It was late afternoon. Sunlight spilled through the tall windows, painting the desks in warm orange while the ceiling fans turned lazily overhead. The classroom had long since emptied of teachers. Outside, the distant noise of students leaving school mixed with the occasional honk from the road beyond the gates.
However, three boys still remained near the back of the classroom.
Their schoolbags were thrown carelessly beside their desks, and several empty drink bottles and snack wrappers had accumulated between them.
"Absolutely not," Lin Qui said as he leaned back in his chair and looked at the phone his friend was holding toward him.
On the screen was a picture of some fantasy character covered in glowing, sleek armor.
"I don't care how cool the transformation looks," Lin Qui continued. "If I need to scream for two minutes every time I transform, I'm dying of embarrassment before the transformation even finishes."
The boy sitting across from him immediately protested.
"That's because you have no appreciation for style," Zhou Liang said, pushing his glasses up before pointing accusingly at Lin Qui. "Style and aura are important. If I'm going to fight some world-ending monster, then at least let me look impressive while doing it."
Lin Qui snorted. "Your enemy isn't going to respectfully stand there while music plays in the background and you scream your lines."
"That's why anime worlds have these rules," Zhou Liang replied matter-of-factly.
"What rules?" Lin Qui asked.
"The unwritten rule that transformation scenes are invincible and must never be interrupted."
"What kind of stupid rule is that?"
"It is the rule of transformation," Zhou Liang declared solemnly, placing a hand over his chest. "The rule of my heart."
The third boy, Chen Wei, nearly choked on his drink.
"What, is your heart an Authority or something?" Chen Wei asked between coughs.
Zhou Liang slapped the desk.
"Yes!"
The three burst into laughter.
It was an ordinary afternoon.
One of those afternoons that felt completely meaningless while it was happening.
They had finished their homework early—or rather, Chen Wei had finished his homework, Lin Qui had completed most of his, and Zhou Liang had copied several answers from them while shamelessly claiming he was merely "comparing academic approaches."
After that, their conversation had naturally drifted toward games, anime, and novels.
As usual.
"Speaking of anime worlds," Chen Wei said, resting his chin on one hand, "if you had the chance and actually wanted to reincarnate into one, which world would you choose?"
Lin Qui stared at him.
"What kind of stupid question is that?"
"A normal one."
"No, it isn't."
"Wait, that's actually a good question," Zhou Liang said, immediately becoming interested.
"It really isn't," Lin Qui replied.
"Ignore him," Zhou Liang told Chen Wei, waving dismissively toward Lin Qui. "He has no imagination when it comes to the romance of isekai."
Lin Qui rolled his eyes.
Chen Wei thought seriously for several seconds before tapping his finger against the desk.
"If I could freely choose which world I reincarnated into," Chen Wei said, "it would be Harry Potter."
Zhou Liang made a face.
"Really?"
"Of course."
Chen Wei sat straighter.
"Think about it. The magic there is ridiculous."
Lin Qui raised an eyebrow.
"Ridiculous how?"
"Reality-bending levels of ridiculous," Chen Wei replied. "There's teleportation, transformation, memory modification, invisibility, expanding the inside of objects, creating fire, controlling and manipulating objects, healing, flying, and who knows what else."
He began counting them on his fingers as he spoke.
"And that's just the normal stuff we see," Chen Wei continued, leaning forward as he became increasingly enthusiastic. "If I reincarnated there, I wouldn't even care about that stupid Voldemort or becoming some legendary wizard. I'd study every kind of magic I could find—Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, magical creatures, Ancient Runes..."
His eyes practically lit up.
"I'd spend my new life exploring every wonder magic had to offer."
"Too much studying," Zhou Liang said, looking thoroughly unimpressed.
Chen Wei gave him a speechless look.
"You literally complain every time our game updates because you have to read the skill descriptions."
"Exactly," Lin Qui said, nodding in agreement.
Zhou Liang crossed his arms proudly.
"I don't want to study after reincarnating."
Lin Qui laughed.
"So where would you go?"
"Genshin Impact," Zhou Liang answered immediately.
Chen Wei stared at him.
"You want to get killed by a Hilichurl or a Slime?"
Zhou Liang looked offended.
