A youth with unkempt blue hair was falling in the sky. The wind around him was cold and loud, but it was also pure, clean, and crisp.

It was at this moment of freefall the youth opened his eyes... and screamed! Whilst yelling at the top of his lungs, his mind begun to wonder.

Why am I falling? Am I going to die?

A voice interrupted his thoughts.

[Calm yourself, Aisael.]

ELZB, is that you?

Aisael looked everywhere but there was only him in the vast open sky.

[Yes, it is I, your hyper-intelligent supercomputer companion.]

Aisael was feeling confused but glad that he was not alone.

[You don’t seem to remember how the current circumstance came about. Worry not, temporal amnesia is a predicted side effect of transmigration.]

Transmigration? What have I gotten myself into…

At this moment, Aisael no longer find himself freefalling but, surprisingly, unharmed and standing on even ground.

Suddenly, an androgynous voice sounded from all directions.

“Esteemed participants, Rogues has invaded the arena. A bounty of 3,500 Digeets will be rewarded for reporting the location of each unregistered participant, 7,000 Digeets for eliminating them. As for compensation for this unexpected disturbance, rewards earned by the top ten participants will be given personally by this week’s arena master, Alexander Ma from House Magnum! Thank you for choosing ARMA, we hope you enjoy the rest of the match!”

“Sigil Hunt will start in 3… 2… 1.” Not too long after, the same voice announced.

[Someone’s coming.] ELZB warned.

“Raaaaa!”

A man with dull golden eyes was running at him madly. Caught unawares, Aisael shuffled backwards awkwardly as he was not accustomed to his body.

Fortunately, the ground behind him was uneven and he fell onto his rear, evading what was to come. A beam of light shot forth from the man’s outstretched hands. A trace of heat could be felt from the air above Aisael and the sound of sizzling was present.

What in the world-…

The man was enraged that his attempt to 1-shot KO his prey failed. He lunged at Aisael with obvious killing intent.

How can Aisael not react to the situation accordingly after witnessing the level of danger this man posed with his ability to shoot lasers out of his hands?

Since you want to kill me that badly, don’t blame me for being impolite.

Aisael leapt towards his attacker instead of dodging away. It was the man’s turn to be surprised. Aisael head-butted into the man’s abdomen. The man, who was accustomed to dishing out pain, found himself on the receiving end. The result of such collision could only be imagined. A sudden wave of agony hit him and he fell to his side while clutching his stomach.

“Who are you?” Aisael pinned the man down and asked.

The man spit at Aisael in response.

[Oh no, he should not have done that...] ELZB commented.

Aisael sent a flurry of punches towards the man’s face as well as other delicate parts of the body. Aisael was a fair and rational individual. If a stranger were to offer him a drink, he’d treat them to a meal. However, should someone with ill-intent try to lay hands on him, they should be prepared to receive tenfold the repercussions of their actions.

“You’ll regret this.” The man grunted before disappearing into a ray of light which shot towards the sky.

Aisael was puzzled at the man’s mysterious vanishing.

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Just then, the androgynous voice from before announced.

“First Blood! Blue One from House Clovis has eliminated Chi Ma from House Magnum! Blue One will be rewarded with an additional 10 sigils and 2,000 Digeets. Participants from House Clovis will also benefit an additional 500 Digeets.”

[It seems that you’ve been rewarded for turning a person called Chi Ma into light.] ELZB pointed out.

“It also seems that I’ve transferred to a body belonging to a ‘Blue One’.”

The effects of temporal amnesia were fading away and Aisael’s memories were returning. An hour ago, he and a group of talented individuals were in a heated debate over a recent discovery. A few suggested handing “it” to the government for safekeeping. Others desired to conduct experiments on “it” in pursuit of knowledge. The group took a while to reach a unanimous agreement due to various opinions. But in the end, they casted lots to gain rights over the foreign object.

