Heaviness, a heaviness he was strangely accustomed to.
It was something beyond sleep, not like when you ask your mother for five more minutes in bed.
It was something more brutal, as if they'd added extra weight to every inch of his body.
Still, it was too boring to stay asleep, he felt like he'd already rested too much.
So, with all the effort he could muster, his eyes opened.
Light barely filtered through the thick curtains, but it was enough to make out the room.
With a difficulty inappropriate for the task he was performing, the boy sat up, analyzing the place.
It wasn't his house, and it definitely wasn't a hospital room, but still, it felt familiar, too familiar.
The boy felt his breathing heavy, as if the mere act of having moved had completely exhausted him.
It was frustrating, but he supposed it was temporary.
However, his hopes crumbled instantly.
The moment he examined his body, he knew something was definitely wrong.
He was thin, absurdly thin, practically looked like a skeleton.
His skin was as pale as a ghost's, with a greenish tint that made him doubt whether he was really alive.
The boy lifted his heavy limb, examining it.
Not only was it thin, but his hand was too small.
It was unnatural. One can lose weight, but there's no way you'd shrink this much because of it.
'This can't be my body.'
He finally thought. It was a strange, extravagant idea; and yet, he couldn't accept that his body, which he'd worked so hard on, had become "that."
The boy then leaned against the wall behind him.
It was too much effort to stay like this; even if he remained in his bed, holding himself up was too much effort.
'Alright, let's stay calm... What's supposed to have happened?'
Before continuing to question his state, the boy decided to first review all the events that had led him here.
He'd been stabbed, and suddenly... The boy pushed that thought away abruptly, hunching over a bit as he lifted his shirt to feel his back.
Where there had once been a deep wound, now there was nothing but rough, sickly skin.
That was strange, he'd definitely been stabbed, and he doubted an operation could leave him in such good condition.
The boy sighed.
The only way to know what was happening was by observing his surroundings, or at least that's what he could do for now.
The young man was in a fairly large room.
It seemed luxurious, but with a rustic style; there wasn't a single modern element in sight, not even a mere light bulb.
That struck him as odd.
Even if it was old, it was impossible for it not to have at least a lamp on the ceiling.
Instead, he couldn't even see a light switch.
It was strange, it was hard to believe houses without electricity still existed, but for now he'd leave that topic aside.
The clothes he was wearing. He hadn't noticed until now, but they were quite comfortable.
From their shape, it was clear it was pajamas. It was a purple garment, very soft.
Examining further, the boy could see an strange symbol embroidered: a skull from which tentacles emerged, while underneath were engraved some strange symbols.
'LK, what could it mean? Initials perhaps? Wait... how can I read that?'
The boy was perplexed. He'd never seen those symbols, and yet they seemed familiar.
'Lloyd Kaitos...'
A strange sensation washed over the boy. He had memories, but they should never have been there.
It was as if suddenly in a warehouse there were objects you'd never seen, but at the same time, you didn't find them out of place.
'Or could it be, perhaps, that voice? Wait... Yes, it has to be that.'
The puzzle pieces started to fit together: the voice he heard before dying, the mission he received to get out of the water.
'Wait, something doesn't add up here. The voice only asked me if I was willing to trample others to survive.'
'This, however, is completely different. What am I doing in this body? I can deduce I've transmigrated, though why in the first place?'
Lloyd reflected for a while, and could only come to the conclusion that it didn't matter for now.
Now, he had to keep gathering information. Being such a surreal situation, it would be hard to adapt, but he had to.
'First I need to figure out what that voice was. If I remember correctly it mentioned something about a System? Can something so cliché really exist?'
[Tutorial Mission: discover how to summon the Mirror of Vainglory]
[Time limit: 1:30 min]
[Reward: 350 VP]
[Punishment: Instant Death]
The boy's eyes widened, surprised by the announcement that echoed in his head.
'What the fuck? What kind of shitty tutorial is this? What the hell is a Mirror of Vainglory? What do you mean you're going to kill me?'
Lloyd couldn't be more surprised.
Maybe the system got mad because he called it cliché? It was possible, but he didn't have much time to think about it.
The young man had to calm down first. If he wanted to complete the mission, he had to think about what had happened.
'Alright, how do missions work? The last one was getting out of a river, something spontaneous, I guess to avoid dying.'
[Alert: 1 minute remaining]
'Now why do I have a tutorial mission now? The only answer I can think of is that it was because I asked about the voice.'
'So what is this mirror? What does it have to do with me?'
[Alert: 30 seconds remaining]
'Let's see, mirror... mirror... reflection... Oh, it could be that.'
[Alert: 15 seconds remaining]
'You want me to check my status?'
The boy got it right. He didn't have to say a word, just think it. When he opened his eyes, he could see it before him, what he could interpret as a "pop-up screen."