"Who said I would get killed by a Hilichurl? And why would I be weak enough to get killed? Are you cursing me?"
"Because you aren't exactly the brightest among us when it comes to intelligence," Chen Wei said, looking at him as though he were an idiot.
"Stop looking at me like that!" Zhou Liang protested.
Then he suddenly stood on the bench and dramatically raised one hand.
"Listen well, brothers! Reincarnation means opportunity!"
Lin Qui stared up at him.
"If I'm going to another world," Zhou Liang continued, "I want an overpowered ability. Some ridiculous talent that defies Heaven and Earth! Infinite Elemental Energy! Affinity with all seven elements! A system! A divine Adeptal bloodline! Anything like that!"
"You're asking for a cheat?" Lin Qui asked.
"Exactly," Zhou Liang replied without the slightest shame. "I mean, you're reincarnating into another world. Having a cheat is practically a rule for transmigrators in isekai stories."
"Is it?" Lin Qui asked. "I don't think everyone would be lucky enough to get a cheat. Besides, why do you specifically want to reincarnate into Genshin?"
"Because the world is beautiful."
Zhou Liang finally sat back down.
"Imagine actually traveling around Mondstadt, visiting Liyue Harbor, seeing Inazuma..." Zhou Liang said dreamily. "And if I have overpowered abilities, I won't need to worry much about dying."
Chen Wei smiled teasingly.
"Really?" he asked. "Or do you just want to create a harem filled with beautiful Genshin women?"
Zhou Liang immediately blushed.
"Why would I want women?" Zhou Liang asked self-righteously. "My Dao heart is as pure as a newborn child's. You're the one with a dirty mind."
Chen Wei and Lin Qui both gave him speechless looks.
"Then what if you encounter an enemy more powerful than you?" Lin Qui asked.
"Then I'll become even more overpowered."
"That isn't how anything works, Zhou Liang," Chen Wei said.
"It does if I'm the protagonist."
Lin Qui picked up his drink and took a sip.
"You? The protagonist?" Lin Qui scoffed. "Heh, you're definitely the side character who dies to establish how powerful the villain is."
Zhou Liang pointed at him angrily.
"You're no longer my brother, and you're no longer invited to my isekai adventure!"
"Good," Lin Qui replied. "I wasn't planning on going."
Chen Wei blinked.
"Really?"
"Really."
"I know this is just us talking nonsense," Chen Wei said, "but you seriously wouldn't want to reincarnate anywhere?"
"No."
The answer came casually, almost immediately.
Lin Qui looked toward the window.
Students were still moving through the courtyard below. Some were rushing toward buses, while others stood beneath the trees talking with friends.
"Why would I?" Lin Qui asked with a shrug. "This world is fine."
Zhou Liang looked personally offended.
"That's incredibly boring."
"It isn't," Lin Qui replied, leaning back in his chair. "Here, we keep getting new games, anime, novels, movies, and technology keeps improving."
He gestured toward Zhou Liang's phone.
"Twenty years ago, people would've thought half the stuff we have now was crazy or something out of science fiction," Lin Qui continued. "Why would I give all that up to go somewhere where I might get eaten by a monster or where none of this stuff even exists?"
Zhou Liang considered that for a moment.
"Because magic?" he suggested.
"No."
"Superpowers?"
"No."
"Martial arts?"
"No."
Zhou Liang narrowed his eyes.
"Beautiful fantasy girls with cat or rabbit ears?"
Lin Qui paused slightly.
Chen Wei looked at him.
Zhou Liang's eyes narrowed further.
Lin Qui coughed lightly.
"Still no."
"Liar," Zhou Liang said immediately.
"I'm serious."
"So you seriously wouldn't want to reincarnate anywhere, even if you got the chance?" Zhou Liang asked, leaning across the desk.
Lin Qui sighed.
"That's not what I said."
"Oh, you literally said—"
"I said I don't want to reincarnate," Lin Qui interrupted, placing his drink down. "But if you're asking where I'd choose if I absolutely had to..."
Lin Qui fell silent and thought about it.
Where would he go?
Somewhere peaceful?
Maybe.
But definitely not some cultivation world.
Those places seemed to contain a suspiciously high number of lunatics willing to slaughter entire families—and sometimes nine generations of those families—because someone looked at them incorrectly.
