[Simulation complete. Please make your selection promptly.]
[Option 1: Randomly acquire three skills and feats obtained during your transmigration.]
[Option 2: Randomly draw three items obtained during your transmigration.]
Julian Thorne: ...
It took a while for him to snap back to reality. This transmigration had been so lifelike that even the text summary left him feeling melancholic.
Sense and Sensibility, if he could redo that life and choose again, would he go back to Maggie, his wife of forty years, or to Elina, the sweet first love of his youth?
He didn't know. He truly didn't. It was an impossible choice, like choosing between his right hand and his left. Maybe he would pick the one with the bigger, prettier boobs.
Despite the heartache, he made his choice with lightning speed, selecting the first option without hesitation.
Although he'd spent a long time as a firearms engineer in the simulation, and choosing the second option might have netted him a gun, it was still just a maybe. In his current situation, choosing the unknown was foolish. The first option, with its known skills, was far more stable, especially since all three skills were urgently needed.
[You have selected Option 1.]
[You have acquired the feat: Firearms Knowledge.]
[You have acquired the skill: Basic Shooting Proficiency.]
[You have acquired the skill: Expert French Fluency.]
[Due to mastering more than one specialized language, your Linguist rank has increased! You have gained the skill: Body Language.]
[Body Language: Allows communication through physical gestures when there is a language barrier. Success Rate: 50%. Stamina Cost: 5.]
The upgrade to Linguist also granted him one random attribute point and one free attribute point. The random point went to Dexterity, raising it from 8 to 9. Julian hesitated for a moment before allocating the last attribute point to Dexterity as well, bringing it up to 10, the average for a normal person.
Not bad.
He wondered if it was possible to manipulate the simulation's progress. Now that he had Basic Shooting Proficiency, if he could get his hands on a gun, his chances of escape would significantly improve.
Bang!
The door was suddenly pushed open again.
Every hair on Julian's body stood on end as he went into high alert. Three Curse Cultists entered the room.
The sacrificial process in the real world was clearly several times faster than in the game. In just half an hour, several more rounds of sacrifices had taken place, bringing the current progress to 30/36.
At this rate of two sacrifices per round, even Julian couldn't be sure if he would be chosen in the next one.
The chubby guy next to him, Alan, was scared out of his wits, his face as white as a sheet. Julian could hear his heart pounding like a drum.
Fortunately, the terror didn't last long. The three cultists quickly took two people away, and the door was slammed shut again amidst hysterical cries.
Julian: ...
Sometimes, this kind of drawn-out torment was the hardest to bear. It was like something out of a Hitchcock horror film. Were these people insane?
Wait, what was that smell?
Julian furrowed his brow and took a deep breath. A faint, foul odor of sulfur permeated the air.
"Hey, do you smell something?" Alan, who had probably also caught the scent, asked in a trembling voice.
"Sulfur," Julian replied grimly.
Legend had it that Evil Gods resided in Purgatory, a place famously known for rivers of flowing Lava and mountains of bright yellow Sulfur. Thus, the arrival of an Evil God was always accompanied by a strong sulfurous stench.
According to the Dungeon's storyline, whenever a player failed to clear it, and the Curse Cult successfully completed their sacrifice, a cutscene would show a silhouette of an Evil God, looking like a creepy spider.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
That's why Julian had said earlier that the summoning had actually succeeded.
Alan, coming from a noble family, was also aware of this lore. He took a deep breath and burst into tears again.
"Waaah, I don't want to die..."
"Can anyone save me..."
"I'll give you anything, waaaaaah..."
Alan's wails were highly potent, not only incredibly infectious but also delivered with the power of an operatic tenor, sending shivers down Julian's spine. Julian felt like his skull was about to be split open by the vibrations.
Julian: ...
Were you a train spirit in your past life or something?!
[Sacrifice complete. Current progress: 32/36.]
A loud cheer erupted from outside, indicating that the Curse Cult was making progress with their summoning.
He couldn't wait any longer. Julian opened the simulator and initiated another transmigration.
[Preparing for transmigration... Transmigration Coin -1]
[Matched with a parallel version of yourself...]
[You have automatically selected Talent 3, Talent 5, and Talent 7.]
[Your parallel self is a Doctor of Electrical Engineering with exceptional Literary Talent and incredible luck, often winning free drinks in promotions. You are known for your Fair-Minded nature and are well-liked by everyone.]
[Current world exploration: 29.2%. Upon reaching 66.7% exploration, you will gain access to the next Scenario.]
[Game Over upon death in the simulation.]
[Boarding the Time Machine... 1%... 33%... 65%... 95%... Whoosh... Transmigration complete.]
[You have arrived in Paris, 1894. From this moment on, the wheels of history begin to turn.]
After a familiar set of lines, the wheels of history started turning once more.
