I couldn't believe my eyes. In fact, it was so unrealistic that it took me the time for the group of men to pass through the walls and reach near me to finally snap out of my shock and earnestly start observing the dead stag.

My head spun from the implications. I might've actually not only reincarnated, but also transmigrated to another world - a world where animals can grow to the size of buildings. As I kept staring at the stag, I noticed that its head had a deformation, as if something like a club had smashed it in. I wondered what on earth could've done that. Other smaller animals followed the stag - normal sized deer and boars - making me even more curious about the size and the cause of death for the stag.

The group finally reached in front of the shaman, where they put the stag in front of him. The stag was gutted and its entrails was laid bare to the ground, and the shaman reached to rummage inside and to observe it for a while, before thrusting them violently into the air and guttering out a sound. The whole village cheered again from the (probably) positive outcome, and the party began.

People brought out pouches of what definitely seemed like alcohol (judging by the flushed faces of some people), while some women got to work onto the small animals and started cooking the meat. I was also given a small, freshly cooked piece of meat, and despite the lack of any spices, the meat was still juicy and tasted like heaven.

My mother babbled drunkenly to my father, which made him yell and announce something to the village, which was met by hollers of approval and made a crowd develop around me. I was unfortunately pinched on the cheek countless times, with a lot of cooing and chatter - mostly by the women of the village. As I resigned myself to the fate I was in, I looked upon the village. Night was starting to set, painting the place in red and orange from the setting sun. The fire pit was already lit, illuminating even the darkest places in the plaza, showing everyone's smiles.

I could get used to this, I thought.

As things started to get more heated, my mother with my father's help went back to our house, and I drifted off to sleep.

Only to wake up in front of a gigantic book which was bigger than me. The cover was midnight blue, adorned with intricate silver filigree depicting multiple mysterious symbols. Even as I walked towards the book, the book opened by itself with barely a sound as it turned to the first page. Then, words started writing themselves on the blank page.

Shawn Kim

Was born. +1 point

Reached adulthood. +2 point

I just took in what seemed like a very short approximation of my past 21 years of life, and felt mildly insulted. Really? That was all that there was worthy of writing on the book? Then the page turned again, and wrote itself yet again.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Ingolf of Bjorn

Was reborn with memories of previous life. + 5 points

Story: stood up before the age of one. + 3 points

Apparently, the whole fuss over me standing was not only because it was my first time standing - I was now getting known as a smart child. I was feeling confused over why this book had appeared, but I still managed to notice the sound of the pages turning again. This time it had drawn a massive tree that covered the whole page, with little nodes spanning across the entirety of it. However, even as I moved my gaze upwards, most of the tree was covered in some sort of fog that moved across the page. Another peculiarity of the book, I thought, as I stared at the fog stubbornly, hoping the fog would move itself again.

It did not. Dang it.

I ran my eyes across the visible nodes, and fixed my gaze on one of the very first one and found it being enhanced in size, with a little description beside it.

Smart child: Skills are easier to learn and get proficient at, until adulthood. Cost – 5 points

My heart raced – or I think it would be, if I had one in this void. Absentmindedly, I realized I had no true physical body in this place, but put it aside for my more important discovery. Was this thing telling the truth? I could simply acquire such a talent by using my “points”? Before I did anything stupid, I quickly went through the other choices. Then again – this time, slowly.

Healthy body: Become more resistant to illnesses. Cost – 4 points

Multilingual: Learning some languages take less time. Cost – 2 points

Attractive: Physical appearance will become attractive. Cost – 3 points

Lucky: Luck slightly favours you. Cost – 5 points

So, this is some kind of payment I get for dying early? I get to literally upgrade myself?? The short and vague descriptions, and the limited amount of points made me hesitant – but the nodes above the current ones making me more curious than wary. If the starting options were already quite good, what would be up on the ladder?

After thinking it through, I chose something that was cheap and I needed right now – Polyglot I. My reasoning was that I needed to gather some information about my new reality, and learning the new language quickly would help with that. After all, I was learning the language right now, but doing it quicker wouldn't hurt.

As I made my chose, the node was filled up, and the node above lightened up, driving part of the fog that covered them away. I could make up the name of the further node now, though the description was still hidden from me.

Polyglot

Judging by the name, it seemed like the next level of my [Multilingual] allowed me to learn languages faster, and with perhaps a wider range since it only says "some" on the description right now. The lack of details frustrated me, but I held my patience and waited for something else to happen.

Time passed, and when I was starting to get nervous about the lack of any further reactions, I felt an intense feeling of exhaustion over me, and I fell drifted off into unconsciousness yet again.