Chapter 1: New Game Saved

New. Game. Saved

Those words weren’t what you would expect to see when you woke up in the afterlife, or what I assumed is the afterlife that is

I don’t know, being crashed by a bus at full speed seems lethal enough to instantly kill someone like me

Every bone in your body would break, your internal organs would be immediately crushed, not mentioning the possibility of your brain being destroyed at the moment of impact, thus ending your life

Or maybe I’m just in a coma, but aren’t people who are in a comatose state supposed not to be aware of their consciousness?

All in all, the chances of me no longer living is pretty high considering my most recent memory

Fuck

Oh well...at least those puppies were safe, albeit at the cost of my own life. God know how my parents will react when they heard I sacrificed myself to save some random animals on the street

They will be livid, that I’m sure

Would you like to start your new world?

[Yes]/[No]

I stared at the blue window

Damn, not even giving me time to mourn? You sure are cold-hearted, random game system. But then again I couldn’t expect more from an insentient game window anyway

So, what’s it gonna be? Being stuck here for an eternity or moving on? It’s obvious enough

The answer...is yes

There was a flash, then I was no more

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I get up with a groan. My head is still spinning from the previous flash, while my body feels like they’ve just experienced the feeling of being hammered several hundred times over. It wasn’t pleasant at all

Loading terrain complete!

Generating world complete!

Struggling a little as I stood up, I found myself standing in a...forest?

The morning sun shined through the gap between the trees, bringing with it a warm breath of life and tranquility. Around me I can see glimpses of animals peeking out behind the bushes, before they quickly disappeared back into their little hiding place. The faint sound of chirping bird reach my ear from the distance like a sweet melody

I stared at my surroundings with a dazed look in my eyes. Unconsciously I pinched myself to see if I’m in a dream

I wasn’t

No matter how I looked at it, I have been brought back from the dead. The warm sensation of sunlight on my back, the cool touch of the wind, and the sound of life coming around me is not something that the dead can feel

“If this is a dream, then I don’t want to wake up anytime soon”

Inhaling deeply, I grinned

Great, it’s good to be alive once more

Ding!

Dear (Y/n)), thank you for accepting to be our first player on our newest product, [Remnant: Shadows Die Twice]. The system is still in it’s Beta state, so expect some major updates in the near future with interesting changes to the game

In the meantime, please enjoy yourself and play this RPG that we have created. This is an open world game, so that means you are free to whatever you want, however you wan, and whoever you want ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Remember, the only rule in here is: HAVE FUN!

Your joy from our creation is our grandest motivation :)

-Monty and Thien

‘Huh, what nice people’ I thought while smiling. Dismissing the window, I stood up from the ground, my barefoot touching the grass. It seems my clothes had generated along with me, that’s a relief

God knows how people will react when they see a naked boy running around in the forest with his dick out. They’d probably gun me down on the spot

I quickly made a list of things I need to do first in this new place. Unlike your normal game, my biological functions are still active like in the real world. That means I can still die out of hunger or thirst if I’m not careful

So, my first priority would be to find a sign of civilization in order to ensure my survival. But currently I’m running low on both food and water, so gathering supplies will take first on my to-do list

I scratched my head in thought

But, how will I get my survival tools? It’s not like I can just punch a tree then make a crafting table out of it or something

Ding!

Would you like to accept out [Starter Pack] to make your gameplay easier? We won’t charge anything due to you being our first player

[Yes]/[No]

I don’t see any reason not to. These game developers sure are nice to their beta tester (except for the fact that they just admitted using microtransaction, to which I’m going to let it slide, for now)

Ding!

You have received [Survival Starter Pack!]

A wooden box appeared in front of me, trimmed with a silver edge and a shiny look to it. I carefully unpacked the crate to see what’s inside. What I found there was a variety of shabby tools, all neatly lined up

X1 Rusty Hunting Knife (Trash)

X1 Stone Axe (Trash)

X1 Boots (Shoddy)

X1 Leather Pouch (Common)

As soon as I took them out the box disappeared, leaving me behind with the loot. I carefully inspected what I found, growing more happy as I did so

My eyes shined up with glee. To most people these items wouldn’t be of much use, but to me it’s worth as much as a cave full of treasure, and perhaps more than that

 With these things, my survival chance may have gone up just a little bit higher. The boots will protect my feet and makes travelling easier, while the axe and knife will serve as useful tools in hunting as well as building

With newfound enthusiasm, I set out to hunt some new animals. If I got some luck, perhaps I would encounter some more treasures along the way as well

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8 hours later

It was now nearly night. After a day of gathering resources, I am now back at the place where I started to set up my camp

I’m happy to say that my dad’s hunting lessons has not gone to waste, judging from the amount of animals I managed to hunt today

Two small rabbits, one fish, and I managed to set up a campfire before sunset as well! My first day so far has gone without a hitch, all thanks to the starter pack the devs gave me

As I was eating, a new notification window popped up

Ding!

Your health has been restored back to full!

You have leveled up!

It’s time for you to choose your own Skill set!

Huh, wait...I was a little bit surprised at the sudden tone of it. But then I remembered this was supposed to be a RPG, so stuff like this must be the norm for the game itself

With a sigh, I continued reading further down the wall of texts

Choose your race. The race you choose will reflect your arsenal and skill tree in the future, so please think carefully about this! Once you’ve decided, there’s no turning back!

