I floated through eternity, like a mote of dust being carried by the air, lit by an unknowable source of light that let me know I still existed.
SMACK!
Ow... okay, apparently I hadn't been floating, I'd been falling. I looked around quickly at my surroundings and discovered that the place somehow wasn't as big as before. In fact, I could now see walls closing in, and furniture forming itself from the floor below.
I yelped as a chair formed beneath me and held on for dear un-life as I was propelled forward to a desk with several pamphlets on it. I lifted one up cautiously and read the cover, 'So, you've died and are being Reincarnated?'
...I died?
I looked around with fright, the events from before catching up to me. Just how did I survive a fall like that? And just where the hell am I?
A mechanical giggle sounded from around the room, and a child-like voice spoke, "Oh, you're like this every time. I've made sure to record this specific case as well, since you're gonna have your memories the next time you reincarnate."
"W-what do you mean?" I stammered, looking around for speakers or a... speaker.
"Ah, it doesn't really matter. You just gotta know that a few eons ago you made a stupid bet that only now is paying off. Somehow you've managed not to get your soul annihilated through all your incarnations, even in worlds stuffed to the brim with demons or overzealous soul-devouring inquisitors." The voice said, sounding a bit pouty towards the end.
"Anyways, you won. I accept that, hard as it may be, and I'm going to let you come back to life in whichever setting you want. There are limitations to what you'll have to start off with there, but I'll be nice and let you pick a few benefits beforehand."
A game device formed above me and fell into my lap, nearly causing me to fall over in fright. I looked at the options, and saw it was fairly similar to an RPG. "So, d-do I just make a character?" I asked nervously.
The voice yawned and replied, "Yeah, sure. I need to head off now, but when you click enter you'll appear in the world. Be sure to read all the pamphlets though, don't want you complaining if you screw up your first world."
I simply nodded and picked up a few more of the booklets, looking through the mechanics of this whole mess I've gotten myself into.
-0-0-0-0-0-
After a few hours of reading, I put down the last pamphlet. "...most of that was honestly unnecessary. Just talking about settings I could go to. Only the core stuff was really important." I muttered to myself.
"Well, excuse me if I wanted to give you a few Starting Choices. Also, you take a long time to read." Piped up the voice, apparently having returned from whatever business they were taking care of.
A bead of sweat formed on my forehead and I gave a sheepish laugh as I began entering the options on the gaming device.
In the end I decided to go with the Naruto Series, one that seemed... not safe, but at least a place where I could gain experience for future reincarnations and maybe have a little fun while doing so. I place a whopping 50 of my points into getting a 'Kekkai Genkai', specifically Wood Release. I spent another 18 points on Techniques that seem pretty necessary (along with one that just seemed cool) and the other 32 going towards my Stats and Skills.
I had 100 Character Points to spend on my stats and skills, and the choice of 3 different Perks to make things a bit easier for myself. Honestly though, with 9 different stats and the importance of skills, I definitely wouldn't be starting off with a character one could call good.
Some stuff like Pseudo-Jinchuuriki cost 1000 points, 10 times my total! I'd have been angrier if I hadn't read through the booklets and found out that I'd be able to earn more character points as time went on and I started clearing quests and defeating my enemies.
But in all seriousness, some of these options were pretty insane, both in benefit and price. The full Jinchuuriki would cost over 10,000 Character Points at the lowest, with the more powerful Bijuu costing even more.
Then there was that Sharingan thing I read up on. Just getting the single-tomoe version would cost the same amount as the basic Wood Release I got, and the Mangenkyo would cost as much as some of the mid-tier Bijuu.
Hopefully I'd be able to learn seals or medical jutsu and try to get those for myself without having to spend as many points. I'd certainly be able to get the stats for it.
While I was quite weak at the moment, I'd chosen the 'Chakra Monster' and 'Control Freak' perks, both of which gave me a +50% to my base Chakra Pool and Chakra Control respectively. In addition to those two, I'd picked up 'Prodigy', a perk that if I were to ever to return here, would pick each time. That singular perk added another 20% to any character point reward I got, and did in fact go into decimals for extra efficiency!
I quickly looked over the whole thing and gave a quick nod before searching for the 'Finish' button... and I cannot find it. Huh.
I spent a few more minutes looking through all the tabs before giving up and looking up to the ceiling of this strange place, "Um, I-I think I'm done here. What do I do now?"
The voice returned joyously, sounding very relieved as it thundered through the room, "Ah! Finally! There are only like a few dozen options on there, I honestly don't know how the heck you took this long to finish."
My brows furrowed as I spoke up in my defense, "I-I just wanted to make sure I was choosing the correct things. I mean, a lot of the things in there were pretty much trap options... including a literal 'trap' option-" the voice giggled gleefully, "-and this is my first world anyways. While I don't expect massive success here, I at least want to make sure I begin with good foundations."
If the voice had eyes, it'd be rolling them, but it just decided to continue speaking, "Whatever, I'm gonna make your body now."
"Wait, what?" I said, before screaming in pain as my body parts began shifting around, my bones shrunk, hair grew out and changed color, and a burning root system tore its way through my body.
"Ooh, lucky you. You look a bit like Tobirama himself, that might help out a bit if people wonder where you got your Mokuton from."
"M-mokuton?" I asked from my position on the floor, trying to balance myself in this new form that I've taken.
"Ah, your Wood Release. Anyways, time for you to head to your new home. You won't have to go through birth, so don't worry about that. Also, you'll be a three-year old orphan. Just to give you a bit of time to train up before you get too old."
"T-thanks?" I said weakly.
"You're very welcome. Now get on in there!"
I felt a hand shove me from behind and began falling once more.
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A/N: So! This is my first fanfic that I'm really gonna try dedicating myself to. Tell me what you guys thought, and any suggestions on how I can improve! I'd ask for you not to be harsh, but harsh criticism is better than none at all. I want to improve and hopefully create something all of you can enjoy. Anyways, here's the sheet I'm using for my MC so far!
Name: N/A
Rank: N/A
Stats/Skills:
-Strength: 3 (E-Rank)
-Stamina: 3 (E-Rank)
-Speed: 5 (D-Rank)
-Intelligence: 5 (D-Rank)
-Ninjutsu: 5 (D-Rank)
-Genjutsu: 3 (E-Rank)
-Taijutsu: 3 (E-Rank)
-Chakra Pool: 45 (30) (E-Rank)
-Chakra Control: 45 (30) (E-Rank)
-Techniques: Water Clone Jutsu (C-Rank), Clone Jutsu (E-Rank), Transformation Jutsu (E-Rank), Body Replacement Jutsu (E-Rank), Body-Flicker (D-Rank)