March 15, 2014. Far East. Some apartment.
"Onii-chan, time to get up."
"Onii-chan, time to get up."
"Onii-chan, time to get up."
"..."
Just like always, Aaron's special 'little sister' alarm clock went off right on time.
On the bed, an unidentified lifeform, wrapped in the world's strongest seal—a blanket—and resembling a human caterpillar, squirmed slightly and mumbled, "So noisy."
A hand reached out from under the covers and slapped the incessantly ringing alarm clock.
The world fell silent.
A moment later, the groggy Aaron gradually regained consciousness.
His memories and thoughts began to come online, one by one, and he became aware of his current situation in this house.
"Starting today, I'm all alone."
Aaron, fourteen years old, Chinese.
Parents deceased, no sister, but owns a house.
He originally lived in downtown Tokyo, but because his parents, along with their house, had spontaneously evaporated two days prior, he had no choice but to move out and return to this house in the suburbs of Nagazora.
In short, one of the essential elements for a Chinese transmigrator saving the world—dead parents—was already checked off.
All he was missing was a cute little sister named Qiong, and he would have unlocked the 'house and a sister' achievement.
That's right. Aaron was a transmigrator.
Fourteen years old on the outside, but internally, he was a middle-aged uncle pushing forty.
He was both a Japanese high school student and a Chinese transmigrator; all he needed was a stint wandering America to achieve true invincibility.
How gratifying, how delightful.
But, even with these two invincible 'classes,' it didn't change the fact that he was a total slacker.
He had no desire to conquer the world.
—Ruling the world was too much work.
He had no desire to chase girls.
—Women would only slow down the speed at which he counted his cash.
Unless, of course, they threw themselves at him.
His words.
Naturally, the whole 'stomping on Japanese conglomerates at three, punching out America at five, dominating the galaxy at ten, becoming invincible across the universe at fifteen, and transcending the infinite multiverse at twenty'—that kind of stuff only happened in novels and had absolutely nothing to do with him.
In short, he was already lying flat.
But... dreams are beautiful; reality is always cruel.
In the words of an acquaintance, mystery always attracts mystery.
As a transmigrator, even if Aaron was already lying flat, had carved his own tombstone, nailed his coffin shut, and covered himself with dirt, he still couldn't escape the fate of being forcibly dragged back up.
"Um... Host, there's an urgent mission."
A voice that only Aaron could hear sounded in his ear.
—Aaron, fourteen years old, a transmigrator, and he had a system.
-------------------------------------
There was no meteor falling from the sky, no gas explosion, no electric shock from a computer, and certainly no cliché, third-rate drama like having his engagement broken off by a fiancée.
There wasn't even a warning.
He just closed his eyes, opened them, and two months ago, Aaron woke up to find a large white ball of light in his mind and a cold, electronic voice inexplicably ringing in his head.
[System binding successful!]
At the time, Aaron's expression was this:
눈_눈
Ah, what a pain.
And then, it was this:
（✧◡✧）
Could it be that he, a transmigrator, after fourteen years of peaceful, ordinary life, was finally getting his own cheat?
Was he about to start his second life of one-shotting the heavens, the earth, and the air?
In the end, it was this:
￣へ￣
His beautiful future of obtaining a cheat, reaching the pinnacle of life, and becoming a twelve-winged archangel was doused with cold water by a long, long progress bar.
He had only one thought at the time: Damn it, what kind of antique cheat is this? No newbie gift pack, and it needs a *loading bar*? That's so lame.
It couldn't be like a system from one of those power fantasies, letting him one-shot everything from the start—fine, he wasn't expecting that anyway. It couldn't even be like that other system and give him a Yae Sakura—fine, women would only slow down the speed of his sword draw anyway.
But... it actually needed a loading bar?
Could it be any lamer!!?
Fortunately, this cheat wasn't *completely* hopeless. It didn't get stuck at 99% like some download manager, nor did it pull a reverse-install at 100% or just die on the spot like some other unlucky fellows' cheats.
After a full month of loading, the long progress bar finally reached its end.
After more than a decade of peaceful daily life, he could finally begin his journey as a power-fantasy protagonist.
That's what Aaron thought at the time.
But the facts proved he was overthinking it.
...
"I'll give you one chance to rephrase that."
With a deadpan expression, Aaron—who had woken up only to find his work already arranged—replied to the uninvited system in a completely flat voice.
Waking up to 'Hey kid, your work's all set up for you, get to it!!!'
Damn it, not even a 24/7 grind is this ridiculous. Capitalists would weep.
"..."
"Ahem, Host, don't be angry."
"I've got a poor, helpless female protagonist right here, orphaned as a child, with her old man thrown in jail, just waiting for you to swoop in while she's vulnerable."
The system ignored Aaron's morning crankiness and just went on detailing the mission, completely disregarding Aaron's darkening expression.
"Host, what are you waiting for?"
"Not only is there a mysterious reward, but you can also take the chance to win a maiden's heart. Your harem gets a +1, you know."
"Don't just be moved, get moving! Let's go!"
...
Female protagonist?
Aaron stirred slightly, his interest piqued by about two percent.
Then he immediately felt bored again.
Tired. Too tired. Can't be bothered to love.
A month ago, this bastard had said the same thing.
Something about a tiny, cute loli who would cry 'ying-ying-ying' for ages if you punched her, who had accidentally fallen into another world and was waiting for him, the great hero, to save her.
At the time, the socially inexperienced Aaron naively believed this guy's crap.
Hero saving the beauty, female protagonist, loli...
Hearing these keywords, the slacker Aaron drooled with a *'schloop'*.
A damsel in distress... what beautiful words.
Countless orthodox, unorthodox, and even *stimulating* plotlines flowed through his mind.
A life of fanservice and face-slapping, just like a power-fantasy protagonist, was right before his eyes.
The innocent Aaron, unaware of the world's dangers, believed and fantasized, his heart filled with joy, thinking his OP protagonist journey was about to begin.
He even shed tears of sympathy from the corner of his mouth.
Hehehe, female protagonist...
￣﹃￣
But, people are treacherous, and the weather is unpredictable.
His very first mission dealt him a fatal blow.
—He was transported to Disboard.
During the Great War.
To Avant Heim.
In front of Artosh.
...
Meeting the final boss right out of the tutorial village.
No, it was much worse than that.
The SSS-rank Demon Lord, in full end-game gear, along with his *five* Four Heavenly Kings, was camping the spawn point in the newbie village.
His journey hadn't even begun. He'd just started the game, didn't even have his starter equipment, and he ran into the final boss.
Even the Cautious Hero wasn't this unlucky.
At least that guy started at max level, had a moronic goddess to amuse him, and only had to face *one* of the Four Heavenly Kings.
And Aaron?
Other than a useless system, he had nothing.
He hadn't even left the spawn point before encountering an unbeatable enemy, the strongest god of this world, who fed on hatred, fighting spirit, malice, and blood.
—The War God, Artosh!!!
Aaron was panicking, but panicking was useless. It wouldn't get him out of Avant Heim alive.
Fortunately, he wasn't just an ordinary person.
—He was a transmigrator.
He knew the plot.
And so, the boy from another world, in order not to become an ultra-rare collector's item in the hands of the Flügel—a 'Transmigrator's Skull'—issued a challenge to the strongest being in this world.
"War God Artosh, do you wish to taste defeat?"
For the first time, Artosh lowered his gaze.