Cold.
That was the first thing Eridius felt.
Cold… then hunger… then the sting of rain pelting against his skin.
He opened his eyes.
Dark skies. Endless rain. The stench of rot.
He was lying beside a dented metal trash can—naked, soaked, and shivering in the middle of a Backstreets alley.
For a moment, he didn't move.
Then—
He pushed himself up.
His body felt… wrong.
Smaller. Lighter. Weaker.
His hands trembled as he raised them in front of his face.
Too small.
Too thin.
[Eridius]:…What?
His voice came out higher than expected—rough, but unmistakably young.
Slowly, he turned toward the trash can beside him.
Its metal surface reflected a distorted image.
A boy.
Thin. Pale. Barely more than a child.
Eridius stared.
[Eridius]:…That can is huge…
A pause.
[Eridius]:…No. That's not it.
His expression stiffened.
[Eridius]: It's me.
The realization hit all at once.
Different body. Different voice.
Younger.
Much younger.
Memories surged back—trucks, death, Grey, the system—
His eyes sharpened.
[Eridius]: Right…
A breath.
[Eridius]: System. Open.
For a moment—
Nothing.
Then—
[System Initialized… Probably.]
[Error: Authority Level — Undefined]
[Warning: User Classification… Failed]
[Reloading █▒▒▒▒… @#%$… Loading…]
The interface spasmed, text distorting and correcting itself mid-line.
[Name: Ho$%^… Eridius]
[Gender: Ma#e]
[Race: Genetic Experiment {Human}]
[Age: 13]
[Points: 1000]
[Gacha Rolls: …]
The last line glitched.
Hard.
[Gacha Rolls: ERROR]
[Gacha Rolls: -1]
[Gacha Rolls: ∞]
The screen froze.
Then—
A new message forced its way through.
[Notice:]
[System Integrity: Compromised]
[Core Functions: Unstable]
[User Status: …Unverified]
Silence.
Only the rain remained.
Eridius stared at the broken interface.
Then—
[Eridius]: …Yeah. I'm going to die, aren't I?
He took another look at his reflection.
He was now a white-haired boy with heterochromatic eyes, one was pale black, and the other was pink.
His body was full of wounds and stitches
No answer came.
Of course not.
The system glitched uselessly in front of him, its text stuttering as it might disappear at any second.
So instead—
He looked down.
At himself.
Then turned, just slightly, toward the warped reflection in the dented trash can.
A boy stared back.
White hair—matted, dirty, clinging to his face from the rain.
Eyes… mismatched.
One a dull, pale black.
The other—
Pink.
Unnaturally so.
Eridius leaned closer.
The reflection trembled with the rain.
[Eridius]:…Heterochromia, Great. That won't attract attention at all.
His gaze drifted lower.
And stopped.
His body—
Thin. Fragile.
Ruined.
Stitches ran across his skin in crude, uneven lines, like someone had taken him apart and put him back together without care for how it looked.
Eridius stared at them in silence for a moment.
Then—
A pause.
[Eridius]: Was I thrown out of a Wing lab… or did some rat take a liking to my organs and just put me back after?
He pressed a hand lightly against his side.
No immediate pain.
Just… emptiness.
And cold.
Rain poured over him, soaking into his skin, biting into every exposed nerve—
But strangely…
It didn't bother him as much as it should.
[Eridius]: …Why am I cold… but not feeling it properly?
His brows furrowed.
[Eridius]:…That's not normal.
He exhaled slowly, forcing himself to move.
Standing still in the Backstreets was just another way to die.
His eyes scanned the alley.
Trash. Rot. Broken things.
Then—
Cloth.
Torn, filthy rags scattered near a collapsed crate.
Not ideal.
But usable.
He stepped over, picking them up, ignoring the smell, the dampness, the unknown stains.
A quick inspection.
[Eridius]:…Good enough.
With rough, clumsy movements, he wrapped himself in layers—something resembling a loose robe—and tied scraps around his waist as makeshift pants.
It wasn't protection.
But it was better than nothing.
Barely.
Once done, he leaned back against the wall, rain still falling around him.
Then—
The air flickered.
