บท 1: Reincarnation (Rewrite)

When I opened my eyes this morning, I was expecting to see my bedroom. Maybe my mom banging on the door to my room to wake me up before I was late to another university class. What I wasn't expecting was to be laying on the 'floor' of a vast and empty white space. I slowly got up off the surprisingly textureless floor and looked around for a bit.

'Am I dreaming?' I thought before attempting to pinch myself, only to realized that my hand and body were a transparent blue color.

I gave my body a once over before nodding to myself. 'Yup, this is definitely a dream. The only other explanation is that I somehow died and am now waiting for the ROB to come tell me how I was killed by accident.' I thought.

Perhaps reading too many isekai fanfics wasn't good for my mental health if that was one of the conclusions I'd come up with, though I couldn't help it. I was always drawn to the isekai genre due to a mix of my depression and my somewhat childish dream of wanting to be powerful and to break free from the mundane and boring world I lived in. It was so much more exciting to imagine fighting in the titanic battles I saw in anime, explore the worlds I read in manga, and enjoy the forbidden fruit of a harem of anime girls who all loved me and were totally fine with what amounted to casual cheating on a day-to-day basis.

I sighed to myself, shaking my head side to side and looking around for a bit longer. Even if this was a ROB scenario, it was unlikely that I would be alone for a long time, after all, a being who is able to create entire worlds and timelines, bestow seemingly endless abilities/gifts and systems, would surely be able to properly manage their time.

"You're right. Time management is easy when you literally have all the time in the world." A voice called out from behind me. I looked up to see a ball of light, glowing with a myriad of different colors. The voice spoke in an androgynous tone, and I couldn't tell if it was male or female, but I quickly brushed that aside.

"So I really did end up in a ROB scenario," I said to myself.

"Yup, you did." It said to me in a slightly amused voice.

"So, are you going to lie to me that you accidentally killed me and, somehow, despite being omnipotent, either weren't able to revive me immediately, reverse time to fix your mistake, or simply shrug your shoulders at the accident, knowing that an insignificant ant like me died because of you?" I asked.

"You're kinda a smartass huh? No, you died in your sleep. A lightning strike hit your house, traveled through the charging cable to the phone you had plugged in and fell asleep with, jumped into your body, and stopped your heart. Next time, don't sleep with your phone plugged in during a thunderstorm." It chided me a bit.

"Oof. Mom was right, that phone really was the death of me... Alright, I'm sure you don't want to spend all of your time talking with a puny mortal like me, so I'll make this quick," I said, ignoring how pathetically, yet somewhat realistically I had died.

"Fine then. Ask away" It said gesturing to me, knowing I was about to throw a ton of questions at him. I don't know how I knew it gestured at me, but I did.

"First, why me? Second, what do you want? Third, do I get wishes?" I asked.

"First, You died and you're soul wished to reincarnate rather than go to heaven. You also didn't believe you were going to go to hell, so you didn't."

"Second, I don't want anything. I'm more of an amalgamation of energy and belief. I didn't even exist until a few decades ago when people actually started wanting to reincarnate into other fictional worlds. The power of belief is a powerful thing, and so many people, especially recently, who wished from the bottom of their hearts to reincarnate created the concept of a 'ROB' that would grant them wishes and reincarnate them, so here I am."

"Third, you either get one wish and a system or three unique wishes. Of course, no omnipotence or ability creation, which you could use to create omnipotence." It said.

"Oh thank ROB that I'm not forced to have a system," I said, sighing with relief.

"Do you dislike systems?" It asked.

"Yeah, when I was younger and didn't understand them well, I always wanted one, but now that I'm older, it's just like wanting to be a slave to some other being's will. When you think about it, systems always give out rewards that are shit in comparison to the 'missions' difficulty. If you are going to risk your life doing something, then you'd better get a reward better than a measly '100 system points' or whatever that can't even be used for buying anything in the shop, since it's all too ridiculously expensive." I said ranting a bit before catching myself.

