Voices.
Followed by the sound of something crashing on the ground.
Karl woke up with a gasp.
He pressed a hand on his chest.
His eyes gradually focused.
‘Where am I?’
He still remembered he had died in that rundown building.
‘Is this hell?’
His nose twitched.
Sweet aromas of roasted meat wafted into his nose alongside other rich scents.
Karl sniffed the air.
The aromas were richer than any he had ever perceived in his life.
He continued sniffing, and his eyes darted around.
Karl’s eyes lowered, falling on the scattered meals across the ground and the broken plates around them.
He frowned deeply.
“Who wasted so much food?”
Shaking his head, Karl bent down and picked up the big slab of roasted meat on the ground.
He had no idea what meat it was, but just from seeing it, he could tell it would be really delicious.
“Hot.” He commented.
“It must have been dropped not long ago.” Engrossed, Karl wiped the part that had fallen to the ground and sniffed the meat.
“It smells so nice.”
“I saw it on the ground, so it doesn’t belong to anyone, right?” Without wasting any more time, Karl bit into the oily meat.
His eyes snapped shut.
“My God, this is so sweet.” He almost cried.
The charity base was sponsored by wealthy people from the city.
They provided enough food to keep everyone alive.
Karl had always been grateful for this.
He used to think there was no food the city people had that he hadn’t tasted in his life.
But…
he was wrong.
“This meat is the best I’ve ever had in my life.” Karl munched hungrily on the meat.
Only then did he remember he hadn’t eaten anything else aside from the meat roll he stole from the bullies.
His stomach felt excited at the meals rushing into it.
Karl moaned in pleasure.
“Young Master…”
Karl frowned.
Right, he’d heard that name before he opened his eyes.
He slowly munched on the meat as he lowered his eyes.
Karl took a step back.
“Why are you all kneeling?”
Two young men and three young women were kneeling before him.
Fear was palpable in their eyes.
That look…
Karl hadn’t seen it before.
They weren’t looking down on him.
They didn’t hate him for being dirty and stubborn.
Instead, it seemed like they…
respected him?
Karl shook his head.
He quickly looked around him.
Wonderful paintings.
A vast room, enough to occupy all the people in the base for a morning meeting.
Pure white painted walls.
Dark and beautiful floor.
Large and classic-looking furniture; the likes he’d only seen on the charity base’s aunt’s phone whenever she watched historical dramas.
His expression crumbled.
‘Where am I?’
Hadn’t he died?
“Ugh!”
Karl groaned.
His body trembled.
“Agh!” He groaned again.
He grabbed his head and let out a muffled cry.
His head ached terribly, like a thousand needles piercing into his brain.
Karl felt his vision darkening, yet he could do nothing to support himself.
“Young Master!”
‘Ahhhh!’
He fainted.
“Karl, look, mother bought you a cricket.”
Young Karl beamed.
He took the cricket from his mother, checking it out as his eyes sparkled with delight.
“Mother is the best.” He stretched his little body, planting a kiss on his mother’s beautiful face.
“I love mother the most.”
“Karl, what do you mean?
Look at what Dad got you.
Isn’t it more beautiful?” A young man walked into the house, frowning as he placed a red packaged box before Karl.
Karl chuckled.
He knelt on the ground.
His little fingers moved carefully on the red wrap, opening the big box.
He froze when he saw the contents.
“Dad!” He pouted.
The handsome young man laughed.
“Cultivation books are amazing, son.
But fairytales are even better.”
“Look at those nice covers.
Isn’t Dad amazing?
I can read them to you every night before bed.” He spoke softly.
Karl pouted for a little longer.
His eyes drifted to the books and then to his father’s face.
Seeing the soft smile on the man’s face, Karl slowly nodded his head.
His smile returned.
“Hm, Dad is right.
I’ll read stories instead.”
“That’s my son.”
Karl’s fingers twitched.
His vision suddenly blurred.
When he opened his eyes again, his view changed.
He was no longer in that small, lively courtyard.
He was no longer kneeling beside the red box.
