Who am I?
Where am I?
What happened to me?
Run… hurry up and run…
Heart-rending shouts—no, more like wails—and voices that sounded like begging and crying for mercy echoed around.
Splurt! Splurt! Splurt!
The chilling sounds of flesh being torn apart or chewed entered Raize's nearly blank mind. His vision was obscured by warm crimson liquid. His body felt as if it were falling apart, completely unresponsive to his will. There was a bloody hole in his left shoulder, as if something sharp had pierced straight through it, warm blood constantly flowing out.
His back felt like it had been struck by something sharp as well, deeply embedded in his flesh.
I am… Mark? No… my name should be Rai… Raize?
My body… seems to be severely injured…
"Cough… cough…"
Raize's blue pupils were unfocused. Lying face-down on the ground, he felt his body heat slowly being drained away. A warm sensation surged up from his throat, and with every cough, blood poured uncontrollably from his mouth and nose.
He kept coughing, bright red blood continuously spilling out from his throat.
There was no strength left in his body. Even blinking his eyes felt impossibly difficult. His fingers had already lost all sensation. The only thing he could clearly feel was that warmth steadily fading away.
"Boss, this kid's only got one breath left. Uh… how about we eat him while he's still fresh?"
A mocking voice accompanied a gaze that looked at Raize like food. During the inspection, the speaker even seemed to swallow something, as if eating.
"Wait a bit before eating him. This woman's delicate flesh isn't it better than a man's?"
Eating?
Powerless on the ground, blood bubbles drifting from the corner of his mouth, Raize could barely make out the scene before him through his hazy vision. A black sedan was stopped ahead, black smoke and flames rising from it, blood splattered all around.
There were six figures wearing black clothes and black hooded cloaks. Their sclera were black, their pupils crimson. All of them wore blood-stained masks over the upper half of their faces. Strange, crimson organs grew from their backs or arms.
They looked like tentacles, or wings, or armor.
These "people" surrounded the corpses of two adults and a young girl, continuously slicing the bodies apart with those bizarre tentacles, then tossing chunks of fresh red flesh into their mouths.
The girl, in particular, was their main focus. Her body had been eaten beyond recognition—it seemed these creatures especially enjoyed her.
These monsters were known as ghouls, humanoid beings that survive by eating human flesh. Those strange organs were called kagune, vital predatory organs of ghouls, equivalent to the fangs and claws of carnivorous beasts.
They existed solely to hunt humans.
And the humans they were eating were Raize's family—his parents and his younger sister.
His father was from China, named Lei Yun. His mother was from Japan, named Yotsuki Chisa.
Raize and his sister were full siblings.
He had two names: one Japanese, one Chinese.
Yotsuki Raize was his full Japanese name. His Chinese name was simply Han, dropping the surname Yotsuki. His sister's name is Yotsuki Sano.
But now, his entire family had been brutally murdered, wiped out by these disgusting ghouls.
Raize's right shoulder had been pierced through by a ghoul's kagune. His back had been struck by an RC-cell crystal shot out by a wing-type kagune. He had already lost too much blood and was on the brink of death.
Because of the blow from the kagune, something in Raize's brain seemed to awaken—what might be called memories from a past life.
Vivid memories surged forth like a revolving lantern, flashing through his mind like immersive videos, engraving themselves deep into his consciousness.
The sudden awakening of such massive past-life memories left his mind dizzy, unable at first to understand what had happened to him.
Transmigration… no… it felt like he had already transmigrated long ago. After dying in his past life, he had become the current Raize without any memories. And now, this Raize was about to die as well.
Having already died once, one might be filled with regret—after all, he had finally gained a second life, only to lose it before he could cherish it.
But now, after organizing and merging the memories of both lives—Mark… no, Raize—
He no longer wanted to die like this.
Two lifetimes, two sets of memories. His heart was filled with incomparably violent rage and hatred.
Dad… Mom… and…sis…
A once-happy family had been destroyed just like that by these ghouls, leaving Raize utterly alone.
Die like this? Impossible. Unacceptable.
His family had been brutally murdered and eaten as food by these bastard ghouls. How could he possibly die so easily?!
If hell truly existed, then even if he were to die, Raize wanted to drag these monsters down with him.
