The Ghost King's KeeperCh1 - Ruzen’s Transmigration [De’Mu]

[Transmigration : the passage of a soul after death into another body]

When Ruzen had first read about transmigration, he had found it amusing… which it was, a context of fantasy, really. But at present, Ruzen didn’t find it even remotely laughable, not when he guessed that he actually went through it. dZ8a2J

Opening his eyes, he already knew everything had changed. And the strong glaring sun told him the same. His lips were chapped and dry, his throat was itchy… his entire body felt uncomfortable, strangely in line with his current mental dread.

He might have doubted himself, and even thought that he was dreaming, but it was easy to tell reality apart from hazy dreams.

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Sitting up on the burning sand, he somehow didn’t even feel the heat. His inner monologue was just not cooperating with his external grievances.

But he wasn’t at fault for his detached musings. Because at present, his past individuality was no longer relevant. His origin didn’t matter anymore, he was no longer the same person who worked hard for his sophomore year… a 21 year old whose entire life was just another phase of history. A closed chapter that had ended tragically. His goals and targets were fruitless and all the hard work he had done for his future had turned into nothing again. QlmIDM

It could have been a memory relapse, of the original owner of the body, because Ruzen saw things which were closer to impossibility than reality. His current body wasn’t his, but had belonged to someone named Al’Bae.

It might be instinct or just the amalgamated memories, but Ruzen knew his body coincidently hadn’t changed even after transmigration. It wasn’t the same vessel, but it was physically almost the same in appearance. It was familiar, and easy to coordinate, Ruzen didn’t feel odd. It was strangely comfortable.

Even his voice and skin color were no different. He was still fair, a bit on the tan side, and had a familiar height and weight. Although looking at his hand… they were rough, overworked and chapped… it indicated how hard his new experience was going to be.

The original owner must have had lead a very humble lifestyle.

But Ruzen didn’t want to be here… He wasn’t meant to be here even after death. All he could see around him was sand dunes, and sun, dry air and hot winds… this place wasn’t his original world, he just knew.

Thinking about his previous life… Ruzen could only sigh.

His death had been so ordinary… He had been walking in a narrow alleyway, a shortcut he had noticed before but had never taken. It would have been an ordinary day… if he hadn’t felt a sharp pain on his head and lost consciousness. It wasn’t just losing consciousness for him, that was the moment when he lost his everything, his origin, his history, his family, and even his goals.

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

This strange new world… it was dangerous. Ruzen wasn’t adventurous, he didn’t want to be here, but what other choice did he have? He didn’t know how to go back, and neither what his purpose was supposed to be. gMtzAb

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After walking a while, Ruzen could decipher nothing, just a desert and its dunes. The feeling it arose in him was fear and anxiety. He wasn’t someone to feel emotions so strongly, but this situation made him more than unsettled.

Thankfully, after walking just a little further, his feet half submerged in hot sand, Ruzen found his respite. Because in front of him stood a miniature version of settlement, with a few thatched mud huts erected around the half dried oasis. rPGK78

“Mumma, mumma, look, I made sister’s ghost mound!” a sharp voice called out.

Ruzen looked on ahead at the child who was not that far, hidden slightly by a thatch of dry wooden fence surrounding the little mud housing at the back. A young woman stood beside the child not yet facing Ruzen, since she was looking down at some deformed mound supposed to be a ‘ghost mound'(?) on the muddy sand bank next to the oasis. The sandy soil must be wet, so making such shape couldn’t be that difficult.

But even under such strong sun’s glare, the child was still playing around directly under the heat, he was sweating and looked tired, but he did not seem to care about the harsh environment.

Ruzen’s psychological state had always been rather strong. But being in such unique circumstance, he really felt the strangeness. pmvqjx

A cold shudder raced across his back when he saw something extremely eerie.

There were ghosts around the boy, one was an older girl while the other was a young man. Both of the ghosts didn’t have any solid form, as they floated in the air, and Ruzen could tell they were weaker ghosts, those who did not have much attack prowess but were rather helpful when it came to protection of their masters.

