It wasn't dark like a bedroom after the lights had been turned off.
This was true darkness. No light. No sound. No sense of cold or heat. Alzam couldn't even tell whether his eyes were open or closed.
Strange.
Come to think of it, he wasn't even sure he still had eyes.
...Where am I?
The question appeared naturally in his mind.
He tried to remember who he was. Strangely, his memories were still there. His name was Alzam Pratama Astono. He could still remember his life on Earth, although some parts felt like scenes from a movie playing far too quickly.
Home. Family. Everyday life. And then...
An impact.
A loud crash. His body was thrown aside. Pain so intense that his mind went completely blank.
After that, there was only darkness.
Don't tell me... I died?
Alzam wanted to laugh at the thought, but he quickly discovered something far stranger.
He couldn't breathe.
He wasn't suffocating. It didn't hurt. He simply... wasn't breathing.
Wait. Hold on.
Alzam tried to move his hands.
Nothing happened.
His legs?
Nothing.
His head?
Nothing there either.
The panic he had been holding back suddenly exploded.
HEY! WHERE'S MY BODY?!
Of course, no sound came out.
He tried shouting again. He tried moving anything he could possibly move. But the more he struggled, the clearer one terrifying fact became: he couldn't feel a human body at all.
Then—
Ding!
A clear sound rang directly inside his mind.
Alzam immediately went silent.
...What was that?
[User consciousness confirmed.]
A woman's voice. Flat and emotionless. It didn't sound like it came from anywhere around him.
[Beginning KIA synchronization.]
KIA?
[1%...]
Hey, wait.
[12%...]
Hold on! What are you synchronizing?!
[31%...]
HEY!
[64%...]
Don't just do things to my head without permission!
[89%...]
LISTEN TO ME FIRST!
[100%. Synchronization complete.]
Silence.
Alzam waited for a few seconds.
...That's it?
[Correct.]
Alzam froze.
YOU CAN HEAR ME?!
[Correct.]
Then why were you ignoring me this whole time?!
[The user did not ask a question that required an answer.]
...
If he still had hands, Alzam was sure he would be facepalming right now.
Fine. Who are you?
[KIA.]
KIA is your name?
[Correct.]
Is it an abbreviation?
[Information is currently inaccessible.]
What?
For a few seconds, Alzam even forgot to panic.
All right, KIA. First question. Where am I?
[Geographical location has not yet been identified.]
That's not an answer.
[The user is currently in an area with a high concentration of mana.]
Mana?
Alzam fell silent.
That word was far too familiar. Games, manga, anime, fantasy novels—he knew exactly what mana usually meant.
KIA... am I still on Earth?
[No.]
The answer was short.
But that single word left his mind blank longer than anything else had.
Not Earth.
Then that accident really did...
Did I reincarnate?
[That conclusion has a high probability of being correct.]
For the first time, a spark of excitement appeared among all his confusion.
Another world.
Mana.
A mysterious system inside his head.
Wasn't this a pattern he knew very well?
But his excitement lasted only three seconds.
KIA. Why can't I move my body?
[An examination of the user's condition is required. Activate Observ?]
Do it.
[Observ activated.]
The darkness around Alzam slowly changed.
He still couldn't truly see. Instead, information began flowing directly into his awareness.
Damp soil.
Pebbles.
Tiny roots.
An insect moving a few centimeters away from him.
And a hard, oval-shaped object partly buried in the ground.
Wait...
[Observ complete. Opening Status Window.]
A transparent display appeared inside his mind.
STATUS
Name: Alzam Pratama Astono
Race: ???
Category: Seed
Level: 1
Condition: Stable
Mana: Very Low
Core: Active
Rank: User — Tutorial
Alzam read it.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
His imaginary gaze kept stopping on the same line.
Category: Seed.
KIA.
[Yes.]
By "seed," you mean...
[A plant seed.]
I KNOW WHAT IT MEANS!
If he had a voice, the entire forest would probably have heard him screaming.
Why does my status say SEED?!
[Because the user's current body is categorized as a seed.]