I can't die! I have to kill them!!!
I'll slice these damn ghouls into a thousand pieces, rip out their tendons and peel their skins, slaughter every last one of you ghouls!!!
Already on the verge of death, the twisted rage and insane will in Raize's heart seemed to slow the loss of his life slightly.
But what use was that?
His godless, unfocused eyes burned with ferocious fury, yet he was nothing more than a mere mortal.
Though his madness barely kept one breath lodged in his chest, his blurry vision gradually turned pitch black. His ears could no longer hear anything. Endless darkness extended its tendrils, trying to pull him in, to tear his soul away from his body.
"…Fuck… higher-ups… don't let them escape!!"
"…Damn ghouls!!!"
"…Die… investigator!!"
In the murky darkness, Raize vaguely heard indistinct voices, but his consciousness could no longer process them. It was like listening underwater, unable to hear anything clearly.
"Mado, this child seems to still be alive. Call an ambulance, quickly!"
"Amon, there's no time. Put him in our car. He's lost too much blood—he's barely hanging on by a single breath."
Raize… seemed to be saved…
---
Raize's blood-soaked body was rushed into the operating room under the hospital staff's frantic efforts.
"The patient has lost too much blood. Severe hypoxia. Emergency transfusion required!"
"Fortunately, the wound on his back didn't hit any vital organs. This child seems to be holding on purely through willpower…"
---
Outside the operating room, a sharp-featured young man in a suit with a neat buzz cut was talking to a middle-aged man beside him. The latter had white hair, a fierce and twisted expression, and a pair of mismatched eyes.
"So pitiful… the whole family was killed by ghouls, only he survived. Those damn ghouls—one day…"
"Amon, as long as ghouls exist in this world, children like him, who lose everything, will never disappear. Heh… I can feel it. This child is being sustained by a kind of hatred I'm very familiar with."
Mado Kureo's slightly twisted expression flickered with gloom and sorrow. He knew that feeling all too well—the distorted hatred and fury toward ghouls.
When he saw Raize's unfocused eyes burning with savage rage, he understood. This child's heart had already become much like his own.
His wife had also been robbed of her life by those disgusting ghouls. When her body was found, it was horribly mutilated.
From that day on, his expression had always been twisted like this, never normal again.
Mado glanced at his gloved hands. He always wore gloves because his wedding ring was still on his finger—he didn't want it tainted by ghouls.
That alone showed how deeply he loved his wife, and how profoundly he hated ghouls.
Amon Koutarou remained silent. His own life, from childhood onward, had been far from pleasant because of ghouls.
He had been adopted as a child by a ghoul known as the "Priest." The Priest was a cruel ghoul who liked eating children, yet for some reason never ate Amon, instead raising him until the Priest was finally captured alive by the CCG. Only then was Amon sent to the investigator academy.
How much bitterness Amon carried in his heart—only he himself knew.
"I hope that child can grow strong…" Mado sighed. Their lives had all been scarred by ghouls. The pain in one's heart was something only oneself could bear. No one could truly understand the pain of losing a wife.
Though Mado and Amon both had tragic pasts, truly understanding each other's pain was impossible.
---
April 9th, early morning.
In a large residential house in Chiyoda Ward, Japan, all the windows and doors were tightly shut. Uncollected mail and packages were piled up at the entrance.
In Japan, where land was scarce, population dense, and social pressure high, owning such a large private residence in such a prime area already marked the household as relatively well-off.
Inside the house, the curtains were drawn tight. The lack of light made the rooms dim, but the furniture was neatly arranged, not chaotic at all.
One could faintly see many drawings pasted on the walls.
The only source of light came from a computer monitor.
"Tap tap tap tap tap…"
"Hah! Ha!"
Rapid, dense keyboard sounds echoed through the room, along with clear game audio from the speakers.
The room's layout was designed entirely for gaming. The desk was custom-made into a circular shape, capable of holding several computers at once. Cables were intertwined beneath it, connected to high-end black computer towers.
A strikingly handsome yet somewhat youthful boy sat before the computer. His pale blue eyes, veiled with a faint mist, were cold and focused as he stared at the screen, occasionally shifting his gaze to other monitors.