Aisael found himself in Lady Luck’s favor that day. However, in his carelessness, Aisael picked up the object barehanded and a burst of light filled the room. Aisael found himself freefalling from the sky the next moment he opened his eyes.

What a strange phenomenon.

At present, Aisael noticed about a dozen shiny objects on the ground where Chi Ma was. He bent down and gathered up what looked to be shiny yellow stones.

“ELZB, run a scan of the object according to this world’s known database.”

A few breathes later…

[The object in your hand is a sigil, the target object of the “hunt” mentioned by the announcer earlier.]

Aisael held a sigil at eye level and scrutinized it intently. If the shiny yellow stone could, it would be sweating buckets under Aisael’s terrifying stare.

The sigil was a round metallic object that fit snugly into his palm. In the center of it was a strange engraving that looked like a compass.

All of a sudden, the sigil Aisael was holding started vibrating.

[Someone’s coming.]

Aisael quickly hid himself behind a few boulders. The sound of distant footsteps was growing louder.

“Brother Blue! Where are you? It’s me, Toby!” A squeaky voice whispered from the opposite side of the boulder.

Aisael peeked out from above the boulder and saw a skinny young boy looking left and right nervously. He had similar unkempt hair but it was a soft shade of brown.

Aisael revealed himself after judging that the boy posed no threat.

“Brother Blue!” Toby noticed Aisael and approached him. “How did you kill a participant from House Magnum?”

“I just did.” Aisael shrugged.

Aisael’s nonchalant response made Toby feel as if he was looking at someone who could make the toughest of situations easy. The former couldn’t endure the admiring gaze and looked for something to avert this unfamiliar situation.

“Why is that sigil glowing?” Aisael pointed at a familiar looking yellow stone that Toby was holding.

“Oh. It’s how I found you. Didn’t you know this already? Sigils can lead you to other sigils by rubbing on their imprint.”

Aisael nodded in acknowledgement.

“I also guessed your general location from the First Blood Beacon.”

“First Blood Beacon?”

“The ray of light that shoots into the sky after the first participant dies.” Toby had a concerned look on his face. “Are you alright? Did Chi Ma do something to you?”

Aisael ruffled Toby’s head.

“I’m alright. There’s no need to worry. Let’s get out of here before others find us.”

ELZB, report status.

The technological level of the world Aisael transmigrated from has advanced leaps and bounds compared to the current world. It did not take long for Aisael’s supercomputer companion to compile and give an account of the information it has gathered since their transmigration here.

[You have been transmigrated into a world where Earth has survived dozens of apocalypses. There are currently four continents. The one we’re in is Dawnlight Continent with a recorded population of 500,000. You are currently in a simulated environment hosted by Astral Royale Massive Arena, also widely known as, ARMA. ARMA is the most popular massive arena in Milestone City.] ELZB narrated his findings.

Will there be any backlash to my body if I were to die in this simulation?

[No, there will not be any physical changes should you suffer any simulated injury.]

Is there anything special about my body I should be aware of?

[Good question. The body you have is different from what you imagined.]

Am I still human?

Aisael panicked for a moment.

[Why not find out for yourself? Your simulated body is an exact replica of your physical one in this world.]

The sound of a water source conveniently reached Aisael and he made his way towards it. Toby was not sure where Aisael was going but followed close by.

Aisael looked into the water and saw his reflection. He looked pretty much the same as his pre-transmigration self with the only exception being his eyes and hair. His right pupil was black, while his left pupil and hair was sapphire.

Phew!

Aisael was relieved that he didn’t have ugly horns sticking out from his face.

This place is so quiet I can’t even hear my own heartbeat. Wait-…

He placed his index and middle fingers on the side of his neck with the expectation to find a pulse, but did not find one!

Instead of the expected “ba-bump ba-bump”, what Aisael felt was a subtle yet constant vibration. This unnerved him.

Am I still human?

Aisael asked for the second time.

[No, you are no longer human. You are an Astral, one of the ruling species of this Earth.] ELZB calmly commented.