When Rin opened his eyes again, what came into view was an indescribably unique space.
The surroundings were pitch black, with only a small bright area in front, radiating a deep light like the starry sky.
"Pon-yo?"
Ogerpon held Rin's hand, her small face filled with shock.
The little one had no idea where this was.
What about the promised other world?
How did they end up in such a dark place?
"Don't rush, let me think."
Rin was about to ponder where this was and what kind of world he had arrived in.
The next moment, rays of light bloomed before Rin's eyes.
"Ponooo!!!"
This startled Ogerpon, who quickly conjured her thorn vine stick and shielded Rin behind her.
Don't let Pon's shyness, fear of loneliness, and small appearance fool you.
In critical moments, she truly dared to act.
"Wait a moment."
Rin calmed Ogerpon, and he looked closely.
What appeared before the two of them was a chair, a small round table, and tea and desserts placed on the table.
At this moment, a blue-haired girl was sitting on the chair.
This was a girl of fifteen or sixteen, beautiful beyond Rin's comprehension.
How to describe it?
For some reason, the moment Rin saw the girl, the word "Goddess" popped into his mind.
Yes, besides a goddess, there could simply be no woman in the world with such beauty.
Her clear, aquamarine hair gave an impression of lightness and softness.
Her perfect body, neither too full nor too lacking, was covered in a loose, light purple garment, commonly known as a feather robe.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, the blue-haired girl, who was reciting her lines, seemed to sense something.
She blinked her aquamarine eyes, as clear as her hair color, and stared intently at Rin, and at Ogerpon, who was in front of him, her small mouth open, two small fangs showing, and her expression incredibly cute.
"???"
At this moment, the girl stared back at the two of them.
"Oh my?"
"Oh my my?"
Gradually, the beautiful, long aquamarine-haired girl's expression began to change, as if she hadn't quite grasped the current situation.
Rin and Ogerpon also did not act rashly.
Especially Rin, for some reason, he had a strange sense of déjà vu about this scene, feeling as if he had seen it somewhere before.
Blue hair, goddess-like beauty, and this attire...
"Hold on a minute!!"
Before Rin could speak, a certain idiotic goddess had already exclaimed, "No, who are you two?!"
"Did the reincarnation mechanism malfunction?"
"And where did you two come from?"
"This is overtime! Overtime!"
"Protest! Strongly protest overtime!!"
Aqua had clearly discovered the special nature of Rin and Ogerpon.
As the goddess who managed the destination of young Japanese people's souls after death, no matter how brainless Aqua was, she could tell that Rin and Ogerpon were still alive.
This situation was more like transmigration to another world.
Except the transmigration process was reversed. People from another world had suddenly appeared in this space.
"Ahem, calm down first, Water Goddess Aqua-sama."
"Eh?!"
Hearing Rin call out her name, Aqua was first stunned, then an incredibly smug smile appeared on her face.
"Pfft pfft pfft."
The girl covered her mouth and chuckled, "Although I don't know where you came from, you've heard of the great Water Goddess Aqua."
"There's nothing I can do! Fine, I'll grudgingly accept you!!"
Aqua's reaction made Rin, who had prepared all sorts of persuasion plans, feel like an idiot.
Yes, Rin had deliberately called out her name.
As for the purpose, it was naturally to go to the Konosuba World.
The adventure mechanism there, and the skill points, were very suitable for Rin's current situation, who only had magic power and attributes but no combat skills.
But now...
"You want to go to another world and challenge the Demon King?"
Aqua sat back in her original position, calmly opened a bag of potato chips, and munched on them in front of Rin and Ogerpon.
It was hard to imagine how she could act so impolitely with such a beautiful, sacred face.
Fortunately, he already knew what kind of existence Aqua was.
So, sorry!
No matter how good Aqua looked, Rin didn't want to have any dealings with her.
After all, messing with a fool was against the law.
Not to mention Aqua's personality, who knew how much trouble she could cause if she were by his side.
"Ahem, yes."
Rin said, "This child and I are currently traveling the worlds, and in this process, we defeat powerful opponents and improve our strength."
"Oh."
Aqua didn't think much of it at all. Her empty brain couldn't hold too many things.
Conspiracies and tricks were simply not as important as Rin's phrase, "Water Goddess Aqua-sama."
If they knew her name, they must be her followers.
Aqua was quite lenient with her followers.
"Alright."
Aqua: "Anyway, no one wants to go to that world, so it's even better if you want to help."
"Then..."
