"So, make your choice for your new life!" the ethereal voice said ahead.
The soul, which was analyzing its options at that moment, was still stunned by how everything had unfolded.
'Who would have thought I'd get this kind of opportunity after dying, huh…' the soul thought, with a hint of humor regarding the recent events.
A few moments earlier —
My name is Adrian, a 17-year-old high school student in my final year.
I was an orphan in my past life, so I had to grow up fast if I wanted a peaceful life.
Just a slightly above-average student, but easily forgettable.
My main hobbies were reading manga and fanfics, as well as watching anime, movies, and TV series.
One day, after binge-watching a series for three days straight without sleeping and surviving on energy drinks, I started feeling dizzy. Unsurprisingly, darkness overtook me… and that's how I died.
Then, without any warning, I found myself in a completely white room. I quickly looked around, finding absolutely nothing.
'Where am I?!' Adrian thought, now looking at his own body, which was translucent.
As questions swirled in his mind, a calm, emotionless, ethereal voice spoke.
"You are dead," the voice said in front of me.
I quickly noticed the figure of a cat staring at me. 'What?!' — that was my only thought.
Before I could fully process my situation, the voice I heard came from the giant cat standing before me.
"Congratulations, human. You are the trillionth person to die," the cat said.
I was somewhat confused by that statement, but pushing the feeling aside, I asked:
"Where am I?"
"Who are you?" I asked, searching for answers.
The cat stared at me for a few seconds before replying, "You died, and your soul is now in this space to receive your reward for being the trillionth person to die."
I was intrigued by the response, but before I could continue thinking, the cat went on:
"I am the deity responsible for granting you your reward."
'So I really did die, huh… well, it's not like I had anything in my previous life worth missing,' Adrian thought with a touch of melancholy, quickly regaining composure and considering what to do next.
Locking eyes with the cat, Adrian continued:
"So… what exactly is my reward?" he asked, already having an idea — after all, he had read plenty of manga and fanfics about situations like this.
"Your reward is to be reincarnated into one of these three preselected worlds while keeping your memories. And of course, you will receive some advantages as well," the cat said.
As soon as he finished speaking, three doors appeared in front of me.
Each door displayed two things: the world I would be sent to depending on my choice — Berserker, High School DxD, or Dragon Ball Z — and their respective difficulty levels: Easy, Medium, and Hard.
"You may choose one of these three worlds, but each comes with its own advantages and disadvantages," the cat said.
"Why disadvantages?" I asked instinctively. After all, it didn't make sense for a reward to have drawbacks.
The cat simply replied, "Because it's fun," his voice showing not a trace of emotion.
My eyes widened slightly at the answer, but I didn't dwell on it. After all, I was reincarnating purely out of luck, not entitlement — so I couldn't complain.
After observing the soul's reaction, the cat continued:
"Now, I will explain each door."
"The first door, Easy difficulty: Berserker."
"In this world, you will receive three wishes of your choice, but you cannot wish for things such as immortality, divinity, multiversal travel, or anything beyond the level of a demigod."
"And you will be reborn as Guts himself," the cat said, finishing the explanation of the first door.
'Damn… this world is out of the question. Not only do I know nothing about it, it's one of the worst — if not the worst — worlds to live in, especially as the protagonist,' Adrian thought, shuddering slightly.
'Even with wishes, I wouldn't know what to ask for. I don't know anything about that world, and I don't want to gamble everything and regret it later.'
Finishing his thoughts, Adrian gestured for the cat to continue.
The cat raised an eyebrow and asked, "You're not going to ask about this world's disadvantages?"
"The world itself is already a disadvantage, isn't it?" Adrian replied simply.
The cat nodded slightly and moved on to the next door.
"The second door, Medium difficulty: High School DxD."
"In this world, you will receive two wishes, but you cannot wish for anything above SSS rank, such as supreme healing abilities, mixed bloodlines, or reality-rewriting items."
"The disadvantages are: you will be reincarnated as a woman, and your gender cannot be changed even if you want to. Additionally, you will be bound to an emotional system that controls your future missions and rewards permanently."
'Gender swap?! Forget it — especially with an emotional system that will probably troll me and make me go through hell for scraps.'
'On top of that, I don't like that world… more specifically, I hate that trash protagonist who's only famous because of fan service.'
'The world itself is fairly well-built, but that stops mattering when the main character has the worst personality imaginable and gets strong without doing jack shit just because he's the "protagonist". It's infuriating!!!'
'That's one of the reasons I didn't watch much of it, and my knowledge of the anime is pretty shallow.'
'Honestly, the combination of me being a woman + a troll system with forced missions + a protagonist I despise…'
'That's nightmare fuel I don't even want to imagine,' Adrian thought, disgust clearly written on his face.
Noticing I was lost in thought, the cat drew my attention as he introduced the final door.
"The third door, Hard difficulty: Dragon Ball Z."
"In this world, you will receive one wish, but you cannot wish for abilities, bloodlines, technology, or items above S rank."
"The disadvantages are: you will be reborn as a man with a disease incurable by human means. Your appearance and body will be terrible, with nothing to boast about. Your race will be human, with zero talent for martial arts, and you cannot change your race or talent even if you wish — not even with the Dragon Balls."
"The good news is that you will have two years before you die," the cat said.
"Perfect. That makes me feel so much better," Adrian thought sarcastically about his screwed situation.
'No point crying over it, huh? I'd better start thinking fast,' Adrian pondered, each option.
'DxD is out of the question. No matter how much I think about it, it's pointless. Berserker is the safest option, but the lack of information could seriously screw me over.'
'Dragon Ball, huh…' Adrian focused on that option.
Out of all three worlds, Dragon Ball was the one Adrian knew best and felt most familiar with. However, it was also extremely dangerous — new enemies every week, Earth constantly exploding, and divine threats everywhere.
With some hesitation, Adrian asked the cat:
"You said the disease is incurable by human means… so if I had access to Earth's Dragon Balls—"
He didn't need to finish the sentence.
"You would be cured," the cat replied simply.
'Well, at least that… but still…' Adrian thought.
"Ahh…" Adrian let out a tired sigh.
'Even so, it means nothing if I can't get stronger.'
'Ahh… if I had known I'd end up in this situation, I would've stopped binge-watching that series for three nights straight and—' Adrian thought, when an idea suddenly struck him.
'If this works, I'm going to punch the air and shout "YES!!"' Adrian thought. But before that, he had one more question for the cat.
"So, make your choice for your new life!" the ethereal voice said ahead.
TO BE CONTINUED __________________