These fragments are not in order.
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[Pyromania Fragment]
Shinji is found running around a forest full of burning trees. He has a flamethrower spewing blue flames everywhere that causes all the greenery in the surroundings to burn.
"People just want to see the world burn so why not?"
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[Misogi Fragment]
Shinji says to Drax, "Try the throwing knife at me."
Drax asks, "Are you sure? I think I've gotten better at throwing."
Shinji just chuckles, "Do it."
Drax shrugs and throws the newly made throwing knife and targets Shinji's shoulder out of fear of his own power's effectiveness.
It stabbed through Shinji's shoulder.
Shinji stumbles and looks at the wound and says, "You're doing it all wrong"
He stands up and forcefully removes the knife. He then nonchalantly, "You can't just stab me at a non-lethal spot."
He then aimed the knife at his own forehead as he smiles wider, "You have to properly aim...for a vital spot"
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[Cannibal Fragment]
Isaw
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[Soccer Fragment]
Shinji is seen juggling one of his friends' severed heads.
"Tch, What was I even trying to accomplish by doing this? I don't have a system that gets achievements from doing these kinds of things.", He sighs in disappointment
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[Boredom Fragment]
Shinji lays in bed with the door locked. He hasn't left the room since his last rewind in time.
'I feel tired. I just need to sleep and stop for a while to settle my thoughts, He thought to himself
He tried resting but he couldn't. There is still something to finish. Doing nothing is boring.
His heart tightens and it became harder for him to breathe. He hated this feeling to his core. He hated it even before coming to this world.
'Move! Don't Stop! Try! Do Anything To Remove Your Boredom! Get Up! Breath!'
The souls swirling around him became noisier as they realise this could be something they could exploit.
Shinji began beating at his heart and breathing desperately.
'Anything Other Than Nothing! Anything Is Progress! Do Something! Not Nothing!'
He rolls over the bed and fell off. His head knocks on the floor and then he strikes the floor with his elbow out of spite.
"F*ck!"
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[Necro Fragment]
[Redacted]
Shinji was just curious
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[Rebel Fragment]
Shinji thought about joining Kagai-sha...then he was killed by an alternate and older version of himself. He didn't question what that version had seen to attempt a risky play of meeting their past selves. The only thing that he could confirm was that his Death Reversal had a time-traveling function... or maybe his innate talent to discover a time spell. Even so, it could have caused a time-paradox in which he wouldn't want to know what consequences that would make. No... that version of himself shouldn't even exist in the past or future after Shinji changed his mind. The laws of reality, time, and, space were too confusing for Shinji.
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[Knowledge Fragment]
Reading, Reading, Reading. That is what Shinji could only do aside from engineering. Knowledge is the only thing he could bring back from death. So he read and read. He will memorize and ingrain everything into his head. Exhaustion is just a social construct that he can ignore. Death is a social construct that he can ignore. Persist because that is the only thing he can do.
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[Tom Cardy Fragment]
So Shinji tried putting bees in a dog...
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[Dumb ways to Die Fragment]
Shinji made a mental note that he never gets used to the feeling of pain. weak.
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[META Fragment]
Shinji thought of a certain manhua, 'Apotheosis'
So he began the practice of auto-cultivating.
'Cultivating Qi is a weird feeling. Cultivating Mana is also another distinct feeling. Doing body is very much weird.', Shinji thought seconds away from Qi deviation.
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[Soul, Ki, and Aura Fragment]
Shinji walks through the library and finds three books about Soul, Ki, and Aura.
'Cultivating the soul is closely connected to your mental energy. It can help speed up your thinking process, mana control, and qi control. It's very useful to me but it must be cultivated with either a [Treasure] or [Artifact] that helps train the soul or else training with a cultivation manual with being very negligible. Qi Cultivation is climbing a mountain, Body Cultivation is digging a mountain, and Soul Cultivation is making a mountain.
Cultivating Ki is something that the beast race holds. Although it can be cultivated by humans, its precious and high-star cultivation techniques are kept by another empire. There are some Ki cultivation manuals in the library but all of them require me to reach peak physical fitness or in other words Peak Rank 1 in Body Cultivation.
