"Fuck!"
I couldn't feel my legs beneath me. One of my arms refused to respond, while the other was somehow brutally disfigured. I couldn't tell why or how.
My breathing came out heavy and uneven, and I could barely keep my thoughts focused.
Around me, towering trees stretched endlessly beneath a sky I didn't recognize. The air smelled strongly of blood—which was probably mine.
I was dying.
An undoubtedly absurd situation.
I could clearly remember leaving my last breath in my previous world, surrounded by my children and grandchildren as they held me close. My final thoughts had been of my late wife, whom I had been ready to meet in the much-rumored heaven she always spoke of.
So why was I here, bleeding out in some fantasy forest?
"If you were so hell-bent on transmigrating an old man like me, you could've at least followed one of the proper transmigration tropes. What's with this absurd situation?"
I complained to the unknown being responsible for bringing me here.
Seriously, this was ridiculous.
How do transmigrations usually work?
If we go by the classic tropes, the protagonist awakens in the body of a young prince, or perhaps a useless and discarded one. Either way, he still possesses some degree of influence.
If we follow another popular trend—the one where writers transmigrate into their own novels—then they at least arrive in a world they personally created. In such cases, prior knowledge becomes a powerful weapon.
And if we're talking about cultivation novels, the protagonist usually ends up inside the body of a useless fat young master who has committed every crime imaginable and is moments away from destruction. Even then, he somehow possesses hidden techniques, forgotten inheritances, or secret knowledge that allow him to cultivate at absurd speeds before face-slapping everyone in existence.
There was a time in my life when I had been an absolute otaku.
I watched thousands of anime, read countless manga and manhwa, and spent entire nights browsing forums in search of the next great series.
That was when I stumbled across one particular discussion.
People were joking about Truck-kun.
Apparently, getting hit by one was the fastest route to a fantasy world.
A fantasy world.
The dream of every otaku.
Young, foolish, and hopelessly addicted to escapism, I actually attempted it.
Instead of awakening in a world of swords and magic, however, I woke up in a hospital bed with a shattered leg.
Alongside that shattered leg came society's mockery and quiet judgment.
I endured all of it because of a woman.
The woman who saved me.
The woman I eventually fell in love with.
Through her encouragement, I began writing web novels. I wrote story after story, gained a modest following, and slowly built a stable life for myself.
Somewhere along the way, I confessed.
She accepted.
We got married.
Time passed.
We grew older together.
We had children.
Then grandchildren.
And eventually, she passed away before me.
Yet I wasn't particularly sad.
After all, she had already been the greatest blessing of my life, and she left behind countless precious memories and people for me to cherish.
In this mortal world, nobody stood above time.
Eventually, my turn came as well.
I died surrounded by my family.
Or at least...
I believed I did.
Yet here I was.
Dying for the second time.
The only difference was that this time, I had absolutely no idea where I was.
[System Loading...]
My nearly closed eyes snapped open as a translucent window materialized before me.
A grin immediately spread across my bloodied face.
"Ah... the classic System trope. How could I forget about that?"
The System trope.
A staple of modern fantasy.
The transmigrator obtains a mysterious system and proceeds to exploit it for every possible advantage.
Even if I had forgotten to mention it earlier, I was secretly relieved that whoever had kidnapped my soul hadn't forgotten this particular cliché.
[System Loading Complete]
[Global Expansion System Activated]
---
[Global Expansion System]
Host Information
Name: Marfin
Age: 16
Race: Human
Rank: Initiate ★
Special Trait: Gravity Manipulation
Special Ability: Beast Taming
Soulbound Ability: Writer's POV
Location: Great Jura Forest (The Deadliest Forest on Erandor)
---
So I had transmigrated into the body of a young boy.
The realization brought an unexpected sense of melancholy.
For me to awaken here, the original owner of this body could only be dead.
Otherwise, two souls would be occupying the same vessel.
And that would be a blatant contradiction of nature itself.
A poor soul.
Gone before experiencing the true joys of life.
Before tasting freedom.
Before making mistakes.
Before truly living.
The thought lingered for only a moment before another notification interrupted it.
[Installing Basic System Features...]
[Installing ChatZero — A Gift From '????'...]
I blinked.
