Chapter 1

  Alex jerked awake, gasping like he'd just been pulled from underwater. His head felt like it was splitting open.

  "Make it stop," he groaned, his voice sounding strange to his own ears. Without thinking, he rolled off whatever he'd been lying on and hit the floor with a painful thud. "Shit, that didn't help."

  He squinted through the pain, taking in his surroundings. Tiny room. Bed with torn blankets. One sad-looking table with a chair. Mirror on the wall with a crack down the middle.

  “I died?” he whispered, eyes wide. “No. No, no, no—no way!”

  Then the memories hit him all at once.

  "What the hell?" Alex muttered, dragging himself toward the mirror. "This isn't my face." His heart hammered against his ribs as panic surged through him. "This isn't my body!"

  The reflection showed a young man with white hair and grayish blue eyes. Nothing like the person he remembered being. Alex touched his face, watching the stranger in the mirror mimic his movements. His stomach lurched.

  "So I really died," he said, voice cracking. "Got hit by that car and now I'm... someone else." He slapped his cheeks hard. "Wake up! Come on, wake up!" But the stinging pain only confirmed this wasn't a dream.

  The pounding in his head finally started to ease, replaced by flashes of memories that weren't his.

  Alex stared at his new reflection for what felt like hours. The hair, the eyes—none of it was his. Yet here he was, somehow alive after that car hit me. His head was throbbing with memories that felt both foreign and familiar—two lives colliding in one mind.

  "What the hell?" He muttered, touching his face. There he was—Leon—but now he remembered being someone else too. Alex. A kid who died in a car accident. College applications. Parents. A little sister named Zoe.

  Leon staggered to the washbasin and splashed water on his face. The cool water helped clear his mind somewhat, but the memories persisted. He'd always been Leon, a seventeen-year-old orphan who'd grown up in a small village a few miles away from Vale. He'd come to Vale to make his fortune as an adventurer.

  Leon glanced down at his body. The muscles were lean and defined—nothing like the soft, untrained body he remembered from his life as Alex. Years of farm work and training for his adventurer registration had hardened his physique.

  Alex had spent most of his time on his phone or playing video games. Leon could run for miles without tiring and had calluses on his hands from wielding practice swords. The physical difference between his two lives was striking.

  "I died," he said again, gripping the railing for support. "Alex died. Now I'm Leon." The reality of it hit him like a physical blow. "Mom, Dad, Zoe, Jamie... they probably think I'm dead. Because I am dead."

  Leon hung his head, tears flowing freely down his cheeks. He slumped against the wall and slid to the floor, his body shaking with sobs. The reality of his situation crashed over him in waves. Two lives, two identities – but one was gone forever.

  Minutes passed as he let the grief wash through him. There was no going back to his life as Alex. That suburban kid with college applications and parties and a crush on a girl named Sarah was gone forever. His family would mourn him, maybe even have a funeral by now. The thought made his chest ache with a pain that felt too real to be just a memory.

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  Finally, he wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. His breathing steadied as he forced himself to focus on the present. He was Leon now – a seventeen-year-old rookie adventurer in Vale with nothing but a bronze guild badge and basic equipment.

  Leon took a deep breath and pulled himself together. The past was gone. What mattered now was survival in this new world. He searched through Leon's memories, trying to piece together exactly where he stood. He'd arrived in Vale yesterday, spent nearly everything he had on the guild registration fee, and rented this room for one night.

  "No time for self-pity," he muttered, walking over to the wooden table where his pack lay. He rummaged through it, taking inventory of his meagre possessions: a waterskin, some dried meat, a small knife, flint and steel, and a nearly empty coin pouch. Barely enough to get through the day, let alone secure another night at the inn.

  A tattered case also caught his eye, opening it revealed what looked like a registration card:

  LEON VELGRYS

  RANK: E

  GUILD ID: VR-22845

  STATUS: ACTIVE

  The situation was clear. He needed money, and fast. In Vale , that meant taking on a job at the Adventurer's Guild. Monster hunting, escort missions, gathering rare herbs—anything that would pay. As a rookie with a bronze badge, his options would be limited to the safest, lowest-paying work, but it was a start.

  Leon shouldered his pack and fastened his sword belt as a strange sense of determination replaced his grief.

  Then—

  [Synchronisation Complete]

  [Welcome to Idle Training]

  A translucent blue window suddenly appeared in Leon's vision, floating in the air before him. He stumbled back in shock, nearly tripping over the bed.

  [Idle Training Status]

  User: Leon Velgrys

  Age: 17

  Active Simulations: 0/3

  Time Acceleration: 3x

  Training Focus: None Selected

  "Holy crap!" Leon gasped, his hand passing through the floating interface. A rush of excitement flooded through him, washing away his earlier grief.

  As an avid reader in his past life, Alex had devoured countless stories about people transported to fantasy worlds. The protagonists always got some kind of cheat ability that let them grow stronger faster than everyone else. And now, he had one too.

  "This is incredible," he whispered, examining the interface with growing enthusiasm. He couldn't stop the grin spreading across his face. According to the information, he currently had access to three simulations, with the potential to unlock more. Each simulation would experience time at triple the normal rate while training.

  "So I just... think about what I want to train?" he muttered, reaching out to touch the interface again. As his fingers passed through the translucent blue screen, he focused his thoughts. "Sword training. I need to get better with a sword."

  [Training Focus Selected: Swordsmanship]

  [Create Simulation? Y/N]

  Leon pressed ‘Y’ firmly and immediately felt a strange tugging sensation in his mind. It was like watching himself step out of his own body, a perfect copy taking form beside him that only he could see. The simulation-Leon unsheathed its sword and began practicing basic forms with mechanical precision.

  "This is insane," he whispered, watching his duplicate train at superhuman speeds. Each swing, parry, and thrust seemed to blur together as the simulation worked tirelessly.

  What would take months of dedicated practice might now be achieved in days or even hours. Leon couldn't help but laugh—a sound born of both relief and genuine joy.

  Whatever challenges this new world threw at him, he would be ready. The chapter of Alex had ended, but the story of Leon Velgrys was just beginning.

  End of Chapter 1