Vol. 1 Chapter 1 - Reincarnation (Prologue)

 

(Oh, if I were to be reborn, I’d like to live a peaceful life…)

 

In a room at a certain hospital, a young man connected to various tubes was contemplating such thoughts just moments before his impending death.

 

My name is “Hikaru Tendou.” Since the age of five, when my parents perished in a fire, I had been living in an institution until I turned eighteen. After that, I got a job and started living on my own, but my workplace was a small factory that was even further subcontracted by a major corporation. I worked from dawn till dusk, and my wages were meager. Each day, most of my earnings vanished into rent and living expenses. Although I had a laid-back personality, I was utterly exhausted by a life without time or money for leisure.

 

After continuing such a life for about two years, I collapsed at work one day. The cause, of course, was overwork. I lost consciousness and was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance. By the time I arrived, it was already too late, and all attempts to prolong my life were in vain. Just before death, I briefly regained consciousness. Was it the mercy of a god that granted me time to prepare for death, or a plot by the grim reaper to make me taste the fear of death?

 

(Regardless, it doesn’t matter to me as I approach death.)

 

While lamenting my own life, I quietly lost consciousness again.

 

“Huh? Where is this? I haven’t died yet, have I?”

 

I, who had lost consciousness in the hospital, inexplicably woke up in a completely white space.

 

I was wearing a gown-like patient’s garment, which I assumed was put on me at the hospital, but apart from that, there was no sign of a bed, walls, or even a door. I was in a state where I couldn’t tell if I was standing or floating, and I was in a state of confusion.

 

“Neither, actually.”

 

A beautiful voice, presumably that of a woman, resonated directly in my head, more than heard.

 

“Uh, who are you?”

 

I answered aloud to the voice that resounded in my head. My head was still clearly in a state of confusion.

 

“So, it’s not the mercy of a god or a plot by the grim reaper.”

 

Oh, is this the answer to the question I was pondering just before my death… Wait, how does she know what I was thinking? And, is this even the real world? Various questions raced through my mind, but I couldn’t find a single answer. My confusion deepened even more.

 

“You seem to be in quite a bit of confusion due to this sudden change. That’s alright. I’ll explain everything from scratch.”

 

Once again, the voice of the woman echoed in my confused head. It was slightly condescending, but if she was going to explain, I had no reason to refuse.

 

“My name is Astaltina. In your terms, I am a goddess of another world. I was searching for souls to be reincarnated into the world I oversee when I happened to find your soul, so I came here to make this request.”

 

Alright, this must be a dream. I’m probably still in a hospital bed and having a dream just before I die. But it’s strange. When you’re on the verge of death, you’re supposed to see your life flashing before your eyes, but this doesn’t look like that at all.

 

It seemed that my attempt to sort things out in my head was ignored, or at least that’s how I interpreted the self-proclaimed goddess’s voice, which sounded slightly excited.

 

“Hey, do you think this is a dream? It’s not! I’m telling you it’s not! You really, really get to be reincarnated in another world! This chance doesn’t come around often. Be grateful!”

 

“Um… Thank you.”

 

Surprised by the sudden drop in the self-proclaimed goddess’s maturity, I couldn’t help but express my gratitude, even though the conversation was becoming strangely real for a dream.

 

“Alright! Let’s continue with the explanation. Ahem. This time, the world you’ll be reincarnated into is called ‘Forluntia.’ Unlike the Earth you were on, it’s a fantasy world where swords and magic exist.”

 

Feeling encouraged by my gratitude, the self-proclaimed goddess continued with a solemn tone. A fantasy world, huh? My knowledge in that area was limited to a few battered light novels I had read back when I was in the institution. Still, to dream something like this… Is this what they call the subconscious?

 

“I keep saying it’s not a dream! Well, never mind. Let’s continue the explanation.”

 

Oops, it seemed the self-proclaimed goddess had once again read my thoughts. Well, if this is my dream, it’s only natural for her to read my thoughts.

 

However, for a dream, it was strangely real, and there was a series of unfamiliar words in the explanation.

 

“Although it’s called reincarnation, Forluntia is a bit of a harsh environment for Earthlings, so I’m going to give you a special bonus. And that bonus is—drumroll, please—race selection rights and skills! Ta-da!”

 

Wait, what? These words were unfamiliar to me. Is it possible to hear words I don’t know in my dream? And did she just applaud verbally? This self-proclaimed goddess is quite peculiar.

