RE:START : Killed by Meatballs
Chapter 1: Death by Meatballs and an Error-Prone System
I died because of meatballs.
Not food poisoning. Not a meatball stuck in my throat. But Mr. Karto's meatball cart my regular vendor suddenly pushed by some crazy guy right into the middle of the road, exactly when I was passing by.
My beat-up scooter skidded. Front tire slipped you know how it is, cheap tires bought online. My body flew. And I experienced slow motion like in the movies, complete with life flashing before my eyes:
My ex-girlfriend broke up with me via WhatsApp a year ago. (One blue check. Never replied.)
My boss said "you lack passion" when rejecting my raise request. (Passion for what? Paying rent?)
And finally, HR called three hours ago: "Sorry, Raka. Efficiency cuts." Two minutes. Fourteen seconds of it was "good luck elsewhere."
Elsewhere turned out to be... this. A meatball cart.
My head hit the cart. Made a splat sound like a watermelon falling. Blood.
Then darkness.
「 TRANSMIGRATION: INITIATING 」
「 SOUL DAMAGE: 34% 」
「 MEMORY CORRUPTION: 34% 」
「 STATUS: ERROR 」
「 SEARCHING FOR SOLUTION 」
「 SOLUTION FOUND: MERGE WITH SYSTEM 」
「 WELCOME TO THE MIRACLE SYSTEM, RAKA 」
「 WAIT 」
「 YOU'RE NOT THE ONE WE ORDERED 」
「 SORRY, WRONG DELIVERY 」
「 BUT YOU'RE HERE, I'M HERE 」
「 YOLO 」
I opened my eyes.
Bamboo woven ceiling. Smell of wet soil, wood smoke, and wait, what's that amazing smell?
DING!
「 MIRACLE SYSTEM V.1.0.3 」
「 STATUS: ERROR (BUT COOL) 」
「 LEVEL: 1 」
「 LUBER: 12% 」
「 LUBER? 」
「 YEAH. YOU'RE HEAVY. 」
「 YOUR INTERACTION WEIGHT IS 12% OVER LIMIT 」
「 YOU'RE TOO HEAVY TO TALK TO 」
「 SORRY ABOUT THAT 」
Me: "..."
「 YOU CAN PROTEST. BUT THAT WILL INCREASE LUBER. 」
「 SO MAYBE JUST STAY QUIET. 」
I stayed quiet.
The bamboo door opened.
An old woman entered. White hair in a bun. Faded batik sarong. Smell of coffee and clove cigarettes what kind of cigarette is that?She placed a plate in front of me.
Rice. Dried salted fish. Shrimp paste chili Sambal Terasi. Fresh vegetables: cucumber, basil, raw cabbage, papaya leaves.
Me: "..."
「 YOU SAID YOU'D STAY QUIET 」
Me: "Thank you, Ma'am."
The old woman laughed. Three teeth left. "Oh? How do you know I'm a 'Ma'am'?"
I froze. Good point.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
「 CULTURAL REFLEX: OLD PERSON = CALL THEM 'ELDER' 」
「 CULTURAL REFLEX: JAVANESE PEOPLE = AUTOMATICALLY RESPECTFUL 」
「 CULTURAL REFLEX: YOU'RE AN IT GRAD BUT SOMEHOW UNDERSTAND TRADITION 」
「 PROUD OF YOU 」
I ate.
And for the first time in 25 years, I felt: Oh, so this is what 'home' feels like.
Not because the rice was good okay, it WAS good. But because of the sambal. Perfect spiciness. Rich shrimp paste flavor. Like... coming home.
「 YOU'RE CRYING 」
Me: "No I'm not."
「 YOU'RE CRYING 」
Me: "It's the sambal."
「 SHRIMP PASTE CHILI. MUTUAL ENEMY. 」
「 BUT ALSO FRIEND. 」
「 COMPLEX. 」
The old woman sat beside me. "Forgotten, child?"
