Upon waking up as Dylan in this strange turn of events, I was met with the realization that I had reincarnated. For whatever reason, I only regained the memories of my past life after I, as Dylan, had suffered an injury to my head. It was not easy accepting my situation, as I had a family name again, and a family that loved me. Though I couldn’t ever be so accepting of such thoughts. Love is convenient when there are no expectations.
The most bizarre experience was undoubtedly the notifications hovering in the air before me. I was an avid reader of web novels and light novels in my past life, so it didn’t take me long to realize what this meant for me. Yet it was still shocking to believe that such an element of fiction was now a part of my reality. I questioned it for a moment. What if these notifications are just hallucinations appearing before me because of the injury? That was a valid concern. It was simply too good to be true for someone obsessed with such fantastic elements to be met with such a situation.
But no matter how much I scrutinized, the notifications before me looked authentic. The Obligation System? I’d read my fair share of system-based novels. Whether it be evolution, level up, or simply an artificial intelligence chip too advanced for the era, you could say that I was prepared for just about anything. Yet I’d never heard about an Obligation System before. I wasn’t worried, however, because the truth of the matter would be revealed sooner or later anyway.
Had this been a novel, I would be eager to learn more about the system right away. But the injury to my head did not permit me such luxury. Maria, the woman who is now my mother, soon returned with a wooden mug. That was a strange sight too. Wooden mugs? I felt a strange chill suddenly.
Skill ‘Foreboding’ activated.
… A shiver ran down my spine. Is this what the ‘Foreboding’ skill is like? It didn’t tell me anything specific, but it felt like I was on to something.
“What are you muttering about? Here’s your water.” Maria passed me the mug and looked oddly interested in what I was mumbling. “Ah, it’s nothing”, I assured her. I looked at the water in the wooden mug– it was clean with a kind of nostalgic smell– like water fetched from wells in some villages.
As I drank the water, I looked at my surroundings a bit more closely. Although it was most definitely a hospital, the equipment was not anything like those that I’d seen in my past life. The bed was wooden, and there were no electronics in sight. The walls seemed to be made of concrete, but I could see the oddly shaped bricks– almost like a game of Tetris.
Having finished the water, I looked at the mug a while longer. More memories began to come back to me. The world I have reincarnated into is not the same one as before. I came to this realization a little too late. Maybe it’s because I woke up with the memories of Hugo, but my memories of Dylan were still a little abstract. I could remember certain things, yet others were still hazy.
I wondered at first if I were in a part of the world where technology was not very advanced. But there was that bit about those notifications and the obligation system as well. I don’t know if it was because of the ‘Foreboding’ skill activating, or just a coincidence in timing, but some of the memories of my life as Dylan came back to me at that moment. That’s how I knew it was a different world– it was a world of magic.
“Mom?” I called out to Maria. She looked at me sincerely as if to encourage me to keep talking, so I did.
“Do you know any magic?” I asked her. I didn’t think I asked anything strange, but she looked at me as though I had.
“I do, but don’t you know that already?”
Ah. I remembered her casting some sort of healing magic on my knee one time. It was just a scratch, but it was hurting a lot. The wound healed almost instantly after she cast her magic. If I don’t tell her anything… I decided that it was best to let her know about my hazy memory at least.
“… I just remembered. You’re good with healing magic” I told her.
“I’m not good with it”, she said with a sour face, “I just know a little bit.”
I wondered what that was about, but she continued, “If I were good enough, you would’ve healed much sooner.”
“I’m okay now”, I assured her, “But my memory is still a little hazy.” As I said this, she looked worried again.
“It’s okay”, she responded carefully, “Don’t think about anything for now.” I tried to interject but she continued, “You won’t ever go through that again. I’ll make sure of it.”
I assumed she was talking about my injury and how I got hospitalized. My memory was still rough about things like that. I guess that’s what happens when a grown man’s memories awaken in the body of a child.
“When can I leave this place?” I asked simply out of curiosity. If the pain from before was any indication, I would need to remain here for much longer.
“Oh, not much longer.”
…
“Your dad will come by a few hours later. We’ll leave with him.”
“Ah. I thought I’d have to stay here for some more days at the very least.”
“I was worried about the same thing. But the doctor assured me that it’s okay to take you home now that the worst is behind us. You’ll get better just fine with potions.”
“And I also have you to heal me. That makes sense.”
“… yeah.” Her smile dimmed a little as she said that, but it lit up again the next moment. “Don’t worry about anything and just rest. I’ll be back in a while.”
“Okay.”
Maria got up and left the room, leaving me to my thoughts. What thoughts… I was almost zoning out. I chuckled at the idea. Even reincarnated, I remained every bit of me.
“So… What is this predicament?” I thought aloud. With systems and such, at least in the novels I read, a status screen shows relevant information about oneself. I tried thinking about it, hoping it would trigger something.
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Status. As I called out in my head, a blue box appeared before my eyes. It was a lot like the ones from before, but also different in some ways.
STATUS Name Dylan Race Human Age 4 Job N/A Health 20/20 Stamina 15/20 Mana 5/5 Title(s) Awakened, Reincarnate Skill(s) Foreboding, Immortal Journal Condition Mana Poisoning (Weak)
… I thought I would get some info like stats for strength or intelligence, but none of that was present. Well, at least I have a status screen to look at. I wondered if everyone had a status screen or if it was just me. Then again, the notification said that I’d awakened through the ‘Obligation System’. If that was a requirement for this status screen, then not everyone should have one. I also couldn’t remember a screen like that, or anyone talking about it, based on my memories as Dylan.
