Lee Hyunwoo has read a lot of transmigration stories in his life. So much so that he also dreams of being transmigrated once, become overpowered, conquer foes, meet his destined lover and spend the rest of his life as a successful person.

"Hey, Minjoo! What kind of novel did you recommend me! It was so weird!"

"What was weird about it? Wasn't it good?"

"...It was good. But you wouldn't understand what I'm talking about as a passing by reader! I have read a lot of novels in my life, so I'm telling you, something was definitely weird about it!"

"Hm? Like what?"

"Well...You know...The plot felt incomplete. It's like there is something missing. Characters act OOC sometimes, and the development of the story is like something is entirely cut off."

"...You have indeed read too many novels."

"Hey, I'm serious!"

...****************...

Lee Hyunwoo is an 18 year old orphan. Raised in an undeveloped children's nursing home, he grew up abused and mistreated. He earned himself a scholarship from school and after turning 18, he moved out of the nursing home.

Lee Hyunwoo's only solace in his lonely life is reading novels. He read any novel he can find. But he likes transmigration novels most. Because in those novels, the male lead lives the life Lee Hyunwoo, himself, can only dream of.

"Hmph! So what if I can't live like that! I can atleast dream..."

Yet who knew that his dream would come true this way?

...****************...

"Minjoo, it's almost time for morning class. When are you going to wake up?"

"I'm waking up. Stop shaking me..."

Lee Hyunwoo has only one friend, Kim Minjoo, his roommate. Lee Hyunwoo picked up his bag from his study table, left some sandwiches for Kim Minjoo on the table and left the School dorm.

Lee Hyunwoo goes to an Elite High school. It was almost a miracle he got in. But since he did, he decided to study hard so that he could one day live a life like those novel main leads. And that's why...

"Lee Hyunwoo, 94 points, second place."

When people saw this sentence, no one was surprised.

"He's second place again."

"Yeah, why can't I even make it on the rankings while some people are always top. It's unfair!"

"Why don't you try studying harder, huh?"

"Hey!"

And such usual everyday chatter of everyday life. Lee Hyunwoo ignored them. To say he was unsatisfied with his result would be wrong. But to say he was satisfied would also be wrong. And that was due to one person.

"Seo Jihan, 98 points, first place."

'How come that guy is always first place! I intentionally copied everything he did while studying, and more, so I could finally get first place! How come it didn't work!'

Lee Hyunwoo was oozing with rage. It was always Seo Jihan this, Seo Jihan that! I wish I could just kill the guy! Lee Hyunwoo was crying in his heart while appearing perfectly calm on the outside.

"Hey Hyunwoo, congrats on second place."

And here it comes. Lee Hyunwoo slowly turned his head when he felt something touch his shoulder. As he expected, there stood the 'real life' main lead, something Lee Hyunwoo has always been envious of.

Seo Jihan is a perfect main lead in real life. Whether that's his lustrous black hair, sharp cut jawline, exceptionally beautiful features, and most importantly, his rosey red eyes. No matter how one looks at him, Seo Jihan's face can only be described as perfect.

And if that wasn't enough. Seo Jihan is very athletic and also a rising star model. He's also a third generation Chaebol, making him the most annoying person Lee Hyunwoo has met in his life, simply because he exists.

Of course, everyone has flaws and since Seo Jihan's face and life is too perfect, the flaw is naturally with his personality.

"Hyunwoo, good morning."

"..."

"Is something wrong?"

Lee Hyunwoo wanted nothing more than to ignore him but he gave up knowing it was impossible. Because Seo Jihan's flaw was...

"Hello?"

"Hyunwoo?"

"Can you not hear me?"

"Are you wearing ear plugs?"

Which honour student would wear ear plugs in the middle of school hours?! Lee Hyunwoo values his reputation! Isn't he the infamous 'Cold Prince' of this school? How come he's so...So Clingy?!

"Hyunwoo, hey, are you listening?"

"I'm listening, I'm listening. But don't you think, you should say good morning before congratulating me or saying anything else, for that matter? That's basic etiquette."

"Haha, what are you saying? What is etiquette between us?"

'What do you mean 'what is etiquette between us?'. I don't recall us being that close!'

It has been this way for a long time. Almost since the start of second year. Seo Jihan suddenly started being friendly with him out of nowhere. At first, Lee Hyunwoo was a bit perplexed, after all, Seo Jihan had been rather cold and indifferent to everyone since the start of school but he suddenly became friendly with him.

