Chapter 1
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Crow Reincarnation
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This is a scam!
Do you know what CYOA is?
It was a title that caught my eye while I was killing time drifting through the internet.
I stopped clicking on those clickbait threads like "Tyrannosaurus is a loser who lost to Spinosaurus in its era" and clicked on it as if entranced.
It was a short post explaining this mysterious game called CYOA, but even that brief description set my heart racing.
If you break CYOA down into Korean, it's something like "Choose Your Own Adventure."
Who wouldn't feel a thrill reading that?
It's basically a text-based game, but what sets it apart from other text adventures is its insane level of freedom.
A text game where you can literally choose everything to your heart's content.
That's CYOA.
I closed the community window and immediately started searching for CYOA games.
Out of countless options, the one I picked was Isekai Reincarnation Simulator.
The name alone screams something special.
Rough around the edges but oddly captivating—it felt like it was perfect for me.
What to do?
What build? What character?
Happy dilemmas.
This thing was the real deal, but you couldn't just slap together an overpowered character willy-nilly.
You build your character by investing stat points.
Good traits cost a ton of points, so you couldn't just stack the best ones. Pick flaws, and you actually gained points—so you had to strategize your build.
[Medieval Fantasy]
Cost: 1
[Wuxia]
Cost: 1
[Modern Fantasy]
Cost: 2
[Sci-Fi]
Cost: 3
[Academy]
Cost: 4
[Erotic]
Cost: 8
Surprisingly, I could even choose the genre.
Why the hell does Erotic cost 8 points?
I agonized over it, but with only 10 base points, that was out of reach.
Plus, for my glorious first playthrough, I didn't want to kick things off with a hentai game anyway.
As I scrolled through the genres, one caught my eye.
[Dark Fantasy]
Gain: 2 points
Not a cost—it's a gain.
Figuring that out was easy. It meant the difficulty was sky-high.
But that was perfect for me.
More points meant a richer build.
Genre locked: Dark Fantasy.
I wanted to taste the spice right from the start anyway.
Genre chosen. Now for the character.
[Sword Saint Talent]
Cost: 6
[Archmage Talent]
Cost: 6
Shiny options jumped out right away.
Using more than half my points, they had to be top-tier.
No matter the genre, grabbing Sword Saint or Archmage would make for a min-max powerhouse run.
But I didn't want that.
Sure, they're great traits, but they boxed in my freedom.
Lock myself into that before even knowing how the game plays? No way.
Over specialized stuff like Sword Saint, Archmage, or Divine Archer...
[Genius]
Cost: 3
Something versatile like this is better.
No detailed effects listed, so I couldn't know exactly what it did.
But gamers have instincts.
Genius has to be flexible as hell.
If not, I could always rebuild.
After that, I burned hours fine-tuning the build.
Normally, you'd ram through like a bull in a china shop, learn from mistakes. But nah.
I wanted to conquer this new game with my custom build.
And see how far it could carry me.
No info on the game, pure gut build to the ending?
Funeral-worthy playthrough incoming.
Five hours later, perfection.
To afford it, I stripped everything unnecessary.
Dumped point sinks and pre-baked relationships that cramped my style.
Connections I forge myself? Not forced ones.
That shit didn't sit right.
[Extraordinary Potential]
[Fateful Encounter]
[Genius]
[Improved Insight]
[Excellent Adaptability]
[Cold Mind]
[Financial Luck]
A whopping 30-point build.
Concept: Ultimate versatility for any situation.
Focused on potential and serendipity, with smarts and insight to counter bullshit RNG.
No point spotting an opportunity if you're blind to it.
Then adaptability and mentality.
Potential means nothing if you can't survive to bloom it.
Excellent Adaptability for any scenario.
Cold Mind to stay cool under fire.
Financial Luck for universal utility.
Combat might be light, but those three pillars get me through early game.
Then opportunities fill the gaps.
Classic late-bloomer build.
Of course, I only start with 10 points. This needs 30.
So, borrow 20 by picking point-givers like Dark Fantasy.
Flaws, basically. Blindness, stench—obvious trash that pays big.
Brainstorm time.
What interacts well with my build? Minimizes penalties, tolerable even if they hit.
No effects listed, so gut picks only. That's why character creation took five hours.
Finally settled.
[Dark Fantasy] (Genre)
[Shabby Start]
[Material Desire]
[Twist]
[Eternal Night]
[Ominous Aura]
Dark Fantasy: Genre.
Shabby Start: Rough beginning. But my build is built to endure early game anyway.
As long as I don't game over too quick.
Material Desire: Financial Luck covers it.
The other three?
Twist, Eternal Night, Ominous Aura.
Sinister names.
Wouldn't touch normally, but points are points.
Other big earners were limb loss, terminal illness, sense deprivation—unusable garbage. This is tame.
Probably ups game difficulty over personal debuffs. Fine by me.
Double-checked a ton. Can't top this.
Gaps? Part of the fun—discover, tweak, conquer.
That's why I leaned into harder modes.
Time to launch.
Show me the fruits of five hours.
[Ready to embark on your adventure?]
Of course!
[Unfold your dreams!]
Fwosh!
Heart pounding, I waited for loading.
...
Nothing happened.
Bug?
Restart?
As I pondered, my bloodshot eyes caught tiny text.
[Thank you for playing Isekai Reincarnation Simulator.]
Ending credits out of nowhere.
Dev names, donation links, etc.
...
So... that's it?
Character creation is the game?
What the hell?
If I'd known, I wouldn't have bothered!
Rage-refresh. Denial-refresh.
Gotta be a glitch.
If not... who knows what I'll do.
Wasted time? Whatever.
But betraying my five-hour excitement? Unforgivable.
How many F5s? Too many.
"Gah..."
Couldn't breathe.
Didn't see death coming like this.
I knew it.
Liver failure.
This damn game gave me liver failure.
And it was killing me.
"Urk..."
Die like this?
Emptiness. Excitement gone cold.
Death not sinking in?
Yeah, just wasted time. Why rage?
Character creation was the game, and damn, it was good.
Realized at the end.
Regrets? Some. But I could go peacefully.
[Loading...]
"Huh...?"
Unbelievable message on screen.
[Unfold your true dreams.]
So... I had to die for the game to start?
Credits already rolled.
CYOA ends at character creation?
That was bait too?
I die to a troll, and even on death's door, it trolls me more?
"Grrgh..."
This can't be.
Enlightenment my ass—I'm furious, tears coming.
If I'd ignored the screen at the end, I could've gone peacefully.
Can't die like this.
Can't...
But eyelids drooped against my will.
Closed my eyes.
Opened them again.
A blue window greeted me.
...Why the hell am I a crow?