【This can't be right. Alter Calliope, born with a high EQ, and a beautiful voice. All-around likable personality with perfect qualities. Born in Server [E-555] and was supposed to inspire many lives and lead the next music industry.】

【That's correct, sir. The information here was provided by the High Council itself.】

【Then tell me why her innate talent is [Progressive bad luck]? Her personality was also changed from the sweet and loving protagonist to an emotionless sociopath. Just look at that eyesore, [Personality defect]】

【I don't know sir, there must have been an error in her [code]】

【4 car accidents, 17 kidnappings, 2 natural disasters, a plane crash, stabbed and robbed 5 times, mother dies at a young age, her father commits suicide, physically and sexually abused 22 times, and she suffers brain damage from severe blunt trauma? Who the hell was responsible for her [code]?】

【It-it was a newbie... sir】

【Sigh. Report the situation to the High Council while I fix this problem.】

【Yes sir】

【Miss Calliope. I apologize for the life you had lived, though you wouldn't care much about it anyway given the [Personality defect] you were accidentally assigned with, I have good news! Because of the overwhelming bad luck you've wrongfully been given, your good luck will be enhanced according to how much bad luck you went through when you spin the [Wheel of Reincarnation]. I'll now send you on your way to the waiting room where other Administrators will help you with your next life. Cheerio~!】

And with his farewell, my mind blanked out for a moment until I regained focus in an endless void. 

[Progressive bad luck] has been removed from your [code] 

You gained the temporary skill [Luck multiplier] 

[Personality defect] has been removed from your [code]

You gained the skill [Heart of Gold]

[Effects: You can feel the emotions of those around you]

You acquired the temporary title [Better luck next time]

[Description: Your first life sucks, maybe the next will be better?]

[Effects: Enhanced luck]

You acquired the temporary title [Virgin Reincarnator] 

[Description: First time?]

[Effects: Enhanced luck]

【Wow! Quite the stack of luck you have there~ Go ahead and spin that wheel Miss Calliope!】

Silence. 

My soul that floated within the darkness stared at the childlike mass of twinkling stars. 

It was awkward as I said nothing and did nothing but stare at the child.

【Uhm, Miss Calliope?】

I ignored the child's inquisitive gaze and assessed the environment and the situation that I currently was in. 

Dark and empty. 

Apart from the swirling mass of galaxies and stars in the shape of a child, there was a wheel with ever-changing pictures and words.

"Sorry, it's just, it's been a while since I've been able to think straight. So I... spin this wheel right?"

【Yes! And because of the wrongdoings of our Administrators, you'll get better rewards than usual~】

Without further ado, I floated towards the wheel and mentally willed it to spin. 

Swoosh

The wheel began rapidly spinning, turning into a blur of colors like a sparkling rainbow.

The temporary title [Better luck next time] has been used.

The temporary title [Virgin Reincarnator] has been used.

The temporary skill [Luck multiplier] has been used.

The spinning [Wheel of Reincarnation] absorbed the flashing gold words that appeared above it and shone a bright gold light of its own. 

Something I assumed to be the luck taking effect.

[Ding!] You have obtained the [Seed of Akasha].

【Congratulations on hitting the jackpot~!! Now off you go!】

Before I could say anything about what it was I had won, the galaxy child snapped his fingers and like the big bang, my vision was blinded by white light. 

---

Time passed, and I have no idea how long I had been sleeping, but I would occasionally wake up halfway through an unpleasant dream. So I started counting the times I woke up.

And just like that a week passed by. Later that day, I felt a new sensation. It was warm, and fluffy, like a lion's mane? Maybe sheep wool.

Sunlight.

That's what naturally came to my mind 

I fell asleep enjoying a few hours of sunlight and didn't wake up until I felt small vibrations coming from above.

⟨ Earthquake? ⟩ I wondered but was relieved to feel the cool sensation pouring from above and slowly being absorbed into my body.

Water.

Again, that's what came naturally to my mind. It felt cool and refreshing, a stark contrast to the feeling sunlight gave me. 

A few days passed with the same cycle on repeat.