It was suspicious to say the least. But throughout the second year, Lee Hyunwoo gave up on finding out the reason. Lee Hyunwoo just ignored Seo Jihan and checked the third year's class list. There was no need to but he still checked.

"Seo Jihan, class 3-A"

"Lee Hyunwoo, class 3-A"

'As expected, the best class of third year.'

Just as Lee Hyunwoo was about to get lost in irrelevant thoughts, he heard an annoying voice interrupting his thought process.

"Looks like we're in the same class again. Figures. Here's to another good year."

Lee Hyunwoo saw Seo Jihan extending his hand towards him for a handshake. He really did not want to hold that hand, but he couldn't leave him hanging either with all these eyes watching, so he reluctantly took the hand and shook it lightly.

'Another year of jealously...'

...****************...

Come to think of it, it probably wasn't Minjoo's fault. The main lead of the novel that he recommended to Lee Hyunwoo was very similar to Seo Jihan. Even their facial features should probably be the same. Lee Hyunwoo couldn't see the face in the novel, but according to the character description and the few images, he depicted that they probably looked somewhat similar.

And this fact annoyed him even more! Even though Seo Jihan was the perfect material for a novel main lead, that did not mean that he actually wanted to read a novel with someone so similar to him as the main lead. That's why he blamed his personal bias on the innocent Minjoo.

'Oh well. It doesn't matter."

...****************...

But what is this now?!

Lee Hyunwoo left the school to go buy groceries. But as luck would have it, he saw a kid at the crossroad.

"It's a red light! Who let their kid wander like that?!"

He looked around only to find the few people present there to only be staring in shock, not doing anything. He clicked his tongue in frustration.

"Tch, the world these days!"

Before he even realised it, Lee Hyunwoo was already pushing the kid out of the way and the last thing he remembered was seeing a truck right in front of him. Lee Hyunwoo thought he might have heard someone yelling his name, but it was probably a hallucination.

'Who in this world would possibly call out to him? Lee Hyunwoo's world existed in novels while novels do not exist in reality.'

"Master, wake up."

"Who's talking?" He frowned and held his head.

"Master! Please wake up!"

He slowly opened his heavy eyes. There seemed to be a smell of blood in the air. Maybe he imagined it. The first thing he saw was a small cat sitting on his stomach and yelling at him.

'Ah, it's just a talking cat...'

He felt so exhausted that he just wanted to close his eyes, forget everything and just have a good sleep. But something felt seriously wrong.

'Wait...a talking cat?'

He opened his eyes in fright and realised it was not a dream. There really was a talking cat sitting on top of him. It has white fur and quite small for a normal cat. Only the size of a palm or maybe even smaller.

"Master, you're finally awake. You gotta run now, otherwise we will die!"

"Ah! It's a talking cat!"

He got up in fright but suddenly felt sharp pain from his right arm. He glanced at his hand and realised there was a deep slash wound on his arm and blood was continuously oozing out of the ghastly cut that now looked a little purple.

''What is this? What is going on?! Ugh!"

He yelled and groaned in pain but this does not seem to be a dream no matter how much he tried to wake up. He finally glanced at the most unbelievable thing in his present situation, which was the talking cat. The cat seemed to notice his confusion and explained.

"Master, I'm Autumn, your system. I would like to explain in detail but unfortunately, we do not have the luxury of time. We must run!"

He finally seemed to realised something and hurriedly asked, "Have I transmigrated?! Seriously? And in a situation like this? And why am I bleeding?! Ugh!"

He groaned again in pain and held his head too. His entire body felt like it was ripping apart. But he somehow endured and remained conscious. He was pretty used to getting beaten up as a child but this was still on another level.

"I will explain everything later but please leave now!"

"You keep insisting we run. But run from what?"

As if to answer him, voices came from outside the cabin. Right, a cabin. Only now did he notice that he was actually lying on the floor of a small wooden cabin, probably a storage shed. But why was he here? What is going on? These questions will only be answered later as the cat told him already.

Putting off his curiosity and questions, he slowly got up from the floor where he was sitting and came to the door of the cabin. He put his ear to the door to try and listen to the talking men outside. What he heard made his scalp go numb and a cold chill ran down his spine.

"Where did that troublesome brat go? We almost had him!"

A frustrated voice came from the other side of the door. Immediately afterwards, another calm voice responded, "Calm down. He's just a kid less than 15 years old, must be nearby. Look around and check every corner."

The voice was calmer than the first person's, but it felt more dangerous to him. He could already feel cold sweat drenching his back. Whoever these men were, they were obviously not good people, and especially dangerous for him. What should he do now? They would find him here sooner or later!