Not to mention the ridiculous number of arrogant young masters and hidden experts who always seemed to appear just so the protagonist could slap them in the face when the whole conflict could probably have been avoided with a normal conversation.
Superhero worlds were just as dangerous.
One moment, the biggest threat might be a simple mass robbery or murder. The next, some lunatic could be planning world domination while another monster threatened to destroy the entire planet.
Fantasy worlds could be fine, but they could also be far worse than they appeared.
There were monsters everywhere, and many of those worlds had medieval environments, technology, and sanitation that a modern person would struggle to tolerate.
After thinking for a while, Lin Qui finally shrugged.
"Pokémon, maybe."
Both of his friends looked at him.
"Pokémon?" Chen Wei repeated.
"Yeah," Lin Qui said with a smile. "Just imagine traveling around with a cute or cool Pokémon and seeing the world. Maybe I'd become a Trainer for a while, or perhaps a Breeder."
"Seems fun enough," Zhou Liang admitted, nodding slowly.
"That's actually quite a good choice," Chen Wei agreed.
"Or..." Lin Qui continued, "if there was a world with extremely advanced ACG technology, I'd choose that."
"ACG?" Zhou Liang asked.
"You know—anime, comics, games."
Lin Qui's smile widened.
"If the technology were advanced enough, I'd make the greatest game ever created."
Zhou Liang laughed.
"You?"
"Why not?"
"You can't even finish the game ideas you write in your notebook."
"Because I don't have enough money."
"Just excuses."
"It's called lacking resources, stupid."
Chen Wei chuckled.
"Alright, alright," he said before opening his notebook. "Then let's make this more interesting."
Lin Qui immediately became suspicious.
"Why do I feel like you're about to suggest something stupid?"
"Because you know me."
Chen Wei tore several strips of paper from the back of his notebook.
"We'll each write fifteen worlds," Chen Wei explained. "Anime, manga, novels, games—anything fictional."
Zhou Liang's eyes brightened.
"And then?"
"We mix all of them together and draw one from the box."
Lin Qui stared at him deadpan.
"You do realize we're not actually reincarnating, right? So why are we doing all this?"
Zhou Liang already had a pen in his hand.
"Shut up. Don't ruin the fun."
Soon, forty-five folded slips of paper sat inside an empty snack box.
They shook the box violently before placing it in the center of the desk.
Chen Wei went first.
He reached inside and pulled out a piece of paper.
After opening it, he immediately smiled.
"Pokémon."
Lin Qui froze.
"What?"
Chen Wei turned the paper around.
Pokémon.
Lin Qui stared at it before slowly looking toward the ceiling.
"This world is so unfair."
Zhou Liang burst out laughing.
"You wanted Pokémon, and he got it!"
Lin Qui immediately put on his most shameless smile and pointed at Chen Wei.
"My great brother Chen Wei, would you be willing to give it to me?"
"No," Chen Wei answered with a smile.
"Trade with me if I draw something better."
"Absolutely not."
"You said you wanted Harry Potter!"
"The Goddess of Transmigration has spoken her decree," Chen Wei declared solemnly. "Pokémon is now my world."
Zhou Liang laughed and reached into the box next.
He pulled out a slip and opened it.
His expression immediately collapsed.
Lin Qui's smile widened.
"What did you get?"
Zhou Liang silently turned the paper around.
One Piece.
Lin Qui laughed so hard that he nearly fell out of his chair.
"Perfect!"
"Shut up."
"You wanted Genshin so badly, and you got the pirate world."
"I could still get a Devil Fruit or follow the main characters," Zhou Liang argued.
"Or maybe you could get shot by some random pirate before you even reach your first island."
"I'll join the Marines."
"You would fight against the protagonist?"
Zhou Liang paused.
"Ugh... then I'll become a pirate."
"What if you transmigrate far away from any of the main characters?" Lin Qui asked. "Or worse, what if you appear in the wrong era entirely?"
Zhou Liang stared at him in silence.
"I hate this game."
Chen Wei was already wiping tears from his eyes.
"Your turn, Lin Qui."
Lin Qui reached toward the box but paused dramatically before putting his hand inside.
"Surely my luck can't be worse than getting Attack on Titan, Berserk, or some zombie-apocalypse world."
