《I Died But I Reincarnated As Myself?》


 Prologue - Death, Regrets and Rebirth

    (Author note: Don''t expect too muchfrom thisnovel, I''m writing it as a side-project and it won''t necessarily be good. Hope you understand this and don''t go ranting at me in the comments~)


    A dull-looking man with scarlet red hair and metallic golden eyes walked down a street with an indifferent expression on his face. He was about 5''9" and had an average looking body.


    He caught his reflection in a shops window and saw his completely average body. It was one of his wishes to fill out his frame properly with muscle but he had always put it off saying he could do it a year later and now here he was, a man going into his mid-twenties'' and he''d already started to lose his younger body''s vigor.


    He''d always meant to do it to help his confidence grow and then maybe try to get with some women once it grows enough but he''d never done it so his self-esteem and confidence were just as low as they were all those years ago when he decided to sort it out.


    Because of his low amount of confidence he never really spoke to girls or people outside his family in general, so he had next to no friends and as you might expect, he hadn''t had a girlfriend in all this time.


    And due to his massive amount of free time, Luther usually watched anime and read the manga to pass the time. It was one of Luther''s few hobbies which he''d kept till now.


    The man shook his head in a self-deprecating way and carried on walking. As he was crossing the street, Luther thought about how lackluster his life was and how he wished to be born again. He felt some impact his body out of the blue and felt himself go flying.


    His ears were ringing and his body felt like a mangled doll. But he didn''t feel any pain. Luther was confused about what happened and tried to look around only to find he couldn''t move his head at all. All he could see was a truck driving off at full-speed. Luther couldn''t help but attempt to crack a smile at the irony of the situation.


    ''I wished for a chance to redo my life and truck-kun came out and answered it. How lucky I am~''


    Luther figured he was in shock, as no one should be able to joke about being hit by a truck when they''ve just had it happen to them but here he was, joking about it all. Well, he was until he remembered he wasn''t the only person crossing the street.


    Bodies were littered around him. Men, Women and even Children were just like him; mangled corpses.


    As he looked at them, his humorous attitude slowly faded away and was replaced with his usual grim one.


    ''If that was caused by my wish, just proves how selfish I am, right? Guess that means I don''t deserve a second chance after all.''


    As he was disdainfully mocking himself for being so jovial about such a serious situation. The only plus side was that most of the kids had been shielded by their parents and most of them were alive with only a few injuries here and there, only a few were hit by the speeding truck.


    At this point, people starting rushing up to them with their phones already ringing the police and ambulance services constantly.


    Luther looked at a woman who came up to him. She seemed quite calm and professional, with long black hair and the traditional looks of a Japanese beauty, she also had glasses on which added to her calming beauty.


    She put her finger on Luther''s neck, obviously checking for a pulse. Once she found it and saw him looking at her, she tried speaking to him while she checked his body delicately to see the damage.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    ''Oh, so she''s a doctor. I must look pretty bad if she rushed to me first.''


    Luther couldn''t hear her over the ringing in his ears but he was more than capable of reading her lips. Luther put all his energy toward smiling at her, despite its ugly appearance on his mangled and bloody face but when he thought about his situation he knew he couldn''t be saved.


    He could feel live slipping from his grasp as he lay there, with a beautiful doctor by his side. When the doctor saw his smile, she seemed shocked that someone could smile in such a situation but she felt what he was trying to convey in that smile; he was trying to comfort her because he knew he was about to die.


    Luther looked around with his eyes and saw some weird stuff. He saw translucent people floating out of the dead bodies of certain people.


    All their faces were blank and what happened to them was weird. Some got up and started walking around, some just dissipated and some were dragged into the ground by some black tentacles.


    ''So the afterlife is a thing, huh? That''s actually pretty surprising but I guess I''m gonna be going straight to Hell.''


    Luther thought this because while he may seem like a dull guy, he had many less-than-savoury fantasies and he was quite a maniac if anything. The world just had to thank him for his lack of confidence to ever actually do anything.


    A few minutes later and Luther was like them; a floating translucent version of himself.


