Chapter 1: Adaptation

In the middle of nowhere surrounded by fearsome purple thunderous lightning, a rift opened between the skies. The surrounding areas began to shake as a singular existence arrived, restricted by countless chains latched to his body. This man wearing Eastern clothing was released from such restrictions slowly eroding his existence

“This is your last moment… how bout you reveal your name? Even in the end you still remain anonymous,”

A dog-like entity speaks to the shackled individual and it replies. “I thought I already told ya? It’s Ligma? You know Ligma ba-”

“Finish those words and I’ll kill you! It’s a pity that you oppose the laws of the trials. You had so much potential,” Without a second to waste the entity disappeared, and the eastern figure was left waiting for his demise

[… this is it? Sigh. I never thought I’d say this, but it was fun. The time we had together was chaotic but fun, I hope you felt the same way, ei Morris? Are you still clinging to that ego of yours, I thought you’d be willing to accept your inevitable end]

“Maybe she’s right… this must be my last ride, this time I’ll die no matter what I do, I won’t survive. But that doesn’t mean I’ll die a dog’s death, It might be foolish, but I know that for a fact. I’m not the main character so I already knew sooner or later I’ll die and be a sacrifice for his survival,” The signs of the raging thunderstorm alerted him of the arrival of his executioner wielding a spear and an aura unlike any he ever faced

[System: The proxy of the sinful entity you challenge to a life-and-death match appeared to end the lawbreaker’s life!]

One last time he smiled and slowly he trekked the rough terrains to face the monster fated to end his life

‘Half a month in real-time and 9 months in the trials… It’s short but it was a life I lived to the fullest. I’m no main character, truthfully speaking im just an author, and here im a side character. The only thing special about me is my creativity and the other is my wackiness, even to this day I speak like there’s someone who cares. You could say I tried talking to myself or pretending there’s a fourth wall, but this is how it ends. But that’s not fun, isn’t it? Let’s go back to how I got here in the first place,’

10 months ago

|[Hello hello Ladies and Gentlemen, for the time to announce the Global Lucid Novel Competition (GLC) 2030 winners. Staring your host Editor Jim Chavez and Daisy Newman for today’s grandiose event. The event where many authors go neck and neck into competing with one another]|

“Ooh! It’s about to start, come on! Let it be this day, I really want an adaptation!!”

|[Jim: The bronze medalist goes to Author Dead Neat Jones for his book [SSS Libido Hunter: My Perversion Is SSS Rank]

Daisy: Taking the silver medal is none other than Author Super Rookie for his book, [The Invincible Groper]

Jim: Honorable mentions before we unveil our golden seat, we have [After I Woke Up I reincarnated As An Overpowered Futa] now this is one of the wildest books I’ve read

Daisy: If you guys love some action the honorable mention [How A Loser Became A Harem King After Gaining An SSS Rarity Class] & [Starting Earlier Than The Geniuses With My Op Time Rewind System] will be worth the read

Jim: Now for our gold medalist. The one with two million readers goes to Author Lecherous Manslaughter for his new masterpiece of a book. [That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Lingerie With An OP System]… that’s all the books this year and I’ll see you in 2031

Daisy: Hey Jim, what about that re-entry book every year? You know World of Trials?]|

Jim: You’re seriously asking about that? Of course, it’s still at the lowest of them all, gosh darn I can’t believe Author Reborn flames. I don’t know if you’re hearing this or not, stop it already… are you still trying to get that book an adaptation? Buddy if I were you I would just write a new book instead of continuing a lousy work. Now don’t act like that loyal viewers, I have a lot more experience compared to him, Jim Chavez won’t say such a horrible thin~]|

[Turned off]

‘I didn’t even reach the honorable mention even though this is the 10th time. Sigh, my name is Christopher Morris but most people address me as Morris. Age 29 Just an unsuccessful writer having some troubles with his life,’

‘I try to better myself in terms of writing a story, why you may ask my nonexistent voices in my head. I don’t know the answer, it’s been so long I’ve forgotten my story’s purpose. You could say im only finishing the remaining chapters so I won’t leave any regrets, no matter what happens next in my life,’

“Finally, it’s finished. All I need to do is post this on Lucid Novel,” Morris felt his heart aching as he overworked his body

