First Challenge (Part 1)

"Player Lee Gaon, you shall now be transported into your new reality."

Right after the system spoke these words, black-as-night silk robes started wrapping around my body, which felt like a gentle, motherly touch.

My naked body soon became dressed in a black, elegant dress. The golden patterns on the dress made me feel like it was fairy tale clothing.

My feet tickled briefly, and soon I spotted a pair of golden low-heeled sandals resting on them.

My ears burned from what I soon found were golden earrings piercing my skin, which had never worn an accessory before.

"Ehh? What is this? I've never worn such clothes in my life."

I tried pulling it off, but it was stuck to my body as if it were my skin.

-You can now use the ability: Inspect-

A sudden system message startled me, and I quickly focused on trying to use my inspection ability on these clothes.

-Soul Armor-

-A special armor made from the user's soul.-

White text, as if from a game, floated in the area I was looking at.

"What a bunch of nonsense! Hey! System! Hey...! If this is really made from my soul, you should know I don't like to dress like this. Give me some oversized clothing! People can see my naked legs! How can I walk like this?!"

-Your request has been denied-

"WHAT THE…?!"

I felt speechless. How was this armor? Clearly, they've never seen real armor in their life. I wanted to dig my own grave and bury my burning face deep inside. It was just too embarrassing.

Perhaps I was so busy with myself that I hadn't noticed a person next to me trying to make conversation.

"You! Hey, you, woman! Are you Death? Or are you messing with me on purpose? Huh?!"

I finally snapped out of my embarrassing thoughts and looked at this person with contempt. As our eyes met, I could see a hint of fear and lust in his. He looked middle-aged, with a balding hairline and a nose so red it looked like he'd been drinking before being brought here.

I didn't want to stay here any longer. I needed to figure out what to do next in this world.

I wondered how I should use those starting skill points the system told me about...

Just as I turned around to leave, the same person grabbed my arm and tried pulling me toward him.

"Hey! I'm talking to you, bi... argh!"

Just as the words left his mouth, I snapped and punched him right in the face! What happened next shocked me to the core.

The same person I punched flew four meters away until his unresponsive body hit the ground.

I looked at my own hands, unable to believe it was me. How could I, a frail, ordinary girl, make someone go flying? Am I really that much stronger now? I didn't know for certain, but the proof lay just a short distance from me.

It felt good! I wanted to punch some thugs again. Just one tiny detail about this situation worried me...

"Is he dead? Oh my God, did I kill him?"

For the first time, I'd run into this kind of situation. I didn't know if I should check on him or just run away. But thinking about how he talked to me, I decided not to care about that person at all.

"Well, even if I did, whatever, that asshole deserves it."

But no matter what I said, I had to check if the person was alright; after all, I don't wish to become a killer. Unless there was no other choice.

This was a perfect chance for me to test out my agility. With a single leap, I easily closed the four-meter distance.

Amazing!

Now that I had some time to look around, I finally noticed my surroundings. I was in a field of green grass, with trees as tall as skyscrapers in the distance. But it felt quite empty.

Usually, when I read a story of someone being transported to another world, they end up in some big town, castle, or at least a village. But I couldn't spot anything like that around me. Only me and this idiot.

I pulled myself together, and after picking a direction, I kicked the middle-aged thug gently. After hearing him groan, I headed towards the forest. But as I took my first steps, I stumbled and almost fell.

"I really hate these sandals. I wish I had some sneakers instead. I'm not used to wearing this kind of clothing!"

Usually, in a game, the character would have a suit of armor or adventurer's clothes—suitable for quick movement and battle.

"The worst that could happen would be if I ran into some strong monster and couldn't run away because I'm tripping every few seconds."

From my gaming experience, I knew that there should be some monsters in the forest area. I hoped to test my skills against them, but I had to be careful.

The forest was at least 5 or 6 miles away, so I had plenty of time to learn how to summon my weapon.

"Okay, how should I do this? Weapon, summon!"

Nothing.

"Ehh? Let me try again… Weapon, appear!"

The creator of this game must be entertained watching me suffer. Just you wait until I get my hands on you someday...

I was pissed.

He or she can't hear my inner thoughts, right? If they did, I'd be in a bit of a problem. But so what? I'm a free person; I can express myself...

Thinking about the being who created this place, I felt unsure if I could ever get my revenge.

No matter what I tried, I couldn't summon my weapon. Maybe I was rushing things too much, so I tried calming myself and thinking rationally.

"I should try summoning a system message again." I cleared my throat with a silent cough and tried again. "System help?"

I hoped it worked.

-Welcome to Customer Service, Lee Gaon. How may we serve you today?-

Wow, a completely different voice, gentler and more human-like than the system message before.

"I want to know how to summon my weapon and how to use skill points."

"As a Death Eater, you can summon your weapon by using your soul power. Try imagining yourself gathering energy in your heart and guiding that energy toward the arm you wish the weapon to be materialized."

