I wake up to utter darkness. The dark clouds obscure the night sky, blocking even the faintest peek of light.
The crusty texture of dead grass envelopes my fingers…
...
Wait- what?
Wh-what do you mean grass?!
Last thing I remember, I was in my room playing Skyl! I vowed to never touch grass in my life!
How the heck am I even outdoors?
I wasn’t kidnapped, was I?
No!
I probably just fell asleep after grinding for way too long!
…
Th-this is a joke, right? Yep, one of those hidden prank cams. Geez, whoever you are, you sure got a reaction out of me. Now come on out so I can go back home. That reaction video should get you viral enough.
…
“Hello? Anyone?”
The only response I get is the muffled cry of the wind. Come on! This joke has gone waay to far. Come out already!
…
No response.
O-okay. This is getting creepy.
And concerning. Like, really, really concerning.
This isn’t heaven, is it?
Did I die from exhaustion? H-hey god, hear me out! I only spent eight hours gaming today! It’s not that bad, right?
Yeah, I managed to reduce my playtime by 30%. Pretty impressive if I say so myself!
Heh. Welp, thanks for that premium ticket to heaven!
Huh? Whaddaya mean no?
…
No, but seriously, jokes aside, where am I? I’m in some sort of field. Possibly a meadow?
If so, that gives way to the million dollar question: How did I get here?
I highly doubt someone broke into my apartment and kidnapped me, considering I live on the 23rd floor and all, but I don’t see any other possibilities.
I couldn’t have gotten magically transported into another world, right?
I've had that thought at least once before.
Surely not. Even the kidnapping one seems more plausible.
Plus, usually when you wanna warp from one place to another, there’s some sort of item or a certain location to go to.
Like a teleport point.
Haha! Ask the game expert on anything!
Yet… when I look closely, I can somewhat make out the shape of not one, but two moons in the sky. Not that I would gamble my life savings on it, because the ambiguous clouds make it verrry hard to see.
This IS a joke, right?
You know what? Let’s stick with the ‘It was all just a dream’ plot. This should - no, this must be a dream. Yeah, yep, a dream.
Gosh, my subconsciousness sure is crazy, huh?
I must be going through a phase of some sort.
That’s right, this is probably going to be the norm of my dreams from now on.
Does that mean I’m considered a ‘weird’ kid?
I mean, I get I was introverted and stuff, but is that considered ‘weird’, or does that just make me shy?
Oh well, the English test is coming up tomorrow so it would be nice if dream me could revise instead of pondering useless thoughts.
Hello? Subconsciousness? What happened to revision?
In fact, why on Earth does this dream seem so realistic?!
Last time I checked, dreams don’t convey reality to this extent. So… is this not a dream?
I even go for the cliché pinch on the arm to prove my point. Yep, as much as I would hate to admit it, this probably isn’t a dream, which means I actually am in the middle of nowhere.
Based on assumptions alone, I’ve been reincarnated (or Isekai’d, for you otakus) into some sort of seemingly fantasy world, just like those crazy popular stories that blew up on the web.
You know, the ones with millions of views that we all read in our spare time.
How did this happen? I don’t remember dying to truck-kun, or any death at all.
Oh! I know! I guess my previous idea was right: I died from exhaustion. Guess even I have my limitations after all.
Sigh.
I was looking forward to the new biome update.
Oh well, there isn’t anything I can do about it.
Hmm? Why am I not bothered about dying?
Well, to put it simply, I’m not human…
W-wait! I don’t mean it literally! I’m perfectly, biologically a human, thank you very much.
I’m not some alien spy sent to Earth to monitor humans or something. I swear!
I suppose a better way to explain it is that I’m detached from humanity. Sort of like an outcast, certainly not a social, extroverted person.
In fact, the only thing that kept me going were video games. I had considered just committing suicide and ending it all when I was in the nadir of my life, but I think my mum would be devastated. So I found my salvation and distraction from reality: a PvE and PvP rpg game called Skyl.
Believe it or not, I actually made it to the top 5 global leaderboard. Yeah. I was quite the ‘enthusiast’ if you want to sugar coat things, but I was basically a no-lifer.
I wasn’t employed and literally lived in my mum’s basement, so I had lots of spare time. I think the longest time I was online was 49 hours straight.
