"Please Touch Me, Master."
This was Bi Chen's go-to game, his favorite among an endless list of trash games he enjoyed playing. Unlike what the title suggested, it wasn't an Eroge by any means, and it barely had any erotic elements to it.
It had a simple, clear premise and took place in the world of Alteir.
In this world, there are all sorts of fantasy creatures: with the Race Compendium listing at least twenty-five main Races, most having subspecies. However, regardless of race or origin, there were only two classifications that mattered in this world:
Master and Slave.
Masters had ultimate power, capable of wielding Slaves as living weapons, with the latter having no choice but to obey their Masters.
In "Please Touch Me, Master", Masters typically used Slaves for all sorts of purposes, but the central focus was on exploring dungeon-like regions known as Labyrinths.
Masters could become Explorers who entered Labyrinths seeking treasures and slaying Abominations. They could attain fame, glory, and power… as well as a harem of Slaves and even Masters depending on one's achievements.
Bi Chen had played this game so many times, had gotten a 99.99% Completion Rate in the game, and was about to reach 100% Completion Rate when he suddenly fell asleep while staring at his computer screen.
By the time he woke up, he found himself in the body of a Zombie.
"Rise to your feet," Bi Chen heard a voice and instinctively rose, only for his blurred vision to slowly clear so he could see an immensely beautiful woman in front of him. Her beauty was unreal, and her voluptuous chest caught his eyes nearly instantly, but he restrained himself from staring.
He wanted to speak, but realized his thoughts were rather muddled and his speech was slow.
The most he could do was let out low growls and small grunts.
Only if he tried very hard could he actually let out words, but he was too confused by his circumstances to even bother with that. He quickly observed his surroundings and found himself to be in a cave-like space.
It reminded him of the walls of the Labyrinths he used to explore in "Please Touch Me, Master" but that didn't even register in his mind until he saw the other Slaves hiding a distance away from his current position.
He could see "Slave" on top of their heads, but the color was black… showing they had already been claimed. If the color was white, then they were Slaves with no Master, which meant any Master could claim them just by touching them.
Yes! That was how cruel this world was to Slaves.
A single touch… that was all a Master needed to enslave one born with such a fate.
Even the most powerful Slave would become subservient to the weakest Master… if the Master managed to simply touch them.
Bi Chen naturally knew this information, but he was more stunned by the presence of creatures that didn't exist on Earth. He also observed himself and quickly realized he had become a Zombie. His senses were dull, but he had not lost all of his mental faculties.
He began to think as hard as he could.
"Looks like you lost your sword. Here, have this." The pretty girl's voice echoed in his head yet again, and he saw her hand him a weapon. He took it, still confused about what was actually happening and if he was simply dreaming.
Bi Chen secretly pinched himself several times, but felt no pain whatsoever.
He was a Zombie, after all.
"We should leave this place now. Going further down will only bring us face-to-face with the Rank 2 Abomination again, and I don't think we're equipped to handle such a beast," The girl continued with a spiteful expression. "Such a shame… we actually injured it back then."
'Eh? Did I hear Abomination? So we're actually in a Labyrinth? But this Master doesn't look like an Explorer at all… and those Slaves look rather weak. Even I look freaking pathetic. We aren't at all equipped for exploration, yet she's talking about a Rank 2 Abomination? What?'
At this point, he could no longer control himself, and his thoughts finally leaked out of his lips in the form of rough, sluggish words.
"Whaaaat iissss thissss?" Bi Chen mumbled. "Wheeerreeee theeeee fucccckkk aammmm Iiiii?"
His words instantly sparked animosity from the gentle-looking lady.
"You dirty little Slave!"
Her beautiful expression instantly turned ugly, warped by sheer rage and frustration. Bi Chen watched as she brandished a dangerous-looking whip, ready to strike him.
At that moment, he forgot that he was a Zombie and couldn't feel pain. He forgot that he was actually trying to feel pain, so he could wake up from his dream. He forgot about everything else, and his mind focused solely on one thing.
—Survival!
The moment she sent her whip flying at him, he tried to duck, swiftly flailing his armed hand around to protect himself from the long range of the Master's whip. However, he underestimated the range of his own weapon, and the blade's tip accidentally sliced her throat.
At that moment, time seemed to slow down.
Bi Chen had played his fair share of violent games, but he lived in modern-day Earth. He had never experienced actual violence take place in front of his very own eyes. He was surprised by how the blood flowed from her neck, and how she quickly bled out as she muttered barely intelligible words to him.
Bi Chen understood what she said.
'I'm not her slave…? Was I ever her slave? Hold on…' His thoughts reeled as quickly as they could. 'This Zombie was her Slave, just like the others back there, but I guess I must have somehow transmigrated into this body and reset its status.'
As such, while he was still a Slave, he was unclaimed.
Hence, why the "Slave" title atop his head was white, and why he could attack the Master—even if it was by accident.
Still, even after uncovering this mystery, Bi Chen was not at ease at all.
In fact, his worry rapidly grew.
'This doesn't feel like a dream. Is this real? I actually transmigrated into a game, and not only am I a slave… but I am actually the weakest Race in all of Alteir? Lesser Undead… Zombie.'
He felt this was too much, especially since it hadn't even been five minutes since he arrived in this world, and he had already committed an unforgivable sin—killing a Master.
And he did it in the presence of her other Slaves!
"G-guysssss… thiiisssss isssn't whaaaaaat itttt loooookssss likeeeee," Bi Chen tried to explain, but his voice dragged on for too long. By the time he finished his statement, the other Slaves had already changed their expressions and appeared ready to pounce.
'Damnit… it's happening already!' He could feel pressure mounting on him as he hurriedly glanced around, seeking a place to escape.
If he didn't run now… he was going to die!
Why?
It was unfair, but simple.
'Slaves are bound to the will of their Masters, even after death. They strive to fulfill their Master's dying wish, or take revenge on their Master's killer.' He frowned deeply. 'If I were a Master, I could simply overwrite their animosity by making them my slaves. But since I am a Slave, I have no way to deal with this.'
These Slaves would chase him till the ends of the world until he was dead, or until they were conquered by another Master. Even if these Slaves were rather weak, only consisting of a human, a Halfling, a Wolfman, and a Kobold, they were four while he was only one.
They clearly had the advantage of numbers.
'I'm also a weak Zombie with no Geist or Artifact. I only have this sword, but they are all armed with weapons—shoddy weapons, but weapons nonetheless.' Bi Chen's chances of victory were rather slim, and he knew it.
However, right at this moment, a miracle suddenly occurred.
[Congratulations, Successor!]
{You have fulfilled all the conditions and awakened the Sovereign Undying Body. Even as a lowly Slave, you now have the power to rise above and ascend to the realm of the Sovereigns}
~But first… you must survive!~
'Sovereign Undying what?' Bi Chen had never heard of this term before, but he was glad to see a System window pop up in front of him. This only meant that some game-like elements had been bestowed upon him upon arrival into this world.
In essence, he had a System.
'That means I can Level Up!'