"Satou Kazuma-san, welcome to the afterlife. Unfortunately, you've died. It might've been short, but your life's now over."
Someone suddenly spoke to me in a pure white room.
The sudden turn of events confused me.
In the room was an office desk and a chair, and the one who announced that my life was over sat on said chair.
Was she a goddess? She had to be.
… I thought about what had happened moments ago.
… I usually coop myself up at home, so it was rare for me to go outside.
Don't get me wrong, I wasn't some shut in, I just didn't have any connection to the outside world.
I wasn't some NEET either, I may not go out much, but I was taking online classes in games and software development.
…
I was on my way home from grocery shopping when I saw a girl looking down on her cell phone and walking in front of me.
From her uniform, she would've been studying at the same school as me.
After seeing the lights turn green, the girl didn't check traffic and crossed the road immediately.
A large shadow loomed toward her.
It had to have been a large truck heading toward her at high speed.
When I came to my senses, I'd knocked the girl away.
After that…
… Mysteriously calm
I asked the goddess before me: "... May I ask one thing?"
The goddess nodded in response to my question.
"... The girl that was knocked away by me, is she still alive?"
That was the most important thing.
That was the last time I'd done something useful. If I wasn't even able to save her, what was I even good for?
"She lives! But she fractured her leg."
Oh god, thanks.
I didn't die in vain.
Seeing me acting relieved, the goddess tilted her head and said: "But she wouldn't have been hurt even if you hadn't knocked her away."
Wait, what!?
What'd she just say?
"The tractor would've stopped before hitting the girl. I mean, it was just a slow tractor after all. That means that your unnecessary meddling by acting like a hero made things worse… Puhehe!"
Is she seriously laughing at someone's death right now?
Wait, hold it.
I thought I heard something wrong.
"A tractor?"
"That's right, a tractor. If a truck had been speeding toward that girl, she would've noticed it and gotten away."
"Eh, but what about me? Did I die after getting hit by the tractor?" I asked her.
"No, you died from shock. You thought you were run over by a truck and went into shock. I've been doing this for a long time, but you're the first person to die in such a hilarious way!"
I want to meet the guy who made her a goddess.
"Because of your close call with the tractor, you lost consciousness and control of your bowels, and you were sent to a nearby hospital. As the doctors and nurses were laughing and saying, 'What's with this guy, how useless', you didn't regain consciousness and your heart failed."
Did the doctors not take their oaths or something?
"Shut up, shut up! This can't be real! This is unbelievable!"
The girl walked up to my side as I cupped my ears and smiled deviously, leaning close to my ears.
"Your family reached the hospital, but before they could feel the sadness from their loss, they couldn't help but burst into laughter upon hearing your cause of death."
That made me stop. I didn't have a heart but I still felt it fall.
I didn't have the best relationship with my parents, but I didn't think they would be relieved or laugh at my death.
Looking down at me squatting with my head in my arms, the girl covered her mouth and laughed.
"... Well, that ends my de-stressing session. This is our first meeting, Satou Kazuma-san. My name's Aqua. I'm a goddess that guides young people who die in Japan. Now, putting aside how funny your demise was, you now have two options."
Are you sure she's a goddess?
Like, are you sure I didn't get sent to hell or something?
Whoever she is, she currently holds the power, so I should just shut up and listen to her.
"The first option would be reincarnating and beginning a new life; the other option would be staying in a place sort of like heaven and living the life of a retirement home."
People killed each other for this, and she is describing it as a place for old people.
"What do you mean by 'retirement home'?"
"Heaven isn't as great as you humans imagine it being. You don't need to eat after dying and won't be able to make food naturally; there aren't any ingredients nor necessities for you to use anyway. I'm sorry if I disappointed you, but there's nothing in heaven. No television, no manga, and no games. Only other people who died before you. Moreover, since you're dead, you can't do anything kinky either since you don't even have a body. The only thing you can do is bask in the sun with your predecessors and chat. Forever."
No computer games, no entertainment and no sex? That's not heaven, that's hell.
Wait, it just occurred to me…
I died a virgin.
Okay, back to the topic at hand, heaven is definitely a big no no.
But if I were to become a baby and restart my life…
No, that was the only option.
Looking at my disappointed face, the goddess smiled and said: "Hey… You don't want to go to a boring place like heaven, right? However, asking you to let go of all your memories and start again as a baby's the same as erasing your existence, since your memories will be gone. And so, I've got great news for you!"
I feel like I have an idea of what she is about to offer, like my isekai senses are tingling.
Aqua said to the wary me with a smile, "Do you like games?"
Aqua confidently explained her so-called good news.
This was the gist of it:
In a different world from where I was, there was a world with a Demon King.
In addition, with the attack of the Demon King's army, that world fell into a crisis.
There was magic and monsters in that world.
To put it simply, it was a fantasy world like the famous games Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy.
"The people who died in that world were killed by the Demon King's army and were very afraid, saying that they didn't want to die like that again. Therefore, almost all of the people who died rejected reincarnating in that world again. More specifically, that world will end if this continues since babies will cease to be born there. Hence, we'll solve that problem by sending the dead from other worlds over there, right? That's how it is."
What a sloppy immigration policy.
"And since we're sending people over, we should find people that've died young and still yearn to live and send them over with their original body and memories. It'll be meaningless if they were to die immediately after going over, so we'll grant a privilege to all of those going to that world, allowing them to take one thing they like. It may be a powerful ability, an exceptional talent, or a god-level weapon. What do you think? It might be another world, but you can live once more. For the people of that world, someone will appear who can fight immediately. How about it? Isn't this great news?"
