I woke up from my long dream, feeling super weird. It was like these new memories I got were totally cutting me off from the reality I knew. Seriously, imagine living a pretty normal life for, like, seventeen years. Then suddenly, something wacky happens, and it reminds you of another whole life that's totally different from what you know. Both sets of memories just mixed me up about who I really was. Was the real me Rekka Sanjaya, that programmer dude? Or was Natsuiro Rekka, this high school student, the true me?
I still felt like there were some missing pieces, even after I remembered almost everything from my past. I've had tons of strange feelings throughout my life, you know? Like I'd see someone on the street and feel like I should know them, but I just... didn't. I also didn't know why I'd get this intense shiver when I saw some pretty older sister walking down the road. Oh, and I felt this crazy urge to bolt away from a bunny girl in Akihabara! Even though the girl in the bunny costume was cute, I just felt like I'd run into some kind of war criminal or something.
I'm also remembering that, deep down, I always felt like I, as Natsuiro Rekka, kind of rejected this whole world. It was like I just didn't accept the normal rules of this place. And yeah, the common sense here was totally different from what I experienced in my past life. My old life was pretty average, really ordinary. Even though that world had its share of fights and wars, it was still a super normal place. This world, though? It feels way more extraordinary than my old one.
One of the big things here is Magic. Like, Magic is totally normal! It just showed up outta nowhere at the start of the twenty-first century. Not everyone can use Magic, of course. But some special few can use this weird energy called 'mana' to, like, mess with the world. Since Magic was a new thing, and people only just started using it, humanity didn't just ditch science. Nope, they developed both science and Magic side-by-side!
And guess what? Developing both Magic and science gave birth to a whole new field called Magic Engineering. Mana now replaced old, limited stuff like fuel oil. So, Magic tools became super common and normal. You can find them in pretty much every house.
And yeah, my house has Magic Tools everywhere! From cooking stuff like stoves, ovens, and fridges, they're all Magic Tools. These Magic Tools are way more advanced and efficient than the old ones. They use these super compact 'Runes,' so Magic Tools work way better without getting bigger. Plus, they don't even create harmful stuff like Freon, which used to mess up the ozone layer. Oh, and you never have to refuel them! They just work forever.
Our pride and joy, the Natsuiro household hot water bath, is also a Magic Tool that makes its own hot water. Even though I wasn't Japanese in my past life, now that I'm reborn as one, I seriously love my bath time here. It's awesome.
Well, everything would be even cooler if I could actually use those Magic Tools. See, besides being told I have a mental disorder, I also have this body thing: no mana. Usually, people have some mana in their bodies, even if they can't do fancy Magic spells. That's why folks can use Magic Tools – they just use their own mana. But me? With no mana, I can't use Magic Tools at all. That's why I'm always making things tough for my family, who have to help me with daily stuff. Ugh.
Another huge difference between my old world and this one is that there are other intelligent beings besides humans! After Magic popped up all over the globe, these 'outsider races' showed up in society. There are the Elves, who are like forest guards. They're super proud of how gorgeous they look. And Elves are amazing at controlling Magic with the help of spirits.
Then there are the Dwarves, who are total master blacksmiths. They can make all sorts of weapons and cool artifacts. They're shorter than regular humans, but super strong and stout. They prefer living inside caves or underground. Dwarves are also kinda famous for being rowdy drinkers with loud, brash personalities.
Beastmen are a race with physical abilities way beyond normal humans. They're expert hunters who prioritize their physical strength. Beastmen are almost impossible to tell apart from regular humans, except for their animal ears and tails. They're the most honest about their instincts, which makes them seem rough and wild sometimes. But that also makes them the most trustworthy race among the outsiders. And they're also super friendly and blend in with human society pretty fast.
Oh, and don't get them mixed up with Demibeasts! Demibeasts are like humanoid beasts, or half-human, half-animal individuals. They're way closer to their animal side than their human side.
Famous Demibeast races include Werebeasts, Centaurs, and Minotaurs. Along with some other smaller races, they make up the rest of the outsiders.
With outsiders living among humans, human civilization went in a totally new direction. Even though Elves can be pretty arrogant, some of them still respect and accept humans as the original inhabitants of Earth. They even taught humans how to control mana and use Magic!
The Dwarves also helped humans research and make Magic tools to replace Earth's old equipment and tech that got trashed by the First Apocalypse. And the Beastmen helped humans learn how to fight and wipe out the monsters roaming the wilderness.
Next, there's the whole deal with monsters and mythological creatures that just popped up in the wild. This event was called the Second Apocalypse, and it literally destroyed more than half of all life on Earth. Monster attacks just wiped out so many countries and cities.
This world's history was super similar to my old world right up until the twenty-first century. Everything was almost identical to the history I knew before. Same goes for countries and how they were split up. But after the First and Second Apocalypse destroyed so many places, now there are just ruins, crawling with monsters.
Japan itself got hit hard, just like everywhere else. The Japanese government actually abandoned huge islands besides Honshu, just leaving them to become natural monster habitats. Plus, the Chuugoku region and half of Kansai are now dangerous areas, totally swarming with monster hordes.
Deserts, rainforests, mountains, and the deep sea all became monster habitats. Some people even believe that mythical creatures like Dragons, Phoenix, and Kraken live in certain spots. Oh, and the wild areas on Earth? They're basically forbidden zones, packed with super high-level monsters.
The old me, before my memories came back, seemed to just ignore all this info. Maybe even without my memories, I subconsciously denied Magic and monsters because they were just fiction in my old world. Even now that I think about it, some students in my school are actually members of other races! My old self just kinda subconsciously filtered those students out and only saw them as normal people. Wild, right?
After finally getting my jumbled thoughts straight, I remembered something. Maybe it was just my imagination, but I heard something in my sleep. Like, I felt this mix of anxiety and hope. I said something. "System."
[Hello, User]
"...it's really coming out." Whoa. I honestly didn't think what I imagined would actually be true. This was so shocking I just... lost my words.
Having a 'System' is super common in those reincarnation or transmigration novels where people go to another world. They're like cheat codes that help the main character do whatever they need to do. Sometimes the system even gives you crazy power-ups that make no sense, making users so strong they're basically invincible. And now? I've got one!
But I'm also kinda worried about having a system. 'Cause, let's be real, most of them just enslave their users. If you don't finish a quest, the system punishes you. Or it's some forced quest with ridiculous difficulty that puts you in danger. What else could it be but a slave-driving system?!
[Please calm down, User. The system will not enslave you.]
"...Is that true?" I'm still feeling a bit nervous because of all those light novels I've read. Systems usually make the user's life super complicated. I mean, yeah, the rewards are usually worth the trouble, but still.
[Yes. This system only helps the User guide the User to take the best path to the destination intended by the User.]
I went quiet, listening to the system's answer. Then, without even thinking, I blurted out, "Then are you just a navigation system?! A GPS?!"