His name was Page Durand. His name still is Page Durand, but it was also Page Durand the first time, too. This is simply because it's his second time being born! He was Page Durand in his first life, and is now Page Durand in his second life! They both match! But, that's not all... It's also the same life! His name is the same because it's the same life!
He died, met several gods, and was granted a second chance at life! Such a combination of events could only happen in a fantastic story or fairy tale, but it was happening to him! It was happening to Page Durand!
At first, he thought his life was over. In the blink of an eye, he had gone from pwning newbs in an online video game to slumping over in his chair. His character was on a 30-player kill streak, all ended by a mysterious sniper shot! Page Durand had no idea where the sniper shot came from! The bullet was too mysterious and it followed too unordinary of a trajectory! He thought he had all of his bases covered, all of his blindspots protected, but he was wrong! He was shot and killed! Dead in an instant!
After that, he died in the game and in real life! Page Durand was so scared, he had a heart attack! At the tender age of 25-years-old, he had a heart attack in his chair and died! He couldn't live any longer because he was dead only a few moments later! Maybe, if a doctor was nearby, he could have been saved, but there wasn't, and he wasn't! Page Durand died without anyone caring about him! At the moment of his death, he wasn't on anybody's mind! Even if there was a doctor nearby, they would never have thought to check on him!
Nobody cared that Page Durand died, that was the sad truth. In all of his 25 years of life, he had been nothing except for a couch potato! He only ate, slept, and played video games! Even when his mother tried to help him get a job, he just skipped it and played more video games! While his younger brother was starting an internship at a globally traded corporation, Page Durand was getting imaginary internet points!
However, even though Page Durand had died and nobody cared about him, it wasn't the end for him! Not even a single bit! When he came to his senses, he discovered he was sitting in a room with two other people. The room was incredibly big, so much so that Page Durand couldn't see the walls or the ceiling! In fact, he couldn't even see the floor! Everything was pure white!
Slightly to his left, an old man was sitting. He had wrinkled skin and a huge beard, and his eyes gave off a sense of unspeakable wisdom! He was the wise old grandfather that everyone knew about!
Directly in front of him, another old man was sitting. This man was much smaller than the first and sat in yellowish-orange robes. His skin was dry and cracked, and he was terribly skinny! Page Durand wanted to give the man a hamburger, lest he starves to death!
Slightly to his right, it wasn't a person that was sitting, but, instead, a floating spaghetti dinner, complete with meatballs! As Page Durand looked, he could even see two eyes sticking out from the top of the creature!
It was all too strange!
"Page Durand, male, twenty-five years old, virgin, idle," The man on the left said, his voice as clear as spring water!
"Neutral," The man in the center said, his voice sounded wiser than even the first man looked!
"Zero dogma, a true pirate," The spaghetti dinner said, speaking without even having a mouth!
Page Durand was too shocked to speak! He looked all around himself, but all he could see was the three figures! He couldn't even see the seats they were sitting on! When he looked down, he couldn't even see his own body! If someone asked him what was wrong, he'd tell them just one word, 'everything'!
"Congratulations, mortal!" The man on the left said.
"You pass," The man in the center said.
"Winner!" The spaghetti dinner on the right said.
Suddenly, a box of text appeared in front of Page Durand's vision, slightly blocking his sight of the three entities sitting near him.
Hello. You have earned the praise of all three gods. For having accomplished such a feat, you are being rewarded an additional possibility in your afterlife.
(1) Enter Heaven.
(2) Reincarnate.
(3) Start Again. ***Special Possibility***
"Go ahead," The man on the left said.
"Choose," The man in the center said.
"Pick one," The spaghetti dinner said.
Page Durand looked in front of him, shifting his attention between the floating box of text and the three entities at encouraged him. He just couldn't make a choice! Not only was this his first time experiencing such an occasion, it was his first time ever even hearing about something like it! For him to have to make a decision now, it was too unreasonable! For him, it would take at least another few days of thinking to arrive at a suitable choice!
First, the box of text had said he earned the praise of three gods. Did that mean the three entities in front of him were gods? They each had said something good to Page Durand as if they were happy with something he did, and there were three of them. This lined up too nicely with what the box of text said! If it was true, Page Durand was currently in the presence of gods! Not just one, not just two, but three!
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"Are you three, gods?" Page Durand asked.
Suddenly, he was met with another box of text!
(3) Start Again.
You will be reborn as you were in your current life. You will retain all your memories. You will be allowed to change your god-given-talents.
Is this okay?
Page Durand didn't know what to do! When he said 'three' as he spoke to the gods, the box of text had taken it to mean he had made a selection! If he spoke now, he might make another accidental selection! He couldn't speak, not until he made up his mind about the box of text currently in front of him.
Would he be okay with being reborn? He didn't have an enviable life, so, no. If anything, going to heaven sounded much better than having to live that shitty life for the second time! However, the second sentence almost completely negated the first! It said he would keep his memories! If that was true, wouldn't he have the chance to make his life evolve into something completely different? Not only that, the third sentence made the second one much more powerful. He could choose things to have talent at? What kind of life could he make with all of these great boons?!
