'Where am I?!' As soon as Yi Chang opened his eyes after being dropped into the pool of reincarnation, he found himself surrounded by utter darkness.
'WHAT am I?!' Yi Chang tried to get a feeling for his surroundings; however, no matter how much he forced himself to move, he couldn't.
'I can't feel my legs! My arms!! Nothing!!!' Panic began to engulf Yi Chang as he tried to get his body to move. Again, nothing!
He couldn't even look down to see what he was!
'Okay—okay, calm down! Calm… down!' Yi Chang tried to shut the floodgates of perpetual panic by taking a few deep breaths.
'I'm sure that my body is just asleep; I'm sleeping! That's why I can't move, right?!
Right?!'
As Yi Chang tried to wrack his brain for any logical and reasonable possibility of what had happened to him, a blinding light suddenly shone in his eyes.
"What the hell…?" The tiny dot of light suddenly turned into a crack as the darkness began to split open!
'Am I in some sort of egg or something?!' He couldn't use his hands to feel for any walls, so he wasn't sure if his guess was correct.
Squinting his 'eyes,' he quickly adjusted to the light as he surveyed the vast green land before him. It was as if he were in a green ocean as the wind whistled through the long grass, creating waves of movement.
The sky had a different color than he was used to; a soft lilac color accompanied by hues of deep orange as the sun rose over the horizon.
'Whoa, where the hell am I?' Taking in the wondrous sights, Yi Chang was momentarily able to forget his current situation.
When he was alive, he grew up poor and thus had to take on part-time jobs to support his mother and pay for his schooling. His work as a delivery driver often would have him work all night, so he would often come back home late. However, even though his mother couldn't welcome him home, the rising sun would consistently greet him right after he clocked out for the night.
Reminiscing of his former life, a deep sense of melancholy flooded him as he continued to watch the sun slowly rise from its slumber.
Ding!
Suddenly a semi-transparent blue screen appeared right in front of Yi Chang, blocking his view of the landscape.
'What the hell is this?'
[Initiating system start… success!] A robotic voice said as an hourglass symbol appeared on the screen.
[Initiating contact… please wait while downloading.]
[Downloading… 1%... 2%... 3%...]
Yi Chang stared at the screen in confusion at the hourglass downloading signal, each time the percentage increased, the hourglass would flip around.
'How long is this going to take?' Yi Chang wondered impatiently. 'Can it at least move to the side so that I can continue watching the sunrise?'
[Downloading… 4%... 5%...6%...]
Unfortunately for Yi Chang, the screen didn't budge as the slow progress bar inched along at a snail's pace. Each time the hourglass flipped, Yi Chang felt his patience gradually chip away.
Ding!
[Download complete!] The robotic voice finally said.
'God, finally!' Yi Chang cheered in relief. If it weren't for the sun's indication of the time, he would've assumed that a hundred years or so have passed. The download took so long he forgot what it even was for.
[Do you wish to accept a new system download? Y/N?]
"Yes."
[System download accepted.
Please state your name.]
"Yi Chang."
[Name: Yi Chang, saved. Please wait... ]
Suddenly, another downloading screen popped up, and Yi Chang had the sudden urge to grab and shake the screen. The new downloading screen was just as slow as the first, and Yi Chang decided just to shut his eyes and take a nap.
It's been a long day, and it was better than just staring at that accursed hourglass for who knows how long.
After what felt like another hundred years or so, Yi Chang was awakened by a bell sound.
Ding!
[System download complete!]
[Would you like to initiate system launch? Y/N?]
"My God, yes! Please!" Yi Chang just wanted this torment to be over.
[System launching… please wait... ]
Seeing that god-forsaken loading screen again, Yi Chang felt his 'eyes' twitch. However, he knew it was useless to be angry at the loading screen since it wouldn't speed up the progress any faster.
'Ahh, never mind.
I'll just go back to sleep.'
Shutting his 'eyes', Yi Chang quickly realized that this was the longest time he'd been asleep. Between juggling work and studying, how long has it been since he's had this luxury? Happy with this small pleasure, Yi Chang was able to fall back to sleep quickly.
[Greetings, Yi Chang!]
Yi Chang's eyes suddenly opened as the words greeted him on the screen.
"Um, hi?"
[Please confirm the following information.
Name: Yi Chang
Age: 19
Birthdate: 27 November, 2XXX
Is the information correct? Y/N?]
"Yes."
[Information saved!]
[Please read Terms and Conditions Policy. Should you decline, your soul will be terminated immediately with no chance of reincarnation.
Accept/ Deny?]
"What the fuck?! How does that even make sense?! I thought that this was supposed to compensate for my early death?! What kind of twisted punishment is this?"
The system ignored Yi Chang as it asked the question again. [Accept/ Deny?]
Seeing as he didn't really have much choice, Yi Chang accepted. "Fine, fine! Accept! I accept the terms and conditions!"
Yi Chang didn't bother reading the Terms and Conditions. Who even reads those anyway?
[Terms and Conditions Policy, accepted!
Would you like to read the introduction? Y/N?]
"Yes."
[Opening introduction…
Welcome, unfortunate soul, to the 'Early Death Compensation' System! Due to the Hell system's error of mistakenly inducing your early death, you'll be able to start a new one based on your
Using the remaining life span you had from your previous life, it has been converted into system points.
Current system points: 81 points.]
