10 Years Later, And It Begins...

10 Years Later

A young man was sprinting after a young girl. He caught up with her, but at the cost of his stamina. His hands were on his knees while struggling to breathe. The two failed to notice the sidewalk and the entire area around them was abnormally empty.

"Rae, you're getting faster! You would never have caught up with me before you took Kendo lessons," the girl complemented.

"Kawazoe Sensei has been tearing me down almost every day! Before, all I did was play video games, and read novels and manga in my free time. When I wasn't doing that, I was doing schoolwork or prepping myself for Helen's company. It was an absolute nightmare when I first started," Rae said.

'Kawazoe Sensei is an absolute monster despite being such a small and cute woman.'

"Well, whose fault is that, huh?" Mary's mouth formed a taunting grin. "Imagine what the pining ladies at Ford Ash Academy would do if they learned that their handsome, lonely and solemn idol, was a regular bookworm otaku at home?"

In fact, Rae wasn't "just" handsome. With a chiseled jawline (for picturing \_/ ), high cheekbones that made his cheeks sink ever so slightly, straight nose, blue eyes, white skin, the ladies in the academy found him attractive. Some of the female teachers thought so too. Not that they would cross 'that' line, anyway. What his most eye-catching feature was his silver hair that went down just a bit past his shoulders that he swept behind his ear on his right and leaving his left side hanging. All these put together, and he was a bona fide lady-killer at the age of only 17.

Mary recalled how he was beaten and bruised when her mother had pulled him out of the dumpster and looked at Rae now. A sense of satisfaction and happiness washed over her. She smiled deep inside.

He managed to catch his breath from the sprint and retorted playfully. "Well, imagine what the pining gentlemen would do if they found out their idol was just a tomboy with a smart mouth." Rae looked at her and reminisced, a smile forming on his face. "I remember when you punched Neal Halden for calling me "dumpster boy" and pushing me around on my first day of elementary school. You knocked one of his teeth out and screamed to the rest of the classroom, 'Don't you dare bully my big brother!'"

'Although I said that, I love you just the way you are,' thought Rae.

Mary would still be popular to a great degree. She was gorgeous, and the only thing she was lacking was the graceful aura that came with maturity her mother had. And although she was not as buxom as she was, she still possessed a shapely figure despite only being 15 years old. Like her mother and

Rae, her long silk-like silver hair that went down to her back was eye-catching as well.

She crossed her arms and pointed her nose in the air in a smug way. "And nobody ever called you that again. Mom was furious, but more so proud that day."

The two burst into laughter at the memory; then, as if she knew what Rae was thinking before, "And although you say that…" Mary closed the distance between them and tilted her body, so she was face to face with him. "… you love me just the way I am, don't you?"

Rae became dazed for a few seconds from her beautiful face being so close to him. 'Whew, if I didn't have self-control…,' but he stopped his thoughts. He then smiled in a way he didn't even realize he was doing. "Yeah, I do."

He turned away and restarted their walk home from Ford Ash.

Mary froze up at his dazzling smile. She stared at Rae's back with a deep blush on her face. The girl became lost in the thought of how handsome Rae was.

She smacked both sides of her face to wake herself up. 'I have to stop doing that.' She sighed at the thought and walked to catch up with him.

Normally, students would stay in the high-class dorms, but Mary and Rae weren't comfortable with that, so Helen had set up a regular chauffeur. But since Rae started practicing Kendo, he decided he should start walking home for extra exercise, as their home was only an hour away on foot. Mary didn't want him to be alone, so she joined.

On the way, Rae spotted a garbage dumpster in an alley. He knew it wasn't the same dumpster or the same alley, yet he still wanted to see it for some reason. Rae then started walking into the alley.

When Mary saw this, she knew what it meant to Rae as it also reminded her of the important day he became a part of her and her mother's life, so she followed him in.

After they were in front of it, Rae and Mary just stood there in silence. When a few minutes had passed, Rae turned to Mary; he took both of her beautiful soft white hands and held them together.

Then he looked into her eyes and smiled.

"Mary, I—" Right when he was about to say something, he saw a figure cloaked in all black and a ski mask running towards them. Rae pushed Mary out of the way and then swiveled his backpack in front of him.

Luckily, the man couldn't stop the motion of aiming the Taser at him and firing, thus hitting the backpack.

