Captaindrake123: For now this is a one-shot, I'll see how it goes. And even if I do make it a regular story I'll probably just do it on my free time...like all my other ones.
Third Person POV:
There are other worlds out there, it is heavily believed by the scientific community that it is nearly impossible for earth to be the only planet to have developed life.
So why can't we go there?
Well obviously we don't have advanced starships or anything...but what if we took a more...supernatural route?
There are plenty of things science can't explain or understand.
'What comes after death?' Being a very important one. Christians believe they will go to heaven or hell after death after being judged by their god, Buddhists believe in a cycle of death and rebirth, Atheists believe there is nothing beyond death and that you simply decompose into the ground.
Fact of the matter is, no one knows, they only have their faith to fall back on. Even Atheists have a sort of 'faith' that there is nothing beyond, they don't know for sure.
No one does, and as such death is very well feared.
But today that will be explored by a certain teenage loner in America unfortunately.
But also fortunately...he will get to experience a wonderful new world.
Brown hair, hazel eyes, a faded small scar on the right side of my cheek, a mole on the far left, and thick eye brows would be the best way to describe his appearance.
His name is Drake Joseph.
Drake's POV:
I stood wearing a black jacket with white stripes going down the zipper line and an orange collar, wearing jeans and tennis shoes. I watched as some guys were daring one of their so called 'friends' to jump off the top of a fence into a private area filled with vicious dogs...you know because it's suppose to be fun right? Friends have fun by making each other do stupid stuff that can get you in trouble or kill you.
'Fucking idiots' I thought to myself, it was so stupid I almost couldn't believe I was seeing it 'If that's what it takes to make friends then count me out'
I'm what you call a 'loner', a guy that doesn't like being around people or make too much social interaction. Rather than hanging out with 'friends' I spend my time studying, working out, practice fighting, playing video games, and playing with my pets.
Does it sound sad? Well fuck you then, I don't care, I stopped caring what people thought of me a LONG time ago.
I saw one of the guys so called 'friends' get up on the fence with him and shoved him in to feed the dogs...only for the guy he pushed in to drag him with him.
"HAHAHA! Fucking idiots" I laughed at their stupidity, it was a pretty dark laugh that was well suited for the dark humor, it was like watching a guy smoking for the first time.
"You calling me an idiot!" One of the ones outside the fence yelled over.
Not expecting them to hear me I looked over to them "Well yeah! You're fucking morons" My smile dropped at their attention towards me, not amused at all. I'm not sure what came over me to answer them, but I can't bring myself to care.
'...huh, maybe it's because I just don't care'
"Why you- HEY!" One of the dogs jaw got through the fence and bit his pants, ripping a good chunk off exposing his underwear with hearts imprinted on it, and causing me to laugh once again.
'Their idiots but they sure are entertaining!'
"GET HIM!" yelled who I am assuming is their leader, three of them ran at me.
It didn't end well for them, the first one that tried to punch me I just caught his fist and punched him in the gut, he was now on the ground in a fetal position. I dodged another guy's punch by ducking and gave him an upper cut, I grabbed him and threw him into another guy charging at me, they both tumbled to the ground.
"I'm gonna beat your ass!" The man in the fetal position got up again and through a left hook, my arm right arm swiftly moved to the left redirecting his punch away from me, and I gave him a palm strike to the bridge of his nose, followed up with a spin kick on the same spot. I did say I practiced fighting.
Afterwards they scattered, leaving their 'friends' behind in the yard with the dogs. 'Been a couple of years since I've been in an actual fight, glad to see I'm not rusty'
"HELP! PLEASE-AHH!" I heard one of them in fear and looked over to the fence, they were clinging to the metal trying to climb up only for the dogs to pull them back down, their clothes were shredded from the animals.
'Why the hell should I help them...?They were the ones too stupid to realize what they were doing was a FUCKING bad idea- no, they knew it was a bad idea, they just didn't have the balls to say no to their so called friends'
I stared at them with my cold annoyed eyes before sighing, I couldn't just leave them like their 'friends' did...I was better than that.
Running up to the fence I climbed up carefully avoiding the biting dogs, I reached over "Grab my hand!" I shouted to him.
Quickly he grabbed it and I pulled him up, I'm pretty strong so it was fairly easy, after I got him up we grabbed the hands of his other 'friend' and pulled him up together over the fence, their clothes were torn up and they had bite marks all over them.
"Thank you!"
"Say that after we get down dumbass" I replied jumping off the high fence, they quickly followed and got a good distance away from the barking dogs with clothing hanging from their mouths.
"Thank you so much man! I don't know what I would've done!' One of them replied giving me a hug...which was very awkward for me, and I felt very uncomfortable so I gently pushed him off of me, it was obvious he wasn't in the best mental state right now.
"Whatever" I replied as he let go "Why the hell were you doing that in the first place?"
"I-It was a dare from our friends...where are they?"
'Figures' I thought to myself, it was really typical.
"Your so called friends ran away after trying to 'beat my ass'" I told him, quoting with my fingers.