Zhou Liang smiled darkly.
"Famous last words."
Lin Qui grabbed one slip and opened it.
Three words were written across the paper.
Lord of Mysteries.
Lin Qui frowned.
"What?"
Both of his friends came over to look curiously.
Then they suddenly fell silent.
Lin Qui looked between them.
"What's Lord of Mysteries?"
Zhou Liang slowly stood.
He walked over and solemnly placed one hand on Lin Qui's shoulder.
Chen Wei did the same from the other side.
Their expressions were filled with exaggerated sympathy.
"Comrade Lin Qui," Zhou Liang said, lowering his head.
"We will remember you," Chen Wei added gravely.
Lin Qui stared at them.
"What are you two doing?"
"It was good knowing you," Zhou Liang said.
"May your soul find peace," Chen Wei added.
"What kind of world is it?!" Lin Qui asked nervously.
Neither answered immediately.
"Wait," Lin Qui said, pulling away from them before looking at the paper again. "You two have read this?"
Zhou Liang blinked, slightly surprised.
"You haven't?"
Lin Qui shook his head.
Now both of them looked genuinely surprised.
"Seriously?" Chen Wei asked.
"No."
"Not even the first volume?"
"No."
Zhou Liang slapped the desk.
"Man, you're missing out."
"Is it really that good?" Lin Qui asked.
"Very," Zhou Liang replied.
"Then why are you looking at me like I'm marching toward my death?"
Zhou Liang smiled.
"Because if you reincarnated there without a cheat..." he began.
"And with knowledge of the story..." Chen Wei continued.
The two exchanged glances.
Then they spoke almost simultaneously.
"You're dead."
Lin Qui's expression twitched.
"Is the world really that bad?"
"Worse," Zhou Liang replied.
"Why?"
"Read it," Zhou Liang said. "I'm not going to spoil it for you."
"Okay."
"Trust me," Zhou Liang added. "It's a great novel."
Chen Wei laughed.
"For now, just understand one thing," Chen Wei said. "If you ever transmigrate into that world, don't randomly touch strange objects, don't chant unknown names, don't investigate suspicious things, don't trust coincidences, and preferably don't know too much."
Lin Qui stared at him.
"That sounds more like a survival-horror game."
"Exactly," Chen Wei replied.
Zhou Liang patted Lin Qui's shoulder again.
"And remember us when some ancient evil turns you into a flesh monster."
"Get away from me, you bastards."
Zhou Liang laughed.
"Man, how I wish transmigration were actually real like in those stories."
They laughed again.
For another half hour, the conversation drifted into increasingly ridiculous scenarios.
Zhou Liang argued that he could easily survive One Piece by immediately finding a powerful crew.
Chen Wei claimed he would ignore the Pokémon League entirely and become a Pokémon researcher.
Lin Qui repeatedly complained that the draw was unfair.
Eventually, they left school.
At home, however, Lin Qui couldn't stop thinking about the strange title he had drawn.
Lord of Mysteries.
After dropping his schoolbag beside his bed, he searched for the novel.
He intended to read only a few chapters.
Just enough to understand why his friends had reacted as though he had drawn a death sentence.
But after only a few minutes, he was hooked.
A few chapters became ten.
Ten became twenty.
Then he stopped counting.
By the time Lin Qui finally looked away from the screen, his neck hurt.
"What the..."
He glanced toward the window.
The sunlight had turned orange.
The afternoon was almost gone.
"How long have I been reading?"
He checked the time.
His eyes widened.
"Seriously?"
He had spent nearly the entire afternoon reading.
Yet instead of regretting it, he found himself looking back at the screen.
The story was incredible.
Its atmosphere.
The mysteries surrounding the protagonist.
The gradual introduction of Beyonders.
The danger surrounding every piece of supernatural knowledge.
Now he finally understood why his friends had reacted that way.
"If someone transmigrated into this world knowing everything..." Lin Qui murmured.
He imagined it.
Then shivered.
"Yeah. That's a terrible idea."
He paused for a moment before rubbing his chin.
"Though... I guess it still isn't completely impossible if the transmigrator has a good enough cheat."
He stood and stretched.
As he looked toward the window again, however, something moved near the balcony.
A crow.
