When I opened my eyes the first thing that hit me was the light.
Way too bright, way too sharp, like someone shoved the sun right in my face.
"Ugh… what the hell why is it so bright."
I groaned and covered my face with both hands. My head felt all fuzzy, like I'd just woken up after one too many drinks. I blinked a few times, trying to adjust to the glare, and that's when things started feeling off.
"Wait was my room light always this bright And why is it so hot in here."
After a few seconds, my eyes finally adjusted. I sat up, and my brain straight up short circuited.
The floor wasn't floor, it was dirt. Real dirt. Damp, cool, and full on forest vibes. Above me, a thick canopy of trees, sunlight dripping through the leaves like a lazy waterfall. The air smelled like grass and rain and nature.
"A forest" I muttered, pushing myself up. "That's impossible. There isn't a single damn forest within fifty miles of my place."
A shiver crept down my spine.
"What the hell is going on."
I tried to speak again and froze.
That voice.
That wasn't mine.
It was lighter, softer, way too girly.
"Eh What the fuck happened to my voice Why do I sound like like a chick."
My pulse spiked hard. My heart was pounding like I'd sprinted a marathon. I looked down and oh hell no.
The clothes I was wearing. Definitely not mine. A skirt brushed against my thighs.
"What the what am I even wearing."
I grabbed at the fabric like that would help, but nope. Still there.
"I'm a dude. I don't do crossdressing."
But the outfit wasn't the biggest red flag. Nope. The real problem hit a second later.
I looked down again and froze.
"No way."
There were two very obvious, very soft additions to my chest.
"Boobs. I have boobs."
My mind just shut down. Completely blank.
Was this a prank. A dream. Did I get abducted and turned into someone's lab rat.
"Some illegal gender experiment. Government black site crap."
Panic clawed at my chest. I pressed a hand to my forehead, trying to breathe. "Okay okay calm down. Just think dude. Think."
My hands moved before my brain caught up, reaching lower and found nothing.
I froze.
"No."
I checked again. Still nothing.
"NOOOOOOOOOO."
My scream echoed through the trees, scaring the crap out of a bunch of birds that burst out of the canopy.
I almost laughed and cried at the same time. My voice cracked. It really was a girl's. Great. Just great.
I took a shaky breath and looked down again. Smaller frame. Lighter build. Feminine proportions. Yeah, no doubt about it.
"This isn't my body. I'm in a girl's body."
As ridiculous as it sounded, the more I looked, the more it fit. Panic wouldn't help though. I needed to figure out where I was and how this even happened.
I glanced around, trying to find some clue. A blue bird perched on a branch nearby caught my eye. Sleek feathers, bright as sapphire. I didn't recognise the species, but then again, I wasn't exactly a nature guy.
And then it happened.
Water Raptor.
The name just popped into my head like someone whispered it inside my brain.
"Huh."
That wasn't me imagining things. I knew what it was now, somehow.
"Wait did something just tell me its name No way don't tell me."
I swallowed hard. "Great Sage Is that you."
Silence.
"Okay maybe not." I sighed, trying again. "Appraisal."
Instantly, information just streamed into my brain like I'd hit download. I focused on the nearest tree and yep, that confirmed it.
This wasn't Earth.
The tree wasn't just a tree. It was alive with magicules, and it was mutating.
And that only meant one thing.
"I'm in another world." I whispered, then exhaled slowly. "And it's Tensura."
Anyone who's ever read or watched Tensura would know. Magicules are basically the life force magic energy of that world.
Guess that means it's my world now too huh.
A dozen thoughts rushed through my head all at once. Theories, possibilities, dumb fantasies about what kind of powers I could get. But I forced myself to stay calm.
"Okay one thing at a time." I muttered. "Let's figure out who the hell I even am first."
I tried focusing inward, tried to use appraisal on myself or at least think or wish for it. Not that I actually knew how to do it, but worth a shot right.
It took a few seconds, but then I felt it. Like my energy was being drained from somewhere deep inside. I gritted my teeth.
Yeah, this thing definitely eats up magicules. Note to self, don't overdo it. Pretty sure dying of mana exhaustion would suck.
A few seconds later, the weird tugging sensation stopped, and suddenly, a bunch of new information filled my mind. This time about me.
And wow.
I didn't know whether to feel blessed or just straight up confused.
This body, or maybe I now, had not one but two unique skills.
The first was called Mathematician. Sounded nerdy as hell, but the description was insane. It was an analytical type skill with sub skills that handled all kinds of mental operations.
Analytical Appraisal. Lets me dig up info from people or objects.
Thought Acceleration. Speeds up thought processing.
Predictive Calculation. Lets me predict outcomes based on data, even foresee attacks.
So yeah, pure support type. Smart, efficient, dangerously overpowered in the right hands.
Then there was the second skill, Usurper.
And that one, that's the one that made me swallow hard.
It lets me take skills from others.
It's split into two sub skills.
Copy. Pretty self explanatory. Copies someone's skills or arts after analysing them.
Seize. Same idea, but aggressive. Instead of copying, it straight up steals the target's skill.
"Holy crap." I muttered, staring blankly into space. "That's kinda busted."
Of course, there's always a catch.
Apparently, it only works on people stronger than me though even that has limits. If the target's way too powerful or their skill's rooted in their soul, I can't touch it.
Still. Hinata huh.
I blinked, trying to process the thought.
There's no mistaking it. This was her body. Her skill set. Her everything.
That actually made sense now. Maybe during the transportation her soul got damaged or destroyed.
After all, there's no guarantee that a person's soul always makes the jump perfectly.
But then another thought crept in. Darker, heavier.
What if I killed her.
What if she actually made it here fine and I just forcefully took over her body.
The thought sat in my gut like a stone. I could feel panic start to crawl back up my throat.
"Nope." I muttered quickly, shaking my head hard. "Not going down that rabbit hole."
I exhaled slowly, trying to push the guilt out of my mind. Thinking about it wouldn't help.
Right now, I just needed to figure out what the hell I was supposed to do next.
I wish there was some system to tell me what to do now.
DING.
GACHA SYSTEM UNLOCKED.
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