AN: Yo, here's another revamp start. This story had plenty of attention over the years since I first wrote it, but I never got around to it. I'm adding it to the rotation. If I get in the mood, or if it wins the pat vote, I'll focus more on it.
Hope my old readers enjoy it.
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Disclaimer: I own no source material.
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Someone once said:
There is an ice cream mountain range with rich vanilla, mint, and chocolate peaks that melt gently in your mouth.
There is a tree whose overflowing chocolate sap covers its fruit, creating a sweet juicy dessert, the Chocolate Frondue.
The world is in the Gourmet Age! An age in which people quest for yet unknown culinary delights!
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Chapter 1: Rebirth
Unknown Country:
In the shadows of an abandoneddark alleyway one cold night, a small figure stared up at the star-filled night sky with excitement, hope, and desperate hunger.
A hunger not just for a warm meal but a hunger for ambition.
A future full of adventure and formerly impossible dreams were so close he could taste it.
Everything started from this one moment.
And he would engrave the sight of the star-filled sky into his mind so he would never forget it.
In his adrenaline rush of excitement, the figure slammed his hand against the alley's wall only to register the pain and remember where he was as he stared at the filth-covered wall.
Blank eyes moved down to stare at a small and lightly scared hand covered in the same filth.
The eyebrows above those blank eyes began to twitch upon noticing one specific detail.
'There was dry semen on this wall…..'
The memorable moment of his new life was forever branded in his memory for the wrong reasons as he desperately scrubbed his hand on the rags of clothing he wore.
"FUCK!"
30 Minutes Earlier:
A small child in rags limped into a dark alley, placed his back against the wall, and slid down onto the ground in despair.
The figure was deathly skinny and could barely move.
Dirty white hair fell forward in a curtain, slightly blocking the view from a pair of amber eyes.
The boy was dying from starvation.
And in his final moments, all he managed to do was tilt his head up to look at the night sky with empty eyes and have one last thought.
'I just want this pain to end.'
His eyes slowly closed, and as if answering his prayers, the pain slowly receded. However, as his consciousness faded, so to did his life.
The young boy's soul passed on after much suffering to re-enter the boundless cycle of life.
A few seconds passed before the body left behind began to glow in a white light so bright that, if anyone had been in the vicinity, they would have been rushing over to see what happened or ran away in fear of getting involved.
With a large gasp of air, the boy's eyes reopened, but there was a different light behind those eyes. A new mind was behind the wheel, and the fate of the boy's body was changed forever.
1st Person POV:
'Ugh….my head! What the hell just happened?'
I took a look around with bleary eyes that were slowly clearing up.
'I'm in a….dark alley?' I felt like I had just been kicked in the head by a horse.
I tried to stand up, only to lose my balance and fall back on my ass.
'The hell? What's wrong with me?'
I looked down at my body and froze.
Short and skinny arms, short and thin legs, a tiny torso….all covered in rags…
'What? Where am I!? No! Calm down. Calm down. Focus. Analyze. Don't Panic.'
I immediately slammed down on the confusion and fear bubbling up and forced myself to think rationally.
The sole ability that got me through twenty five years of life
with anxiety issues wouldn't fail me now.
I stopped trying to move and dug through my memories.
'The last thing I remember was….? Oh, that's right!' My mind flashed back to a strange scene. I was walking home after getting a cup of coffee when a fat lady ran into the street toward an oncoming truck screaming 'For the cat Shouta's' with her arms wide open. I was so shocked at how random it was that I didn't get a chance to react when the truck swerved right into me. 'After that, …nothing.'
The cold realization hit me, and yet…I strangely felt myself calming down at the truth.
A wry smile grew on my lips as it all hit me. 'Ha, that's just my type of luck, isn't it? It's not like I had much to live for.'
"ARG!"
Just then, a sudden pain hit me, and it felt like my brain was being squeezed from numerous directions.
I fell on my side and curled into the fetal pose as memories flooded my mind. 'What is this?…what are these memories?!'
Pain. Suffering. Solitude. Hunger. Emptiness. Extreme Hunger. Despair. Ravenous hunger.
