"Damn it!"
The butcher was busy chopping meat when a rat suddenly appeared on the chopping board. He was too late to react, and the rat's head was chopped along with the meat. The head rolled off and fell to the ground, where three cats immediately pounced on it, batting it around like a ball.
He wiped the sweat off his head and casually threw aside the rat's body into the trash, where several other rotten dead rats were gathered, buzzing with flies. The stench of decay lingered in the air, but the butcher didn't seem affected as he continued chopping the meat until he was done.
The butcher suddenly raised his head, his ears perking as he looked around the room. He fixed his eyes in a certain direction before letting out a long sigh.
Behind the storage shelf stacked with bloodied meat, he pushed it aside to reveal a section of the wall covered with cardboard. When he pulled it away, a small hole appeared, just big enough for a child to enter. His gaze lingered on the opening, and a shiver spread down his back. The hole was dark as an abyss, and a cold wind carrying the stench of the sewers drifted out of it. His face grew serious as he grabbed the three cats that meowed in protest.
"You guys are worth ten pennies, so you'd better do your job!"
The butcher tossed the cats into the hole. Soon, their distressed cries echoed, growing fainter until they disappeared into the darkness. After that, he stood before the hole, knelt, and touched his forehead, then his heart, then moved his fingers from his right shoulder to his left, finally placing his hand over his mouth as he muttered,
"From thought to heart, through burden to word... let the Light endure."
The butcher stayed still for a few seconds before putting everything back in place. Then he walked over to the table with the chopping board and continued cutting the meat.
...
In the darkness of the sewers, a pair of glowing eyes opened, revealing a small rat following behind the swarm as they attacked the cats that had invaded their home.
The rat looked around, its snout twitching as its eyes scanned the surroundings with intelligence. It gazed ahead, where three cats were slaughtering its fellow rats like killing machines. The rat turned around and ran until it was exhausted, then rested its back against the cold wall of the sewer.
The rat stared blankly into the distance and spoke in the saddest tone a rat could muster. "Is this the life I'm meant to live? What kind of bullshit is this? I was a man who had no enemies! I was a kind man who helped old ladies cross the road and kids whose cats were stuck in trees. I never harmed or cursed anyone... so what kind of fuckery is this? I don't deserve this! I don't want to live as a fucking rat!"
The rat's name was Light, a name given by his parents so he could be a light for everyone lost in the dark. Light didn't blame his parents for their lack of creativity; they were good people, and he respected them.
Light had been a man with no enemies, but no real friends either. Because of his name, he was occasionally bullied from kindergarten all the way to college. Still, he didn't mind. He would just smile at the bullies and stay kind, because that was who he was... a kind man. That was the reason his parents had named him Light.
But was he really that kind? No. It was all bullshit. Light was kind, yes, but he was also human. He felt emotions. He felt anger and sadness when people bullied him. But to avoid disappointing his hardworking parents, he had no choice but to be the son they wanted him to be.
But in the end, it all amounted to nothing. His kindness didn't earn him a place in heaven or paradise. Instead, he was thrown into the body of a rat, in a hellish, stinking place, after dying while saving a little girl from a bus that had lost control.
"It's fine… if I could be reborn as a dog or a cat, even a goblin doesn't sound so bad. Or maybe a woman. But why a rat? I can't live like this anymore! I'm grateful for this second chance, but unfortunately, this isn't the life I want."
In the end, Light's eyes lost their spark as he stood and gazed at the sewer water, complicated emotions running through his heart. It was hard to live as a rat with a human mindset. Life as a rat felt monotone and lifeless, nothing but searching for scraps of food in the sewers forever. Among the swarm, he was the only one who could talk or think, and if he kept living like this, he might lose his mind sooner or later. So it was better to end it all now.
"If I'm reborn again, please… make me a human or a dragon."
Light spoke his final words before jumping into the water. The coldness and stench hit every part of his body as he slowly sank. A chilling suffocation spread through him, making his limbs refuse to move. Light closed his eyes and waited for death, but death didn't wait for him.
When he opened his eyes again, he saw flickering green words beginning to form before him.
Light's eyes widened, and he suddenly began to struggle for air as he tried to swim upward. But he realized he couldn't; his body kept sinking deeper into the water. He didn't even know why he suddenly wanted to live, but when he saw those words, Light saw hope.
But it was too late. His eyelids grew heavy, and he was running out of air. As he slowly lost consciousness, a ding sound echoed in his ears, followed by a robotic voice.
[...]
[You have become the first Ratkin to exist in this world...]
[Detecting that the host is out of life. Proceeding with evolution...]
[3... 2... 1... 0.]
A sudden shockwave pulsed through the dying Light. His fur stood on end as if struck by lightning, and soon a crackling sound filled the water, like every bone in his body breaking, then mending, only to break again. His body moved in unnatural, puppet-like motions, and Light couldn't help but snap his eyes open and scream as the intense pain of evolution tore through every fiber of his being.
Light's eyes were bloodshot as his body continued to expand uncontrollably. His tiny limbs stretched, flesh tearing apart and bones snapping. The process of evolution lasted only a short while, but to Light, it felt like forever.
And soon enough, in Light's place floated not a tiny rat, but a large humanoid one the size of an adult human. His body was covered in clean white fur, with sharp claws and a long tail. His purple eyes were filled with panic as Light began to swim upward.
He gasped for air as he reached the surface, grabbing onto the edge and pulling himself weakly out of the water before collapsing, soaked, onto the ground.
"Fuck!"
Then a holographic screen appeared before him.
[I am the System that will guide you from now on.
Note: I am not a sentient being, so please refrain from talking to me. I am simply designed to assist you in achieving your goals.
The System currently has three main functions available:
1. Energy Source: The System can gather Energy from various sources such as artifacts, items, gems, stones, corpses, and more. This Energy can be used to buy and upgrade buildings, among other things.
2. Buildings and Units: The System can create structures to train Ratkin in various professions, such as Ratkin Warrior, Ratkin Warlock, Ratkin Tinker, and more.
Note: Buildings and units consume Energy.
3. Condense: Energy can be condensed into Energy Cores, which can be used for magic, technology, and other applications.
Important Notes:
- Buildings are usable only by Ratkin.
- By birthing more Ratkin, you can grow a powerful army and establish a stronghold.
- There are also many hidden functions within the System. The user must explore them independently, as they can only be unlocked under certain conditions.
If you have any questions, click below:
(More Information)]]
Light sat upright, staring at the glowing text with amazement and surprise. The words forming in the air looked like a holographic screen from the future. It felt like something straight out of a novel or some kind of fiction where the system serves as the protagonist's cheat. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined he'd end up in one himself.
The system's appearance was the reason Light had struggled to live; it gave him enough motivation to avoid ending it all. With his mood slightly improved, he clicked the "More Information" option below. His first question was obvious: was there a third chance? Would he reincarnate as a new race after dying again, maybe a dragon, or even a demon? Would he keep the system if he died again?
However, the answer he received dashed his hopes. The system explained that if he died again, he would enter the normal reincarnation cycle. He would lose all his memories and live as a new person. He didn't even know if, after reincarnating, he'd still be considered a "person." And he definitely wouldn't receive any special ability or system in his next life.
So, Light let out a sigh, his whiskers twitching with frustration.
"...Alright. I guess living as a ratkin isn't that bad. Maybe I'm just being overly dramatic."