Wake up, sunlight, water, sleep.

And on the second week, my drowsiness slowly dissipated as I felt my body growing, and pushing through the soil, sprouting above ground.

The cool breeze that brushed up against my body invigorated me and cleared any tiredness left in me.

However, what Interrupted me during my moment of enjoying the new sensation were rectangular panels, like windows, a bit blurry, but still transparent enough to see through. 

And written on those panels were the following;

[Name: Alter Calliope]

[Titles: Reincarnator (A)]

[Race: Aether Tree (EX)]

[Stage: Sprout]

[Skills: Heart of Gold (F)]

[Racial skills: Clear mind (B) Growth (F) Hibernate (F)]

It seems my guesses were correct. I've been reincarnated as a seed... Or previously was. I'm now a Sprout.

The racial skill [Clear mind] is the reason why I'm still calm.

But what piqued my curiosity was the title I had.

[Reincarnator]

[Description: A gift and apology. This title is a one time use and will be removed after your death]

[Effects: You will not forget your memories in your next life.]

After reading about the title, I looked over to my right and could see another panel, gold in color.

[You have joined the server [KS-SPE-68972]]

Maybe it was because of the [Clear mind] skill, but I remembered something when I passed by a stranger at an internet cafe. I was running errands for some... My caregivers and I ended up watching the guy play a game.

There were servers for different regions, such as South Asia or North America.

Perhaps the server I had 'joined' was similar to that. 

⟨ A game...? ⟩

I was a little scared because of the game I saw the guy playing, as there was a lot of shooting and killing involved.

It wasn't so scary back then, but it certainly is now.

I'm just a sprout, how am I supposed to defend myself?

My tiny body shuddered from my own imagination.

"Aw, did you miss me, little fella?"

Where did that voice come from? I mean, I could tell where, but from who? And how?

Amidst my confusion was a cool refreshing feeling of water pouring from above and into my body. 

"Sorry I was a little late, I just got home from school."

Her voice was soft and sweet, like candy, containing a bit of playfulness in her tone.

I confirmed that the voice that spoke earlier was talking to me, but no matter how hard I tried to talk back, she couldn't hear me. 

That was a given, I'm only a little sprout.

Maybe she felt I was feeling a little down, so she nudged my growing little leaf with her finger.

It tickled a bit, but it did make me feel a little better. 

"Hinata, have you done your homework yet?"

"Not yet mama, I'm watering Hanako"

"Come back inside once you've finished watering the flowers. It's nearing winter and I don't want you catching a cold, okay?"

"Okay, mama~"

Days passed like this and every day I would listen to the two's conversations, sucking in every bit of information I could.

I learned quite a lot over the days.

The person watering me is a little girl called Hinata, and her mother's name is Mizuki.

They also live together with another man, the father and husband of the two. But he's often busy working overtime at work. 

2 months old 

Every day I would wake up to enjoy the sunlight shining on my growing leaves. 

In the afternoon I'd eagerly wait for Hinata to return from school to water me while talking about how her days been.

I've grown a little since our first meeting, and with my growth came new skills and features.

[Name: Alter Calliope]

[Titles: Reincarnator (A)]

[Race: Aether Tree (EX)]

[Stage: Seedling]

[Height: 4cm]

[Diameter: 0.1cm]

[Skills: Heart of Gold (E)]

[Racial Skills: Clear mind (B) Growth (F) Hibernate (F)]

Height measured from the ground to the tip of my shoot, while diameter measured my stem(?). 

The only skill that improved over the months was [Heart of Gold] which was attributed to Hinata's frequent conversations with me. 

She was only 9 years old, but she still has emotions too, and most of the time she would come to me when she's sad. 

I don't like it when she's sad, mostly because of my [Heart of Gold] skill that allows me to feel what she is feeling, but also because she ends up pouring a little too much water, causing me to almost drown a few times.

5 months old

Hinata caught a cold after trying to water me this afternoon. I could tell that winter was nearing and with it, I started feeling drowsy.

I don't know much about trees, and plants, but I'm pretty sure they stop most activities during winter. 

