Yeah, that's definitely me, same black hair, purple eyes and fair complexion. My face looks younger though, and I'm shorter. My face also looks way healthier, same goes for my body.
I've actually got some meat on my bones, my skin is a lot clearer, the dark circles under my eyes are gone, my cheeks don't look as hollow and sunken, and my stress lines have disappeared too.
"Is this really reincarnation? Like in those Isekai anime? Am I in another world?" I wondered in bemusement.
What the...fuck?! Who said that?!
I jumped slightly as a holographic screen suddenly appeared before me, stumbling back a bit in bewilderment.
It's the same voice I heard when I was dying, it's speaking directly into my head. Then, that wasn't a hallucination?
"Uh...I would like to know what the fuck is going on, actually. What is this?" I responded incredulously.
"Yeah, not exactly what I meant, but, uh...thank you?" I responded uncertainly.
Okay, uh, sure. Like this? So, uh...who are you?
Yeah, not gonna lie, this whole situation is more than a little perplexing. I'm having some trouble processing and wrapping my head around, well...whatever the hell's going on.
But I suppose I might as well go with the flow and play along, that may just be the fastest way to get some actual answers here.
Alright, AI lady, let's do this. A name, huh? Let me think...well, since you're an AI, how about we just go with Ai?
Okay, I can do without the sass. And it's fine, who cares? Plus, it kinda rhymes with my name, Kai.
Wait, do I still have the same name?
"Wait, what Magical powers? Also, you said I'm in the future of the same world, right? But this world doesn't have Magic and stuff-...well, I suppose the fact that I'm talking to an AI in my head is far from normal, but it feels more Sci-Fi or Cyberpunk than Magical."
What exactly does that mean?
Is...is that safe? That won't, like, fry my brain or something, will it?
Well, in that case...alright, fine, do it. Update my memories or whatever.
My eyes widened as a massive amount of information flooded into my mind, a sensation like I'd never felt before gripping my brain, before I began processing the information piece by piece.
In 2050, mysterious towers called Dungeons began rising up all over the world. And inside the Dungeons, were Monsters. They invaded the world, slaughtering millions upon millions of people.
But before long, humans began to evolve, gaining fantastical powers. Those who awakened to these powers were called Hunters.
However, the Hunters weren't enough to fully combat the threat posed by the Monsters, all they could do was slow the advance of humanity's impending extinction.
Then, a group was formed and tasked with carrying out a project to save humanity, the Sanctuary Project.
Technology was created that helped detect the areas where Dungeons were most likely to rise up in, as well as areas where the appearance of any Dungeons would be improbable.
Eight such locations were chosen for the Sanctuary Project, which entailed the creation of massive dome-like structures in which what was left of humanity could take refuge in.
Eight Sanctuaries were created, one each in North America, South America, Europe and Australia, and two each in Asia and Africa.
The Sanctuary Project was completed in the year 2100, each big enough to house a population of a hundred million people.
But with humanity's numbers having dwindled so drastically, by the time the project was complete, there were only enough people left for about thirty-five to forty million in each Sanctuary.
With the safety and security provided by the Sanctuaries, the Hunters were able to fight the Monsters a lot more effectively, and steadily eliminated the Monsters that were now roaming the lands outside of the Sanctuaries.
Additionally, thanks to the relative safety and security from Sanctuaries, technology soon began progressing in leaps and bounds
And in the year 2120, a form of technology was created to help stabilize and fine-tune the powers that Hunters possess, using a process called Tabulization, which organized the output of their powers into techniques called Skills and Spells.
By 2140, the majority of the Monsters that had once swarmed the planet had been eliminated, but the Dungeons continued to rise with steady regularity.
Hunters were tasked with raiding and conquering the Dungeons before the Monsters could venture out into the world, an occurrence that's known as a Stampede.
Those who become Hunters awaken their powers during puberty, which is simply referred to as Awakening, with such individuals referred to as the Awakened.
After a person experiences an Awakening, they get assessed by an organization known as the Hunters Union, where they then go through the Tabulization process to stabilize their powers.
After that, the Awakened have to pass a one year course at an institution known as the Hunters Academy, in order to obtain a Hunter License...
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The information being poured into my mind felt near-endless, as I then proceeded to process information about the current state of society.
What life was like in the Sanctuaries, the advancements in technology, how the world was governed in the current era, all of it.
I'm nearly a hundred and fifty years into the future, and naturally, so much has changed, the world as it is now is unrecognizable from what it was during the era I lived in, but at the same time, a lot of things are still the same.
I suppose no matter how much the world changes, there will always be some parts of humanity than never change...