White and glowing—everything was white and glowing, with a faint mist drifting everywhere. That was what a man saw all around him. Confused and mesmerized by the white place he was in, the man thought to himself, wondering if he was in heaven or an Apple store. But since he knew he was an Android user, the first option seemed more likely.
"Shit… Did I actually die?"
As he tried to recall his life, he could not find anything remarkably good from his 34 years of living. He was not a criminal, sure, but he definitely was not saint material either. Just a millennial who spent most of his time staring at a screen—only occasionally pausing for eating, shitting, working, and sleeping. Then again, he had probably done the first three while still looking at a screen anyway.
He remembered his last memory: he had been on a holiday in Japan, which was quite an achievement considering his so-so wages as a freelance online journalist. Even though he was not an otaku, he was an avid consumer of Japanese culture, so he had genuinely enjoyed what was meant to be a five-day vacation.
But on his third day, he found himself in a situation he was all too familiar with: a crossroad, a cat crossing the street, and a truck approaching fast. Knowing exactly what would happen in the next few seconds, the man's quick-thinking mind began weighing his options.
Option 1: Try to save the cat and most likely get crushed horribly, with a high chance of dying and a very small chance of getting isekai'd. Or worse: surviving the accident and facing Japan's infamous medical bills, all while having overdue insurance.
Option 2: Do nothing and simply watch the cat die—just like the 5.4 million cats that died annually in the U.S. due to traffic accidents.
Realistically, he chose Option 2. He was more of a dog person anyway. He stepped back a few paces and stood beside an iconic Japanese red mailbox.
Unfortunately, the truck driver—someone who had passed Japan's notoriously brutal driving test—realized he could not brake in time. Thinking quickly, he swerved toward the mailbox instead. Being sued by a Japanese pet owner, after all, was far more expensive.
"Eh?"
The driver and the man locked eyes for one surreal split second before the collision.
---
"THAT FUCKING TRUCK-KUN!!"
When he realized that he was, in fact, dead. The man's scream echoed across the glowing void.
"...Oh, you poor hero… beset by confusion."
A sweet and beautiful voice spoke to him. He looked around and saw a glowing figure descending, wrapped in divine light and wearing what could only be described as the reason most men attended cosplay conventions.
When the light faded, the man's jaw dropped.
She was gorgeous—ridiculously gorgeous. The kind of gorgeous that once made a Japanese man decide to legally marry a 2D character… except this time, she was 3D.
Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, this isekai shit is for real? Seriously??
the man's mind screamed frantically after seeing the poster girl for every isekai story standing before him.
With what seemed to serve a dramatic purpose, the poster girl slowly opened her eyes as she began to speak.
"I welcome thee to the Goddess realm, oh my fated and divine he… ro?"
Her eyebrows lifted. Her elegant smile froze as she took in the sight of him—a man in his 30s, with a mild beer belly and a receding hairline. Not handsome, not ugly—just painfully average. The kind of average that could be fixed if he actually cared for his appearance. But that kind of care cost money, and his current appearance clearly reflected the state of his wallet.
"O Hero," she continued, forcing her smile and divine voice back into protocol. "I am the goddess Celes. Pray, tell me thy name, oh fated hero."
"Uh… my name is Alex Solomon," he said. "But I prefer to be called Solo, since there are already too many Alex…"
At the sound of his name, her eyebrows twitched. With a flick of her finger, she summoned a female angel secretary who popped into existence out of nowhere. The goddess dragged the angel down for a frantic whisper. Solo silently judged the scene before him, noting how unprofessional and wildly out-of-character it was.
Moments later, the angel vanished again.
"Apologies for the intrusion, ahem… O Alex Solomon. As thou may already surmise, thy previous life has regretfully ended. Yet the universe, in its mysterious way, bla bla bla…"
As the goddess continued her sermon, Solo thought to himself that this was usually the part where he would mash the skip button repeatedly. But damn, seeing the goddess's beauty in person hit differently. So this time, he did not mind spending a little longer listening to the tutorial.
With another elegant motion, the goddess summoned a door-shaped portal. A massive crystal at its peak rotated and glowed until the space inside revealed a blue-green planet that definitely was not Earth.
"And this is Planet Talvaris," she said proudly. "A fair and beautiful world, where bla bla bla magic, dragon, elf, bla bla bla, but Demon King bla bla bla bla to send thee, O fated Hero, to save Talvaris and its people from certain doom."
Solo studied the floating planet. The continents looked like they had been done by an amateur novelist using map generator.
"And I guess that's the demon realm?" Solo asked, pointing at a small continent covered in thunderclouds in the southern part of the planet.
