Personally, rather than calling myself a skeptic, I’m more of a realist. I don’t believe in things unless they happen to me. Up until yesterday, the whole 'system' and 'transmigration' stuff was just an interesting and enjoyable story to me. But now that the real thing is right before my eyes, my mind is open to every possibility.
“...System, open...”.
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-STATUS- -SKILLS TREE- -INVENTORY- !ALERT!
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"...Okay, now this is VERY real...".
To fans of fantasy novels and games, all these options are just the basics. 'Status' is naturally my status menu; the skills tree must be where I can review obtained and learned skills, whether they are active or passive. That's where the good stuff is. 'Inventory' is simple enough; it’s an inventory menu. Lastly, the 'ALERT' option grabs my attention the most. It’s written in red letters, glaring the entire time, and the exclamation mark really highlights that I need to check this one first.
“...Alright, System…Alert it is then…
“[Greetings, No. 200 Mr. Mizan Cain…you have been chosen among 200 candidates from Earth’s billions of inhabitants…to serve as one of its saviors…Rejoice, and thank you for accepting this role…on behalf of Mother Earth, we thank you for your sacrifice…]”
“...Okay, so I’m the last person to be picked…and it looks like Mother Nature does exist….First of all…I’m sorry for littering…sometimes I just can’t find a trash can near me, so…Mother Nature…sorry”.
Mother Earth or Mother Nature it’s the same thing to me, and I’ll categorize the two as an Earth deity. As a mere human, when you find out that there’s a deity capable of making a 'System,' you know for sure to apologize. The first thing that comes to mind is the times I’ve thrown trash on a whim. I’m pretty sure everyone does it sometimes, so just to be safe, I’m saying sorry first.
“[EARTH IS IN DIRE SITUATION!...the actions of humanity throughout history have caused a lot of irreversible damage…But still…Mother Earth adores and loves her children…Recently, humans have come to learn about the discovery of other multiverses and parallel realities…The actions of humanity in recording and admiring these multiverse tales, and the many experiments to open paths to multiverses, have invited a lot of danger to Earth…]”.
“...Well, goddamn! If you open your story with ‘Earth is in dire situation’ in all caps, anyone will get scared…at least…draw me in slowly…”.
Just reading a few words made me feel guilty. But in all seriousness, when it mentioned the 'multiverse' and parallel universe being discovered and loved, I suppose it referred to all the movies, novels, manga, comics, and games about different worlds. It’s crossed my mind before, as I’ve read a lot of multiversal stories and many isekai genre tales. I thought to myself, ‘perhaps it’s true,’ and the many government secret experiments to find the parallel Earth—they actually did it. Now, apparently, thanks to that, Earth got hurt badly.
“[Ever since the start of the modern age, humanity's creativity, although it improved human life and brought joy, has also made many believe and pray for other worlds….The fruit of that relentless belief and prayer gave birth to many realities and multiverses…And as these other realities and multiverses grew…so did the many evils and harmful beings…These beings brought harm to Earth, eager to become 'real,' to be alive…eyeing to consume true reality and its inhabitants…But Mother Earth remains steadfast and strong, keeping all these otherworldly so-called 'gods' in their places…But they found another boon—a way to obtain the true Earth inhabitants' tasty souls and limitless creativity….and that is to simply tear Earth's reality itself in the name of fictional entertainment…and steal and kidnap any souls that come to revere and want to travel to the other world….and they unknowingly ‘think’ it was a gift of what they had prayed for…]”.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“...That is ominous….Then again, there are some isekai stories where the one who reincarnates the MC owns their souls and forces them to do the bidding of their ROB….Damn, that’s nasty…”.
“[And thus, these stolen souls' tales…were recorded and told on Earth…in many forms. As the tales gained fame…the cycle continued—new tales were published, more souls were taken, consumed, and used as these ‘gods’ pleased….Tear after tear, reality bled open and merged….Suffering and instability went rampant….provoking unspeakable thoughts of violence and self-destruction towards Earth….All of this was born from these reality tears and bleeds….And thus, Mother Nature of Earth invoked her own strike to slow and ease the pain in the form of a ‘Delivery Truck’…and it served its purpose well….The ‘Delivery Truck’ tried its best, but so did the other side—when one soul was sent to its deserving destination, 10 more souls were stolen by ROBs….Hence, this tiring cycle continued, and now the Tear has become so severe that it shakes reality itself…thus, drastic measures had to be taken….in the form of 200 suitable candidates willing to be reborn in other realities…the 200 souls will serve as Earth’s remedy to repair and stitch all the tears and bleeds…]”.