    But unlike the others who disappeared, were dragged down or forced to walk the Earth, Luther, unlike what he thought would happen to him, started floating upward.


    And before long he was in a white room. Honestly, Luther would''ve been surprised if he hadn''t seen people going to Hell and what he presumed was Purgatory but he had, so this white room didn''t really surprise him and he guessed it was Heaven.


    Well, it was either Heaven or he was about to be Reincarnated but that can''t happen, right? Well, this was Luther''s thought process before a screen popped up in front of him.


    Do you wish to live a better life? Y/N


    Luther was surprised but his body moved on its own, like he was compelled to click whichever one he truly wanted, so he clicked yes.


    Do you really want to live a better life? Y/N


    Annoyed, Luther clicked yes again but this time he did it without the weird compelling feeling forcing him to do so.


    How do you wish to live your life again?


    -I want to be more powerful.


    -I want to be more influential.


    -I want to be more attractive.


    Luther looked at the options and felt that none of them really fit with what he wanted. He didn''t necessarily need power or influence or to be mega-attractive, he knew what he wanted and so did the screen in front of him as it adds another option.


    -I just want to bebetter.


    And so, Luther pressed that answer with a firm determination. If he truly got to live a better life, he''d try his absolute best to work towards resolving his regrets. While he was planning out his next life, he suddenly blacked out and woke up.


    Feeling the weakness in his body, Luther couldn''t help but grow excited; he''d been reborn!


    Weirdly enough, he didn''t see anyone around him, he was lying in what seemed like a box with a blanket over his small body and a note with writing that he couldn''t make out. If Luther could laugh, he would.


    ''Abandoned in this life like how I was in the last one? What about this is better, God-sama?''


    He was next to what seemed like some kind of orphanage, which seemed to tug on something in Luther''s memory. He felt like he''d been here before but he told himself that it was impossible for that to be so as he''d just been reborn.


    As if to prove him wrong, the door opened to reveal a face he never thought he''d see again.


    "Hm? Now, who would leave such a cute kid on my doorstep?" The person had brown hair and dark emerald eyes, she was quite tall and looked around her mid-30''s. The woman bent down and picked Luther up, reading the sticky note on his body.


    "Is this your name, little guy? Hmmm, seems it is. Well, welcome to my little orphanage, Luther~" her voice sounded incredibly warm, just like Luther remembered. As happy as he was to see her again, Luther was incredibly confused. Wasn''t he supposed to be reborn in a different world? With a new family?


    So why was he a child version of himself, back in Mrs. Tanaka''s arms again?


    At that moment, Luther realized he''d indeed been reborn but not in another world, but as himself.

 Chapter 1 - System and Being Given Power

    As Luther was carried inside the house, he felt himself slowly falling asleep, his child body not allowing him to keep his eyes open any longer.


    But before he fell asleep, he saw the living room he was being taken into and was now certain that he was in the house he was raised in as a child in his ''previous'' life. He saw a slender man holding two silver-haired twins and a third baby in a cot opposite him.


    This was all Luther could make out before his eyelids felt like they were made out of lead and closed on him sending him off to sleep.


    Luther opened his eyes to see that he was now in a dark room with a dim light next to him. He looked around and saw that he was in a fairly big cot of his own now but he soon discovered he wasn''t alone.


    Like Mrs. Tanaka had shown him in pictures, he was in a cot with the twins and the baby who was in the cot earlier.


    The two twins were Luther''s only friends in his past life and while they were the opposite to an average, dull man like him with talents and abilities beyond what he could imagine, they also treated him like a sibling.


    The boy, Daichi, was someone who helped Luther in any way he could. He was Luther''s shield against any bullies and advice giver on any of Luther''s relationships (Well, the ones he wanted anyway.).


    The girl, Ayano, while not being as close to Luther as Daichi was, she still treated Luther like a brother and a close friend and helped him whenever he asked her.


    Both the twins were prodigies in terms of both athletic and academic ability and always outshined those around them. But Luther was never jealous of them, nor did he hate them for their natural abilities, they were his family and he cared for them.


    Luther slowly moved his head to the left to look at the other baby in the cot.


