Reincarnated With A Glitched System: Why Is My MP Not Running Out? Chapter 1 Sacrifice And Reincarnation

That night, I crept into the bandits' subterranean lair, accompanied by four other children my age. We had been hunting these wretches since the moment they stripped us of everything we owned.

Our peaceful village had been pillaged by the filth of this world. They slaughtered our people indiscriminately, and the majority of the men who stood up to defend us were cut down. Unsurprisingly, they rounded up most of the women to sell them into slavery. During that chaos, I was struck by one of them while attempting to avenge my father. I lost consciousness, and believing their blade had finished me off, they abandoned me in the dirt.

But you bastards failed to kill me.

My face bears ugly scars, and I lost my left eye that night. Unfortunately for you, my right eye remains sharp enough to let me slit your throats.

Sigh… Mom… Sister…

"Are you ready?"

A blonde girl, my peer, whispered the question.

"I am. Let's finish this."

We watched the bandits reveling outside their caravans, mostly drunk and sluggish. We waited for the optimal moment to strike, and eventually, the opportunity presented itself.

Although the night was pitch-black, their flickering bonfires provided just enough light—barely.

Moving like shadows, I pinpointed my first target: a solitary bandit. Grasping my dagger, I vaulted onto his back, executing the technique the teacher had drilled into us.

Slash!

"Grueeggh-"

I clamped my hand over his mouth to stifle any sound before driving the blade into his throat. His frame went limp within moments.

One down.

I slipped into the caravan he had been guarding, revealing four shackled captives. They stared at me in disbelief.

"Stay silent," I breathed. They nodded, and I pulled out my lockpick, furiously working to free them.

One after another, the slaves vanished into the cover of the forest while I kept a vigilant lookout for any patrolling bandits. Glancing toward the other side, I realized my allies were succeeding as well. Four more bandits lay motionless beneath the carriages, and their task of freeing the slaves was underway.

We never would have stood a chance without our teacher. They taught us how to fight despite our small, fragile frames. They taught us how to kill… and how to never show mercy to the scum of this world.

Alas, our plan was not flawless. Eventually, a sharp-eyed bandit spotted us from a distance and raised the alarm.

Damn it.

I bolted toward the final caravan while my four companions created a diversion. There they were—haggard, draped in rags, and looking even more emaciated since I last saw them. Their eyes were clouded with complete exhaustion.

My mother… and my sister, Cecilia.

"Mom… Cecilia…"

They looked toward me, though they clearly couldn't recognize my disfigured face. However, my voice caused my mother to freeze. Even after two years of torment…

"Luna…?"

"It's me… I’ve finally tracked you down…"

There was no time for emotional reunions; I had to break their chains immediately.

I retrieved the specialized lockpick, a magical tool provided by our teacher. It was designed to trigger an Unlock Spell with minimal effort. Though I lacked any real talent for magic, even this basic, attribute-less spell was something I had mastered after two years of relentless rote practice.

Clack!

The restraints fell away. As I freed my mother and sister, their eyes welled with tears and they clutched me desperately.

"Big sis… Sniff… I never imagined I'd see you again!"

"I missed you so dearly… Luna… I honestly thought you had perished…"

"I returned… just as I swore I would. Now, we must move!"

They nodded, scrambling out of the carriage with urgency.

FLASH!

CLASH!

A sudden arrow whistled past me, narrowly missing my skull and burying itself into the carriage frame.

So they had archers of this caliber?

"Flee! Now!"

"B-But what about you?!"

"Do not worry about my safety!"

My mother gritted her teeth, hoisted my six-year-old sister, and sprinted toward the forest with the other freed slaves.

I saw two of my comrades fall, their bodies hitting the ground. The bandits were stronger and possessed superior numbers. Two of my friends were gone—brave souls who, like me, fought for their own families.

Goddammit! I cannot leave. If I retreat, they will hunt the others down. I have to purchase some time.

FLASH!

I dodged another incoming arrow just as three bandits lunged at me, their axes held high.

"You little bitch!"

"Do you realize what those slaves are worth?"

"You aren't even worth much on the block!"

I tightened my grip on my daggers, shrouding my movements in a thin layer of mana.

FLASH!

I lunged at the leader, using his axe as a stepping stone to vault behind him. I landed behind his exposed neck and sliced through it.

One down.

The others stood stunned. I surged forward, moving with a speed that left them no reaction time. Jumping over the one on the left, I caught his face with a solid kick, then finished him by plunging my dagger into his forehead. He collapsed, lifeless.

Two down.

The final bandit started trembling and swung wildly in terror. I barely ducked the blow and swept his feet out from under him. As he hit the dirt, I silenced him permanently with a clean slash across the throat. Snatching up his discarded shield, I braced myself against the incoming barrage of arrows.

CLASH!

Who is firing these?!

I scanned the area to find two rogues with bows leveled at me. My last two companions were struggling against a group of bandits. I could easily abandon them, let them serve as fodder, and rejoin my family.

But I couldn't. We were brothers-in-arms, bonded by training and shared tragedy. I rushed to their aid. Suddenly, a bandit hurling a spear forced me to take action.

I raised the shield to block, but the spear impact shattered the wood. Cheap, fragile garbage! The bandit turned to flee, but I overtook him, stabbing him repeatedly in the head until he ceased his shrieks. I immediately leaped toward the next group.