'Holy shit! The kendo lessons with Sensei Kawazoe paid off,' he thought with adrenaline coursing through him. Then, realizing the danger of the situation, he pulled out his Shinai while shouting to

Mary as loud as he could. "Mary! RUN!"

The man looked at her said something that made the situation seem much worse than a random mugger.

"Stay. If you leave, your brother dies," the man said ominously.

'How does he know Mary is my sister?' Then Rae realized this man had never asked them to hand anything over.

"Mary, run now!"

"B—" Mary tried to say something but was interrupted.

Shouting in the loudest way he had ever done towards his sister, "LISTEN TO YOUR OLDER BROTHER AND RUN, DAMN IT!"

He said it with all his soul. He truly wanted to keep Mary safe. His sister that would knock out bullies for him when he could not defend himself as children. The only other person he has ever loved in the world that saved him from being and eating literal trash. He would die for her. He always felt that he owed Mary and Helen his life anyway.

She took a deep breath, and with tears in her eyes, she ran as fast as she possibly could toward the man. The other side of the alley was a dead end, so Mary had no choice but to go in the direction of the man. They had not walked too far from the academy and Mary was athletic, so if she tried her hardest, she could get there in a few minutes.

When she got close to the man, the man pulled out a combat knife. He thrust his left hand towards her, hoping it would deter her from running, but before it got even close, Rae jabbed the man's hand with his Shinai, and the combat knife fell to the ground.

However, it wasn't enough to stop him. The man moved started to move his other hand to grab her.

'You piece of garbage! You're not touching a hair on Mary's head,' Rae cursed inwardly.

He hardened himself, and in the next second, a scream echoed in the alley.

"AHHHHH!!! MY EYE!" The man clutched his right eye and screamed in agony while blood was flowing from his eye socket, onto the ground. He began writhing in pain and looked as if he was about to collapse.

Rae had thrust his Shinai into the man's eye. Kawazoe Sensei had told him doing such a thing was taboo, but he did not feel guilty. In fact, he was happy it did that much damage as it allowed Mary to pass him.

'I'm glad she got away,' Rae sighed in relief. However, it was not the time to relax as he was still in trouble.

When Rae regained focus, he noticed something strange. The man was not screaming anymore.

'How is that possible? The man had just lost one of his eyes and was screaming like a maniac. Now he's as quiet as a lamb?'

Then he heard a sinister laugh coming from the man.

"Kept me from my one and only Mary! I was going to let you off since you're her brother, but you had to take out my eye, didn't you? Well, that's okay. I'm sure she'll forgive me when I cut her up and eat the pieces, so we can be together forever," the man creepily said while licking his lips under his mask.

'He's one sick bastard. I need to disable him as fast as I can.'

When Rae decided on his next course of action, it was already too late. The crazed man had pulled out a gun.

Bang!

Rae was dumbfounded. 'Huh? He had a gun? Seriously? How am I supposed to fight against that?'

When Rae grasped the reality of the situation, he clutched his profusely leaking stomach. He felt the sting in his abdomen, and his legs could no longer support him through the pain. Rae fell on his side and then onto his back.

Rae looked up at the sky and could feel death looming over him. 'I wish I could have spent more time with Helen and Mary and told them things I haven't yet…' He sighed at the regret. 'Still, the last ten years of my life were more than I could have hoped for; dying for them isn't such a bad way to go anyway.'

While he was lost in thought reflecting on the last ten years of his life, he heard footsteps coming toward him. He turned to the source and looked at it up and down. 'Well, if I had one regret, it would be that this bastard is still alive.'

The crazed man looked down at him. Then, slowly taking off his ski mask, Rae could see a smile underneath.

Rae was shocked! He would never have thought that this crazed and obsessed man was their chauffeur! 'It's the driver! He drove us to and from school every day for years, and we never noticed what he is?!'

The ex-driver crouched down next to Rae. "You know, I've always been envious of you. What with being so close to my goddess and all. Moreover…" He skimmed the gun over Rae's pale countenance. "… that face," he uttered in a cold and detached tone. Then, in an erratic fit of rage, he began shouting. "Who gave you the right to look so damn handsome, huh?! NOT FAIR! NOT FAIR! NOT FAIR! NOT FAIR!"

Rae looked at the man with contempt and squeezed out two last words with shallow breaths.

"Fuck. You."