"To use skill points, you must use your mind to create an image inside your head of the skill window. The game system has granted you the ability to use your mind as a monitor to view your skills, stats, and level."

"Guide soul energy from my heart to my arm? Let me try."

I started imagining a soul power inside my heart, and instantly, I felt some mysterious power starting to surge within me. It felt like a thousand ants were running through my veins into my right arm. My hand felt ticklish, and in a few seconds, I noticed a small current of black and golden whirlpool dancing on my palm.

What happened next was straight from a fiction book. A black handle started growing in size, which quickly produced a shining golden blade and became a majestic scythe.

My eyes were shining, and my heart was racing. I felt overjoyed, not only because I could use magic-like abilities, but also because my favorite weapon had always been a scythe. I could already imagine myself slaying my enemies in style.

When I held it in my hand, I felt like my body had become one with it. It was as light as a feather, but the blade itself seemed so sharp and dangerous.

"The world is in my hands, and I am the world."

I'm not sure why those words left my mouth. Perhaps it was the feeling of finally having my own destiny in my hands. I'd lost that feeling ever since my career as a professional gamer fell apart.

Unnoticeably, a small tear rolled down my cheek. One, two, three... Soon, the tears poured like a waterfall. I lost control of myself. Joy, confusion, anger, and hope—all these emotions mixed together at the same time.

"I longed for this day for so long. Whoever created this world, thank you…"

I believe I was standing in one place for a good ten minutes before I finally managed to calm down.

The forest was not far away from my current location, maybe just a few kilometers left. However, I have yet to figure out what the skill points are for.

"If my guess is correct, I must create a mental image of the menu window in my mind."

Just like the system told me to do, I tried imagining it all in my mind.

Boom

Something exploded inside my head. An image, which I can only describe as an old TV turning on, appeared in my mind. Slowly, it took the shape of a golden tablet, ornamented in beautiful Gothic designs. This left me amazed. I could see all of this inside my mind, and I'd heard that only people with ADHD can achieve this.

-User Menu-

-User: Lee Gaon.-

-Level 1. (0%)-

-Death Eater.-

-Stats:- 

-Level 1 Stamina (+) Current stamina 10-  

-Level 6 attack (+) Current attack 60-   

-Level 2 Magic (+) (Level 6) Current magic 60-  

-Level 3 Strength (+) (Level 5) Current strength 50-  

-Level 4 Defense (+) Current defense 40-  

-Level 2 Agility (+) Current agility 20-  

-Level 5 Mana (+) Current mana 150/150-  

Level 4 Mana regeneration (+) (2/sec)  

-Special role stats:-  

-Level 1 Physical resist (+)-   

-Level 1 Magic resist (+)-  

-Level 1 Illusion resist (+)-  

-Level 2 Element resist (+)-  

-Level 2 body regeneration (+)-  

-Level 2 Magic growth (+)(increases magic stat by 4)-  

-Level 1 Strength growth (+)(increases strength stat by 2)-  

-Unused skill points 10-  

-Basic starting abilities:-  

-Level 1 Kinetic slash(evolving) (10 mana)-  

-Level 1 Kinetic shield(evolving) (3 mana/s)-  

-Level 1 Soul harvest(evolving) (30 mana)-  

-Level 1 Space distortion(evolving) (15 mana/s)-  

-Special passive abilities: (No mana required)-  

-Level 1 Laughing at the death- each second in combat gives the user 1 stack which can stack up to 100-  

-Level 1 - Each stack gives 0.1% attack power.-  

-Level 1 – Each stack gives 0.1% defense.-  

-After the user reaches 100 stacks a special ability is granted:-  

-Level 1 Death shall not claim me- User becomes immortal for 10 seconds.-  

-Level 1 Increased regeneration- 

-Level 1 Increased vision-  

-Level 1 Quick movement-  

-Normal abilities:-   

-Level 1 Inspect-  

-Special unique ability:-  

-Level 1 Memento Vivere- After slaying 100 enemies, the user dies and is reborn nine days later. Rebirth grants the player a new unique ability and boost in strength-  

-Times reborn 0/7- 

I could see all the details inside of my mind. It felt unreal, but my gamer instincts kicked in, and I started to study my skills, memorizing every detail possible.

My stats were all over the place. I would need to focus on strength, stamina, and agility most if I wanted to survive. But what puzzled me most were my abilities. I kind of got an idea of my special abilities—the longer I stayed in combat, the more beneficial it would be. However, it would most likely cost a lot of mana, which was at a pretty high level, and stamina, which was super low and needed to be improved as soon as possible.

Many years of playing games paid off, as my game knowledge helped me comprehend the information faster.

But my basic abilities were a bit puzzling. I understood the concept, but I would have to test it out on the battlefield to know how it worked. And then there was one more… Memento Vivere. Did I really have to die in order to evolve? After all, where would I even hide for nine whole days…