Chapter 1: Waking Up is Hard to Do
[Adam Yukimura POV]
"Ugh, my head. Did a bus hit me? Or was it… a truck? Why is it always a truck in these things? Seriously, can't a guy get transmigrated by something more… exotic? Like, maybe, I don't know, a rogue black hole? A particularly aggressive toaster? A very enthusiastic squirrel?"
My eyes fluttered open, or at least they tried to. Everything was a blurry mess of green and brown. The ground beneath me felt… damp. And lumpy. Not exactly the plush, memory-foam afterlife I'd always envisioned. More like, "Welcome to the dirt nap, population: you." A groan escaped my lips, which felt remarkably intact despite the apparent truck-or-possibly-squirrel-related incident. I pushed myself up, my limbs protesting with a chorus of aches and crackles that sounded suspiciously like popcorn.
"Okay, new plan: less dying, more… not dying. Or at least, dying better."
I blinked, trying to clear the fog from my brain, and that's when the first, truly bizarre thing happened. A transparent blue screen shimmered into existence right in front of my face, like a particularly aggressive pop-up ad that had somehow escaped the internet and invaded my eyeballs. It hummed with a faint, almost ethereal glow, and big, blocky text, like something out of a retro video game, screamed for my attention.
[ SYSTEM INITIALIZATION COMPLETE! WELCOME, ADAM YUKIMURA! ][ SYSTEM: IMMORTAL SYSTEM ][ STATUS: ONLINE ][ LEVEL: 1 ][ DEATHS REMAINING (PER PERSON): 1 ][ UNIQUE DEATHS REQUIRED FOR NEXT UPGRADE: 100 ][ CURRENT UNIQUE DEATHS: 0 ][ MONEY REQUIRED FOR NEXT UPGRADE: 1,000,000 RYO ][ CURRENT RYO: 0 ][ PERKS: NONE ]
My jaw, which had apparently decided to stage a dramatic protest and drop somewhere around my knees, slowly clicked back into place. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me. A system? I died and got a system? Is this some kind of sick joke? Because if it is, the punchline better involve a very large pizza and a lifetime supply of sarcasm."
I poked the screen. My finger passed right through it, which, honestly, was a little disappointing. No tactile feedback? What kind of budget system was this? Did they skimp on the haptics? Clearly, my transmigration budget was about as generous as a miserly old man trying to pay for a round of drinks with lint.
"Immortal System," I mumbled, rereading the text. "One death per person… if the same person kills me twice, I'm permanently dead. One hundred unique deaths for an upgrade… a million Ryo? One million? Is this the 'Immortal System' or the 'Go Broke Trying to Not Die Forever' system?"
My gaze drifted from the floating blue screen to my surroundings. I was in a forest, for sure. Giant trees, verdant undergrowth, the distinct smell of… pine and something vaguely swampy. The sky above was a brilliant, almost impossibly blue, and the sun, a harsh yellow orb, beat down with an intensity that suggested I was not, in fact, in my comfortable, air-conditioned apartment anymore. My clothes, a simple set of civilian attire – jeans, a t-shirt, and a surprisingly sturdy-looking jacket – felt a little off. Looser than I remembered. And I was shorter. Significantly shorter.
"Wait a minute. Civilian? Shorter? No, no, no. This isn't happening. I'm Adam, the king of procrastination, master of witty comebacks, and connoisseur of fine napping. I do not sign up for 'random civilian in a magical forest' packages. Especially not ones that come with a built-in 'you die a lot' clause."
A rustling in the bushes nearby snapped me out of my self-pitying monologue. I froze, my heart doing a particularly impressive drum solo against my ribs. Was it a bear? A giant, mutant squirrel with an axe to grind? Maybe a very angry badger who resented my presence on his lumpy, damp ground?
A small, furry creature, resembling a weasel but with surprisingly sharp teeth and an even sharper glint in its eye, emerged from the foliage. It bared its teeth at me, letting out a surprisingly ferocious hiss.
"Oh, come on! My first encounter in a new world, and it's with a glorified ferret with anger management issues? I was expecting, like, a dragon. Or a wizard. Or at least a very confused barista offering me a discount on my next existential crisis."
The weasel-thing lunged. I yelped, more out of surprise than fear, and instinctively threw up my hands. Its tiny, needle-sharp teeth clamped down on my wrist. It wasn't exactly excruciating, more like a really aggressive pinch, but it was enough. My world went black.
[ YOU HAVE BEEN KILLED BY: FOREST WEASEL (UNIQUE DEATH!) ][ SKILL ACQUIRED: BASIC ANIMAL INSTINCTS (Passive) - Slight enhancement to awareness of immediate surroundings and potential threats. ][ DEATHS REMAINING (FOREST WEASEL): 0 ]
And then, just as quickly as it had faded, my vision snapped back. I was lying on the ground again, exactly where I had been before. The weasel-thing was gone. My wrist, where it had bitten me, was perfectly fine. Not even a mark.