The crazed man eyebrows twitched at Rae's words. He then pointed his gun, and shot him four more times in the chest, and began laughing crazily.

"HAHAHAHAH! How dare you act so cocky in death! You deserve this for coming between us. HAHAHAHA!"

Insanity consumed the man further while he relished the feeling of killing Rae.

After a few moments had passed, the crazed man felt enough satisfaction.

Although he was disappointed he was not able to capture Mary, he chose to leave before she returned with guards.

********

'Please be okay. Please be okay. Please be okay. Please be okay. Please be okay.'

Mary was still praying while shouting as loudly as she could for help along the way to Ford Ash

Academy. However, no matter how loud she was, no one came. She could not see a single person around.

Since this area was near Ford Ash Academy, it would usually be busy no one could be seen today but no one was in sight. 'I don't have time for this. I'll just run straight to the academy for the rest of the way.'

A few minutes later, the academy gate was within sight. Mary started screaming for the guards to come.

A few of them came, and she explained how Rae was in trouble and took them to the alley.

Mary did not seem to notice or remember that she could not find anyone when searching for help, but when she passed by with guards, all the people returned without seeming out of place.

"It's over here, in this alley!" Mary said in a rush as she led the guards. She wanted to come to Rae's aid as quickly as possible.

********

An old man watched everything from afar. He was bald, with a square-shaped mustache and wore small round glasses, a small brown top hat, a brown suit, and brown dress shoes.

'That youngling, Kahlos, is too 'preoccupied' to notice I did anything. Well, it's not like he could even if he was attentive,' thought the old man. He looked down on a powerful god-like Kahlos. One could only imagine how powerful this old man was.

'I hope you'll forgive me for allowing you to die, Rae. It's for the greater good. You have a future you couldn't possibly imagine.' The old man smiled in self-pity. 'Well, it's not like I don't have a little bit of selfish motivation, but it's only a small wish I hope you can grant this old man one day. Whether or not the what I've given you will be a curse or a gift, will be up to you...'

The old man standing there one moment was gone the next, and no one in the area seemed to notice.

If Rae were to see this old man, he would recognize him as the one who ignited the fire in his heart to change his life.

********

When Mary went into the alley and saw the pool of blood beneath Rae's body, she broke down. Tears came flooding out of her as if an emotional dam had broken.

'He died for me!'

She could still hear him yelling to at her to run while at the cost of his own and it only made her tears flow more.

'Mom will be devastated too…'

********

When Rae woke up, he found himself in a dark cavern.

Rae looked around. There was a throne, a podium with a floating crystal ball, and out of place, a leather upholstered double door on the left.

'Where am I? Moreover, what am I doing here? I died, didn't I?' Rae had a plethora of questions but no one to answer them — until a certain someone appeared.

"Behold, mortal! I am the all-powerful Kahlos, watcher of Earth and you are here to rei—eh?" While

Kahlos was in the middle of his grandiose speech, he realized Mary Greyfield was not there and became panicked.

'Wait, where is she?! She was supposed to die this moment! Oh, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit. Okay,

Kahlos, relax.' He took a deep breath and stabilized himself. 'There's a 3-year safe period. So, I need to find out what happened and fix it so Big Sis won't punish me.' Kahlos eventually sorted out his thoughts and finally noticed the person in the room.

'And who the hell is this brat? Looking at his face makes me unreasonably pissed off.'

"Mortal, what's your name?" Kahlos asked in a demanding tone. It was normal, as he was a god and

Rae was just a mortal after all.

Rae saw the appearance of the person who spoke. 'This brat is a god?'

He could feel something strange was going on, as he was sure he died to the chauffeur, so he decided it best to play along.

"I'm Rae Greyfield," he answered.

'Greyfield? Does he know Mary Greyfield?' Kahlos pulled out the black book in search of Mary's name and began flipping through pages. 'Found it!'

For a moment, he thought everything was fine, but he noticed an issue with a closer look. 'Why is the time of death missing? Also, why is her name is marked in red?! Let's search for 'Rae Greyfield' as well.' He began flipping through pages and saw the same issue again – except worse. 'His name is marked by even darker red! I have to find out what happened.'

Kahlos turned to Rae and asked, "How did you die?"

Rae then told Kahlos what happened.

