Chapter 1

Inside a dark single-bedroom apartment, a young man could be seen as the only source of light was the computer that he was currently using.

This young man had messy black hair, bags under his eyes, and was quite thin. All in all, there wasn't anything special about him appearance-wise.

On the screen of the monitor, there was an anime being displayed when suddenly a pop-up ad came up.

[Congratulations, out of- ]

The young man didn't even read the ad and directly moved his cursor to clear it away so he can finish watching his anime.

Five seconds later, the same ad appeared on the screen but again the young man didn't pay attention to it and cleared it away.

Then for the third time, the same ad appeared but he clicked it away as fast as it came.

It's when the same ad showed up for the fourth time did he slowly start to get irritated.

With a visible small frown on his face, he read the ad on the screen.

[Congratulations, out of every human being on the entire planet, you have been granted a chance to be sent to another world. Will you accept? Please choose an option.]

[Yes or Yes?]

More irritation could be seen on this young man's face as he read the ad. He then clicked the clear button but this time nothing happened. The ad wouldn't go away.

This made him spam the click button on his mouse but that didn't do anything.

"The fuck is this..." You can now hear the clear frustration in his voice, but can you blame him? He was just enjoying his time watching an anime a few minutes ago when suddenly an unremovable ad popped up.

"Does my computer have a virus or something?" The young man asked himself.

He then looked back at the context of the ad and couldn't help but laugh a bit.

"Pfttt... Why would I ever click on this? It's probably a gateway for my computer to fuck up even more than it probably has been by now."

The young man kept looking at the ad and thought, 'Although I do spend most of my time imagining what it would be like if I reincarnated to another world, that doesn't mean it's going to happen. This is probably going to cause a virus to mess up my computer if it doesn't already have one by now."

The young man sighed, "Well, I'll just click on this since it ain't going anywhere. Worse comes to worst, I'll just restart my computer and hopefully, it will go away. Then I could get back to watching anime."

After clicking "Yes", another set of options appeared on the screen.

[How would you like to be sent to another world?]

[Reincarnation, Transmigration, or Teleportation? Please choose.]

"There's no way I would want to be reborn as a child and teleportation is a big no from me for...obvious reasons."

"Wait, why am I even taking this seriously..." The young man slowly shook his head and clicked "Transmigration" on the screen.

[Congratulations for choosing Transmigration. Please wait as your choice is being processed...]

And just like that, the screen on the monitor turned black as the computer turned off on its own.

"The fuck!"

The young man was baffled. He tried turning it back on but alas, it wouldn't no matter how many times he tried.

*Bam*

The young man slammed his fist onto his computer desk out of anger. He then took a deep breath to calm himself. It wasn't worth it to get this frustrated.

It was his fault in the first place for clicking on a shady ad.

'I should have just restarted my computer way earlier...' The young man held the bridges of his nose as he sighed.

"This is going to cost me serious cash for the repairs."

The young man then got up from his chair and went to turn on the lights.

Once the lights were on, you could see that there was barely any furniture in this cheap one-room apartment. There was an old mattress that took up 1/3 of the place, a bathroom with curtains to cover it up as it didn't even have a door, and the computer; which looked to be the most expensive thing in this place. There also lacked any decorations or photo frames.

Right next to his chair, there was a small trash bin full of cups of empty ramen and empty water bottles. Some bottles were scattered next to the bin as it was pretty full. All in all, the place was kind of messy.

"I should clean the place a little." The young man took out his cheap phone from his pocket and checked the time. It was currently 3 am.

"Maybe, I'll do it later today. Not like anybody's coming over to visit."

The young man yawned, "I should head to bed. I have to wake up in 5 hours for work."

With that said, the young man put his phone away, turned the lights off, and dived headfirst onto his bed. He then repositioned himself as he was now facing the ceiling.

He placed his right forearm on his forehead as he began to think about the problems that he had to take care of soon.

'I need to get my computer repaired soon. Rent is also due this week so that's a blow. If it wasn't for the stupid ad, I wouldn't have to spend so much. Uhh! What was up with that anyway? That was so weird at how it didn't let me click away and turning off by itself soon after.'

The young man then looked around his small one-room apartment as the moonlight overshadowed half the place from the one window, and could see how plain it was. But he didn't care, he was satisfied with his living conditions. He had also remembered some unpleasant memories as there was a lack of any photo frames.

You see, this young man had grown up in a loving family. He was an only child so his parents adored him very much. To repay them for their affection, he tried very hard in school just to make them happy. And it paid off as he became one of the best in his class. His parents were overjoyed and praised him. He loved watching their happy faces so he continued studying even harder and devoted his time to it. But studying wasn't all he did. One day as he was watching TV, he came across anime and he became hooked instantly. So every morning on the weekend, he would wake up early just to see the anime shows airing but he still spent most of his time on school studies as he didn't want to become lazy.

