2 Chapter 2: Skill Selection

As soon as I open my eyes, all I can see is white. White floor, white walls, white ceilings, and everything. I realized that I was laying down the white floor. The white room has only walls at all sides. There is no furniture or anything inside but walls.

I try to move my right arm and notice that the arm does not create shadows. Strangely, the room is bright but there is no source of light. I raise my upper body and check myself. I scan my body and I am still clad with my school uniform. Then I look at my legs and think about what is wrong.

(I think I missed something.)

I pondered, thinking something important had been missed. I looked at my legs again and remembered what had happened to me a while ago.

"That right! I died from that accident and lost my legs."

On my way home, I rode a taxi, which got sandwiched between the bus and the truck, and I died in the process. It was the worst experience I'd encountered in my whole life.

"Oh my, it looks like you're already awake."

I was startled at the sudden female voice resonating in the white area. I began scanning the room and found nothing.

"Ah, excuse me, but where am I?" I asked the voice as I looked around.

"You are in a place where the souls are being judged and reborn again." replied the voice.

"Souls?"

I looked again at the room and found nothing again. I could not find anything like a soul but only myself.

"Looks like you are wondering why you are alone here. It is because this is an isolated room for chosen souls like you."

"Me? A chosen soul?" I asked again.

I am a soul? Did I really die in that accident? In that case, did my soul get here because I was chosen to reincarnate, just like in the Isekai novels I read?

"Yes. Once every five hundred years, a soul gets chosen to experience living in another world."

As a thought, I really get a chance to live in another world. This means that I will get a brand new life.

"You are rather calm than I thought." the voice asked.

"Um, I was shocked at first, but if it was really true that I died, then there's nothing I can do about it."

"In that case, I will introduce myself."

After the female voice declared that, a bright light shone in front of me. The lights are so bright that I covered my eyes with my arms.

When the lights dimmed, a single beautiful woman appeared. She wore a white dress that often see to a goddess in a typical Isekai novel. Something like a silver colored tiara is on top of her shoulder length, wavy, golden blonde hair.

Appearance-wise, she looked like a woman in her early twenties, except for one thing. She had three pairs of pure white feathered wings on her back. She looked like a seraph angel, but not the biblically accurate one.

"My name is Prima, the goddess of the world you'll be reincarnating."

The goddess, Prima, introduced herself to me, an average high school boy, in a gentle voice.

"T-thank you for having me, Goddess Prima." I reply in trepidation as I stand.

"There's no need to be nervous, you know?"

"Y-yeah."

I am not confident having a conversation with an opposite gender as the other party. I immediately get nervous when a girl starts a conversation. Maybe because I have no woman in my life aside from my mother. 

Besides, she's a literal god, so I cannot displease her. 

"Well, let's get to the main topic. You were chosen as the one who gets to be reincarnated in my world. My world is a world of sword and magic and we have a leveling system. There are monsters roaming all over the world. So you had to be powerful to survive."

Magic?! So I will be able to use magic in that world? Isn't that amazing? Having magic can make life easier, yes?

"Can I get special powers as perks in reincarnation?"

"Yes, of course. You have a right to choose any skill or power you like as a privilege."

"I see." I said while nodding.

So I can choose a skill or power that I want.

"Do I have a mission to fulfill for? Like defeating a demon lord or protecting humanity from getting destroyed?"

Getting reincarnated means having a responsibility, right? It will be a pain in the ass if I have to save the whole big world from destruction. Being a hero required having a shining, shimmering charisma to encourage the masses. It is so bright for an average, normal me.

"For that, you have no responsibilities at all. You can be a hero, demon lord, sage, ruler, adventurer, a background character, or whatever you want. All you have to do is live as you desire."

There are no responsibilities at all. So I can do what I wanted to do but could not achieve in my previous life. Maybe I can make a lot of fortune to purchase what I want or create a harem full of beautiful, gorgeous girls.

"If you have done what you think, then you can start choosing your desired power." Goddess Prima said, then flicked her fingers.

The white room suddenly began to blur, and a beautiful and colorful garden appeared. The flower garden was filled with plenty of different kinds of flowers, like roses, tulips, sunflowers, and many others.

I looked down and saw a pathway made of red clay bricks. I followed the road with my eye and saw a white gazebo in the middle of the garden.

"Please follow me." the goddess said.

I followed her behind as she walked toward the gazebo. When we arrived, there was a white round table and two white metal chairs. There were a steamy kettle and teacups clipped upside down on the silvery oval plate.

"Sit down and relax." the goddess said while smiling.

"Then, excuse me." I said, then take a seat.

"Have you decided the skills or powers you want?"

"Let see." I said, putting my hand under my chin.

