Pain.
Not dull or distant. Blinding. Immediate.
He staggered, legs collapsing beneath him as the knife twisted inside his gut. Hot blood spilled down his shirt, soaking through his jacket, pattering onto the alley floor.
He fell hard, breath hitching as the impact knocked the last of his strength out of him.
'What the hell…?'
Everything blurred. The flickering lights of vending machines. The rusted fire escape above. The face of the mugger — gone, just like that. No shouts. No footsteps. Just the echo of fading traffic and a wet, metallic stench.
"…You've got to be kidding me."
His fingers trembled as he pressed them to the wound. The blood was already too much. His lungs filled wrong — shallow, too fast. Panic edged into his thoughts.
"I can't die here… Not like this…"
Forty years. That's how long he'd lived. A boring job. No friends to call in a crisis. No real relationships. A list of goals half-finished and dreams never touched. A life of regrets, of watching others move forward while he stood still.
And now? Dead in an alley over a stolen USB drive.
"I didn't even lose my virginity…"
It would've been funny if it wasn't so pathetic.
His eyes drifted upward. Blurred clouds. Faint stars. The chill of early winter biting into his cheeks. Everything started fading — not just sight or sound, but him. The self he thought he was. The man who worked in IT. Who collected anime figures. Who dreamed of being more.
Then, just as the darkness closed in:
[Extreme desire detected: 'To overcome fate.' Unique Skill: Breaker acquired.]
[Extreme desire detected: 'To understand everything.' Unique Skill: Wisdom acquired.]
[Extreme desire detected: 'To survive at any cost.' Unique Skill: Adaptation acquired.]
[Soul structure preserved. Physical body: unsalvageable. Searching compatible vessel…]
[Racial match found: Forest Lizard (Variant). Initializing soul transfer. Reincarnation commencing.]
The world came back in motion — violently.
His eyes snapped open as cold water filled his lungs. He thrashed, instinct driving him upward, through thick, algae-choked swamp water. He breached the surface with a sputtering hiss, lungs struggling, muscles convulsing.
But he was alive.
He dragged himself onto a patch of slimy rock, gasping for breath. His limbs felt wrong. Not hands, not arms — clawed forelimbs. His body was lower to the ground. He tried to sit up and felt a long, muscular tail drag behind him.
"What the…?"
His voice came out strange. Raspy. Reptilian. His tongue flicked without command — tasting the air, gathering scents.
'No way…'
[Reincarnation complete. Racial body: Forest Lizard (Variant). Natural habitat confirmed: Marshland (Unmapped Region).]
[Unique Skill: Wisdom active. Basic cognitive systems online. Language processing 67% operational.]
[Unique Skill: Adaptation passive. Environmental match stable. Fire resistance unavailable. Temperature resistance minor. Sensory efficiency: optimized.]
He froze, gills flaring slightly. His heart raced, adrenaline — or whatever the equivalent was — pumping through his veins.
Then it clicked.
The voice. The skills. The cold reptilian body.
This was…
"This is just like Tensura!"
He nearly shouted it, excitement swelling inside him. He wasn't dead — not really. He'd been reincarnated! He actually got a second chance! And he had skills! Unique Skills!
Breaker… Wisdom… Adaptation…
'Does that mean I can evolve? Grow stronger? Like Rimuru?'
His claws dug into the mossy stone. The thrill of possibility surged through him, washing away the last traces of fear.
'Yes. Yes! I'm not some weak office drone anymore. I can change everything!'
He looked down at his new form — sleek, scaled, low to the ground. Primitive. But he could feel it, humming under the surface: potential. The system had picked him for a reason. He just had to survive long enough to see what came next.
The air was thick with moisture and buzzing insects. Pale mist rolled across the murky water, and massive twisted trees loomed overhead, their roots curling into the muck like skeletal fingers.
He moved slowly at first, tail swaying to balance as his limbs adjusted to the awkward gait. Every movement taught him something new — how to crawl, how to leap, how to duck beneath hanging vines without snagging on the thorns.
Hunting instincts bubbled up in his mind, as if downloaded into his brain.
[Environmental adaptation active. Locomotion efficiency improved. Balance calibration optimized.]
[Skill acquired: Mud Navigation (Enhanced). Skill acquired: Cold Resistance (Low).]
He tested his tongue again. It flicked out, caught something on the air — heat signatures, motion trails, pheromones. In the distance, a splash. Something moved in the water. Small.
He crept forward.
A bloated amphibian creature rested near a moss-covered log — skin pale, eyes bulbous and lidless. It twitched at his approach, but didn't run. Too slow.
He lunged.
Jaws clamped down, snapping through rubbery flesh. The creature spasmed once, then stilled. Warm liquid filled his mouth — bitter, but satisfying.
[Foreign organism consumed. Biomass: low. No transferable traits. Nutritional value: moderate.]
'So… eating gives me energy, but not all creatures give skills. Makes sense. I'll need stronger prey to evolve.'
The thought alone made his tail flick with anticipation.
By the second day, he was hunting with confidence — no longer stumbling or second-guessing his movements. His senses expanded rapidly, especially under [Wisdom]'s passive effect. He mapped his surroundings in near silence, climbing between rocks and submerged tree roots with almost casual grace.
Then, heat.
A flicker of something foreign reached his senses. He froze mid-step.
Warmth. Controlled. Intentional.
He turned his head and saw it — something crouched in the shadows beyond a broken stone wall, furred and squat, with glowing red eyes and smoke curling off its back.
The creature raised one hand.
A fireball bloomed.
Time slowed.
'Oh sh—'
It struck.
His side ignited in agony — searing pain tearing through flesh. He fell, writhing, smoke pouring off his scales. Panic flooded his thoughts.
'No! Not again—! I just got here! I can't die now!'
[Damage critical. Triggering survival protocol. Unique Skill: Adaptation engaged.]
[Analyzing threat: Thermal – Class I. Defensive measures initiated.]
[Adaptation complete. Fire Resistance (Low) acquired. Tissue hardening begun.]
[Injury stabilized. Pain suppressed.]
He staggered upright, smoke still rising from his flank. But the pain was already fading, his skin toughening under the scorched layer.
The fire-wielding beast stared in confusion, clearly expecting him to still be on the ground.
Too slow.
He launched forward, muscles reacting with a burst of force. His claws slashed across the beast's shoulder — it screamed. His jaws locked onto its neck and bit down hard.
Blood spurted.
[Predator-class entity defeated. Biomass valuable. Consuming...]
[Genetic trace detected: Ember-Fur Ape.]
[Skill Fragment acquired: Ember Sac (0.3%). Insufficient data for reproduction. Stored.]
He stood panting over the corpse, smoke curling around them both.
And he smiled.
Not with his mouth — he didn't have the right muscles for that anymore. But inside, he was grinning.
This world… this system… it wanted him to thrive.
He wasn't afraid of it.
He was built for it.