Chapter 39: PORTAL

Without wasting another second, he began reading, silently hearing Ren’s familiar voice in his head.

Hi, Toka.

If you’re reading this letter, then it means you’ve finally managed to awaken, just like every normal person in this world, by going through the awakening process.

Congratulations.

You’ve always been a slow bloomer. Don’t take it too hard on yourself.

Unlike you, Soran and I were born as Awakened beings. It wasn’t particularly difficult for us to locate each other before we turned seven. Together, we spent months searching for you.

We hired mercenaries and paid travellers to ask around, looking for anyone who recognized some popular earthly terminologies. It took quite a while, but eventually, one of our subordinates managed to find a man who recognized the word "GAME".

He was your father.

We traced him and eventually discovered that he had a child around our age. We knew it had to be you, so we immediately set out to find you.

But when we finally saw you, we were so disappointed that we couldn’t even bring ourselves to approach you.

YOU, Toka, had been given another chance at life, yet you were spending it as a shut-in! You hadn’t accomplished a single thing. You were behaving like the child you were no longer supposed to be, playing house with your oblivious new family.

And the worst part? You weren’t even born Awakened. We couldn’t sense a system within you.

You had become a liability. Someone who didn’t deserve a second chance at life.

Soran was so disappointed that he suggested abducting you and offering you to the first reincarnate we came across. But I decided against it.

No matter how useless you’ve become, you’re still our friend.

So we left you as you were and decided to descend into the dungeon ourselves.

As I’m writing this, we’re preparing to leave the surface and begin playing the true game of this world. Eight years from now, you’ll be reading this letter, provided you’ve finally decided to become useful and managed to awaken through the awakening ceremony.

I don’t know how far we’ll have gotten by then or how much we’ll have accomplished, but I do know one thing.

If we ever meet again, we’ll already be miles ahead of you.

We’ll be making a difference. We’ll have accomplished things worth remembering, and we’ll have made names for ourselves in this world.

We’re sorry, Toka. But you were simply too weak and too slow to keep up.

Much love.

Ren.

Aaron swallowed hard. For a long moment, he simply stared at the piece of paper in his hands, his expression completely blank.

The first reincarnate hadn’t lied.

Ren and Soran had indeed found him. They had known exactly where he was, yet they had deliberately chosen to leave him behind.

They had most likely abandoned their families, gathered whatever resources they could, hired mercenaries, and spent their childhood preparing for the dungeon. At seven years old, they had already set out to become stronger and begin their journey towards conquering the world.

They were taking full advantage of their reincarnation. Just like protagonists in some classic Isekai novel. And he? He had spent those same years doing absolutely nothing.

Aaron released an exaggerated sigh before crumpling the letter in his hand. He slowly raised his head, staring blankly at the vast blue sky above him.

He didn’t want to accept it.

He really didn’t.

But deep down, he knew his friends had abandoned him.

Their actions were certainly extreme, but they weren’t entirely unbelievable. Ren and Soran had always been obsessed with power. Even in their previous lives, it had been one of the few things they could never stop talking about.

So, the idea of them abandoning him to pursue their ambitions wasn’t particularly difficult to believe. Still...

It was one thing to suspect it.

It was another to have it confirmed in writing.

As Aaron continued staring at the sky, a sudden gust of wind swept across the field, rustling his clothes and sending his hair into disarray. He narrowed his eyes slightly.

The wind was getting stronger.

The previously bright sky had begun to darken, with thick clouds gradually gathering overhead. The atmosphere had changed so drastically that it almost felt as though the world itself was preparing for something. A hailstorm, perhaps.

Amidst the increasingly violent wind whistling past his ears, a shrill voice suddenly rang out.

"The portal is opening in five... four... three... two... one!"

The butler’s voice rose above the commotion.

"RUN IN!"

Aaron remained motionless.

Still gazing at the darkening sky, he suddenly felt an invisible force tugging at his back.

At the same time, the direction of the wind shifted.

Rather than blowing against him, it now seemed to be pushing him forward, almost as though it were lending its strength to the mysterious force pulling him from behind.

His clothes fluttered violently as the pressure intensified. It was obvious.

He didn’t need a soothsayer to tell him that the portal had opened behind him.

The surrounding students erupted into action.

Excited screams and shouts of determination filled the air as they charged towards the portal. Some sprinted without looking back, while others practically threw themselves forward, unwilling to waste even a second.

The atmosphere was chaotic.

Everyone wanted to be among the first to enter.

Aaron, however, could only release another tired sigh.

Where do I even start?

If he entered the dungeon, sooner or later, he would inevitably come face-to-face with the first reincarnate.

And if he didn’t?

He would remain weak, unable to protect himself against the very people who might come looking for him.

His former friends...

They had abandoned him.

Worse, they had apparently been willing to hand him over to another reincarnate just to get rid of him.

They had betrayed him to save themselves.

If they ever crossed paths again, there was no telling what kind of relationship they would have. But one thing was certain. They wouldn’t be meeting as friends.