Chapter 1: Prologue: Happy Birthday
Prologue: Happy Birthday
Another day had come, and a young man was once again going through the motions.
He was sitting through his last lesson of the school year before summer, inside a classroom with more than fifty students. He could hardly force himself to stay awake.
There was no point-the teacher wouldn't notice if he fell asleep right then and there. Yet, part of him felt guilty for thinking that way.
(Man... I wish I could have a fantasy of my own. Like an isekai where I could reach the absolute top... Become the most powerful and finally live my way, without having to bend to the rules of the world around me. Though maybe I should pay attention to class,) he thought, daydreaming.
Though he felt bad, that didn't stop his mind from wandering. He kept thinking about the story his adventure would become, and how much he wished to be taken away from all this.
A faint chill ran down his spine-a fleeting sensation, like someone had just whispered his name. He glanced at the window, half-expecting to see something strange, but there was only the ordinary world outside. He shook it off.
Eventually, the class ended, and he made his way home with a slight smile on his face.
Today was his eighteenth birthday, and there was a specific book he had wanted and talked about extensively. In his mind, there was no way his parents hadn't picked up on it.
Typically, his parents were absent most of the day-sometimes even for whole days-leaving him to fend for himself, even on his birthday. But they had a habit of leaving a single birthday present box in their room for him.
That's how they did things, and he was used to it. He didn't mind anymore.