The First Scene

Eric watched the green scenery of the forest pass by, resting his chin on his hands before shifting his attention to the other passengers.

There were six other people on the wagon besides himself and the driver. They were slaves, just like him, but his focus was on the person sitting at the back of the wagon.

Short silver hair, deep blue eyes, a muscular jawline, and a well-built body. His whole presence was different from the other desperate slaves who were just trying to pay off their debts. No, those cold blue eyes didn't have the same look of hopelessness as the others. Instead, they were filled with an unyielding will.

Looking at Levi, the protagonist of the novel he had transmigrated into, Eric's eyes were complicated.

On one hand, he wanted to understand Levi as a person—was his personality the same as the character in the novel, or had it changed now that he was real? On the other hand, he was reluctant to get involved in the drama that Levi would inevitably face. 

While sticking with the main character had its benefits, it also meant risking his life. Levi was a magnet for trouble, and Eric had no desire to be around him, especially given his current strength.

As for the opportunities he would miss by not following Levi, he didn't care. He remembered the few items and hidden rare treasures mentioned in the novel, and he was already determined to get his hands on them.

"And with my ability, I might even become stronger than him while he's busy babysitting the other system users," Eric thought to himself. 

His thoughts drifted to rare monsters with special abilities. If he could kill them, he would be able to acquire their abilities on his own. 

Then he stopped. "Wait," he thought. "Who said monsters were the only way for me to acquire more skills?" The description of his Drain ability mentioned that he could take the abilities of the creatures he killed without specifying. That meant that if he killed humans, he should be able to take their abilities as well since they were creatures too.

A dangerous thought formed in his mind as he looked at Levi. "Should I kill him?" 

If he absorbed Levi's abilities, Eric's goal would change. He wouldn't just try to survive and escape from the Magi. He would actually be able to fight back and become stronger than them in a shorter period.

'No, not only stronger, I could even transcend this world.'

The more he thought about it, the more he was tempted. But before the thought could take root in his heart, Eric quickly shook his head.

"It's too dangerous," he muttered, breaking into a cold sweat. He hadn't expected his thoughts to take such a dark turn.

Was it the original owner's thoughts or his own? He hadn't gained any additional memories that could possibly affect him, so it must be just his own thoughts. But why would he even think of killing another person? If he were back on Earth, such thoughts would never cross his mind. So why did he just entertain the idea of killing Levi to take his ability? Was it because, deep down, he still had the illusion that he was dreaming and didn't consider these people to be real humans, just characters in a novel?

Or was it simply because he had acquired a supernatural ability that elevated him above normal humans, causing his thoughts to change so dramatically?

Eric didn't know.

Before he could think any further, the young man next to him suddenly stood up, snapping Eric out of his thoughts.

"Huh, what's wrong with you, young man?" The driver said, noticing one of the passengers standing up. "The road here is bumpy, and you'll fall if you keep standing there."

The young man didn't answer but looked left and right. Before anyone could question him further, he jumped out of the moving wagon.

"Wow."

"What happened?"

"Is he crazy?"

Passengers reacted differently to the young man's actions. Some shouted, while others glanced at him and then looked away, showing no interest, as if they were familiar with the scene.

After jumping off the carriage, the young man fell and rolled to the ground. It wasn't easy for an ordinary person to jump from a speeding wagon without getting hurt, but fortunately, his wounds weren't too severe to render him immobile. Shaking his head, he quickly stumbled back to his feet and ran straight into the forest.

"Hey, kid, what are you doing?" The driver yelled, pulling on the reins to stop the wagon. "Come back before you get yourself killed!"

But the young man didn't seem to heed his shouts. He kept running, and soon his figure disappeared among the trees as he entered the forest.

"That fool..." the driver shook his head and sighed. "Another impatient one throwing his life away."

"Well, he must be new here, so you can't really blame him," commented a middle-aged man next to the driver. "After seeing the lack of guards, he must have thought this was his only chance to escape... What a pity," he said with a sigh.

Eric didn't pay attention to the chatter around him; he was still in shock. His eyes were wide as he looked in the direction in which the young man had fled.

'I know this scene. I remember it from the novel.'

He hadn't expected to witness a scene from the novel on his first day in this world. Living in the moment was certainly a different experience than reading about it.

'If this is going to happen like in the novel, then what will happen next...'

He looked at Levi and found him slowly standing up and looking at the forest.

He remembered that this was the exact moment when Levi would escape into the forest, fight monsters, and increase his level.

'I can't let him do that.' But Eric seemed to have other thoughts.

'I have to stop him before it's too late.'