Chapter Text
Having installed nearly every popular gacha game and impulsively wasting a total of a few thousands of dollars on them, Kaveh would consider himself the best person to ask for recommendations. He could name dozens of those money-sucking games off the top of his head, but if you were to ask him his favorite, only one would come to mind: Genshin Impact.
He had started playing it a few years ago, back when it was hardly known by anyone—a hidden gem, he’d called it. Not many people played it, even though its graphics and characters were of high caliber, and the storyline was extremely promising. It follows a traveler who loses their sibling after crash-landing into an unknown world called Teyvat with seven main regions, each run by their respective Archons. When they wake up, the first person they meet is a strange little fairy guide with an obnoxiously high-pitched voice named Paimon. The player is supposed to travel to all seven of the nations for information on their missing sibling (not that anybody grants the main character anything useful on their journey…). Along the way, they receive elemental powers and become OP—canonically, at least. As a unit, they’re absolute shit.
Quickly, the game rose in popularity, and by the time the fourth region, Sumeru, was announced, Kaveh was undoubtedly excited; his credit card, on the other hand, most certainly wasn’t. “The Nation of Wisdom,” the NPCs had called it, mentioned multiple times by traveling scholars and even the playable characters. As most avid (addicted) players do, Kaveh constantly scoured public forums for leaks until he came across what he dramatically dubbed “life-changing” information—an upcoming character with the same name as him, expected to be a 5-star meta character. When his concept art was leaked, Kaveh’s jaw practically dropped to the floor of his crappy apartment. Damn.
The wait for him was long, and Kaveh kept getting baited through voicelines from other characters. Nearly every character mentioned the renowned architect of Sumeru, talking about his in-game counterpart’s magnum opus, the Palace of Alcazarzaray, as well as his very… distinct personality. Not that it mattered to Kaveh! A bunch of characters were eccentric, right? One more wouldn’t change anything!
Most of the slander came from one character in particular: Alhaitham. Ever since the Akademiya’s scribe was introduced into the Archon Quest, Kaveh had hated him. He was pompous for no reason, terribly plain, and flat-out rude. However, he was also somehow one of Genshin Impact’s bestselling characters, a fact he would never understand. His fanbase predominantly consisted of a bunch of degenerate simps who probably spent all their paychecks on the game. Imagine.
Not to mention, Alhaitham’s lore was even worse than his design. It was barely talked about and so frustratingly vague. The only thing Kaveh—a diehard fan of the game—knew about it was that he was supposedly a genius with a Dendro Vision who became the Grand Sage after that whole fiasco in the Akademiya involving Azar. And to make his character even worse, he didn’t even do anything as Grand Sage! He just completely abused his powers! He was just one example of many that the rich didn’t deserve their money or status.
So yeah, Kaveh hated that prick.
That disdain only grew when new updates revealed that he and in-game Kaveh used to be friends. Apparently, he and Kaveh were working together for their graduation thesis, but their personalities clashed and they hadn’t spoken since. In the years following that, in-game Kaveh designed the famed Palace of Alcazarzaray, which was a little plain, in his opinion, but it’s not like he could do any better. He was literally a high school dropout who relied on instant noodles and three different part-time jobs to make a living.
As an adult, his celebrity status made him a snobby, pretentious asshole (okay, so maybe he was a little eccentric, but whatever). Admittedly, Kaveh still tried defending his 2D counterpart in various comment sections.
When in-game Kaveh was finally, finally introduced into the main story, it took everything in him to not break his computer. He was an NPC. An NPC. What the fuck?! Like, yes, he may have been an asshole, but he was supposed to be a relevant (and playable!!!) one. To make matters worse, one of the only times the Traveler gets to talk with him is when he’s drunk in a tavern, where he rambles on about being the esteemed “Light of Kshahrewar,” liked by all. That last statement is proven completely incorrect when all the other NPCs tell the player how horrible he is, so… yeah, not a great day for Kaveh stans (i.e.: only him).
He remains completely irrelevant until the last few acts, suddenly reappearing as some ridiculous scum villain! Apparently, his hatred for Alhaitham went so deep that he colluded with Eremites to try and get him killed. Naturally, Alhaitham easily defeats them and forces them to reveal who hired them. When they inevitably rat Kaveh out, the Traveler and Alhaitham head to the desert to search for the runaway architect.
NPC Kaveh then gets the foolish thought that he can defeat Alhaitham, and they battle for a grand total of four seconds in a cutscene until Alhaitham mercilessly kills him. Genshin, what the fuck?!
Kaveh’s lore was even worse than Alhaitham’s—something he didn’t even know was possible. He was just cannon fodder at this point! What the hell was all of his saving up and waiting for, then?! Kaveh was forever an NPC (a dead one at that!!!), despite having insane potential.
That whole mess led to where Kaveh is now: sitting in first class on an airplane, furiously typing hate comments onto HoyoLab.
d1_alhaitham_hater: hoyo wtf? did they seriously kill off kaveh?????? he had so much potential to be an interesting character
igoon2cyno: bro wdym he was barely relevant,,?? ts is why u dont trust leaks he was never gonna be playable
iluvyuri: true and look at their user 😭 they are def just biased
iluvyaoi: right like how do u even hate alhaitham hes soooo hot d1_alhaitham_hater: he really isn’t… like, AT ALL. but u guys aren’t ready for that conversation 😐
Gods, some of these people are really starting to piss him off. Zero intellectual capabilities, zero dollars left in their wallets, and seven months of being unshowered. Classic gacha game player. His attention shifts from his phone to the poor flight attendant who’s been asking him what meal he wants. Her hospitable, customer-servicey, fake smile is definitely beginning to strain. Oops.
Right as he’s about to answer with a sheepish smile, the plane jerks and the seatbelt button lights up. Kaveh thinks the pilot’s saying something, but his ears are ringing and he can feel the plane depressurizing rapidly. Another jerk. He’s thrown out of his aisle seat and his left arm slams into something—a person? Another seat? He can’t tell— and just as his phone flies out of his hands, his thumb connects with the screen, hitting the “Send” button of his reply.
d1_alhaitham_hater: Whatever. Dumbass plot, dumbass developers.
