CHAPTER 1
On one of the countless roads weaving through Birmingham, among the blur of honking cars and impatient drivers, a modest-sized vehicle cruised steadily along the highway. Inside sat a middle-aged man at the wheel, focused on the road. Beside him, a slightly younger woman gazed out the window. In the backseat, slouched against the door with earphones jammed in and a smartphone in hand, sat a peculiar teenage girl. Her raven curls framed a pale face lit only by the glow of her screen. She was completely immersed in a martial arts web novel.
A sudden blaring honk from a nearby car made her flinch. She shot a glare out the window before calming herself, fingers automatically twirling her curls. Her mind drifted to the fight from earlier—what began as a petty squabble with two girls from another class had snowballed into an all-out brawl that landed them all in the principal's office.
Now, she was heading home after being chewed out by her dad at school.
That same dad was growing increasingly frustrated by the stop-and-go traffic ahead. Muttering under his breath, he swerved into the next lane to overtake the sluggish car in front of him. He didn't see the massive truck barreling down the opposite side of the road until it was far too late.
The last thing the family of three saw was the blinding headlights—and then, nothing. The truck crashed into them with a violent screech, metal crumpling, tires skidding. Chaos. Silence.
Their miserable lives were cut short in an instant, lost in the wreckage, drifting into a sleep they would never wake from.
Hehehe…
That's what was supposed to happen.
𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟
Somewhere far, far away, a small child's eyes snapped open.
Panicked, she flailed her little arms, struggling to sit up. Everything around her looked massive—too massive. Her hands were tiny. Her body was light. Disoriented, she stumbled over to a large mirror in the corner of the room.
"What the—?" she muttered, pressing a hand to her cheek. A round, childlike face stared back at her.
"A… kid?"
She stared at her reflection, piecing together what just happened. The crash. The light. Then… this.
Her breathing quickened. Her chest tightened. Tears threatened to spill over. This can't be real. I died. I know I did. So what the hell is this?
Then—sudden pain. A blinding migraine surged through her skull, dropping her to her knees.
Her mind was flooded with foreign memories: a girl's lonely childhood, an orphanage, names and faces she didn't recognize—yet somehow did. She clutched her head as the pieces slammed into place.
She had transmigrated.
Reincarnated. Into the body of a six-year-old girl in a completely different world.
Alison sat back, exhaling slowly. Her fear waned, replaced by a cautious calm.
"Well… that explains a lot. Ugh. So troublesome."
Just as she was starting to think things through, the door creaked open.
A woman in her late twenties stepped in, dressed plainly in a long black skirt and a white blouse. Her expression was as bland as her outfit.
"Alright, kid. Time for dinner in the hall. Chop chop."
Without waiting for a response, she turned and walked out, leaving the door ajar.
Alison blinked. She knew this woman.
Mary.
The lazy caretaker from the orphanage—cold, careless, always shirking her duties unless under threat from the strict director, Mrs. Sophia. The memories from the body's original owner confirmed it.
Still a little shaky, Alison decided to follow. I need energy if I want to think straight. And acting normal is key.
She stepped out into the hallway, where dozens of doors lined both sides—bedrooms for other orphans, no doubt. The worn floor creaked beneath her as she descended the old wooden staircase.
The common area downstairs was large and filled with mismatched furniture. It had the well-used look of a place that had seen countless years of childhood chaos—yet it was clean, surprisingly so.
Turning left, she entered the dining hall, where a long table stretched nearly the entire length of the room. Chairs lined both sides, already filled with children of all ages, ranging from toddlers to teenagers.
She quietly took her seat and began eating her modest portion: a loaf of bread and a bowl of bean soup.
As she ate, she scanned the room, eyes eventually landing on two older boys deep in conversation. One had a buzz cut, the other a bowl cut. They sat at the far end of the table, but their voices carried.
"I swear, the moment I turn 18, I'm going to participate in the hunter exam!" said the buzz-cut boy, practically vibrating with excitement.
Alison perked up, ears twitching.
She inched closer wanting to eavesdrop better
"No way!" his friend scoffed. "You won't even reach the exam site, let alone pass. One person makes it every few years! You're dreaming, dude."
Buzz Cut grinned, flexing his tanned biceps
"say that again to my face after I come out of the exam with my hunter license , after all these muscles are not just for show"
Alison slowly facepalmed.
Did he just say… Hunter Exam?
Hunter license?
She pinched her arm. Hard.
"Ow—okay. This is real."
A mix of dread and disbelief twisted in her stomach. I didn't just reincarnate—I reincarnated into the world of Hunter x Hunter.
A world where people can kill you without you even realizing it. Where danger lurks everywhere. Where power is everything.
Her head hit the table with a thud.
"So troublesome…"
A soft laugh broke her spiral. "You look like you're carrying the weight of the world on your tiny shoulders, Ali."
Alison looked up and forced a smile. Annoyed by the nosy girl "Nothing, Jane. Don't worry."
She stood and quietly returned to her small room, tucked into a corner of the orphanage. Throwing herself onto the bed, she exhaled deeply.
This is insane. I need to think. But not now. Not tonight.
Her eyes fluttered closed as the day's shock finally hit her like a truck—again.
I'll deal with this tomorrow. For now… sleep.
And just like that, the not-so-little girl drifted into slumber, her thoughts tangled in the mysteries—and dangers—of the world she'd been thrown into.