He once thought he had already touched the bottom of life.
It was almost a continuous series of misfortunes without any chance to catch his breath.
First, his parents both passed away in an unclear accident, leaving him with endless bewilderment and a not-so-generous bank account.
Immediately following that, his girlfriend of several years ended their relationship with a brief message, her tone as calm as if she were discussing the weather.
The brother he considered family not only stood by idly when he needed support the most but also gave him a slight push from behind, causing a crucial project at work to fail completely.
The notice of unemployment arrived without surprise.
Then came the landlord's cold face and a new lease—the rent had unreasonably soared by nearly double again, as if mocking his last remaining effort to grasp a sliver of stability.
Painful? Certainly. Desperate? Perhaps he had been.
But deep in his bones, a small, unextinguished thing seemed to remain, a stubborn resilience.
He had not given up yet; he still wanted to, and must, continue living.
Even if it was just numbly enduring day by day.
That evening, he walked alone along the familiar lakeside promenade, watching the shimmering waves dyed crimson-gold by the setting sun, his mind empty, filled only with exhaustion.
Then, without any Omen, his head suddenly sank, as if struck by an invisible heavy hammer.
He fell into the lake, unexpectedly...
The cold sensation of suffocation enveloped him from all directions, squeezing his chest and robbing his lungs of the last of his air.
Lake water? No, he was clearly still standing on the solid promenade. This suffocation came from within, or rather, from some incomprehensible Strength.
"No way... I haven't even been crushed by life yet..."
This was the last thought that mixed absurdity, unwillingness, and a hint of relief before his consciousness faded.
He didn't even have time to recall his name, which had long been blurred by reality.
The next second, he felt all weight disappear, as if countless gentle, invisible hands caught his sinking soul, softly wiping away the tears that finally escaped the corners of his eyes, sending him toward an unknown other side.
.........
The silence did not last long.
In a space filled with strange flowing light, seemingly constructed from pure energy, his chaotic consciousness was violently yanked back to reality by a clear, unmistakably authoritative female voice.
"Get out!"
His vision opened up again.
The owner of the voice was a maiden of exquisite appearance.
Her pointed ears, pale golden long hair, and the faint radiance surrounding her all indicated her extraordinary status—an Elf.
However, she was completely different from the "colorful comic" impressions of beings from other worlds lurking in his subconscious—
The Elf Maiden before him was tall and well-proportioned, but her chest was completely flat, tightly wrapped beneath a well-tailored mage robe, conforming to some objective setting of ancient Elf Race regarding being "elegant but barren."
His eyes finally opened, then widened sharply.
What greeted his sight was a hall grand beyond imagination.
The towering dome seemed to connect to the starry sky, and many young Elves wearing robes of a similar style surrounded him, their faces showing curiosity, expectation, and even a hint of teasing amusement.
All eyes were focused on him and the Elf Maiden standing before him.
He could feel a faint but real connection existing between himself and this maiden.
She was his summoner, his Spirit Master.
"Another Contracted Spirit! Let's see what our luckiest Lina summons this time!"
"The worst Comprehensive Rating among the few she summoned before was C-Rank, and one even reached B-Rank! Truly worthy of being the academy's genius."
The whispers around reached his ears, allowing him to roughly understand his situation—he seemed to have become the summoned object.
The Elf Maiden Lina was currently frowning slightly, her slender fingers tapping lightly in the air, causing a translucent Interface, similar to a System Panel, to appear before her.
This was something every living being in this World seemed innately able to summon.
She carefully reviewed the information about this new summoned entity, feedback received through the Contract.
The expression on her face gradually shifted from expectation to confusion, and then to unconcealed disappointment.
She looked up again at him, her gaze carrying a hint of scrutiny, finally resolving into a sigh barely audible.
She cleared her throat and spoke in a tone that tried its best to maintain politeness but was distant and regretful:
"Following the ancient Contract, Contracted Spirit named 'A Mi,' I have summoned you; I am now your Spirit Master. But... I am sorry, your Comprehensive Rating... did not meet my expectations."
She paused, seemingly choosing her words carefully, as low chuckles began to sound around them.
"According to the evaluation, your Comprehensive Rating is... D-Rank." She finally said it, her voice echoing clearly in the hall, "And only slightly higher than E-Rank, which represents 'Defective.'
This does not meet my requirements. I cannot maintain the Contract with you."
As soon as the words fell, accompanied by something the maiden chanted... he felt the faint connection linking him to the maiden snap with a "pop."
A strong sense of collapse and repulsion instantly washed over him.
He could feel his existence in this World becoming unstable.
Lina seemed somewhat apologetic, after all, summoning a Contracted Spirit was not an easy task.
Her tone softened slightly, carrying a hint of formulaic apology: "Before you completely dissipate, you can... go see the outside World for yourself. I apologize for wasting your time."
He, or rather, the entity now called "A Mi," was completely bewildered.
Before he could even process the fact that he had transmigrated, before he could even figure out the Rules of this World, he was unilaterally released from the Contract and was about to be "returned" because his "performance was substandard"?
And the Destination for the return seemed to be... complete annihilation?
Under the gazes of sympathy or mockery, a strong sense of unwillingness drove him.
He subconsciously concentrated his spirit, trying to understand, trying to grasp something.
Indeed, a Panel similar to what he recognized as a "System" tremblingly unfolded in his consciousness.
This seemed to be the fundamental Rule of this World, accessible even to a Contracted Spirit on the verge of dissipation like him.
However, when he tried to check his detailed status, most of the information on the Panel was shrouded in a layer of gray mist—
Having lost the Contract connection with his Spirit Master, his permissions were severely restricted.
He could only barely make out a few lines of clear information:
【Name: A Mi 】
【Level: （ Cannot be viewed due to loss of Spirit Master connection ）】
【Status: Contract broken, existence decaying... 】
【Comprehensive Rating: D】
【Detailed Panel: （ Cannot be viewed due to loss of Spirit Master connection ）】
Not even knowing what abilities he possessed? What was this? A Mi felt a wave of absurdity.
He occasionally read transmigration novels in his previous life; which protagonist didn't start with an overpowered System or an invincible cheat?
How come for him, not only was he treated as a despised "defective product," but he couldn't even fully read his own "instruction manual"?
No wonder that flat-chested Elf maiden discarded him without hesitation.
A Contracted Spirit who couldn't even figure out his own capabilities, with a Comprehensive Rating at the bottom D-Rank, was probably less useful than chicken ribs in the eyes of a genius like her.
The intense repulsion grew stronger, and the image of the great hall began to distort and fade in his eyes.
He took one last look at the Elf Maiden named Lina; she had already turned around, seemingly preparing to start the next summoning, completely casting him aside.
A Mi felt no anger, nor did he plead; a strange calm enveloped him.
Since he hadn't dissipated yet, since he could still think, then...
Before this World completely rejected him, he followed the direction of that repulsive force and took a step.
He would leave this Elf Academy and go see that so-called "outside World."
Even if only for a moment, he wanted to breathe the air of this strange World as an independent "existence."
His figure slowly dissipated like light smoke at the entrance of the magnificent summoning hall of the Elf Academy, merging into the vast and unknown sky outside.
What awaited him was not a satisfying counterattack, but a confusing path ahead, and a restricted Future where even he himself could not see clearly.