Kael Draven never imagined his life would end over fried chicken.
It had been a long and exhausting day. Work had drained him completely, his boss had pushed him past every reasonable limit, and all he wanted was one simple reward for surviving another miserable shift. That reward came in the form of his favorite fried chicken from the small shop across the street. Golden, crispy, perfectly seasoned. The smell alone was enough to make the day feel survivable.
He had already decided. Tonight, he would eat in peace.
There was only one problem.
Someone else grabbed the last box.
Kael froze. His hand was still on the shop door when he watched the stranger snatch the final box from the counter and walk away like nothing had happened. Kael stared at the empty counter. Then at the owner, who gave him an awkward, apologetic smile.
Kael's eyes twitched.
"That was mine," he said.
The stranger did not turn around.
Something inside Kael snapped.
He ran after him.
"Get back here!"
The stranger immediately broke into a sprint. Kael cursed under his breath and chased him down the street, weaving between pedestrians and parked cars with absolutely no plan beyond catching the man and recovering what was rightfully his. He had survived a terrible boss, endless overtime, and a life that had never once gone the way he wanted.
He was not losing fried chicken.
The stranger cut suddenly to the side.
Kael followed without hesitation.
That was a mistake.
A motorcycle burst out of the cross street. Kael turned too late. His eyes went wide. For one stupid, final second, all he could think about was the smell of fried chicken.
Then the world went white.
When Kael opened his eyes, he was lying on a wooden floor.
He groaned and pushed himself upright. His body felt strange, lighter and different, as if he had been poured into a new set of bones that did not quite fit yet. The room around him was completely unfamiliar. Plain walls. A narrow bed. A cracked mirror hanging slightly crooked. A single candle flickering quietly in the corner like it had been waiting for him.
Kael sat there for a long moment.
Then he touched his face.
"Okay," he muttered. "Either I died, or I hit my head hard enough to leave my body."
He walked to the mirror.
The face staring back was younger. Dark hair. Sharp eyes. Pale skin. A tired expression he recognized immediately because he had worn it for years.
"What the..."
A blue screen appeared directly in front of him.
Kael jumped back in shock.
[ Welcome to the world of Eryndor ]
He stared at the glowing words. Then stared again.
"No way."
The panel shifted.
[ Name: Kael Draven ]
[ Age: 24 ]
[ Status: Reborn ]
Kael went completely still.
Then he laughed once. A short, dry, disbelieving sound that echoed off the plain walls.
"Reborn?"
The panel shifted again.
[ Stats ]
[ Strength: F ]
[ Mana: F ]
[ Speed: F ]
[ Stamina: F ]
[ Dexterity: F ]
[ Luck: SSS ]
Kael stared at the screen for a long time.
Then his face slowly twisted.
"F in everything? Seriously?"
No response.
"What kind of second chance is this?"
Still nothing.
He dragged a hand down his face and looked at the mirror again. This time he noticed the clothes. A mage uniform, fitted and formal, clearly belonging to some kind of academy.
"So I really did get reborn into a fantasy world," he said.
Memories of his old life drifted back in broken pieces. Office work. Deadlines. Cold coffee. A boss who treated every employee like a problem to be managed. Cheap meals eaten alone. A life that had been quietly miserable for years without ever reaching a breaking point dramatic enough to change anything.
And then the stupid chicken.
Kael closed his eyes and exhaled slowly.
"I died over fried chicken," he said quietly. "That is the most pathetic ending I could have gotten."
A knock sounded at the door.
Kael froze.
Another knock.
Then a voice, female, cool, calm, and sharp enough to cut stone.
"Kael Draven. If you are awake, open the door."
Kael hesitated, then opened it.
Standing outside was a girl with long silver hair and a white mage robe. Her posture was perfectly straight, her expression completely unreadable, and her eyes were so calm and steady that Kael immediately felt like he had already done something wrong without knowing what.
She glanced at the floating status panel beside him. Her expression did not change.
"You are late again," she said.
Kael blinked. "Do I know you?"
The girl looked at him the way someone looks at a wrong answer written confidently on a test.
"Lyra Windrune," she said. "And judging by your face, you forgot everything again."
"Again?"
Lyra gave him a flat look.
"Do you always sound this useless, or is today special?"
Kael stared at her.
"That feels unfair," he said.
"It is not," she replied. "You have ten minutes to reach the awakening hall. If you are late, Professor Hale will make you regret it."
Then she turned and walked away without another word, her silver hair catching the dim corridor light as she disappeared around the corner.
Kael watched her go. There was something about her that felt different from anyone he had met in his old life. Serious. Precise. Completely impossible to read. He had the strange feeling she was going to become very important to him whether he wanted that or not.
A bell rang through the academy.
Students rushed past him from every direction. Some shoved past without looking. Others gave him long, contemptuous stares as if his presence in the hallway was itself an offense.
One blond boy stopped nearby and smirked.
"So the trash finally woke up."
Kael glanced at him.
"Try not to embarrass yourself today," the boy said, then walked off laughing with the others.
Kael stood alone in the corridor.
He let out a slow breath and stepped forward.
"If this world wants to laugh at me," he muttered, "I can work with that."
He headed toward the awakening hall.
Then someone screamed.
A loud crash followed. Students ahead began shouting and pulling back. A burst of smoke rolled out into the corridor and the sharp crack of something magical tearing apart echoed through the walls.
A voice shouted from inside, "The circle is unstable!"
The hall doors swung slowly open on their own.
From the darkness beyond, something black and shapeless began crawling toward him across the stone floor, leaving silence wherever it moved, as if it was swallowing sound itself.
Kael froze.
His first day in this world had just become a whole lot worse.
And whatever was coming through that door looked very, very hungry.