A wave of serene wind blew by Heil's face, blowing up his white hair slightly.
The unending grassland before him made multiple emotions rise within his chest, the prominent one being disbelief.
However, the heat he felt from the sun and wind belittled his little act of disbelief towards reality.
The grassland before him was no illusion, but his current reality.
'Transmigration? Or is it reincarnation? But I didn't die, I remember going to sleep in my room...'
Even while a hailstorm of emotions raged through his mind, Heil's expression was stuck in neutral - something he attained through practice.
The act of masking one's emotions was a necessity in modern society. Where even a co-workers might hold ulterior motives against you.
'Shade....it would be bad if I get dehydrated now.' Heil spotted a tree quickly and walked towards its shade's haven.
'Though I think transmigration is a thing worth dreaming about. I hope it won't throw me in the middle of nowhere. More than anything, just where am I?'
Having spent more than half of his youth with anime, manga and novels - Heil was a knowledgeable transmigrator, he considered himself at least.
The flower field just behind him, alleviated his anxious heart. The sweet smell in the air was making Heil's body relax naturally.
Just as Heil wondered if there was anything edible around, a static noise spread through his head. His body that had relaxed just a moment ago, tightened with even more tension than before.
[The host has been detected! The gacha system has successfully bonded with the host!]
[The world has been detected to be 'Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World'. The original plot shall start at approximately 9 years and 4 months.]
[The main quest shall be locked till then. You have unlocked the side quest!]
The existence of a system didn't really surprise him, but....
Reading about the world he found himself in, Heil instantly lost all thoughts about relaxing in the slightest.
The plain before him, that Heil considered not risky before - was instantly labelled dangerous now.
"Out of every world....this had to be one, tch!"
It was bad....no, very bad.
'I have followed this series to the newest arc, but....'
Instead of feeling confident in his knowledge, Heil just felt despair. He tried his best to suppress his scrambled emotions, but the voice deep within his mind refused to stay still.
'It's alright....There is no way a witchbeast would appear here. I most definitely don't have a witch's scent like Subaru to attract them either.'
However....what if one does appear?
'Nonsense...I will not die here!'
For a while, Heil felt like his vision was twisting around from the stress. This wasn't the first time, his emotions and thoughts ran rampant - but it definitely was the most intense.
Just then -
[You have acquired the beginner pack!]
[Warning: The abilities and items are random in this pack. However, the future quests and rewards would be affected by the initial reward the host acquires from this pack.]
"....Open the beginner pack." Heil ordered coldly, he needed strength right now to rely or he might really go paranoid.
[Ding! The beginner pack has been opened!]
[You have acquired [Template - Dragon god Orsted]. The template has been modified to fit this world.]
[You have acquired an ability - [Rewrite] from the anime world of Rewrite.]
[You have obtained basic literacy in the languages of this world.]
[You have obtained a special map!]
[The infusion will begin in 5 seconds.]
".....The rewards aren't bad, but is it enough to guarantee my life?" Heil doubted it.
Nevertheless, his mind could catch a break from all the overthinking now.
Heat rose from the centre of his stomach and spread across his body quickly. His mind was hit by a wave of indescribable information, it made him feel like his brain was being invaded for a second.
The uncomfortable feeling vanished slowly to Heil's relief.
[Orsted's template: 1%]
Orsted....Heil knew him very well, the strongest being in the world of 'Jobless reincarnation'. Till the end, Orsted didn't lose a single time throughout that particular timeline.
With this template, Heil was confident in being able to reach the top of this world. It was doubtful whether he could still win against Reinhard.
It's impossible....Heil came to a conclusion soon. He knew exactly how much of a broken character Reinhard was and it would be foolish to stand against such an existence.
'I only have 1% of Orsted's power?' Heil frowned, it was still lacking.
He could feel the newfound energy within him and it made him almost jump up in celebration. It felt as if he had returned to his youthful days.
The next ability,
[Rewrite: The ability to rewrite any aspect of your existence, to strengthen yourself permanently in exchange for lifespan.]
[Warning: Using this ability with a low lifespan would lead to permanently converting a part of your body into a 'monster', depending on the user.]
Rewrite - one of the myriads of anime Heil watched and it definitely left an impression.
Rewrite was very versatile in nature, not just strength - even intelligence, talent, memory capacity, almost any aspect of oneself could be enhanced.
'Lifespan...' As Heil mused, the system acted up again.
[The status can be viewed.]
'Then let's see it.' Heil didn't hesitate.
[Name: Heil Madstone] [Template Orsted: 1%]
Heil frowned looking at the word name, remembering one of the abilities related to it from Re:zero. The archbishops of gluttony have the ability to 'Eat' or erase others' existence or memory through their names.
'A second name is necessary for survival...Orsted sounds alright, I guess.'
As Heil, or now, Orsted thought so - the system responded quickly.
[Name: Orsted] [Original name: Heil Madstone] [Template Orsted: 1%]
[Lifespan: 140 years]
[Bloodline: Half human and half-devine dragon.]
[Physique: 1.8] ( 1 point is equal to a normal peak human being.)
[Mana gate: 1.9]
[Spirit affinity: 2]
[Physical and magical resistance: 1.6]
Techniques -
[The sword god style/ Water god style/ North god style: Basic attainment.]
[Magic: Basic attainment in all elements]
[The reincarnation technique: Upon death, the host will be sent back in time the moment you fused with the template.]
[Side-effect: Your mana will recover 1,000 times slower than usual and your existence would fall outside the natural order of this world - Your existence can still be affected by Authority wielders.]
[Dragon tribe curse: Every living being who places their eyes on you would come to either hate or fear you.]
For a while Orsted stared blankly at the last two abilities in his status.
[The reincarnation technique] was the strongest ability he possessed at the moment. It would make him invincible or atleast, unkillable.
The chances of being stuck in a death loop was low too, unlike Subaru's return by death.
'I underestimated Orsted's template, I almost forgot about the reason he was able to master almost every technique in that world.'
[Dragon tribe curse] was very worrying too, but Orsted didn't consider it a problem. He wouldn't have to deal with overconfident grunts coming to provoke him with it.
Orsted could see a 3D model of himself beside the status. An intimidating, tall figure with silver hair and striking, golden predatory eyes was portrayed in it.
Along with the curse of the dragon tribe, he would appear terrifying to everyone.
The only difference from the original was that he appeared in his early 20s.
[The system has begun adjustment!]
Information suddenly begun flowing into his mind again.