Forugata Rougen died on a rainy afternoon.
It was not dramatic in the way movies made death look. No slow motion. No heroic music. Just noise, panic, and a cold metal feeling pressed against his neck.
He had been standing in line at a convenience store, half-asleep, scrolling through his phone, when the door burst open. Three men in masks. One with a knife. One with a gun. One shouting for everyone to get down.
Rougen barely had time to react before someone grabbed him from behind.
"Don't move," the man hissed. "Or he dies."
Rougen felt his heartbeat slam against his chest. His mind went blank. He was not brave. He was not special. He was just a normal guy who worked part-time and spent most nights watching anime and reading light novels.
The gunman panicked.
The knife moved.
Pain flashed, sharp and hot, then everything went numb.
The last thing Rougen saw was the ceiling lights blurring into white.
Then darkness.
And then, suddenly.
Light.
Not hospital light. Not sunlight. Something softer, floating in endless space.
Rougen opened his eyes.
He was standing.
No pain. No blood. No body on the floor. Just him, floating in a white void that felt warm and quiet, like the inside of a dream.
He looked down at himself.
Same clothes. Same hands. Same body.
"Am I dead?" he muttered.
The moment the words left his mouth, something appeared in front of him.
A translucent blue screen, hovering in the air.
You are level 0.
Rougen froze.
The screen shifted, new text appearing underneath.
Quest
Abilities
Help?
"…No way."
His heart started racing again, but this time not from fear.
"This is literally an isekai system."
He reached out instinctively. His fingers passed through the screen like it was made of light, but the options glowed when he focused on them.
He hesitated for a moment.
If this was real, then clicking random things might be dangerous.
So he chose the safest option.
Help?
The screen pulsed.
Welcome, Forugata Rougen.
You have been successfully reincarnated.
This world operates under a magic based system.
Your actions, growth, and survival depend on your choices.
Rougen stared.
"…Reincarnated?"
More text appeared.
Cause of death: fatal injury.
Status: restored.
Current world: Arvelia.
Species: Human.
Level: 0.
He swallowed.
"So I really died."
The word felt strange. He did not feel sad. He did not feel scared. It was like his emotions were lagging behind reality.
Another line appeared.
Arvelia is a world of magic, monsters, and adventurers.
Power is measured through levels and abilities.
Experience is gained through combat, quests, and achievements.
Death in this world is permanent.
Rougen flinched.
"Okay, that part is not comforting."
He scrolled through the help screen, more information flowing.
Magic exists in elemental and conceptual forms.
Beasts roam the lands, ranging from harmless creatures to calamity class entities.
Adventurers register at guilds and take quests to survive.
Skills are unlocked through growth and conditions.
This was exactly like the novels he read.
Too exactly.
He laughed weakly.
"So I got stabbed and now I am in a tutorial world."
The help screen faded, returning him to the main menu.
Quest
Abilities
Help?
Rougen took a deep breath.
"Alright. If I am here, I might as well check my stats."
He selected Abilities.
The screen shifted instantly.
Status: Human. Alive.
Stats:
[Physical: 10]
[Speed: 10]
[Magic: 10]
[Mana: 10]
That was it.
No skills. No titles. No special traits.
Just four tens.
"…That's all?"
Rougen stared at the numbers.
"In most stories, the main character starts with like 999 or some broken skill."
He poked the air like he was trying to zoom in.
"What does 10 even mean?"
The system did not answer.
He felt a slight breeze.
That was when he realized something important.
The white void was gone.
He was standing in the middle of a forest.
Tall trees surrounded him, their leaves glowing faintly with a soft green light. The air smelled fresh, like rain and grass. Strange glowing insects floated between branches, lighting up the shadows.
"Okay. This is definitely not Earth."
Before he could take another step, the screen flashed violently in front of his face.
[DANGER: A wild beast is coming at you!]
Rougen froze.
"What?"
The ground trembled.
From between the trees, something growled.
Low. Deep. Heavy.
Branches snapped.
A massive shape pushed through the forest.
It looked like a wolf, but larger than a horse. Its fur was dark red, almost black, and its eyes glowed yellow like burning coals. Saliva dripped from its mouth, hissing when it hit the ground.
Rougen's brain shut down.
"That is not a tutorial monster."
The beast roared.
The sound alone made his legs shake.
He turned and ran.
He had never run so fast in his life. His breath burned in his chest, feet slamming against dirt and roots. Leaves scratched his arms as he pushed through bushes blindly.
The growling stayed close.
Too close.
"Why is my first encounter always a boss monster?!"
He glanced back.
Big mistake.
The wolf leapt.
The ground exploded beneath it, closing the distance instantly.
Rougen tripped on a root and fell forward, rolling across the dirt.
He scrambled to his feet, heart pounding, vision blurring.
"I am level zero! I don't even have a weapon!"
The system did not respond.
He looked around desperately.
That was when he saw it.
A stick.
Just a normal stick, half buried in the ground.
No glow. No aura. Just a branch.
The beast charged again.
Rougen had no time to think.
He grabbed the stick.
The moment his fingers wrapped around it, the screen flashed.
Item acquired: [Super Stick]
The stick exploded with light.
Rougen barely had time to react before the branch transformed in his hand, reshaping into something straight, smooth, and glowing white with blue runes carved along its surface.
"What the hell is a Super Stick?!"
The beast lunged.
Instinct took over.
Rougen swung.
The moment the Super Stick made contact, the world flashed white.
There was no impact sound.
No struggle.
The massive wolf froze mid-air.
Then it shattered into glowing particles, dissolving into light like it never existed.
Silence.
Rougen stood there, frozen, holding the glowing stick with shaking hands.
"…I one-shot it."
The screen appeared again.
+300 Exp.
Leveled up to lvl. 3.
New notifications followed instantly.
Stats increased.
Physical: 15
Speed: 15
Magic: 15
Mana: 15
Rougen stared at the floating numbers.
"…I just killed a monster with a stick."
He looked at the Super Stick in his hand.
It slowly faded back into a normal-looking branch.
"No way."
He laughed.
Not a confident laugh.
A shocked, broken one.
"So this is my new life."
The forest felt different now.
Not just scary.
Alive.
Rougen took a deep breath and sat down on a rock.
"Okay. Let's think logically."
He tapped the air, bringing the menu back.
Quest
Abilities
Help?
He opened Abilities again.
Status: Human. Alive.
Level: 3
Stats:
[Physical: 15]
[Speed: 15]
[Magic: 15]
[Mana: 15]
Still no skills.
No classes.
No titles.
Just raw stats.
"So I am strong now, but still basically empty."
He looked around the forest again.
"If this world is like every isekai ever, then there should be a town, a guild, and probably a demon king somewhere."
A new notification appeared.
Main Quest Unlocked:
Survive in Arvelia.
Rougen sighed.
"That is the most vague quest I have ever seen."
He stood up.
The fear from earlier was still there, but something else had replaced part of it.
Excitement.
He was not dead.
He was not trapped in a hospital bed.
He had a system. A world. A second chance.
He clenched his fist.
"Forugata Rougen. Level 3 human."
He smiled slightly.
"Guess I am officially the main character now."
And somewhere deep in the forest, something far stronger than a wild beast opened its eyes.