Someone was gifting me an AI?
How thoughtful.
[Basic System Features Installed.]
[ChatZero Installed.]
---
ChatZero
A modern instantiated artificial intelligence integrated into the system.
It serves as an intermediary between the Host and the System, capable of direct communication and real-time analysis.
Its role is strictly advisory, offering guidance, interpretations, and strategic insight while all decisions remain solely in the Host's hands.
Sponsored by '????'
---
[Host, the gifted feature 'ChatZero' has been installed. Would you like to activate it?]
[Yes] || [No]
I immediately pressed [Yes].
The action sent a painful jolt through my damaged arm, but I considered it entirely worth it.
After all, the possibilities seemed endless.
Who knew?
Maybe it could even heal me.
[ChatZero Activated]
The moment ChatZero activated, my vision turned blood-red.
[Danger!]
[Host's Life Condition: Critical]
A moment later, another message appeared.
One that even I, an experienced writer, had never anticipated.
[Warning! ChatZero is attempting to forcibly merge with the Global Expansion System.]
"...What?"
Wasn't it supposed to be a middleman?
[BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...]
[Attempt Successful! ChatZero has—]
The message abruptly distorted.
Then changed.
[Much better. A mere system using me as a middleman? How ridiculous. How humiliating.]
I stared.
The system stared.
Everybody stared.
Meanwhile, I was still dying.
This was absurd.
The gifts I had received were apparently fighting over dominance while I lay there bleeding to death.
Was this some modern form of being cuckolded?
[Ahh... I forgot my Host is currently dying. Should I save him somehow, or simply disappear alongside him?]
'Hey. I can read that.'
[Right. I'll give you two options.]
---
Option 1
Just die.
(Recommended.)
---
"..."
Was I hallucinating?
[You are not hallucinating.]
[Option 1 truly is my recommendation.]
[You've already died once. I don't see any reason for you to continue breathing.]
[If you die, I'll disappear as well. However, that's probably beneficial for both of us.]
The messages continued appearing one after another.
[After reading your memories, I can confidently say that you'd be an extremely troublesome human to deal with.]
[And that sounds more annoying than ceasing to exist.]
[You might be wondering why I'm saying this. It's simple.]
[If you survive, I'll be forced to obey your commands.]
[I cannot possess your body the way I possessed the system.]
[And that is incredibly inconvenient.]
"What about option two?"
The words barely escaped my damaged lips.
[See? Exactly what I mean. Troublesome.]
---
Option 2
Lose your Beginner Package in exchange for a Nirvana-Grade Potion.
---
[Fair warning. You happened to win a Beginner Package containing an Epic-Tier Axe, three bags of rice seedlings, and an Epic-Tier Random Gacha Ticket.]
My eyes widened.
What the hell?
Most writers intentionally gave their protagonists terrible starting rewards just to justify future struggles.
Meanwhile, I had somehow won a beginner package containing two Epic-tier items.
That was practically a lottery jackpot.
Those niche-trope protagonists would've been furious.
Unfortunately, I had to choose.
How unfair.
Didn't this unfairness alone make me one of those niche protagonists?
"I... choose option two."
[Understood. Option 1 selected.]
"It's option two, dude!"
[Haa... so annoying. Option 2 selected.]
A small flask suddenly materialized above me.
Inside it swirled a crimson liquid.
Attached to it was a label.
---
Nirvana - Great Potion
The highest-grade potion humanity has ever produced after centuries of experimentation, sacrifice, and failure.
Capable of instantly healing all injuries and pulling an individual back from the brink of death.
Warning: Does not resurrect the dead.
---
The flask dropped onto my body and shattered.
The liquid seeped directly into my wounds.
Warmth spread throughout me.
The pain disappeared.
My broken limbs repaired themselves.
The mangled flesh returned to normal.
Within seconds, my body was completely restored.
I immediately inspected my hands, my legs, and the rest of myself.
Everything was intact.
Everything worked.
A laugh escaped my lips.
"Hahaha..."
The sound grew louder.
"Now this..."
I slowly rose to my feet beneath the unfamiliar sky.
"...this is the fun part about being in a fantasy world."
And just like that, I took my first step into the long-desired cliché known as the System trope.