Sand. Water. This was the only thing Char could see. Boasting no flora nor fauna, this island was a bleak sand hill, roughly 30 metres across.
Char was a brand new reincarnate, after his 10th skydiving expedition went awry.
"Well, shit"
Being a rather open-minded individual, this was Char's summary of his situation.
In fact, his surprise of being reincarnated was rather limited, as he had abandoned thinking about death.
What brought shock and dismay to this 30 year old man was the fact that he was completely abandoned.
The island was... ill-conducive to large organisms, to put it lightly.
At this predicament, Char could only shake his head.
"Seems my second life will end quite miserably" he sighed, somehow compelled to voice his thoughts. A futile attempt to fill the silence, seldom broken by the arrival of the odd wave or two.
Even in the unlikely event that he could catch some fish, how was he supposed to produce potable water? He was a goner.
"Let high tide drown me or thirst take me" he proclaimed and lay down on the sand in the middle of the island. Luckily, the sand was not doing its best glowing coals impression. 'It seems the climate is not bad' Char pondered. Then he closed his eyes and started recalling some old memories.
For example, the Jercy Packson novels he had loved as a child. Indeed, he had read them so many times back then, he could still vividly recall their contents.
A Day passed. Apart from the rumbling of his stomach and the occasional crashing of the waves, complete silence laid claim to the island.
High tide had not reached his resting place. He had not died of hypothermia at night. Hence, he still lay there, surrounded only by mounds of sand.
The sun beat down and his stomach roared. Heat flickered the air around him, though Char could not tell whether it was an illusion born from his thirst. He felt as dry as the sand.
When his struggles reduced to almost impalpable, a sound ripped through the silence.
[Detected host's life signs below acceptable limit. Forcing use of system... 1st time sign-in bonus activated. Calculating environmental factor... Calculated. Forceful consumption possible. Chance of survival: 100%. Sign-in successful. Obtained: Salvation for the dry. Forcing consumption. Docking 1 sign-in as payment. Sign-in balance: 0].
A string of messages appeared in Char's hazy mind, accompanied by a glass of water which materialised in the sand next to him. This was, however, no ordinary water. It gave off a faint gleam and smelled... like water.
Nonetheless, it astounded Char and made him reach for the glass. Just a millimetre away, the glass suddenly vanished. Char could only mock himself for actually taking that hallucination seriously.
After all, reincarnation and creating something from nothing are two entirely different stories.
It took Char a moment to notice that something was not quite right. His thirst, that persistent dryness in his mouth, had vanished. As if it never existed.
His flaking skin was still flaking and his stomach still protesting, but he no longer felt thirsty.
Regaining some clarity, Char sat up. He noticed a glaring blue panel in front of him, slightly translucent.
Confusion marked his face. Host? Sign-in? What in the world?
One had to know that this uncle had not the blazing passion for technology and fantasy stories so many would-be protagonists shared. Instead, he spent his time outdoors, driving the mantra 'boomer' parents drove, and as such did not know such phrases as 'golden finger'.
Char rubbed his eyes in disbelief, achieving the adverse effect of smearing sand into them. Reading through the messages, he could understand what happened. He decided not to pry into the how or why for now.
He decided to explore this 'system' thingy's functions first. The 'sign-in balance: 0' caught his eye. Could these 'sign-ins' be accumulated? He wondered.
[Affirmative] popped into his mind. Char's head jerked backwards. He considered whether he had somehow contracted schizophrenia or psychosis, but soon gave up that thought.
After all, the most likely reason was still hovering in front of him, exuding a much more eerie blue than it did before. Or maybe that's just his imagination.
Preferring the short and concise, he thought; system, intro.