[December 17, 1894: As a Doctor of Electrical Engineering, you possess Expert French Fluency, allowing you to communicate like a native. You did nothing special and found a job washing dishes at a restaurant.]
[December 19, 1894: Washing dishes...]
[December 20, 1894: Washing dishes... If dishwashing had a professional ranking, you would be a Dishwashing Grandmaster, capable of washing 3 to 4 dishes simultaneously. (Happiness -1)]
[December 22, 1894: Washing dishes... After a week, you've saved up a small sum of money. (Wealth +1)]
[December 22-25, 1894: Washing dishes... On Christmas Day, a man named Romain Rolland dined at the restaurant. Thanks to your Expert French Fluency, your conversation flowed smoothly, finally escaping the awkward small talk. Sharing a high level of literary appreciation, you hit it off immediately and quickly became good friends.]
[December 27, 1894: Your friendship with Romain Rolland progressed rapidly. With his financial support, you quit your dishwashing job and rented a cheap apartment.]
[January 1895: You officially began your writing career. Possessing great Literary Talent, your first short story, "Letter from an Unknown Woman," was published in Le Figaro with Romain Rolland's introduction. Rolland hailed it as "a stunning masterpiece!"]
[January 10, 1895: Your first work brought you considerable fame. Soon, your second short story, "The Metamorphosis," was also published. Your name began to spread throughout Paris. (Wealth +2, Happiness +1)]
[February to May 1895: You published six more short stories destined for literary immortality: "The Chameleon," "The Gift of the Magi," and other classics brought you both fame and fortune. You became known as one of the best short story writers of the late 19th century. (Wealth +1)]
[May to September 1895: You began working on your first novel, "The Magic Mountain." Its publication caused a sensation throughout France. Upon its completion, its influence spread worldwide. (Happiness +1)]
[November 1895: "The Magic Mountain" was completed. A renowned critic declared, "'The Magic Mountain' is the essence of European life." Its influence spread worldwide. (Happiness +1)]
[December 1895: Having accumulated sufficient funds, you, ever true to your original goals, assembled a team to research two-phase alternating current generators.]
[January 1896: With ample funding and manpower, what could possibly stop you in this world? You successfully developed a two-phase alternating current generator! Your research was implemented across the country, bringing you immense profits. (Wealth +3)]
[February 1896: People began comparing you to Leonardo da Vinci. Your novel, "The Magic Mountain," was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Your handsome appearance, talent, and Fair-Minded nature made you extremely popular. You officially entered high society and began attending social events. At one such event, Romain Rolland introduced you to a minor Italian aristocrat. Due to having had too much to drink, you forgot his name, but no matter, you figured forgetting the name of a minor aristocrat wasn't a big deal. (You have gained the achievement: Pride and Prejudice).]
[March 1896: You re-encountered Elina at a party. It was love at first sight, again. (Happiness +1)]
[October 1896: Due to a lack of seniority, you did not win the Nobel Prize in Literature. (Happiness -2)]
[April 1897: You married Elina in a grand ceremony. Elina's relatives from Lyon attended, including her childhood friend, Jonathan, a tall and handsome young man. Clearly, childhood sweethearts are no match for fated encounters.]
[May 1897: Your second novel, "One Hundred Years of Solitude," began serialization. This masterpiece brought you even greater fame and fortune. (Wealth +2)]
[August 1897: A killer known as Bluebeard began operating in Paris, claiming the lives of several widows. One of the murders occurred near your home. To ensure your safety, you started collecting expensive pistols and daggers, selecting the best ones, loading them with bullets, carrying one on your person, and locking another in a chest along with a well-sharpened dagger.]
[October 5, 1897: Your novel "One Hundred Years of Solitude" was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Before the announcement, while meeting with Romain Rolland at a tavern in Paris, you were attacked by a strange man. You pulled out your gun and shot him seven or eight times, but to no avail. He eventually caught you, drained your blood, and you died. You have gained the achievement: Interview with the Vampire]
[Simulation End]
[Summary: Happiness: 7, Health: 0, Wealth: 6. This should have been an incredibly glorious life, with a beautiful wife, a successful career, and great wealth, but it was cut short by an unexpected event. You've started to glimpse the truth of this world, which is good. It's worth mentioning that after your death, perhaps to commemorate the deceased, perhaps because your books were truly that exceptional, you became the winner of the third Nobel Prize in Literature! Many believe you were the best writer of the late 19th century, tragically taken too soon.]
[Rating: C+. World Exploration: 49.2%. Due to exceeding 40% exploration, you have received 1 Transmigration Coin. You will receive this reward for every additional 20% of exploration. Due to your significant impact on the world's literary history, you have received 1 Transmigration Coin.]
Julian: ????
How did a perfectly normal 19th-century France suddenly take such a bizarre turn?