"But the worse part is the punishments. Like, I always hated fanfics that had systems that took away abilities or the use of body parts for ridiculous reasons. The worst one I ever read was when someone failed a 'hidden mission' and was teleported to another planet as punishment. Of course, there is the always famous 'If you don't sleep with this girl you just met in one week, you'll have ED for the rest of your life', bullshit. Not getting the reward should be punished enough, especially since the system is supposed to be its user's servant, not the other way around."

I could tell that the ROB in front of me rolled its eyes somehow, despite the fact it has no eyes or face. " Do I get to keep my previous life's memories then?" I asked, slightly embarrassed by my ranting.

"Hu? Uhh, yeah! What the hell kinda question is that? What's the point in reincarnation into a fictional world if you don't. If you were to reincarnate without them as a nobody, the plot of the world would keep you as a nobody, if you were to reincarnate as the MC, then at best, you'd just be following the plot one-to-one, as you'd have no outside information. Also, unlike those fanfics of yours which have the MCs waste a wish on keeping their memories, I don't do that, though if you want a specific world, then you have to wish for that. I'll be creating it from scratch after all and using enough power to recreate and then isolate a multiverse counts as a wish." It said.

"What do you mean isolate?" I asked. I kinda had an idea, but I wanted confirmation.

"Well you don't want other reincarnators going to the same world, do you? Personally, I don't mind, but I'm here for you, so..." It said.

"Yeah, I figured, but I'm guessing that it also means that I won't get any 'multiverse traveling MCs accessing my world?" I asked.

"Yup, though you also won't be able to travel the omniverse."

"Alrighty then, what happens if I don't wish for a specific world then?" I asked.

"Random, I'll spin a wheel, though I've removed most 'boring' worlds, like those of Video Games and TV Dramas. I've also removed all dead-end worlds where you'd probably die before the age of six due to factors outside of your control, like Warhammer 40K" It said. As soon as it finished, I heard a snapping sound and a wheel appeared before me. I somehow knew it snapped his fingers just now, despite it not having any fingers.

"Thanks for that," I said as I stepped up to the wheel and grabbed a hold of the spokes. I stretched my arms as far upwards as I could before quickly pulling them down, sending the wheel spinning. The wheel itself was all white with no words on it, though every time a part of the wheel spun past the needle, I 'saw' the name of a world or universe go by. I'm assuming they were multiverses because when I saw Marvel go by is said Marvel Universe, not Earth 616. It's possible to travel the multiverse in Marvel, so I'm assuming it's only possible to travel between universes in that multiverse, and not into say, the Doctor Who Universe or the DxD Multiverse.

Naruto, Genshin Impact, Monster Girl Quest, Highschool of the Dead, Infinite Stratos, Harry Potter, Teen Wolf, RWBY, etc, I saw many more worlds pass by as the wheel slowed down.

Finally, the world wheel stopped on the Nasuverse. ROB looked somewhat surprised by this and 'turned' to me. Once again, I don't know HOW I know these things, considering he is a floating sphere of energy, I just do.

"Alright then, this is one of those weird worlds with multiple timelines and all that jazz, so you get to chose a few things, like when to reincarnate and whether or not to include other stuff, like the Tokyo Holy Grail War or the Grand Order stuff." It said.

"To be honest, I've only seen Fate UBW and the first two parts of Heaven's Feel, so those are the only ones I know well. I guess throwing in Tsukihime would be alright since even if I don't interfere, it'll all fix itself and I know a bit of the story from various fanfics. You know what, fuck it. Suprise me, throw in all the ones that could logically work." I said.

"Cool, it's done. When do you want to be reborn? The Age of Gods as Gilgamesh's twin? Age of Heroes at the same time as Artoria? In the same year as Shiro? Take your pick."

I thought for a while, but finally an idea popped into my head. I really wasn't an ambitious person, but I was lustful. Despite being 22, I still had the hormones of a teenager. There really wasn't anything for me to do in the nasuverse other than collect a harem, soo I decided that that's exactly what I'd do.

"Fuck it. I'll be born the same year as Shiro, but I wanna change the world a bit." I said.

"Damn, and here I thought I could get away with sending you into the generic world and save a bit of power," ROB said after dismissing the wheel.

"What do you mean?" I asked a bit hesitantly.

