Two of the glowing panels floated in front of me, each one softly humming with potential. The one on the left already shimmered faintly with the words "The Gamer System: Modified." The one on the right remained blank, waiting for fate's cruel or convenient sense of humor.
But the one in the center? That one was mine. My choice. My responsibility.
I stood there in silence, cycling through the three abilities I had narrowed it down to. Saiyan. Zanpakutō. Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
All three were powerhouses in their own right. The Saiyan bloodline practically guaranteed strength if I trained hard enough. Its growth curve was absurd. I could take beatings and get stronger from them. Transform. Ascend. Eventually fly and punch planets if I pushed far enough. But this did revolve on nothing but hand-to-hand combat and martial arts. Something about only fighting with my hands didn't really feel right.
Then there was the Rumble-Rumble Fruit. Logia-level elemental power, built-in mobility, devastating range, and electricity-based versatility. In most worlds, it would put me near the top right from the start. Untouchable, unless someone had specific counters. How ironic would it be to transmigrate to the One Piece world, the only world with a hard counter, Haki? My amused expression(?) shifted back to concentration.
And then there was the Zanpakutō.
It wasn't flashy. It wasn't overwhelming. It didn't promise instant supremacy or constant transformations. In fact, it started slow, maybe even weaker than the other two, both starting and towards the end game. The powers were abstract. Often symbolic. Sometimes limiting. Would I even have my own? Would it be something that already existed like Zangetsu? Zabimaru? Benihime? I couldn't know.
But still… something about it called to me.
I tried to logic my way around it. Saiyan had infinite growth. Rumble-Rumble had practical, near instant dominance. Zanpakutō? It was a mystery. It was dependent on introspection. On understanding myself. It required patience and communication and emotional vulnerability just to unlock its true potential. Provided it came from my own soul and not a replication of someone else's. I couldn't imagine getting Ikaku's, Hozukimaru. How underwhelming would that be?
But why did I keep coming back to it?
I stared at the middle panel. Still blank. Still waiting.
And somehow… it felt like it was waiting for me.
I wasn't sure what pushed me to decide. Maybe it was the idea of not just becoming strong, but the potential of becoming whole. Of my power being an expression of my soul, not just an upgrade. I spent so much of my life suppressing who I was, locking everything away behind logic and purpose. Maybe, just maybe, I needed a power that forced me to dig into that. To face it. To understand it.
"I choose the Zanpakutō," I said quietly.
The middle panel pulsed with soft, golden light.
There was a pause, then the goddess smiled. Not smugly. Not with surprise. Almost like she had been waiting for me to catch up with a decision she already knew I'd make.
"A good choice," she said, her voice gentle. "Not the easiest, but one with depth. Fitting." I looked at her with suspicion.
"Did you know I'd choose it?"
"I had a feeling," she said with a teasing glimmer in her eyes. "Your soul has always been more… expressive than your mouth." What did that even mean?
I raised an eyebrow. "Didn't know you were a fan of poetic riddles."
"Oh, I've read plenty of your fanfiction comments. You're more dramatic than you let on."
If I had cheeks they might have been blushing. Can a soul blush? I rubbed my temples. Great. My celestial overseer reads comment sections.
"All of my comments?" I opened one eye to look at her, to see a very amused expression on her face.
"Maybe."
Before I could fire back, the right panel flashed.
Fate's choice.
I turned to it, expecting something overwhelming. Maybe something wild. Chronomancy. Gravity manipulation. Skill replication. Limitless. Reality warp. Whatever cosmic roulette was in play, I braced myself.
Then the words formed.
[Perfect Memory]
I blinked.
That was it?
At first, I didn't react. Then I laughed under my breath.
"Seriously?" I muttered. "That's what I get? I already have a near-eidetic memory. I've used memory palaces since high school. With my IQ, remembering things has never been a problem."
The goddess tilted her head, watching me quietly. Not saying anything. Not warning me. Just smiling in that way people do when they know something you don't.
I gave her a look. I noticed her expression. "You're not going to elaborate, are you?"
"Would it really be as satisfying if I did?"
I sighed. "Let me guess. I'll figure it out later."
She only nodded and giggled.
I turned back to the now glowing panel trio. My three abilities. One chosen with excitement. One with introspection. One with hesitation.
The Gamer System. Zanpakutō. Perfect Memory.
All very different. All very me.
"So this is what I'm working with," I said, glancing between the panels. "A system I sort of understand. A weapon I have to understand. And a memory ability I think I already have."
"You'll be surprised," she said, stepping closer. "About all three."
"I certainly hope so. Would hate to be disappointed on my second lease on life." I grinned wryly.
