Bang! She was thrown down to the ground, which was rock hard and dusty. She gave a pathetic groan and rolled over, her face scraping on the dirt. Her body, her limbs, her legs, everything felt heavy. "Ugh be careful. Don't break her bones before we get the silver." A scratchy voice muttered from somewhere above them. "Please, she looks like a tank. A little fall won't do anything." another guy laughed. Someone spat on the ground right beside her head. It was a revolting sound. "All that walking for a few lousy pieces of silver. My boots are ruined." She squinted her eyes open, but everything became blurry. The sky above was not her office ceiling. Instead, she saw a blue sky. Wait, what? She attempted to push herself up, but her arms felt heavy and weak. Her wrists were stinging. When she looked down at her hands, she froze. They were chubby and filthy. This made no sense. She last remembered sitting at her desk at 2:00 a.m., staring at a mind numbing Excel spreadsheet. Her chest felt extremely tight before her vision went black, and now she's face down in the dirt? Is this a lucid dream? Perhaps she finally snapped under the stress and passed out on her keyboard. "Hey, stop spacing out." the first voice said. She looked up to see two guys standing over her. They resembled extras from a low budget historical drama, dressed in gray leather armor and wielding rusted swords. They looked sweaty and angry. Eee smells pretty bad too. "Whatever." the second guard said, shaking a small leather pouch with a clinking sound. "At least we have something for her. Better than dragging her all the way to the northern wasteland as the master ordered. Her father really despises her huh? They're paying us just to make her disappear." "Seriously. What a jerk. If my child was a pain, I would simply kick them out. I don't care what happens as long as she never returns." None of this applied to her. Her father was a retired accountant living in the suburbs, and she is certain he loves her. Before she could even ask what was going on, four suspicious looking men approached. They looked like bandits. One had a massive scar across his nose, and they all smelled of sweat and cheap alcohol. The guards handed over a piece of paper, took the money bag, and walked away without looking back. "Okay, get up." the scarred guy said, giving her a light kick in the thigh. She grimaced. Damn. She hadn't expected that. The pain seemed too real for a dream. She attempted to scramble back, but her body was so heavy and clumsy that she felt like a turtle trapped on its back. "Tch. Look at this." one of the men said, crossing his arms and expressing disgust. "Why did we even purchase this one? She's enormous. It took two of us just to drag her to the cart." "The boss said any girl would fetch a price in the pleasure houses or mines." the leader grumbled. "But who will pay for this? She looks like she eats for three people." "Nah. She looks like she eats 3 people." "Forget it, look at the cage." growled the third fellow, pointing to a small wooden cart nearby. "Do you think it'll even hold her? She will probably break it just sitting down." "Just throw her in." the leader snapped, his patience wearing thin. "If she breaks it, we'll put her on a leash, you know." Two of them took her by the arms, the others by the legs. She started to panic, kicking her feet and yelling, "Hey! Let go! What are you doing? I'm calling the police!" But the voice that came out was weird, higher pitched and frantic. The men didn't even flinch. They groaned under her weight, their faces turning red as they hoisted her up and shoved her through the narrow door of the wooden cage. The wood creaked loudly as she landed. The door slammed shut, and a heavy iron padlock clicked into place. She sat on the floor with her knees pressed against her chest because there wasn't enough room to move. The dust from the road made her cough, and her throat felt like sandpaper. Through the bars, she watched the men climb onto the front of the cart and start the horse. The cart jolted, shaking her entire body. She wrapped her arms around her knees, staring at her dirt caked fingernails. The smell of horses, sweat, and dirt was overwhelming. Is this reallya dream? The ride went on for hours. Her legs were cramping, her back ached, and she was dying for a drink of water. Suddenly, the shaking stopped. The loud, rattling sound of the wheels on the dirt vanished. Instead, there was this weird whistling sound, like wind rushing past a car window on the highway. She felt a "drop" in her stomach, the exact feeling you get when an elevator goes up too fast. She crawled over to the side of the cage and peeked through a gap and looked down. Her heart nearly stopped. The ground wasn't there anymore. It was far, far below. The trees looked like tiny heads of broccoli, and the road was just a thin brown string. The horse pulling the cart wasn't even touching anything. Its hooves were trotting on literal air, leaving glowing ripples behind. The whole carriage was flying. Oh my god, she thought, gripping the bars until her knuckles went white. She had read enough web novels and watched enough anime during her lunch breaks. Flying horses, magic carriages, ancient clothes...this is one of those "cultivation" worlds. As she spiraled, she heard a soft whimper from the corner. She turned her head, her eyes finally adjusting to the shadows. She wasn't alone. There were about five other girls huddled together at the back of the cart. They looked exhausted and terrified. Unlike her, they were wearing nice silk dresses, even if they were torn and dirty. Some were crying silently, while others just stared at the floor. They all had their hair in those complicated ancient styles. They were victims, too. These traffickers were collecting girls from all over to sell them off. She wanted to say something, but her throat was too dry to speak. Plus, what was she supposed to say? "Hey guys, crazy weather up here?" She leaned back against the bars and sighed. She is weak, hungry, and currently floating thousands of feet in the air. She closed her eyes for a moment when suddenly she heard a notification. Ah? Notification. She blinked, a bright blue transparent screen popped in front of her face. She tried to swat it away, but her hand went right through it. The screen stayed put, moving whenever she moved her head. Text started typing itself out with a little clicking noise: [System Initializing... 10%... 40%... 80%... 100%] [Initialization Complete. Welcome, User.] She stared at the floating words, mouth wide open. [Scanning Host Body Condition...] [Alert: Host body is in terrible shape. Severe obesity, blocked energy paths, malnourished despite weight, and zero magic levels. Survival probability: 5%] "Are you serious?" she whispered, feeling a mix of annoyance and shock. Even a magical screen was calling her fat and weak. [Binding to soul. Loading Life-Saving Fate Changing System...] [First Quest: Survive the Slave Auction.] [Reward: Body Cleansing Pill x1, 100 System Points.] [Failure: Death or permanent slavery.] The blue screen flickered and then shrunk into a tiny gear icon in the corner of her vision.

CHAPTER 1