The man slowly sat on the ground before gently resting his back on the wall.
"I guess... this is it, huh..."
He could at least still give out a smile, even though it was filled with pain.
Blood dripped from the left side of his body; the injuries he sustained were too much to keep him alive anymore.
James Dolan, a renowned author for a major company in Tokyo. He was not only famous but well-influenced by some of the most powerful people in Asia due to his status.
All he wanted to do was go out hiking with some of his friends before returning to Korea. He never thought he would be the victim of a wild cat.
In order to escape from the monster after almost getting eaten, James rolled down the cliff and ended up falling into the forest below him.
A desperate act, but still...
If he knew he would die in such a pathetic place, if he knew his last moments would be in some unknown forest in Tokyo...
He would have prepared himself more.
James wasn't the type to fear death. He always knew people were born into this world only to end up dying.
And yet, while he rested his back on the rock, waiting for death to claim him, he couldn't help but think about the things he was going to leave behind.
"I'm sorry."
Those were his final words.
His death finally came.
Ding!
James suddenly found himself lying on the ground, the blue sky filling his vision.
'What?'
He immediately sat upright, a sharp pain hitting him in the gut.
Looking down, he noticed his shirt had been torn and was covered with blood, but there was no injury on his skin.
That wasn't all he noticed.
'Why am I wearing these clothes?! he questioned and then looked around, noticing the large trees surrounding him. And where the hell am I? I should be dead! '
He remembered his eyes fading and every single bit of energy in his body slipping out of his grasp.
Dead people don't suddenly come back to life.
Just then, he felt another pain hit him, only this time, it was in his head.
Memories flooded his mind—memories of someone he was not, memories of someone he had never met, a world he had never been to.
"Jared..." he muttered under his breath.
That name was familiar. It was his name.
[Welcome to your new world.]
A system notification appeared in front of him.
Jared flinched a bit, but he was too tired to stand on his feet.
'What the hell is that? '
[You have been reincarnated as the son of the Elder, Jared Hunter.]
Being an author, James knew a thing or two about reincarnation and systems.
But to think that would actually happen to him after death was nothing short of a miracle.
Covering his mouth with his hand, he thought to himself,
'I know I am James, but I am also Jared? Did I take over the original owner of this body? If that's the case, what happened to my own original body? Damn, nothing makes sense anymore.'
He sighed.
From what he was able to remember, the reason why Jared Hunter was in the middle of the forest, covered in blood, was because he was in search of miracle water.
His father, Richard Hunter, was sick. He had apparently been cursed by a witch, a curse that was constantly draining his mana with every passing day.
In less than a month, Richard was no different from a skeleton. His bones were weak; he was basically a living corpse.
In order to help his father, Jared decided to head toward the forbidden land in search of the rumored miracle water said to heal any kind of curse or sickness.
He went on searching for days until he was ambushed by a group of bandits who stole his money and killed him.
'I guess the former owner of this body was sentimental. It's obvious that water does not exist. And even if it does, it's probably being guarded by the king. They wouldn't allow such a valuable thing to be easily accessible for northerners.'
Jared managed to stand to his feet, staring at the long road in front of him.
'Now that I have no money, it's going to be difficult heading back to the village.'
Part of him was hesitant to go back to begin with.
Returning home after making so many promises to the people and his mother about healing his father was a blow to his pride.
No doubt the people would be extremely disappointed.
Feeling frustrated, Jared stretched his head a bit, a light grunt leaving his mouth.
"Honestly, I just arrived, and I'm already getting all worked up," he uttered.
"The fact that I reincarnated should still be processing in my mind. Perhaps it's because I've written so many stories about it, so I don't feel surprised. Still, if I am indeed reincarnated, my old life shouldn't matter to me anymore. Right? This is a new world. I am no longer James Dolan, the famous writer. I am Jared Hunter, the son of the chief Elder."
Thinking about it was doing nothing but stressing him.
'Enough of that. I'm way too close to the Outlands. I need to leave here if I don't want to end up dying a second time.'
Grabbing a stick from the ground, Jared began to walk down the terrain. Since he knew most of the journey he had made, heading back was no longer an issue.
Although, he didn't know how long he was going to last with no food or water.
Considering he was in a forest and everything beyond the forest was dry land, he decided to explore a bit and get some fruit.
Thus, he made his way into the forest and handpicked some fruit from the trees using the stick in his hand.
Using the large leaves he picked up from a bush, he safely placed the fruit inside.
'Right, I think I am all set, he muttered to himself.'
Just then, the system sent another notification.
[Would you like to make your first trade?]