Chapter 1: Boundary World

When I came to, I was in a white world.

A world of nothingness. I must have been struck by lightning and died.

I wondered what happened after that. I really was an undutiful son. I wanted to study more, pass the exam, and enjoy campus life. As these thoughts drifted through my mind, a white-robed old man appeared before me.

I couldn't see him clearly. It felt like his body was fading in and out.

"You are awake. First, allow me to apologize. I am sorry."

"I don't really understand the situation, but... I am Fujisaki. Why are you apologizing to me?"

"I accidentally struck the three of you. Which is to say, I killed you. Of course, this is not a problem that can be solved with a simple apology."

"Who are you? Is this Heaven?"

"I am a Demi-God. This is the Boundary World. Simply put, it is one step before Heaven. I intended to send Divine Punishment down upon a world I manage, but for some reason, it was sucked into your world instead. I am truly, deeply sorry."

"What will happen to me now?"

"I shall reincarnate you with my power. However, I cannot return you to your original world. I can only reincarnate you into the world I manage. Furthermore, because the Divine Punishment struck your world, I have lost much of my power. I wished to grant you special abilities, but I fear I cannot do much."

Talk about selfish, I thought.

Reincarnation without my consent? Not being able to say anything to my parents, strictly parting for this lifetime... that was what hurt the most. I wanted to be a good son to them... But there was no point wasting time here. I needed to gather information.

"What kind of place is this new world?"

"It is what you would call a world of swords and magic. Currently, there are many monsters, and some places are quite dangerous. I said earlier that I could not be of much help, but I wish to do what I can. I can grant you two innate Unique Abilities. The other two will receive only one, but you are special."

I didn't understand why I was special, but I decided to ask all my questions at once.

"May I ask a few things?"

"Time is short, but I will answer what I can."

"How old will I be when I reincarnate?"

"Zero years old. That is to say, you will be born as a normal human."

"What is the family environment like?"

"I promise an environment where you will not face hardship."

"Will I be able to use magic?"

"Indeed. Though you will not have access to every attribute."

"Every attribute? How many types of magic are there?"

"Currently, there are the four major attributes of Fire, Water, Wind, and Earth, as well as Holy Magic. Hundreds of years ago there were a few more. Aside from those, there are minor magics specific to certain races."

"Which attributes can I use?"

"Chant 'Status Open.' While you are here, you can see the details of your abilities. I will ensure only you can see this in the reincarnated world as well, though be aware you will not see the details as clearly there."

Doing as I was told, I chanted.

"Status Open."

【Name】 Fujisaki Yuuto
【Title】 -
【State】 Deceased
【Level】 0
【HP】 0/0
【MP】 0/0
【Strength】 0
【Agility】 0
【Magic】 0
【Dexterity】 0
【Endurance】 0
【Luck】 30
【Unique Ability】 Lightning Magic S (Lv 0/20)
【Special Ability】 Swordsmanship B (Lv 0/17)
【Special Ability】 Wind Magic A (Lv 0/19)
【Special Ability】 Holy Magic C (Lv 0/15)

"What is this?"

"Ho. Even without my granting power, you are quite impressive."

"Does this mean I can use Lightning, Wind, and Holy Magic?"

"Umu. Correctly speaking, it means you can learn to use them. Effort will be required."

"Can I use magic other than these? Also, Lightning Magic is listed as a 【Unique Ability】 with an S rank, but what is the difference between that and the other magic in 【Special Ability】?"

"A 【Unique Ability】 is an ability that only you possess in that world. Therefore, only you can use Lightning Magic. However, that does not guarantee that someone else who can use it will not appear in the future. Also, users of Holy Magic are exceedingly rare. As for other magics, depending on your effort, there is a possibility you can use them. I will offer one warning: do not recklessly reveal your status to others. Only share it with those you can trust."

"Thank you very much. What is the 'S' displayed after Lightning Magic?"

"The display of S represents talent. Incidentally, you may consider yourself the only person in the world with an S rank. Talent is ranked from S, A, B, C, D, E, F, to G. Even A rank is not something many possess. Depending on the talent, the level cap differs, as does the growth rate. You will have to test that for yourself."

It seemed I was blessed with talent. I was starting to want to hurry up and reincarnate so I could start working hard.

But thinking I still needed to gather info, the Demi-God spoke.

"We have very little time left. what abilities do you desire? I will help you as much as I can."

"Then, I want a talent where the more effort I put in, the more I am rewarded."

"Is that not normal?"

"It might be normal, but in my case, it feels likely that my stats wouldn't grow at all even if I leveled up..."

"I see. Then how about 【Heavenly Gift】? Some call this a 'trash' ability, but that is not the case. The experience required for the next level becomes three times that of a normal person, but when you level up, all stats other than Luck will invariably increase by 1. Additionally, your MP recovery speed will increase. For your information, ordinary humans do not gain 1 in every stat when they level up. The total increase across stats other than HP, MP, and Luck is usually between 2 and 10. How stats increase varies by individual. And the experience required for the next level also varies. Possessing 【Heavenly Gift】 means requiring far more experience than others—it will be a tremendous path of hardship. Are you acceptable with this?"

He emphasized the difficulty enough to make me anxious, but it meant I would definitely grow more than others.

"Yes. Please give me that one."

"Then for the other, I shall give you the best I can from my remaining power... Ah, yes. I will grant you 【Heavenly Eye】. This is quite convenient; it allows you to appraise others and objects, understand the flow of mana, and gives you night vision. Regarding Appraisal, if you raise its level, you will be able to see talent values just as you can in this mirror world. There is more, but there is no time, so the explanation ends here."

"What will happen to you, Lord Demi-God?"

"Once I reincarnate you, I will likely die. I, the main body, have attended to you, but my split spirits are attending to the other two. As they have less than half the power of the original me, they can grant only a little power, and I doubt they can explain things as properly as I have to you."

"Is... that so?"

"Now, it really seems time is up."

Saying that, the Demi-God began to fade from my sight.

Simultaneously, my transfer began.

【Name】 Fujisaki Yuuto
【Title】 -
【State】 Deceased
【Level】 0
【HP】 0/0
【MP】 0/0
【Strength】 0
【Agility】 0
【Magic】 0
【Dexterity】 0
【Endurance】 0
【Luck】 30
【Unique Ability】 Heavenly Gift (Lv MAX)
【Unique Ability】 Heavenly Eye (Lv 1)
【Unique Ability】 Lightning Magic S (Lv 0/20)
【Special Ability】 Swordsmanship B (Lv 0/17)
【Special Ability】 Wind Magic A (Lv 0/19)
【Special Ability】 Holy Magic C (Lv 0/15)