Adam coughed hard as water spilled from the holes along his body. For a moment he just stood there, blinking at the pale interior of the cave. Skulls lay scattered everywhere—some half-buried in the dirt, others cracked open like they'd been gnawed on. The pine forest outside swayed in the wind, the branches whispering as if warning him.
More skulls were lodged deeper underground. Ants crawled in and out of them in busy black rivers. Adam covered his nose; the stench of rot was thick enough to taste.
[Rehan: Adam… be careful. You'll actually die here.]
"I know, I know…"He muttered it under his breath. He'd skirted death in plenty of dreams, but this time there were no respawn points, no safe rooms, no bright 'Retry?' screen. Just him. This place. And the smoke of a distant town drifting over a small walkable hill.
Figures in black hoods stood at the crest, tossing decayed bodies onto a growing pile. Adam pulled a mask from his pocket and covered his face."…This is something," he whispered.
His thoughts drifted. Roguelike RPGs. Endless enemies. Endless blood. All of it meaningless. No morals. No law—well, not much of one. It felt like he had walked straight into one of those grim, exaggerated medieval settings where everyone had already given up.
A sudden crash in the bushes snapped him out of it. He flinched, hands tensing.
Something stepped out.
A humanoid—if he could even call it that. Its face was a flat stretch of flesh with a single straight-line mouth. Dotted marks across its cheeks made it look like a doll someone abandoned in the rain. Its eyes were disturbingly lifelike. Hairless. Ribs showing. Fingers like sharpened sticks. Legs shaped like a wolf's hind limbs.
It stared at him.
Adam forced a smile he didn't understand."Uh… hello?"
He regretted it immediately.
The creature took a massive step forward.
"Alright…" He exhaled. He pulled up his system panel, bought four Creation Points, and a heavy rifle materialized into his hands. The creature tilted its head, confused—then Adam opened fire. Bullets tore through bone and tendon. The thing screamed at the sky before collapsing.
"The one who takes the first shot wins, I guess…" he muttered, darkly.
The noise drove boars, pigs, and birds scattering through the forest. He trudged down until the path became a proper dirt crossroad. A weather-beaten sign read:
Heading to Pinestone. Do not turn left at the crossroads.
The trail ahead was lined with skeletons—human and animal—left to bleach in the open. Rusted weapons lay beside them, too old to wield, too forgotten to matter.
Then came the smell again. Rotting vegetables mixed with rotting flesh. His mask barely helped.
He jogged forward, only to collide with several children.
"Mr… have you seen my homunculi?" one of them asked.
Adam blinked. What?"No," he said quickly and hurried on. But the children kept staring at his clothes—his hoodie, his pockets, the rifle on his back. Blank faces. Unblinking.
The adults stared too.
Ragged tunics. Mud-soaked boots. And then him—clean lines, modern fabric, metal weapon. He stuck out like a fresh corpse among the old ones.
A figure in a red hooded cloak stepped in front of him. Pale skin. Red eyes.
"My human," he said quietly, "from what religion or cult do you come?"
"I don't… do that," Adam answered.
The man smiled. "Your outfit suggested otherwise." He handed Adam a petrified worm and a worn poster. "Join our Order. If you have the signs."
Adam nearly laughed out loud. The cultist looked stunned.
But before he could react, guards shouted in the distance. The red-hooded man cursed and fled, a group of armored soldiers chasing him with swords and spears.
One guard—a tall man with brown hair and a thick beard—ran up to Adam.
"Stranger! You're new here." He huffed. "Identify yourself."
"Ah, whoops." Adam backed away and sprinted into the nearest alley. He vaulted over crates of vegetables and buckets full of manure.
[Rehan: Adam… let's reform this place.]She sounded more annoyed than worried.
He kept running. No CCTV, no cameras—thank God for that.
[Rehan: Behind you.]
Adam's eyes flashed yellow. He twisted aside like liquid and grabbed the man creeping up on him. A quick kick sent the robber sprawling, knife skittering across the dirt.
"Why the hell would you try to kill me!?"
The man coughed. "To… rob you, what else—"
Adam punched him hard in the jaw, knocking him out cold. He set the man against the wall so he wouldn't choke on his own blood, then rubbed his temples.This place was unbelievable.
[Rehan: …Honestly, you could just claim land and become a noble. This world runs on papers and rumors anyway.]
Adam coughed, half-laughing."A revolution, huh? Guess that's one way."
He slowed when he saw someone curled up deeper in the alley—a young man, half-dead, eyes fading like a dying ember.
"There's nothing I can do," Adam whispered.
Then the corpse coughed.
The young man pushed himself upright. A knife jutted from his chest. He stared wildly at his own hands, then screamed with manic joy:
"I'VE TRANSMIGRATED!!!"
Adam blinked.
"…o_o"