01

In a room, a man sitting in his chair was distracting himself and ignoring his own life.

The room filled with stained and cracked walls. The carpets are covered in stains, from who know what. He called this broken down place his home.

John sat in his comfy chair, surrounded by the warm glow of lamplight. He was reading a book called "Dragon Knight of Fire," but it wasn't keeping his attention.

John had picked up a habit of reading a book in the hopes of ignoring his own life. Since he obviously wasn't in the best financial position.

But that was being ruined by this novel.

The story was about a super strong guy with magic powers who had a bunch of admirers following him around—a plot that felt kind of tired out John.

"Ugh, this is so boring," John muttered to himself, flipping through the pages with a frown. "Why do all these stories have to be about overpowered heroes and their harem of followers? Can't they come up with something new?"

Feeling frustrated, John closed the book and reached for his laptop. He decided to leave a review on the website where he bought it, sharing his thoughts about the lackluster plot and characters.

After typing out his thoughts, he hit the submit button and leaned back in his chair, feeling a bit better after venting his frustrations.

To his surprise, he soon got a message on his screen—it was from the author of "Dragon Knight of Fire." The author asked John what he would change if he were in the book.

Annoyed by the question, John replied, complaining about the story's predictability and the main character's overwhelming strength.

But instead of getting a response, the author went silent. Feeling annoyed, John closed his laptop and went to bed, hoping to forget about the whole thing.

But when he woke up the next morning, he found himself in a strange new place—a dimly lit room that looked nothing like his own.

Confusion washed over him as he glanced around, trying to make sense of his surroundings. His eyes fell upon a mirror, and as he looked into it, he realized that the face staring back at him wasn't his own—it belonged to someone else entirely.

It was that of a teenager, a handsome and unique looking one at that. He had platinum blonde hair and pale and flat yellowish eyes.

With his heart pounding, John searched the room for any clues about where he was.

That's when he spotted a student ID lying on the desk, bearing the name "Erik Darksoul". It had the word 'Echo' and a number of 450 on it.

As he tried to process this bewildering turn of events, a floating hologram materialized before him, containing a message from an unknown sender.

With trembling hands, John reached out to touch it, but it phased right through the hologram.

Reading the message, it had bewildered John, now Erik, as a sudden realization had begun to strike him.

The realization hit him like a ton of bricks—somehow, he had ended up inside the world of "Dragon Knight of Fire," inhabiting the body of a character from the book.

As he read the hologram message, it became clear and apparent that he was in the novel he was reading last night.

[Dear Erik, formerly known as John, it is me, the Author of "Dragon Knight of Fire".

Now you maybe wonder, where are you? Worry not! You're in a safe place, known as the Echo's dormitory!

Sound familiar? It should as that was the name of the Academy from my novel!

If you haven't connected all the dots, you're in my novel! Exciting! Right?

Is this payback for what you said about my novel, of course not! Well…. Maybe…. But who cares?

But I'm not a cruel author, especially since it wasn't total nonsense you were spouting, so I had created a new character just for you!

A blank state, so don't worry about people knowing you or a family. Your just a regular person with no one else.

Well almost normal. Afterall, an awakener isn't normal in this world! And your one of them!

Currently you are a student at Echo! The starting place of the novel! Echo classes begin in 3 days! So you should be prepared to meet with the characters you criticize!

Anyways, about your body, your above average, especially in looks afterall I can't be creating anything ugly, so you can't say that I gave you a bad start.

I am even giving you 3 other gifts! Happy? Of course you are!

Now create a story for me… or at least be a good extra….. maybe?

This is probably the last time I'm speaking to you, so... bye bye!]

Reading the message had left me with a huge headache. Trying to process what the content of this letter really meant for me.

"Okay, this isn't the worst. At least I have information about myself and who put me here in the first place."

Since having his thoughts turn chaotic would do himself no good, he decided to focus on the fact that he possessed.

"I wonder what the "Gifts" are exactly? No… I need to focus right now. If I am a student at Echos, and the 'Author' want me to interact with them. Its most likely that they are in the school as well and in the same class as myself….. that means the knowledge that I currently possess can be used."

"Well, first I need to see my "above average" status. If it's just like the novel, then all I need to do is think about it"

In that exact moment the status had open, a hologram screen had appeared containing all my information about this body that was needed.

Character Status Board:

Name: Erik Darksoul

Rank: E

Strength:E

Agility:E

Stamina:E

Intelligence:E

Mana Storage:E

Charm:A+

Additional Section:

- Trade: [Sword Lvl. 2]

- Skills:

- Techniques:

-Inventory:

{3 Gifts to Claim}

'So it is above average, I'm at E rank like some of the students besides of the F rank.'

Seeing the glowing icon on the bottom of the status, I can assume that those were the "Gifts" that were given to me.

As soon as I thought about the gifts, a notification popped up.

[These "Gifts" grant either a Technique, Skill, or Item of any Grade.

Techniques are rank from 1-5, 1 being the worst and 5 being the best.

Skills are ranked from F to S.

