It never knew its origins. All it remembered was the sudden awakening of consciousness, finding itself utterly alone in a desolate realm.
The surroundings were devoid of life, a barren emptiness stretching endlessly.
What was it? What defined its nature? Its predatory instincts were ingrained from the moment of existence, yet it pondered its purpose without prey to devour or companion to follow for eternity.
The development of reasoning seemed pointless in this solitude, tormenting it with existential thoughts until a pivotal moment arrived.
Amidst its tormented thoughts, something suddenly gained its attention.
It began with a crack in space, gradually growing in numbers until it ripped through space itself, unveiling a portal-like expanse before it.
As it peered into the abyss, there was nothing but the darkness of an unknown void stretching into infinity.
It knew it had to make a choice. Either embrace the forever isolation and spend its eternity alone in this godforsaken land or take a risk and gamble on the unknown.
Death held no fear, for it had seen nothing but death in these years ever since it came to life. Thus, it made the choice, and slithered into the deep dark abyss-like expanse, seeking whatever lay ahead.
-------------
"I'm never fighting again" Karl slumped down on the ground as he muttered, devoid of any more strength.
Despite his exhaustion, he couldn't help but be amazed at the miracle of defeating someone like Derek.
Though Derek didn't seem to be a professional fighter, his physical appearance alone made him formidable.
Even in the Appraisal menu, it was stated that Derek had exceptionally powerful arms and legs.
So defeating that mini gorilla was possible solely because of the system's assistance.
Therefore, he reminded himself not to become overconfident about something he achieved through a combination of luck and external aid.
Although underestimating Karl was Derek's fatal error, it was not his fault. Who could have anticipated that Karl would replace the weak body's original owner?
Despite the excruciating pain of moving, Karl forced himself up and approached Derek's lifeless body.
His unbroken hand reached the dead man's pockets before retrieving two vials of low-grade health potion and examined them.
According to the information from his skill, these wooden vials, shaped like small cups with caps, held the solution that could mend his wounds.
Without hesitation, Karl uncapped one vial and gulped its contents down.
Instant regret twisted his face into a grimace as the bitter taste assaulted his senses, nearly making him puke.
But he suppressed the urge, enduring the foul taste for the potion's healing effects.
The magic worked swiftly, healing his torn lips and the small split in the head. However, the larger chin injury and the broken finger took longer.
As the pain lessened, Karl couldn't help but be astonished by the magic's effectiveness, despite having read about such things in novels.
'Reading and experiencing are truly different,' Karl thought.
'But Why didn't the guy use this to heal his eye injury?' Karl wondered aloud, grateful for Derek's ignorance.
"Well, if he had, I might not have survived. So god bless his soul"
As the pain subsided, Karl found clarity creeping back into his thoughts. He began piecing together the events from the moment he found himself in this body a few minutes ago and started analyzing them. Doubts flooded his mind.
"Even though this place seems isolated, how could no one have heard our altercation?" Karl pondered.
His mind now clearer, he realized he couldn't linger here any longer.
Even if it was luck that had kept others away so far, he had to flee this place immediately.
As of now, he didn't know where he was or who brought him here and what was the reason behind it.
However, he understood he couldn't stay in a place where a dead body lay. It wouldn't take a genius to connect the dots and label him the killer if they found him at the crime scene.
Yet, he had no clue where to head.
In most of the novels, memories of the original owner often merge seamlessly with the transmigrated soul, making it easier to assume their identity.
But more than a few minutes had passed since his transmigration, and he hadn't gained any original memories.
Desperate, his only recourse was to turn to the system, hoping it would answer his queries.
"System, do you know where I am? I'm totally lost and not sure of what to do next."
[The Host can download the saved memories of the previous owner of the body. With that information, the host can make independent decisions] the system explained.
"Oh, so there's an option like that, huh? Can I download the memories now?" Karl inquired eagerly.
[It is advisable to find a secure location before starting the download process, as the host will lose consciousness and be prone to danger during that time] the system warned.
"Uh! what? How much time does it take to download the entire memory completely?" Karl asked, growing anxious.
[Calculating]
[Calculation completed]
[It will take 5 hours to download the entire memories of the previous owner]
"Dammit. What am I supposed to do now? I have no idea where I am, and this place definitely doesn't look safe. Even if I have to find this body's owner's home, I don't know where it is," Karl lamented, feeling lost and overwhelmed.
[The Host is advised to download specific information partially. Once in a secured location, the Host can complete the memory download.]
"..."
"If there's an option like that, why didn't you tell me earlier? Alright. Can I download data that includes details of my current location and my home?"
[Yes, it's possible to download specific data]
"How long will it take to download that data?"
[Calculating]
[Calculation completed]
[It will take 3 minutes to download the specific data]
"Okay, 3 minutes is manageable," he pondered, glancing around for a moment.
"Even so, staying here any longer is dangerous. I should find some safe place to download the data safely."
With resolve, he prepared to depart, but a sudden hesitation gripped him.
After a brief moment of contemplation, he turned back and approached Derek's lifeless body, retrieving all the items listed in the appraisal menu, including the Mithril necklace of the original owner.
"The data mentioned a mithril necklace, didn't it? Mithril isn't a common metal in any fantasy stories. The original owner's identity must not be simple," he mused, putting away the items in his pants.
Once he had stashed everything, he reluctantly consumed the remaining healing potion, enduring a few moments of mental anguish before his condition markedly improved.
Rather than discarding the vials, he kept them to avoid leaving any traces behind.
After a thorough scan of the surroundings to ensure he hadn't overlooked anything, he armed himself with the crude dagger and swiftly exited the alley.
He chose the path illuminated by dim lights in a very long distance through the narrow point of view in the alley, hinting at a human presence, and blended into the darkness.
A few minutes after Karl's departure, deep within the dark from the opposite direction he fled, something with ominous deep red eyes emitted an eerie glow.
The darkness obscured its form, but the half-moon's faint light revealed a shining body cloaked in black scales, slithering silently into the alley in between the building walls.
The creature's width spanned nearly two meters, filling much of the space between the building walls.
It emitted an eerie, spine-chilling sound, its forked tongue flicking out at regular intervals.
"Hisss!!!... Hisss!!!"
Opening its mouth slowly, revealing two pairs of fangs that are sharper than a knight's swords with thick sticky venom trickling down, it swiftly engulfed Derek's lifeless body before disappearing over the wall, its endless length vanishing into the pitch dark night.