"Wake up, my child, wake up..."
My eyes groggily opened as I groaned, stretching. What happened...? My memory was fuzzy... did I fall asleep?
I looked around the room, my eyes adjusting to the light.
I was in a bright room, the floor seemingly made of pure gold, marble pillars rising from the ground. I looked up to see a solid gold desk in front of me, with a giant woman sitting behind it. Four smaller women flanked her sides, looking down at me.
"Who are you? Where am I? What's going on?" I began, looking around frantically.
"My dear child, you have perished, in true Isekai fashion... hit by a man who had a few too many beers in a pickup truck I believe." The large woman was dressed in white robes with gold lining, a wreath of golden leaves surrounding her platinum hair. Her pale, soft looking skin seemed to have an unearthly glow to it, and her eyes were warm and friendly, as she looked down at me. She was the most beautiful woman I've ever seen, and my cheeks felt hot as I stared at her, before my eyes widened.
"Dead...?"
"Unfortunately yes, my child. However, I come to you with good tidings. You are in line to be reincarnated, if you wish..."
The smaller women were grinning at me, dressed in short white skirts. Large white wings emerged from their backs, and a ring of light hovered above their heads. Their fair skin was mostly untouched, except for what appeared to be faint tattoos or some form of mark on their cheeks, which appeared to continue under their dresses. They also possessed beauty that seemed to be unmatched by any woman I've seen in my life. I looked over confused.
"Wait wait wait. I died?!" My mind was still fuzzy, and I inhaled deeply, "so what, are you like God or something?"
"Something like that, yes." The woman smiled, "although I am not the God of your world. However, I'm offering you a chance in a brand new world, should you wish it."
"I had so much I wanted to do! I... I died a virgin!" The realization that I had indeed died without even a kiss hit hard, harder than anything else really. I mean, it does suck that I didn't become a corporate slave or participate in any of the world's misery, but not having a partner sucks.
The angels, I assumed, looked to each other, and began murmuring.
"So, do you accept my offer?" The woman asked.
"I... I suppose. I mean, what other option do I have? Go to the afterlife? I'm not ready for that." I looked up at her, "so, usually there's a catch. What do you need me to do?"
Her warm smile never left her face. "As my champion, there is little I need of you. There is a whole pantheon of gods in this world with an endless supply of champions. I thought I may as well take one of my own. Your only task is to spread my influence, through any way possible. How you go about this is up to you."
I looked up at her. "Really?"
"Yes. The world is your oyster, my child. Allow me to bestow my gift upon you."
She reached out, and placed her hand over my shoulder. A cold chill went up my spine as I felt something change within me, a weird feeling, a burning heat in the pit of my stomach, and then it faded.
"Of course, there is much to learn about this world. As my Paladin, spread my influence through your deeds, let your story be told centuries in the future. I expect great things of you, after all, you bear my blessing."
I slowly nodded. Perhaps this rebirth wouldn't be so bad...
Everything around me began fading, as the woman smiled down at me.
"It appears you're waking. I have taken the precautions to ensure you have the equipment and funds necessary to start your adventure. You will travel with a follower of mine, in order to help you understand this new world. Until we meet again, my champion."
And then I woke up.
Groggily, I rubbed my head. Where was I?
I laid on a large bed, the sun peeking through a large window. I was immediately made aware of how warm the room was. It was insanely warm, slightly uncomfortable, but manageable. The walls were made of some sand-colored material, and pots and vases sat on the floor.
I looked to my side to see a beautiful woman standing over me. She wore what appeared to be the attire of a nun, and she clutched a holy symbol in her hand. Her golden blonde hair cascaded down her shoulders, and her eyes were a brilliant blue. Her fair skin looked so smooth and soft. My eyes, against my better judgement, wandered down her slim body, seeing her large "assets" on her chest, and her wide, child-bearing hips as she smiled down at me.
"You're awake!" She said happily, clasping her hands together. "I've been praying for so long, it seems they've finally been answered!"
"Uh... hi. May I ask for your name?" I sat up, and she placed a hand on my chest.
"Slowly, now. When I found you, you were unconscious in the sand. I brought you here, but my spells can only do so much. Does anything hurt?" She asked, concerned.
"No, I feel fine."
She sighed, "good." Her grip on her holy symbol loosened, "my name is Sister Agnes, and I'm a cleric." She smiled again, "happy to be of service to you."