'This Rae Greyfield subverted Mary Greyfield's death, but that still doesn't explain why there's no timestamp on Mary Greyfield's name. Even though her death did not happen, it should have only changed to a different date. That either means she is supposed to die on a different planet, or…no. That has not happened in a long time.' He sighed inwardly. 'What should I do? I promised Big Sis,

Mary Greyfield. Her death date is unknown since I can't read her timestamp, and it's not like I can kill her myself because the Akashic System would give me a harsh punishment…'

Rae had been waiting there quietly for some time since he told Kahlos how he died. 'What's this so-called god thinking about?'

While staring at Rae, Kahlos reached an epiphany. 'I can send Big Sis, Rae! He's not normal, as he can subvert someone's fate. And although his talent in magic doesn't seem to match up to Mary, it's good even among Alterans. If I can groom him a bit and send him to her, although she might be a bit disappointed with his magic skills, she won't punish me! Also, I told her thirteen Earth years. Therefore, that means he'll have nine years to get stronger on Altera! Okay, now I have to convince this brat.'

"Rae Greyfield, I, the great, amazing, and awesomely talented great god, Kahlos, need you to be my hero and want you to reincarnate into a magical fantasy world called Altera!" Kahlos said while activating his「Godly Aura」to make himself seem as grand as possible. If the other gods knew what he was using his「Godly Aura」for, they would gang up on him and beat him silly. Especially his "Big Sis."

"I have a few questions," Rae said. He needed to be sure of some details to be safe and to give himself hope.

'Alright, GAME TIME! I only need to convince him he wants it himself.' In his most dignified voice, combined with his「Godly Aura」he spoke. "You may speak, Rae Greyfield."

"First question: is it possible to return to Earth from Altera? And if so, how?" Returning was Rae's primary concern as he wanted to be with Mary and Helen again.

"Yes, it is possible. There's the reincarnation method that you would be using. The strength method where you become strong enough to traverse worlds yourself. There are other methods aside from these two, but they are very special circumstances, so there would be no point in telling you," Kahlos answered honestly. He needed Rae on his side to stave off the catastrophe that was "Big Sis."

"Second question: what the time difference between Earth and Altera is?" There would be no point in him coming back to an Earth when Mary and Helen had already died.

"Altera is faster by three times. So, one year on Earth, is three years on Altera," answered Kahlos.

"Last question: will you give me cheat powers like in the novels?" His final question. As to why? Isn't that obvious? What kind of reincarnation adventure didn't give the person cheat like powers?

Kahlos pondered it for a second and said, "I can only give you three."

"What are they?" Rae asked curiously with a hint of anticipation in his voice.

"「Perceptive Eyes」,「Appraisal」, and「Status Concealment」," said Kahlos. He didn't want to give overpowered ones, so Rae would at least rely on himself.

"Oh!「Appraisal」, the tried and true classic reincarnation cheat ability. 「Status Concealment」is also good for reincarnators going into hiding and「Perceptive Eyes」sounds basic but useful," said

Rae in excitement. He had always read about reincarnation and cheat like abilities in novels. Now, he would have all of that! How could he not feel excited as a tried and true otaku?

"Right!「Appraisal」 is a classic and your knowledge isn't bad to know the uses of 「Status Concealment」and「Perceptive Eyes」." Kahlos also excited as an otaku.

"Hmm? Kahlos, are you an otaku?" Rae's otaku meter went off while Kahlos was speaking.

"Huh? Oh," he coughed awkwardly, "I browse stuff here and there," said Kahlos as he tried to play off his previous enthusiasm. 'Where would my dignity be if I admitted to liking mortal entertainment?'

'He's without a doubt, an otaku. I'll keep it in mind for the future,' Rae thought.

"Oh yeah, what do I need to do as a hero?" he asked.

"All you need to do is focus on just getting stronger. Heroism will come naturally to you. It does for everyone else," Kahlos said carelessly.

Rae thought about it some more and thought Kahlos was right. That was how most heroes came to be. And it fell in line with his primary goal of getting strong enough to return to Earth.

"Okay, Kahlos. I accept being your hero on Altera," Rae said with an adventurous smile. If any women were around right now, they would probably swoon.

Kahlos could barely contain his excitement at the achievement of his plan. "Alright, kid, hang on tight. I'm sending you right now. Any last questions?"