Strangely enough, I didn't feel the need to stop and felt only a bit tired. 

So I checked my skills for what might be the cause and found out that it had something to do with my race. 

Basically, I can continue all activities through every season, needing little to no rest.

Physically, of course. Mentally, that's entirely different. I'm still technically a baby right now...

8 months old 

[Hibernate (F)] → [Hibernate (E)]

[Height: 13cm]

[Diameter: 0.3cm]

I woke up from my sleep and was greeted by the 3 windows above. A little taller than before and my hibernate skill had grown.

13 months old

[Heart of Gold (E)] → [Heart of Gold (D)]

[Effects: You can better understand the hearts of those near you]

This skill has become more of a burden over the past months.

I've learned that Hinatas parents are having a falling out, leading to less time spent together, and more time listening to them arguing.

I wish I could help her...

1 year and 3 months old

Hinata was crying today.

Her parents got divorced and her mother won custody over the child.

"That means father won't be around anymore..."

She started twirling her finger around one of my growing leaves, and I used all of the energy I had to hold onto it.

"Are you sad too, Hanako?" 

The strength I put into that leaf faded away and I soon fell into another deep sleep.

1 year and 7 months old

Dry.

I was thirsty when I woke up.

All I could see was white sunlight, but I could feel the dying plants around me to tell that my situation wasn't good.

⟨ What happened? Where's Hinata? ⟩

I started panicking a bit because I was a little reliant on Hinatas daily watering. I could do without it, but I'd much rather the luxurious treatment.

A month later Hinata returned. She was devastated to find the flower garden had wilted away but was relieved to find me still clinging to life.

"Hanako~! Did you miss me?"

⟨ Waterwaterwaterwaterwater! ⟩

When I heard her voice I kept repeating what was on my mind, despite knowing she couldn't hear me.

The other flowers were long gone, so she had them replaced by fresh ones. 

After having sorted out her flower garden, she sat down beside me and played with my leaves. 

1 year and 11 months old

Hinata brought a friend over and she introduced her to me.

2 years and 5 months old

[Hibernate (E)] → [Hibernate (D)]

[Effects: You can preserve more energy when hibernating]

[Growth (F)] → [Growth (E)] 

[Effects: It requires fewer nutrients to grow]

[Height: 45cm]

[Diameter: 0.5cm]

I woke up with a feeling of impending doom. As if my eventual death was nearing, and it caused me to stress a little over it.

[Clear mind (B)] → [Clear mind (A)]

[Effects: Negative thoughts will no longer affect you] 

Over the days of constant anxiety, my skill leveled up a rank and it helped calm me down.

2 years and 6 months old 

Hinata sat beside me, lying down, and stared at the clear blue sky.

"Hanako... I feel like you're the only one who understands me"

Oh no.

⟨ Ugh ⟩

Because she was so close to me, I could feel her emotions much clearer than other times.

She felt lonely.

Sad.

Frustrated.

And relieved.

Oddly enough, I could also feel a bit of excitement and anticipation within her. 

"I got recruited into a new school. It's a famous school. There, I will be accepted for my [code]"

 ⟨ Code? ⟩

"Oh, I haven't told you about it before because it's usually a rare occurrence in my country"

She went to explain to me what [code] really was.

Everyone in the world is born with gifts. No one knows how and why, but most believe it to be from the Gods.

Some believe it to be a natural gift from the Earth. And a minority very believe it to be from aliens.

Anyway, [code] is a list of skills and other special features the person might have, and the really special ones are born with the ability to improve their skills over time if nurtured enough. 

Exactly how my skills have been improving, from F to E, E to D, D to C, etc etc., All the way until rank A.

These people are called [Challenger]'s not by choice, but because every one of them would automatically acquire the title.

There is belief that there are both good and evil gods, as sometimes there are [code]'s for destructive or evil purposes.

An example she told me was that 50 years ago someone was born with a skill called [Virus], and even was believed to have surpassed the highest rank A. People labeled the higher rank S, which started a whole riot against governments in a few countries whether it was true or not and if there are higher ranks above S. 

