Nolan watched a scene unfold before his eyes, a version of himself but utterly different. He felt as though he was watching a hyper-realistic film. He could smell the air, move through the environment, but touch nothing.
The scene continued to unfold as he watched a pathetic version of himself walking with his head down through the college, carrying the calculus assignment he had worked so hard on after pulling an all-nighter.
Nolan quickly understood that his counterpart in this dimension was an insecure and apparently very studious person.
"Ouch!" Nolan tripped over someone's foot as he walked.
He fell to the ground, scattering all the work he had done. Worried about the papers, he reached out, wanting to pick them up quickly, but…
"Why are you trying to pick that up? Trash like you doesn't deserve to be here."
A strong kick hit his arm, making him recoil in pain. Around him, he heard several girls laugh at him. Seeing this, Nolan felt rage boil through his body, but he could do nothing about it; after all, he was only viewing a memory.
"Please, can I pick this up?" the original Nolan asked in a low, intimidated tone, avoiding eye contact with his aggressor.
"Beg for it, then maybe I'll give it back to you." His tormentor's voice resonated with a poisonous tone, clearly enjoying the spectacle.
The man in question was someone Nolan had briefly met: Josh. But seeing him again in these memories, he quickly remembered many other encounters where that man tormented his counterpart in this dimension. The reason he could do this was his family.
Josh was almost like a prince, coming from the extremely prestigious Scarlet family. Furthermore, his twin sister was probably the most important member of the family, and since the two were reasonably close, Josh flaunted a great deal of status.
"In this, he was more like a court jester. He would do anything to please his audience of women, and Nolan even noticed how hard he tried not to displease any of them.
After all, in that world, the balance of power was extremely unfavorable to men, since they were incapable of using magic.
"Why should I do that?" Returning to the memory, after enduring enough humiliation, the original Nolan dared to question Josh.
Not only that, he pushed him away, knocking him down like a fool. After all, no matter how cowardly he was, he was still much stronger than the effeminate prince.
His action even made some of the girls in the audience, who were watching the scene, laugh at Josh, commenting on how easily Nolan could crush him in a fight.
This not only wounded the prince's pride but also threatened to put him in a bad position in the future. He couldn't let his status as the king of men be questioned.
So, he turned to one of the women in the audience, some random girl who was very loyal to his sister. Understanding what she had to do, the woman sighed and used gravity magic, forcing Nolan to the ground.
And with his enemy unable to fight back and immobilized, Josh began kicking the man relentlessly, venting his anger and trying to assert dominance. Another kick landed, this time on Nolan's ribs. Josh's violence was merciless, yet no one moved to help Nolan.
'Beg, beg, beg!' Josh taunted, while those around him laughed.
But despite all that, Nolan applauded his original self for at least having the dignity not to beg until the very end. However, he also did nothing to defend himself and simply endured it all in silence.
Frustrated by his moral defeat, the prince was forced to accept that he wouldn't be able to humiliate Nolan any further that day.
"Later, I'll want to see you!" Angry at his failure, Josh stormed off, vowing revenge.
The memories continued to flow, showing the original Nolan's boring daily college life. At least it was good to know he got good grades and had passed all subjects with ease. He was only going to college in the last week of classes because he was an excellent student.
Then, after classes ended, the promised revenge came. As he was leaving the classroom, he ran straight into someone he would never want to irritate: Eliza, Josh's sister.
"Hey! Let's talk in a separate room," she said as she landed a forceful punch.
Then Nolan saw, in that memory, his unconscious body being carried to that same isolated college room where Josh had called him earlier. His body was thrown against a wall, then Eliza kicked him until he woke up.
"I heard you tried to challenge my brother," Eliza said coldly. "You know that challenging his authority is like challenging me, don't you?" She said with a poisonous tone.
The original Nolan stared in fear at the woman before him, his entire body trembling, and her next words would leave him even more terrified.
"You know your mother is having financial problems, don't you? I wonder what would happen if she were fired."
Upon hearing that bitch mention his mother, Nolan felt his blood boil and took a step forward, wanting to confront that woman. However, his hand passed directly through her; after all, it was just a memory.
Meanwhile, the Nolan from that dimension just begged desperately for forgiveness. And the woman continued to hit him, just for her own amusement.
Nolan tried to speak, but the words wouldn't come out. He was completely overwhelmed by fear and pain. Eliza bent down, grabbing his hair and pulling his head back, forcing him to look into her eyes.
And no matter how much the boy pleaded, Eliza remained unwilling to back down from what she had said. She would definitely destroy Nolan's life, simply because she could.
"Your life is over."
Eliza left the room, leaving Nolan alone. He stayed there for a while, trying to compose himself, but the pain and humiliation were too much for him.
When he finally managed to get up, he dragged himself to the door and left the college, avoiding eye contact with anyone he crossed paths with.
The walk back home was torture. Every step hurt, and the physical pain was only a fraction of what he felt inside.
When he finally arrived home, Nolan entered in silence, avoiding his mother. He didn't want her to see the state he was in. He locked himself in his room and collapsed onto the bed, feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders.
My life is over, he thought, as tears streamed down his face. I have no way to escape this.
And, just as the boy decided to take his own life, the memories ended. Suddenly, Nolan was back to reality, and before him were the brother and sister duo laughing at him.
Nolan cursed his luck: why did he have to be suddenly sent to that stupid dimension?
Still, he obviously wouldn't bow down like his counterpart in that world. So he stood up and punched Josh hard, knocking him down. However, before he could try to do anything against Eliza, she attacked him with a fire attack that almost killed him.
Feeling the pain spread through his body, Nolan cursed his luck once more. But, at that moment, he saw a system screen appear before his eyes.
On the screen, the message was clearly written: [Don't worry, I will grant you the power to live as you wish in this new dimension.]