Transmigration

Why am I here?

“Your Honor. The defendant shows no signs of remorse even at this moment. I implore you to deliver a fair and impartial judgment.”

Ah, I see. I’m on trial. As a rapist.

Why did it have to be like this? I stood a step back, staring blankly at the judge while my mind retraced the past. It must have been two days ago. The long-awaited expansion pack for the game had finally released, and with my heart pounding I started the download. Feeling a little hungry, I stepped outside. After stopping by the convenience store for some late-night snacks, I witnessed a rape on my way back.

A woman beautiful enough to rival any celebrity was being assaulted by some thug. Her pale pink folds were being relentlessly pierced by a massive cock. I couldn’t look away. I’d always thought something that clean and vividly pink could only exist in 2D.

For a split second I even considered helping her. Of course, I quickly came to my senses remembering all the horror stories that circulated in online communities. I should have left right then. But whether it was lingering attachment or the pathetic desire of a forever-alone guy not to waste the chance to see a real pink pussy, I couldn’t move.

After watching in a trance for who knows how long, I finally snapped back to reality only to lock eyes with the rapist. The next thing I knew, I lost consciousness. When I woke up, the brand of a rapist had been stamped on me. After that I was hauled into court, and here I am.

Snapping out of the memory, I slowly scanned my surroundings once more.

I don’t understand any of this.

Why do these people think I’m the culprit? Why is the victim looking at me with those eyes? I didn’t do anything. From the moment I opened my eyes until now, none of it makes sense.

But my opinion didn’t matter. The world handed me a cruelly heavy death sentence.

“Considering the severity of the crime and the complete lack of remorse, I sentence the defendant Lee Hyun-woo to eleven years in prison.”

Bang! Bang! The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠instant the gavel struck the block, fire erupted inside my chest.

“Bullshit!”

Bam! Before my brain could even issue the order, I slammed the table and shot to my feet.

“Even a child rapist gets twelve years, but I get eleven? This is ridiculous! Besides, I didn’t even do it! Something’s clearly wrong here. That’s it—you took a bribe, didn’t you? The real culprit paid you to pin this on me. Right? Huh? Answer me, you bastard!”

“Calm yourself!”

“Restrain him!”

The waiting officers rushed forward, seizing my arms and pinning me down. I thrashed like a madman.

“Where’s the evidence? Show me real proof, not your fabricated crap!”

As I fought with everything I had, knowing I’d die if they dragged me away like this, the judge turned his head toward the victim’s side. Following his gaze, I saw a woman glaring at me with pure venom while clutched in her mother’s arms. Hair like black silk, light brown eyes. Even in this moment I couldn’t help noticing—she was disgustingly beautiful. I’d heard she was aiming to become an idol. If she had debuted, she would have instantly become the nation’s first love and rocketed to stardom.

The instant my resistance faltered, the judge’s absurd words drilled into my ears.

“The victim’s tears are the evidence.”

My brain simply stopped working.

The victim’s tears? What the hell is that? Something you eat?

The heat that exploded inside my emptied mind instantly flooded my entire body.

“Fuuuuuuuck! You sons of bitcheeees!!!”

My reason was half paralyzed. The rage was so intense it felt like a migraine was crushing my skull. But no matter how hard I struggled, I couldn’t overcome four burly officers. In the end I was pathetically dragged across the floor.

Exhausted, I clung to the victim like a drowning man grabbing a rotten rope and begged.

“Say something! It wasn’t me, right? You know it too! I didn’t do anything like that!”

I had no idea why she was allowing this insanity, but as the person directly involved she could prove my innocence. I clung to that sliver of hope, but the world granted not a single ounce of mercy.

“Trash. Just die already.”

The eyes swirling with rage, hatred, resentment, and sorrow carried a blind will to curse me. That look was burned permanently into my mind.

What the hell did I do wrong?

I was just passing by. Why did I have to suffer this humiliation? Should I have done something? Would helping the woman have changed anything? Or would quickly leaving the scene have been enough? All of it was meaningless speculation. The world had already labeled me a rapist.

Directionless fury devoured my heart. My soul was being stained black. Even though I knew this was corruption, I threw myself into it willingly.

“So that’s how you want to play? Fine. Just wait eleven years. When I get out of prison, I’ll really rape you. Look forward to it. Got that, you bitch?”

“Hic!”

I don’t know what my face looked like, but the way her previously venomous expression instantly turned to terror gave me a pretty good idea.

“And the rest of you bastards, remember this! I’m going to kill every last one of you. Anyone with a daughter better stay on edge! I won’t let any of you off!”

Even as the police dragged me away I kept spitting hatred-filled declarations. It continued until I left the courthouse and boarded the transport bus.

Time passed. We were speeding down a deserted road when it happened.

Rumble rumble rumble!

“Uwaaaaah!”

“What the hell?!”

The ground shook violently. The criminals riding with me screamed. At the same time the bus tilted. I desperately braced my lurching body and looked up—only to see a pitch-black abyss.

Endless darkness. The only thing it offered was terror. When I turned my trembling head, the clear blue sky filled my vision. The circular darkness eating away at the edges was slowly devouring the heavens and dragging me deeper.

Only then did I understand.

A sinkhole?

I’d heard these things happened occasionally, but I never imagined I’d experience one. I’d been thinking only of revenge, yet here I was dying in the most ridiculous way possible. It was the moment I truly felt the world had abandoned me.

“…I don’t want to die.”

At the very least, I wanted to know who framed me.

But as always, the world was merciless.

Boom!

Just as the sun hung precariously at the edge of the darkness, a massive impact hit and my vision went completely black.

