A New World, A New Skill

I slowly sat up, I didn't have any aches and pains like I had before, yet those old habits die hard. I looked at my hands. My fingers, once gnarled into odd angles thanks to arthritis, now were slim and strong. Gone was the shaking, the pain, the dark spots that were on the back of my hands, instead I was greeted with skin clear of such marks. I ran my hands through my hair and was surprised by how much of it there was. It felt strong, thick, and long. Long enough I could see that it was the color of a raven's feathers. Felt just as soft too. I looked at the field around me and noticed a hat next to my side. Ironically, it looked like an oversized witch hat, like you would see strong witches wear in anime. I smiled simply and moved to stand, my legs were strong underneath me, and my hips no longer ached. I could probably do so many things now, but best not to test that just yet. 

"System, what are you?" it felt silly asking out loud but why not? I was alone after all. Simple, I am your guide to this world. I took knowledge from your past life and implemented them in order to create this. I will help you slay the gods, as they have ruled this land for too long. And no, I am not a demon. I am just another aspect of this world. Think like Rimaru's Voice of the World. That is what I am. I laughed, I couldn't help it. It even sounded like the same system he had in I Got Reincarnated As a Slime. That was a good anime, I felt a twinge of guilt over not reading the manga. 

"Well then," I dusted myself off. "Lets head to the nearest town. Need to find some work for gold. Nothing is going to work without gold." I stood and saw that I wasn't too far from a town. I might run into some trouble on the way there, but hopefully not anything that I can't handle. I was probably a magic user, so I would need to take that into consideration as well. 

"What should I call you? I don't like just calling you System." 

I never had a name before. Perhaps you can call me something from your past life. 

"No, I'd like to make you unique. Can you do a physical form for yourself?" 

Not a humanoid one, but perhaps that of a creature. Like a familiar. 

"That is exactly what I want." 

Very well. What form would you like?

"How about that of a raven?" 

Very well. And before I knew it I had a large Raven on my shoulder cawing in my ear as my system spoke. Form achieved. Searching for suitable name. 

"How about Munin?" I offered. "It's norse for thought, and was the name of one of the ravens that belonged to Odin." 

Very well, renaming self to Munin. Rename successful.

I could have sworn I had seen Munin smile. I know ravens can't smile, but Munin wasn't a real raven. She was my familiar. We spoke more on matters of my past life and never even noticed that as I did so, Munin was slowly applying attributes from my past making me stronger and more powerful. Little did I know, Munin was going to do everything she could to make sure I survived. Especially after I forced her to remove the immortality. I conceded when I let her give me the false life ability. It basically just allowed me to pretend to be dead at any point should I get myself into too much of a fight. 

As we walked though, I found that the road was strangely clear of any monsters or anything like that. I was actually kinda bummed about it. I would have liked to at least know what kind of monsters were in the area. However, it was once we reached town that I found out how much Munin decided to do. Changling skill activated. I heard Munin say as we approached the gates. I don't know what the guards saw, but it wasn't worth the trouble of stopping apparently. 

Shame they are too dumb to counter it. I would have liked to see you use your magic. 

I was shocked by Munin's musings but she just ruffled her feathers and acted like she hadn't said a thing. I was starting to like her more and more. As we passed through the gate, I couldn't help but notice that the guards all looked exhausted. Like they wouldn't have bothered to try and stop me if they wanted to. Their uniforms more hung on their frames rather than fit them like it should. Making any protection it was supposed to provide a moot point. Their faces were too angular for my liking, too guant, too pale, too forlorn. The people of the town weren't any better. I slowly walked through the town disgust leaving a taste of bile in my throat. Shopkeep shops had very little in inventory and even less protection for what they had. The people themselves were practically beggars even the ones that were meant to be far more. The blacksmith's forge was cold and the stable didn't bother to keep horses. Every where I went poverty and sickness clung to the air. 

"Munin, I can't have these people live like this. There has to be a better way." I stoppped a child that I saw running past. It was clear they were trying to get coin from me. 

"I'm sorry child, but I don't have any coin on me. I was just summoned here, and I don't have any money on me." The child looked up at me with horror on their faces. 

"Please don't hurt me hero, I'll never do it again I swear!" 

"Do the heros in this realm often punish people." 

The child simply nodded as their stomach growled. "We are always punished by the heroes, they make us pay taxes we can't afford, but do nothing to help us fix anything from their fights. Momma says we can't even buy the material in order to fix anything. She used to have an amazing bakery." 

Deep sadness filled this child's eyes, and I reached up to wipe them away. 

"Please don't hurt him!" a woman's voice cried out. I looked up to see what I could assume was the mother on her knees basically begging. "Hurt me instead, I know he spoke out against you, but he doesn't know any better." 

I smiled then. I remembered having the exact same love for my own children. I stood then and turned towards the mother, the little boy ran and stood in front of her, his arms stretched out and tears ran down his face in anger. 

"DON'T HURT MY MOMMA!" He screamed at me. I offered them both a soft smile and placed my hand on top of the boy's head. 

"Now, now, there is no need for either one of you to fret. For I am simply not the hero. No, I'm afraid I will be much worse for them. You see, I'm planning to be the villain. Of course, I will need loyal subjects and that means taking care of you all. So, let me go and deal with the current mayor or lord of your town and then, I will get to work on fixing things. 

The mother looked up at me in awe and shock. "Do you swear it? If we become your citizens, will we be able to survive? Will we be free from their torment?" 

I knelt down in front of her and placed my hand on my heart dropping my disguise. "I swear on my life, that I will take care of my citizens for as long as I shall live. No matter what." 

"Then let me lead the way to the manor. It is the least I can do to thank you for not harming my son." 

"Your son is going to be a great protector one day. I just know it. Who knows, perhaps he can become one of my knights." I smiled slipping into the grandmother role all to easily. 

The woman lead the way to the manor and the closer to the manor we walked the more my blood began to boil. 

"This man is nothing more that a greedy rat! When I see him, I swear I will turn him into one." 

The mother laughed, "I would like to see that my lady." 

The mansion was ornate, granite walls and floors, marble pillars, all trimmed in gold. Even the banister to the stairs was gold. The halls leading to the mayors room was littered with useless items that simply served as nothing more than expensive rubbish. It didn't take long for a maid to find us. The mother instructed that I had an audience with the mayor and that I wasn't going to wait a moment to see him. The maid nodded and lead the way to his room. There I beheld a sight that I couldn't stand. The man was rotund in a way that a ball would be jealous, he had whisps of hair that looked an awful lot like whiskers, beady eyes, and a hooked nose that looked down upon anyone that he saw. He was very much a rat in his greed so much as he was in looks. His wife, I assumed, wasn't far off and neither was their child. I growled in anger. 

"You live like this while your people live in squalor?! It is time someone changed that!

By whisker, tail, and beady eye,

Let human form now say goodbye.

From skin to fur, from hands to paws,

Obey the rodent realm's old laws.

Nimble feet and twitching nose,

Scurry fast where no one knows.

With this chant, the change be flat:

By moonlit will, become a rat!"

Soon I had a family of rats sitting on the bed they all had been on. The mother, took a quick look at me and noticed me swaying, catching me as I fell. I could hear Munin telling me I had drained my mana, before passing out.