[Falling Into the Endless Darkness]
Perhaps a dream, a vision, or a memory?
[Three years ago]
Two months after Kazuma’s grandfather had passed
Laying down his head on the lap of a girl he deeply cared about
The girl asked, “Say Kazuma now that you’re alone would you like to live with me?”
Kazuma reacted with a “huh!?”
“You know we’ve known each other since kindergarten right, my family already knows about you and even my dad thinks of you like his son. All you have to do is say yes, my family would love you.”
Kazuma replied, “Sorry Mizune but I can’t just live rent-free, it would be shameless and people would make wild assumptions about us.”
To which Mizune responded, “You don’t have to live rent-free, you also need a job right? Dad always needs a hand you can work with him at the shop, I don’t care what assumptions anyone makes. I already know your feelings, you’re just letting that inferior complexity of yours take over you.”
“I want your answer and confession by Sunday”
After a brief pause, Kazuma answered saying “But Sunday is tomorrow...”
Mizune enthusiastically said, “Exactly!”
[Later the same night]
Bling… Bling…
Notification: You’ve Received a text from Mizune Ryuzaki.
Mizune: Don’t forget what I said, it’s going to be a date tomorrow! 3 PM same park!
Kazuma: sends a thumbs-up and a sweating face emote.
Meanwhile, Kazuma tried calling both of his parents to ask for their advice as this was his first big step towards his future. But as usual, there was no response, just like all the unseen mails he sent before.
“Why do I even bother calling them anymore.”
“Let’s just go back to grinding my rank.”
And with that, the day was over.
[Next day]
And before Kazuma could say yes and perhaps even confess to the love of his life. A tragic incident occurred. An event that would change Kazuma’s life forever.
Where is she? She told me to arrive at 03:00 PM, it's already been 03:23 PM now. Girls man… but it gave me some time to muster up my courage, so I think I’m ready to confess…
Five minutes later Mizune arrived
At the same time, some shouting was going on as people were gathering around in a circle.
A dispute between a guy and a couple.
Perhaps Mizune was already aware of this situation, as both Kazuma and Mizune got together, she said. “God, it’s becoming a new habit for this girl now, she’s changing boyfriends every week and bringing them to the same park, while these obsessive guys are stalking her all the time, going after her despite being used.”
And in a blink of an eye, the obsessive guy lost it after being insulted by the girl as he pulled out an Uzi.
Thus in panic, people started to run away from the scene as he shot the girl and her boyfriend in a flash.
The man went on a killing spree as he aimed at every person he could find in his sight, and one of them was Kazuma but before the bullets could hit him, Mizune shoved Kazuma aside and she took the bullets which were meant for him.
Kazuma Screamed, “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”
Eyes opened!!
[At the End of the Abyss]
As his body reached the end of the nothingness
Ack! Where am I?
Why is everything black in this place?
I remember… someone broke into my house and I was attacked.
Wait I died, didn’t I?
Is this the afterlife? All this pitch-black darkness, yet only I and this big mirror in front of me are visible.
…
Wait hold up why is there a big mirror?
An unfamiliar voice speaks from above saying… “Ah so you’ve finally arrived, about time you landed here.”
Hey! Who’s there, show yourself.
A man appears in front of me.
“Wha!?” startled
I asked the man, “Hey! Who are you?”
The man replies saying, “Konnichiwa, Kazuma-kun, how do you feel? You’ve been falling into the void so slow we thought you might go back to the living.”
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
“I’ve been waiting for you here for quite a while now.”
Huh!? Confused by the words of the man, all I had was questions for him, “Excuse me but who are you? What do you mean by we thought I might go back to living”
The man replies… “Well, the souls that sink slowly after the death in here can sometimes wake up and swim themselves right back to the living world. But as for me you already know me so well. In fact, everyone knows me.”
Hand raised, I responded, “Sorry but I have no idea what you mean by that and who the heck are you…?”
The man answers, “Kazuma-kun I’m the one who is known as God, what you called Kami-sama.”
(Holy shit! I’m shocked to hear that! I mean I knew I was going to meet some higher being but this careless-looking guy is Kami-sama!?)
In awe, I responded, “WHAT!? Kami-sama? Why? Why are you here?”
Kami-sama laughs… “ho ho ho… It’s simple Kazuma-kun I’m here to judge you”
I reacted while being flustered, “Oh no way, I don’t wanna go to hell… you definitely know all about me and my web history.”
Kami-sama laughs again…
“Well, I sure do Kazuma-kun, I did kinda like that video about Elf Cosplayer and Octop…”
AHHHHH DONT!!!!
Flustered, Kazuma immediately interrupts Kami-sama before he can finish
To which Kami-sama said,
“I’m kidding Kazuma-kun.”
A sight of relief on Kazuma’s face, as Kami-sama continues
“Kazuma-kun I’m here to give you a choice, as someone who had lived a terrible life and a cruel death.”
“Would you like to be sent into another world? To start a new life or would you like me to judge you right here and decide whether you go to heaven or hell?”
“The choice is yours but please do remember if you choose option two, for the sake of judgment I’ll be playing that Elf x Octo…”
Kazuma interrupts Kami-sama again, “Yeah, yeah I get it.”
I mean understand what you said, meaning there isn’t going to be any peace for me. It’s either restarting my life or continuing to suffer more.
