In a parallel world

"Ding!"

"Data loading... 5%... 27%... 40%... 90%... 100%!"

"Congratulations, Awakened. You are now one of the lucky chosen transmigrators!"

"You are now a certified citizen of the Urania Kingdom!"

"You can also view your status window at will from now on, the first time as an example."

[Name: Reckless

Health Points: 15

Status: - {Level 1 - 30}

Level: -

Agility: 10

Weapon: None

Retainer: None

Skill: None

Strength: 15

Stamina: 10

Mana: 35

Points: 0

Appearance: F

Title: None

Charm: 0]

"Who is watching a system movie here? Can't you control the volume?"

****

The world was in chaos, veiled in a sunset that resembled fire, casting an eerie glow across the sky. Tall buildings, their tops disappearing into the horizon, once marvels of architecture, were now ominous structures. The city, once a haven for nature lovers, had become a scene of despair as people, regardless of their status, ran for their lives.

They pushed and shoved, their legs carrying them aimlessly, desperation etched on their faces. Those at the front wished they could fly, while those at the back yearned for the same escape.

This was the end, maybe not, of this era.

It was the beginning of another apocalypse.

Lying sprawled against the wall of a factory was a skeletal figure, a young-looking boy. His appearance was barely discernible beneath tattered clothing, his long, unkempt hair obscuring his eyes. And from the footprints on his body, one could confirm that he had died from stomping.

It wasn't really a surprise, as many other people like him littered the ground, nothing short of an occurrence.

Yet, the seemingly lifeless boy stirred. His long eyelashes fluttered, and he opened his eyes.

The first thing Reckless saw was the fiery sunset that cloaked the earth. He was stunned.

'Where am I?' He turned his neck slightly, but winced in pain again.

Reckless slowly sat up, his whole body aching all over as if he was subjected to a beating, and he continued to observe his surroundings after finding a comfortable position.

"When did my hair grow this long?" He thought, and out of habit, wanted to run a hand through his hair but suddenly froze as his hand touched a warm, sticky liquid.

He brought his hand to his eyes, and his expression shifted to one of puzzlement as he saw dry blood. "Am I injured? But by whom? And what's with this persistent ache?"

Suddenly, it hit him. "Aren't I... Aren't I dead?"

Realization dawned on him; he remembered that he had indeed died!

Then what the heck was going on?

"This is not me?"

His gaze settled on a reflective surface of an adjacent building, and he saw his appearance. His mouth hung open in shock as he touched his face.

'Wh–What the heck...'

'Is this... Is this really me?'

Even though he hadn't been particularly attractive in his previous life, he hadn't been ugly either. This body, however, was different—a frail figure, disheveled hair, sun-kissed skin, and ragged clothing that made him resemble a beggar. His mouth twisted in disappointment as he examined his yellowed teeth.

"Have I truly transmigrated?" he mumbled. "And if so, why do I look like this? Shouldn't I have become a rich, handsome young master?" He grimaced and took in his own odor. "I even stink!"

After lamenting his ill fortune, he surveyed his surroundings once more.

"Could it be... I am in a completely different world, a sci-fi? So the voice I heard earlier, was it a system? My system?" His eyes brightened with joy as he thought of this, and the aching of his body wasn't any more painful.

"Hey system," he called out in his mind and waited for a while, but he received no answer. Not giving up, he continued.

"Hey, what kind of system are you?"

"...."

"Let me guess, Dating Sim, or the one that gives red packets to their master? I would really love one of that."

"...."

"...I will take your silence as a no. Then can you tell me your use, any mission? I really want to take a bath, and if not for maintaining a bit of modesty, I would have preferred to walk around naked."

"...."

He tried many advances to talk with his 'system,' but all he got was nothing and slightly angered, he frowned.

"What kind of lousy system are you? Aren't I your master? Why are you not answering me?"

The same thing again, no one was answering his rants, and that made him think maybe he had misheard. Maybe the mechanical voice he heard earlier was only from his imagination.