    When he looked at her, he saw her royal blue eyes looking right into his golden ones.


    This was Mia, Luther''s ''big'' sister. Unlike the twins who were good at both physical and mental things, Mia was only good at physical things. But to make up for it, she was even better than the Twins when it came to sports and especially her favorite past time; fighting.


    Luther was always tormented by her when he was younger. She used him as a live punching bag so he could give her feedback on her latest techniques and whatnot, but Luther knew it wasn''t because she hated him but because this was her own kind of twisted love. To join Luther in his suffering, the twins were also dragged into her ''play'' matches.


    Luther did hate her for a good majority of his life but by the time he was 15, he''d seen two sides to her and knew that the fighting, harsh and slightly cruel side was just a cover for her more sweet and gentle side.


    The latter could be seen right now as the baby Mia crawled over to Luther and started hugging him while giggling like a mad woman.


    Luther just lay there and let her do what she wanted as he had more important things to worry about.


    What you might ask? Well, the text that''s magically appearing in front of him.


    Congratulations, Luther! You''ve awoken the Potential and Talent System!


    And while you cannot use this system until you''re approximately 15 years old, we''ve got a little present for you!


    The Potential and Talent System, or P.a.T.S for short, has the main goal of pushing Human evolution to the limits. People think that Humans are weak and fragile creatures but that''s because they haven''t had that long to evolve to their peak forms! This system will help speed it up a little bit!


    Because you''ve already come into contact with 4 Supernatural Entities, the system will give you 4 starter gifts to make sure you can show them how strong a human is!


    ''Eh? Supernatural Entities? What are you talking about? Are you real? Am I crazy?!''


    Despite going to some mystical place before he was reborn, Luther was fully unprepared for something like this. To be told that in the world he lived his boring life in had such things as Vampires, Werewolves, Ghosts, and Demons was something that pushed his fragile mind to its limit.


    We know that this may be troubling to you, Luther, but please calm down. Those 3 babies around you are Supernatural Entities, how else could they pull off the feats they did in your past life? And that Mrs. Tanaka is also a Supernatural Entity, as to how do you think she controlled 3 babies with superhuman prowess?This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    You must throw away what you think you once knew and accept the world you''re now in. You wished to be better, the means have been given to you, but to become better you must also have a goal; to survive in this cruel Supernatural World.


    Your Gifts will be given now...


    *Ding!*


    Entry Level - Body Potential


    Entry Level - Mind Potential


    Entry Level - Fighting Talent (Hand-to-hand)


    Entry Level - Fighting Talent (Knife-Wielding)


    Before Luther could say anything more, a warm and soothing energy entered his body and sent him back to sleep.


    During his sleep, the baby Mia got bored and rolled back over to her side and slept herself, not knowing the changes happening to her new favorite thing.


    4 streams of energy entered his body. One went and covered his entire body and slowly started changing it, while the other 3 went into his brain and started changing things in there as well. When some things in Luther''s brain were changed, little streams went from his mind to his body and changed things there as well.


    The body energy was making everything about his body better. His bones were stronger and more resistant to damage, his muscles could exert more power and resist more pressure, his tendons and ligaments grew tougher but at the same time more flexible.


    Al his organ''s functions were put into overdrive after overdrive until they had left the realm of what a human should be able to do.


    Right now, even as a barely 1-year-old child, he could probably overpower a 5-year-old fairly easily.


    After a long time, the changes were complete and a new Luther was made.


    His skin was pale but not sickly so, more like precious jade kind of white. His short scarlet red hair was luscious looking and soft and looked like any woman would be jealous of it. As his eyes blinked open his golden eyes seemed like luminescent lamps, they were pure and without impurities at all.


    His face, while incredibly young and immature, still carried a feeling that it would grow into a face of an incredible lady killer who would capture an untold amount of young maidens'' hearts.


    ''PaTS, while I''m not going to have a go at you for suddenly doing that, can you tell me what the hell did you just do?''


    I gave your Mind and Body potential well beyond even the finest Human Athletes, along with Talent well beyond even the best hand-to-hand and knife-wielding combatants.


