CHAPTER 99: IN ANOTHER WORLD... AGAIN!? [1]

"Ring!! Ring!!"

"Ugh, damn these morning alarms." A young, rather pale man stretched out his hand from the white bed where he lay face down. "I knew I should’ve gone to bed earlier," the young man muttered under his breath.

Cha Eun-woo... or rather, Arthur Arcain, slowly roused himself, still groggy and half-dreaming of stat windows and pretty girls from the manhwa he’d read, which, incidentally, had a novel adaptation he recently finished.

Eun-woo was one of those in the anime, manhwa, manga, and NovelBin communities who despised harems.

But yesterday, he had been enlightened, granted the dao, and finally understood the true lessons of life, things that, as a harem-hater, he had never appreciated.

’I wish that was my life,’ he thought lazily, trying to muster enough strength to move. ’But I guess it’s just fantasy after all. Still, I used to hate on it even though it’s meant to be fiction.’

He smiled faintly and turned on his phone. Arthur squinted as he began typing hateful comments about harems. ’Can’t let anyone find out I read harems now,’ he thought for a moment, then turned off his phone and tossed it on the bed. ’Only an idiot wouldn’t mistake me for a harem fan. Like, how could I possibly end up in a book that boldly screams "harem" when I’m not meant click on them?’

He yawned loudly and dragged himself out of bed.

Without even surveying his surroundings, Arthur, dressed in plain clothes, opened the door and stepped into the living room, greeting his parents with a nod and glaring at his younger sister. The scent of eggs and toast still lingered faintly in the air, but Arthur didn’t pay it much attention.

Today was a holiday after all, and after this, he would be starting high school. The thought of school and interacting with others made him uneasy.

He was the epitome of mediocrity, and at the lower end of it, at that.

Average height, average face, average build. He didn’t have any distinctive features. Even his sister... no cousin — was embarrassed to be seen with him in public.

As Arthur passed the living room en route to the kitchen, he glanced at the television his family was watching.

His sister sat beside the TV, hugging a large pink doll, while his parents lounged together on the couch directly in front of it, like a couple freshly married.

A breaking news ticker crawled across the bottom of the screen. Squinting, Arthur tried to make out the words.

A female reporter spoke clearly in the background. She was beautiful, even by Earth’s standards.

What caught Arthur’s attention wasn’t her looks (though that certainly contributed) but the fact that Ji-ho hadn’t messaged him saying he’d found another "goon" material online.

Ji-ho was unhinged like that, constantly sending Arthur random clips of people he discovered on social media or the news.

Arthur sighed and focused on what the reporter was saying.

"And thanks to her efforts, hundreds were saved today. S-rank Awakened Frieren Hohenzollern has been officially recognized by the World Awakening Bureau..."

Arthur’s brow creased. ’Frieren... Hohenzollern?’ He scratched his head. ’As far as I know, today isn’t April Fools’.’

He squinted harder at the screen. He didn’t feel like moving closer, so this was the best he could do.

Still, he was trying to make sense of the images in the background behind the news anchor.

As his gaze roamed across the footage, it finally fell on the woman, or rather, the young lady the reporter was referring to.

And, oddly enough, she looked exactly like the female lead from the manhwa/NovelBin he’d read just yesterday.

He could have sworn that both the setting and her attire matched the first Chapter of that series, the same panel of Seo Nari he’d stared at for two straight hours last night: long white hair, moonlight gray eyes, and a red scarf resting on her shoulder.

’No way. That’s... no way that’s real. Ji-ho’s madness must be rubbing off on me.’

He rubbed his eyes. "I really need more sleep."

Shaking his head, he made his way to the fridge. "Hey, Dad," he said casually. "Why are you watching foreign news?"

His father, sitting cross-legged on the couch, didn’t turn around. "What do you mean?"

"You know," Arthur chuckled. "You’re always the one ranting when I watch foreign stuff with De-ah. ’The Cha family doesn’t watch foreigners.’ What happened to that pride?"

His father turned slowly.

"...The Cha family?"

Arthur laughed awkwardly as he opened the fridge. "What’s with you guys today? First the news, now this? There’s no way I’d fall for a lame prank this early in the morning."

He shook his head in disapproval, but when he looked up... his father wasn’t laughing.

Neither was his mother, seated beside him.

Nor his sister... or was it his cousin, who was staring at him like he had completely lost his mind.

"...Did you hit your head, sweetie?" his mother asked gently.

"What?" Arthur blinked. "No. Of course not."

