The pain… was unbearable.
A sharp pain that twisted his stomach violently; the dream world that had been full of joy and comfort just moments ago shattered suddenly, without any warning.
Morgan, who had been dreaming of simple, warm happiness, felt an unnatural pain ignite in his abdomen, a strange and overwhelming pain, as if he had spent over a full week without going to the bathroom.
"Ouch…"
He moaned softly, and in disbelief tried to turn and look at his stomach, but his body did not respond. He couldn't move his limbs, not even lift his head, as if control over his body had been completely taken from him.
"Looking at it, I must still be dreaming."
He tried to convince himself of that.
"Maybe I'll wake up soon… I'm absolutely sure this is just a dream. I've gone through something similar before."
Morgan was used to strange dreams, so he tried—as he always did—to focus, to force himself to wake up. But this time was different.
Even though he was certain he was inside a dream, he felt something unfamiliar. Random thoughts slipped into his mind, mercilessly breaking his concentration.
"Why am I suddenly feeling this pain in my stomach… in the middle of the night?"
His face contorted from the intensity of the pain.
"It… really hurts."
Then an embarrassing thought occurred to him.
"Could… could I need to go to the bathroom?"
His eyes widened—or rather, if he could have opened them.
"Damn… don't tell me I'm going to crap my pants! No, I don't want that! I'd die of embarrassment if it happens!"
Panic swept over him.
"I want to wake up now! Right now!"
This time he tried to focus with all his strength, forcing his mind onto one single thought:
Wake up.
No matter what, he must wake up immediately.
And suddenly—
His vision was engulfed in blackness, as if a curtain had fallen over his consciousness. And before he could understand what was happening, he heard strange words, of unclear origin, whispering in his mind in a tone he could not discern.
Then—
He regained control of his body.
He breathed heavily and finally opened his eyes.
A foul smell hit him as soon as he opened them.
"Don't tell me I… really did it!"
He said it loudly, panicked. He felt his heart pounding in his chest before he quickly lifted his head, but the next moment he collided with something solid and heavy, a blow that forced him to reel back violently.
He fell on his back and groaned, holding his head.
"Ah… that hurts…"
He remained lying there for a few seconds, catching his breath before calming down slightly. Only then did he fix his gaze on where he was.
He was inside a cramped space, like a small square box, barely enough to fit an adult. The walls around him were rough and worn, and the ceiling was so low he hit it immediately when he tried to stand.
He looked around anxiously… and froze in place.
Garbage.
Garbage surrounded his body from every direction—torn bags, rotting food scraps, and things he didn't even want to think about. The smell that had hit his nose earlier had now become unbearable.
"This… is not my room."
He tried to get up quickly, but had to stop for a moment as the smell of the garbage intensified. After a brief struggle, he noticed a lid above him.
He lifted the lid cautiously.
Immediately, he shut his eyes tightly.
The sunlight was blindingly bright; he raised his hand in front of his face to shield his eyes before slowly opening them…
Suddenly, his eyes fell upon a scene he had never seen before.
A dilapidated street stretched out before him, its ground cracked and covered with a layer of mud and dust, surrounded by rundown buildings with crumbling walls and windows either broken or boarded up with old wooden planks.
At that moment, a single thought slipped into his mind…
"Could it be that I… have been transported?"
His eyes widened slightly, and he felt his heart race. He had grown up reading web novels, and many times he had imagined scenes exactly like what he was seeing now. Yet, despite all those imaginations, accepting this reality was extremely difficult when he found himself truly inside one of them…
It was fun… when it was just a fantasy.
"Calm… calm… calm…"
Morgan spoke to himself quietly, trying to steady his breathing after moments of shock. Then, overwhelming memories began to seep quietly into his mind…
Charlon Climen, an orphaned child, had belonged to the Harbin Empire. His parents had died when he was young, as a result of a Carmen going out of control…
As for the world he now found himself in… it resembled Earth, yet it was completely different. A massive phenomenon had occurred on Earth, making it possible for humans to gain supernatural powers, but the path to obtaining them was not easy. Anyone who acquired power had to undergo harsh trials, where death was a real possibility…
Charlon, who had grown up poor, possessed almost nothing. He sometimes had to steal just to find a bite to eat, and every time someone caught him, he was beaten…
Morgan's mind raced, and his eyes darted in every direction. Suddenly, the pain pierced his stomach again—a sharp pain that made him clutch himself quickly. He looked down and saw something he never expected… a strange piece of glass inside his stomach.
