NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 1: - Reincarnated Despite Being Summoned
It felt like a dream.
In a white space, I encountered a woman who seemed like a creation, and I rejected her proposal.
“I won’t go if they’re coming along.”
With a clear rejection, the expressionless woman’s face twitched.
“I’ll send you to a different place. Please bear with it.”
“…Understood.”
I thought I couldn’t go against her will anyway, so I might as well say it.
My consciousness immediately faded.
Was that a dream, or was it reality?
Considering my current situation, I could probably make a guess.
The surroundings were lush with trees, and there was no one around.
“A forest… I see.”
It was indeed a thriving forest.
That god, or maybe it was a god, had probably kept its promise.
But there shouldn’t be a forest here.
At my feet was a backpack – a knapsack.
Inside it, there were hard bread, dried meat wrapped in leaves, a water flask, a short sword, a blanket, a wooden cup, a wooden plate, a small towel, and a few other items. Inside a brown leather pouch, there were what seemed to be coins of this world’s currency, but I had no idea how valuable they were.
“If only I had asked more about this world before…”
It was too late for regrets.
For now, since I had something that looked like money, I guessed I could manage for a while with it.
First, I needed to find a human settlement.
I wasn’t a survivalist, and I couldn’t survive in a forest where there was no trace of civilization.
“Where am I, and which way should I go?”
I had no idea. Well, I’ll head south for now.
“But which way is south?”
Since a little sunlight was filtering through the trees, I thought there must be a star like the sun somewhere.
But would the sun rise from the east and set in the west just like on Earth?
“I have no idea.”
I decided to stop thinking about directions and followed the direction indicated by a fallen branch I found nearby.
“Ooh!”
Luckily, I soon exited the forest.
In front of the forest was a road, and the lack of grass and the ruts in it suggested that someone had been using it.
“The question is whether I should go right or left.”
It was a crossroads in life. I put in all my effort to think, but I couldn’t come to a conclusion.
“Maybe I should ask the branch for advice.”
I left it to the branch I had brought along as a makeshift staff.
“All right, let’s go right.”
As I moved to the right, I felt thirsty. I took out my water flask from my knapsack, planning to take a sip, but there was no water inside.
“Come on, this is pointless…”
If I had thought it was strangely light, it was because there was nothing inside. That god was unkind.
With no other choice, I continued ahead and came across a small bridge. It was a simple wooden bridge with no handrails or fences, and it looked rather fragile.
I stepped onto the bridge that spanned a stream about three meters wide and stopped in the middle to look down at the creek. I saw small fish in the crystal-clear water.
The presence of fish meant that I could drink from it. After crossing the bridge and descending a small slope, I dipped my hand into the water. It was cold.
I rinsed my hand lightly, scooped some water with my hand like a bowl, and drank it. It was surprisingly delicious water. As long as it didn’t make me sick, I was good. I filled my water flask and, when I stood up, felt a strange sensation when I saw my reflection in the water.
“Yes?”
Was that me reflected there? I crouched down in a hurry and check my face in the water’s reflection.
My previous Western-looking appearance was nowhere to be seen. Instead, I had long silver hair, not white, and my eye color had turned golden.
“Come to think of it, this isn’t a school uniform…”
Only now did I realize that my appearance had completely changed into something unrecognizable.
That god had said that the ritual was for summoning heroes, and my entire class had been summoned.
I had initially thought it was a summoning, but it seemed I had been reincarnated or possessed by another body.
“They really made me cute…”
My previous appearance wasn’t particularly attention-grabbing, but my current face was rather cute, almost like a girl.
“Wait a minute!”
I checked my lower body.
“It’s still here.”
I had thought I might have turned into a girl, but it was still there. However, my height, which had been 175 centimeters, was probably less than 160 centimeters now. While I had always been slender, it felt like I had become even more delicate. In terms of appearance, I was like a girl without a chest.
“My appearance has changed this much…”
Was this a divine message telling me to start over in this world?
