SIAW Vol. 1 Chapter 1 (PROLOGUE)
Chapter 1 – Training System
When I opened my eyes, I found a large, half-transparent screen floating before me.
『Welcome to the Training Center for the Reincarnated!』
It was displayed on the screen.
I barely held myself back from shouting “you think you’re funny!?”.
The lady that “assisted” me acted in a business-like manner, but complained a lot too, and I felt that she did not explain about the reincarnation with the seriousness required.
I was baffled and quite annoyed by the treatment, but if what she told me about the reincarnation was true, I had no time to waste, or so I told myself.
The existence of a training facility before actually going to the other world gave me a sense of security, but I only had three months. How much could I achieve in such a short time?
I looked at the screen again, and—
『Please pick a name』
It was like the screen that appeared when you start a new game.
Because of that, I used the same name I had in the game I played until I died: “Tenma”.
Then…
『Name set to “Tenma”』
『Beginning initial settings…』
『Setting base information…』
[Base Information]
Name: Tenma
Species: Human
Gender: Male
Age: 14
『Setting status…』
[Status]
(Species) level : 1
HP : 50
MP : 50
STA: 50
INT: 50
STR: 50
SPD: 50
SKL: 50
LCK: 50
『Setting Skills…』
[Skills]
Language comprehension – LV 2
Lifestyle Magic
[Bonus Skills]
Appraisal
Item Box
『Initial settings complete.』
『Please check the “Training System” on the top left of the screen.』
It was really like a video game! There was a lot I wanted to comment on, but I saved it for later and went to the next step first.
As instructed, I looked at the “Training System” item on the top left of the screen.
As I did, a long explanation about the training was displayed. In order to proceed with the training effectively, I read it carefully.
As it turned out, despite it being called “training” there was no instructor: I had to do everything by myself, through trial and error.
The training facility was a circular island that extended for several hundred kilometers: checking the “Map” option on the left of the screen would display the map.
Considering the upper side of the map as the north, there was a building on top of the hill to the north, and the 1 km-wide area with this building at the center was titled “safe area”.
Just outside the safe area, to the west, there was a dungeon.
A quick glance at the map showed that there were mountains, rivers and forests on the island. In case they were burned or destroyed, they would return to their original state every day at midnight.
The building I was in was the training base: it had a bedroom, living room, bathroom, kitchen etc. in the living space, an alchemy laboratory, a smithy and other workshops, as well as an indoor training room, a library and more: it was a well-furnished environment for sure.
Details about using the facility could be found by checking the “Facility” item on the screen.
Regarding meals, I would receive 3000 Yen every day, and I could buy food from the “Meal” item on the screen. For whatever reason, the shops available were famous fast food chains, convenience stores and other familiar names for a Japanese person like me.
I tried ordering a milkshake, to see how the system worked, and it appeared in front of me, so I then bought some fries. I put them immediately in the Item Box, and it worked without problems.
While drinking the milkshake and eating the fires, I looked at the rest of the options.
The species level seemed to be my own level, which affected all stats. In order to raise it, I had to gain experience points.
During training, however, the only way to gain experience points was to defeat monsters in the dungeon. In other words, even if I fought monsters elsewhere, it would be pointless.
There was no clear explanation, but there might have been a way to raise HP, MP and the other stats other than raising the species level. It was possible in some games, at least.
Skills too had their own level, shown after the abbreviation “LV”. It could be raised by increasing proficiency, and differently from the species level, it could be done even outside the dungeon.
Then, I checked what happened in case of death.
During training, it was not possible to actually die, but there was the “Classified Dead” status. In such a case, I would be transferred back to the facility. In addition, the experience points and proficiency I gained until then would be cut in half. Pretty strict system, I thought.
Affinity for the skills was listed, in decreasing order, with SSS, SS, S, A B. Having such high affinity would grant bonus points and make skills easier to learn. C meant no bonus, while D, E, F, G and H affinity gave minus points. H grade gave the most, obviously.
