Death, Rebirth and Soul-searching

MALIK'S POV

The sounds of water and the rustle of the trees as the wind blew through them woke me up. As I tried to stand up, a wave of nausea and dizziness hit me and I threw up.

"Careful, Malik"

A voice called out to me and I looked up to see a giant face and hands reaching out for me. It was a woman's face, but she looked at me with loving eyes.

Who is this woman? What does she want from me? Questions rang through my brain as I reached out to slap her hand away. Her hands slipped through my arms and grabbed onto my armpits.

"Uwaagh!"

A sound of surprise escaped through my lips and I instinctively jerked away, but her grip was firm and I was locked in her hands. She lifted me up from the bed and only then did I realize that my entire body was small.

What?! What is this? My body froze as I tried to make sense of it all. Is this me?

"Isn't he the cutest honey?"

A large man's face suddenly came into view. He had a scraggly beard and looked like he hadn't slept in weeks. His eyes stared down my body like he was assessing me. Only then did I realize how small I was. I was a baby!!!

"I'll get the priest to appraise him. We need to check if he has the capacity to use magic"

The woman's face scrunched into a frown before she carried me out of the room. Only then did I take notice of the rooms. It wasn't a 21st century room and looked more like a house in the medieval times.

The walls were made of wood and had candles hanging from it which illuminated the room.

"Karyn, we'll obviously need to check this sooner or later. It is the main deciding factor for his future"

"His or yours?! I don't care if he can't use magic. I'll support him in whatever he wants to do. So tell me, is it for his future or yours?"

While they went at it, a memory suddenly flashed by. It was the memory of how I died and arrived in this world. I recalled saving a construction worker before being crushed by a rebar. Damn! That was rough.

For some reason, looking back at my life and how I died made me laugh. But as I thought back to the people in the room next to me a smile crawled onto my face.

"Malik, are you alright?"

The woman, Karyn, and the man stared at me weirdly, making me realize I had a weird grin plastered on my face. No wonder they're staring.

" Your dad and I have decided to check your mana holding capacity, but don't worry, I'm sure you'll be fine. Even if you don't have any magic capacity at all, we'll still love you nonetheless"

She picked me up and cradled me, while mumbling to me. I wasn't really surprised when she talked about magic, because in the past, I read a lot of books on magic and cultivation, especially books where the main character transmigrates into a new world of swords and magic or cultivation.

In my last life on earth, I wasn't an important character. Heck! I was a complete disgrace to society, even to my parents. I never got a job and still lived with my parents and made a living just doing odd jobs. In this life, I didn't want to disgrace my parents and I wouldn't let anybody mock them. I was planning on making them proud.

...

It had been three days since I arrived in this world. I was still waiting on the priest's arrival to check my mana capacity. He was supposed to arrive soon.

"Aaah!!"

"Help!"

"Run away"

Suddenly, screams echoed throughout the house as the servants ran around. Wafts of smoke drifted into the room as Karyn abruptly stood up with fear and anxiety in her eyes.

"Why?Not today...please gods, keep us safe"

She prayed to her gods while noises rang out in the background. She pulled something out from under the bed and tucked me into it.

"It'll keep you safe. Okay, Malik?"

She tucked something into my hand...a trinket. She opened a trapdoor under the bed before placing me in it. At this point, I realized what was going on. Raiders, or at least enemies, were attacking the house. My heart began to race.

I just died a while ago...

I just arrived here...

I can't die again...

I have so much to experience...

I haven't even checked my mana capacity...

I want to use magic...

Please god...if there is a god...I don't want to die now...

Please...

Thousands of thoughts streaked through my brain in that instant. I was scared, afraid, and confused. I had totally forgotten that this world was not just full of fantasy, it was also a world of survival and I was already failing my first lesson.

There was a creaking sound as the floorboards were stepped on. I could make out boots made of what seemed to be animal hide and fur.

Please...God...