Years of suffering filled me, and while the first few years were blurry, the more recent ones were hell.
I focused on the main points and pushed everything else down to get my bearings, and it took minutes to press it down enough to catch my breath. 'Well, that sucked.'
I blinked the sweat out of my eyes as I processed what I had just learned. "According to these memories, I live in a city being used as a warzone between two countries. This city is full of homeless people with barely any supplies."
A flash of faces went by as I grimaced. 'What I assume were my parents died in an explosion years ago, and I have been living on the streets as a thief scavenging for food since? Holy shit. The last few years were a hell of watching others starve, watching others die in the decade-long war, and doing everything possible for a homeless child to survive.'
I adjusted my sitting position against the wall with a groan and realized something else.
There was a bright pink envelope stuck to my chest. 'How did I miss that?'
I pulled it off and cautiously examined it for a second before realizing there wasn't a way to make this worse as I opened it. 'Not like I have much to worry about at the moment.'
[Dear &%*#,
I hope you have arrived and settled into your new body safely.
As you should have realized by now, you died.
I have a specific system in place that guides souls with enough positive karma and strong desires to me to be sorted.
We used to use an incredibly inefficient system of meeting face-to-face, but I'm getting off track.
Your death was an accident that wasn't meant to happen. However, I have good and bad news for you.
The good news is that the woman who caused your death was devastated by her actions and turned her life around. She dedicated her life to helping others, and she drastically changed the future of your planet for the better!
The bad news is….karma doesn't work the way you're probably thinking.
That young woman's positive karma solely belonged to her, so you don't get some mind-boggling amount of karma for her actions.
You did earn enough positive karma to qualify for transmigration but…just barely.
After many heartfelt desires from souls, I created a 'beginners wish package' for those with enough positive karma and deep desires for an Isekai experience.
The package scans the soul for the most compatible anime or such other world and sends them to replace a soul that had just passed on from a young body by random. It then adapts to benefit the soul based on the world they enter.
Since you were just barely qualified, I will give you one of the earlier models for a system I made; although I warn you, it has a few bugs.
You have entered the world of your dreams, the Toriko world!
Unfortunately, you have replaced an eight-year-old orphan boy who died from starvation in a war-torn nameless city.
Due to this, I will compensate you with a single unique opportunity. Whether you grasp it or not is up to you; I won't hold your hand. It will be shown as a mission.
Now, the beginner's package has a few other benefits to help you get started.
Due to the world you are in, you are granted a very basic style system, as previously stated.
The first thing it has is a downgraded 'Observe' function.
Because it's the Toriko world, it will allow you to possess a level as well as see the levels of other humans and beasts. You will be able to see a stamina bar, a basic danger rating, and a note based on things you already have information on.
You will be able to monitor your stamina and some necessary information, such as known skills and a few small things.
Your model has no stats, points, items, inventory, skill levels, AI, or any of that nonsense.
Enjoy your new life &%*#.
I wish you the best.
God.]
Immediately after reading it, the letter burst into flames, and a virtual loading bar appeared before my eyes.
[Loading….30%...70%...100%.]
When it finished, I heard a slight ding sound before my vision seemed to blur.
When it cleared up, I could see new things at the edge of my sight.
A text box appeared in front of me.
[Welcome to your new life!
This is the beginner's wish package system.
This is a recorded message.
To your upper left, you will see a stamina bar for yourself.
Beneath that bar, you will see a drop-down menu.
The menu contains tabs to show you basic information.
-Profile.
-Skills.
-Missions.
-Notes.
-Settings.
Settings will allow you to toggle your clock, compass, and observe functions if you do not want them constantly on.
You will see the clock and compass to the lower left of your sight.
The missions will be updated automatically when necessary.
This is the end of the message; please enjoy your new life and try not to die!]
The text box vanished after I finished, and I finally had a moment to think.
'So, to take stock of this situation.
- I died, and I'm in a new body.
- The body is an eight-year-old orphan in a war-torn city.
- I'm in my favorite anime dream world, the Toriko world.
- I need to find out when or where I am.
