Viran always thought he’d have a classy death.
Y’know, the kind that doesn’t make your Aunt Celia chuckle under her breath during your funeral at the sheer absurdity while trying not to cry.
Or the kind that’d prevent your cousin Derrick from boisterously laughing as he got drunk to deal with the loss.
Viran didn’t get a classy death though.
A truck crashed through his dorm. Isn’t that just some insane bad luck? He had only been 18, after all.
“What the hell?!”
Viran exclaimed as he “woke”.
In his defense, he hadn’t had a chance to react as the truck killed him instantly upon impact.
Viran looked around the dark room frantically, but room was a generous description.
It was either without walls, or so big that Viran couldn’t see them from where he was.
The former was, of course, ridiculous. No room could exist with just a ceiling and a floor.
Speaking of the floor, Viran wasn’t touching it.
”What… the fuck. Was that truck full of LSD?”
He looked down to find himself suspended a floor of many, many mirrors.
Just as Viran was questioning his sanity, words appeared in the dark, burning red.
You have died.
That was… absolutely absurd. Viran couldn’t have died, he’d just been on the phone.
People don’t just… die.
He couldn’t remember… d-dying.
Shouldn’t he remember dying if he really died?
What even killed him?
What about his family?!
“WHAT ABOUT MY BROTH-”
Anti-Panic Protocol Engaged
“…er. Oh. Oh. Shit. So I died, then.”
Beginning Afterlife Search
Religion: N/A
“Kinda regret not picking one now, but none of ‘em ever seemed… good? Moral? Accepting of people different from them?”
Determining Afterlife through Karmic Balance
Determining Karmic Balance through actions…
Actions Scanned
Virtues: Caring, Passionate, Introspective
“Oh? I have positive characteristics? Shocker.”
Sins: Impulsive, Overemotional, Easily Distracted
“H-hey! Most of that is just me having ADHD! If I wanted to be read for filth I would’ve posted a picture of myself online.
Karmic Balance: Hidden
Karmic Balance too low to qualify for a Heaven
“Yeah, that checks out… hell it is.”
Searching for solution
Searching…
Searching…
Searching…
Solution found: Reincarnation
“Hah, take that Mormons who never left me alone, I’m not going to hell!”
Karmic Balance high enough to qualify for a humanoid life
“Yay? Wait… Yay! I won’t be a cockroach or something!”
Select Humanoid
After those words appeared a million options flowed through Viran’s mind.
Orc, Goblin, Elf, Vampire, Werewolf, Beastman, Human-
“Human! I wanna be Human!”
Viran hadn’t gone through years of self-discovery to realize that he did deserve happiness despite being fat, just to dump his humanity at the first opportunity, thank you very much.
Human Selected
Karmic Balance is high enough to qualify for a personality-based world choice
“Oh thank god. No edgy grimdarks for me.”
Interests: Witchcraft, Books, Magic, Adventure, Art, Romance
Selecting Suitable-
VIRAN KATE HAS BEEN SPONSORED BY GOD OF STORIES, ZILADI
“A… sponsor. Thanks? …I guess did read a lot.”
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
World Selected with Sponsor Input
Soul had Consumed Story previously, proceed with reincarnation?
CONTINUE.
World Selected
World Type: Story
Finding Available Role
Main Character - Filled by Zackery Flameclaw
The name seemed familiar to Viran, despite the dumb last name.
Where had he seen that name before?
Love Interest - Filled by Avery Shatterblood
Best Friend - Filled by Eric Windblade
Rival - Filled by ??? “Apathy” ???
Bully 1 - Filled by Conner Icemane
Bully 2…
.
.
.
As the names flew by, each with a ridiculous last name attached, Viran kept trying to place them.
The MC, the love interest, and especially the rival (Apathy is a very dumb nickname) were all so familiar to Viran, but he couldn’t place where he remembered them from. He couldn’t remember much of anything really.
.
.
.
