Chapter 8 - New World

During his short stay in the mortal world, Yuki had tried to comprehend the concept of all life being a part of a game. It was such a fascinating but depressing phenomenon. People kept looking for a meaning to life but could never find a conclusive answer. After all, you can't find what doesn't exist.

Just like the entity that created the reincarnation game, Yuki planned to create a game of his own.

"Hey, Zero. I have a small favor to ask of you," said Yuki.

Yuki briefly explained to Zero what type of game he would like to create and asked for his assistance.

"So would you be able to do that for me?" Yuki asked.

"Of course Master, your wish is my command," replied Zero.

"It shall only take a moment."

After saying that, Zero's voice disappeared.

Suddenly, planet earth began to change. Every structure was removed. Next, the oceans became replaced by solid ground. Lastly, all creatures except human beings left the planet. It was as if the planet had restarted completely from scratch.

After all the preparations were made, Zero set up a hologram of a cloaked man within every 500-meter radius. Once he had acquired everyone's attention, he made each one of the holograms speak simultaneously.

"Welcome to your new planet."

"Your main goal here is to defeat the monsters scattered here as well as looting dungeons."

"Each monster you kill gives you a certain amount of exp. You'll earn more exp the stronger a monster is. The exp you earn will allow you to level up which in turn will increase your stats. The maximum level you can achieve is 100, however, the first person to reach it breaks their limiter. They will be able to level up an infinite amount of times if they choose to do so, making them stand above all others."

"This is basically like an open-world video game. You will also have a special ability. You can choose what you want it to be and how it functions. However, it will be limited depending on what level you are at. This ability can be changed every 2 weeks and never before that cooldown ends."

"One last thing you should know is that if you die, there is no respawn option. Death still works the same as it used to previously."

"You can figure out the rest on your own. Happy hunting!"

After giving his speech, Zero made all of the holograms disappear.

Everyone was left with a blank face. They still hadn't fully understood what their situation was. They still had so many questions they wanted to ask. Their lives were completely disturbed.

Some tried to riot in hopes of making the hologram come back. To no avail, nothing they did made a change. All they could do was obey the rules set up. Many began to look for monsters to kill. Everyone wanted to level up as fast as possible because they wanted to reach level 100 first. After all, the one to do so would become unparalleled in power.

Once everything was set into motion, Zero returned to the spatial dimension.

"I have made my return, Master," Zero announced.

"Everything is prepared as you asked."

Yuki looked pleased.

"Thank you, Zero."

"I would've wanted to regain all of my previous power and knowledge however I am eager to join the game myself," Yuki said.

"I would like for you to take back the power you gave me and return me to that world."

Zero obeyed and teleported him back to earth.

"I await your return once again, Master."

Once Yuki had returned to the world of the living, he began setting his plan to become the strongest into motion. He had come prepared, after all, he was the one who designed the game.

He started by setting his ability right away.

"Open settings"

[Set ability: Clone]

[Set capability: Attacks when provoked]

In front of him, a screen popped up saying "would you like to confirm ability. Abilities cannot be changed for the next 2 weeks."

Yuki pressed the "confirm" button.

Right after he did that 2 clones of him appeared. He could only create 2 clones as he was only a level 1.

Yuki quickly sent them both to the deep forests as they had a high spawning rate for weak monsters. He had a clear advantage over all others because he knew all the game mechanics. He knew the fastest and most efficient way to progress through that world. Yuki also allowed Zero to add in some rules of his own to make the game more enjoyable for Yuki.

While his clones went to collect exp for him, Yuki went around to gather information from people. The weak usually tended to gather together to form an alliance. If he managed to find a group like that, he could blend in with them and not attract any attention to himself for the time being.

[+100 exp & +100 silver]

[+100 exp & +100 silver]

[+100 exp & +100 silver]

[+100 exp & +100 silver]

[+100 exp & +100 silver]

Yuki kept receiving notifications of how much exp he was earning through his clones. He would reach level 2 in no time.

While asking around for information, Yuki learned a few things.

Like any other game, there were NPC (Non-player characters) who sold items.

Everyone still needed to consume food and water which were sold by the NPC.

You could add people to a friend list if you wanted to contact them later on.

These were all rules added by Zero. While Yuki came up with the basic mechanics of the game, Zero decided to add in some of his own to balance the game.

The existence of a friend list meant that you could have allies at your side. Once a large number of people were in it, it could classify as a small army.

Yuki knew that finding strong allies would be his next goal, even if he didn't plan on staying with them for very long. As he kept gathering information, he received a puzzling notification.

[+2500 exp & +3000 silver]

Player Name: Yuki Kaito

Level: 1 [3600 / 10000 exp]