So this is death.

It was cold. Like my soul was freezing solid. In the face of such overwhelming helplessness, even revenge felt meaningless. The feeling that everything was returning to nothing.

And just before I was swallowed by that emptiness—

“Haaah!”

I opened my eyes in a new world, in a new body.

Black hair and silver eyes. Sharp yet delicate features that, together with a rather unpleasant personality, screamed high status.

I stared at the face in the mirror and let out a long sigh.

“Ha… why is this happening to me?”

An hour had already passed since I woke up, yet it still didn’t feel real. To think I had transmigrated into the game I used to play.

And of all possible characters, into this one.

Abel Chronicles – The Intersection of Light and Darkness. An action RPG about a boy from a rural village who enrolls at the capital’s academy, grows stronger, becomes a hero, and saves the world from crisis.

The original game received heavy criticism for defeating the revived immortal demon beast Levioth without properly capturing any heroines before the ending. Still, the game itself was so fun that it had a massive dedicated fanbase.

As a veteran player, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I even shed a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠few tears when I heard the expansion pack was coming out. The painful truth is that I got dragged into that rape case before I could even play it.

Anyway, the important part is that the body I’ve possessed belongs to a third-rate extra villain. And not just any villain—he’s the one who tries to rape a heroine, gets stopped, expelled from the academy, and then disappears.

As a longtime player I roughly know what happens to him afterward, but that’s a problem for later.

“Luan Priulri…”

Eldest son of the Priulri Marquis family, border counts. One year younger than Isis Priulri, one of the game’s heroines. A delinquent boy consumed by inferiority after being constantly compared to his talented older sister. That was the original owner of this body.

“Still better than being me, I suppose.”

A delinquent with an inferiority complex has a much better image than a rapist.

Honestly, the moment I realized this was the world inside the game, part of me thought that since I was already branded a criminal on Earth, staying here might actually be preferable.

But I couldn’t just turn my back on the truth as if nothing had happened. They had trampled my dignity. If I let myself be violated one-sidedly and did nothing about it, I would be abandoning myself.

I had to get revenge.

“So to return to Earth, I need to reach the ending, right?”

Since transmigrating I hadn’t received a single message. In these situations there’s usually a guide who’ll later become a pain in the ass, or a goddess who pops up saying ‘Hello, I’m a god!’ to explain the goals.

That didn’t mean there was no status window, though.

“That’s what makes it more of a problem.”

I stared at the status floating before my eyes and muttered,

“What the hell kind of stupid skill is this?”

Pleasure Without Responsibility was ridiculous enough, but the only two words that truly burned themselves into my mind were ‘rape.’ Telling someone who was falsely accused of rape that they need to rape people to get stronger? Whoever dragged me into this world is clearly out of their mind.

“Maybe I should just save up some money and disappear?”

The lack of forced constraints was actually a benefit here. I didn’t have to save the world myself. I could live comfortably in some quiet corner, watch the ending, and return to Earth…

“But what if the protagonist dies?”

I wasn’t even sure if Abel truly existed in this world, and I had zero confidence he could overcome every crisis without a save function. Being a bystander would have to wait.

“First, I need confirmation.”

I didn’t want to hear ‘Actually this isn’t the world of Abel Chronicles!’ later, so I needed clear proof.

I glanced at the calendar hanging on the wall.

“March 1st.”

Exactly one day before enrollment at Solias Academy. There was definitely an event that happened today. It was a minor story only mentioned in passing in the game and had no impact on the main plot, but it was more than enough for me to gauge the situation.

“I should head out.”

The moment I made up my mind and turned around—

Knock, knock.

“Young master. Excuse me.”

A woman’s voice accompanied the knock. The door opened and a maid stepped inside. In her hands was the academy uniform: a white dress shirt, black tie and pants, accented with elegant gold details. On the chest was the school emblem—a star encircling the sun, the symbol of Solias Academy.

“Young master. The entrance ceremony is tomorrow. Would you like to try it on in advance?”

“……”

Despite her question, I simply stared at her face in silence.

Her name was Julie. Twenty-three years old. A special maid assigned to Luan Priulri, who slept with every servant he could get his hands on. She handled chores as well as night service—a true specialist.

Luan Priulri’s memories replayed in my head, automatically listing her personal information. Having someone else’s knowledge suddenly flood my brain wasn’t exactly pleasant.

Meanwhile Julie had stepped right up to me. Interpreting my intense gaze as a signal, she set the uniform on the bed and asked,

“Young master. Do you require night service?”

“…What?”

“If you wish, I will serve you. Shall I undress?”

Having been trained since childhood, her sense of shame seemed to have been erased. Julie reached for the buttons of her maid outfit without hesitation.

For the record, the two of them hadn’t had sex yet. Julie wasn’t ugly, but she wasn’t Luan Priulri’s type. She wasn’t mine either.

“Wait! That’s not it. I need to go out.”

“Then I will prepare immediately.”

“No, I’m going alone. Don’t follow me.”

“Pardon? Young master, that’s not safe.”

Julie didn’t particularly care for Luan Priulri, but if she let him go alone and something happened, her own head would roll. She couldn’t accept it easily.

But Luan Priulri was a delinquent. He could enforce his will regardless of what humiliation his subordinates suffered.

“I said it clearly. Do not follow me.”

“But…”

“Don’t make me repeat myself. Understand?”

“…Understood.”

Under repeated pressure Julie finally yielded. On the surface, at least. She would probably secretly send one escort knight after me.

That should be enough.

Since the guard would be watching from a distance rather than sticking right beside me, I should be able to shake them off somehow.

Now it was time to face the evidence.