I stood in front of the door, my hand firmly on the doorknob. My sister was in the kitchen to cook lunch for the four of us while Sam and Lyla—A stupid name, for sure, but one I take pride in since it was my idea—played in the yard with Doug, a Labrador with golden fur that clearly needs to be washed within the day. I gulped. Last time I left the attic and the house was two weeks ago to buy myself two boxes of noodles and chips and a crate of Dr. Pepper. God, what the fuck am I doing with my money? I let out a sigh, a few years of my life shaved off there, and turned the doorknob.

"H-Hey Luke..."

I turned around quickly to see my sister looking at me from the kitchen. The expression on her face is a mix of pride and worry.

"Good luck."

"... Yeah, I guess."

I said softly as I walked out of the house with a sour taste in my mouth.

"My name is Lucas Belford, I'm- Nope. That's a shitty introduction..."

I mutter to myself as I walked past the convenience store where I bought my supplies from. Sadly, I won't be buying any Dr. Pepper or cup noodles today. In fact, I probably won't buy any of those things in the future.

But knowing myself, I'll probably fuck up on that. How many times have I promised myself something like this? Too many to count, most likely. Just thinking about it makes my stomach churn out of disgust and utter disappointment. I said it again and again to Mom and Dad and without fail, I always failed to deliver. Well, it's not really my f- No, what the hell am I talking about? I did this. The person staring back at me in the window of the convenience store is the person that fucked up my life. The curly, brown hair and the dark eyes devoid of hope are a familiar sight whenever I stare at the person who ruined me.

"Shit... I'm seriously going to town looking like this?"

I looked down at my shirt and scoffed.

I sat down and thought long and hard about what I'm going to do. For two years, I lived in the refurbished attic of my sister's house with my PC, a small bed, and the many figurines and books that surrounded me. Things wouldn't have gone so bad if I should've followed Teddy's advice about choosing a more "viable" option when it came to college. Jokes on him, while he's working his ass off as a financial adviser for some bank, I am an expert when it came to Medieval and Greco-Roman history and literature. Enough about that, I need to focus on how my History and Creative Writing degrees will help me land a job somewhere.

I looked around to find flyers for any kind of job. I need to remember that I'm just looking for a job, not applying. Usually, there would be notices here in the convenience store that there was a job opening, but it seems that someone got it first. Lucky bastard. Anyway, since I have the time to spare, I figured that maybe I should start thinking about what skills I could bring to the table if I was hired. I leaned back against the chair and began to think about myself.

Lucas Belford. Graduated from college two and a half years ago with a Master's degree in History and a Bachelor's in Creative Writing. I play videogames but I'm not good enough to even be considered professional but at least I'm not some twelve-year-old screaming into the mic whenever I fucked up a play. I'm shit at housework other than cooking simple dishes and cleaning the table. My academics throughout my life could only be described as average, something I came to accept after I tried my best during my 8th grade only for my efforts to be rewarded with only above-average grades. I'm weak physically so I can't really go into labour-intensive jobs and number-oriented jobs are out of the question.

At this point, I should be asking friends for help. Sadly, that's not possible. What few friends I have are limited to the virtual world of games and most of them haven't even seen each other's real faces. Well, there's no one else to blame but myself for my current situation. If I were to track my character stats, I'm someone who put no points into charisma. Just thinking about it makes me feel depressed about myself. I had quite a few friends before, but most of them lived on the other side of the country or in different countries altogether. I let out a heavy sigh as the reality I have been living in finally set in. 

Simply put, I fucked up. Well, I knew that I'd end up like this eventually, but why the hell should I give up now? I stood up and slapped my cheeks with both hands. If I give up now, Teddy would be snickering at me from his home office. That cocky brother of mine would win, and the thought of that bastard's gleeful smile makes me want to try harder. Besides, if I don't exert effort now, I'll remain a virgin forever. Unthinkable. Such a thought scares me so much that it managed to force me out of my spot in the attic. There truly is no greater force in the universe than a man's lust!

Of course, I have my own reasons as well to decide to finally put in some effort in my life. I stood up from my seat and stretched my arms. Today was a nice day to go out and hunt for a job. Not too sunny but not too cloudy, a perfect time for children to go out and play. In fact, I could see a bunch of them walking down the street with soft-served ice cream in their hands. Maybe I should treat myself as well. After all, it takes real courage for a shut-in like me to strike out into the world and look for a job. I was about to walk into the store when I heard the sound of a truck moving through the streets.