FLASH!

Too slow. An arrow slammed into my back, piercing my lung.

Dammit.

It makes no difference. The teacher has weathered dozens of arrow wounds; I will endure this pain just the same!

"Luna! Why are you still here?!"

"I am not abandoning you, Antonia!"

"You’re insane! Go find your family!"

"Albert, we stay together! We’re family too!"

"You fool…"

Realizing they couldn't turn me back, we formed a line and began carving through our enemies. However, they were too strong, and our numbers were dwindling. Even though I parried the arrows, I saw that Antonia and Albert were at their breaking point. Their mana reserves were bone-dry, and the toll of the battle showed in their pained, distorted expressions.

Though we were fading, our distraction held the bandits' full attention. We did well; we made the teacher proud.

I danced through the frontline, my mithril daggers cutting through the bandits' thick armor as if it were paper.

Slash! Slash! Slash!

CLASH!

I downed another with a brutal overhead strike, but a sword caught me squarely between the shoulder blades. Blood erupted from the new wound.

"Got you, you little brat-GEEEGGH?!"

That thin scrape would not kill me.

I kicked his legs out and ascended over him like a predator, burying my dagger into his face repeatedly.

Die!

"Luna!"

Antonia and Albert were wavering, being forced back toward the tree line.

That is perfect.

"I’m doing it! Run!"

"W-What? Have you lost your mind?!"

"Why do you think the teacher implanted that inside our chests?!"

"But that’s for absolute emergencies… only for when… when death is certain!"

"Shut your mouth and go!"

I let out a feral roar. Gritting their teeth, the two kids turned and fled, tears streaming down their soot-covered faces.

"Please, protect my family."

They bolted, and I stood alone as the closing circle of bandits approached. I dragged a flaming torch from the ground, igniting the dry grass around me to create a curtain of fire, exactly as the teacher instructed.

"You wretched bastards want to kill me? Step closer…"

"You whore!"

"I'll make you wish you were dead!"

"Seize her! She’s barely standing!"

As they inched toward me, I answered with a cold smile.

I funneled every remaining ounce of mana into the crystal embedded in my chest—the Mana Core Bomb. Assassins carry these as a final resort to ensure they never face the horror of capture. By overcharging it until it fractures, it shreds everything within reach into dust.

"Go to hell."

BOOOM!!!

A white-hot agony enveloped me, and the blast swallowed the bandits whole. My body disintegrated in the blast, and my consciousness swiftly flickered into the void.

At least… I finally reunited with them one last time.

I was prepared to give my life today.

I'm sorry, teacher…

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.

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"Congratulations, you have been selected for reincarnation."

The booming voice yanked me from the eternal abyss. I opened my eyes in a vast, featureless, white expanse. I looked around, but there was nothing—not even a reflection of myself.

"Ah, right. I suppose you would prefer a visual representation…"

Flash!

In a burst of light, a bearded, towering figure manifested.

"Who the hell are you? Where am I?"

"Isn't it obvious? Have you never cracked open a fantasy novel?"

"What? What are you babbling about?"

"Hmm?"

The deity scrutinized me for a moment, his brow furrowing.

"Oh… wait. You aren't from Earth?!"

"I’m not… what is that place?"

"I’ve made a catastrophic error! I summoned the soul of the wrong person! Oh, heavens!"

The figure paced frantically, muttering to himself.

The wrong person?

"Well, your karma tally is remarkably high. In fact, it is exceptionally positive… but this is a disaster. I was supposed to harvest a competent Japanese high schooler… dammit all."

"What? Japanese? Is that some culinary dish?"

"You truly are not from Earth. My superiors will execute me if they discover this glitch…"

"Who are you calling a glitch?!"

"T-This… haah… fine. I cannot reverse this now. I will have to retrieve someone else, even if it costs me more power. And as for you… just head to that world along with the others, I suppose? Take this, at least. It is a bit flawed, but a flawed system is better than nothing. It was my very first prototype."

The entity of light tossed a silver, cube-like object toward me. It merged directly into my head and vanished. A harsh, electric surge jolted through my entire being.

"W-What in the hell was that?!"

"Just say 'Status' to view your statistics… regardless, farewell. Try to be a good girl and don't complicate the future hero's journey… goodbye."

FLASH!

Within an instant, I was discarded into the abyss.

.

.

.

I felt the sensation of a body returning, only to be submerged in a suffocating, viscous fluid.

Ugh, what is going on? Where am I? I recall the man mentioning reincarnation. Am I… am I a fetus inside a womb right now?

This is… strange… and so terribly exhausting.

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I have no way to track time. When I finally drifted back to consciousness, I was being dragged from my liquid prison. It was a tight, grueling passage, but hands gripped my head and yanked me into the air. My vision blurred to focus on a young man with short crimson hair and fierce, orange eyes.

"Ooh! It's a girl!" he exclaimed, pressing a kiss to my forehead.

What…?

"Let me hold her…"

I was placed into the arms of a woman. She was radiant, almost ethereal. Her hair was a cascading waterfall of blonde silk, her ears pointed, and her eyes were glowing, emerald gems set in porcelain skin.

"She is exquisite… look, she has your hair and my eyes… and she is clearly a half-elf. Those pointed ears do not lie… fufufu… welcome to the world, Sylph."

I suppose this is my new mother…

And I suppose… I have truly been reincarnated.