*Aack!!!*

“I guess 6 hours of nonstop writing have finally caught up to me, I need to eat something… What 2:26 am!!!? Is there even a store open,” Morris gazed from the window of his apartment to look for any available shop

“That one store is open, I need to get there before they close,” Morris gently closed his door, making his way to the neighborhood, and ran as fast as he could

Like always he roughly endured the cold of the early morning breeze. When everything was in his favor he suddenly heard a loud beep that got louder and louder by the second. Before he knew it he saw a flashing light coming from his back, it was a speeding truck with no sign of slowing down

“Holy shit! I’m too young to get Isekaid!” He jumped to his side before it could have made any contact with the truck. He escaped at the right time before he got his body torn apart by the vehicle which was the average troupe for an isekai. The truck had no signs of stopping even though they almost struck a civilian in their line of work

“You moron! Watch where you’re fucking driving!!!” He sighed after his life was no longer threatened and continued his match to the convenience store

‘What the hell am I expecting, im unfortunate as ever. How did my life become so dull I remember I aspired to have a great life and look at me now, im just a loser. I’m scraping a few bucks on my story, were my parents right? Should I just become a teacher as they wished? Ughhh, shit I’m so hungry. I can’t even imagine crying over my miserable body,’

He entered the convenience store which had a relaxing atmosphere became a dreadful environment when he heard a familiar voice calling for his name

“Oh if it isn’t the guy who wanted to become a writer… How’s your dream job treating you? Hey, im talking to you Christopher Morris or should I call you a piece of trash? This is such a lovely reunion, how about we get to know each other,” the man said as he placed his hand on his shoulder

Suddenly a chill went through the back of his spine after seeing his old classmate, no his bully!! The villain of his years as a teen, the one who beats him into submission and tramples on his ambition. This was the person that he loathed the most yet he remained frozen unable to move. He was traumatized and he couldn’t do anything but remain on his side

“What you’re not gonna say hello to your old classmate? You’ve got some balls not answering me, did this loser grow some balls when you dropped out of school?” The man pulled on his shirt and lifted him from the ground. Before anything was to occur the shop clerk stepped in and broke their fight when she heard a noise in their peaceful workplace

*Cough* *Cough*

“Why the hell am I so unlucky, it seems like even today isn’t on my fucking side,” He grabbed all the things he needed and exits the store. On his way back to his route, he suddenly felt unsteady his consciousness was fading and his weak body could not muster its strength. He grabbed the nearest food in his bag and shoved it in his mouth

“It’s a miracle that my body lasted 6 hours with no food. I have to go back home, im starting to feel a little sleepy,” He walked slowly down the path he had taken before where he felt a little uneasy for some reason unknown reason

That’s when he realizes his worries when he hears a noise coming out from a dark corner of the street. He slowly takes a step back and tries grabbing something from his back pocket. Seconds later he accidentally stepped on a can, crushing it made a sound that alerted a nearby drunkard. It was holding a broken glass bottle and he swung it carelessly toward his chest. But he stopped moving once he pulled out a Taser from his pocket shocking the drunkard before he ran away

When he arrived at his home his heart was beating faster than anything that he’d experienced. He falls to the floor which calms his overexerted heart and he hears a notification coming from his phone. He ignored it until he was bothered once again and his jaws dropped when he saw it from the Lucid novel. His tired body rises from the ground and he spokes the contents of the message out loud

“Hello, we would like to congratulate you that your book was chosen to get an adaptation,” He read the next lines after he pinched himself wondering if he was dreaming

“Ow, im not dreaming… It’s really real, someone wants to adapt my story finally. Wait let’s read the next message first, as the story goes your plot was great but we thought that it hadn’t reached its maximum potential. Some changes needed to be made, and even so, many of our clients got interested they gave it a 10 out of 10. Hell yeah, im finally getting an adaptation,” He jumps around like a fool excited as he was after his career made a big turn for the better

“At last, my hard work paid off. For now, I need to sleep I don’t want to endanger my life any longer. They said I could start tomorrow morning, rewriting that story is gonna be a piece of cake,” He lies down on his bed closes his eyes, and a few minutes later falls into a deep slumber

