[ARC 0] PROLOGUE: INFILTRATING LIMBO
Greydra
Welcome to the rewrite of "A Reincarnated Demon's Tales of Wonder"!
For those who are new to the story, welcome! And for those who have been with us from the start, welcome again!
For starters, this story is divided into several Arcs, with Arc each starting with a Prologue chapter which is also the name of the Arc.
Then, without further ado, enjoy the story.
Mmh... I can't eat anymore... huh?
Why am I dreaming of something that cliched?! Or better yet, where am I?
After suddenly waking up, I found myself in the strangest place ever. The place looks like an oversized shopping mall. In the way that many stores are lined up together. Still... these aren't what you would call "shops".
One place looked like a bus terminal, while the other was an entrance to a plane. Other places were just a simple road that went into the horizon, a large escalator that went up to the heavens, teleport gate-looking things straight out of a sci-fi story, and even a catapult that sent people flying into the sky!
Oh, and did I mention that all the places extended past the allowed room that they should have? It's like each "store" has its 3D extender thingy, whatever that is.
Strange point number 2: the people. Well, people ain't that strange, I have to agree to that, but they are when they look like flimsy, humanoid-shaped will-o'-wisps! Is there a ghost seminar somewhere here?
... Wait a sec... then what about me?
Let's see... foggy legs, unclear body shape, some transparency, plus self glowing features... yup. I'm a gh-gh-gh-GHOST!!!!
---
Alright, calm down me! This ain't the time to zoinks out!
First off, what's this place? Wait, I already asked that. And the answer is, I don't know.
Then, how did I come here? The last thing I remember is that I walked up the stairs to the train and just passed that janitor that used waaaay too much soap and water... riiiiight...
Alright, problem three: how do I get outta here and smash that guy's face in?
...Huh? Wait, why did I wanna take the train again? Better yet, who am I? I can only remember... that I slipped and crushed my skull... I think.
I only remember stuff like the news, what I learned in school, novels, games, manga, games... I played too many games.
I know I was a single guy with no girlfriend or relatives, but except that, zilch. Is this the "hit your head-memory loss" trope?
Alright, question 4: how do I get my memories back? Or, can they even be recovered? I'm already dead after all... until the opposite is proven.
One good thing with this whole no memory thing is that I don't freak out so much over being dead. When I'm on the subject; how's everyone coping with the whole "being dead" situation?
All of them are foggy figures right now. Aren't they freaked out, despairing, or, at least somewhat surprised by all this?
Let's see, subject number 1's... kinda sorry looking. He's more foggy-looking than me. I can't tell if he's a man or a girl.
Most of the other guys are in the same condition, while others look more human-ly, like transparent humans without any colors. I'm kinda in-between, with foggy features, but people can see that I have a body.
Hmm, the guys that have a shape look kinda outta it. Their eyes have no light in them... okay, forget that they are ghosts for a second here.
What I mean is, they don't look like they have a will of their own. It's like they were hypnotized or something. The biggest reason for my hypnosis theory is how they jump on those sketchy transport methods at the different "stores". Who would willingly turn themselves into catapult ammo?
I don't know why, but somehow, even when those guys arrived as senseless ghosts, I came to this place with my mind still intact, give-or-take some memories. Is this good or bad fortune, seeing as I'm dead as a rock?
If my mental library of manga and novels is in order, this place must be some kind of Heaven- or Limbo-like world. Or, the step right before either one of those. All these different "transportation" methods, still not sure if they could be called such, could be the means for taking the dead souls to wherever they are supposed to go next.
Anyway, ain't this bad? Only people in mangas get reincarnated with their memories intact, right? Not that I have most of mine, but my sense of self would go south if I take that bus. Or that plane. Or the bicycle. Not to forget the roller coaster. Wait, why is there something like that here?
Isn't there some special method for guys like me to get back to life without all that? Where's the info desk?
... Forget the last question. If the desk's staffed with guys like those, then I'm fine not knowing.
A pair of crystal golem-like security guards were standing guard in front of an important-looking door. No, seriously. Some golems made from polished crystal are wearing a security guard uniform. Go and guard a museum or something, not here!
