The hot wind curled up the remaining smoke, and a small mountain village had now turned into a lifeless ruin.
A dilapidated house looked as though it had been torn apart by the devil's claws. Wisps of green smoke rose from its charred skeleton, twisting eerily in the air, as if countless tortured souls were writhing in agony.
The air was thick with choking smoke—the stench of burnt wood mixed with the sharp metallic smell of blood, nauseating and unbearable.
The ancient tree at the entrance of the village, once a silent witness to the passage of time, now stood unrecognizable. Its blackened branches drooped weakly, as if mourning and crying to the heavens about the injustice of fate.
From the depths of a dry well, Caesar screamed with all his strength,
"Is there anyone there? Someone, please help me! Where am I?!"
His childish voice echoed up from the darkness, but no reply came.
He was dressed in pitch-black clothing, tattered and scorched. In the dim light at the bottom of the well, it was nearly impossible to see him—unless one had exceptionally sharp eyesight.
Caesar slumped to the ground, clutching his head in agony. In a hoarse, broken voice, he muttered,
"What the hell is this?!"
Caesar is a transmigrator. Before this, he had been lying in bed, charging his phone while playing a cheap knock-off card game.
Then, unexpectedly, his phone overheated and exploded right in front of him. His last memory was of a shard of the phone piercing his eye—after that, everything went dark.
When he came to, he was in the body of a little boy, aching all over, trapped in a dry well. The sky above didn't respond, and the earth beneath gave him no aid.
"I'm so hungry…"
The sky overhead darkened. Caesar rubbed his growling stomach. No memories had fused with his own; he had no idea what had happened to this body before he arrived.
The well was at least ten meters deep. With his injured limbs and weakened state from hunger, there was no way to climb out.
As for a golden finger the cheat ability granted to many transmigrator in novels he had seen no indication of having one.
Caesar thought for a moment. Suddenly, the familiar interface of the card game he had been playing appeared before him.
It was the same game, though likely damaged in the explosion. The only usable sections were the character lineup, training screen, and card draw interface. All other features like adventure mode, the arena, etc. were now decorative and unclickable.
Even worse, all of Caesar's previous cards and characters were gone.
Opening the character status interface, he saw garbled text appear first, then a summary of his current stats:
Name: Caesar
Level: 1
Physique: 1
Strength: 1
Agility: 1
Note: Physique includes but is not limited to stamina, durability, and general health.
Strength includes physical power, attack force, and magical strength.
Agility includes movement speed, reflexes, and attack speed.
Skills: None
Equipment: None
Card Slot: None
This was Caesar's current state: weak and helpless.
He then checked the card draw interface.
He had tried it earlier, but it wouldn't respond. It just kept prompting him to recharge his account to buy spiritual stones.
The premium card pool cost 100 spiritual stones for a single draw. Ten draws had a 20% discount, totaling 908 spiritual stones.
The standard card pool required 10,000 gold coins for a single draw or 80,000 coins for ten draws—again with a 20% discount.
But Caesar had nothing. If only the adventure feature were active, he might be able to scavenge for resources and pull at least one card. Maybe that could turn his luck around.
Then... huh?
He noticed the single draw in the ordinary card pool was now labeled free.
Could it be?
He remembered how these cheap mobile games usually offered a free draw each day.
"This... might just save me!"
Caesar stood up, excitement building in his chest. In typical mobile game fashion, the first free draw usually gave you a decent character to help you survive the early stages.
If he could draw a card and insert it into the slot, would he gain that card's abilities?
With renewed hope, Caesar rubbed the dirt off his face to appear slightly less pitiful.
Trembling with anticipation, he tapped to perform a single draw.
Suddenly, a cascade of golden cards shot up from the pool—flashing brilliantly, promising fortune and power.
One card landed in midair and hovered.
Caesar's eager smile stiffened as he looked at it.
The back of the card was smooth and white like jade—beautiful, yes, but unmistakably a worthless white-rarity card. The lowest of the low. Pure "dog food."
He sighed.
Still, a white card was better than nothing.
Clicking it open, the card flipped to reveal the image of a middle-aged man with an afro, a scruffy beard, and raised fists in a victory pose—his body hair thick and visible.
Caesar: "..."
He recognized the character instantly. It was Satan.
In most games or stories, a name like Satan meant a top-tier boss.
But this was Dragon Ball's Mr. Satan.
Caesar's face twitched as he remembered the absurdity of the "World Savior" who had done absolutely nothing but take credit for others' victories.
Still, he had no choice.
"Let's try it out."
Holding the card, Caesar slotted it in.
Name: Caesar
Level: 1
Physique: 1 (+3)
Strength: 1 (+2)
Agility: 1 (+2)
Note: From cards in the slot, only 10% of their original stats are transferred. Values are rounded down.
Caesar's eyes widened in surprise.
Satan wasn't so bad after all.
He thought about it. In Dragon Ball, Satan was useless compared to the Z Fighters. But as a regular human, he was a world martial arts champion. His punching power measured over 137 on the dynamometer—far beyond normal people.
And compared to Caesar's starting stats? Satan was a monster!
His physique tripled, and both strength and agility doubled.
Suddenly, Caesar felt like a superhuman.
He couldn't smash bricks or punch through trees, but a ten-meter well? That was nothing now!
Caesar approached the wall of the well. Gripping onto the uneven stones like a lizard, he climbed quickly using his enhanced body.
Rumble.
He finally emerged from the dark pit and collapsed beside it, completely spent.
Panting heavily, Caesar opened his mouth and sucked in the fresh air as if trying to make up for all the oxygen he had lost below.
Suddenly, thunder growled across the sky.
Heavy rain began to pour, fat drops striking him with icy force. But Caesar didn't move. He simply lay there, letting the rain wash over him.
The dirt and grime on his body slowly dissolved, revealing pale, unblemished skin—pure and clean, like that of a newborn.
The downpour felt like a baptism.
For the first time, Caesar felt a profound stillness in his soul. A new beginning.