​"This was the last straw. You wanted to be free and independent? So be it. We will give you exactly that."

​"Ugh, my head... Where on earth am I?"

​With a heavy, throbbing head, Kaelyth forced his eyes open. Looking around, he instantly realized he was in a completely foreign place. Everything was different—the colors, the scents, the very air he breathed. He was inside a small, ancient-looking cottage. Some of the furniture was covered in a thick layer of dust, leaving the distinct impression that no one had lived there for a very long time.

​As reality slowly drifted back to him, Kaelyth began to piece together what had happened. He had been exiled, cast out of his home, and thrown onto an entirely strange planet. A bitter smirk played on his lips as the full weight of the situation sank in. He looked upward, his gaze sharp and defiant, as if silently declaring, “Fine. Just wait and see what I’ll do to you.”

​As he lowered his head, a scrap of paper materialized out of thin air. He caught it and read the words inscribed upon it:

​You are on Planet Earth, in a small village. Your name is Leo. Your parents live and work in the city. By Earth standards, you are 16 years old and attend the local high school. You will be provided with some money for the initial period, but only for the beginning. From now on, you must provide for yourself.

​Kaelyth glanced at the Earth currency left for him, completely clueless as to whether it was a large sum or a pitance. He was used to spending lavishly; budgeting and counting coins had never been his suit. Tossing the note aside, he decided to explore his surroundings. He discovered a school uniform, textbooks, a mobile phone, and various other mundane items essential for surviving on Earth.

​Physically, Leo was a strikingly handsome young man. Standing at 1.77 meters tall, he had remarkably pale skin and a face defined by sharp, captivating, yet unusual features. His facial structure was neither too harsh nor too soft, but rather angular and expressive. His eyes were a light, unique color—almost exotic—frequently clouded with boredom or sharp sarcasm. There was an alien quality to them, a look so distinct it felt as though no one else in the world possessed such eyes. His gaze carried an unpredictable edge that instinctively made people cautious around him.

​His hair was a naturally vibrant, fiery red, fading into darker, near-black roots. It was styled in a perpetually messy, undone fashion, as though he either couldn't care less about his appearance or simply refused to conform to any rules. None of the boys his age carried themselves this way; in Arnivel, you would never find anyone with hair like that. Though slender, his build was lean and agile. At a glance, one might mistake him for a careless slacker, but in truth, he possessed the capability to achieve anything he set his mind to. Back on his home planet, he had only paid a fraction of attention during classes, yet he possessed a photographic memory of everything he had heard. He knew enough to have a decent grasp of what Planet Earth was. Furthermore, because he was frequently punished back home, one of his penalties had been learning new languages—including the most widely spoken tongues on Earth. However, saying Kaelyth was happy to have that knowledge would be a massive understatement.

​"Could they really not find a more repulsive place to send me?" he muttered to himself. "They might as well have exiled me to the moon. What's the difference? Stupid planet, stupid people."

​Stepping outside, his grimace of sheer disgust deepened. He was surrounded by towering trees, wild grass, vast open spaces, a tiny farm with chickens, and a plot of land meant for growing vegetables. Kaelyth gagged at the sight, but the final blow came when he discovered the primitive setup where he was supposed to bathe.

​Before he had even been seen, word of his arrival spread like wildfire through Arnivel. A lone teenager arriving from abroad was not an everyday occurrence. Leo and his "careless, heartless parents" instantly became the main gossip topic among the villagers.

"How could any decent parent send an underage child to live in a village all by himself?" some whispered.

"Poor boy, completely abandoned," others chimed in.

"What kind of normal parents would do such a thing? Shame on them, absolute shame!"

​Arnivel was a small village where everyone knew everyone else's business. No one needed an invitation or a warning to drop by a neighbor’s house. People slept with their doors unlocked. Though they were warm-hearted, kind people, their main flaw was their fiercely traditional, old-fashioned mindset. While the elders took pride in this, a few younger villagers secretly wished to bring the village into the modern era.

