"Ugh.." Memories come flooding in. Two different sets. One who has lived her life in a dangerous world where monster outbreaks, dangerous spacial phenomenon and super powered people were the norm.
The second set, belonging to a denizen of the modern world. A somewhat unique soul, with average interests.
Belle woke up in her bed, within the employee section of the movie store herself and Wise had set up as a front. Her second set of memories, the one that had made a wish to be reborn, was confused. Random Play looked familiar, but different all at once, according to her past life's memories. DVD cases replace videotapes, amongst their technology not being as 'analogous' as the original world of Zenless Zone Zero's.
She blinked in confusion as the memories conflicted with what she knew from her first life. But then, it clicked. Though as soon as it did, her phone buzzed.
*BZZT*
Belle clumsily picked up her phone and squinted at the bright screen. Yet another thing different about the world, she mused.
Belle read the text message from an unknown sender, having adjusted her vision to the light by the end of reading it.
"I know that much by now.." Belle softly sighed, lifting the blankets and seeing her petite, if stacked body, admiring it for a second before another message came in.
Belle snorted and turned to face the ceiling as she wiped the blurriness from her eyes.
"Yeah. Hunters benefit from the mana and Ether. Hollows are zones used by the Hunter Guilds, Governments and agencies as a sort of Ether mine. Though, after some reckless mining by Hunters, who became corrupted, everyone's become a lot more careful about going into Hollows. If even rank D Hunters can become boss monster Ethereals.. God, we're fucked." Belle muttered tiredly to herself, hearing another notification from her phone.
Belle blew a raspberry and thought, 'I know the situation, pretty much. But there is one thing.. I wanted to go to New Eridu for.. ONE THING...'
"What about the Agents? Like.. oh.. Iunno.. Jane Doe, Zhu Yuan, Grace Howard, Caesar King, Nicole Demara and Ellen Joe?" Belle tried to play off her very obvious interest in the women mentioned.
Belle was suddenly tempted to snap her phone in half at the embarrassment but yielded as another message popped up.
Belle nodded in relief. It'd suck if the girls she'd pined after in her last life were weak in this world. That, and she wanted to grow stronger alongside them. That, was a core part of her wish.
Belle shot out of her bedsheets in excitement, holding her phone up like it was Simba in all her naked glory.
"Yes!! The gacha scares me a little but the template is perfect! Who wants to instantly get OP? Lazy people, that's who. Thank you!" Belle's excitable voice shouted.
*Knock* *Knock* "Uh.. Belle? Are you okay in there? I heard shouting." Wise's muffled voice came through the door.
"Y-Yeah I'm okay! Just saw a post on the Internet is all. I'll be out in a few." Belle replied, sinking back into the covers as she forced herself to calm down.
"Mm. Alright, I'll go open up the store then. See you in a few." Wise said before he left to go attend to Random Play.
"Phew.. Okay, go on.." Belle urged.
With that last message, Belle sprung up and pumped her fist triumphantly. It was officially time to start her journey. But first..
"Mmmh~ They're bigger than other me remembered.." Belle muttered in fascination as she squeezed her breasts. Firm, big enough where they dwarf most people's hands and soft. She made the decision to explore herself later, though it's not like she hadn't already done so hundreds of times before awakening her past life's memories..
Belle started to get dressed with one hand, while the other opened up the new app on her phone.
[CONGRATULATIONS! You have unlocked the Template Gacha system. Open beginner gifts? Template: #1Â Gacha: 10 spins.]
It looked simple enough. The first Template was ready, looking like a huge gift box that reminded her of an old Call of Duty lootbox mechanic. Belle pressed the screen and her eyes widened in shock.
[First Template: Mahoraga! Bonus 5% added to first Template. Accept?]
Belle had never hit the 'Yes' button so fast. Having a decent character was essential in the Template stories she'd read. After all, who wanted a character like Mineta? This, was perfect for her. Not someone Goku level, but plenty powerful in his ability to 'Adapt' to pretty much everything, along with his base strength.
Her phone flashed and she felt slightly different. No physical change seemed to occur, but Belle felt a distinct emptiness. Like something she could pull from, but couldn't right now due to the lack of experience and the lack of such energy present at the moment. Apart from that, Belle hummed and punched her fist out.
A miniscule difference compared to how she felt before, but she was certain it worked. She smiled in satisfaction before rolling the free gacha.
"Come on.. Come on..! Don't fuck me like ZZZ did when I tried to get Zhu Yuan.." Belle muttered, almost with a tinge of madness in her voice.
[3- Pizza MRE's
1- Rollex watch
1- Nikana Prime (Warframe)
1- Chubby Chicken sandwich (A&W)
1- Nicole's Bra (ZZZ)
15- Microfusion Cells (Fallout)
1- Captain America's Shield (Marvel)
1- Magnum (Halo)
25- Ether Battery (ZZZ)
1- Purple Dildo]
It was a mixed bag. Some looked pretty good, but then this was a world where Monsters broke out of Hollows and Gates, so guns, even powerful ones made in the Sci-Fi future of the Halo universe didn't match up. The interesting things happened to be the Microfusion cells and the Nikana Prime. Fallout utilized nuclear energy for pretty much everything, which made the batteries pretty dangerous in the hands of someone who knew what to do with them. Then, there was the Nikana, a weapon forged during the Golden Age of a Solar-System spanning empire that created sentient machines and techo-organic bio weapons with super powers. It was made of sterner stuff.
But the number one thing Belle focused on, was..
"Nicole wears a bra..? No fucking way.." Belle muttered in fascination as she pulled out a risque black lace bra one would wear when 'enjoying someone else's company'.
Belle cupped her jaw and imagined the confident, girlboss dummy wearing it and blushed.
"Oh shit.. where do I hide this..?" Belle panicked briefly before her attentioned turned back to the system app.
"Belle!" Wise called from the bottom of the stairs.
Belle quickly tried to tap the lacey bra against her phone, hoping it'd do something. Luckily for her, it did. That, along with the rest of her gacha prizes were placed inside some kind of inventory that appeared on her screen. Ten slots out of one hundred were filled with said items.
"Oh nice... Coming~!" Belle called out, inspecting her messy apparel quickly before slipping her shoes on and leaving her room.
There was a lot to do, and Belle wasn't keen on missing it.