[Welcome to your kingdom, Koul Abner Ysmay] The floating system announced cheerfully, its teal colored features glowing bright.
Ash tilted to look at it and—
Staaaaarrrre......
No the fuck not! I'm Ash Crowner. That much I know very well.
Dragging his eyes from the system, Ash swept his eyes around the spacious room with tall pillars. Although empty with no single furniture, the room was steeped in luxury.
The walls and floor were of refined marble, the pillars of thick stone that screamed nothing short of high-end luxury.
At least I'm rich?
"Eek!" He let out softly, slightly squinting his eyes as he felt the cold seep into his back from the bare floor he laid on.
He moved to rise but his body refused to cooperate. His muscles felt frozen like he was glued to the ground.
W-what's with this now? He struggled, trying harder to freely move his body but couldn't even lift his hands or legs.
No part of his body could freely move. He was stiff.
"Why can't I—?" He was asking the system when a thought struck him, leaving him wide eyed and silent.
D-don't tell me… Did… did I transmigrate into a disabled person?!
Ash's mouth wanted to fall open to this shocking thought but even his mouth wouldn't cooperate. It could barely even open wide.
Swoosh!
The system whipped to his front to get his attention.
[Don't panic, host. You're unable to move your body because you've been dead for some hours now,] it revealed.
"Hah?!" he breathed out.
[Your new body, I mean. It will take some time for your system to start functioning properly and for your blood to resume proper flow.]
Sigh! Why couldn't I just be thrown to hell? Ash exhaled with resignation, already fed up.
As he felt done with his situation, his mind began to wander in thoughts.
That he is dead shouldn't be surprising. After all, I wouldn't be able to take over his body if he wasn't dead.
But…. they say he's a king, why then is he dead in such a lonely place?
He's been dead for some hours yet there's no one here with him. Sigh.
Ash felt the urge to ask the system how the real Koul died and why he was in such a place with no one by his side. But, mehn…. he couldn't bother with it.
At least not yet since he doesn't see the need to. He wasn't one to unnecessarily pry into things that weren't beneficial.
Blink!...…. Blink!...... Blink!
He kept silent for moments, simply gazing up and blinking. At intervals, he would clench and unclench his fists, checking if his body was back to normal.
He turned to the system who remained aloft beside him, and started.
"This king," he said. "Koul. Can you tell me about him?"
[Of course, host. Normally, we would have all the details transferred to you after deciding your fate but we encountered some trouble doing that. So I have to manually recount everything.]
[But before that, you can access some information by simply saying 'Status Window'.]
Staaaaaaare...….
Is this some kind of a game or what?
"Status Window," he said regardless.
A glowing brown screen appeared before him with the readings:
Name: Koul Abner Ysmay
Age: 19
Title: King of Munrhal
————————————
Points: 0
Deaths: 0/10
Ability: —
It's almost like a game. Ash's eyes darted round the entire screen then back to his age.
I'm a year older than him. How's he already a king? …..?
This world's settings, perhaps?
And what are these? Points? Ability?….. Like magic or something?
Also….. what do they mean death? Will I die?
"System," Ash called.
[Yes, host?]
"What do these three mean? The points, ability and death."
[Points are rewards awarded to you when you accomplish something worth rewarding. Like, behaving in a way befitting of your title,] the system started eloquently.
[Points can also buy pardons,] it continued and hearing this, Ash raised a brow.
[When you offend the higher ups or do something you shouldn't do, a penalty will be unleashed on you. The penalty can be severe or mild, it depends on the severity of your wrong. But with enough points, you can buy pardons and avoid the penalty.]
Are you serious? Ash wondered with a poker face as if he couldn't believe his new ears.
All this strict rules for what aim exactly?
"And in what way can I possibly offend the higher ups?" He asked, replaying the moments he talked back at one of the judges back at the tabernacle.
[Oh… I might've forgotten to tell you this. But, just because you're taking over the body doesn't mean you get to act as you see fit. You are now Koul Abner, and you will live as him. Should you act out of his character, or in anyway that doesn't align with his personality, you will be punished.]
At this point, the corner of Ash's lips were twitching. And a bulging vein was pulsing at the side of his head.
[Just be Koul Abner and you'll be fine.] The system blurted blatantly.
[As for the ability and death,] it continued. [This isn't like your world. In this world, magic is a part of life. There are people born with it, while there are people chosen to have it. They're called people with talents. Whether or not you possess any, I cannot tell.]
Does that explain the dash in front of the ability?
[Death…. is the number of times you've died since transmigrating here. Yours showing zero means you haven't died. The reason the total is 10 is because that is the total number of times you can die. That is, die 1-9 times, and you can still be revived. But the moment you die a total number of 10, it's permanent. You'll be thrown to either hell or paradise after judgement.]
I see I am not fully free from death after all.
[However, one thing is for sure. If you die permanently without fulfilling this fate you've been blessed with, hell is where you'll be thrown into and eternally tormented.]
Tsk! It said blessed, haha. Blessed? More like cursed!
Ash lifted his hands to see if he was finally able to move. And when he saw he could, he finally rose to a sit on the floor.
His black hair that reached the length of his back, poured softly with the motion. His silky garments that he was draped in, slid downward, and the lavish smell that he had failed to perceive, either because of his sense of smell that was numb, finally hit his nose.
He stretched out his hand, inspecting it and his body.
He's rather light skinned, he said within him as Koul leaned more toward the light skinned type. And this body feels like one that has never exercised once in its life.
~Oh rest in peace to my muscles~ he clapped his hands together, chanting dramatically like a monk.
He swept his eyes toward the door the next minute, rising with great difficulty as his body still felt stiff.
"Now, shall we go see what my kingdom looks like?" He headed toward the door, his steps slow and steady.
[Host! I forgot to tell you!] the system floated after him, calling out with urgency.
[Aside from being a king, you're the most hated man in this world. Even your court and people do not respect you. They loathe you and think you do not deserve your position.] it rapped desperately.
Ash, now Koul, wrapped his hand around the double door handles, an amusing smile playing on his lips.
"Oh, I already figured out that much," he grinned widely, pulling the doors ajar.