"T-they ran away!? We were getting eaten by dogs!" he shouted in anger.
Seeing the shocked look on their faces I kept mine blank, I just plain out didn't care, I kind of wanted to leave...I'm not much for talking.
"Hey aren't you that guy from school, Drake right? The creepy guy who's always by himself?"
My eyebrow twitched in irritation, now I really wanted to leave-or punch him-but mostly I wanted to leave 'Calling a guy who saved your life creepy is a GREAT way to show your appreciation!' I thought to myself sarcastically.
"Oh-sorry!" He apologized.
"Whatever, you should probably go to the hospital, get those wounds treated" I told him as I started to walk away
"C-can you come with us? It hurts a lot and I don't know if we can get their on our own"
I stopped in my tracks...
'...you have GOT to be kidding me universe'
Later...
My eyes opened slowly...I think I'm sitting in some sort of chair...everything is sort of numb, like my sense of touch dulled. After the blur in my eyes disappeared...I saw blackness around me...
Literally pure blackness in the sky...but it was oddly peaceful.
I looked at my feet and under my tennis shoes seem to be...a chess themed floor? 'The hell?'
"Welcome Drake Joseph, to the afterlife" A voice in front of me spoke.
I whipped my head towards the front of myself...and saw one of the most beautiful girls I've ever seen. She looked just like an angel-her wings giving off that vibe. Blonde hair and light green eyes, and a pink dress...wait a minute.
"I'm dead!?" I yelled out in surprise 'What the fuck does she mean I'm dead!? What the hell happe-' Suddenly it all started to come back to me.
"It seems you recover quickly, your already starting to remember" The 'angel' told me with praise "What you did was noble, even for someone filled with hate- you were still kind...only for it to backlash at you" she said the last part disappointed in the turn of events.
Flashback...
Unfortunately I found myself walking the two to the nearest hospital...as much as I wanted to leave, they were injured, it's quite likely they might not be able to get there on their own and I had nothing else to do. I was getting really uncomfortable with their questions...
"I saw a glimpse of your fight, you were amazing, where did you learn?"
"I learned karate when I was younger, the rest is self taught" I answered blankly.
"Why were out walking by...?"
"I was on my way to the park" I answered him, being constantly asked questions is irritating me.
"Why are you always by yourself?"
"Because I like being by myself" I answered back harshly.
Solitude was and enjoyment for me most of the time, I do have family and pets of course that I love very much, but even then I still feel like I need some time to myself. It's like I haven't tried to make friends before however, every time I tried I got insulted and bullied for just being myself.
Hell! Once a bunch of kids tried to throw me off a bridge.
When I was eleven!
So I'm sure anyone can see why I don't like people very much.
"Whoa man chill! Don't have to be rude about it"
"Like how it was rude to call someone who saved your life a creep?" I shot back.
"S-sorry..." He stuttered his apology.
His other 'friend' covered for him "Jeez aren't you a jerk"
I turned my head over to them and gave them a hard glare, causing them to jump back "The reason why I'm being a jerk" I quoted with my fingers "Is that you guys were stupid enough to take a dare to jump into a private property full of dogs, and the worse part is that you"I pointed at him "Pushed your 'friend' in and got yourself dragged in too"
They both had nothing to say after that 'Good!'
"What you did was one of the most idiotic things in my life! You!" I pointed to the one who did the dare "Grow some balls and say no when you don't want to do something" I then pointed to the one who pushed him in "And you! What the hell!? Don't fucking try to force someone to do something just to entertain yourself"
"Your right! What I did was really stupid..."
"Y-you..."
Not sure why I'm lecturing them, they are probably just gonna do it again anyways.
But I feel like if I didn't at least try then there was no chance they would get better...
I looked at them for another moment before turning my head forward "We're almost there so-"
"HEY YOU!"
Hearing a shout to my right I turned my head, those three guys I fought earlier had just come back...'Are those leather jackets?'
They were indeed wearing leather jackets "What the actual fuck...?" I muttered to myself.
'What are they some sort of gang?' I thought to myself baffled at their stupidity.
"What are you guys doing?" One of the two people behind me shouted.
"Teaching this punk a lesson! He attacked us and now he's gonna pay!"
'Weren't they the ones that attacked me first?'
It's getting tiresome for me to refer to them as 'he' or 'them' but I didn't know their names so I decided to label them as I saw them.
Ahem...the leader is idiot punk one, the guy with gelled hair is idiot punk two, and the other guy that didn't stand out was idiot punk three...oh and the other guys behind me are dumbass one and two. (one being the guy that pushed two in when he was on the fence)
"T-this guy saved us! Besides you attacked him first!" Dumbass two shouted back, the other one was oddly silent.
"SHUT UP! NO ONE MESSES WITH ME!" Idiot punk one shouted over to us.
They all took out switchblades- 'What the hell!?'
"What the actual fuck!? Are you planning to kill me? Are you that desperate to go to jail!?" I shouted over to them in an extremely annoyed tone, although to be truthful I am worried, while my fighting skills are good it doesn't mean I want someone to try to point a knife at me.
