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Chapter 1– The Next Journey.

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[You Have Died. Pick Up To Five Traits For Your New Life.]

What the fuck is this. I move my hands to try and push this weird blue screen out of my way, but then I realise I don't have hands. So where is my body, and why am I so calm right now when I should be freaking out like an average person would be? And I am dead. How can that be when I don't even remember dying?

[You Are Now Dead, You Are Now Being Prepared For A New Life. It Has Been Decided That You No Longer Need Your Emotions And Connections To That Life Since It Is Now Over. Therefore, The Growth Of New Emotion And Feeling Has Been Put On Hold Till Your Next Life Begins. This Will Help The Facilitation Of New Feelings, New Emotions And New Connections In The Next Life With No Past Attachments. You Do Not Remember Your Death Because, In Some Cases, The Trauma Carries Over, Into The Next Life. This Is Unpreffered. Choose Up To 5 Traits.]

While I may not feel any emotion or feelings at the moment, I still have my memories for the most part and from that, I know and remember what kind of reaction I would have to such a situation. I would not like it one bit, so I decided to boycott this mysterious screen to see what would happen, and if I could be offered some other alternatives, as I no longer have a body that can die, I could stay like this infinitely. So I remain still and look around at the black void that covers everything around me, and the only light source in this place is the blue screen.

Time moves forward (or does it?) as I just stay still and look at the screen in front of me without doing anything, and the weird screen doesn't say anything else, letting me do whatever I want. So time passes, and I can't tell if it has been minutes or millenniums, but what is clear is that the screen does not care about my abstaining.

So eventually, I decided to just move forward. Having grown bored of this dark void, I may not have emotions at the moment. However, I can still feel boredom and the need to experience anything other than this monotony. As if hearing my thoughts, the screen shows all the possible traits available to me.

[ Adrenaline Junkie:

You are someone who enjoys intense and thrilling activities that generate an adrenaline rush. "Moves faster when highly panicked."

Athletic:

You are a person who is trained or skilled in exercises, sports, or games requiring physical strength, agility, or stamina. "Can run faster and longer without tiring."

Brave:

You have the mental and moral strength to face danger, fear, or difficulty. You possess the potential to be as courageous as a brave soldier in a war. "Less prone to becoming panicked."

Cat's Eyes:

You have the eyes of a wild cat, eyes that are evolved to help hunt down its prey and have the most incredible vision, even at night. "Better vision, including at night."

Dextrous:

You are someone who is graceful and skilful in physical movements, a person who is especially good with their hands. "Handles objects and items quickly and effectively."

Eagle-Eyed:

You have the eyes of an eagle. You see everything carefully and notice everything there is to notice. "Has a faster visibility fade and a higher visibility arc."

Fast Healer:

Healing takes a lot of time for everyone else, but for you, you heal faster than them, so much so that you wonder if you were even hurt in the first place. "Recovers faster from injury and illness."

Fast Learner:

Learning takes a lot of time for everyone else, but for you, you learn faster than them, so much so that you can become adequate and understand something in only a few minutes. "Learns and understands faster."

Fast Reader:

An average person pushed to the limits can read at around a rate of 400-700 words per minute while sacrificing comprehension. You can read so much more and understand every single word. "Takes less time to read books or any other such things."

Fit:

You are naturally in good shape, and your physique defies common sense as you hardly have to work to maintain it. "In good physical shape."

Graceful:

Everything you do is beautiful, well-formed and done with ease. You are as elegant and graceful as a ballet dancer having grace in movement, shape, or proportion. "Makes less noise when moving and can move with unnatural prowess."

Inconspicuous:

The word comes from the Latin word inconspicuous, or 'not visible'. The original meaning of inconspicuous was 'invisible'. You do not attract attention to yourself in any way as you blend in without being prominent or attracting attention. "Less likely to be spotted by anyone."

Iron Gut:

You can drink or eat whatever you want with no worries about how it will affect your stomach. You will never have food poisoning or food-induced puke thanks to your Iron Gut. "Less chance to have food illness."

