"It can't be…" I uttered in absolute disbelief. There was no denying the fact: I was in a different place—or rather, in a different world.
I sat down on the couch, trying to remain calm and analyze my situation. My consciousness had been transferred into this man's body. But there was also the possibility of time travel. That idea quickly faded when I saw a couple of kids playing football… in mid-air—from my window.
Magic was real in this world.
I was on the verge of freaking out. Seriously, if I had known this would happen to me, I would have read countless fantasy novels! I always hated fiction! And now it seemed… I was inside one!
I wasn't naïve like those protagonists. The chances of going back to my world were very slim. I had to adapt to this reality. But for goodness sake—
I might as well be blind here.
Reason? I didn't know anything about this world. I hadn't received any memories from the previous owner of this body! I didn't even know his name!!
I needed to calm down.
In my previous world, my name was Albert Hemmide. I had loving parents, a caring sibling, and a wonderful partner. I worked as a programmer in a well-known company, had a decent income, and with my parents' inheritance, I was pretty well-off.
I was sure… a higher existence was responsible for this transmigration. But the big question was—why me? Was it just a random roll of the dice that landed on me?
Now that I thought about it…
"Am I the only one who transmigrated?"
There was a possibility that others had been transported too. I also noticed something peculiar: they didn't speak English—not exactly. It was another language that bore similarities to English. That was why I hadn't caught it at first when the maid spoke to me. It was a rough version of English.
Although I hadn't received any memories, I knew how to speak and write this language. At least I didn't have to learn a new one.
"Woof!"
A sound came from under the bed. A wolf emerged. I bent down toward it.
"I guess you're my pet, huh?" I looked at the wolf.
"Woof!" it responded, as if in agreement.
It walked toward me and sat quietly, its tongue out.
"Are you hungry?" I asked, trying to distract myself from my situation.
"Woof!"
"All right, you can eat my lunch."
Without hesitation, it dashed to the table where the food tray was and started eating. I smiled warmly as I watched the wolf eat.
It always made me happy to see others enjoy their meals.
"What's your name?" I asked the wolf as I approached it.
It had silver fur covering its entire body, yellow and red eyes with vertical pupils, and gave off an inexplicable aura.
This was no ordinary animal.
My eyes fell on its collar to check for a name. There, on a silver plate, a name was engraved.
"Xios," I uttered.
"Woof!" The wolf responded upon hearing its name called.
I smiled.
I walked toward the mirror.
Damn, I was tall. How old was this guy? I didn't have any abs—or rather, this guy didn't. He also had slightly chubby cheeks.
I always cared about my appearance. In my previous world, I had a well-built body and a handsome face.
I continued scrutinizing my reflection.
"But at least this face has potential."
Yes, although it wasn't handsome, I could make it look good. No—I could actually turn this into a face that would make people drool.
I nodded to myself in satisfaction while Xios had already finished his meal.
Yeah, he was a male.
"Do you know where my belongings are?" I asked.
"Woof!"
He went under the bed, pulled out a briefcase, and brought it to me.
"Good boy." I patted him on the head.
The briefcase wouldn't open for some reason. Suddenly, a voice came from it.
"Please channel your mana to open the briefcase!"
The voice was rather monotonous.
I was startled at first and almost threw it away, but I managed to calm myself down. Although I hated fiction, I had read some popular ones, so I knew what to do.
I tried to visualize this mana in my mind and channeled it to different parts of my body. I felt a rush of unknown energy coming from my heart and spreading through me.
It was a bit unstable at first, but I slowly got the hang of it.
I concentrated my mana at the tip of my right index finger.
But before I could…
Extreme pain washed over my body.
I screamed in agony. "AHH!"
I crouched down, grabbing my solar plexus.
Please stop… the pain.
It was unbearable.
I smashed my head against the floor to cope with it. Blood gushed from my eyes, ears, nostrils, and mouth.
After what felt like an eternity, something shattered inside me—at the solar plexus.
Another surge of pain coursed through my body.
I wanted to die.
I couldn't take it anymore.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, the pain stopped.
But I lost consciousness afterward.
I woke up to something licking my face.
I didn't stop him, though. No… not me—but this body didn't want him to stop. It was as if this body hadn't received affection for a long time.
"Were you worried?" I asked.
"Woof!" he replied in agreement.
But big question.What happened?
It was so painful...I felt like something shattering inside me.
I sat up to look around.
The floor should've been a bloody mess.
But it was completely clean.
I stared in disbelief.
Not a single drop of blood remained.
I looked at Xios.
His yin-yang eyes pierced into my soul.
"Did you do this?" I asked.
I had a suspicion Xios wasn't normal, but now I was almost sure.
"Woof!" he responded in agreement.
I opened my mouth, but no words came out.
Where the hell did Kai get this wolf from?
Unfortunately, I don't know. I didn't get his memories.
I looked at my clothes, which also should've been a mess—but were clean.
My muscles were tearing apart a while ago, but now I was completely fine.
"Do you have powers to heal others?" I asked, curious.
"Woof!"
He responded again, but I didn't know what he meant.
Xios was intelligent—far more than a normal animal. For a moment, I even thought he was about to say "Yes."
But anyways, I can't expect him to speak human language.
---
"Anyways, it's a bummer that I'm unable to learn more about this person. It undoubtedly would've been helpful." I sighed in disappointment.
As if understanding the situation, Xios barked and then went under the couch. He brought out a book.
No… it's a DIARY.
"GENIUS!" I exclaimed, patting him vigorously.
Xios gave a proud bark in response.
On the diary, it said:
This is the Diary of Great Kaien Vaterion