And that’s the last thing he remembers as the plane barrels down into the foreign ocean below him, resigning himself to the fact that his pathetic life has ironically ended with him hating on a video game, of all things. A pitiful end for a pitiful person. He’s unable to breathe, the pressure making his lungs feel like they’re about to collapse. With one last choking sound, his eyes fall closed, and he awaits the one thing he’s always known to be certain in his life: death.
Kaveh shoots up out of bed, his heart rate spiking as he heaves and gasps, waiting for his head to stop spinning and his vision to settle. Slowly, he catches his breath, feeling as if he’s simultaneously run a marathon and been stabbed a hundred times over. Don’t forget to add “feeling like he’s been in a plane crash” to that list.
…Wait a minute, isn’t that— isn’t that what happened? The plane… he was on a flight to see his mom, and it crashed right into the ocean thousands of feet below him. Kaveh suddenly feels so horribly nauseous that he promptly lays back on the bed, heart racing as memories run through his mind at a dizzying pace. He should be dead. Logically, at least. Okay, you know what? Fuck logic. He’s obviously not in hell and still kicking. What. The. Fuck.
Then, a second novel realization comes to him, one that’s embarrassingly delayed: he’s in some kind of bed. Not the ocean. Totally normal, right? Kaveh pushes himself up again, his muscles shaking under his weight as he examines his surroundings. The whole setup kind of reminds him of an infirmary with its overall bland interior and the cot, not bed, Kaveh is laying on. There’s also a curtain separating him from the second half of the room, but it’s not the impersonal polyester fabric he’s used to seeing in hospitals. This one is white and gold, with a few sage green accents and a vaguely familiar tree-looking symbol on it.
Kaveh squints his eyes and mumbles to no one in particular, “Where am I…?” with a croaky voice. In fact, his voice is so croaky that he sounds nothing similar to how he remembers. Ew. It sounds more high pitched, despite having recently turned twenty, reminding him of his high school years. Does a near-death experience reverse puberty or something? He isn’t exactly an expert on this kind of stuff.
As if on cue, a ding! sounds out, followed by a holographic blue screen appearing before him. Kaveh does not scream. He doesn’t.
“Hello, Host!”
The words suddenly spawn on the screen, accompanied by a Google Translate-esque voice that speaks them aloud. He blinks, desperately trying to figure out what the hell it is that he’s hallucinating right now.
“I am the System. You can think of my existence as a guide for your new life as Kaveh! And I’m not one of Host’s hallucinations, thank you.”
“I already am Kaveh.” His voice is utterly unimpressed as he casts the so-called “System” a side-eye. That plane crash has to have fucked up his brain if even his hallucination is trying to tell him his own name.
“Well, yes, you just so happen to share a name with the body you’re currently possessing. Anyway, to answer your previous question: you’re currently in one of Sumeru Akademiya’s infirmaries. More specifically, the one located in the Kshahrewar Darshan’s district.”
Sumeru? As in Genshin Impact’s Sumeru? His thoughts are answered by another notification sound from the weird, robotic screen—right, System, or whatever it calls itself.
“Host is, unsurprisingly, correct! You are now in the world of Genshin Impact. Do you have any further questions?”
Does he have any further questions? Does he have any further questions?! How could he not? Immediately, he starts firing them off, not even giving the poor System the time to process them all.
“How am I here? Didn’t I die? Why am I in this infirmary, anyway? What are you? Are you even real? Wait, scratch that, you probably are. I don’t think my imagination could conjure up… well, whatever you are–”
Kaveh stops himself as the blue screen flickers in and out of vision, a frantic ERROR message filling up the text box. He stops his rampage, blinking at the System curiously as he waits for it to stop going crazy.
“Host!! Host, wait a moment! I can’t answer them all at once! Give me a second— Processing Host’s questions…”
While he waits, he genuinely debates his mental state. Does surviving a plane crash come with schizophrenia? Specifically the kind with hallucinations of a bright blue screen that’s telling him he’s transmigrated into a shitty video game?
“Sorry, Host! I can now grant you answers: you are here through activating the key phrase, ‘Dumbass plot, dumbass developers.’ Your original body has been involved in a grave accident. You’re here, in this room specifically, because your current body went unconscious and was brought to this infirmary! And as I’ve said, I am System—and I am very real, thank you.”
“Can you stop with the attitude? You’re literally a hologram, I don’t need your snark,” he huffs, trying to swat it away as he processes everything. His head hurts, and all he really wants to do right now is plop back down on that cot and sleep until everything makes sense.
But alas, the System doesn’t give a damn about what he wants, and it reappears again, its cheeky voice ringing out in the silence of the infirmary.
“Does Host want to learn about his objective in the world of Genshin Impact?”
Kaveh gets the slightest impression that he doesn’t really have a choice, so he simply nods and waits for even more information to be piled onto him. Yay! Three cheers to dying and being resurrected into an overrated gacha game!
“You have taken over the body of Kaveh. You are sixteen years old right now, seeing as your birthday just recently passed, and you’re currently enrolled in the Sumeru Akademiya, belonging to the Kshahrewar Darshan. You have 100 P-Points—Plot Points—and you can gain more by interacting with Genshin Impact’s diverse story and its characters. Should your P-Points reach zero, you will return to your old body.”
Damn, that’s it? So he just has to deplete these “P-Points” to get back to his own world and body—
Oh. Right.
His old body is currently among a few tons of sinking plane wreckage in the middle of an ocean. In simpler, more plebeian terms, pretty fucking dead. He can’t help the shiver that runs through his body at the revelation, suddenly feeling nauseous. He’s never been fond of death.
Ignoring his plight, System continues in its usual Google Translate voice, but Kaveh’s only half-listening now.
“You have two main missions, which will grant massive amounts of P-Points upon completion. These events must occur, or else your account will be terminated. The missions are as follows: you must work on the joint research project with the character Alhaitham and you must design the Palace of Alcazarzaray.
He only catches half of its words before he promptly passes out for the second time that day.
Kaveh is abruptly woken up by a soft chiming from the System, and he blearily opens his eyes to the bright blue screen that’s made itself comfortable a mere 2 inches away from his face.
“Oh, Host. You’re finally awake!”
He blinks a few times, still not used to everything around him. His memories slowly flow back into his mind, and he rubs his temples to alleviate the pain. “...Yeah, I’m awake… Hey, System, can you repeat what you said about my main missions? Like, the do-or-die stuff?” It’s the last thing he remembers from before he passed out.