"SCREW YOU! YOUR JUST SOME STUPID SCUM LONER FROM SCHOOL!"
Before I knew it they all charged at me with blades, there was no way I was gonna hold back.
With great agility and reflex I caught the hand of idiot punk one with his blade inches away from my side, I twisted his wrist "OWOWOWOW!" His grips loosened and I managed to get the blade out of his hand and drop it to the side of feet. I then grabbed his shoulder and kneed him in the stomach causing him to cough up spit, I then grabbed his collar and gave him a hard head butt on the bridge of his nose.
"AH! DAMNIT IT'S BROKEN!" I heard the man scream, but I had other guys to worry about.
Before one of them could get a swipe at me I sidestepped away to the left, I twirled around and let the momentum carry my foot into the temple of his head. He was knocked to the ground scrambling to get up.
I heard the foot steps behind me and turned my self around while running back wards 'DAMN!' I felt the knife graze my side, leaving a little blood dripping through my shirt. Idiot punk three took another swipe, I caught his wrist and struck his hand with my knee "AH!" he screamed has his grip loosened on the weapon, I quickly grabbed and threw it behind me as he held his hand attentively trying to sooth it.
Swiftly and surely I twisted my torso in sync with my hands, and gave him a side kick to the right side of his torso, right where the liver was.
"AH!...ugh" he coughed as he let himself fall to the ground curling himself up, tightly holding his own torso.
'Any kick to the liver will take someone down' I thought a little giddy, despite the situation I'm in it's still awesome to know I can still kick ass.
I then sighed and looked around, idiot punk two was running away in the distance 'Fucking coward' I thought to myself, then taking a look at the two people sniffling- 'Are they fucking crying!?'
That's just pathetic...and to have the gull to cry about it when they were the ones who started this fight in the first place, they were the ones who hot their so called 'friends' almost get eaten by crazy dogs on private property, and they were the ones who were idiots.
I hate idiots.
The idiots' sniffling didn't make me feel remorse whatsoever, I'm fucking glad their on the ground. Sometimes I would imagine this of all the pompous asses that around school, it felt even more satisfying.
But at the same time, annoying and disappointing. As if my hope for humanity just dimmed a bit.
I sighed closing my eyes 'Wait a minute, are those other guys okay?' They snapped back open, I turn my head over to see dumbass two just looking at me in...'Is that awe?' I questioned narrowing my eyes, I supposed that it was amazing that I could do that, and I'm proud of that, but is this really the time?
"Hey! You okay?" He broke out of his stupor and nodded vigorously.
"Y-Yes! You're totally awesome! You're a badass!"
'Jeez...' I felt my lips curled up at the tiniest bit of the compliment as I scratched my neck, it was a bit embarrassing.
Then, much to my confusion, his face contorted into one of shock "KEVIN WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?"
Hearing the footsteps behind me I turned around quickly, and on reflex I took a step back and caught a blade, my hand bled from it's metal sinking into my skin, dumbass two charged at me with a knife...
The knife I threw aside earlier.
"I WON'T LET YOU HURT MY FRIENDS!" He shouted at me.
"GET HIM KEVIN!" The dumbass leader shouted, still sniffling from the head butt I gave him. I now know the name of the guy trying to kill me, but I'm still gonna keep my label on him as 'Dumbass Two' for obvious reasons.
His 'friends' left him to be eaten by dogs, and he was still standing up for them.
I would feel a little proud of him if he-no, it's a dumb idea no matter how you look at it. And also- HE'S TRYING TO KILL ME!
"ARE YOU THE BIGGEST DUMBASS ON THE PLANET!? I SAVED YOU'RE LIFE AND NOW YOU'RE TRYING TO KILL ME!? WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE!?" I shouted at them, for the life of me I cannot figure out what went through his head that made him think that this was a good fucking idea.
And might I remind and emphasize, good idea.
I've had enough of this stupidity, I just want to go home, lay on a couch, pet my dog, and watch some shows with my father-'Did I just trip on something?'
My eyes looked down, I had tripped over the guy I punched in the liver as I was stepping back...now I'm on the ground, the cold concrete ground.
'...when did the knife get in my chest?'
Indeed, the metal blade's handle was sticking out of my chest as I looked at it...only then did the pain hit.
"AHHHHHH-BLUGH!" Growling out in agony I coughed up blood at my side, my vision was getting blurry, but I could see Dumbass One running towards me while yelling angrily at Dumbass Two...
"HE SAVED US AND YOU STABBED HIM!?"
"Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh shit!..."
"Run! I can hear the cops coming!..."
It's getting harder to hear the voices...
The pounding of feet against the concrete floor reached my ears, one pair was getting closer to me "Dude! Dude! Come on man! Don't close you're eyes! Don't go into the light!" I felt my head being raised up, I didn't realize that my eyes were closing 'What light?...I don't see anything'
The moment I let my guard down someone attacked me...stabbed me.