I held my hand out, "Anon, pleasure to meet you."
"The pleasure's all mine." She shook it gently. Her hands were so soft... no! This is a nun of the goddess who I supposedly served, I absolutely cannot invoke her wrath by defiling her servant's purity.
But her smile is so pretty...
"You're equipment is over there, Anon." Agnes said, gesturing to the side.
I looked over to see heavy plate armor and a shield and a sword, along with other standard adventuring gear.
"Oh. Neat." I got up, and looked down at myself. I wore plain looking clothing, nothing too special, however I was surprised to see my physique had improved drastically. Now, I wasn't overweight by any means, but I wasn't that muscular. I say 'wasn't' because now I'm built like Captain America.
"Wow..." I flexed my muscles, admiring them. Listen, I'm not vain, but I mean, this is pretty sick.
Agnes smiled at me, "you seem surprised."
I looked up at her, "is it that obvious?"
I walked over to the heavy looking plate armor, and found I could lift it up with ease. I flexed my muscles, feeling like a superhero, and slipped the armor on, the knowledge of how to do it seemingly appearing in my mind.
It was hot in the armor, but I bet I looked really cool, and that's what matters. I grabbed my shield and longsword, as well as the loose assortment of items, a backpack, bedroll, some torches, rations, and some rope, and turned back to Agnes.
"How do I look?" I asked, placing the helmet on my head.
She just smiled at me, "prepared for combat."
"I see." I cleared my throat, "well, shall we set off?"
Agnes's smile widened, "of course! You wish me to come with you?"
I take it she wasn't briefed by the goddess. "Of course. It would be my honor for you to adventure with me."
She clapped her hands together, "oh excellent!" She brought out her own equipment. I noticed her weapon, a strange looking flail. The ball at the end of the chain was rounded, with several holes in it that seemed to emit a faint wisp of some pleasant-smelling smoke. Most likely incense.
"So, shall we get going?" She asked me, her excited smile never fading.
"Of course."
We left the building, and I got a better look at our surroundings.
The heat became readily apparent. It was somewhat cooler inside, but the sun was at full-force when we left the building.
We were in a desert town, to me surprise, usually isekais start in like a plain or woods, but whatever.
The town was busy, people swarming the streets. I noticed many stalls lining the streets, vendors selling a large assortment of goods.
I looked towards Agnes, amazed that in this heat she managed to stay so incredibly pale. She smiled at me.
"Well, where do we begin?" She asked me.
I looked around, "let's start by measuring my strength. Is there anyway for me to check my stats, like at all?"
"Stats?" Agnes tilted her head at me.
"My abilities, if you will."
"Hmm. There is always the adventurer's guild."
The adventurer's guild. Of course.
"I suppose we'll start there."
She smiled, "okay. It should be somewhere in town..."
We spent a good hour speaking with the locals, looking for directions, but eventually we got pointed towards a large building near the outskirts of town.
We entered the building. It seemed relatively empty, save for a few people drinking at a bar in the corner.
A woman sat at the desk at the back of the building, and she smiled when we approached. Her skin was dark, tanned from constant exposure to the sun. Her hair was done up in a bun, and her eyes were a deep brown.
"Welcome to the Westray Adventurer's Guild!" She said happily, "I don't recognize you... perhaps you are here to register?"
I nodded, to which she smiled.
"Excellent! We don't get many adventurers around here, so I'll have to grab the paperwork. Just give me a second."
She went into the back room, and we waited for a minute before she returned.
"First, we have a 50 gold entry fee."
Agnes reached into a bag and began counting out coins. I reached into my backpack and shook out enough money for the both of us.
"Allow me," I said, stopping Agnes from paying.
The woman took it, smiling, "all right. Now, we need to measure your stats, in order to get a read on where you will be placed in the rankings."
"Rankings?"
"Adventurers are ranked based on their abilities and powers. The higher the ranking, the more dangerous missions you can go on." She reached under the desk and pulled out a crystal ball. "This will read your basic abilities, breaking it down into simple numbers. Just place your hand on the ball, and it should measure it out quite fast."
I went first, placing my hand on the ball. Numbers began surfacing as I watched.
My abilities were as follows (I will be using the DND number system. In case you aren't aware of how it works, here it is: 1-4 is barely functioning. No human being should have any stat below 4. It makes life very difficult. 5-9 is bad. 10 is average . 18 is the maximum normal human beings can reach. Only adventurers can make it to 20, and that is the standard cap for most adventurers. Anything bigger than that can only happen with magic items, enchantments, or some other supernatural force or ability.)
