Chương 1: Strange Deals and New Beginnings
Had anyone ever wondered what it was like to be dead, or how it would feel like when your soul slowly left your body and you entered into eternal slumber?
Well, I fucking didn't.
Mostly because I was too busy to ever question about that kind of nonsense. I have a mother, a little sister, and a little brother at home, depending on me.
Three mouths to feed and struggle for. And that was enough to keep me occupied for most of the days.
Don't be mistaken. I was not complaining that I had to work so hard to keep my family afloat with my income alone. I was just explaining the situation for what it was.
And why was I explaining this, in particular?
Well, folks… it was because I died.
Freaking. Die.
One day, I was just going on about my life as usual.
I got up, prepared to go to my usual nine-to-five job, bid my mother and little siblings goodbye, and got out of the house to begin my day.
Just another boring and normal day.
As it was supposed to be…
Until it wasn't.
You see, I usually took the subway to get to my work because it was near my house, cheaper, and all-around much more convenient for me. How was I supposed to know that there would be a miserable and sociopathic fucker with a plan to take everyone with him by suicide-bombing the shit out of the same train I was taking to get to work?
I didn't, and that was how I died.
Not heroically going out by saving someone else and sacrificing myself, or not dying a peaceful death with all my loved ones surrounding me.
I just… died.
And woke up into an endless void… you know, like how those cliché isekai stories usually started.
One moment, I heard a 'Boom!' and then, nothing. The next, I was waking up in this place.
Now, some of you might question, how the fuck was I stating what happened this calmly without freaking out? I mean, I fucking died and I was not freaking out about this entire process.
How about those I left behind? What about my mother and siblings? I should be going hysterical when I thought about all that, right?
WRONG!
Well, you see, for me to be able to experience those feelings like hysteria or panic, I needed my body. Those kinds of emotions were introduced by my body pumping my organs with chemicals that could stimulate that kind of response.
And I conveniently left my, probably unrecognizable (because, fucking suicide bomber), body behind when I crossed over into this void… or whatever this was.
I was now just a small blob of soul, nothing more.
And why was I explaining all this and who was I explaining to?
Fuck if I know. I was just a soul now and I was doing whatever nonsense I wanted.
So, I was just floating around in the endless void, thinking about my family and the life that I left behind due to my untimely death. Because to be honest, those were kind of the only things worthy of being remembered at this point.
Also, did you know that doing loops and hoops in a zero-gravity environment while having a blob for a body was freaking cool?
I knew now! Weeeee!
Overall, I was chilling.
I mean, I was dead. What else should I do?
I didn't know how much time I wasted just doing this on repeat in this boring endless space. It could have been days, months, years… or maybe even decades.
On the other hand, it could also have been seconds. I had no idea. This place kind of messed with one's sense of time.
And now, somehow, I was yet again transported to another place and no longer in the void.
With my blob for a body, I appeared in a small room that was reminiscent of the tiny offices I saw daily on my nine-to-five job. I floated as I looked around the room.
There was nothing fancy about the new place. It was a small room with grey walls on four sides and a brown carpet for a floor. There was a lone table with two chairs at the center of the room. And someone was sitting in the chair on the opposite side of my blob.
Oh! Hey there, a dude who looked like a car salesman.
As I thought about it, the guy sitting in the chair snapped his head up and looked at me. He was previously reading a piece of paper in his hand which was then put down on the table.
"I have no idea what… but you just thought of something rude about my appearance, right?"
The guy questioned with a somewhat gruff and tired tone. It seemed like I was caught.
And I swiftly denied the accusation by shaking my body blob left and right, because I was pretty sure I could not talk while being just a small light ball.
"Oh… my apologies. I suppose you cannot talk while being just a soul. Let's fix that, shall we?"
The guy gently tapped on the surface of the table and I immediately felt something strange happening to my body blob, a very bizarre sensation. I did not know why I knew, but I could now talk with a metaphorical mouth while in my body blob.
Nice going, mister car salesman.
Ahem! I could not be like this. I had to be polite.
After all, I recognize this setting. This was how most of those isekai stories started.
The endless void, and then, into a room with a person waiting for you. After that, you got offered to reincarnate or transmigrate with some special benefits.
Then, off you go. Isekai!
"I see that you have some kind of experience or expectation about how this entire process is going to go down."
The man spoke as I slowly floated in front of him and onto the chair placed directly opposite of him.
"So, we can skip all the useless chatter and get to the point. Yes, you have died and we are indeed offering to transmigrate you with a special ability, a system to be precise."
See! Told you, this was going to be an isekai.
Alright, I had to remember, to be polite.
This guy had the ability to pretty much mess up my entire transmigration if he did not like my attitude.
"So, why am I getting the chance to transmigrate? It's… transmigration, right? Not reincarnation?"
The man in front of me nodded in confirmation. He had short messy hair and a thin beard now that I could see closely.
"You are correct, it will be a transmigration. The reincarnation package is currently not on the table for reasons you do not need to know. And you will be transmigrated into another fantasy world unknown to you, and not into the stories you have read or watched like in some of those isekai stories."
Hmmm... this was both kind of good and bad. On one hand, not knowing anything meant the sweet feeling of adventure. But, on the other hand, I would have no meta knowledge to rely on.
Oh well, I would be getting a cheat or a golden finger. So, who cared about the goddam meta-knowledge?
I didn't.