Why were there riots against the government? Because every [Challenger] legally has to sign under their respective governments as a special agent. So it's illegal to have a [code] but not be under an official government.

The reason why civilians were upset was actually because of an illegal [Challenger] who belonged to a resistance group. He had the skill [Deceit] at rank A. That's what the authorities declared at a press conference regarding the recent riots.

Everyone was skeptical but had no choice but to believe them.

Hinata sighed after telling me a lot about this world and returned to the main topic at hand.

"I'm sorry Hanako... I can't take care of you for a while. Not until I come back, so try to hang on for me, okay?"

 ⟨ W- Hinata! Wait, please don't go! ⟩

Now, we were both sad, and I tried calling out to her as she walked away.

"Hm? Maybe it was just my imagination"

⟨ Hinata... ⟩

2 years and 9 months old

[Seedling] → [Sapling]

[45cm] → [151cm]

[0.5cm] → [2.5cm]

[Growth (E)] → [Growth (D)]

You have unlocked the racial skill [Photosynthesis (F)] 

[Effects: Converts light, water, carbon dioxide, and other minerals into energy]

I now had another means of gathering food which was a lot faster and efficient than absorbing nutrients from the soil.

And with this new skill, I started to grow a lot faster. 

Since Hinata's departure, I've kept myself busy growing, and sleeping. Even though I have the [Clear mind] skill, I can't keep the emotions within my heart in check. Meaning, I still feel lonely.

5 years old

[Photosynthesis (F)] → [Photosynthesis (E)]

It's been over 2 years since Hinata's departure, and I've grown quite a lot, reaching as tall as 5 meters now. 

Having a bigger body wasn't as great as it sounded because I could feel the tiny bugs and ants crawling all over my body then digging into my skin.

There wasn't anything I could do about them, except wriggling my small branches and leaves.

A month later I earned new skills. Useless skills, but they were welcomed.

You have acquired the skill [Ant Carrier (F)]

[Effects: You're no longer bothered by your new tenants]

[Wriggle (F)]

[Effects: It's a little easier to wriggle small parts of your body]

The next day I tried using [Wriggle (F)] when I felt something slimy and slow-moving across a leaf of mine.

⟨ . . . ⟩

There was almost no effect with the new skill and was no different from having no skill at all.

But this didn't stop me from wriggling. Surely my efforts will pay off in the future.

5 years and 3 months old

[Wriggle (F)] → [Wriggle (E)]

And my hard work finally paid off.

⟨ Haha! ⟩ I had spent all day wriggling my leaves and finally managed to shake a bug off, flicking it onto the ground.

⟨ I did it! ⟩

But my small victory was short-lived because the bug returned 5 minutes later to continue its half-finished meal.

⟨ Damn you bug! ⟩

So, I went on with the following months wriggling my leaves, bathing in the sun, and sleeping.

6 years old

[Wriggle (E)] → [Wriggle (D)]

[Ant carrier (F)] → [Ant carrier (E)]

[Photosynthesis (E)] → [Photosynthesis (D)]

[H: 5m] → [7.2m]

[D: 50cm] → [81cm]

It's summer again. I could tell by the increase in temperature and the noisy bugs sticking to my body.

Yeah, I'm looking at you cicada.

Little bug couldn't hear me and continued buzzing away annoyingly.

Though it wasn't actually annoying because of [Clear mind], I was just musing to myself to pass the boredom over the years.

New racial skill unlocked.

[Aetherium Heart (S)]

[Effect 1: Purifies energy into Aether]

[Effect 2: You can choose to designate skills to anything inside the [Aether Field]]

[Designated skills: None (Limit 1)]

New racial skill unlocked.

[Aether Field (A)]

[Effects: Generates a passive field of Aether around you and affects everything inside the field]

[AoE: 5m]

New racial skill unlocked.

[Aether Circuit (A)] 

[Effects: Channels Aether throughout your body]

[Special note: Aether is the purest and most stable form of energy]

New skill acquired.

[Fertile soil (F)]

[Effects: Enrichens the soil around you]

[AoE: 7m]

Wow. Seriously, wow.