Cultivating Aura is something closely held by the Gala Empire's military. There may be some basic cultivation techniques for that somewhere in the library but it seems that battling is the preliminary condition to start cultivating. Unfortunately, an aura doesn't awaken mid-fight, or else I might have awakened a thousand times.'
Shinji sighs about how it would have been easier if he had these in his arsenal
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[I'm Not Tired Fragment]
[POV: Shinji Backpfeifengesicht]
Everything feels surreal, like a fever dream.
I'm not tired, fatigue washes over in death. I wake up in full energy.
I've read this one manga about the mc being able to go back to the past after dying in a pond. He used it too much and he started bleeding his eyes, ear, and nose out.
I didn't think much of it but my thoughts keep flying everywhere for me to think too deeply about it. Rather, I chose to think that my brain had developed enough to contain such memories.
As a noble, I was raised with high-quality nutrition. Mana and Qi flow through my body right now.
Keep going. I'm doing great. I'm doing fine. Fatigue is a mental construct I don't have to worry about.
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[Insanity Fragment]
I once heard that insanity is doing something over and over again expecting something to change. Although I do something different every time I try again, I still feel like I'm in a never-ending loop. This loop is driving me crazy.
I seem to understand the ignorance of both Drax and Kaitlynn. It's like a game mentality, everything starts to get harder while the start is just the tutorial. But here I am stuck in the first month of my life.
I still haven't seen everything in this world. I still haven't discovered the potential of what I could do. Why is it that I, potentially the only reincarnator that doesn't want to become the strongest or live a peaceful life, am experiencing this?
And there is no answer. Only the laugh of morbid spirits rings throughout my head.
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[Fun Fragment]
I have never lost sight of my original goal. Fun. That is what I have been doing all this time. I can't ever act seriously, If I ever looked serious then I was acting. I was always stalling. Always thinking of how to turn the situation into a joke. I'm so attached to my past life. Entertainment is my lifeline.
How much have I killed my friends just for the sake of interest? How much have I twisted my insides for the curiosity of gaining some unobtainable power?
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[Voice Fragment]
Having the spirits criticize me is mentally painful. Dying hundreds of times is already too far for human standards but I must be an overreacting child because I have unlimited lives, right?
With great power comes great responsibility. It was one of the many inspirational/jokes back on earth but it sounds like mockery in my ears.
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[Hypocrite Fragment]
I'm Tired. I want to be serious but I don't. Information can only do so much with such a weak body that I have.
I keep failing but I think I got the gist of everything. As long as I gather every important piece around me then we may be able to do it. Power of friendship and all.
I'll just have to manipulate Sirena and Dongmei. With [Death Reversal: Schrödinger] and some practice with my thoughts then I'm good to go.
It's perfect. Tell the truth but not the whole truth. Incite pity because I'm weak. Incite sympathy because they value me. Incite anger because they hate the enemy. Incite cooperation because they have similar interests.
I think I remember a certain suicide hunter's master saying that the best b*llsh*t is made of 90% truth and 10% lies.
Although I don't pity the two girls, I still like them so I'll spend time with them after this hellhole.
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[In Sirena's Mindspace]
[POV: 3rd]
Sirena, Shinji, and Dongmei appeared in the dreamscape.
Sirena blanks out from an extreme headache. She is trying to recollect her mental state that is on the verge of being seriously injured.
It is understandable since Sirena overworked her psyche and used the power much more than she instinctually felt to be safe. If an esper overworks the psyche more than the brain is capable of withstanding then fatal repercussions are bound to happen.
But Shinji had activated [Death Reversal: Schrödinger]. It is something he uses sparingly since it has great and unpredictable consequences. It is the power to control possibility. As long as something is possible, he can will it to happen but the side effect is the law of possibility bending towards Shinji's death proportional to the magnitude of the possibility changed.
Shinji adjusted the scenario so that Sirena wouldn't die from overworking her psyche but also kept the non-fatal consequences on her so that Shinji's own side effects won't be as harsh as they should have been.
Shinji snaps his fingers and a bed appeared. He pushed Sirena onto the bed and snaps again. The bed drags Sirena away and the white space around Shinji and Dongmei starts changing.
"Dongmei. since you're confused, I will explain to you the situation we are in right now. Sirena brought us into her mind using her psyche so don't be tense about the change in scenery since I will be using my memories to change the environment right now.", Shinji calms Dongmei down.
