Hello. I am Satoru Mikami—Japanese by birth, and Indian by soul.
And no, I don't mean that metaphorically. I mean it literally.
This is my second life.
After dying once, I was reincarnated as a baby and lived an entirely new life. And let me tell you—dying sucks. It sucks even more when you die while living a good life.
In my previous life, I was doing well for myself. I had a stable job, went on a few dates, and had a loving family. Then—bang. A plane crash. And I was dead.
I don't think anyone survived. And if someone did, they probably used up all their luck for the rest of their life. It was around the year 2025, I think.
Anyway… where was I? Ah, right—me dying. Yeah. Once again, dying sucks.
But I was lucky enough to get another chance. You might be thinking that surely my second life must have been special.
…Nope. Nothing like that.
It was still a good life, though. I had a decent job at a big company and a healthy love life too. I never found someone to spend my life with, but that was fine. I was content.
Now, I'm 37 years old, living alone—a willful bachelor.
My family is supported by my elder brother now. I became a little detached from them, and God forgive me for this, but it felt awkward having new parents after calling someone else Mom and Dad my entire previous life.
My face was that of an above-average guy. Nothing too handsome, but decent. And I was taller than most Japanese men.
"Senpai, thanks for waiting."
I was pulled out of my thoughts by a voice from behind me.
Today, my junior from work had invited me out for lunch. He was a good-looking guy named Tamura, with a refreshing and energetic vibe. Beside him was a small beauty clinging to his arm.
She was a receptionist in our company—the Madonna of the office. Her name was Sawatari-san, if I remembered correctly.
They were getting married and wanted to thank me—and also ask for some advice for their future.
Well, it was Tamura who had asked for love advice in the first place, and he ended up winning the girl.
We had agreed to meet at the pedestrian crossing not far from our office, and that's where I was standing under a post, lost in thought.
I rarely remembered my past life these days. I wondered what had triggered it today… and what this strange sense of déjà vu was about.
Hmm… whatever.
"So, what did you want to ask?"
I turned to Tamura, nodding slightly toward Sawatari-san.
"It's nice meeting you. I'm Sawatari Miho. This is our first time properly talking even though we see each other often… I'm a little nervous."
I was cringing inside. I was pretty indifferent toward women at work and usually kept to myself. Hopefully, there weren't any rumors about me being gay in the company.
"Hello, I'm Mikami Satoru. Just relax, Sawatari-san. You're already famous in our company, so you don't really need to introduce yourself. Tamura and I were in the same university and bonded during company training. We've known each other since then."
"F-Famous…? Are there weird rumors about me in the company?"
"Indeed. Like how you're having an affair with Chief Minami, or that you dated Akari-kun."
I couldn't stop myself from teasing. I only meant it as a light joke—but it was cute seeing Sawatari-san turn red and teary-eyed.
My jokes seriously lacked delicacy. People often told me I should stop, but I always spoke before thinking.
As expected, this time was a failure too. Yep. I really do have a bad personality.
Tamura quickly patted Sawatari-san's shoulder and began consoling her.
Damn you, Tamura! In a situation like this, I should be shouting, "Explode, you riajuu!" or something.
"Senpai, please have mercy! And Miho, he's just teasing you."
Tamura smiled as he smoothed things over. He really was a capable junior—pleasant, hardworking, and difficult to hate.
Tamura was only 28, and despite the large age gap between us, we somehow got along well. Guess I had no choice but to give them my honest blessings.
"I'm sorry about that. You know what my personality is like. Anyway, instead of standing around here, let's go find a place to eat. I'll listen properly there."
I thought, "That was fun."
But just as I finished speaking—
"Kyaaaaaa!"
A scream tore through the air, followed by sudden chaos.
"What was that? What's happening?"
"Move! I'll kill you!"
I turned toward the voice and saw a man running straight at us, holding a kitchen knife and a bag.
Another scream rang out. The man was getting closer. In his hand—a kitchen knife. And the blade was pointed toward—
"TAMURAAAAAAA!"
Thud!
I shoved Tamura aside.
Stab!
A sudden burning pain exploded in my back.
"Don' get'm in mah way!"
I stared at the shrieking man as he ran past us and fled. Then I turned back and confirmed that both Tamura and Sawatari-san were safe.
Tamura rushed to my side, his voice shaking as he screamed my name.
I guess this is what it feels like to go to hell.
Now I understood what that sense of déjà vu was.
This was the world of Tensura.
And I was the main character before reincarnation—Satoru Mikami.
Haha… funny that it took dying once again for me to remember this.
It's hot. All this blood…
>Confirmed. Acquiring Fire Resistance… Successful.
Arrgh… damn it, that stab hurts. My body feels awful.
> Confirmed. Acquiring Piercing Resistance… Successful.
Confirmed. Acquiring Physical Attack Resistance… Successful.
Confirmed. Acquiring Pain Immunity… Successful.
That's a lot of blood… I'm definitely going to die from blood loss. It's getting cold too… haha. Just when I was finally living a normal life.
> Confirmed. Designing a body that does not require blood… Success.
Confirmed. Acquiring Cold Resistance… Successful.
Heat Resistance and Cold Resistance merging to form Thermal Fluctuation Resistance… Successful.
Hmm… my computer data was deleted, if I remember correctly… You really should back that stuff up. You can die with peace of mind… haha, very funny.
> Confirmed. Data elimination commencing… Error. No data available.
Acquiring Electrical Resistance… Successful.
Acquiring Paralysis Resistance… Successful.
These voices I'm hearing… they must be the Voice of the World, right?
What was I supposed to say again? Ah, right.
"In my next life, I want to be a predator…"
> Confirmed. Acquiring Unique Skill [Predator]… Successful.
Yup. And then there was the part about living as a virgin for 30 years and becoming a Sage… a few more years and I'd become a Great Sage.
> Confirmed. Acquiring Extra Skill [Sage]… Successful.
Evolving [Sage] into Unique Skill [Great Sage]… Successful.
Acquired Unique Skill [Great Sage].
Hmm… I got all the same skills that Rimuru had, huh.
I was already a reincarnated guy. I really wished I had some cheat in this life.
That Marvel novel with the gacha system was pretty awesome… I'd want something like that.
> Confirmed. Acquiring the essence of Gacha from the memory of the target… Error. Not within soul limit.
Acquiring Gacha essence within soul limit…
Acquired Unique Skill [DimensionalGacha]… Successful.
"…"
I was speechless.
And beyond excited for my new life—once again.
...
Some Power stones If you will.