“Ugh… w-where the hell am I?” a gruff voice mumbled, as he patted around in a daze.

  Feeling the sharp sensation of grass in his hands, he jolted upright, now fully awake and alert. The drowsiness from moments before disappeared, repced by the urgent need to make sense of his surroundings. His eyes frantically scanned the area.

  “T-the hell is this? Did I get kidnapped or something?” he muttered, eyes widening as he saw nothing but towering trees around him. They were nothing like the messy apartment he remembered st seeing before heading to bed the previous day.

  He checked himself, patting down his body to see if he was injured. Letting out a sigh of relief when he found nothing, he mumbled. “Phew… at least I’m not injured.”

  He paced back and forth, trying to think logically and make sense of how he ended up in this situation. “Did I get sent to another world like those novels? Nah, this is probably just a ridiculously realistic dream, or my friends just pranked me by dumping me in the middle of nowhere…”

  He nodded to himself. “Yeah, yeah… that’s probably it. HEY GUYS, PRANK’S OVER!” he shouted, waiting for his friends to pop out behind the trees, ughing and filming his reaction. But minutes passed, and nothing happened. No sounds of muffled ughter, no camera fshed. Just the rustling of grass and branches, birds chirping in the distance, and the faint sound of a stream.

  “Well, shit…” he muttered as he slowly walked to a tree and slumped against it.

  “Just when I was nearing graduation, shit like this happened… just my luck.” he sighed, rubbing his temples. “Still hoping this is nothing more than a dream…” he muttered, but—

  [Beep]

  [Welcome to Celestara, Chosen One!]

  An excited childish voice echoed in his mind, startling him upright.

  “W-wha?!” he excimed, looking around frantically for the source of the voice.

  [Welcome to this world, Charles Valmont.]

  The voice repeated.

  Charles stood there in a daze before muttering. “Yep. I’m going insane… Ha.. Ha.. Just a few minutes alone in the woods and I’m already hearing things.”

  [I’m afraid this isn’t a hallucination.]

  His heart dropped at the reply, and rage welled up inside him. “The hell it isn’t! Why’d you send me here, huh?! My life was finally getting back on track and you had to ruin it!” he shouted, panting from the burst of anger.

  [I understand your frustration… But I couldn’t help it.]

  Charles sneered. “What do you mean you couldn’t help it? You’re some supernatural being and you couldn’t?”

  [Please calm down. I didn’t have much choice. My power was quickly draining in your world. I had to take the nearest compatible human— and that was you.]

  He let out a long, frustrated sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Then why’d you drag me here?”

  [Ehem… I brought you here to help this world.]

  Charles closed his eyes briefly, as if mentally counting to ten. He exhaled through his nose and said. “You seriously think someone like me—” he gestured to himself “—can save a world? That’s a good one.”

  [Don’t worry, Chosen one! I’ll give you something to help!]

  As the voice finished, a translucent window popped up in front of his eyes.

  [Charles Valmont]

  [Level 1 | Css: Lord]

  [EXP 0/100]

  [Stats]

  [Inventory]

  [Quests]

  [Skills]

  [Crafting]

  [Map]

  [World]

  [Shop]

  [Tada! This’ll help with your quest!]

  Charles raised an eyebrow, staring at the strange floating menu. “Alright… and what exactly is this ‘helping the world’ thing?”

  [Good question! You see… Celestara wasn’t always like this…]

  [Long ago, this world thrived. Humans, beastkin, Elves, and Dwarves live side by side– not always peacefully, but in bance.]

  [That bance shattered when a human king, consumed by ambition, ensved the beastkin. The kingdoms of man turned against one another, dragging even elves and dwarves into their endless wars.]

  [In the chaos, a foolish man sought forbidden power to swing the scales. He broke an ancient seal… and unleashed a Demon.]

  [But the Demon did not offer loyalty or power. It brought only ruin. Waves of monsters flooded the nds, hunting all living things.]

  [Within two short years, every great kingdom fell. Cities burned. Forests withered. Survivors fled to the deepest corners of the world.]

  [Now, Celestara is but a graveyard of forgotten glory– waiting for someone to rebuild it.]

  [That someone… is you.]

  Charles’ heart quickened as he processed what he heard. “So you want me—” he pointed to himself “—me to restore civilization and act as some kind of ruler?”

  [Ping pong~ That’s correct! I’m gd I picked someone as smart as you!]

  ??????????????