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Now one would think that it was extremely frightful, like Ruzen was thinking, but his memories reminded him that in this world, ghosts were everywhere and there were even rules and regulations regarding ghosts. It was as if these ghosts were just another race who lived among the living.

Ruzen was still wondering on what to do, when he heard the sharp yell of a woman. It made him snap out of his daze, as he saw the mother of the child looking at him in horror. She finally seemed to take notice of him, as if he was the ghost and not the other two playing around her son. oT1Hr6

“A cursed one!” she screeched.

He blinked in response, because he recalled this whole ‘cursed one’ ordeal from his new memories.

In this world, the cursed ones were marked with a black tattoo between their eyes, it was diamond shaped, rune like symbol, a natural formation marking the body.

The tattoo was rather small, the size of a nail. But since it marked the cursed ones apart from other races, it was dark and prominent. zWjUJg

For a sudden, Ruzen was now stuck between turning around and running or maintaining peace talk. Since his appearance made so much disturbance, there was some sense in making peace with these strangers in white tunics.

He coughed, even as a cursed one, the original body owner, Al’Bae, did not know why he had been hated, so nor did Ruzen know.

He believed he would have to see why there was such a strong reaction on seeing a cursed one, because Al’Bae was a sad introvert and he always lived alone, like a nomad travelling from one place to another. So with such bare contact with people, it was no wonder he had been oblivious.

Only the hate in everyone’s eyes was what Al’Bae saw each day directed towards himself. Poor lad. And for why Ruzen took over his body? Even Ruzen had no idea, like the original owner never died, nor did he practice dark arts, so what could be the reason for such exchange? Ruzen was a bit clueless about this whole deal. vljf9F

Anyway, for the sake of maintaining the transmigration decorum, he cleared his throat and very politely asked, “Can I have a drop of water,” he sounded rather horrendous to his own ears due to his parched throat, “I won’t disturb you all again.” But maybe it was what made the woman even more wary of him.

He spoke in the foreign tongue that came naturally to him, since Al’Bae was apt with it. But it was not as if he was born a smooth talker, so just communicating was his priority to get himself what he wanted. Which was currently a glass of chilled water. Even plain hot water would be enough.

The woman, although now staring, was still horrified, and after seeing him talk she almost jumped. “S-Stay away from my family, Be’hun, make him disappear!”

Ruzen did not know who was Be’hun or if there was only one family living in this small settlement, but soon he noticed one of the ghosts floating towards him, rather fast. YmrkOV

He tried dodging when an attack came in the form of sharp wind force, bringing in sand particles splitting his bare hands and face. But he wasn’t fast enough, and the attack hurt a bit. Good that he had closed his eyes, or these people would have turned him blind!

He wasn’t even exaggerating!

He concurred it was just to scare him away, not really kill him, but still, it was too harsh a greeting.

“You won’t get anything from us, go away!” laioen

Watching the woman shouting so fiercely, Ruzen wanted to forcefully enter the settlement, but he wasn’t yet crazy enough to take that step, he had always been a law abiding citizen.

Still, he was too parched to enact the good lad role. “Please, just one drop of water…” he watched as the woman scowled, so he changed tactics midway, “or else I would curse you all!”

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He tried scaring them, maybe it would work, even if the approach was a bit pathetic.

But surprisingly, it did work, they all trembled, even the ghosts, and stepped back cautiously. ExpLb3

“W-We will give you water, but don’t enter!”

Ruzen was rather surprised that just a small threat made them retreat so readily, and he was even more interested in knowing just what his curse was… it might come in handy, at least he wasn’t as saintly as Al’Bae, who was very meek since birth.

“I won’t disturb you, just give me water,” he said apologetically, throwing a glance at the young boy who was now watching him alongside the girl ghost, his eyes fearful and scared.

It made Ruzen feel guilty, but what else could he do in his situation? Qq2XOh

The woman noticed his gaze though, and before he could retract them, she hurriedly took away the boy and asked the ghost girl to keep him inside, as if afraid Ruzen would curse her son.

Ruzen frowned, but maintained his peace, because in his heart, even he did not want to act like a bully. Anyway, he waited patiently, he was good at that.