Chapter 1 - Awakening
"The Reaper doesn't ask why you became a monster. He just comes."
[Tokyo. District 20. Hospital room. 23:34]
He opened his eyes.
A bright white light pierced his eyelids, and for a moment he thought he was in heaven. But the air... the air was too sterile, smelling of antiseptics and cheap plastic. It was a hospital room. Smooth walls, a white ceiling, an EKG machine next to the bed.
"...What the..." he whispered.
Not his own voice. Young. Too soft.
He sat up slowly, placing his palm on his chest. His heart beat steadily, rhythmically. He felt... alive. Real. Not a dream, not a projection.
But then it came.
[Loading system...]
Reaper Protocol activated.
User: Kaneki Ken
Status: Personality Fusion - Success
Welcome to the "S-Class Extermination: Ghoul" program
— Starting skill selected: [Accelerated Training Lv.1]
— Access open to:
⬛ Character Panel
⬛ Shop
⬛ Inventory (100×100m)
— Current quest: Kill the first ghoul
Reward: 100 coins
Kaneki froze. A second, two... Then everything came crashing down on him: he wasn't him. More precisely, he was someone else. An ordinary guy from Earth. His name - he had forgotten. His family - erased. Only one thing remained:
Hatred.
Not blind, not hysterical. Cold, pure, logical. Ghouls. These creatures. He had read the manga. He had watched the anime. And now... now he was in this world. And, ironically, in the body of the very one who would become part of them.
But not this time.
He jumped off the bed, his hands shaking as he found his clothes in the locker: black pants, a white patient shirt. His heart was pounding. He knew what to do.
The system blinked again:
Hint: The store is open. Do you want to make your first purchase?
- Show me.
The screen appeared before his eyes, like a transparent hologram. He selected:
[Accelerated Learning Lv.1] - 100 coins
You learn twice as fast. The efficiency of reading, training, memorization, and analysis increases by 100%.
- Confirm.
Tick.
Nothing spectacular. But suddenly his thoughts became clearer. He felt... structure. As if his brain had become a focused weapon, and not a random stream of thoughts.
[On the street. That same night.]
He walked down a narrow street, in his hand was a knife taken from the hospital cafeteria. The system suggested a route: "High concentration of ghouls - 300 meters to the southeast."
Every step was difficult. Not because of fear. He was ready. But his body was still weak, unaccustomed. He knew that with each fight he would become stronger.
And then he saw her.
A small figure. A black hood. A girl of about six.
"Hey..." he took a step.
The head turned.
The eyes were scarlet.
A ghoul.
Without hesitation, she jumped. Too fast.
But Kaneki was already waiting.
He dodged, stabbed forward with the knife, as they taught in street self-defense. He hit - not deep, but enough for the ghoul to howl and jump back.
"Thank you for being the first."
He jumped. One, two, three blows. And when she lost her balance - he plunged the knife into her throat.
She wheezed. He watched, not looking away.
Ghoul destroyed
+100 coins
Skill EXP: Accelerated training +0.2%
Blood dripped from the knife. Blood… alien. Inhuman. And for the first time in a long time, he felt:
Relief.
[Two days later. CCG building]
He stood in front of the reception desk.
— Name?
— Kaneki Ken.
— Reason for applying?
— I want to become a ghoul hunter. An exterminator. As many as you can teach, I will absorb everything.
"And if I was not a reaper, then I will become one. Myself. Slowly. Methodically. Silently."