Chapter 2: Chapter 2: The system welcomes you to the Rukongai district!
Grayson felt as if he had been asleep forever. His body felt heavy as he opened his eyelids to see that he was led in a bed made of straw.
"What a crazy dream he said as he slowly took a look around the room.
"Hold on..." He then said, noticing that this wasn't his room at all.
"Where the hell am I!" He shouted as he jumped out of bed panicked.
Suddenly a voice inside his head spoke to him.
"Greetings and welcome to the system." The voice said.
Grayson looked around.
"Who said that?" He asked.
"I am known as the system. You cannot see me as I exist only inside of your head." The robotic voice said.
"A system? What the hell is going on here, where am I?" He asked not understanding anything that was going on.
"You are currently inside of the Rukongai north district 77." The voice said.
"Where the hell is that?" Grayson said as he noticed a cracked mirror hanging on the wall.
Heading over to it he took a look at his reflection. Nothing had changed other than his hair was down and a little scruffy. His clothing was also different to as he wore a red kimono that stopped at his knees, with nothing on his feet.
"What in the world is going on..." He said.
"Allow me to explain." The system suddenly said.
"You are dead and are no longer in the world of the living."
The memory of what had happened suddenly came crashing back into his mind, up until his encounter with Aizen and Gin where it became blank.
"So I really am dead..." He said looking around some more at the dinghy room.
"Is this supposed to be heaven?" He then said in a disapproving tone.
"No. This is the Rukongai district. This is where all souls are transported to by a shinigami after they leave your physical body." The system said.
Grayson felt as if he was losing his mind.
"Shinigami? What the hell is this some kind of game?"
"Not a game. Just a parallel universe in which your soul was transported to."
"Say what? Grayson then asked.
"You may know this world as the world of Bleach. It was a popular manga/TV show back in your world." The voice said.
Grayson's eyes suddenly opened wide.
"What!"
"Bleach! A parallel universe!" He shouted as he tried to make sense of all of this.
"Yes, would you like me to explain in more detail?" The voice said.
Suddenly a pop-up screen with the choice of yes and no appeared in front of Grayson.
"W-what is this... No! Just tell me where I am and what's going on!" He shouted.
"Very well. As I explained. Your soul is now inside the universe known as Bleach. Your soul has been transported to the Rukongai district where all dead souls come to rest."
Grayson crossed his arms and nodded as he tried to collect all of his thoughts.
"So Bleach... Soul reapers... Monsters are known as..." He said trying to think.
"The monsters you are thinking about are known as hollows." The system said.
"Hollows that's right," Grayson said nodding.
"Hold on a second! How is this even possible!" He then shouted making a fist?
"Your world is one of many parallels universes that exist inside a multitude of more universes. It is not uncommon for a soul to slip between worlds sometimes. In your case, you have entered the world you know as Bleach." The system explained.
"Right... I'm just gonna pretend this whole thing is a dream." He said as he fell back onto the bed.
"Hey, he's awake!" A voice said as the door to the room opened.
Grayson sighed into his pillow.
"Give me a break!" He thought as he shot up to see who it was.
"It's amazing you are still alive! When we found you, you were already half dead!" The man said as he stepped closer.
He was a small plump fat man with a bald head. He too wore a green kimono that looked old and worn.
"That's right, my name is bonsai! Pleased to meet you." He said giving Grayson a nod.
Grayson nodded back to him and stood to his feet.
"Wait you saved me?" He asked.
"Well, I guess they don't know how to say thank you where you come from eh!" Bonsai said crossing his arms.
Grayson flinched a little and nodded.
"Your right, Thank you for saving me." He then said.
Bonsai nodded and suddenly became cheerful again.
"Now come on out and meet the others!" He suddenly said as he rushed behind him and started pushing him outside the room.
"H-hey wait!" Grayson protested, but it was no use.
"Quest, leave room complete!" A notification said popping into Grayson's head.
"What the hell?" He thought.
"You have been awarded with 100 experience points." The voice then said.
Grayson didn't have time to think about it as Bonsai pushed him out of the small wooden shack and outside.
"Look who's alive!" The small man said, pushing Grayson into the middle of three others.
"Well shit. I guess I lost that bet." A large man with a scar down his left eye and short white hair said before putting his cards down.
Another shorter man with a bald head and a big X-shaped scar that ran across his whole face also sighed.
"Damn it! I never win at these things!" He said as he threw his cards in a fit of rage.
"Now, Now. Let's not get upset." A tall thin man with long black hair said as he looked at Grayson.
"You look much better." He said greeting Grayson.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Hogi. That there is Koga." He said pointing to the big one.
"And this here is stump." He then said pointing to the little one.
Grayson nodded.
"My name is Grayson." He then said, introducing himself.
The others nodded and grunted at him not really bothered as they continued to play cards.
"Don't mind them," Hogi said as he smiled.
Grayson nodded.
"So where I am?" He then asked taking a look around.
"Ah that explains it," Hogi said crossing his arms.
"Looks like we got a new arrival here boys!" He then shouted getting a laugh from the others.
"First timer eh?" Koga said looking up at Grayson.
