The continent of Teyvat. It was noon, the sun blazing brightly outside. At this moment, faint sounds echoed from a dilapidated thatched hut.
"Grrr… snore…"
Ren Kai was sleeping soundly. He rolled over and stretched out, lying flat in a carefree sprawl.
"Damn… this sunlight is blinding."
His eyes burned as he slowly woke up. The moment he opened them, the harsh sunlight stabbed straight into his pupils. Right above him, there was a small hole in the roof. A beam of sunlight poured through it, shining directly onto his face.
"Crap, I'm definitely getting my salary docked again."
"Why didn't my alarm ring? What the hell happened?"
Ren Kai jolted upright, but immediately sensed something was wrong. Through the broken hole in the thatched roof, he could see the sun hanging directly overhead. It had to be around noon.
Wait… thatched roof?
"Huh? Wasn't I in my rental room?"
He looked around in confusion. The room contained nothing but a single table and a chair. The entire place was a shabby hut made of straw and wood, full of cracks where the wind slipped through. Above him was the same hole that had just blinded him with sunlight.
"Must be a hallucination."
Ren Kai rubbed his eyes frantically, unable to believe what he was seeing.
"Did I drink fake liquor yesterday or something? Damn it. Should've known cheap stuff never ends well."
He began recalling what happened the day before.
Yesterday had been his twenty-third birthday. Alone and pitiful, he had celebrated by himself at a roadside barbecue stall. He even bought a bottle of XO, spending two red banknotes on it. After finishing the barbecue and drinking the liquor, he got drunk and passed out in a haze.
"So I must've drunk too much and never made it back to my rental room. Great. Now I'm really late."
"I only earn 1,800 a month, and being late once costs me 200! That heartless boss of mine… I curse you—may every time you pull from the character banner you lose the 50/50!"
After venting his frustration, Ren Kai sighed miserably and pushed open the rickety wooden door. With his head hanging low, he stepped out of the hut, still thinking about his pitiful salary.
"Ah—!"
The sight outside stunned him completely.
At the same time, a flood of memories suddenly appeared in his mind.
Before he could react, Ren Kai fainted on the spot.
The scenery outside was breathtaking.
The thatched hut stood beside the Sacred Sakura Tree. Once you opened the door, a cliff stretched right in front of you. If someone wanted to jump off, they only needed to walk five meters forward… and leap.
Behind the hut stood the Narukami Shrine.
Ren Kai remained unconscious for two hours.
"Where… am I? Who am I?"
"I am the War God Rexas, the elder brother of Morax, and the fiancé of Raiden Makoto."
"No… I'm Ren Kai, a 996 corporate slave. My hobby is playing Genshin Impact. I even saved 999 Intertwined Fates waiting for Raiden Shogun's rerun!"
His mind was in chaos, the two identities clashing violently.
In the end, thanks to his unwavering obsession with Raiden Shogun, Ren Kai's consciousness defeated the lingering will of the War God Rexas.
"Ah! The War God has risen from the dead!"
A small pink fox had heard the commotion and came to investigate. The moment it saw Ren Kai standing outside the hut, it was so frightened that it tripped and fell over. Scrambling back to its feet, it turned and ran, its four tiny legs moving so fast that it vanished in the blink of an eye.
"…Uh."
After the little fox disappeared, Ren Kai began sorting through the memories in his head.
The War God Rexas was one of the most ancient gods on the continent of Teyvat. As long as there was war, no one could defeat him.
He had experienced countless battles, and every single one ended with him as the final victor.
He was also the elder brother of Morax and the fiancé of Raiden Makoto.
Yet ironically, the War God was someone who hated war the most.
After experiencing hundreds—no, thousands—of battles, he grew sick of bloodshed. His personality became gentle and warm. To everyone he met, he was like a kind and approachable older brother.
But because he only gained strength during wartime, people rarely remembered him in times of peace.
So after every great war ended, Rexas would hide himself away somewhere in the world.
This time, after emerging from seclusion to travel to Inazuma to see Raiden Makoto, he was ambushed halfway by the Heavenly Principles.
Since it was not a time of war, the War God Rexas was ultimately killed by the Heavenly Principles.
"Holy crap… no wonder I managed to 'beat' the War God Rexas."
"So he was already dead. I was just absorbing his memories!"
Ren Kai examined his body carefully. Something definitely felt different. Looking down at the ground, he realized he seemed… taller.
"Sword of the War God!"
Ren Kai shouted toward the sky. That was the War God's divine authority, one of the most powerful weapons on the continent of Teyvat.
"…Uh."
He froze.
Wasn't this body supposed to be the War God's?
"Die, you trash!"
Stretching out one hand, he clenched his fist toward a tree in the distance.
Nothing happened.
The tree remained perfectly intact.
