A Not So Typical Transmigration

--AN) Please give this new novel a try. This is a new novel I am writing. It is a slow release due to the length of chapters. It is a male lead harem/ slow romance/ system/ transmigration/ magic in a cultivation world. Novel Name: Arcane Ascendant: Chronicles of a New Realm --

One may think that life is unfair. One may think things need to change. But one really doesn’t know what it means to live until you are chased by a strange bear monster with armor growing off its back. “Grawh!”

“Just leave me alone!” I couldn’t help but want to cry. This thing has been chasing me for almost an hour. Some might actually wonder how I came to this place and why I was being chased. Well, most of it stems from the strange incident I had after school….

◊◊◊

“Grey, are you ready?” I looked up to see my best friend David standing there with the same old cheeky smile as always.

“That depends. What do you have up your sleeve this time? Last time, you dragged me to the girl's locker room, and then when you got caught, you pushed me forward while you ran for your life. Just so you know, I am not following you to any unseen corners. It’s bad enough that the girls think I am a pervert because of you. I don’t want to end up with an even worse title than that.” I could only sigh for my own stupidity and curiosity. David might not have meant any harm when it came to peeking, but when it came to throwing me under the bus, he reversed and went forward quite a few times before the kids got off.

It was not fun trying to explain my actions to the girls. I, of course, was deemed a pervert, which quickly spread around the school. Luckily this was not followed by bullying unless you count the girls staying as far away from me as possible bullying. I should have left the scene when I figured out what he was doing, but being the good friend I was, I was trying my hardest to get him to rethink his actions, which resulted in the current state of affairs.

“Come on, man, you know I didn’t mean to leave you behind. I just…. I freaked out, okay?” I wonder if David realizes his defense is full of holes, like how he pushed me down in order to get away and leave me as a scapegoat. Did he think I wouldn’t have noticed him turning back around and not stopping at all when he saw me fall?

“Then, if you are sorry, please let the entire student body know that it was you who dragged me there instead of letting me take the heat. David, friend or not, I am not following you anywhere anymore. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to go home.” I stood up and gathered my things before putting them in my bag and leaving the room with David standing there looking at my retreating back.

The days were warming up as the onset of spring began to show. The trees were budding, and the snow was melting, but it was still too cold out not to wear at least a sweatshirt. I was currently wearing a black Carhart hoodie with a pair of Carhart boot-fit jeans. On my feet were a pair of brown Timberlands. My ash blonde hair was just recently cut so it was as short as can be. I never liked having my hair too long. I was not one of those people who liked styling my hair. I found it to be annoying.

As I walked the city streets of my hometown of Klanesdale, I couldn’t help but wonder how my school was going to turn out, not that I was basically an outcast. I wouldn’t be surprised if David stopped talking to me tomorrow after he gets shunned himself for speaking to me.

As I walked, I suddenly heard a commotion behind me. I turned to see a large truck heading right for me. “What the hell!? Is he drunk!?” I shouted as I Jumped out of the way just in time for the truck to pass right by me. I caught a glimpse of the words on the side of the truck. “Isekai Services?”

In my daze, I did not realize the truck was backing up at full speed before it was too late. I felt something heavy hit me before my legs buckled, and I found myself being run over. The strange thing was that I was not completely out until it ran over me a second time. It was as if it was completely out for my life.

But that did not mean I was actually dead, though…. Well…. I should be dead…. It was just that in front of me was a long line of people all around my age. And in front of them was a desk with a person sitting behind it speaking to the person who had just sat down.

I couldn’t hear what they were saying but the girl sitting at the desk seemingly explaining something was quite pretty. I was still a guy, after all. A pretty girl was a pretty girl. David had ruined my chances of ever getting a girlfriend. I mean, I was not half bad-looking. At least, I think, anyway. I did speak to many girls before that incident.

But now, here I was in a state of limbo, I guess you could call it. There was not just one line but many, each with a desk at the forefront. And behind each desk was a young man or woman explaining things. This could all be a dream. I mean, while I was someone who played video games and watched anime, I never thought I would dream about being run over by a truck. I mean, it would need to be a dream when there was a large sign hovering overhead that said Isekai Services.

“This has to be a dream…” I couldn’t help muttering. I could only think that I was in a comma or something.

“It’s not….” A voice came from in front of me. The girl who was standing in line wearing a white one-piece dress turned and smiled bitterly at me. “This is not a dream. Or else things would not be so real. I already pinched myself many times before you appeared. And it still hurts like hell, look.”

The girl raised her arm, and I could see the marks as clear as day on her snow-white skin. It looked like it hurt. But I think I can understand why she would do such a thing. I was about to do the same. Since it was not a dream, then where the hell were we? And why were we brought here? “But I don’t feel dead….”