"Correct, O wise hero…"
Solo exhaled softly. His past life flashed through his mind—his family, his friends, his job. It had been a simple life, but not a bad one. If this new world offered purpose, maybe starting over would not be so terrible.
The goddess clasped her hands. A ray of light descended toward him.
"And now, O hero, I bestow upon thee three gifts."
"The first gift is from the universe, also known as the 'system.' A unique skill shaped by thy previous life."
A glowing panel materialized in front of Solo. His heart thumped with excitement.
Attack skill? OP stats? Time stop? Anything but the rewind-when-you're-killed skill. That anime is too depressing. Please, God, no.
The panel finished loading, and Solo's expression twisted into disbelief, which made the goddess visibly uneasy.
"O Hero, what ability hast thou received from the system?"
"It's… it's a… Is this Google?"
A plain Google homepage floated before him.
White background.
Colorful logo.
Search bar.
Not even dark mode.
"T-the description said… the ability to access Earth networks… Oh fuck no! No! No! This is just like that 'bringing your smartphone' thing! What am I supposed to do—use G-Maps to escape a dungeon and leave a one-star review?"
"W-worry not, O Hero," she forced out. "Two more goddess-given gifts remain for thee to receive."
The goddess began to wonder if this had all been a mistake. Still, she tried to regain her composure and professionalism before raising her hand in another elegant motion.
RPG-like icons appeared before him—swords, shields, staves, and more.
"Now, Hero, choose two skills thou believest will suit thee for—"
Before she could finish, the angel secretary popped back in, whispering urgently.
The goddess froze.
Then exploded.
"I FUCKING KNEW IT!!"
She swung her arm, and the RPG icons vanished. The air trembled with raw magic as she stomped toward him, divine fury rolling off her like steam from a kettle.
"You! Mortal! Answer me this—art thou Japanese?"
Solo blinked. "Uhh… no? I was just on vacation in Japan. Why?"
"FUUUUUUCK!"
She kicked over a floating altar, fully revealing her ungodly side. The angel tried desperately to calm her.
"B-but, dear Goddess, you said you wanted something different this time. Not the usual hero archetype…"
"YES! But not to the point of ignoring the Japanese teenager part! They are naïve! Vanilla! Virg—well, at least those chunis always obey the fantasy trope rules! My fucking rules! But this!? This is a full-grown pig with 30 years of porn history!"
"Okay, rude—"
"Silence, you fucking pig."
The goddess blasted him with a beam of scorching divine light. He crashed to the ground. Blood rushed from a smoking hole in Solo's shoulder.
"OW! WHAT THE FUCK, BITCH!?"
"You dare call me a bitch!?"
Another beam struck him directly, swallowing him in smoke.
When the smoke cleared…
He felt wrong.
Bigger. Heavier.
And green.
"…oink?"
He looked at his reflection on the floor.
An orc.
He had been turned into a fucking orc.
"Oink oink! Oi—FUCK!"
The goddess laughed. "Heheh, relax, pig. You barely look any different." She snickered.
Solo charged at the goddess, rage surging through his newly green veins, but a shimmering magical shield blocked him. He slammed his fists against it—only weak ripples flickered across the barrier.
"D-dear Goddess," the angel stammered, "you shouldn't waste your power like that."
"It doesn't matter!" the goddess snapped. "We're still in the Goddess realm. It costs almost nothing here. Now hurry—find me a new hero! And execute the operator who picked this pig!"
"R-right away, goddess! But… what should we do with the current—uh—pig?"
"Just erase him. I'd rather spend what divine energy I have left on a proper hero!"
Solo's eyes widened. His survival instincts kicked in immediately. The space around them was endless white nothingness—no walls, no horizon. Just the platform and the massive portal.
So the choice was easy.
He bolted toward the portal.
"G-goddess! He's—!"
"NO!"
Celes summoned more angels, but Solo was already diving headfirst through the portal. The giant crystal at the top spun wildly, and the entire structure shook violently.
"YOU FUCKING PIG!! MY PORTAL!! NOOO!"
Solo floated, dragged by a beam of light toward Talvaris. The goddess's hysterical shrieking echoed behind him. He did not know exactly what he had done, but making the goddess furious was clearly his newfound talent in the afterlife.
He twisted mid-flight, faced the shrinking portal, and proudly raised his middle finger.
"I WILL KILL YOU, YOU STUPID, FILTHY PIG! I SWEAR I WILL KILL YOU!"
Back in the goddess realm, the angel frantically tapped away at multiple floating, computer-like panels.
"G-Goddess! Portal energy will deplete in 80 seconds! We still have a connection—we can still erase him!"
Celes's snarl melted into a wicked grin. She lifted her hand to issue the kill order—
Then paused.
