Although he had been assured that the machine's purpose was just to read his brainwaves, Daneel's life passed through his mind in an instant as he felt himself being strapped tightly onto the chair.

Left at the steps of an orphanage when he was just a month old, Daneel had the stamp 'orphan' branded on him from a young age.

Thankfully, the orphanage was run by a kind old woman who took great care of the kids. Although they lived frugally, Daneel remembered his childhood as being mostly pleasant.

Always showing remarkable results in studies, Daneel won scholarship after scholarship and entered college, looking forward to graduating and earning money to send back to the orphanage. He considered all of the children in the orphanage as his little brothers and sisters and wished for them to have a happy life.

Disaster struck in the form of the son of a politician. One day, he had accidentally bumped into a guy who was avidly pursuing a girl. The guy had an opened bottle of water in his hands, which spilled onto his pants.

Used to a frugal life, Daneel was a fragile boy. The bump had sent him careening onto the floor resulting in everyone looking at them to see what the commotion was.

Seeing the water on the pants of the boy, a few people ended up laughing. The girl also smirked before leaving the guy who looked at Daneel with a murderous expression on his face.

Since then, every day was hell for Daneel. Such a silly accident would have amounted to nothing if it were someone normal, but the guy in question was the son of a very rich and influential politician. Drunk with money and power, the guy wanted to make Daneel wish that he had never been born, and he did everything he could to make him feel so.

Nameless people beat him up. His scholarship was canceled with no reasons given. He was evicted from the hostel and the shop where he had been working part-time kicked him out.

Homeless and hungry, Daneel had to scavenge for food on the roads for the first time in his life.

Mainly not wanting to disappoint the kind old lady and impose on the orphanage, Daneel had to live in the most disgusting conditions imaginable for several weeks.

One day, he saw an advert calling any able volunteers for some 'harmless' scientific experiments. The payout was good and the company seemed legitimate.

Looking forward to the first decent meal in weeks, Daneel stumbled into the advertised clinic, thin, with skin clinging to his bones which were visible due to the malnourishment.

The staff were all very accommodating, giving him a full meal first and allowing him to bathe and shave.

Overjoyed by the hospitality, Daneel decided to do everything in his power to pay them back.

Later on, he was told what the experiment was. The clinic was recording brainwaves to make a database for a new biometric system. For this, they needed volunteers. Volunteers would simply be strapped to a chair and drugged asleep while a machine placed on the head would collect data.

It seemed too good to be true. It was almost as if one was being paid to sleep.

An ominous feeling washed over Daneel as he was strapped to the chair with electrodes connected to his head.

Something was injected into his arm which made him very drowsy.

The last moment before he fell asleep, a jolt of electricity was felt racing into his body from the electrodes on his head.

The last thing he remembered before he lost consciousness was pain. Pain throughout his body, as if he had been set on fire and was being burnt alive.

A robotic voice woke him up:

[*Ding*

World Domination System booting up.

Current World: Unknown

Host Status: Near-death

Current Goal: Survive

Overall Goal: Dominate and Conquer the world!]

As he slowly regained consciousness, Daneel felt shooting pains throughout his body. After the robotic voice stopped, he felt a flood of memories gushing into him.

He did not know what had happened after he had been strapped into the chair, but he suspected that he had mostly died due to some accident.

Like in the many novels he had read online, he had reincarnated into another world.

This was a world of magic and mythical beings. Elves, goblins, trolls, dwarves, dragons and many more races were known to exist although in places far away. Magic could be learnt by those who had the aptitude.

Either by luck or fate, the person he had reincarnated into was also called Daneel. He had also died in a similar way, but much more directly and that too at the tender age of 12. He had stumbled into a silkpants prince and made water spill on the latter. On orders from the prince who glanced at him as if he were an ant, he was beaten to death by the prince's guards. The prince did not even bat an eyelid at the former Daneel's cries of mercy, just like someone who wouldn't care about the plight of an ant that they stepped on. The fact that he was just a small 12-year old kid only made it so that it required a lesser amount of kicks to result in him lying on the ground, losing his life.

That explained the pain which was growing in intensity by the second.