I swallowed my rice. "Forgotten what, Ma'am?"
"Everything." She scratched her head. "Your name, where you're from, what you're looking for here. All forgotten?"
Me: "My name is Raka. But I don't know why I'm here."
She nodded thoughtfully. "Ah, so that's how it is." She smiled. "Thought you were an insider, turns out you're an outsider."
「 TRANSLATION: THOUGHT YOU WERE LOCAL, TURNS OUT YOU'RE FOREIGN 」
「 SHE THOUGHT YOU WERE FROM HERE 」
「 BUT YOU'RE NOT 」
「 THIS WOMAN IS A NATURAL DETECTIVE 」
"This village is called Nusakambangan, child." She sipped her coffee. "Sacred village. People here believe in ancestors, spirits, and all that."
「 NUSAKAMBANGAN 」
「 IN YOUR WORLD, THAT'S A PRISON ISLAND 」
「 HERE, IT'S JUST A VILLAGE NAME 」
「 OR WAIT... WHAT IF... 」
「 NO. STOP. DON'T. 」
「 YOU'LL OVER-THINK IT. 」
The ground shook.
The coffee cup rattled. Water in the clay pot rippled.
The old woman stood up straight. Her face changed. "Oh no, child. Something's coming."
What?
The bamboo door exploded.
A mud giant entered. Three meters tall. Body made of earth and water. Two black holes on its face where eyes should be. Stench of rot, stench of death, stench of what is that smell the smell of memories of your ex.
Me: "..."
「 MUD DEMON 」
「 LEVEL 7 」
「 THREAT LEVEL: CRITICAL 」
「 YOUR STATUS: LEVEL 1 」
「 YOUR STATUS: JUST ATE SAMBAL 」
「 PREDICTION: 」
「 3 SECONDS TILL YOU BECOME MUSH 」
「 SAD MUSH 」
I tried to run. But my legs were cement. The old woman was in the corner, holding a broom made of palm fronds. Ma'am, that broom won't save us.
The Mud Demon swung.
I rolled. Reflex 5,000 hours of Dark Souls finally paid off.
But I wasn't fast enough. Mud debris hit my shoulder. I fell. Face hit the ground.
CRUNCH.
My teeth found gravel. But..
Something.
Under my body, in the loose soil, there was a hard object. Long. Grippable.
I reached for it.
A dagger. A keris.
「 YOU'RE SITTING ON A KERIS 」
「 YOU'RE SITTING ON A WEAPON THAT COULD SAVE YOU 」
「 RIGHT WHEN YOU NEED IT 」
「 THIS ISN'T A COINCIDENCE 」
「 THIS IS PLOT 」
I pulled it out.
Old iron. Rusty. But when I held it warm. Pulsing. Like something inside was waking up.
The Mud Demon stepped back half a step.
「 THE MUD DEMON IS SCARED 」
「 HE'S SCARED OF THE KERIS 」
「 HE DOESN'T KNOW WHY 」
「 YOU DON'T KNOW WHY EITHER 」
「 BUT MOMENTUM 」
「 USE IT 」
I don't know how to use a keris. I'm not a warrior. I'm an ex-admin. My skills are copy-paste and making Excel reports.
But I have a system.
"HEY SYSTEM! HOW DO I USE THIS?"
「 HOW TO USE: STAB 」
「 YOU CAN STAB, RIGHT? 」
「 YOU'RE A GUY. 25 YEARS OLD. SURELY YOU'VE 」
「 NO. DON'T. 」
「 FOCUS. STAB. 」
The Mud Demon swung again.
I stepped forward. Not because I was brave. Because retreating meant death too. And I've already died once. Twice in one day?Embarrassing to my ancestors.
I stabbed.
The keris entered the mud body like stabbing porridge and..
BOOM.
The Mud Demon exploded. Mud flew everywhere. Its body collapsed, sinking into the ground, leaving a sulfur smell and one small object on the floor.
DING!
