"Y-your hands—" Calvin Unknown stared at the old man's hands in shock. The old man's hands were secured by a thick iron chain! "Huh? Wait a minute—" As if remembering something, Calvin immediately looked down at his own hands.
Sure enough, his hands were also bound by an iron chain. The long chain was wrapped several times around his wrists, binding them tightly.
The only difference between the two chains was probably that the one restraining him was considerably thinner.
Looking around, the other people in the cramped space, just as he suspected, were mostly bound by sturdy chains, just like him and the old man. Some were even chained at the feet! The reason he hadn't noticed this earlier was probably the fog in his mind from almost drowning.
Compared to the others, Calvin's treatment was undoubtedly better, as his feet weren't chained. But Calvin couldn't manage a smile, because he had discovered a serious problem! Namely—his body had gotten smaller?!
No! It wasn't just smaller! After thoroughly examining his current body, Calvin stated definitively to himself in his mind, this is not getting smaller!
He gave a wry smile in his heart, sighing. Or, to be precise, this isn't my original body at all! Because while checking his body, he found that the birthmark on his shoulder—was gone! The scar on his chest from a childhood car accident—was also gone!
Disbelieving, Calvin checked his body again, but no matter how many times he looked, he couldn't find his birthmark or scar! It was as if they had vanished into thin air, leaving no trace.
That, of course, was impossible. Even if they had vanished, how could he explain his current, much younger body? Linking this with his current youthful physique, Calvin finally arrived at a conclusion that left him incredibly dumbfounded and frustrated: It looks like I transmigrated?
The reason he felt frustrated was that he never expected that not only had he nearly choked to death drinking white liquor before, but he actually did choke to death drinking white liquor, which somehow led to his transmigration?! Oh, come on, you can't play me like this! I should have just choked myself drinking long ago! That would have saved me all those ridiculous blunders later. Remembering the stupid things he used to do to try and transmigrate, Calvin was silent for a long time. Wait a minute—
Could this be the legendary Soul Transmigration?!
Thinking this, Calvin struggled to lift his bound hands and touched his long hair. He sighed helplessly. If it wasn't soul transmigration, how could he have such long hair? After all, he never kept his hair long...
As he thought this, he pulled a strand out. Phew, at least it's black! Tilting his head and staring at the strand of hair, Calvin felt quite relieved. It wasn't that he had a special fondness for the color black; it was just that he couldn't imagine himself with any other hair color. Simply put, while brown, which is close to black, might be acceptable, if his hair were blonde, red, or white, it would feel incredibly strange…
For example, if he were to walk around with hair as bright and shiny as a gold bar, it would be far too conspicuous! People who didn't know him might mistake him for a street hoodlum! Though he personally was very fond of gold bars… (Obviously!)
And red or white were even less acceptable to him! Red was not only more noticeable but also better suited for women, not to mention white—to him, it made him look like a little old man! People who saw him would think he, the great Calvin Unknown, was prematurely aging…
And if it were the most tragic color, green! He wouldn't even think twice; he'd just commit suicide, no explanation needed…
So, overall, Calvin preferred the original black! Not for any other reason, ahem, but purely for safety…
He seemed to be drifting off-topic again. Having confirmed that his hair color wasn't the horrible mess he had imagined, Calvin started focusing on his current identity! Or rather, the identity of this body's previous owner!
The moment this thought popped up, countless chaotic memories suddenly erupted in his mind! With a muffled rumble in his head, Calvin's eyes rolled back, and he promptly passed out again… (Why "again"?)
In the boundless sea of consciousness, Calvin gazed blankly at the constantly flashing images before him. The images were, without exception, presented in a first-person perspective, seemingly recounting a person's life experience. Although he couldn't see the protagonist's appearance due to the first-person view, Calvin had a feeling that these images were the experiences of the previous owner of his current body!
This idea emerged without any basis, yet he firmly believed it! It felt like an instinct, ethereal yet incredibly accurate.