Fear was holding me in it's grips '...am I gonna die?' I have family...no friends sure, but I have pets that I love and things I want to do...
I never imagined it would end like this...over something so dumb, something that didn't make any logical or even emotional sense.
Human beings are retarded.
Fighting the stupid pain and opening my eyes, I saw the guy who stayed behind "...why didn't you run?"
"You saved my life man! There's no way I'm leaving!"
Coughing up some more blood I could feel myself fading "What's you're name?" I asked, just mildly curious.
"J-Josh!"
'...very funny universe' I thought to myself, remembering myself being teased in elementary school about a show named 'Drake and Josh'
"...very funny universe" I voiced my thoughts and just laughed it up, he looked at me in confusion, I stopped when I coughed up another liter of blood "Jeez...just promise you won't be as stupid as them okay?" I asked casually, which I would pat myself on the back for because of how calm I am in this situation.
"I-I promise!"
That was good enough for me, and I closed my eyes "Hey man!... Wake up!...Wake up!" His voice faded,
I opened my eyes again and I looked up to see a bright light over my torso...men in blue outfits and wearing white masks over their mouths 'Doctors...?'
"We're losing him! He's going into cardiac arrest!"
'Cardiac arrest...?But I don't feel-aaaaaaannnnd there we go...' My eyes closed again.
Flashback ends...
I just blankly stared at the abyss-no, it wouldn't be right to call it that, sounds too depressing. It's too calm...I stared at the peaceful horizon.
Yeah...that sounds better.
"Are you alright?"
I turned my head to look at the angelic being, she stared at me with concern...I'm not sure if it's genuine, it seems so.
"I'm...really dead?" I asked her, I need confirmation "This is the afterlife?"
"Sort of...this is more of a place in between life and the afterlife" She answered thoughtfully.
"Huh..." I said in confirmation of understanding. There was no point in denying I'm dead, I had a knife in my chest earlier.
'In between huh?' I thought to myself as I took another look around, my eyes landed on the angelic figure once again, she was staring at me curiously.
"So which religion is real? Or are you an alien?"
She paused for a moment, deadpanning at my question, she clearly did not expect it. 'I'm dead right!? So she should be able to answer that!' My scientific curiosity got the better of me, perhaps it was an attempt of delaying of facing the problem of my death, but who wouldn't want to know the answer to that question?
Shaking her head in disbelief she giggled a bit "Pffttt...I'm sorry, no one ever just straight up asked a question like that before"
Giving a bit of a small smile myself I chuckled "Okay, I can understand that, most people would be worried about the answer or just basking in you're presence"
"I suppose..." The angel-like being composed herself once more "There's no one answer to that question"
"So what? All of them exist?" I asked.
"Most of them, they don't just pop up out of thin air, enough people have to believe in them first" She answered.
'That just brings up more questions' "So do humans make gods?"
Her eyes widened at the question and put her finger on her chin, her eyes looking at the sky in pondering "I suppose it could be looked at like that~"
I notice how I'm not getting any definite answers here "Are you actually aliens disguising as the gods we make up?"
She jumped in her chair in surprise and sent a small pouting glare my way "No! Why would you think that!?"
'Suspicious...' I stare at her, she quickly recomposed herself once again and got up out of her chair.
Her wings stretched out, along with her hands dramatically, a holy light shined upon her from universe knows where "I am an angel, I lead the young souls from Japan to the afterlife"
'Okay she lead the young people to the afterlife...' I thought to myself, then I scrunched my eyebrows at that one word/place she mentioned, Japan.
"Japan? I've never been to Japan" I crossed my arms and stared at the so called 'angel', who I still think might be an alien, and awaited her answer.
She gave me a smile, but I could tell it was of knowing intent, she was expecting me to ask this question "I know, and I'm sure you're wondering why I'm the one you're seeing right now?"
I didn't respond, I let the silence answer her question, it was very obvious "Very well"
The angelic figure walked over to me, footsteps echoing across this peaceful void, her boobs were bouncing as she walked 'Is she wearing a bra at all?' I thought in a bit of embarrassment and looked away from them. She only stopped when she was only few feet away in front of me.
The so called 'angel' (really an alien) leaned in towards my face "I have an offer for you" She whispered.
"...okay...are you gonna tell me said offer?" I asked blankly, my face stoic and bored as ever.
She seemed a little disappointed at my reaction, but she did not deter and immediately took back her goddess like atmosphere "Normally you have two choices, you could be sent to heaven as a spirit to rest peacefully for all of eternity, or you could be reincarnated back on earth"
'So reincarnation IS real' I thought to myself, one of life's greatest questions was answered just like that. All it took was me being stabbed in the chest.
...
'Right...I'm dead'
"..." The angel-like being stared at me with care.
I looked at her in a bit of confusion, my face was as stoic as it was earlier "Yes?"
She pointed towards my face "You're crying" she said gently.
Bringing my hands up to my cheek, I could feel the liquid touching my fingers "Oh...I guess I am"
Of course I'm crying. I still have family I love back home. My pets, my mother, my father, my brother, and two sisters...