However, the second sentence almost completely negated the first! It said he would keep his memories! If that was true, wouldn't he have the chance to make his life evolve into something completely different? Not only that, the third sentence made the second one much more powerful. He could choose things to have talent at? That, combined with his knowledge of his previous life... That would make living a successful second life too easy, wouldn't it?
After heavily thinking about it, Page Durand couldn't think of a single reason to decline. The more he thought about the situation, the more he realized he only had things to gain and nothing to lose!
'Yes!' Page Durand shouted, in his mind. He didn't need another second to think about his options.
"Yes," He calmly said, and the box of text changed accordingly.
You will soon begin your second attempt at life. Once you start, there is no going back. You will only be able to return here when you die, and you will only be given this chance again if you can gain the favor of all three gods, again.
Before you go, please distribute your Talent Points.
Physicality: 0
Mentality: 0
Artistry: 0
Prosperity: 0
Remaining Talent Points: 80
Page Durand had to carefully observe the box of text in front of him. While the three gods that watched him never changed, the boxes of text were flying by at incredible speeds! They didn't disappear instantly, and all the relevant information was still available for him to read, but Page Durand really wished there was a way to go back!
Alas, Page Durand now had no choice but to distribute his Talent Points. They were something he had never head about, outside this godly meeting, and so he had no idea how to use them! If they were similar to stat points from video games, he was in luck. If they weren't, he was going to have a bad time!
At least there were only four options to distribute them among. With 80 points and 4 options, it meant he could put 20 points into each option and have an equal amount in each of them. However, Page Durand wanted to be an extraordinary person, he knew he needed to put an extraordinary amount of points into a single option! A Jack-of-all-trades type character would be comfortable, but a specialized character was the way Page Durand typically went!
Go big or go home, that was his motto! All-for-one, forget the rest!
But, Page Durand also couldn't forget about the options he didn't want to specialize in. After all, it was his next life! If he made himself have no Physicality or Mentality and regretted it, he'd only have himself to blame! The gods were not choosing where to put his Talent Points, he was! If he was going to get mad, he'd have to get mad at himself!
So, Page Durand put ten points into each option, leaving him with 40 points remaining. With these points, he'd put one of the options that 50 points. Like that, Page Durand hoped he'd become someone incredible! A tinge of regret hit him, a small thought begging him to answer what would have happened if he put all 80 points into one option... But, he ignored it! The choice was already made!
With Physicality, Page Durand suspected that he'd have a great body. His looks would be incredibly, and his muscles would always be strong, even if he didn't work out every single day. He'd never have to worry about doctor visits, and he'd have a huge... set of biceps! With his option maxed, he'd get all the girls with just a look!
The second option was also alluring, Mentality. With his, Page Durand thought he'd become a better thinker. His tests would practically solve themselves! Harvard or MIT might be school choices for him if he chose this option, or maybe he'd skip school completely and learn everything at the library? Either way, he was sure to be a genius!
For the third, Page Durand had the choice of Artistry. With such a talent, he wouldn't even need to go to school! He could just paint a picture, then sell it for a million dollars! After that, he could write a few songs, play in a band, or act in a popular movie, then he'd have all the woman!
In Page Durand's perverted little mind, Physicality and Artistry were looking like the two best choices!
The last option was Prosperity. Such a mysterious name, Page Durand didn't know what it would give him! Would things always go his way? If he tried to be strong, would he magically become strong? If he tried to get a 100% on a test, would every answer be miraculously correct? If he tried to write a beautify poem, would it sway the hearts of millions? All of these questions... Page Durand had no way of getting an answer.
In the end, it was up to Page Durand to decide how to spend his Talent Points. He could spend them on three sure bets, or one gamble. In such a situation, wasn't it best to think like a gamer? He needed to think, what kinds of games had he played where he distributed points to a character before having to simulate their future life...
He instantly thought of such a game! Though it was somewhat dated, it was still one of his favorite games of all time! Some would even say it was a classic! If Page Durand had to make a list of his top ten games, it would probably have a spot on it!
Physicality? Please, plastic surgery can take care of that!
Mentality? Please, money can hire people to take care of that!
Artistry? It was the only thing that Page Durand couldn't get if he lived a normal life! If he wanted to have an amazing talent at Artistry, now was his only chance to secure it!
In an instant, Page Durand had put all of his remaining Talent Points into Artistry! As he finished up, the box of text disappeared, and his surroundings began to glow.
"I hope we see you again," The man on the right said.
"Farewell," The man in the center said.
"Arrrgh!" The spaghetti dinner said.
With that, the entire room had turned into solid white! It was only after several minutes of waiting that things changed again, and now the room was black! Page Durand couldn't see anything!
Suddenly, without any warning, he lost consciousness. As the world around him was turning back 25 years, Page Durand's soul was moving back to the place it entered the world at.
His last seven years as a shut-in, gone! His twelve years as an awkward loner in school, gone! His five years as a talentless child, gone! Twenty-five years of good-for-nothing living, all gone!
Finally, it was his, Page Durand's, second chance at life!