In my original world, I had failed and endured a miserable high school life. Now, it was a chance for a fresh start and a happier life in this world.
“I can’t go back to my original world anyway. I have no choice but to start over in this world.”
With that decision, I needed to think of a name.
I didn’t dislike my previous name, but it didn’t suit this appearance.
“No need to think too much. My name is Toi. It’s Toi.”
Toi was the name I had given to a character in my favorite MMORPG. It was a shame I couldn’t play that game anymore, but I could consider it a sacrifice for starting over in life.
“All right, let’s go.”
As I continued along the road, a carriage approached from behind. There were five carriages traveling together.
“Oh… Could it be…”
I was incredibly moved at that moment!
Among the group riding the carriages and horses, there was a cat-eared girl!
I moved to the side of the road and stared at the cat-eared girl with rapt attention. She looked like a cat-like beast person, with soft triangular ears that seemed to beckon me.
“Wait!?”
The woman with long, pointed ears was an elf.
She was exquisitely beautiful, like a work of art.
As I kept staring, I found myself being glared at.
I was really starting to like this world.
From cat-eared girls to elves, there might be even more different races here. I had no idea such a dreamlike world existed. That god could have given me a heads-up about it!
The excitement lingered, but as I was lost in my feelings, the group of carriages had already gone quite far.
I heard a commotion as I was about to continue along the road.
The group from earlier seemed to be under attack by someone.
“Uh… I can’t fight, though?”
But if I left them alone, the cat-eared girl and the beautiful elf might be killed. What should I do? How can I save the cat-eared girl and the beautiful elf!?
—Piconn.
“Whoa!? …Huh?”
A screen, like something out of a game, appeared before me.
I tried to look at what was on the other side, but the screen moved too.
“Hmph!”
I moved quickly, but the screen followed me. It seemed to always be at a fixed position relative to me.
[Job] Traveler Level 1
[Skills] Good Stamina (Weak)
[Unique Skills] Detailed Appraisal (Weak), Item Box (Weak)
I think this screen is like a status screen in a game.
Don’t underestimate my gamer brain. Using things like this is what gamers do best.
“Detailed Appraisal!”
I appraised my job.
▼Detailed Appraisal Results▼
Job: Jobs can be changed to new ones when certain conditions are met. You can change jobs by simply opening the status screen and thinking about it. The current available jobs are Villager, Cook, Merchant, Carrier, Avenger, and Reincarnated Hero.
As I thought, Detailed Appraisal provides a lot of information. Some of the jobs seem a bit unsettling, but maybe it’s related to the deeds I’ve done.
Leaving that aside, I wanted to use the Item Box next. When I focused on that thought, the screen switched.
A screen filled with small squares gathered like the faces of a Rubik’s Cube appeared.
It seems I can store items in these small squares. There are four rows and five columns, so it looks like I can store up to 20 items.
The top two rows of ten slots each are filled. That means there are items stored there.
As I appraised each item one by one, my cheeks gradually relaxed.
“Um, to equip these items…”
Above the Item Box screen, eight slots for Quick Equipment appeared.
They are for head, both ears, neck, torso, both arms, both legs, right hand, and left hand, eight slots in total.
If I set items here, I can equip them with just a thought.
There were three types of swords, two types of shields, two types of chest armor, and three types of potions.
To put it simply, there’s a very strong sword, a strong sword, and a normal sword among the swords. Without hesitation, I thought about setting the very strong sword in the Quick Equipment slot.
One slot in the Item Box became empty, and the very strong sword appeared in the Quick Equipment slot.
I tried to do the same for chest armor and shields, but while chest armor was easily set, I couldn’t set the shield.
“What’s going on?”
Curious, I tried to find the reason using Detailed Appraisal.
“I see… since I equipped a two-handed sword, I can’t use a shield.”
It’s a natural reason when I think about it, but it’s my first time, so these things happen.
“Oh, wait. I was supposed to go help.”
I got carried away experimenting with the status screen and almost forgot my purpose.
I rushed toward the commotion while reflecting on my actions.