Dual Realm Exchange System

’Mom...’

Damian’s consciousness returned alongside a burning pain in his head.

He opened his bloodshot eyes and found himself lying beneath a clear blue sky, surrounded by tall trees and unfamiliar plants.

A white rabbit watched him from several meters away, while birds chirped loudly enough to make his skull throb.

This was... clearly not the warehouse.

Damian tried to push himself up, but his arms gave out beneath him.

His body felt impossibly heavy, and darkness was already creeping into the edges of his vision.

A rustling sound came from the nearby bushes.

Four figures emerged from the forest, and Damian’s failing gaze settled on the pointed ears of the woman leading them.

"An... elf?"

That was all he managed before losing consciousness again.

.............

"...could sell him for quite a bit."

Damian’s eyelids twitched.

He remained still, listening carefully as his thoughts slowly cleared.

He remembered falling from the truck, striking his head, and waking inside a forest where he saw what appeared to be an elf.

Now someone was discussing selling him.

Had he been picked up by human traffickers?

"Stop pretending to be asleep, human. Your breathing changed," a youthful female voice said mockingly.

Damian sighed internally and slowly opened his eyes to see that he was currently lying in a clean wooden room containing four beds, polished flooring, and a strange ceiling lamp burning with blue fire.

More importantly, four young women were gathered around him.

The closest was a blonde woman with golden eyes, dressed in the white-and-blue robes of a priestess.

Beside her stood a tall wolf beastwoman with grey ears and a matching tail, watching Damian’s movements carefully.

At the foot of the bed was the elf he had seen earlier, carrying a bow over fitted leather armour. Her short green-gold hair framed a beautiful but visibly suspicious face.

The final woman sat on the neighbouring bed, swinging her short legs over the edge. She was a halfling with messy auburn hair, freckles, and an amused expression that immediately identified her as the source of the earlier comment.

Damian closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again, but nothing changed.

Indeed... he was not seeing things.

"Thank you for helping me. May I know your names?" Damian asked politely.

The blonde woman smiled first. "My name is Eunice, and I am a priestess of the Holy Light Church."

"Hmmm. Paulina, proud Wolf Warrior!" the beastwoman declared with one hand on her hip.

The elf folded her arms. "You would not be able to pronounce my true name, so you may call me Julia."

The halfling raised her hand eagerly. "And I’m Janet. Nice to meet you, strange man!"

"My name is Damian Baines. I was involved in an accident, so I apologize for the trouble I caused you." Damian introduced himself in a soft voice.

Paulina and Julia both looked away awkwardly, apparently unprepared for such a formal response.

Eunice remained composed and gently placed a hand over his own. "There is no need to apologize. When we found you, you were close to death. I healed the worst of your injuries, but you should drink this to complete your recovery."

She removed a small glass vial from her pouch, in which a red liquid glowed within.

The moment Damian accepted the vial, a blue screen appeared before his eyes.

[Dual-Realm Exchange System online!]

[Binding Host: Damian Baines...]

[Binding successful.]

[Activation Condition: Contact with a tradeable item.]

[Initiating tutorial.]

Damian froze.

But it didn’t stop there as another panel replaced the first.

[Dual-Realm Exchange System

Host: Damian Baines

Age: 26/68

Exchange Limit: 1 Tonne/1000 Liters

——————————————

Class (Valoria): Level 0 Wanderer

Experience Points: 0/10

Alignment: Neutral

Titles: None

——————————————

Cultivation Base (Shengyuan): None

Cultivation Method: None

Alignment: Neutral

Sect: None

——————————————

Unique Talents:

* Appraise I

* Logistics I.]

Before he could properly understand the information, more notifications appeared.

[Congratulations, Damian Baines, for becoming the current eon’s host of the Dual Realm Exchange System! You were chosen out of the uncountable living beings across the multiverse to hold this power, and you are free to use it however you like! Any tasks from the system, minus the tutorial, are free to be undertaken or ignored, but often yield very great benefits including system feature upgrades, unlocks, new skills, new powers, and more!]

[For the purpose of the tutorial, you will be required to complete some actions before you can fully unlock the system’s base functions, and it is advised that you perform them as quickly as possible to gain the means to establish a foothold in these realms.]

[As an introduction, you have been granted access to two unique realms located in completely different universes, with different flows of time and power systems. Your first realm - and the one you currently inhabit - is Valoria, a world full of magic, wizards, knights, dragons and princesses, with a strong medieval monarchy! Your second realm is Shengyuan, full of spiritual energy, immortal cultivators, martial artists, demon beasts and jade beauties, with a strong sectarian division!]

Damian stared ahead in silence.

So... he had died and crossed over.

There was no other reasonable explanation.

The warehouse, the fall, and the sound of his head striking the ground had all been real.

Somehow, he had awakened in another world and gained something called the Dual-Realm Exchange System.

"Is he truly all right?" Paulina asked, her tail swaying anxiously.

"I detected no damage to his mind," Eunice replied, though she also looked uncertain.

Damian quickly recovered his expression.

"I’m sorry. I was merely overwhelmed by everything that has happened," he explained.

That answer eased the atmosphere.

Paulina’s tail relaxed, while Julia walked over to her own bed and sat down.

She pretended to lose interest, but her pointed ears remained directed toward him.

Janet continued watching with a knowing smile.

Eunice gestured toward the vial. "Please drink it. There may still be injuries that my healing did not completely remove."

Damian looked down and immediately, another screen appeared.

[Tradeable item detected.]

[Would you like to use <Appraise I>?]

