2 – Meeting with a Goddess of Destruction

I open my eyes.

There was a sinister temple before me and I was sitting on a giant chess board.

I start analyzing the current situation. It was impossible to escape or be saved from that situation.

Given that, is this a dream?

"No, that’s wrong. What happened just before was all real. A truck hit your bus and you died."

I looked around and noticed a white haired woman wearing a dark mecha armor with red accents. A sinister aura is floating around her to the point it can stop your breath. But at the same time...

Absolutely beautiful.

She was too perfect, with every aspect of her hitting the golden ratio. An existence far beyond normal humans.

"……Alright, I've got a lot of questions right now. Mind giving me some answers?"

"When you died, I summoned your soul. I’m a Goddess, by the way. Ahem."

"Oh, and Goddesses summon each and every dead soul for a pleasant chat, do they? Given the number of dead people, either there are an infinite number of deities or they have way too much free time…….. So how about we quit this prank and…"

"Shut up, worm!”My body froze in an instant. This wasn’t a joke. This person… is scary as hell and has complete authority over me.“Much better. You are right. Normally, souls are sent directly to the Judge. But I collected your soul to make you an offer."

"So why did you summon me here?

"Alright, I'll try to bring you up to speed. The world I come from is a world of magic. You probably have read many scenarios like this. Should I say congratulations? You just got isekaied! My world is ruled by 4 Goddesses. They used Truck-kun's delivery service to summon your class and…"

"Hold it. Did you say Truck-kun? And if there are 4 Goddesses you are…?"

"Truck-kun is the only service provider that allows deities to bring otherworlders into their own world. It's how the system works. As for me, I am the fifth Goddess. A Goddess of Destruction, but the other 4 don't want to play with me and never appreciate me. Even the races fear me, but they never pray or make me an offering. It's very frustrating."

"So… does that mean me and my classmates will be summoned as heroes and you will give us various abilities."

"Not quite. You see… here's the thing. The other 4 deities chose to abandon you. They have deemed you useless so they didn't bother with your soul."

"Wha…??? Aren't Gods supposed to be unbiased and just!?"

"Normally that's the case. And 3 of them actually are like that, but the 4th one… let's just say is the scheming type."

" Okay… then… let's cut to the chase. What exactly do you want from me?"

"Alright. Shortening this discussion is helpful to me as well. You are indeed the very soul I’d expected you to be. Here comes the blunt part. Although the others literally abandoned you, I see value in you."

I can't believe this. Can a God actually be so mean to begin with? I'm shocked. I would have vanished like I never existed if this woman didn't pick me up. As sinister as she looks, she is my ray of hope. Fading into oblivion is something I don't want to experience. Let's continue listening to the story for now.

"My world is under the threat of corruption. An entity that is threatening all life."

"Some sort of Demon King?"

"Not quite. My world has demons, but they are not the threat. A vile person used a forbidden art, to summon a creature known as The Old One. With its power, that person became strong, but at the same time he unleashed hoards of monsters into the world. The races are in grave danger. Normally the summon formation for you guys was supposed to be handed to various kingdoms, but again, that one Goddess summoned all of you guys in the same kingdom.

What's more, those other idiots chose your "good friend" Makoto as the one to bestow the Hero class onto. He will only bring more chaos."

Who the hell would be in their right mind to pick Makoto as a Hero? Has the world really come to an end? Anyone would do a better job than him.

"You want me to kill this corruption?"

"Nope. I just want a good TV show."

"Eh?"

"It's so boring watching the world unfold after what those 4 dictate. So why not add a variable of my own? You. Feel free to do whatever you want in this world. Kill The Old One, make a harem. Honestly I don't care. I just want to see something good."

A world in the medieval ages, where magic exists. And who in the right mind would make Makoto a hero?  You'd have to be seriously desperate for that.

"I see. I guess even a Goddess can get bored. But what's more weird is… and I'm saying this will all respect but… isn't this similar to the main plot of the MMORPG Phantasy Reverie Online from my world?"

"That's exactly right. You're sharp. After all, most video games are the way we Goddesses send out our SOS signal for hero summoning. Although the selection can be random at times given the player base. Then Truck-kun just has to pick them up."

"I understand, however… although I am very grateful for you not killing me… but why bother with me? Aren't the others enough to entertain you?"

"Payback. Those other Goddesses always get on my nerves, and honestly I am tired of sitting on the sidelines. You know how troublesome it is to deal with them? It's time for them to get a taste of their own medicine!"

"Umm… okay. But even if I agree, I won't be of much help? Until you get the hang and feeling of the game, Phantasy Reverie Online is a hardcore game. My physique isn't suited for dodging or high speed combat."

"Yeah, I’ll help you with that. The strongest possible specs… I'll let you be reborn as your character from the game. However, even if you will be stronger, you still need diligent training. Even trash mobs can kill a random brute. I'll also give you a nice start just to piss off those Goddesses. But here. For starters, maybe these will help you out."

Countless skills are displayed before me like holographic images. Reminds me of Tony Stark technology.

"Pick 5 of these. Consider them as keepsakes. You know how hard the class system works, so I'm sure this will help you. They will complement your game character."

It's great to be able to freely choose my own skills. They can be combined to produce extraordinary effects. Especially since the route you can walk towards in the game can lock you out of some routes.

"Why don’t you choose my skills?"

"While we both agree that you’d need to be pretty powerful if you are to provide me entertainment, we’ve yet to properly think through on the specifics of it. It's better to choose your own fate, since this task is quite demanding. I'll also give you a head start later so you can have the same specifics as your in game character, but for now… I'll give you 24h to pick your skills."

"I accept. I still want to continue my life. However, is it really okay for you to make me strong? It's clear that you can't interfere excessively, or else you would have done something about the other Goddesses already."

"Err…it’s fine. I just happened to replenish souls from another world due to soul shortage and one of them just happened to have received a high performance body and also luckily happened to get strong skills."

I see.

In the end, most rules have loopholes in them, or are simply too general for it to be applicable to all cases.

"Well then, I shall take my leave. Do your best picking your skills. Make the most of it. I can't keep you here forever."

The goddess disappeared.

And I start to laugh. Looks like my Otaku skills are gonna be turned on!