"Then why are you suddenly talking about a ’Cha’ family?" she asked, her voice calm but clearly concerned. "We’re the Arcain family."

Arthur opened his mouth to argue, then stopped.

What language had he just spoken?

It wasn’t Korean. He could tell now, with terrifying clarity.

The rhythm was wrong. The syllables unfamiliar. He’d always defaulted to Korean in dreams, games, or daydreams... so why hadn’t he noticed?

Panic twisted in his chest.

He spun back toward the TV.

There she was. Seo Nari, no, Frieren Hohenzollern, in crisp high definition. Surrounded by rubble and hovering drones, the atmosphere shimmering with mana...

And behind her was a... "A mana beast."

His sister scoffed. "I always knew you were crazy, but it looks like you’ve finally snapped."

Arthur stared at the screen for a heartbeat longer, then bolted to his room, stumbling down the hallway, and grabbed his phone.

Without hesitation, he began entering his password, since face unlock kept insulting his looks by calling him unrecognizable.

There was only one person he could call right now, the one person who wouldn’t lie to him.

"Where’s that bastard’s number when I need it?"

Before he could even begin scrolling, his eyes landed on the latest news notification.

Today’s Top Headline:

[17-Year-Old Newly Awakened S-Rank: Frieren Hohenzollern Saves 200+ Civilians From Dungeon Collapse Near Seoul]

And beneath it:

[BREAKING: Hero of the People or Future Threat? Public Sentiment on Awakened Remains Divided]

Arthur’s phone slipped from his hand as he dropped to his knees.

Everything hit him at once.

The news. The language. His name. His family.

This wasn’t his world.

No... it was.

But something had merged with it.

Even if the initial broadcast didn’t tell the whole story, the headline on his phone shattered every lingering doubt.

The novel he finished at 4 a.m. this morning... had somehow become real.

And he was no longer just Cha Eun-woo.

He was Arthur Arcain.

"...How did this happen?"

Yesterday had been perfectly ordinary. He’d argued with his sister, as always.

His dad came home late. His mom had just finished cooking dinner.

He was sure he’d gone to sleep in his room, in his own world, last night.

He picked up his first harem series, binge-read the manhwa, got hooked, and, because of the cliffhanger, ended up finishing the novel as well.

That’s why he went to bed so late. Around 5 a.m., to be precise. Only two hours had passed since then.

Could something have happened in those two hours? Arthur doubted it.

If something had happened, he’d have noticed.

But there was no other explanation. He was inside the very plot of the novel he’d just read.

He clutched his bangs tightly. "Why does everything always have to get so damn complicated?"

Arthur had trained himself to keep a calm mind in all situations. Some would even call it a talent, though it usually backfired when he eventually broke.

With a steady mind and a grumbling stomach, he began compiling everything he could remember from the internet, the story, and his personal experience with the novel.

Luckily for him, neither the manhwa nor the novel had been deleted from his phone.

That helped calm his nerves. At least he wasn’t a delusional freak losing his grip from lack of sleep.

Arthur chuckled grimly. ’It’s not that bad. Might not be full-on transmigration, but there’s still power to be had.’

He tried to reassure himself. ’Besides, this novel is known for its diverse waifus.’

What he said was technically true, but he doubted any of the female leads would even talk to him given his current appearance.

He shook his head. ’I should be checking if I have powers, not tallying up how many girls I can bag.’

Arthur didn’t know if he was the only one aware of the plot, or what kind of interdimensional entity was messing with him.

Maybe it was a dream. But then again, films never depicted people pinching themselves to escape dreams, since they always pinched themselves while awake.

So pinching himself was out of the question, so he decided to do what any normal person in his shoes would do.

Denial.

Yep. He was going to drag this out for at least three more Chapters.

With a dismissive sigh, he collapsed back onto his bed. "Like hell I’d believe I’m in another world." He yawned. "Back to sleep."

Arthur slowly closed his eyes and let himself drift off.

Whether this was some sick dream, or whether he was actually losing his mind... even if by some microscopic chance his world had merged with another,

He was sure things would return to normal once he woke up.

He had no intention of living in this dangerous world. It was much better to read about it from a screen than to actually experience it.

As soon as he fell fully into slumber, a chiming sound echoed faintly in his mind, though he was too far gone to hear it.

Ding!

{User Cha Jin-sung has awoken in the body of Cha##??#&# Arthur Arcain}

{The world has listened to it’s creator—Praise the weavers}

{Assimilating consciousness}

{Wake up, Cha Jin-sung...##?#$Kaiser Vanguard... Save the heroine!}

{Theron is with you}