I woke up in a white room and looked around. It was perfectly lit up, even though there was no lamp. There was, however, a dark-brown door on one side of the room, and a bunch of oval-shaped clouds on the other side. My first assumption was that they were portals, since they were the size of an average human, and they had various colors.

"Welcome!" A man with a white robe greeted me.

"I suppose asking you who you are is pointless. You must be a God, right?" I asked.

"That's correct," The man stood before me, smiling. "But only partially. The true God – my father – is currently on a vacation, so I'm fulfilling his duty for now."

"So… what is going to happen to me now?"

"You are going to be reincarnated."

"I see. It's not that bad then, since I can still live. Can I ask what my next life will be like?"

"Of course. Usually, we determine person's next life quality by assessing their kindness to others, and the good deeds they've done in their past life. In your case that would be… barely any. But don't worry. You don't have many sins on your account either, since all your life you just did what others told you. Also, I took a personal liking to you, so I can grant you a wish regarding your next reincarnation. As long as it is within reason. I will not make you a king, but perhaps I could make you a high noble if that is what you wish."

Personal liking… Yeah, no shit. He is just pitying me. But is that bad? I just died after having enlightenment, but I get to start my life again, this time without repeating the same mistakes that broke my past life. That's already good enough for me. "Okay, I understand."

Hmm. What to choose? I could choose a good but lazy life of a noble. This has its downsides though. I'd still be ordered around by whoever is above me. Moreover, it's just not the way I want to live. Perhaps I should ask for power instead, and then earn a high position myself. But how can I get power?

"I have decided. Can I get a system?"

"A system?"

"Yes, like a game leveling up system, but in real life. I read about it in novels. It helps develop new skills and abilities, and makes it easier to become stronger."

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

"Ah, yes. I know what you mean." He grabbed his chin and thought deeply.

"Since its power is correlated to my personal growth, it should not make me overpowered. It would only make things a lot easier" I assured him, thinking that's what he feared. I had doubts whether he would agree to something like that, but to my surprise, he nodded.

"Very well then. If it's the power you crave, I shall grant it to you." He smiled and put his hand on my head. I felt tides of pleasure pulsing through my body. My hair waved as if whipped by the force of the wind, except there was no wind, and a divine choir song played.

Yes, it played. I could clearly hear the sound coming from the phone sticking out from a small pocket in his robe. I wanted to point that out, but he looked like he was really enjoying himself, so I had no heart to break his immersion.

When he finished, he took his hand back and said, "There are multiple universes. Each world differs from the other. Do you have any preference as to where you want to live?"

"I won't be picky as long as my system is of use." I did not want to overuse this God's kindness. He already gave me a lot. I am honestly shocked that this happened to me. Is he like that with other people as well?

"That's great! I'll send you to some place where we lack souls then! All that's left is erasing your memories, and you can head straight to the portal."

"Place where you lack so– hold on! You're going to erase my memories!?"

He gave me a surprised look. "Yes… we always do that. If you kept your memories, that would be unfair, and it's against the rules. Just think about how much this would complicate the lolicon problem! We can't have adults roaming around in children's bodies. Therefore, we wipe up everyone's memories before reincarnating them."

"But that would mean my current self would die! Forever!"

"Pretty much."

"What if I end up making the same mistakes and mindlessly work myself to death for others?" This thought really bothered me. Without my experiences, my life would be tied to fate, and I don't want that, because fate clearly has a thing against me.

"Sorry. That can't be helped. I can only give you a somewhat rich family though. If that's what you want instead of the system."

"I want to preserve my memories. That's my wish."

"No can do. That's beyond the scope of my capabilities. Tell me when you're ready to head out, and I'll make final preparations. That includes purging your memories, but don't be afraid. It won't hurt."

DING DING

"Finally!" God's so far stoic expression turned to ecstasy and excitement. "That must be the pizza I ordered! Hold on a second. I'll go and collect it. I can even spare you a slice if you want."

I stood bewildered, as I watched God approach, and open the door. A middle-aged man with a mustache, who had a pizza sticker on his cap appeared in the passage. He was holding a box of – quite obviously – pizza.

God quickly opened the box and peeked inside. His smile withered away, replaced by an expression of immense grief. "There are no pineapples. Again."

"Sorry, sir. As I already mentioned, we don't sell pizza with pineapples, so we don't have any in our magazines."

"And I already mentioned that you should supply your magazines with pineapples then!"

"We will not sell pizza with pineapples."

God scowled at the other man. "You will! How can someone not like pineapple on pizza?"

"Mamma mia! Eating pizza with a pineapple is an even worse sin than eating pizza with a sauce!"

"What's wrong with the sauce!? And also, no! I don't recall there being a sin like that!"

"Everything's wrong with the sauce! It spoils the real taste of a pizza!"

"Okay, if you want to do it that way, then here you go. If you do not add pineapples to your menu, I'll send you to hell for eternal suffering."

"It's fine! I'd be proud to die fighting for my ideals!"

While God and the pizza man argued over pineapple on pizza, I slowly and stealthily walked towards the closest portal. It was yellow, or maybe a bit goldish yellow.

I wondered if I should touch it against God's will, but curiosity got the better of me. I tentatively put my hand inside and felt a nice tingling sensation.

"No, Wait!" Having realized my insubordination, the white-robed man exclaimed and aimed his hand at me.

I panicked and lurched forward. The portal devoured me, and my body was wrenched, squeezed, and contorted by an unknown force.