I would never see my baby sister grow up...I would never watch another episode of star trek with my father...I would never argue with my brother again...
Would my parents miss me-of course they would, that's a stupid question. It's the love of a parent, while I can't fully understand it myself as I am not one, I can put myself in their shoes...
A skill most people don't seem to have.
Yeah...a good chunk of my faith in humanity is off to the wind. The only reason it's not completely gone was because of that one guy 'What was his name? Josh?...yeah, very funny universe' I complained to the cosmos in my head.
I just took a deep breath and let out a tired sigh...
I was just done with everything. I don't have the ability to care anymore.
And through it all, it remained silent for what seemed like hours. I then looked up and saw the angel-like being giving me a sympathetic look, just keeping silent.
Sighing one more time I looked up at her "I apologize, just letting it finally sink in"
"It's completely understandable" She said with no hesitation "You are young, you who just started on the road of life, only to have it taken away"
"...right, thank you for the silence" I said to her, she nodded "So what's this third option you're offering me?"
The sympathetic look was immediately replaced with a smile once that left my lips "How do you feel about video games?"...the way her mood just changed was strange.
I take a long good look at her, a small bit of excitement welled up in me despite my earlier suffering "Are you gonna send me to a world full of advanced technology like Star Trek?"
"Eh...no" She said looking guilty.
My head dropped and I looked at the ground, utterly crushed and disappointed "...what then?" I asked not looking up.
"Well...first answer the question. How do you feel about video games? Favorite genres?"
"...sure I like video games as much as the next guy, I try not to take it to the extreme" I answered honestly "I obviously like sci-fi...open world games...sometimes fantasy-"
"There! Right there" She called out to me.
I looked up to her as she started to explain "There is a world full of magic and wonders, adventurers, and it's system works like a game" I scrunched my eyebrows at that 'What does she mean by that?'
"You fight monsters, earn experience points, and learn skills to get stronger as you would in a video game" She explained, as if she knew what I was thinking.
"...okay" There must be something more to this.
"For a long time the world was a peaceful one, but then came a dark evil to the magical land...The Devil King"
'Sounds cliché'
"And so there is constant fighting and fear, women are raped, people are killed, towns are burned to the ground" She said dramatically, like one of those intro announcers at the beginning of a game "And now since the world's population is getting low, the gods have decided to send people from other worlds, like yours, with all their memories and experiences intact to help fight the great evil"
'...so basically their sending people from other worlds to fix their problem"
That was how I interpreted it, but I decided to keep that bit to myself.
"That doesn't exactly explain why I'm here, you said you send souls from Japan, correct?" I asked.
The woman stopped and let her arms fall to her sides "Well...many before you have been sent to fight the demon king, thousands in fact, all granted a special ability to help fight him and his army"
'Seriously? Shouldn't he be dead by now?' If there were thousands of people sent to that world with powerful abilities from the gods you would think he'd be dead by now, right?
"But most of them were...let's say...incompetent"
"Incompetent how?" I asked.
"...one of them ended up using his abilities to make life-like sex doll golems, and the others just went around impressing women or other strange stuff"
...
'Way to show you're worth japan' I thought to myself, imagining Shia LaBeouf clapping sarcastically at the stupidity in an auditorium.
"Yes, so you see...while some of the adventurers are actually affective, the gods are looking into young souls from other countries and picking out the most interesting of them, sending them here for the offer" She explained to me, trying to get over the earlier awkwardness of her statement about the Japanese.
My left eyebrow raised curiously "Most interesting? Me?" I pointed to myself in disbelief.
She nodded "You're different from most"
"Because I'm an Aethist?"
She giggled a little at that "No no...it's more like you don't follow with the norm, don't go with the usual pattern"
'Pattern?'
"...what do you mean? Like fate or something like that?" I asked.
"Yes! You see, fate isn't definite but" She began "But it is determined by you're patterns-"
"Like what you eat, you're responsibilities, and you're usual responses..." I realized. It made sense...it's like when you're mother asks you to take out the garbage, you respond that you'll do it, but she yells at you again five minutes later without needing to look at the garbage. She knows you haven't done it because you never do it when she asks the first time. That's you're usual pattern.
"Exactly!" She announced "Yours is different, more random, and doesn't fit the norm...a wild card you could say" She explained as she went back to her chair and sat down, staring at me "Since you don't have any friends, you don't have any responsibilities to them or obligations, and you don't care about what people think about you, that is part of why you're unique in fate. What makes you a wild card is that sometimes you'll do something, and sometimes you won't"
I raised my eyebrow again, that was pretty vague right there "What do you mean by that last part?"
"..." She remained silent, thinking it seems "How to explain...like what happened earlier, when you died, you outwardly laughed at the boys instead of ignoring them like you usually do, that was different, you did something"
"That was because they were idiots" I said bluntly.
"Yes but usually you would just scoff at their stupidity and walk away, right?"