[Host Name: Eridius]
[Gender: Male]
[Race: Genetic Experiment {Human}]
[Age: 13 {Locked}]
[Commander Points: 1000]
[Gacha Rolls: 10]
The interface was… clearer now.
Less broken.
But not stable.
Not safe.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
[Eridius]: …Locked age?
It took a second.
Then—
[Eridius]: …$#@— NO. No, no, no—
His face twisted in horror.
[Eridius]: WHY AM I A KID?! I DON'T WANT THIS!
The alley echoed with his voice.
Then—
Silence.
Rain fell.
And Eridius… cried.
[Ten minutes later]
Sniff.
A long breath.
[Eridius]: …Yeah. That didn't fix anything.
He wiped his face with the back of his hand, forcing himself to calm down.
[Eridius]: Focus. Cry later. Survive now.
His eyes sharpened.
[Eridius]: System. Skills.
[Skill List]
{Knife Skills Lv.3}
[Note: Stabby stab]
{Lead Stomach Lv.6}
[Note: You call it trash. I call it food.]
{Drug & Poison Resistance Lv.3}
[Note: The usual stuff won't work.]
{Thick Skin Lv.3}
[Note: Blunt blades struggle.]
{Nimble Lv.3}
[Note: Fast… not fast enough.]
{Strength Lv.1}
[Note: Child-level. Pathetic.]
{Presence Concealment Lv.4}
[Note: Just the wind passing by.]
{Mind Lv.3}
[Note: …Stable. For now.]
The list flickered.
Then—
Something broke.
{Spirit Lv. ???}
[Note: ———]
{Deter###ination L$%$}
[N%tE: K—EP G01—]
The screen spasmed violently.
[Error: Unauthorized Skill Detected]
[Warning: Cognitive / Structural Corruption Risk]
[Protocol: Emergency Seal Initiated]
The last two entries distorted—
Then vanished.
[Notice:]
[Certain skills have been sealed for host safety.]
[Further access… denied.]
The system stabilized.
Like nothing had happened.
Eridius stared at the screen in silence.
[Eridius]:…Yeah,…That's not terrifying at all.
He slowly sat down, back against the damp wall.
Rain kept falling.
His thoughts drifted.
[Eridius]: …The City…
Fragments of memory surfaced.
[Eridius]: Currency… Ahn. Or maybe Cost… doesn't matter. Everything has a price.
A bitter exhale.
[Eridius]: Backstreets rules. Syndicates. Fixers… and taxes.
He let his head fall back.
[Eridius]: …You have to pay just to exist.
Silence.
Then—
His eyes shifted.
Back to the system.
Gacha.
He froze.
A pause.
[Eridius]: No. Absolutely not.
He shook his head.
[Eridius]: I've been clean for two weeks. Deleted everything. No more gacha.
Another pause.
Longer this time.
Rain tapped softly against metal.
[Eridius]: …But this is different.
Silence.
[Eridius]: This is survival.
A beat.
[Eridius]: …One ten-roll won't hurt.
[Gacha Rolls: 10]
[Roll 1] [Roll 10 {Rate Up}] [Roll 100 {Guaranteed High-Tier}]
He didn't hesitate anymore.
He pressed Roll 10.
The screen flickered.
Spun.
Glitched—
Then stopped.
[Congratulations. You obtained:]
{Strength Lv.3}
{Unbreakable Winter Coat & Pants}
{10x Goat Cheese Sticks}
{Command Fragment}
{Commander Points: +400} (Total: 1400)
{Mask + Headphones (Urban Set)}
{Blade Skills Lv.2}
{Heavy Bones Lv.2}
{Double Meat Hamburger w/ Cheese}
Eridius stared.
Blank.
A pause.
[Eridius]: …That's actually not terrible.
Then—
The last slot flickered.
Hard.
10. [Bum… Bum… BUm…]
{LEGENDARY}
The text distorted.
Rewrote itself.
{"Minecraft: A World That Doesn't Exist – Part 1 & 2"}
[Effect: Can be watched anytime, anywhere.]
Silence.
Rain.
Complete stillness.
A long pause.
[Eridius]: …I hate my luck.
Another pause.
He leaned forward slightly.
[Eridius]:…Why is this legendary?
[Chapter end]