His beautiful mother and handsome father had disappeared…
instead, all he saw around him were strange faces that slowly morphed into his brain, becoming recognizable.
“He’s awake.”
He heard someone say.
Karl rubbed his forehead.
That memory wasn’t his.
No, he never even had parents all his life.
Karl pressed a hand on his temple, memories rushing into his head as he endured the pain.
‘The owner of this body is Karl Dawnspire, the only male child of a young commoner couple in the city.’
Karl’s headache increased.
‘This isn’t Earth.
Instead, it’s a world of cultivators where only the strong survives and the weak are trampled under their feet___ Salibion.’
Realizing he’d transmigrated into someone else’s body, Karl felt his heart chill for a moment.
Didn’t that mean the person was dead?
From the memories in his head, Karl could tell his parents loved him deeply.
They must feel sad to hear about his death, right?
He frowned and shook his head.
“Something feels wrong…
ah!”
Karl cried out.
His unfocused gaze swiftly regained focus as he tried to spit out whatever was in his mouth.
“Don’t, Young Master.
It’s the purple sun concoction.
It will help you feel better.”
Karl wanted to curse.
“I don’t think I need such a bitter medicine to feel better.” His face paled.
Talking made him unconsciously swallow the bitter liquid.
With a scrunched-up face, Karl looked at the people around him again.
The young man with a small bowl was Rai, Karl Dawnspire’s closest servant.
“I’m okay now.
I don’t need the medicine anymore.” Karl tried to sound as cool as he could.
The bitter taste in his mouth was really a turn-off.
Rai’s expression was filled with relief.
“That’s good.
That’s really good.
You scared me earlier, young Master.”
“You initially refused to eat, crashing everything you saw…
it was really strange.
You were never like that.”
Rai lowered his head.
His expression was solemn.
“Then, when I thought everything was alright, you fainted again.
You almost scared me to death, young Master.”
Karl’s brows twitched.
‘Throwing things?
The Karl Dawnspire in the memory was a sweet soul, though.
How could he act that way?’
Karl felt like something was wrong somewhere.
The situation confused him more.
“You haven’t eaten all day, Young Master.
Would you like us to serve you now?”
“You even took medicine without eating.”
Karl’s attention snapped back to the room.
The confusion in his eyes quickly disappeared as he nodded eagerly.
“Yes, food.
It’s time to eat.”
‘I’ll think about everything else after eating.’ Karl felt like it was such a good plan.
He watched Rai leave the room, leaving behind a young female servant who stood at the side with her head lowered.
Karl returned his focus to the space around him, finally confirming that it really wasn’t Earth.
At least, he had never seen such a place on Earth.
Even the bed seemed different.
A wooden stand and a piece of fur with something that looked like foam yet different from anything he had ever seen.
It seemed really comfortable to sit on.
Karl couldn’t wait to use it when the night came.
However, he didn’t want to stand up from his seat, either, as it was time to eat.
The meals were soon served.
Staring at the numerous plates of different food before him, Karl blinked, swallowing hard.
The rich aroma assaulted his nose, almost causing a drool.
He forced himself to sit properly.
He washed his hands and picked up a spoon.
Though he would have preferred to eat with his hands.
Karl dug into the meal.
He ate with unprecedented excitement.
He felt inexplicably happy.
He didn’t have to starve anymore.
His family had a lot of food!
Karl finished almost half of the food on the table, yet he couldn’t afford to see the rest go to waste.
Staring at the table still filled with meals, he patted his slightly bulging stomach, thinking of how to push them down his stomach…
A sharp pain in his belly sent him frowning slightly.
He rubbed his stomach even more.
“Keep the rest for later…
ah!” He crouched over, almost hitting his head on the table.
Karl’s throat felt full.
He covered his mouth and gagged.
The maids scattered.
Some brought large bowls.
Some brought water.
Karl struggled.
He didn’t want to throw up the meal…
ugh!
Pain gripped his heart as he let out everything he had eaten over the past hours.
‘Is this another death?’