I awoke to the sound of unyielding television noise. The smell of black coffee engulfed the atmosphere, and I could make out the vague details of an individual sitting across a table from me; on what seems to be a red one-cushion love-seat. I'm currently sprawled out on a black leather sofa, and have no idea where I am. After adjusting my eyes, I can tell that this is not earth because there are no walls at all. Everything is pitch black aside from the furniture, myself, and the strange man staring at me while nonchalantly indulging in a mug of coffee.
Let's recollect my thoughts and figure out how I got here. I remember going to sleep, but it seems like I may have died? I'm not nearly old enough to die in my sleep, but I have no other ideas as to why I might be in such a predicament. Why not just ask the dude? Obviously, it's because this guy is freaking intimidating! He's like three times my small frame with perfectly chiseled pectorals. I feel like I'm staring at the actual manifestation of modern day Hercules. He has slightly long red hair that's pulled back and strangely yellow eyes. He's wearing a regular office worker outfit with a white collar and has black trousers with dress shoes. He's even got a belt and tie. Watching him like this… his hands are enormous compared to the tiny coffee mug that does not seem to ever empty as he continues to drink it with a straight face, in this clearly NOT earth-like area… I'm at a loss. I'm lost. Send help!
Probably sensing my lack of composure, he stops drinking and places his mug down on to the table before taking a pair of reading glasses from his pocket. He placed these on his face, and a sparkle flashed across the lenses so bright that I actually needed to blink. When I opened my eyes, a large set of documents were in his hands and he seemed to be briefly skimming through them. I was flabbergasted. Just who is this guy?!
"Ahem… Now then, I regret to inform you that you have died and are in the process of reincarnation." [Hunky Beefcake]
"Whuh?! I guess I assumed so. What now?" [Nero]
"Moving forward, I have received a list of options that you may choose between for your next life. The options listed are separated into 3 categories. Firstly, the type of world you wish to be moved to. Secondly, the type of race you wish to belong to. Thirdly, any special abilities that you wish to be bestowed with upon arrival. Any choices that you make will help narrow down exactly which world and time period you will be born into." [Hunky Beefcake]
So it's like that, huh? I get to choose my freaking world, race AND special abilities?! This is turning into something like a dream. I'm getting excited over here. Suddenly, a menu screen popped up right in front of my face. This is starting to feel like a game. On the screen, I can see the three categories of features that he mentioned. When looking at it, I noticed that the 'World' section had features which I could check or cross off, and when doing so; the 'Races' section seemed to have dwindling options or more options popping up. I guess different world features can enable and disable different races from being plausible.
With this in mind, I decided to skip the 'World' section and move onto 'Races' and 'Special Abilities'. When I look at the full list of races without narrowing it down at all by the 'World' section, it's almost too much information for me to even handle. Thankfully if I see something interesting, there's an info icon beside the options to let me read about it. While I search, the Hunky Beefcake seems to be happily eating takeout food. I want to slap him, but I'm in way too good of a mood and would rather focus on my freaking reincarnation. Kay? Kay.
The names are all in alphabetical order. I feel like I've spent an hour just skimming over names and I just barely reached the letter 'C' when something caught my eye. I was curious, so I decided to press the info button. What I read baffled me; to think that such an exclusive race would be free for the taking! It was decided. There was no way that I could pass up on this offer! This race came fully equipped with it's own combat style, and exclusive abilities. I'd be a fool to pass up on that! After I selected it, I noticed something strange. The 'World' section became hilariously limited, I was actually incapable of altering a single setting for it after just simply choosing the race. Does this mean that there's only one world where I could possibly be reincarnated into while having this race?