1)[Grimm]: You will have the ability to choose Racial class and unlock the [Evolution] System, in which each Evolution obtained will lead you closer and closer to becoming the perfect organism

2)[Human]: You will have the ability to take on any Job Class you like. All of your skill will level up 30% faster. Unlock the [Technology] System, in which your equipment can be upgraded from time to time, and you can also craft some as well

3:[Faunus]: Your base Stats are doubles. Unlocking the [Forbidden Arts] System that lets you use ancient dark magic in combat

I blinked

That was somewhat intense. Do I really have to make this choice right at level 1? Can I wait for it? 

I searched for a reject button, but couldn’t find one. That means I’ll really have to decide right here and now as to what race I’ll become. The monster Grimm, the half-human Faunus, or Human themselves…

Wait…

Grimm, Faunus, Human, Monty...Don’t tell me I’m in the RWBY Universe?

No, I could tell with a glance that this universe I’m in is only an alternate one, or at least based on the original one, as there’s no way dark magic would exist in their world. That means…

I quickly pulled out my map. Sure enough, the map of Remnant is in front of my face, clear as the bonfire that lit up underneath. There’s no denying it, I’ve gotten reincarnated in an alternate universe of RWBY

It took me several minutes for that revelation to sink in

Okay, since this is the case...the Grimm option is out. I honestly don’t want to be hunted by Huntsmen 24/7 all time. It’s a great risk-great reward race, which I’m not good at playing. Those who call me a coward can fuck off

Faunus is out too. I don't know how they are treated in this world, but better not take any chances. Besides, I have a feeling choosing this might lead to me being PK-ed early in the game, as the case with the racist attitude in the show

For that, human is the safest choice. And the passive is pretty good too

The diverse job range would give me a better chance at survival than most

You have chosen to be a [Human]!

You have unlocked the [Technology] System!

Good, let's see if I can upgrade my equipment now. I gingerly tapped on the window's button

You lack sufficient level to upgrade your current equipment

Okay, apparently I can't. That kinda sucks, I was hoping to refine or at least restore my tools back to their former state. That would help me a lot

It was then I remembered about the things that happened today, as I lied on my makeshift bed. My mind wandered around here as I closed my eyes

First off. I died. it was pretty hard to accept that.

What was harder to accept is the fact that i was reincarnated into another world that I know, all alone, without anything on me, and with only the system by my side as a guiding tool up until now

When I thought about it, this sounds quite ridiculous actually

Could I be the protagonist of an isekai fanfic some random shitty author on the internet wrote? i was killed by a moving vehicle, after all

And the Gamer ability as well, that's the tell-tale sign of a power fantasy trope often used in Mary-Sue type stories, where the MC will gain godly power and make his own harem

Hell, does that mean there are people watching me and reading my thoughts right now?!

No, wait, calm down. It's unlikely that it would happen, I'm a real person with real thoughts, not just a character on a blank sheet of paper with predetermined lines and dialogue. All of this could only be my imagination at work

Yeah, that's right...I must be thinking about this too much 

Before I could drift off to sleep, a nearby scream woke me up, causing me to open my eyes. It was the scream of a young girl, filled with fear and terror, and it was near my location, approaching closer to me by the moments

I jumped up. My body tense, my knife ready to castrate any intruder near me

Judging from the deep growling that follows her scream, I concluded that there's a creature, possibly a beast, that is chasing hot on her heels 

New Quest: Go find out about the disturbance in the forest

Reward: 50 EXP, ???

My eyes shined in the campfire

Oh yeah. Free EXP incoming

"Not bad for my first day, not bad at all..." I smiled, readying both my axe and knife by my side. This will be interesting, isn't it?

Standing up, I stamped out the fire in my camp and waited in the darkness. The sounds of footsteps getting closer could be heard as seconds goes by. I pulled out my knife in preparation before climbing to a vantage point

If the enemy is single, then hopefully I can take them out in one shot, or injure them enough to hinder their mobility. That is my first thought as I gazed down on the ground from the tree to which I just climbed on

The rustling of leaves are getting closer, the same way my heart started beating in excitement

From the bushes a girl emerged, her clothes ragged and torn. Just moments after that three Grimm leaped out from behind, chasing after her. Up on the tree, I frowned

Damn, I had expected it to be only one. Now the task of killing them might be even harder than I initially thought

Picking up a nearby rock, I threw it at the girl and made her trip on the ground

The three Beowolf immediately surrounded her, growling maliciously. As for her part, the girl curled up into a ball and sobbed, resigning to her fate

Good, they seem to be distracted. Me tripping her serves enough as a decoy it seems. If the girl continued to run she may just have endanger her own life, so I has to bring her down first

As the Beowolves were about to bounce, that is when I decided to attack from above

Jumping from the branch that I'm on, I landed on top of one of them and slammed my knife into it's neck. Not waiting to pull it out, I flipped back and threw my axe at the second one, which hit it between it's mask

The third one lunged at me with the intent to kill. I responded by grabbing a nearby rock and bashed it's skull from the side just as it was about to reach me. It went down without a hitch, but I keep bashing it just to be safe

When the Grimm's head has been reduced to a chunk of nothingness, the notification window once again popped up

You have leveled up! You are now level 3!

Upgrades for your equipment are now available!

Yes, sweet. I smiled as I pulled my knife and axe out of the two disintegrating corpses

It was then that I noticed the girl was still there, looking at me with a shocked expression on her face. The darkness obscured most of her feature, but I can see the faint outline of red on her raven black hair and the glowing silver eyes that stared at me in surprise

Oh and she's wearing a Kimono as well, which probably explains why she's so slow as to get chased by those three in the first place 

.....

.....

…..

….Wait, silver eyes?