Nearly five years had passed since Kotaro Mikami had arrived on the orphanage, but the orphanage had hardly changed at all. The sun rose on the same tidy front gardens where Grandpa planted his runner beans, courgettes and more.
It was the first day of the school, and the older children were busy spent their morning preparing to go to school.
As for the younger children, they spent their days playing in the garden, basked under the sun, and this morning wasn't that different from the other morning.
While they had a banana for breakfast, Gina, another child in the orphanage had an idea.
"Kotaro! Let's play a game of tag!" Gina suggested.
It wasn't the newest nor the original idea coming from her. In fact, this was the 1218th times Gina had suggested this idea to Kotaro.
Kotaro munched his banana thoughtfully. "Okay, but who will be IT?"
"You!" Shouted Gina as she jumped up. She tagged Kotaro on the shoulder and ran away, laughing.
Kotaro quickly put his banana peel into a nearby garbage bin and ran after Gina, chuckling. Gina, however, dropped her banana peel on the floor as she ran away.
The two children ran along, playing tag for a while, but this time, Gina pretended she was a burglar while Kotaro was the police. Finally, Gina stopped running, she was really out of breath.
But Kotaro kept running. Then from out of the blue, he was facing the sky even though his brain didn't tell him to look up. It was at this moment Kotaro realized, This... I finally do an overhead kick!!
With a loud sound, Gina looked back and saw Kotaro doing a somersault before he was laying flat on his back.
Gina ran over to him. How did Kotaro slip? Then she realized it. On the ground near Kotaro was... Her banana peel!
She picked up the banana peel and threw it to the garbage bin to destroy the evidence. Then she sat next to Kotaro.
"Kotaro! are you okay? Does anything hurt?" Gina asked with concern.
But Kotaro didn't answer.
When Kotaro opened his eyes he was on a river bank. Cool water flowed by, eddying around the twigs of a fallen tree branch. Behind him was a willow tree. Across the way sat a kingfisher, its blue plumage resplendent it what must be the light of summer, though early in the morning.
"Hmm...? Where am I?" Kotaro muttered.
As he uttered those words, a being suddenly appeared before him.
"Are you fully awake now? I would be grateful if you could respond" Said the androgynous looking person.
And as the sane children he was. Grandpa told me I should never talk to a stranger. Kotaro thought as he was running to the back of the willow tree, hiding while staring at the mysterious stranger.
"No need to be afraid. Come let us drink tea while skipping the formalities."
Responded the androgynous looking person with long hair after watching Kotaro response. The androgynous person waved his hand and out came a tea table along with some tea.
"Grandpa said, I shouldn't take something from a stranger." Said Kotaro.
As Kotaro said that, the androgynous person cheerfully smiled and said. "Then how about this?"
With a snap from his finger, the tea set transformed into a milkshake and a set of colourful doughnut. "Come... seat, seat. Honestly though, you must be pretty confused, right?" Said the androgynous person as he beckoned Kotaro to sit with him.
Watching from the willow tree, droll starting to fall from the corner of Kotaro's mouth. Grandpa said I shouldn't take something from a stranger. He stopped thinking and started looking to his surrounding. But he isn't here, right?!
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The moment Kotaro sitting on the chair, it didn't take long for him to start eating the snacks. If he could have opened his mouth any wider he would have eaten the doughnut in one bite. As it was he took off a quarter of it in one massive chomp of his gnashers. Then he crunched it up with his mouth opening every time he chewed, treating the androgynous person to a view of the partially mutilated doughnuts. Then he gulped it down and without pausing to breathe he took another swinging bite at the doughnut.
"Ah, to answer your first question. well... unfortunately this morning while you were slipping on the banana peel, you stopped breathing. When you died, I took your soul and brought you here. In other words, you are in heaven."
"Oh... I see. It was something like that. Well, at least I'm in heaven." Replied Kotaro as he nodded seemingly understanding, after which he took another sip of his milkshake. Before he realized something. "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait a minute. I'm dead?!"
