'Infinite Replacement?'
'I travel to other worlds and take over the lives of people there?'
'And I get a reward for every replacement?'
In the middle of a vast, silent void, a golden figure sat cross-legged. He murmured the questions to himself, his voice echoing in the emptiness.
The figure was a young man named Kitahara. He looked to be in his early twenties, but he was no longer human. He was a soul, shimmering with a faint, ethereal gold light.
He had ended up here because of a split-second decision. While walking down the street, he saw a little girl wander into the path of a speeding car. Without thinking, Kitahara lunged forward.
He saved the girl, but his life ended right there on the asphalt. Now, his soul drifted in this lightless expanse.
Shortly after arriving, he received his golden finger. It was a system known as Infinite Replacement.
From what he understood, this power would allow him to live again in different worlds.
The Infinite Replacement system would drop him into a new reality, randomly choosing an identity for him to inhabit.
Every time he entered a new world, he would receive a special reward.
These worlds weren't random. They were the anime, movies, and games he had enjoyed before his death.
It was called replacement, but it was essentially a new life.
The system would recreate him as a fetus, allowing him to be born naturally into that world.
It wasn't exactly reincarnation. It was more like rejuvenation. He would live his life over again, starting from childhood.
His original body was dead, but the system's power could restore him. He didn't have to worry about his physical form changing or losing his essence.
Every time he moved to a new world, the process would repeat. He would become a child and experience a brand-new life.
The best part was the inheritance. By replacing someone, Kitahara gained their natural talent and potential. Any abilities they were destined to have would manifest as he grew.
If he replaced a commoner, the benefits were slim. But if he took the place of an important character or a powerful being, he would inherit everything that made them great.
If he replaced a protagonist, he would hit the jackpot. Most main characters were born with extraordinary gifts.
Even replacing a powerful side character was a massive win.
If he died in a replacement world, he wouldn't truly perish. He would simply move on to the next world, take over a new identity, and continue his journey.
He could stay in each world until the main story concluded.
If he was still alive when the plot ended, he could choose to stay for another ten years. After that, he would have to leave.
He also had the option to return to worlds he had already visited. He could stay in those for up to ten years at a time before he had to set out once more.
'Well, I'm already dead. Exploring other worlds sounds like a pretty good deal.'
'System, take me away.'
After mulling over his options, Kitahara decided to go for it. There was no point in lingering in the void when there were infinite adventures waiting for him.
As soon as the thought crossed his mind, a mechanical voice rang out in his head.
[๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด!! ๐ง๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐น ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ!!!]
[๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด!! ๐ง๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ด๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐น๐ฑ ๐น๐ผ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฑ: ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ช๐ฟ๐ผ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ ๐ง๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐จ๐ฝ ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐น๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฎ ๐๐๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐ผ๐ป?!!]
[๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด!! ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ผ๐บ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด... ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ๐๐ฒ. ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐๐น๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ต๐ผ๐๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ!!]
Wait, what?
Kitahara's mind went blank.
'I replaced myself?'
'Is this some kind of joke?'
Before he could process the absurdity, the system notifications continued to fire off.
[๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด!! ๐๐ถ๐๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฏ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐. ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐๐น๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ต๐ผ๐๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ผ๐ฏ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฒ๐น!!]
[๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฒ๐น: ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ต๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ด๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐ฎ ๐ฏ๐ ๐ธ๐ถ๐น๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐บ๐ถ๐ฒ๐. ๐ช๐ต๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐ฎ ๐ถ๐ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ผ๐๐, ๐ฎ ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ผ๐บ ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฑ!!]
[๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด!! ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฒ๐น ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ. ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐๐น๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ต๐ผ๐๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ผ๐ฏ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ ๐ก๐ฒ๐๐ฏ๐ถ๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ!!!]
A blinding white light swallowed his soul. In the next heartbeat, Kitahara vanished from the void.
...
In the world of Danmachi, inside a quiet, peaceful village, a handsome youth stood before a lonely grave. He had messy, short hair and a sharp, clean look about him.
"Old man, I'm heading out. I'll come back to visit when I get the chance."
Kitahara looked at the tombstone and smiled softly. His voice was a gentle murmur in the wind.
It had been fifteen years since he arrived in this world.
During that time, he realized what the "replacement" actually meant.
He hadn't replaced his old self. He had simply taken the place of a commoner in this world who happened to share his name.
It seemed the law of the transmigrator was in full effect. Kitahara had started this life as an orphan.
His parents had been killed in a Monster disaster while he was still an infant.
Back then, he thought his second life was going to end before it even began.
A baby left alone in the wild had zero chance of survival.
The situation felt even more desperate after he opened his Newbie Gift Pack and received the Protection of the Phoenix.
The Protection of the Phoenix was a legendary power from another world. It granted the user the ability to resurrect once. More importantly, upon resurrection, it granted a "Follow-up" Protection of the Phoenix.
It was essentially an infinite life insurance policy.
For a capable warrior, this would be the ultimate trump card.
But for an infant who couldn't even crawl, it was a nightmare.
Without anyone to care for him, Kitahara would have starved to death. Then, the Protection of the Phoenix would have brought him back to life, only for him to starve again.
It would have been an endless cycle of agony. A literal hunger hell.
That was the best-case scenario. If a wild beast or a Monster had found him, the horror would have been unimaginable.
Being eaten alive, reviving, and being eaten again... Kitahara was certain his mind would have snapped.
The [๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐ต๐ผ๐ฒ๐ป๐ถ๐ ] was a cruel irony. It severed his escape route. If he died, he wouldn't just wake up in a new world. He was tethered here, forced to wait until ten years after the main story concluded before he could move on.
Kitahara felt the crushing weight of hopelessness. How could he not?
Just as the darkness threatened to swallow him whole, an old man appeared. The stranger saw the hollow look in Kitahara's eyes and decided to take him in.
Fifteen years. That was how long they spent together.
Eventually, time claimed what it was owed. The old man passed away peacefully, his long life finally reaching its natural conclusion.
With his guardian gone, Kitahara had no reason to linger in the quiet village. The silence of the house was deafening. He packed his few belongings, preparing to head toward the center of everything.
This was the world of Danmachi. It was a place where gods walked among mortals, where Adventurers sought glory, and Monsters lurked in the dark. At the very heart of this world sat the Labyrinth City, Orario.
The city was a crown placed atop a gaping wound in the earth. Below it lay the massive subterranean cavern known as the Dungeon.
Gods who had grown bored of the heavens descended there to find entertainment. They established their Familias, gathering followers to explore the depths. These groups hunted the creatures within, growing stronger with every kill while ensuring the surface remained safe from the terrors below.
Kitahara stood at the edge of the village, staring at the distant horizon. He refused to live a mediocre life in some forgotten corner of the world. He would go to Orario. He would join a Familia and carve his name into history.
'I won't let this chance slip through my fingers.'
Besides, his [๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฒ๐น] was useless without a proper environment. It was a tool that demanded conflict and growth. Orario was the only stage big enough for his ambitions... and the Dungeon was calling.