“Of course, Host! Earlier, I told you that you must work on the joint research progress with Character Alhaitham. You also have to design the Palace of Alcazarzaray. Failure to comply with either will result in your account’s termination, and you will be transported back to your old body immediately.”
Wow, what a kind way to tell him he’s basically going to die, no matter what! “These missions are so rigged, seriously?! I’m setting myself up for failure if I complete these! Alhaitham’s gonna kill me if I ruin our thesis project! Do you want me to end up like the original—” he starts to protest, but his rant is interrupted by the door to the infirmary opening cautiously. Quickly, he shuts his mouth and straightens in the cot, plastering a small but polite smile on his face.
A man walks in with a clipboard and your typical, run-of-the-mill doctor’s attire, not too far off from most Genshin doctors. His lips turn up into a weary but warm smile as he sees Kaveh awake and sitting up in the bed. “Ah, hello. It’s good to see you’re conscious again. Do you feel any discomfort?”
Kaveh clears his throat, shaking his head and replying, “No, I feel fine, sir. Thank you.” Internally, he’s panicking. “Sir?!” Who even says that anymore, ew! System, who the hell is this guy? I don’t remember seeing him at all during the Archon quest!
“Host, this is one of the Akademiya’s many doctors. His name is Dr. Akram.”
Huh. Maybe the System isn’t so bad after all. It’s like ChatGPT, if generative AI could transport people across worlds and give them missions that are a sure way to die a second time.
“...I heard that, Host.”
Good. His mouth twitches in amusement before he remembers he’s in the middle of a conversation with someone, and he turns his attention back to Dr. Akram, who’s jotting down something on a thick piece of paper. “Excuse me… How long was I out? And what happened?” he asks, slightly abashed and watching as the older man rummages through a drawer for clean bedding. Damn, this is, like, premier-level comfort. All the hospitals back in his old life couldn’t even compare to this, and he’s been here for a maximum of two hours—and at least one was spent with him totally knocked out.
“Nothing serious, don’t worry,” Dr. Akram smiles wryly. “You passed out during a mathematics exam, and your professor called me to bring you here. It’s only been about,” he checks his watch smoothly, “two and a half hours. However, Professor Faruq has allowed you to take the day off. Please rest to the fullest and return to your studies tomorrow.”
Kaveh nods, grateful for the existence of whoever this Professor Faruq guy is. Letting him skip class? He’s a real one, for sure. He gets up, allowing the doctor to change the sheets on the cot. His offer to assist is waved away with a stern smile, and he stands there awkwardly until Dr. Akram gestures for him to lay back down again.
Kaveh answers a few more questions for the man until he leaves, but instead of staying and resting on the now pristine white cot, he heads to the bathroom that’s connected to the small room. To be honest, he’s curious to see what he looks like. In the original game, since Kaveh was an NPC, he was pretty lacking in the looks department, his 2D model underwhelming, bland, and mediocre, just like every other non-playable character Hoyoverse made.
He braces himself before his first look in the mirror, taking a deep breath before he looks at his reflection squarely. He’s not sure what he’d been expecting, but it definitely wasn’t this. Kaveh’s jaw drops as he takes himself in: a teenage boy with fair skin and a smidge of faint freckles over his nose and cheeks—likely a result of Sumeru’s sunny weather, especially so close to the desert. He’s pretty tall for his age, if what the System said is correct, though Kaveh mourns the height of his original twenty year old body. His eyes are a striking crimson color that look surprisingly good, framed by long eyelashes.
He has blond hair that falls over his forehead smoothly, the strands slightly mussed, most likely because of how long he slept earlier. The boy’s original design featured lowly-rendered Kaveh in a high ponytail, but he prefers the simplicity of it just being down. Besides, it’s not as long as it had been in the game, which makes sense; he’s only sixteen now, and Kaveh during the events of the Archon Quest had been in his late twenties. The strands are soft to run his fingers through, something he’s not used to. All in all, he looks… surprisingly good for someone who’s supposed to be an NPC.
System, am I supposed to look this nice?!
“Host’s appearance is exactly how the developers wanted him to look like.”
Well, he’s not exactly complaining. It’s a little different from how he looked in the past, obviously, but he’s gonna have to get used to it. Having been almost twenty-one before he died, he’d been nearly six feet tall. His hair was also blond, but only when he was young; it turned brown as he got older, and he cut off the blond ends after cutting off contact with his mother, since they reminded him too much of her. He remembers having faint acne scars too, but those just don’t exist in gacha games, apparently. His eyes had been a reddish-brown color, though the red is much more prominent in this character’s body. Gacha game appearance logic for the win, right?
His head’s still reeling a bit, but Kaveh’s adjusted to this weird isekai situation well enough to at least think about exploring. There’s nothing left to do in the infirmary, anyway, so he walks towards the door, frowning at the unnecessary amount of layers the Akademiya’s uniforms—literally just long robes with colors based on the Darshans—had. As he reaches for the door, though, a notification from the System makes him pause for a moment.
“Host… Didn’t Dr. Akram just tell you to rest? Where are you going?”
“...I literally just transmigrated into a video game. You’re telling me you wouldn’t explore the first chance you got?” he asks with an incredulous expression, ignoring the System’s almost childish protests as he walks out of the infirmary with a snort. Approximately nine different doorways and stairways greet him, and Kaveh just blinks, astounded. Just how rich is the Sumeru Akademiya? The game said tuition was free!
“Umm… System,” the boy whispers, “where the hell do I go from here? Like, where’s my house? Or my apartment? Actually, does Sumeru even have apartments? Also, which door do I take? Why are there so many?”
“...”
He blinks, getting a bit impatient as he waits for the screen to generate an answer.
“...”
…Is he seriously being left on read by a holographic screen?
“Host…”
This time, there’s a small sad face accompanying the message.
“Just spit it out already!” he exclaims loudly with a huff right as another scholar passes by, giving him a wide berth and very unsubtle side-eye when she sees what, to her, probably looks like him talking to himself like a complete weirdo. Oops…
“You live in the Kshahrewar dormitories. Legally, you don’t have a house, since you’re a minor and an orphan who lacks any guardians. However, all other necessities are paid for by the Akademiya!”