Just as I was saying that, while hiding in the shade of a pillar that was just standing there, the guards reacted to some sound in the distance. It sounds like someone started a brawl. Was there someone else who snapped outta the dead-man-state like me?
The important thing is, the guards went to where the sound was, leaving the door unprotected.
...I'm not sure if anything behind that door can help me outta this pinch, but hey, what do I have to lose? My life?
Quickly and silently, as a ghost, I ran to the door when the guards had distanced themselves long enough from it. Please don't let this thing be trapped...
*Click*
It wasn't! Not to mention it was unlocked! The security in this place's in the dumps. Good thing for me.
[ARC 0] CHAPTER 1: RAIDING THE OFFICE!
After traveling through a damn long and dusty corridor after entering the door, I arrived at what appears to be someone's office.
"Appears" is because this place looks like a mix of some Italian Renaissance artist's atelier and a library. Tons of bookshelves filled to the brim are spread around the place, with some strange-looking statues. Alien statues?
The thing I like is the fancy desk in the middle of the room. It looks like something a billionaire would own. Kinda want one myself. If I had an office. But that super-fancy computer is a different story!
Give-me, give-me, give-me, NOT! Bet that thing's impossible to access anyway. I'll stick to these books... why's there dust in Heaven? I tried to blow it away, only to find out I lack lunges as a ghost. Awkward...
Hmm... the books are no good. I tried to read some of them after brushing away the dust, but whatever language this is supposed to be, it sure ain't from Earth. Maybe this world is the afterlife-kinda thing for multiple worlds? Like, all guys that die in every world get sent here, then redistributed to another world?
There has to be some readable paper around here.
Alien language, no. Next.
Hieroglyphs, won't work. Next.
Binary code, close. Next.
Isekai-lish, have no clue. Next.
Hey, English! Yeah! But, ugh! Physics?! This is the worst of them all! Next.
Next. Next. Next. Next...
---
Nothing. 26,321 books, documents, and papers, and nothing that could help me. NOTHING!!
What's the point in shouting? It won't get me anywhere... but it helps me relieve my stress. AAAARGGGHHH!!
Okay, I'm done. But seriously, this joint has no related info on the subject of reincarnation. What the hell must a ghost do to get some service around here? A translator would work.
I guess I have to try out the computer after all. It will only lead to thousands of alarms calling in those guards from before, which will lead to me getting thrown into the depths of hell.
Let's see, where's the start button... ooh. Touch-screen keyboard!
*Bip.*
... No alarms. Heck, this thing was just in sleep mode!
This place's security... Nah, I won't say anything. That joke's gotten too old already.
---
I've fiddled with the machine for a while, and to my surprise, I can understand what's written here! It's not that the symbols here are something I recognize, but I still get what they are trying to tell me.
Even so, the only program this bucket of bits has is some kinda character creation program. You know, like the one you use to make a character for an MMORPG.
Quite the funny little thing, but not helpful with my revival plans. Tsk.
*Thump*
Hmm? My feet(?) kicked something. That was the plan, but I was aiming for the underside of the desk.
This is... a stack of documents? Who stores their documents underneath their desk?
Let's see, one, two... four stables of docs. What are these things-!? I can understand what's written on these! Do these work under the same principle as the computer?
One of them has a post-it note on it. I hope it can light up the situation here.
SKVALV!
Get those race requests done before the next millennia, or you can kiss your pension goodbye!
Love Ria-chan.♡
... That was weird. And what's this about race requests?
I looked at one of the docs on the stable to see what was going on.
... So that's what it was. All these papers are requests for different races. The owner of this room, this "Skvalv" guy, must have been some sort of godly designer or something.
The papers said that the races were for some other world with high levels of the aether... whatever that is. Due to that, the gods there needed to make some sort of World System, which is something like adding game elements to reality. Stuff like levels, skills, classes, even evolutions!
The last part's the important stuff here. The "Skvalv" guy needed to design several new species that people, and monsters, could evolve to when they reached certain levels and other stuff. Thing is, he never got started. All the papers are untouched. So are the memory banks of the designer program.
... Well, I got nothing else to do, so why not? I've always wanted to create my own, original character.
Let's see. This first request is... a humanoid demon with high fighting abilities? It says something about "required attributes and traits", but what are those? Ah, there's info about them in the designer program. Thank you, help button.