​Setting aside the fact that he desperately needed to clean the house and prepare for his first day of school tomorrow, Leo climbed up an old apple tree instead. Right at that moment, a group of anxious and nosy village mothers decided to pay him a visit. Seeing the boy perched high up in the branches, they gasped in terror and began coaxing him down with sweet, frantic voices. Leo looked down at them, let out a mocking smirk, and ignored them completely, continuing to crunch on his apple.

One of the village women called out, "I brought you some delicious homemade pies, dear. Come down and try one!"

​The moment the aroma reached Leo's nose, his stomach growled fiercely. His face twisted into a mix of sarcasm and annoyance; he hated feeling defeated by his own cravings, but the urge to eat won. He climbed down effortlessly. Without offering a greeting or a single word of thanks, he looked down on them with a cold, superior gaze and commanded them to set the table, declaring that he was hungry.

​The villagers stood frozen, unsure of what shocked them more—his disrespectful tone or his striking, unusual appearance. Nevertheless, the day ended with the villagers helping Leo tidy up the house. They offered their continued assistance and even asked for his parents' phone number in case of an emergency, but Leo brushed their words off entirely, barely even glancing in their direction. Before leaving, the villagers decided to do one last favor and briefly explained how he was supposed to tend to the land and the animals.

​Leo finally went to bed with a single, twisted thought in mind: tomorrow he would go to school, and he was going to have a wonderful time making life an absolute living hell for the children of these foolish villagers.

​The next morning, the reality of his predicament hit Leo with full force. He was entirely alone in the house. There was no breakfast waiting for him, no modern bathroom, and none of his "slaves" running around to cater to his every whim with bowed heads. Eating the leftover pies and apples from the previous night, he sank into deep thought. He needed to solve this problem. He had no desire to do any manual labor himself, but there was no one else to do it for him. Finally, he made a decision: he would go to school, find people he could manipulate to his advantage, and exploit the villagers' offers of help to the absolute maximum.

​Though Leo was a spoiled, malicious, and rebellious brat, he was far from stupid. He possessed a natural talent for problem-solving, though his solutions always favored his own interests, often at the expense of those around him.

​On his walk to school, he familiarized himself with the surroundings, committing every sight and sound to memory. Along the way, he debated whether he should act aggressively from the very first second or play the role of a sweet, innocent angel. He chuckled aloud, already anticipating his own flawless theatrical performance.

​When he reached the school grounds, he was approached by Kai.

​"Hi there!" Kai said with a bright, welcoming smile. "I'm Kai, the class president. I'm also your neighbor; our houses are right next to each other."

​Kai continued talking enthusiastically, his eyes sparkling with energy, but Leo wasn't listening. Instead, he analyzed Kai with a cold, calculating gaze.

​Kai was a naturally cheerful guy with short black hair, large, striking dark eyes, and remarkably long eyelashes. Standing at 1.79 meters with a strong, athletic build, his facial features were soft and slightly rounded. Compared to Leo's pale complexion, Kai's skin looked deeply tanned, a clear sign that he spent a massive amount of time working under the sun. At the moment, he was dressed like everyone else, adhering strictly to the school dress code. Outside of school, however, Kai preferred a vintage, 19th-century-inspired style, which was reflected in his heavy, rugged black leather shoes.

​As Kai finished speaking, Leo forced a polite smile onto his face. "Yeah, hi. I take it you already know my name."

​"Yeah, I do," Kai replied with a chuckle. "To be honest, the whole village already knows you. There are some wild legends flying around about your adventures yesterday. Anyway, let’s head to class."

​"Uh-huh..."

​Leo entered the classroom and began scanning his new classmates. He had already chosen Kai as his first potential pawn, but he quickly noticed that Kai had a very loyal circle of friends.

​Before the teacher arrived, the classroom was loud and chaotic. Leo watched everything in silence, taking his time to understand the dynamics and figure out who held power in this social hierarchy.

