Grey always thought if he won the lottery, he'd feel different.
Taller. Smarter. Chosen.
Instead, he felt cold.
The rain soaked through his hoodie as he stood outside the convenience store, staring at the numbers on his phone. The screen glowed against the night.
All seven matched.
Jackpot.
His heart pounded so hard he thought he might pass out. The clerk inside kept restocking shelves, unaware that someone standing five feet away had just become absurdly rich.
Grey let out a shaky laugh.
"Okay," he muttered to himself. "Okay. Don't freak out."
He had plans. He'd always had plans. Pay off debt. Move somewhere quiet. Maybe travel. Maybe finally do something that mattered instead of drifting from part-time job to part-time job.
Thunder rolled overhead.
"Yeah, yeah," he said to the sky. "I get it. Dramatic timing."
The rain intensified.
His phone buzzed again with a confirmation email. He grinned. He was nineteen and set for life.
That was when the world turned white.
There was no pain at first. Just light. A violent, blinding column of it crashing down from the sky.
The sound came after. A deafening crack that seemed to split the air itself.
Then came the pain.
Everything burned. His skin, his lungs, even his thoughts.
And then—
Nothing.
Grey woke up to birdsong.
That was the first strange thing.
The second was the grass under his hands.
He blinked slowly, staring up at a blue sky far too clear to belong to the city he'd just died in.
"...Okay."
His voice worked. That was promising.
He pushed himself up and froze.
He was in a field. Not a park. Not farmland. A massive stretch of rolling green hills surrounded by forests that looked almost too perfect. Too alive.
No roads. No power lines. No buildings.
A distant mountain range cut across the horizon.
"What the hell."
He stood. His clothes were the same. Hoodie. Jeans. Sneakers. His phone was gone.
That hurt more than expected.
Then something flickered in the air in front of him.
A transparent blue window materialized, like glass made of light.
[Welcome, Grey.]
[You have been selected for Transmigration.]
[Initializing Status Interface…]
Grey stared.
"…I'm concussed."
The window didn't disappear.
More text appeared.
Name: GreyAge: 19Race: HumanLevel: 1
HP: 100/100MP: 50/50
Strength: 5Agility: 6Endurance: 5Intelligence: 7Perception: 8Luck: 10
Unassigned Stat Points: 5
Skills:— Appraisal (Unique) Lv. 1— Emotional Insight (Passive) Lv. 1
Grey's mouth slowly opened.
"…No way."
He reached out. His fingers passed through the screen, but when he focused on a section, it expanded slightly.
Appraisal.
He thought the word.
Appraisal (Unique) – Lv. 1Allows user to view the status, basic abilities, and surface condition of targets.Current Limitation: Cannot view skills above user's level by more than 5 levels.
He swallowed.
"Okay… okay, that's a thing."
"Emotional Insight."
Emotional Insight (Passive) – Lv. 1Displays the dominant emotional state of individuals within range.Current Range: 10 meters.
Grey looked around the empty field.
"So I died. Or I didn't die. I got… isekai'd."
He laughed weakly.
"You win the lottery and get struck by lightning. That's some cosmic joke."
A soft chime interrupted him.
[New World Registered: Elarion][Survival Recommended.]
"Survival recommended?" he repeated.
Right. Fantasy world. Mountains. Forest. Probably monsters.
He exhaled slowly.
Panic could come later.
First: information.
He focused on his unassigned stat points.
Five.
"If this works like a game… investing early matters."
Luck was already at 10. That seemed suspiciously high compared to the others.
"Did I win the lottery because of that?" he muttered.
No answer.
He hesitated, then added two points to Agility, two to Endurance, and one to Intelligence.
The screen flickered.
Agility: 8Endurance: 7Intelligence: 8Unassigned Stat Points: 0
A subtle warmth spread through his body. His limbs felt lighter. Breathing felt easier.
"Oh."
That was real.
A distant roar echoed from the forest.
Grey froze.
"…That was not a deer."
Something moved between the trees. Large. Fast.
Instinctively, he focused.
Appraisal.
The world sharpened.
At the edge of his vision, a shape emerged from the treeline.
Green skin.
Massive shoulders.
Tusks.
Orc Scout – Lv. 4HP: 180/180State: AlertEmotion: Irritated
Grey's stomach dropped.
"Orcs are real."
The orc hadn't seen him yet. It scanned the field, sniffing the air.
Grey slowly crouched.
Level 4.
He was level 1.
He did not like that math.
He turned carefully, planning to retreat toward a cluster of rocks behind him.
And that was when he saw her.
A girl about his age stood half-hidden behind the rocks, staring directly at the orc.
Dark hair tied back. Travel-worn clothes. A short blade at her hip.
Above her head—
He focused.
Appraisal.
The screen flickered.
??? – Lv. ???HP: ???State: CalmEmotion: Focused
Grey blinked.
"Cannot view skills above user's level by more than 5 levels."
His pulse spiked.
She wasn't level 4.
She wasn't level 10.
She was high enough that his system refused to show it.
The girl's eyes shifted slightly.
She looked straight at him.
And smiled.
Not nervous.
Not afraid.
Calm.
The orc suddenly roared and charged into the field.
Grey's heart slammed against his ribs.
The girl stepped forward.
"Stay behind me," she said casually, as if they were discussing the weather.
The orc closed the distance in seconds.
Grey instinctively triggered Emotional Insight.
The orc: Rage.
The girl: Sharp, controlled anticipation.
She drew her blade.
For a split second, the air around her seemed to bend.
Then she moved.
Grey barely saw it.
One flash.
One step.
A clean arc of steel.
The orc stopped mid-charge.
There was a silence.
Then the upper half of its body slid off the lower.
The system chimed.
[You have witnessed the defeat of Orc Scout Lv. 4.][Shared Experience Granted.][Level Up!]
Grey stared at the two halves of the creature.
Then at the girl.
She flicked blood from her blade and looked back at him.
Her expression was mild. Curious.
"Are you new here?" she asked.
Grey glanced at his floating status screen.
Level 2.
Five new stat points.
A fantasy world.
A hidden powerhouse companion.
And absolutely no idea what he was supposed to do with his second chance at life.
He swallowed.
"Yeah," he said. "I think I just got here."
The girl tilted her head.
"Then you're going to need help."
A faint breeze passed between them.
Grey didn't know it yet, but meeting her would shape everything.
And somewhere far beyond the mountains, something ancient stirred.
Because lightning did not strike by accident.