You already know how I’ve lived my life despising myself and you might already know everything about me is worthless from my parents to my death. Yet some people had been there for me like Gramps, Mizune, and even Takeda-san, but they’re gone now only their memories have been left with me.
I don’t want to repeat the tragedies in my life once again.
Kami-sama asks, “Does that mean you’re choosing option two?”
Inserts the intro sound of a certain video
I replied, "I’m not finished yet… so could you stop teasing me please?”
“Okay then continue.” He said.
“I’ve always wished that if I could get hit by a truck and lose all my memories, I would be able to restart my life once again as someone different. I couldn’t forgive myself for not having courage when I needed it. I always wanted a way out, but if choosing another world gives me that chance I’ll take it over and over again until I can feel true happiness and the warmth of love.”
“But now I finally have a chance to fulfill promises I made with people I cared about.”
To which Kami-sama responded… “I see, very well then go towards the mirror in front of yourself, and decide how you want to be reborn. You will find some controls similar to games with character creation, skills selection, etc. Choose whatever you like and once you’re ready. I’ll open the portal to another world.”
“If you would like any help be sure to ask before leaving, I mean I can watch over and communicate whenever I want, but you won’t be able to.”
I asked, “If that’s the case then, can't you just give me a menu-like system with an AI?”
After thinking for a second, Kami-sama replied, “Interesting, well then I’ll add this to your system.”
A tiny orb of light came from the right hand of Kami-sama and went inside the Kazuma.
[After getting closer to the mirror]
“Now then choose your class and skills.”
“Oh! By the way, I forgot to mention, once you’re in another world you’ll receive some beginner’s equipment for your selected profession, some usable items, and a gift.”
I asked, “A gift?”
To which Kami-sama answered, “Yes, something which was either important or very dear to you in your previous world, you’ll be able to take with you, for most people it’s usually the mobile phone but you see there’s no Wi-Fi or charger in the other world so most people just throw it away after some time in their lives, or keep it as a memento. I wonder what will you get.”
A thought occurred in my mind, “(Other people? There are people like me?)
(I wanna ask him more but I can see he’s getting impatient now, does he want to pee or what? But since leveling and skills exist it means they’re used for measuring one’s strength. Meh, I should just answer him normally, for now, I’ll use the thing he added for questioning later.)
Alright kami-sama I understand.
[After some time]
Alright kami-sama I’m done.
“Oh my! finally, it took you so long. Well then let’s have a look at your character then, shall we?”
[Name: Kazuma “Kaz” Rintaro]
[Age: 21]
[Profession: None]
[Height: 5’10 - Average]
[Physique: Athletic]
[Eyes: Blue]
[Hairs: Silver]
-STATS-
ATK (10)
DEF (10)
MDEF (10)
VIT (10)
END (10)
DEX (10)
INT (10)
AGI (10)
LCK (10)
AWR (10)
Rolls eyes, (I only took 10 minutes)
Kami-sama questioned, “Interesting… Hmm… I see… so, you want to use the same name and play without any profession?”
To which I answered, “Well, I want to try many different weapons and skills, choosing a profession like a Magician surely enhances my mana and magic powers but it also lowers my speed and health. Just like a Fighter can increase my physical abilities but reduce my luck and magic power or an Explorer can increase my luck and awareness but reduce my strength.”
“You see, they all have some pros and cons but I’m not even sure what my abilities will be like once I’m in another world. I want the surprise of unpredictability in my arsenal. I’ll sacrifice these buffs for balanced stats and a wider skill range. Besides, even if it is life in another world, it is still real life, not a game life, I can always master them by training can’t I?”
Kami-sama said, “Yes you can, but these buffs are like special blessings from us, choosing that style won’t grant you any.”
I replied, “Then you can give me a normal blessing, or make grinding easy for me.”
Kami-sama just looked at me and said, “Your brain sure is filled with games.”
“Alright then let’s see what skills you have chosen.”
[Skill: Almighty Resistance] Doubles the resistance against all harm but depletes mana over time.
[Skill: Teleportation] Allows the user to teleport to any previously visited location or use sub-skill “Blink” to cover short distances in an instant.
[Skill: Heightened Sense] Improves perception and enhances all physical and magic abilities but depletes mana very quickly.
[Ultimate Skill: Consume] It allows the user to either partially absorb or fully absorb and execute enemies, granting permanent stats, skills, and materials (verified by the system.) However, it has an extremely low success rate, which can be improved by increasing the LCK stat or by targeting enemies on the verge of death. Additionally, this skill can be used on both living and non-living entities.
“Quite the interesting skills you’ve chosen, it does suit well with the playstyle you’re hoping for, but I’ll warn you, that ultimate skill of yours is a pretty useless one, it doesn’t work on anything alive or dead because of its low success, and anything on the verge of death would be something always weaker than you.”
“Nobody has ever picked it before, I was even warned by the council of gods to remove it because everyone laughed at it.”
“So, tell me Kazuma Rintaro-kun are you sure about these skills? Because if you take any more time, I’m gonna miss Terasu-chan’s concert!”
I replied… “Yes, I am.” (Jeez, he sure looks impatient for an idol concert. Well I can always take my time to earn new skills, at least it's not like I’m gonna be in some hell on my arrival.)
Kami-sama quickly said, “Very well then, I wish you the best of luck.”
…
And so the impatient Kami-sama Immediately opens the portal and pushes Kazuma in, as Kazuma shouts a big “Woah!” while traversing through the light.