I awoke face down amid a cluster of foliage.

A live band played in my head. Wet grass tickled my nostrils, rich with the scent of soft loam, saturated with dew.

I rolled onto my side. The action aggravated my headache, drawing a groan from my lips. Dark clouds wafted past the sky, pushed along by a cool wind that rustled the grass.

What was this place? It looked nothing like my bedroom, which meant I was stuck in another of my dreams. Was it morning already? HR would kill me if I turned up late for the third day in a row.

Kill.

Death.

Murder.

I snapped upright. Memories from the hellscape flooded my brain.

I had fallen into the brazier thingy and burned down to ashes. Before that, I had been a bald, pallid being—some creature called a homunculus.

Color had returned to my skin, judging from my exposed limbs. Arms of a familiar black connected to the rest of a lean, mean body, healthier than I’d ever been in life. Thick, curly hair sat in a mop atop my head. But, most importantly, I had groaned a few seconds ago, signaling a return of the faculties of speech.

“Take that!” I said, running long fingers across my lips. Laughter bubbled up my throat.

The thick hair was a nice change of pace from baldness, even though it spread in an unruly way that seemed difficult to tame. I brushed a hand across it and froze at the sensation of tips jutting from my head.

I had long ears.

The rest of my facial features had also changed, but my body piqued the most interest. It felt good to the touch, really good, like marble animated. A shirt and pants of soft linen covered my form. Long legs ended barefoot.

“What the hell am I?”

A semi-transparent screen popped up at the question.

Damien Njoku

Race: Dark Elf

Level: 1

Affinity: Fear

Class: [?]

VP: 19/19

MP: 21/21

Attributes:

STR 4, PER 2, END 4, DEX 7

INT 5, WIL 3, V.F 2, MGK 3

Traits:

[Born of Fear], [Against the Odds], [Migrant Soul]*

Skills:

[Map], [Identify]

Abilities:

[Fear Aura]*, [Scaredy-cat]

Two colored meters hovered one atop the other in the upper left corner of the screen. The topmost red meter stretched twice as large as the green.

I'd spent enough time playing video games in my childhood to know what the text box represented. It was a status screen. Judging by popular conventions, the red meter probably signified my health, leaving green for stamina.

A status screen. Gosh.

The day couldn’t get any weirder. I would have been more surprised had I not survived an encounter with actual demons. This was pretty mundane in comparison.

The status screen bore a sizeable amount of information, principal of which was race.

Dark Elf.

I didn't need to be a rocket scientist to infer its meaning. The [System] had reincarnated me just as promised. But, it had enacted a total revamp. The old Damien was gone, that much was certain. The new one . . . well, there were a lot of creatures out there much worse than elves.

I could use a fresh start, as long as I hadn’t hijacked some poor sod’s body.

I perused the rest of the data.

MP most likely referred to mana points. VP? No idea. The other attributes that followed seemed straightforward enough—I probably shouldn't assume. However, what the heck did traits mean? I had three of them, with the third, [Migrant Soul], greyed out from the others.

I also had an affinity. Something to do with fear. Memories resurfaced of the [System] giving me a choice, but none of them explained what affinities represented. Could I control emotions? The ability section seemed to imply so, what with its listing of [Fear Aura] and [Scaredy-cat]. The former possessed the same grey tint as [Migrant Soul], indicating its dormancy.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

What about skills?

I shook my head. A quick scan of my surroundings revealed I’d woken atop a mound in a small clearing of grass. A dense forest grew around me.

This was bad.

Forests went hand in hand with wildlife, and although I’d never lived outside a city, I wasn’t oblivious to the dangers of the wild. I needed to take stock of my surroundings, find water, and build some kind of shelter.

Then, I would freak out.

But only after finding water.

I looked around the forest. What was this place? None of the trees resembled the common species from back home, and why even would the [System] bother with reincarnating me only to plop me back on Earth?

I mused aloud. “For a talkative [System], you’re being awfully quiet now.” And then, I winced at the recollection of a curling tendril of mist choosing a homunculus at random.

No. Deep breaths, Damien. Deep breaths. This was neither the time nor the place for righteous indignation. I’d get a chance to rage against the [System] eventually, but safety came first. That mattered above all else.

I returned to the skills section of my status screen and mouthed a word. “Map.”

A circular screen, akin to radar, appeared beside the first. It depicted an area with a radius of about ten meters. A blue dot waited at the center of the map. Me.

Dreadwood, the location read.

“That doesn't sound good.”

It sounded downright horrible. Was this the part where I started panicking?

