Chapter 2: Encounter with God

“Strange death?”

Sato was shocked to hear the news from God.

In other words, at this point, he was a dead man.

“Then the Warrior’s backpack and its contents…”

“Oh? Is that the backpack you were carrying? It seems that the contents of the backpack played a role in the mystery of your strange death.”

The whole situation seemed like fun to God because it wasn’t his business.

“Um… can I call you ‘God’ (kami)?”

Sato was shocked, but there was no turning back now.

There was something he wanted to confirm.

“Well, I’m the god of this region, not of Earth, but since you’re here by mistake, I’m in charge of you now.”

God answered after some thought.

“So, does that mean I’ll be reincarnated now?”

For Sato, he had no choice but to stay here.

I’ve always wanted to be a part of an alternate world, so I can’t let this opportunity pass me by.

“In the first place, reincarnation itself has been abolished for a long time.”

“Eh?”

“As I said earlier, you were able to reincarnate because the Soul Recycling Law was enacted. But reincarnation using the magic circle by yourself is considered suicide because you die at once.”

God looked at Sato with sympathy, and he also seemed to have a hard time saying it.

“Suicide?”

Sato, who was aware of the disturbing flow, asked.

“Suicide is an act that kills you, so it has a negative effect on reincarnation. Some people even try to take the abilities of their previous lives with them, so at best they’re reincarnated as babies under very poor conditions, and later as beasts, demons, or insects.”

“(Beasts, demons, insects?) Well then, how bad are the conditions?”

His transition to another world turned out to be reincarnation and now, it was heading in the worst direction. At least he wanted to have hope of being reincarnated as a human being.

“Yes, the conditions are terrible, with people dying soon after birth, or being born with bad luck, or having parents who sell them to slave traders. Most of them are probably lucky to be alive at all.”

God replied, wrinkling his brow.

“Then, what about cheat skills…?”

Although the situation seemed hopeless, with God in front of him, he thought this was his first and last chance to make a difference, so he went ahead with negotiations.

“Cheat skills? Oh, you mean the special skills that give you an advantage when living in the lower world? You know a lot about things that don’t exist on Earth. In my world, they do exist, but there are no such things as cheats.”

“Can I have that special skill when I reincarnate?”

“Hmm… special skills are very useful if they are effective, but it takes time and effort to exert them and many of them have strict activation conditions. It has been decided that anyone who reincarnates will do so with a handicap. Because of that, unlike ordinary skills, special skills can be life-threatening.”

This is a gamble.

If he was going to start from scratch, it may be difficult to break through with ordinary skills. Sato thought to himself.

“Can you give me your best special skill?”

“Hoho… You’re still asking for it? Well, it’s the first time the ban on reincarnation has been lifted after a long period of prohibition, but I can’t play favorites. Also be careful, without effort for special skills, they won’t activate. Many of them have special conditions for activation. You’re in for a rough ride from the start. You’ll have a hard time finding a way out of this, and you’ll probably die right after you reincarnate. Knowing this, you still want to go through with it?”

Since God confirmed it once again, it must be very difficult.

“Yes please!”

Sato replied quickly showing that he wasn’t afraid.

“Then you’ll be reincarnated, but just so there’s no misunderstanding… you do know your memory of the previous life will disappear, right?”

“Eh? I didn’t hear that! No, I heard but…”

“Well of course, I said no favoritism.”

“And this exchange?”

“Of course. I’m going to erase everything and then reincarnate you. You can’t reincarnate with previous memories. Such a cheat would not be allowed.”

Gah!

“I’ll just take normal skills after all –”

Taro Sato got reincarnated without saying what he had in mind.

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