’Yes.’

[Item: Vial of Healing

Grade: Common

Description: The most common potion made in Valoria and a handy tool for quick recovery in battle. It heals all injuries for beings at and below level 5, with severely diminishing effects for those above that threshold.]

Damian’s grip tightened around the vial.

This was a... healing potion?

According to the appraisal, this medicine in his hand could repair the injuries that had slowly destroyed his life on Earth, yet it was considered an ordinary product in this world.

However, his thoughts quickly returned to his mother.

What would happen to her now that he was dead?

Apex Meridian should be forced to compensate his next of kin because he had died from a workplace injury, but the company could delay the matter for years.

Even if the payment was eventually made, his cousin, as his next of kin, would decide whether any of it reached his mother.

Damian’s breathing quickened as he pictured her lying alone in Room 144 while the hospital funds ran dry.

Without him, no one would visit every day, argue over her bills, or continue fighting after the first rejection.

His fingers closed around the vial until the glass creaked, then a warm hand pressed against his forehead.

"Divine Skill: Purification," Eunice said softly.

White light entered Damian’s body and the panic clouding his thoughts disappeared almost instantly.

His concern remained, but the fear and despair no longer submerged his rational thoughts.

Damian glanced at Eunice gratefully after releasing a slow breath.

Whatever was happening on Earth, he could not solve it while lying helplessly in Valoria.

He needed to survive, understand the system, and find a way back.

Only then could he protect his mother!

Damian uncorked the vial and drank the potion, the liquid tasting faintly like strawberry wine.

A cool energy spread through his body, removing his headache, bruises, and lingering pain within seconds.

His breathing became smoother, his tired muscles regained their strength, and even the old aches created by years of warehouse labor disappeared.

The taste was good, but the effect was even better!

Damian stared at the empty vial, realizing that he had just consumed something that would be priceless on Earth.

"That was extremely useful, thanks. How can I repay you?" Damian asked, turning to Eunice.

However, his good intentions were met with laughter as Paulina and Janet immediately chuckled.

Even Julia pursed her lips to stop a smile before turning her face away.

Eunice patted Damian’s arm. "I understand your intentions, but I hope no one I help ever feels obligated to repay me for a mere Vial of Healing."

’Mere, huh?’

From that one word, Damian understood his mistake.

In Valoria, this miracle drug was cheap enough to give to a stranger without expecting payment.

That difference in value was precisely the kind of opportunity his system seemed designed to exploit.

A common item here could become a fortune on Earth.

Likewise, ordinary products from Earth might be rare or valuable in Valoria.

The Dual-Realm Exchange System was not simply a means of traversing between worlds, but was more akin to a one-man trading route connecting two completely different civilizations.

Damian suppressed his thoughts and scratched the back of his head.

"It seems I said something strange, sorry about that." he admitted.

He then glanced at them as one. "By the way, you guys mentioned that you were adventurers?"

Janet jumped to her feet on the other bed.

"That’s right! We are the Valkyrie Adventure Group, also known as the Four Valkyries of Grayfen!" Janet announced proudly.

Paulina puffed out her chest, while Eunice smiled with quiet dignity.

Julia sighed. "Janet chose that name herself."

"And everyone agreed it was excellent," Janet replied.

"No one agreed," Julia corrected her.

Damian smiled at their interaction.

It was obvious enough that these young ladies were quite close, and despite Julia’s suspicion, none of them had treated him poorly.

She soon returned to the important matter.

"Where are you from? You do not look fully Damaran or Illuskan." Julia asked with furrowed brows, sizing him up.

All four women looked at him, clearly expecting an answer.

Damian briefly considered claiming amnesia, but Eunice had already used magic to clear his mind.

As such, if spells capable of detecting lies existed, getting caught would destroy the trust he needed.

"I... guess I’m not from this realm. I was in my own world when I suffered an accident. When I woke up, I was in the forest." Damian answered slowly, expecting the worst but having to risk it anyway.

However, their reactions were far milder than expected.

"Hoh? An Otherworlder?" Janet asked with interest.

"Your kind are normally summoned here by special means. Natural arrivals are rare, but they are not unheard of." Eunice explained with a gentle smile.

Paulina leaned closer and sniffed him. "We found you because your scent was unfamiliar. It’s pleasant, like foreign perfume."

Damian was unsure how to respond to that.

Julia studied him critically. "It also explains his weakness. I have never encountered an adult human with so little mana or physical development."

"I was injured," Damian pointed out.

"You are healed now and still weak," Julia replied.

Damian decided not to argue with the touchy elf.

Eunice rose and adjusted her robes. "Whatever the circumstances, we should take Damian to the Adventurer’s Guild. They can register him as an Otherworlder, help establish his identity, and allow him to view his <Character Sheet>."

Damian paused at the final words.

The phrase sounded foreign, yet he somehow understood its meaning.

[Valorian terminology detected.]

[Character Sheet: A record of an individual’s level, class, attributes, skills, and titles.]

[Detecting that the Host’s Character Sheet has not been officially awakened.]

[Tutorial Objective Updated, Initiating Tutorial Quest One!]

[The First Step Of Many - Tutorial Quest

Description: As a newly arrived Otherworlder to Valoria, you have no power, no money, and no foundation, but you’re in luck as this realm is used to, and accommodating towards, outsiders from alternate realms! As a Dual Realm Exchange Specialist, you must take advantage of this kindness by all means!

Objective: Head to the local Adventurers Guild and activate your character sheet to gain your class!

Reward: Special Power: One Feat Per Level!]

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