"Yeah, why do you look like a kid? Not becoming very god-like to look like that," Rae asked carelessly. He had forgotten he was talking to a god because he found out he was an otaku.

'You just had to go and say it didn't you? Only Big Sis is allowed to mention the way I look! Well then, let's see how you like being the size of a middle schooler!'

Rae believed Kahlos was concentrating on the reincarnation process and ignored him for this reason.

'Mary, Helen, wait for me a bit. I'll be back,' thought Rae, before a burst of light engulfed him, and he disappeared.

********

Rae found himself in a dark enclosed, and wet space. He felt odd and tried wiggling around a bit but couldn't. After struggling for a few minutes, he heard a female voice speaking in a mechanical tone.

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『Akashic System』 Initiating…

『Akashic System』 Initiating…

『Akashic System』 Initiated

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『Akashic System』Scanning Host…

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『Akashic System』Detected residual traces of previous body vessel, and mutation in host soul.

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'Huh?!'

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『Akashic System』Identified mutation as 『Origin Vampire Soul』

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'How the hell did I get that?! Uhmm, let's try this out. Appraise『Origin Vampire Soul』!'

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『Origin Vampire Soul』

Increased attributes. No weakness to sunlight or fire. Grants「Blood Manipulation」and「Blood Absorption」.

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'That's a bit overpowered. Many positives with none of the weaknesses of a normal vampire.'

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『Akashic System』Would host like to assimilate mutation and residual traces into the new vessel, or discard them?

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'Do I get to keep my old appearances if I assimilate with the residual traces? Moreover, this『Origin Vampire Soul』seems overpowered, but I don't know where it came from or how I got it…? Oh well, ACCEPT!'

_______________________________________________________________________________

『Akashic System』Now adjusting host Body to synchronize and accept host soul.

『Akashic System』Host body and soul synchronization 20%…

『Akashic System』Host body and soul synchronization 40%…

『Akashic System』Host body and soul synchronization 60%…

『Akashic System』Host body and soul synchronization 80%…

『Akashic System』Host body and soul synchronization 100% complete!

_______________________________________________________________________________

『Akashic System』Host body has undergone mutation to assimilate host soul.

_______________________________________________________________________________

『Akashic System』Host has gained 『Title』:『Origin Vampire』

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'Oh, that sounds cool. Hmmm, let's see if this works: STATUS!'

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『Status』

『Titles』[Hidden]: 『Electra's Gift』『Origin Vampire』

『General Information』

Name: Rae [Hidden] Gender: Male Age: In Womb Race: Mutated Goblin Level: 1 Class/Level: 「N/A」

『Resistances』[Hidden]:「Darkness: 25%」

『Status』[Hidden]

Health Points: 360 / 360 (5.4/s)

Mana Points: 480 / 480 (+2.4/s)

Stamina Points: 270 / 270 (+1.35/s)

Origin Vampire: Fledgling

『Attributes』[Hidden]

Strength: 100

Endurance: 80

Intelligence: 120

Dexterity: 110

Agility: 120

Perception: 160

Charisma: 105

Wisdom: 120

Luck: 100

『Skill List』[Hidden]

「Blood Manipulation LV1」「Blood Absorption LV1」「Appraisal LV5」「Noble Aura LV1」「Status Concealment」「Perceptive Eyes LV5」「Night Vision」「Enhanced Six Senses LV1」「Mana Perception LV5」「Shadow Magic LV1」「Universal Language」

_______________________________________________________________________________

'Hm?! Oh, would you look at that? I reincarnated as a goblin. I've always wanted to be a goblin. Awesome!'

'Hahahaha...'

'Hahaha...'

'Haha...'

'Haa...'

He sighed. 'So nice...'

'...'

'...'

'...'

'Are you fucking kidding me?! Who in their right mind wants to be a goblin?!'

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Author Thoughts: Don't know how to italicize text for the thoughts (something I do), and don't know how to center text for the System stuff... Also, when copy and pasting from Microsoft Word, the spacing doesn't carry over, and I have to do it manually, so the text doesn't look scrunched up...

*screaming furiously* AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!

I just figured out I can't even manually space things to center them or have double spacing for after each line. For example, I could press 'enter' 10 times, and after I post it, it would look like I only used it once.

*screams even louder* AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!

*sigh* If there's a fuck up in the formatting of the chapter, I'm sorry... I did not think posting on this site would be this annoying lol.