1 Chapter 1 - My luck is rotten... Is it?
Wait! What happened?
Where am I?
It's very dark here… And silent…
Now that I think about it, it doesn't feel like it's cold nor warm…
I'm trying to move- !!!
WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING?!
I can't feel my legs moving, I can't feel anything!
I try to focus on what could have happened before ending in this weird, scary situation. Now that I think about it, I have no idea how much time has passed since I awoke.
I can't remember anything, except I'm a human being and I come from Earth… What the heck?! I have amnesia?
[SYSTEM INITIALISING: ---]
[HELLO WANDERING SOUL #327146908AQY.
WELCOME TO "AUTOMATIC REINCARNATION SYSTEM DX-730".]
… Wandering… Soul?
[AFFIRMATIVE. HOST DECEASED 8469 SECONDS AGO.]
Wait? How? Why?
[HOST HAS BEEN HIT BY AN OBJECT MOVING AT HORIZONTAL SPEED OF 27 m/s AND VERTICAL SPEED OF 0 m/s USING HOST'S KNOWLEDGE. CALCULATING APPROXIMATE MASS OF OBJECT USING HOST'S KNOWLEDGE…
HOST HAS BEEN HIT BY AN OBJECT WEIGHING APPROXIMATELY 946 kg.]
Wow… Such bad luck…!
But why can't I remember almost anything?
[HOST HAS BEEN PURIFIED BY KARMIC FLAMES. HOST MAINTAINS THEIR KNOWLEDGE BUT IS FREE FROM PAST LIFE EXPERIENCES.]
I can't say if it's a good or a bad thing though…
I don't even remember my name…
[INSUFFICIENT DATA. ARS CANNOT GIVE DATA ABOUT "NAME".
PREPARATIONS FOR REINCARNATION COMPLETE. ARS DX-730 IS READY TO RECEIVE INSTRUCTIONS BY HOST.]
I'm not even surprised…
Well, it was getting boring here… Nothing else to do…
Instructions? Please explain more in detail.
[HOST CAN CHOOSE THEIR SPECIES TO BE REINCARNATED IN THEIR NEW LIFE.
IF THE SPECIES CAN GRANT IT, THEY CAN CHOOSE THEIR GENDER TOO.
HOST MUST USE SOUL POINTS, GAINED BY THE PURIFICATION EFFECT OF THE KARMIC FLAMES.
CALCULATING HOST'S SOUL POINTS. HOST HAS GAINED 213.7 SOUL POINTS.]
I don't even know if it's a lot or a few.
Show me the list of things I can unlock with these points.
[HOST CAN UNLOCK 13 HUMANOID SPECIES, 25 MONSTRUOUS SPECIES, 9 PLANT SPECIES, AND 1 SPECIAL SPECIES.
HOST CAN ALSO USE SOUL POINTS TO UPGRADE ARS'S OPERATING SYSTEM.]
Hmm… Interesting.
Show me in detail the cost of the most adaptable of any of the categories, and the cost of the affordable upgrades for ARS'S OS too.
[CALCULATING…
1.HUMANOID SPECIES: HUMAN. 100 SP
MONSTRUOUS SPECIES: DEMI-DRAGON: 190 SP
PLANT SPECIES: DENDROMANDRAGORAS: 130 SP
SPECIAL SPECIES: DEVA SWARM CRITTER: 200 SP
2.UPGRADING COSTS AVAILABLE:
AI UPGRADE: 100 SP
ENERGY SENSOR UPGRADE: 50 SP
ENERGY GATHERER UPGRADE: 30 SP.]
Well, that's sure strange. So humans are the most adaptable humanoid species that I can afford, right?
And what is that "Deva swarm critter"?
ARS, are there any ways to gain Soul Points during my next life?
And are you going to stay when my reincarnation is complete?
[CALCULATING…
1.AFFIRMATIVE. HUMAN IS THE MOST ADAPTABLE SPECIES WITHIN THE 13 QUOTED BEFORE.
2.DEVA SWARM CRITTER IS A SPECIAL LIVING BEING.
CALCULATING…
USING HOST'S DATA, IT IS POSSIBLE TO EXPLAIN WHAT A SWARM CRITTER IS, BUT IT REQUIRES A LONG THEORETICAL EXPLANATION. ESTIMATED TIME OF EXPLANATION: 3456787654 SECONDS.
3.IT IS POSSIBLE TO GAIN SOUL POINTS. HOST HAD ALREADY GAINED THEM IN THEIR FORMER LIFE.
CALCULATING…
IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO EXPLAIN HOW TO GAIN SOUL POINTS USING HOST'S DATA.