He shook his head and leaned against the wall in support.

"How silly I am. Do systems really exist?" He sighed, then realized he didn't know where he could go, and it was at that moment that a pain struck his head, and in the next moment, memories that weren't his rushed to his head.

He closed his eyes, and as he went through the memories, he trembled even more and after a while, opened them and looked at the sky, whispering weakly.

"I am dead."

The place he was was a freaking hell. He was now in the future.

This is, in fact, a parallel world.

After a millennium, humanity has mutated and evolved, were now capable of traversing planet to planet, galaxy to galaxy. They had developed technology that surpassed Earth's wildest dreams, and their population had swelled to 33 billion.

However, a century ago, disaster had struck as something called Uranus descended upon the planet, bringing destruction in its wake. It granted people Mana, and those whose bodies could withstand the transformation became superhuman, growing stronger with every kill. Those less fortunate turned into zombies, also growing powerful with each life they claimed.

At that time, billions of people were lost from the sudden incident, leaving behind 25 billion people before heroes finally emerged.

They brought people to face the unknown, killed billions of zombies, and slew countless galactic beasts, and built the people an empire, a safe world.

The 'awakened,' as they were called, couldn't be found among mundane beings as they were somewhere pursuing higher strength, and the people, who were living in peace, had forgotten the things that happened generations ago.

But now, they were forced to remember and face the cruelty of the world, the real world where their heaven was built.

Because of the sudden outbreak of zombies once again, catching the world unprepared. The remaining ordinary people experienced destruction every day, and within a week, a billion lives were lost.

The number might seem small compared to their total number, but lives weren't mere numbers, and the source of this was an outbreak.

For all he knew, the owner of this body was a young 16-year-old boy named Patrick. He was an orphan from before the outbreak and was a small, powerless boy who grew up in the slum.

He was malnourished and weak and was constantly bullied by the older boys. The small, dirty piece of bread he managed to steal, find, or was gifted would have to be divided into two, and half of it would be given to the big brothers.

Recently, the original host finally grew a tail and decided not to worship the older boys anymore, and that's how he was hit till he was on his last breath.

To not be charged for murder, the old boys casually threw him away, and coincidentally, the sudden outbreak descends and the original host was killed by stomping when he was running for his life together with some people – as he was very weak already, and he died the same second as Reckless.

From peaceful overnight, ripples broke. People ran for their lives, the citizens were no longer safe, and they couldn't even get out of their houses for the fear of encountering a zombie or some mutated animals or insects.

The people in the slums had it worst as the government first evacuated the upper-class citizens and the bourgeoisie, and left the slum dwellers to themselves, for now.

But during the 'for now,' many lives were lost.

Examples were those on the floor.

A long sigh escaped Reckless' lips as he realized he was a wanderer.

"Why do I even transmigrated?" He lamented bitterly, then thought about it and summoned his status window.

A holographic image visible only to him appeared, and as his gaze landed on the number of health and agility points he has, he realized that the reason was probably due to the condition of his body.

"I need to do something."

He was about to turn around when he realized that at some point, the corpses on the floor had started walking towards him clumsily.

Reckless' mind fell into a jumble as he wanted to run, but realized he was surrounded.

What should I do?

What should I do?

He looks around in panic, and then his gaze landed on the huge stone on the floor.

Then he picked it up and with all his might threw it to the one nearest to him.

This zombie was an old man, and the stone unexpectedly damaged his head, and the voice he heard earlier sounded again.

[You've slain a Level 1 zombie. You've gained 2 points, Strength +3 Health +1]

As the voice rang in his head, he instantly felt a bit energized.

He had his first skill!

However, as soon as he looked around, the happy smile on his lips disappeared, and he was overwhelmed with despair as he saw another five zombies walking towards him.

He looked around and made up his mind.

You are not as fast as me; I refuse to believe I can't outrun you!

Then he started running, the zombies after him, but as he had guessed, they couldn't outrun him!

He was still running away excitedly, but he suddenly froze, and his eyes glinted excitedly.