(Ah, if I were to be reborn, I’d like to live a leisurely life…)
In a room of a certain hospital, a young man connected to various tubes was thinking such things just before his death.
My name is Hikaru Tendo. I lost my parents in a fire when I was five years old, and since then, I had lived in a facility until I was eighteen. After that, I got a job and started living alone, but my workplace was a small factory, a subcontractor of a subcontractor of a major corporation. I was made to work from morning till night, and my salary was a pittance. Every day, almost all of my salary went to rent and food expenses. I had a laid-back personality, but I was exhausted from a life where I had neither the time nor the money to relax.
After about two years of such a life, one day, I collapsed at work. The cause was, of course, overwork. When I lost consciousness and was taken to the hospital by ambulance, it was already too late, and despite life-prolonging measures, I was now facing the moment of death. The fact that I regained consciousness for a moment just before death, was it the mercy of a god who gave me time to prepare for death, or was it a conspiracy of a grim reaper to make me taste the fear of death?
(Either way, it doesn’t matter to me, who is about to die.)
Lamenting my life, I quietly lost consciousness again.
▽▽▽
“Huh? Where is this? Am I not dead yet?”
I, who should have lost consciousness in the hospital, woke up in a pure white space for some reason.
I was wearing a gown-type patient’s uniform that I would have been given at the hospital, but other than that, there was not even a bed, let alone walls or doors. I was confused, not even knowing if I was standing or floating.
“It’s neither,”
A beautiful voice, probably a woman’s, was heard. No, it felt more like it was resonating directly in my head rather than being heard.
“Uh, who is it?”
I answered the voice that resonated in my head, speaking out loud. It seemed my head was still in a state of utter confusion.
“So, it’s neither the mercy of a god nor the conspiracy of a grim reaper.”
Oh, is that the answer to the question I was thinking about last in this world… wait, why do you know what I was thinking? In the first place, is this the real world? Various questions flew around in my head, but not a single answer could be found. My confusion only deepened.
“It seems you’re confused by the sudden situation. Very well. I shall explain everything from the beginning!”
The woman’s voice resonated in my confused head again. I was a bit bothered by the slightly condescending tone, but if she was going to explain, there was no reason to refuse.
“My name is Astartina. I am a goddess from another world, as you would call it. I was looking for a soul to reincarnate into the world I manage, and I happened to find your soul, so I came to ask you this favor.”
Okay, this is a dream. I’m still in a hospital bed, and this is a dream I’m having just before I die. But that’s strange. It’s usually a given that you see a revolving lantern before you die, but this doesn’t look like a revolving lantern at all.
Did she take it as if I was ignoring her while I was organizing my thoughts, because the self-proclaimed goddess’s voice resonated with a slightly excited tone.
“Hey, you’re thinking this is a dream, aren’t you! It’s not! You can really, really reincarnate into another world! This kind of chance is rare. You should be grateful!”
“Ah… thank you.”
I was surprised by the self-proclaimed goddess, whose mental age suddenly dropped, and while thinking that the conversation was strangely realistic for a dream, I was overwhelmed by her momentum and unintentionally thanked her.
“Very well! Then, I’ll continue the explanation. Ahem. The world you will be reincarnated into this time is called ‘Forntia’. It’s a bit different from the Earth you were on, and it’s a fantasy world where swords and magic exist.”
The self-proclaimed goddess, pleased with my thanks, began to speak again in a solemn tone. Even so, a fantasy world, huh? My knowledge of that area is limited to a few tattered light novels I read when I was in the facility. And yet, to have such a dream… is this what they call the subconscious?
“I told you it’s not a dream! Well, whatever. I’ll continue the explanation.”
Oops, it seems the self-proclaimed goddess read my thoughts again. Well, if it’s my dream, it’s natural that my thoughts would be read.
However, the explanation continued, strangely realistic for a dream, with words I had never heard before.
“Even though it’s reincarnation, Forntia is a rather harsh environment for humans to live in, so I’ll give you a special bonus. That bonus is—drumroll—the right to choose your race and skills! Ta-da!”
Hmm, some words I don’t understand have come up? How is it possible that words I don’t know are coming up in my dream? And that last “Ta-da,” is she expressing applause with her voice!? What a cringy person, the self-proclaimed goddess is.
“Ugh, I’m not a cringy goddess! I’m a pure, beautiful, and popular goddess!”
