Right after the screens appeared, Acheron’s vision went black. He lost every sensation of his body, feeling as though he were adrift in the void of space. His senses provided no feedback; it was as if they had ceased to exist. Acheron found himself in what seemed to be an endless, pitch-black abyss—not that he could see the darkness, yet he was acutely aware of its presence.
Acheron floated in the abyss for an indeterminate period. It wasn’t that he couldn’t estimate the time; rather, time itself held no significance here. Each moment stretched into eternity yet vanished in an instant. In the void, nothing held meaning except his thoughts.
Acheron tried to form coherent thought, but the irrationality of the realm he was in invaded his mind, causing his thoughts to meander in disjointed patterns, and to drift aimlessly inside his head. Acheron was just a ball of pain, not physical but mental. He had only just started processing that his parents were now dead and the pain of that realisation washed through him.
In a horrifying instant, the abyss was torn asunder, with meaning and reality flooding in to fill its place. The realm where Acheron floated defied all logic; the laws that once governed his existence were now mere suggestions. Terrifying knowledge surged into his mind, contradicting everything he knew, yet slipping away before he could grasp it. He felt his very essence unravelling, unable to withstand the cosmic forces bearing down on him.
The agony of the very core of his being unravelling was beyond the scope of words. It felt as though his mind was disintegrating, each fragment slipping away into cataclysm occurring around him. He yearned to scream, and yet had no voice to do so. The torment was relentless, an unending assault on his psyche. Every fibre of his being seemed to fray, incapable of withstanding the overwhelming forces that besieged him. His thoughts, once coherent, now scattered like ashes in the wind, leaving him in a state of perpetual anguish.
The pain intensified with each fragment of the abyss that was torn apart. Acheron realized in that instant that whatever was happening was rending his very soul apart and that if he did nothing he would cease to exist. The agony was unbearable, a relentless crescendo that threatened to consume him entirely. Desperation clawed at his mind as he struggled to find a way to resist the forces tearing him apart. His thoughts raced, searching for any means of survival, but the overwhelming pain made it nearly impossible to focus. Every moment felt like an eternity, and he knew he had to act quickly or be lost forever.
Acheron knew he had no way to combat the overwhelming cosmic forces assaulting him. All he could do was endure. He resolved to hold on, no matter what, to find a way through this storm and then? Then he would find a way to exact vengeance on those who had killed his parents.
Like a simple mantra, Acheron repeated the word “endure” over and over again. Even as the pain seemed to scrub his very identity from his being, he kept repeating it.
Endure.
Even as pieces of his soul started to flake and peel away, he held onto his lifeline.
Endure.
Even as his mind cracked and broke, his memories and emotions being consumed by the calamity, he repeated the mantra.
Endure.
Everything became still, the pandemonium that had become his world had finally stopped, no longer was he in a meaningless void. Acheron didn’t bother with what was happening around him, barely being able to hold his mind together.
For an eternity, Acheron hung in a balance of pain and defiance. The relentless agony threatening to consume him, as he continued to cling to the mantra that had become his lifeline. As he fought to hold on, memories of his past flickered through his mind like distant stars in the void. He remembered the warmth of his parents’ embrace, the laughter they shared, and the love that had once filled his life. These memories fuelled his resolve, giving him the strength to endure the torment.
With each passing moment, Acheron felt a growing sense of determination. He would not let the cosmic forces break him. He would survive this ordeal, no matter the cost. The mantra echoed in his mind, a steady rhythm that kept him grounded.
Slowly, he began to turn the tide, preventing his mind from collapsing in on itself. Bit by bit, he reclaimed fragments of his consciousness, each piece a small victory against the overwhelming forces that sought to annihilate him. Gradually, the pain began to recede, and the chaos around him started to settle. He could feel his soul knitting itself back together, the frayed edges slowly mending.
When his mind stopped trembling from the threat of collapse, Acheron looked up to see a screen that had appeared in his mind.