The bed was pushed aside and the trapdoor was opened. A hand pulled at the makeshift basket I was placed in. And before I could take a look at the person who grabbed me...the entire world went dark...

~~~~~

CHESTER'S POV

I slowly opened my eyes as I studied my familiar surroundings. The memories of Malik still fresh in my mind.

[Memories sequenced and absorbed...]

[Absorption rate: 87%...]

[Skills retained: None]

[Abilities retained: None]

[...]

[Better luck next time]

After a series of messages, the room became quiet again. It had only been three days since we arrived in this world and this was already the fifth death. Out of the fifty people who had been sent to this new world, Xendra, only forty-five remained.

Or at least, the system said fifty people were sent over. I glanced one more time at the system menu;

[Transmigrators: 50]

[Current Humans Alive: 30]

[Locked: ???]

Over twenty people had died but only five of these souls had come to me. But the system said that only five people had died. I looked at the locked tab. I had a feeling that this had to do with the other fifteen people who weren't recorded but I couldn't unlock it so I left it.

My own family had already tested my mana capacity. This was how the system came to be. At first I thought it was unique to me cause I was a transmigrator, I soon came to realize that wasn't the case.

Everyone in this world has a system. Literally everyone. Meaning systems weren't a unique concept in this place. As long as you have had your mana capacity checked or reached the age of twelve, you would be able to unlock a system.

I had my mana capacity checked on the first day of my arrival. This was only possible cause my father was the village head. He had access to the stone required to check mana.

[Maglean Crystal: A piece of Maglean, a rare ore which is excreted by some rare mutated sea serpents]

This stone is used to check one's talent for magic. But one has to wait until they are at least 6 years before they can tested for their elemental affinities.

Although other people had an age requirement, the system had already given me my affinity.

[Attributes: Fire, Wind, Lightening]

I looked at my stats and checked all the souls I had collected in the past few days.

[Souls Collected:]

[Malik]

[Kayla]

[Jomon]

[Aliya]

[Dollan]

I wasn't sure if these were even their real names as their memories only consisted of the present and didn't talk about their past lives. It was as though the only thing they remembered was the things they loved and how they died.

Malik had died to a bunch of raiders, or at least that's what he thought, but from how I saw it, his family was obviously sabotaged.

Kayla had died due to a beast tide which had mauled her and her whole village to death on the same day she arrived.

The boy, Jomon, was somewhat unlucky. He was poisoned by the maid, who helped deliver him.

Aliya was also killed by beasts that strayed into the village.

Dollan had been the first to die and his death was the quickest and most mysterious. Him and his family were crushed, in an avalanche, caused by a mage.

Their deaths only went to show me that this place was unlike earth and you could die at any moment. I had to grow up and get stronger quickly and to do that, I could only continue training my mana.

I obtained the mana breathing technique from Aliya. Soon after she was born, her father had moved the mana in her body to expel impurities and make her body purer and more susceptible to magic.

[Inferior Mana Breathing Technique]

This technique was commonly used to increase the chances of a child becoming a mage, but the increase was very slow. Of course, to a child like me, the increase is enough.

I stared out the window next to me, as the smell of fresh grass and fruit wafted in. My mouth began to water. I stared at the blue sky as I thought about what the situations of others were. I wasn't exactly praying for everyone to survive as that would've been impractical, but I was hoping that a reasonable amount would survive.

I knew that right now, I was weak and vulnerable and the deaths I had seen had already reminded me that death is inevitable, and as such I wasn't expecting to survive like some sort of main character. In fact, I wasn't hoping to survive. I had already died once and I wasn't sure if I wanted to go through life again.

I didn't know why I thought this way though. It was just an instinct. Like my soul telling me to throw myself off the window. Maybe something from my past life...

~~~~~

Out in the void once again,

"Nothing interesting yet. Can't believe those ones died off like that. Hahahaha!"

"These little ones are so entertaining. I can't believe that one thought he was some sort of protagonist."

"Praying to me to save him...that's the dumbest idea I've heard. I put you in there for entertainment. You should be happy to serve your purpose to me. It's quite an honor"

The voice rang out wildly once again. The feminine voice also returned;

"How many are dead now?"

"Just five"

"Hmm...any interesting characters?"

"Just one, for now. He obtained all five dead souls"

"I see. Is he in any immediate danger?"

"Well obviously.....the more souls you can collect, the closer you are to death"

"I see"

The conversation ended and the void returned to normal...