When Leo felt something soft beneath him, he opened his eyes instantly, sitting up as he breathed heavily, his heart threatening to burst out of his chest.
The first thing he saw once he calmed down a little was that he was in an excessively luxurious and spacious room.
"Eh?"
He looked down and saw that he was lying on a bed that was ridiculously soft.
He was completely drenched in sweat from the scare. Once he realized he was no longer in danger, he let himself fall back onto the bed, one hand over his head.
"That was close..."
He slowly opened his eyes, seeing the system screen, and adjusted himself again on the bed, resting his back against the headboard.
'Let's see what happened now...'
[Power System]
[Notice: The host is now out of danger.]
[Ha, ha! Sorry about that. I couldn't identify the issue that caused you to appear in the 'Mountains of Oblivion'.]
Leo's expression turned to disbelief at the system's humor. He had been about to die, and it didn't seem to take it very seriously.
'What a shitty system I got stuck with...'
[Hey! I have feelings, you know? Besides, anyone can make a mistake, and... You're alive. Doesn't that count?]
He could only sigh. It was right in a way, but it was supposed to be a system with enough power to send him to another world. How was it possible that it didn't know the reason behind its failure?
He let it go for now. There were things that interested him more than that—like where he was now and whose body he was inhabiting.
"Alright... But tell me, where am I and whose body do I have now?" he asked as he got out of bed and approached a mirror he had noticed earlier.
When he got closer, he was surprised by his new appearance. He was tall—much taller than in his past life—maybe just under six feet tall? And he was ridiculously handsome.
I mean, seriously. He had short dark hair and blood-red eyes that made him look imposing.
And his physique—damn... He was shirtless and clearly had a trained body, or at least it looked that way, with somewhat defined muscles that made him look damn good.
[You like what you see, huh? I took the time to select a body you'd like, and I nailed it.]
The system replied, praising itself. Leo had to agree. He could almost forget the earlier mistake.
"Yes. You really outdid yourself, I'll admit... Anyway—"
[Yeah, yeah, yeah... About your earlier questions, you're in the Kingdom of Norheim, in a city near the royal capital. Specifically, in Shadowfen.]
[To see your statistics, say or think 'status'.]
Leo didn't pay much attention to the names of where he was. Right now, he wanted to see his stats—the ones he had seen so often in web novels.
"Status," he said.
[Power System]
[Status:]
Name: Leo Shadowend.
Age: 19 years (almost 20)
Status: Next heir of the Shadowend family.
Strength: 33
Endurance: 31
Agility: 30
Intelligence: 40
Magic: 35
TP: 169 → Rank E
Unique Skill: 100x Potential. (You can reach power up to one hundred times greater than the strongest mortal recorded in history).
Secondary Skills: None. (For now)
When he read that, he had mixed reactions. Excitement at being an heir, which meant he must be rich. On the other hand, disappointment at his stats—Rank E? Seriously?
But his unique skill was completely broken. Becoming a hundred times stronger than anyone was exciting.
'So that means I have the power to become the strongest in the world?' he thought, affirming it to himself.
[Notice: The strongest mortal recorded reached Rank S through contracts with high-level beasts.]
[Without contracts, no mortal race has surpassed Rank A.]
[Your skill allows you to surpass the power of a Rank S bearer by up to one hundred times, even without contracts.]
[If you form contracts… the result would exceed any historical record.]
Leo's eyes widened in shock. He had two ways to become strong.
One was through his own means, and the second was through contracts—but that seemed impossible, since the system said such cases were rare.
[I meant that it's rare for a person to reach Rank S through contracts, even with Rank A or B beasts. But there are many people with contracts with low-level beasts that grant a moderate boost.]
"Hmm… I think I understand."
As Leo learned about this, he found himself admiring his new body, indifferent to whatever might have happened to its previous owner.
'I'm sorry for the previous owner of this body, but...' His mind went blank as guilt washed over him for thinking that.
[Don't feel bad. The previous owner suffered from a terminal illness and died in his sleep. Now you possess that body, healthy.]
"Well..." that didn't make him feel entirely better, but there was no going back now.
At that moment, the door to the room opened, and the sound of several objects hitting the floor flooded the room and beyond.
"L–Leo?"
'Eh?'
He remained in the same position, silent, staring at the girl. She was a young woman, clearly dressed as a maid. What caught his attention the most was her short white hair and red eyes—they were the same as his.
If not for her outfit, he would have said she was his sister.
[Try to keep a low profile for now. While the system transfers your memories, it will take at least three minutes.]
As he read the system's advice, he reacted quickly, dropping that awkward pose and approaching the girl who was still standing there, unmoving.
He glanced outside—the door was still open. When he got close enough, he placed his hand on her shoulder, gently patting it several times.
"Hey... Um, let me help you," he said, not really knowing what to say.
He unconsciously pulled her toward his chest as he went to close the door. When he realized what he had done, he quickly stepped back.
"Sorry about tha—"
But to his surprise, the girl suddenly hugged him, resting her head against his chest. His reaction was one of discomfort—he didn't know who she was or what kind of relationship she had with the former Leo.
He was about to speak, but he heard her weak sobs, which stopped him from responding. He could only place his hand on her back and weakly return the hug.
"M–Master, is–is this real? Leo... Tell me this is real," she said through sobs, while Leo felt her embrace tighten more and more, as if she didn't want him to go anywhere.
For some reason, he felt a pressure on his chest and took a few seconds to answer.
He was going to lie to her. The Leo she knew no longer existed—he was dead, and now a stranger was the owner...
"Y–yes, this is real..."
[Memories transferred successfully]
The moment the message appeared, he felt a sharp pain in his head that made him let out a muffled groan.
As he pulled away from the girl, her reaction upon seeing him like that was pure concern.
"Leo! Wait, don't move," she said as she held him and began guiding him back toward the bed.
Once he was settled, he noticed genuine worry in her eyes. He could only give her a weak smile so she wouldn't worry.
"Please, stay still. I'll go get the doctor and inform your parents, okay?"
Her tone was forcibly calm, surely to avoid worrying him.
He could only nod at her effort and watched as she walked away. When she reached the door, she gave him one last look and smiled.
When she left, he let himself fall back onto the bed, staring at the dark ceiling of the room.
"So that was Leo..."
He had to admit it—his life was admirable.