On top of his head lay a girl no bigger than a figurine, with short pink-purple hair. She wore hair accessories shaped like directional buttons on a game controller. She had set up bedding on his head, tucked herself under a blanket, and was sleeping soundly.
Because when the boy played games, aside from his hands and eyes moving, his entire body was like a statue standing firmly in place.
As a result, the figurine-sized girl slept soundly, cute like a little kitten fast asleep.
The reflection from the computer screen illuminated the boy's cold, clean, handsome face. Even though he had stayed up all night gaming, his indifferent expression still made him look full of energy, with no noticeable bloodshot in the whites of his eyes.
He wore black pants and house slippers on his lower body, and a black tank top on his upper body, revealing a lean yet extremely well-trained physique. The muscles on his arms weren't overly bulky, but they were tightly packed with sinew, solid and powerful, with refined lines.
His back beneath the black tank top was also a mass of well-defined, sturdy muscles, making it obvious that this boy was not some shut-in homebody.
"Hah!"
Suddenly, a roar from a game character came from the computer. The character Raize was controlling was counterattacked by mistake, causing his HP to drop slightly, though it wasn't a big issue.
Displayed on the screen was a 2D game, a small fighting action game called Hero Fighter.
In Raize's previous life, there had been no Honor of Kings or League of Legends during his childhood. Just opening a webpage with small games on the home computer was enough to have fun, and Raize had found those games very enjoyable as a child.
And he didn't play games just for entertainment.
[ Ding, congratulations to the player on successfully clearing the game! ]
Suddenly, after Raize cleared the story mode, a voice sounded in his mind, and text confirming his successful completion appeared before his eyes.
"Haa~ it's already morning. Raize, you cleared this game?"
After Raize stopped moving his hands, the figurine-sized girl on his head also sat up. She yawned with one eye closed, then spoke to Raize beneath her.
Raize raised an eyebrow, gently reaching out with his right hand to lift the pink-purple-haired figurine-sized girl off his head, placing her tiny mattress and blanket onto the desk.
"You're awake. Want me to make breakfast for you?"
Looking at the short-haired girl sitting duck-style on his palm in a girlish posture, Raize's handsome expression remained unchanged as he asked softly.
She was his system spirit, resembling Neptune from Hyperdimension Neptunia. One could say she was the being closest to him in this world.
"Mmm, I want rainbow juice, and grilled Kaira giant crocodile meat!"
At the mention of food, the system spirit's eyes lit up as she immediately stated her demands. Then she glanced at the computer screen behind her and pointed at it.
"You should draw your clearance rewards first."
As mentioned earlier, Raize didn't play games just to play them.
Because clearing a game also came with rewards.
Raize looked up, and a game light screen floated before him. On it was something like a large roulette wheel.
Each slot on the wheel displayed a vividly lifelike game character—the characters from Hero Fighter, the game Raize had just played.
There were over twenty selectable hero characters, strong and weak, male and female alike.
Eason, Leo, Taylor, Titto, Gordon, Trevor, Lucas, Iczzy and so on…
[ This game clearance reward is a random character template draw. The player has four draw chances to randomly select hero characters. ]
Raize stared intensely at the wheel, especially at some of the protagonist-tier characters and major bosses. He subconsciously ignored the female heroes, since they weren't suitable for him.
"Start the draw!"
Raize silently commanded. The hero roulette spun rapidly, and after a short while, it slowed down, passing over many characters Raize liked before stopping on a burly, brown-haired man with a resolute face.
[ Congratulations to the player for obtaining hero character "Drew" ]
[ Drew: Offensive power-type warrior. Extremely powerful physical attributes. A war orphan, disciple of Yaga. Straightforward and loyal. Combat skills: Grapple Run, Shoulder Charge, Mach Punch, Backbreaker, Whirlwind Swing, Riding Whirlwind Swing… ]
As Raize obtained the hero character, an invisible wave of power and information poured into his body and mind.
Crack, crack…
Raize felt a blazing heat sweep through his entire body in an instant. His muscles and bones began to transform.
His muscles became more compact and compressed, exceptionally sturdy and explosively powerful. His bones grew harder and tougher than steel.
"Hoo…"
Raize exhaled a breath of turbid air. His physical condition had become terrifyingly strong, as if he could easily shatter boulders or lift massive Steels.