Background Character 8738 - Unnamed
Background Character 8739 - Unnamed
No Roles Available
Finding Solution
Finding…
Finding…
Finding…
Solution found
Background Character 8738 - Unnamed
Background Character 8739 - Unnamed
Background Character 8740 - Viran Kate
The floor mirrors began to melt together into one giant, brightly lit mirror.
Then the mirror rippled, and the light dimmed to reveal a building in the middle of a forest clearing.
As Viran’s levitation failed him and he began to fall into the mirror, it clicked.
He knew what story he was in.
“OH, YOU’VE GOTTA BE KI-”
***
“Wow this anime sucks.”
“I know right? I bet Zack’s gonna get trained by that scary guy.”
“I bet Zack’s gonna soften up the scary guy and make him a tsundere until he dies tragically.”
“Ha! …hey Dan?”
”Yeah Vi?”
“Thanks for doing this with me.”
”Anytime.”
***
Welcome to Kalmia
Story: Path to Godhood
Chapter 1, Page 5
Role: Background Character 8740
Mana Network: Sealed
Cultivation Path - Physical; Active
Cultivation Path - Magical: Inactive
Specialty: Undecided
Picked out this story just for you! Hope you like it :)
Actually, you better like it, the paperwork for story-type reincarnations is torture. It’s all that backstory creation to catch up with the plot.
(;﹏;)
(I had to use a big emoticon to express all my pain.)
Speaking of plot, you’re in it. Like, in it. I had no say in it, but the premise seems interesting.
Unfortunately that means you can’t do that thing where you avoid the plot until the changes you make catch up with you and blah blah blah.
Honestly I’m glad, all the other sponsees do that and it’s sooooo boring. :/
Oh crap, I forgot you’re on a time limit! The plot kicks in soon!
You’ll do great, interact with the main characters, have fun, and good luck!!! :D
-Love, Ziladi <3
P.S: I gave you a little memory jog! In my opinion there’s no point sending you to a story you’ve read before if you can’t remember it.
I expect big things from you, Viran Kate.
Once all the text finally disappeared, Viran opened his eyes.
He was standing in front of a large building with a sign that said ‘Applicants present your Exam Voucher to the front desk.’
Sure enough, when Viran looked down he was holding a slip of silver paper presenting Viran as a potential student of…
“Path to Godhood”
This… he was going into the Entrance Exam…
Hah… of course, nobody in this story ever considered going to the 3 other, just as good, not constantly attacked, schools.
No, everyone who mattered went to Silver Flame Academy for some reason.
But… Viran didn’t matter. He was a background character. No matter what the ‘plot’ was, it couldn’t keep him there. As long as he was careful, he could go his whole life without meeting the main character.
There were other perfectly good schools to go to, with less strict standards, some not even that far from here.
Viran went to turn back, but reality hit him like a slap to the face.
That wasn’t a metaphor.
The moment he had thought of turning back, Viran felt the familiar void wrapping around him, eager to claim his soul.
“Play your part”
Extinction whispered, a plead, an order, and so much more.
“The plot demands it”
It seemed that the god of stories was right. Viran had already been absorbed into the universe of Path to Godhood, and it had a storyline for him.
Robbed of all other options, Viran’s heart began to beat faster as he walked up those marble stairs. (Marble? Damn this school is rich.)
So there was a plot, and it was a diva. But as long as he avoided the main characters, especially the main character, he’d be fine.
That was easy. Viran wasn’t interesting enough for anyone to take notice of him.
The main character is placed into the Lesser Hall, so all Viran had to do was do worse then Zack.
”I’m here for the Entrance Exam.”
“…This is a valid student ID, third door on your right.”
Viran could barely feel his body as he nodded and walked towards a distant door.
“Just lay low, learn some magic, maybe graduate, and exit stage right.”
Viran repeated the mantra under his breath.
A part of his mind sang with joy.
He was gonna learn magic!
All he had to do now was…
Viran opened the door to his future, whatever that might be.