Daneel analyzed the rest of the memories. With a start, he realized that he actually had parents in this world. His father was a disgraced soldier who had been fired due to abandoning the army. This was the official story. The truth was that he had offended a foolish but influential commander who was just in the post due to his family's power. Although disobeying the orders had resulted in him saving 20 people from dying, the commander's ego was hurt and his father was declared as a traitor who ran away from his post.

His mother now supported the family by doing odd jobs around the city. By washing clothes, cleaning bathrooms and sweeping floors she scavenged enough money for their small family to survive. He had no siblings.

Checking his current condition, he realized that there was no way his family would be able to handle the medical costs.

Daneel had always been a filial child. Since as long as he could remember, his days were occupied by mostly helping his mother with her chores. Rarely, he would spend some time exploring the city. It was in one such exploration that this incident had occurred. If he died now, his body would simply be discarded at night by the guards who patrolled the city.

Such was the kingdom of Lanthanor. Most of the things he knew about the world were told by his parents as bedside tales.

12,000 years ago, then-adventurer Lanthanore(pronounced Lanthanoray) led an expedition to slay a dragon which was terrorizing this land.

After accomplishing such a noble feat, he had established the Kingdom of Lanthanor.

With steady management and skillful trading, a small city of 5000 had developed into an enormous capital of 500,000. The kingdom itself had grown to accommodate millions of people, with walls being built on the borders to dissuade invasion.

The capital was known by the same name. If seen from above, the kingdom's walls encompassed a circular area 120 km in radius, with the capital located almost at the dead center.

Lanthanor was a predominantly human kingdom and its main occupation was farming.

[Preliminary Data collected.

Present Location: Lanthanor, outer city.

Host Level: Human-0 Fighter, Human-0 Mage

Host Potential: F-

Host Condition: Critical

New Mission: Drink water from fountain located exactly 617 meters north.

Mission Reward: Recovery of Body

Level Progression: 0%

Do you choose to accept the mission? Failure will have critical consequence. Host has been warned.]

The robotic voice sounded again in Daneel's head. The pain was almost getting overwhelming and he knew he would die if he continued lying there.

Hearing that he could recover, Daneel decided to question who the hell it was in his mind later.

"Yes", he gasped out loud, accepting his first mission.

[Mission Accepted. Good luck.]

Hearing this, Daneel gritted his teeth, trying to ignore the pain as he sat up and started to look around.

He was in an dark alley which was currently empty. The surrounding buildings were made of stone but different from the ones he had seen on Earth, the stone was neatly cut into bricks instead of just being heaped one rock on top of another.

As he slowly stood up and stumbled to the end of the alley, a bustling market greeted him.

In a wide open area, there were numerous shops set up in formation. Although there were a lot of people in the market, it still somehow seemed to be very much in order. Guards constantly patrolled the area wearing black uniforms with dull golden belt and buttons.

People of all kinds could be seen. There was no predominant race or color, but clothing seemed to decide whether one was rich or poor.

Some people who seemed to be well off wore waist coats and knee-length dresses in vibrant colors. Others who seemed to be less privileged wore common shirts and frocks, appearing more muted and indistinct, blending into the crowd.

There also seemed to be many kinds of shops. Some sold regular food or items, but a few others which were the most crowded had banners which read "Magical Trinkets for Sale! Eliminate odors with the De-odor Amulet! Stay safe with a Protector Wrist Band! Eliminate small illnesses with our special Healing Ring!". Groups of people flocked to these locations as soon as someone made a purchase and left, leaving a spot open.

Daneel barely had the time to take in all of these details before he almost collapsed from the pain. Struggling to hold himself up, he suspected that if he fell now, he might never get up again. And this time, he might just be dead for real.

There were numerous fountains located around the marketplace. Panic appearing on his face, he realized that there was no way he would be able to check them all before dying from his injuries. Besides, the patrolling guards were eyeing him with threatening stares as if warning him to stay away.

"Uh...system? Which fountain is it?", he thought in his mind, half convinced that he was just being dumb and the 'system' or whatever had just been a figment of his imagination borne from delirious ravings.

[As stated, it is the one now located 603 meters north from host's location. The system asks the host to not hesitate from asking any queries. The system will know which thoughts are being addressed as queries. Also, the system ensures the host that he is destined to conquer this world with the help of the very real and aptly titled World Domination System. But first, system advises host to finish the mission. Estimated time to organ collapse: 14 minutes 27 seconds.]