[(Acheron Cadell) has been transported to Administrator nucleus #797836]
Along with the new screen Acheron realised that he was no longer in some vast space but a room. The room was small, only about four meters in length and width, yet it felt strange to Acheron. The walls were blank and devoid of furniture, but the most peculiar aspect was how the white-painted walls seemed impossibly clean, almost glowing.
As far as he could tell, he was the only presence in the room. Acheron wasn’t even sure if he was truly there. He had no body, couldn’t see his hands or feet, and couldn’t feel any part of himself.
‘Is this the afterlife?’ Acheron wondered. It was his first conscious thought since appearing in the void and enduring the calamity. The unfamiliar sensation of once again being able to think coherently made his head ache and his fragile mind tremble.
Acheron had never thought much about what would happen after death as he had always seen it as something that was something in the very distant future. Now, however, it had come upon him like a thief in the night, leaving him unprepared for his current situation.
There were many beliefs about death in Eralia, the continent that Acheron called home, some believed that you would simply stop existing like Acheron nearly had. Most believed that Abaddon, the sovereign of death, would guide your soul to a paradise where others who have died already resided, yet others believed that your memories would be erased, and you would be reborn as something else.
Acheron knew he was dead, there was no doubt about it, he had felt the great hammer break his skull and slam into his brain. However, he was suspicious of his current situation, it was clearly linked to the system, as could be seen by the screens that had appeared, yet that didn’t fit with what he had been taught about it.
He had been taught that the system was something that had been created by the six sovereigns like the sun or moon, it wasn’t alive but rather just a feature of the universe. For it to do anything besides what the sovereigns had made it for, went against everything that the priest from the church of the six had taught him.
He looked back to the screens that had appeared before he was taken into the abyss, trying to glean anything from them. The first screen was the more interesting of the two, as the other one was just a variation of what he had received a second ago.
[Reincarnation protocol X has been initiated due to a Nexus catalyst link]
Acheron had never heard about anyone seeing screens different to the normal skill ones and the status screen, so this was already strange. Even more so though, was what the words reincarnation protocol implied, it both gave him hope and terrified him.
Reincarnation. A second chance at life. An opportunity to live a life that wasn’t marred by death, or an opportunity to get revenge upon the bearkin who killed his parents. Either way it was something he didn’t want to miss.
And yet part of Acheron feared what it could mean, would he lose his memories of his mum and dad? Would he forget his mission to avenge his parents? He didn’t want to forget the two people who had meant the world to him, and yet he knew that he would have to take a risk if he wanted to get revenge.
Pushing his fears from his mind, he turned back to the system screens, specifically the one that mentioned the reincarnation protocol. It said that it had been initiated due to a Nexus catalyst link, Acheron didn’t even know what two of those words meant and so deciphering what it meant was next to impossible.
Acheron once again looked around his surroundings which he presumed to be Administrator nucleus #797836, that his first and third screens referenced. Nothing had happened for the last couple minutes, and he started wondering if he would just be stuck inside of here forever. He couldn’t even move due to not having a body and so he was just forced to wait for a change to occur.
Acheron found it odd how calm he felt, considering he had learned of his parents’ deaths not long ago. While he was undeniably furious, the sense of loss and sadness he experienced was surprisingly mild and not overwhelming.
He speculated that the passage of time from his perspective and the ordeal he had endured to reclaim his memories may have allowed him to somewhat come to terms with what had happened. Alternatively, it was possible that this place, wherever he was, was dampening his emotions.
In Acheron’s perspective he had spent months if not years within the void and the pandemonium from him being transported elsewhere while in reality it may have been only minutes or hours. This was due to the battle he had fought to hold his soul together as reality shifted and broke around him.
Not just that but even after the space had stilled, he hadn’t been able to rest, he had been forced to delve within his mind and hold his own memories down, to prevent him from losing them. This had led to him reliving many memories of pleasant times with his parents, allowing him to remember the good times rather than focus on his regrets.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
Whatever the reason, Acheron was not overcome with grief, though that did cause him to feel somewhat guilty. He did feel like he should shed more tears for his parents, but even if he wanted to his current form did not allow him to.