「 YOU DEFEATED MUD DEMON LEVEL 7 」
「 EXP: +700 (LOW LEVEL BONUS) 」
「 LEVEL UP: 1 → 4 」
「 MIRACLE POINTS: +50 」
「 ITEM ACQUIRED: MUD PEARL (?) 」
「 TITLE UNLOCKED: THE MUD STABBER 」
「 TITLE: MEDIOCRE 」
「 BUT HEY, YOU JUST STARTED. 」
「 DON'T ACT LIKE A PRO. 」
I sat down, exhausted. Mud everywhere. Breathing hard. In my hand, the keris still glowed faintly.
The old woman approached. Her eyes widened.
"That... child... that..."
「 THE OLD WOMAN KNOWS SOMETHING 」
「 AND THAT SOMETHING IS DEFINITELY IMPORTANT 」
「 BECAUSE IF IT WASN'T, THERE WOULDN'T BE A CLOSE-UP ON HER FACE 」
"What keris is that, child?" She moved closer, hands trembling. "You have... you have a heirloom?"
Me: "I found it in the ground, Ma'am."
"This ground?" She shook her head. "Impossible, child. This ground hasn't been touched for decades. A keris doesn't appear without reason."
「 LOGLINE: 」
「 A KERIS APPEARS FROM GROUND UNTOUCHED FOR 40 YEARS 」
「 IN THE SAME GROUND, A MONSTER GREW 」
「 IN THE SAME GROUND, YOU REINCARNATED 」
「 THIS ISN'T COINCIDENCE 」
「 THIS IS A SCENE 」
「 AND YOU'RE THE MAIN CHARACTER 」
「 SORRY, NOT SORRY 」
The old woman took the keris from my hand, placed it on white cloth, bowed her head briefly.
"Tomorrow, child." Her voice was soft. "Tomorrow you must... must... meet the Village Shaman. He's the one who understands."
Me: "Ma'am, you can just say 'meet'. You don't need three 'must's."
Old woman: "Huh?"
「 SYSTEM NOTE: THE OLD WOMAN IS OLD 」
「 DON'T CORRECT HER SPEECH 」
「 YOU'LL GET CURSED 」
「 AREN'T YOU JAVANESE? 」
I lay down on the worn pandan mat. My body ached. My face was covered in mud. But..
I'm alive.
「 YOU'RE CRYING AGAIN 」
Me: "No. Still the sambal."
「 IT'S BEEN 3 HOURS 」
Me: "The old woman's sambal is on another level."
「 ... 」
「 FAIR ENOUGH 」
Outside, the sky darkened. Sounds of crickets. Sounds of frogs. Sounds of what IS that?Someone singing traditional Javanese songs in the distance. The old woman lit an oil lamp. Yellow light, warm, illuminating the small room.
Me: "Hey, System."
「 YES 」
Me: "Why did you choose me?"
「 DIDN'T CHOOSE. ACCIDENT. 」
Me: "But you stayed."
「 YES. 」
Me: "Why?"
Silence.
「 BECAUSE YOU'RE HEAVY. 」
Me: "Luber thing?"
「 NO. HEAVY IN THE... 」
More silence.
「 YOU'RE THE FIRST PERSON WHO DIDN'T ASK FOR ANYTHING. 」
「 YOU JUST ATE, SLEPT, AND ACCEPTED. 」
「 THAT'S... RARE. 」
I didn't answer.
But inside, I felt something. Something warm. Like sambal. But emotional version.
「 YOU CAN SLEEP NOW 」
「 I'LL WATCH 」
「 MIRACLE POINT: -5 」
「 FOR WATCHING FEE 」
「 YOU PAY LATER 」
Me: "..."
Me: "I love you too, System."
「 LUBER INCREASED BY 2% 」
「 SHUT UP 」
I slept.
With a smile.
Or maybe it was stomach cramps. The sambal.
But it felt...
It felt like coming home.
「 TO BE CONTINUED... 」
