Chapter 1: Reincarnation and First Encounter
The world spun in a dizzying blur as Itsuka Shido's eyes fluttered open. His head throbbed as if it had been hit by a thousand hammers. He tried to focus, feeling groggy and disoriented, but everything about this new world seemed... unfamiliar.
The space around him was a modest room nothing out of the ordinary. As he tried to sit up, he noticed a strange presence in the air, something foreign.
Suddenly, Ding!
[Welcome, Host. The System integration is complete. Please confirm your new identity as Itsuka Shido.]
The voice was cold and mechanical. It emanated directly into his mind, completely filling his thoughts. The message flashed in his brain for a split second before disappearing.
"System...?" Shido mumbled under his breath, confusion evident in his voice. "What's going on?"
[The integration of the System into your new body is now complete. Your previous memories have been analyzed.]
Shido could feel something strange coursing through him. It wasn't just his mind or his thoughts, it felt like the System was melding with his very being.
His muscles seemed to tense, his senses sharpening, a sensation of power welling up inside him. In the back of his mind, fragments of Itsuka Shido's memories resurfaced his school life, the friendly but troubled relationship with Kotori, but... everything was distorted by a strange undercurrent of knowledge, of awareness that shouldn't have been there.
[Host has been reincarnated to another world. Tasks will be issued for your growth.]
A brief, overwhelming sensation overtook him before the System spoke again, now with a softer, more encouraging tone.