I remembered the start of an isekai I read. I chuckled at the thought as I pushed the unsettling scene to the back of my head. As much as I want to start a new life in another world, if I can't even function as a functioning human in this life then how the hell would I survive in a fantasy world? Besides, I have no interest in throwing away my life when I finally decided to put it back on track again. Still, I couldn't help but turn my head to look at the truck as it moved quickly down the street. There was something in the back of my head that told me to look out, to run away, to abandon the children.

It happened suddenly, without any fucking warning. My eyes bulged as the right wheel at the front of the truck popped out and flew to the side. The truck swerved from side to side, sparks flying as the driver tried to regain control. But the truck began to turn to the left, towards the sidewalk and the children that stared at it in shock and horror. An old man yelled at them to run out of the way. The old man's shout snapped them and myself out of it and they dashed to the side to get out of the way of the truck. I was about to go inside the store as well when I noticed a small shape directly in the path of the truck. It was a little girl, her shorts drenched in piss and rendered unable to move out of fear. 

"Hey! Get out of the way!"

I yelled in a futile attempt to catch the girl's attention. I glance at the truck and saw how quickly it is closing the distance between itself and the little girl. 

Shit! I let out a cry of frustration. At this point, the main character of the isekai should be running straight towards the girl towards certain death. Instead, I found my feet firmly glued to the ground as cold sweat ran down my back. I watched as the truck driver jumped out of the truck while the girl collapsed to her knees. In just a few seconds, that truck will run over that girl and there would be a messy patch of blood in front of the convenience store I loved so much. There was someone shouting, and I think one of the cashiers is calling 911. I don't really know. It was in that hazy moment that my feet willed themselves forward.

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Like an Olympic sprinter on crack, I ran like never before and nearly tripped over myself a couple of times. It was a blur. Everything around me blurred as my vision focused on the girl and the girl alone. The noises around me were muddled as I locked eyes with the girl. She was cute. She would probably grow up to be a sexy beauty if I managed to save her. Keyword was "if" since I'm not sure if I'll even be able to make it. I screamed at the top of my lungs as I lunged towards the little girl with my arms close to my body. With the weight of my entire body behind it, the force of our collision sent the girl flying a few feet away from me as I rammed into her. The girl rolled and got scratched on the rough concrete, but she was in the safe now. The same couldn't be said for me.

In order to not hurt the girl too much, I tried my best to stop myself in order to not send the girl flying too far. There was also the chance of me tripping over myself and accidentally crushing the girl. Whatever the case, I stopped in my tracks and was now moments away from being run over. I wanted to say that I braced myself for death, but that wasn't the case. I pissed myself as I closed my eyes. Then, I felt the bones in my arm, my legs, and my ribs break into a million pieces. As the force sent me to the ground, I felt the crushing pain of having a thousand-pound vehicle rollover my abdomen and absolutely tearing through my body. What little air I have left in my lungs was squeezed out as the back wheel of the truck rolled over my chest.

The truck collided with a lamp post moments later. Oil and blood intermixed around me as I bled out from the inside and from the many lacerations on my body. The left side of my vision is red, and the other one is extremely blurry. I can't even move or feel anything from the waist down due to the numbing pain and the excruciating throbbing in my head. I coughed up blood as I slowly accepted what will happen to me. The kid I saved stared at me, her eyes wide with fear and horror at what just happened. Kid, you better pray for me when you grow up to be a fucking beauty. As the kid's face begun to blur to the point that she's just a fuzzy shape, I let loose a disappointed sigh.

"Maybe I should've just went for Med or Psychology..."

I dwelled on that thought in my final moments. I could feel my life draining out from my fingers as shapes shouted incoherently around me. What do I have to show for my life in Heaven? I failed to get into the college that was my first choice and my first book about a more realistic take on a Knight's life was rejected by every publisher I tried to sell it to. I tried my best to make friends but I got bullied instead and the few friends I had during highschool all went on to have better lives than me. Fuck, I never even got to see Sasha and Marcus' son! The thought of all those failures made me tear up. I can't even blame others for my failures, and that was what made all of it frustrating.

I didn't pass the entrance exam because I thought that I could fucking wing it. The book was a disaster because I'm just a third-rate writer. I was an annoying kid that tried too hard to make friends and treated said friends like shit. I wouldn't have been bullied during middleschool if I just kept my head low instead of picking a fight with those guys. Of course, it's my fault for not being able to move in life since I just gave up on myself when things got tough. It's not like I wanted to be like this, it's just that I don't fucking know how to get out of the hole I dug for myself.

Fuck... I just want another chance in life. A chance to try and fix my mistakes.

"Hello? Are you the client?"

A sweet voice made me open my eyes. Instead of seeing blurry and red shapes, I found a clean office filled with packed shelves and organized file cabinets. 