First, attributes. In the world these races are gonna be used on, species, items, and even skills that can have an elemental attribute of either fire, water, wind, earth, light, darkness, ice, metal, life, death, order, and chaos.
Also, there are combination attributes that take two-to-three of the base attributes I just mentioned and create a new attribute of them both. Like "Fire" plus "Earth" equals "Magma", or "Water" plus "Wind" and "Ice" becomes "Mist".
"Order" and "Chaos" aren't used on their own. They are only used in combination attributes that are essentially other states of the base attributes. "Wind" and "Order" become "Music", but if you swap "Order" with "Chaos", you get the "Sound" attribute. So, "Order" is static, while "Chaos" is dynamic. Or maybe "Order" provides rationality and "Chaos" provides..., well, chaos? Something like that
It's also written about something called, the Karma Value. It detects whenever people act orderly, or chaotic, and respectively increases and decreases the Karma Value between -200 and +200. Someone with a high positive Karma Value will have more proficiency with combination attributes that include the Order attribute. Negative value's for the Chaos attributes.
One combination attribute is exempt from this rule, and that's the Heretic attribute, which is a combination of both Order, and Chaos. It says here that this attribute is related to the damage of souls... damage of souls?! What are you telling to a soul-only ghost?!
Anyway, that's the deal with attributes. Over to traits.
These guys tell what kinda creature the thing in question is. For example, humans have the "Humanoid" trait, while dwarfs also have that, plus the "Short Size" trait.
Traits have special bonuses related to "status growth", as the information calls it. The "Humanoid" trait I just mentioned has a trait that increases the growth of "classes", while the "Short Size" trait of the dwarfs reduces the growth of speed, but increases the growth of vitality and strength, whatever that's supposed to mean.
Back to the request, this one wants...a Darkness attribute monster with the High Demon trait despite being a monster of a general lower rank than what should be possible..., and related to Lewd Demons, yet different from them? And they need to be a battle-type species?
I sure don't wanna meet something like that in a dark alley.
Still, this "Lewd Demon" thing... ain't that a succubus? It can also be an incubus. So, a race that's related to those, but someone that leans more on R-18G instead of only R-18?
Hmm, thing is, "Lewd Demon" restricts the race to one gender... if I let it be male, succubus won't be able to evolve to it, and the opposite is true for incubuses.
Isn't there something to fit both races... oh? It's possible to have that race's gender be something else than just male and female? Tell me about that first then! Both genderless and hermaphrodite are possible... then our only choice is the latter one then! ...WHAT DO YOU MEAN "not possible", HUH!?
Then let's make it a female race then. Just discretely throwing in a transformation ability...they're demons after all...I can't do that either, huh? Oh, I can write notes about the different parts regarding the new races. Then attach "possible to transform" and attach it to the gender part...
Alright, moving on to the race's average body measurements... since it's a Lewd Demon and all, shouldn't their proportions be on the more lecherous side? Quite possible...
Ah, won't I have to connect this nice body to the "battle-species" part of the request? But when I think of "battle-species", I imagine stuff like muscle hulks that speaks with their muscles...not my ideal lewd demon...
Ah! How about a femme fatale! ...they do sound a little more "graceful" than a muscle idiot, but still not "battle worthy"...an assassin? Yeah, that's an idea. Killing with sneak attacks can be considered a battle, right? Let's brute-force our way through with lots of comments...
It's done! My DDoS attack with comments just gotta get this idea through! And this "High Demon" trait is said to boost demonic magic or whatever, meaning I can sell this idea as an assassin race that can also use curses to kill their target! Sweet!
Now that's done, I need to make this race's average measurements alluring, but still nimble. I'll make it so that their muscles don't show as well, to trick the target. Then there's selecting possible hair and skin colors. As for the attributes, this one needs the Darkness attribute. Assassins and Darkness go hand-in-hand after all. And since both succubus and incubus both have it, why not the Heretic attribute as well?
Mhm. A good result if I have to say it myself. It's up to the one who delivered the request to add skills and potential more traits to this thing, that is if they ever get to see it.