"I'll go check that cabin."

He held his breath. If someone checked the cabin, he would surely get caught. He hurriedly looked around to find a place to run or hide, but there was nothing of use here.

"Master, do this."

Creak.

The door opened with a sound. The burly man with bloating muscles looked around the cabin. There was a cupboard inside, the only place big enough to hide a person.

"Hm?"

The man made his way to the cupboard. He put his hand on the handle and pulled.

Creak.

The cupboard door creaked due to being old and pulled too hard. He ran his eyes around. There was nothing inside. Only some very old cutlery of poor quality and some broken shards, along with dust accompanying the whole place.

"Cough cough!"

The burly man coughed hard due to inhaling some dust. He hurriedly shut the cupboard door as fast as he had opened it and left the cabin. The men outside saw him coming out and inquired about the situation inside.

"There is just dust everywhere. Nothing else. Cough cough!"

"Maybe he ran towards the forest?"

"In the middle of the night? The kid must be brave. Haha!"

The men started yelling and laughing and made their way towards the forest. The sound of their footsteps slowly vanished towards the forest. After their shadows completely disappeared, the door of the cabin creaked open, and a little head poked out.

"Master, it is safe now."

"Hah... Thank God."

He exhaled slowly and lay down flat on the floor again. Just before the man opened the door, Autumn asked him to use his magic to hide himself. He was really confused because he just came to this world. How was he supposed to know how to use magic? Thankfully, unlike most novels where the system is pretty much useless in helping the main lead, his own system is pretty reliable.

"Master, the magic in this world works on imagination. Just imagine yourself being invisible or something."

"Imagination..." If there was anything he was confident in, it was his imaginations. As a novel reader, his thought process was pretty flexible. Without wasting any time he hurriedly started imagining himself being invisible. He felt some kind of warmth wrap around him and he slightly relaxed his tense shoulders. Then the door opened.

At first, he thought the burly man was looking at him, but he relaxed after realising that he was wrong. After the men left towards the forest, Autumn checked the surroundings and informed him that they were really gone.

"Master, this is not the time to relax. We must leave. Once they realise that you are not inside the forest, they will immediately come back here."

"I know, I know. But I'm exhausted. Did I use too much mana or whatever you call it here?"

Autumn ran its eyes across his body and he felt like every inch of him was scanned. It was pretty uncomfortable.

"No, Master. It is not about your mana. But it looks like someone gave you an anti-mana potion. Do you recall drinking it?"

"I don't recall anything! Also, what is an anti-mana potion?"

"An anti-mana potion is a low class potion, very common. It is used to temporarily block the use of mana. Therefore, even if you have mana, you are unable to fully utilise it."

"Ciel Ashwyn?"

"Yes."

"That's my name?"

"Indeed master."

'Who is that?' He thought. Ashwyn... That surname is familiar. Why does he have a bad feeling about this?

"Autumn, you said I'm now into the world of a novel. Which one is it?"

He tried to guess but he had truly read too many novels to predict anything. He looked at Autumn who was sitting on his head, while he himself ran like crazy. Of course, he was only running at normal speed, but due to excessive bleeding and exhaustion caused by this sudden transmigration, his body was in terrible condition. Not to mention, his right arm was not only bleeding but also seemed to be poisoned, seeing as the wound had turned purple.

'It's just keep getting worse and worse.'

"Master, you are in the novel world of, 'The Chosen One'. Please turn right, then forward."

"I see... What?!"

He was frightened. Is that not the same novel with the main lead like Seo Jihan? Why does it have to be this world of all novels?! Of course, he remembered the story pretty well, since it had left such a deep impression on him. But it still felt weird. An even more weird thing is that he did not recall anyone named 'Ciel Ashwyn' in the entire novel. Was he just a side character? But Ashwyn... He finally recalled. That's the surname of the Female Lead of 'The Chosen One' novel.

The world in the novel of 'The Chosen One' was a Fantasy world where mana was the source of everything. All living beings in 'The Realm of Eldoria', as this world was called, have mana inside them. Although the amount varies from person to person. Those with high capacity for mana are the minor part of the population, mainly the nobles. Magicians among commoners are very rare.

The Realm of Eldoria has three continents: The Northern Continent, Vaelthar, The Central Continent, Solmire and The South-Eastern Continent, Nyxara. The Realm of Eldoria was named after the God of Creation, Eldoria, that the people of this world worship.