Dormitories? No legal guardians? He knows his old life was the same way, but he’s surprised to learn that even the NPC Kaveh’s family life wasn’t perfect when he was a teenager either. The whole situation is still surreal to him; he’s inhabiting the body of someone who’d been an NPC to him not even a day ago, and now he’s being forced to realize that his life is more than just a few lines of dialogue. It hurts to think about the fact he basically took this boy’s life away just so he could get a second chance at one.
Frowning, he calls upon the System again as a disturbing thought strikes him. “Hey, why was I transmigrated here, anyway? Why am I Kaveh?” He waits for a few seconds, but his words glean no response from the screen. Just as he opens his mouth to repeat himself, it suddenly bounces back in front of him, lively again.
“You’ve already asked this. Host has activated the key phrase: ‘Dumbass plot, dumbass developers.’”
Kaveh sighs in frustration, exhaling for a long moment before he asks, “I know, but why? Why me? Why have I become the other Kaveh? Your rules make no sense, whoever made them!” He waits for an answer, but all he gets from the System is radio silence. He’s not even surprised at this point. His previous life wasn’t kind to him; why would this one be any kinder?
Kaveh wanders around aimlessly for a bit, not sure where to go. Dr. Akram had told him to rest in the infirmary for a while longer, but he doesn’t really feel like doing that. Hence, why he’s currently roaming the abnormally huge hallways of the Akademiya, looking a bit like a confused intern during his first day on a job. He pointedly ignores the glances he gets from what he can only assume are his seniors as he walks past them, oohing and aahing at practically everything new he sees. It’s not his fault all this architecture is so fascinating. His apartment had been a two room, worn-down flat; give him a break.
Just as he’s admiring a statue of the first ever Grand Sage—at least, according to its inscription—he bumps into someone much taller than him and watches as folders begin flying everywhere. Quickly, he crouches to grab them, avoiding the gaze of the person in front of him out of sheer awkwardness. “Um, sorry,” Kaveh mumbles, a little embarrassed. It’s his first day in this stupid new world and he’s already made a fool of himself in front of others too many times. He needs to find the nearest hole and jump into it right about now.
“Hm? Kaveh? You’re out of the infirmary already? That’s great. How are you feeling?” He tenses, but the voice thankfully doesn’t sound like it belongs to Dr. Akram, who’d probably kill him if he were to see him walking around after promising he’d rest some more. Suppressing a sigh of relief, Kaveh finally looks up, handing the man the papers dutifully. He’s unfamiliar, but based on his simple appearance, he can assume this man was an NPC in the original game.
“Oh, yeah! I’m alright, thank you,” he says a little bashfully, discreetly looking all over for any indication of who this guy is. Finally, in some godly stroke of luck, there’s a small label on one of his folders, reading “Professor Kalim Faruq.” Kaveh’s math professor! At this new information, he’s both relieved and somehow even more stressed. He doesn’t know how the real Kaveh usually acts, and this man evidently knows him well. This whole transmigration thing sucks balls.
Professor Faruq nods at him, his expression warm but still a little stern, like every math teacher to ever exist. “That’s good to hear. Your exam won’t be counted, since you couldn’t finish it. We can schedule another date, just let me know when. You’ll do well, I’m sure,” he tells Kaveh, who is genuinely considering death as an alternative to taking a math test. It’s been years since he last even entered a school, and apparently this Kaveh is a math genius. He is so, royally fucked.
“Host, what’s wrong?”
Oh, and now the System decides it’ll come back online again. How very generous.
System, I haven’t taken a math class in years! Do I have any buffs, or something?! Or a calculator?
“You can open the shop to explore different buffs offered after gaining 500 P-Points. Please do your best to adjust to this world, Host!”
Of course capitalism exists in gacha games, too. In all honesty, Kaveh prefers jumping into a pool filled with acid than taking a math exam, but this greedy, good-for-nothing System is giving him no choice. He chuckles nervously at his professor’s expectant look, and quickly clears his throat as he stumbles over his words. “Maybe… after the next time our class meets?”
His teacher seems content at that and dips his head in a formal farewell before leaving Kaveh to wallow in self-deprecation. Taking a math exam after his next class isn’t horrible, but it comes with one slight issue: he doesn't know when his next class with Professor Faruq will be. Hell, he doesn’t even know what math the other Kaveh’s taking right now! He’s sixteen, right? That’s like… Algebra 2?
“Gods, I’m an idiot,” he mumbles to no one in particular, rubbing his temples as he rethinks his whole life. Kaveh grits his teeth in annoyance at the absence of a certain voice that never shuts up when he wants it to, but ignores him when he needs it. “System, any help here? Any chance you have my schedule?”
“Actually, Host, I do. However, you might find that using your Akasha Terminal is the easiest way to navigate through more trivial matters. If you remember from the Archon Quest, it’s virtually an AI earpiece that grants you knowledge—”
I know what the Akasha is, dumbass. I played the damn game!
He swats the screen away, suddenly feeling invigorated with the new idea. Just, uh… how does he work the Akasha? Groaning, he racks his brain for any kind of memory he has from playing the Sumeru Quest. He vaguely remembers the characters saying some kind of phrase, something about their Archon…
“...Do you need my help, Host?”
His eye twitches in annoyance at the smug-sounding tone the System takes on. Call him crazy, but he’s definitely being teased. By an AI interface, of all things.
Yes, I need your help. Just… shut up and do your job, clanker.
“To activate the Akasha, you must activate it through saying this phrase: ‘May the Mighty God bless us with their voice of wisdom.’”
Kaveh’s not at all religious, but if that’s what he has to say to basically get infinite knowledge, well… Who is he to decline? He takes a deep breath and utters: “May the Mighty God bless us with their voice of wisdom.”
Almost instantaneously, the Akasha starts up and fills his vision, almost like a visor as it awaits his command. This is so fucking cool.
Kaveh asks it to show him his schedule, and blinks at all the new information. Advanced Algebra 2, Advanced Geometry, Physics, History of Teyvat’s Civilizations, Humanities, Engineering, Psychology, and Rhetoric, with two free slots—one which is apparently “guaranteed to all scholars so they can work on any research,” and the other because the professor for the Art & Design course suddenly quit earlier in the year.
So basically, all Kaveh's hearing is: this sucks.