“No…. I am flesh and blood so are you.” The girl replied. “I saw the kid over there in the line next to us cut himself. He actually bled, but it quickly healed. We seemed to be in a strange place. The truck that ran me over was also very strange.”

“You were hit by a truck, too?” I asked in surprise. But at the same time, I felt this was probably the case for everyone here. After all, the truck that ran me over clearly stated the words Isekai Services on the side of it.

“Not just me everyone in this line was hit by a truck. It seems that each line has a different method of death. Well, I am not sure if I can call it death yet. I only know that when each person is done talking with the person at the desk, they are sent through a door. Where it leads, I have no idea.” The girl seemed to be scared but, at the same time, strangely calm.

I guess the same could be said about myself as well. I also found it strange that I was so calm. I had many questions and even wanted to shout out and ask what this place was but those were thoughts that seemed never to pass through my lips. “This place is strange….”

“Mmm… for now, we can only continue to wait in line. What happens after…. Maybe heaven or hell?” The girl grinned before turning back around. She gave me a lot to think about. I do wonder what will happen when I reach the front. I just hope whatever it is; I don’t go to hell…

In what seemed like a few hours, I finally made it to the front of the line. The girl before me was now sitting in the chair in front of me, but I could not hear a single thing she was saying. There seemed to be some kind of wall that I could not see that blocked all sound.

It was strange to see them sitting right there, their mouths moving but unable to hear anything. I could see the girl yelling at the young woman behind the desk, visibly mad, but being unable to hear what they were saying made it hard for me to know what they were talking about.

After a few minutes of what seemed to be a fierce back and forth, the girl was led through the door behind the desk. When the door opened, it was strange. I could not actually see what was beyond the door. As soon as the door opened and I looked at it, my vision went all blurry. But when I looked away, my vision returned.

“Next!” I heard a voice in front of me, causing me to turn and look at the young woman behind the desk. I walked over and sat down. Unsure of what was to come.

“You are….. David Harrison, correct?” The young woman asked. But that was far from my name. That was my best friend's name. Well, former best friend.

“Umm… No, my name is Grey Townsand .” I replied. I couldn’t help but feel that maybe I was not supposed to get run over in the first place. “Ummm…. Can you tell me if I am dead?”

“Dead? No….. Well, not technically. In your world, you are dead, but you are currently a wandering soul in physical form. But more importantly, did you just say your name was Grey Townsand?” The young woman asked as she flipped through her paperwork.

“Yes… I was run over by a truck with the same logo as the one hanging above. He missed the first time but ended up running me over two times after.” I explained. It was actually kind of weird that I was talking about my own death, I guess you can call it. But strangely, I was still quite calm.

“Damn it!” The girl yelled out before picking up the rotary phone at the side and spinning the numbers a few times. “This is Agent 12762038. We have another rouge truck! Yes…. I am sure. It’s Earth again! Alright… Alright! I know I will file the paperwork as soon as I am done today.”

The girl now looked very unhappy. She let out a long sigh before forcing a smile and looking at me. “I must apologize. It seems one of our workers has lost his mind. He was supposed to run over a David Harrison. Because of this, you were wrongly killed. I do apologize, but while this is our fault, I am unable to do anything about it. The fact is that you are still dead on your planet. David Harrison was to be sent to a world where he would suffer many hardships, but since this is our mistake, we will be sending you to a different world. It is a world of cultivation. While we are unable to give you any real perks, we will be giving you a leveling system that will allow you to have a better chance at life there. Now, if you would please sign these forms, we will be able to send you to your new world so you can start your new life.”

Why do I feel I am being rushed? “Umm… can I ask a few questions?”

“Just sign the forms, please; I already have enough of a headache as it is, so I need you to please just do things in an orderly manner. Sign these now and go through the door!” Yep…. I was being pushed out the door without even being given a chance to ask any questions.

And when they tell you to sign something, they mean just sign it because I have no idea what language this contract, or whatever it was, was in, but I could not understand it for the life of me. “Umm… can you explain to me what I am signing at least?”

“Just sign it already!” The girl seemed to be getting angrier by the second. I sighed and signed my name on the five forms that were there. Once I was done and passed them back to the girl, she nodded for a moment before saying: “Okay, all good. From this moment on, you will be sent to your new world. I wish you good luck. Now, please go through the door. I have many people waiting.”

I did not dare ask the girl anything more as I stood up and walked to the door. It opened as soon as I stood in front of it, and only now did I get a good look at what was beyond it. A clear blue sky and a grassy meadow. I guess I was not being reborn but transmigrated. Although I was confused as to what was going to happen to me in the future, I still took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and stepped through the door….