No.
[Rejecting the statement does not alter the result of Observ.]
SHUT UP!
It took Alzam quite a while to accept that reality.
He had read stories about people reincarnating as monsters before. A slime? That was still reasonable. A sword? Weird, but at least it could cut something. A dragon? That would be the jackpot.
But a seed?
What could a seed even do?
Photosynthesis?
[Not yet available.]
I wasn't asking you!
Alzam tried moving his body again.
This time, now that he knew what he was supposed to feel, he finally realized that the small object buried in the soil really was him.
He shook his body.
Just a little.
The soil beside him crumbled.
Oh?
He shook himself again.
His tiny body shifted a few millimeters.
I can move!
[Correct.]
Don't ruin the moment, KIA.
A few minutes later, after a struggle that Alzam felt was completely unworthy of an isekai protagonist, his tiny body finally broke free from the soil.
Then he discovered his next problem.
How am I supposed to move?
He had no legs.
No arms.
After several embarrassing attempts, Alzam found the answer.
Hop.
His seed body jumped a few centimeters.
...
Hop.
A little farther this time.
So I have to hop everywhere?
[The current movement method is considered effective.]
My dignity doesn't consider it effective.
But before he could complain any further—
[Warning. Living entity detected approaching the user.]
Alzam immediately stopped.
What?
[Distance: 61 meters.]
Human?
[Unknown.]
A monster?
[High probability.]
The ground trembled.
Thud.
Once.
Thud.
Twice.
Then the vibrations grew faster.
KIA, do you have a map?
[Map available.]
WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THAT EARLIER?!
[The user did not ask.]
You're seriously going to drive me insane.
A transparent map opened.
A small green dot sat in the center. Alzam.
A red dot appeared to the north.
The distance was shrinking quickly.
48 meters.
39 meters.
31 meters.
Alzam started hopping.
Hop! Hop! Hop!
If anyone had seen him at that moment, the sight might have looked ridiculous: a tiny seed desperately hopping between roots and blades of grass.
To Alzam, it wasn't funny at all.
22 meters.
15 meters.
It's too fast!
He jumped harder.
Then—
CRASH!
The ground behind him exploded.
The force of the impact sent Alzam's tiny body flying. He spun several times before slamming into a tree root.
[Minor damage detected.]
That hurts, you know!
Alzam forced Observ to focus behind him.
And for the first time since arriving in this world, he saw a creature that made every survival instinct he had scream in alarm.
A large body covered in dark fur.
Four legs.
Two curved horns growing from its head.
Red eyes.
Drool dripping from its jaws.
The monster sniffed the ground.
Then its head slowly turned.
Straight toward Alzam.
...
KIA.
[Yes.]
Can it see me?
[Correct.]
Why would a monster that big be interested in a seed?!
[Analysis unavailable.]
The monster growled.
Alzam immediately turned around.
RUN!
Hop!
He jumped.
Hop!
He jumped again.
The monster behind him began to chase.
At that moment, Alzam finally understood the reality of his second life.
He didn't have a legendary sword.
He didn't have destructive magic.
He didn't have a human body.
He didn't have a kingdom.
He didn't even have legs.
He was only a tiny seed in a strange forest.
And for now, his dream didn't need to be anything grand.
Not becoming a hero.
Not becoming a king.
Not saving the world.
I JUST WANT TO SURVIVE UNTIL TOMORROW!
Far from where Alzam was hopping for his life, beyond even the range KIA's Map could reach, something moved in the darkness.
A gigantic root that had remained still for who knew how long trembled ever so slightly.
On one of its branches, a young leaf began to grow.
Then a small voice spoke.
The voice sounded cheerful, almost like a child who had finally found a book they had been waiting a very long time to read.
Finally.
A soft laugh followed.
So you've finally awakened...
The voice paused, as if deliberately savoring the next word.
My successor.
Meanwhile, the so-called successor heard none of it.
He was far too busy hopping away while cursing because the horned monster was still chasing him.
— CHAPTER 1 END —