Decided to rewrite an MTL translation of this novel. I thought it would be interesting, and so far, I love reading it. I hope you all enjoy it too.
***
It's been a month since I got here, and honestly, I'm starting to sweat. As a time traveler clued in on this world, my arrival? Not smooth. Wrong cheat ability, more like wrong world.
Anyone with a clue about Douluo knows everyone here gets a martial soul around age six. Good talent? Soul master. Not so good? You use your soul to pick a job and, well, live. Point is, martial souls run your life here.
But me? I showed up as a twenty-year-old. No martial soul, because I wasn't born here. Even if I could get one, too late now. Can't even find work, let alone survive in a world where strength calls the shots.
Not totally screwed, I guess. I still have my golden finger. Too bad it's a Kamen Rider system in a world of soul masters. And get this, as soon as I arrive, the system pulls the 'travel error' card and goes offline to 'fix' things.
So, picture this: me, broke and useless, stumbling around this death trap for a month before face-planting from hunger. I wake up in a carriage.
Mostly kids inside, teenagers. Two adults besides me. One, a stone-faced uncle. The other, a pretty woman about my age. She's chatting with the kids. No idea what's going on, but I piece together who they are from the Douluo basics I know, and snippets of their talk.
"Ah, you're awake. Feeling okay?"
Her voice is nice, concerned. I shoot her a grateful look.
"Thanks for saving me. I'm fine, just...starving."
Under a bunch of curious stares, I inhale a whole meal in about a minute. Real smooth, Xiaoya. Before it gets too awkward, I switch gears.
"You guys...heading to the Soul Beast Forest to hunt soul beasts?"
Turns out, just like I thought, they're from some soul master academy. These kids? Spirit masters with a spirit ring, past level 20. They're here to grab their second ring, level up to Great Spirit Masters.
The adults leading the pack are Spirit King Jing Tieyang, level 54, and the woman talking to me, Spirit Ancestor Su Xuan, level 48.
Level 48 Spirit Ancestor? That's insane!
Aside from the chosen ones in the story, most soul masters hit level 20 by 48.
"My lady is nineteen, a rare talent. Reaching level 48 is normal."
Jing Tieyang says this like he read my mind. His tone's a warning, though I'm not sure what I'm being warned about.
After some more chatter, I learn they found me passed out late last night. Su Xuan insisted they couldn't leave me, so they dragged me along. Now I'm awake, a stranger, so naturally they want to know my deal.
I've done this song and dance before this past month, so I bust out the 'poor kid looking for relatives' story. But today, that's not enough.
"Big brother, you look twenty-something, right? Why can't I feel any soul power from you?"
One of the girls asks this. Jing Tieyang and Su Xuan are both giving me the side-eye. Right, forgot these aren't just random people. They're soul masters. Way more sensitive to soul power than normal folks.
In this world, even if you're not a soul master, if you've awakened your martial soul, even a useless one, you still give off some soul power. But me? I'm a time traveler. No martial soul, no soul power. Normal people might not notice, but these guys? No way I'm getting past them.
"Uh…well, I have a trash martial soul. Can't summon it, can't absorb soul power. So, yeah, can't even get a meal."
It's a lame story, but it works. It explains why I'm such a mess. They buy it, but they also lose interest. After all, what do a bunch of elites have in common with a loser?
Su Xuan's still a good person. After thinking it over, she gives me some cash and food, drops me off in a town near the Soul Beast Forest. I get it, and I'm grateful. I'm dead weight in my current state, and they barely know me. It's a huge favor just to save me.
"Miss Su, I'll pay you back, I promise."
"No need. Just get a job, take care of yourself."
She doesn't believe me, but I don't push it.
"Good luck to you all."
"You too. Uncle Jing, let's go."
I watch the carriage roll away, wondering what to do with the money and food, when the system suddenly comes back online.
[Yo, host still kicking. Nice. Saves me the trouble of finding you again.]
"..." I feel a vein pop in my forehead.
"DAMN KAMEN RIDER SYSTEM!!!!"
I roar this out loud, under the surprised gaze of passersby.
Thirty minutes of cussing later, I find a quiet spot to talk to the system.
"So, after ghosting me for a month, what now? Round two?"
[Travel energy only works once, so no re-traveling. That's why I had to spend a month tweaking the system to fit this world.]
The system explains the changes it made. It's still a Kamen Rider system, and I still can't awaken a martial soul or become a soul master. But I can unlock Kamen Riders like a soul master gets spirit rings.
The system scanned every living thing in Douluo, matched soul beasts with similar abilities to the Riders. I have to find these soul beasts, use their power to unlock the corresponding Kamen Rider.
For example, Kamen Rider Kuuga? The best soul beast match is a golden-jawed red stag beetle. Thirteen other options, too. Find one, and I unlock Kuuga. Find stronger ones, Kuuga gets stronger. I unlock better forms.
Some Riders need more than one soul beast to unlock, like Kamen Rider W, Kamen Rider OOO. More powers needed, more beasts to hunt.
"So, I use Douluo methods to unlock Rider power. But system, you forgot something. I have zero power. Weaker than any normal person. You want me to hunt soul beasts? You want me to die?!"
[Relax, host. I thought of that. It's my fault you're stuck here. The soul beast unlock is limited to main Riders. Secondary Riders? Can be unlocked with Rider Points, easy peasy. And since I messed up your travel, I'm sending you a novice gift pack.]
Just like that, I get the gift pack.
Has to be something good if the system's feeling guilty.
"Fine, trusting you. But if this gift pack sucks…"
[Don't worry, random but tweaked. Totally worth it. Open?]
"Yeah, open the gift bag."
[Ding! Opened novice gift pack. Got these four items:]
[Meteor Driver]
[Meteor Switch]
[Dolphi Wizard Ring]
[Perfect Martial Arts Fighting Experience]
A flash, and Kamen Rider Meteor's Driver and Kamen Rider Beast's Dolphi Wizard Ring pop into my system storage. At the same time, a ton of fighting skills flood my brain and body. It's like I've been training my whole life. Muscle memory, instincts, everything.
***
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