- I have a nerfed system, but that's ok; I would rather rely on myself then see the natural world as a game. My new memories clearly showed how cruel and bloody this world could be. I don't think I could ever close my eyes to all the death and suffering engraved into my head now.' A shiver passed through my frame at just the thought. 'I guess that's why I'm not freaking out right now.'
With a grunt and some exertion, I stood on shaky legs. Looking up at the star-filled sky with a dormant volcano of emotions stirring beneath my clear amber eyes.
Bringing us back to the presentas I created enough friction to burn my hand before giving up with a sigh and focusing on the HUD before my eyes.
I thought about it, and I could make the icons at the corner of my vision disappear if I didn't want them there. I looked at the clock showing 9:40 at night, the compass pointing north, and the bottom left of my sight where a diminished stamina bar glowed green. 'I guess I should be thankful for what I have. This world has insane environments, and even a basic working compass could be useful.'
I opened the menu and looked at the options before indicating the [Profile] tab.
[Profile:
Name: ?
Age: 8
Level: 0
Condition: Weakened (Starved)]
A gleam of light caught my eye, and I lifted a broken piece of scrap metal to see my face.
'I have white hair and gold eyes?' I tried to recall what I previously looked like or what my name was but felt a pounding in my head that cut off that train of thought. 'Is that a sign to move on with life? I'll try remembering the past later, but I'll pick something simple for now.'
I was in Toriko, and considering what I recalled of the world, I knew that the best path forward was to become a hunter and try to get some Gourmet Cells. 'My goal is to be a hunter. A name that reminds me of that would be nice. Ryoshi means 'Hunter'; I can shorten it to Ryo. R-Y-O, yeah, I like that. Let's go with that.'
After mentally deciding on the name, my profile got updated.
[Name: Ryo]
'Convenient.'
With that set, I moved on to [Skills].
[Skills:
Instinct. (90% locked)
Advanced Reflexes. (90% locked)]
'The hell? Are those skills? Did they belong to this boy's body or something?'
The curious thought went through my head, but ultimately no answer came, and I could only move on. I skipped over [Missions] for the moment and saw that [Notes] were empty.
[Notes] were similar to a sticky notepad that appeared on my HUD if I willed it to. I could read the information mentally or look directly at it to read.
[Settings] were next, and it allowed me to toggle different view settings. Observe, clock, compass, and a few other things were all left on.
Done with that, I looked back at missions tab.
I skipped over it because it had a blinking notification symbol, and I wanted to know what the rest did before getting into it.
[Missions:
- Gain Gourmet Cells.
- Unique Opportunity: Survival! ]
I blinked at the first one. 'Gain Gourmet Cells, thanks for the help there.' I shook my head and focused on the second.
[Unique Opportunity: Survival!
Description: To compensate you for the situation you woke up in, a one-time opportunity has been presented to you. In one hour of reading this message, the homeless district will be caught in the attack of one of the two warring countries currently using this city as a battleground.
Survive the assault!
Reward: Food.
Unique Reward: Hidden.]
'So, I just have to survive? It's titled 'Unique Opportunity,' so does that mean the hidden reward is a chance at something? But what?' I shook off the thought of rewards to focus on the other part of the message. 'This place is about to become a battleground. I can't stay here. I need to get to a higher vantage point.'
Through the settings, I found that I could set an alarm that would ring in my head on my clock and set it for fifty-five minutes.
With a grunt of effort, I put one leg in front of the other, shivering at the feel of the cold, harsh wind on my skinny frame, and began trudging forward, one shaky step at a time.
As I moved, my mind briefly drifted to thoughts on my previous life. There was nothing notable or fancy beyond a typical American life. But if there was one thing to point out, it would be that from the youngest age I could recall, I had always felt trapped.
Society had rules and laws, money was power, status was power, and the world was a prison for everyone not part of the small percentage who got to the top through luck, wisdom, or cruelty.
Everyone else lived in blissful ignorance, distracted from their prison by shiny and fancy toys and moving pictures to keep them sedated. They forgot the value of true freedom, the feeling of holding your destiny in your own hands.
