I never thought I'd die before I turned thirty. I never once had a nightmare of wasting away on a hospital bed, far away from any friends or family, dying alone day by day. Well, that's what cancer does to you. In the end, I couldn't handle it and asked the doctors to let me go.
I felt my consciousness fading, finally escaping the shell my body had become. Just like that, I was dead.
I sure as hell didn't expect to wake up again.
My head throbbed with pain, legs felt like Jell-O. I moaned in agony, a harsh light blaring through my eyelids. Was I revived? Of course, those damn doctors couldn't even let me die in peace, dammit!
The throbbing faded. I hastily covered my eyes with my palm, opening them a crack.
My jaw dropped, "What the fuck?!" I was in a giant forest, the trees looming above my head. The soft aroma of damp earth and sweet flowers lazily swirled around me. The soft tweets of early morning birds and chitters of creatures greeted my ears.
I was slumped against one of those trees, leaves blooming around me for miles. The bark was hard, yet gently ticklish to my bare back. I lifted my hand, scooping a handful of dirt before my eyes. They teared up, and a bright, infallible joy swept me onto my feet.
My feet!
I could walk again! I could ride a bike, run, jump, hell - even swim like I used to! I whooped, climbing that tree just for fun.
As the euphoria faded, I wondered. Where the hell was I - and how the fuck did I get here. I was able to see a small path winding near a creek not too far away. Sweet! Time to find the next adventure in my death! I jumped from the low branch into the grass below, only to hiss in pain. I landed straight on a thorn!
✧✦✧ -1 Health ✧✦✧
"Holy shit!" I yelled in surprise. The was a fucking floating blue screen in front of me. I smiled. I'm actually in heaven - my perfect utopia.
I swiped my hand through it, and it disappeared. Wait a minute. My hands were damn tiny! Why the hell were they pudgy, and what happened to my calluses? Like, I worked hard for those! I scrabbled in the direction of that
creek, a faint panic bubbling in my chest, like a frightened chipmunk.
I peered over the frothy water and choked. I was a toddler! An actual toddler! That did explain the clumsy stumbling and ungraceful falling. I was still a dude, thankfully enough. Whatever, I'm just weird like that, I guess.
The sun was nearing the top of its arc, with just half a day remaining. My frown came back with a vengeance. I still didn't know where I was and had no food or shelter. That might be a slight issue - nothing to worry about.
✧✦✧ Main Quest Unlocked: ✧✦✧
Follow the path North - 500 EXP
Well, that was a bit vague. Usually, there'd be some kind of sub-path, or a side quest or something. I looked at the sun, observing for some time. I was currently facing south, so I'll go the other way then.
I walked the dirt path, bare feet squishing against damp soil. The sweet smell of berries tantalized my growling stomach. I plucked some strawberries off a bush, checking for poison. It's a reflex at this point - country habits die hard.
My hands clamped my mouth shut, breath hitching, "This is so good!" I hastily ruffled the bush, plucking the juiciest strawberries from their perches. I stuffed them into my pockets, continuing on my path.
The tree cover thinned slightly, making way for gentle, rolling hills. Shrubs and ferns dominated the landscape - wait. Something man-made loomed in the distance. As I crested the hill, I dropped the strawberry in my hand. Looming in the distance, a great city stood proudly.
Perhaps ten miles in diameter, a great wall surrounded a packed city, built with a mix of traditional and modern architecture. The rooftops were of vibrant reds, oranges, and blues. Clotheslines and flags crisscrossed the streets, many with second-floor bridges and paths. Even within the city, the trees were huge, blooming with spring life.
I picked up my strawberries, lazily heading over to the gates, "Do I live here?" I patted my pockets for anything, feeling a small rectangle in my back pocket. I pulled it out and found some sort of ID. The only problem was, I couldn't read it! Of course, it would be in Japanese, my home language I never bothered to learn, and of course, it would bite me in heaven.
Well, crap.
As I approached the large red gates, with some characters painted on them, I noticed the two guards in a small booth, checking people's IDs. I toddled over to the two, holding out my ID. They looked at each other, speaking quietly. They grabbed a flier from their booth, faces frowning.