Life was going great for him and his family but suddenly, tragedy struck...

One day, his mother's arm was starting to ache but she brushed it off as she thought the pain would go away with some rest and some painkillers. She was wrong as the pain didn't go away and started to get even worse. His father got worried so they headed to the hospital only to find out she was getting ill.

The family became devastated. The doctor explained that she would have to stay in the hospital so she could receive treatment.

His mother cheered them up as she didn't want her family to become sad for her. But his father could tell, she was just as afraid as he was. With a bitter smile, the father endured since nothing was set in stone.

And just like that, the days the mother had to stay in hospital extended. The father had to take up a second job just to pay the extra bills. The small family was neither rich nor poor but that still wasn't enough as the father had to take out a loan.

The young boy went from having warm dinners with his loving family to ordering take-out and eating by himself since his mother was in the hospital and his father was busy at work. But he didn't complain since his parents had enough on their plates right now and throwing a tantrum would make everything worse. So all he could do was continue working hard in school and support his parents.

More days passed and his mother's conditions continued to worsen. The situation was looking very dire for her and the doctor had even informed the family to be prepared, just in case.

Then it happened. On the day of his 12th birthday, his mother passed away.

Things went even more downhill as they lost the house due to the father not being able to pay back the debt that he owed.

Not having time to be able to cope with the grief, they moved to a new place that was inferior to their previous warm home.

The young boy had to transfer schools due to his circumstances. Safe to say, he didn't make any friends in his new school but this didn't affect him. In his previous school, he barely had any friends due to the fact, that he was always focused on his studies. But now, his motivation for working hard was gone so he spent less time on school studies.

His relationship with his father had also been strained and they barely even talked at home. Take-out was the norm for them since they both didn't know how to cook.

The father, not being able to forget the pain of losing his wife and the stress accumulated from his jobs, turned to alcohol.

For the young boy, his life was going to become even harder than it already was.

It started when his drunken father had started blaming him for the death of his wife. Day after day, his father would verbally abuse him and tell him that it was his fault. But things escalated and verbal turned physical.

At first, the father apologized and said it was an accident and would never do it again. But then a second time happened and a third. He would get a beating, go to school and get a beating again, rinse and repeat. The school or any other students didn't notice the signs of abuse as he was a bit of a loner and his father would make him wear heavy clothes that would hide the bruises on his body. This was his daily routine for a whole year.

Filled with dark thoughts, he decided that he had enough of this nightmare. So one day, he finally garnered enough courage for himself and decided to run away. So he packed some of his clothes inside a backpack, stole 200 dollars that were in his father's wallet when he was asleep, and left that very same night without looking back.

With no destination in his mind to think of, the young boy decided to leave the city. Somewhere where his father wouldn't be able to find him.

He decided to use public transport since it was the cheapest way and he needed to save most of his money on food and water necessities. This means; he would have to sleep outside in the cold. But this was way better than having to stay one more night in that hellish place.

The next few months were the hardest for him. He had to move from place to place since he didn't want the police or anyone to find him. If people knew he was homeless, they would inform the police and he would be taken back to his father. But there was a chance if he told the officers that he was abused, he might be taken to an orphanage or something like that. But his fear of his father finding him or having to experience the same thing as he did before, etched in his heart. He'd rather stick on his own instead of any of that happening.

By now, the young boy had gotten used to the rough lifestyle somewhat but his only problem now was food. He had spent all the money he had and now, he had to scavenge trash just to find any food to eat. He also had thoughts of stealing but he didn't want to be caught by the police so that wasn't an option. He tried it once and had even managed to slip away but that was all due to luck and it wasn't a long-term plan, so he didn't dare try anymore after that.

He had also seen many kids in the same condition as him. But he didn't get close to any of them as his food supplies were limited and he didn't want to share.

In his time living outside, he had learned something. Everyone must fend for themselves.

His body had also become more boney as food coverages were low.

Then one night, the young boy was resting at a desolate park when he came across a man wearing a black jacket.

"Hey kid, you hungry?" The man asked with a grin.

The young boy didn't reply as he was wary of him. Living this kind of lifestyle made him unable to trust anybody.

The man just kept grinning and took out a small-looking package from inside his jacket and handed it to him.

"If you deliver this to someone, I'll give you money so you can buy whatever you want to eat."

The young boy just kept looking at the package as he was contemplating inside his mind. Although he was unable to trust anyone, he couldn't turn a blind ear toward what he just heard.

'He'll give me money?'

Not once has he been in this situation. He could tell that he wasn't an officer if it wasn't obvious already.

He decided to accept his words since he hadn't eaten in 2 days. And if it turned out he was lying, he would just run away.

The young man extended his hand and grabbed the package.

"F-Fine."

The man's grin grew even bigger, "Great! Deliver it to this bald guy..."

With the location given, the young boy went and gave it to the guy that was supposed to retrieve it.