I noticed the status ailment next. It said, ‘Mana Poisoning (Weak)’. But from what I could remember, I hit my head while wandering in the forest near our home. Then again, I wasn’t someone who would recognize something like mana poisoning.
Would it be suspicious if I mentioned my condition to Maria or the doctor? That’s a possibility I didn’t want to explore if I could avoid it. But going home with the condition unresolved could produce more problems later. What a headache!
I needed to figure something out soon. But since I was waiting anyway, I decided to explore the other things on my status screen.
Why is my mana so low? That’s a cause for concern. Based on my knowledge of web novels, mana is directly tied to magic in fantasy settings. If my low mana is any indication, I’m headed for a bad start. At that moment, I also remembered that I had no elemental affinities, or attributes for short. Maria was visibly worried about it at some point, but she’d never explained the situation to me in any detail.
But that was when I didn’t have my memories. With my memories as Hugo, I was no longer a child, at least mentally. I wondered if I could convince them to explain it to me now. I would be finding out later.
I remembered that ‘Foreboding’ activated when I looked at the mug. It was probably the catalyst that brought some key memories back. But the name told me there was more to the skill.
That aside, the ‘Immortal Journal’ skill reminded me of the journal I used to keep on my phone. I tried activating the skill with clear intention…
Skill ‘Immortal Journal’ activated.
Oh! With that thought, the skill became apparent to me. Unlike the journal I kept in my last life, the immortal journal didn’t need text or writing. It didn’t even need manual input. ‘Saved’ events would be available like fresh memory whenever the skill is activated. Any event could be saved with but a thought and accessed later.
Unfortunately, the skill contained no saved events from my current life. It made sense, as I only gained the skill after recovering my memories.
I always imagined that kids gradually forget things as they grow older. But this situation had started to make me feel that kids might just be bad at taking in their surroundings as well as we gave them credit for. That’s the conclusion I arrived at after combing through the memories of Dylan that was available to me. I only remembered snippets, and what I could remember seemed incomplete in many ways. I figured that the kind of memory that adults would consider important could also differ notably from that of a child. If that was truly the case, then there wasn’t much I could do about it.
Besides my two skills, I also noticed the two titles. I understood the meaning of ‘Reincarnate’ right away, but its implications were not clear to me that easily. Perhaps…? I had a thought.
If reincarnation was commonplace, then everyone should have the ‘Reincarnate’ title, at least most people I would ever come across. But if that wasn’t the case, it would suggest that some conditions must be met for the title to appear. Yet it’s not like I was not Dylan before my memories as Hugo returned to me. The more I thought about it, the more confusing everything appeared to be.
As I was contemplating my situation, Maria peeked a glance at me through the door. I seemed to have upset her by not lying down and simply resting. I don’t suppose I could convince her this is also resting…
“What’s wrong, Dylan?” She spoke to me as she walked, and by the time she finished that question, she was already next to me. Those were some long strides…
“It’s nothing. I was just thinking about something.”
“What is it?”
“You and dad would often be upset while discussing something about my attribute. I never really understood it, and no one explained anything to me.”
“…” Maria looked like she was contemplating something, but she decided to tell me in the end. “You know how we said you don’t have an attribute?”
“Yeah. But I don’t know what it means.”
“It’s like how I have a ‘divine’ attribute and your father has a ‘wind’ attribute. When you have an attribute, the skills of that group are easier to learn. It doesn’t mean you’re gifted or anything. But not having an attribute means you’ll struggle with all attributes. Nothing will come easy to you.”
“But dad knows how to use fire. I saw him lighting the stove with magic once.”
“Your dad is an adventurer. He has many skills outside of his ‘wind’ attribute. But he acquired those through turbulent experiences. And he’s not as good with them either, as he is with his ‘wind’ skills.”
“Is that why you two are always upset? Because I’m useless?”
“God, no! Dylan.” She looked me in the eyes. “We were upset because we were worried about you. Parents worry about their kids. You know how much we love you.”
“I know, mom. I’m sorry.” I think I felt better a while ago when I didn’t know what having no attribute meant. For whatever reasons, my insides were churning, and I ended up crying.
“Oh, Dylan.” Maria hugged me without any more words, but I could tell she was crying as well.
It’s not like I doubted her explanation to me, but I was still just a child to her. I was certain she didn’t mention everything that was going on.
Still, a part of me was relieved. If the increased difficulty was everything, then maybe it wouldn’t be the end of the world for me. Not to mention that I was a grown man reborn as a child. If life won’t give me any lemons, I’ll just have to grow some myself.
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The man who is my father in this life came around about an hour or so later. He was a burly man with visible wounds on his arms, though they were old and only scars remained. His name is Robert.
“Hey, Dylan. Are you feeling any better?”
“Ah, yeah. A lot better. But I’ve been feeling exhausted for a while now. It’s a little suffocating.” I said that hoping they would find out about the mana poisoning.
“Why didn’t you tell me before?” Maria interjected before Robert could respond.
“I thought it was just from the injury. But it feels different.” There were only so many clues I could drop before my knowledge is questioned…
“Don’t worry,” Robert assured me. “One of my friends is a doctor in the city. I’ve talked to him already. He should be here to see you in a day or two.”
“Okay,” I responded to him. I suppose that’s not as bad as it could’ve gone.
The nurse redressed my bandages afterward and we were soon on our way home. I was still feeling unwell, but more importantly, I needed to show my parents that I was feeling unwell. So, I barely spoke on the journey back and kept a pained expression throughout. I think it worked because they looked grim as well.
I was escorted to my bed on the second floor of our two-story house. Maria tucked me in and kissed me on my forehead before leaving the room. I was curious about many things still, but I felt sleepy again. I guess the journey, the sickness, and the added drama finally got to me.
I fell asleep.