I lived among them and had to choose the path of unwilling ignorance to survive, but what else could I do? Just keep your head down and do what you must to survive. No different than the life my current body lived, if in a very harsh set of circumstances.
Society had rules that forced those inside it to adapt. And I adapted but never felt truly alive. I was never truly free. That thought alone ignited a flame behind my eyes as I stared into the dark night ahead into the unknown.
'Whatever comes, I won't give up my chance at freedom. Bring it on, world; I won't lose this time. This time, you adapt to me!'
0000
A distance from the war-torn city to the west, a military camp styled in all red designs with a flame insignia was preparing to mobilize.
In the center of the camp, inside the command center, a general studied a map before him on a table with a severe expression as a soldier rushed in.
"Sir! We are ready to move out!"
The general looked up from the map with a grunt. "Are the weapons ready for launch?"
"Yes, Sir! All fifty beasts have been starved and are about to rampage."
The soldier responded promptly, making the general nod in satisfaction. "Good; return to your post and be ready to move."
The soldier saluted and ran off while the general picked up the receiver to broadcast his voice to the entire base. "Attention all units! Prepare to move out in five minutes! We will hit them fast and hard. Those Cryo bastards won't know what hit them!"
He put down the receiver to the sounds of cheers and lit a cigar as he left the tent toward the vehicles. 'This will teach those damn blue bastards.' The general thought without a single feeling of remorse toward the lives that would be lost to feed his nation's petty desires.
He walked out to see the sight of military vehicles and tanks ready to go with a line of shaking cages in tow. The view of which brought a cruel smirk to his lips. 'It's about time we can make use of these things; I'm sick of hearing them make howl at night.'
0000
Far to the city's east side, just as the red soldiers of the Ignis nation were setting out, the blue soldiers of Cyro were experiencing a very different situation.
"Do you swear to uphold the Gourmet Laws and allow your government to be monitored and observed?" A muscular, tan-skinned older man with blonde hair, sunglasses, and a long blonde mustache asked the submissive general of Cyro standing before him.
Said general nodded solemnly. "We do. We are tired of this decade's long war. We don't even remember how it started." The man said with tired eyes and was met by loud, obnoxious laughter from a third man.
"Haha! I bet! Not many remember how the wars begin; ain't humans a funny species, hahaha!" A muscular, pale, hairy man dressed in full military garb from boots, cargo pants, and a tank top with a cigar and bandanna on his head laughed at the situation.
Although, even though he laughed freely, any experienced soldier could tell it was more of a pain-filled wry laugh filled with experience rather than him laughing at their plight.
The first man who spoke, the blond, ignored his partner and focused on the general. "Good; as per the agreement, we will end your war tonight. Following this, you will have seventy-two hours to officiate surrender to the IGO and follow our laws. No more bloodshed and violence will be allowed." The blond took off his sunglasses, and a formless but heavy pressure fell on the general of Cyro and everyone of high rank in the room standing behind him in this moment of total surrender to a higher world power. "Am I clear?"
Every man and woman of Cyro there had status at the very top of an entire nation, with decades of experience in war, and yet each and every one couldn't manage to meet the eyes of the man before them.
For he was no simple man but a living legend.
The man who single-handedly formed a government organization that spread across the entire world. A man who's personal strength was unrivaled for centuries of known history without a single sign of waning.
The general of Cyro was the only one who could nod and manage to speak with at least a token of dignity despite feeling like an ant before a dragon. "We do, Sir; as long as the war ends, the nation of Cyro will join the IGO and follow its laws; it is our honor to be able to join your organization, President Ichiryu."
The now-identified blond man nodded and reeled in the pressure he was emitting with a charismatic smile that made his mustache seem to dance in delight. "Wonderful! Then I'm no longer needed here. Yosaku, let's get going!"
The second man, Yosaku, grunted and followed silently behind his friend as everyone cleared a path for them.
Let alone the strongest man in the world, Yosaku was a name they all knew. Nowadays, he was known as 'Yosaku The Reviver,' but everyone in the room was old enough to know the name he had gone by years earlier.