The race I chose was called 'Cat (Halloween)'. It should be pretty obvious why it stuck out to me. Halloween was always my favorite holiday when growing up. Scaring people and getting Candy~ Who wouldn't want that? When I looked into the info section for the race, I learned that the Halloween Cat was a Sub-Class for Witch and Tamer. They can ride Brooms in the sky, and can summon monsters of the Halloween Clan. I don't really understand what that means, but it sounds pretty freaking badass to me. What's more? Halloween Cats can regenerate their MP by eating Candy or taking lives. Trick or treat? Apparently it's kill or treat. The only downside to this god-like race is that it becomes more costly on MP to use tamed monsters during the day time. It's a 12 Hour nerf, and it's probably pretty intense when in actual practice; but I guess it just means that I'll get 12 Hours of sleep everyday. Literally. Every. Day.
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I decided to pay it no mind and continued down to the third section: 'Special Abilities'. It seemed that I would be able to choose abilities from a predetermined list, and that each ability I chose would cost points. I started off with 5000 Points to spend. Let's make this count. With newfound resolve, I begin to read the list. Thankfully, this list isn't nearly as long as the last one, and the names of all the abilities are pretty self explanatory so I finished reading through it in probably only a matter of minutes. Time is kind of disorienting here, but I decided to pay it no mind.
First, I chose to select 'Language Comprehension' for 1000 Points. With this, I should be able to understand whatever languages I come across with ease. It would have been troublesome otherwise, to say the least; I don't like learning languages. It was kind of expensive, but it's worth it. Next, I decided on 'Shapeshift' for another 1000 Points. I know I said that my chosen race was truly exceptional, but I would be troubled if I could not have a human form and communicate properly. It's truly exceptional for combat, but It just doesn't hold up in terms of social capability.
With that, I have 3000 Points left to spend. Part of me wants to be frugal and aim at low costing abilities, but I also think that expensive abilities will probably be of more use to me later down the line. I feel like surviving as my race will be difficult once I start off, but will become drastically easier in due time; so I don't think I should pay much heed into getting cheap skills to help me shorten the time required to get stronger. It'd be a waste to not make the best use of this limited time offer, after all; I have no idea if I'll even be able to get points like this ever again.
"Hurry up already. I don't have all of eternity, you know?!" [Hunky Beefcake]
"You and I both know that isn't true." [Nero]
I'm choosing my literal future here. The best thing I can do for myself is to properly choose. That's why there's a freaking menu, am I right? Anyways, I decided to get 'Barrier' and 'Daily Candy' for 500 Points each. It isn't because I have a sweet tooth, okay?! I genuinely need Candy for my race. Barrier is supposed to let me cast a Barrier to protect myself, and Daily Candy apparently will let me summon a bucket of Candy once per day. It's pretty self explanatory.
With this, I feel like I've handled everything necessary when it comes to offensive and defensive power, as well as mobility and sustainability. I should be fine for combat so long as it's night time, and I'll be able to communicate with humans. If it's during the day, I should just fly around on a Broom to stay away from danger, or sleep. Luckily, my race also came with an ability that will let me summon a home wherever I go; so I won't need to worry about paying for inns. Not to mention, I'll have a portal of some sort. It just says that I can return to Halloween. I don't really know what it means, but I'll need to figure that out another time. Food and clothes are another story.
For that, I decided to get 'Claw Fishing' and 'Disguise' for 500 Points each. Claw Fishing grants me increased proficiency when it comes to catching Fish with just my own claws. Disguise seemed like a joke when I first checked the info, but when I got to thinking about how I needed clothes; it became frighteningly appealing for its low initial purchase cost. It lets me use MP to create a random piece of clothing or accessory. The more MP you spend, the more powerful the piece is, but you have absolutely no choice about what size it will be, or what it will look like. The stats for the clothes also carry a gacha game feature. While paying more MP certainly means that the jackpot may be worth the MP you pay, there's still always a chance of the outcome being worth the exact same that you would pay for the lowest price. I can just keep purposely purchasing the worst stats, wait for something visually appealing and trash the rest. Who cares if my clothes spontaneously rip apart the moment I take damage? I don't intend on taking damage. I have monsters to protect me, and a Barrier! If things get too dicey, can't I just fly away on my broom? You wont hurt this cute little kitten, right?!