She held out her hand, palm up, glowing softly. She placed it on my chest, and I began to feel a warmth in my being.
"Are you ready?"
I nodded.
"As ready as I'll ever be." I braced myself.
The warmth began to turn into something hotter. The heat kept growing until it felt like my soul would be rendered into ashes. One final pulse, one final explosion of heat, like a detonation of a nuclear bomb.
I sucked in a sharp intake of air, rising up, my back rigid, eyes wide. I clutched my chest, slightly out of breath, still half expecting to feel that intense heat radiating from where the goddess had touched me. Once I settled down, I looked around and realized, "Wait, this is really happening?!
I looked around the room. No light. No clouds. No nebula swirling beneath my feet.
Just a plain ceiling above me. Beige walls without much decor. A little cracked in the corner. A soft hum of a fan running somewhere off to the side.
I was lying in a bed. Moderately nice mattress. Thin sheets that smelled freshly laundered.
I pushed myself upright and immediately noticed something else, my body.
I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and stared down at myself. No clothes, save for a pair of dark boxer briefs. My legs were longer, leaner. Muscled but not bulky. Just enough tone to suggest I exercised regularly. I flexed an arm and saw the definition ripple just slightly. Okay. Not bad. Certainly a healthier body than what I had before.
Then I caught sight of the bulge in my underwear.
"Right," I muttered. "I did make some adjustments, didn't I?"
Curiosity got the better of me. I peeked.
Flaccid, I was still packing above-average size, and I didn't even want to imagine what it would look like in use. I felt an odd sense of pride… and maybe a bit of embarrassment. Still, I couldn't deny the small smile that tugged at my lips. "How childish and immature of me. Worth it."
Before I could enjoy the moment longer, it hit me.
A white-hot spike of pain slammed into my skull like a battering ram. My eyes widened as I clutched my head and fell to my knees. It wasn't just pain, it was disorientation. Like someone had just kicked open the door to my mind and started shouting from every direction.
It felt like my memory palace, carefully constructed, ordered, controlled, had been breached by a SWAT team. Every door blasted open. Every room ransacked.
And then the flood of memories came.
Images. Emotions. Snapshots of a life that wasn't mine, but was now.
Parents. Dead. Plane crash from an oversees trip. The insurance payout had kept me in a modest home, small, well-kept, but lonely.
No siblings. No guardians. Just a restricted bank account and a routine.
School. Grocery shopping. Work outs. Lonely evenings.
A quiet, seemingly meaningless existence.
A soft sigh escaped me as I sat there, breathing through the last ripples of the mental surge. Of course he was an orphan. That felt… painfully cliche. How many transmigrators get this same setup? It felt lazy. Like fate was copy-pasting my backstory from a bad light novel. Like an author that can be bothered to be creative for once.
What really got to me, though, wasn't the loneliness.
It was the lost opportunity.
I had failed my mom in my last life. She died while I was too busy chasing perfection in my career to be there. And now I didn't even get the chance to do better in this one.
No second chance to be a good son. No birthday calls. No late-night talks. No chance to show her I had changed. No chance to take care of her in her time of need, sick or otherwise.
I clenched my fists. That chance was stolen from me. Again. And this time it wasn't my fault. The first… I was the thief that stole my own life.
I raised my gaze to the ceiling, letting the silence settle around me. "I'm sorry, Mom," I whispered. "But I swear, I'll live this life for you. I'll do it right this time. Not for success. Not for glory. But for the life you would've wanted me to have. A full life. A happy life. A meaningful life."
I felt something trail down my cheek.
A tear.
I touched it without thinking, fingers brushing wetness I hadn't felt in years (and however long my time in the void was).
It shocked me more than the pain did.
The old me had been emotionally numb for so long that crying had become theoretical. A reaction people had, but one I watched from the outside. This body, this new vessel, me… it felt different.
It could cry.
It could feel.
And for the first time since I could remember, that thought made me genuinely happy.
Eyes closed, I exhaled slowly, letting the weight of that realization settle before pulling myself back onto the bed.
Alright. Time to see what I was working with.
I sat cross-legged, elbows on my knees, and opened my eyes.
"Status," I said out loud.
A crisp digital ding echoed in my mind, followed by a glowing semi-transparent interface snapping into view. A flat blue window hovered in front of me, pulsing faintly.
Status
Name: Toshio Amano
Title: —
Race: Human
Age: 15
Level: 11 (0/1100)
Health: 100/100
Reiryoku: 10/10
Physique: E
Zanjutsu: F
Hoho: F
Hakuda: F
Spiritual Potential: D
Soul Resonance: 5%
I stared.
"...What."
