"Did I pass out?"
Slowly opening his eyelids while massaging his temple, Kai was gradually regaining consciousness.
"Where am I?" he muttered, noticing the change of scenery. He was now in a room that looked far more like a prison cell than anything else—mold-covered stone walls, a simple bed, and a small table on which sat what looked like a piece of bread.
"Tchh, that bitch!" Kai cursed, leaning against the damp wall. Ever since he had opened his eyes, nothing made sense.
Strangely enough, fragments of memories kept flashing through his mind, faintly illuminating his thoughts. The problem was, those memories weren't his. It was as if they had been implanted into his skull.
Suddenly, he remembered something and shot to his feet, rushing into a small adjoining room that served as a bathroom.
He might have been a prisoner, but he still seemed to be getting special treatment having a private bathroom was proof enough of that. For a prisoner, he couldn't really complain.
But when he entered the room, he froze. It wasn't a corpse or a demon that shocked him… it was simply his reflection in the grimy mirror above the sink.
"What the hell is this!?" he yelled, losing control as his hands frantically explored his face and body.
The face staring back at him wasn't his. Jet-black hair, deep brown eyes… and this body it wasn't his either. It looked younger, brimming with energy. Where the hell was his real body? The one he had spent years sculpting? His silver hair the damn silver hair that made him look like some noble from a bygone age where had it gone?
The speed at which everything had happened kept him from truly grasping the gravity of the situation.
"Reincarnation…" he whispered weakly before collapsing to the floor, his legs unable to support his weight.
"Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!"
A chilling, hysterical laugh escaped from deep within his throat, echoing through the small cell.
No logical explanation could describe what was happening to him—nothing could explain the translucent interface that had appeared again, uninvited, before his eyes.
[Transfer complete…]
[Congratulations to the host for obtaining the Lava Release]
[Status Window]
Name: Takashi Sato
Level: 1
Skills:
– Kenjutsu (B)
– Charm (Passive)
– Kawarimi no Jutsu (A)
– Henge no Jutsu (B)
– Bunshin no Jutsu (B)
– Yōton (F)
Staring at the panel before him, a bitter smile formed on Kai's no, Takashi's face.
The strange interface resembled that of a video game. He still didn't understand why he was here or who had brought him, but one thing was clear: he was nothing more than a pawn meant to entertain some twisted bastard.
That thought infuriated him the most but as a former soldier, he managed to remain calm and composed, now trying to understand and adapt to his new reality. After all, history had taught that since the dawn of time, only those who could adapt survived in chaotic worlds.
"So what the hell am I supposed to do now…" he muttered, touching the interface. According to the memories in his head, he was a mercenary no family, no homeland and he'd been captured by Mei after infiltrating one of the Mist Village's bases during a mission. In other words, his life or death meant little. Just another NPC fallen in battle.
As if the system could read his thoughts, new lines appeared the moment Takashi muttered those words.
[System] — The host is the reincarnation of one of the Seven Deadly Sins: The Sin of Lust.
Aside from you, there are six other reincarnations: Pride, Greed, Envy, Gluttony, Wrath, and Sloth. Each of them seeks to become the perfect being. To do so, they must eliminate the others and absorb their sins.
Takashi pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Of course… obviously. A battle royale between overpowered psychopaths. Just what I needed. And I'm the damn Casanova of the group…"
[System] — Correct. The more the host seduces, the stronger he becomes. Each emotion triggered in a target generates Conquest Points. These points can, in certain cases, allow the host to absorb one of the target's skills.
Seeing the words appear on the screen, his mind immediately went to Mei and the Yōton ability listed in his status window.
"So that's what this is about…" he murmured, thoughtful. In the end, it wasn't all bad. Still, the fact that the skill gained from a target was random made it frustrating. Working so hard just to end up in bed with the most famous waifus of this cursed world only to have a 50% chance of getting a useless ability it was maddening. But then again, life had never been fair to begin with.
"And what about these conquest points or whatever? What do they do?"
[System] — They can be used to purchase skills, items, and upgrades from the system's shop.
"Well, I guess I'd better start earning a lot of conquest points then…" Takashi muttered, still staring at the interface. "And I should probably find a way to get out of here before that lunatic drains all my life force."
Sitting there, Takashi was done with the system for now. He needed to focus on the new abilities this body possessed he had to get used to the chakra system.
More importantly, he didn't have time to waste. He had no idea what kind of twisted plan Mei was plotting… he had to get stronger, fast.
Drawing from his memories, he sat cross-legged, trying to sense the chakra within him. Eyes closed, his focus absolute Takeshi had officially taken his first step on the path of a ninja.