◊◊◊

After Grey walked through the door, the girl who was finishing up the paperwork suddenly froze when she saw the papers in her hand. She spun her body around and looked at the door with wide eyes as she yelled out: “Shit! I had him sign the magic skill papers and not the cultivation ones!”

It seemed she had made a blunder….

◊◊◊

And so, this now brings me to my current situation…. I was being chased by a bear with armor plating growing off its body. I had only been in this new world for a few minutes, and I was already about to die.

I had only just stepped through the door when this thing appeared in front of me. I had yet to get my bearings before I was forced to run for my life, and since then, that has been what I have been doing.

I have no idea what is what or who is who. I only know that I was sent to this world of so-called cultivation to die as soon as I passed through the door. I mean, don’t these people check before sending you to these places?

“Grawh!” the bear monster once more roared in anger. It seemed very upset that it could not catch up to me, which I found strange. I mean, typically, these kinds of monsters should be faster than humans. Bears on Earth were much faster than ordinary humans, but why was it that even though I had been running at full speed this entire time, I was not tired at all, and the beast monster had yet to catch me?

It was only now that I was actually realizing something was off. I was not sure if I just had a lot of stamina and a speed boost or what, but maybe I was actually strong in this world. While I do hope this is the case, I am not able to test such things at this time since it would result in me probably dying. So, until I run out of steam, I will just keep running as fast as I can.

Or so I thought. There is a saying that one should not say something during bad times, or you might jinx yourself. Well… I wanted to keep running, and now, I am eating dirt. As soon as the thought of running until I escaped entered my mind, I tripped over a tree root of the forest I had entered a while ago and fell face-first into the decomposing leaves of the earth below.

“That hurt… or not….” I realized although I fell on my face it did not hurt all that much.

“Grawh!” I turned my head to see a very angry bear staring at me with bloodshot eyes. I guess chasing me all this way was not something it had originally expected to have to do. Now, of course, if I just let it do as it pleases and allow it to attack me without at least fighting back, then I would just be asking for death. And since I just got a second chance at life, I did not plan to die any time soon. Well, I at least had no plans for such a thing.

I picked up the closest thing next to me, a rock, and threw it with all my might. I used all my strength in this throw. It was just that… “Boom!” The bear’s head exploded on contact. It was almost instant. The rock also blasted through the trees, leaving a red streak behind it. “Umm….”

It was only now that I noticed a flashing bit of text in my top right peripheral. “Isekai Services Protection Mode: 27 hours remaining.”

“So, this is what they do to make sure you don’t die upon going to a new world. They literally give you a god mode.” I let out a sigh of relief. I had twenty-seven hours left to figure out my system and skills. Angry Lady said I would be sent to a cultivation world, so I guess I should figure that out. But first…. Do I have an inventory? Unsure if I did or not, I took a deep breath and whispered: “Inventory….”

Why would I whisper it, one may ask? Speaking frankly, it’s embarrassing. But it did work. In front of me was an inventory system with many slots. In those slots was nothing. The only thing I had was one hundred gold coins, according to the currency menu at the bottom. But there were many types of currency in this world it seems. There were spirit stones and even astral stones.  I have no idea what they were, but I guess I will figure it out one day. From what I understand, spiritual qi cultivation can allow me to reach immortality. I do wonder what it would be like to live forever. Although I am not sure if I would like it or not, but the thought of it is not too bad.

At any rate, I stored the bear monster in my inventory. When I did, it split up into different items. Armor plating, hide, claws, teeth, meat, and a rank 3 core. What it was all used for, I do not know. I would have to wait to find out at a later time.

I decided to find what I felt was a safe place so I could take some extra time to look over my system. Although, I did take a look at my stats before leaving.

Name: Grey Townsand

Age: 16

Race: Human

Level: 4

Realm: Mortal Realm

Magical Rank: Initiate Level 1

Mana Pool: 500/500 (Regenerates 20 per hour, can be boosted through artifacts or elemental resonance)

{Details}

Magic Affinity: High

Innate Ability:  Elemental Resonance - Can perceive and manipulate elemental energies without traditional cultivation.

Primary Magic School: Elemental Magic

Secondary Magic School: Enchantment

From what I saw, I was level 4, and my mana pool was 500, which confused me. Why would I have mana in a cultivation world? That was what the angry girl had told me, right? I was not one hundred percent sure, but to me, this was the case. The level I could understand but why mana?

Although my status screen did have a realm, magic rank, and some other details as well, magic was never mentioned before I was sent here. At least, I think, anyway. I kind of lost track of what she was saying after I was forced to sign papers. I guess the only way to figure things out is to actually speak with the people of this world.

