Chapter Twenty-Five: A System? No, That's My Twin!
『ＲＹＯＮ』
Enjoy~~
Darkness.
Nothing but pitch-black darkness stretching endlessly. No sound, no scent, not even a sense of gravity.
Yukihara Ren opened his eyes in this void—or at least, he thought he did.
"Am I dead?" he asked himself, his voice echoing with strange clarity in the silent emptiness.
Ren sighed, feeling a weight press down on his intangible soul. "Web novels were right… a dark void is seriously boring. I remember Doma piercing my chest with a huge ice spear… I must really be dead this time."
(This is just a novel and fiction—this won't actually happen upon death. Just a reminder.)
He drifted within the darkness as regret slowly seeped in. Not regret over his heroic death, but purely personal regret.
"Damn it… I didn't say goodbye to Mom properly. And Sakura… that kid is going to be devastated. I really wish I'd eaten one last bowl of ramen before going to that battle. What a dramatic ending for a handsome kid like me…"
Ren tried to push away the gloomy thoughts, but fear began to creep in. Would he stay here forever? Alone? With only his thoughts? This was worse than torture.
"Wait…" Ren suddenly thought. "I'm a gamer, right? Where's the system? If I'm dead, shouldn't a 'Game Over' screen appear? Or a 'Respawn' option?"
He closed his imaginary eyes and focused intensely. "You damn system! If you're here, show yourself! Don't leave me alone in the dark!"
A few seconds of silence passed… then—
A blinding light shone, forcing Ren to cover his face. When the light dimmed, he slowly opened his eyes, expecting to see the familiar translucent blue window.
But there was no window.
Instead, standing in front of him… was a girl.
Ren blinked several times. The girl wore a simple white dress, had short black hair (the opposite of his), and emerald-green eyes. She looked… like him.
In fact, she was an exact copy of him, but female and softer. Like a twin sister he was never born with.
The girl looked at her hands curiously, slowly moving her fingers as if discovering the concept of a "body" for the first time. Then she raised her head and looked directly at Ren with completely emotionless eyes.
An awkward silence followed.
"Uhh…" Ren started, pointing at her. "Who are you? And why are you wearing my face? And why is your hair short while mine is long—shouldn't it be the other way around? Also, has my narcissism reached the point where I imagine myself as a girl? …No, impossible. That's gross and something I'd never do, even unconsciously."
The girl opened her mouth, and a familiar voice came out—the mechanical voice of the system, but with a soft, human tone and no inflection.
"Answer: I am the manifestation of your special ability, 'System,' Host Yukihara Ren."
Ren's eyes widened in shock. "The system? You? But you were just a blue screen with text… And you're a special ability I was born with? I thought you randomly chose a host or something."
The girl tilted her head slightly, stiffly. "Due to the critical condition of the host's body and its entry into a deep dormant state, and because the host's consciousness transferred to the 'mental space,' the system manifested an interactive interface suitable for the mental environment to reduce psychological stress on the host."
"And yes, I am a special ability born from the effect of your soul crossing into this world."
(Just nonsense—I won't elaborate further.)
Ren scratched the back of his head. "So, in other words, you're here to keep me company so I don't go insane from loneliness?"
"An inaccurate interpretation, but acceptable."
Ren looked around the void. "So this is my mind? Why is it so dark and depressing? Am I really that gloomy?"
"This is the 'base void.' The host has authorization to control the environment here. All you need to do is imagine."
"Control the environment?" Ren grinned as his otaku brain went into overdrive. "I get it! If this is my mind… then I want to go home!"
Ren closed his eyes and imagined every detail—the smell, the lighting, the comforting mess.
When he opened his eyes… the darkness was gone.
He found himself standing in a small apartment in Tokyo (from his previous life). Empty pizza boxes piled in the corner, anime posters covering the walls, and a computer emitting a slightly annoying fan noise.
"Ah… my beloved home!" Ren jumped onto the worn-out sofa and hugged a pillow with an anime character printed on it. "I missed this mess so much!"
The system girl stood in the middle of the room, looking at a pile of unwashed clothes coldly. "The host's taste… is interesting."
"Don't judge me… this happens when you're an orphan living alone." Ren jumped up and immediately went to the bookshelf filled with manga volumes. He pulled out the first volume of Jujutsu Kaisen. "Oh my god! I forgot the Shibuya Arc! I need to review everything!"
Ren sat on the floor and began reading with hunger and strange happiness, completely ignoring the fact that he was in a coma and had nearly died earlier.
The system girl remained standing like a statue, watching him laugh and shout at the pages.
Two hours later…
Ren closed the volume and sighed in satisfaction. "Ah… Gojo Satoru is still amazing."
He looked up and saw that the girl was still standing in the same position. He felt a slight pang of guilt. "Hey, are you going to keep standing like that? Sit down or do something."
She sat on the floor with precise, mechanical movement. "Has the host finished consuming entertainment data?"
"Yes, yes…" Ren set the manga aside and became slightly serious. "So, Miss System, what exactly is my situation?"
"Report: The physical body suffered catastrophic damage. Eighty percent of the body was destroyed, the lungs were torn, and blood loss exceeded the fatal limit. Without the 'Player's Body' feature, the host would have died before assistance arrived."
