Chapter 1: I Died Twice
"If I can survive today, I can become stronger tomorrow."
— Grandpa Cedric
That’s what my grandpa always used to tell me... before he wandered a little too far into the forest and kicked the bucket.
I always figured I’d have a lot more time to put those words into practice.
Turns out I died first.
...So how the hell am I supposed to grow stronger now?
Sigh... I have to say, I’m one of the unluckiest transmigrators, and it all started a day ago.
---
"Huh... where am I?" Ronan muttered as he struggled to stand up while an intense light hit his eyes.
"Ahh, fuck..." Ronan muttered, but then his expression froze.
"Did I die? Fuck... is this heaven?" he couldn’t help but mutter before groaning in pain as an intense wave of information flooded his brain, causing his expression to change.
A few minutes later, Ronan was finally able to calm down, although his heart was anything but settled.
As it turned out, his past had eventually caught up to him. One of the stray cats he always spent time cursing had become the cause of his death.
While driving home drunk and almost on the verge of losing consciousness, a stray cat jumped into the middle of the road. As he swerved to the left, he flew off the edge and fell to his death.
And now, he had transmigrated into another world.
Into the body of a young man who was also named Ronan.
The only difference was that this Ronan’s life was... tragic.
Yes, that was right.
Ronan’s family seemed to struggle with longevity. Only his grandfather seemed to have escaped that fate, as every other relative had died just after reaching thirty years of age.
His father died, his mother died, even his relatives. Only his grandfather had lived to the remarkable age of one hundred and one, breaking the curse for himself before passing away last year.
But that was the least of Ronan’s troubles.
This world was very different from Earth. It was a medieval fantasy world filled with gods and monsters. Of course, he was far removed from all of that, but in a world where only those who awakened Core Traits could protect themselves...
Every day was a battle for survival.
"Alas... even you eventually fell," Ronan shook his head as he muttered.
Left as the only living relative, this Ronan had died yesterday after accidentally eating a poisonous leaf.
The only weird thing was that he hadn’t even reached thirty years of age.
Ronan felt choked.
"Sigh..." With a heavy heart, Ronan, who had just died himself, sympathized with the miserable, cursed life of this Ronan as he walked out of his small hut.
He was met with a large expanse of farmland that would now be in his care.
However, Ronan walked to the back of his hut, where a massive grave containing the remains of Ronan’s entire family stood before him.
Ronan closed his eyes, crossed his heart, and spoke.
"Don’t worry. I promise you all, just like my grandfather, I will break the curse and live well, giving you all cute babies to continue our generation."
But just as he made that promise, the ground suddenly shook.
"What... is happening?" Ronan couldn’t help but ask as he looked at the sky, which had suddenly darkened.
Ronan’s eyes bulged as cracks spread across the sky like shattered glass.
His heart skipped a beat.
Then, all around him, he heard the deafening sound of volcanoes erupting one after another as large amounts of magma poured out while massive hills broke apart and collapsed.
"Fuck..." Ronan said as his eyes widened when a huge boulder fell toward his position.
He couldn’t help but remember that he had just promised to live a long life and have beautiful babies.
Now a giant boulder was falling straight toward him and the hut.
"Ah... System..." Ronan couldn’t help but call out in fear.
He had no chance of survival.
The boulder’s diameter was at least a kilometer wide, and its shadow covered everything.
But Ronan believed he was a transmigrator.
So, at the very least...
He should have a cheat... right?
"Damn! Grandpa in the ring? Forbidden artifact? Anything!!"
Seeing the boulder drawing closer with no system appearing, Ronan shouted desperately.
But alas...
Ronan watched as the boulder crashed down upon him, destroying him, his family’s graves, and the hut together.
---
"Heh... where is this?" Ronan couldn’t help but mutter as he saw a dim, dark sky while his head rang with pain.
He sat up, feeling as though his eyelid was drooping or something, while every part of his body ached.
He yawned.
"Is this hell?" Ronan muttered as his vision grew blurry.
"What the..."
Ronan’s eyes shot open as he looked around and froze.
The sky was pitch black, with a scarlet-red sun casting a dim light over the surroundings.
Around Ronan stood towering dark trees with fluorescent leaves, while growls and the howls of unknown creatures echoed in the distance.
A dreadful presence gripped his heart.
Ronan’s mouth hung open wide enough to fit an entire egg as his entire worldview was overturned.
He had died once and awakened as another Ronan.
He had transmigrated...
Right?
But he died shortly afterward.
And now...
He was alive.
Again.
Ronan felt something was very fishy.
Perhaps he had never died and was simply having some strange dreams?
But...
The memories of Ronan were so vivid, as though he had experienced every one of them himself.
They couldn’t be fake.
Just then, another sharp headache struck him.
[Ding! System Awakening in Progress.]
[Newbie Mission Issued.]
Host must join a horde of Ghouls, act like one of them, and return to his master in the Vampire Castle.
Reward: Full activation of the System.
Punishment: Death.
"What the actual hell..."
Seeing the transparent messages floating before him, Ronan couldn’t help but mutter in shock.
Ghoul?
Those flesh-eating creatures from the Abyss...
At least, according to this body’s memories.
No...
The real question was...
Where exactly was he?
A place where he had to join a horde of Ghouls...
Then return to their master.
Unless...
He was in the...
Abyss.