"Hahaha! I never expected to meet someone with innate full soul power!"
The man in front of me laughed heartily, his voice filled with genuine delight. For a moment, I simply stared at him, stunned by the warmth in his expression.
He really is happy, I thought.
"What's your name, kid?" he asked, his eyes narrowing with curiosity. Only then did I recognize him—the eccentric dean of Shrek Academy, Flender.
"Oscar," I replied, my voice calm.
Inside, however, my thoughts were anything but calm. That thing really didn't lie. I'm… Oscar.
---
As you might have guessed, I am not the original Oscar. I am someone who transmigrated into the world of Soul Land.
You might ask: How did I get here?
Well, let me tell you.
---
In a pitch-black void, where nothing existed except silence, a faint white silhouette floated. That silhouette was me—a soul without a body, without features, without a future.
"How boring," I muttered. "How long am I supposed to wait here? Hours? Days? An eternity?"
My words echoed into the emptiness. Then, without warning, glowing text appeared before my eyes.
[ You have died. ]
"Yeah, I know."
That's right. I died. Shocking? Maybe. But in truth, it was pathetically anticlimactic. I was caught in a crossfire—police versus robbers. One stray bullet later, game over.
[ You have been chosen to live a new life. Do you accept? ]
"Sure," I said instantly. What else was I going to do, float around forever?
[ Randomizing available worlds… ]
The text flickered.
[ Soul Land 1 ]
[ Jujutsu Kaisen ]
[ Soul Eater ]
"So I get to choose, huh? Not that I know much about these worlds…" I scratched my nonexistent head. "Still, at least in Soul Land, there's a chance to become a god. That sounds better than dying again."
"Alright. I pick Soul Land."
[ World chosen. ]
[ Randomizing Character Identity… ]
[ Selected Character: Oscar ]
[ Character Editing Mode Activated ]
[ Initial Points: 10,000 ]
[ Identity: Oscar ]
[ Fate: Side Character, God Candidate, Love at First Sight ]
[ Innate Soul Power: 10 ]
[ Martial Soul: Sausage ]
"Seriously? I didn't even get to choose? How rude."
But as I studied the interface, I began to understand.
"So I can change my character traits using points. Classic system setup. And I can even gain points by adding disadvantages… Not bad."
I rubbed my chin. "Let's start by changing my martial soul."
[ Martial Soul: Sausage → Pill ]
[ Cost: –100 Points ]
"That's expensive…" I muttered. "What else can I tweak?"
After some brainstorming, I grinned. "External soul bones are too rare anyway. Let's scrap the chance completely."
[ External Soul Bone Drop Rate: 0.5% → 0% ]
[ Points Gained: +5,000 ]
"Nice. Now cut the standard soul bone rate in half too."
[ Standard Soul Bone Drop Rate: 3% → 1.5% ]
[ Points Gained: +7,500 ]
[ Total Points: 22,400 ]
"Excellent. Now for the annoying stuff. Remove 'Side Character' and 'Love at First Sight.'"
[ –6,500 Points ]
[ –500 Points ]
I kept adjusting, trading away weaknesses for strength, until I was satisfied.
"Finally… done." I pressed the confirmation.
[ Customization Complete ]
[ Transport Initializing in 5…4…3…2…1 ]
"Well, goodbye void," I said with a laugh.
[ Good luck, Traveler. ]
The light swallowed me whole.
---