1 A Typical Transmigration

'People like me are the least qualified to be explorers. I know... I know this very well.'

'Waiting ahead of me... Hunger. Thirst. Scornful gazes. Mockery. Loneliness. Pain. Maybe even death...'

'But still... I'm not willing to give up yet...'

'I'm not willing to let go...'

...

In a parallel universe.

Summer of 2018. The vast plains of central America.

On a long distance bus heading from the town of Bison to Shine City.

Jake Collins hazily opened his eyes.

'Explorer? What explorer?' Jake blinked a few times as he collected his thoughts.

'My dream? Keep going? Press on? Never give up? ... Okaayy then.'

Lightly shaking his head, Jake threw those weird thoughts out of his head.

Casually taking a quick look around... Yep. As expected, it's an unfamiliar environment.

Looking outside, it's still dark outside. Only the vast grass plains was in view.

Taking a look inside this bus... The passengers on this half-empty vehicle were mostly sleeping. A few people were on their phones or laptops.

Those screen lights looked especially bright in this dark environment.

Looking down, Jake found himself holding a glass bottle of coffee. On the passenger seat by his side, there was a familiar-looking backpack.

'Oh. So this is transmigration. Ok. Sure. I've read about this in web fiction before.'

'Alright. I'm cool with a new adventure.' Jake lightly nodded, accepting the situation.

In his previous universe, Jake had to work frequent overtimes with an underpaid wage.

Got plenty of stress in life, but little hope for a brighter future...

Jake did not mind a new lifestyle at all.

'In this case...' Jake took a sip at his coffee.

'Let's figure out my situation and my identity first.'

Leaning to the side a little, Jake pulled out his Smartphone from his pocket.

5:20 AM. June 12th, 2018.

On the screensaver photo, the teenage Jake put on a mysterious-looking smile. With a hand wrapped in bandage, Jake covered one eye. The aura of youth-delusional syndrome was oozing out of the screen.

Behind him, a green pillar of light shot into the sky. In some sense, it looked like a giant laser-(copyright)-saber. The green light was clear and bright even in daylight.

Staring at this familiar-looking photo, Jake's thoughts began to be carried off into the past. Scene by scene, memories started to return to Jake's mind.

Turned out, Jake transmigrated into himself in a parallel universe.

Apparently, in this universe, everything was mostly the same as Jake's previous universe. Except here, this world actually got 2012'd.

On Dec 21st, 2012, green light erupted right outside of Jake's home town, shooting into the night sky. The process finished in seconds. No heads-ups. No prior signs. No science-approved warnings.

This just happened all of a sudden.

On a global scale, these pillars of green light sprouted all over the surface of Earth, in cities, in the wilderness, on islands...

Moments after this shocking event, like a switch being turned on, people suddenly remembered that they could wield magical abilities.

With the subtle aid of instinctive feelings, people managed to cast their first spells, whether it be fireballs, or lightening zaps, or healing palm.

People being people. There's always individuals who are extra curious (careless) and brave (reckless).

Without knowing much about these pillars of light, these pioneers stepped into the unknown.

Nevertheless, accompanying high risks were high rewards. Those pioneers who made it out alive were the ones who changed this world.

On a global scale, using the monster drops from these realms, problems entangling the humankind for decades were easily solved.

Hunger. Clean water. Incurable diseases. Renewable energy.

If there was a challenge, there's a solution waiting inside these realms.

On a personal scale, those pioneers received plenty of wealth and fame.

Five years have passed since those pillars of light appeared. Now, the monster hunting industry had cooled off a little. But still, with a single fruitful trip, an explorer could earn enough to buy a nice car, or even a nice house.

'More importantly...' Jake squinted in thought. 'Some of the realms hint at the ancient human civilizations.'

Remembering something, Jake bitterly chuckled. '... How predictable.'

Just like the previous universe, Jake's parents in this world had gone missing as well. Yep, also during an exploration trip.

The only things they left Jake was some meager savings and a few connections.

However, unlike the previous universe, his parents actually left him a dream this time.