Where were the numbers? Where was the actual math? The stat ranges? The growth curves? Where were the equations that told me how close I was to leveling up or which stat would hit the next threshold?
What kind of gamer system didn't use numbers?
I clicked my tongue, clearly annoyed.
Instead of numerical values, I was staring at a letter system.
"System, can you explain this letter system?" A screen popped up overlaying my current display.
{Hello Toshio and welcome to the Fusion Gamer System!}
Another chime.
{To answer your question, the letter system is a weighted scale based on race, ranks going from F to SSS class. After a sufficient amount of progress is made in a particular stat, the letter grade will increase. Once you advance from C, it will move to B-, then B, B+, A-, and so on. Each stat is progressively more difficult to reach than the last. These letters are weighted by race. A human at S rank, may only be a D rank to another more powerful race. Other skills obtained later are on a numerical scale, 1-10. After obtaining a certain proficiency, understanding, and comfortability, a skill rank will advance to the next number. Skills (both active and passive), at rank 10 are considered mastered and cannot be advanced further.}
F through SSS, like some kind of overdesigned ranking chart. It felt arbitrary. Imprecise. Irritating. I couldn't help but grumble.
I was a number cruncher. Give me a spreadsheet and I would dismantle the universe. But this? This was going to take getting used to.
"What kind of gamer system doesn't even use numbers?" I muttered, my face full of irritation.
"That goddess obviously knew me better than I know myself, so there has to be reason for such an, arbitrary, system. I suppose I think about it later." I thought to click "OKAY" at the bottom of the panel, and it vanished. Well that's at least convenient, I don't have to physically tap on the screens.
Physique at E wasn't terrible. It meant I had a baseline above a normal human, maybe a casual athlete level. Everything else was rock bottom.
Zanjutsu. Hoho. Hakuda. All F. I recognized those as Bleach terms. Swordsmanship, speed and agility, and hand-to-hand combat. Standard Shinigami stats. Wait I have reiryoku? How would that work in this world? Well, assuming I'm not in Bleach. I'll get to it later.
Then there was Spiritual Potential. A staggering D. Why did that register so much higher than the others? Maybe because I have what I'm assuming is a dormant Zanpakuto?
Guess I had nowhere to go but up.
I noticed my name next. Toshio? I guess it's fitting, the name meaning 'brilliant man'. Wait, what was my name before? I sat and wracked my brain for my name, any name of any people I had come to know. I couldn't remember. I sighed.
"Well I guess it doesn't matter, that was that life. Let's focus on this one."
Lastly, soul resonance. I hadn't the faintest clue what that meant.
"System, what is soul resonance?"
{It is the space between breath and silence. A reflection half-formed in still water. As your soul learns to attune to itself clearly, the distance between you and your Zanpakutō shortens. When your truths are no longer hidden, when your burdens are no longer denied, your resonance will rise. Some awaken through peace. Others through pain. All must eventually face the voice they've buried deepest.}
"..."
"What is this poetic garbage? Goddess knows I loathed poetry and english classes back in college. I slightly regret not choosing Raphael. Wait, no! No more regrets! I'll just figure it out later. Maybe once I do something to progress it, it'll make more sense."
I let out a sigh as I leaned back, still shirtless, still cross-legged, and let the system screen hover in front of me. I smiled despite myself.
This was real.
I was here.
And this time, I was going to do it right.
I then remembered something the system said, that dialogue box said this was a "Fusion system" right? The parallels to my old life were hilarious. I didn't laugh.
"System, what does 'Fusion System' mean?"
{The Fusion System is a one of a kind system that displays your stats and attributes, skills, and milestones. Eligible skills that have been learned can be fused to make something new, especially in regards to your Zanpakuto abilities. The more skills that are fused together and into your Zanpakuto, the more powerful you will become. There are other functions, but they have not been unlocked yet.}
Well that's interesting. Just like a Fusion reactor combining atoms for energy output, I fuse skills together for greater energy. I see that goddess has a great sense of humor. Again, I didn't laugh. But I couldn't help the small smile that found its way to my face.
"Okay, let's try skills."
A chime sounded, followed by a new window materializing in front of me. Unlike the status screen, this one had a sleeker, more segmented layout. At the top were two simple tabs:
[Base Skills] [Fused Skills]
Nice. Clean. Organized. My Excel senses were tingling.
A small box popped up just above the window, like a tutorial prompt in an old-school RPG.
{To access a topic, simply think about selecting it. Your intent is the interface. Thinking about menu interfaces will reveal an explanation.}
I blinked.
"Well that's convenient," I muttered. "Can't say I miss touchscreens."
I focused on the left tab, searching for more information.