All that remains is a short description of the race, then the name... something like "hell" since it's a demon? Or, something related to the underworld? It is a Deathbringer after all.
Hmm... Hades? Nah, too overused.
Something related to assassins? No, I like the idea of having it related to the underworld better.
Then, instead of the more mainstream religion, how about one of the less known ones? We have Mayan, Indian, African, Mesopotamian...
Kur. Kur Kigal.
That's this race's name. I don't know why, but the sound of it just sits well with me.
After adding the name and description to the character page of that race, I saved it and started on the next request sheet.
A fish-type series that's possible to live in the wasteland? In that case...
---
I'm on a roll now! Time to finish this last one! And-
*Ping!*
Argh! Pop-up! I hate them! Wait, how's a pop-up possible when this machine only has the designer program on it?
Let me save first. And... done. Now there will be some happy zombie dragons in that world. What was that thing from before?
? A mail?
To: The insolent, trespassing whelp.
From: Alvatria, Ultimate Goddess of Darkness.
...Uh-oh.
[ARC 0] CHAPTER 2: CHARACTER CREATION
Hello, you shameless little soul in the office of one of my subordinate gods.
My name is Alvatria. One of the rulers of Terra Sol, the world that those races you have designed are going to be used on.
Alright, I'm in trouble. But how did she know I was here?
Friendly advice: never use a computer without checking if it's got cloud save or not.
Wow, she's good. I mean, crap, this is bad!
Do not be alarmed. The trash-talking is just me following the Evil Goddess 101.
Oh, phew... what was that about "evil"?
Moving on, I was the one who received those designs for the new races to be added to the Terra Sol World System. And I love them! Especially the first one. It struck my heartstrings right there and then.
So, I have a suggestion: will you be reincarnated to the world of Terra Sol as my subordinate?
What is she talking about?
The thing is, on Terra Sol, there are twelve really bad pieces of news. Like, bad enough to destroy all of Terra Sol. They came to birth due to some minor programming faults with the World System, the power that grants skills and evolutions if you don't remember, and they are kinda impossible for even us to get rid of, without, you know, destroying all of Terra Sol.
That's counterproductive, alright.
So, when we first got to know about these Ultimate Disasters (we named them such since they have the same numbers and represent the same attributes as us, the twelve Ultimate Gods of Terra Sol), we informed the mortals about those monsters.
Still, that wasn't enough, as one of these Disasters showed itself during a war between two nations, and almost destroyed them both! Then, one of my colleagues, Qulux (urgh) came with the idea to grant several individuals there on the battlefield a blessing from us Ultimate Gods.
The idea worked, and the Disaster was defeated. After that, we decided to call these fellows "the Champions of the Ultimate Gods". But here's the kicker: not all the gods granted powers to people.
The problem is that there are not many people that can accept our blessings. Putting it bluntly, we Ultimate Gods are too clumsy to grant small amounts of power. Forcing someone unfit for the blessing would lead to them blowing up like a pinata with a stick of dynamite in it. Just gorier.
You don't need to describe it.
So, we other gods, except the Wind, Light, Metal, and Water gods, started to look for people that could accept our blessings without being blown sky-high, but the last one in question now is poor little me!
There was this one guy that had some potential, but he refused! Can you believe it!?
So, I thought of another idea: If no one can accept my powers, why not build one from scratch?
Say what now? And why's this goddess so weak to group pressure?
But before I could do that, I needed the all-important content, meaning a soul and mind, that could pull out the stunt of being my Champion. I mean, even if I made a creature right now, it would still be a baby, right?
And I haven't the time to wait for it to grow up. Together with the decision of creating the Champions of the Ultimate Gods, we also decided to have a bet: which Champion could prove themselves to be the best of them all?
The rules are simple: the Champions are gonna prove their worth, not only against the Disasters but against any kind of peril on Terra Sol. The other eleven Ultimate gods are going to judge their performance, and if the Champion does well, one of the other Gods are going to grant that Champion a special blessing, which is practically an add-on to the one they already have, so they won't explode to many tiny bits.
When a Champion has collected the blessings from all the other Ultimate Gods, the God in charge of that Champion has won the bet and obtains the right to customize a special Dreadnought-class Dungeon that we are planning on setting loose on Terra Sol after their attribute!