He would keep on living, if that indeed was what was happening, but he would never forget his parents or their killers.
Just as he was beginning to wonder if maybe he was wrong about his prediction, new screens appeared.
[Applying Reincarnation algorithm]
[Calculating Growth]
Neither told Acheron anything which he understood, at that moment his 4 years of education had him feeling quite inadequate.
Fortunately, Acheron didn’t have to wait long for even more screens to pop up, these ones being both more complicated and informative.
[Administrator Access granted, (Acheron Cadell) now has access to Administrator Functions.]
‘What are administrator functions? And why do I have access to them?’
[Administrator Functions:
-Improving Skill Potency ()
-Improving Skill Affinity ()
-Reducing Reincarnation Cooldown ()
-??? (Locked) - 10,000 Credits
-??? (Locked) - Requires control of a Genesis core
Total Credits - ?]
A screen that listed five different things appeared in his mind the second he wondered what administrator functions were. It still didn’t answer why he had them or what they actually were, but he could make some guesses by what the different sections said.
Administrator functions seemed like they might be ways to improve that wasn’t just upgrading or getting new skills. The first and second at least confirmed this theory, although the next one was a bit different. It referred to a reincarnation cooldown, that seemed to confirm he was indeed getting a second chance but also implied it might actually be more than one chance.
There were two more sections though they both seemed to be locked, one requiring 10,000 Credits and the other control of a Genesis core – whatever that was. Acheron found it unfortunate that it didn’t say how many credits he had as he would have liked to at least know what the fourth function was.
Deciding to try something, Acheron asked a question in his mind, ‘how many Credits do I have?’
[Rebirth Credits:
Current Number Held - 0
Credits earned for duration of cycle - 19
Duration of cycle = 19 years
Credits earned for skills acquired - 410
Uncommon
Berserker Rage (triggered) - Iron = 60
Common
Basic Weeding (passive) - Iron = 50
Basic Planting (passive) - Iron = 50
Basic Nurturing (passive) - Iron = 50
Basic Harvesting (passive) - Iron = 50
Physical Exertion (passive) - Iron = 50
Upper Body Strength (passive) - Iron = 50
Scythe Proficiency (passive) - Iron = 50
Credits earned for improving skills - 150
Common
Weeding (passive) - Bronze = 150
Total Credits - 579]
‘Well, that’s useful.’
The screen held a lot of information and Acheron took his time to look over it, mumbling to himself as he went. ‘I got 1 Rebirth Credit per year I was alive which is nice I guess, then I got 60 Credits for my [Berserker Rage] skill, wait it’s uncommon!?’
Acheron had noticed that he had gotten a new skill and had guessed that it gave him some sort of physical boost at the cost of his stamina but hadn’t realised that it was uncommon. This was just barely inferior to his accomplishment of getting his [Weeding] skill to bronze at such a young age but was still amazing. Acheron could likely have gotten a job as a guard for the duke despite his lack of training and would have had a pretty easy life. Not that he would have said yes, Acheron would have much preferred to spend his life on a farm. He had never thought he would get a skill above common and had been happy enough to have seven common skills while most people had four or five.
Getting back on track he continued reading through the message. ‘It looks like I got 50 Credits for each iron rank skill I acquired which is good, I think, then I got 150 Credits for upgrading [Basic Weeding] to [Weeding], that’s awesome!’ Acheron noticed that it counted his acquisition of his [Weeding] skill as well as him upgrading it, which was useful.
‘I have 579 Credits, that’s not even close to enough to unlock the fourth Administrator Function!’ Acheron complained. ‘And are there other places to spend them?’
Opening the Administrator Functions screen back up, Acheron realised that the first three functions could actually be expanded to provide options for him to spend his Credits on. He looked at improving his skill potency first.