In more refined detail: Kaveh has no idea how he’s going to return to schooling after dropping out four years ago, when he was sixteen. He supposes it’s good fortune that the other Kaveh is around the same age as he was when he stopped going to school, but the Akademiya is basically like Harvard! He’s probably going to die of stress before Alhaitham gets to slice him up in a decade. He’s not sure which one is more embarrassing.
Another idea lights up in his brain, and he starts to check if the Akasha will have any response to something like "transmigration between worlds,” but the System stops him before the thought is even fully out.
“WARNING! Alerting any character in this world about your true origins is entirely prohibited. You will face a punishment of 500 P-Points if you fail to comply with these terms.”
Huh? But I’m only asking the Akasha, not telling—
“Every search made through the Akasha terminals is controlled and examined by the Sages.”
So they’re just… watching him every time he uses the Akasha? That has to be all kinds of illegal, right? The thought of being scrutinized without his consent fills him with discomfort, and he shuts off the Akasha immediately.
He definitely doesn’t struggle with figuring out how to do that. Of course not.
He knows most of the Sages are all wildly corrupt, as seen in the Archon Quest, but there’s at least ten years to go until those events happen. It looks like they’re plotting even now.
…I’ll just use you as an Akasha, then. At least you’re not some weird corporate spy… I think. Whatever. If you fail, I’ll just find a way to strangle you.
“...Okay, Host. Let’s avoid any unnecessary violence. This System has answers to every question about this world!”
Also, don’t think you’re getting away with that “500 P-Point” reduction idea! You’re a scammer. Where’s your app store? I want to leave a bad review.
“Rules are rules, Host. The 500 P-Point penalty can easily be avoided if you say nothing, after all.”
Dozens of groups filled with scholars from practically every Darshan pass by Kaveh, but he notices that one Darshan’s color is nowhere to be found among the others: white. His Darshan, Kshahrewar, has white as its signature color. So why are the others in Kshahrewar only walking through the Akademiya with fellow white-clad students?
Vaguely, he remembers the game introduced Kshahrewar as the Darshan of the arts, hence why it received very little funding from the Sages; art was not exactly favored in Sumeru, in comparison to more orthodox knowledge. Is this why all of them are keeping to themselves, only laughing with their friends because they simply aren’t allowed to anywhere else? There’s an odd kind of disgust that stirs within him at the thought. In his old life, he’d suffered bullying from his classmates in high school after his father died. There had been nothing remotely funny about the situation, but those teenagers thought they’d been hilarious at the time. They hadn’t been, if the scars on his forearms that never fully healed and had disappeared after his transmigration meant anything.
Kaveh instinctively rubs at his wrist, feeling uncomfortable all of a sudden. He doesn't want to think about that. He starts to head to where he thinks the dormitories are, and immediately runs into a girl who’s carrying a stack of papers so tall he can barely see her face. “Sorry!” he exclaims, crouching to frantically pick up the few pages that went astray. “I didn’t see you,” Kaveh chuckles bashfully, holding out his hand to give her the papers.
“No, no, it’s not your fault! I’m the one who should be sorry!” She nearly drops the papers as she takes them from him, turning bright red in embarrassment. Slowly, she regains her composure and meets Kaveh with a clear focus in her green eyes. “Sorry for that catastrophe. I’m Vanna,” she introduces herself with confidence, and he looks down at her uniform. White, like him. She belongs to Kshahrewar too, then.
“Oh, it’s alright… I’m Kaveh–” he begins, until she cuts him off, speaking rapidly with an excitement that hadn’t been there a moment ago. Really, this girl…
“I know who you are! Besides, my friend told me you passed out during that Faruq guy’s math exam!” Great. So that’s what everyone’s going to call him now, apparently. He really doesn’t miss school.
“Um… that’s great? I think? Anyway, sorry again for bumping into you, I was just heading to the dorms,” he explains awkwardly, a kind smile on his face.
Vanna, however, doesn’t reciprocate, her excitement from merely ten seconds ago now gone and replaced with a deadpan expression. “Then you’re going the wrong way, idiot.”
He blinks incredulously at her audacity to call a stranger an idiot, but he’s not really complaining—she actually gave him useful information, even if it came at the cost of his embarrassment. “Right. Yeah. I knew that,” he nods slowly, and he can tell neither of them are convinced. Nonetheless, she doesn’t laugh at him or anything, just shrugs and starts to walk. When she turns and realizes Kaveh hasn’t moved, her expression turns stern and she yells at him.
“Well, don’t just stand there! I’m going to the dorms too, dimwit!”
“And how was I supposed to know that?! It’s not like you said anything!” he retorts with a huff, scoffing as Vanna drops her pile of papers in his arms instead. Now, he can really get a full look at the girl since her face isn’t covered by a comical plethora of papers. Her appearance resembles that of an NPC, but her personality is anything but that. She has long brown hair and bangs that fall just above her green eyes, and she’s not much shorter than him.
“Um, read the room, maybe?” she snaps back, her voice filled with attitude.
“Why the hell are you carrying around so many papers, anyway?” Kaveh groans at the added weight, wondering how she’d been walking without breaking a sweat while holding these earlier.
With her hands on her hips, she turns to him, her voice filled with an attitude that he’s come to know always accompanies her words as she replies, “They’re my scripts, of course. I want to be a playwright.”
“You want to be a playwright?” Kaveh echoes, but as he entertains the idea, it makes a lot of sense. She’s a Kshahrewar student, after all—every single one of them was obsessed with the arts of some kind, and she seems to switch between personalities as easy as breathing. “That’s pretty cool,” he manages, a small smile gracing his features.
Vanna stares at him for a moment, her gaze sharp and judgemental, as if she doesn't believe him. It pains him to know that she probably doesn’t, that she thinks he could be teasing her simply because she has a passion for writing. Seeing as the compliment came from another Kshahrewar student, though, she eventually loosens up and returns the smile, walking beside him as she guides him to the dorms. Even though he only transmigrated earlier today, Kaveh wants to think that maybe he has a friend—or at the very least, an acquaintance—in Vanna.
It turns out that the dorms aren’t too far away, just a few floors up from where he ran into his math professor earlier. They’re separated by Darshans, and then divided once more by gender. He walks Vanna to her dorm and she takes her scripts from him.
“Y’know, you’re not too bad, Kaveh. Before we crashed into one another, I kind of thought you were…” She trails off suddenly, a bit hesitant to continue. She looks almost embarrassed.
