Huh?


    David opened his eyes wide, trying to look around, hoping for someone to pop up from the shadows and surprise him. From the bottom of his heart, he wanted to believe that this was just a prank, a bad one at that.


    He waited, and waited, yet the surroundings remained the same.


    Complete darkness, akin to what he thought the void of space looked like.


    The only source of light was the floating screen in front of him, yet he didn’t want to look at it. He read it earlier, although briefly, and he didn’t want to consider the possibility that its words were truthful.


    Reality Change? What the hell is that? He rubbed his temple in confusion. I haven’t been taking drugs lately, maybe Melanie stuffed some in the last batch of food I took from her place?


    He shook his head. Finding out the cause of his situation was important, but finding a way out of it was more so. Focusing on his current circumstances and trying to make sense of them was his best option, so that’s what he did.


    The word ‘Proceed’ glowed in a shiny glint of white, as if it begged him to press it. Deep down, he knew that it was his way out of this weird void.


    However, the menu didn’t have only one option; it had two. And the bad news was, both of them were ‘Proceed’.


    Whoever designed this prank, or ‘reality change’, didn’t even try to mask the fact that David was playing in their hands, and it scared the teenage boy, who wasn’t a fan of situations that were out of his control.


    “Hello? If there’s someone around here, then I’ll let you know that I’m not a fan of this whole situation,” David affirmed in a loud voice, to no one in particular, “If you’re doing such weird pranks to get some laughs from your channel’s audience, then be assured that y’all can suck my dick, and fuck your moms too!”


    TV channels, internet influencers, and YouTubers had one thing in common: they hated profanity and cussing. David knew that whoever created this situation wouldn’t break the audience’s immersion if he begged for them to stop; the world didn’t work that way.


    They’d only get a kick out of his pitiful struggle.


    So, he had to be proactive.


    There were no signs of a shift in the surroundings, yet. So, David kept bad-mouthing whoever put him in this situation.


    “…and your mom, I bet she enjoyed being raped. Someone like you can’t be the child of a healthy relationship, you’re a bastard at best!”


    Okay, maybe I’ve gone too far there. David was surprised that no one reacted to what would be any teenager’s dream collection of verbal attacks.


    So, this is unlikely to be a prank made by people who had nothing better to do.


    There was still a chance for that possibility, but he was willing to overlook it and examine other, more compelling prospects.


    If it were Schizophrenia or his mom’s psychosis that rubbed off on him, then he had to think of going to a psychiatrist as soon as this was all over. If it were Aliens that abducted him, then they would never break their script unless he did exactly what they wanted.


    Or maybe, he got sent to another world where all his dreams would come true?


    As if! Life would throw me a hard curveball in that situation! David smirked.


    “Okay, you got me.” He raised both hands in the air, “Alright, let’s proceed to the next step of the ‘Making David’s Life a Funny Mess’ program.”


    However, nothing changed.


    Maybe I should press the option on the menu? That’s what the guys from the sci-fi novels I used to read would do.


    As soon as his fingers touched one of the ‘Proceed’ options, everything changed.


    Color returned to the world, and he could see the ground that he was sitting on once more. It didn’t look like his room, not even close, but he had a bigger fish to fry.


    The menu in front of him shifted, and a bead of sweat appeared on his forehead as he read the contents.


    <table width="100%">


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td width="100%">


    [System Notice]


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="100%">


    With Great Responsibility Comes Great Power!


    The Karma Re-Distribution Program Is The Great Work Of The System.


    Host, David Wellens, activated the ritual of Karma with great success!


    You’ve been sent to another world where anything can come true.


    Work hard, and we’ll meet again.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="100%">


    [Exit]


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Karma? Ritual? Great Success? Another World?


    Stolen novel; please report.


    “...And, we’ll meet again, you say?” At this point, David was sure that whoever put him in this situation was a sapient being capable of thought and decision.


    However, the fact that it mentioned performing a ritual successfully gave him the creeps. Was the innocent relaxation ritual that he’s been performing for the last six months the cause of all this? He didn’t know, and he didn’t even want to believe the bullshit about being in another world altogether.


    He stood up from the spot where he had been sitting, then took a focused look around him.


    The room was more spacious than his previous one and in better condition. Instead of his previous small metal-framed bed that sat in the corner of the room, he had a big king-sized bed in the middle.


    The menu that appeared earlier was still floating around, but he didn’t even exit it. He figured that he’d need to read it carefully later, to extract all the possible information when he made some sense of his condition.


    So, he fiddled with it for a bit, then pushed it to the side after finding out that he could do so. His field of view became much clearer, and he was able to peruse the strange, extravagant bed he saw in front of him.


    The bed had ornamental drawings in red and green on the pillars that extended upwards from its four corners, and many symbols were yellow.


    Is that gold? He thought as he inched forward, touched the small goldish pieces that were attached to those pillars.


    Only then did he notice his hand.


    It was slenderer, with longer fingers, smoother and paler skin, and carefully trimmed fingernails. He even had a small golden ring on his right index finger.


    There’s no way…


    His last job was being a waiter at Melanie’s food place, but he worked in construction, lumbering, and even on a farm before. His skin wasn’t that of a veteran blue-collar worker, but he had his fair share of calluses.


