[Do you accept the quest? Y/N]

[WARNING: Upon beginning of this timed quest, you will receive relevant items and the countdown will begin.]

Ah. So the game-like attribute window wasn't just a gimmick - the goddess was really sending me on this route. Just arrived in a new world, and I had to save a girl named Sera Luncan.

The muscle-butler's words flashed through my mind. Half-sister. Under Royal supervision. Then, I remembered the freezing pressure accompanying his other message. 'Remain confined.'

A humorless laugh slipped out of my mouth. 'The more pathetic, the more entertaining,' she had said. Pathetic, huh? I grit my teeth.

The pain of burning to a crisp. The humiliation of her mocking smile. The confusion at being sent into a bastard's body, and being told to follow some inane order to survive. The helplessness of knowing I couldn't resist.

The penalty shined in bold white letters, popping out from the yellow background.

Loss of the System.

"Do I accept?" I smiled painfully, my teeth showing. "No need to put an option for rejection, you damn goddess. Just smile and watch. I'll struggle so pathetically that even you'll have to turn your rotten head away. And eventually.."

I'll smash that smirk right off your face.

I moved my finger towards the prompt, and it glowed bright yellow as I tapped 'Y'.

[User has accepted the quest!]

[Starting timer..]

[23:59:59]

[You have been gifted one IMMEDIATE clue, one GENERAL clue, and a memory fragment of ALEXANDER LUNCAN]

The yellow window disappeared, and the blue window returned. However, there was a new tab beneath my attributes.

[Inventory]

My anger settled down. I had talked big, but in reality, my situation was still the same: in a foreign world without knowledge of who I was. But, one of the information windows had caught my eye.

"Open Inventory."

A gray window popped up. It was divided in the middle into two regions. The left one was blank, while the right region resembled a storage; it was a rectangle divided into thirty evenly-sized squares. In the top-left were three items - a green and red question-mark, and a pixelated crystal shard.

I tapped each of them, and the left region filled up with information.

[IMMEDIATE clue]

[Applicable to quests. Once used, will advise the USER on the next best course-of-action. Advice varies depending on quest progression.]

This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

[GENERAL clue]

[Applicable to quests. Once used, will reveal to the USER an important piece to solving the quest. Advice varies depending on quest progression.]

[Memory fragment of ALEXANDER LUNCAN]

[Contains the experience of ALEXANDER LUNCAN.]

That was the one.

"Consume the memory fragment of Alexander Luncan."

The screen flashed brightly and the crystal shard disappeared. Then, my head exploded.

[ERROR: FEATURE LOCKED]

[ADMIN OVERRIDE.. SETTING UP SOUL ASSIMILATION]

A garden. Rainbow bursts of colors.

"Sera."

"Brother." Hot rage. Anger.

Her crimson hair. Her innocent, green eyes. She was filthy, a demon. Wait.. why was she filthy?

[INITIALIZING..]

Rain splattered on my cheeks. A blond man, my father, walked through metal gates. A tint of red behind him. Death, rain, sorrow. Oh. I hated her.

[...]

Blue light shined and they came. Perfect. Victoria, Princess, my cousin. Hugs, simpering old men, and stinging betrayal. Hold it in Alex.

[0.5%..]

Giggles through hallowed halls. Cats. I could feel myself grinning.

[0.75%..]

Hopeful eyes. I hate her. I hate her. I hate her. A blond commoner, Alan. Mine. She was crying. A sense of relief, and pure bliss. Ah.. her tears. Then, the sweet sound of.. screams?

[Memory fragment has been absorbed! 1% Soul Assimilation with ALEXANDER LUNCAN]

I gasped for air, bent over, and promptly vomited. What the fuck was that? The feeling of hatred was cooling off, but I could still feel it. Twisting tentacles gnawing, crawling around, over, inside of me. Fuck.

Staring down, a puddle of orange had pooled at my feet. I shook my head. Despite the uncanny immersion, I had gained basic knowledge of my situation.

Alexander Luncan wasn't just a name on a game screen. It was me. I was the heir to the noble Luncan house, son of Sylvia and Arthur Luncan. Princess Victoria, the black-haired beauty, was my cousin, whilst Alan was my personal butler. Sera Luncan was my half-sister.

Huh. Thankfully, no feelings of anger popped up. Once more, I cursed the goddess. It was indescribable, losing your sense of self and experiencing another's emotions as if they were your own.

That was only one percent too. Shit. I had to do it to survive, but there was a bitter taste in my mouth.

I straightened my back. If I had gained some memories of the body's original owner, then logically..

"Status."

[Mana: F+(C)]

[Vitality: F(D)]

[Strength: F(D)]

[Agility: F(D-)]

[Will: F-(E-)]

[Aura: F-(E)]

My talents and skills were still locked, but like I had suspected, there was a change.

I clenched my fist and felt it. It was negligible, barely noticeable, but I was slightly stronger. It all made sense now. The reward for completing the quest was unlocking the Soul Assimilation feature, and I assumed that in order to return to Alexander's prior potential, I would have to up the percentage.

Still. If that was only one percent, then to get to the whole hundred..

"Come on. You were going to get revenge, weren't you?" I took a deep breath.

Okay. I had achieved my first goal, and established a basic foundation of knowledge to work off of. As of now, I needed to know three things.

One. Where was Sera Luncan? Since the muscle-butler had said Sera was under royal supervision, I would need to speak to Victoria.

Two. What did I need to save Sera Luncan from? The quest's wording had been vague. Did I need to 'save' her from surveillance? Imprisonment?

Finally, three. How could I move around the mansion undetected? The memories hadn't contained the locations of any secret passages, but for this, I had a solution.

"Inventory."

Only two slots had items in them now, but one of them fit the bill for my current predicament. The IMMEDIATE clue.

"Consume IMMEDIA-"

Knock. Knock. Knock.

I spun towards the door. Had the muscle-butler heard me talking to myself or throwing up? I recalled his enormous stature and cold stare. If he came, it would make things much more difficult.

"I'm coming." I moved slowly.

Stay calm. If he asks about the vomit, tell him you're still a bit injured. I inhaled deeply, then pushed open the door.

A beauty. Hair as dark as the abyss on a face carved from marble. Her skin was milky white, and my eyes sank into deep pools of onyx.

She smiled, but I couldn't feel any warmth. "Hello, cousin."