This piques his interest, and he raises an eyebrow. “You thought I was what?” he prompts quietly, pushing his blond hair out of his face.
“Well… a bit of a bitch?” she manages, looking him in the eyes steadily. At his dumbfounded and slightly offended expression, she hurries to explain herself. “It’s just… We never really talked before today. and I only knew of you through rumors. You’re in some of my classes, too, but you always seemed like you hated all of us. I don’t know,” she sighs.
Kaveh doesn’t really know what to say to that. Clearly, he’s not acting like the original Kaveh, and someone’s already caught on. Hey System?
“Host?”
If I’m not acting in line with other characters’ perception of Kaveh, wouldn’t it be considered “OOC”? It’s pretty common in transmigration novels, right?
“You’re currently on easy mode, which is only offered on the first day of your transmigration. Through this, any actions that might make you lose points are currently suspended, essentially giving you free reign for a few hours. The amount of points lost via ‘Out of Character' behavior varies on its importance to the plot.”
Um… What does that mean? What determines the relevance of every event?
“For example, if you act OOC around Alhaitham, you will lose more points than you would around a random classmate of yours. However, after completing two quests, you can turn off the OOC function for good!”
Scammer, he scoffs inwardly, before schooling his expression to a less annoyed one, since Vanna’s watching him with a strange look. He really needs to stop forgetting he’s in the middle of a conversation with people before talking to the System.
“I…” He fumbles for words, not really sure how to combat her accusations. The original Kaveh wasn’t a good person. after all. And what even are the rumors she’s talking about?! “I guess I can come across as a bit forward at times,” he replies cautiously. “But I really do think it’s amazing that you want to be a playwright.”
She watches him for a few moments, as if debating the sincerity of his words. Then, she shrugs and opens the door to her room, which doesn’t look too far off from a warzone; papers strewn everywhere, clothes across stools, and even a pile of books that are almost as tall as her window.
“Honestly, I don’t really care for what everyone else says. Most rumors about us Kshahrewar scholars are usually just lies made up by Vahumana and Haravatat students with a superiority complex and way too much time on their hands. I guess since a few of my friends believed it, I wasn’t really sure. But you’re pretty cool, yeah? Maybe I’ll let you read one of my scripts one day.” Her words are kind, and even though it’s embarrassing, he feels appreciated in a way that’s been unfamiliar to him for a long time. When was the last time somebody joked with him, intending to see him again and actually looking forward to that encounter?
But he has to remind himself that Vanna isn’t real. Nobody he’s met here—not Dr. Akram, not Professor Faruq, not even the students who passed him earlier—is actually real. They’re all from a game, and he’s taken the life of a completely normal teenage boy, and for what? Why does he deserve a second chance at life?
“That means a lot,” he murmurs as he pushes aside his unwelcome thoughts. “And I’d like that. Reading your work, I mean,” Kaveh adds with an abashed smile. “I better get to my dorm, though. See you around, Vanna.” She utters a farewell in return, waving at him before the wooden door shuts in front of him. With a sigh, he calls upon the System again, which seems to have already predicted what he was going to ask.
“Host, your dorm number is 679. I can pull up a map of the dormitories so you know where to go. The key should be in your pocket as well.”
Thanks, System, he thinks, and he means it this time. He wants to start over, even if he feels like he’s not worth this opportunity that's facing him. His past life was full of regrets and mistakes. Maybe this time, before he inevitably dies at the hands of Alhaitham in a decade or so, he can find meaning in life again.
He follows the screen’s instructions, turning left and then making two rights through the winding, uniform halls. Eventually, he reaches a door with the number “679” engraved on it, and true to the System’s words, he feels the key in his pocket. As it twists and unlocks the door, he steps inside and takes in what is essentially his home for the next few years.
He’s used to run-down apartments and minimum wage, not whatever this is. It’s by no means luxurious, but it’s something to call his own, and that’s enough for now. It’s about the same size as Vanna’s room was, but this time, he can actually go inside and touch the bed, the blueprints, the books, and call it his without having to worry about being evicted by some shitty landlord. Sure, he misses being a legal adult, but he’s missed this feeling of pride much more than that. The sheets are cream colored and made of soft linen, and the bed’s been haphazardly made, like the other Kaveh had been in a rush earlier that morning, before—well, before the whole transmigration situation happened.
He slips off the outer robes of his uniform, carefully keeping his eyes straight ahead as he removes the last layer and changes into nightgear. Technically, it’s still early and he hasn’t even eaten dinner, but he’s tired. He literally died and came back to life, all within a few hours. Naturally, it’d be draining.
It takes him a while to fall asleep, with memories of the plane crash flashing through his mind every time he closes his eyes. Eventually, his exhaustion catches up to him, and his sleep, for the most part, is uninterrupted, a thing that is few and far between for a guy like Kaveh.
He’s abruptly woken up both by the sun shining into his room from the window and the loud, nonstop notification sound of the System, which has been trying to wake him for the past few minutes.
“Good morning, Host! I’ve woken you up early to give you a few status updates and time to prepare for classes.”
Wow. It is way too early for this. Yawning, Kaveh sits up and runs a hand through his sleep-ruffled hair, dead tired. “Okay, wait a second. Don’t tell me anything until I’m actually sentient,” he mumbles, rubbing his eyes. He stumbles into the small bathroom in his dorm, getting ready. Then, he sits down on a chair near the desk with all the blueprints, internally calling upon the System.
“So… Status updates?” he prompts, resting his head on his knees as the System generates an answer.
“You are no longer on ‘Easy Mode,’ meaning any time you act in a manner that will deplete your P-Points, such as being OOC or disappointing other characters, they will be taken from your account immediately. Right now, you possess 120 P-Points.”
“Huh? 120? I thought I had 100 yesterday?” Kaveh interrupts quickly. Of course, he’s not complaining, but he’s curious. He didn’t get any notifications or anything.
“Your interactions with Vanna gave you points. 10 for Character Satisfaction, and 10 for Plot Relevance. There are different reasons, or categories, to explain why you gain or lose P-Points. It’s a relatively simple system, designed to ensure the user can easily adjust to this world!”
The System is right—it is simple to understand. He just can’t piss anybody off, which sounds easy in theory, but there’s one major problem. He’s Kaveh. Apparently all he does is piss people off. So he either acts nice to people, which results in a loss of P-Points due to acting OOC, or he acts in line with Kaveh’s character, and ends up losing P-Points because he angers other characters. He really can’t win, can he?