"Well, that was… anticlimactic," I mused, pushing myself up again. "So, I die, I get a skill, and I pop back to life. Neat trick. But 'Basic Animal Instincts'? Seriously? Did I just spend my first death on being marginally better at spotting rogue dandelions? This system needs to work on its loot table."
A new line of text appeared on the blue screen, helpfully highlighting my acquired 'skill'.
[ BASIC ANIMAL INSTINCTS (Passive) ][ CURRENT EFFECT: Minor enhancement to peripheral vision and auditory processing. You might notice a squirrel fart from 50 paces. ][ TRAINING REQUIRED TO IMPROVE: Observe and react to natural threats. ]
"Fantastic. My path to ultimate power apparently begins with an improved ability to identify flatulent rodents. This is going to be a long journey. And probably smell terrible."
I needed to test this. Properly. If dying was the key, then I needed to become a professional at it. But I also needed to be smart. My system said "permanent death" if the same person killed me twice. So, I needed variety. A smorgasbord of demise. A buffet of oblivion.
"Alright, Immortal System, you want to play a game? Fine. Let's play 'How Many Ways Can Adam Annoy the Local Wildlife Until He Gets a Decent Skill?'"
I started walking, aimlessly at first, then with a growing sense of purpose. The sun was dipping lower, casting long, eerie shadows through the trees. The forest was getting darker, and the sounds of nocturnal creatures were beginning to stir. This was either going to be incredibly stupid or incredibly effective. Probably both.
"Okay, so, first order of business: find something else to die to. Preferably something that doesn't just grant me the ability to detect over-caffeinated squirrels."
As if on cue, a low growl rumbled from behind a cluster of thick bushes. I grinned, a wide, slightly unhinged grin. This was it. My true calling. Professional punching bag for the local fauna.
"Well, hello there, fuzzy death-bringer. What's on the menu tonight? A claw? A bite? Or are we going for the classic 'mauling by a creature slightly larger than a house cat' special?"
A blur of brown and black launched itself from the bushes. It was definitely bigger than a house cat. And it looked considerably angrier. Its eyes glowed in the dimming light, and its teeth were… well, they were definitely not for flossing.
"Alright, new rule: avoid the ones that clearly skipped their dental check-ups," I muttered, bracing myself. "This is going to sting. Probably more than that ferret. At least it'll be a different kind of death. Variety is the spice of… well, not dying permanently."
The creature, a wild boar with tusks that looked like they could skewer a small car, slammed into me. The impact was jarring, knocking the wind out of my lungs. A sharp pain bloomed in my chest, a sickening crunch echoing in my ears. My vision swam, and the blue screen, ever the helpful companion, appeared again.
[ YOU HAVE BEEN KILLED BY: WILD BOAR (UNIQUE DEATH!) ][ SKILL ACQUIRED: BASIC CHARGE (Active) - A short burst of momentum, useful for quick forward movement or surprising an opponent. ][ DEATHS REMAINING (WILD BOAR): 0 ]
I gasped, pushing myself up for the third time in as many hours. My chest, where the boar had hit me, was completely fine. Not a bruise. Not even a tiny bit of internal bleeding. Immortality was pretty sweet, actually. And kind of weird.
"Basic Charge? Okay, now we're talking! Next stop, becoming a one-man stampede! Take that, physics! Who needs Newtonian mechanics when you have a conveniently reset body and a system that rewards you for getting impaled?"
I looked around. The boar was gone, having presumably trotted off, utterly bewildered by the fact that its victim had simply… reformed. I had to admit, there was a certain novelty to this. A dark, twisted, absolutely hilarious novelty.
"So, the goal is clear: die. A lot. To as many different things as possible. This is going to be my life. The world's most enthusiastic human piñata."
The forest was completely dark now, the stars beginning to prick through the canopy above. I shivered, not from cold, but from a sudden realization. This wasn't just some game. This was my reality now. And if I wanted to survive, truly survive, I had to embrace the insanity of it all. I had to become the master of my own demise.
"Alright, world. Bring it on. Give me your worst. Your biggest, your fastest, your most annoyingly persistent. Because I'm Adam Yukimura, and I'm here to die. Repeatedly. And then complain about it."
I took a deep breath, the forest air filling my lungs. It smelled of damp earth, pine, and… something else. Something in the distance. A faint, almost imperceptible scent of smoke and something metallic. Civilians. Or, more accurately, potential unique death opportunities.
"Time to find civilization. And by civilization, I mean a fresh batch of things to get myself murdered by. Wish me luck. Or, you know, don't. Because luck probably won't help much when you're actively trying to get run over by a rogue ninja."