"Take care of the forest, child.." An old woman whose body is only skin and bones said, grasping a handsome young man's hand who was tearing up and nodding his head.
"Yes, granny! L-Leave them to me!" The young man cried out, tightening his grip on the old woman's hand. "I won't let the animals starve so please.. Rest assured and don't be afraid to leave your babies to me."
The old woman smiled, her saggy cheeks twitching in effort. "Child.. Come closer. I have something to say to you."
"Yes, granny?" The young man's tears came into an abrupt halt, his eyes twinkling with wonder.
"Come close, child." The old woman instructed gently. "I can't move from my spot anymore so you will have to lean and lend your ears to me instead."
The young man did as he was told and leaned in, his heart racing in anticipation, wondering what the old woman before him would say, only for his ears to be pinched.
The young man gasped, the color on his face draining.
"DIDN'T I TELL YOU TO NOT CALL ME GRANNY?! MY NAME IS RYUUKI!" The old woman screamed at the top of her lungs.
She had been telling the young man that her name is not granny or anything of sorts!
"I have been telling you that for the past five years, you brat!" She hissed, her bony fingers pinching the young man's ear with great effort.
Unfortunately, her poor, old heart couldn't handle the strain and anger, causing her to gasp in pain, her hand letting go of the young man's ear and grasping her chest instead.
"Granny? Granny, are you oka—"
The young man's words fell into deaf ears, the old woman's body falling back to her bed and making the bed frame creak under her weight.
DING! ALERT! DING! DING! ALERT!
"Granny?!" The young man cried, sobbing. "Help! Please, help! Doc! Nurse! Granny's having a heart attack! Help, please!"
Congratulations. The host has finished a life.
The ceiling of the hospital looked specially bright for the woman's eyes, but what irked her the most was the young man calling her the exact word she told him not to call her with.
And just like that, the old woman's consciousness faded into nothing, the cries of the young man becoming quiet.
Then, her eyes snapped open and she immediately sat upright, her hand shooting up to cover her mouth that slacked open upon remembering one important thing.
"I forgot to look for them!" The woman screamed, her hands clutching her hair in panic.
Skills acquired:
Fancy fonts [Active]
Intimidation [Passive]
"I don't care about these damn skills!" The woman exclaimed before she let out a dramatic groan, plopping into her back.
"Setting that worry aside for now, how many times did I die if you included the last one?" The woman with the dark soulless eyes asked, scratching her head as she stared at the holographic screen that was floating above her.
Approximately five times, host.
The woman stared blankly at the screen, her eyes flickering with annoyance.
"Well, fuck. I didn't even have enough time to look for the twins." The woman grumbled, sighing heavily and running a hand down her face. "The two of them get cranky if they don't see me at least once in their lifetime."
Aren't you the one who gets cranky?
"No." The woman hissed, slamming her knuckle onto the screen unannounced. "Anyway, am I going to be reincarnated or transmigrated?"
Unclear. Searching for bodies for the host.. This may take a while, please be patient.
The system, whose name is Kono-chi, because the host didn't want to keep calling it system, took a while before it responded, the floating screen blinking in red, blue, green, and purple.
The first dimension has a body that needs immediate transfer of soul, host.
The woman raised an eyebrow and stared into the screen, dragging the screen close to her face and squinting her soulless eyes to read the text.
"Oh, so I'll be transmigrating?"
Precisely. Now, would the host like to take over [Xiakai]'s body?
Instead of answering the woman's query directly, the system opted to ask another question and went straight to the point— to give her a body as soon as possible.
The woman didn't answer right away, the action stemming from her pettiness for being ignored by the system earlier, and just stared at the screen, eyeing the name with a skeptical look.
"That name sounds like it's a Chinese name." The woman pointed out, tilting her head. "Does this mean that I will be Chinese? Finally— like seriously? I'm finally stepping foot in China?"
Would you like to take over
[Xiakai]'s body?
Yes No Maybe
The woman paused when the text on the screen changed, but instead of two options, there was a third one.
"What's with the maybe option? You never gave me that option before!" The woman growled, pointing an accusing finger to the screen as if it had committed a mortal sin.
"Besides, it's not like I have a choice, right? Possessing that body is my only chance to live again." She grumbled, letting go of the screen and sighing heavily. "But with the third option being available.. I'm curious what will happen if I press it."
She was contemplating whether she should press it or not, but not a second had passed when the screen turned red.
ALERT! ALERT! ALERT!
Transporting the host to the first dimension, straight to [Xiakai]'s body.
"Wait, what— hey! I haven't pressed anything yet!" The woman screamed in panic and grabbed the sides of the screen, eyes wide.
Initiating transfer in ten seconds.
"Kono-chi?!" She squeaked out, her grip on the sides of the screen tightening.
Initiating transfer in eight seconds.
"Wait— give me a minute!" The woman pleaded, scrambling to get on her feet. "Am I the only one who will be transferred into that world?! What about Miki? Rami? What about Ramu?!"
Initiating transfer in five seconds.
"Listen to me, you goddamn system!" She screamed, screeching the words out and shaking the system with all her might.
"I'm asking you if I'm going to be alone!"
Initiating transfer in three seconds.
"Wait—"
Initiating transfer in two seconds.
"Listen to me—"
Initiating transfer..
"I said listen to me— AHHHHHHHH!"