Sirena who is laying on a soft bed is isolated from the two and the scenery through a sound barrier in the form of an opaque curtain created by Shinji.
The headspace gradually forms into a full-on battlefield on the poison hill. Everyone is ambushed by several members from Kagai-Sha who certainly outnumbered them two-fold.
One by one Dongmei witnesses each and everyone being murdered in front of her, including Shinji.
Seeing the horrified look on Dongmei, Shinji began to explain, "I will be completely honest with you. Were f*cked. Like actually doomed to die. Someone has inside information and it's not a student since the person must have a very detailed background check on all the students."
Shinji points out, "All the enemies are both stronger and counters against us."
Dongmei looks at her version in the memory who is against 2 fire cultivators, one of them is an elf who has a broadsword and the other is a dwarf with a sabre. They both had impeccable teamwork that overwhelmed Dongmei without giving her rest.
Dongmei who trains mostly in strong bursts of power was soon worn down by the intense and never-ending slashes of swords. When she eventually passed out of blood loss, the dwarf immediately and ruthlessly stabbed through Dongmei's jaw and ripped out the lower part of her face.
Shinji's version of this loop didn't have it better as he was slowly played with by his two attackers. Both of them wouldn't fall for any trick he pulled out. Even though some of them went out from the left lane, they had enough strength or experience to avoid fatally injuring themselves.
Shinji could have brought his mech but the information about it has already been leaked because his two pursuers are both experts in speed and precision, even noticing details and having fast reactions. This is also the factor for avoiding all of his tricks.
They seem to relish in torturing him as they kick and stab him at very painful but non-lethal spots.
Even all the others didn't have it easy and were overwhelmed by their weaknesses and inexperience.
All of them died gruesome deaths but there were noticeably some of them who lasted much longer than the others. They were namely all people Shinji just mentioned outside the dreamworld and surprisingly both Drax and Lin had a final stand against their aggressors taking their aggressors down with them.
Shinji further states, "I have a hidden ability to go back in time when I die.", he emphasized the condition of death in a subtle manner.
"After several gruesome deaths and snooping around. I have devised a counterplan against the Kagai-Sha. It involves solving the various weaknesses of everyone, having everyone cooperate, and making everyone stronger.", Shinji emphasized his death again subtly and acted like he didn't care for his own suffering but rather cared for the impending doom.
Dongmei had a grim expression finding all this out. The impending doom of all their deaths is urgent but also a seed of worry was seeded into her subconsciously.
Not only is she grateful for what Shinji did but Dongmei also is horrified by the experience that he had to go through.
Nonetheless, she finds it necessary since they would all have died without Shinji doing something. So she rather blamed both herself and Kagai-Sha for going making Shinji go through what seemed like a certain amount of deaths.
'I really want to ask how many times he has died but making him remember such things is bad.', Dongmei thought to herself.
Shinji looks her in the eye and says, "You're already strong but the issue is that you can't get stronger in such a small amount of time. Even the treasure you got from the dungeon won't help you."
"You're already armed with top-quality weapons but the problem is that you can't defeat the two who were assigned to kill you by yourself. Not only are they a rank above you but they also have an unbelievable amount of teamwork and synergy. The others in the camp won't be able to cause actual damage to your enemies but they have their way of interrupting attacks enough for you to get in a hit.", He says
He explains further, "You haven't made friends since I came but I think you can start doing it now. Cooperating and talking with the others will further improve bonds and understanding."
Shinji scratches the back of his head and sighs, "Also there is another thing you should know, don't be provoked by Sirena if ever she tries to piss you off."
Dongmei asks confused, "But why would she try to provoke me? Does she have a grudge?"
Shinji sighs, "Well yes but actually no. You may realize it once you experience it for yourself. You have to understand yourself."
The problem that made Sirena and Dongmei conflict with each other was because of both their personalities. Sirena feels insecure about another girl near Shinji and provokes Dongmei with jealousy. Dongmei who was new to the feeling of jealousy or any type of angering situation can't control herself. Basically, a cat and dog fight.
Shinji also didn't further mention his suffering in death as Dongmei will slowly realize this later and eventually come to the conclusion that she may have done something harmful to Shinji himself. Instead, Shinji redirected Dongmei's attention to Kagai-Sha.