"Don't worry about it, it's a little strange at first but you'll get used to it." Stump then said.
"You sure drew the short straw ending up here though." Hogi then said.
Grayson looked confused.
"What do you mean?" He then asked.
"This here is Rukongai district 77. Northside." Bonsai said as he sat back down to rejoin the card game.
"Ok... And that means?" He asked.
"Answer." The system suddenly said in his head.
"The Rukongai district is divided into to North, east, south and west sectors that surround the Seireitei. Each sector then has an area code from one to eighty. The higher the number, the rougher and more dangerous the area is."
"That means this is about as rough as it gets!" Koga shouted, getting a laugh from all the others.
"Right..." Grayson said as he sat down on an empty chair.
"Don't sweat it, kid. You're lucky we found you. Most others would have just left you to die." Hogi said as he offered him a set of playing cards.
"Know how to play poker?" He said.
Grayson was too shocked at what was going on to say no and decided to take the cards.
"That's the spirit! Bonsai said cheering a little.
Grayson Look at his cards and then looked at the three that had already been placed out.
"Quest complete." The system then said.
"You have been awarded 100 experience points." It then said.
Grayson was shocked again at seeing it display in the corner of his vision.
"What in the world?" He asked.
"Bonus quest. Win the game to earn 1000 experience points." The system then said.
"I have no idea what is going on, and you know what. I don't even care at this point." He thought as he saw the pair of kings in his hand with another on the table.
"Alright, Grayson. The rules are simple. Since you don't have any money to bet we play with time." Hogi said.
"Time?" Grayson asked.
"Yah, time," Koga said.
"Allow me to explain. Time around here runs much longer than that on earth. Here we can live for hundreds and hundreds of years! So we gamble that time for favours." Hogi said.
"For example. If I was to bet six months and lost. I would become a slave for six months to whoever won the hand. Now there are a few exceptions." He then said.
"You can fold at any point until you are the last two players in the game. If more than one person loses then both losers will become a slave to the winner for the time bet." He said explaining.
"What do you mean by a slave?" Grayson asked.
"Slave as in a slave. The winner can demand anything of you and you have to do as they say. For example, they might tell you to steal some food or wash their clothes. Others can demand much worse things." He said with a sinister look in his eye.
"Alright..." Grayson said understanding.
"And what if the slave says no?" He then asked.
Hogi smiled before he answered.
"Absolutely nothing!" He said laughing.
Grayson realised he was only pulling his leg as the others all started laughing too.
"Don't listen to him, kid! We're just playing for fun here. Bonsai said patting him on the shoulder.
Grayson also laughed.
"Ok let's go." He said as he waited for the next cards to be placed down.
another two cards were placed down but it was nothing that would help Grayson.
"Ok boys show your cards!" Hogi said.
Everyone did as such, revelling their hands. To everyone's surprise, Grayson had the winning hand and they all scoffed.
"Looks like this kids got some serious luck on his side!" Koga said with a smile.
"Go to hell!" Stump said as he threw his cards down again while the others laughed at him.
"Bonus quest complete! You have earned 1000 experience points!" The system said in his head.
"Congratulations you have levelled up!" The voice then said as it displayed a level up message and screen.
"Hey guys, mind if I use the toilet?" Grayson asked the others, needing an excuse to get away for a minute.
"Yeah sure, back through there kid," Koga said pointing to the hut.
Grayson nodded and walked away from the group so he could try and find out just what the hell was going on.
"Alright, system! Or whatever the hell your name is. Time to explain just what in the world is going on here?" He said.
"Very well. Determining an explanation that you can comprehend." It then said.
Grayson pulled a face as it did.
"Did it just mock me?" He thought as he waited.
"My name is the system. I have been tasked with helping you make your way in this world. To help you understand it better, it would help to see it as a game. One where you can gain experience and level up to become stronger." The system said.
"A game? Level up? I'm starting to lose my mind." He thought as now another thing that shouldn't be possible was happening.
"That said would you like me to explain your levelling up options?" The system then asked.
Grayson was close to banging his head against the wall to make this all stop. But decided to go with it anyway.
"Fine... Not like I can do anything about this whole thing anyway." He said.
"First say or think. Open menu." The system said.
Grayson nodded.
"Ok, open the menu." He said as he crossed his arms over his chest.
Suddenly a holographic display screen appeared in front of him giving him a few options.
"Wow..." He said as he moved his head around, noticing that it stayed in his field of vision no matter what direction he looked.
"That's pretty cool," He said as he looked at the options it displayed.
Stats:
Abilities:
Quest log:
Character information:
"So these are my options on the menu huh?" He said surprised.
"That is correct, would you like to see what each one does?" The system asked.
"Alright, let's see the stats menu," Grayson said.
The stats icon glowed and then the display changed to display his stats and level.
Name: Grayson.
Level 3. (300/900).
Class: Human Plus. (Meaning soul)
Health: 100/100
Stamina: 100/100
Reiatsu: 100/100
Skills-
Strength: 10/100 (0/10)
Speed: 10/100 (0/10)
Intelligence: 10/100 (0/10)
Enhanced skills -
Zanjutsu: 0/10 (0/10)
Hakuda: 0/10 (0/10)
Kidō: 0/10 (0/10)
Skill points available: 3.
