"Hmmph." Drakis rubbed his eyes as he woke. "Where am I?"
Looking around, Drakis found himself in a weird place. Many items belonging to the modern world littered the room, and something as simple as an alarm clock was entirely foreign to him. He rubbed his eyes again, sure that this place was a mere illusion.
But after a few seconds the place was still there, and so he could do nothing but accept this strange place.
Somehow, he had escaped the clutches of death and awoke in an even more obscure place.
One such mystery stood atop a wooden stand that was about 12 meters from his bed.
This mysterious box was dark and rectangular with a glass window in the center. Inside the box he saw what appeared to be a play.
However, as far as he knew plays didn't change locations and angles so much. One second some elves were fighting orcs, and the next a group of midgets were traveling across a barren landscape with some weirdo screaming, "MY PRECIOUS!!"
It was unlike anything he had ever seen, something Drakis felt only dark magic could create.
Still, he couldn't help but feel intrigued by the magical box. Within just seconds, he was lost in this fantastical world waiting just ahead of him.
KNOCK KNOCK!!
"Hey! You awake!" A loud and cheerful voice called as she burst through the door anyway.
"Huh?" Drakis murmured, his connection with the box suddenly severed. Right when the story was getting good, too.
But when the woman spoke again, Drakis decided that he didn't mind the interruption.
"Oh good, you're awake!" The woman exclaimed, clutching some kind of paper in her right hand. "I've got your first match all set up, so follow me!"
Drakis nodded, already thinking about the upcoming battle. Because he had no Mana or special bloodline abilities, there was no doubt the fight would be tough.
That was no excuse to lose, though. Above everything else, he needed to get stronger. In order to get stronger, it was obvious that he would have to fight.
And fight.
And fight.
"You're a funny one!" The woman said as she tilted her head with a smile. "Most newcomers either shake themselves to death or act like brooding little Sasukes."
"What's a Sasuke?" Drakis whispered as he jumped off the bed.
"Eh, just some character," she said as she shook her head. Then, as if she forgot something, she smacked her forehead before saying, "Hold up. I need to check your status screen."
With those words, she pulled up his status screen. Shaking her head, the woman mumbled, "I always forget."
Drakis watched as her eyes went down the system screen. He already knew there was going to be some snide remark about him having no Mana. There always was.
But not for much longer.
"What's this?" The woman whispered in disbelief, her eyes stopping at something specific. Her eyes darted between Drakis and the system, as if she had seen something entirely unexpected.
"Uh, this is Drakis, right?" she said, trying to force some authority into her now shaky voice. "And, uh, you just got here, right?"
Drakis nodded.
"Interesting." The woman shook her head again before saying, "I think this thing is broken. Let me reboot it."
"It isn't," Drakis said plainly. "I have no Mana or bloodline abilities."
It was the harsh truth he had endured forever. Not even the throne was a formidable enough shield against such a fact.
However, the woman merely shrugged when she heard his words. Reaching into her chest pocket, she took out some kind of metal tablet thing and began tapping it rapidly.
"That's not it," she murmured. "We get plenty of talentless people here. Some grow strong, some die. Nope, you are an enigma because of an entirely different reason."
Drakis raised an eyebrow as she continued assaulting the tablet. 'She doesn't care about my lack of talent at all? And what was that she said? About how some grow strong and some die?'
Squeezing his fists tightly, Drakis knew exactly which one of those he would become.
"Okay, there we are!" The woman cried triumphantly.
A second later, a reboot message flared in front of him. Then the system went dark for a moment.
Drakis watched the screen intently, waiting for it to turn on again. If there was something wrong, he wanted to know what it was.
[Ding!!]
The second the screen turned on, Drakis studied its contents. However, as far as he could tell, it was exactly the same.
And glancing at the woman, he knew he wasn't missing anything. Her mouth was completely agape. She instantly slammed her hand against it, clearly trying to hide her shock.
"What's wrong?" Drakis asked.
"Uh..." The woman quickly forced a smile on her face, though her red cheeks completely betrayed her. "Nothing. It's fixed now."
'Sure,' Drakis thought. It was obvious she was hiding something big, but he knew better than to press on too hard.
This place was entirely foreign to him, so it would be best to learn more about it before causing conflict. Higher ups didn't take kindly to those who posed any kind of threat.
That was something he learned the hard way.
"Anyway, follow me!" The woman shouted, tearing Drakis from his thoughts. By the time he looked up, she was already skipping out the door—the only thing left between him and revenge.
As he approached the door, Drakis noticed that there wasn't any room on the other side. None that he could see, anyway. The entire doorway was blocked by some kind of white veil, as if a curtain was draped over it.
However, the woman kept on walking as if it was completely normal. Drakis studied it for a second. Maybe there was some kind of crazy death trap just beyond the door.
But if he just stayed in this room, what was waiting for him? Watching that strange box wouldn't get him his revenge.
Therefore, Drakis decided to kill hesitation and simply walked through the veil as if it never existed.