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I loved the heat of the forge.
My family was a traditional blacksmith lineage that had become rare in modern times, hammering iron since the days of distant ancestors.
Like my ancestors and my father before me, I made hammering iron my profession, finding pride and happiness in that work.
The heat that billowed out when melting metal in the furnace.
The heat that burst forth when hammering iron on the anvil.
The heat that spread from the steam during the final quenching.
I loved all that heat.
I delighted in the very process of creating something with my own hands.
Of course, that didn't mean I filled every aspect of my life with blacksmithing. Even though I'd handled iron and been close to fire since childhood, I was still a spirited youth.
Type-Moon, Nightrun, Dark Souls, the Monogatari series...
These were the things I conquered in my spare time while blacksmithing.
When I tried to actually make the Greatsword of the Firelink Shrine from Dark Souls and got caught by my father, I thought I was really dead...
■■■? What are you doing now?
Ah, Father.
So, about this...
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...Instead of making a proper sword, you're forging some weird, bizarre-shaped thing from a game that you can't even use... is that what you're saying?
No, Father. I think something's being twisted here...
■■■.
...Yes.
You know, I never stopped you or got angry when you saw something strange and tried to copy it.
That... is true, right?
...I must have spoiled you too much.
Fa...ther...?
Let's have a little talk.
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It was three months of bed rest. Almost getting kicked out of the family registry was a bonus.
The Greatsword of the Firelink Shrine, which was about 50% complete, melted away into molten metal... Tch.
Because of that, I didn't have a normal conversation with my father for almost a year.
And at the age of twenty-seven, I died.
It was a cliché development, if anything.
On my way back after drinking with middle school friends, I saw a person staggering across a crosswalk.
A car speeding fiercely toward them. Drunk driving, perhaps.
I pushed that person out of the way, but thanks to the alcohol filling my body, I couldn't move in time myself.
And then, crash.
The moment I felt the pain, I realized.
Ah, I'm going to die.
And...
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Where is this?
It's like the space with the Truth from Fullmetal Alchemist.
Everything is filled with white. Is this what a mental hospital feels like?
Hmm... I died, and now I'm in a white space.
Three possibilities.
Possibility one: I'm dreaming in a vegetative state.
Possibility two: Everything is my delusion.
Possibility three: It's a reincarnation waiting room.
Should I give it a poke?
"Hey, if you're going to revive me, hurry up. It's boring."
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Failure...?
["Ah, sorry, sorry. I forgot that human time perception is very fast."]
...For real?
Only the voice is heard, and no form is visible. Is that how it is? If humans face it recklessly, their minds can't withstand it?
["Ah, it's not like that. My human avatar is on the surface right now. If you really want to meet and talk, I have animal avatars too. Should I send one of those?"]
Of course, it's reading my thoughts and answering. As expected, it's a god. And about the avatar, yes. Even so, just hearing a voice is a bit...
As soon as I thought that, a weasel appeared before me with a popping sound... and did it just make that sound with its mouth?
["Yep"]
Responding in text speak... is this really a god...
["That's right~ I'm God, the all-knowing, all-powerful transcendent deity!"]
So why am I here?
["Since you saved me, I thought I'd give you a present."]
Me? Saved who? A god?
In my life, I've helped people, but I've never saved anyone...
Eh, the person I pushed?
["Yes, that person! I usually turn off my omniscience and omnipotence and live a leisurely life in a human body. But the annoying thing is, once I die, I have to start over from the beginning, so I have to go through the infant and teenage years again where I can't do anything... Of course, there's plenty to enjoy in those times too, but not being able to do anything is boring, right?
Earlier, I said my human avatar can't come now, right? Thanks to you pushing me, I survived, but I sprained my ankle and am getting simple treatment at the hospital."]
You really do see everything in this world... The person I saved right before dying was a god's avatar... No, was this common in Indian mythology?
["So I decided to give you a present myself! By the way, resurrection is impossible. Even for me, breaking the laws I made myself is a bit much, so let's go with reincarnation!"]
Can I do it as transmigration?
["Sure, if you want. But your body will be reconstructed to fit that world, though your appearance will stay the same. Is that okay?"]
Of course. Among the things I inherited from my parents, this is the only thing I can take with me, so I have to keep it.
["Okay~ So, which world?"]
...Dunmanchu, ten years before the original. Possible?
["Who do you think I am? I'm God, God! Messing with the time axis of a lower dimension is as easy as pie!"]
Right, you did say you were an all-knowing, all-powerful transcendent deity earlier.
Then for Development Abilities, Mystery, Dan-ya, Flame Resistance, and... take measures so I don't forget any of the memories from when I was alive.
["Hmm... You really are a blacksmith to the bone. That aspect of humans is fascinating. To pour everything into one single thing. For Development Abilities, I'll put Dan-ya in from the start and make the other two appear continuously upon leveling up. I'll handle the memories. What about magic? Don't need it?"]
Well, I can leave one thing to fate.
["Then may the stars be with you on your journey. Farewell."]
Bye.
And the white space inverted, turning into a black space, and my consciousness also darkened.
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My adventure is now beginning.