Ray had imagned reincarnation would be… cleaner. Peaceful, maybe. A soft white light. Gentle voices. Some old man with a beard explaining the rules of the afterlife.
Instead, he was screaming.
His lungs burned with unfamiliar effort as they expelled air for the first time in this new body. Cold air bit at his skin. Blurred shapes and colors danced wildly above him, then a large, calloused hand gently swaddled him in something warm and coarse—linen, maybe.
[Quest: Help your new family thrive in the harsh world ahead!]
[Failure Consequence: Severe (System Locked from Clarifying)]
[VirtueForce System Initializing...]
A glowing blue screen floated in the air above him, only visible to his new eyes. It was semi-transparent and shimmery, like a futuristic hologram. He blinked. The text remained.
What the hell…?
Even in his confusion, Ray's internal voice was calm.
Okay. I'm a baby. I can't move properly, can't talk. I just died saving a cat, and now I'm here—with a literal RPG interface hanging over me. Great. This is either reincarnation... or the world's worst fever dream.
The screen pulsed.
[Welcome, Ray. You are the sole host of the VirtueForce System.]
[Performing good deeds grants you Strength, Abilities, and Influence.]
[Neglecting your virtue quests will result in punishment.]
[First Quest: Let your new mother hold you calmly.]
Ray stopped crying.
He didn't know how or why, but something in his head clicked—maybe it was instinct, maybe it was the system's doing, maybe it was just the remnants of his adult brain overriding his newborn instincts. Regardless, he quieted.
A woman—a young woman—gathered him gently into her arms. Her hair was light brown and fell over her face in loose waves, and her skin had the faint tan of someone who worked outdoors. Her eyes shimmered with tears and something like awe.
"That's it," she whispered. "It's alright, little one… Ray."
She… named me after myself?
Something flickered in his chest. Warmth. Not from the fire nearby, but from her touch, her voice, the way she held him like he was the most precious thing in the world.
Oh no.
Don't tell me I'm going to actually care this time.
The next few months were a blur.
As Ray adjusted to babyhood, the world unfolded around him in patches. He lived in a small, stone-built manor on the outskirts of a dusty village. His father, Baron Calden Arkwright, was a stern man with dark hair and a soldier's build, but his hands trembled the first time he held Ray. His mother, Elise, was softer—gentle-voiced, with eyes that always found Ray's first.
He had three sisters.
The oldest, Renna, was around seven, already fluent in sarcasm and suspicious glances. She peeked at Ray like he was an animal in a cage, unsure whether she wanted to poke it or protect it.
The two younger ones, twins, were toddlers with bright blonde curls and loud, indistinct babble. They were born nine months after Ray. Ray didn't catch their names at first. His hearing was still fuzzy.
So this is my family now, he thought, watching them from his crib.
Not bad. Loud. But not bad.
The system didn't stay quiet for long.
[Daily Quest Complete: Smile when your mother enters the room.]
[+2 Virtue Points. +10 System Sync.]
The rewards weren't always flashy. Sometimes it was just a sense of calm, or a tingle in his fingers. But each quest felt… targeted. Specific. And they kept coming.
[New Quest: Smile at your mother when she holds you.]
[New Quest: Don't cry during the midnight diaper change.]
So I'm playing "Be the Best Baby" on Hard Mode.
Ray obeyed. Not because of the system—but because he didn't want to see Elise's face fall when he cried. He didn't want to hear the exhaustion in her voice, or see the worry in Calden's eyes when food stores ran low and winter came early.
He remembered hunger. The kind that gnawed at your bones. He wouldn't let them feel that.
Not if he could help it.
As the months rolled on, Ray learned more about the world.
His new family were nobles—but only just. Barons were the lowest rung in the noble ladder, and their territory reflected that. The Arkwright barony was a patch of land on the edge of the Kessarine Kingdom, a borderland prone to beast attacks, harsh winters, and poor soil. His father's "castle" was more like a fortified farmhouse, and the villagers were mostly hunters, herbalists, or craftspeople trying to survive.
Magic existed. So did aura. But no one had "systems." People gained levels, yes, and those levels affected strength, speed, magic, even lifespan—but the VirtueForce System?
That was unique to him.
And it had opinions.
[Reminder: You have not accepted your daily Virtue Quest. You are slacking, Ray.]
[Do Good or Die isn't just a catchy name.]
[New Daily Quest: Help your older sister clean the vegetable baskets.]
I'm still in diapers! Ray mentally shouted.
The system blinked innocently.
[Adapt or perish.]
You motherfu….
Ray's life was a bizarre rhythm of baby milestones and semi-divine responsibility.
He crawled. He walked. He accidentally used aura to knock over a barrel during a tantrum, which freaked out half the manor. The system gleefully recorded every moment.
[Quest Complete: First Step.] +5 Virtue Points
[Accidental Aura Surge Logged. Aura Sensitivity: Above Average.]
By the time he turned four, he was helping with small chores. Calden taught him how to hold a wooden training sword. Renna tested his reading speed by shoving books in his face and asking annoying questions. The twins adored him, clinging to his legs whenever he passed.
And still, the system prompted him every day.
Some quests were noble:
[Deliver firewood to the old hunter before the blizzard.]
Others were petty:
[Resist the urge to roll your eyes at Renna's voice.]
Some felt… invasive:
[Don't tell a lie today.]
[Notice when someone is sad.]
The system seemed to know what was happening around him before he did.
This world isn't a game, Ray realized one night as he stared at the stars through the manor window.
But I have a cheat code. And it wants me to be good. Not strong. Not famous. Good.
Ray was enjoying his new life. He couldn't care much if he took the soul of the kid that was gonna be born and was born as him instead. Mainly because he didn't know if he took his place or not but it didn't matter he was a part of the family now and it would stay like that. There was one thing that annoyed him the quests, Ray just wanted to enjoy life spend it with his new family but the system might not let that happen.
But now, as Elise hummed in the hallway and Renna shouted about goats in the barn, Ray felt something rare.
I want to protect this.
Even if I have to work for it.
Five Years Later
Ray lay at the edge of the baronial field, now ten years old and tall for his age. His dark brown hair ruffled in the wind, and his eyes—sharp, thoughtful—were watching the horizon.
He'd completed hundreds of system quests.
He'd gained 20 levels. He could move faster than most kids his age and channel aura through his limbs without training. The local priest had called him a "blessed child," and the villagers often asked Elise if he was gifted.
Ray didn't say much.
He liked being underestimated.
But lately, the system had gone quiet.
That worried him.
[System Alert: Milestone Approaching.]
[Next major quest will shape your path.]
He didn't like the sound of that.