At the very least, this system is real and straightforward enough not to hide anything. So far, all its words check out to me and make sense—the world right now is quite messed up. Also, a lot of novels these days mention those ROBs, and some of them are just straight-up dicks. To me, if this was an equivalent exchange, then it’s more believable rather than a free one. So Mother Earth—or rather the system—wants to use my soul to mend her wounds, and as compensation for me, I’ll be transmigrated to another world with a system tailor-made just for me. Personally, I can accept that. After all, now that I think about it, I don’t really have many attachments left to this world at all, so I’m good with it.
“[Each one of the candidates will receive their own system designed to suit their personality and will serve them well…Each candidate will be sent to different realities/worlds, and each world will be unique and never the same…Should you accept this opportunity, be advised that you can no longer return to Earth—your existence on Earth will be used to cure it…and thus we encourage you, the candidate, to live your life in the new world as you please….Your fate, destiny, and life in that new world will never be dictated nor manipulated by anything…not even the ‘gods’ of that new world, should they exist, can harm you….In there, your life will be one that you own—the system and its entirety is yours and no one else’s…Although in the future, these battles will continue, remember that your sacrifice remains an honorable one and is very much appreciated…And so, Mizan Cain, Candidate No. 200…do you truly acknowledge these terms and accept?...]”
“...I’ve already read the terms and conditions for the very first time…so it would be awkward if I didn’t…YES, I accept…”.
So the entire thing was just a terms and conditions statement and then a two-time confirmation. As I thought, Mother Nature is very well-mannered and cultured. Yes, Mother Nature, I accept—you can use my soul as you like, repair that barrier or something. I kind of imagine there’s a magical reality barrier that covers the entire Earth, which makes it easier for me to accept the whole thing.
“[Mizan Cain, No. 200, has accepted the terms and conditions and agreed…CONFIRMATION RECEIVED!…Since we have affirmed your decision, we will proceed with the System specialty assignment and World/Reality assignment…..DING!…Mr. Mizan Cain, your System Specialty is [Personal Portable Dungeon]…Your World/Reality is [Lothenheim]..]”
“...Yes!…Lothenheim!..Damn, Lothenheim really does exist…That’s great…”.
When it was announced that my world was [Lothenheim], I was beyond elated. My fist pumped as I gritted out a silent "yes.". How could I not be happy? I had been dreaming and begging to go there, and now I can—it means a lot to me.
“[Your System Specialty [Personal Portable Dungeon] is a gift from Mother Earth herself…Unlike any other system gifts, this specialty is regarded as the most dangerous and complicated one…But your special nature, experience, and personality have already been taken into account and consideration, and you have been found to be the most suitable person to own this specialty and are believed to be able to utilize it to its maximum potential…[Personal Portable Dungeon] allows you to use any door as a gateway to open a personal dungeon…Any entry to the dungeon will be only for you and those you permit for entry…Nothing without your personal permission can enter the dungeon, and nothing without your permission can come out of it either…It is a self-contained dimension entirely belonging to you and no one else but you…This dungeon will have a total of 100 floors…Each floor level will have corresponding monsters that possess the same strength level as the floor they reside on…Every 10 floors will have a Guardian/Boss, and every 5 floors will have its own Mini Guardian/Mini Boss…Each 10-floor segment will have its own theme/region specifics—expect the environment to change as you proceed downwards…Furthermore, after defeating the Mini Boss on the 5th floor of each region, you may claim the entire floor for yourself to convert into your own property, making it a safe region where no monster can spawn nor break into…This Safe Floor will remain absolute, and nothing can breach it at all…Exploring the dungeon is dangerous, thus this floor is made for your consideration and well-being…]”.
“Since it was tailor-made for me…I guess no one else has a dungeon for themselves like I do…Okay, and that Safe Floor…definitely has a lot of potential to be exploited…I guess among the 200 people…perhaps the only person capable of some killing…is me, Maybe?…”.