New Life In Another World

'It's so cold.'

I felt like my entire body was freezing, like I was submerged in chilling water. I could not move or open my eyes. I'm unable to move, and I'm not sure if I even have control over my body anymore. Was I still alive? I pondered. 

"Is he... still breath-"

Somehow. I was hearing faint voices, like it was calling me. A few seconds later, I slowly began to see light; I was retaining my vision, although I am not sure if what I would see is the ever-so familiar world I loathe or some place else. 

'God, if I still managed to live after that, can you at least cut me some slack?'

"Hey, are you alright?"

I opened my eyes to see a freckled young woman about in her early twenties. She was talking to me, but I had no clue about what is it. Her words sounded like foreign language to my ears. I couldn't understand them.

"My name is... Elena. Are you alright?"

Suddenly, as if granted by some unknown power, I began to understand her words little by little. Like a toddler learning how to speak, I tried vocalizing her words to speak in her language.

"Ele...na."

The freckled woman, hearing me utter her name, became somewhat relieved. She sat down at what I think was a nearby chair, and begun asking me questions. By the way, I believed I was currently laying down on a bed, a comfortable one at that.

"Can you understand me?"

"Yes."

"I found you unconscious in the forest while I was picking herbs. You seemed to be not breathing, so I got scared and brought you home. Elder Yaga said you were fine, but I still watched over you, nonetheless."

"I see."

I was still a bit fuzzy, so I couldn't make out where I was currently, but based on the woman's clothing and the worn out fabric of the bed, I presumed that I was not in an urban area. 

"What happened to you in the first place? You do not look like the type to just sleep in the middle of the woods. Besides, you still have not told me your name."

"My name? Its R-"

I was about to tell her my name when weird holographic texts suddenly appeared in front of me. It was similar to those status windows in video games. 

'What the hell is this?!'

[Asura Rei]

Level: 1

Stats:

[Str: 5]

[Vit: 5]

[Spd: 7]

[Int: 15]

Unique Skill: [Domination]

Skills: N/A

Class: N/A

Titles: N/A

Armament/s: N/A

(ELIGIBLE FOR CLASS SELECTION)

AVAILABLE CLASSES:

(INVOKER) | (SEER) | (BERSERKER) | (WARDEN)

'Level? Stats? This looks like some sort of game... and what's the deal with this 'Asura Rei'? Is that supposed to be my name?'

My hazy mind was suddenly cleared after I saw the floating text message. Confused, I quickly asked the freckled woman about it.

"Uhh... can you see the floating text in front of me?"

However, I did not expect the way she looked at me after I asked her that question. Her eyes were more confused than mine, and she looked at me as if she was seeing something extremely dumb.

"Floating text? Do you mean your status window? I cannot. Every status window can only be viewed by their owner... but everyone knows that."

'Shit! This is not Earth at all. I am not at Earth anymore. Even if, by some unknown means, we developed a program to materialize holographic images, it's not possible to make it exclusive to a single person, at least not in the period when I died.

The fact that I am seeing this status window while laying down in a bed in a room somewhere I have no clue, and talking to a woman whom I have never met who speaks a language I have never heard but can understand for some reason... only means one thing: I already died and got reincarnated in another world!'

Although the sudden realization that I could be in a world different from Earth was shocking, I kept my calm and pretended to have lost my memories.

"I'm sorry, but I seem to have lost my memory. I have no recollection of who I am and what I was doing before you found me..."

"I see. That sounds pretty rough... Elder Yaga would come back soon. Maybe he could help with your missing memories."

Using her own story, I managed to convince her of my amnesia. Although, hearing about another person quickly turned the gears in my mind.

"This... Miss Elena, do you mind if I ask you about your Class?"

Knowing that I could be in a world far different from Earth, I knew that I have to plan my steps carefully or else I would live the same as my previous life. I have been given another chance to live, and I did not want to waste it.

