4. Alive Once Again (1)

Haruki stretched as he yawned. That was the best sleep had had in a while.

The sound of the alarm prevented him from recalling the peaceful sleep he had just as he stood up to turn it off.

It was just then that he remembered everything.

He remembered his previous life.

His parents. His struggles

His death.

"H-How is this possible?"

Haruki quickly patted himself and pinched his cheeks to see if he was still dreaming. He subconsciously ran to the nearest bathroom as he recognised the face looking back at him.

"It really is me... But how?"

This face was different from the pale face he had when he was sick. It had the flushed cheeks of a healthy person.

[Booting Up...]

[Error Detected...]

[System Damaged...]

[Recalibrating...]

[Booting Up...1%...17%... 56%]

Haruki looked at the blue hologram like screen that floated in front of him. He tried to touch it, only for his hand to phase right through.

"Is this a system?"

Even though Haruki had spent most of his days studying, he did take some time to distract himself with other things.

Anime, manhua and light novels were some of the few things he entertained himself with.

"Have a transmigrated?"

As soon as he made this assumption, a searing pain passed through his head. A new series of memories made their way into his head. He clenched his teeth as he waited for the pain to end.

"Haa... haa..."

Haruki panted as soon as the process finished. He sat on the toilet seat as he tried to catch his breath.

Before Haruki could glimpse at the memories, the blue screen flashed a blue light as it updated.

[STATUS :

Name: Haruki

Lv: 1

Age: 15

STATS:

Str: 10

Vit: 11

Dex: 10

Agi: 9

Int: 27

Titles: [The Prodigy]

Traits: [Locked

Skills:

Items: Newbie Gift

Comment: A mind vastly superior to its body]

"These are my stats? What do they mean?"

While Haruki could figure out what his stats meant, he did not know if they were good, bad or average.

His intelligence had always been vastly superior to those around him, and it made sense that it was higher than his other stats. He skimmed over Traits as it was locked.

His title confused him even more. He didn't know if he had gained it because of his intelligence, his achievements or if it was a gift from the system.

Haruki tried in vain to get the system to explain these figures. The only thing that had reacted was the newbie gift.

"Give me the newbie gift."

[Do You Want To Receive The Newbie Gift? (Y/N)]

It was quite straightforward.

If only someone had been around to hear the other ways Haruki had tried to command the system.

At first, Haruki had tried to click the screen before simply saying yes.

[Gained: Training Field]

[Training Field: Summons a safe zone the player can use to train and practice his skills and abilities. Not accessible during combat]

[Gained: Experience Boost Potion]

[Experience Boost Potion: A consumable potion that increases the player's experience gain for a limited time]

[Gained: Teleportation Scroll]

[Teleportation Scroll: Teleports the player to a safe zone]

Haruki read all of this with increasing confusion. A scroll and an elixir appeared in his hands.

"Store?"

The items disappeared and their words appeared in the Item tab along with the [Training Space].

The only thing that caught Haruki was the description of the training space.

"Not accessible during combat? When would I ever find myself in such a scenario?"

Haruki sighed as he tried to think, only for him to realise that the alarm was still going off.

As Haruki walked up the stairs to his 'bedroom', he thought about the memories he had gained.

The body he had possessed.

They had shared the same names and even had the same body and features.

The only difference was their lifestyles and personalities. The Haruki of this world was also a genius, but unlike his counterpart, he did not feel the need to study. Despite this, he sat with above average marks in every subject.

He had a few people he could call friends but didn't necessarily like to bother himself with other people. He enjoyed spending most of his time alone, whether it be reading or even just sleeping.

This Haruki also loved his parents. And unlike his, this Haruki's parents got along really well. The only reason they were not here was because they had gone away for the weekend with his little sister.

This Haruki did not want to go and insisted on staying on his own. It was then that he met his untimely demise.

Haruki couldn't help but feel a little jealous. He couldn't help but think of how his own life had ended.

To think that in a different world, in a different timeline, a version of him lived what he thought was a way better life than his.

They were so similar and yet quite different.