Lin Qui blinked.
The black bird stood near the railing, pecking at something.
A worm.
The crow suddenly stopped eating.
Then it looked directly at him.
Lin Qui stared back.
"...Why are you here?"
It wasn't common for birds to land so close to his window.
Especially crows.
The bird continued staring at him.
Lin Qui suddenly remembered the old stories about crows being omens of bad luck.
He frowned.
"Shoo! Shoo! Don't look at me like that."
The crow tilted its head.
Lin Qui grabbed the nearby broom.
"Go."
He opened the window, allowing the cool evening air to enter the room.
The crow hopped once but didn't leave.
"Go away."
Lin Qui gently swung the broom toward the railing.
The bird finally spread its wings and flew away.
He watched it disappear between the buildings.
"What a strange crow."
Then he closed the window.
His apartment became quiet again.
He lived mostly alone.
His parents had died some years earlier, and although his uncle handled most of the family's responsibilities, he was frequently away because of work.
Lin Qui had gotten used to the silence.
He made something simple for dinner.
After eating, he returned to his desk.
The temptation to continue reading Lord of the Mysteries was strong.
Extremely strong.
Unfortunately, his homework remained unfinished.
Lin Qui stared between the novel and his schoolwork.
"...Responsibility first."
He sighed.
Like the model student he sometimes pretended not to be, he completed every assignment before touching the novel again.
Later that night, he lay beneath his blanket while thinking about everything he had read.
"Lord of the Mysteries is amazing," Lin Qui murmured as he stared at the ceiling. "I'll finish Volume One and Volume Two this week."
His eyes slowly closed.
For some reason, his thoughts returned to the little paper-drawing game from earlier.
Pokémon.
His Pokémon.
He still preferred Pokémon.
Traveling through different regions with companions sounded far better than dealing with cults, secret organizations, madness, and cosmic horrors.
"If reincarnation were real..." Lin Qui murmured through a yawn, "a Pokémon adventure wouldn't be a bad idea."
His breathing gradually slowed.
The room disappeared.
And the memory faded.
.....
Shen's eyes slowly opened.
For several seconds, he didn't move.
A cracked ceiling filled his vision.
There was no modern light fixture.
No distant traffic.
No phone resting beside his pillow.
Instead, pale morning light filtered through the old curtains.
Shen blinked.
"...Why did I dream about that?"
He raised one hand and covered his face.
That memory had been unusually vivid.
Not just fragments.
Almost everything.
The classroom.
The conversation they had.
The stupid slips of paper they had drawn as nothing more than a game to pass the time.
Something that had seemed completely meaningless back then had suddenly become far more significant to him now.
Then he remembered what he had drawn.
Lord of Mysteries.
Shen slowly lowered his hand, his expression becoming complicated.
Was it really just a coincidence?
Or did some God or Goddess of Transmigration actually exist and deliberately reincarnate him into the world he had drawn?
And if that absurd possibility were true, would Zhou Liang and Chen Wei also be reincarnated into the worlds they had drawn if they died?
Shen's expression became strange.
"If that were actually the case, I would've drawn again until I got something better," he muttered. "Or stubbornly traded with Chen Wei for Pokémon."
He rubbed his face.
"...I want to beat both of them."
A second passed.
"No."
He reconsidered.
"I want to beat myself too."
Who had told them to play something like that?
More importantly—
Why had he actually drawn Lord of the Mysteries?
Shen sat up.
"Look at this!" he said, spreading his arms toward the small room. "I actually ended up here."
A world full of madness, monsters, cultists, evil gods, Sealed Artifacts, Outer Deities, and things that could kill someone simply because they learned the wrong piece of information.
He stared forward.
"Wonderful."
He rubbed his temples.
"Absolutely wonderful."
His mouth twitched bitterly.
"If I didn't have this strange fog and an unknown Pathway as my cheat, I probably would've died a thousand times over just for existing with so much dangerous knowledge in my head."
After all, he remembered enough from the novel to know the honorific names of multiple deities and even several Outer Deities.
Some of them, he could probably recite backward if he really tried.
That thought alone made his expression stiffen.
"Nope."
He immediately pushed those memories aside.
"I am never testing that."
His two friends had joked that they wouldn't forget him.