Daneel could only stare aimlessly as this response sounded in his mind. Destined to conquer the world? Who cared about that right now? He first needed to conquer the tiredness that was seeping into his mind, urging him to go to sleep.

The sun wasn't visible, so Daneel had no way to estimate which way was the north. Asking someone was also out of the question as he had the hunch that he would only have one chance to enter the marketplace.

"System, I need you to show me the fountain somehow. Or at least which direction north is."

[Auxiliary Tool: HUD-1 needed. Exp. Points Rate:10. Host has 0 experience points. Would the host like to avail a loan? It must be noted that an interest of 100% must be paid back along with the loaned amount at the earliest.]

100%? What the hell? Whoever made this system had the blackest heart possible. Although he cursed at the creator of the system in frustration, he knew that he was in a situation where he would die if he did not take the loan. Even if it were 1000%, he would have had to choose it.

"Yes", he said, as his body shook due to the waves of pain lashing at him.

[Loan granted. HUD-1 purchased from the System Store. Deployment shall commence in 3,2,1...]

A bright flash of light appeared in front of Daneel which made him close his eyes. A tingling could be felt in his brain as he waited for his eyes to adjust.

After opening his eyes, it felt as if someone had switched on a light at his location. Everything in his vision was crisper and more vibrant than it had been.

In the top left corner was some data that Daneel did not have time to examine because of the statement from the system which said:

[HUD-1 deployed. Please note that usage of any tools or abilities will result in depletion of energy. Host's current energy:1.2%]

Realizing that he had no time to waste, Daneel hurriedly started looking around. To his left, one fountain could be seen in the distance shining with a red hue.

He knew that this was where he needed to go.

Gathering all the remaining energy in his body, Daneel took a deep breath as he prepared to put everything on the line and reach his destination no matter what came in his way.

Not hesitating anymore, he took off at a dead run towards the fountain. It dominated his eyes, almost calling to him, offering salvation.

His rags and bloody body made him stick out like a sore thumb in the crowd. People shied away as he got near them, avoiding him as if he were the plague.

This was actually a blessing for Daneel as he now had a path with no obstacles.

Hearing a shout from behind which signaled that the guards were after him, he spurred his body to move even faster while gritting his teeth to ignore the agony that came from pushing his already injured body to the limit.

As soon as he reached the fountain, Daneel dunked his head in, drinking as much water as he could.

Although he sputtered and coughed, he still managed to ingest a large amount of the water. He also hurried to scoop up and drink as much water as he could before the guards arrived.

Suddenly, a baton lashed his back, making him bend over with shock. He curled into a ball almost instinctively as heavy kicks started to rain down on him.

Thankfully, the kicks stopped in a few seconds and he was hoisted up by his waist roughly.

Never having the pleasure of constantly being able to stuff himself, Daneel had a light and lithe figure. Even though he wasn't extremely thin and malnourished, he was definitely not the picture of good health.

The guard who had lifted him cursed under his breath as he took him back into the alleyway and threw him on the ground. He felt his head bounce on the hard floor, almost making him faint.

"If I see you in the market again, I will personally donate you to Ozelow. And you know what he does with stray kids." Saying so, the guard stormed away, not caring whether Daneel lived or died.

Daneel couldn't even register what the guard had said as he was currently trying hard to maintain consciousness. His head was now bleeding while he wondered whether he had been cheated. Had it all been his imagination?

As if to answer his question, the system responded:

[Mission success. Beginning recovery.]

Daneel felt his stomach burning, almost as if what he had drunk was not water but acid.

A second later, his whole body relaxed as something spread from his stomach towards each damaged tissue.

Starting from the head injury that he had sustained just now, each wound started becoming numb as if he had just been injected with anesthesia. In a few seconds, he felt much better although some parts of his body still hurt.

The recovery seemed to be targeting the most damaged organs first, bringing him back from death's door. As his organs slowly started to get back to normal, Daneel breathed in comfortably for the first time since coming to this world.

After a while, the numbness faded away, making him realize that except for the surface scratches and cuts that still bled a little. his internal organs were fine and his condition was much better than before.

