Long Xin stumbled.

He never stumbled. He barely caught himself, rolling, getting up, and turning frantically at whoever had taken his balance.

The road around him was clear. No one dared to approach by more than five steps. The paving was even and lacking any energy indicating recent working on it. And the dense cloud wouldn’t have allowed anyone to pass back into it.

He threw a menacing glance at the passersby. Some – those who had been watching him – made haste, trying to avoid the consequences their peers had brought upon them.

Today though, today Long Xin would be generous. He had a good day ahead of him.

“Young Master are you alright?”, a servant, one of the many nameless, useless peasants he had to make do with on the current diplomatic mission asked.

“Know your pl…” Long Xin clutched his heart before he could finish his admonishment.

“Cur…” he tried to intone. He reached for the pouch on his belt, but his hands wouldn’t cooperate. Discordantly they twitched. Coiling and uncoiling against his will. He had a singular Breaking against curses. If he could…

“Step away, good madam,” an unfamiliar voice said. Qi rose and quenched just as quickly, as even his soul refused to heed his command. He tried to turn to see who had the audacity to command his servant.

Then his servant stepped away. The audacity. Someone commanding his servant and her following the command. For a breath, he thought he felt his heartbeat. Then he did. The outrage suffusing his being overpowering the curse. Once. Twice. To command what was his, and by extension, the Untarnished Palace was beyond heresy.

“We will have this cleared up in a moment. Young Master, may I?” asked the assailant. He tried to step away, but it was all for nothing.

The nameless voice stepped into his field of vision. A red robe was the last he saw.

----

----

Everything is wrong. Everything feels wrong, Long Xin thought. And even that was wrong. Long Xin wasn’t his name. Except is was.

“Young Master, please,” a timid voice drowned his vertigo. “Forgiveness for waking you. The monk said it was important to take this pill now. Otherwise, the curse might return.”

That only made the panic Long Xin experienced worse. But more urgent and more workable.

A hand reached for Long Xin’s and placed a hard shell within, folding it gently but firmly.

“Think of the Untarnished Palace’s reputation, please,” but the words were lost to the newly minted Long Xin.

Seven Profound Revolutions Pill

Karmic Roll engaged.

Type: Pill

Subtype: Healing

Roll for Type or Subtype?

Long Xin stared at the curved characters that had appeared in his vision.

“Young Master, please take the pill. The monk left it for you to consume upon reconstitution,” the servant by Long Xin’s side pleaded. “It is urgent they said.”

I don’t feel particularly bad. It can’t be that urgent. I should have a minute or two. He hoped.

He reread the words again and again, trying to make sense of them. The pressure of being observed, made the entire situation a lot more awkward though.

“Uhm. Thank you, I will. But, ahh… could you please wait outside?”

“Young Master?” the frowning servant hesitantly got up.

He’d stopped paying attention to the woman by his side reading over the words again and again.

Do I need to roll? Can I just consume the pill? Does rolling change what this pill does? So many questions.

Assumption one: Rolling changes something. I’d assume it potentially improves or reduces the type or subtype. That means I cannot change the subtype. Unless I’d like to get something better. Strengthening pills surely exist. This sounds a lot like cultivation or at least magic, soo…

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He threw that thought away quickly. I should not mess with my health for now.

Wait. I don’t need to roll. I could just consume the pill and fix whatever is wrong with me. Unless… is there even something wrong with me? This very clearly is something for the previous…

His body convulsed ever so slightly, not for the first time, but it seemed to be building.

On second thought. I might still need it.

Not thinking about it any longer, he raised his hand places the pill in his mouth and flushed it down his throat with water from the crystal carafe on the nightstand.

A relieved sigh sounded from the door, but Long Xin could barely bring himself to care. The moment he swallowed his body vibrated, shuttered, and struggled against him.

With the pain, the vertigo, and a desire to claw all his skin off came one vital piece of knowledge. This was not his body. It was Long Xin’s and he was Long Xin. But he had not been. Not before taking that pill.

Screw it. The pill was doing its thing and it wasn’t feeling great. I need a distraction.

A brief thought convinced him that rolling for type was the smarter thing. The prompt's existence, even though the pill was already gone, gave him the required confidence to roll.

Rolling for Pill

Target: Chen Haoran

Karmic Debt: four hundred thirteen

Item: Profound Gathering Pill (Water)

Karmic Delta: one thousand nine hundred ninety-five

Enhancement: One Realm + Compatibility

Obtained: Grasping Hybrid Gathering Pill (Water-Light)

The moment the last line appeared; his whole felt inflated. As though something was pressuring his entire being. Waiting to be released. Without an outlet to be found anywhere.

