The last bell of the day rang, echoing throughout the school.
“Alright kids make sure you turn in your lab reports on Monday and have a good weekend,” shouted Adam. Before he even finished his sentence, half the class was already out the door. With an indifferent expression, he started to clean up. This first year teaching has been a pain.
Adam had just turned twenty-five. Last year he had managed to find a job at a private high school teaching physics in the city. Luckily he had found an apartment to rent only a couple blocks away. After having to spend nine months dealing with entitled teenagers and annoying parents, he was looking forward to summer vacation.
The first ever fully immersive VRMMO game, Novus Verum, was coming out in just a couple weeks. Adam has always been a gamer, and he had always fantasized about VR games like the ones he read about in light novels. He even dreamed about quitting his job to make a living selling in game items.
Putting the work day behind him, Adam took out his phone and sighed at the sight of the cracked screen. He had just bought an old smartphone from a friend of his, but two days later he had already cracked the screen. All his life, Adam had been rather clumsy. It was one of the reasons he was such a big gamer. He could easily make up for an occasional mis-click with superior strategy and team play, whereas his clumsy movements were painfully obvious when he played sports.
Adam decided to check reddit on his walk home. First he browsed the forums for Novus Verum for any new info. Damn these new screenshots look amazing… I can’t fucking wait for this game to come out. After checking a few posts, he moved onto /r/LightNovels. Nice the next chapter of Coiling Rat came out. Bebe is probably going to be saved by his pet dragon again… His plot armor is too thick.
Out of the corner of his eye, Adam noticed one of his students chasing some papers blown into the street. Huh, no wonder she always is losing her assignments. Adam’s expression suddenly turned sour when he noticed a car speeding towards her. The student had earphones in and couldn’t hear. Adam instantly processed what was going on and ran over to pull the student out of the street. He barely managed to pull her out in time.
The student had a confused look on her face for a brief moment until the car went speeding past. Startled, Adam told her to be more careful and started walking away, but his foot got caught on something. As he fell forward, Adam barely had time to think Oh shit before he was hit, head first, by a delivery truck.
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“Ceton, take a look at this soul.” (???)
“Hmmm? 25 years of age… hit by a truck…” (Ceton)
“Just look at his last memory.” (???)
“...”
“Oh don’t tell me he is going to sacrifice himself to save that girl? Boring… this is more of Rumera’s thing.” (Ceton)
“Just keep watching.” (???)
“...”
“HAHAHAHAHA, Cullunar, thanks for that. You know me too well.” (Ceton)
“With a title as obvious as the God of Misfortune, it would be surprising if I didn’t.” (Cullunar)
“What are you giggling about Ceton? Wait, don’t tell me… someone got struck by lightning.” (???)
“No, Akena, that gets a little old after the 1000th time. Here, take a look for yourself.” (Ceton)
“...”
“Poor child, he is so weak he can’t save himself but tries to save others. Ceton you didn’t set this up did you?” (Akena)
“Did I trip this poor kid? Of course not.” (Ceton)
“I can tell you’re hiding something Ceton.” (Akena)
“Well I might have given him my favorite talent during his last reincarnation.” (Ceton)
“Clumsy Movement? Toying with mortals for your amusement is cruel Ceton.” (???)
“Ah Rumera, you’re so uptight.” (Ceton)
“What are you two doing here anyway? You two never come down here to visit me.” (Cullunar)
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
“Have you forgotten already Cull? Rhemik is forcing the gods who haven’t chosen to bless one of the champions to choose a mortal from the reincarnation cycle.” (Akena)
“I’m too busy to keep track of Rhemik’s games being the God of Death doesn’t leave much time for anything else.” (Cullunar)
“Hey, its not just you Cull.” (Rumera)
“Ok.. ok… everyone else except Rumera. As the Goddess of Life, you are almost as busy as I am.” (Cullunar)
“Hmmph, I’ll let one that slide.” (Rumera)
“Finally, here comes everyone else, so let’s get started.” (Akena)
“Alright, everyone, who is here to agree on a new champion to bless, please interface with Cull’s console and state your name and title.” (Rumera)
“Akena, Goddess of the Hunt”
“Obris, God of the Night”
“Zoorr, God of Mercy”
“Aaraem, God of Vengeance”
“Equione, God of Commerce”
“Ceton, God of Misfortune”
“What an odd combination…” (Rumera)
“Let’s just hurry up and just choose a random champion to get Rhemik off our backs.” (Obris)
“I have a suggestion. Why not use this soul?” (Ceton)
“Isn’t that the weakling you were just laughing at?” (Akena)
“I’m not completely heartless. Look at all the karma he has racked up. That Clumsy Movement talent amplified his karma gain quite a bit. Now we can make him OP in his next life as compensation.” (Ceton)
“That’s fine with me let’s hurry up with this… time is money.” (Equione)
“It feels uncomfortable for me to agree with Ceton, but this poor soul deserves something nice.” (Zoorr)
“Anyone disagree?” (Ceton)
“...”
“Fine, but I have to swap out the Clumsy Movement talent and grant him Agile Movement. I can’t have a champion who can’t even run without tripping over himself.” (Akena)
“Alright if everyone is in agreement, then you can bless him and spend his karma points as you see fit. When you’re done, I’ll handle his reincarnation to the world Rhemik has chosen to hold the next round.” (Rumera)
“He has my blessing, I’ll leave the rest to everyone.” (Zoorr)
“Akena, I trust that you will give him enough power. I bestow my blessing.” (Aaraem)
“Make sure he keeps the concepts he learned in the other world, but there is no need to waste extra points on useless memories of loved ones. Other than that, I give my blessing.” (Equione)
“Don’t make him too attractive either Akena. I know your preferences... He will stand out too much and receive unwanted attention. My blessing will be useless if he is stuck looking at himself in a mirror all day.” (Obris)
“You’re no fun Obris…” (Akena)
“Ceton?” (Akena)
“I added a couple talents he should appreciate, and I have something special prepared for my blessing.”
“Just don’t do anything to make him weaker. Remember the point of this whole thing was to make up for that useless talent you gave him in his last life.” (Rumera)
“Don’t worry, I am a master of wielding misfortune. You only think it can be used to break, but I’ll use it to temper and strengthen.” (Ceton)
“Whatever, it looks like you guys are done. I’ll take it from here.” (Rumera)
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Notes: Hey guys this is my first attempt at a story I've been wanting to write. I decided to the second part of the prologue with just dialogue. It is an attempt to be the view point of a disembodied soul just hearing the conversation between gods. Please give me feedback. Did it work? Should I re-write with narration? Any other feedback about the characters, do the gods need more of a personality? It was hard to get their individual personalities across without using description, but I am open to suggestions. Thanks!