Transmigration (3)

Ansel's eyes widened as the sunlight flooded the room.

At first glance, it looked like Earth - but if one looked deeper, they'd realise that everything was clean. Too clean…

The buildings stretched high into the air, reminding Ansel of skyscrapers back home but the glass was too clear, the stone shimmered too much.

Each building was traced with glowing blue lines. They were thin, tube-like structures that shimmered faintly and were embedded through the ground and into the buildings.

Maybe that's why the stone is shimmering?

His eyes narrowed as he studied the tubes closer. It wasn't water - and it definitely wasn't electricity. Nothing he knew glowed like that.

Fuck me, what runs through those things?

Glancing downward, he froze. The apartment he'd woken up in wasn't just part of some regular building, it was one of the highest floors in the apartment-complex! He was in complete awe since it was even bigger than his old apartment complex on Earth. Actually, it dwarfed every building he had ever seen on Earth.

But then again, it's not like Ansel saw many buildings, since he was confined to his small city his whole life.

Below him, dozens of cars moved through the street like normal. Their wheels turned, controlled by traffic lights that guided them forward. If someone took one glance, it would be indistinguishable from those on Earth.

It took a minute for Ansel to realise… there was no sound? Their engines didn't roar, exhausts didn't sputter. Just the occasional horn and that's it.

Weird, how come there's no sound? With that many cars there should be loads

Ansel narrowed his eyes and finally realised the answer to his conundrum. They didn't run on traditional oil like back on Earth.

No way, are they electric then? But that doesn't explain the blue tubes going into the buildings

Ansel leaned further towards the window, trying to figure out anything that can tell him where he was. His eyes darted around, like a detective piecing together clues at a crime scene.

That's when he saw it - the deal breaker. A man dressed in blue, most likely law enforcement was running after another man. The other man shot fire from his hand?

Ansel was so shocked, he fell backwards and muttered: "Ma-magic?"

--

It took Ansel a while to grasp the full weight of the situation. He wasn't on Earth, he knew that the moment he saw the glowing buildings and the silent cars. But a world with magic? That's something entirely new.

A grin slowly crept onto his face.

This is every novel reader's wet dream!

Ansel's mind started racing, pulling from every transmigration novel he'd ever read. First, he thought about how magic worked.

Hmm? If there's magic… there should be mana or something like it.

Then it hit him.

Wait, that's it! That's what the blue glow in the tube was… not electricity or water but mana!

Ansel's mouth curled, delighted by the

realisation that his first mystery of this world was solved.

His mind began racing, jumping to answer the next most important question. Who is the original inhabitant?

Ansel turned from the window and made a dash towards the small bedroom of the crappy apartment. His eyes scanned the room before landing on the bedside table which was wedged tightly against the bed.

There it was - the first clue.

The phone of the body's original owner.

Ansel lunged forward and snatched the phone from the table, like a tiger pouncing on its prey.

The phone was small, laughably small. It was like a phone from 2006. If Ansel had to guess, around 5 inches, give or take.

Still, it had style. It was smooth, jet black and without any visible buttons from the front. Just a seamless glossy black surface that shimmered under the light.

If a phone like this existed on Earth, Ansel might've actually saved money for once - instead of dropping half of his income on fantasy novels, TV subscriptions and all sorts of limited edition merchandise.

Yeah… Fuck me, I was a total otaku

Ansel sighed, already regretting half of his financial decisions. He pressed the seamless black screen carefully, to make sure he didn't actually destroy his only clue.

It turned on and what was presented to Ansel was… a pattern lock.

Fuck me! How am I supposed to know this?!

Ansel groaned and glared at the screen.

First of all original owner of this body, you were dirt broke. No one's going through your phone, so why the fuck would you put a lock on it?!

Ansel, out of options, once again prayed to the very Gods he once cursed and hoped there was another way to unlock the phone.

He was sincerely hoping the way to open his phone wasn't what he was thinking… mana recognition. Ansel had no idea if he even had mana so if the phone unlocked like that… Yeah, Ansel didn't even want to think about what he would do next.

Please have facial recognition or fingerprints

He first tried the fingerprint…. And it failed.

Ansel rolled his eyes and sighed again.

New world, same old habits

Then he tried facial recognition. He clutched the phone gently, slowly lifting the phone towards his face, afraid it wasn't going to work.

Through some divine miracle… it worked!

Ansel was ecstatic. He put the phone down and exclaimed: "Yes! Thank you Christ, Buddha or whoever answered my prayers!"

He grabbed the phone once more and started going through it. The first thing he went to was the contacts and there was something strange. The original inhabitant had none. No family… No friends. There was no one added at all.

Weird. How can someone have no contact with anyone?

He swiped once more to check the original inhabitants own contact information.

His heart skipped a beat. He stared at the screen again.

[Name: Ansel Virel]