Fresh Start

Sector 7, Planet Opus, City of Goud, Slums.

In the city of Goud lay a magnificent skyline. Sleek skyscrapers stretch toward the heavens, gleaming in the sunlight with their shimmering glass and polished surfaces. Each building seems so unique resulting in a stunning display of architectural brilliance.

The city boasts lush green spaces, parks, and gardens where nature and technology coexist as seen by the floating gardens and bioluminescent flora.

Goud's residents are diverse, hailing from different backgrounds, cultures and even planets. Existing with each other in this magnificent city.

Yet in the furthest outskirts of the city of Goud lies a contrasting image, where the lives of the low-class civilians unfold. Here, in the shadows of towering skyscrapers, a different reality exists. Teeming with hardworking individuals, toiling day in and day out as low-class workers. Alongside them, abandoned domesticated beasts, once beloved companions, now roam the streets, seeking morsels of food and shelter amidst the narrow alleys and pathways. The low-income housing in this district seems to reach for the sky, stretching vertically as a testament to the limited space available for those with modest means.

In the depths of the city's underbelly, concealed within an isolated and forgotten corner of a grand building, lies a hidden underground shack. This covert dwelling is ingeniously tucked away from prying eyes, and its entrance is discreetly camouflaged, blending seamlessly with the surrounding architecture, making it nearly impossible to discern from the outside.

In the hidden shack, a young boy, not older than 18, lay. He was short for his age, around 5'6", with pale, scratch-marked skin, wearing worn and torn clothes that hardly looked suitable for a civilian.

His breath ceased, and the tranquillity of death appeared to have claimed his soul. Yet, in a sudden moment of agitation, the young boy shot up, gasping for air as though it was his last recourse.

Moments turned into minutes as the breathing gradually calmed down and finally the boy looked around and inspected.

Within the space, few items met the eye—a handful of bowls, an unusual futuristic gas stove, and a small mirror that distinctly affirmed the success of his reincarnation.

"Seems the stingy void did not fail me. Hmm, let's look at the stats."

"Status!"

[User: [Day Sun]

Status: Weak

Strength: 05

Intelligence: 12

Agility: 06

Vitality: 06

UP: 0

Skills:

Gift of the survivor: A survivor's gift to those worthy of its title. Allows a basic view of one's personal status, basic attributes upgradable in their journey and a small subspace to store their belongings as the roads are as long as they are perilous.]

"Seems legit!"

He pondered for a moment before finally accepting it.

"Name's Day Sun, hmmm. Guess I'll just go by Sun. Seems easier on the ears and tongue. Though I feel like a really manly man must have named me, not sure why?"

Suddenly he was impacted by a forceful migraine that seemed to reach his very soul. The pain was everything but short. He dropped onto his knees as he was surveying the hidden shack before weird memories not belonging to himself started festering within his mind and soul.

After what felt like hours, he finally regained a semblance of control over his body, mind and soul.

"Orphaned, starving, alone, and a junkyard rat... sigh. Sorry kid, but at least we can continue our journey together with some cool new skills and the knowledge of a web novel saint! Onwards to our new life!" The newly dubbed Sun claimed as he spoke to the soul of the weary child he had overtaken during his somewhat impromptu reincarnation.

---

After arranging his thoughts and ideas, Sun finally started taking stock of his situation in his slice of life in this city.

"I scavenge for garbage to sell and eat off that, get taken advantage of petty frequently since I barely had the strength to fight back, finally this city is a lot darker even considering it's a prosperous planet in the universe. Great! What an opener!" His voice trailed into sarcasm towards the end.

He thought considering the so-called prosperity he may have had a chance at an easier start, some form of social care but the truth shows, it doesn't matter how prosperous a place is, corruption abounds when benefits are aplenty.

"Hm, if memory serves right, I still have a shot at taking advantage of my newfound skills." Sun started considering his plans as he started scavenging every nook and cranny around his new shack for anything of value.

Searching around he finally found his cash stack. Not really a stack so much as a metallic card.

"Guess debit became universal?" he mused.

Trying to remember the amount of his cash reserves he finally started plotting considering a junkyard rat wouldn't have already stripped his place clean and no hidden treasures as far as he knew before and after his death.

After having managed to form some sort of first step, he started doing a couple of other tests and sorting out how to best use all the knowledge which took another few hours.

"Okay, didn't think reincarnation used so much mental juice but damn is this a fresh feeling," Sun muttered to himself as he lay back to get some rest considering he wasted the whole first day.

As he kept thinking of everything sleep eventually took over and brought him to dreamland.

The next day came in the blink of an eye and the stirring of the city shook him awake. While finding himself in a new environment and drowsily rubbing his eyes, the recollection of the previous day sank into him slowly.

"Damn, that was real..." He almost cursed until the memory of his skills and the sweet view of his status panel flipped his attitude 180 degrees.

"Guess that makes me a reincarnate ehe," Followed by what was a childish 8th-grade syndrome laughter with a hand muffling the sounds from his lips.

He took another good look around the place and refocused on his plans before deciding to head out finally and get something to eat. It was going to hurt his wallet but he was going to need the energy for his next steps.