Prologue

The last thing I remembered before dying was tumbling down from the sofa I was relaxing in after a long day of work; dealing with a social event in my father-in-law’s place.

Now I found myself in a puddle of my own blood, even the wedding ring I wore on my left finger was soaked.

How unfortunate, I thought.

As death was approaching, I imagined that if I had another shot at life, I didn’t want to be used as someone’s servant. Being a secretary for a company that did nothing but shady work, I was never told any of the details, much less information about the clients my superiors were working with. All I could do was keep my mouth shut, and do what I was ordered to, otherwise I would suffer the consequences. Hell, I was only allowed to marry my boss’s daughter if I behaved around him.

Yet I was killed by my boss’ men because another company wanted me.

Screw them!

Screw them all to freaking hell for all I care!

Just before my eyes could properly close, I mustered up some strength and quickly grabbed my blood-soaked cell phone ahead of me. I had to message someone. It didn’t matter that my phone was going to die on me. I’d rather they accept my stupid request than die without saying anything at all.

But with my vision fading, I didn’t have many options. I couldn’t contact my family because I knew they were going to be in more danger than me; heck there was a chance my in-laws would assassinate them the moment that I told any of them this. I didn’t want them to suffer in the same way that I did… Instead the first thing my finger clicked on was of a photographer. Someone who I hadn’t spoken to within the past year. Without even caring he would ignore it, I just typed the best that I could even with the blood getting into my eyes.

Sorry to ask you of this, please take care of this for me. I’ll send the info in a file. It’s up to you to delete it or inform someone of this. Thank you for accepting this and I’m sorry I neglected your ass for many years.

Just as I finished typing the text message, my vision was making everything feel like a blur. I could hear the faint sound of my phone dying on me and a loud scream in the distance.

The next time I opened my eyes however, I discovered I was in a void-like area, surrounded by nothing but bookshelves. I took a slight glance at their spines, but I was somehow unable to decipher any of their titles. Were they written in a language I was unfamiliar with?

“Alas, what you just experienced wasn’t a dream. It was all real. You were the best worker that a corrupted company like that could hire. However you weren't expecting to be assassinated, were you? But that’s how the company you worked for operated. They believed that if you were killed, then the company that tried to hire you wouldn’t do anything. However… they’re wrong.”

  Was she referring to the file that I sent him before dying? I'm glad he found some use for it.

A woman with white hair, dressed in an equally white tunic said all of this to me as she stood in front of me. Her pure white skin and light blue eyes captivated me. They gazed at me as if I were their prey. However, based on that, I knew that she couldn’t be human despite her appearance easily passing off as one. I meant more with her presence, which left my body shaking like crazy that other than standing, I was unable to move my body this whole time.

“Pardon me, would you mind explaining what is going on?” I asked.

“If it isn’t clear to you by now, you’re currently dead. I’m a goddess and I brought your soul to this place.”

“You must have a lot of free to time to be idly chatting with a man like me who was mostly ever used as a tool by most people,” I said, keeping myself calm. “Enough so that you must’ve had a special reason to summon me here.”

“That is true. We gods can get very busy after all. You’re a lot more clever than I thought.”

I let out a sigh, quiet enough that she probably couldn’t hear it. “If that’s the case, then may I ask why I was summoned here?”

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

“Wow, you’re a quick one, so I’ll give you a special choice. The idea of someone like you being reborn on Earth with your soul wiped clean that you’ll be a brand-new person sounds really boring to me. Not really fun. However, I want to send your soul to another world. The choice is deciding what world you wanna live in.”

Two parchments suddenly appeared in her hands, and brought them closer to me.

She then held up the left parchment. “Behold! Option One! The world does seem to be like Earth, as in the world you originally came from, but however, it is a world where every person has a special power!. You would be no different from the common folk so you can fit in just fine. Oh, and as a bonus, I shall offer you a gift stronger than the others, one of your choosing~!”

She seems so enthusiastic about this, isn’t she?

I looked at the particular parchment that she’s holding and saw the details. What she was saying seemed to be true. A world that seemed to resemble the superhero media that had been trending within the past decade. It seemed interesting since every person had an ability and it meant that I couldn’t be used as a servant if I had a higher power however…

Wait… there had to be a catch here. Shit! What if they're gonna use me again? Having a higher power would make me not blend in with the common folk? That would make it harder to blend in and make it more of a reason for me to be used and since they can have abilities and stuff, that makes my death chances skyrocket than it did in my past life!

Just as my mind was getting repeated by these thoughts, that was when my eyes noticed the right parchment.

“What is the other option?” I asked.

However upon me asking her this, I noticed the loud sigh. “I thought you could’ve gone with the first one and then bam, the reincarnation process could go…”

I felt puzzled seeing the strange look she had on her face as her eyes were gazing at the parchment I’d requested. Based on the loud sigh she’s giving off, it didn’t even sound like she was the same person I was conversing with this whole time.

“Aww, are you sure you want to choose this option? It doesn’t sound like your thing whatsoever~. Think about it! Swords and Magic. Not many are going to choose this one. It’s the most generic option of them all that I begin to question why we are giving them out in the first place! Besides, if I had told them that the conveniences that you take granted in the world you’re from, like smart phones or whatever you humans use, aren't there, they’ll think I’m insane for sending them there! They’ll just want anything else, even if it resembles the dull world that they came from! Hmph! Only a fool would take this option if you ask me.”

This is some persistent goddess, alright…

Swords and Magic…? That sounded like nonsense, something that I would’ve been told over and over to grow up from and not look back on. Yet, somehow the idea was really grabbing me despite how insane I must’ve felt. Any sane person would’ve heard her displeasure and just took the first option. And yet…

Maybe it’s because I was getting tired of seeing the superhero stuff shoved into my face that the idea was warming up to me. Enough for me to make a decision.

“I’ll take the right parchment,” I said.

I knew why I chose this. It was because I probably wouldn't be betrayed and killed so easily, no matter what path I could take. Despite this declaration however, frustration and mental anguish was really growing inside me, even when I was trying to stay calm.

I assumed that she would’ve gone into more of a disappointing rant upon seeing me making my decision and yet… a grin appeared on her face.

"That being said…"

Knowledge of that world began to flood into my mind. Instantly I knew about the structure of that place, the art and craft of “magic” as a concept and how to use it, the culture and the level of technological advancement the world could’ve had. I even learned about the concept of “heroes”, even those who had fallen into battle so long ago.

“I am very curious to see how far you’d go. Would you be the hero that would make the difference and change the world to be more of a reality of your choosing or would you be the villain who wants to see the world destroyed that even the fallen demon lord would’ve seen you as his successor?”

“Is there anything you wished for me to accomplish in my next life?” I then asked her.

“Nope. Just prove to me what you could do in your new life. It’ll be a world where gods and goddesses are praised highly so whatever accomplishments you could make, whether heroic or evil, will be acknowledged by my presence. I’ll even make sure you’ll be able to use magic so you’ll have more options to work with. Alright?”

“That seems fine with me,” I said.

I did not have any real reason to complain about what my next life would be or what this goddess was telling me. In fact, I felt more relieved about it.

“Okay, it should be time for your reincarnation to occur. You are going to be reborn in the world from the start, but you won’t regain your memories until you’re thirteen since I wanted to make sure the magic that should develop within your body will be matured by then. Would that be alright?”

“I accept.” I answered without a hint of hesitation.

With that the goddess snapped her fingers.

My body transformed into particles of light.

Right, I got a new life waiting for me. Whatever happens, I suppose I should make the best use of it. Really hope that I don’t regret this.