​Tyler was loudly recounting a story while Lina stood beside him. Leo walked up to them.

​"Excuse me," Leo said, his voice smooth and calm. "Is anyone sitting here?"

​Tyler was a loud, boisterous teenager who practically radiated trouble. He had a piercing in one ear, and while the rest of his hair was jet black, his front bangs were dyed stark white. He had dark green eyes and a height of 1.68 meters, with a body type that was neither thin nor athletic. Matching his messy style, he wore a fair amount of jewelry—two necklaces and a ring. Despite his rebel appearance, he wasn't a bad guy at heart; he just had an uncanny knack for stumbling into trouble without understanding how. He was fiercely loyal to his friends and possessed a reckless streak of bravery—the phrase "I can't do it" simply wasn't in his vocabulary. Even if a stunt failed miserably, he would still swell with pride over having attempted it.

​"My side is free if you don't mind," Kai said, walking over to join them. Leo nodded and took the seat.

​"Hey, Leo, bro, do you like spicy stuff?" Tyler asked, pulling a bag of chips from his backpack. "This stuff is lethal, seriously hot. I’m the only one in the entire class who can actually handle it." He gave Leo a knowing wink, boastfully implying that unlike the others, he wasn't a coward.

​Lina rolled her eyes, unable to stay quiet. "Are you insane? It’s way too spicy, and let me tell you, eating that much spice is terrible for your stomach."

​Lina was an incredibly delicate and beautiful girl. She had long, gorgeous, light-brown hair that she kept meticulously groomed and tied back into a neat ponytail. Her uniform was always immaculately pressed and tidy. She possessed deep, ocean-blue eyes, small, soft pink lips, and stood at 1.60 meters. Though her facial features were somewhat sharp and defined, everything about her appearance was strikingly harmonious.

​She did, however, possess a challenging trait—depending on how you looked at it: she was intensely competitive and hated losing. She harbored a slight envy toward Kai’s position, holding a competitive aura because she had desperately wanted to be the class president herself. Though she had lost that race, she refused to give up, determined to keep trying until she got her way. Because of this, she frequently bickered with Kai and held childish grudges.

​Leo felt everyone's eyes lock onto him. Internally, he knew this wasn't just about a bag of chips; it was a test. In his world, spicy flavors were always associated with physical pain. There were substances back home used not for culinary purposes, but for literal torture. Curious to see if Earth was different, and wanting to know what a "chip" actually was, he took one without a word and popped it into his mouth.

​For the first few seconds, he simply chewed, his face completely expressionless. Tyler, Lina, and Kai watched him like hawks, waiting for a reaction. Suddenly, Leo's eyes widened in sheer shock. A violent fire ignited in his throat, his mouth turned into a furnace, and his breathing turned heavy. He tried to keep chewing, but it was painfully obvious that this wasn't normal spice. The very next second, he completely lost it.

​"Are you trying to murder me?!" he choked out, gasping for air. "Help... I can't breathe!"

​Leo began panting wildly, frantically fanning his face with his hands as if he could wave away the agonizing burn. "Water! Bring me water! Save me!"

​Tyler burst into roaring laughter, his sarcastic amusement throwing Leo completely off the deep end. In a fit of rage, Leo lunged across the desk, grabbing Tyler by the neck and attempting to throttle him. Lina couldn't help but laugh out loud as well, though she muttered, "Boys are so incredibly stupid," under her breath while running out to fetch some water.

Kai, laughing along with them, stepped in to break up the scuffle just as the school bell rang. Leo was still flushed red, his chest heaving. Sitting down next to him, Kai noticed Leo was still fumes, so he leaned in and whispered, "Tyler's a good guy, just a bit of an idiot, but he's harmless. Honestly, after he eats those chips, he secretly cries in the bathroom." Kai chuckled at his own joke before adding, "A few of us guys are hanging out after school. You should join us."