Maybe I should have recorded that gaming session and gotten a world record?
Even now, I still prioritise my gaming life over my real life.
Haha I suppose my mental fortitude is overwhelming…
…Well, back to the question: Where the heck am I?
Like I said before, this place is flat and grassy, with only a scarce number of trees. If my inner gamer is correct, this place practically screams the word ‘plains’.
These areas are usually for beginners because only low rarity mobs spawn.
Wait…mobs?
So that means passive mobs and… hostile monsters?
Okay, maybe this isn’t as fun as I thought. I can seriously die, y’know?
But it’s not like there’s any immediate danger, so I guess I’m fine for now. Ever since I got here, I’ve been treating this place like a video game, but what if there actually aren’t any monsters? How do I know this is a fantasy world?
It might just be parallel universe Japan for all I know.
Hmm? So, there was no need to panic after all.
I bet I looked so goofy to any passer-by.
Well, I don’t see anyone around me. Although I think I do make out some silhouettes on the horizon.
Then, I hear a howl not far from me. A savage howl, one that clearly shows hostility. The howl of an animal of the wilderness. Well, at least I think it sounds wild?
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Dunno. Never been near nature.
...
Seriously, what is up with this anti-plot armour?!
Even if these are just some rando wolves, I could still totally die!
I thought being reincarnated (?) and all, I would have at least SOME fancy protagonist plot armour, but I guess god just holds some grudge against me.
What did I even do? Did I waste all my RNG on that 0.003% item drop?
As I rant on stupidly, the wolves close in on me…
Now that they advance towards me, I can make out some features. They look like wolves, but I guess a more accurate representation would be overgrown, rabid chihuahuas with horns.
So these are fantasy wolves, right?
Or is it just some sort of weird freak mutation of nature?
Either way, I’m in a baad situation right now.
Is this seriously how I die?
Reborn, just to be spawn-killed?
I absolutely refuse to die like this!
Please, someone come in clutch and save me!
As if enticed by my distress, the rabid chihuahua-ish wolves growl louder.
No no no no no! GO AWAY!
I DON’T WANT TO DIEEEEEEEEEE!!
Then suddenly, some sort of blue, transparent door appears in front of me.
“EEEK!”
In my panicked state, I try to push it away, but instead of the door disappearing, it seems to suck me in.
I try to fight back, but to no avail.
Soon, I feel my consciousness slipping.
----------------------------------------
No way.
No waaay.
NO WAAAAY!
That was waaaay too close!
I’m shivering like my spine’s been turned into an icicle. This is crazy. And no, I’m not talking about the fear.
It’s the other thing that’s the problem.
Even though my spine feels cold, my head actually feels hot. While the rest of my body is frozen in fear, my brain is actually boiling in delight.
I’m happy – no – overjoyed.
Oh man. This is crazy.
I don’t think I’m the kind of person to be easily satisfied, but this is another story.
I mean, my old life was pretty pathetic whether I like it or not.
The more I felt avoidant of reality, the more Skyl occupied my thoughts.
I just wanted to live freely and do what I pleased.
Which meant holing up in my room, playing the no. 1 rpg game with my VR headset and my gaming setup ready. 700 fps.
So naturally that would mean I became introverted, though I guess the only person who I could blame was myself.
I abandoned all social interactions and started a new life, in a virtual world.
My teacher.
My classmates.
And even my own parents.
No one knew who I was, and I even made a few friends online.
Kinda sad how I was able to talk to random strangers online but not my own parents or people I knew in real life.
I remember there was this guy who tried talking to me, but I just froze up and stared blankly at him.
I guess he felt embarrassed or something, cause he just awkwardly left after one or two minutes of silence. His name started with an... R? I do feel a bit bad about that.
Well, all and all aside, here I am, able to make a fresh new start in an entirely new world.
I might even become less of an introvert.
Maybe become the queen of extroverts?
Okay, the latter probably isn’t gonna happen but the former might.
…
Wahooo!
Is this the best day ever?
YES! IT TOTALLY IS!!!!
My spine, still frozen from shock starts to heat up again. No, that would be an understatement. It’s blazing like an inferno.
Hoo boy.
I might burst from excitement at this rate.
?
Oh right.
What happened after the door thingy appeared?