Fuck you, he thinks sourly, and the System wisely doesn’t respond as he starts to put on his uniform in preparation for his first day of school… in over four years. There isn’t a word in the English language for how screwed he is. He’d been a relatively average student back in his old life, his only strong suits being math and some art classes he took as electives, but his grades dropped drastically in sophomore year after his father died and his mother’s health collapsed. You can’t blame him for feeling a little queasy at the thought of going to school again and essentially not living up to anyone’s standards of this boy whose life he just stole.
He takes a deep breath, calming himself down. He’s being a little bitch about this. With an arrogant huff, he walks out of his dorm and brushes past the other students, who are heading out of the Akademiya to get breakfast, like him, or traveling to their early morning classes (the System filled him in on his schedule after some light threatening). Some of them whisper as he walks by, while others—namely ones wearing black or yellow robes—sidestep him altogether, most likely because he’s a Kshahrewar student. How ridiculous.
He scoffs and walks past them with his head held high, his crimson eyes trained straight ahead as he follows the System’s helpful display of directions, guiding him out of the Akademiya and to the heart of Sumeru City, where he plans to buy food. Everything in the game had looked delicious, and Kaveh’s curious to find out what some of these dishes actually taste like. He’s also glad to know that he technically has infinite money when it comes to food, since all of these expenses are apparently covered by the Akademiya.
Soon enough, the entrance to Puspa Café is right in front of him, and when he walks in, he’s greeted by the smell of fresh coffee beans and the laughter of other scholars who had the same idea as him. A server leads him to a small, quiet table and asks him what he’d like.
“Can I have the rose custard, please? And a small cup of coffee, too… Lots of sugar, but no milk,” he replies with an easy smile as the man nods and walks away. Kaveh lets out a short sigh, not sure what to do now.
Hardly a second passes after that thought before he catches two figures in his peripheral vision—familiar ones. Two boys, one with black hair and hard-to-miss ears, and the other with dark skin and white hair. It’s Tighnari and Cyno, obviously. They’d been major characters in the Archon Quest, and knew Kaveh.
Don’t you think it’s a little early for me to be meeting all these bigshots already?
“Hardly! The events of this world are not set in stone, and these two characters are only fifteen at this point in time. They can hardly be considered ‘bigshots.’”
Not set in stone, huh? That has him thinking. What if he’s able to change his death later on? He doesn’t want to get his hopes up, but he can’t help the upturn of his lips at the thought. He also can’t help the way he practically jumps as he’s pulled out of his head by Cyno talking to him.
Um. He definitely missed something, because last time he checked, the two boys had been on the opposite side of the café, not even looking Kaveh’s way. Now they’re standing by his table, and Tighnari shoots Cyno an exasperated glance as the latter asks Kaveh a question.
“If nobody’s sitting at this table with you, can we join you? The cafe is fuller than we anticipated,” Cyno queries, jabbing his companion in the side as he holds intense eye contact with Kaveh. He’s not even the General Mahamatra yet, and he's still intimidating.
Kaveh nods and gestures towards the seats across from him openly as his custard and coffee are brought out by the same server from earlier. He murmurs his thanks before turning to his company, who—if he remembers correctly—are about a year younger than him. “I was in need of company, anyway,” he hums in explanation, his tone light.
They order their own meals soon after, and it’s pretty awkward. His underclassmen exchange looks with each other every few moments, but Tighnari eventually breaks the silence. “So… you’re Kaveh, right? We have Physics with you.”
He brightens, trying to make conversation. “Oh, yeah! I remember you two. I’m—”
“OOC! Minus 20 P-Points! Kaveh would never remember people in his classes unless they’re beneficial to him in any way.”
Are you serious?
His eye twitches in anger for a moment before he returns his focus to the duo in front of him, steeling his expression into a more mild one. Not too rude that they’ll be annoyed at him, but not too warm that they’d be suspicious. “Yeah. I’m Kaveh.”
Tighnari looks mildly surprised at his words, exchanging yet another glance with Cyno. Is it really that surprising that Kaveh’s being nice?! How much of an asshole could this guy have been when he was a teenager?
Cyno looks almost… triumphant? as he looks back at Tighnari, and whispers something too low for Kaveh to hear. Well, this just got even more awkward.
They pull away from each other, and this time it’s Cyno who talks, his gaze a little less intimidating now. “That’s totally phy-sick of you for remembering,” he replies, completely deadpan, as if that’s supposed to make his awful joke any better.
Both Kaveh and Tighnari cringe, looking at each other with a look of pure horror—well, Tighnari’s is a mix of that and rage, but that’s not important. Seeing his joke fall flat, Cyno, seemingly having found his own joke hilarious, begins to say, “Get it, you guys? Because ‘physics’ and ‘sick’ —”
“We get it,” the other two cut him off simultaneously, and Tighnari’s ears twitch for a moment as his green eyes fall onto Kaveh again.
“Well done, Host! P-Points increased by 5, via Tighnari. Keep up the good work! Your total is now 105 P-Points.”
You took away 20 before! I want all of them back, not just a quarter of them!
Of course, the System ghosts him entirely, leaving him fuming. If he ever gets a chance to delete it from existence, he’d accept it in a heartbeat.
“Let’s just…” Tighnari clears his throat and takes a sip of the tea he’d ordered, trying to change the topic. “Oh, Kaveh. One of my Darshanmates told me you passed out in your algebra class. Is that true?”
Oh, so apparently everyone in the whole Akademiya and their mothers know about that. Wonderful! His annoyance must show on his face, because Tighnari gives him a wry, understanding smile, which is probably the last thing he expected from the other boy, who seemed to dislike the prospect of even sitting with him only a few minutes ago.
“Yeah, it’s true. In the middle of an exam, too. It wasn’t even that bad, I’m just pissed everybody knows about it. You’d think they have better things to do with their time, but I guess not,” he scoffs, running a hand through his hair as he stares down at his bowl of rose custard.
They both look at him in sympathy, but not the pitying kind. They look like they share the same sentiment as him about the attitude of other students. All he has to say is, he’s only been here for a day or two, and he’s already seen how bigoted some of these scholars can be.