I tapped my foot on the ground, idly twiddling my thumbs. The guards' faces lightened in relief and waved someone over.
A kid, maybe 12 or 13, walked up to me, stumbling over a rock. His dark blue pants flapped with the wind. Huh, his shoes, shirt, and sandals were all the same color - not including the orange rim and collar of his jacket. His ankles and waist were bandaged, serving as a belt.
I craned my head up. His coal-black eyes were covered by large, orange-tinted goggles, spiky hair tucked behind them. He had a metal headband tied around his forehead with a leaf engraved. He smiled a goofy smile, excitedly chattering away. Picking me up, he walked the streets.
He let me down in front of a large building. Excited squealing came from all around, children dashing through the shaded yard. I narrowed my eyes. Only a few adults were supervising, so this had to be some kind of group home. As I entered the door, two new pop-up windows opened.
✧✦✧ Main Quest Complete: ✧✦✧
Follow the path North - 500 EXP
✧✦✧ Main Quest Unlocked: ✧✦✧
Reach your bedroom - 500 EXP
Guess I knew what to do now. I waved goodbye to the teen and turned inward. The scent of worn, polished wood hit my nose. Sunlight filtered in through wide, high windows. Blue rafters glinted overhead, fans and light fixtures hanging suspended. Two small stairs led upstairs to an overhanging balcony.
As I walked forward, the large entrance hall narrowed into a corridor, rooms marked with unfamiliar characters. One door was left open, and I peeked inside. There were 4 beds, each with a picture hung on them. Another doorway led to a small closet and bathroom, the walls faded and the toilet bowl cracked. The mirror was dirty, but clean enough to be useful.
I peered into my reflection, I had overgrown brown hair and brown eyes and wore a black and orange shirt with mesh underneath. I was about five years old, tall for my age, with a scar under my eye. I'd probably grow up to be handsome in this universe, unlike the last one.
As I walked back into the bedroom, a notification popped up.
✧✦✧ Main Quest Complete: ✧✦✧
Reach your bedroom - 500 EXP
✧✦✧ Level Up! ✧✦✧
LVL 0 → LVL 1
Guidebook and Intro unlocked!
Kindly say the name of the function to activate - only you will see the screens.
Bug Fix - Popup delay has been resolved
"Huh." I blinked. I did notice a large amount of delay in the quest completion. It took me getting into the orphanage to even complete the first quest when I should've finished it at the gates.
Scratch that, the unlocks look more interesting.
"Uhh… intro?" I spoke hesitantly. A large blue window opened in front of me.
✧✦✧ Intro ✧✦✧
Welcome to the Reincarnation Intro©:
As you probably know, you died in your first life! While being processed, you won the reincarnation lottery - a literal one-in-a-million chance!
You've been reborn into the Naruto world, where gods walk amongst men. Since RPGs were a hobby of yours, we placed you in an RPG state to better comprehend this world.
You can create skills from repetition and learn techniques, the possibilities are endless! However, the system won't give you any buffs other than Stat Points (STP) and Skill Points (SP), which allow for improving stats plus access to locked and bloodlined skills respectively.
However, you will not respawn when you die. When you die, you die, moving on into the pure lands.
Have a great life!
I scratched my head, "So this is just real life but in a different universe, and I can't comprehend it without the RPG game stats. Alright, guide please!"
✧✦✧ Guide ✧✦✧
Welcome to the Reincarnation Guidebook©!
Here you will learn about the basic commands and tools available to you! Please note that information updates as you progress, and you can come here anytime to relearn whatever you forget.
The only commands available to you are:
Stats
Quests
Guide
Intro
The stats menu tells you about your profile for this life, including skills, attributes, levels, etc. The other three menus are self-explanatory. That's it for now!
"Stats." The screen flickered and expanded, leading to a frown.
✧✦✧ Stats ✧✦✧
? Sora
LVL 1 - 0%
HP: 10
CP: 10
CC: 0% (Not Unlocked)
STR: 1
DEX: 1
CON: 1
END: 1
INT: 1
WIS: 1
Buffs: None
Debuffs: None
Titles: None
It suddenly hit me that I was stupidly weak. Like I got the freshest profile screen possible - a nobody. I had nothing to help me or fight against. I had no goals.