[Improving Skill potency (
Offensive - 100 Credits
Increase the potency of all offensive skills by x0.1
Defensive - 100 Credits
Increase the potency of all defensive skills by x0.1
Crafting - 100 Credits
Increase the potency of all crafting skills by x0.1
Support - 100 Credits
Increase the potency of all support skills by x0.1
Utility - 100 Credits
Increase the potency of all utility skills by x0.1
Mental - 100 Credits
Increase the potency of all social skills by x0.1
Magic - 100 Credits
Increase the potency of all magic skills by x0.1
Domestic - 100 Credits
Increase the potency of all domestic skills by x0.1
Miscellaneous - 100 Credits
Increase the potency of all miscellaneous skills by x0.1
)
Total Credits - 579]
When the section expanded it revealed a large list of different skill types, including magic, mental and miscellaneous skills all of which Acheron knew very little about. The rest were quite familiar especially domestic as that was where farming skills fit into.
As Acheron looked at the list, he couldn’t help but be shocked, for 100 Credits he could make his skills 10% better. Having 500 Credits he could make a skill 50% better so long as the cost didn’t increase.
Acheron was tempted to spend all his credits on improving his farming skills immediately but decided that he would at least be a bit patient. Closing the Improving skill potency tab, Acheron opened up the next one.
[Improving Skill Affinity (
Offensive - 100 Credits
Increase affinity to all offensive skills
Low -> Mid
Defensive - 10 Credits
Increase affinity to all defensive skills
Very Low -> Low
Crafting - 10 Credits
Increase affinity to all crafting skills
None -> Very Low
Support – 1 Credit
Increase affinity to all support skills
None -> Very Low
Utility - 100 Credits
Increase affinity to all utility skills
Low -> Mid
Mental – 1 Credit
Increase affinity to all mental skills
None -> Very Low
Magic - 1 Credit
Increase affinity to all magic skills
None -> Very Low
Domestic – 1000 Credits
Increase affinity to all domestic skills
Mid -> High
Miscellaneous – 10 Credits
Increase affinity to all miscellaneous skills
Very Low -> Low
)
Total Credits - 579]
This one was quite different with the prices ranging quite a bit, he saw some that cost 1 Credit, some that cost 10 Credits, and some that cost 100 Credits. The price seemed to depend on how high his affinity was, where the higher it was the better. He only saw one that cost 1,000 Credits to upgrade which was his domestic affinity, he was quite proud about this.
Affinity was actually something that Acheron remembered learning about in his years at school, though he had been told there was no real way to measure someone’s affinity in an area. Affinity dictated how easily someone could pick up and improve skills of a certain type and so was quite important. Usually, a person’s affinity was estimated by the number, rank, and rarity of skills a person had of a specific type, though this wasn’t very accurate. Nobody could change their affinity no matter how hard they tried, or at least that’s what Acheron had thought but apparently not, this was an opportunity people would kill for and he had gotten it seemingly randomly. Acheron didn’t know if his affinities were good or not, compared to a normal person but thought his affinity for farming must at the least be pretty good.
Not for the first time, Acheron wondered why it was him who had received this opportunity, he was just some random person who could be said to be a bit hot headed and not prone to giving in. He wasn’t some hero, like in the stories that were specifically chosen to fight mighty beasts due to their righteous personality. Whatever the reason Acheron would be sure not to waste his opportunity.
Acheron was now very eager to spend his credits but managed to contain himself until he looked at the last section.
[Reducing Reincarnation Cooldown (
Reduce Cooldown by 1 day - 2,000 Credits
Current Cooldown: 31 days
)
Total Credits - 579]
‘The cooldown is a month, that doesn’t seem too bad if it means I only have to wait a month to be able to come back to life.’ For now, it likely wasn’t something Acheron would invest in even if he had the Credits as it just didn’t seem that impactful.
Now that he had seen everything, Acheron had a decision to make, how should he spend his 579 Rebirth Credits?
