every syllable was being sung, ringing through nonexistent ears, like a lullaby that soothes the soul.
A game-like menu was floating before his eyes.
[=[ Name: Visca Kaymelin ]=]
[]=[]=[]=[]=[]=[]
ID: Wonderland Mask
LVL: 1 (F-Rank Blank)
Talent: Unawakened
Profession: None
Titles: None
[]=[]=[]=[]=[]=[]
"Am I in Grand Pantheon? Or has the game fully merged with reality?"
Kaymelin's confusion was legitimate. One moment, he was watching as the Solar System he lived in was annihilated. In the next, he found himself lying in bed, comfy under warm sheets, in the body of his own avatar. It was bizarre.
As if he was a mere character in some unknown author's novel.
"Yet here I am," Kaymelin squinted as he unhooked his bathrobe and draped it over his shoulders. "Living a life that isn't supposed to be possible."
Walking outside the bathroom, what greeted Kaymelin was an untouched hotel room. The only sign of life it had were the creases on the bedsheets. The place where he had been lying in just a few minutes before was as clear as day.
Kaymelin slipped into comfortable cotton clothes. A shirt, baggy pants, and a hoodie. His clothes automatically fit to his body, guaranteeing that he looked pleasing to the eye.
In the next moment, a small notebook appeared in his hands. A pen fell upon its pages, scribbling away with great familiarity.
[ Advanced technology, ancient human architecture, and a minimalistic culture. This era is not mine. ]
Kaymelin frowned as he scanned the gadgets on the wall. Some of these devices looked familiar, however more were items he had never seen before. It took a few moments of trial and error to figure out which device he wanted to access.
"Connect me to the galactic network," He commanded.
A holographic screen was projected onto the wall in front of his bed. On the white screen was a simple, empty search bar. Awaiting his next commands.
"Give me a rundown of recent events. Include relevant information such as the date, location, and cultural implications of such an event."
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.
A robotic voice replied, "Unfortunately, you do not have enough G-Credits for your request. Please top-up on credits or avail of our loans..."
Kaymelin switched the screen off. His hand was busy scribbling once more.
[ Avaricious society... Likely one where the powerful reign without empathy nor mercy. Exploitation should be prominent despite technological advancement. ]
Kaymelin paused, and his eyes wondered towards his balcony. Despite the apparent cleanliness of the sprawling metropolis, he knew that such a small planetary city cost barely a Galactic Credit to construct.
[ Current societal position: Poorest of the Poor. ]
He shook his wrist, and another screen appeared before his eyes.
[]=[]=[]=[]=[]=[]
Galactic Credit Balance: 0
Solar Credit Balance: 0
Planetary Credit Balance: 0
Base Credit Balance: 0.1
[]=[]=[]=[]=[]=[]
"..."
Should he laugh? Should he cry? Kaymelin was unsure as to which was better. Indeed, he was alive, but what use was living if he impoverished to such a degree?
[ A body which is mine yet not mine at the same time. What kind of reincarnation is this?
I've been transported a thousand years into the future... The aliens should've have began their invasion a long time ago. Humanity should have advanced by leaps and bounds, yet I see no great progress. The poor still starve, and the strong still thrive. ]
Kaymelin walked out of his hotel room, down the elevator, and out of the hotel. When his footfalls fell upon the rough asphalt, Kaymelin instantly identified shallow traces of battle. Scratch marks on the lamp posts, burn marks on the buildings, uneven repairs, patrolling soldiers with plasma weapons, and injured civilians.
Given the impoverished location, such were telltale signs that a battle had occurred recently. One that had killed at least a few hundred people.
Kaymelin's eyes flashed. He knew the horrors of an advanced civilisation. He was a scientist in his past life. A prominent one. Studying human biology was something he enjoyed, creating and augmenting the human body through organic means.
[ This should be a planet in the peripheries. My safety is not guaranteed here. Should I grant myself a swift death before I am captured and used for breeding or experimentation? ]
There was a pause. A certain defiance painted Kaymelin's face, and a grin spread across his thin lips.
"No," The scribbling pen halted mid-sentence. "This game-like world is much too interesting to give up."
There were clearly a crazy amount of secrets that he had to uncover. His annihilation, reincarnation, and the merging of the game-world with reality, in the first place, were all points of contention. His mouth was watering already.
"Slurp,"
Kaymelin had to wipe off the drool that threatened to escape his lips. His pen resumed its scribbling as if his hand had a mind of its own.
[ Initial Goal: Survivability — Level 100, E-Rank
Important Requirement: Awakening... ]
"...And for that, I need directions."
He was too poor to ask the A.I. for help.
***
Kaymelin recognised which game had merged with real life. It was a virtual reality game called Grand Pantheon that he loved to play. A sandbox MMORPG, where every single existence had a statistic and level. Everything, from the rocks on the ground, the sun in the sky, the wind that blew through someone's hair, and the atoms that composed one's body. All of these things had levels that could be examined. All one would need was an appraisal skill strong enough to extract such information. As well as a high-level microscope and/or telescope.
There was a chuckle that escaped Kaymelin's lips. "The energy created by Nuclear Fission using a Level 439 Neutron and Level 318 Uranium atom still scares me to this day."
For a moment, Kaymelin reminisced.
[=[ Name: Visca Kaymelin ]=]
[]=[]=[]=[]=[]=[]
ID: Wonderland Mask
LVL: 512 (S-Rank Grand Magus)
Talent: Skill Revolver (B-Rank)
Profession: Scholar [LVL 721 (SSS-Rank)]
[]=[]=[]=[]=[]=[]
He used to be a strong combatant, and an even stronger professional. He was a scholar who could pry into the secrets of biological godhood, wrenching the secrets of immortality straight from their cells. It had turned out that their mitochondria were all miniature nuclear reactors. Some gods could even merge Hydrogen atoms inside their cells to fuel their magic.
Such game knowledge had inspired him to experiment in real life itself, augmenting the human body until he breached superhuman levels. His works were sometimes praised as a step forward for humanity, while many others were denounced for the terror they could bring.
Looking back, Kaymelin knew why his own race had a betrayed him, especially after he began bringing things from the game into reality. The universe itself broke. All it took was a small push from a conscious being, and then bam. He was annihilated until only quarks remained.
Kaymelin still had no idea how it happened.
Yet evil loomed in the depths of his eyes.
"I'm going to find their descendants and do the same,"