"Yep." The androgynous person said with a warm smile. "And you're going to be reincarnated into my world, Origin, a world of sword and magic, or you prefer the transportation?"
"What's rainkarnated? What's transportation? Something like riding a bus?!"
"...Wait, shouldn't people from Earth is familiar with this kind of thing?"
"Is that so? I'm never travelling on a bus, but I guess the grown ups are familiar with that."
"...No, we're not talking about a bus... can you wait for a moment?"
With a snap from the androgynous person's finger, the already emptied doughnut and the milkshake was filled again. And with another snap, a thick tome appeared beside him.
As Kotaro was eating the second share, the androgynous person didn't say anything and instead consulted the thick tome resting in front of him.
"Hm... I see, I see, so for this case, I must use this approach." The androgynous person muttered in a low voice.
"Alright, Kotaro. Why don't you just write the list of power you want on this reincarnation form and I'll grant them?" The androgynous person said as he ripped a piece of paper from his thick tome.
"Wohooo!!! Power?! like superpower?!" Said Kotaro with starry eyes.
"Yes, yes, superpower, just like in the video game and manga, it's easy to understand, isn't it?" Said the androgynous person.
"But I'm never played a video game." Said Kotaro as he gulped another piece of doughnut.
"That's fine. Just write 10 powers you wanted to have, and I will adjust your wish." Said the androgynous person.
37 minutes later.
"Erm... Kotaro... have you finished writing down your wish?" Said the androgynous person.
"N-no yet! Just give me another five minutes!!" Shouted Kotaro.
"...I can help you write it down, you know?" Said the androgynous person as his hand tried to take the paper from Kotaro. "Just give it to me, I promise I won't disappoint you."
"No! T-three minutes! Just give me three more minutes!!"
As soon as Kotaro said that, an insanely bright white light illuminated, shining down blinding Kotaro. A figure, silhouetted in the bright light, descended from the ladder of light.
As the figure opened his arms and made a dramatic pose, dark clouds swirled, winds blew, thunder crashed and lightning cracked behind him.
"W-who?!" Shouted Kotaro.
"If you're asking who, there's only one answer for you. I'm the creator of the heavens and the earth. I'm the alpha & omega. The first and the last." Said the figure coated in the light.
"Sorry, I don't get it." Said Kotaro.
"Don't worry about the small detail, son, the point is I'll send you back to the Earth." Said the figure. Even though Kotaro wasn't sure whether or not he has face or eyes, but Kotaro was sure the figure was shifting his gaze to the androgynous person. "And you! How many times do I need to tell you guys?! Stop taking people from my realm without my permission!!"
With a clap from his finger, the surrounding light brightening and swallowing Kotaro's body.
"Wait! I haven't finished my milkshake!!!" Kotaro shouted as he woke up with a jolt.
And rather than a willow tree or crystal clear river, what Kotaro saw right now was tears and snot already streamed down from Gina's cheeks.
"Kotaro!!!!" Gina shouted as she hugged him down.
She was crying and shouting at the same time. "You're alive! *Sob* You're breathing!!! waaah!"
But besides her face and the old wooden ceiling, Kotaro saw something, something transparent, something square, something blue, something filled with letters and numbers, floating in the air.
Life 13 Energy 17 Aether 11 Regen per 24 hour 1.1 Regen per minute 1.5 Regen per hour 1.3 Status Strength 4 Dexterity 6 Magic 4 Constitution 5 Agility 7 Spirit 3 Durability 3 Senses 3 Luck 5 Skill(s) Living Skill Battle Skill Magic Skill Production Skill Resistance Skill Unique Skill Arithmetic Lvl 1 Origami Lvl 1 Heat Resistance Lvl 1 Linguistic Lvl 1 Cold Resistance Lvl 1 Cleaning Lvl 1