Cyno nods grimly. “That’s how it’s been like that since practically forever. I don’t want to make assumptions, but I can only guess it’s worse for you guys in Kshahrewar, especially with Azar. I heard he stopped funding Kshahrewar students’ research projects the first year he became Grand Sage.”
This, at least, had been mentioned in the game. Kshahrewar had already seen no increase in funding for its students after the failure of Pir Kavikavus, but Azar had the nerve to lower funding altogether after he rose to power.
Kaveh just shrugs, not sure what to say about that. He doesn't want to sound too anti-Azar yet, since his schemes won’t even be revealed until much later on. He doesn't want to make them too suspicious of him. “I mean, the arts have never been looked upon favorably by Sumerians. It’s only natural, I guess,” he says, trying to keep his tone lighthearted.
“True. It’s not the most conventional, especially nowadays, but I think it’s an important part of human culture. Sumeru was practically built on art,” Tighnari points out, oddly insightful about this sort of thing. Kaveh stares at him for a moment, touched by his words, because they’re true. All those ruins the Haravatat students decipher wouldn’t even exist without art left behind by ancient people. Even in this world, people are so prejudiced and narrow-minded. He thought it was ridiculous in his past life; he thinks it’s ridiculous now, too.
He doesn’t know what to make of the Amurta scholar’s words, so he just manages a grateful smile and turns his focus to the groups of people leaving the cafe. With a quick glance at the System for the time, he realizes it’s about time for them to leave if they want to get to their classes. Thankfully, Kaveh has about two subsequent hours allocated for research before any of his other classes, so he’s not in a rush. Cyno and Tighnari don’t appear to, either, which is understandable. Who in their right mind would be excited to go to class? Not him, that’s for sure.
The three of them walk towards the Akademiya’s entrance, though it’s mostly just Kaveh walking beside them as the younger two talk about their first class, which apparently they share. He doesn’t really understand it, but they’re saying something about a course that focuses on plants and their reaction with certain elements. Boring. He’s not going to say that aloud, though, lest he gets another 20 P-Points deducted from a certain fraudulent System.
“I already told you, I can hear when you’re saying this stuff, Host…”
Exactly. That’s the point, idiot.
They part ways soon after, waving at Kaveh as they head to their class, leaving him to wander around aimlessly while trying to figure out how to spend these couple of hours.
“Congratulations! Plus 25 P-Points for increasing your Plot Relevance by forming a connection with characters Tighnari and Cyno.”
Huh. He can’t even be mad at that. There’s a light feeling that lasts with him as he walks around before he stops in front of large, opulent doors that remind him of a peacock.
Hey, System? What’s in this room?
“This is the House of Daena. Essentially, it’s the largest library in the Akademiya, and the majority of scholars come here to research. Despite it being a place for studying, talking is permitted, especially with joint thesis projects, such as your own with Alhaitham.”
Don’t remind me of that! I’m trying not to think about it, and hold off meeting him for as long as I can!
The System stays silent and he harrumphs before opening the doors, stepping inside the House of Daena. The System did tell him it was the largest library, but he still isn’t prepared for the sheer vastness of this place. There has to be at least tens of thousands of books and scrolls. Holy shit.
Kaveh decides to stop standing around like an idiot, and starts making his way towards an empty table on the leftmost side of the room. He’s technically supposed to be researching, but he doesn’t even know what that entails. Hell, he doesn’t even know if he has homework. His discerning gaze skims over book titles, but none of them really interest him. Instead, his attention is drawn to a stack of papers and ink on the side, and he gets the idea to maybe just draw. Draw what, he’s not sure, but maybe he could try his hand at blueprints of buildings, since he’s supposed to become an architect.
System, I’ve never really tried drawing models of structures beyond simple backgrounds in my artwork… How am I supposed to become a professional? I can’t just suddenly be perfect overnight, y’know.
“I think you’ll find that you’ll perform better than you might think. Also, if it’s actually necessary, you can buy an item from the Shop (after you unlock it, of course!) for 850 P-Points that allows the old Kaveh’s knowledge and skill level to be passed onto you.”
850?! That’s ridiculous! How do I shut down your power system?
The System is clearly extorting him with that exuberant price. There’s no way he’s falling for that. He just shoots a side-eye its way and picks up the feather, dipping it in the small inkwell. He’s always seen characters do it in movies set during the medieval times, but he never thought he’d be doing it himself. With a slow breath, he begins drawing, the easy movements taking him back to when he actually had time to sit and sketch whatever came to mind. Scenery, people… you name it, he could draw it.
After a few minutes pass by, he sets down the writing utensil and stares at his work. He realizes he’s drawn up the outside of the Sumeru Akademiya, with its winding levels and dozens of small domes. In all honesty, it’s not that bad; it’s not entirely accurate, seeing as he’s only actually seen it a few times, but he might end up not needing that buff from the System’s shop at all. A triumphant smile graces his face, and he rolls up the sheet of paper, slipping it into the inner pocket of the green robe worn over his white one.
The faint sound of a page in a book being flipped makes him whirl around in surprise. He could’ve sworn he was alone when he sat down. Lo and behold, at a smaller table only a few feet behind him is a young boy with gray hair and black robes—Haravatat, if memory serves him right. It takes him a long moment for his brain to register that there’s only one person who fits the description of a silver-haired, solitary male from Haravatat. He doesn’t even dare to utter his name.
Kaveh’s blood runs cold as he stares at the other boy whose focus is still on his book, not bothering to look up at him. He remains frozen in place for a few seconds, slowly blinking as he watches who he can only assume is Alhaitham continue turning the pages. He’s probably gaping like a fish right now, he realizes belatedly, and shakes himself out of his stupor and stands up, trying to make it look like he’s doing something normal, like checking out books, or something.
He stands casually (stiffly) in front of the shelves, pretending to find an interesting title as he discreetly stares at the boy who’s meant to kill him in a few years’ time. It’s hard to reconcile the image of this boy who looks at least fourteen years old with the rude and power-hungry man who appeared in the game.
Just then, Alhaitham’s head lifts up, and he stares straight at Kaveh. His eyes, even now at his young age, are a piercing turquoise, with pupils lined in orange. He can’t help the way he shivers, and he freezes when he hears the boy say: “Are you going to keep staring at me for the next hour? I’m not exactly partial to being observed while I’m trying to read a book peacefully.”
Kaveh is so fucking screwed.