So, it's some kinda status thing? Honor and all that?
I get why she's got no time to waste though... But couldn't she just refuse to give a blessing?
The worst part is, I can't refuse to give the blessings! I've already given one blessing to the Champions of both the Death God and the Chaos God!
Ah, so she can't.
Therefore, I need a soul that has matured to a reasonable level. You, who lost your memories when you crashed on your head, for then dying because you broke your neck right after that, are perfect for that job! Also, I like your work with the character charts of the new races.
... Hey, why does she know that? Don't tell me...
Besides, unless you know some other gods, there's no way for you to reincarnate anywhere with your sense of self intact. Accepting my proposal is your best bet here.
Tsk. She's right.
Anyway, do you wish to accept this deal?
Yes/No
The last part of the message must be acting as buttons.
However, despite my doubts, I've got no other choice here. Just as she said, she's my only hope of getting a new life, even if she's shady as heck... Fine. Yes.
Half a second after I pushed the button came the so-called evil goddess's answer. Did she wait all the time, or would the message automatically pop up when I pushed the button? I'm not sure if I wanna know what would happen if I said no.
What does she write back?
Excellent! Here is the info about the races I've handpicked for you to reincarnate to. They were all monster races, but there was no one else that I could temper with to withstand my blessing.
Information about the blessing, such as its abilities and skills, is also included.
As a bonus, Champions have their unique item! In your case, it will be a special grimoire that holds information about all the stuff on Terra Sol, so read that if you're in doubt.
Oh, and one final thing, about your initial skills.
Initial skills?
After being born, people can gain 5 skills free of charge. What these skills are is decided by their actions until they have received them all. A kid that trains with the sword in their childhood will get the [Swordsmanship] skill, for example.
You, however, can pick 10 skills of your choice as your initial skills. This means that you won't get any random skills due to a random action you do. You can also pick them later on Terra Sol, but I recommend that you take up the [Identification] skill at once, no matter what race you chose. That one can be used to see the target's status and information from the World System.
Also, you can even select a high-tier skill, meaning a skill that's rarer, and more powerful, than other skills that your everyday chump owns! It's limited to those of the Darkness, Death, and Chaos attributes, and combination attributes that include those three, and those that are only available through evolving other skills are not part of the deal either.
Hmm, ignoring the limitations, doesn't this mean I can obtain high-ranking skills right away? Cool!
P.S: I've locked all the races to the female gender, 'cause I want it, and you will start with an adult body, 'cause I hate to wait. Please thank me.
WHYYYYYY?!
Who would thank you for that?! Besides, it's "do not thank me"!
I like the fact that I can skip going goo-goo-ga-ga, but that's not enough to compensate for this treatment of my rights as a man!!
Anyway, I expect great things from you. Get entangled in as much trouble as much as possible.
Do not disappoint me.
Don't give me that! Urgh. Better a life as a girl than no life at all..., I think.
And thinking about it, she never said she would punish me either, despite this
Now that's out of the way, what are my options here? Clicking on this link, will...
Hmm, the best bet here would be the bat... but wouldn't that mean I would have to live my life as a gender-bended Dracula... or would Carmilla be more right? Still sounds kinda cool.
The zombie... ain't that bad. Other people would doubt my sanity for picking an undead as my new race in my new life, but it's a freaking undead! Still, the massive weakness and smell that comes with it are killing my will to take it.
The gob's just out. It's way too weak. When something's so weak, they can survive stuff that other, higher-ranked species can't, then they're so weak, it's not even funny. I'm not planning on spending my life having to fight adventurers as a day job anyway.
Then, it was this guy. The demon. To be honest, most of the explanation didn't give me much info, except that I can turn into whatever demonic monster I want after becoming one. Is there more info about them?
A Grey Demon consists of a deformed piece of semi-fluid, grey flesh ball as the trunk of its body.
It has four spider-legs that end in deformed talon-shaped claws.
The face of the Grey Demon consists of two, coal-like eyes and a mouth filled with fangs.
The Grey Demon is a particular type of demon, created when many random types of aether merge. In other words, the Grey Demon is the leftover of several types of monsters. Due to their instability as a demon, the Grey Demons are extremely frail.