Items are ranked from F- to S++.

Please carefully select from the list]

Soon a list of names, labels, items, and all sorts of information had been created.

Currently, this had put me in a dilemma.

I knew that currently my chances of getting some items or skills from the novel, were slim because of how much this world revolves around the main character.

But the mention and methods of finding these items, techniques, or skills were vague at best.

Most of the time, his loot was given by other people such as his harem, auctions, or rewards.

So I needed to choose wisely, but I knew one thing for certain.

'I need a Rank 5 technique for the Sword.'

Techniques were how an awakener is able to properly control and utilize their powers.

In my mind, Magic was cool and versatile and was where my mind first drifted but on my status. It has the Trade [Sword] on it meaning that my abilities are stronger using the sword.

So looking through the list, I filtered for sword techniques at the Rank 5 level.

There was a decent amount of them, but as Rank 5 technique they were scarce.

I had recognized a few from the novel, and all of them were good but I didn't consider them.

If they were a part of the novel, that means someone else has possession of the real manual.

Eventually I found one, it was perfect as I never heard of it and from its description it was very powerful.

[Fallen Star Style](Rank 5): Fallen Star Style is the pinnacle of Great Sword Technique consisting of seven forms. Known for its potent offense and defense, it envelops the wielder's sword in a dark aura, enhancing its destructive and defensive power. Notably, it possesses the unique trait to absorb external mana.

"This would be perfect for fighting magician and swordsman!"

So I selected it, but the problem was that it was a Great Sword technique.

'So… do I get a Great Sword? I know the school gives us a decent weapon of your choice but…. It won't last, especially if I have to deal with the plot of the novel'

With that thought finished, I immediately looked for a Great Sword.

Since items weren't limited as well, I searched for a S++ weapon. At this level type, a item would possess an extremely powerful effect.

Since I could see the effect before selecting, I had a blast reading all the cool effects.

For example, Purple Lightning, which is just stronger lighting, Healing amplifiers, which as the name states amplifies healing.

Of course most of them had multiple effects, so looking through these great swords was a pain but eventually I found one.

[Soul Breaker](S++): Forged by a powerful sorcerer and blacksmith centuries ago. Crafted from black steel and infused with ancient magic, it was said to be fueled by the souls of the sacrificed. A large black greatsword that is sharp on both sides with a silver handle and guard.

Effects: Unbreakable, Lightweight, Permanent Sharpened, Soulbound, Enhanced Abilities, and Soul Strikes.

'This was perfect for my needs, it was basic but had all the effects I needed. Especially for a high maintenance weapon like a great sword that takes countless amounts of damage'

With the selection of Soul Breaker, this left me with a final 'Gift'. This time, I had no clue on what to select.

My thoughts slipped into armor, but I quickly realized that I didn't need it for now.

"Should I get a movement technique, skill, or another item?"

Using my knowledge, I decided to use the method of quick elimination.

"I know where a good movement manual is, so no let's not choose that. Their are a ton of items, especially in the S grade and above. So….. that leaves me with Skills."

Skills were grade F to S, with no additional pluses or minuses. It was just a letter that labeled the rarity and power of the skill.

Like F rank being a common skill that lots of people are able to possess with a minor effect. While S rank is limited to a single person and has an immense effect.

Skills were either passive or active, and most acted like a trait. It varied and could go from [Perfect Memory] (Grade B) to [Mana Blessing] (Grade S).

And currently, I had a huge advantage as I was able to select one. I quickly filtered out the list for S rank Skills.

—-

[Spear Master](Grade S)

[Spirit Mage](Grade S)

[Dark Blessing](Grade S)

[Hero](Grade S)

[Mana Counter](Grade S)

…..

There was tons of them, some of them I have never even heard of. Such as [Speedster](Grade S), but I decide to ignore most of them.

The reason being that it didn't match up with my "Build". So I wouldn't be able to bring out the full potential in a lot of these skills.

Especially with a Great Sword, leaving me with the option of sword, tactical, supporting, or general types of skills.

This meant that I would really have to think this through. I need it to match with using a greatsword and my manual.

Since my manual is new to me, I need to be careful about how to use it.

But the problem is that I have no proper training or experience, I'm not even sure how to properly use a sword.

Echo academy, will teach me but it's mainly self study. If I am totally wrong or cluesless, then I'm going to struggle.

But it seem as if the system had heard my thoughts, because soon I found a solution to my dilemma.

[Martial Soul](Grade S): The Body and Soul are linked, which in turns enhance the body and soul. Physical Attribute Arts are easily learned and internal mana usage is more potent and efficient.

Its effects aren't exactly specific but reading the summary, I can tell that this skill would solve my situation.

Now that I have chosen all three of my 'Gifts', I confirm it with the system. Suddenly I had a sudden headache.

"Wait, why is it getting more painful?!"

[Confirm, all 'Gifts' are being granted]

[Change in body and soul is occurring]

Reading the system messages, I had finally passed out but not before one last thought had popped into my mind.

'What a shitty start'