I paused for a moment "I suppose...but it's not like I haven't done something like that before"
"I know, everyone has it, you have free will, therefore fate isn't definite...it's just yours is more often occurring, even if they are small"
'...huh...it makes sense, it's very logical and understandable, I like it' I scratched the back of my head "Okay then...so what's this about this other world then? Are you gonna send me there?"
"Only if you wish it" She answered "We do not force souls to pick a certain path, we may try to persuade, but never force"
She then gave me a kind smile "If you were to chose this path though, you would be sent to the world with a special ability of you're choosing"
"What about starting gear? Or money?" I questioned.
"All this is covered for...most adventurers" She said a little hesitantly and looked away to the side, as if looking back on something with regret.
"...is something wrong?" I asked curiously.
"No...I'm just remembering my predecessor's past decisions"
'So someone did this before her?'
She perked up again "Anyway! You would be sent to the other world with a mission to defeat the Devil King, and if you were to be successful the gods would grant you any wish you desire" She said and gave a knowing smile to me.
'...any wish?'
I could go back home.
My family...my future on earth...
And who knows? Maybe I could make it so I could wish for the world to be like the Star Trek universe while getting to go home...
That sounds awesome...wait a moment.
I take another look at the so called 'angel' in front of me.
She was setting a pattern for me, or a 'fate'.
This 'angel' is more sly than I gave her credit for. I knew something was up when I saw her smile at the first mention of her offer.
"...I accept the third option" I reply carefully, although I can tell what she's doing, I can't pass this up.
"Very good" She replied calmly, with the appearance and grace of a goddess she stood up and raised her right hand towards the ground, and a bunch of papers appeared from thin air and fell to the checker themed floor.
"These are the items and abilities you get to choose from, please pick carefully"
'Right...abilities' I thought to myself hesitantly, I always liked handling things using my own ability...not sure if an extra power or OP item is something I want.
Pushing those thoughts aside for the moment, I decided to at least give the abilities and items a look. I got onto my knees from my chair and began looking through the pieces of papers one by one...
'Infinite money? Nah...people might rob me if they see me spending so much gold, not to mention I might break the economy' I tossed that away into the 'no' pile and picked up another 'Mutant healing factor?'
'This skill allows for the user to heal himself at an extraordinary rate, however, this will cost much of the energy of the user and if is used too often it may lead to death' I read the specifics, and then threw it to the side, I didn't want to risk dying just to heal myself. That would be very counter-productive.
'Besides there's probably health potions that could do the job' I looked up at the angelic figure again "Are there health potions down there?"
"Yes" She answered simply, and so I began going through the items and abilities again.
'Dagger of moonlight? Tempting, but no...pet dragon? Draws way too much attention to myself...ultimate fortified armor? No, that would be too heavy, and I'm not much for tanking anyways...' One by one I threw these abilities to the side 'Super instinct- oh come on, be original'
They were all overpowered, sure. But most of them had some sort of drawback to it, which weren't much, but I also didn't want to rely on this item or ability. If I were to completely rely on it, then the moment I can't use it I would be dead.
Items can be stolen. And the abilities draw a lot of attention, which I don't want. Not to mention that if I were to use said abilities and have them cancelled out by magic or another, I would be dead in seconds.
Too much reliance on something is very bad. And I don't like relying on things.
I caught the 'angel's' confused look as I threw aside almost all of the items and abilities behind me "Um...is something wrong?"
Taking a look away from the papers I stare at her "These are all overpowered"
"Well...that's kind of the point-"
"No, you misunderstand, they are too overpowered" I told her straight up "The people you sent with these abilities and items probably completely relied on them, correct?" She nodded "That's very bad, the moment you can't use you're abilities, or someone steals you're item, you're useless"
"...I see" She answered with widened eyes, as if an important realization hit her.
"Also when things get too easy because of said OP ability, the adventurer will get lazy" I furthered my point.
"So what do you recommend Drake?" The angelic-like figure asked curiously.
"Nerf them, obviously" I answered "Not so much though, just add something like 'Can only be used once a day' or something like that, this way an adventurer will think of other things to fall back on rather than just a single item or ability"
"...I will bring this into consideration with the other gods"
"With that being said...I don't think I'll be choosing an ability or item" I stood up from my spot "I choose to use my own skill, that I earned for myself"
I got a look of what seemed to be admiration from the angel-like figure, although it was just my pride talking "So will I get my starter equipment or am I just gonna get it when I'm there?"
"Here" She held out her hand, and a large pouch appeared in it, I took a few steps forward and grabbed the pouch, it felt pretty heavy.
"Money?" I asked, shaking it, hearing the coins jingle around.
"They are called Eris, the common currency in the world you're being sent to, you have 125,000 at you're disposal for a beginner"
'W-whoa that's a lot...not that I'm complaining' I thought to myself 'Wait a minute...how do I know what's a little or a lot?'
"That's a lot right?" I asked for confirmation.