Perhaps, these are my original memories after all?
Suddenly, this strange thought occurred to Calvin, scaring him into vigorously shaking his head (if a consciousness can shake its head…). He wanted to expel this bizarre notion from his mind, but to his terror, the moment the strange thought emerged, it was as if it had taken root and began to grow rapidly in his mind! Within moments, it had completely filled his entire consciousness!
Oh! So this is my life, after all! Calvin suddenly lamented in his heart.
No! Wrong! A flicker of struggle crossed his mind, and Calvin's consciousness suddenly cleared slightly. Remembering all the things he had experienced in his life before death, Calvin's awareness grew sharper and sharper. Then, he couldn't help but roar desperately in his mind:
"This is NOT my life! I am the great man who vowed to conquer all the beautiful women in the world! How could my life be so pathetic! So humiliating?! I am absolutely not this magical waste named Archille! Because if it were me, I would make everyone who dared to mock me tremble helplessly under my power! If, if it were me—"
Thinking this, Calvin roared proudly in his mind:
"I will make the Zanpakutō from Bleach the exclusive weapon for my Requip magic!!!"
Opening his eyes, Calvin's gaze was incredibly calm.
"What's wrong, young man?" The old man looked at the newly awakened Calvin with a worried expression. Calvin's sudden fainting had genuinely frightened him! And no matter how much he called out, there was no sign of him waking up! Thankfully, Calvin suddenly woke up on his own not long after. Otherwise, no matter how much he feared those people, the old man would have had to swallow his pride and call the Mages who brought them here for help!
It must be said that the old man had a decent heart.
"What exactly happened to you earlier?" Remembering Calvin's sudden collapse, the old man couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.
"Nothing, it's an old problem…" The old man's concern warmed Calvin's heart. He immediately shook his head slightly and explained with a smile.
Of course, he was telling a small lie here, but he genuinely couldn't explain his situation to anyone else, so he had resorted to a white lie (did this count as one?).
"Oh, well, you should get some rest then. Even though we've been kidnapped by evil Mages, your health is the most important thing!" The old man didn't doubt him. He carefully moved over, clearing a space for Calvin to lie down and rest.
Seeing this, Calvin didn't refuse. He gave the old man a grateful smile and immediately lay down. After all, his body, having been submerged in water, was still very weak. Besides, he still had some thoughts he needed to sort out in his mind.
The old man smiled softly and said nothing more. He tucked his legs and leaned against the wall to doze off. It's worth noting that, like Calvin, the old man's feet were not chained, probably because the two Mages who captured them had thought they were just an old man and a child and hadn't bothered to add more chains.
Although his body was tired, and his mind was particularly exhausted after the sudden memory fusion, Calvin still couldn't sleep. He just lay there quietly, silently processing this bizarre experience.
My real name is Calvin Unknown! I was a typical otaku on Earth! My greatest pleasure was watching Bleach! I once had a great ambition—to transmigrate into the world of Bleach and conquer all the beautiful women there!!
I tried countless times to transmigrate, but every attempt failed without exception!
Who would have thought that in the end, simply because of a random, self-mocking joke, I actually did transmigrate into another world?! But it's not the Bleach world I dreamed of. As for what kind of world this is, I'm not exactly sure…
Hmm, but that's alright! The pathetic guy, Archille, whom I transmigrated into, was a bit of a waste, but he did leave me one useful thing—memories! Through the residual memories of this body's previous owner, this guy named Archille, I know that the world I transmigrated to is a magic world?! Yes, just like most transmigration novels describe.
If there's any difference, it's probably the absence of any so-called Battle Aura here.
This is a world primarily centered around magic, which is more to my liking! And as a rare transmigrator, I, Calvin Unknown, am definitely going to become a big deal in this magic world!
Definitely!!!
As he contemplated this, unable to suppress the fatigue in his body and mind any longer, Calvin finally sank into a deep sleep.