Transmigrated into another world with the strongest core

Chapter 1: The Beginning

One second, I was standing on the street, drunk out of my mind, the world tilting and buzzing with traffic, horns, and distant sirens. The night air tasted like exhaust fumes and cheap alcohol as I stumbled forward, wondering again, how I managed to mess up my life this badly. The world felt heavy on my shoulders, like everything I tried just found a new way to collapse on me.

Suddenly a strange situation happened.

Everything froze, not slowed, everything literally froze.

The cars on the road stopped mid-motion, a raindrop hanging in the air like a piece of glass. Light warped, bending inward as if folding into a single point, dragging sound with it. The whole world got swallowed, and then so did I.

All I met was darkness, but not empty darkness, more like a void with weight.

Out of nowhere an ancient deep voice, vibrated through the void,

“Your fate is not finished.”

Before I could even scream or ask what the hell that meant, the darkness ruptured. The light shattered outward like broken glass, and I felt myself yanked through it.

When the world reformed beneath my feet, I was standing in the middle of a forest.

Not the type you see on postcards, this one felt alive in a way that made my skin crawl. The air was sharp, clean, fresh too fresh, like it belonged to a world untouched by factories or fuel.

Sunlight pierced through towering trees, and the earthy smells and something faintly metallic, hit me all at once.

And in my hand was a sword.

A real one, quite heavy, cold, and way too natural in my grip for someone who had never held a weapon more dangerous than a broken beer bottle.

I felt lighter than before, like someone had shaved years of exhaustion off my body. But that only made the confusion worse.

I barely had time to think before I heard a soft female voice behind me.

“Lucas behind you.”

'Lucas?' I turned instinctively toward the voice.

I thought, But my name is Owen.

My head spun harder, waves of headaches hitting me.

Before I could even finish processing that, a force slammed into me from the side hard. My back hit a tree, knocking the breath out of me.

I looked up, dazed, just in time to see a muscular man swing a massive blade at some kind of creature lunging toward us.

And when I say “creature,” I mean something ripped straight out of a horror movie.

Mismatched limbs, jagged teeth, skin that looked like it was peeling off in strips of shadow.

My heart stopped.

I had never seen anything like that in my life.

The man glanced at me, frustration blazing in his eyes. “Lucas, get your act together!”

And right then, it hit me like ice water dumped over my skull.

I wasn’t Owen anymore, I am now Lucas, 'but who the hell is Lucas?'

I wanted to run. Instinct screamed at me to get up, sprint into the trees and disappear, rather than sitting in the middle of a monster fight I didn’t sign up for. But as I shifted to stand, a soft hand rested on my shoulder.

It was Warm and entle.

“Lucas,” she said, her voice soft enough to steady a storm, “you seem ill let me finish this so we can go home.”

I looked up.

She was beautiful in that otherworldly way that feels unfair. Elegant white hair flowing to her waist, soft eyes, and a small smile that somehow cut through all my panic. Her presence didn’t just calm me, it wrapped around me like protection.

She turned back toward the creatures. With a smooth wave of her hand, the monsters froze like statues caught mid-attack. Even their snarling mouths hung open.

My jaw dropped.

I knew instantly she wasn’t normal, this girl was powerful.

She looked back at me with that same gentle smile. “It’s okay. You’re safe now.”

And for a moment, the fear loosened its grip. For the first time since I got here, I actually managed to breathe properly. I felt my shoulders relax, and a small, shaky smile crept onto my face.

Maybe maybe now I’d get answers.

But the world wasn’t done trying to kill me.

Out of the corner of my eye, movement flickered, a blur so fast it barely looked real. Another creature burst through the trees, bigger and faster than the others. It darted straight toward the girl, it's claws were outstretched.

The muscular man shouted something but it was too fast for me to catch.

My body moved before my brain did.

I didn’t want to be the useless one anymore.

I didn’t want to watch someone save me again.

I grabbed the sword laying on the ground and sprinted toward the creature. My legs felt stronger and lighter, faster than I remembered ever being.

The creature leaped.

The girl turned her head slightly toward me, still calm, and smiling, as if she trusted me completely despite the fact that I didn’t even trust myself.

Then she said one word:

“Incenerate!.”

The air ignited and flames erupted out of nothing, swallowing the creature whole before my blade even got close. The heat washed over me, but it didn’t burn, it just swept past like a gust of warm wind.

The monster disintegrated into ash that blew away in the breeze.

I stood there frozen, sword still raised, heart pounding like a drum inside my chest.

'This world, this girl, this power ' I said to myself.

"I want to be Powerful like her" I told myself, my grip tightened around the sword.

I didn’t know where I was or why I was here.

But one thing settled hard in my chest, 'I needed answers’