"If you didn't want to change the world, I'd send you into one of the parallel timelines created by another reincarnator. He didn't get Second Magic and his world was the generic Unlimited Blade Works, so if I sent you into the Heaven's Feel version of the same multiverse, I'd save energy." He explained.

If I still had a physical body, I'd have an anime-style sweat-drop on my forehead. 'This guy just admitted to trying to save a bit of his infinite power by scamming me.' I thought.

"Whatever, what changes do you want to make?" It grumbled.

"Let's make the Tokyo Holy Grail War happen the same year as the 4th Holy Grail War. Next, eliminate Shiki Tohno. I always hated his character. Can you add a few characters in from PRISMA ILLYA too? I really like Chloe, and when she grows up, she could totally be a tanned waifu-"

"Yes, yes, you're a lolicon, I know. Anything else?" It interrupted me.

"I'm not a lolicon, but whatever, I don't really want to argue about this. Next, let's integrate my first wish into the world." I started. The ROB nodded at me as a signal to continue. "First I want to be born into a family of distinguished magus. They will be the basis of my second wish and the 'canonical' reason why I have my power." I stated.

"Smart. Having no backing is a good way to get yourself kidnapped by some noble family or another and forced into either working for them, or having your power taken away. Alright, name your second wish."

I had thought about it for a while in my previous life. I had made somewhat of a habit out of planning my wishes in the event of me, somehow, getting this chance. One of the older thought experiments I had was to wish for a new True Magic as my 3rd Wish if I got three. I had originally planned to wish to use my first wish to keep my memories and chose which timeline to reincarnate into for my 2nd wish, though, since the first was unneeded, I'd now have another wish afterward.

"I want to be the Sixth Magician. I want Concept Magic from Arifureta plus all of its component Ancient Magics. I want the Ancient Magics to be turned into magecraft so I can teach it to my children and servants, though Concept Magic should be mine and mine alone." I said

Wishing for True Magic was a no-brainer, really. I thought about all of the foes I will face. Gilgamesh probably has something that would neg immortality, plus I didn't want to run the risk of getting trapped somewhere for thousands of years, like falling into a volcano and burning alive until it eventually explodes or being buried alive by my enemies, so I wouldn't wish for that. If I wished for something outside the 'laws of the world', like Kryptonian DNA or Madara's Powers from Naruto, for example, then the Counter Force would definitely come after me the moment I was reborn.

True Magic, on the other hand, would be registered withing the ROOT and thus, while probably annoyed, Ayala and Gaia wouldn't have any particular reason to come after me, as I hadn't threatened the power-balance of the world yet, plus the ancient magics were totally broken. Spirit Magic on its own is already superior to Heaven's Feel since it can revive the dead, which Heaven's Feel can't do. The only ability Heaven's Fell has that I couldn't replicate with Spirit Magic was unlimited mana and the ability to summon beings from the Throne of Heroes, though I already had a plan for that.

"Alright. That's a rather powerful wish, but I'll allow it. I'll also make it easier for you to use and, since it's magic that isn't reliant on Magecraft, it'll be usable without you having to concentrate on it with all of your energy." It said.

"Cool, next I want the most powerful pair of mystic eyes you can get away with giving to me before the Counter Force intervenes," I said.

"Well okay then, but you probably won't like them at first, but once you comprehend how broken they are, you'll be much happier." It said before snapping its fingers once again.

"I'll look forward to it, also, if it's not too much trouble, can you take care of my mom. I know my death will probably upset her greatly," I said as I began disappearing into light particles.

"Don' worry, when reincarnators with a family die, we erase their existence from their original world to not cause problems. It'll be as though you were never born, though all of the positive actions you did in life will be turned into karma and added to your loved ones, increasing their luck. Your mother, for example, won the lottery and started a successful business without you." It said.

I was almost completely gone at this point but I still managed to get out one last line before I vanished. "Oy! That's way too dark and depressing a note to leave on!" I said as the last of me turned to particles. It didn't sit right with me that my mom had a better life with me never being born than having me.

ROB simply chuckled a bit before disappearing into another corner of the white expanse to reincarnate another lonely weeb. This guy got the world of My Hero Academia with a system.