"Those bastards better remember me."
He suddenly paused.
For a moment, the amusement faded.
He wondered what had happened to them after he died.
Had they heard about his death?
Had they mourned him?
Did they still sometimes remember those pointless afternoons when the three of them sat around talking about games and novels?
His smile weakened.
"...Forget it."
Thinking about Earth too much wouldn't help him.
That life was gone.
This was his life now.
Shen climbed out of bed and stretched.
His body still felt strange.
Not painful like last night.
Instead, it felt different.
Lighter.
More responsive.
More controlled.
Only then did he remember.
"Right! The potion."
He was now officially a Beyonder.
Sequence 9.
Rising Star.
Shen looked toward the door.
The apartment was silent.
"Is Arthur not home?"
He listened more carefully.
No Sera.
No Elara either.
"They already left?"
That gave him the perfect opportunity to test things out.
First, however, he desperately needed to wash.
Last night's potion process had left him sweaty, exhausted, and smelling faintly of strange ingredients.
Shen grabbed some fresh clothes and went toward the washroom.
The water was cold, as usual.
"One day," he muttered through clenched teeth, "I'm buying something that heats water."
After washing himself properly, Shen stood before the mirror with a towel around his shoulders.
He wiped his face.
Then stopped.
Something looked different.
He leaned closer.
The reflection still had the same features.
Messy black hair.
Purple eyes.
A lean face.
Nothing had drastically changed.
But somehow...
He looked handsome?
Shen leaned even closer.
Not dramatically handsome.
Not the kind of face that would cause people to stop in the street and stare.
But compared to yesterday, those same features seemed more noticeable.
Cleaner.
Sharper.
His eyes especially seemed livelier.
Shen touched his cheek.
"Did the potion change my face?"
He studied himself carefully before remembering one of his abilities.
The Spotlight.
A passive enhancement to his presence and charisma.
"So it doesn't actually make me more handsome," Shen murmured, tilting his head. "It just makes the same face seem better?"
He smiled.
The reflection smiled back.
"That's useful."
After changing into clean clothes, Shen returned to his room.
Yesterday, he had been far too exhausted to properly test anything.
Now he had time.
He moved the chair away from the center of the room.
"Body Control first."
Shen stretched one leg and then the other before trying to balance on a single foot.
Easy.
Too easy.
He shifted his weight and slowly lifted his other leg higher.
His body adjusted almost without conscious thought.
There was no wobbling.
No awkward correction.
Shen's eyes widened slightly.
He lowered himself before suddenly jumping.
His body twisted in midair, and he landed lightly on his feet.
"..."
Shen looked down at himself.
He tried again.
This time, with more confidence.
A turn.
A quick step.
Then a movement that normally would have required considerable practice.
His feet landed exactly where he intended.
"Wow. Interesting," Shen murmured.
He tried standing on the narrow edge of the bed frame.
Perfect balance.
Then he leaned backward farther than he normally would have dared.
His muscles adjusted instantly.
Every movement seemed more efficient.
More balanced.
More precise.
His body simply responded more naturally to what he wanted it to do.
Shen stepped down and picked up a coin from his desk.
He rolled it across his fingers.
Once.
Twice.
The movement became smoother each time.
Soon, the coin moved naturally from finger to finger.
"So this is Body Control," Shen said with a grin. "It really does sound a little like the Clown's abilities."
He remembered Sequence 8 of the Seer Pathway from the novel.
The Clown possessed extraordinary control over the body, allowing incredible balance, coordination, agility, and precise movement.
Shen's grin widened.
"And I got something similar at Sequence 9. Hahaha! Not bad!"
However, his laughter soon faded.
He flexed his fingers and tested several smaller movements again.
There was a difference.
Although Body Control gave him excellent command over his movements, it wasn't absolute.
If he became careless or reckless, he could still make mistakes.
Nor did he possess the Clown's extreme control over facial muscles and expressions.
"So it's similar," Shen murmured, "but nowhere near as complete as the Clown."
That made sense.
He was only Sequence 9, after all.
Shen tossed the coin upward.
It struck the ceiling.
He quickly reached behind himself and managed to catch it.
Then he paused.
"...I should probably avoid doing stupid things before I break something."
Next came Voice Change.