Ren swallowed. "And now?"
"You are in a restorative coma. The system is repairing tissue at the cellular level. Estimated time for full recovery: two to three years."
"Three years?!" Ren shouted, jaw dropping. "Are you kidding me? I'll be stuck in this imaginary apartment for three years? I'll finish reading all the manga here in a week! What am I supposed to do after that—count ceiling tiles?"
"Boredom is a psychological state, and the host can—"
Ren interrupted, waving his hand. "No, no! I can't stay like this. I need to do something. I want to get stronger! I want points! I want—wait, does the shop work here?"
The girl nodded. "The shop is available."
She waved her hand, and a three-dimensional screen appeared in front of Ren, displaying the shop menu.
"Awesome! You're really useful, my female version!"
(I don't know why, but I feel readers will think something wrong after this chapter 😂)(Don't!)
Ren browsed the shop enthusiastically while the system girl helped with filtering and searching.
"I need something to kill time… or something that makes me stronger while I'm asleep…" he muttered.
Suddenly, his finger stopped on a glowing golden item.
[Special Ability (SS) – Reincarnating Souls]
Description: Allows the user to create an independent "spiritual copy" and send it to reincarnate in another world, random or designated (depending on level).
Limitations: One copy per world.
Features: Abilities, skills, and even the system can be divided between the original and the copy. Experience, rewards, and memories gained by the copy are shared with the original.
Cost: 100,000 Soul Points.
Ren read the description, his eyes shining like a child who found a golden ticket. "This is it! I can send a copy of myself to another world to live, adventure, and farm points, while I stay here reading manga and recovering!"
He turned to the girl. "How many points do I have?"
"After killing Upper Moon Two, Doma, and completing the hidden quest, in addition to previous training and demon-kill points… current balance: 127,000 points."
Ren whistled. "A hundred thousand from Doma alone? Wow! I wish I could've killed Akaza and Kokushibo too… what a waste."
He sighed greedily, then pressed the purchase button without hesitation.
[Ding! Ability purchased: Reincarnating Souls.]
[Remaining: 22,000 points.]
Ren felt a strange surge of energy in his soul, as if part of him split off and became an independent entity.
He looked at the system girl watching him silently. Ren smiled and reached out, gently patting her head. Her hair was surprisingly soft for an illusion.
"Thank you," Ren said warmly. "You saved me from deadly boredom."
She blinked, and a trace of confusion appeared on her blank face. "I am merely a manifestation of your ability. Gratitude is unnecessary."
Ren laughed. "You're not just an ability. You're my companion in this mental prison. And because of that, I can't keep calling you 'System.' It's a boring name."
He thought for a moment, then snapped his fingers. "Since you're part of me, look like me, and share my abilities… I'll call you 'Rena.' Ren and Rena. What do you think?"
The girl paused, as if processing new data. "Rena… identifier updated. Name accepted."
"Great! Rena-chan!"
Ren returned to the shop. "I've got about twenty-seven thousand points left. I need something for my real body here. I can't just sleep."
He flipped through the pages until he found another interesting item.
[Item: Complete Memory Simulation (Character Template)]
Description: Allows the host to live the entire life of the character who owns the template (currently: Yoriichi Tsugikuni) within the mind. The host will experience every moment, every training session, every emotion, as if they were that person.
Benefit: Massive increase in skill mastery, combat experience, and mental maturity. Increases template synchronization.
Cost: 5,000 points.
"This is perfect!" Ren shouted. "I always felt like I was using Yoriichi's body and techniques without truly understanding his 'spirit.' If I live his life, I'll wake up as the strongest swordsman in history!"
He bought the item immediately.
"All right, Rena. Last step. My stats."
Rena waved her hand, and the status window appeared.
[Name: Yukihara Ren]
[Level: 32 → 65 (Massive Leap!)]
[Available Stat Points: 165 points]
"Oh my god! Thirty-three levels at once? Doma was a walking EXP bank!" Ren laughed wildly. "And since I'm just a soul with no physical body to feel pain… I can dump all the points at once!"
In the real world, increasing stats rapidly caused bone-breaking pain. But here? Nothing.
"Rena, put 110 into strength, 130 into speed, 90 into endurance, and the rest into spiritual energy!"
"Execution complete."
[Host stats enhanced!]
[Host stats additionally increased due to level-up!]
"Rena… show me the status window again," Ren said happily.
[Level: 65]
[Title: Slayer of Upper Moons – The Tenth Hashira]
[Character Template: Yoriichi Tsugikuni (Synchronization: 43%)]
[Strength: 230
Agility: 285
Endurance: 195
Spirit: 160]
Ren felt his spiritual power swell and erupt. His imaginary body began to shine with golden light.
"I'm ready," Ren said, looking at Rena. "I'll send my spiritual copy to another world… and I'll enter Yoriichi's memory dormancy."
Rena looked at him, and for the first time, a very faint hint of a smile appeared on her face.
"Safe travels, Ren."
Ren closed his eyes, ready for the new adventure, as the world around him began to fade and the simulation started.
[Activating: Reincarnating Souls…]
[Selecting world…]
[Starting life simulation: Yoriichi Tsugikuni…]
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End of Chapter Twenty-Five.