"Yes, it is a decent and generous amount" She answered curtly "Since you aren't choosing an ability or item, I thought it best to give you extra money to help start out you're adventure"
'Okay good...she's pretty much my only source of information'
"Well thanks...so what now-" I was interrupted when a light suddenly shined under my feet and around me.
I attempted to take a step away- "Don't move, otherwise the ritual could be interrupted" The 'angel' warned me.
Heeding her warning, I stayed in place. I then started floating up towards the dark sky "W-whoa!" My arms flailed a bit at the sudden movement, my body unconsciously thought I would need to regain my balance...but I felt perfectly fine, it's like I'm being raised by an elevator.
The goddess-like atmosphere formed around the angel-like being once again (who I still think is an alien) "Brave hero! I pray that of the many great prospective heroes, you will be the one who defeats the Devil King!"
Suddenly the lift changed, I was no longer upright and was now simply being...sucked in for lack of a better word, sucked into a strange light in the sky.
And after the light, all I saw was black.
My eyes snapped open, it was a bit blurry at first from the sunlight, but my eyes soon adjusted.
I was standing, contrary to earlier, and was met with the sight of a primitive but beautiful town.
Kids running and playing, pretending the sticks they were using are swords.
Green grass blowing in the wind...and a water stream flowing nearby.
'So I didn't really dream all that huh...' I thought to myself, when my vision went dark I figured I might of been waking up from a dream.
I sighed warily...
I really died over something so damn stupid.
Yes, that is what's ticking me off right now.
Now that I'm in a completely calm and somewhat familiar environment, instead of the more mysterious one from before, I have time to reflect.
'I fucking hate everything'
I fumed a little, cursing in my head. But then decided it wasn't worth it.
But if I wasn't fuming, apparently I was going to be numb.
"...alright then" I sighed once again, I maybe numb but I have something to do, find a guild or something to start my adventuring. So I trudged along the stone road on auto pilot.
'I need to ask around' I thought, oddly feeling...bored for lack of a better word. I wasn't really putting much thought or effort into it.
'What am I doing? Stop being so numb!' I physically slapped myself, a few bystanders looked in my direction at the sudden action, but thought nothing of it.
"A little better" I said to myself, I did feel a little better, my sense of touch was fully intact, I could feel the stinging pain in my right cheek.
It was refreshing, a reminder.
'Alright then...the angel lady said that this world works like a fantasy video game, so there must be a guild around here. And since I don't have a quest log or a map marker I should ask around for directions' I look around and saw a fruit stand, the man working at the stand was at least in his thirties, dark skinned and bald, he was well built. I walked over to his stand and was greeted with the usual business man attitude.
"Welcome customer! I have some of the finest apples around! Or perhaps some lettuce would suit you? Those are hard to come by!"
I raised my hand for him to stop "I'm looking for directions to the...guild around here, and I would like to buy an apple from you"
Turns out that I'm actually a little hungry, and I wouldn't mind eating an apple on the way there. Also, at the mention of me buying goods he would be accommodating to supplying me information, show that he has good customer service.
"It is down to the street to the left!" He pointed in it's direction enthusiastically "An apple will be a hundred eris!"
'Cool...wait, where is my pouch?' I pat down my body and notice the bulge on the side of my jacket, unzip it and reach to the pocket on the inside of it. The coin purse was there, heavy as it was before...I carefully opened it, still inside my jacket, and took out a coin that said '100' on it and handed it to the merchant.
'Don't need people knowing I've got some money...' I thought to myself as I zipped up my jacket tight.
"Thank you for you're service!" He handed me a nice, red, juicy apple to the palm of my hand.
I nodded to him as said thanks as well, I then took off without another word. Biting into the apple without a care in the world, letting the taste fill my mouth.
'Mmmm...' For some reason I got a strange confidence boost from it. I kind of feel like an asshole eating it in public, I even got a few stares, but I don't really care. In fact, it's kind of fun.
I took another big 'crunch' out of the delicious fruit as I walked towards my destination, suddenly I hard idle whispering from what looks like a group of adventurers walking on the other side of the stone road "Tch...hate assholes who eat apples in public like that..."
"Kazuma! Our quest awaits! Let's get a move on!"
I toned them out, it was nothing important.
Taking a left on the first turn I immediately saw the guild the merchant directed me towards, or what seems to be it. If the huge symbolic banner on the biggest building in town wasn't a dead giveaway anyways...
I walked inside, and all my doubts were immediately erased. There was bounty board just near the entrance, and I saw people in armor drinking bears at tables, being served by waitresses. A typical adventurer's guild I supposed.
"Oh! Are you a new visitor?" One of the waitresses called my attention to her "If you're looking to become an adventurer" She pointed towards a counter on the other side of the room, hands full of beers "Talk to Luna! She's the guild admission!" She told me before going off to continue her orders.
"*Crunch*...well that was convenient" I said quietly to myself as I took another bite of my apple.
Walking past the other adventurers, my presence was never noticed. I easily navigated the crowds of people, stepped over legs, and dodged sudden movements in my direction.
And then I made it to the admissions desk-...