It was a bit complex, but as a training period bonus, I had the following bonuses for learning skills:
I would have a +3 bonus until I learned my first skill, a +2 bonus until the skill level became 1 and a +1 bonus until the skill level became 2.
In other words, I now had C-grade natural talent for all skills (no bonuses), so until I gained my first skill I actually had a S-grade talent; it would go down to A until the skill became level 1, and B until it became level 2.
I checked further about the bonuses available during training.
Lifestyle Magic could be raised up to level 4, and allowed the usage of status magic, which let me see my status. Appraisal could also be raised to level 5…but I decided to delve deeper into that later.
The system’s “Resources” menu contained a lot of food ingredients, materials, weapons, armor, items, and more.
The weapons and armor seemed all pretty ordinary. There was a great amount of food ingredients, but most of them required cooking. Among the materials, there were familiar metals such as gold and iron, but also other world-like substances like “Mana Iron” and “Mithril”. Among the items were all sorts of potions, but also even an Elixir.
There was only one Elixir, but even if I used it, a new one would be supplied every day at midnight. For some reason, there were poison antidotes and paralyzation healing ointments, too.
Apparently, “going back to the initial state at midnight” was a rule that applied to the whole training system.
After gaining a general understanding of the system, I decided to take a look around the facility.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
I was now sitting in a comfortable armchair, feeling like a big-time CEO.
In front of me, there was a half-transparent monitor, about 30 inches wide, floating in midair. And a large desk.
On my right, there was a dining table for 4. In the back, a kitchen. On my left, there was a door, but I would check it later.
Behind me, there was a living room, about 20 square meters wide, with a sofa for three, an armchair, etc. There was also a large table, making it perfect for relaxing.
I decided to take a look at the kitchen first.
There were plenty of appliances inside, but as a whole, it was very out of the ordinary.
There was a sort of IH* cooking stove, with a wood-burning stove next to it, and another beaten-looking stove too. (Editor note: IH stands for ‘Induction Heating’, which is widely used in Japan.)
I went closer to the IH cooking stove, and it displayed, 『You do not fulfill usage requirements』. I probably had to acquire cooking-related skills or increase my stats to use it.
～
I left the kitchen and went to the living room.
I noticed that there were two doors on the kitchen side. One led to the bathroom, with a bathtub in the back.
The other led to a bedroom, which contained a king-size bed.
I went back to the living room and opened the door on the work area side.
There was the entrance door in front and a corridor on the right.
There were several doors on both sides of the corridor. I checked each one and found a smithy, an alchemy lab, and other such workshops.
I walked to the other end of the corridor and found a door, while the corridor led to a right turn and continued.
There was a training room on the other side of that door. The floor was just ground, and on the stone walls, there were various marks and human-shaped targets.
I returned to the corridor and continued to the right; at the end, there was a large door containing a room full of books: a library, evidently.
Near the entrance, a stairwell led up to the third floor.
I checked the nearest bookshelf and found mostly beginner-level technical books and manuals. I tried going up the stairs, but there also the 『Access conditions not fulfilled』 notice was displayed.
I then left the library and retraced my steps down the corridor.
～
I went back to the entrance, opened the door and went outside.
The air was a bit chilly, but the warm sunlight made it pretty comfortable to be out.
A gentle breeze caressed my cheeks. A dirt path extended straight from the building, gradually descending a slope.
I could not see any fence or walls delineating a garden, but the grass around the building was well-kept, with some trees growing here and there.
On the right side, there was a stone table and some chairs: from there, it was possible to take a good look at the surroundings.
As it turned out, the building was located on a hill: I could see grass plains, woods and a forest. There also was a river leading to the sea in the distance.
I sat on the stone table and contemplated the scenery for a moment. Putting the training aside, I thought it would be perfectly nice to just live here.
Three months from now, however, a new life was going to start for me.
The common sense and knowledge I brought from my past life might not mean anything anymore. The fact was surely worrying, but it also filled me with anticipation.
My old life, full of absurdities but empty of hopes and dreams, was over.
Putting in the right effort in these three months would surely be worth it!