I ambled to my feet. The trees of Dreadwood looked strange: long, thin, and tall, with star-shaped leaves. Undergrowth peppered the ground in uneven patches, exuding an ominous aura.

I didn't want to venture out into the forest. Not when they bore a name like Dreadwood. Maybe, I would be better off waiting a little more.

I sat back on the mound.

The [Map] proved fairly interactive. A pinch of the screen caused it to zoom out, with the reverse bringing it back up to scale. Even at its most minimized, the circular area only extended a few more meters. Green hues, signifying the trees, stretched out as far as I could see.

How did the [System] expect me to find my way out of here? Sure, the [Map] possessed the four cardinal points, but there was little difference between north and south when both led to nowhere.

A rustling interrupted my musing—soft enough that I would have missed it but for my long ears, which proved to be of use beyond cosmetic design. Something drew closer from within the bushes. Something large.

Oi, it seems you are afraid!

+1 has been added to all stats.

Visit your status sheet to learn more about your abilities.

I blinked at the pop-up notification, frowned, and glanced over my shoulder. The large creature had gotten even closer. No time to dither. I took off at a dead run, surprised at how easily my muscles responded.

A big cat emerged in pursuit. It looked like a tiger, but that was only because of its stripes. Large tusks framed both sides of its maw which sat beneath a crown adorned with spikes.

You have encountered your first monster!

Activate [Identify]? Y/N.

Yes!

A pop-up hovered above the creature.

Dread Tiger LVL 6.

Level six? I was only level one.

The Dread Tiger shortened the gap, snarling as it did. New me exploded with energy, but outrunning a tiger was a rather big ask. I gave it my all regardless and crashed through a line of trees.

The older [System] messages blocked my vision, creating a navigational hazard. I needed them gone. Why were they acting up now when they’d vanished just fine on their own back at the pyramid?

Sudden movements caught my attention. I veered sideways in avoidance of a lunge. Sharp claws glanced off my shoulder, courtesy of a new monster that struck from hiding. The blow missed my throat and threw me across the thicket. The red meter flashed; an indication of damage.

The first Dread Tiger slowed at the sight of the second. Each monster sized up the other, growling low in their throats. Their confrontation left me temporarily forgotten—not that I minded. What was that skill again?

Right. [Identify].

The relevant info appeared over the new monster.

Dread Tiger LVL 4.

This Dread Tiger bellowed a challenge and tackled the other. Both tumbled across the thicket, flailing wildly.

I crawled through the bushes and returned to my feet a short distance later. The flight that followed put Olympic runners to shame. I kept at it until my stamina bar halved, and then I collapsed and guzzled lungfuls of air.

What the heck was that?

First things first: Shut down the freaking [System] boxes. It took a few tries, but I eventually learned the trick to managing pop-ups.

A mental command moved all of them to the periphery of my vision. Another command terminated them. The health and stamina bars remained visible in the upper left corner of my sight. The [Map] needed some readjusting and eventually settled in the bottom right.

Forget escaping the forest. If I didn't get my act together, I wasn't surviving the night. What was the point of reincarnation if I died mere minutes after returning to life?

“I need some answers. Where are my notifications?”

A message icon blinked in the upper right. I’d somehow gotten it to appear while battling with the notifications. It seemed to be a folder for storing stuff for review. I focused on it, causing its contents to unfurl.

You have accessed the [System] log.

You have received a Legacy Quest!

New quest: [Heroic Adventure]

You have been transported from another world! Gather strong allies and avert the Apocalypse.

Time remaining: 364 days.

Allies: 0/10.

Reward: 10,000 spirit orbs. Complete each milestone to unlock extra rewards.

[System] Error: This quest has already been assigned.

There it was again: Those strange words at the bottom. But, before I could parse them, another message appeared.

You have received an Origin Quest!

New quest: [Lost Kinsman]

You have awoken in a strange, deadly place. Find the rest of your clan.

Objective: Find the Dark Elf village.

Reward: 10 spirit orbs.

How about a no?

I didn't care about any apocalypse, and I sure as hell couldn’t find a village if every ten steps put me in danger of being killed. How far was it till nightfall? The canopy of trees made it difficult to gauge the sun’s position, and the thought of wandering around a darkened Dreadwood scared the bejeezus out of me.

Food. Water. Shelter. I would plan my next move only after finding those.

A pop-up interrupted me.

Warning: Spirit orbs are necessary to sustain migrant souls. Ingest one orb a day or die.

Time left till next ingestion: 23:44:16.

“Oh, for fuck's sake.”