At the very least, I need to figure out how to use my magic so I can live a bit longer in this world once my protection period is over. “I guess for now, it’s shelter and food?”

I looked around to see that I was now surrounded by trees. If I was to go anywhere, I would need to figure out where I was first. With this in mind, I decided to climb the nearest tree.

It reminded me of when I was younger, when I used to climb trees with my friends. We used to go as high as we could until one of us got stuck and could not get down without assistance. Those days were not so bad. My parents were still alive back then. But because of a drunk driver, they lost their lives. I lived with my uncle and aunt, who were kind enough to take me in. Although, I do hope they are dealing with my death okay.

I wouldn’t say I was close to them. I just did what I needed to do, trying not to cause them too many problems. I did my schoolwork and got okay grades. I did not get into fights. I even held a part-time job to help pay for some of my things. I was just trying not to be a nuisance.

“Hmmm? Looks like the closest thing around me is a lake…. At least I am at the edge of the forest. Maybe I can find a road or something here soon.” It really sucked having no direction. But I guess I couldn’t complain too much. I mean, I was alive, after all. Once I get an understanding of my system, I can use the time I have left on my protection to level up so I am not extremely weak. The last thing I want is to die as soon as the protection period is over.

It took a while to get to the pond. It was much farther than I had originally thought. I guess the size of the pond, well, probably best to call it a lake, made it seem closer than it actually was. The lake was huge, and I mean massive. But because the area was so clear on all sides, I could see anything that might come and try to sneak up on me. The meadow I crossed just to get here only had short grass that went up to my ankles at best. This made things much easier for me. Not only could I see where the monsters were, but it made my walk much easier than wading through tall grass.

I found a large rock at the lake’s shore about ten feet from the shore itself. I did not wish to sit too close in case there was some kind of fish monster that would jump out of the water at me. It was here that I decided to rest and check out my system. It was just…

“Okay, so there is nothing here to tell me anything?” I couldn’t make heads or tails of anything. There was nothing to tell me how to even cast magic. It says I have both elemental magic and enchantment, but….

“I guess I can only do it by trial by error…” according to my status screen, I had an innate ability called Elemental Resonance, and it could perceive and manipulate elemental energies.

I closed my eyes and tried to calm my mind. It was probably very unsafe doing what I was doing out in the open like this, but this was the safest place I could find for the time being.

Surprisingly or maybe not, I guess it would depend on how you viewed it, I slowly began feeling a strange kind of energy in the air. At first, it was just a warm feeling, but slowly, I began to see faint streams of blue and purple bands in the air. Although I could now see them the question was how do I use them?

Magic, in a sense from where I come from, was nothing but party tricks. In fantasy, it was all about mental image. So, I guess since this was a fantasy-style world, I could try to follow the things I read in novels and manga.

I was not sure if this would work, but while trying to feel the elemental energies, I guess I will just call it mana, I began to imagine a fireball swirling around in my hand. As I did this, I could feel the mana slowly swirling around in the palm of my outstretched hand. When I opened my eyes, I actually had a fireball hovering over my hand. I was shocked at first and almost threw it away, but when I realized it did not feel hot to me, I calmed down and decided to see how this thing worked if I threw it.

Not far from me, about fifty feet away, lay another rock. It was much bigger than the one I was sitting on and further away from the shore. It looked like a perfect target to hit. I calmed my mind and pictured the fireball flying at the target at a high speed.

The fireball in hand shot forward, but not as quickly as I thought it would. It was definitely doing what I wanted it to do. It was flying forward, but at the pace it was going, I could walk past it easily. I sighed and clenched my fists as if crushing something with my palm, and the fireball disappeared.

“Well, that is the basic idea I was going for, but…” I mumbled as I sat on the rock, contemplating what to do next. “Maybe if I mixed it all together?”

I decided it was best not to move from my spot until I had a good idea of what I was doing. I spent quite a few hours practicing before I finally figured out what I was doing wrong. Basically, I was spinning the fireball horizontally in place. This was keeping it from really getting any speed. So once I switched the spin to spin in a more forward motion and pictured it being thrown like a fastball, the fireball shot out. It was not as fast as I would have liked, but it was at least a start and usable. It smashed into the rock, scorching it pretty well and leaving a large black spot on it.

Now, I have no idea if this is only because of my current protection period or not, so my fireball might be much weaker. So, before that goes away, I will need to make sure I level up a bit more. But before that, I did test a few things, like making an earth wall for protection and even creating a ball of water to drink. I still could not grasp any kind of wind spells, but for the time being, I had enough to work with. However, it did take what seemed to be a half day to get the hang of it.