Survival Of A Background Character

Under the pristine scenery of the sun setting in the west, a scrawny boy around 16 years old lay sprawled on the ground, bruises artistically distributed all over his body.

The evening breeze gently swayed his hair, and the river's rhythmic sound echoed through the forest like nature's lullaby.

A creature, looking remarkably like a mosquito, buzzed around the boy, sniffing over his body as if inspecting its next meal.

Then, with all the delicacy of a vampire with manners, it settled on his neck and gave it a soft kiss.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!"

Writhing in pain, the boy shot up like a rocket.

Surprise, surprise, the scenery had changed, and he tried to stand up, only to collapse again because, well, injuries.

He looked around, taking in the river flowing through large trees and the sunlight barely gracing him with its presence.

His attention shifted to his swollen neck and the charming cuts on all four limbs.

"Oh, fantastic. Where the hell am I now?" he grumbled. "Just what I needed—a mosquito kiss to go with my collection of bruises. Perfect end to a perfect day."

***

The word 'reincarnation' had always been a concept in the manga and web novels I devoured. So, finding myself in this situation was beyond unbelievable. I'm pretty sure anyone would laugh if I told them I had reincarnated into a new world after dying in another.

It took me a while to come to terms with it. Meanwhile, the sky had already darkened into night. I was too stunned to notice.

"WOAH! It's really another world!"

I shouted, my voice echoing through the unfamiliar surroundings. My sensory organs and the very real sense of pain confirmed it.

But why was I in such a sorry state? And was this transmigration, or had I possessed someone else's body? As these thoughts swirled in my mind, a holographic panel suddenly appeared before my eyes.

"Ah! I know this! It's the 'system'—just like in the web novels!"

Then, a series of words in a weird language scrolled across the panel. After a few lines, understandable sentences popped up.

[Synchronizing with user's language.... Success]

[Loading required data... Completed]

{

NAME : Chris Harrison

AGE : 16

SPECIES : Reincarnated Human 

....Loading.....

DESCRIPTION : You are from another world. Your reason for coming here is....

}

That's it?! No other useful information except my name? So, I'm in the body of a boy named 'Chris Harrison'.

Wait. Why does that name sound familiar? I think I've read it somewhere...

"Ah! Isn't he a character in a web novel I just read?"

I had recently finished a web novel called "RISE OF THE STRONGEST SWORDSMAN". Chris Harrison was a minor character, just one of the main villain Scott Benjamin's lackeys, and he was booted from the story pretty early on.

Let's discuss the premise of the story. There are five known continents in this world, inhabited by humans, elves, dwarves, and demons. The last continent is a no-go zone for living beings.

The human continent, Eldoria, is ruled by the Adriana royal family since the end of the war between demons and other races.

And, in true cliché fashion, there are dungeons, monsters, beasts, mana, magic, and adventurers in this world. The protagonist starts his journey from being the weakest to becoming the strongest. Moreover, the whole thing reeks of plagiarized content.

Great. Just great. I'm stuck in a second-rate knockoff of every fantasy novel ever.

Honestly, I was only reading it because the author was a friend. Otherwise, it was way too clichéd for my taste.

The story kicked off at the Royal Magic Academy, the best academy on the whole continent.

The MC's life before joining the academy wasn't detailed, just briefly mentioned. He hailed from a small town in the northeast, near the border with the elven continent, Alagaësia. A magical beast attack wiped out his town and his family. Only 10-15 residents survived.

The attack, probably instigated by elves, left the MC harboring a deep-seated anger towards them.

The survivors were taken in by a nearby Count.

In fear of another tragedy, the MC trained his weak body every day. With the help of a system, he gained new abilities, became an adventurer at a young age, and cleared low-ranked dungeons.

With a recommendation from the Count, he got accepted into the academy, which was mainly for nobles' children.

Now, let's dive into the first scenario that left me, Chris, in this pitiful condition.

Since the MC wasn't from a noble bloodline, the other students alienated and tormented him. The ringleader was the top scorer among the first years, Scott Benjamin, from the Duke Benjamin family.

Scott was a prodigy, trained by the strongest mage in Eldoria. He appeared to be a kind-hearted leader, but he was rotten inside. He commanded his lackeys to bully the MC.

One day, the baton passed to Chris. He went overboard with his insults and challenged the MC to a duel. Chris, being the sneaky jerk he was, tampered with the MC's sword, adding a self-destructive enchantment. One of the female leads, Alexia Adriana, the princess of the Eldorian Empire, caught him.

As expected, Chris got suspended from the academy for a month and banished from the Harrison family. Expulsion? Nah, that's too logical for this plot. The author's choice seriously reeks of plagiarism.

After that, Chris disappeared from the novel.

Why he ended up in this forest? Maybe he wandered through the city and got lost in the nearby woods. 

Anyway, that's not important right now. I'm Chris Harrison now, and his fate is mine.

Chris wasn't particularly weak, being from a noble family and all, but these cuts are severe. Also, his neck is swollen from some insect bite. 

So, to sum it up: THE PAIN IS KILLING ME!!!

On top of that, I'll never see my parents from my previous life again. That's pretty depressing. They were kind-hearted and always supported me.

I was a 'normal' 18-year-old high school boy, preparing for entrance exams. My parents always encouraged me to pursue my dreams. I had a younger brother, two years my junior.

My death must have been traumatizing for them.

I died in a road accident while returning home from prep school for my exams. Mom had said she was preparing a barbecue in the garden...

Damn. I'm going to miss them. I'll miss them a lot.

Suddenly, a message from the system popped up.

[You can return to your original worldline if you complete your tasks.]

[Tasks loading... It will take time.]

.

.

.

Seriously!? Wow, I didn't see that coming.

So, I can return home if I complete the tasks given by the system. But first, I need to survive the night with all these injuries.

From here on, it's a race against time for the survival of this background character.