"W-What the... Am I alive?"

I said to myself as I patted my body. The leather chair creaked as I shifted around and looked at my clothes. They were fresh and clean.

"Of course not. You died three minutes and 27 seconds ago due to internal injuries sustained during your accident. The main cause, however, is oxygen deficiency to your brain after your heart failed to sustain enough oxygen to it."

I turned to face the source of the sweet voice that could only be likened to that of an angelic choir. 

On the other side of the table is a beautiful girl that could only be described as "perfect". She had long, black hair that was tied into a neat ponytail, a cute round face devoid of any blemishes, eyes a piercing shade of green, a modest chest, and a pair of wings behind her. She wore a corporate attire that emphasized her waist and her chest and she had a necklace around her neck. She had that "receptionist" air to her, like a character from one of the dating sims I play. She smiled as she read through the documents in her hands.

"Welcome, esteemed soul! You have been chosen as a candidate to become a Hero in another world!"

The cute but oddly charismatic greeting failed to get any response from me. Why? Well, I was busy staring at the face of the cute girl in front of me and the unbuttoned top of her dress. After a moment of awkward silence, the angel cleared her throat and shifted in her seat.

"Ehem... Greetings! I am Pax, the agent in charge of handling souls that display promise in their lives."

The angel smiled as she put down the documents. 

"You have lived a noble life, one which ended with a noble sacrifice for the life of another. Therefore, Heaven has decreed that you shall be given another chance! Redemption for a soul worthy of defeating the evils of another world!"

The angel spread her arms and wings to emphasize her point. She smiled proudly as I stared blankly at her. 

"Erm... Are you sure you got the right guy? That doesn't sound like me."

"Huh? Impossible! Heaven rarely makes a mistake! You're Perseus Anderson, right? The one who died after saving a man from jumping off the bridge at the cost of his own life, correct?"

"... No. My name is Lucas Belford, I'm-"

The angel snapped her fingers and the room around us shifted immediately. The walls and furniture transformed and changed like water while the room itself became grander and larger until finally, the interior of the office turned into the interior of a great cathedral. Similarly, the letters in Pax's documents shifted around and changed.

"Miss Illyria, I think there is a mistake."

My eyes towards the figure Pax spoke to with a reverent tone.

The figure was a child. A child around the age of 14, probably. She had golden hair that stretched to her shoulders and she didn't have wings like Pax. Her back was turned towards them as she hummed a song while her hands held a pair of silver scissors that she used to trim a small bonsai on the stone altar. After she trimmed some branches from the bonsai, she turned towards us with a disinterested look on her face. When she turned to face us, I noticed that she was wearing a sailor uniform with white stockings. Her face was childlike, and her iridescent eyes shone brilliantly like gems. Unlike Pax, the girl was the very picture of innocence. 

"Seriously? Ah... Yeah, it was definitely a mistake. The guy you're looking for isn't going to die for another five years. Although they died on the same day, this guy isn't a candidate. In fact, I'm surprised that such an unremarkable and pitiful individual got confused for a possible Hero."

Those words struck him down like God's divine retribution. 

"Oh... Oh no. W-What should we do then, Miss?"

The little girl smiled at Pax's question. Her eyes fixed in on me and she stared at me as if deep in thought. 

"The way I see it, Luke here has two choices. He can reincarnate or go to the afterlife. If he chooses the former, he will be reborn as an insect or an animal since his soul gathered too much negative karma after wasting such a promising life. If he chooses the latter, he will have to spend some time in Purgatory to cleanse his soul."

"I see. Forgive me for taking some of your precious time due to my incompetence, Miss Illyria."

Pax bowed to the girl and to me, then to me. Pax mouthed a silent apology to me as she waited for me to move.

"Those are just his choices though. If you ask me, we should just dispose of him by sending him to the world regardless. I can't have my clean record be tarnished by this one failure. Anyway, do you agree with that proposal, Luke?"

At this point, I don't even care what happens to me. I wasn't even listening to what she said to me since at this point I just want to get this over with. It was probably about me being reincarnated as a caterpillar or something. I sat down on the floor and readied myself. 

"Yeah, sure. Do it."

The moment I said those words, I felt something prick against my neck. 

Blue skies and sunlight filled my eyes as the sensation of grass and soft earth registered in my brain. All around me is a wide, open field with rolling hills and large stones in the distance. I looked down at myself and, thankfully, I wasn't a worm. Although that doesn't change the fact that I'm in a different place now. For a moment, I took in the beautiful scenery around me and breathed in the fresh air of the countryside. After I was done with that, I did what any sensible person in my situation would've done.

"WHERE THE FUCK AM I?!"