I have 1000 Points left now, and I'm quite torn on what decision I should make. I feel like all of the choices I made so far have been phenomenal. I have no regrets. If only I had an idea as to what might help me feel more safe during the daytime. I guess it can't be helped. Hunky Beefcake is starting to get visibly irritated at how long I'm taking, so I'd better try and speed things along. I chose 'Recovery by Sleep' and 'Enhanced Meditating' for 500 Points each. Recovery by Sleep will increase my proficiency at recovering HP and MP while resting, and Enhanced Meditating will increase my proficiency at recovering HP and MP while I sit down. The way I see it, if I'm riding my Broom, it probably counts as sitting. What's more, if I'm in combat and have my monsters fighting for me; then can't I just sit down behind my Barrier and let them do the work for me while I recover the energy spent to summon them? If I always fight during night time, then I'll probably be sleeping during the day; unless I'm endangered. They feel like pretty safe abilities for me to gain. Technically a Halloween Cat is a monster, I just hope that I'm not on the wrong side of the law simply based on my race and forced into hiding. That wasn't a flag, right?
And so, I pressed confirm and suddenly; the menu disappeared from my sight.
"Finished, huh? Ready to reincarnate?" [Hunky Beefcake]
"Eh? Uh-" [Nero]
"Just kidding~ Like I would ACTUALLY wait for you to make more demands of me after you took this long to choose just that much. See ya!" [Hunky Beefcake] said with a snide look on his face.
Hey! Why even start a conversation if you're just going to be that one sided about it? Before I could make a remark, my vision faded into white.
PS: This Novel is absolutely free to read, and will always be. It is natively written in English, this is no translation. WebNovel and RoyalRoad are the only two platforms offering an official means of viewing and supporting this free Novel. Any other site hosting this content is a scrapper. Thank you for any support that you lend by reading and commenting on the official platforms.
Hello~ My name is Key_Ra_
First and foremost, I have some information for you regarding the format for this story. This story is currently, and will forevermore be absolutely free to read. Believe it or not, we already turned down a contract offer for WebNovel. That is right, this story has previously been posted (by me) to WebNovel; where the vast majority of my (current) readerbase is (reason for lacking Bold, Underline, and Italics across the story; they aren't supported on WebNovel). I'm not about to heavily edit each of my Chapters when posting here in attempts at adding support for those types of font, as that would cut me hilariously short on time to spend writing further Chapters. It makes sense for me as an Author to not put most of my focus onto a mere fraction of my readerbase in attempts at adding Italics/Bold/Underline to only this platform. What can I say? Blow up over here, we can do a poll; and maybe we'll see?
Each Chapter of this Novel documents 24~48 hours for the MC(Main Character)'s life. Some days are more important than others, and henceforth; they are longer. Some days are less important than others, and henceforth; they have two days combined into one Chapter. The story is written from the MC's perspective, and that does not change. Be that as it may, this story is flawed. The MC is the one writing the story, it is not from an omniscient standpoint. It is intended to be as though you are hearing his own thoughts, and seeing whatever he sees. He is not always correct, nor does he always realize every single thing that happens around him. There is also one more catch... If the MC does not remember a particular scenario clearly by the time that he loses consciousness, it is not explained very well. If the MC is barely paying attention, then you don't get all of the details. If the MC is intoxicated beyond belief, you don't get any of the details. The story is written to the best of the MC's knowledge by the time that he goes to sleep. The MC's thoughts are always(/usually) clearly documented, so long as he is conscious/sober/attentive enough. The MC's thoughts are especially documented if they have a major part to play in the story. There is a lot of foreshadowing done by the MC, and some of it is even incorrect... It may leave the reader confused. Everything is answered at one point or another in the Novel. I suppose that patience is a virture. There are also a lot of themes in this Novel. Blame the Hunky Beefcake. Nero certainly does, even if it's sometimes his own fault.