A small red book lay on my bunk bed. I curiously picked it up, flipping it over to see the cover. There a painted boy read a book, some characters painted onto the side. A small pop-up blurred into existence, confirming my guess. It was a book for learning to read!
✧✦✧ Main Quest Unlocked: ✧✦✧
Learn to read - 1000 EXP
I slashed my hand through it dismissively, flipping the book open. Time to read, I guess.
? ﾝﾄﾏ?
It took a month for me to finish that basic reading book. It only taught the basic characters - Hiragana - and how to write them with some basic home objects. Learning a new language was damn hard work, even if I'd had some background in it already.
Over the past few weeks, I'd fallen into a tentative rhythm. Wake up, help the Matron cook food, exercise, play with some randos, practice my Hiragana and plan - which hadn't gone far. I glimpsed the top of the Hokage mountain with four faces on it. Great, sometime before the Konoha Crush and the Kyuubi Attack.
I sighed, the shit that'd go down in a decade really made me not want to be a civilian. No thank you, I don't want my home disintegrated by a dumbass goddess and bullshit eyes without adequate savings. Well, at least I started.
I flipped the "Intro to Katakana" book closed, dressing in simple grey joggers and a worn, white shirt. I slid into my shoes and headed out to the yard. At 7 in the morning, no children were playing, just adults heading to work. Perfect. I secluded myself in the corner of the yard, stretching my sleepy limbs.
Slowly stopping, I bounced, flipping the hoodie off of me, "Three, two, one, GO!" I yelled, sprinting as fast as I could go. I will complete five laps around the playground today! I will!
My legs felt like lead. This was the longest distance I'd dared to run, finally breaking my lazy-bones behavior. An eternity of nonstop running later, I finally saw my corner for the fifth time. I heaved myself to the wooden fence, slumping against it. What a workout.
✧✦✧ Daily Quest Complete: ✧✦✧
Run five laps around the Orphanage! - 100 EXP, 1 STP
I leaped back in shock! I hadn't been messaged by the system since my arrival! I groaned, thinking of all the level-ups if I'd discovered this feature earlier.
"Quests," I spoke. Where I only had my main quests, I now had a different section for Daily Quests.
✧✦✧ Daily Quests✧✦✧
Daily quests are basic, small reward-gaining quests to complete while working on main quests. These are smaller and shorter than side quests, and not as important. They're usually created for repeated actions, like learning/leveling a skill, training, helping someone, or more!
However, from now on, you will be assigned one to do, instead of setting them yourself.
I thought aloud, "Bruh. Okay, I guess I'll assign my stat points. Stats please!"
✧✦✧ Stats ✧✦✧
? Sora
LVL 1 - 10%
HP: 10
CP: 10
CC: 0% (Not Unlocked)
STR: 1
DEX: 1
CON: 1
END: 1
INT: 1
WIS: 1
STP: 1 Point Available
Buffs: None
Debuffs: None
Titles: None
Hmm, With just one point, it doesn't matter where I put it. I'll Just put it in endurance for my morning runs.
✧✦✧ Stats ✧✦✧
? Sora
LVL 1 - 10%
HP: 10
CP: 10
CC: 0% (Not Unlocked)
STR: 1
DEX: 1
CON: 1
END: 2
INT: 1
WIS: 1
Buffs: None
Debuffs: None
Titles: None
I felt the fog of fatigue roll off my body, feeling as if I could run for longer, "Holy sweet mother of the Shinigami, that's insane!" I sank in shock. I had to exploit this the most I could.
My sleeves rubbed against my sweaty neck. I pulled myself to my feet, trudging into the orphanage's entrance hall.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Many voices screamed in joy. I looked up, and my mouth dropped open. There from the rafters hung a giant banner with my name on it! The matron - Suzuki-san - stood beside an enormous cake with the other kids, confetti and bentos prepared.
Liquid bubbled out of my eyes, overjoyed as I was. The biggest damn party I went to was one meant just for me! I nearly bowled Suzuki-san over with a flying hug, unrepentant of politeness. Today, today was to celebrate, screw goals.