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I was so naïve, truly.
I always thought only trucks could send people to another world, but I never knew even a computer short-circuit could do the job.
And now, I'm in the Marvel Universe!
Sitting in a luxurious car, Reid looked up to the sky and let out a long sigh, though the brilliant night sky wasn't visible.
He used to be an ordinary 24-year-old single man living on Earth. But one pop-up on his computer had transported him to this godforsaken world.
"Do you want to know the truth of the world?"
What kind of ridiculous opening is this, straight out of an infinite flow novel? Who even makes viruses like this as a prank?
And the choices were:
A. Yes.
B. Very much yes.
Naturally, the wise Reid wasn't going to fall for it. He didn't click anything, nor did he close the pop-up using the little X in the corner. Instead, he decided to shut down his computer and take it to the repair shop the next day.
But the moment he pressed the power button, a powerful surge of electricity disintegrated his body.
Everything after that was a blur to Reid. The only thing he remembered was waking up in another world with a brand-new body and being granted the ultimate cliché perk of a transmigrator…
[Hello, Host. Please open your beginner's gift pack.]
The mechanical voice echoed in his mind, and Reid let out a helpless sigh.
That's right—he had the essential system every transmigrator gets.
But even with this cheat, Reid couldn't bring himself to feel happy. After all, this was Marvel!
The same Marvel that loved to stack power levels endlessly, where every other character could dodge laser attacks with light-speed reflexes. A universe where power scaling was practically a sport!
And yet, that wasn't even the worst part. The real kicker was the name of his system...
[DC Role-Playing System, Host~ biu~]
"Could you please stop trying to act cute with that soulless, robotic voice?!" Reid roared, venting his frustrations.
In the end, though, he slowly calmed down.
Life, as the saying goes, is like a drawn bow. If you can't fight back, you might as well learn to enjoy it.
"System, I'll ask one last time—there's absolutely no way for me to return to my original world, is there?"
Before resigning himself to fate, Reid felt compelled to make one final attempt to struggle.
[That's correct, Host. Your body has already been completely disintegrated by high-voltage electricity…]
"How could a 220-volt current disintegrate a body?! Clearly, you murdered me!"
Reid suppressed his urge to complain further. He knew there was no point in pressing the issue. If he wanted to survive in this dangerous world, he would need the system's help.
"Alright, show me what you can do, system."
At this moment, Reid felt a sliver of gratitude. Even if this system might be a potential murderer, at least it was responsive. Some transmigrator systems from the stories he'd read would go into 'hibernation' for no reason, leaving their hosts in utter despair.
[The system manual is included in the beginner's gift pack. Please check it, Host.]
...Okay, Reid immediately took back his earlier compliment. This system wasn't much better. It didn't even explain itself—he had to read the manual.
Sighing, Reid followed the prompt and opened the beginner's gift pack. The system notification immediately sounded:
[Congratulations, Host! You have obtained the role card: Alfred Pennyworth. Play field: Gotham City. System manual x1.]
Simple. Too simple.
And why did the back of the Alfred role card and the Gotham City play field card have Yu-Gi-Oh! patterns? A monster card and a field spell card?! Could this system be any less serious? What kind of joke was this?
[The system is a Blue-Eyes White Dragon player, Host.]
"Shut up! Stop reading my mind!"
Reid was completely defeated. Other people's systems, if not transforming into cute anime girls to marry the host, at least came with sweet, soothing voices.
And here he was, stuck with a system that was not only toneless but also ridiculously nonsensical. What sin had he committed in his past life to deserve this?
Still, complaints aside, Reid carefully read through the system manual and studied the two cards' functions. It didn't take long for him to figure out all the system's features.
To his surprise, the system was as straightforward as the role cards themselves.
It all came down to two words: role-playing.
Role-playing cards transform the user into the corresponding character and grant them that character's abilities. Take, for instance, the Alfred card in Reid's hand.
Upon use, Reid would become Alfred, the butler behind Batman, and inherit all of Alfred's knowledge and skills.
Each character also has a role-playing progression system. By performing actions aligned with the character's traits and mission, the role-playing degree increases. As the degree rises, special forms of the character can be unlocked. Ultimately, when the role-playing degree reaches 100%, the character card's can be split into clones. When role-playing is canceled, the user's original body retains a portion of the character's abilities.
Take the Alfred card as an example again: when the role-playing degree reaches halfway, Reid's original body retains a corresponding percentage of Alfred's abilities upon canceling the role-play.
Once the degree hits 50%, Alfred's special form, "The Outsider," is unlocked.
Additionally, every role-playing character comes with a mission. Completing the mission rewards the user with new role-playing cards.
"So basically, I pulled a white trash, huh…"
"....."