Although he wanted both Sirena and Dongmei to work together. Igniting a bit of rivalry and conflict is always the path to making people stronger. he even was amused by the fact that they both can fight together perfectly if their interests were the same. And that is saying something with the huge gap in strength between them.
So Shinji looked at Sirena who is still unconscious and said to Dongmei, "We have to go out now. Sirena can't handle this much amount of consciousness. It's even a miracle that she dragged you into her dreams since you have a much higher rank than her by several-fold."
Shinji sighs thinking about how much the future will change with the miracle he pulled off.
It was necessary anyway, making Dongmei deeply aware of the danger and speeding up the process of Sirena's [Psyche] strengthening.
Dongmei sees how Shinji acted but didn't say anything and nods. She felt a familiar emotion but decided to leave out on Shinji's request.
Shinji snaps his finger again and they were sent out. Sirena's mind which was churning intensely slowed down. To be precise, she stopped having a stroke.
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When Shinji opened his eyes, he jumped up on his feet while running his Qi on his new storage ring. A pouch of 3-Star [Bone Wood Powder] and a pouch of 3-Star [Soul Wood Powder] popped out. He took out a PumpKindred's head from his magic pouch and took the top of its head by making a circular hole.
He drew near where Sirena was unconscious and placed the pumpkin head near her. He poured a certain amount of each powder into the flame residing inside the living PumpKindred. Soon, a weird aroma spread, and the smoke was inhaled by Sirena.
What Shinji did was not only to help heal both her soul and brain but to also strengthen her mind and [Psyche].
For good measure, Shinji squeezed out 2-Star [Pure Golden Sap] from a Rank-4 [Binding Root] to alleviate her painful symptoms, calm her mind, and heal any fatigue in the body.
Just for better measure, Shinji sprayed his into it deodorant to help Sirena's brain to produce dopamine.
Just for best measure, Shinji moved her into her tent. Shinji already knew it was set up while she was waiting for Shinji to arrive with Quad. He then slapped another silencing talisman similar to what Dongmei placed on Shinji's anvil.
Shinji turns back to Dongmei, Drax, and Lin. Drax is unfocused and looking into the air. Dongmei stares at Shinji and feels complicated and confused. Lin looks around not noticing anything strange and shrugs only to then go outside the hill to hunt.
Shinji thinking of a way to distract her uses his trump card, "I've thought of this new recipe. Do you want to try it out?"
Dongmei who of course wanted to try out Shinji's food nods excitedly. Drax on the other hand snaps back to reality and asks to try out his food too, wanting to find the extent of his cooking abilities compared to others.
And so, Dongmei and Drax enjoyed Shinji's food. Some others who went to sleep like Quad and Adalinda woke up desiring the source of the smell. Quad ate a lot while Adalinda complained a bit about ruining her sleep but kept quiet after having a taste.
After all this everyone except Dongmei and Shinji went to sleep since those in Rank-3 and Rank-4 still need light sleep every day. Dongmei said that she will go outside to hunt like Lin. Shinji shrugs and says that she can do whatever she wants and bids her goodbye with some food packing.
Shinji returns to the anvil and took his hammer. He took out another PumpKindred's head and added the bark of treants to act as fuel.
Shinji then smiles, "Ok, The first of many weapons. I got to achieve Gilgamesh amounts of weapons."
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Author's Note: Well... this has been an eventful week. I discovered that I may be a villain because I attended another reunion (An even bigger one that made me confused about who is who).
Villain Cliche:
1. Rich Family and Doting Parents. Idk much about my financial status, my parents dote on me but aren't necessarily too doting
2. Smart, Playboy, Arrogant but dumb in front of MC. Ig I'm smart, being a playboy is a joke that I would laugh at but being arrogant may fit me sometimes.
3. Big and close family. So far in villain cliche the family or clan is always together or whatever.
Hope that there is no random self-righteous guy, 'hero', that bashes people with violence.
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Then after that, I had to go home finding that Technoblade had died. Now I have to worry if I'm ever a heartless person for not feeling that bad.
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If there is anything good this week that there is the opportunity for enlightenment *xianxia vibes*. I thought about the story more and thought about the personality of some characters in my story.