'Pass through the boss room of the highest levels...'

'On the other side, all the answers are here...'

'We'll be waiting for you...'

Remembering this, Jake squinted in thought and took another sip of coffee. 'What a coincidence, I'm rather curious too...'

What's the true purpose of the pyramids? Why are these structures found all over the world?

Did Atlantis ever exist? Did they actually have advanced technology?

Did all ancient civilizations have advanced technology. Was human history reset by an ancient nuclear war?

The Mohenjo-daro. The LongYou Caves. The Eltanin Antenna under the Antarctica.

What's conspiracy theory and what's the truth?

'There's so much mystery enshrouding this world...' Jake faintly smiled thinking of this.

'Moreover, in this world, the truth is actually reachable...' Jake's heart pounded faster.

'At least, the truth behind those pillars of light should be at the other side.'

'It's 2018. I'm 18 again. What's holding me back?'

'Even now that I'm here, the ultimate goal has not changed. I'll still try to become an explorer. I'll still try to get to the other side!'

However, this goal was by no means an easy one.

In order to get through the boss room of the highest levels, Jake had to become one of the strongest explorers first.

However...

Jake took a deep breath and focused his mind.

Instantly, Jake's vision passed through the seats obstructing his normal view. Now, Jake could see blurry figures of light sitting in front of him.

Some people emitted a brighter glow than others. The brighter the glow, the more mana energy these people had.

This was Jake's ability - Detection.

Rather than taking up combatant roles, detectors had more of a... 'civil' role in society. Roles such as cashiers, gardeners, plumbers, production workers and so on.

Detectors simply had no offensive or defensive abilities, and there's nothing anyone could do to change this situation.

People with this talent couldn't even meditate to become stronger. In other words, these guys were destined to be useless in combat.

And inside the realms, combat never ceases...

So to put Jake's goal in perspective... If this was an MMORPG, Jake would be that Lv 1 Blacksmith trying to get through a Lv 99 dungeon.

To Jake, even the splash damage from the monsters could be lethal.

'Going in like this... Even if I'm escorted by high-level explorers, I still won't last a minute huh...'

'This talent...' Jake slightly knitted his brows.

Calming down a little, taking a more collected and logical view at his goal, the difficulty in achieving his dream had to be at least nightmare level.

Without knowing it, Jake tightened his grasp onto the glass coffee bottle. 'Is there a solution...'

'You know what they say. The poor relies on genetic mutations. The rich rely on technology.'

'If I have enough money... then I can build myself some nice tech.'

'However...' Jake lightly felt the wallet in his pocket.

Inside, there's his lifesavings of 560 dollars, 7 quarters, and 12 pennies... Yep.

Jake nodded at himself, accepting the situation.

Carrying his lifesavings on him, taking only a backpack full of clothing, Jake was hoping to accomplish two things at Shine city.

1. Pay a visit to uncle Chad's family. This was one of the connections that Jake's parents had left him.

2. Join uncle Chad's guild to receive the realm exploration license.

Looking back now, this decision seemed rather rushed and careless.

'The 18 years old me didn't even go over the accommodation details and application process. Not a surprise...' Jake bitterly chuckled. 'I knew nothing, got no back up plans... or any plans at all actually, and just jumped straight in...'

'My high school classmates are probably all waiting to see me return as a loser... Nobody believes that I can succeed... Nobody.'

'But in some sense... They are all right...'

'I'll need more time to plan this out.'

Jake took a deep breath. 'At the moment, I may have nothing...'

'But I still remember a few hot webnovel stories, a few viral indie games ideas, and a few jackpot business models that boomed after 2018. At this point, I really do not mind becoming a cross-universe transporter.'

'Given enough time, I will figure out a way to accumulate enough wealth. Then, I will be able to turn my wealth into battle prowess.'

'Nobody believes in me. But I still believe in myself.' Jake took a sip of coffee. His gaze gradually became determined.

'It's possible. Whether it takes 10 years, 20 years, or 40 years, I will make it happen.'

Ding!