'Bloodstained Yosaku.'
The two walked out into the night in a good mood at their success.
"Did you see their faces, Ichiryu? They looked like they were about to piss themselves! That was gold!" Yosaku slapped Ichiryu on the back hard enough to crush steel while laughing.
Ichiryu idly ignored the negligible force on his back and gave a small smile to his long-time friend. "Enough, Yosaku, they were just regular humans; we should compliment that general for still being able to speak straight."
Yosaku reeled himself in and nodded while they approached the aircraft landing pad. "He wasn't that bad."
Ichiryu hummed in agreement and whistled for their ride as he asked a simple question that would make hundreds of armies worldwide spit blood.
"Are you ready to end another war, old friend?"
Yosaku looked at the charismatic and confident friend who had saved him from his nightmare over a century before and smirked. "You bet, you old bastard. Let's do this."
Ichiryu twitched at the comment of his age and pouted. "I'm not that old..."
Yosaku barely had enough time to snort in reply before their ride arrived in an explosion of air that shattered the glass in the surrounding acre of land.
A dead silence came over the military base as a massive beast of prey looked over the smaller humans while Ichiryu slapped his forehead with a groan, and Yosaku laughed loudly.
Ichiryu raised a hand and called toward the shattered military tent behind him. "I'll pay for all of that."
A second gust of wind fell on the area and knocked over whatever wasn't already down, leaving Ichiryu standing there shamefaced.
Yosaku was in tears as Ichiryu felt hundreds of gazes on the back of his head.
He sent his beast companion an irritated glare as the majestic Janus Unicorn, a winged horse larger than multiple adult elephants standing side by side, stared back smugly, knowing clearly what it had done.
'That's the last time I bring you out for these joy rides.' Ichiryu thought and jumped to land on the great beast's back with Yosaku not far behind. "Let's go, Pochi. And do it gently."
The winged horse, so named Pochi by the world's strongest man, huffed at the order but didn't push it further as it took off into the air with minimum damage to the military base.
Although, the sounds of destruction behind him made him try to ignore how 'minimal' such damages were for someone of his level. 'I should probably handle that sooner rather than later. I forgot the last dozen times and got my ear chewed off. I'm getting tired of this shit.'
He pulled out his phone with a grumble. 'Maybe it's time to start winding down, maybe get an apprentice or two. My company already supervises most of the human world, and there are very few remaining wars that we can stick our noses into without making a mess.'
The thought stuck in his head and built on previous trains of thought along the way line. 'It's time to train the next generation.'
"S..r….sir….SIR!" A shout came from his phone and startled Ichiryu.
"Wha-." A sharp crunch sound rang out and Ichiryu stared blankly at the phone he had accidentally impounded between his fingers. "God damn it."
Yosaku, to his side, noticed his actions and burst out laughing all over again. "Hahaha! Did you get lost in thought again! That's the fifth time this month!"
Yosaku fell over laughing while Ichiryu rubbed his forehead. 'This is getting ridiculous. Maybe I really do need a vacation.'
He turned to the laughing Yosaku and had a great idea. "Oi, Yosaku, lend me your phone for a second."
Yosaku immediately stopped laughing and looked wearily at his friend. "Why don't I just make the call for you."
He pulled out his phone and prepared to dial.
"Don't be like that; trust me, nothing will happen to it." Ichiryu flashed a dazzling smile with a thumbs up that immediately sent Yosaku running to the farthest end of the saddle, only to feel his hand suddenly grow lighter the second he took his eyes off his phone.
A ring to the side made him turn in annoyance to see Ichiryu with a shit-eating grin and Yosaku's phone pressed to his ear.
"You better not break that! I'm still paying for that one!"
One little-known fact among the strongest in the world was that human technology was not made to withstand superhuman strength.
And as Ichiryu ended his call with his secretary and shut the flip phone casually to hand it back to his friend, it snapped in half from his absent-minded force.
"..."
"..."
"Haha, my bad."
"I hate you."
Chapter End.
AN: Nostalgic for me to fix this up. Thoughts?
Be sure to check out my other works in the meantime.