Due to its nature, the Grey Demon is said to be a vessel of the grudges of the dead monsters.
True to those words, the most promising feature of the Grey Demon race is that all individuals of this race have some sort of Monster Skill. Another common point is that all Grey Demons seem to focus on one "style" of Monster Skills, having researchers believe the Grey Demon's selection of available skills gets reduced each time this demon obtains such a skill.
There was! And it comes with a picture of it as well. Except for the mouth and eyes, it looked kinda cool. But I don't wanna meet it on a dark, lonely night. Heck, not even if it was in the middle of the day, and I had the whole American army behind my back as support.
Hmm, there's something about traits along with the explanation. Can I see... I can see the info about them too!
... This one's... probably the best till now. I mean, all of the choices have some sort of weakness, but the Grey Demon negates one of its greatest weaknesses.
When I worked with the documents before, I learned that creatures ranked G all evolve when they reach Lv.10, so even if this species' weak, it's only a temporary weakness at best.
The bad news, except for the race's fragility, is that Karma Value thing, but that's probably just 'cause demons are like that from the beginning. That I can't become anything other than demons are kinda frustrating, but hey. No increase in Holy- and Curse attribute damage is worth it. Wonder why Curse is included?
Even so, I've learned a little about these skills by designing all those races from before, and I can conclude that obtaining Monster Skills is way more difficult than the other types of skills. You can't obtain them as an initial skill for example, except when you're of a species that has the skill normally.
Speaking of which, this thing's got an inborn skill attached to it. It will take up one of the slots for the initial skills, so let's see if it's worth it.
?! Magic Eye skill!! Oh, this thing's worth just going to the roof!
But seriously, this skill is somewhat useful. With this thing, I can see how strong the other guys are... or is it limited to magicians only? Can't I get a better explanation, please?
Anyway, I need to see what this thing here does before I decided on anything at all here.
What's with this? Darkness, darkness, and darkness! And those abilities, ain't them broken? Heck, the growth boost ability is at level "Max" instead of "Huge"!
And ain't Skill Points the stuff you use to get skills normally? Do I get them double as fast as others? The item pack sounds more like a present for a well-done evolution than anything. Don't tell me that all Champions get these privileges?
A quick right-click festival later, and the seven skills of mysteries were solved in a blink! The Element skill works like the inborn attribute in giving a boost to skills of the same attribute, the Reinforcement- and Resistance skills are just like on the paper, and [Language Adaption] is just like it says on the fine print. Good.
The real golden eggs were these guys though:
[Aura of Darkness] is wicked! Everyone can guess what the Poison ailment does. The Curse ailment does the same as Poison, only that it works on MP instead of HP, and some stats get reduced as well. Weakness also reduces stats. And all this on top of the reduction from the Aura itself? Oh yeah! I think this is going to be my favorite skill.
[Identification] is your everyday appraisal skill. I'm so gonna get this up to a high level!
---
Alright. I've decided now. This is my new race and skills that I plan on reincarnation to:
All Undecided initial skills can be selected on Terra Sol at any time.
Final Confirmation:
Are you sure that you want to use this race and skills?
Y/N
I've used a long time to think about them, so my answer is obvious.
The bat was tempting, with flight and all, but the demon race has a much wider variety in species to evolve to. I just have to endure 10 levels looking like a Lovecraftian monster, then I'm free to take any evolution I want!
As for the skills, since I don't know what monster skills are available for me down there, I decided to focus on stealth while figuring the rest of my skills... "on-ground", if I have to call it that. The [Stealth] skill that improves one's ability to hide one's presence is obvious, but the appearance-changing [Camouflage] is also important for hiding.
[Auto-Mapping], which records the places you've been on a special mental map, is also useful right at the beginning. Then what about [Heretic Immunity]? I got damn scared of that attribute when I read about it previously. It's fine to have one skill for my pleasure you know!
As for my name, it's based on a certain female character from a manga I remember reading about. A damn awesome one as well. If I have to live my life as a woman, then I wanna be at least half as awesome as her. That, and it's also to please that goddess. "Garami" means entanglement after all...
Jokes aside, I've postponed this for too long now. Time for my new life to start!
