"Fck me! I drank so much last night that I died in my sleep! How unlucky!" A soul raged out in the void, his frustration echoing in the emptiness as he awaited reincarnation.
It was a disorienting place, devoid of time or space, where moments stretched into infinities.
He had no idea how long he waited, but it felt like several eras, epochs, and eons passed before he was delivered unto the next cycle of life.
"Come on! Come on!" he urged impatiently. The soul was eager to see the new world, brimming with curiosity and a sense of urgency.
If he could have sped up the process, he would have, desperate to experience life again. But alas, all good things come with time, and the wheels of reincarnation turned at their own steady pace.
Suddenly, the void began to shimmer, and he felt a strange pull. The waiting was over. His consciousness began to blur, melding with the essence of a new life.
He felt a rush of sensations, a torrent of emotions, and then an intense, piercing light.
"AHHHHHHHH!" The soul screamed as a baby, taking his first breath of air. The world around him was a cacophony of sounds and sights, overwhelming and exhilarating.
The cold air filled his lungs, a stark contrast to the void he'd been floating in for what felt like an eternity. As he blinked and wailed, the baby - the soul - began to adapt to his new form.
The warmth of a mother's embrace, the soft murmurs of voices, and the myriad of new sensations were both comforting and alien.
His adventure had finally begun, and with it came the promise of growth, learning, and new experiences.
* * *
Eighteen years later.
"SIGH!"
"I'm so unlucky that I was born into a poor family again. But at least I have my memories of my past life," the reincarnated soul lamented, reflecting on his new life.
He had hoped for a system cheat or some sort of advantage, but it seemed he was the unluckiest of all transmigrators.
Not only was he born without wealth, but he didn't even have a golden finger to aid him this time around.
"Hey, Lucas! Come! Father is summoning us!" a beautiful voice called from the distance, and our protagonist couldn't help but feel uncomfortable as his little brother saluted in response.
It was his elder sister Maria, blessed in every way. She had the face of an innocent angel and the body of a tempting devil.
Every man in the village, both young and old, desired her, but Maria was wise enough to fend off all their advances.
Lucas scoffed at the villagers' attempts to woo Maria, his elder sister. He, a reincarnator, had no qualms about his desire to be the one to awaken her sensuality.
With a hint of possessiveness, he thought, 'She's mine to make a true woman.'
"I'm coming, Maria!" he called out, shouldering his farming tools as he headed towards her direction.
* * *
"Bad times are coming soon. I've heard troubling news that the village of Clearwater has suffered a dreadful fate. The Dark Reaper Gang has pillaged their homes, stolen their food, and committed unspeakable atrocities against their women. I heard that there were dozens of deaths majority were of their men," David, the father of the household, grimly addressed his family.
He was a middle-aged man, and his wife Lily, though also middle-aged, retained the echoes of her youthful beauty, resembling a mature version of their daughter Maria.
"Maria, don't wander outside of the village for now. And that goes for you two, Lucas and Lily," he cautioned, his voice tinged with concern.
"We should seek aid from the immortal guardian," Lily suggested.
"It's already in motion. The village chief has dispatched a carrier bird to deliver a plea for assistance to Ravenwood City. All we can do now is wait and remain vigilant of our surroundings," David replied with a heavy sigh, his apprehension palpable.
The presence of lawless gangs plaguing small villages like theirs was an ever-looming threat.
"What can I do to help, father?" Lucas asked, his voice trembling with fear.
He hailed from a world of peace, fortunate enough to have avoided the hardships of the two world wars that plagued Earth's history.
Now, in this unfamiliar xianxia world, he sought to ensure his survival, determined not to meet an untimely end at the age of 25 due to his excessive love for alcohol.
This time, his goal was to live at least as long as his parents had in this world—reaching the age of 50 would be a significant achievement for him.
And, of course, to get rid his virgin status, get married to his sister Maria, and get plenty of big fat babies running around his house.
"You can head to Old Nathan's house, Lucas. He's an old soldier who's willing to train anyone—man, woman, or child—to help defend this village. You might learn a thing or two from his lessons," David suggested.
"I'll go there right away, father!" Lucas exclaimed, turning abruptly. His haste nearly caused him to stumble, but he pressed on, determined to reach Old Nathan's house swiftly.
He had grand ambitions to accomplish, like bedding his sister Maria, and he was resolved not to meet his end before that happened.
* * *
Lucas arrived at the gathering place, taken aback by the crowd. The area was teeming with people of all ages - children, elderly men and women, and numerous able bodied young men like himself.
At the center of the gathering, Old Nathan was instructing the group on hand-to-hand combat techniques.
Lucas would have preferred to learn alternative safer skills like archery, but he was willing to take what he could get for now.
Old Nathan demonstrated various tactics, using a young man as a dummy target. "There is no honor in war," he emphasized. "If someone gets this close, gouge their eyes and strike low to crush their balls. Hesitate, and you die. You must focus and..." He continued teaching for 10 minutes straight, until Lucas heard a familiar sound:
"DING!"