Keen Hearing:

You have a powerful ability to listen, overhear, understand and comprehend anything being said. "Larger perception radius."

Light Eater:

You don't have to eat that much to stay fighting fit. You could fight off a herd of horses, having only eaten a single apple. "Needs to eat less regularly."

Low Thirst:

Ordinary people can go a couple of weeks without eating but only a little under a week without water. You can go without water for much longer. "Needs to drink water less regularly."

Lucky:

Luck is success or failure apparently brought by chance rather than through one's own actions. Your luck is more attuned to success than failure. "Sometimes things just go your way."

Organised:

You are very meticulous and neat, you do things in a particular way, and you abide by the rules of order and organisation. Some would say to the point it's unhealthy. "Increased organisation capacity."

Outdoorsman:

You are someone who spends too much time outdoors or in outdoor activities. You know the lay of the land and how to forage through it and suckle on mother nature's teat for sustenance. "Not affected by harsh weather conditions and comfortable in the woods."

Resilient:

You can handle anything. You will bear the pain and soldier on through the hardship no matter the cost. "Less prone to disease. A slower rate of decay."

Speed Demon:

You love the speed and exhilaration you get from going fast. Some might mistake you for a furry blue hedgehog with white gloves and red boots who loves chilli dogs. "Speed is increased beyond measure."

Stout:

You stand your ground when people try to take you away from it. When the world comes and tries to move you, you say, 'no, you move'. "Diminished knockback from melee weapons and increased carry weight. Doubles with Strong"

Strong:

You stand your ground when people try to take you away from it. When the world comes and tries to move you, you say, 'no, you move'. "Diminished knockback from melee weapons and increased carry weight. Doubles with Stout"

Thick Skinned:

Not the resilience to insults and words directed at you. This is the literal thickness of the skin, which provides better protection and durability. "Less chance of lacerations or cuts breaking through the skin."

Wakeful:

When pushed to the maximum, ordinary people can only survive less than a week without sleep. You can survive double that and even more when pushed to the max. "Needs less sleep."]

Okay, well, first of all, I don't really need any of the traits that have physical effects since all of that can be cultivated and trained with time if the new world I go to even needs such physical skills. I doubt I'll need the traits that have other random effects since any world I go to will probably be civilised, and if it is not, the people I am born to will help to make me prepared for the world. Hence, it is better to get traits with more mental aspects as they can then be applied to all other aspects of life and improve them.

Also, the descriptions themselves are pretty confusing, as there is a short description under each skill. Then after the report is a brief note on the trait, so it is a bit confusing. Still, I think that the description is just some flowery words to trick people, and the quick note afterwards is the actual effect which would make most of the skills in the list look a lot different. Still, all of them have a flowery description, so if I choose based on the brief notes, then the result will most likely be much better. Or not. Who knows how this thing works.

I will pick Brave as being brave can apply to facing off against significant threats against yourself or simply facing a daunting situation, so that is a definite plus. Fast Learner, as learning things fast and adapting and comprehending at a quicker rate is crucial to survival and, more importantly, flourishing. Lucky as luck can play a big part in everyone's life, and if I am more lucky than unlucky, then indeed, that is better.

Believing that that is enough traits for the mental aspect of my future self, I then decide to at least invest in some passive physical attributes in case I do end up going to a harsher world, and the last two traits will complement my other characteristics as well. Therefore I decide on Fast Healer, as healing faster will always be helpful, and less time being ill means more time doing more important stuff.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Finally, I choose Adrenaline Junkie as this will genuinely be crucial if I am born into a much harsher world, and it will help me to survive any dangerous situations I may come across in the new world. Of course, I can always build my body up and get stronger, but this will help my survivability and allow me to be faster if I need to fight or run away.

[You Have Chosen Adrenaline Junkie, Brave, Fast Healer, Fast Learner and Lucky. These Traits Are Now Locked In. Now Assigning You 5 Random Negative Traits To Balance Out You're New Life.]