{Base Skills: These are basic skills that can be obtained through rewards, repetitive actions, or given abilities. Skills eligible for Fusion will glow.}
"Nice and simple." I focused on the tab to view its contents.
The panel shifted immediately, expanding with a soft glow to reveal four entries under Base Skills:
{Gamer's Altered Mind — Rank: X
Gamer's Altered Body — Rank: X
Perfect Memory — Rank: X
Observe — Rank: 1}
I hovered on the first entry. A description appeared instantly.
{Gamer's Altered Mind (Rank X)
Your mind is immune to all forms of mental interference, illusions, domination, possession, and fear-based control. Emotional manipulation is suppressed unless you choose to experience it. Your cognitive function is unaffected by fatigue. You may continue thinking, analyzing, and reasoning at full capacity even in the face of unconsciousness or imminent death.}
I raised my eyebrows.
"Alright, that's… different from what I remember."
Me being immune to mind altering effects or control is great, but it seems like my own thoughts and emotions are free to run rampant, should I let them. I better learn meditation soon. My mind always running at full throttle no matter what my body was doing? No matter how tired I was? I could feel a quiet wave of satisfaction roll through me. That alone could make me a strategic nightmare. Rank X must mean the skill is special or constant.
I moved to the next.
{Gamer's Altered Body (Rank X)
Your body possesses limitless physical and spiritual growth potential, provided you follow paths that cultivate it. You may grow without restriction so long as your choices are consistent with that growth. Sleeping for at least eight hours will completely restore your health, stamina, and reiryoku.}
I chuckled.
"Of course. Unlimited potential. As long as I play smart and don't slack."
Still, a guaranteed full restore with good sleep? I never had that in my last life. Eight hours usually left me feeling like a corpse in a lab coat.
I did notice the absence of my body being treated like a game character. That means I can bleed, I can die from regular wounds. That sounds, lethal. I guess I'll have to be extra careful. Unfortunate. I'm starting to dislike this whole altered thing.
I looked to the third entry, already guessing what it would say.
{Perfect Memory (Rank X)
Every sight you witness, every word you read, every conversation you overhear, and every problem you solve is stored permanently. You may recall any of it at will, with perfect clarity. Emotional or sensory memories may also be summoned as vividly as when they occurred. You may not access information sealed by divine authority or outside your system's current clearance level.}
"Huh."
That was more than just a party trick. This was better than a memory palace. I could remember everything. Not just concepts or summaries. Exact words. Exact faces. Emotions. The tone of a conversation. The ingredients list on a label I glanced at once. Every single frame of every anime I've watched. Every manga panel.
So long as the goddess wasn't hiding it, I had it.
I gave a low whistle. "Okay, I take it back. This one's way better than I thought." And what's nice, I only remember what I want to remember. It's not intrusive like what Thane Krios had to deal with.
I leaned toward the last entry.
{Observe (Rank 1)
Allows you to gather basic information about a person, creature, or object you focus on. At Rank 1, displays only name, classification, and general threat level. Threat levels are on the same letter scale as above, and is relative to your current power and abilities. Further information may unlock with repeated use or higher proficiency.}
Okay, solid four, basic skills. Better than nothing at least. That perfect memory was going to come in clutch if the universe I was in was something I had read or watched.
Alright, inventory next.
The moment I thought it, another soft ding rang out. A new window shimmered into existence in front of me.
My eyes lit up.
Now this was an interesting menu.
The screen split into three distinct sections. On the left was a translucent outline of a person, humanoid, blank-faced, gender-neutral. Around it were equipment slots, arranged cleanly: head, chest, arms, legs, feet, accessory slots, and even a cloak or cape option. It looked exactly like the kind of loadout screen from every MMO I'd ever played. Straight forward enough, although I really hope the items disappear like they do in Solo Leveling. I would hate to sacrifice aesthetics for utility. I did that enough in my old life. I'm grateful the goddess didn't bring up my wardrobe.
The next rectangular box to the right of the equipment panel, revealed a simple unadorned katana, its sheath right next to the blade.
Above it, a nameplate:
[Asauchi (pending)]
I tilted my head.
"Asauchi?"
It clicked a second later.
"Ah. It hasn't formed yet."
Of course. A Zanpakutō wasn't given, it was earned. Discovered. Shaped through identity and introspection. This was the blank slate. The sword without a name. The reflection of a soul still too fractured to take form.
I leaned forward and studied it for a second longer.
Black sheath. Simple guard. No markings. Just a clean edge waiting to become something more.
"…Soon," I whispered under my breath, more to myself than anything else.
Shifting my attention, I looked over to the right panel. Larger. Grid-based. Clean 4x5 layout, twenty boxes in total.