*Beep*
[ARC 0] EPILOGUE: THE FRIVOLOUS GODDESS
Realm of the Ultimate Gods: Celestial World, Nibiru
A floating island located in Terra Sol's stratosphere. With 590,200 square kilometers, this island is the record-holder amongst the Celestial Island with the largest landmass.
Located on the island was a massive palace, one worthy of the gods. It is where the Ultimate Gods, rulers over Terra Sol, spent their lives whenever they decided to visit the plane of the mortals.
In one of the incredible gardens inside the palace, underneath one of the great trees there, laid a young girl. With straight black hair and pale skin, neatly dressed in a modern sweater and skirt, playing around with what appeared to be a portable game console, people would think she was a high-school student taking a break under the tree.
They could not be more wrong.
"Alvatria. Your 'Champion', was successfully reincarnated."
The one who just talked was a Caucasian woman in her early thirties, dressed in a white business suit. However, just like her partner, this appearance was a hoax.
They were two of the twelve Ultimate Gods. The teenager-looking girl was the goddess of Darkness, Alvatria, and the sixth born Ultimate God. The woman in the business suit was Order, the Ultimate Goddess of Order, and the eleventh born of them.
"Thank you, little sister, but I already knew." - Alvatria
"Do not call me that. Why do you even have your Avatar to look like that?" - Order
The Avatar is a special power of the Ultimate Gods that allows them to gain a body that they can use to walk around on Terra Sol.
"Why not? It's cute." - Alvatria
"And when did something like you care about being 'cute'? Besides, what happened to the rules that the only Avatars we could make were those of the races we are patron gods for?" - Order
Along with their respective attributes, the Ultimate Gods each governed a race of their own, with the gods of Order and Chaos ruling over respectively the humanoids and monster that was left. As the human race was one of those, Order had the appearance of a normal human, which begs the question about Alvatria, the patron goddess of demons, would look like one.
"That is for me to know, and you to find out." - Alvatria
"Always the show-off. Anyway, your girl was sent to that place out of anywhere she could have been sent off to. Is that alright? Won't she get killed before even debuting to the rest of the world?" - Order
"She's got a late start, so if she can't take care of that snake-in-the-sand, then she's not worth my sponsorship." - Alvatria
Order made a face as if having swallowed something bitter, but she kept her mouth shut and left. Alvatria ignored her younger sibling's reaction and turned her attention on the game console again.
The words "Connection Lost" flashed in red letters on the screen. Seeing that, the goddess smiled a wicked smile, anticipation showing on her face.
[ARC 1] PROLOGUE: BEGINNING IN THE DARK
Uuuuhhh... where am I?
It's pitch black... and my body feels weird... ah!
The reincarnation! But why can't I see anything? I know that I should have eyes at least.
Let me get a sec to think. Why's there so dark here? If I rule out the possibility of my eyes failing me, then the most likely answer is... it's a pitch-black place without any lights...
Then that would answer my first question as well. Thinking about it, all those choices I got for my reincarnation were all monsters. No wonder I got reincarnated in a dark... cave? Dungeon? The ground feels like it's made of rock, so I'll stick to "cave" for now.
... I need that skill, don't I? Fiiiine. I just needed to think about it, then...
Initial Skills selection:
Numbers of initial Skill slots remaining: 5
Search for Skills:[]
Available Skills:
That was easy. I just need to describe what kinda Skill I want, then this thing fill list up the skills I want! This would be awesome to misuse to get more info about every skill out there, but sadly, I HAVE to pick one of the available skills, if anyone pops up.
Therefore, let's make this request as easy to understand as possible. "I want a skill that lets me see in the dark". There.
Initial Skills selection:
Numbers of initial Skill slots remaining: 5
Search for Skills: [I want a skill that lets me see in the dark]
Available Skills:
And there it is. The text in the hologram window that appeared is in a language that I don't remember having seen before, but thanks to that [Language Adaption] skill, I can read it without any trouble. Or any other language in that case. I still need to remember learning this world's letters if I want others to understand what I write.
And FYI, the hologram is only visible to me. It doesn't even light up the cave. Tsk.
Back to the point, I've got two options available here. I expected to see the first one, but [Vibration Sense]? That sounds good for someone that's lost their eyes or never had them in the beginning...