Her grin widened further.
"No… I don't want to make it that easy. I have a better idea."
She tapped her temple. "We still have enough divine energy to grant him the final two Goddess Gifts, yes? Listen closely."
"For the first gift—make him unable to level up."
"…Done!"
"And the second—make him unable to die unless he's killed by a Hero Weapon."
"…Done."
"Good. Also, change his summoning coordinates to the Demon Territory."
"Updating… complete."
"Portal energy depleting in 3… 2… 1."
The crystals slowed to a stop. The portal dimmed. The light faded. Silence filled the realm.
"We've lost connection to Talvaris, goddess," the angel reported softly. "May I ask… what is your plan?"
Celes chuckled darkly.
"Fufufu… It's simple. By making him a weak orc who can't level up, he'll be helpless in the demon territory. And since he can't die unless struck by a hero weapon, demons will use him as an infinite food source. Again and again. Hahaha!"
"What magnificent genius, O Goddess! So that is why you sent him to the Demon Territory!"
"Well, also because I don't want him stumbling into elf territory and finding a Hero Weapon to kill himself with. Now—give me the recalculations. When can I activate the portal again?"
"One moment… calculating…"
"You will have enough divine energy to reopen the portal in approximately… 130 years."
Celes froze.
"…Wha—WHY? Why so fucking long?!"
"G-goddess, since we did not disable the Divine Barrier over the Demon Kingdom this time, there will be no demon invasion. And without world-scale war, divine power replenishes very slowly."
"Oh dear me… what a blunder…"
She clicked her tongue, then exhaled sharply.
"Fine. At least I know that pig will suffer far longer than I planned."
Her eyes narrowed, voice dripping with venom.
"Alex Solomon… no one calls me a bitch and gets away with it. Enjoy your 130 years of suffering. In the end, you will beg me to end your pathetic life."
---
130 years later
Malvorath Continent, 1312 EC
Ravendawn Kingdom
King Luxtor stood on his balcony, watching his troops scramble through their so-called "war preparations." There was no fire left in his eyes—only quiet resignation.
Once, Ravendawn had been respected for its hardened, battle-seasoned army. Feared, even. They were the first line of defense against demon invasions. Whenever the Demon Kingdom attacked, the rest of Talvaris would flood them with weapons, food, gold, and reinforcements.
But 130 years ago, the Divine Barrier held for the first time—a miracle that occurred during Luxtor's great-grandfather's reign—and the world changed. No invasion came.
Ever.
The church oracles claimed it was the result of the people's prayers empowering the goddess. The world celebrated.
Then the bills came due.
Kingdoms had emptied their coffers preparing for a war that never arrived, and to refill them, they turned on each other. Ravendawn was one of the victims—dismantled and stripped down until all that remained was a southern territory no one else wanted. They were "allowed" to rule it… as vassals of the Vandoria Kingdom, their neighbor.
"Father, I'm leaving now."
"Please, my son, reconsider. You don't need to be on the front line."
"I do. If no one from the royal family is present, the other kingdoms won't acknowledge anything we accomplish."
"Accomplish what?!" Luxtor gestured at the camp. "Look at them! These 'reinforcements' are slaves in rusted gear and clueless low-rank nobles who don't know a damn thing about command!"
Prince Luxius only smiled sadly.
"Vandoria has promised to end our vassal status if we help stop the Demon Army. This is our chance. Maybe the Goddess will bless us again. Maybe there won't be an invasion at all. Goodbye, Father. May I return with victory."
Luxtor watched his son leave, eyes glistening.
"Oh goddess… I've cursed you so many times. But please… please bring my son home."
---
Solis Continent
Divine Empire of Celeste, Celestial Palace Main Hall
Far from the Demon Kingdom border, inside the Celeste palace, the main hall shimmered as a large magic circle activated.
Isabel, a young priestess, chanted with an absurdly saintly voice while officials waited nervously behind her.
A burst of blinding light flooded the hall. Everyone inside raised their arms to shield their eyes from the dramatic brilliance. When the light faded, a young man in modern clothes stood at the center—black-haired, the only one in the room, attractive but acting as though he didn't know it. The unmistakable image of a cliché isekai protagonist.
"W-where am I?" he said.
Hell yeah. Isekai time! he thought.
"O Hero from another world," Isabel said, ensuring she was the first face he saw. "Welcome to the Divine Empire of Celeste."
"I've never heard of that country before," he replied.
Yay! Cute saintess, he thought.
The Celeste emperor stepped forward.
"O Hero, I am King Gregory. I welcome you to my humble castle. Please tell me, what is your name?"
"I'm Nobuyuki Sora, a high schooler from Japan."