My brow furrowed.
"Only twenty slots?" I asked the air. "Seriously?"
No answer came, of course. Hopefully certain items could stack, like potions and the like. No size or weight restrictions would be great too. If I was limited on slots, the least the system could do it not limit the utility of the 20 slots.
"Okay… so not unlimited, but semi-useful. Guess I can't shove an entire army's worth of gear in here, but as long as item stacks exist and size matters, I'll make it work."
It made sense. Sort of. Carrying around hundreds of weapons and supplies in some bottomless bag would be overkill. This forced management. Planning. Efficiency. Almost reminded me of Diablo, but not as harsh.
Not my favorite, but I could adapt.
I focused my thoughts on the word Inventory floating above the panel, just to test the system's limits. As expected, another box appeared, a tooltip window hovering above the grid.
{The Inventory stores material objects that can be spatially stabilized and preserved. Items will remain in stasis until removed. Certain items can stack up to x99. There are no weight restrictions. Size restrictions apply to items larger than a 10x10x10 cube. Maximum slot capacity is determined by System Tier. Additional slots, compression upgrades, or personalized loadouts may be unlocked through quests, skills, or item fusion. Sentient beings cannot be stored.}
I gave a slow nod.
"Fair enough. No kidnapping NPCs and stashing them in my pocket dimension. Got it. Also nice that it verified my hopes. The size thing makes sense. It would be weird if I could store an entire house.
I took one last glance at the [Asauchi (pending)] box. It pulsed faintly. Waiting.
No rush. I'd get there. When I was ready.
When we were ready.
I backed out of the Inventory panel with a final glance at the [Asauchi (pending)]. The window folded in on itself, disappearing with a soft flicker.
And then — ding.
A new box blinked into existence front and center, edged in dark gold with a faint shimmer.
{[Secret Quest Completed!]
Tutorial Integration Complete
You have explored the foundational systems of the Fusion Gamer Interface. Basic orientation verified.
Reward: +100 XP}
The window pulsed once, then dissolved into glittering fragments.
Another chime followed as a thin progress bar appeared across the bottom of my vision. XP tracker, just like a traditional RPG HUD.
[XP: 100 / 1100]
I blinked. "Okay… secret quest for just looking around. That seems, awfully generous."
I studied the numbers for a moment.
"Wait. So… leveling up is a thing. But if I can't allocate stats manually, what's the point?"
I focused on the bar. "System, what does leveling up actually do?"
Another soft chime answered me, followed by a prompt that scrolled into view:
{Level Progression Explanation
Leveling up increases total system integration and soul-body synchronization. At specific milestone levels, users will receive:
- Stat Upgrade Runes: Instantly boost a chosen stat by a certain amount
- Skill Upgrade Runes: Increase a learned skill's rank by a certain amount
- Reiryoku Upgrade Runes: Expand base spiritual power reserves by a certain amount
Additional milestone rewards may include perk unlocks, new interface access, or hidden functions. Advancement is holistic and nonlinear.}
"Okay…" I muttered. "So leveling doesn't directly boost anything, but it unlocks things that do."
It wasn't the raw stat dumping I was used to, but I could work with that. Runes, huh? That meant I'd get to choose what to upgrade, just not when or how often. Right? That actually made optimization more important, not less. The vague "by a certain amount" was again, irritating. His previous life was ruled by number and calculations. It's almost like the goddess deliberately did this.
Anyway. Noted.
I closed the panel with a thought. The system HUD minimized back into its small, dim icon in the corner of my vision.
Silence returned.
I looked around the room again.
Looking back to this body's, Toshio's, memories, I remembered that I'm currently living in Kuoh, Japan. I'm scheduled to enroll in Kuoh Academy after this summer.
"I'm…in…Kuoh..., DxD?" Shock could be seen on my face. Once recovered, I couldn't help but chuckle to myself.
"Of all worlds, I get the borderline hentai one huh. Think I'll enjoy it my ass, Goddess. I suppose it's a good thing I have a system and time to prepare. The year is, 2010. The first season of DxD takes place in 2012. That would put me in Rias's grade. Huh. I only watched the first 2 seasons of DxD. I couldn't for the life of me watch more due to Issei. I loved the world building and characters, but hot damn Issei ruins it. Well, this should be interesting at the very least. I already know no matter how much I try, I'm going to get sucked into the plot. I wouldn't resist it anyway. Where's the fun in avoiding the main plot? Plus...
"I've never had a girlfriend, but now that I'm here though, that's probably going to change whether I want it to or not." Considering who'll I'll be around, I'm more than a little hopeful.