It's literally the only good option.
To be honest, this made me excited.
I knew I liked games, but I never would've imagined that I'd be able to enter a world that was just like my favorite computer games.
However, before that.
"Um, I have a question, what about the language? Will I be able to speak the language of the other world?"
"This isn't a problem. With the gentle aid of the gods, knowledge of the language will be beamed directly into your brain the moment you head over. You'll even be able to read! As a side effect, your brain might be wiped blank if you're unlucky… Anyway, all that's left is to choose a powerful ability or weapon."
"Hold on, I heard something important just now. Did you say my brain might be wiped blank if I'm unlucky?"
"I didn't say that."
"You did."
"..."
"..."
Nevertheless, that was an attractive proposition.
It was scary to know that there's a chance in wiping my brain blank, but I'm not bragging when I say that I've been confident in my luck ever since I was young.
At this moment, Aqua showed me something like a catalogue.
"Please choose. I may grant you one and only one power. It may be a powerful unique ability, or perhaps a legendary weapon. Come, it can be anything. You have the privilege to bring this one thing to the other world."
After hearing Aqua's explanation, I took the catalogue and started browsing it.
… On it was, 'Unnatural Strength', 'Super Magic', 'Holy Sword Arondight', 'Demon Sword Muramase', and all sorts of names.
They must have been exciting choices for any normal gamer.
But I was anything but.
All were definitely good weapons and abilities don't get me wrong, but every one of them had a catch attached to it.
All the weapons that gave me power while wielding it can easily just be lost and I would be helpless.
So I started looking for abilities in particular.
But somewhere around the very last page of the catalogue, I saw something.
It was not the weapon that caught my eye, no, it was the maker of said weapon.
Bloodthirst
It is not a weapon, but the extension of the worthy. It can only be summoned by the one deemed worthy of this axe.
Abilities:
Triples that stats of the worthy
Gives extra skill points
It upgrades unlike any other weapon
Made by the God of War
This was not an OP broken axe, but it can be OP if given enough time.
The only reason I didn't want to pick it was due to the warning at the corner.
Warning: There is a 97% chance that the axe will kill you once you step foot into the mortal realm, as it would not see you worthy of its power.
Yeah, he was definitely not the worthy kind of guy, he was rude and a pervert.
He should just pick that 'Demon Dweller Sword', or whatever it's name was.
"Hey, hurry up. It doesn't matter which one you choose, nobody's expecting much of a hikikomori gaming otaku. Can you just pick one and be on your way? Anything will do. Hurry up, hurry up…"
"I-I'm not an otaku…! And I died outside, so I'm not a hikikomori…!" I answered in a trembling voice, but Aqua simply toyed with the ends of her hair while looking at the catalogue I was holding.
"You are choosing that guy's weapon, well, what to expect from a NEET like you."
"Hey, it's a good weap-"
"Ok, I am getting bored, take that and go." Aqua said as she snapped her fingers.
"Wait, wait, wait…!" I said as I fell through the floor.
10 minutes later
"I didn't have any high hopes for you, but that is still fast", Aqua said to the now fuming Kazuma.
"You sent me next to a dungeon, and even though I was lucky enough to not die due to this axe, it didn't do me any good!" I shouted at her.
"Oh don't be a crybaby, other people didn't complain", Aqua said offhandedly.
"How many did you spawn next to a dragon?" I asked.
"Not all of them, sometimes I send them next to one shot bears and manticores too, and are you sure that axe even works? Like, I don't think that muscle head Kratos knows the first thing about weapon crafting."
Did she just say Kratos?
With a flash of white light, a winged woman appeared out of nowhere.
"... Eh?"
"Satou Kazuma, Big-B has decided that you shall be given another chance as this was not your fault."
I whooped in joy as a magic circle appeared under me.
Aqua squealed in surprise, a blue magic circle appeared under her feet as well.
Oh, what was this?
The angel spoke while facing Aqua:
"Aqua-sama, Big-B has been warning you for a while but as you didn't listen you are being punished, and before you ask, we both know what you did."
Yeah, you tell her.
"I was hungry, okay!" Aqua retorted, crying.
"So you ate the pudding which was clearly labeled Big-B?" the angel spoke.
Wait wah? She is getting punished for something like that?
"Your task is to help Kazuma Satou here defeat the Demon King, until you return, I will take over your job."
"Wait! Wait! I may have the ability to heal as a goddess, but I have no combat ability to speak of! It's impossible for me to defeat the Demon King!"
The angel who appeared suddenly ignored Aqua, who collapsed on the floor crying, and smiled gently at me.
"Satou Kazuma-san, you'll be heading to another world now, and will become one of the hero candidates to defeat the Demon King. If you manage to defeat the Demon King, you will receive a gift from the gods."
"... Gift?" Aqua definitely didn't mention that.
The angel smiled warmly at me and said, "That's right, a gift befitting the savior of the world… You'll be granted a wish; it may be anything you want."
"Wait! Giving that cool speech is my job!" Aqua wailed on the floor after the angel took her job.
I was satisfied after seeing Aqua this way.
Therefore, I pointed at Aqua and said: "How does it feel to be companions with a man you look down on? I would like to see you face a dragon this time!"
"No! Going to another world with a man like this, no way…!"
"Hero, may you be victorious among the many hero candidates and be the one to defeat the Demon King! Well then, I bid you farewell!"
"Wah! That's my line!"
