'Ugh… This pain in my head is killing me.' Yamada Saito was experiencing unbelievable pain as his thoughts drifted to when he was shot in the head.
The pain continued to linger in his mind before he finally opened his eyes. He looked around and thought 'Looks like I am in a cave. But how did I get here? I don't remember coming to a cave at all.'
[Allow me to explain, master.] The monotonous computer voice startled Saito as he looked around to see who was talking to him.
'Who's there? Who spoke? Come out now.' He tried to get the person to come out, yet he saw nobody coming out, nothing in the cave changing at all.
He suddenly heard the voice in his head once again [Please do not be so startled, master. You can compare me to those systems you have seen in the manga and anime.]
'I see… That explains telepathy. So, where are we?' He didn't really understand himself, but he was unusually calm as he heard that this was a system similar to those anime and manga ones. This meant that this could be another world.
[After you were shot to death, I was awakened when your spirit was trying to survive the tempest of spirits in the void. A very strong magic interference occurred, which got you here. The rest of the spirits vanished along the way.]
What this voice didn't mention was that they didn't just vanish because of the spatial pressure. It was because it had absorbed all of them to raise the survival chances of Saito.
'Wait a second, are you saying that I am a spirit right now? I don't believe you; I can see my body… No way! I can see through my body…' He looked down, and indeed, he could see through his transparent body proving that the voice was right.
[Looks like you believe my words now, master. But you shouldn't be worried because I am here.] Even though the voice tried to calm him down, it obviously didn't work.
Saito let out a sigh and thought 'And what can you do? I can't do anything in the spirit form now. It's the worst! I can't taste anything; I can't touch anything. Everything just passes right through me.'
[Master doesn't need to be worried about this-] Suddenly, Saito wondered something 'What is your name? How should I refer you as?'
[I do not have any name. I have been awakened as a balance of your spirit and I will continue to help onwards.] The voice replied without a pause.
Saito placed his hand under his chin and thought 'If I don't know what to refer you, that will be really uncomfortable. Let's see… I will call you Iris. Good enough, right?'
[Iris, very well. I am pleased with the name master.] Even the voice seemed a little gentler as compared to before.
Saito was going to ask something that he suddenly heard the sound of something metallic clashing against a metallic object.
'What was that noise? Really scared me. Phew…' He stared into the direction from where he heard that loud noise.
[Master, I believe a fight is going on in this cave. If you want, I can analyze the ones fighting right now.] Iris gave a yes or no option to Saito.
'You can do that? Cool. Analyze them all.' And the Iris started to analyze the ones fighting in the cave. The cave rumbled one more time as some rocks fell down right next to Saito.
Saito had forced a smile on his face 'It's a good thing I am a Spirit. I can't be hurt with these now.'
Iris suddenly said [Analysis complete. There are only two people fighting there. One is releasing a lot of demonic magic while the one who is fighting it is a human, who seems to have quite a bit of holy energy.]
Saito raised his eyebrows 'Could it be that a fight between a hero and a demon king is going on!? That would be amazing to see.'
Iris spoke out in his head [I would advise master from getting too close to the fight. They are releasing a lot of magic and if any of them hits you. Then you are done for. It's a game over.]
Saito nodded his head and assured back 'Don't worry, I won't be getting too close. Just close enough to witness the fight.'
[Very well.] Replied Iris in its usual computer like voice. Saito started to move towards the source of the fight.
He got there just in time to see the Hero laying down on the ground and the great demon being laughing in ecstasy, "This is what happens when you try to fight someone beyond your level. Remember that the one who killed you was the Great Demon King, Zoldron."
Saito raised his eyebrows as he heard him 'Heh… So, the so-called hero has lost against this Demon King. Looks like the hero wasn't much…'
He turned his head towards the Great Demon King and saw that it had a very large body with a great axe that fits within his hand. He had goat-like face with two long horns extending out of its head. The purple shining colored eyes were very intimidating and he heard that Demon King speak once again.
This time, it was in a low whisper, "This hero was very powerful. Looks like I should stop underestimating the humans. They are growing increasingly more powerful in such a short time. I should return back and recover."
And the Great Demon King disappeared from Saito's front before he could even do something. He thought 'It looks like the Demon King was more hurt than I thought.'
[The analysis of the magic power of Great Demon King Zoldron complete.] Before Iris could continue, Saito said in his mind 'Stop.'
He stared at the hero lying down on the ground. His widened eyes showed the shock he felt as he was killed by the Demon King.
The Blue colored armor, those ruby-colored eyes, and the platinum blonde hair with a very beautiful and attractive face. He was every bit of the hero as described in novels or manga.
'Is he alive? Can I save him?' Saito asked Iris in his mind. He wouldn't mind saving a hero.
[Negative. He is dead. Besides, there is little you can do in this body. To interact with the objects here in this world, you must first gain a real body.] Iris replied back with a monotonous tone.
'I see… So, how do I gain a body?' Saito asked with his curiosity at its peak. He wondered how it would be like to gain a body in this world.
[You need to keep your hand on top of his chest. I shall run a complete analysis over his body and create a body structure which is exactly the same as this hero's.]
Saito didn't hesitate at all. Since the hero was dead, he thought he might as well get the body. He stared at the youth's face and said 'I apologize for disrespecting the dead, but this is important for me.'
His hand reached out for the hero's hands. He heard Iris speak [Master, this is for the confirmation. Do you wish to use this body to make your dominant body?]
'Dominant body? What's that?' Saito thought that this was an interesting piece of information so he asked Iris about it.
[The dominant body will be the body in which you do not consume any magic power.]
Saito understood what it wanted to say and thought 'If I do not make this my dominant body, wouldn't it just mean that I would remain a spirit and would have to consume magic power to use the human body? That would be uncomfortable.'
His eyes shone with determination as he ordered Iris 'Start the preparations to make this my dominant body.'
[Commencing Analysis…] After saying this, Iris stayed silent for a long time. Saito didn't even feel the passage of time. Saito was a spirit, so he didn't feel hungry or sleepy, but being in the same position was very uncomfortable.
Even more so because he didn't know how long it would take for Iris to complete its analysis. He started to think more 'Just what this world is like? It has Demon Kings then definitely there must be other races other than humans and demons.'
After 2 hours, Iris said […Analysis complete. Starting the construction of master's body. Warning: You shall be unconscious for 2 days. Should I begin immediately?]
Saito nodded his head and thought 'Start!' Iris started the process of constructing the human body for Saito. As Saito's flesh was forming, the flesh of the hero who was laying down on the ground started disappearing.
'So, that's how it is being constructed. Iris is taking the flesh from this Hero and constructing it, fusing my spirit with it.' That was all he remembered before Saito blacked out in the dark cave.