    ''I kinda guessed that much, but what does this Entry Level mean? Are there better versions of these abilities?''


    To answer both your questions, Entry Level is one of the six levels that a Talent or Potential can belong to. The five levels being:


    -Entry


    -Intermediate


    -Advanced


    -Superior


    -Peak/Perfect


    -Omni/Absolute


    ''Okay, but what do each of those mean?''


    Okay, let''s start with the Potential part.


    Entry is the Enhanced Level, it makes it so the user''s physical abilities are above natural members of their species, beyond what can be emulated via natural training and with little to no maintaining. This entails that you will now be faster, stronger and overall superior to fellow members of their species, without being obviously supernatural


    Intermediate is just a more potent version of Entry Level.


    Advanced, is the Superhuman Level, the user''s physical abilities will become glaringly, obviously and super/unnaturally physically superior over other beings in their species because their capabilities are far beyond natural levels, making them immensely stronger, faster, and more durable than regular beings can achieve by seemingly any method of training.


    And that''s all I can say, the levels above that are sealed off until you reach Advanced in at least 3 things.


    ''So, I''m now gonna be stronger than those of my species. So Human''s right?''


    Well, yes, but at the same time, no. You see Luther, you''re special. As much as you want to deny it, you''ve always felt something in you, right? Like a fire of some kind that could make you better but sadly you never had the right fuel for it, so you could only watch as it continued to wither, right?


    Luther was shocked at what the system said, but guessed it would know as it was something on an Omniscient Beings side. It was right, he had felt a fire in his chest ever since he was a kid but he could never figure out what it was and he never knew how to use it so he just forgot about it.


    The fire in his chest was the reason why he accepted all this nonsense so easily because a part of him knew there was a part to the world that he didn''t know about.


    Luther let out a sigh that seemed weird coming from a baby.


    ''So...what am I specifically?''


    Oh, you''re a Human, outright, otherwise, how would you get a System centered around Human Evolution? What you are Luther, is a Monster Slayer. A branch of Humanity which trained themselves to the very limits and when they were there at the top, they saw a whole new world of mystical origins.


    At first, they were thrashed about by creatures but after a certain time, they started to evolve in a way which scared all the other monsters and creatures of the supernatural world.


    Luther could sense the pride in the system''s voice and found it weird but guessed that a System centered around Human Evolution must take a lot of pride in strong Humans. His curiosity got the better of him when he heard the last part of what the system said,


    ''What did they do?''


    They evolved to kill the monsters.

 Chapter 2 - Growing up

    Luther was confused by what the system just said. Many things evolve to kill other things, so how is it so surprising that the Monster Slayers evolved to kill Monsters? Luther decided to ask.


    ''Evolved to kill monsters? How and why is that so important?''


    Because every monster has it''s own energy. Vampires have Blood Energy and Werewolves have Lunar Energy, Angels have Holy Energy and Demons have Dark Energy, and this energy allows them to be mostly unharmed by conventional means. A normal sword would barely hurt an energy empowered monster, even a gun from recent times while still able to hurt a monster it wouldn''t be able to do any lethal damage to it.


    The monsters got used to this immunity and saw most things that weren''t supernatural in nature as lesser beings, your race included. But the Monster Slayers at the time were mortal beings of immense power, born on battlefields and tempered through the fires of many primordial wars and even without Energy, they were able to kill a lone monster as long as it wasn''t an Elder or a Lord.


    ''Wait, so how much stronger is a Monster Slayer compared to a normal Human? And if I''m an Enhanced Monster Slayer, how strong am I?''


    A normal Monster Slayer probably has the strength of about 30 men and if for instance, we say that strength is 50kg per person, a Monster Slayer should be able to lift 1500kg quite easily. You as an enhanced version of these people should have the strength of about 40 men or 2000kg when you''re 15.


    Luther couldn''t hold in his shock as he tried to vocalize it.


    "Blah!"


    Luckily for him, all that came out when he went to say ''Fucking hell!'' were multiple baby noises. Luther was probably below the average in strength when he thought about it, so to think that he would have 2000kg in strength by the time he was 15 was thrilling, to say the least.


