Cael gazed at the blue window as it flickered in front of him.
------------------------
System Notice
A warm welcome, User, to the world of The Fate of Your Choices.
------------------------
Seeing it with his own two eyes confirmed everything.
At first, he didn't know… but now?
He was 100% certain.
This was the exact same world as in the game.
And that meant one terrifying thing.
Cael remembered this character—Cael, an extra who died on the day the entrance ceremony started.
He wasn't even a famous character. He wasn't important.
A random extra who got caught up in an attack intended for the academy.
The funniest part?
He was the only one who died that day.
Everyone else lived.
Cael's face stiffened.
He hurried over to a calendar.
Even the dates and months of the year somehow resembled the corresponding dates and months on planet Earth.
The developers likely hadn't bothered changing it…
But whatever the reason, Cael no longer cared.
He only cared about one thing.
The date.
January 12th.
Cael's expression turned pale.
"F—"
January 12th was today.
And the academy entrance day was January 21st.
That gave him—
Eight days.
Only nine days to prepare, or he would die on the very first day.
His chest tightened.
Reincarnation… only to die within two weeks of reincarnating?
Even reincarnators from other novels would laugh at how pathetic his life was.
Cael clenched his fists.
"Nine days…"
"I have nine days to become strong enough to survive."
He looked at his reflection and tried to smile.
"…Alright. Time to become strong."
The next day…
Cael sat on his bed, dark circles beneath his eyes so deep they practically screamed that he hadn't rested at all.
"Ahh!" he shouted in frustration.
"F*CK! WHAT AM I EVEN SUPPOSED TO DO TO GET STRONG WITH THESE MISERABLE STATS?!"
He took a deep breath and muttered:
"Status."
A window appeared.
------------------------
[Status Window]
Name: Cael
Race: Human
Age: 17
Class: None
Title: None
HP: 43
MP: 18
Stamina: 27
Strength: 3
Agility: 4
Endurance: 2
Magic Power: 1
Perception: 5
Luck: 1
Control: 0
Trait: Irregular
Description: An existence irregular to this world.
Condition: Weak Constitution / Mana Flow Defect
Description: A defective constitution with a flaw in its mana flow. No matter what, mana will continue to leak.
------------------------
Cael stared in disbelief at the numbers.
He knew the character was weak…
But this weak?
It was miserable.
The Irregular trait was probably because he wasn't from this world.
But the other part—
Weak Constitution / Mana Flow Defect.
That was rare. Ridiculously rare.
Something that happened once in a million times.
And of course…
It happened to him.
It was a lethal condition.
No matter what he did, he would never stop losing mana.
Mana in this world was everything.
Mana defines your strength. Your status. Your future. Your survival.
But Cael's mana didn't even stay inside his body in the first place.
It kept escaping like it was rejecting him.
Cael took a deep breath.
I'm already fcked.*
But then, a memory surfaced.
There was something hidden near the academy.
A dungeon.
An E-Rank dungeon that, on the surface, seemed easy—one that countless adventurers used to farm mana cores to sell for gold.
But inside that dungeon…
There was a hidden skill.
A skill that could turn his miserable condition into an advantage.
One of the skills that could help him survive the academy attack.
Cael's eyes narrowed.
If I can acquire that skill… then I can live.
Just as he made his decision—
A flickering blue light appeared in front of him again.
------------------------
[System Notice]
User Quest: Save the World
Failure Penalty: Death
------------------------
Cael blinked.
Then frowned.
"…Save the world?"
He felt confused.
Wasn't that the protagonist's job?
The one blessed by fate?
Not him.
Not an extra who could barely stay alive.
Cael clenched his jaw.
He wasn't trying to be a hero.
He didn't want glory.
He just wanted to survive…
And protect the people who didn't deserve to die.
Still…
He couldn't deny the truth.
The protagonist's life was filled with painful events—enough to break even the strongest person.
If no one supported her, then the world really would end.
Cael exhaled slowly.
"…Fine."
"If I can help her… then I will."
"But first…"
"My survival comes first."
"Because if I can't survive…"
"I'll only become a burden."
Cael stood up, left the orphanage, and stepped out into the streets.
Sister Ammy immediately noticed him.
"How is your health?" she asked.
Cael smiled lightly.
"Couldn't be any better."
Sister Ammy chuckled.
"Oh, oh, sure, sure! Come back before night."
Cael nodded and left, heading toward the nearest railway station.
He would need transportation to reach the dungeon's location.
As he walked through the streets, he looked around.
This world wasn't Earth.
Different races walked about as if it were completely normal.
A dwarf hammered away at a sword in a forge.
An elf moved with elegant steps, gliding through the crowd.
A beastkin walked with his family.
"There are so many races here…"
Demons.Beastkins.Elves.Dwarves.Mermaids.And more.
Cael's eyes narrowed.
Yeah… I'm not in my old world anymore.
Soon, he reached the transport area.
And there he saw it—
A strange vehicle.
A cart… yet not quite a cart.
It was pulled by horses, but it hovered above the ground.
Beneath it were mana stones, holding it up in mid-air.
Cael stared and muttered, "Why not just use mana stones to push it forward too…?"
"Using them only to hover while horses pull it feels like a weird mix of old and new technology…"
Still, he didn't question it out loud.
He climbed onto the cart and told the driver, "One ticket to Claser Village."
The driver glanced at him.
"Kid, that'll be 10 bronze tokens."
Cael quickly pulled out the coins and handed them over.
"There you go. Now let's go."
The cart began rolling.
Cael seated himself quietly at the back of the vehicle and looked out as the scenery passed by.
He needed to be ready.
Ready to face whatever was coming his way.