A breeze swept past, rustling its leaves with a soft sha sha sha sound—almost as if it were mocking him.
"You idiot."
"I became the War God Rexas… and I don't have a single bit of power?"
Ren Kai was completely dumbfounded.
"Let me guess how this ends. The Heavenly Principles discover Rexas isn't actually dead, and then they slap me into oblivion."
He was on the verge of collapse.
After all, he had finally transmigrated into the world of Genshin Impact. He had become Morax's elder brother. His fiancée was Raiden Makoto. His future sister-in-law was Raiden Ei. And his future pet could even be Yae Miko.
And yet… he was about to die immediately.
"Which mighty senior sent me here? Please help!"
"I inherited none of Rexas's power! I'm begging you! I'm online and waiting—this is urgent!"
Ren Kai assumed that since he had somehow transmigrated into another world, some hidden powerhouse must have been responsible. Surely that person wouldn't just abandon him.
The sky remained silent.
Even the clouds slowly drifted away.
…
Ren Kai fell into despair.
He searched his body for any kind of cheat ability. Not only did he not have a Vision, he didn't even possess the War God's Gnosis.
He slumped down onto the ground with a thud.
The damp soil stained his clothes. The cold sea breeze tangled his golden hair. His handsome face—sharp and striking—now carried tears.
"Ding. Role-Playing System successfully activated."
"Distributing first character template."
"Detecting that the host has fallen into despair. System binding cancelled."
"Cancellation successful. Goodbye, host."
…
"What?!"
"System bro, don't run! I'm not despairing anymore!"
Ren Kai had just realized what was happening when the voice suddenly disappeared. He jumped up and grabbed at the air as if trying to catch something—but grasped nothing.
"Ow!"
A card fell from the sky and smacked him directly on the head.
"Could this be… the role-playing template?"
He carefully examined the card.
The figure depicted on it was none other than Uchiha Madara—in his Six Paths form.
"How do I use this? System bro, at least tell me!"
Ren Kai tried several methods, but none of them worked.
"Damn it!"
In frustration, he held the card in his left hand and punched it with his right.
Blood dripped from his knuckles.
"Huh… haha!"
The moment the card touched his blood, it transformed into a beam of golden light and shot straight into his body. At the same time, a simple interface appeared before his eyes.
[Uchiha Madara]
Role-playing Progress: 1%
Strength: Jonin Level
Dojutsu Power: Two-Tomoe Sharingan
In an instant, powerful energy surged through Ren Kai's body. A stream of chakra appeared within him. His hair grew longer, though its color remained golden.
Memories of ninjutsu and the use of the Sharingan flooded his mind.
"Ninjutsu—Clone Technique!"
His hands formed seals with practiced ease.
A clone appeared in front of him.
"Wow… am I really this handsome?"
Ren Kai circled around the clone, examining it curiously.
The appearance resembled Morax somewhat, though it carried greater majesty and dominance. The clothing was similar to Morax's hooded robe—but this one was black with golden trim, while Morax wore white with golden trim.
"Though this spiky hairstyle… it kinda looks like some edgy punk style."
He couldn't find any flaws in his own looks—except for the hair. It was identical to Madara's hairstyle, just golden instead of black.
"Do you want to dance too?"
Imitating Madara's tone, Ren Kai raised his hand toward the empty air and delivered the iconic line.
"Why isn't the system responding?"
"…Don't tell me the system really ran away."
He could feel himself growing stronger again. With a helpless sigh in his mind, he opened the interface.
[Uchiha Madara]
Role-playing Progress: 5%
Strength: Early Kage Level
Dojutsu Power: Three-Tomoe Sharingan
"My dear system father, please come back quickly. I'm starting to get overconfident now."
…
The empty air gave no response.
Even so, Ren Kai smiled happily.
With Kage-level strength, surviving in this world should be possible—as long as he didn't get discovered by the Heavenly Principles. Otherwise, he'd still be doomed.
According to the War God's memories, the Heavenly Principles possessed power beyond the Six Paths level.
Morax stood at the peak of the Six Paths level.
Meanwhile, the War God Rexas had strength close to the Throne level. Once war began, his power would rise fully into the Throne tier.
As for Six Paths Madara… his strength should also be around the Six Paths peak. With the Ten-Tails' power, he might even reach the Throne level someday.
"Hm? Someone's coming."
Ren Kai's sharpened hearing caught the sound of something rapidly approaching the hut.
Meanwhile, the pink fox sprinted across the path, cursing in its heart.
Damn it, Lady Kitsune Saiguu! Of all times to be absent!
"Lord Raiden, hurry!"
"The War God really came back to life! If you don't believe me, come see for yourselves!"
Moments later, the pink fox returned to the thatched hut—this time bringing a pair of twin girls with her.