Is it really true?
The thought came to me quietly without any panic or disbelief. It was like someone who had already accepted a lot of things in life was asking the question.
Just when I thought I could finally live in peace something strange happened to me. I went into a novel.
Not just any novel,. A World Measured by Talent.
I remembered reading it late at night when I was really tired. It was popular for a reason. The story was clean, but cruel and efficient. It was a fantasy where the world only cared about people with special gifts and ignored the rest.
There were schools called Academies.
There were also places under the city called Dungeons.
Peoples gifts were. Ranked and some were even worshipped.
There was magic that could change the elements.
People could make their bodies stronger with something called mana reinforcement.
In that world even being strong was not about your body. Mana flowed through your muscles, bones and nerves. People with gifts could break stones with their hands run faster than cars and survive injuries that would kill normal people.
The novel did not hate people. It just did not care about them.
I remembered how readers loved talking about rankings and praising people who were really good. I remembered finishing the story and feeling empty not because it was bad. Because it felt too familiar.
In that world hard work only mattered if you had a gift.
My old life did not end in a way.
There was no sacrifice or final realization.
Life just became too much to handle.
I worked all the time. People expected more and more from me every year. Days felt the same and even pain felt dull. At some point I stopped thinking about the future and just focused on surviving each day.
The night I died it was. The streets were clean.
I remember standing at a crosswalk. The signal was red. My phone was buzzing with reminders about deadlines I could not escape. I stepped forward without thinking.
The car lights were too bright.
I heard a sound after that.
They say dying hurts.
For me it was quiet.
I felt relieved before I could feel scared.
Then nothing.
—
When I opened my eyes again I was not in my life anymore.
I was Lucien Gray, a character in A World Measured by Talent.
I vaguely remembered him. A student who appeared briefly in the story did not show any gift and then disappeared.
No one knew what happened to him.
He just vanished.
Honestly that sounded nice.
No expectations, no pressure, no one relying on me.
Maybe that was the universe's way of being kind.
I was not reborn as the character.
I was not chosen by fate.
I did not get any powers.
I became someone who did not matter.
For the time in two lives that felt like a blessing.
—
Virelux Academy was like a monument in the city.
It had glass towers and old stone buildings showing a mix of old things.
This was the school that decided who could go into the places under the city.
The Talent Evaluation Hall was big and round making everyone inside feel small.
In the middle of the hall there was a crystal that could analyze peoples gifts.
Hundreds of students were standing in lines waiting for their turn.
Some were practicing their gifts making sparks with their fingers. Others were trying to look calm. You could still see the magic flowing through their bodies.
Above us there were students and teachers watching.
I recognized them away.
Aurelian Kaelthorne, the genius swordsman was standing near the front.
He looked relaxed. His presence was overwhelming.
Near him Caelum Vireth, the resonance user was leaning against the railing.
He was famous for his movements and impossible wins.
Back Sevryn Holt was watching everything with a cold face.
He was the strategist who won wars without fighting.
They were all seniors. They seemed untouchable.
Among the students people were whispering as names were called.
Lights were flashing and data was appearing in the air.
"Resonance Rank: A." "Growth Potential: Exceptional." "Physical Reinforcement Compatibility: High."
Some students got applause when their names were called.
When Elowen Mirelle stepped forward the crystal glowed softly around her.
Professors. Students whispered her name with admiration.
She did not look at me not because she was mean. Because she did not care.
Then there was Nyxara Vellion, whose gift was sharp and unstable.
People were whispering about her some scared and some envious.
When my name was called the reaction was quiet.
"Lucien Gray."
I stepped forward. The crystal was cool and unresponsive under my hand.
One second passed, another.
Nothing happened.
No glow, no vibration, no reaction.
The crystal did not even acknowledge me.
People started whispering. The evaluator frowned.
"Rechecking."
Still nothing happened.
The silence that followed was heavy.
Aurelians eyes sharpened slightly.
Caelum straightened up looking like he sensed something
Sevryn glanced at me once ignored me.
Nyxara frowned.
Finally the result appeared:
Soul Resonance: None Detected
Mana Affinity: None Detected
Physical Reinforcement Compatibility: None
Talent Classification: Undefined
Undefined, not weak just absent.
In a world where even normal people had some magic I had none.
The hall was buzzing with confusion.
"Is that possible?" "Even normal people have some magic." "Did the crystal malfunction?" "What does undefined mean?"
I took my hand back feeling calm.
So this was my place in the story.
In a world where people were measured by their gifts I had none.
The evaluator hesitated before speaking
"Lucien Gray will be in the class, until further notice."
A polite way of saying they did not know what to do with me.
I, Stepped back ignoring the stares. Curiosity, confusion, unease.
They did not know what to make of me. Neither did the world.
I walked out of the Talent Evaluation Hall without looking the noise fading behind me.
In a world measured by talent I had none.
If I was untalented then nothing could hold me back.