'Wow, so had I not died, I would've lived up to a hundred?!
Well… I suppose that isn't too outlandish. Mom did say that her grandparents lived to nearly a hundred. And if I recall correctly, Grandma and Gramps did live to almost a hundred too.'
[Using system points, you'll be able to purchase items in the system shop as well as use your points on the
Seeing the colorful wheel again, Yi Chang felt apprehensive. 'Ahh, it's probably better to hold off on that. It seems that lady luck isn't on my side.'
[To gain more system points, complete system quests and events! You can also earn system points from gaining specific achievements!
More rewards are on the way! ^ - ^]
'Hmm, seems easy enough. How hard can these quests and events be? Surely for a newbie like me, they'll ease me into the water, right?'
[Do you have any questions?]
"Yes. Where am I?" Wherever he was, it certainly wasn't Earth.
[You're currently located in the Great Highlands south of the Croral Kingdom in the world of Spillavegar.]
A large map appeared on the screen, with a marker indicating his current location. However, much to his chagrin, most of the map was blacked out, so he couldn't see what else was out there.
"Hmm, is there any way that I can see the rest of this map?"
[You can unlock the rest of the map by venturing into unknown locations. However, please be cautious as it may be inhabited by monsters who are stronger than you are currently.
But, by increasing your stats, you may be able to explore freely without dying.]
"Huh?" What was that supposed to mean? 'I can't be that weak, right?'
"Um, can I view my stats?"
[Please wait one moment…
Scanning body... ]
A red laser suddenly appeared on screen as it scanned him up and down. Yi Chang couldn't see what the rest of him looked like, so he hoped that he would finally get some answers.
'Well, at least I know that I'm not a dung beetle or some shit.' Otherwise, he would've been able to move around. However, whatever his current form was, it was clearly not one adept at movement.
Ding!
[Scan complete!] On-screen, a list of data suddenly appeared alongside his name.
[Name:
Titles:
Species:
Stats:
Lvl: 1/20
EXP: 0
HP: 1
MP: 0
ATK: 0
SPD: 0
DEF: 0
Luck: 0
Skills:
Yi Chang felt his 'eyes' twitch reading the pathetic list. Other than his puny HP of 1, the rest of his stats were basically zilch.
Not to mention, what the hell is up with his skill? 'Patience?! That's it? And only level 1?!'
It seems that the system wouldn't be giving out any handouts despite it being a "reparations" system.
"Wait." One stat suddenly stuck out to him. "Why am I a grain of rice?!"
Yi Chang tried to blink to see if his 'eyes' were deceiving him; however, the stat didn't change at all.
[That is the result of selecting the mystery card in the
"Are you fucking serious?!"
'How does 'grain of rice' qualify as a reincarnation option! It's not even something that is even remotely sentient!
It's a grain of rice!'
"Is there any way that I can NOT be a grain of rice?!" After all, who wants to be a grain of rice? A seed that is barely noticeable and can be crushed or eaten at any second!
Not to mention, no one would be able to hear his little rice screams!
[Negative.] The robotic voice plainly states, dashing away any of his remaining hopes.
[However, you can evolve to change your current status.]
"Oh?" Yi Chang asked flatly. Evolve? How is a grain of rice supposed to evolve?
[By acquiring more EXP from defeating enemies and opponents, you can raise your level and increase your stat points.]
"How am I supposed to do that?! I don't even have arms and legs, so how am I going to fight anything?!'
The only thing that he seemed to have is sight, as everything else was non-existent. And even then, his view is limited since even if he "adjusted" his 'eyes' to see from a different location on his tiny body, he still wouldn't be able to see any part of himself.
As a tiny grain of rice, it seemed that the odds were truly stacked against him.
[Do you have any more questions?]
"Yeah. What EXACTLY can I evolve into?" If he was going to evolve into anything, he just hopes that it contains some sort of humanoid form.
If he had to spend the rest of his life like this, he might just go insane.
'My legs are already itchy, and I don't even have legs! Is this what people mean by having a phantom limb*?'
[Showcasing evolution paths… please wait…
Evolution Paths for
First Evolution:
'What kind of evolution path is this?' Yi Chang looked at his only option and couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. 'Ah, it seems like regardless of what I want, I'll still be a rice something.
Well, I suppose being a plant is better than just being a grain.'
[Would you like to see the traits for evolution:
"Yes."
[Downloading traits for
[Download complete… opening…]
[Traits for
The
By evolving into
Do you wish to select the first evolution:
"Yes."
[Processing… please wait…]
[Error: insufficient level for first evolution:
Please increase your level before evolving.]
'Are you shitting me? Why even give me the option to evolve if I didn't even have enough points to do so?!'
After fuming in rage for a bit, Yi Chang decided to let it go.
"Hah. Never mind exit. I want to sleep."
[Do you wish to exit out of {Evolution Paths for
"Yes. Exit everything."
[Closing.]
The semi-transparent screen disappeared from sight, leaving Yi Chang alone with the deep violet sky with two moons.
Admiring the new sights, he felt himself grow tired. After all, dying and getting reincarnated within the same day was pretty exhausting stuff.
'Heh, I guess I have to get used to this new life.' But for his first day, it wasn't so bad.
1*Phantom Limb - A phantom limb is the sensation that an amputated or missing limb is still attached. Approximately 80 to 100% of individuals with an amputation experience sensations in their amputated limb.