    But that isn''t your limit, Luther. I did say normal Monster Slayer.


    ''Wait, what?''


    Yes, the normals were the villagers and farmers of their Clans. When a Monster Slayer reached the age of 5 they would be tested on their talents for fighting and trained into a Soldier if they had the necessary talent.


    From a Soldier, they can traverse down different paths but the most revered one was an Elite. Sadly, this is all the information I can give you on this topic.


    Despite not getting all the information, Luther was still shocked to his core. But deep down, the fire he was so accustomed to ignoring seemed to be lit up. He wanted to become an Elite. No, Luther needed to become an Elite.


    He knew this fire was like an embodiment of his instincts and whatnot and he could feel their guidance on him.


    Hm? You''re instincts surely are as strong as I thought. *Sigh* Luther, let me gift you some stuff. What use are your Talents in fighting if you have nothing to hone them...


    As the system stopped speaking, beams of light entered Luther''s head. Luther himself was surprised because he was under the impression that the System was either going to be stingy and not give him anything unless absolutely necessary or it was going to follow the rule that he wouldn''t gain anything more from the system until he was 15.


    But as he lay there, he saw more and more information gather in his head. Closing his eyes, Luther could see the information gathering and making two book-like runes.


    One of the runes was black, with gold writing on it, while the other one was gold and the writing was red. Luther had never seen the writing before in his life, but he could instinctively understand what it said.


    The black and gold one''s writing said "Basic Hand-to-Hand Forms of the Caedes Clan", while the gold and red one said "Basic Knife-Wielding Forms of the Caedes Clan".


    ''What are these, PaTS?''


    Just a little bit of insurance. And I also wanted to see which clan you were from and I must say, I am surprised but the red hair you have makes sense now. Scratch what I said about you only being 40x stronger than the average man, you''ll be about 50x stronger because of your Caedes Bloodline.


    ''Wait, what are you on about--''


    Before he could get anything out, the System interrupted him.


    Don''t bother asking about it because I can''t tell you until you reach a certain level of strength and reach the age of 15.


    Disappointed, Luther shrugged his shoulders before visibly cheering up when he thought about the training manuals in his head at the minute. But before he could do anything, his baby body forced him to sleep regardless of it''s enhanced state.


    While sleeping, Luther didn''t see the slight glow of his body as a red and gold energy flowed into him.


    What a truly talented member of the Human Race. I can see why God-sama wouldn''t let him stay dead and sent him back in time to live up to his potential. He''s even pulling in Blood and Metal Energy at the young age of 1.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    Ah, did I forget to tell him that the reason the Monster Slayers rose up so far is that of their ability to learn how to use any kind of energy? I really am an air-headed Angel sometimes~


    If Luther were awake, he''d see the blonde beauty hovering over him with a small smile on her face.


    5 years later~


    Luther had spent the last 5 years pretty peacefully. The first year was spent getting used to his new strength, which was quite easy because the enhanced control he had over his body due to the potential boost and because his 3 siblings were surprisingly sturdy enough to handle him.


    With the rest of his years reading the book runes in his head and practicing what he could.


    Right now, Luther was moving his arms and feet around in a mystical way. Slight cracks and pops could be heard from his body as he continued to move.


    This was something from the Basic Fist Form book he''d got all those years ago. It was an art everyone in the Caedes clan had to perform. The main point of the art was the cultivate the body into the perfect vessel for the element/s of the person practicing.


    After he learned about the Monster Slayers, he started getting some lessons off of the System about some more stuff. One of them being energy.


    He was told about how as a Monster Slayer, he could have any affinity. PaTS told him his own affinities which were considered quite rare. But before that, each affinity has its own effects on the body, like so:


    Water: It increases the flexibility and control over the body


    Earth: It increases the strength and defense of the body


    Air: It increases the speed and agility of the body


    Fire: This one doesn''t really add anything to the body but just increases the overall destructive capabilities of the person''s attacks.