What kind of power do I want? I need to have a strong body first.

"Strength is measured numerically, right?"

"Yes. " the goddess answered my question, already sipping her cup of tea.

"Then, I want a body that has a higher growth rate than the average."

"Hmm."

Having a higher growth rate means a stronger body institution. The more I leveled up, the stronger and more powerful I became. I will be stronger than your average adventurer. It's like having your pocket monster hold a power item.

"Next is to have a skill to store items and weapons."

"Hmm."

It is a hassle to carry heavy luggage and weapons while traveling. It's a very convenient skill for the typical isekai protagonist. It must be nice if I suddenly conjure a weapon in front of my enemies and surprise attack them while they say, 'Where did that come from?!'. If it's a rare skill, I have to be careful because I don't want to stand out.

"I want to have a skill that can create another account in my body where I can distribute my stats freely. Like having a second account in the game."

"That's a new ability, so no one has that skill in my world." she said as she put her cup down.

Hehe, with this skill, I can transform into as many personas as I desire. With this, I can become the Hero or the Demon Lord simultaneously. But that does not mean that I want to be either one of them. It's a hassle, after all.

"I love to have the power to combine skills so that I can have a more powerful skill set."

"Then, as a bonus, I'll make them synthesize without sacrificing the skill."

You're a true god, Goddess Prima! Without the skills being integrated after synthesis, I can combine skills to my heart's content. Infinite possibilities can be created, limited only by your imagination.

"Next, I want a high level appraisal skill and a way to counter it."

"That was a piece of cake!" the goddess proudly said as she puffed her chest.

Not only is she pretty, she is also very kind. What a benevolent goddess this world has. It is good to identify your enemies first before fighting them. Not being able to tell the difference between yourself and the enemy can produce bad results. 'Know your enemy, know yourself, and victory is never in doubt. Not in a hundred battles.' as the famous Art of War quote says.

"Is there a skill that can plunder the skill of the one I killed?" I ask.

"There is, but it's so rare that only a handful of individuals have this skill."

Is that so? Then I can have that appraisal counter to hide it. That skill is so nasty that it gives the user the potential to be the most powerful. Newly acquired(stolen) skills plus the skill synthesizer will be a perfect combination.

"Then I want one." I said.

"Is there anything else?"

"Hmm."

I start thinking of what useful abilities I can have. I have many skills for my body, so what about my items and equipment? Maybe I can enchant my magic spells on something to make it a consumable item?

"I think I want a skill that can enchant an item or weapon."

"Noted~" she said adorably while writing on a notepad.

She is so cute that it makes me want to donate all of my fortune to her church. Let's give her a prayer every time I visit a church or even a chapel in her world.

"Um, can the body be modified?"

"Yes, it is possible."

"Then, can I parallel my mind and have a computer installed in it?"

"What a peculiar ability to have. For suggesting an unusual power, I have it to connect to your previous world's internet, too."

"Whoa! Thank you very much!" I thanked the goddess for her generosity.

Having internet access means I can ask whatever I want to know! Having information and watching video tutorials makes my life easier. When I get bored, I can just entertain myself by reading manga and novels and watching my favorite anime online! At night, maybe I can watch explicit videos before going to sleep.

I sense that Goddess Prima is glaring at me as if she can read my mind.

"You are thinking something indecent just now, aren't you?"

"N-not at all!"

"Is that so? Then, you have to be more careful from now on."

"I understand."

Crap! I almost got caught just now. I forgot that the woman in front of me is a god. There is a chance that she has mind reading powers. I regained my composure and told her about the skills I have in my mind.

"I also want my attacks to have guaranteed effects."

"A warrior from one thousand years ago also wished that, so you'll be the second holder of that skill."

It's a rare one, but the anti-appraisal skill can handle that. Successful attacks like defense penetration can be useful against powerful enemies. I can consider this one of my trump cards.

And what kind of power do I want more of? I guess that's all I want right now. I just get the necessary skills from the monsters and synthesize them. There is no need to be greedy at all.

"I guess that's all I need now." I declare.

"In that case, I'll prepare your reincarnation now." she said as she closed her notepad.

Being reborn in another world must be fun. New people, a new environment, and new experiences. I can't help but feel excited. People in my previous world like my family, friends, and many others must be saddened by my sudden departure. I did not even have a girlfriend yet.

"Are you ready now?" the goddess asked.

"Yes."

"Remember, live as you wish, and there's no need to hold back." she said with a warm smile.

A warm white light suddenly envelopes my body. I feel a little dizzy, but it becomes more severe, and I feel like my consciousness is gradually fading. I close my heavy eyes as my strength fades.

That accident must be a blessing in disguise…