"And I hate to ask this as this has become kind of the cheesiest line at the start of most of the reincarnation or transmigration stories. But I also think that this setting calls for a legitimate inquiry. So… why me? I mean, why am I specifically being chosen for this opportunity? I do not mean to be ungrateful… but…"
I trailed off as the man in front of me chuckled.
"Yes. I agree with you that this exact line has become a repetition for me, with most of those I was tasked to transmigrate or reincarnate asking the same question again and again. Yet, I also cannot deny the necessity of the question, as it is firmly within your right to question why you have been granted this chance."
So, this guy isekaied people for a living, huh? Good to know.
"So, I will answer this question with as much unclassified information as I am allowed to give out."
The man waved his hand around as he spoke.
"Behind all of this… this entire situation, is a powerful organization that expanded its operation into a multiversal scale. Their name is not important, and also not a requirement in this explanation." He continued.
"Recently, by which I mean several thousands of years ago, the organization has become manufacturing new products that are guaranteed to become a hot commodity amongst its usual customer base. And those are called [Systems]."
As he mentioned the word [Systems], I could feel the quotations on that particular word.
"Those [Systems] are the same as the one you are going to get in a moment, by the way." He explained further.
"But, as you know because you worked in a marketing department in your previous job, the manufacturing and introduction of those products to our consumers simply do not happen overnight, especially considering the fact that our products here are the literal weapons of mass destruction on a universal scale. Nasty business, those [Systems]."
It was here that he pointed to me.
"And this is where you come in. The organization has to go through this entire process of testing, trials, and experiments. And you are one of the individuals randomly chosen to test out one of these experimental [Systems] in a faraway universe that is of no importance in the grand scheme of things. We will use the data collected through your [System] to further shore up or fix the errors that persist in our products."
Now, I understood. I was supposed to be one of those beta-testers so that they could fix the bugs before the release. The situation just got slightly worse for me. I mean, what was stopping the experimental [System] from just blowing up in my face?
Worse, what would I do when if I got a freaking worthless system that just hindered my progress instead?
It was amidst this panic that the man opposite of me seemed to notice my internal dilemma.
"Do not be alarmed about the nature of our experimental products, however. I can say that we are way past the phase where our [Systems] would actively hinder the progress of their users. They have been improved over a thousand years of research and development. In fact, this is the last batch of beta-testing we will be conducting across a hundred [Systems] before we go public with the product. So, you can be assured that the [System] you will be beta-testing will be more or less 99.9% fool-proof in its functions."
The words of the man did indeed make me feel better. Alrighty, I would just soldier on regardless of the consequences.
My body blob bobbed up and down as I spoke.
"All right. I understand completely now. And I am willing to be the beta-tester for your organization."
"Good. Good. I am glad we have come to an understanding," The man spoke as he picked up the paper in front of him again.
"We have more or less already picked which universe we will be sending you to, as well as what type of [System] you will be getting. Now that the formalities are over, I say this is finally the part where we send you off to your next adventure."
My body blob perked up at the notion. I interrupted the man for a second.
"Umm… can I make a request before I go?"
The man stopped whatever he was doing and regarded me with curiosity. Then, he nodded slightly, giving me permission.
"It is about my family. I left behind my mother and two siblings when I died. They will struggle without my income to support the family. And since you guys are an organization that spanned across the multiverse, I hope it will not be much to request you guys to make sure that my family will be able to live comfortably even without my support?"
The man did not take long to answer my request.
"Well, you are correct in assuming that it will not take much effort on our part to secure your family's future. Hell, it will not even take me a second to do that. So, sure."
The man then snapped his fingers.
"There. I make it so that your family wins the highest lottery prize in your country within the next two months after you die. They will again win another lottery after three years. By then, your brother will be in a position to take charge of the family in your stead. I even clear out those with ill intentions for your family or those who will take advantage of them, from their future paths. Will this be enough for you?"
I bobbed up and down again. This dude was a nice guy.
"But, judging by this attention to your family… we are concerned about how your deep love for your family can affect your actions in your next life, thereby affecting our data collection. So, I propose this. As the price for fulfilling your request, we will be severing the deep connection you have to your family. I am not going to delete your memories of them as we are not that kind of monster. You will still remember your family and have a fondness for them. But you will not spiral into depression as soon as you regain your bodily functions and jeopardize your mission. Will you agree to this trade?" The man asked after a moment.
Well, not so nice anymore.
And since he had already performed the deed, I was kind of required to go through with his request. After all, my next life was within their hands. Also, this was not a very bad deal as I would not lose the memories of my family and just lose the intensity of my love for them.
If this was the price for making sure my family would thrive without me, this was the price I was willing to pay. Because let's face it, there was nothing I could do for my family from my next life even if I fully retained my strong feelings for them.
From a different angle, things were even better this way.
Thus, I readily agreed.
"All right. I will not explain to you the nature of your [System] as well as how to use it, because all of our products come with guidelines. Read them at your leisure. Now, it is time for you to go."
"And since you have been cooperative with us so far, let me throw in some freebies for your next life. You will start in a very favorable position to begin your journey. This will not be without its challenges, however, as obstacles and trials will better serve our data collection. So, you will have to work hard."
The man snapped his fingers again and I felt a new sensation enveloping me.
"Good luck on your next adventure."
Then, a bright white light consumed me as I knew no more.
*** *** ***
This is my second ever novel, and English is not my native language. Please go easy on me.
That said, constructive criticism and feedback are always welcomed.
Vote and comment, if you have enjoyed this story so far!
See ya next chapter!
Tình trạng nguồn điện hàng tuần
-- Xếp hạng
Quyền lực 
-- Đá
Quyền lực