I felt my consciousness return. My eyes sprung open as I sat up with a raspy breath.
But then seeing nothing around me, I heaved a sigh of relief.
"A nightmare..." I had a strange dream moments ago where I kept on dying repeatedly at the hands of a four legged, eight handed monster.
Wiping away the sweat on the brows, I frowned. My forehead was bandaged. And suddenly I remembered the incident. The one that almost killed me.
I looked at the unfamiliar room I was in. It wasn’t ornately furnished but radiated the rich quality that came from high quality materials.
The walls were painted in a vermillion hue and on one side, a large window was present, opening up to the lands beyond. An empty desk sat at a corner accompanied by a plush chair beside it.
My eyes fell on a polished mirror that lay across the desk on the other side of the room.
Slipping through the blanket draped on me, I landed on the ground from the high rise bed.
Walking upto the mirror, I looked into it. My eyes unconsciously widened as I saw the body I possessed.
Black rough hairs as dark as the midnight sky. A face so polished with a sharp set of jawline that almost looked like a being crafted by a god seeking perfection. The body was muscular in right proportions. Neither too thin nor too bulky.
And then the bandage wrapped around my forehead. It only served to make me look more badass.
Looking at my coarsed palms, I wondered.
Who am I? And which legendary figure have I dawned into?
Because no matter how I looked at the reflection on the mirror, all I saw was a man with a lot of secrets.
Secrets that must have died with the death of the owner.
The doors suddenly creaked open followed by the ringing footsteps tapping on the floor.
"I see you have finally woken up, Young Master Mordant."
I glanced at the mirror. A tall thin man stood at the doorway. Slowly closing the door behind him, he sat on the chair.
I turned back, trying my best to hide my nervousness.
The man spoke. "I am Leonard, one of the doctors of this academy. You were rescued by few soldiers and brought up here." Pointing at my bandage, he asked. "Does that pain right now?"
"A little bit" I replied, keeping it as short as I could.
"I see..." Leonard looked lost in thought but then quickly glanced at me as he asked.
"Say young master, do you remember everything? Any problem...you might be facing?" He implied.
Feigning a smile, I answered in a sweet voice. "Of course not. You don’t need to worry about that."
"That’s good to know. Though if you face any problems, do let know."
The doctor rose from his seat, nodding towards me as he exited the room.
Sizing up my reflection once again, I went to sit on my bed.
"So my surname now is Mordant huh. Not bad..." I felt a bitter smile creep up my lips.
I miss my parents a lot...
Were they okay? How foolish to ask this to myself. Of course they won’t be...knowing I am dead. Google seaʀᴄh 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡⚫𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢⚫𝘯𝘦𝘵
And here I was thinking about killing me few hours back. How indeed foolish.
I looked up. I have read enough novels to know this situation.
Transmigration. Followed by a golden finger.
"System." i called out.
------------------------------
Name: ? Mordant (Karl Max)
Innate Skills: Seed of Life (On Cooldown), One with Shadows(Inactive)
Active Skills: Unbending Baron, Life Drain
Mana Meter: ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
-------------------------------
A white opaque screen once again illuminated in front of my eyes.
So this body was 23 years old huh? Quite older than me.
My eyes skimmed through the entire screen, noting down the abilities shown.
Then they came to the stats. And I was genuinely confused.
How could a body as fit as this have such pathetic stats? I have seen bodybuilders from my previous world and by no means could this one be any inferior than theirs.
Unless...those were the stats of Karl Max. Not Lord Mordant.
Then I remembered that the Life Drain had increased my strength.
"So my strength was at F as well...Interesting."
The mana meter and the capacity came next. I could more or less understand what they would be.
Capacity should probably be the volume of whatever magic or as they say mana...a body can hold.
And given it was F, it was pathetic. No wonder my body gave up after one single usage of Life Drain. An active ability that should use mana.
"Sigh it’s only 4/10th filled or else I would have checked our for some cool stuff. Though I still need to run to check whether the F agility stat is true."
At that moment, the door behind me creaked open again.
I should really lock it up if they just enter whenever they wish.
A soldier now stood at the entrance, his head respectfully bowed.
"Vice-principal, the Council insists on meeting you." His voice almost drawled out the word "insist" as if trying to pass on a message.
One that I understood.
But given that...vice principal? The doctor did previously say he was of this academy and I had almost assumed I was a student.
Can a 23 year old even be a vice-principal?
But without hesitating, I rose from the bed and said.
"Sure. Lead the way."
On my way, I realised I didn’t have the key to lock the door.
’Too many works need to be done. First things first, I need to understand where am I, the culture, my family background...and then I need to find the goddess. I am not accepting my fate tied to a world other than the one where my parents are at...even if this world has fantasies equivalent to the wet dreams of countless teenagers and adults alike.
Mother, father...wait for me. I shall definitely come back.’ My hands clenched into a fist. A promise to myself and to my parents.
Soon we came across a door having bold letters written on it. "Council Members Only."
The soldier beside me said,"This is the most I have permit to walk, I fear. May luck shine upon you."
I thanked out politely even though his words sounded suspicious.
Shaking off the bad feeling, I pressed the door knob and opened the door.
"Long time no see, Vice Principal Henry Mordant."