Eretre was a planet occupied majorly by a two-legged specie known as hyumans. On paper, they looked no different from humans but they were very much different genetically. One could even say that hyumans were an evolved version of humans, just like the homo sapiens were evolved versions of the homo Erectus, but the gap was wider and not just a difference in skull or teeth size.
Hyumans were currently in their prosperous age, having explored the universe and conquered the stars. This was all thanks to one of the genetic improvements they had when compared to humans, which enabled them to manipulate and assimilate stellar energy. Utilizing this ability, hyumans had grown stronger and defeated countless civilizations to become the overwhelming force they were now.
Eretre was a planet in the hyuman occupied solar system, Kellan, and was one of eight planets.
Currently in this planet, in an alleyway in one of the nations located on Eretre, a young man sprawled across the floor slowly regained his consciousness.
"Ugh, where am I?" The young man, who looked to be in his early 20s, subconsciously muttered as he used one arm to support his body while the other hand massaged his forehead.
The young man glanced around to try and see if he could recognize his surroundings, but at that moment, a strange wave hit him.
"Ugh."
With a low cry, he grabbed his head with both hands as he felt a wave of memories flush into his head. Those weren't the memories of his present life or anything but his past life. He remembered who he was.
"Hehe, so in the end, I still died again huh?" The young man laughed. However, if someone else were close by, they would sense a hint of sorrow in his voice.
Rising to his feet, the young man glanced around until he spotted a window on a building nearby. This was an alleyway with buildings beside it after all so it was normal to find a window or two. The young began to walk towards the window and glanced at his reflection once he was close.
"This…how is this possible?" The young man, or rather Lucas Saunters, was shocked.
This body wasn't the body of some native of this world or anything. It was actually his; or to be exact, the body of his first life.
"Was it all a dream? Or did I go back in time? How come?" Lucas was stunned.
However, he realized something strange. The air here was different, both from that of his previous life as well as his first life. In his previous life as Lucas Saunters, the air was a mix of very negligible compounds in the air; a product of pollution in the world. As for his original life, the presence of true energy and mana were the most prevalent points, but neither Earth from his past life, nor this world he was currently in had any. The air in this world was entirely different, and the closest description Lucas had for it was 'pure'.
In that case, despite being in the body of what looked to be his younger self, Lucas realised that he didn't go back to his previous world. He was in a brand new world but in an 'old' body.
'What the heck is really going on?' Lucas frowned as he walked towards the exit of the alley while pondering on his circumstance.
The truth was Lucas had no knowledge or idea on how his previous transmigration had worked. Without the prerequisite strength, it was impossible to try and unravel the mysteries surrounding a mysterious phenomenon such as transmigration. However, Earth didn't have any sources of mana or true energy, so Lucas had given up the idea. This was why he began to focus on the study of materials and metal; an element that fascinated him even in his first life, after all, the Lucas from then was a renowned blacksmith.
As he exited the alley, Lucas was greeted by an impressive sight. Low altitude flying cars, or hover vehicles circled around the place in a hurried yet orderly fashion, towering buildings and floating platforms entered his sight. In the distance, he could even spot skyscrapers with heights averaging between 400-600m. Amidst what could be described as a jungle of advanced technology, the colourful hair atop the heads of the walking humanoids had also managed to grab Lucas' attention[1]. Compared to the humans on Earth, those here had an abundance of naturally colourful hair.
'No wait. They aren't humans.' Lucas thought as he studied them carefully from the edge of the alley.
Although 'they' looked just the same as humans, Lucas felt they weren't the same. His soul was quite powerful, a result of his training and tempering in his first life as well as his first transmigration. As such, it was quite sensitive.
While he was suspicious and cautious, Lucas figured out that he wouldn't achieve much by merely hiding in the dark, so he left the alley and decided to walk up to someone.
The closest person before him was a young lady who looked no different from a human except for the naturally purple frizzy hair she had. If it weren't for his senses, Lucas would have taken her to be a young lady on a wig.
"Excuse me. Can you please tell me where I am?" Lucas stopped before her and asked.
At first, the young lady was shocked and confused by his actions but then a look of disgust suddenly crept on her face.
"Get the f*ck away from me."
"…"
Lucas was speechless as he stared at that face that displayed so much repulsion. If he hadn't stared at his reflection a while ago, Lucas would have almost mistaken that he had a pile of dog shit as his face.
"I'm just asking a question. What's with your reaction?" Lucas frowned.
No matter what, the treatment he got was strange for a simple question. Having lived close to the peak in his first life, and being a massive achiever with a status comparable to a natural treasure in his second life, it was natural for Lucas to have a degree of pride.
Being looked at like a disgusting vermin that should be in the sewers was definitely a new treatment, and one Lucas couldn't get used to all of a sudden; especially from someone who looked not much older than his current body.
"Didn't you hear me you stinking human? Get out of my face before I make you go extinct." The purple-haired young lady frowned in disgust.
'Wait a minute… disgusting human?'
Something seemed to click in his head but Lucas didn't have the liberty to keep pondering on this as he noticed that the lady had caused such a commotion that the others were staring at them, or rather, him. On one hand, some had an expression almost as if they were looking at a zoo animal while the others, just like the young lady, were repulsed.
Lucas stepped away from the lady's sigh, returning back to the alley he exited with his heart filled with shock. The shock wasn't just due to the experience but the fact that he also noticed that the language was quite different from any he knew on Earth, yet strangely enough, Lucas could speak it.
'Where the fuck did I land this time?'
Just at that moment, a screen popped up before Lucas accompanied by a mechanical voice sounding in his ears.
"Pre-booting process completed.
Initializing loading sequence…
Loading completed.
Connecting to the Origin source…
Connection complete.
Verifying host's eligibility and assessing host's capabilities…
Verification completed.
Assessment completed.
Starting up programme…
Start up completed.
Welcome, Lucas Yohan Saunters."
[1] When I learnt English, I was told when using ‘ `s’ and the word before it ends with an ‘s’, you don’t include the s again but only the apostrophe. For instance, “This is Thomas’s” is actually incorrect. “This is Thomas’” is correct. I’ve seen few articles where people do otherwise and some might disagree with me, but I have to go by what I know.
Also, I’ll be writing in British English for the majority of the time as that’s what I’m familiar with (apologies to my American readers).