SIAW Vol. 1 Chapter 0 (PROLOGUE)
Chapter 0 – I died while gaming
When I opened my eyes, a pretty lady in her late twenties was operating a screen, some sort of monitor maybe, floating in midair.
I had no idea where I was, or why I was there in the first place.
I started thinking, trying to make sense of the situation, and the lady spoke to me.
“You have awakened, I see. I will provide a simple explanation of the circumstances, so please keep quiet.”
I wasn’t sure I really understood, but I nodded to show I complied.
“You were playing a video game, in a state of lack of sleep, and the accumulated fatigue caused your heart to stop.”
For some reason, I did not doubt the fact that I was dead. The room I was in, the floating monitor…everything was too different from the reality I was used to.
What I could remember was that for several weeks I played a video game, to the point of neglecting to sleep sometimes, and at some point my chest started hurting…and everything turned dark.
“Er…you do not seem to be too surprised or afflicted by the situation.”
I too was a bit puzzled by my reaction (or lack thereof) and tried thinking back about my life.
～
My school life had been extremely ordinary.
I was bullied a few times, but as long as I endured it, time (graduation) would solve everything.
Once I started working, I was the target of harassment from my boss…and time would not be of use in this case. I had no other solution but to quit.
The same thing happened no matter where I worked: I changed jobs twice, but the results were the same.
Every time I changed jobs, finding a new one became more difficult: when I was in my late twenties, I started working random part time jobs.
While working such jobs too, however, I suffered harassment from the owners and veteran workers, so I changed part time jobs often too.
After quitting several part time jobs, it became difficult to find other opportunities.
After a few weeks of playing video games to escape such a reality, I died. It was exactly the day after my 33rd birthday.
～
“…to be honest, I don’t have any attachments to speak of.”
“Is that so? Well, I will continue the explanation then. The lifecore…or as they call ‘soul’ in the world you were in, then goes through this place and is reborn in a new life. In most cases, the soul is reborn in a different world, and as a different life form. Animals, insects or even creatures that do not exist in your world. All memories and knowledge are gone as well. At least, normally.”
“…normally?”
“Yes, that is the automatic process that is normally employed for the process of reincarnation. In your case, however, we want you to be reborn in a different world with your current memories and knowledge.”
So this was the “reincarnation in a different world” you read so much in light novels these days?
The lady continued.
“A problem appeared in a certain world, you see. As a turning point, they have requested you, a creature with knowledge from another world, to be reincarnated there. The request came directly from the god of that world.”
“…Why me?”
“Eh? I have no idea why you were chosen. I am just in charge of guiding those chosen in this process. By the way, is that really all you have to ask? Do you really understand the situation?”
I didn’t speak much because…you are so pretty that it made me nervous…or at least that’s how I felt, but I could not say it out loud. Besides, even if I had understood the situation to a point, I couldn’t just accept it so easily!
So I retorted in my mind, and tried replying briefly.
“…I think I understand, to an extent. In what kind of world will I be reincarnated in?”
“Do you, really…? Oh well! The place you will be reborn in is…”
The lady then waved her hand over the monitor.
“Let’s see…stats and status are visible, and you can use skills and magic too. You can gain experience points to level up and raise your stats. The skills have a proficiency meter, and they can be leveled up. The technological progress is not as advanced as the world you were in. It’s very similar to the video game you were playing, so maybe that’s why you were chosen?”
If that was the reason, there would have been plenty of candidates in Japan alone.
Putting that aside, hearing about the existence of skills and magic piqued my interest.
I doubted, however, that an overweight, shut-in 33 year old guy could survive in such a world.
“…Are there any bonuses or assistance after the reincarnation?”
So I asked, and the lady looked at me with annoyance.
“Let me guess, you want a ‘cheat skill’, right!? We will provide some assistance and bonuses, but no cheats. Lately every single person wants their own unique cheat! Honestly, I say!”
What? Was she going to send me out to the other world without any help?
I didn’t ask for any cheat, anyway!
I couldn’t complain out loud, but I probably looked dissatisfied: the lady bit her tongue a bit and looked away.
She then started operating the monitor again.
“Oh nice, there’s more assistance than I thought. No cheats, though. The first bonus is that you will be reincarnated as a young man that just became of age. In this world it means…14 years old.”
Hmm, becoming younger was definitely a bonus, but was it enough to guarantee my survival?
“There’s a comprehensive training program too. Well, in the past most reincarnated people died quickly after we sent them to other worlds, so they started this program to help them get acquainted with the new world. The training system itself is created by the administrator — the god of that world, so I can’t tell you the details. What I can say is that in the training facility it’s relatively easy to gain new skills. The training will last three months, or until your species level reaches 10. You are lucky, it is not common to see such a cushy system.”