Strength: 20
Dexterity: 11
Constitution: 16
Intelligence: 13
Wisdom: 9
Charisma: 25
The woman's eyes widened, as did mine. "Your aptitude for Strength and Charisma is astonishing! The best I've seen in a while now... although you may be average in the brains department..."
"Hey..."
Agnes giggled, "that's quite alright. Nothing to be ashamed of, Anon."
I turned to her. "Alright, your turn."
She turned bright red. "Now, that isn't necessary..."
The woman behind the counter smiled at her. "If you don't wish for him to see, we can do it in private."
Agnes shook her head. "It's fine. Here, let me try..." she placed her hand on the orb.
We waited...
And waited...
Nothing.
"Hmm... it must be broken..." the woman said, "oh well. I guess we can just leave you unranked until we see what your capable of." She turned to me. "As for you, Mr.?"
"Anon."
"Mr. Anon, we can safely say that at the lowest, you bypass straight to the Silver tier of adventurers, with those abilities of yours."
"May I ask how that stands in the rankings?"
"Of course. It goes Copper, Brass, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Mithral, and then Adamantine. As a Silver ranked adventurer, you may take on Copper to Gold ranked missions. After completing a set amount of Gold missions, you will advance to the Gold rank. Usually gold missions are the most difficult missions available, as Platinum threats onward are quite rare. However Gold missions are still quite deadly."
I nodded, basic video game stuff.
"The most important thing is building your party. By your heavy looking armor, I take it you're a Paladin?"
I nodded. Agnes's smile widened after hearing that.
"Then finding a group should be quite simple." She smiled at the two of us, holding out her hand. In it was a necklace with a silver medallion. "Especially with this."
I accepted it, thanking her.
"I apologize, I didn't even ask your name," I said.
"Ah, it's Yolanda. I just work the counter here."
"Thank you, Yolanda." Her smile widened, and I walked towards an empty table. There were quite a few, doesn't seem like there're too many adventurers here, and the ones who were currently were drunk out of their minds. Maybe we should go party-scouting another time. Agnes followed me, an excited gleam in her eyes.
"So," I sat down, and she sat across from me. "What now?"
"I suppose we should take a job." Agnes thought for a moment, her eyes staring into mine. They glittered like sapphires, a deep blue that seemed to draw me in.
I snapped myself out of it.
"Of course. But what job shall we take?"
She tilted her head. "Let's see, shall we?"
We approached a board with several quests, organized into their ranks.
I picked one at random, looking at it. It was a bronze mission, seems a trade caravan was setting off tomorrow, and it looks like they're hiring bodyguards. Hm. Could be interesting. May be a nice way to get accustomed to this new adventuring business.
Agnes looked over my shoulder as I showed the paper to her.
"Will this suffice as our first mission?" I asked her, and she smiled.
"Of course!" Agnes looked up at me, and I almost got lost in her eyes again. I managed to tear away from them before I got in too deep, but it was hard.
We went up to the desk and handed the slip to Yolanda.
"A Bronze mission, hm? Testing the waters I assume?"
"Yes. I want to get comfortable as an adventurer before going out on some grand hunt for dragons or something."
Yolanda nodded, "well, the pay shouldn't be too bad. I'd rest up for tomorrow though, body-guarding can be hard work, depending on the charge."
I expected as much. Oh well, we have a day to prepare. Excellent. I can possibly gather some information on local fauna, particularly anything dangerous... maybe there's a library around here.
We left the adventurer's guild shortly after.
"So you're a Paladin." Agnes's eyes were glittering with excitement, "may I ask which deity?"
I wondered if I should say the same as hers. Probably, but I don't even know what god she, and now I guess I, serve. "It's... complicated."
She nodded, confused by the answer, but intrigued nonetheless.
"May I asked which god you serve?" I asked her, and she stopped in her tracks.
She turned to me, and gave me a coy smile. "It's... complicated." She laughed, "I'm only kidding. My faith is in the goddess of all that is good and holy."
Generic answer, but I didn't really give her a good one either. I guess I'll leave it at that for now...
And so my adventure began, as a Paladin of some unknown god, in a world I've yet to understand, followed by a beautiful nun. Hopefully my future is bright. Hopefully.