He felt a shock run through him, and his whole body trembled. "Damn… what is this thing in my stomach?" he muttered quietly, his hands shaking as he reached toward the glass.
He moved slowly, but eventually managed to grasp the strange piece. He shut his eyes tightly before pulling it out quickly, unable to face what he might see. He turned his head rapidly, his heart pounding violently, fearing he would see blood gushing from his stomach…
He waited for a long few seconds, gathered his courage slowly, opened his eyes, and looked at his stomach again cautiously. The surprise was even greater… his stomach appeared completely intact, as if nothing had happened, as if the glass had never been inside him at all.
Morgan stumbled backward, his steps unsteady.
"How is it possible that there isn't a single scratch on my stomach after I pulled the glass out with my own hands?"
He took a deep breath, trying desperately to calm himself. He slowly reached out and pressed on his left chest, feeling his heart beating rapidly, a strong and lively pulse…
"What is happening?" he muttered with a frown, his confusion growing rather than subsiding.
After a brief hesitation, he decided to inspect his stomach again.
This time, he examined it thoroughly. He ran his hand over his abdomen slowly, lowered his head, and studied it carefully, not missing a single detail.
After several rounds of inspection and verification, the truth began to emerge before him with a disturbing clarity.
No matter how many times he checked, his stomach was completely intact… not even a trace suggesting that a piece of glass had been embedded in it moments ago.
"Compensatory effects brought by the transfer…?" Morgan muttered quietly, tilting his mouth to the right as if trying to convince himself of a logical explanation for what was happening. Then he let out a long, deep sigh.
Whatever the explanation… one fact remained constant.
He was alive.
After settling on that temporarily, he reached toward the piece of glass to throw it away. But he stopped suddenly.
His face was reflected on the surface of the glass, and he froze in place. He stared at his reflection for several seconds without blinking.
His face was completely covered in dirt, his nose more prominent, and his chin slightly sharp. As for his eyes, they were gray…
Morgan stared at the piece of glass for a moment before finally tossing it aside.
"It seems I got lucky with something… to be embodied in someone at least better-looking than me." Then he furrowed his brows and added in a puzzled tone: "But why was I transferred in the first place? Nothing happened to me… I wasn't hit by a Chang truck. Could it be… that strange sect I was part of?"
A thought flashed through Morgan's mind. As an obsessive fan of web novels and fantasy, he spent most of his time immersed in them, reading and watching without pause, doing almost nothing else during the day. He mockingly called himself "the Grandeye," meaning the foremost expert in fantasy—a title his friends teased him for, calling him a fanatic.
Among the strangest things he used to do… was joining sects.
He would always join any sect claiming that the end of the world was near or that it could grant its members supernatural powers. And every time, nothing ever happened.
Until he joined a sect different from the rest.
They called themselves Scotus.
Their rituals were strange. They asked members to pluck one of their teeth, a fingernail, and an eyelash, then mix them with an unknown substance and force them to drink it. They claimed that whoever did this, the god would grant their wish.
It was a very small sect—the number of members did not exceed six. Morgan was one of them.
He completed the rituals to the end and made his wish without hesitation: to be able to use supernatural powers.
Yet…
Nothing happened at that time.
Who could have imagined that what didn't happen then… would come true just one day later? But in reality?
"The transfer…"
"There's a clear possibility this is due to those strange rituals… but wait." His eyes widened slightly. "Does this mean my wish really came true? I wished for supernatural powers… and I was transferred to a world where supernatural powers exist."
Morgan stopped thinking for a moment, trying to calm his mind overwhelmed with thoughts.
"Does this mean that if I repeat the same rituals, I could return to my family, my relatives, and my friends?" he muttered softly.
Regardless of the risks, Morgan realized he had to try. With his plan confirmed to himself, he suddenly felt as if he had gained a new mental anchor. He had swept all his fears and unease into a distant corner of his mind, leaving only a small space for logical thinking.
Morgan looked around the place and noticed the filth covering everything. The ground was full of dirty water, and garbage was scattered in every direction. As for the streets, they were crowded with people mercilessly fighting each other, and a young boy fearlessly stealing an old lady's bag.
Morgan took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart, then gathered all his courage before taking a single step forward…