Leonard's eyes were tightly shut as the darkness swallowed him whole.
His last breath slipped away, and for a moment, there was nothing.
But then—
He stirred.
A shiver ran through him.
Suddenly, Leonard felt cold. Not the kind of cold from the air, but something deeper. It was biting straight into his skin. His body felt bare and exposed.
Slowly, he forced his eyes open.
"What the…?"
The first thing he noticed was himself.
His hands were dirty. His arms were covered in grime. His whole body… it was as if he had been thrown into the trash. His fine suit was gone. Instead, he was wearing rough, plain clothing.
They were thin and itchy, almost like rags.
Leonard blinked, rubbing his eyes.
"Why… why the hell am I dirty?"
He sat up, his head spinning around. The ground beneath him was hard and uneven. Dirt clung to his skin, and the smell hit him next.
"Ugh… what the fuck…" He wrinkled his nose, gagging.
He smelled like rotten and foul. It was unbearable.
Leonard looked down. His shirt was torn, and his pants were nothing like the tailored ones he remembered. He patted himself in panic. He had no expensive watch, and his wallet was missing, too.
He has no money.
Nothing.
Leonard scrambled to his feet, looking around. And that's when it struck him.
The place was unfamiliar. Completely. There were no bright lights from the casino, no polished floors, no buildings. Instead, he saw just trees, dirt, and wooden houses in the distance.
"W-Where am I?" he muttered, his voice cracking.
He took a step back, almost tripping over himself.
"Why… why the fuck am I lying on the ground?" His hands shook as he touched his side. He was expecting to still find blood where the knife struck him. But there was nothing. Just bare skin beneath the rough fabric.
Leonard's heart pounded. The stench clung to him, making him grit his teeth.
"Why the fuck am I… stinky?!" he shouted in disbelief.
Leonard's mind raced, but no answers came.
All he knew was one thing—
He was in an unfamiliar place.
Leonard staggered forward, clutching his head. His throat was dry, and his stomach was growling like it hadn't been fed in days. Every step he took felt weak, unsteady.
He caught sight of his reflection in a muddy puddle by the road.
His breathing hitched even more.
A gaunt stranger stared back at him. His hair was messy and long. His skin was pale and sunken. He looked like a living corpse.
Leonard froze. "What the hell…"
A cart rolled past him, pulled by a horse. The driver glanced at him once and sneered.
"Filthy beggar. Get out of my way!"
The words cut deeper than any blade.
Beggar.
Leonard turned back to the puddle, his heart sinking. His rug-like clothes, his stinky smell, his dirty-looking body.
It all lined up.
"No way." His voice trembled.
"No fucking way."
He ran his hands through his greasy hair, pacing in circles.
"I died… was stabbed on the side, died as an innocent… and this is what I get? I get reborn as a beggar?!"
His laugh came out broken, looking crazy.
"Damn… of all the things in the world, I died only to become a fucking beggar."
The bitter words hung heavy in the air.
However, before he could say anything else, an unknown sound pulled him back to reality.
[Ding!]
Leonard froze, and then a voice filled his mind.
[Welcome to the Great Gambler's System.]
His body stiffened.
'Gambler? System? What was this?'
[You have been chosen, Host. You could achieve anything you desire through gambling.]
[Do you accept?]
'What the hell is happening?'
[Host, you have died.]
"I already know that," he snapped.
[You have been transported centuries into the past. In a world before modernization. Here, society is ruled by hierarchy. There are still kings and royals, nobles and peasants. And in this world, money is everything.]
"Wait… wait, wait, wait. You're telling me I got stabbed to death, and now I'm in some kind of medieval money-obsessed world?" Leonard's jaw dropped.
[Correct.]
Leonard threw his hands up.
"What the fuck?! I was already rich back then! I did this already! I climbed up from dirt and made myself a king at the tables! I gambled my way to the top and became a goddamn millionaire! Why the hell do I have to do it again?!"
The voice didn't falter.
[That was in the past, Host. Now you have a different life. A different world. Now, do you accept the System?]
"You're an impatient one, are you?" Leonard clenched his fists, teeth grinding. "And if I don't accept?"
[Then you can continue living here without my help.]
"You mean… as a filthy, starving beggar?" Leonard blinked.
[Correct.]
Leonard froze as he stared at his reflection in the puddle again. He really looked ugly and his smell… the stench made him gag again. His eye twitched.
"Okay, okay! Damn it, as if I have a choice!" Leonard shouted, throwing his arms up. "I accept! There? happy?!"
[Ding!]
[System accepted.]
[Welcome, Host, to the Great Gambler's System.]