4.ARS DX-730 IS A GIFT FROM THE GOD "UNICUM", AS HOST DIED AS THE EFFECT OF A MISTAKE BY THE HEAVENS. ARS WILL REMAIN WITH HOST AFTER REINCARNATION.]
That's a lot of information all together… Wait a minute! WHAT KIND OF ROTTEN LUCK I HAVE!
Dammit!
And no, thanks! I don't even know what all those seconds are in days or even… Could it be years?
[AFFIRMATIVE. USING HOST DATA, APPROXIMATELY 109.61 YEARS ON EARTH.]
I shiver internally at the mere thought of not even being able to die of boredom, 'cause I'm already dead!
More than a century of mechanical lecture? EW! No thanks!
I don't know what to choose now! What should I do? Hmmm, looking at the Soul Points needed to unlock a certain species, it could be that the more points I spend, the more adaptable a species is.
So, the absolute most adaptable species is that "Deva swarm critter" thing.
It's hard to choose, I don't know if I want to be human again or try to be something else…
ARS, is there something like statuses or values to express bodily functions, such as strength or dexterity?
[CALCULATING…
USING HOST'S DATA, IT IS POSSIBLE TO EXPRESS IN NUMERICAL DATA VARIOUS PHYSICAL AND NON-PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES OF THE SPECIES MENTIONED BEFORE.
ALTHOUGH SEVERAL OTHER ATTRIBUTES CANNOT BE EXPRESSED YET. ARS SUGGESTS AN AI UPGRADE FOR THIS FEATURE.]
Well then, please show me these data about the species "Human" and "Deva swarm critter".
[CALCULATING…
SPECIES: HUMAN AVERAGE – INFANT/CHILD/ADOLESCENT/ADULT/MATURE/ELDER
STRENGTH 1/3/6/9/10/9/7
DEXTERITY 1/3/6/9/10/10/7
TOUGHNESS 1/3/6/9/10/11/7
INTELLIGENCE 1/3/6/9/10/10/7
WISDOM 1/3/6/9/10/12/14
CHARISMA 1/3/6/9/10/10/10
LUCK 10
MANA 10/30/60/90/100/120/170
LIFE FORCE 10
SPECIAL FEATURES ABOVE AVERAGE ADAPTABILITY, RANDOM AFFINITY WITH
ELEMENT (RANDOM LEVEL OF AFFINITY), (RANDOM
NUMBER OF ELEMENTS- AT LEAST 1)
SPECIES: DEVA SWARM CRITTER – ???
STRENGTH 1
DEXTERITY 1
TOUGHNESS 1
INTELLIGENCE 1
WISDOM 1
CHARISMA 1
LUCK 30
MANA 1
LIFE FORCE 10
SPECIAL FEATURES EXTREME ADAPTABILITY, HIVE MIND, MYSTERIOUS
ABSORPTION, KARMIC FLAME EMBER.]
Interesting… What is the average for every characteristic?
[INSUFFICIENT DATA. ARS CANNOT GIVE DATA ABOUT "AVERAGE FOR CHARACTERISTICS".]
Argh! Damn this "insufficient data" crap!
Please explain Deva swarm critter's special features.
[EXTREME ADAPTABILITY: THE BODY MUTATES IN ORDER TO SURVIVE IN A HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT. UNTIL COMPLETE MUTATION, BODY CAN SUFFER THE EFFECT OF HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT. TIME OF ADAPTATION DEPENDS ON VARIOUS ATTRIBUTES.
HIVE MIND: BODY CONSISTS IN SEVERAL INDEPENDENT BEINGS, SHARING ONE MIND.
MYSTERIOUS ABSORPTION: – INSUFFICIENT DATA – BODY CAN MUTATE BY MERGING WITH OTHER BEINGS OR ABSORBING DEAD BODIES.
KARMIC FLAME EMBER: – INSUFFICIENT DATA – SOUL CAN USE A VERY SMALL SPARK OF KARMIC FLAME TO OBTAIN SOUL POINTS.]
This is very interesting. So probably this swarm critter starts out being kinda weak but has a lot of potential.
But being human makes my life easier…
And both "Mysterious absorption" and "Karmic flame ember" seem very promising.
By the way, I'm more or less fed up of being a wandering soul, unable to enjoy physical stimuli.
Hmmm… I don't remember much of my former life as a human…
I don't feel a sense of nostalgia oddly enough.
And I'm very curious about that other option that captured my attention.
ARS, I choose the "Deva swarm critter".
[ARE YOU SURE? YES/NO]
Yes! Yes, I'm sure!
[INSUFFICIENT SP FOR FURTHER UPGRADING.
INITIALISING CREATION OF BODY.]
And then I fell asleep…