Grayson was a little more than confused as he read his stats screen.
"I don't understand what any of this means." He said with a blank expression.
"Would you like me to explain?" The system asked.
"For the love of God yes," Grayson said getting sick of having to ask for that.
"The skills page displays your current level and skills. Skills are broken down into basic skills and advanced skills. Basic skills consist of strength, speed and intelligence."
Grayson paid close attention as he continued to listen.
"Strength is responsible for the amount of force you can use and physical strength. It is also linked with your health and stamina." The system said.
"Your speed determines how fast you can move physically. It also determines how quick your reaction time is and how quickly you recover."
"As for intelligence, this skill will determine how much information you can hold and process at a given time. it is also responsible for the amount of Reiatsu you have."
Grayson nodded his head still having his arms crossed over his chest.
"So Reiatsu is like my magic points." He said understanding.
"Yes. If you place a skill point into one of these skills then you will increase that number by ten. Once a skill reaches 100 it will reset back to zero but the level cap to the right will increase by one. Once the level cap reaches ten in a certain skill you will unlock a special skill." The system said.
Grayson nodded.
"Ok, that makes sense. And what about the others that I can't even read?"
"The enhanced skills are related to the abilities of this world. Zanjutsu for example is ones skill with a Zanpakutō or a sword."
"Ahhh I get it... What about the others?" He then asked.
"Hakuda is responsible for your hand to hand combat. While Kidō is a form of magic in this world. Kidō is also broken down into two sections. Hadō which translates to the path of destruction. And Bakudō which translates to way of binding. If you choose to place a skill point into these skills they shall increase by one. Once they reach level ten they will increase the level cap like the others."
Grayson nodded as he looked at his stats screen.
"One more thing." The system then said.
"Your enhanced skills will also be affected by your basic skills. For example, in order to learn a certain Kidō spell. Your intelligence and Kidō skill must both meet the requirements."
Grayson nodded again, understanding what the system meant.
"So it really is like a game." He said as he exited from the stats menu back to the main screen.
"So I take it my abilities screen is linked to my skills also?" He then asked.
"That is correct." The system replied.
"Ok, and what about quests. Is that how I gain exp?"
"Yes. However, there is a multitude of ways you can earn Exp, frankly, it would take too long to explain all of them. But quests are the fastest way to earn experience." The system said.
"Right... That makes sense too." Grayson said as he clicked on character information.
"This is the character information section. Here all the information about anyone you have encountered will be stored so you can look at it whenever you wish."
Grayson nodded as he flicked through it, finding the information about the hollows that attacked him and the four men outside. However, It failed to display any information about Gin and Aizen. And Grayson's memory was still foggy about that whole thing.
"So, would you like to spend your skill points?" The system asked.
Grayson snapped out of his daydream and flicked back to the stats menu.
"Alright, can't hurt to give it a try." He said as he hovered his finger onto his strength.
"I'll put one point into strength, one point into intelligence and the last into Hakuda!" (unarmed combat). He said as he hit the confirm button.
Name: Grayson.
Level 3. (300/900).
Class: Human Plus.
Health: 110/110
Stamina: 110/110
Reiatsu: 110/110
Skills-
Strength: 20/100 (0/10)
Speed: 10/100 (0/10)
Intelligence: 20/100 (0/10)
Enhanced skills -
Zanjutsu: 0/10 (0/10)
Hakuda: 1/10 (0/10)
Kidō: 0/10 (0/10)
Skill points available: 0.
Grayson could feel the sudden increase throughout his body. He could also feel the sudden burst of information about basic fighting techniques enter his mind.
-Knock knock knock!-
"Hey, kid you alright in there!" A voice shouted from outside.
"Y-Yeah I'm just finishing up!" Grayson shouted not sure what else to say.
"Well hurry up! Some of us need the bathroom too you know!" Stump said.
Grayson laughed a little as he looked at the so-called toilet if that was what you would call a hole in the ground.
"So I guess I had better figure out what I'm supposed to do in this place." Grayson thought as he unlocked the door.
"Bout time!" Stump said as he pushed past him, shutting the wooden door.
"There is no main quest or objective." The system said.
Grayson raised an eyebrow in response.
"So I can talk to you in my head?" He asked.
"That is also correct." The system said.
"So I have no big goal to achieve. No heroic mission to complete. I could just stay here for as long as I wanted without any consequence." He thought as he rejoined the others.
"Well, looks who's back, took you long enough!" Koga said.
"Sorry," Grayson said as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Don't have to apologise kid. People do what they want around here, don't go saying sorry for little things like that." He said.
Grayson nodded.
-growling sound-
Everyone turned around to look at Grayson as they recognised the sound.
"Did your stomach just rumble?" Bonsai asked.
Grayson smiled a little.
"Yeah, come to think of it I can't remember the last time I ate." He said laughing.
Ok going to end it here! I hope you enjoyed it! Please let me know if anything doesn't make sense and I shall try and correct it!
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