    Yet, they were all gone. His current hands appeared as if they had never held a shovel or even a barbell.


    Agitated, he paced around the room. There were many parchments thrown on the floor, and empty green glass bottles thrown in one of the corners, yet he didn’t pay them much heed.


    He’d been rubbing his chin and trying all the various reality check techniques he learned from one of the lucid dreaming forums that he used to browse back in the day.


    He pinched his upper arm, tried to push his finger through his other palm, and even tried to manifest a unicorn in front of him through the power of imagination.


    None of it worked.


    Shit, is this a new reality as the floating window said? What about my mom? What about the thirty thousand dollars that I paid for in blood!


    He kept walking until something else grabbed his attention.


    It was a mirror hanging from the opposite wall, and it was small enough that he could hide it in his pocket if he wanted to. He walked towards it slowly, as if he was afraid it’d disappear if he made too much noise.


    Then, when he was close enough, he concentrated on his reflection.


    Pale blue iris, positively tilted eyes, and thick eyebrows. A thick nose bridge and full lips. High cheekbones, a prominent maxilla, and a strong jawline.


    And the craziest feature was his dark blue hair that was gathered in a ponytail, which extended to his hips.


    He could tell that he was a tall guy by comparison to the dimensions of the bed, the drawers, and the door, but his previous body was still taller.


    He tried flexing his muscles, and they weren’t as impressive as his previous ones. Yet, he couldn’t shake the feeling that they could generate great power.


    To David, this was all insane. He used to be an average guy through and through, with brown eyes and dark hair. He looked handsome according to beauty standards in his previous world, as he knew it, but this made him worry even further.


    This isn’t my face…


    He felt sweat beads form on his forehead, and as he looked in the mirror again, he could see the sweat on his new, handsome face.


    Once again, he shook his head and tried to acquire more information.


    His clothes looked modest in comparison to the extravagance of his room, which was bigger than the apartment where he and his mom lived previously, and it even had a gold-rimmed bed.


    Brown all over. A pair of dark brown pants, a light brown shirt, and a caramel jacket on top. Too dull a style for his taste, but it made for a good contrast with his physical features.


    He sighed and allowed his body to fall to the ground.


    He sat and allowed his left arm to rest on his left knee. There were many empty green glass bottles on his right side, but he didn’t pay any attention to them. Through their pungent smell, he knew they were bottles of some form of alcoholic drink, and he hated alcohol because it reminded him of his mom’s addiction.


    I wonder what she’s doing. I didn’t even tell her about the money I made, and she doesn’t have savings of her own…


    His mom wasn’t a perfect human, but she was dear to him. She was probably the only person in the world who’d bat an eyelid over his disappearance, and after seeing the way she reacted to the loss of his dad and his brother, he felt that she wouldn’t be able to handle the loss of the last member of his family.


    He had to go back. His previous life wasn’t perfect, but he could change it around with the money he made.


    He had to go back. For the sake of his mom, for the sake of his younger brother’s memory.


    I was a terrible brother, and now, I can’t even be there for mom…


    He scanned the room once again, but there were no more sources of information for him.


    Suddenly, he remembered the floating system screen that he pushed to the side earlier.


    He brought it to the center of his field of view and read it multiple times.


    Yet, he couldn’t deduce any hidden meanings or secret tells that would help him find his footing.


    With a sigh, he put his finger on his ‘Exit’ option, thinking that the only option he had left was to leave the room through the door and learn about his surroundings through experience.


    However, what happened was beyond his wildest imagination.


    Scenes, images, and information popped up inside his head.


    Information and events he’d never seen before in his life, yet they felt as if they were dear to him, as if they belonged.


    His name was David Wellens, and it was Akash Ven Hoebert at the same time. Both of them appeared in his mind when he thought of his name.


    He was the guy who couldn’t protect his younger brother from bullies, and he was also the bastard whose mother died, leaving him all alone in a hostile family that didn’t want him.


    He was an average guy on Earth, and he was a weakling here on Rievlend.


    What the hell? These memories, where did they come from?


    He grabbed his forehead with both hands as he felt a splitting pain, stronger than he had ever felt before.


    A system screen appeared in front of his eyes, and when he tried to read it, the pain subsided greatly.


    <table width="100%">


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td width="100%">


    [System Notice]


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="100%">


    I’ve left you a small gift.


    With this, our Karmic connection had been severed.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    David understood that this system guy was the one who gave him these memories, and there were too many for him to examine in a couple of seconds. He needed at least a day to make sense of Akash’s, this body’s previous owner’s, memories and assimilate them to make informed decisions that would bring him closer to the goal of unraveling his transmigration.


    However, before he could even meditate on the new data on his mind, there was a knock on his door, then a fair lady wearing a maid''s clothes entered the room.


    She had pink hair and violet eyes, and she had a serious vibe about her. She was called Lillian, according to his new memories, and he didn’t have any special relationship with her.


    Seriously, what’s with this world’s weird color palette? David smiled when she made eye contact with him, but she didn’t smile back.


    “I see you’re drinking as always, Master Akash.” Lillian gave him a knowing nod. “Lord Legilus asks for your presence in his headquarters right now.”