"I am deeply sorry for taking you from your world, Nobuyuki Sora," Gregory said, "but our world is in great peril. At this very moment, in the far south, the united army of humanity is preparing to face the dreaded Demon Army invasion. Yet… few of us believe the army will fare well… myself included."
---
Great Demon Gate
As the so-called Army of Humanity, there were not many humans in the ranks. Most of the soldiers were beastmen from various races, wielding old and outdated equipment.
At the rear, Crown Prince Luxius of the Ravendawn Kingdom inspected the formation of what was supposed to be:
3000 Foot Soldiers
800 Archers
150 Magicians
400 Cavalry
80 Wyvern Riders
120 Avian Warriors
35 Ballista
A messenger ran up quickly to report to Luxius.
"Sir! All of the mercenaries have disappeared! They most likely ran away during the long march!"
"Those gold-grubbing cowards! And the Vandoria Army? Where are they?"
"Uhh… they are here now. But their messenger said that their regular army is occupied by an unforeseen event. So instead, they sent their brave militia who volunteered for the war."
Luxius looked toward the corner of the formation. A group of peasants trembled in fear, holding pitchforks, shovels, or other household items they could use as weapons.
"Those are just villagers being rounded up for war!"
And now, the Army of Humanity consists of:
3000 2200 Foot Soldiers
800 500 Archers
150 Magicians
400 250 Cavalry
80 60 Wyvern Riders
120 Avian Warriors
35 Ballista
+300 Peasant Militia
The Demon Kingdom's borderline is easily distinguished by the Malvorath Mountain Range, a colossal line of spiky mountains that splits the Malvorath Continent into two. In the middle of it lies the entrance to the Demon Territory: the Great Demon Gate, an ominous, gigantic gate with demonic sculptures carved all over it. A modern man would easily recall the Gate of Mordor just by looking at it.
Everyone in the Army of Humanity prayed to the goddess to keep the gate sealed. No one wanted to fight the Demon Army.
"Look up there!!"
A bright blue sphere formed in the sky and descended—only to smash into the Divine Barrier. The collision caused the entire invisible wall to disintegrate.
"The barrier… it's collapsing."
When the last of the Divine Barrier disintegrated, all of them looked at the Great Demon Gate in fear.
VOOOOOOOOOMMMMM
The sound of an otherworldly trumpet blared from behind the gate, followed by a loud clunk as the gate opened. The massive doors split in two and pushed outward.
Some soldiers began to flee in panic—especially the Peasant Militia—breaking formation as they ran. Luxius had no interest in dealing with the deserters and chose instead to rally the remaining troops.
"Everyone! Ready your weapons!"
Huge dust clouds formed from the friction of the massive gate scraping against the ground below, making the spectacle even more ominous. The gate was now fully open, though thick dust clouds obscured whatever lay beyond. Every soldier was sweating from fear.
Then—
HRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMM
BATA-BATA-BATA-BATA-BATA
Otherworldly noises came from behind the gate, followed by the silhouettes of a massive army. Both the sounds and the silhouettes grew larger and larger.
---
Divine Empire of Celeste
A messenger interrupted the emperor.
"Your Highness, our mana comm just received a report from the Army of Humanity."
"Let me hear it."
"The Divine Barrier has fallen, and the Great Demon Gate is opening."
The audience in the hall gasped.
"From behind the Great Demon Gate, the Demon Army is advancing with massive, hellish monsters and contraptions they have never seen before. Hundreds of demon folk wear identical uniforms and wield strange demonic staffs. Dozens of hell chariots and demon elephants march alongside them, each mounted by armored demon riders. In the sky, several hell dragonflies hover in formation."
Isabel shivered at the report.
"Demon elephants? Hell… dragonflies? There has never been any record of those kinds of demons or demonic beasts. Is the Demon King summoning new species from hell?"
"A-and the one leading the Demon Army is none other than one of the Demon Dukes himself… L-Leviathan."
The audience panicked, murmuring in terror as they heard the name of the legendary Demon Duke.
Sora watched the crowd's reactions and began to worry. He wondered if the isekai world he was in had been set to nightmare difficulty.
"And this is the message from Leviathan himself," the messenger continued.
---
Great Demon Gate
"Heed my words! Heed my words! My name is Leviathan, and I am here to deliver the message of the Demon Kingdom!"
A tall man in sleek attire and glasses walked calmly toward the terrified army.
He wielded no weapon, but behind him was a company of demonfolk infantry, brandishing M4A1s, accompanied by dozens of Humvees mounted with .50 cal M2 Browning machine guns, a platoon of M1 Abrams tanks, and four AH-64 Apaches.
Leviathan cleared his throat.
"People of Talvaris! We come in peace."