Drew's combat techniques were all bold and direct, just as described—a pure power-type hero.
His physical attributes, combat skills, and that powerful fighting energy were all inherited by Raize.
And Drew wasn't even the strongest hero in the game. Raize felt this was already a safe minimum pull. As long as he didn't draw an unsuitable female hero, he considered it a win.
"Continue drawing. Use all remaining chances at once!"
Raize planned to use all three remaining draws in one go, gambling on his luck. The first draw had merely been a warm-up.
The roulette spun again, this time even faster than before. After about ten rotations, it began to slow, and the characters became clearly visible.
The pointer passed over hero after hero Raize desired.
In the end, it stopped on [Eason], causing Raize's heart to surge with excitement.
This was a character even stronger than Drew.
Even if the remaining pulls were weaker, this alone made it worth it.
The roulette spun again and didn't disappoint him, selecting two boss-tier characters: [Iczzy] and [Raye].
Eason was a five-star hero in Hero Fighter, the strongest expert of the Temple of Hero. He excelled in swordsmanship and later fused sword techniques into martial arts, reaching the realm of fighting without a sword. His strength ranked among the top in the game.
The other two were also five-star characters, bosses players had to defeat in story mode.
They were two of the Big Three Warriors of the Phoenix Tribe in the game's setting.
One specialized in ice-based freezing attacks, while the other wielded lightning-based power.
Raize's most desired inheritance was Raye, one of the Phoenix Tribes's Three Big Warriors—perfectly suited to him.
"Buzz…"
Raize suddenly stood up and stepped back from the computer. Receiving three top-tier hero template at once caused the energy within him to surge violently. A powerful aura circulated through his body, and blue-white battle energy flames faintly appeared on his skin.
Just approaching that light gave off an extreme chill.
Crackle, crackle…
Dense arcs of electricity burst across Raize's body, flowing and leaping up and down.
Cold, sword aura, and thunder—none of these were gentle forces, yet within Raize they felt incomparably harmonious, slowly permeating every part of his body.
They strengthened his cells, bones, flesh, and spirit…
Boom…
As the mist churned around him, thunderous sounds echoed from within his body.
Raize felt no discomfort. Instead, he closed his eyes and calmly accepted the combat techniques and skills flooding his mind.
This state lasted for about ten minutes before finally stopping.
Raize opened his eyes, circulated the energy within him, and raised his hands. A surge of power erupted.
In his clean palm, an energy sphere formed, wrapped in lightning, carrying cold, sharp sword aura, and entwined with violent thunder.
"Now, even so-called SSS-rank ghouls… I can slaughter them with ease."
A faint smile mixed with killing intent appeared in Raize's eyes as he looked at the energy sphere hovering above his palm. His words carried both satisfaction and ferocious murderous intent.
Since being discharged from the hospital, Raize had been constantly playing games to increase his strength.
To obtain abilities, he had to clear the system's games. Before this, he had already cleared Plants vs. Zombies, obtaining many plant seeds and special plants, all stored in his inventory.
After that, he played Super Mario, gaining Mario's powerful jumping ability—enough to crush people into pulp—and various Mario-world specialties.
He played Getting Over It, gaining immense arm strength from swinging the hammer, along with a hammer that made him grind his teeth in hatred. Anyone who had played that infuriating game knew how mentally torturous it was.
Then he played Sonic, obtaining ultra-high-speed movement and seven Chaos Emeralds containing considerable energy. He played Meteor Butterfly Sword, gaining various weapon techniques and cold weapons from that game.
He also played the mini-game Gold Miner, filling his inventory with mountain-sized piles of gold ore by the ton.
And of course, there were casual games too—Raize was still playing a game based on Antarctica 88 from his previous life.
Now that he had cleared Hero Fighter, gaining hero character templates, his strength in this multiverse world wasn't top-tier yet.
But it was more than enough for self-preservation—and for slaughtering ghouls.
He had never forgotten his blood-soaked hatred. If he didn't wipe out every single ghoul in this world, he wouldn't feel at ease.
[ New game loading, please wait… ]
"Mmm, unlocking a new game will take some time. Let's go make food first."
The system spirit flew over and sat on Raize's shoulder, patting him and urging him to hurry up and cook. After all, she was a true food lover.