Training…?
Something like a tutorial for new players?
It sounded definitely better than to be thrown into a new world just like that, but…just three months? How many skills could I gain in such a short time…?
“It’s also possible to se…select abilities and skills before you go. This world’s administrator seems really generous.”
Maybe some error came up? The screen flashed yellow, and the lady swiped the window away. I couldn’t not notice it.
I was much more interested, though, in choosing my abilities and skills. Could I do it in the room I was in now?
“What you can select now is not your stats, but something like your natural talent, your affinities. For example, if you raise the level of your natural talent by two, all growths will receive a bonus…something like that. Well, I’m not sure how effective that would be, though…as for the skills, if you adjust your natural talents you can become specialized in magic, martial arts, or creation…stuff like that. But for each bonus point there will be 2 minus points. If you pick only growth bonuses, you might not be able to learn skills…”
While the lady explained, the screen kept flashing yellow.
Her explanation was hard to understand here and there, but I was interested in the growth bonuses. Picking them, however, would also mean having minus growths elsewhere. Before that, however, I should ask what kind of skills can be learned.
“Are there skills like Appraisal or Item Box? If yes, can they be learned during the training period?”
“Everyone asks for the same skills…as expected. Let’s see…yes, Appraisal and Item Box exist in this world. Unfortunately, however, it doesn’t seem they can be obtained during training. Normally, people are born with them. Do you want to select them now? If you do so, you won’t be able to obtain other skills, though.”
Since I was going to be in a different world with no prior knowledge, Appraisal was a must. Item Box too would surely make it easier to live.
I was a bit worried about not having skills to defend myself, but…
“Okay then, these two. So, what about your natural talent? It’s almost time you go start the training! Choose magic, physical or creation, and I’ll set them up for you, hurry.”
Was the screen flashing yellow so much because of the limited time left?
She should have said so first, then!
How could I decide on my new life in such a short time? I can’t pick between something important like physical, magical and creation so easily!!
I asked another question to the lady.
“If I don’t pick a natural talent, I won’t have any plus or minus growths, is that correct?”
“Yes, that’s right…you won’t have any specialization…but you won’t be especially bad at anything either. There’s no time, okay? I’ll start with no settings for talent!”
There was nothing “okay” about it, but you left me no choice…!
I had plenty of irrational things happen to me in my life, but it seems it was going to continue after death too!
“Yes, that’s fine!”
Exasperated, I agreed.
After one more glance at the lady operating the screen, I blacked out.
◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
After sending away the candidate to the training facility, the lady started operating the screen for the post-transfer settings.
Then, the space next to her twisted and a man appeared.
“Hey!! How many times do I have to call you!? You should answer your boss immediately!!”
The woman stopped working and objected.
“I was in the middle of the explanation to the reincarnation candidate. A process that, as the rules say, takes precedence over everything else. I did not ignore your calls on a whim, sir!!”
“Ah, I see. Sorry about that.”
The man apologized, slightly embarrassed.
“Honestly, sir! You should have realized that there had to be a reason, if I did not answer your calls so many times. Because of your persistence, I couldn’t explain everything properly. If anything happens because of it, you will have to take responsibility!”
“T-That’s not good at all…”
“Now, if you will excuse me, the post-transfer procedures are not complete yet. I will return to my work.”
“All right, but please hurry!”
The woman returned to her work and the man started talking.
“Let me tell you, though, that recently 8 of the reincarnated you were in charge of died within 10 days from the reincarnation.”
“Eh? Really?”
The woman was so surprised she stopped moving for a second.
“Yes, really. That’s why I got orders from above, to take you to them immediately.”
“A-Above…?”
“The top floor to boot! We received loads of complaints from the administrators! Anyway, finish those procedures, stat!”
“Y-Yes…”
The woman started operating the screen again, but she was clearly shaking.
She had already finished setting up the conditions for the “training completion” notice.
According to them, the candidate would receive a notice when “three months pass or they reach level 10”.
When the candidate saw the notice, a final check would be conducted, to see whether they were truly fit to reincarnate or not. If there were no problems, the candidate would be informed that the actual reincarnation was going to be executed at 9 AM of the following day. In case there were any problems, measures would be taken after consulting a manager.
What was left for the woman to do was to set the “time flow speed” in the training facility
It was difficult to have each candidate actually spend three whole months in a facility, so in most cases the time settings would be “one hour in real time corresponds to one month in the training facility”.
The woman too always used this setting.
“Post-transfer procedures complete.”
“Right, let’s hurry.”
“Yes.”
The woman was pale as a sheet. After she replied, she vanished together with her boss.
On the screen, the settings were still displayed.
What they read, however, was one hour in real time corresponds to one year in the training facility…