Each Volume recounts 25 days/nights for the MC's life. This part of the series has the full intention of reaching up to 12 Volumes. It's literally all planned. I like to call it "Nero's First Year", but it is not the only planned part for the series. Nero's First Year will follow the framework above, while the next part (not about to spoil names) may hold time skips over otherwise trivial matters. I'm willing to fill in the time skips as Bonus Chapters, but we're a long way away from that topic. I'll probably hold a vote when the time comes. The 12th Volume is scheduled to have more days than the rest, to make up for the fact that the year would have been cut short.
The very first Volume of this Novel was written to completion before ever being published. It was originally intended to be a sneak peak at the Novel, giving readers a chance to decide whether or not they were interested in continuing or dropping the Novel. If the Novel were actually a game, the first Volume would be the Tutorial. I wanted to release it all together, so that readers would not hesitate picking it up due to a lack of content. The first Volume goes over a whole lot of information and events, but it is not as detailed as the further Volumes. It was intended to get your feet into the water, so to speak. Even something as simple as generalized detailing on characters talking to eachother is exceptionally more well written in later Chapters.
If it seems as though no one is reading at any point in time, I will sadly drop the Novel. There's no point in writing a story, if I know how it ends and there is no one else interested in reading it. It's really that simple. As it is a free series, I love feedback. Thank you for any that you give... But if you genuinely hate the story, it's probably in your best interest to move along. Personally, I'll gracefully accept your hate as it will likely help the Novel get noticed more on account of more comments. Negative Reviews probably won't help me, but they might. If negative Reviews help outline who might enjoy and who might not enjoy the Novel, then that's cool. I'd prefer honesty in your Reviews, but what I would prefer above all else; is honesty mixed with an informed decision. Remember, over 80 Chapters are already released. It's really your choice to make premature judgements... I might upvote it, even if it's hate. I wouldn't prefer intensive Spoilers in Reviews without Spoiler Warnings, though. That's what Chapter Comments are for. You could ruin the fun in figuring out the overall course of the Novel for someone else, before they even decide if they want to pick up the Novel... As they already know what will happen. By all means, seriously... Give the Novel any Review that you want. You can be as elaborate as you want, but make sure to clearly warn of Spoilers if you're going to be referencing Spoilers as your reasoning for loving/hating the Novel. I'm certain that others will greatly appreciate your efforts to remain vague, or to properly warn them of what you're about to say. Comment sections for Chapters are lawless. Feel more than welcome to spoil without warning over there, as anyone reading is sure to be on the same page. Literally.
If I choose to drop the series, I will post a rough listing on future events for you to have some closure with how the story progresses and ends. At which point, you could theoretically even continue it for me as a FanFic. I would welcome such a thought. Until then, thank you for your support!
PS: I have no Editors. I'm alone in working on this Novel. Any help with grammer or spell checks is immensely appreciated. On WebNovel, you can actually leave comments for specified paragraphs; which really helps for this particular matter. I have already edited several times over... But I could have missed things. Thank you for any help that you lend.
While I did not do so at first, I have since added anonymous polls to each Chapter. These polls offer a means for you to declare whether you enjoyed a Chapter or did not. If these polls become used enough, I will use them to decide which Chapters need more work. Comments obviously work as well (even better, considering that you can tell me just what it is you did or did not enjoy about the Chapter... But I'm less likely to act on a Comment unless it has a considerable number of people openly agreeing with it). Even I do not know whoever uses the polls, nor do I know when. I simply know the number of people who voted for X or Y. I check up on them occasionally~
If you are another Author... Do not ask me for review swaps. I will politely decline, so don't waste your time~
PS: It has come to my attention that the WebNovel Mobile App no longer works correctly on all devices. The screen resolution does not always display properly, and some lines end up being cut off. If it seems as though you are noticing grammar issues frequently, or that the Novel is incapable of being read, I highly recommend switching to the Website Version; or to the Royal Road Platform.
Without further ado, enjoy the story ^~^
