I quietly stared at the small screen I was holding, my cheeks pink and my eyes half-lidded. My brain was foggy, and everything around me seemed blurry, all except for the bright screen in front of me. Besides that, faint chatter and laughter could be heard from behind, but they couldn't distract me from what I was reading.
Entranced in the Apocalypse
By 098JW21E
Chapter 461 ༄. Views: 1
My dad always told me the importance of having charisma, of having a large social circle to get connections, so I followed his words. Yet every comradeship I thought I developed with someone was never fulfilling; conversations felt hollow, and smiles seemed shallow.
Jazz music rang in my ears as a tiny amount of alcohol spilled on the bar table before me, a clinking noise between two glasses of my coworkers following right after. I thought I'd had a tad more than enough drinks, which was why I decided to continue the novel I'd been reading before I could end up getting more wasted.
If you asked me for the one most important thing to me right now, you would probably consider my answer weird, even selfish.
Despite having plenty of "friends", for lack of a better word, I never enjoyed relying on them whenever I felt lonely or overwhelmed. Sure, it was a rather unhealthy habit, but hey, I was still breathing.
As my fingers mindlessly scrolled through my phone screen, I continued thinking. I have always struggled with a lot of things, amongst them were crowds or large events in general. Ironic, considering I go to gatherings such as this one quite often, though unwillingly, might I add. But the one thing that had always prevented me from spiraling when I felt distressed in such situations was fiction. That's what's most important to me now and probably will be for life.
In a way, consuming fictional media gave me a world to look forward to, even if it was an unreachable and unrealistic one. It deluded me into thinking I'd have something exciting awaiting me once I was done with these stupid parties and office gatherings. Above all, it was an escape whenever I felt as though reality was fucking me over. It was stupid to most, but fiction gave me a reason to continue with my repetitive and monotonous days.
What I meant by fiction, though, was specifically novels, like the one I was currently reading. I started 'Entranced in the Apocalypse' maybe 2 months ago. To be frank, it wasn't the best I've read. It wasn't badly written by any means, but it was tedious as the pacing was slower than I'd like it to be. Aside from that, I wasn't quite fond of the main character, Caelum; he wasn't all that interesting to me. However, I did continue reading the novel because the antagonists and Entities in the book were.
I've always enjoyed indie novels more than mainstream ones, even if it meant I was the only reader of these books. Most of these authors chose to remain anonymous or use a randomly generated username, but I liked the idea of being someone's biggest and only critic as well as supporter. It somehow felt like they were my friend, even if the only "conversations" we've had were through one-sided comments I left behind.
…As each second ticked, my eyes felt unbearably tired while my head grew lighter.
Something felt off.
I only drank three shots, did I not? Even if the drinks in this bar were heavier than what I usually consume, three shots wouldn't make me drunk to the point of exhaustion.
The grip I had on my phone tightened as my other arm grabbed onto the wooden bar, trying to regain balance. I took a deep breath and tried focusing on the sentences in front of me, doing my best to ignore my fatigue and the excited screams of my coworkers beside me.
Oh, they were watching a soccer game…
Eventually, the only breaths I could muster out were shaky and brief, and my head was on the bar table, still trying to read the damn novel. At this point, I should've asked for help, but I didn't want to burden anyone or ruin the mood of the game-watching session.
'At this moment, Caelum realized what he truly yearned for in this life.'
Ah…
'The real world.'
Wait… huh? Before I could continue to the next chapter, my body fully gave up on trying to stay awake. As my phone gently dropped on the table, my eyes were finally put to rest.
Ugh, did I seriously get spiked? What a…
˚₊‧꒰ა 𓂋 ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
The morning sunlight landed on my closed eyes, waking me up. The sun was delicate today; it didn't blind me with the sheer brightness. As I yawned and looked around, a feeling similar to dread washed over me. I was in an unfamiliar bedroom in clothes that didn't look like they belonged to me. My hands quickly patted the outside of my pockets and moved down to the blanket and sheets after feeling nothing.
Shit, my phone and wallet were nowhere in close proximity.
Before I had the chance to do anything rash, I took a deep breath and thought of possible explanations. Maybe one of my coworkers saw that I passed out drunk and generously brought me over to their place. That would be the most plausible situation, yet it wasn't a valid reason to change my clothes or take my belongings. And affording this lavish of an apartment? With our paycheck? I wished.
I hesitantly got out of bed and looked outside the transparent wall beside it. I couldn't identify the place I was seeing outside, but it wasn't like I traveled around the city all that often.
"Uh, hello? Is anyone home? I'm awake now…" I called out, but there was no answer.
Suddenly, a hologram-like notification appeared right in front of me, seemingly from thin air.
[An Abyssal Citadel has appeared near you. See more.]
…Oh, fuck. It finally clicked for me. I seriously just got isekai-ed into a fantasy novel that I'd rate a 6/10 at best.
Okay.
Okay.
This was fine, actually. As long as I wasn't in any legal trouble for only entering this world today, this would finally be my chance at starting life all over again.
As I strolled around the spacious place that was my new home, searching for the bathroom, my hands slowly caressed my face. Cause, you know, people usually wake up as an existing character in these kinds of stories. So I was wondering if the same happened to me.
Having finally found the bathroom, I took a good look at what was looking back at me in the mirror. The face reflected in it was pale and charmingly attractive, with messy black strands of hair falling perfectly along the edges of his jaw.
…Yeah, it was my face. I was positive that my entire body remained unchanged, so that was a relief. At least I didn't get transported as Caelum's love interest or something.
The bright notification pop-up was still in front of me, though. Was I supposed to swipe it to get rid of it? Was there a cooldown on these messages? Either way, I was curious about it despite having zero interest in clearing the Abyssal Citadel. I was no fool; I had no weapons or experience, but regardless, I clicked on it.
[An Abyssal Citadel has appeared near you. Click here for navigation.]
[Difficulty: S-rank. Ancient Relics valued at around 500,000C. Possible Entities: ???]
I rolled my eyes and snickered. In this world, Abyssal Citadels serve as a nexus for powerful Otherworld Entities. Simply put, depending on how challenging or rare the Entities were, you would receive Relics as a prize for defeating them in a Citadel. Then, these Relics might fetch a high price when sold and could be an incredibly useful power source when utilized correctly.
Abyssal Citadels would stay for days, even months, until the Overseer, its most powerful Entity, was vanquished. And in Citadels with a difficulty of S-rank or higher, it would essentially be impossible to defeat their Overseers, as they were Entities with powers beyond any possible combat abilities that a human could display. Instead, Chasers would be given a task that forced them to torture and sacrifice themselves for these Entities.
So you either die or die miserably. It was fucking stupid the lengths people would go to for those Relics. Or, more specifically, Chasers. That was the name of those who trained to clear Citadels.
I swiftly swiped the messages away and walked outside my bathroom. Relieved and confident that I could easily avoid dying in Citadels, I brewed myself some coffee already provided in the apartment and eased my mind.
Honestly, I didn't have much to lose back on Earth, maybe that was why I was so relaxed. Living in a fantasy world, even on a planet almost exactly like it but called 'Urath', was a dream for me, even if it meant I would be more at risk of losing my life each day.
I'd rather check everything regarding my identity and overall life here tomorrow. I needed rest, and this was the perfect opportunity to do so without any consequences. As I sipped on my coffee and comfortably sat down on my couch, I was reminded of what I last saw before I passed out.
Yeah, what was that line about?