A Cruel Awakening

“You mean to say this is another world? You’re a transmigrator, and you forcibly dragged me here as a price for you to go back home, leaving me stranded?”

After half a minute of processing what the beautiful girl inside the glowing orb on the altar had said, Qianwei’s dazed mind was flooded with such intense fury that he wanted to stab the woman to death.

The faint glimmer of joy he’d felt upon learning he was in another world vanished completely.

“You catch on quick. Nice expression~”

“I’m useless to you now, aren’t I? So why tell me all this?!”

Seeing the woman smile and nod, her expression light and teasing—like she was admiring a monkey—Qianwei took a deep breath, his face darkening as he ground his teeth and demanded again.

“Because seeing you this desperate is kind of fun?”

“You f***ing—”

“Such foul language. Anyway, the altar’s almost charged up~ If you have any other questions, ask now. Not that I think you’ll actually survive in the end~”

“…”

Damn it! How did things end up like this?!

Qianwei felt on the verge of breaking down, unable to calm himself. According to that b*tch of a fellow Earthling, the cave where this altar sat was located halfway up the highest peak in this world—an altitude close to Everest’s summit. It was a death zone where life could barely survive.

To make matters worse, a colossal beast called a divine beast guarded the cave entrance. Even leaving the cave meant a near-certain chance of being eaten alive.

The probability of surviving alone was zero!

Faced with such a hopeless situation, he would have preferred being killed instantly upon arriving in this world, ignorant and at peace…

Images of family and friends flashed through his mind, scenes from his past playing like a kaleidoscope. Qianwei felt like dying.

“You bastard! Just kill me…”

“No can do~”

“You fu—”

His curse caught in his throat. He realized he was being silenced again by that strange force, just like when the woman had been explaining things. His glare turned murderous.

At that moment, the light from the orb on the altar blazed brighter, obscuring the graceful figure within. The woman’s voice rang out again.

“I’m leaving now. A little reluctant, haha~ I’ve told you all this not because I want you to die for sure. I’ve pointed out a path that might let you live a little longer—the choice is yours. Or you can just bash your head against the wall and end it, that works too…”

“…”

Buzz—

As her voice grew more distant, the ground began to tremble. Qianwei’s body, which had been forcibly immobilized, suddenly regained freedom, but he lost his balance and crashed into the corner of the altar.

Just before losing consciousness, a mix of relief and reluctance washed over him. He couldn’t bring himself to end his own life, but accidental death seemed like the best outcome. Yet the bitterness of not being able to land a single kick on that b*tch who had screwed him over was almost unbearable.

If only… he didn’t want to die. He had fantasized about transmigration so many times. He had never even been in love. He longed to see his family and friends again. He wanted to go home.

If this were a dream, and he could open his eyes to his own familiar room…

His thoughts ceased, his consciousness plunged into nothingness. Then a point of light exploded, turning the darkness into pure white. A vague silhouette seemed to glance his way.

He reached out to grab it, but grasped only air. Then he felt a violent sensation of falling and intense cold.

Slowly opening her eyes, Qianwei stared blankly at the now-empty altar. In an instant, her expression turned ashen.

“I didn’t die… Damn it. Fine, then I’m going to survive! One day, I’ll kick you right in the face! I’ll tear you apart—”

Gurgle~ Gurgle~

“…”

The growling of her stomach pulled her back from her raging fury. Qianwei sighed helplessly and reached down to touch her exposed belly.

“…”

The unfamiliar sensation… The abs he’d worked hard for at the gym every weekend were gone. Instead, the skin was soft, tender, even a little plump.

Looking down, her view was blocked by two mountainous protrusions. Her pajamas were the same as before, but despite her smaller, slimmer frame, her chest felt tight.

Curiosity quickly overpowered her hunger. Qianwei swallowed and moved her hand upward… then squeezed the soft flesh hard.

“Ow… Damn it.”

It really wasn’t a dream. She had really turned into a girl—with a large chest, no less.

Qianwei’s feelings were complicated. At least, according to that b*tch, this world only had women, and the rules of life were different. That’s why his body had changed.

Well… at least he didn’t have to worry about the pressures of his original world anymore.

A little self-comfort managed to calm her chaotic emotions.

“Sigh… What should I do now? Am I really going to take that b*tch’s advice? Huh?”

Muttering to herself, Qianwei looked around. She suddenly noticed something in the center of the altar reflecting the light from the glowing crystals on the walls.

Raising an eyebrow in confusion, she climbed onto the altar and took a closer look. It was a simple metal ring—and that b*tch had been wearing a similar one before.

That woman’s stuff… Could she touch it?

Wariness flashed across her face. After a few seconds of hesitation, Qianwei bent down and picked it up to examine it.

The ring felt warm to the touch. It looked unremarkable, not particularly refined, and didn’t seem valuable at first glance.

“Huh… The texture doesn’t seem like it would reflect light. What was that glow just now?”

[Ah~ Right, I almost forgot—this world’s stuff probably doesn’t work in your original world. Just drip blood on it and you’ll get it out~ Lucky you. There should be a few things inside that’ll slightly improve your survival rate a tiny bit, and even help you awaken some amazing abilities. Though your chances of surviving are still near zero~]

“Damn it!”

Gritting her teeth, Qianwei immediately dropped the glowing ring on the ground. She instinctively wanted to stomp on it with her now-delicate bare foot, but restrained herself just in time to avoid making a fool of herself.

As soon as the ring left her hand, the glow vanished. The b*tch’s voice in her ear also disappeared.

“Huff… I can’t get angry. I can’t get angry…”

One day, I’ll get my revenge. One day!

Gurgle~ Gurgle~

“Hope there’s food in there…”

Awakening some amazing ability was far less important than filling her stomach. Qianwei took a deep breath, sighed in disgust, and bent down to pick up the ring again.

[If you do happen to survive by accident~ You can go join the anti-alliance faction I founded and be a bad girl… Though even if you don’t want to, those kids will probably seek you out anyway~]

“Damn it!”