 

“I’m not a peculiar goddess! I’m a pure, beautiful, and popular goddess!”

 

What is this conversation? It was becoming so real that I was starting to believe this might not be a dream.

 

“…But I’ve been saying from the beginning that it’s not a dream. Well, never mind. Let’s continue.”

 

This time, as soon as the self-proclaimed goddess finished her line, a semi-transparent window appeared in front of me.

 

Written on it were “Dragonoid (Dragonkin),” “Demon (Demonic),” “Elf (Aeris),” “Dwarf (Terran),” “Beastkin (Beastfolk),” and “Human.”

 

“The races you can choose from are listed here. The higher up you go, the higher the base abilities. ‘Dragonoid’ is one of the strongest races in Forluntia. However, if you choose ‘Dragonoid,’ you’ll only get one skill. As you go down, you’ll receive one more skill for each step. This is a rule to balance strength. Skills are special abilities, and I’ll provide a list of them after reincarnation so you can choose carefully later.”

 

I see. In other words, Dragonoids are the strongest, and humans are the weakest, right? But in exchange, humans can receive six skills. To balance strength, this means that with the right skills, humans might be able to stand toe-to-toe with Dragonoids.

 

However, I wasn’t particularly interested in being strong. Of course, I didn’t want to die right after being reincarnated, so having some power to survive was necessary, but I preferred the power to live a laid-back life. So, if I thought about it that way, being a Dragonoid was definitely not my choice. Being one of the strongest races meant I’d likely get dragged into battles without having a say in it.

 

On the other hand, becoming a Demon might make me a target for subjugation, and Elves and Dwarfs seemed like rare races, which would draw attention. Beastkin piqued my interest a bit, but in the end, I would go with being a Human. There would likely be a large number of humans, and with six skills, I could lead a comfortable and laid-back life. That seemed like the right choice!

 

Gradually, as I began to believe that this wasn’t a dream, I made my choice with hope in my heart and addressed the goddess.

 

“Goddess, I’ve made up my mind! I want to be the lowest race, please!”

 

For some reason, I sensed an atmosphere of surprise in the goddess’s response. Did she find it so unexpected that I chose to be human?

 

“Oh, I can’t believe you chose the lowest one. I’ve reincarnated dozens of people, but you’re the first to choose the lowest.”

 

Oh, I see. So there were others who had been reincarnated before me. I couldn’t tell when they were reincarnated, but it might be interesting to look for them in the other world. Still, with dozens of people, there should have been others who chose to be human, right? I wonder if Dragonoids are really that popular.

 

“Alright, then I’ll choose the lowest race.”

 

When the goddess said this, the word “Dragonoid” on the window began to flash, and the flashing moved down the list. “Demon,” “Elf,” “Dwarf,” “Beastkin,” and finally, “Human” started to flash. I thought, “I’m about to be reincarnated,” but in the next moment, something unimaginable happened.

 

The window actually began to scroll down.

 

“What!?”

 

I exclaimed in surprise, and new races appeared with their own flashing lights.

 

“Humanoid Monster,” “Monster,” “Animal,” “Insect,” “Plant,” and lastly, the one that was flashing was “Moss.”

 

“Wait, wait, wait a minute! Why is it scrolling? I didn’t ask for this! I didn’t want to be ‘Moss’ at the bottom!”

 

I panicked. I was more anxious than I had ever been in my entire life. I mean, who would expect a scrolling window, right? And, for the lowest option, it’s moss! Moss. What would I do after being reincarnated as moss? I’d probably get eaten right away or wither and die.

 

“Uh, I never said anything like that, and if you wanted to be human, you should have said ‘human’ clearly. It’s because you said ‘the lowest.'”

 

Well, she had a point, but I couldn’t back down now. If I admitted defeat here, I’d end up as “Moss.”

 

“Please, let me try again. I’ll choose ‘human’ properly this time!”

 

However, mercilessly, my desperate pleas were met with my body beginning to glow. Could it be that reincarnation had already started?

 

“Please, goddess! I’ll do anything, just change me to a human!”

 

But the goddess’s response was…

 

“Sorry. Once the race is chosen, I can’t change it. Instead, ‘Moss’ comes with the special bonus of being able to choose 15 skills. Just be careful to pick the right skills, or you’ll wither or get eaten soon. Oh, and the location of your reincarnation is random!”

 

As I heard the goddess’s grim response, my body continued to glow brighter, and just when I thought it was going to explode, I lost consciousness once again.