'Uhumm, another successful day of gamble,' I thought happily as I looked at the graph in front of me.
Hello everyone, I am Steve Mason, a guy as awesome as possible, considering that I always had great luck - almost like a superpower.
I was an orphan in an orphanage, so no inheritance, but an old guy decided to adopt me and then died about four months later, leaving me a million dollars.
I sucked at studies, so I figured jobs were probably not the way for me. Instead, I got into stock market trading.
Now, as I said, I am no genius, but I can understand the basics of a graph, and luck was always on my side. So, I would buy and sell short-term stocks daily.
It pretty much became a hobby of mine. But hey, that hobby made me over a hundred million dollars, so I would like to argue that I have one of the best hobbies there are.
Now, what do you do when you know you are an idiot but also rich?
You enjoy life.
And that's what I did. I got an unhealthy addiction to binge-watching stuff like movies, web series, anime… everything.
And no, I did not turn into a NEET. I mean, technically I was one, but hey, I was a self-made millionaire, and boy did I utilize that money.
Unlike ordinary otakus who go to Comic-Con or anime conventions to watch cosplayers, I had personal cosplayer orgies where I had beautiful women cosplay as anime characters and have sex with me.
All this lasted for about 15 years, until I turned 33 - which happens to be today.
Why? Because I fucking died.
Poisoned pizza.
The delivery guy was out for revenge.
Reason? I fucked his girlfriend…
But hey, I am not the one at fault here. I paid her for sex. Shouldn't he be taking it out on her instead? I was just the client here, right?
I mean, if she's open to whoring around, then if it wasn't me, it would have been someone else she slept with. The problem here is clearly not me.
The strange part is that I don't even know who his girlfriend was… I mean, I have slept with hundreds of women, how am I supposed to remember them all?
As for how I know all this, about my cause of death and all - was the delivery guy kind enough to act as a proper villain and spit out his entire plan before killing me? No.
It was this kind gentleman sitting right in front of me. Apparently, he is just a projection created by some Omniverse management system.
What happened was, my luck kicked in again, and I was getting another shot at life.
Did I want it? Heck no. I would rather return. My life was going good enough.
"Anyways, who was she anyway? The girlfriend," I asked the man in front of me.
"Well, here's her picture. You wouldn't remember her otherwise." The man, with his consistent stoic appearance, swiped his hand and a picture appeared.
"What? I died for fucking her? She isn't even that beautiful. Amongst the lower tier of women I've slept with… dang it, I would have felt slightly better if she was at least a bit more beautiful…" I sighed.
I mean, I died for a girl, and she wasn't even beautiful enough to die for… To be honest, that's just sad.
"Alright, that's enough of your ranting. As I said, you are going to get reincarnated, and you will replace a character from a preexisting verse. You can also have a wish, but you must ask for something similar or related to the character you get. You only get 10 seconds. If you can't think of something suitable in 10 seconds, you only get reincarnation, no cheats," the emotionless man explained.
"Only 10 seconds, huh… alright. So how do I know the world and character I am getting reincarnated as?" I asked, preparing myself. I needed to be in peak state of mind - the ten seconds would likely determine the rest of my upcoming life.
"It depends on your luck. You draw a lottery."
"Luck? Heck yeah, I believe in my luck. Bring it on!"
"Sure." A massive machine appeared in front of me.
There was a large button in the front, and anyone with more than one brain cell could figure out that I needed to press that button to start the lottery. So, I did just that as soon as the machine appeared.
A few moments later, the result appeared.
Highschool DxD.
'Nicee!! A world with titties and sex everywhere, full of beautiful ladies. Moreover, no need of using brain, just press tits and grow stronger. Definitely my kind of world.'
"Hell yeah! So, do I get to choose the character I would reincarnate as, or is it another lottery? I'm fine with either," I asked excitedly.
"Hmm, you have adapted to this rather fast - definitely amongst the top 0.001% of reincarnators," the man said, nodding with a smile that seemed rather fake.
"Although I would rather return to my previous life, since I am dead, there's no need to think about it much. Better to just enjoy the present and prepare for the future. Too much thinking is bad for you," I replied casually with a smile.
"Well said. Now, onto the character lottery. Remember, as soon as you draw it, you only get 10 seconds. Therefore, get ready." The man smiled again and waved his hand. The lottery machine changed a bit, but the function remained the same.
This time, unlike the previous one, I took a deep breath and calmed myself. Sure, I believed in my luck, but my brain? Not so much.
And this time, it was not just my luck I needed - I had to use my brain too. Well, maybe I was lucky enough to get something I could easily think of…
I sighed, steeled myself, then, with a serious face, stepped forward and pressed the button.
The machine flared into action, several names buzzing until finally, one appeared.
Riser Phenex.
And the countdown began.
'Riser Phenex… third-rate beginner villain, a devil, phoenix powers… I need something similar, and powerful too… Marco's devil fruit? Too weak for DxD, I don't want to struggle there… Umm… Yes!!! That would work!'
"Phoenix Force!! I want the Phoenix Force from Marvel!" I practically shouted, fearing I would be too late. But for a 10-second question, I think I chose the best one… I guess I was lucky enough to think of that so fast.
"Hmm, 9 seconds only. And yes, it's compatible with Riser Phenex enough to not raise completely unexplainable questions… Therefore, granted. You will be born fused with the Phoenix Force, and as you grow up, will unlock its entire capabilities," the man said, showing no emotion.
"Would I need to train for it?" I asked, almost groaning at the prospect.
"You would need to train your control. It will integrate on its own, though. Since you are technically a phoenix, your control would be much better than that of Marvel characters with the Phoenix Force," the man explained calmly.
"I see, that's good to hear. No need for training struggles. I believe with the complete Phoenix Force, I should be considered amongst the strongest, even after counting the ExE verse," I replied happily. After all, I get to be lazy and enjoy another life, and this time, I am immortal.
"Very well. Off to your new life. Remember, you will be born with some powers of the Phoenix Force. Essentially, you will be termed as a born super devil, just like Sirzechs Lucifer. And your Phoenix Force will merge with you, enhancing you, so it won't be like you are the wielder of the Phoenix Force… Instead, you are the Phoenix Force. Got it?" the man explained in detail.
"Got it. Thanks for everything. I am ready now," I said with a smile.
He nodded, and everything turned dark.