The world snapped back into focus with the sharpness of a razor. One moment, Kai was staring at a flickering screen in a cramped apartment, the next he was… somewhere else. Sunlight, filtered through towering chrome structures, bathed the streets of what looked like a futuristic Tokyo. The air hummed with the low thrum of antigravity vehicles and the murmur of a language that was familiar yet subtly different.
Confusion warred with a burgeoning sense of panic. Where was he? The last thing he remembered was plugging into the experimental VR rig, a desperate attempt to escape the monotony of his life. Had it fried his brain? Was this some hyper-realistic simulation?
Then, it appeared.
A translucent interface shimmered into existence before his eyes, a series of glowing symbols and minimalist text overlaying his vision.
[SYSTEM ONLINE]
[Welcome, User.]
[Primary Function: Copy & Replicate]
[Current Year: 2247 Terran Standard]
[Next Copy Available: 364 Days, 23 Hours, 59 Minutes, 58 Seconds]
His heart hammered against his ribs. A system? This was just like those trashy reincarnation novels he used to scoff at. Only, this wasn't a novel. This was real. He swallowed, trying to make sense of it all.
He glanced down at his hands. Not his hands. Younger, smaller, cleaner. A faint scar traced the back of his left hand, a detail he certainly didn't have before. The information scrolled across his mental screen, and he knew.
[Host Body: Kaito Tanaka, Age: 16]
He was Kaito Tanaka, a name that meant nothing to him. 2247? That was… centuries into the future. Reincarnation. The word felt absurd, yet it was the only explanation that made any kind of sense.
He tried to control his breathing, focusing on the steady rhythm to calm his racing thoughts. Okay, so he was in the future, in someone else's body, and he had a "system." The text on the interface shifted, displaying a brief explanation of the system's capabilities.
[Copy & Replicate: Allows the user to copy a single non-living item per Terran year. The copied item is stored within the Dimensional Vault and undergoes exponential replication.]
[Dimensional Vault: Expanding at a rate of 10x per second.]
[Energy Source: Infinite]
[User Authority: Absolute]
"Infinite energy?" he muttered, his voice sounding strange in his ears. "Expanding storage? Absolute authority?" The power that implied was staggering.
Suddenly, a wave of dizziness washed over him. Memories, fragmented and disjointed, flooded his mind. Kaito Tanaka's life. The detached parents, the academic excellence, the quiet loneliness. He pushed them aside, focusing on the immediate reality. He was Kaito now, whether he liked it or not, and he had a powerful ability.
He needed to figure out how to use it.
He walked towards the nearest street vendor, selling what looked like nutrient paste wrapped in transparent bio-plastic. He stopped a few feet away, observing. People were wearing clothes that shifted colors with their movements, carrying devices that projected holographic displays in mid-air. The technology was mind-boggling.
"Hey, kid, you gonna buy something or just stare?" the vendor barked, his voice synthesized and grating.
Kai blinked, startled. "Uh, sorry. Just looking." He felt a pang of guilt. He had no money, no identification, nothing. He was completely reliant on this… system.
He walked away, weaving through the crowd, his mind racing. A year before he could copy something. A year to figure out how this world worked, how to survive, how to use his ability responsibly. Or, irresponsibly. He wasn't sure yet.
He noticed a sleek, metallic device discarded in a nearby trash receptacle. It looked like a personal data assistant, smashed but still partially intact. An idea sparked in his mind. Knowledge. Information. That was the key to survival in this strange new world.
He reached into the trash, ignoring the grime, and retrieved the damaged device. It was heavier than it looked, cold against his palm.
"Too bad I have to wait a year," he muttered, examining the broken screen. "This could have been really useful."
Then, something unexpected happened.
A faint, almost imperceptible hum vibrated through the device. The screen flickered, displaying a single, garbled line of text.
[Minor Anomaly Detected. System Recalibrating…]
[Temporary Override Granted. Copy Available.]
Kai froze, his eyes wide with disbelief. A temporary override? Was this some kind of bug? He didn't care. He had an opportunity, and he wasn't going to waste it.
He focused on the broken data assistant, picturing its intricate circuitry, its storage chips, its potential. He extended his hand, touching the cold metal.
[Copy Initiated.]
The device vanished from his grasp.
[Item Copied: Damaged Data Assistant]
[Replication Commencing…]
He stumbled back, his heart pounding. He could feel the power surging within the system, the infinite energy building, the Dimensional Vault growing at an exponential rate. He could almost sense the broken data assistant, duplicating itself an impossible number of times within the confines of its ever-expanding prison.
He had a year to learn how to control this power. But he had just jumped the starting gun, and the game had begun. A dangerous, exhilarating game in a world where immortality was a commodity, and power was everything. He just needed to figure out the rules.