There was a young man in a vast and alien landscape .
The world was dry, suffocatingly so. The air was devoid of humidity,a common charectaristic of an arid climate, and yet the scenery was breathtaking despite the desolation.Towering mountains stretched impossibly high, their jagged forms piercing the heavens as though gravity itself held no dominion over them.
Their peaks were cloaked in a strange, dust coloured snow.They were hidden behind a thick, unbroken blanket of flat, endless clouds,streaching as far as the eye could see.
At their base lay a barren expanse—a clearing devoid of trees, where sand-colored grass clung stubbornly to life among jagged black rocks that jutted from the earth like broken bones,perhaps even like the remains of a long lost civilization.
It was upon this unforgiving land that the young man awoke.
But something was wrong.
He remembered nothing.
Not his name. Not his past. Not even the world he had come from.
Not even the scene with the __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Every defining fragment of his identity had vanished, leaving behind an empty shell. And yet the newcomer could understand everything around him.
'Where the hell am I?!'
'Who am I…?
Why am I here…?
And—where are my clothes?!'
Questions surged through his mind in a maelstorm, each one more desperate than the last. It simultaniously felt as though he had been born that very moment while also had lived an entire life before.
Then—
A translucent blue screen flickered into existence before his eyes.
[Welcome to the system, young reincarnator!]
'What…?'
The glowing text hovered in the air, unnervingly familiar—like something out of a videogame. Like the kind of message a protagonist in a generic isekai manga might see.
"…'videogame'… 'manga'… 'isekai'… what do those even mean?"
His thoughts faltered.
Why could he think of such words—use them so naturally—yet have no understanding of their meaning?
When he spoke, the sound startled him.
His voice was hoarse, strained, as if it had been unused for years.
'Is… that my voice? It sounds awful…'
Slowly, he looked down at himself.
His body was thin and frail but relatively tall, his brown skin marked with faint scars. He wasn't starving—but there was weakness in his frame.He did notice some impressive muscles though they seemed a bit lost from wear.
He frowned.
He knew he was a bit...
Feeble.
But… how did he know that?
By what standard?
He didn't have an answer.
He was obviously perturbed by his own lack of understanding.So he tried his best to focus and try to remember something...anything about who or what he even was exactly.
Then it came.
An avalanche.
Memories
Countless, overwhelming memories
crashed into his mind all at once. He collapsed to the ground, clutching his head as an unbearable headache tore through him. It was the worst headache he had experienced in his life....
of five minutes so far.
His thoughts splintered. His sense of self,which didn't even exist so far, managed to become unstable.
He continued to remain unstable.His consiousness coming and going.His memories were both coming in like a flood while also being intangible and disappearing as soon as he tried to focus on them.
He was-
Confused.
Weakened.
Disoriented.
But above all—
Vulnerable.
And in a land as harsh and barren as this, vulnerability was quite common place.But it was harmful nonetheless.Especially if someone or something who managed to keep itself less famished appeared.
A human body with dozens of kilograms of tasty flesh and bones was the greatest feast a dweller of these nutrient-deficient land could hope for.
It did not take long,perhaps it was the young man's bad luck or simply the rarity of a presense like his in this hellscape but-
Something approached.
It was a grotesque, green-skinned abomination, draped in crude, makeshift clothing. Its wrinkled hide stretched over lean, sinewy muscles that hinted at surprising strength. Long, pointed ears protruded from its head, marred by tumor-like growths.
Its face was almost absurd in its ugliness—a crooked jaw, a long, hooked nose, and dull black eyes that carried a disturbing glint of cunning.It's comical looks contrasted its huge stature and menacing physique.
It was about as tall as two or three decently tall adult men standing atop each other, perhaps even more.
There was something else in its gait.
A presence.
A faint, unsettling arrogance of a ruler.
[Do you want to challenge lesser monster "Goblin Duke"?]
But before the young man could even process the message—
The creature lunged,not giving the young man time to answer [The System]'s question.
Despite its starved appearance, its speed was terrifying—far beyond what he could react to in his current state.Infact even a stable person would likely faced a lot of trouble,forget the feeble,vulnerable and heavily disoriented young man with no weapons or protection.
He had existed in this world for barely six minutes.
And already—
His survival was a snowball's chance in hell.
_______________________
However,There was something the young man did not know,nor the desperate goblin who was rushing towards him.
But in the desolate landscapes of the dusty mountains,the lone human who was currently clutching his scalp in agony would go on to become a peerless leader of Varsect and the first reincarnator to be able to build a Metrosystem and a High-speed rail line in this fantasy world.
He would be the only man to break Excalibur,the only one to defeat the last remaing Sentinal of the Demons and the only one to surpass the Eighth grade.
Nobody knew it,but history's course would be decided in the following battle.