Raize suppressed his excitement, his expression returning to calm. He pinched the system spirit by the collar and placed her back on his head, then walked out of the room.
The system spirit grabbed onto Raize's loose hair and went along with him.
Passing through the living room downstairs, Raize didn't go straight to the kitchen. Instead, he stopped at a table holding memorial photos and greeted his father, mother, and sister in the pictures with a quiet good morning.
His family had died in a ghoul incident not long ago, which was the reason for Raize's extreme hatred toward ghouls—hatred so deep he wanted to wipe out their entire species.
His transmigration hadn't been soul possession. He had been reborn into this world from the start, just without memories of his past life.
Those memories awakened only when the ghoul attack nearly killed him, and his system awakened soon after.
When one's blood relatives are slaughtered and eaten by ghouls, how could Raize not feel rage and hatred?
Raize put on an apron, took exquisite fantasy ingredients from the refrigerator, and began preparing breakfast and lunchboxes.
Pudding emitting a faint rainbow glow, delicious Kaira giant crocodile meat, ten-yolk eggs, snake-frog meat, and strange vegetables like almond cabbage—all of these were fantasy ingredients manifested by the system's foodie tablecloth.
Its function was somewhat similar to Doraemon's gourmet tablecloth, except it couldn't produce finished dishes.
Raize had to cook everything himself. Both he and the system loved fantasy cuisine, so they enjoyed cooking.
"If I have time today, I'll go out and kill a few more ghouls…"
While cooking, Raize casually thought such brutal thoughts. Multitasking, he focused on cooking while opening his personal panel to check his stats.
---
『Name』: Raize
『Race』: Human
『Strength』: 80 (Power output) [+20]
『Constitution』: 90 (Vitality, defense, stamina, abnormal resistance, etc.) [+20]
『Agility』: 86 (Movement speed, attack speed) [+20]
『Spirit』: 270 (mental activity, willpower, neural reaction speed, perception) [+20]
『Energy』: 260 (an energy produced by mixing with vitality and refining absorbed external energy; it can enhance physical attributes)
[Note: For ordinary adult humans, aside from energy, all attributes fluctuate around 3.5]
『Technique』: Eightfold Thunder Annihilation, Eightfold Thunder Desolation Judgment
『Abilities』: All-Rounder, Weapon Mastery, Ultra-High-Speed Movement, Lightning Manipulation, Frost Manipulation, Flame Control
---
The lightning-attribute techniques were taught to him by the system. Weapon Mastery was the explosive weapon-usage technique he obtained after clearing Meteor Butterfly Sword. Ultra-High-Speed Movement came from Sonic.
Lightning and frost manipulation came from Iczzy and Raye from the Hero Fighter just now.
Flame Control was an ability he gained after consuming a Fire Flower from the Super Mario world.
Not only abilities—his backpack also stored many items obtained from games, such as plants from Plants vs. Zombies, as well as coins, Fire Flowers, mushrooms, super stars, and similar items from Super Mario.
"Raize, your strength is more than enough to deal with those ghouls, but don't use a life-risking power like Eightfold Thunder Annihilation recklessly."
The tiny system spirit sat on the dining table, happily eating her food. There were still crumbs stuck to her mouth as she looked up at Raize and spoke.
Eightfold Thunder Annihilation was a lightning-attribute technique taught by the system, but using it carelessly would cause internal injuries to the user's body.
Raize's physique was relatively well-suited to this lightning technique, but overly intense use would consume his own life force.
However, Raize wasn't worried. As long as he kept playing games, he would eventually obtain some sacred medicines for healing that could treat his body.
"Got it. My life doesn't belong to me alone. The body, hair, and skin are given by my parents—I can't waste them casually."
Crunch, crunch.
Raize happily ate the fantasy ingredients. These ingredients that didn't exist on Earth were unbelievably delicious. When the meat entered his mouth, the chewiness and elasticity were just right. The rich flavor filled his entire mouth, stimulating every cell.
With just one bite of the tightly textured Kaira Giant Crocodile meat, juices would continuously gush out like a flood.
After a satisfying breakfast, Raize prepared plenty of food as lunch boxes. After changing into his school uniform and letting the system spirit merge into his body, he headed out.