Imagine reading a story about a hero who isn’t the strongest, the smartest, or even the most loved, but is still brave and willing to give everything to save his people and his family. He gives his blood, his pain, his body, and even his soul. He struggles for years, fighting against a world determined to be against him. In the end, when the final chapter comes and those last hundred or so words are read, he dies, having failed to save his people.
Imagine loving that hero to the point where his pain becomes yours, cheering for him and waiting for that happily ever after that heroes tend to get at the end of the book, but then it never comes. Instead, the hero you so admire has an end that breaks both you and them—a miserable ending where they’ve lost everything.
A tragedy. Why would people be willing to read a tragedy? It hurts. It makes you want to cry. It squeezes your heart until you choke, your eyes burn, and you can’t breathe. Until all you can do is curl up wherever you are and hide from reality.
Blood for Blood is one such tragedy. Despite the horrible ending, it is a popular novel that ends up in the hands of Al Carson due to Richelle Hemmings, Al’s best friend who is a sucker for all things tragic. The book gathers dust for three months before Al eventually picks it up. What she intends to be a passing glance to appease Richelle becomes a dedicated read. It’s horrible, and she hates the hurt that is drawn from her, but she can’t help but hold her breath in anticipation of seeing the hero finally gain his victory.
He never does, and Al sets the book on fire. She goes to bed, vowing to give Richelle the cold shoulder for at least a week. However, when Al opens her eyes after a restless night’s sleep, she’s no longer in her home.
Instead, she’s under silken blankets, soft and warm, but nothing like her well-loved duvet. The room is dark, but sunlight streams in through wide round windows, highlighting the dark wood that makes up the walls, floor, and even the roof. She sits up, and the bed doesn’t give that telltale creak of springs from her mattress.
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System welcomes Host! Did host have a good rest?
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She stares for a few seconds, her mind empty. Her gaze travels from the glowing blue screen and takes in the vintage bedroom. Turning her attention back to the floating screen, she answers, albeit a little hesitantly.
“I slept fine, thank you. Where am I?”
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Host has transmigrated! ｡◕‿◕｡
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A frown of confusion makes its way onto her face. "Transmigrated? what the hell is that?"
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'Transmigrated' means a person’s soul or consciousness gets placed in another body, often in a different world. This new world could be a magical fantasy land, a historical era, or even a universe from a book or game.
This is the world of Blood for Blood!
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A tremor travels through her body, and Al draws a breath, trying to calm the thundering of her heart. “Why was I transmigrated?”
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Host, your system is not sure. System has only been told to help host to the best of system’s abilities.
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“Help with what?” she asks, her gaze flickering to the hovering system, watching and waiting for the answers she needs.
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Whatever host wants!
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“And if I decide to destroy this world?” She means it as a joke, a strained attempt to collect herself and her scattered mind. How is a woman meant to accept that she’s been thrown into a new world like yesterday’s trash?
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(•_•)
( •_•)>⌐■-■
(⌐■_■)
This System will support host’s villainous ideals.
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Al’s lips twitch, then a chuckle escapes past her lips, and soon she’s laughing. Her heart squeezes until she feels like it will pop, but she doesn’t stop laughing. Eventually, after a minute passes, she flops down onto the bed and stares at the ceiling, her mind reeling with the new reality before her.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
She’s transmigrated. She’s transmigrated. What the hell, she thinks, her body rolling around the bed to get out the restless energy. Guess she’s going to give Richelle the cold shoulder for more than a week, her thoughts continue, until she stops rolling around and sighs. “What happened to my real body?”
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A body with no soul is considered ‘brain dead.’ The host’s original body is currently in a coma.
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Ali glances at the system, her expression neutral. A coma? Richi’s going to flip a table, she thinks before she opens her mouth to continue her questions. “Is this permanent? Can I go back?” she asks.
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This system doesn’t know, host. Your system will log a question with its creator but cannot guarantee an answer. This system had nothing to do with the host’s transmigration.
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“I see.”
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Your system is sorry.
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Ali’s lips twitch into a reassuring smile. “It’s not your fault. Besides—” she sits up abruptly, her smile turning into a grin, her voice gaining an excitable edge to it. “—life was boring anyway. I love Richelle, but the girl can live on without me. Fuck, please tell me I’m a Rai!”
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q(≧▽≦q)
Host is!
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Ali pumps her fist into the air. She has superpowers! Screw being normal; who wants to be a boring human? Powers for the win, she thinks.
