Rain hammered the pavement like a thousand tiny drums, and the city lights blurred behind Daiki Tanaka's foggy glasses. He hunched beneath his thin hoodie, backpack slung over one shoulder, earbuds blasting some fantasy-themed video game OST. Just another night walking home after cram school.
Then he heard the scream.
A child's scream.
Daiki's head snapped up. Across the intersection, a little girl had wandered into the street. A truck's headlights bore down on her like twin suns, blinding and fast.
No one's moving.
Why isn't anyone moving?!
His body acted before his mind could catch up. He sprinted.
"MOVE!" he shouted, throwing his bag to the side.
Time slowed. His heart pounded like a war drum. The girl's eyes locked with his—terrified, frozen.
He shoved her.
Hard.
The world exploded into white light and searing pain.
Then… nothing.
He expected eternal darkness. Silence. An end.
But warmth touched his skin. A breeze, scented with wildflowers and something earthy—like damp stone. Birds chirped somewhere overhead, and leaves rustled gently.
Daiki's eyes blinked open.
Above him stretched a sky too blue, too perfect. He was lying on grass that shimmered faintly in the sunlight, soft like silk. Forests rolled along the horizon. No cars. No city. No sound of honking or buzzing.
He sat up.
"...What the hell?"
His voice sounded different. Higher. Younger. He looked down at his hands—smaller, calloused, roughened by manual labor. His clothes were simple linen and wool, stitched with coarse thread.
And then—a chime echoed in his mind.
[SYSTEM BOOTED]
Welcome, Kael. You have been chosen by the System.
Status: Initiating Core Integration…
Level: 1 | Class: None | Titles: [The Reborn]
"Wait—Kael?" he muttered. "Who's—?"
More chimes. A blue window flickered into view, hovering in the air like a hologram.
QUEST RECEIVED:
Survive. Adapt. Conquer.
Reward: System Upgrade – Skill Extraction
Failure: Permanent Death
Daiki—no, Kael—stared at the window.
"…This has to be a dream."
The forest behind him growled.
It wasn't.