It all started one day after I got back from school. I was exhausted, so while walking to my room, I thought that was the reason for my blurry vision. At least before I collapsed onto the floor. I woke up in a black, empty room that seemed to be both endless and incredibly small. Suddenly, a circle made of eight spheres of light appeared around me. As the room around me began to gather color, the spheres began changing form, until they were human... Or, at least mostly human? While four of them were definitely human, the other four all had something weird about them. There was a tall, blonde woman with unusually sharp ears, and a short guy with a remarkably wide torso. I thought one was wearing cat ears and a tail, until I saw the ears twitch and the tail swing from side to side. However, the last one was the weirdest. Each time I looked at her, she seemed to have a different appearance. When the lights around them disappeared, one of them took a step closer - an older-looking gentleman, carrying a scythe. His white hair seemed to be both unwashed and clean at the same time. He was wearing a black suit with a red tie and a golden watch on his right arm. His beard, while long, seemed to be well-groomed. As he spoke, his voice seemed to carry no emotion.
???: Greetings, young man. My name is Menborh, and I am the god of death. I want to apologize for your early death. You see, after a human is born, I determine their length of life. Unfortunately, while I was writing your lifespan, the number I was going for was 91, but a mistake on my part caused me to put down 19. That's why you, Jack, will be reincarnated in a different world.
That's when realization hit me; I was dreaming. I mean, there's no way something like "reincarnation" exists, right? Right?
Jack: What do you mean by mistake?
Though the man's face didn't show it, I was sure he was embarrassed.
Menborh: At the time of your birth, we acquired our first laptop. Without really focusing, I pressed both buttons simultaneously, which caused the number to be so low. But don't worry! While in the other world, you'll live out the rest of your lifespan.
Now I'm sure it's a dream. I mean, what kind of lazy writer would come up with such a start? As I wondered what to say, the woman, her form shifting constantly, drew closer, now with a darker shade of skin and pointy ears. Her clothes seemed to stay the same: a simple, white dress and a pair of sandals. Her hair, now black, seemed to shine with each step. She put a hand on my forehead, and a weird light started glowing there.
???: As my counterpart told you, Jack, you are truly dead. And I, Qhuotz, the goddess of life, will grant you a new vessel for your spirit to inhabit in a different world.
The catgirl stood next to her, placing an arm on my shoulder.
???: I, Uxphine, the goddess of magic, grant you the ability to use both elemental and higher magic. Once you're awake, your bag will contain a notebook with all the spells you'll be able to cast.
Before I could say anything, I felt my consciousness slip again. This time, when I woke up, I was surrounded by trees and bushes. Instead of the clothes I wore to school that day, I now wore a simple-looking white shirt, a black cloak, fingerless gloves, black pants, and a pair of grey shoes. Looking around, I noticed a bag on the ground. When I picked it up, it contained a filled waterskin, some jerky, a map, and two notebooks: one was about the country I'm inside, and the other one with the magic spells the "goddess" told me about. Flipping through the pages, I noticed the book was separated into seven different chapters, each corresponding to one magic type. The first four were the typical elemental magic: earth, water, fire, and air. The other three were put in a classification called "higher magic": light, darkness, and gravity. I tried to read them, but most of the spells were illegible, looking as if someone had poured water over the pages. The only spells I could read were "heal" in light magic, "void" in dark magic, and "push" in gravity magic. At the end of the notebook, there was a note from the "goddess" informing me that all spells will appear readable over time. Looking into the bag's second pocket, I found a bundle with money and two daggers in their sheaths, quickly adding them to my belt. With that, I took the map in my hand, opened it, and using the sun's position, I started walking to the nearest village. Approaching its outer wall, I saw a line of caravans going into the city. I quickly made my way to the gate, where I waited in a short line before being let into the town. Inside, the first thing I noticed was the fact that there were only humans. I thought that since half of the "gods" had different races, the city would be filled with them, but it looks like I was wrong. I wanted to go out and have some fun on a quest, but one of the guards stopped me, saying that only adventurers and guards are allowed to fight. Normally, I'm not stopped by stuff like that in my dreams, but I decided to go and register as an adventurer. After finding the guild, I walked inside and saw many people staring at something. They all had glares, disgust visible on their face. Some of them even looked like they might get up and try to kill it. Turning my gaze towards the same direction, I saw a young woman, who appeared to be no older than twenty, standing