Rin revealed his true intentions, "Great, wise, beautiful, noble Aqua-sama, could you give us a little, tiny benefit?"
"Hmph hmph!"
Aqua continued to be engrossed in Rin's flattery, indicating that he spoke nicely and should say more!
"Normally, this kind of thing would definitely not be allowed."
"However, who can stop our great Goddess Aqua!"
"Now! Take it with gratitude, this blessing from the great Upper Goddess Aqua!"
The next moment, Aqua waved her hand, and sheets of parchment fell around Rin like a scattered heavenly maiden's flowers.
"Oh oh oh!!"
Rin: "As expected of Aqua-sama!"
This time, Rin's words were no longer flattery, but from the bottom of his heart.
Giving benefits right off the bat, you're a good person, Aqua.
Although idiotic, when she treated people, she was genuinely willing to spend money.
In the original novel, many of Aqua's debts were due to her spending money to treat the entire guild to meals.
Even for an outsider like Rin, Aqua was still willing to break the rules and give him a cheat.
Just for this straightforwardness, Rin secretly decided: If I see Aqua and Kazuma getting mixed up like they did in the original, I'll lend you some gold, Aqua.
"Choose."
"But, only one."
Aqua pointed at Ogerpon and said, "Its life composition is very special; it's with you, so it can't receive any cheats provided by the gods."
In short, even by the Konosuba world's judgment, Ogerpon is Rin's summoned creature.
If he could get more cheats this way, wouldn't Rin summoning hundreds of skeleton soldiers directly make the gods go bald?
"Alright."
Rin was a bit disappointed, but since it was a world rule, there was nothing he could do.
Greed knows no bounds, and Rin was already very satisfied to get a cheat ability for free from Aqua.
"Oh, right."
His own searching efficiency was too low, so Rin decided to directly ask Aqua: "Is there a cheat that allows for rapid skill learning?"
"Oh, that kind."
Aqua, being bored in her daily life, read many manga and light novels, so she instantly understood Rin's meaning. "Take that one; it allows someone to copy the skills of people they've come into contact with. The limitation is that copied skills are only level 1, and their effectiveness depends on one's own attributes."
This is a setting in Konosuba.
Konosuba's skill points can be spent on any learnable skill, and not just one point, but can be continuously invested.
Just like Megumin's Explosion Magic, it requires a large number of skill points to unlock.
Similarly, upgrading the level of Explosion Magic also consumes skill points.
The reason Megumin's Explosion Magic is so powerful is that she specialized in this skill, spending all her skill points on it.
So, according to Aqua's meaning.
If Rin were to copy Megumin's Explosion Magic, he would indeed get Explosion Magic, but it would only be a level 1 Explosion Magic.
Not only that, if his magic power was insufficient, Rin still wouldn't be able to cast Explosion Magic.
"So, this cheat is pretty useless."
Aqua: "Even so, do you still want it?"
"Hmm..."
Rin didn't decide immediately, but instead asked about several other cheat abilities he thought might be more suitable for him.
Unfortunately, those abilities had more or less certain restrictions and thresholds, and in any case, they weren't very suitable for the current Rin and Ogerpon.
"Alright then."
Having no choice, Rin finally made his selection. "I'll take the skill copying ability."
"So, this..."
Aqua: "What was your name again?"
"My name is Itoshi Rin, and this child is Ogerpon."
"Pon! Popon!"
Ogerpon was completely confused throughout. Her mind was filled with (Who am I, where am I, what am I doing here).
"Rin-san, and your familiar Ogerpon, you are about to go to another world to become one of the reserve heroes to defeat the Demon King, and at the moment you defeat the Demon King, you will receive a gift from the gods."
As Aqua chanted, a bright magic circle lit up beneath Rin and Ogerpon's feet, then slowly lifted the two of them upwards.
Rin did not resist. This was the power of the Konosuba world's gods, far beyond what he could defy now.
Ogerpon was also very sensible, obediently staying in Rin's embrace, neither crying nor making a fuss.
"Oh, Hero! May you stand out among the many reserve heroes and be the one to defeat the Demon King."
"Alright, set off!"
Light enveloped Rin and Ogerpon, leaving only Aqua's voice echoing in their ears.
When the light dissipated, Rin found himself on a medieval European street.
Carriages rumbled over the cobblestones, and in front of the neatly arranged red-brick houses, people came and went, some with beast ears, some with pointed elf ears. Undoubtedly, this was Axel, the beginner town in the Konosuba novel.
(To be continued.)