Transmigration was utter bullshit. Roul had remained that theory for life. Sure there were mountains of media about it. There were people, one every few million who claimed it had happened to them. Mind you they all said they had been sent to another world before coming back. No one had ever claimed to come from another world to his, though that could be because earth was just shit.
But the point that Roul always made sure to get across when he was on a sight dedicated to transmigration stories was, that transmigration was utter bullshit. Not that he didn't understand fiction, but he hated the idea that some lump from earth could ever achieve greatness in a novel. It didn't make sense.
That was until it unfortunately did make sense.
His first thought was that he had landed himself in hell. The whole fire and pain and scary people really gave that vibe. At least until he collapsed and woke up in a medical bed. Though medical bed was a stretch, it was just a white bed in a white room with an open window that lacked glass and had bamboo nearby.
His last memory had been of light coming towards him and a horn. He had got impatient on his way home and drove around the boom gates at the train crossing. His guess was that it hadn't ended well and he was now suffering the consequence in hell for being a shitty human.
'Wake up scum,' a stern voice demanded and Roul gently looked to the voice.
Two tall men in long flowing silver robes looked down at him, with a small round woman between them dressed in what he guessed passed as a nursed uniform.
'Reign, can you understand?' the woman asked.
'I wouldn't waste my time, this failure can hardly speak on a good day,' the meaner looking man of the two snorted.
'Lord Yu, Lord Kana, if you would, may I examine the patient and then called for you later?' the woman asked.
Oh no, Roul mentally cried, he recognised the two names.
'Go ahead, but do so quickly, his parents are funding too much of the sect's current treasury for us to have him damaged,' Lord Yu scowled and stormed out.
In the brief moment he had, Roul checked and was horrified to confirm that he was in the setting of God Among Men. It was a shitty webnovel that he had come across by accident. And been reading instead of doing his university homework.
Lord Yu and Lord Kana were neighbouring Lords from the Yu and Kana sects that shared the phoenix mountain. In the book they were vapid enemies one minute and best friends at another. The sight outside the window was the sect cultivation training at the beginning of the book. He could see the protagonist Ti Yuan, who would be the one to eliminate the empire and create a new united world of demons, humans and the heavenly realm before ascending to become emperor of the heavens by killing the last one. Nearby who would be his four generals laid in the grasses flirting with girls. Other characters he could write background for were nearby but his nurse pulled him back.
'Sha Reign? Can you understand me?' she asked.
'Yes' he gently croaked and regretted at once as his throat seized.
The nurse winced and started to apply talismans to has bandages. Which Roul decided did nothing.
'You were hit rather rough in training, I'm not sure why you were even there,' she smiled gently. 'I don't believe your parents have been alerted yet, but the lords will see to it. And more so your brother will be told, though he is likely unable to come see you. But we will right you back to normal and get you back to your room.'
As though his life wasn't already over.
Sha Reign, Roul recalled, some cannon fodder that existed in the beginning as a step stool to make Ti Yuan look good by helping the disabled kid once. Before he quite literally fell down the stairs and died, the protagonist's arms.
It had been some rubbish beginning where he was supposed to come off as kind and mournful, but the author didn't want the cliched girl falls into boys arms and decided a cripple would be better.
Sha Reign he remembered was the second son of the Sha line, the elder Sha Ling was a cultivator in his own right and eventually aided Ti Yaun due to the respect that Ti Yuan showed his brothers corpse. Roul even recalled he eventually became quite well fed and cared for in the Ti Empire. All because Ti Yuan had seen the moment to get hero points was to help the poor cripple after some giant lug that Roul couldn't recall barrelled into him. Mind you Ti Yuan would also hire the big lug and promote him within the empire before turning the man into a demon. Really Sha Reign was getting the worst end of the stick.
But Roul's own person' story was hardly even tragic as he was introduced with a few pity lines and killed almost instantly. A cripple from age three, victim of wood parasite disease that ate away his skin constantly leaving him bound in bandages, and finally mute due to childhood bullying with lead to a massive lacking education.
'But Ti Yuan has offered to help you back, to be sure none of these talisman fall,' the nurse suddenly said.
And in all his glory the protagonist was there. Roul didn't know if it was just him but Ti Yuan shone, his silken black and silver hair glistened as he walked, filled with braids and ribbons. He was wearing disciple robes in a light blue silver shade that matched his eyes. His swayed gently into the room with a charming smile. And portrayed the careful kind young man he wanted to be, before he came to Roul's side and offered a hand. Which Roul knew would lead to his death.
'Player must take protagonist's hand to begin the story so protagonist Ti Yuan can become the Emperor of heaven,' a disembodied voice announced.
A flash of red light illuminated the room, which neither the nurse nor Ti Yuan seemed to notice. But Roul was stuck dumb as he looked at the welcome page of what he knew to be God Among Men.
'Player must take protagonist's hand or simulation will shut down and player will return to die,' the system called again.
In other words Roul was screwed from the beginning. However he did feel vindicated because he was right. Transmigration was utter bullshit.