there, picking a quest. She was wearing a chestplate and vambraces, with a simple black shirt underneath. Her legs were covered with gray pants and black boots with steel protection on the front. It was easy to see that she was uncomfortable, but she tried to hide it as much as she could. Before I turned my gaze away, I saw a pair of cat ears and a tail, similar to the "goddess" I saw before. Unlike the goddess, her tail had a stripe, from the tip to the base. It was the first time I saw someone who wasn't human, which surprised me, and I continued to look at her until she turned around. Once she saw me staring, I quickly averted my gaze and went to the guild receptionist to register. Upon arriving at the rows of receptionists, I was given an application to fill out and then asked for a one silver tax. After that, I walked to the quest board, wondering about which quest to take. "Gathering"? How boring. "Lost pet"? Don't make me laugh. I'm not wasting my dream on a boring task like one of these. That's when I saw the perfect quest for me: "Killing goblins". A mission to eliminate ten goblins terrorizing a farm near the village. After taking the quest, I returned to the receptionist and had the quest stamped as mine, then headed to the outskirts of the town. Walking there, I saw an armory shop and thought about buying some, but then I remembered I'm in a dream. If I get hurt here, I'll wake up, and it'll be over. I turned away from the building and continued walking to the farm. Once there, I looked around before spotting two of the goblins. I took one of the daggers out of its sheath and prepared for a fight. I slowly walked from their backside before cutting at one of the monsters. It got hit, but the blade didn't go through it, cutting part of its neck before the goblin jumped away. That's when the other goblin hit me... And I felt it. But, I'm dreaming, right? I shouldn't feel pain, right? Looking down, I saw a cut, gushing with thick, fresh blood. I used "push" to get away from them and touched the cut. It stung. I could feel pain, and I wasn't waking up. Does that mean I'm not sleeping? Am I really dead? I used "heal" on the painful scratch to get rid of it, and then I used the grass to clear the blood. I took out the second dagger to continue the fight. The goblin I cut before bled out away from the battle, but not before calling the other goblins for help. The situation is me versus nine goblins. I have no combat experience, and I've just discovered that I could die. As the enemies got closer, I flung the daggers around, trying to defend myself. When the enemies got too close, I used push to get above them, using my daggers to try to hit the monsters. As the sun was beginning to set, I managed to barely finish the job. I was covered with sweat and blood, both mine and the goblins. I cleared myself in a nearby river before cutting off the left ears of the goblins I defeated and putting them in a pouch. The constant use of "heal" and the battle exhausted me to the point where it took me almost an hour to get back to the guild building. When I walked inside, I gave the quest list and the proof to the receptionist before sitting down on one of the couches. While waiting for the payout, I started thinking about my situation more deeply. If this isn't a dream, did I actually die? Am I really in a different world? Those questions bugged me before I realized there was nothing I could do about it, except try not to die in this place. After I got my money for the quest, I went around town to take a better look. I found some places worth visiting: an armory shop, a camp to train my fighting skills, and some clothing shops. After marking them down on the map, I went to an inn I saw near the guild's building. The innkeeper, an older-looking lady with a warm smile, greeted me warmly as I entered.
Innkeeper: Welcome to the Silver Bard inn.
Jack: Hello, I'd like to book a room for a week with included meals.
Innkeeper: That'll be ten silver.
I quickly gave her the money, taking the key to my room. As soon as I reached the room, I fell onto the bed, took off my shoes, and fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. That's when I felt an oddly familiar feeling. Upon opening my eyes, I realized I was back in the place where I met the gods. But this time, instead of the eight I saw before, there were only two: Menborh and Qhuotz. They were sitting opposite me behind a table, Qhuotz now in the form of a woman with dog ears and a tail, her hair golden and her animal parts looking like those of a golden retriever. As I wondered what would happen, Menborh spoke, his voice in the same mellancholic tone as before.
Menborh: So, how are you getting used to your new life?
Jack: To be honest, I thought I was sleeping... until one of the goblins cut me. That's when I realized you were serious before.
That's when the goddess of life spoke, her voice weirdly mellodic.
Qhuotz: Well, many people don't believe it at first. But I have to say, while the others we reincarnated panicked after they realized they died, you took it surprisingly well.
I shrugged.
Jack: It's not like I can change the fact I'm dead, right? All I can do is accept it and move forward.
Both gods seemed satisfied with my answer. Without any warning, I found myself back in my room, lying in bed as the sun crept through the unblocked windows.