"Hello, this is the adventurer's admission, are you here to apply?" The girls was pretty, she had blonde hair tied up into a ponytail, and yellow eyes, but also...
Those are the biggest tits I have ever seen in my life. 'What the actual fuck? Those can't be real, and she probably has back problems'
Looking away immediately from her chest and to her eyes out of respect, I spoke again "Um...yeah, I'm from a faraway land" It was pretty cliché, but it was a good enough backstory as any "I'm here to become an adventurer and to join the fight against the Devil King"
She smiled, that façade business smile "You will have to pay the registration fee"
"How much?" I asked, unzipping my jacket a little and reaching into my pouch.
"Three thousand eris" She answered.
I counted out the coins and handed them to her, she graciously accepted. The lady then took out a card from under her desk and stood up from her seat, going out the exit on her side and walked over to me "Allow me to formally explain, adventurers have their own occupations" She pointed to the card in her hand "This is you're adventurer's card, it keeps track how many monsters you've vanquished. As you're level increases, you'll earn points that you can use to learn skills, so please work hard to raise you're level"
'This seems so rehearsed' I thought to myself, she probably had to do this sort of things on a daily basis. But it was pretty informative, now I at least know how tis video game system works.
"Now please put you're hand over the crystal" She gestured towards the counter, there laid a blue ball crystal on a metal stand, it seemed very mechanical.
"*Crunch* Okay" I said, she frowned a little at the bite I took at my apple. "I don't mean any disrespect, I'm just hungry"
Yeah, I guess dying and coming back to life does that to you.
She put on a strained smile, I walked over to the crystal ball and put my hand over it...the mechanics of the machine moved, spinning, and lighting up.
I didn't notice until now that she placed the adventurer's card under it, and the beam of light came from under it, and then it ceased...
'...that was pretty cool' I thought to myself.
The woman, named Luna I think, took the card from under the crystal and read it to me "Hm...Drake Joseph?...whoa!" She did a slight gasp.
"What? Is something wrong?" I asked a little worried 'Are my stats bad or something?'
"No! No! It's the opposite! You're stats are well above average! You're intelligence, vitality, and agility being some of the highest I've seen!" She yelled out in surprise, other members of the guild were starting to gather around, an I'm starting to get uncomfortable at the attention.
"While vitality is the third highest, you're only bad stat is you're below average luck" She answered, showing me my adventurer's card, I put my grips on it and read the stats for myself.
'Figures...fuck you too universe'
It was a little strange to hold a card that determines my abilities, but oddly enough I did feel like it belonged to me...probably something magic related.
"With those stats, you could start off with a advanced class: A crusader, an arch wizard, you can't be a sword master because you're dexterity hasn't reached that mark, but you could become an assassin or an arch priest!"
The people around me were cheering...I guess this didn't happen very often.
'...arch priests are healers right? Not really something I'm interested in...a crusader? A tank? No thank you, I don't want to take all the blows...arch wizard?...maybe, the thought of using magic is tempting' I put a hand on my chin to ponder my choice.
'Assassin?'
This one caught my interest the most, it implied stealth, but I must remember that this is a completely different world and not just some video game. So I'm gonna have to get more details to go off of.
"Can you tell me what each of these classes do, their benefits? The skills they can learn?" I asked curiously, she nodded cheerfully.
"A crusader takes most of the damage, attracting enemies, and surviving deadly blows most others could not, they can learn skills that can attract the attention of monsters and use swords. An arch priest is a healer, they learn buff spells and restoration spells, and are very affective against undead. An arch wizard specializes mainly on offensive magic, fire, lightning, earth, water. And an assassin is a class of stealth and agility, using quick and precise attacks, they often use daggers and other tools, and although they aren't archers, they can use a crossbow"
'...huh, I think I know what I want' Stealth and precision? The assassin class sounds perfect, not to mention I can use a ranged weapon.
"I'll pick the assassin class" I answered, it fit me the best, it was then the guild went into an uproar of cheer, it was seriously hurting my ears...
"Joseph-san! This guild looks forward to you're many exploits!" Luna, along with her fellow associates bowed to me.
'Okay...all this celebration is just getting annoying now, all I did was put my hand over a blue crystal thing' I thought as my eyebrow twitched, I just wanted to leave. Buy some gear maybe, but most importantly, just leave.
Then the crowd started getting closer 'N-no! STAY BACK!'
Before I could attempt anything multiple well built men put their arm around my shoulders "WELCOME TO THE CLUB JOSEPH!"
'They are so damn sweaty!'
The body fluids, and the horrible smell of alcohol in their breaths.
'Just kill me again already!'
I was so damn uncomfortable, I'm a loner for universe's sake! They were singing and dancing along, I'm pretty sure half of them are drunk.
'Universe-san...' As I was in a common place used for Japanese honorifics, I addressed the cosmos in this way 'What did I do to deserve this stupidity? Was it the apple!?'
The cosmos just laughed at my suffering.
Captaindrake123: Tell me what you think, I might just continue this in my own time.