He hugged his pillow tightly and a voice materialized in his apartment which made an echo that woke his neighbors. But he wasn’t even bothered and didn’t move a single inch. But the echoes dialed down after they found his sleeping body

[System: The human has agreed to the terms and conditions, initiating the portal to the world of trials. The limitation that your body possesses has been destroyed. This world will grant you the ability to grow, a world that will make your wildest dreams come true. With the price of it is a horrific experience]

A portal opened up out of nowhere and his body floated in the air while it was being pulled into the portal. When he wakes up, he finds himself on a cold floor and the first thing he sees is a white room. He looked a little confused by what he was witnessing until some mysterious entity appeared

[System: The Game master has arrived!!! You will now be given a brief introduction to the trials]

Right before his eyes was an entity thats oddly familiar even though it was their very first encounter. It had a grotesque figure that can understand their language and it welcomes them in their confusion. That’s when he realizes after he heard the words spoken by the entity written in his prologue. What it says and the gestures it did, the figure that the entity had were the same in his book

“I would like to welcome all of you to the world of trials I wish you all the best of luck in your new life,” the entity said before it disappeared from the room

‘No way it can’t be, that’s impossible!!!’

[System: A trial has now been activated

Trial: white room survive for the next 30 minutes as monsters will try and kill you,

you’re now able to select a starter weapon]

‘Snap out of it I need to act like a side character, I’m dreaming? Seriously a 29-year-old getting too excited about the adaptation of his book. Now he’s experiencing a lucid dream that felt like the real thing. I can even move,’

[System: You’ve picked the sword as your starter weapon please wait as the monsters will begin to appear

Warning: To those who still haven’t chosen their weapon if you don’t pick any weapon by the end of the time limit you will be given a random weapon]

Soon all the people panicked and screamed while some other people started picking up their weapons of choice that they think suits them the most

‘It’s how I imagined it to be if my story became real, shucks im even making a fool of myself. This dream is pretty realistic I should try my best even for a little bit. I might even survive long enough to meet my main character,’

As soon as the time limit had reached its limit monsters were being generated as glimmering lights formed. It was pixelated soon and they started to become more and more like the shape of a monster. Once the timer hit zero they began moving and slaughtering anything in their sight. Whilst this was happening Morris was still stuck in his delusion where he thought all of this was a dream until…

‘Oh, it’s a Backstabber… If I remember correctly, this is white room 3 it’s where one of my side characters was placed, so I became that side character? Out of every side character I could’ve dreamt of It’s that one character. Is he the one who’ll die in the very beginning after his role is finished?’

While he wasn’t paying attention one of the Backstabbers approached him and stabbed him in the back. This causes a ton of blood to flow out and the pain that he described was the feeling he’s experiencing. The monster looked more and more frightening after he realized they were real. It pulled out another dagger, and he responded before it could strike him again. He kicks the Backstabber from its head and sends the little gremlin-like monster flying into the room. He panicked for his next move upon realizing that all of this was true

“It’s real!!!, all of this is real, why is this happening!!?” He said and he soon remembered the email he got at 3 am

[We would like to congratulate you that your book was chosen to get an adaptation]

He paused and he remembered one small detail in his book. He once made a side character that was just like him. With his temporary reasonings, he shouts an activation word

“Status,” He uttered the words and a screen popped out in front of his view with all the details and status of his own body

[Christopher Morris LvL 0 [Unregistered]

Hp: 18

Atk: 5

Spd: 6

Def: 8

Mp: 15

Stm: 8

Overall rating: You’re too weak to be here just die before you experience hell weakling]

“So this is my reality now, haaaa haa haaa… I got transmigrated in my novel?” He stopped his bleeding by tearing his clothes and covering his wound. He grabbed his sword and made a stance when a small horde of monsters soon noticed his presence

[Tutorial trial: White room; The players are transported to a world where they can escape from their miserable lives. Before we could proceed in placing all of you in this magnificent world

Requirements: You must survive for the next 30 minutes the system will release a lot of monsters to come and kill you. The thing that a player must possess is the will to live if you don’t possess such a trait. We hope that you’ll relish the remainder of your days

Remaining time: 24 minutes]

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep