It was a dark day, a thunderstorm was wreaking havoc outside my windows — well, technically, not my windows, as it was not my home, but the home of the beautiful lady I was currently being intimate with — but the warmth of her I had been enjoying had been interrupted by a beeping sound of a home alarm being disengaged.

"Oh, no! My husband is here! Quick, leave," my bed partner said as she pushed me away. I reacted quickly, gathering my clothes before moving to a balcony that connected to a water pipe, one that was thick enough to allow me to climb down.

I knew the escape route, because it wasn't the first time I had to escape the house of a rich, married woman. My life as a professional freeloader taught me long ago to always have an alternate extraction point, as there was nothing more dangerous than a rich man whose ego I bruised in such a direct manner.

Of course, someone else might say that I had been wasting my life by acting as a plaything for the rich and bored housewives, but I disagreed. I was an injured college athlete, kicked out of college after losing my scholarship.

An ex-professional sprinter had no career prospects.

Maintaining my physique and acting as a young boy toy for the rich, bored, and young housewives was far preferable to trying to live as a college dropout. Especially when those young and bored wives learned from the habits of their husbands in terms of gift giving; expensive clothes, pocket money by thousands, watches, even a car or two.

A beautiful, simple life.

Unfortunately, it was not without its challenges. I put on my pants without skipping a step even as I ran toward the balcony — another skill I had developed through repeated practice. I kept my jacket and shirt around my neck, threw down my shoes, and started climbing down.

The storm raged on; the rain making the grip difficult. It was a dangerous process, but I moved down without slipping. After my injury, my trips to the gym might be about maintaining my looks, but my grip was still strong enough to ignore the wetness.

"I would not die in such a ridiculous manner," I chuckled.

Maybe that was a mistake, as suddenly, there was a blinding flash that covered me.

"Huh, I didn't know lightning could be red and purple," I murmured, unable to believe what happened. Was I dead? If I was, why could I speak?

A POTENTIAL. YET, YOU WANT TO LIVE AS A FREELOADER. LET'S SEE JUST HOW LONG YOU WILL LAST!

Then, darkness.

I was surprised as I stirred back. I didn't expect to wake up after being struck by lightning. It was dangerous enough, but I was also climbing down a water pipe. Lightning and a painful fall were a deadly combination.

I struggled to open my eyes, but everything in front of me was shifting and dancing as one blurry mess. Was that a forest? I didn't remember the garden being this lush. Yet, as the blur disappeared, I realized I had no idea where I was at.

It didn't help my surprise when I tried to reach down, only to find myself wearing nothing. Maybe the husband caught me and punished me, I thought, but that didn't make too much sense. Why risk being charged with manslaughter?

Even more surprising was that there was no sign of damage on my body, like it was completely ordinary.

[Freeloader System Activated]

[The exalted ones thank the hero for accepting the task of fighting against the great evil!]

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"Hey, I don't remember accepting anything," I said, but there was no answer. Was I going mad?

Or, was that voice I heard after the lightning was not a delusion, and did I somehow anger a divine being, who punished me by … sending me to another world?

It wasn't a realization that I should accept easily, but for some reason, I did. Somehow, deep down, I knew it was true. As much as I had known that my career as an athlete was over the moment I had blown my knee ligaments with a sharp turn, ruining my dreams with one bad step.

Still, I wanted to cuss. What was wrong with her — I somehow knew that the being that sent me here was a woman — that she punished me by sending me to a new world, one that I knew nothing about. As for the System, it reminded me of the novels my old college roommate had been reading constantly; except those systems in the novels always had charismatic names like invincible lord, boundless dragon, and other cool shit.

"What the hell is a freeloader system?" I asked, hoping for an answer, or at least a tutorial.

There was none.

"Well, not a big surprise," I said. The one that gave me the System was angry, so it was too much to hope for convenience. I took a deep breath, letting the surrounding haze dissipate as I enjoyed the warmth.

At least she did not send me to an ice planet or something.

I forced myself to stand up and tried to decide what to do. In the middle of a wild forest, naked, without a weapon. Worse, I was a city kid, one who was too busy with my sports activities to join the scouts, and I knew absolutely nothing about what could be done.

Before I could say something, a figure in front of me blinked into existence. And, using the word blinked was certainly not an exaggeration. One moment, there was nothing. Then, there was one. A woman, wearing some kind of thick robe, and with a veil covering her face. For a moment, I thought I was in some kind of repressive society, but the glowing sword in her hand suggested otherwise.

She reached for her bag while she avoided looking at me. The bag was barely bigger than my hand, so I expected nothing. I was surprised when she pulled out a large cloak, one that was too thick to fit there.

Magic.

However, as I grabbed the cloak, several lines of writing appeared in front of me.

[Gift received. Freeloader System activated]

[Cultivation difference bonus - 120; Pity Bonus - 10]

[130x Return - Initiate, Profound High-Grade Cloak]

I covered my body even as I ignored those messages. I could feel that there was some kind of storage space, and I could pull the extra cloak I received — whatever profound high-grade meant, I had no idea — but I didn't want to alert the witch in front of me.

Once I wrapped the cloak around, I was ready to answer her questions.

She said something.

"Sorry, I don't understand you," I answered, hoping that she could understand me.

She answered me in another language I didn't understand. I replied with the smattering of French and German I knew. She tried a few more languages. I failed to understand all of it.

She pulled some kind of green rock from her pouch with some kind of internal glow. I didn't want to touch any weird glowing rocks, but I didn't think I could fight against her if things turned violent. I did not know about her capabilities, but she was clearly strong.

She threw it at me, and I grabbed it.

[Cultivation difference bonus - 120; Pity Bonus - 30]

[150x Return - Language Jade, Black Peak-Grade]

I did not know what black grade was, and I didn't have an opportunity to consider it either. The moment I brought it against my temple as she gestured, it felt like they had put my brain through a blender, unknown words infusing themselves into my brain.

I collapsed on the ground once more even as the green rock turned into dust, feeling the worst hangover of my life.

She spoke again, slowly. This time, I understood several words. She was asking me whether I saw lightning. I was about to answer no, but she covered the distance, pulled a needle, and put it to my wrist. Her expression didn't look like she was trying to help me.

It was best to assume she could test whether I was lying.

"Yes … red … purple," I answered, trying to find the words in her language.

"On you?" she asked, but before I could answer, some kind of energy spread into my body. "No … not on you," she said. She was wrong, of course, but I had no intention of correcting her. Not lying was one thing, omission was something else.

"Are you a martial artist?" she asked, this time slower, making it easier to understand.

I opened my mouth, trying to find the exact words, but failed to find the exact words to describe the difference between a fighter and a professional athlete. "Used to … injury," I answered choppily. It was the best I could come up with.

"Very well," she said, and reached into her bag, and threw me a small bottle.

[Cultivation difference bonus - 120; Pity Bonus - 130 (Capped)]

[250x Return - Martial Aptitude Enhancement Pill, Earth High-Grade]

With that, she disappeared, leaving me alone.

"Well, what the hell was that?" I spoke, dazed.

It was not how I expected my day to go.