Chapter 1: A Disgraceful Exit
My name is Ethan.
I live on the second floor of a run-down building that has seen better days — much like myself. Twenty-three years old, unemployed, and currently scrolling through job postings on my old, barely-functioning laptop. One hand rests on the keyboard while the other juggles a burger and a soda. The epitome of ambition.
*Hmm...*
My eyes stop on a particular listing.
**Currently Hiring: Individual with Artistic Imagination — Full Time.**
I stare at the screen for a long moment.
Yeah. This job was literally made for me.
Without a second thought, I hit apply. A message flashed across the screen almost instantly.
**"Congratulations! You have been selected."**
*Hmm.* I blink. Just like that?
I leaned back, mildly impressed with myself. Though, if I'm being honest, I hadn't even finished reading the job description. I didn't even catch the company name.
*Let me see...*
I squinted at the screen, searching for the details. The company name was written in suspiciously small font, tucked away at the bottom of the listing. I leaned forward, bringing my face closer to the laptop screen to make it out.
It was at precisely that moment —
**BANG.**
A 360-pound woman fell from the roof of the building.
Directly onto me.
And just like that — Ethan was no more.
---
*"Ethan... Ethan..."*
A voice called his name from somewhere distant.
He opened his eyes slowly.
His body was transparent.
He stared at his hands — or rather, through them — and the reality of his situation settled over him like a cold wave.
*He was dead.*
And in the most disgraceful way imaginable.
*Crushed under a 360-pound woman.* He pressed a translucent hand to his face. What would his friends think? He'd be the punchline of every joke for eternity. And to make matters worse — he hadn't cleared his browser history.
*What a shame.*
He let out a long, defeated sigh.
It was only then that he remembered — someone had been calling his name.
Ethan looked around and noticed a small, glowing orb floating silently nearby. Before he could say anything, it spoke.
*"Hello, Host. You may call me Emily — your assigned assistant — or simply Emily. I am a system designated to you by the Quick Transmigration Bureau."*
"The Quick Transmigration Bureau?" Ethan repeated.
*"Yes, Host. Do you remember applying for a job?"*
Ethan paused, then slowly nodded.
He accepted the situation with surprising ease. He had read enough novels like this to know exactly what was happening. There was no need to panic.
He glanced around the empty, quiet space and asked flatly, "So — where are we, and what exactly do I need to do?"
Emily's orb bobbed gently as she replied.
*"This is the Designated Resting Space for Bureau employees. You will return here to rest between missions. As for the missions themselves — you will be sent to various worlds. Due to certain anomalies, many novel storylines have begun bleeding into one another. Some worlds have multiple transmigrators, or characters who have regained their memories and become aware that they exist within a story. When that happens, the original plot derails."*
She continued.
*"Your goal is to step into the role that has been abandoned, or to guide the story back on track and bring it to its proper conclusion. In short — you may do as you please within the world you are sent to. The only restrictions are these: you must not destroy the world, and you must not make changes so drastic that the foundation of the story collapses. Beyond that, the rest is entirely up to you."*
Ethan processed this for a moment.
So basically — unlimited freedom with a loose set of rules. Not bad for a job he applied to while eating a burger.
*"That is all, Host,"* Emily finished. *"Are you ready to begin your first mission?"*
Ethan cracked his knuckles.
"Yeah. Let's go."
*System loading... Mission selected.*
*Host, please stand by.*
*3... 2... 1...*
A swirling vortex tore open in front of him, and before he could take another breath, it pulled him in.
---
.
.
.
.
Ethan opened his eyes.
His head was spinning.