I blinked rapidly as I found someplace I didn't recognize. Everything was dark, but it felt like my body was submerged in the warm pudding. There was also a rhythmic double-thudding sound that I recognized as a heartbeat, but I wasn't able to connect its significance to my situation just yet. I tried to move but found that my movements were limited. Also, I couldn't feel anything too well, it was like some of my nerves were dampened, hindering the signals I was trying to send to the muscles in my limbs. I quickly found that I was beginning to tire very quickly as well, it only took one or two leg movements for them to go numb entirely.
I sat back and tried to figure out what was going on, but the onsetting panic was doing a good job of keeping my rational thought process from working. I froze when something completely unexpected happened, all thoughts of panic or my weird new environment thrown out the window. A blue system window appeared in the darkness before my face. Its radiant glow blinded me, but I quickly realized it didn't illuminate my surroundings. The appearance of the window clicked everything into place for me. 'I have been reincarnated and haven't been born yet,' was my first thought and was quickly confirmed by the writing on the system window.
[Welcome, Host. You have been reincarnated in the world of Jujutsu Kaisen. Beginning system installation.]
I watched a loading bar quickly fill before a chime filled my ears, and the screen switched to a new page. I carefully inspected the contents of this new page since I had no doubts as to the reality of my situation. Well, I did figure that it was likely I was dreaming, but even if it was, I still wanted to take everything seriously, just in case. The new screen had a few questions on it.
[1. Sentient System or Non-Sentient System?]
I thought for a moment before deciding to go with a non-sentient system. Having a helpful sentient system could be a lifesaver, but sentient systems, in general, are extremely hit-or-miss. There are plenty of sentient systems that actively make the lives of their users as miserable as possible. I didn't want to take that chance since I also felt that I would be better off going without someone else's voice in my head 24/7.
[2. Which family to be reborn in, a sorcerer clan, ordinary family, or orphan?]
I thought about this for a moment too. There is defiantly some merit to the orphan choice since it gives a lot of freedom of choice. However, it also comes with many risks that I don't particularly feel like dealing with. Being reborn in an ordinary family was probably the worst choice, in my opinion, so I turned my attention to the last choice, being reborn in a clan. If I was going for a clan then it was going to be one of the big three, except the problem with that is that there is practically no info on the Gojo clan, the Kamo clan can easily be taken over by Kenjaku, and the Zenins are okay, but not great.
The Kamo clan is definitely a no. I could make the Zenin clan work, but I didn't want to deal with Naobito, Naoya, and Ogi. That left the famed Gojo clan as my final option between the big three. I was leaning toward this choice despite the fact that there was practically no information given about the clan in the story. I felt that being a relative of Satoru Gojo would be a double-edged sword, but end up more positive than detrimental. Plus, being a member of the clan would make it less suspicious when I get powerful in the future. With that decision made, I locked in the Gojo clan as my choice.
[3. Choose a Name and Appearance]
I smiled as I thought about my choices. I eventually decided to just go with a simple choice where I would choose an appearance and take the name of the character to shorten my decision-making process. I went through a lot of the major white-haired characters in fiction that I knew, but I ended up choosing a lesser know one. Arima (his white-haired appearance) from Tokyo Ghoul. However, my hair would always be white instead of being caused by rapid aging and other bullshit I can't exactly remember from the story.
(Pic)
[4. Choose when to be born]
This question made me hesitate more than any other question before it. I would choose the modern-day without a doubt, but I had trouble deciding between Satoru's generation and the generation of the main cast. Like with all things, there were pros and cons, and the cons were especially high when considering the younger generation. Despite the danger, I was too invested in the younger generation, so I picked to be born in the same year as Hikari and Todo. I choose to be a part of the third years so that I would have a few extra years to prepare for all the events to come in the story.
[5. Which is more important, Stats or Skills?]
This question was a no-brainer for me. I liked systems where the main character has to allocate stat points well enough, but that type of system wouldn't be for me. I think skills should be the most important part of the system and that stats shouldn't be included, but that was just because I don't want to deal with balancing my stats and stat points. That made the decision to go all in on skills instead of stats easier for me.
[6. Choose a Cursed Technique (Note: Choice can affect the balance of the world)]
This was the easiest question since I had daydreamed about what cursed technique I would want if I were in the world of Jujustu Kaisen. I quickly typed in that I wanted a replication cursed technique that could allow me to potentially use the cursed techniques of everyone else. However, the system informed me that it would break the balance of the world and that cursed spirits would get too strong and kill everyone if I went through with the technique at full power. I did have a world around to this problem, or at least I thought I had a decent solution to the problem.
"How about I add a few binding vows to balance the technique so that the world won't combust if I choose to have this technique?" I asked the system since this wasn't the non-sentient system I was designing, but more like a ROB that was reincarnating me with wishes.
[That is acceptable]
"First, all the key plot points of the story are wiped from my memory, but I remember all the characters and their techniques. Second, I can only have a total of four replicated techniques stored in my body at one time once I realize my maximum potential in my technique. Third, all the techniques I replicate start off weak, and I have to work to improve them to the level of the original owners or even higher than the original owners." I said, not really wanting to give up any memories but needing the world to stay relatively balanced and close to the original story.
[With those conditions, the difficulty level and power of cursed spirits will only be about 5-10% greater than in the original story]
I nodded in acceptance, expecting that to be it, but I was surprised to find another page pop up after I went through all six questions and answered them. This new page dealt with perks. I looked and found that I had an infinite number of perk slots and a near-infinite amount of perks options available on a drop-down menu. However, there was a balancing system to the power of the perks I could choose before reincarnating. The more perks I choose, the less powerful they become. I could choose 100 overpowered perks, but they would be pretty useless after I reincarnate. If I chose a few powerful perks, on the other hand, then it would be close to full power in my new life.
I looked through the list and saw some powerful perks such as [Auto Reverse Cursed Energy Healing], [Honored One Mindset], [Luckiest Man Alive], and many other equally powerful perks. At first, I wanted only one or two perks to maximize their power, but in the end, I was drawn to three perks in particular, [Faster Leveling], [High Cursed Energy Output], and [Immense Cursed Energy Reserves]. I chose these three, then clicked the button to go to the next page. With my perks chosen, one last message popped up before an overpowering feeling of drowsiness forced me toward unconsciousness.
[System Creation Complete. Remember to have fun and don't die too soon. You will be woken up when you are about to be born]
Before I was put to sleep, I managed to call up my status and look at it before falling asleep.
- - -
Name: Arima Gojo
Age: Not Born Yet
Grade: None
Cursed Tool: None
Perks: - - -
Faster Leveling
High Cursed Energy Output [Locked]
Immense Cursed Energy Reserves [Locked]
Active Skills: - - -
Cursed Energy Manipulation (Lv. 1) [Locked]
Replication Cursed Technique (Lv. 1) [Locked]
Passive Skills: - - -
None
Technique Slots: - - -
1) None
2) [Locked Until Lv. 25]
3) [Locked Until Lv. 50]
4) [Locked Until Lv. 75]
- - -