"...I died?"
"Yes. Don't you remember the accident?"
"As much as I remember, I was returning from my high school with my friends when I saw a small girl trying to cross the road. But then... there was an incoming truck. I ran to save her, and after that, I heard my friends calling me before darkness took over."
When I opened my eyes, I found myself surrounded by complete darkness. Then it looked like the darkness was swallowing me. My head started to hurt—it felt like I could die from the pain—and I collapsed.
When I opened my eyes again, I saw an old man before me who claimed to be God.
"I'm not claiming—I am God."
"O-Oh… yes. So, what will happen to me now?"
"I will send you to a new world. It looks like the seal on your soul, which blocked the memories of your past life, has broken, and you're slowly remembering those memories. Due to that, you can't enter the cycle of reincarnation."
"Can't you just repair that seal?"
"I can, but it might shatter your soul. Do you want to try?"
"N-No, thank you. So… what kind of world will I be transported to? Or will I reincarnate?"
"Hmm, you will transmigrate. I will recreate your new body and give you the necessary magic affinities and other things you'll need there. Oh—and there's someone else there, same as you. Wait a minute, I'll call him here..."
After some time, a person came. He looked not much older than me—maybe 17, just like me.
"What is this? Don't tell me you killed someone accidentally again," he said to the old man.
"No, I did not! What do you take me for?"
"But you did with me," he muttered.
They were talking about something, then the god introduced that person to me.
"This is Saito Takashi. He will help you in the new world and explain everything you need to know. You two should help each other there—and why not act as brothers?"
"I guess… we can do that."
"Then take care, both of you."
Just like that, the empty white space in front of us disappeared.
"That old man… he's always in a hurry whenever he makes a mistake."
"So, your name is Ryo, right?"
"Yes."
"Were you a high schooler too?"
"Yes, I was. I was on my way home from high school when the accident happened."
"Oh, damn. Looks like I forgot to ask about the little girl before..."
"Little girl?"
I explained to Saito what had happened before I had died.
"So you died trying to save a child, huh? I guess that was better than me. I died while swimming—I was struck by lightning. I don't know why, but only I died. Then the god explained it was his mistake. I was super mad at him, but what could I do? So, as compensation, I was sent here. Since I already died in that world, I can't go back there."
"So... what do you plan to do?"
"There are various things you can try. I'd prefer you try adventuring, or maybe starting a shop or restaurant. If you can cook.
why not do all of them I asked,
"Hahaha... You can, but it will require a fortune. It's better to be an adventurer first to earn money. After that, you can even open a shop that sells enchanted weapons to earn more."
"As compensation, God has given us the ability to use every kind of magic. There's fire, water, earth, wind, sand, light, lightning, darkness—and then there's non-elemental magic, which includes teleportation and enchanting stuff."
"The kingdom we are in right now is Belfort, and this city is Aravel. Let's get the things you'll need here first, then we'll go to the capital city, where I'm staying. First, get your adventurer's license and your first quest."
"We're not going to the capital already because the forest is near this city, so we can hunt monsters early."
After buying a katana, we went to the Adventurers' Guild and got registered. The ranks go like this:Black → White → Purple → Blue → Yellow → Orange → Red → Silver → Gold → Platinum
I'm starting as Black rank, and Saito is at Blue rank.
The first quest I took was to hunt 4 horned rabbits. It will give 6 Big Coppers as a reward.
The currency system goes like this:Copper → Big Copper → Small Silver → Big Silver → Gold → Royal Platinum → Royal Coins(10 small coppers = 1 big copper; 10 big coppers = 1 small silver, and so on)
There are also Royal Platinum and Royal Coins, but very few people can get those—according to Saito's explanation.
While talking, we arrived at the place where the rabbits should be.
"There are around six… Wait, those are rabbits? Not dogs? And why the hell are they so fast?!"
Saito said he would help me if I was in danger.
Then I ran toward the rabbits to attack. Surprisingly, it felt like it wasn't the first time I had done this. I instantly killed the rabbits.
Saito asked if I had learned how to wield a katana or sword before.
I answered, "No."
"Then maybe it's thanks to your memories from your past life," he said.
We returned to the guild with the rabbit horns and took our reward. Saito didn't take any, saying he didn't do anything—but the katana I was using was bought by him. I promised to repay him soon.
"Then shall we go to the capital?"
"I guess you should go. I'll stay for a few days, then come to the capital on my own."
"Are you sure about that?"
I said yes. Then Saito guided me to an inn where he had first stayed and taught me some magic: water, fire, wind, and sand, as well as teleportation.
He took me to the capital once, so I could teleport there when I wanted to. Then he returned.
I entered the inn...