"Let's see. Testing, testing," Shen said after clearing his throat.
His voice lowered.
"Hello."
Then it rose sharply.
"Hi!"
Shen blinked before trying several more variations.
He experimented with pitch, tone, breathiness, resonance, and where the sound seemed to originate within his throat and chest.
His voice could shift in ways that would normally require considerable training.
After a few moments, Shen became more ambitious.
"Let's try Arthur's voice."
He closed his eyes and remembered his brother's voice.
Calm.
Steady.
Slightly tired.
"Shen, don't waste money anymore," Shen said in a deeper voice.
He frowned.
That wasn't right.
Too deep.
"Shen, don't waste time lying around. Go look for a job," he tried again.
Closer.
He continued making small adjustments.
About two minutes later, Arthur's familiar voice emerged from Shen's mouth.
"You are becoming quite the flatterer, Shen."
Shen froze.
That sounded almost exactly like Arthur.
He immediately laughed, causing the imitation to disappear.
"This is amazing."
Next was Sera.
Her voice was softer and lighter, which proved more difficult.
Shen needed nearly three minutes before he managed something convincing.
"Shen, good morning. How are you feeling today?" Shen asked in Sera's voice.
He immediately covered his mouth.
Hearing Sera's voice coming from himself felt incredibly strange.
"Alright," he muttered in his normal voice. "Let's try Elara."
Shen expected another few minutes.
Instead, less than thirty seconds later—
"You're an idiot, Shen."
He blinked.
That sounded nearly perfect.
"...Why was it easier this time?"
Then he realized.
"Right. Sera and Elara are twins."
Their voices weren't identical, but they had enough similarities that once he understood how to imitate Sera's voice, adjusting it into Elara's required far less effort.
Shen continued practicing with Arthur's voice, Sera's voice, Elara's voice, and several alterations of his own.
Female.
Child.
Old
Lower.
Higher.
Rougher.
Softer.
After repeating them several times, something became obvious.
He no longer needed any preparation.
"First, Arthur," Shen said before instantly switching into his brother's voice. "Shen, I hope you aren't wasting your entire morning."
"Next, Sera," he continued, his voice immediately becoming softer and feminine. "Good afternoon, Shen, you look to be in a good mood today."
Then his voice sharpened slightly.
"And Elara," he said in the other twin's voice. "Stop being an idiot and help with the plates."
Another instant change.
Then he switched back to his normal voice.
Shen became quiet.
"...It really is much easier to perfectly copy voices now."
But how?
Then another ability surfaced in his memory.
Proficiency.
A natural talent for learning new skills quickly and comprehensively.
His eyes slowly widened.
"So that's what this means."
He looked at his hands.
Then he imagined possessing this ability in his previous life.
Languages.
Music.
Programming.
Art.
Sports.
Science.
Boxing.
Martial arts.
Acting.
Voice acting.
anything.
Shen's mouth twitched.
"If I had this on Earth, I would've become rich and famous."
He paused.
"Probably."
Another pause.
"At the very least, I would've flexed on everyone with how talented I was."
He laughed bitterly.
Unfortunately, this wasn't Earth.
And while his abilities were useful, none of them gave him any proper supernatural combat ability.
No fireballs, lightning, curses, divination.
And no good spiritual intuition warning him of danger.
His best defensive advantage was Body Control.
His physical condition had improved slightly as well. He was somewhat stronger than an ordinary person and possessed noticeably better stamina, but the difference wasn't overwhelming.
Against an actual combat-focused Beyonder?
Shen doubted his current abilities would be enough.
"Fantastic," Shen muttered. "I can perfectly imitate the voice of the person killing me."
He sighed.
"Still, it's better than nothing."
His expression gradually became thoughtful.
Something had been bothering him.
He had just learned several techniques for controlling and imitating voices incredibly quickly.
He had clearly improved.
But nothing had happened.
There was no strange sensation.
No indication that his potion had begun digesting.
Shen sat down on the edge of his bed.
"What am I missing?"
The golden words from last night returned to his thoughts.
Become a professional—Rising Star—in more than one field in the eyes of others.
He repeated the words silently.
Professional in more than one field.
That part seemed obvious.
He needed skills.
And he had just practiced the ability to perfectly change and imitate voices.