That is why my first action was to uncover the use of the status window. If my guess was right, the status window acts similar to those attribute window in video games. It shows the stats, skills, weapons and other attributes of a player.

'I should think carefully about what Class to choose...'

"You want to know about my class? Sure. My Class is a basic one. I'm an Arbalist. I specialized in using a crossbow. Due to my low strength, I could not pull the strings of a normal wooden bow. That is why I chose the Arbalist Class. It increases my stats by five points when I am using a crossbow. Moreover, it also complements my unique skill 'Hawkeye', a skill that enables me to see further than normal."

Thanks to her elaborative answer, which I really did not expect to be that detailed as to even contain her Unique Skill, I managed to get the gist of what the status window shows, and how Classes affect the stats.

The list of Classes one could choose from is based on their given stats or raw stats if I am to call it. Most raw stats vary depending on the physique or lineage of an individual. For example, a son of two incredibly strong warriors would have a higher raw strength and vitality stats than others, while the daughter of two powerful mages would have a lead on raw intelligence stats.

Now, the Classes one is offered with varies according to their raw stats. Those with higher strength stats would have a selection of Classes that is related to brute force such as warriors or berserkers. I was not sure whether the Unique Skill, which is a skill exclusive to its respective user that is determined at birth, also affected the Classes offered, but I believed it is a matter that must be included when choosing a Class.

'Do I have lower strength and vitality points because I was a frail kid in my past life, or is it connected to my current body? Now that I thought about it, I still have no idea what I looked like at this new world.

"Thanks for the info, but do you perhaps have a mirror I could use?"

Excited yet scared to see my appearance, I respectfully asked Elena for a mirror or something I could see myself in.

"Mirror? I do. Wait a moment, I'll go get it."

Elena stood up and walked towards a wooden closet. Underneath the clothes section, she pulled a drawer and took out a tiny mirror fitted inside a shining crystal. Judging by how she answered, I concurred that she must be familiar with the room, if not own it.

"Here you go."

Elena handed me the mirror, and I wasted no time quickly examining myself.

'Who the hell is this guy?'

In my previous life, I was a scrawny and pale-looking kid. My face lacked details, so I was never popular with women. My lips were gray, my eyes were baggy, and even my posture screamed with fragility. I was also a short kid, only around 165 centimeters. Partnered by my weak body, I never managed to show a favorable impression.

Yet, the face that I was looking at greatly differed from my past self. Red eyes that resemble that of a cunning devil, rosy lips which one can only see on actors, a well-sculpted face that could make any woman back on Earth fall madly, and pitch black hair that embodies the night.

'What about my body?'

Curious, I quickly stood up to scan myself, and I had to admit... my new body greatly exceeded my expectations. Well-toned physique packed with great muscles. I could tell that the previous owner of this body really put effort into his fitness.

There are two types of reincarnation, at least according to the fantasy novels back on Earth. The first one is reincarnation through childbirth, where a soul of someone who recently died would occupy the body of a newborn child. The second one is more referred to as transmigration, where a soul is put into a random body of a grown person. It often happens to those who are near death or would succumb to death, anyway.

'Whoever the Asura Rei is before me, I hope you passed on to heaven. I promise I'll take good care of your body.'

Despite knowing that I am occupying a body that is not rightfully mine, I did not feel guilty at all. As someone who lived a shitty life in his past incarnation, I believe that being granted a second chance at life is the bare minimum I could receive as a form of apology.

"Umm... Are you finished now?"

Elena, who patiently waited for me to check my newly acquired body, suddenly spoke, causing me to stop my self-gratification. 

"Uh, yes. Sorry about that. Where were we again?"

I replied, while handing her the mirror back. 

"Your name. You still have not told me who you are."

She looked at me with eyes that screams expectations. It's the first time that somebody gazed at me with such a life in it. 

'The world gave me another life, another chance. I'll be damned if I don't live to the fullest this time.'

With a gentle smile decorating my mouth, I told her my name. My new identity in this new life in another world.

"My name is Rei. Asura Rei."