In Blood for Blood, there are four major races known throughout the world: Humans with no abilities, Celestials, who are said to have come from the stars and are worshipped as gods, possessing ‘Divine’ abilities coined as ‘Divine Power’ and ‘Divine Will’ by humans. Then there are the Rai and Za`or, both races who have access to the ‘divine’ power that Celestials have.
The Za`or are said to be creatures created by the Evil Rai, but in reality, they were once a tribe of humans. It is mentioned in passing in Blood for Blood that the Celestial they worshipped sacrificed her life to save the tribe and created a sub-domain for them to live in. Through her sacrifice, they gained Divine Power, which enhanced their natural human body and soul. Over time, as they lived in their new domain, their bodies began to adapt to the surroundings, and a thousand years later, they no longer looked human.
The Rai, on the other hand, have a similar story. They were a tribe of women who worshipped a Celestial and were later attacked due to that worship. Their Celestial came too late, and the tribe was already dead. He then sacrificed his life to bring them back. When the women returned to life, they had both Divine Will and Divine Power, which they later learned could only be passed down from mother to daughter.
“I was placed inside another body, right? Whose? And what happened to them?”
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Would Host like to see host's profile? All information that System has about host and host's body is there.
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"Show me my profile then."
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Profile loading...
Profile
Name: Adnia ???
Age: 6 (B) ??? (S)
Race: Rai
Abilities
Divine Power: Overall enhancements of the host’s body and soul.
Divine Will: A singular ability that can affect the world beyond the host’s body and soul. The host’s Divine Will is creation, allowing the host to create anything from their imagination, as long as they have an understanding of how it should work.
History
Adnia ??? was born to ??? ??? and ??? ???. At the age of four, she was sold to slavers yet managed to escape by pure luck and found refuge in a cabin close to Liu.
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Al raises a brow. "That is a lot of question marks."
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｡ﾟ(ﾟ∩´﹏`∩ﾟ)ﾟ｡
System is sorry. It's not System who did that. Host can unlock information through quests if host chooses to take them!
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Al sighs as she slides off the bed, the wood panels cold against her bare feet. "Chooses to take quests?"
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System will never force host to do anything! If host doesn't want to take quests that this System provides host may reject them.
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She hums as she pads through the room, curiously touching this and that. It’s good that she has free will; it would have been annoying if she were stuck doing things because someone or something told her to.
“Do I have any quests related to the Rai?”
Since she herself is now a Rai, making sure the race doesn’t die out tragically like they did by the end of Blood for Blood is Ali’s highest priority. If there are quests related to it, then all the better, especially if this system gives out rewards for completed quests. Free stuff for things she’d be doing anyway.
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Quest creation in progress...
Quest created.
Main Quest: Save The Rai
The Rai are being hunted and are fated to die. Save the race, clear the misunderstandings the humans have of them, and help them prosper and live on.
Rewards: You get to not die, 1M spirit stones, a way home.
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So there is a way for her to go back. Al tilts her head as she regards the idea. The war between the empire and the Rai is meant to last for years. By the time the storyline ends, Al will already be an adult in her new body. She won’t be able to stop it quickly; this will take planning and years of work. When the quest is cleared, will she want to go back? This world will have been her home for a long time. She’d have made friends and, if she has her way, a family. Frowning, she decides to push the thought aside. Future her can worry about that decision; current her has a question.
"Spirit stones?"
There was no mention of such a thing in Blood for Blood
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"Spirit Stones" is a currency used in the heavenly realms. Host can use it to purchase special items and boosts from your faithful System!
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"And what about regular money?"
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Host can exchange Spirit Stones for mortal currency.
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Ali twists the brass knob of one of the two doors in the room. With a creak, the door opens, and she is met by the sight of an old medieval bathroom. She looks surprised at the toilet. There’s a toilet in a world that has not yet thought of the concepts of plumbing.
“There’s a toilet?”
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This cabin was modified to be as modern as possible while using resources from this world! The plumbing has been replaced with talismans powered by the Divine energies of this world.
The bath has talismans as well! The blue talisman will pour cold water, the red one will pour hot water, and the grey one will vanish the water altogether.
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Ali gives another fist pump. She gets the awesomeness of a fantasy medieval world with modern kind-of-plumbing. “You’re spoiling me.”
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(=^ω^=)
Only the best for the best host!
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