*thunk*
Giyyaaa! My feet touched something! Oh wait, it's just a book... what's a book doing here?
Wait... ain't this the grimoire that the goddess talked about? It came here along with me...
Then doesn't it mean that I have no other choice but to take [Night Vision]? The other skill sounds cool and all, but it won't be of any use for reading a book. No other choice then.
SYSTEM MESSAGE:
Acquired skill: [Night Vision Lv.1]
Ugh... don't look at it as a wasted free skill...
Cheapskate mindset aside, my surroundings have become more visible. Still, it's only to the point of the whole place is lit up by a weak candle. And it feels like I'm watching at some images taken from an old-fashioned black-white camera. A bad-quality one to boot.
It's better than before I got the skill though. And I can see much farther than I thought I would. Maybe the skill level only dictates how well you can see, and not the distance? Then my eyesight must be pretty good already.
Not that there is too much to look at. I'm inside a small cave, or maybe it's a dead-end inside a cave? There's nothing special inside here, except for me, and the book right beside me. This must be...
Good thing I got [Identification] for just this type of situation.
Grimoire
Not helpful!
As the skill didn't do any good, I tried opening the book to take a look... Not working. The problem ain't the book though.
It's me. When I tried to open the book, I lost my balance and tumbled down. Turns out that this body needs all the limbs to stay standing. Not to mention that my "hands" ain't the best to turn pages.
I managed to do it after some tries while laying on the floor and looked over the first page, which explained the book itself.
I see, so it's called the "Kigal-Note". That goddess said she liked my designs, but to think it went to this extent...
Oh well. Nothing I can do about that. I tried out that trick that the book told me about, and it suddenly turned to black smog and entered the body.
Any problems with the foreign object entering the system? Nope, all green.
Jokes aside, I need to get outta here. Or, at least find me something to eat. I've just been born, despite my body being that of an adult, not that I know the difference for this race. Thinking about it...
Grey Demon
Tsk, no luck.
---
After exiting the dead-end cave, I entered a massive cave that housed an underground lake.
I used the [Stealth] skill, or, I kept on thinking "have [Stealth] active!" the whole time, since I had no way to figure out if it worked or not. Because the stupid [Identification] doesn't show skills! I need to fix that once I get the chance.
Back to the present. Remember that I said that I could only see in black and white due to the faulty [Night Vision]? Well, the lake's blue. Like, glowing blue. Don't tell me the lake's radioactive!? Or, is radioactive radiation blue at all?
Whatever it is, I'm staying away from this lake. It may be a natural piece of beauty, but I don't care. I'm probably looking too freaky as it is, and I don't want to increase the freakishness level.
Besides, the lake's not the only thing glowing here. On the roof of the cave's tons of wriggling lights. Like there were tons of illuminating caterpillars crawling up there. If it was possible to glow black.
All these strange colors must be because of that [Magic Sight] skill. Unfortunately, that's bad news for me.
Why? Because those lights on the roof look like vengeful ghosts! Have you seen a ghost picture before? These guys look like the ghosts in those pictures!
Wait a sec. If the lights are due to the skill, which lets me see strong magic in the form of equal strong light, then this lake...
Where's the exit out of this hell-difficulty stage? There it is.
RUN! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!!
Greydra
Kigal-Note: Introduction
The Kigal-Note
The Kigal-Note is the Unique Item of the Champion of Alvatria. It is named after a certain demon race that the goddess has a liking to.
It is a grimoire that takes the shape of a black notebook with a lilac strap and lock. The book can change in size according to the wishes of its owner.
Abilities:
The Kigal-Note can be used to read up on every subject, item, and species on Terra Sol. Simply asking the grimoire will have it automatically find the page you seek.
It is also impermeable to any kind of damage, as it turns itself into an aether form to escape damage. It can be stored inside the body of the Champion by using the aether form.
The book can also store living creatures into it, and then use whatever abilities those creatures may have, for a payment of the owner's MP.
Some creatures may resist the absorption, as the effect requires the MP from the owner. If the creature is too strong, then the owner's MP may not be enough.
Alvatria's comment: "Well, all the Unique Items have some whacked-up effect after all."