Wait, what? I wasn't told about any negative traits. If I knew about that, then I wouldn't have risked it and not picked any of the characteristics as it said I could pick up to five, which means I can pick zero as well. It is too late now, though, my traits are locked in, and all I can do now is hope for the best.

[You Have Been Assigned Claustrophobic, Clumsy, Conspicuous, Sleepy Head and Smoker.

Claustrophobic:

Claustrophobia is the irrational fear of confined spaces, and there are different severities, but avoiding these places may reinforce that fear. Some people with claustrophobia can experience mild anxiety when in a confined space. In contrast, other people will have severe anxiety or a panic attack, and the most common experience is a feeling or fear of losing control. "Gets panicked when in tightly confined spaces. Reactions can be variable."

Clumsy:

Dropping things, tripping a lot, and stumbling are all examples of clumsiness. Clumsy people usually aren't too good at sports or anything requiring accuracy, and you most certainly will not be a surgeon in your lifetime. "Not at all graceful and makes more noise when moving."

Conspicuous:

You are clearly visible, obvious and showy, attracting attention because of a unique quality or feature or even your actions. "More likely to be spotted by everyone around you, has striking features or fashion."

Sleepy Head:

You are a sleepy and absent-minded person that is prone to tiredness and sleeping for much too long. If something is not stimulating enough, you can very easily fall asleep due to boredom. "Needs more sleep."

Smoker:

You smoke substances regularly, having become addicted to them, everything becomes so much better and more manageable when you begin to smoke, and you relax and calm down when you smoke, but you can't go too long without a cloud of smoke, or you will fall and burn. "Stress and unhappiness decrease after smoking tobacco. Unhappiness rises when tobacco is not smoked."]

Overall out of the many possible negative traits I can think of, I don't think I pulled the worst shortest straw. Still, I also didn't pull the longest because some of these, while manageable, can also become a real headache in the future. Conspicuous and Smoker, while slightly annoying, don't actually have much of an impact as they are just striking looks and clothes as well as smoking some cigarettes every day, with the last one probably only kicking in when I am mature, and that may only be stressful when I no longer have anything to smoke. Still, the other three can actually give me quite a headache.

First of all, Sleepy Head will be really obstructive because I will work less efficiently if I don't get enough sleep, and I am also liable to just fall asleep if whatever happening is not stimulating enough. Being clumsy will also be very inconvenient as I will be stumbling and messing things up, not to mention that if the world is indeed a dangerous place, then being Clumsy will make life infinitely more difficult for me.

Finally, Claustrophobic is the worst of them all as it can range anywhere from mild discomfort to severe anxiety, which means that either way, I will find it challenging to remain in closed-off tight spaces, and since those are pretty much everywhere, I am pretty screwed.

[With All Of Your Traits now Chosen, You May Move On To Your Next Life, Your Memories Will Be Erased, And Your Soul Will Be Sent Off To Begin Its New Journey. Alternatively, You Can Choose The Option To Keep Your Memories Without Any Of The Emotional Connect, And Your Emotions Will Be Resumed In Your Next Life. If You Choose This Option, You Must Spin The Wheel Of Conditions.]

So I can either have my soul sent off to begin a new life without my memories, but does that even constitute it as still being me? Alternatively, I can keep all of my memories without the emotional connections and attachments, but to do that, I need to spin something called The Wheel Of Conditions. I want to choose the second option, but I need to figure out what The Wheel Of Conditions is. It must be some kind of cost that needs to be paid in order to keep my memories and intellectual knowledge.

[The Wheel Of Knowledge Is A Wheel That, When Spun, Will Land On A Condition/Law That Will Be Enforced On You For The Rest Of Your Next Life. It Could Be Something Simple Such As Shouting 'Tequila' After Every Expel Of Gas You Do Or Something Much More Complicated Like Cutting Off A Part Of Your Body Every Time Something Enters Your Anus. Make A Decision.]

So I can move on to my next life without my memories, or I can take my memories. Still, in return, I have to abide by a specific condition that will be enforced upon me for the rest of my life. Still, this condition can be anything from very mild to very serious. I also have to consider if the theme in the next world without my memories will really be me since they have none of the memories that I have, and for that matter, am I even really who I was before without my old emotions and connections.