He had multiple ideas on what to spend them on, the first was to just spend everything he could on improving his domestic skills, this wouldn’t help him get revenge for his parents, so he ultimately scrapped it, though it was very tempting.
The next idea was to focus on defensive offensive type skills by upgrading their affinities if he could and also upgrading their potency. This was the most practical as he had offensive skills, [Scythe Proficiency], [Upper Body Strength], and [Berserker Rage]. Acheron only had the single defensive skill [Physical Exertion], which could hardly even be called defensive, but if he was going to go after the people who had killed his parents he was going to need more anyway.
Acheron had one last idea though he was unlikely to choose it, he could try and improve his affinities to magic skill types and hope to learn a skill that would produce mana in his body so that he could become a mage. Without having someone to instruct and teach him his chance of success was much lower, meaning it might end up as a waste.
Coming to a decision, Acheron first improved his affinity for offensive skills from low to mid for 100 Credits.
[Affinity to all Offensive skills has improved from Low to Mid]
Next, he improved his affinity for body enhancement skills from very low to low for 10 Credits and then low to mid for 100 Credits.
[Affinity to all Defensive skills has improved from Very Low to Low]
[Affinity to all Defensive skills has improved from Low to Mid]
The price to increase his offensive or defensive skills was now the same as increasing his domestic affinity so he moved back to skill potency. First, he upgraded the potency of his offensive skills, however when he did, he saw that it now cost 200 Credits to increase it again. This was frustrating because it meant that if this trend continued then it would be increasingly difficult to increase the potency of a skill type, but that was a problem for later on.
[The potency of all Offensive skills has increased by x0.1]
Not wanting to spend 200 Credits on increasing the potency of body enhancement skills again, he decided to instead upgrade his melee combat and – in a moment of weakness – his domestic skill potency.
[The potency of all Defensive skills has increased by x0.1]
[The potency of all Domestic skills has increased by x0.1]
Looking at his screen he wondered what he should do next. He still had a few credits thought it wasn’t enough to do anything he was really interested in. He didn’t know if it was in his best interest to spend all his credits or if saving them up for better upgrades would be more useful. Ultimately it would depend on if he got to come back here each time he died and if they were saved between deaths. Eventually Acheron decided not to buy anything else.
[Total Credits - 69]
Having done everything he thought he needed to, Acheron opened his Status to see if the changes were visible.
[Name: Acheron Cadell
Race: Human
Number of Cycles: 1
Skills:
Uncommon
Berserker Rage (triggered) – Iron
Common
Weeding (passive) - Bronze
Basic Planting (passive) - Iron
Basic Nurturing (passive) - Iron
Basic Harvesting (passive) - Iron
Physical Exertion (passive) - Iron
Upper Body Strength (passive) - Iron
Scythe Proficiency (passive) – Iron
Administrator Enhancements:
Skill Affinity
Offensive – Mid
Defensive – Mid
Skill Potency
Offensive – x1.1
Domestic – x1.1
Defensive – x1.1]
Sure, enough he now had a new part called administrator enhancements, which was useful to see what he had upgraded. More interesting to Acheron though was the fact he no longer had an age, rather it had changed into number of cycles, he didn’t know why this was the case but didn’t think it really mattered.
Acheron resolved himself before asking a question in his mind, ‘Can I leave now?’ The reaction was immediate.
[(Acheron Cadell) Will leave Administrator nucleus #797836 - Yes/No]
[Warning! – Due to circumstances of death (Acheron Cadell) will take the place of a person that has recently died in combat, with their body restored to a perfect state before death.]
Acheron was getting a second chance to live, and this time he would be even stronger. He had been forged in the crucible of suffering, emerging stronger and more resolute than ever before. What he had experienced was only the beginning, the journey ahead would be long and arduous, but he would endure no matter what. Acheron would seek vengeance on those who had wronged him, and he would not fail. He would rise from the ashes of each life, ready to face whatever challenges lay ahead.
‘Yes’
[Rebirth and Rise]