Yet, not all was bad. The pressure within, present since he’d rolled pushed softly on his being. Giving some part of him he’d not known beforehand the necessary weight to not be utterly obliterated by the dysmorphia between it and the place it rested – Long Xin’s body.

Slowly but surely the two conformed to one another. As Long Xin could do nothing but watch his paralyzed body burn up, itch, and hurt.

Maybe moments, hours, daytime, later - Long Xin couldn’t be sure – the discomfort abated, leaving him only with a dreaded sense of absence. He turned and twisted but couldn’t find the strength to push himself.

Not like I’d actually know what to do with myself. I should work on that first.

Alright. Point one. What the hell is going on? Good, starting with the easy stuff… nice.

Uhm… How about basic needs? Shelter, water, sustenance, and clothing. He glanced about himself. I may have all of those covered. Why isn’t there a manual for this?

Ok. Potentially easier questions. What the heck is up with those rolls?

Karmic Roll Statistics

Karma Score: one thousand five hundred and eighty-two

Grace Period: 9 days

Stored:

Grasping Hybrid Gathering Pill (Water-Light)

That was eas… Long Xin glanced at the words that had appeared in front of him.

Grace period… grace period… What’s that supposed to mean? Grace period for what? Grace period my ass. Is this how long I have this thing? How do you work? Hello. Help. Manual. Guide book…

Fuck.

Long Xin breathed in and out. Slowly meticulously, getting his bearings under control.

Ok, I might be on a time limit of nine days. I can work with that. Maybe. Getting stuff is better than not getting stuff. So how do I get more?

He thought back to his first moments of consciousness. Trying to pin down what exactly had happened. He’d obtained something. Someone had gifted him something. There were nuances to this he would have to figure out in the next couple of days. And then he had to figure out how to completely and utterly exploit this system.

For some time he remained almost as though frozen building a mental checklist and prioritizing its itemization. The initial three easy-step plan of

Step One: figuring out how the Karmic Roll worked

Step Two: ???

Step Three: Obtaining more and better items

Became a lot longer. Though also a lot more actionable. Though it wasn’t complete yet, he’d been interrupted by a quiet whisper at the door.

“Young Master, are you decent?”

And how was one supposed to answer that, he wasn’t sure. He didn’t feel decent one bit. He felt foreign in a foreign world, sweaty from panic, and entirely unsure how to do anything. But being respectful would have to be enough to get him out of this bed.

“Yes?” he said with a quavering voice.

That insecurity must have also caused trepidation on the other side because the door only opened slowly. It took a ten count before a single eye peaked out behind the door.

The servant who’d handed him the pill earlier breathed out in relief.

“Young Master, are you in need of anything? Can the household do anything to ease your suffering?”

“Yes, bring me,” in the abruptness of the situation he’d almost said something foolish. Enough to give away his game. Instead, after a brief pause he continued. “A list of all my belongings I have with me and the facilities and supplements the household can offer me.”

As he finished, he realized that this might be a bit too much to ask for, depending on who he’d been previously. “At this time.” He hastily added.

Yet, instead of any outward confusion or suspicion she simply bowed.

“As the young master commands.”

She stepped away, leaving Long Xin to wait for a surprisingly short amount of time. She entered again after knocking with a tablet. At first Long Xin was at a loss, thinking he was to be pranked. It was only once she lowered the tablet onto the sideboard that he saw the booklet on top.

“This contains a list of all the services and cultivation resources the Untarnished Palace’s Mission can provide the esteemed cultivator with. Most of the costs are in contribution points, though some also in currency. You can gleam which by the demarcation to the side of the paper. As you are no doubt familiar with, the golden lettering indicates contribution points.

“As young master’s possessions are to the best of this one’s knowledge, in this room I’m willing to inform the esteemed cultivator of what I can find under his supervision,” she finished. The part about Long Xin’s possession had been quieter though, almost fearful.

That gave Long Xin enough of an understanding of the situation. He’d already been unconscious in this room. What were the odds that if something was missing she would be blamed?

“You did well. Thank you,” it felt weird to be so unpersonal, superficial, and not being able to change anything about that. He’d have to ask another person about her name because he no doubt should already know it. For what were the odds that one didn’t know their employee's names.