Yet nothing had changed.
"Maybe Voice Change doesn't count because it's one of my Beyonder abilities?"
Shen immediately rejected the idea.
Why wouldn't it?
Imitating voices was certainly a skill.
Then perhaps he needed genuine expertise rather than merely learning the basics.
Shen frowned.
That was possible.
But there was something else in the description.
Something he had overlooked.
In the eyes of others.
Shen's gaze slowly shifted around the empty room.
No one was here.
No one had watched him.
No one knew he could do any of this.
A thought formed.
Shen slowly stood.
"A Rising Star..."
He remembered how the term had been used back on Earth.
A rising star wasn't simply someone talented.
It was someone newly recognized.
Someone emerging from obscurity.
Someone whose abilities had begun attracting attention.
A newcomer who rose above expectations.
A person others looked at and thought—
That guy is good.
Shen's expression changed.
"So that's it."
His heartbeat quickened slightly.
It wasn't enough to possess talent.
Talent hidden away meant nothing.
He could become skilled in ten different things—or even a hundred—and still remain completely unknown.
No audience.
No reputation.
No one to recognize him.
Then he wasn't a star.
He was simply a capable person hiding his abilities.
Shen walked slowly toward the mirror.
His reflection stared back at him.
"The Spotlight..." Shen murmured.
An ability that increased his presence and charisma.
Voice Change.
Excellent Body Control.
Enhanced Memory.
And finally, Proficiency.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
These abilities weren't random.
They allowed him to learn.
To perform.
To display his skills.
To stand out.
And perhaps the most important among them was Proficiency, because it allowed him to quickly rise in multiple different fields.
"So Rising Star isn't about becoming the absolute best," Shen said thoughtfully.
That would be asking for far too much.
It would also be ridiculous for a mere Sequence 9.
"It's about rising."
A newcomer.
A rookie.
Someone entering a field and quickly gaining recognition.
And perhaps...
Surpassing others.
Shen slowly smiled.
"That makes much more sense."
Then he began considering possible fields he could choose for his acting.
Unlike some of the acting methods he remembered from the novel, Rising Star didn't seem restricted to a single profession.
The possibilities were enormous.
Music.
Acting.
Cooking.
Writing.
Craftsmanship.
Games.
Teaching.
Studying and rapidly becoming an excellent student.
Public speaking.
Anything where his skill could be seen, where he could shine, and where other people could genuinely acknowledge his ability.
But simply showing off probably wouldn't be enough.
A star needed people to genuinely recognize his talent.
Not fake praise.
Not compliments someone gave because he asked for them.
Real acknowledgment.
Perhaps competition would matter as well.
If he entered a field and became recognized as an unusually talented young newcomer compared to the people around him...
Would that cause the potion to digest?
Shen felt excitement beginning to grow.
He finally felt as though he had found a genuine direction for his acting.
The only thing left was to test whether his theory was correct.
Then he looked down at himself.
"...Now I just need to figure out what I'm actually going to become good at."
His excitement weakened slightly.
There was another problem.
The original Shen Akivil didn't have any professional qualifications.
In fact, he hadn't even finished his education.
The Akivil family's financial situation had simply been too difficult.
Arthur couldn't afford to support the education of all three younger siblings at once.
The original Shen would never have openly admitted it, especially with his somewhat immature and carefree personality, but he had understood enough about their family's situation to make a choice.
He dropped out.
That way, Arthur could focus what little money they had on Elara and Sera's education while Shen looked for work and tried to reduce the burden on his older brother.
Remembering that caused Shen to fall silent for a moment.
The original owner of this body might have been reckless and narrow-minded about many things, but he hadn't been completely irresponsible.
At least when it came to his family.
Shen rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
Still...
With Proficiency and Enhanced Memory, learning shouldn't be the difficult part.
The real challenge would be finding opportunities to display those abilities without attracting the wrong kind of attention.
After all, this was Backlund.
Becoming famous enough to digest his potion was one thing.
Becoming famous enough for the wrong Beyonders to notice him was something else entirely.
Shen's eyes moved toward the books resting on his desk.
Then toward the window.
A thought crossed his mind.
He remained silent for several seconds.
Then the corner of his mouth slowly rose.
"...Maybe that could work?"