    And above those 4 main affinities, there are evolved versions with both the same benefits but improved and new benefits as well. The evolved affinities being:


    Water''s Evolved Affinity - Blood: It gives a bigger increase to flexibility, control, and vitality to the user.


    Earth''s Evolved Affinity - Metal: It gives a bigger increase to strength and defense to the body. It doesn''t give any more benefits but the increases on the ones that were already there are more than any of the other Affinities.


    Air''s Evolved Affinity - Lightning: It gives a bigger increase to speed and agility, while also giving lightning elemental damage which depending on its strength can numb or even paralyze an opponent.


    Fire''s Evolved Affinity - Magma: Gives small increases to speed, strength, defense, and vitality, but''s main boost is its destructive power goes much higher than Fire''s.


    Luther had both Blood and Metal, so he was trying to make a Blood & Metal Body through the use of the Element Fist Art as it was called.


    He''d made it his goal to train his body to the Entry Stage of the Art before learning the actual hand-to-hand styles of the Clan.


    2 years later~


    An 8-year-old Luther was currently standing in front of a small blonde girl.


    "Hmph! You might be bigger than me Luther, but I''ll still beat you up for stealing my cookie!" a cute voice squeaked before shooting toward Luther with unnatural speed. Mrs. Tanaka was watching off to the side with a forced smile on her face.


    She knew Luther was a Human and that Mia was a non-human and she knew how Mia would dominate Luther.


    She felt bad for Luther that his confidence would take a hit from this but this would happen sooner or later, she''d already put a stop to any possible fights between them but this one would happen regardless.


    But something that shocked her slightly was how calm Luther looked when he saw Mia''s speed.


    Luther stepped to the side of Mia who threw a kick at him. Luther took the chance she''d given him by underestimating him and grabbed her leg. "Got you." Luther''s voice seemed quite twisted but this was because his instincts for fighting were going wild.


    Luther tightened his grip on Mia''s ankle to the point where slight crunching sounds could be heard. Mia screamed as Luther''s grip tightened and Mrs. Tanaka rushed to their side.


    "Luther, let her go. Now!" The anger in her voice was obvious.


    "Jeez, I was only playing~" Luther let go of Mia''s ankle which had turned purple and seemed slightly crushed. He didn''t regret doing it because he figured what Mia was after multiple years of being next to her.


    Mia''s ankle healed back to normal at a speed visible to the naked eye. So Luther chimed in.


    "See, she''s fine." after saying this, Luther walked off.


    Luther had felt himself changing as of late like he was becoming something like a Saiyan from Dragonball; Something that loved to fight and was inherently bloodthirsty and cruel. But he didn''t dislike the change, he felt it was better than his last life where he lacked any kind of confidence or self-esteem.


    If he had to be cruel to be better in this life, he would be.


    6 years later~


    A 14-year-old Luther was eating in the living room with Daichi and Ayano. The three of them were talking about the fact it was so boring to be cooped up in the house all the time. This was a weird change for Luther as in his last life, they all went to school but this time, Mrs. Tanaka would let them go because of their supernatural powers.


    After a few arguments, they came to an agreement that they would only be able to go to Highschool next year if they showed some restraint on themselves.


    Luther was already set on going, he wanted to re-live his high school days and not regret them so much anymore, so he was going to try to restrain himself. Try anyway.


    "Hey, Daichi, you wanna try and go outside for a while?" Luther smiled mischievously. He''d changed so much in his 14 years of reliving his life he wasn''t anything how he was before. He was confident now.


    If you looked at his body, you''d see why.


    Muscular beyond what should be normal for a 14-year-old and a height which was taller than most men in Japan, nevermind other 14-year-olds. The 6''1", Olympic-level muscular Luther was the complete opposite of his former self.


    "I don''t know, Luther, Mrs. Tanaka would get pretty angry with us if she found out, she might even beat you up again~" Daichi jokingly said this which caused Luther''s face to redden in embarrassment.


    "Shut up idiot, she beat you up too!" Luther spat this out before carrying on eating his sandwich.


    After a short time, Daichi eventually agreed with Luther and they both snuck out of the house leaving a stupified Ayano and a grumpy Mia who wanted to go with them but was rejected.