If the person I become in the next world isn't even me, then what is the point of choosing all of these traits if I will never get to experience all of them myself and I have just selected the base plate for the person my soul will go on into, wouldn't it be worth it to spin the wheel and keep my memories to at least somewhat experience the next world for myself even if I do have to abide by some random condition.

[You Have Ten Seconds Before You Are Sent On To The Next World, Make Your Decision.]

[10.]

[9.]

[8.]

[7.]

Okay, okay. I choose to keep my memories and spin The Wheel Of Conditions.

[Spinning The Wheel Of Conditions]

Okay, I expected to have some kind of mystical wheel show up, and I would have to spin it. But instead, the screen is just saying it's turning the wheel, and it is probably going to rely on some sort of random number generator to pick the condition that is random, so it doesn't matter.

[Condition Selected. Condition Is Imprinted

Imprinted:

A female in your new world will be chosen upon your birth, and they will be selected as the person you imprint on. of course, you can go your whole life without meeting them, or they can die before you meet them, which will nullify the condition. You can't control when it happens or to who, and it can happen at any age. Imprinting on someone means when you see her, everything will change. You will listen to her every word and not be able to refuse her regardless of how you feel on the inside. You will not be able to harm her, you will have to listen to her every command, and there is nothing you can do about it. Of course, nothing is impossible.]

What the hell. I have just agreed to become a slave of a random woman in my next world. I would rather lose my memories than live as someone's servant. Before I can contemplate this any further, the blue screen plinks out of existence, taking me by surprise, and all I am left with is the deep dark void around me, but even that doesn't last. The opening begins to twist and turn on itself as if it was a black hole, and it happens so fast that I can't even react as space folds in on itself. I am sucked into the deep crevice of existence.

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My name is Amarillo Toro, and I have lived in the town of Shokuyasi Village since I can remember. Though apparently, I was born in Gosa Village, but my mother died in childbirth, so I was immediately taken to the only orphanage that exists on the Conomi Islands. This orphanage is in Shokuyasi Village, and it is run by two people who are called Mummy Mee and Daddy Dee.

Mummy Mee is a fair-skinned woman with a long face, long eyelashes, and a pointed chin. She has puffed-up purple hair and wears red lipstick and gold earrings. She also wears a fancy purple coat with a fluffy, white fur collar and a yellow-orange button-up shirt with a red dress underneath.

Daddy Dee is a tan-skinned man with brown hair and a thin, two-piece moustache. He wears a blue and white striped top hat, a blue double-breasted suit, and a pair of circular glasses. He also wears a brown scarf underneath his suit.

I have never fit in with the other children at the orphanage because I am too different to them, and I just think differently. However, since I was born, there have always been these memories in my mind, and I know that they come from the man that I used to be since we both have the same soul.

Still, he has lived for decades, and I am not even ten years old yet, so while I know that the memories are mine, I also know that they don't belong to me and belong to the man I used to be before all the emotions and feelings were cut from the memories, either way, these memories are mine and have helped me in many ways as they helped me skip a few embarrassing moments that people must go through when growing.

However, the language in the memories does not exist in this new world as there is a different primary language here which I had to learn, and due to learning and thinking in English, it was more challenging to get the hang of though I still managed to understand it before the other children around my age.

That is actually one of the reasons that the orphanage children and I don't get along. It is because I am much more clever than the other children in the orphanage, even the ones older than me. They definitely don't like that because when they do things that they think are fantastic, I know that it is actually idiotic due to my inherited common sense.

When they try to involve me, I make my opinion clear, which they don't like. Regardless I have grown up pretty isolated in my village, with only Mummy Mee and Daddy Dee to properly converse with. Aside from that, I have been trying to make use of all of the traits that the past me chose. Thank you for your choices past me.