Well, its sorta hard to explain but I think it was some sort of portal. I mean, remember how I said if you wanna warp somewhere you have to be in a certain location or use a specific item?
Welll, I’m pretty sure that was a teleporting ‘item’
I just got sucked in, and then I woke up in some cave feeling all drowsy and stuff. Yeah, I’m in a cave right now, with no idea how to leave.
This isn’t one of those dungeons, is it?
If it is, do I have to clear the whole dungeon before I leave?!
If it is, this world should have other game-related features, right?
Like quests or a status menu.
Hmm, how do I see my stats?
“Stats!”
Nope, nothing. What If I try more stuff?
“Statistics!” “Status!” “Menu!”
No? I guess I’ll just throw every game related word I have at my disposal and hope for the best.
“Levels!”
…
“Details!”
…
“Properties!”
Urrgghh! Why does nothing work? If only there was some way I could see my own abilities!
Wait… abilities?
So like skills and stuff right?
And wasn’t there one particular skill made for this?
“Appraisal?”
To my surprise, something actually happens.
That worked? Yes please!
Appraise! Show stats!
Name: Rena Shinohara Level: 1 Rank: F Class: None> Erm. Isn’t F the lowest tier? Why am I so weak? Wh-what happened to insanely overpowered reincarnation boosts? Shouldn’t I be max level and class SSS+? And what do you mean by ‘Unique Demon’ with human in brackets? Does that mean I’m a demon, not human? So… human is like my original species? Or am I a human who became a demon? Eh, no use crying over spilt milk. I don’t really mind anyway. Though I do wonder I can [Appraise] other stuff. Say, I [Appraise] this cave. Will it give me any information, or can I only [Appraise] living things such as myself? Only one way to find out… Oh? So I can activate [Appraisal] on abiotic factors. Well, sure, I guess. Activate [Appraisal]! So this IS a dungeon. What does it mean by spontaneous though? Then do permanent dungeons also exist? I mean that faint blue door – does it mean that was a ‘dungeon’ gate? So are you saying that by some stroke of luck, a dungeon gate just happened to open near me, and I just so happened to make contact with it, sucking me in and warping me into a dungeon, saving me from my demise? Oh wow. That was a one in million chance. Heh. My gamer luck came in suuper clutch . I guess I saved myself back then! I don’t need any prince in shining white armour when I have my pro gamer luck! Well, now that I’m in the dungeon, that means there are even more monsters, so maybe this isn’t the best luck, but at least I have a chance on making it out alive. So, I guess I now have to clear the dungeon in order to proceed? Whenever I think [Appraisal] really hard, it activates, so maybe I can use other skills, items and stuff? “Inventory!” Nope. What about this? “Skills!” Yeaah, I think I have to get familiar with how this place works. I was never aware I even had [Appraisal] until I unintentionally activated it, so maybe I have to call out some specific word to activate a skill. What are some cliché skills? I can’t really think of anything, but my mind starts wandering to spells, or fireball to be exact. I mean, name one fantasy book without good ol’ fire magic. “FIREBALL!” “…” Nope, guess not. Damn. This place sure is confusing. Nothing I think of works. Maybe I have to be more specific? “Show inventory?” “Reveal inventory?” “Access inventory?” Hmm, think more basic, Rena, think more basic. What is a super simple synonym that could work? Oh I know! “Open inventory!” Hero Pack [Rank S] Heroic Sword [Rank S] Heroic Chest plate [Rank S] Heroic Cape [Rank S] Heroic Leggings [Rank S+] Um. WHAT?! What is this insanely overpowered loot? It’s not some type of prank, is it? Erm, how do I equip it? Do I tap the little icon representing the item? Tap Heroic Sword [Rank S] has become Basic Stick [Rank F]. Heroic Chest plate [Rank S] has become Basic Shirt [Rank F]. Heroic Cape [Rank S] has become Basic Cloak [Rank F]. Heroic Leggings [Rank S] has become Basic Pants [Rank F]. Heroic Boots [Rank S] has become Basic Sandals [Rank F] Okay, okay. WHAT THE HECK? W-whadayya mean ‘transmission failed’?! Did I just lose all my god items? What the hell? So these godly Rank S items became some shoddy Rank F rip-off? Seriously, what on Earth?! Dammit!! Gimme my loot back!!! Nooooooo!!