Life in the Ukyro village was simple and ordinary. Nothing could be considered "Special" and much less "Unique." For an outer edge town, it was actually charming. The Town's people were decent and enjoyed lives with low crime while being able to buy food without worries.
If anything was to be remarkable about the place, it would be the unlucky country of which it was part. A country ridden with instability, sometimes making it hard to survive, but the townspeople were resilient to change. Governments came and went, but for the village, it only meant an increase or decrease in taxes with very few benefits being sought.
The Town often had times of peace and tranquility, which made it a safe haven for those fortunate enough to land on it. Our main lead certainly thought so when he first regained consciousness in his little boy body at age four.
"I have been reincarnated into a new body, but I still remember who I was; why?"
It was a mystery for the boy whose name was currently "Nolan." Why would he reincarnate instead of ascending to heaven to become a God? Hadn't he earned his way to Godhood? He had undoubtedly fought long wars and been the faithful war dog for them, so why was he reincarnated? He couldn't understand.
As he viewed the world around him, he noticed how dreadful the people's lives were masked under the face of "It's expected to be depressed." The world had changed drastically from how he remembered it; nothing worked the same, and neither did the magic system.
He soon discovered the apparent changes to the world's magic power, which felt wrong for someone who had previously experienced the free flow of mana. The mana felt restricted and did not cooperate at all. After fidgeting with it some more, a strange pop-up floating screen appeared before the little boy as his friends watched in awe.
"What's that?" Said Nolan's little friend, De Marcus. No one had ever seen such holographic images appear before anyone; naturally, they grew curious.
"To be honest, I don't know myself; I have never seen this." Answered Nolan truthfully as he kept playing around with the menu he had discovered. Suddenly, he clicked a button displaying stats as if it were a video game displaying a character's strengths and weaknesses.
Human Encyclopedia: File 1.
[Character: Aaron Nova]
[Origin: Reincarnation (Secret)]
Race: Human
Level: 1
Name (Given): Nolan.
True name (hidden): Aaron Nova
HP: 100/100 {Average}
SP: 1000/1000 {Extremely high}*
MP: 1,500/1,500 {Extremely high}*
Damage output: Unknown.
Speed: 120 {Average}
Defense: 10 {poor}
Skills: None.
Skill points: 100.
To his friends, the numbers and letters on the screen were meaningless, but as he knew the world's language, he understood what it all meant. The new system was different from the simple one he had before, where one only had an energy bar, which was now missing, or maybe it had evolved. He didn't know.
"Boys! Come! It's time for dinner!" A loud voice screamed from across the church where they lived, so Nolan and De Marcus ran to where the sound had come from in excitement as it was time to eat.
Eating three times a day was suitable for regular people, but for kids in the orphanage, even eating once a day was already supposed to be good enough. Yet, Aaron Nova knew it wasn't enough; if he was to grow big and strong again, he knew he would need more food than a miserable plate of potato soup a day.
Nothing was inherently wrong with the food being given to him for free, but he knew it wouldn't be enough. In what world did a child ever grow formidable, only eating potato soup and water for their entire early years? The answer was none.
If he were to become the strongest in the world and rise to power, he knew he would need better gear, better friends, and overall better food. It was all an elaborate temper tantrum at the end, all just so he could force himself to swallow the tasteless meal he had before him.
Thus, the village kept moving as always; cattlemen rode Ox to work, while others rode strange large birds around. Everyone in the Town served a purpose. While most worked in the fields to survive, few went hunting for meat, and even fewer manufactured any kind of complicated goods.
Still, without everyone doing their part, the Town suffered, and thus, it was the responsibility of the orphans to cover for the people who couldn't keep up their work when they grew old or sick. The world didn't have any laws protecting children from child labor and much less for a basic education.
Most of the Ukyro people were illiterate as a result. Even so, for the common folk, it was all normal; this miserable lifestyle was normalized by everyone around him, but he knew it was all backward. Aaron Nova wasn't so happy with what he was discovering daily.
People had lost the most basic knowledge about tending the crops and struggled with simple tasks like maintaining a flood-proof irrigation system. There was also no regard for public sanitization, as the streets reeked of poop and household waste.
Nobody seemed bothered by their dreadful life except for the little boy who had shifted his mood when he turned four years old. To everyone else, Nolan (Aaron) was a weirdo, a wacko who complained too much. After all, beggars can't be choosers, so better get back to work, kid!
* The stats are marked as extremely high for his age not generally.