Beneath my trunk and wrapped inside my roots was a diamond-shaped crystal, with blue and pink clouds or gas, swirling around inside.

My new heart. 

Throughout my body grew white veins stretching to every root, branch, and leaf, surging with this new energy called Aether.

This allowed me to finally have a perfect view of my entire body, as well as everything within my [Aether Field]

My body was quite tall now and I looked like a small tree, ones you would often see at parks or growing on the sidewalks. And around me grew various flowers and plants.

If before I unlocked the new racial skills I felt like a mannequin, then now after unlocking them I felt as if I've really become one with the tree.

[Wriggle (D)] → [Wriggle (C)]

[Growth (D)] → [Growth (C)]

The new energy Aether felt amazing and had sped up my growth many times.

But what brought me back to my senses was the approaching footsteps.

Hinata.

It was the first time I could see what she looked like, and she had matured a lot from the small child I always imagined to be.

Amazed.

Relieved.

Happy.

Those were the emotions she felt, the emotions I felt coming from her, and pouring into my new heart.

She walked towards me with a small smile looking up at my much taller body. She stood before me and gently placed her hand on my trunk.

"I'm sorry I'm late, did you miss me?"

⟨ I did! I missed you a lot, welcome home Hinata~! ⟩

It seemed as if she heard my voice because the moment I spoke, she instantly retracted her hand and looked around the garden for someone.

Finding no one, she returned to look at me with suspicion but also hope. She reached out to touch my trunk again.

"Hanako?"

⟨ Uhm, yes? ⟩

"Oh my god! You can talk?!"

The [Aether Field] created a clear view of everything inside, though, in the color of blue and pink, I could still very clearly see her expression of excitement.

"How long have you been able to talk?"

⟨ Oh, Uhm... Since I was born? ⟩

"7 years ago? That should be when I planted you... Wait, so that means you could've talked to me all this time?"

Her emotions switched from excitement and into doubt and a slowly rising anger.

⟨ No no, calm down Hinata. I've tried talking with you every day that you cared for me. But no matter how hard I tried, you couldn't hear me ⟩

Relief.

Doubt.

Realization.

"Oh, perhaps it's because of my skill [Nature's best friend (D)]"

⟨ What are its effects? ⟩

"You are loved by nature"

⟨ That's all it says? ⟩ 

"That's all it says... Usually when I touch other plants and flowers they can't talk, but I could feel what they want such as water or sunlight or better soil and they would help me with whatever they can in return, like fruit or tea leaves"

Soon, a new window appeared in my vision.

A [code] has been detected within your [Aether Field]. 

View [code]? (Y/N)

I was surprised for a moment and looked down at Hinata but it seemed only I could see the window.

I chose yes and very soon a few more windows appeared in front of me.

[Name: Satou Hinata]

[Titles: Challenger (F)]

[Race: Human]

[Skills: Nature's best friend (D) Lesser healing (D) Soothing touch (E)]

[Racial skills: None]

[Currently under the effects of [Aether Field]]

[No skills designated to Satou Hinata]

"Hanako!"

⟨ Huh? Oh, sorry, I was just thinking about something ⟩

"That's okay. What do trees think about anyway?"

⟨ Shaking bugs off their leaves ⟩

"What?"

⟨ Like this ⟩

Now that [Wriggle (C)] improved a rank, it was possible to flick my leaves hard and fast enough to shake most bugs off.

Like now, I flicked off a beetle that was crawling on a leaf on one of my lower branches, onto Hinata's head.

We both laughed a little and talked a lot about what we had done over the years.

---

[Name: Alter Calliope]

[Titles: Reincarnator (A)]

[Race: Aether Tree (EX)]

[Stage: Small Tree]

[Height: 7.5m]

[Diameter: 82cm]

[Skills: Wriggle (C) Heart of Gold (D) Ant carrier (E) Fertile soil (F)]

[Racial skills: Aetherium Heart (S) Aether Field (A) Aether Circuit (A) Clear mind (A) Growth (C) Photosynthesis (C) Hibernate (E)]