There is one person in this world which is known as the proxy of the God of Creation, known as 'The Chosen One'. In the novel, the chosen one was also the female lead of the novel. Her name was Celine Ashwyn. Celine was said to be the strongest person in the entire story because the god's chosen one is supposed to be the most blessed person in the entire world. People, nobles or commoners, would do anything to get in their good graces.

"Hey, Autumn. I don't remember a character like that in the novel."

He said. He could slowly feel his strength dripping away. It would not be surprising if he fell unconscious right here and now. Sweat tricked down his entire body and his arm was a mess. Autumn looked at him worriedly and decided to refrain from explaining now as he would not be able to hear anyway.

"Master." The voice seemed lower than before. "I am connected to you. If you fall unconscious, so will I. If you fall sick, so will I. And if you die,,,so will I. I am connected to your soul, therefore I am very happy that you are the person who became my master. I want you to have a good life this time around and take back everything that was yours. For that, I would not hesitate to interfere and change the story."

"What are you...trying to say?"

His voice was getting weaker and weaker. He stumbled into a small alleyway, held the wall to slowly walk forward. But his legs gave away and he fell down to his knees. It seems he had hurt his knees somewhere as well as he felt pain climbing up his spine from his knees. It was unbearable and he collapsed to the floor.

"I can't...go any further..."

"Master, please do not give up. It is just up ahead."

It took him a bit of time to register through his foggy brain what Autumn has said. He responded almost subconsciously.

"What is...up ahead?"

He did not know where Autumn was leading him, but he was somehow compelled to go there, almost like a calling from destiny. He thought, 'I should go there. I need to. There is something... I must see what it is. What is calling out to me...'

He almost crawled on the floor to cross the alley. His head and body felt numb at this point and he did not even feel the unbearable pain from a moment ago. Autumn saw this and walked beside him. But it knew that he would not make it there with his current strength left so it decided to use a cheat.

'Cheat'. It is a special privilege given to high ranking systems. Although Autumn was only a mid-ranking system, his current master was 'The Chosen One' of this world, therefore, it somewhat elevated his own status. When he was first assigned to 'Lee Hyunwoo', he was really reluctant to have this master. An orphan person who is often bullied. But as time passed, Autumn became attached to Lee Hyunwoo, so much so that he even took the form of a human and became his classmate, even his roommate, Kim Minjoo.

Autumn had the task of guiding Lee Hyunwoo back to this world. This task was assigned to him by the God of Creation, Eldoria, of this world. Ciel Ashwyn was too kind for his own good, therefore he ended up being cheated by his own twin sister. Thankfully, he was no longer a gullible person to get tricked and killed like before.

Cheat is a skill like its name suggests. It can be used to cheat the 'Rules', rules that made up the world. Autumn activated cheat and tricked the rules into thinking of this alley being the one next to it. This naturally came at a price. Autumn would be unconscious for atleast a month and one hundred of its merit points would be deducted. Autumn activated the skill. A light enveloped Ciel and Autumn disappeared into an eye mark on Ciel's forehead. The mark of the Chosen One.

Ciel naturally did not know what Autumn did but he panicked when Autumn suddenly disappeared into his forehead. Ciel gripped at his head, shaking.

'Autumn...what...?'

Ciel wanted to open his mouth and yell but it proved to be useless. Not a sound escaped his throat. It felt like his throat was choked up. His gripped his throat with one hand and fumbled around the floor with the other to try and keep moving, after all he did not want to die here.

Suddenly, he felt something catch his fumbling hand. Whatever it was, it was pretty cold. But Ciel still felt that compared to his current body, it still felt slightly warm. He wanted to feel more warmth so he held on to that thing tightly and realised what it was.

'A hand'.

"Are you all right?"

The voice seemed familiar, yet unfamiliar. It was a deep and calm voice, but he felt as if there was a tremor hidden within, almost unnoticable. He raised his head slightly to try and look at the man whose palm he was gripping. It was useless as his vision had long become a blurred mess. Ciel could not even feel the tears streaming from his face but he knew they were there. He must look pretty unsightly. Ciel did not want to be abandoned here just because he looked bad so he held the hand tighter.

The man seemed to have sensed his plea as he moved to lift him up. Ciel felt those hands move and settle around his waist and legs. Finally, he was lifted up from the floor. He was cold, yet felt warm. How can that be? How can someone feel cold yet warm at the same time? Ciel wondered but he did not have the luxury of time to think further as his consciousness gave away. Right before closing his eyes, he seemed to have heard a comforting voice saying something yet he regretted that he could not hear those words.