Currently, I have not felt the effect of Smoker or Claustrophobic apart from those that I have experienced the rest of my in some way or another. The trait I have experienced the most would be clumsy as I am constantly tripping and falling over things though thankfully, that is the only way that this trait shows itself.

I am not clumsy with my hands though I do get a few injuries with my clumsiness. Thankfully, they heal quickly thanks to Fast Healer though I have had a few close calls where I have fallen in very dangerous places.

For instance, Daddy Dee was once taking us kids on a walk through the island to see the sights. When we were walking along a cliff edge, I ended up stumbling and falling over the edge of the cliff, only to have my leg get tangled up in some roots growing from the side. Daddy Dee managed to pull me back up, and I can't help but think that that was my Lucky trait coming into effect as it saved me from my negative trait, clumsy, so I can at least be assured that Clumsy is being nullified somewhat by Lucky.

I have made use of my Fast Learner trait by comprehending and absorbing things much faster than others, such as in the classes that Mummy Mee and Daddy Dee have for us and thanks to my memories, I pretty much knew most of the things already or at least something similar which is where my next trait Sleepy Head came into effect as I started to fall asleep in all of the classes which were dull. However, I am thankful that this trait just means I sleep more than other people, and I will fall asleep if I am seriously bored.

Finally, my trait Brave was used whenever I stood up to the groups of kids in the orphanage who didn't like me since there were quite a lot of them. Still, I stood my ground nonetheless, which brought my final trait Adrenaline Junkie into effect as my adrenaline shot up when I began to fight with the other kids. Then I got addicted to the feeling of the thrill when I was fighting due to my trait. At this point, both Adrenaline Junkie and Brave fed off of each other to get me into fights which I began to enjoy. Maybe in hindsight, it was not clever to pair these two traits together.

When those fights began to happen, I was always on the losing end, usually ending up beaten and crying until Mommy Mee or Daddy Dee found me and then patched me up and helped my Fast Healer trait to work faster, but even though I would not tell them they would work out who it was that was fighting me, and they would punish them which only made those kids madder at me which made more and more fights occur but unexpectedly I began to enjoy the meetings of fists and the sting of punches.

I got better and better at fighting, and I believe it was because of my traits Brave, Adrenaline Junkie, Clumsy and Lucky which all fed into each other to help me out with Adrenaline Junkie providing me with a much-needed boost in battle, Brave helping me to not shy away from giving and receiving hits. I was wrong about Lucky nullifying Clumsy as it ultimately depended on the situation and whether being Clumsy would be beneficial to me in a single moment.

Luck fed into Clumsy making me stumble or trip out of the way of punches or unexpectedly into someone's guard, allowing me to get a body shot in. Realising this, I began to take advantage of it and focus on using it in my fights, and since I was aware of it, my trait Fast Learner came into effect.

I began to develop a style which was kind of similar to the drunken fist. Still, instead of pretending to be drunk and getting into that mindset, I was just feeding into my clumsiness and manipulating it to suit my needs which meant using lurching, random movements and falling have been incorporated into my style, which gave me the edge against the other kids in the orphanage.

Just recently, I have become undefeated with none of the kids in the orphanage being able to put up a fight against me which didn't get my blood flowing. So I began to stupidly fall asleep during the battle due to the trait Sleepy Head and that allows them to sometimes get a good wallop in and get my blood flowing.

However, it ultimately isn't enough as I still easily beat them, it has gotten to the point that I don't even bother talking to them anymore as there is no point in conversing with them, but this seems to annoy them more. They still come at me, prolonging this long chain of battles that is no longer fun for me.

Today I am 7 years old, and I have just been called into Mummy Mee and Daddy Dee's office to discuss something first thing in the morning. I knock on the door, and when I get a reply, I enter, closing the door behind me before looking t them both.

They are dressed in their good clothes like usual, as are all of us in the orphanage, which is not what I expected, but I guess it doesn't matter and expecting them to have called me here to tell me happy birthday, I go to greet them both but stop because instead of the both of them looking glad they both instead look severe.

"Please, take a seat, Toro. We have something we need to discuss with you, something serious."