I AM RUDEUS

The antiseptic smell of hospitals still haunted my nostrils when my eyes fluttered open. Rough-hewn wooden beams swam into focus above me, their uneven surface starkly different from the sterile white ceilings I'd stared at for nine years. A cold sweat broke across my brow as my fingers dug into scratchy wool blankets.

"Operation... the transplant..." My voice came out all wrong - high-pitched and trembling.

The metallic tang of blood cut through the herbal scent of drying medicinal plants as I turned my head. My hospital gown rasped against starched sheets, the sound drowned out by the clink of chainmail. The woman standing guard wore less armor than fabric - crimson silks clinging to curves that would make a succubus blush. Her single amber eye narrowed beneath the eyepatch as a black-furred tail twitched impatiently behind her.

For one hysterical moment, I wondered if the anesthesia had triggered some final, elaborate hallucination. Then her claw-tipped gauntlet thrust a sealed parchment against my chest.

"Read. Now." The command brooked no argument, her voice like a whetstone dragging across steel.

The wax seal shattered like my fragile grasp on reality. As my eyes raced across the flowing script - words about demon continents and sword sanctums - a dam burst in my mind.

Flash. A red-haired woman's laugh as she cradled a newborn.

Flash. Green light erupting from a child's hands during bath time.

Flash. Pages upon pages of magical equations scrawled in a childish hand.

My breathing turned shallow, the parchment crumpling in shaking hands. Through the warped glass window, a ghost stared back - messy brown hair framing wide, terrified green eyes that didn't belong to me. The reflection mouthed words in perfect sync:

"I am Rudeus Greyrat."

The bed creaked as the cat-eared warrior leaned closer, her breath smelling of spiced wine. "You look like you've seen a death god, brat."

Before I could formulate a lie, the world twisted.

DING!

Golden light etched fractal patterns across my vision. A massive wheel materialized, its glowing segments labeled with impossible promises: [Zanpakuto], [Omnitrix], [Death Note]... My pulse quickened at the sight of [Excalibur] gleaming beside [Dragon Slayer Lacrima]. At the center, blood-red text pulsed:

[GACHA SYSTEM v1.0]

[Convert mana to alter fate]

"Of course," I choked out a laugh bordering on hysteria. "I cheat death just to get isekai'd into a gacha hell."

Memories surfaced unbidden - sterile rooms, beeping monitors, parents whispering "terminal" when they thought I slept. My fist clenched. However cruel this joke was, that spinning wheel represented something I'd never truly had before.

A chance.

The warrior woman stiffened as I reached out with trembling fingers. "What are you-"

Her words drowned in the wheel's deafening spin. Segments blurred into a kaleidoscope of possibilities, each revolution draining something vital from my core. The system's cold voice echoed:

[Warning: Insufficient mana for guaranteed pull]

[Current odds: 0.0001% SSR / 99.9999% N]

"Typical," I snarled as the wheel began slowing. "Couldn't even reroll my shitty gacha luck in a new worl-"

The pointer shuddered to a stop.

For one heartbeat, then two, nothing happened. Then golden light erupted from the [SSR] segment as a voice unlike any other shook the very air.

TO BE CONTINUED 

[author's note:- please forgive me for my lame writing skills. I have always enjoyed reading these wish-fulfillment fanfics, so I thought to write one, and now here we are. I am a huge fan of Mushoku Tensei and have read the whole novel series more than once. the story will be heavily based on novels so I apologize to those anime-only readers. I believe in quality more than quantity so updates will not be that frequent but you can expect an update every few dates. THANK YOU ]