Ning Busan woke up to find himself inexplicably in a forest, surrounded by lush, towering trees.
But that wasn't the worst of it.
The worst part was that right in front of him stood a colossal monster, drooling profusely as it stared him down!
Without a moment's hesitation, Ning Busan scrambled to his feet and bolted, driven by a sheer instinct for survival.
As the monster drew closer and closer, he felt as though Death itself was beckoning him.
Suddenly, a young knight with blond hair, blue eyes, and clad in silver armor descended from above. Without hesitation, he drew the longsword at his waist and plunged it into the monster's vital spot.
The beast collapsed limply to the ground, completely still.
Ning Busan leaned against a nearby tree, gasping heavily for breath.
The knight dismounted, walked over to Ning Busan with sword in hand, and asked, “Are you all right?”
It was clearly a foreign language, yet Ning Busan could miraculously understand it. He even knew how to reply, as if a language pack had been automatically downloaded into his brain.
“I'm fine. Thank you for saving me!” Ning Busan said, still shaken and finding the whole situation surreal. “Where on earth is this?”
“This is the Shadow Forest, near the Dawn Empire. My name is Kaelan, and I am a Paladin.”
Ning Busan's eyes widened. “The Dawn Empire?”
Why did that name sound so familiar?
The Dawn Empire... wasn't that the empire he had personally founded back when he played the game 《Xeno Invasion》?
Had he somehow transmigrated into the game world?
“The Shadow Forest is fraught with danger, and xenos frequently roam here,” Kaelan said. “How did you end up here all alone?”
Ning Busan fell silent. “...”
The thing was, he didn't know how he ended up here either!
Seeing his strange, skimpy attire, a flicker of pity appeared in Kaelan's eyes.
“I understand. You must be a refugee fleeing to the Dawn Empire from another territory, only to accidentally wander into the Shadow Forest.”
Ning Busan, a wealthy heir, looked at Kaelan's elegant yet powerful knightly armor, then at his own summer pajamas, and nodded in humiliation.
“Yes, that's right. I'm a refugee!”
He didn't have a single penny on him right now. If he wasn't a refugee, what was he?
“You certainly won't make it out of the Shadow Forest on your own,” Kaelan said. “As it happens, I am also returning to the Dawn Empire. Why don't I take you with me?”
Ning Busan was overjoyed. “Brother Kaelan, you're a good man!”
“Brother?” Kaelan's expression turned odd. “You look to be only in your early twenties, while I am already three hundred and twenty-six years old. Little friend, you should call me Uncle.”
Ning Busan looked at the youthful-looking Kaelan. His lips twitched as he called out, “Uncle Kaelan.”
He remembered now—the humans of the Yadilan Continent had an average lifespan of a thousand years.
“By the way, what is your name?”
“Ning Busan.”
“What a strange name. Where do you come from? It's my first time seeing someone with black hair and black eyes like you.”
“I come from... a distant eastern country.”
The pity in Kaelan's eyes deepened.
Not long ago, the xeno army had appeared in the east, and many territories were brutally slaughtered. It seemed this poor refugee had fled from there.
After chatting with Kaelan along the way, Ning Busan finally confirmed that this world was indeed the game 《Xeno Invasion》.
He had spent an entire year grinding this game and had finally achieved the perfect ending last night, successfully driving the xenos out of the Landia Continent.
However, he had transmigrated to ten thousand years after the game's ending. The xenos had returned, and the world was once again engulfed in the flames of war.
No wonder the game had such a high degree of freedom—it turned out to be a real world!
To this, Ning Busan only wanted to ask: How was he, a fragile college student who couldn't lift a finger and couldn't tell grains apart, supposed to survive in this brutal world?
...
The Dawn Empire.
The city gates were constructed from massive blue flagstones, flanked by towering, majestic watchtowers. Vibrant flags fluttered in the wind, embroidered with a golden sun motif.
Between the watchtowers, a wide road led straight into the city. Armored soldiers stood on either side of the road, upright as pines, their gazes firm and sharp.
But what truly shocked Ning Busan was neither the grand architecture nor the orderly soldiers, but the refugees gathered outside the city gates.
The dense crowd of refugees was emaciated and dressed in rags. Huddled outside the city walls, they looked like a scene from a zombie apocalypse.
If Ning Busan hadn't met the kind Uncle Kaelan, he probably wouldn't have even been able to enter the gates of the Dawn Empire.
Once inside the city, Kaelan and Ning Busan naturally went their separate ways.
In Kaelan's eyes, Ning Busan's refined manner of speech suggested he was a noble who had been pampered since childhood, only to become a refugee after a sudden misfortune.
Moreover, he was so young and inexperienced that it would likely be difficult for him to survive in the Dawn Empire.
Kaelan sighed, reached into his pocket, and handed three silver coins to Ning Busan.
“Take this money for now. No matter what, surviving is the most important thing.”
Ning Busan was deeply moved once again. “Uncle, you really are a good man!”
His luck was simply too good. The first person he met after transmigrating to another world was such a kind-hearted soul!
At this moment, Kaelan had no idea that the young man he had saved would one day overthrow the rule of the Dawn Empire and even reshape the entire landscape of the Landia Continent.
Meanwhile, Ning Busan was in a cheap rented room, chewing on dry black bread.
Ning Busan muttered to himself in complaint, “Other transmigrators get systems! They get cheat codes!”
“But what about me? What do I have? I only have my own miserable life!”
It wasn't a soul transmigration, but a physical one!
If he died, he was dead for real.
Ning Busan raged impotently, “I whaled so much money to beat this game! I'm a prestigious VIP player! Can someone explain to me why I transmigrated?”
“Where is my exclusive VIP customer service? I want to file a complaint against this garbage game!”
Whoosh—
With a flash of golden light, seven glittering character cards materialized in front of Ning Busan, corresponding to his seven previous max-level accounts.
Human Race—Hero.
Dragon Clan—Betrayer.
Siren Clan—Siren.
Demon Clan—Satan.
Elven Clan—Kingslayer.
Undead Clan—First King.
Celestial Clan—Phoenix.
Vaguely, Ning Busan felt that as long as he wished, he could switch accounts at any moment.
Ning Busan instantly sprang up and sat straight.
All seven of these were max-level accounts, representing existences akin to deities on the Landia Continent.
But—
He hadn't known he would transmigrate when he was playing the game, so he had resorted to any means necessary to achieve his goals.
These character cards either had too many enemies or possessed incredibly complex relationships. Once used, they would bring him endless trouble.
Fortunately, the Human Race was not a long-lived species, with an average lifespan of only a thousand years. Since ten thousand years had passed, any acquaintances who knew the Hero had long since been laid to rest.
Just as Ning Busan was about to use the Hero's account to experience the power of a max-level character, a line of bloody red text appeared before him.
【Reminder: Using a card will lead to irreversible consequences. Please use with caution!】
After a moment of hesitation, Ning Busan gave up on the idea.
Forget it. It wouldn't be too late to switch accounts and step up when he actually encountered real danger.
Now that his most critical survival issue was resolved, Ning Busan actually felt a bit melancholy.
He missed his nagging mom!
He missed his loving dad!
He missed his little sister!
He didn't know why he had come to this world, nor did he know if he would ever be able to return home.
Ning Busan turned his head toward the east, as if trying to look through the mottled walls to see something.
“First day of transmigrating to another world. I miss home...”
Rate on N.U.
