I took a few steps toward the door and took a deep breath.
Whoosh!
The wood creaked as I pushed the door open.
A gentle breeze brushed against my face, carrying the scent of damp earth and burning wood. The sun was nearly disappearing on the horizon, painting the sky in golden red, as if the world itself had been drenched in blood and gold.
My eyes stung, and for a moment, I felt something strange—almost human, almost nostalgic. I whispered softly, not caring if anyone heard:
— It's good to be alive, despite everything… even if this world is dark.
I stepped down from the small threshold and surveyed the scene before me.
The carriages were arranged in a circle, forming a kind of improvised wall. Inside it, a rustic camp had been set up. In the center, a large bonfire roared and crackled, illuminating the young faces gathered around it.
Boys and girls sat on cloth mats spread across the ground, some laughing in groups, others murmuring in low voices. Bread was being shared among them, chewed hastily between laughs or serious glances. It was a simple scene, yet charged with hidden tension—each person there knew they were about to be thrown into a new life, in an academy that spared no failures.
My stomach growled. Instinctively, I placed my hand over it. The Giga Chad body could be a fortress, but even fortresses need fuel.
I walked over to an improvised table where some hard bread and jugs of juice were stacked. The memories I had inherited confirmed it: this was where food was distributed.
A line of young people was already waiting. I observed silently as a freckled boy bowed, trembling, before an imposing figure.
— Hurry up! — a cold, hoarse female voice echoed.
— S-Sorry, Lady Angelia! — the boy stammered, grabbing his bread hastily and running as if he had seen death itself.
It was at that moment that my world shook.
[The Giga Chad System has detected a threat.]
[Beep!]
[Danger alert!]
[Danger alert!]
[The host body is extremely close to a source of danger.]
[It is recommended to move at least 1000 meters away!]
A shiver ran down my spine.
But instead of retreating, I smiled.
— So that's how it is, huh? — I thought, narrowing my eyes at the suffocating presence of the woman. — My system isn't a cold chip like Leylin's… it's a living entity. An eternal sentinel, watching every detail around me.
I smiled even wider, almost laughing.
— That means I don't have to be constantly alert… while Leylin relies on a chip that must evolve to reach new levels, I have eyes that never close, senses that never sleep. My system can monitor 360 degrees, twenty-four hours a day. I presume it can also process information far faster than Leylin's technological chip.
The eyes of my system glowed in alert as the figure in front of me moved.
It was something with traces of being a woman dressed in black, apparently middle-aged, but her presence was intimidating. A deep scar ran across her face, from forehead to lip, dividing it almost completely in half. Bald, hairless. It was impossible not to notice: every detail of her exuded danger, and my system immediately marked her as a source of threat.
The freckled boy who had apologized earlier trembled as he faced her, swallowing hard. There was no need for confirmation. My alert had been accurate.
"This is the academy servant responsible for receiving us," I thought, recalling the memories that haunted my mind. "From what I've read, these people are failed experiments created by mages. Here, human experiments, creatures, or anything that might interest a mage are conducted without a second thought. After all, who would dare oppose a powerful mage?"
The line moved quickly, and soon it was my turn.
The woman in black extended her hand, offering a piece of white bread and some juice without saying a word. She merely gestured for me to move along, her face impatient and cruel.
I smiled inwardly. Following the memories I had inherited, I bowed formally.
"Thank you, ma'am!" I said with calculated politeness.
I sighed and moved to a more secluded corner of the camp. A solitary wooden bench caught my attention, and I sat without concern for anyone nearby.
I began eating quickly. The white bread was soft and delicious, though not as flavorful as the breads from my previous world.
'This ordinary bread…' I thought, taking another bite. 'According to my memories, it is considered a delicacy reserved for celebrations. Here, the world cannot produce food on a large scale. Only aristocrats and minor nobles have the privilege of enjoying something like this during major holidays. Peasants? They make do with hard, black bread, almost devoid of nutrition.'
As I chewed, my hand brushed against my pants pocket. Leylin's ring was still there, metallic and cold. Such a valuable magical item couldn't simply be left lying around.
Smiling slightly, I focused mentally and recalled:
"Inventory."
Blop~~
A screen appeared floating in the air, translucent and bluish, as if it had been waiting for me for a long time.
[INVENTORY]
1.Initial Gift (1x)
Description: An initial gift created by a nameless deity for their novice transmigrators.
2.Empty.
3.Empty…
…
999.Empty.
"Of course," I murmured, satisfied. "My system would naturally have an inventory. After all, it wouldn't be a system without one, would it?"
I finished swallowing the last piece of bread and looked around. The camp seemed lively, full of young people laughing and chatting, but my instincts told me to keep my distance. We weren't in the desert yet, like in the story I had read; we were surrounded by dense forest, long shadows stretching as the sun disappeared.
I rose from the wooden bench and began walking among the trees, feeling the breeze brush my face. Before my steps took me too far, I issued a mental command:
"System! Monitor my surroundings and alert me immediately if anything dangerous approaches. Include in the danger list: insects, animals, people… anything nearby that could harm me."
["The Giga Chad System has accepted the order!"]
A wave of energy coursed through my body. My hair stood on end, and I felt as if everything around me was enveloped in an invisible force field, protecting me from imminent threats. Ignoring the sensation, I continued walking, analyzing the environment with the keen eyes of a predator.
Eventually, I found an isolated spot where I could see the moon rising between the tree branches. I leaned my back against the rough bark of a trunk and calmly reached into my pocket to retrieve the ring I had stolen from Leylin.
The ring was black, cold, and indescribable at first glance. On the inner side, a small "Y" was engraved, surrounded by complex inscriptions that seemed to pulse faintly.
"According to the memories, this ring would be given by Leylin to an academy professor as payment to be accepted as a student…" I murmured to myself, a malicious smile forming on my face. "Now that Leylin doesn't have it… hihihi… let's see how he manages."
Returning to reality, I raised my arm toward the floating inventory screen. With a precise gesture, I inserted the ring into the screen. A soft flash lit the area for a moment, and the ring disappeared as if absorbed by an invisible entity.
[INVENTORY]
1.Initial Gift (1x)
Description: An initial gift created by a nameless deity for their novice transmigrators.
2.Broken Magic Ring
Description: Legacy of Leylin's family.
3.Empty…
…
999.Empty.
I looked at the first item, the one that had bothered me since I first opened the inventory: the Initial Gift.
I held the screen firmly, eyes shining with anticipation.
"Gods exist…" I thought, reading the description.
....
1304 Words
Please, I need evaluations and of course power stones.
Please, I need evaluations and of course power stones.
Please, I need evaluations and of course power stones.