MTL - Back To 1995 - Chapter 1005 Things are different

The royal bastard of House Vasquer, Argrave, changed after his stay studying magic at the Tower of the Gray Owl.

The sickly man's awkward posture and cruel behavior have been replaced with a neat dignity and acerbic wit.

Though once listless, he now strives towards his goals with a life-or-death tenacity.

Most come away thinking he seems to know too many details about too much. Few can claim to know his motives or his goals.

Yet behind that confident appearance, the primary contributor for an open-world RPG's wiki battles existential dread and things far beyond his ken as he struggles to adapt to a grim, gothic fantasy world mirroring his favorite game.

The prospect of fighting against a world-ending calamity loses all of its appeal when it transitions from entertainment to reality.

Argrave is spurred towards unwanted heroism to preserve his life as he struggles desperately to keep this sinking ship afloat.

The rule had always been this way: the strong over the weak, the rich over the poor. Mark knew this, he'd even experienced it.After his boss fired him for discovering the affair with his girlfriend (who also worked at their small gaming company), Mark vowed never to be humiliated like that again. He wanted to rise above everyone, to become the world's top player, the one who made the rules and decided everyone's fate. But that was wishful thinking. He was just a heavyset, nerdy guy with some programming skills and a large appetite. What else did he have going for him?Hit hard by this reality, jobless and dumped, Mark withdrew into gaming, which also became his source of income. One day, after leaving a bad review for a game he played and streamed, he received a strange reply from the game's creator. Suddenly, Mark found himself transported to Aetherium, the world of that same game, as Magnus Lancaster, the young lord of a crumbling territory.Now, with this new beginning, he vowed never to be weak again, never to leave his fate in someone else's hands.

What’s not to love about my new life after transmigrating into a Pet-centered world?
There are mighty creatures that come in all shapes and sizes. They can either be cuddly companions, helpers in your daily life, daring scouts or strong fighters. Or all of the above. Not bad, huh?

I have a family, but the fact is completely overshadowed by my younger sister. She thoroughly hates my guts, and she makes sure that I know this. Every. Single. Day.
Did I mention that she’s disgustingly talented while I am a bottom feeder? A terribly handsome one at that.

I have free rein to run the family business on my own. A small and quaint Pet Store. It should have been great if not for the fact that the previous owner of this body was born with ZERO affinity to handle Astral Pets…

It wouldn’t be a proper transmigration without a gimmick or a system to pave my road to greatness, don’t you think? I have one, but I don’t know if I would be better off without it…

'Nina?'The thought hit me before I even really processed who it was. Nina Shoka from my class. She was just walking along, probably listening to music, totally unaware that this car had lost control and was sliding right toward her.I didn't think about it. Didn't weigh the pros and cons or consider my options. My legs just started moving.I dropped my phone and sprinted toward her. The car was maybe three seconds away from hitting her when I slammed into her side, pushing her as hard as I could toward the sidewalk.She went flying, landing hard on the concrete but definitely out of the car's path.Me? Not so lucky.The impact felt like getting hit by a train. One second I was pushing Nina to safety, the next I was flying through the air. Then I hit the ground and everything went wrong at once.I couldn't move my legs. Couldn't really move much of anything, actually. There was this weird warm feeling spreading across my chest and stomach, and when I tried to breathe, it felt like drowning.'Well, this sucks,' I thought, staring up at the sky. 'Guess that's what I get for being a hero.'My vision started getting all swimmy and weird, but I could make out Nina crawling over to me. She had pulled out her earbuds and there were tears streaming down her face.“Why did you do that?” she kept asking, over and over. “Why would you do that?”I wanted to shrug, but my shoulders weren't really cooperating. It seemed pretty obvious to me - she was in trouble, so I helped. That's what you do, right? Nothing fancy about it.She was talking to me, saying my name a lot. I didn't realize she even knew my name, to be honest. We had been in the same class for like three months and I don't think we had ever actually had a conversation.“Kofi, stay with me, okay?” she was saying. “You're gonna be fine. The ambulance is coming.”