The bald guy looked at the skinny boy with confusion but when he saw the package, he was a little bit surprised.

He understood at that moment what was happening so he went along with it. To him, this kind of stuff was just 'business'. There was no need to mix personal affairs in these deals.

The bald guy then handed over a scrunched-up paper bag toward the young boy and took the small package before he left without saying a word.

The boy, now with the paper bag, went back to the man with the black jacket and handed it to him.

Once the man saw what was inside the bag, his mood became lively. He then took out some cash from inside the bag and gave it to the kid.

The young boy was quite happy inside. He could now buy himself food to quell his hunger. As he was thinking about what to buy to eat, he heard the man ask him something.

"Hey kid, you looking for work?"

The young boy was at odds. He was a smart kid so he could understand what he had just done. If he accepted, then the consequences would be dire. But if nothing went wrong, he wouldn't have to scavenge trash for food anymore.

Considering that he was a kid, this was much less risky than stealing.

With his vision placed on the money that was in his hands, he made a decision.

"I-I am."

With that decision made, 3 years had gone by.

In these 3 years, he figured out that the guy that offered him a job was a part of the gang-affiliated world. But he didn't back out just because of this. He finally had money so he wouldn't have to starve again.

He had also learned a lot of things living this kind of life. Since he was now part of a gang, he had to learn how to fight. There would be times where he had to squabble with other people if the dealings went wrong or if a rival gang was seen. Of course, this wasn't professional martial arts and just raw fighting. But he did gain experience and would never make the same mistake twice. He had also gained a tolerance for physical pain from his abusive father and his time in this gang.

He didn't feel remorse when he would beat someone up. In his eyes, it was either "me or him" and he chose himself.

He had learned how to drive, and he also gained more stamina when he would be running mainly from other gangs when the odds weren't in his favor or when the police would show up. He was also very careful so he would never have to run into the cops or he would always be a step ahead and be gone from the situation before anything could escalate.

He also didn't make friends since he wasn't keen on making any. They would either be going to prison soon or probably even be dead. This was a messed up way of thinking but in this kind of life, it was way too common.

There were times when some members would ask him out to drink and hang out in the red light district. In the beginning, he would attend but as some time went on, he stopped going.

He had grown to hate alcohol from his past experiences and he would rather save his money than wasting it on something or someone that could probably give him a disease.

One day as he was making a deal, he had felt something was wrong. He was delivering the goods to some shady people but it didn't bother him as much since he had some fellow gang members that were tasked to go with him. They had even brought weapons, just in case.

He had never killed someone since he didn't want that on his conscience so he only had a blunt weapon on him.

He couldn't explain it, but he felt some bad vibes from this ongoing deal. And just like that, the other side of the deal started to take out small armed guns and started firing at them.

It was a setup. The other side was planning to get rid of them and run off with the goods.

He instantly realized that there was a rat in the gang. Things got even worse as he heard sirens from a short distance away.

This was the worst possible situation he could be in. He lost a little composure as he saw one of his fellow gang members lying motionlessly in a small pool of blood. He was probably the same age as him or even younger, he couldn't tell.

At that moment, he asked himself. What was he doing with his life? This corpse could've been him if he was reckless and didn't understand the situation.

He then made a quick decision and regained his composure. He didn't want to end up like that corpse. He noticed the other side was confused and wary because they didn't expect the feds to show up so soon. Turns out, luck was on his side.

The people on his side were too busy getting down and taking cover so they could avoid the possible gunfire coming their way. Although they did bring weapons, it was mainly sharp objects since they didn't think this situation would take place.

Using the confusion, he quickly bolted out of that place. He would be leaving the people on his side to take the blame, but he didn't care. The worst thing that could happen to them was getting cuffed since the police were on their way.

And he didn't care if they ratted him out to the cops. From the beginning, he never gave away his real name. This was probably the smartest decision he thought of when he started living this kind of life. He would just need to slightly change his appearance and move to a different farther city than this one.

Once the other side of the deal saw the young man running away, they quickly did the same but some of them were unlucky due to their slow thinking.

Once the young man was far enough, he went to his secret hideout and got rid of everything like most of his items and some documents. He then grabbed a bag with some clothes and the money he had saved up over these years and left.

Once he was in the new city, he rented a small apartment and started looking for a job with a stable income. It was a bit difficult at the beginning since he never completed school but he was able to find one. It didn't pay much but it was enough for him to live a brand new life.

Back to the present where the young man was laying on his mattress. It's been a whole year with some months since then, and he was finally sufficed with his life. He had recently turned 18 years old and although he was living by himself in this small apartment, he was satisfied. Especially when he recently found anime again. He felt nostalgia as he watched these series so he was quite content.

Soon this young man slowly closed his eyelids and drifted off to sleep.

(AN: I know I should've made this prologue like 2-3 chapters and better, but I want to get into the real story already. So yeah...)