He stood up and pinched himself, wanting to make sure that it had not all been just a dream. After all, only a few minutes ago, he had been gravely injured with his organs about to collapse.

[Recovery finished. Ether exhausted. Host Status had been updated.

Host Level: Human-0

Host Potential: F

Host Condition: Nominal

Level Progression: 10%

Mission Completion Bonus: 10 Exp Points.

Points have been used to pay back the loan.]

Indeed, this damn system must have been a black-hearted banker in its previous life, thought Daneel as he marveled at his now healed body.

What was done was done. Daneel stretched where he stood, wanting to check if there were any more internal injuries that he might have to worry about.

There were none. As for the rest of the scrapes and aches, they were quite manageable.

Seeing another fountain at the end of the alleyway which technically wasn't in the marketplace, Daneel walked to it and proceeded to clean the dirt and blood from all the external wounds.

Looking at his reflection in the water, he got the first clear look at his face. He had brown hair which was cut short and a sharp nose with a prominent bridge. A pointed chin and an angular jaw resulted in a face which would have been considered quite handsome back on earth. His green eyes though served to make him lean more towards the cute side, especially considering that this body was only twleve years old.

Memories of his actual face back on earth kept appearing in his mind. As he stood in a trance in front of the water, the two faces seemed to be slowly superimposing on each other in his vision. After quite some time had passed, they perfectly aligned on top of each other and something seemed to have clicked in Daneel's mind.

This was him now. It was almost as if he had bundled and set aside all the memories from earth and the memories of life in Lanthanor were now in the forefront. He could now precisely recall more details about his childhood and parents.

[Mind Sync Complete. System congratulates Host for settling into his new body. 10 Exp Points awarded.

*Ding*Your loan has been repaid! Thank you for banking with the system!]

The voice brought him back into reality. Well, at least he wouldn't have to worry about the loan any more, he mused before thinking about what to do next.

Deciding to first return home before finding out everything about the system, Daneel drank some more water before starting on his way. He had been gone a long time and his parents might be worried.

Giving up on salvaging his clothes and trying to hide his injuries, Daneel walked back home taking in all the sights around him. He would just have to give an excuse when the time came.

Lanthanor was a thriving city. It was divided into the inner and outer cities with the outer city occupied by merchants and common people.

The inner city was the residence of the nobles and ministers of the kingdom. It was off-limits to people without high enough authority.

The streets were finely paved with what looked like an orange soft rock which felt good to walk on even though he had no shoes. At regular intervals, there were fountains where common people could be seen drinking water.

Laughing families and screeching kids roamed the streets, happy and carefree. At first glance, it would seem that the people were happy with whoever was in command of this Kingdom.

This was just on the surface though. From Daneel's memories, he knew that the past 2 kings had repeatedly increased the taxes. Although it was not yet at a stage where people would have to sell their possessions and live frugally in order to just pay the tax, another tax hike was dreaded as it would result in a situation exactly like that.

Hence, people just found enjoyment where they could. They stayed far from the guards and minded their own business.

The two establishments with the most business were bars and magic trinket shops. Both of these had flocks of customers all year long.

Soon, Daneel entered the slum area. Here, the roads weren't as soft, almost like the soft layer that had been present everywhere else had faded away.

Small shacks were everywhere, spread haphazardly. Unlike the city he had just walked through, there was no order and very few guards.

Daneel had always been astute, so he could see that although there wasn't much order, there was more genuine happiness. An old couple played with 2 children while the latter's parents watched on smiling. A middle-aged man offered his drink to everyone passing by, not caring if it got depleted by people he didn't even know. When he was passing through, 4 or 5 people even stopped him and asked if he was OK seeing his condition. They offered to feed him and tend to his injuries as best they could if he did not have any parents.

Daneel was shocked by the hospitality. He did not expect such behavior at all from people who seemed to have nothing but the clothes on their back to their name.

After politely declining and assuring them that he had parents up ahead, their warm smiles still stuck in his head as he continued on.

Eventually, he reached a familiar shack. The roof was a rusted steel-like sheet with miscellaneous stuff laid on top to aid with leaks. The walls were also made of the same material which was quite sturdy even though it was quite thin. The door had a nameplate which read "Anivron House" in jagged writing.

A warm feeling filled his heart seeing this run-down shack. He was finally home.