What is this exchange? This exchange is so realistic that I’m starting to think this isn’t a dream but reality.
“…That’s why I’ve been saying from the beginning that it’s not a dream. Okay, let’s get back on track and continue. Next, I’ll explain the races and skills you can choose.”
As soon as the goddess finished speaking, a semi-transparent window appeared in front of me.
From the top, it read “Dragonoid,” “Demon,” “Elf,” “Dwarf,” “Beast,” and “Human.”
“The races you can choose are only those listed there. The higher you go, the higher the basic abilities, and the ‘Dragonoid’ is one of the strongest races in Forntia. However, if you choose ‘Dragonoid,’ you will only receive one skill. And, for each race you go down, you will receive one more skill. This is a rule to balance the strength. Skills are special abilities, and I’ll make it so you can see a list of them after you reincarnate, so you can choose carefully later.”
I see. In short, the Dragonoid is the strongest, and the Human is the weakest. However, the Human can receive six skills, while the Dragonoid can only receive one. Balancing the strength means that, depending on these skills, even a Human can fight on par with a Dragonoid.
However, I’m not very interested in strength. Of course, if reincarnation is real, I’d be troubled if I died immediately after reincarnating, so I need at least enough power to survive… but frankly, I only need enough power to live a leisurely life. Thinking about it that way, I definitely don’t want to be a Dragonoid. Being one of the strongest races means there’s a high chance of getting caught up in battles against my will.
On the other hand, if I became a Demon, I’d probably be a target for subjugation, and Elves and Dwarves also seem like rare races, so I’d stand out. I’m a little interested in Beastmen, but I guess Human is the way to go. I’ll blend in with the most numerous race, get six skills that seem useful for living, and live a slow, leisurely life. That’s the only way!
I, who am gradually starting to think that this isn’t a dream, asked the goddess with anticipation.
“Goddess-sama, I’ve decided! Please make my race the one at the very bottom!”
I felt that the goddess was surprised by my words for some reason.
Was it that unexpected that I would choose a Human?
“Hee, I didn’t expect you to choose the very bottom. I’ve reincarnated dozens of people so far, but you’re the first to choose the very bottom.”
Oh, so there were people who reincarnated before me. I don’t know when it was, but it might be good to look for them in that world. Even so, with dozens of people, there should be someone who chose Human, right? I guess Dragonoids are popular after all.
“Alright, then I’ll choose the race at the very bottom.”
As the goddess said that, the “Dragonoid” on the window in front of me started to blink, and the blinking moved down one by one. “Demon,” “Elf,” “Dwarf,” “Beast,” and then the last “Human” blinked. The next moment I thought, “Am I finally going to reincarnate?” something unbelievable happened in front of me.
The window scrolled down.
“Eh!?”
Ignoring my surprised voice, the blinking moved to the newly appeared races.
“Humanoid Monster,” “Monster,” “Animal,” “Insect,” “Plant,” and finally, the last one blinking was “Moss.”
“W-w-wait a minute!? Why is it scrolling!? I didn’t hear about this! Wasn’t the very bottom ‘Human’ !?”
I panicked. I panicked more than I ever had in my life. I mean, who would expect it to scroll, right? And what’s at the very bottom? Moss, of all things. What am I supposed to do as a moss? I’ll either get eaten right away or wither and die, that’s it.
“Ehh, I didn’t say anything like that. If you wanted to be a human, you should have clearly said ‘human.’ It’s your fault for saying ‘the very bottom’~”
Ugh. That’s certainly a valid point, but I can’t back down here. If I admit defeat here, I’ll become “moss.”
“Please, let me do it again. I’ll choose human properly this time!”
However, my body, desperately shouting, began to glow mercilessly. Could this be the start of the reincarnation?!
“Please, Goddess-sama! I’ll do anything, just turn me into a human!”
But the Goddess-sama’s answer was…
“Too bad. Once a race is decided, even I can’t change it. But, as a perk for being ‘moss,’ the weakest, you can choose 15 skills. However, if you don’t choose proper skills, you’ll either wither or get eaten right away, so be careful. Oh, and the place you’ll be reincarnated is random!”
As I listened to the Goddess-sama’s heartless answer, the light emanating from my body grew stronger and stronger, and just as I thought it was going to explode, I lost consciousness again.