Chapter 1: In Rags

Waking up, the first thing Mave could feel was a pain in his stomach, telling him to wake up and find something to eat.

It had already been hours since he died, and he found himself in another world as an orphaned child in some type of primitive world.

While he was somewhat of an orphan in his previous life, he still had a real home to come to at the end of the day.

What made his body feel even worse was that his head was still hurting and healing from the impact that got the last owner of this body killed.

When Mave had first opened his eyes he found himself in an alleyway between two wooden buildings with his head bleeding.

Using the memory of the original owner he had had, he managed to walk himself to his new home, which was a wooden hut that barely had even 25 square feet in it.

How the original had got this hut, he still didn't know.

So far from what memories he's absorbed, the original himself didn't know much about the world as he was mainly focused on surviving.

Getting out of bed and putting on some rags that barely covered him, Mave slowly went out to search for some food.

From what his memories told him, he wasn't the only orphan in this town and would sometimes have to fight with others for any food left in the garbage or behind the stores.

Walking out of his small hut Mave looked around and couldn't help but feel a little chilly.

It looked like winter would be approaching soon, and if he didn't get some new clothes or blankets, he would probably freeze to death.

His hut was on the outskirts of the town, and you wouldn't be able to see it unless you looked more carefully.

Going into the town, there weren't many people walking around since it was still early dawn.

Following his memories, Mave quickly found the bakery and went behind it, and there he saw a bag.

Opening the bag, he saw some old bread and cakes that should have gone bad.

Quickly closing the bag, he ran back to his hut to ensure no one else would see him.

The old bakery bread was famous among those homeless and poor like him, so if a person were hungry enough, they would steal it all.

There were even times when people fought for it.

Closing his hut and making sure no one followed him, Mave hurriedly opened the bag and started eating.

He didn't care whether it was old, mushy, or even tasted a little weird. This body hadn't eaten anything for almost two days, And with how malnourished it was, he had been struggling to just move.

After stuffing himself for a good five minutes with old bread and cakes, Mave took out a large cup that was half-filled with dirty water.

The original usually put drinking water in it and changed it around every two to three days to make sure it didn't get too dirty,

The last time it was changed was close to five days ago.

'Looks like I'm going to have to go by the river soon,' Mave thought while getting on his bed.

The bed was just a dirty blanket over some straws.

The original owner would usually wash the blanket around every month or so and try to replace the straws.

'Let's see, so I'm probably already dead in my old body. I mean, after all, there was no way I could have survived that car crash.'

'But what now? I still don't know if this is a completely normal world or not since im still missing some memories.'

"Let's just put that all aside. For now, the most important thing is to find a way to start making money or at least get a better place to live." Mave said to himself while standing up.

He might as well change the cup of water since his body was thirsty and his stomach was hurting.

'How dirty' Was the only thing Mave could think as he dumped the water a few feet away from his hut.

If he wanted to change his water supplies, he would have to go to the river, which was practically behind his hut.

From his new memories, he knew there wasn't much danger in the forests besides some traps that the hunters had set.

Taking his large cup and his bedsheet, Mave slowly headed to the river.

The journey didn't take as long as he expected it would take, and the fact that there was a small path to follow made things easier.

Looking at the river in front of him, Mave couldn't help but gasp at how clear it was. Looking closely, he could even see his reflection.

In front of him was a malnourished little boy with a dirty face and dark red hair.

His features were hidden in the dirtiness, so he couldn't see his reflection that much.

Taking his large cup and claiming for a bit, Mave filled it halfway with some water.

He had already tasted the water, and thankfully it was fresh water and didn't taste too bad.

After filling the cup and cleaning the blanket, Mave decided he might as well take a bath here.

Quickly taking off his rags and what would barely clarify as underwear, he went into the river.

Since the river shore wasn't too deep and the river current wasn't strong, he could take a bath safely.

Taking a bath early in the morning in a slightly chilly river with the sounds of birds wasn't all that bad.

"Mave, is that you?"

All of a sudden, a voice interrupted the peace.

"Shit"

"He's still alive."

"I swear I saw him take a hard hit."

"So this is where he is."

Looking at those people that just came, Mave could recognize most of them as other kids in a situation similar to his.

A boy with an even dirtier face came up to him while taking off his clothes.

"You know, Mave, we thought you died when you didn't stand up after being knocked down," The boy said while he started cleaning himself.

As the boy kept on talking, as a new memory finally appeared in Maves mind.

Jonas was the boys' name.

While they weren't friends, they sometimes still looked after each other from time to time when the other needed help.

"Mave you alright, Man, just how hard did cultivators hit you?" Jonas said as he inspected him.

"Cultavtors?"

"Yea the cultivators, don't you remember, you got caught between the fight of two cultivators, luckily you weren't hit too hard,"

"Wait, Cultivators?" Mave said when he heard that word.

He now had a sneaking suspicion of what kind of world he was in.

"Did you forget what day It was?" Jonas said asked as he looked at him.

"What day is it?"

"The green cloud sect is coming to select some servants and disciples today. As long as you have some cultivation talent, you'll be able to get picked. Amazing right can you believe, well, finally be able to leave this godforsaken town and go onto the wider world..." Joans said as he went on and on about how their lives would change if they had cultivation talent.

Mave, on the other hand, was having a headache as more memories started appearing to him.

He finally knew what Jonas was talking about.

The world he was on was called Gia, and he lived on the Mudrun continent in the southern region.

And this wasn't an ordinary world.

There were immortals and divine beasts all around.

It just so happened that a couple of days ago, the original owner walked into a fight between two cultivators and was caught in a crossfire which ended up his head being hit.

And today was the day that the green cloud sect would come around and take in some disciples and servants.

Coming out of his thoughts, Mave noticed that everyone was already leaving.

Even Jonas was now putting on his clothes which were just rags.

Quickly getting out of the water and trying to shake himself dry, Mave promptly followed them into town and the town square.

And there they could see three people guys standing, and a group of children like them lined up.

All three of them wore a type of green uniform and in front of them was a blue orb.

As one kid went up and touched the orb, there was no reaction. So with that, the kid went back to his family with tears in his eyes.

Getting in line, Mave waited until it was finally his turn and in front of him was Jonas.

"Next," One of the green cloud disciples said.

Jonas went up nervously; this day could change his life forever.

He wouldn't have to live in an alleyway and fight with others for rotten food.

He would even have the chance to live longer and make his own family.

Putting his hand on the white orb and a dark orange color soon came out.

The disciples in front of him suddenly showed a smile.

"Finally someone, who can become a cultivator," One of them said.

They all congratulated him a bit and told him to work harder and wait behind them.

When Maves turn came up, he couldn't help but feel a bit excited.

As long as he had any cultivation talent, he could leave this pitiful town and go to a higher stage.

As he held his hand on the orb, a weak red light came out. So light it almost looked pink.

Excitement rushed up Maves spine as it meant that he had cultivation talent.

Looking up at the green cloud disples, he could see the trace of pity in their eyes.

"Sir, Cultivator, is something wrong?" Mave carefully asked them.

They looked at each other for a moment before one of them spoke to him.

"Let's just say your cultivation journey will be almost impossible. Would you like to become a servant?" The disciples said.

Mave let out a low sign and nodded.

'Well, it doesn't matter as long as I get a chance to cultivate. I'll still live for a couple of hundred years at least.

'Besides, I'm pretty sure I can earn some type of resources as a servant no matter how bad.'

That was what Mave thought, not knowing he would regret his decision to accept being a servant in a sect with no background or talent of any kind for years to come.

This would become the real awakening to him and teach him just what type of world he lived in.