Takumi was walking calmly along the sidewalk as the rain soaked his cheap suit.
He had his earphones on, but the music had stopped playing a while ago; he was thinking about how little he had accomplished in life.
He was currently twenty-four years old and had an office job that barely covered the rent, where the only thing waiting for him after a long day of work was a large stack of half-read light novels.
He had no girlfriend or friends to share a weekend with, which was why he spent his nights reading light novels.
Where ordinary protagonists ended up becoming important and powerful characters.
Lost in his thoughts, he crossed the street distractedly, convinced that the traffic light had changed.
The truck's horn barely reached him, but it was already too late; he only managed to hear the brakes screeching loudly as they tried to stop the vehicle.
And in an instant, everything turned white; he felt no pain at all, only managing to think something absurd in that moment.
'Seriously?... A truck? What a stupid cliché.'
Then everything went dark; he didn't know how much time had passed in that darkness—it could have been seconds or hours.
Suddenly, he felt himself opening his eyes, though he couldn't feel his body. He realized he was floating in a white space that seemed endless.
Abruptly, a figure made entirely of light appeared in front of him.
"Takumi…" said a calm voice that resonated directly in his head.
"Welcome. I am what you would call a God. And I must offer you my sincere apologies."
Takumi tried to respond, but to his surprise, the words came out without him needing to open his mouth.
"An apology? For the truck?" he asked, confused.
The figure seemed to shrink a little, as if uncomfortable.
"Not exactly for the truck… your death was an administrative error; it wasn't scheduled. According to the records, you were supposed to die at eighty-three years old after getting married and having two children… it was the carelessness of one of my subordinates. Unacceptable, I know."
Takumi fell silent, trying to process what he had just heard, then out of nowhere he let out a dry laugh that echoed throughout the place.
"So what happens now? Do you give me my body back? And undo all this?" he asked.
The God remained silent for a few seconds before responding:
"Unfortunately, that's impossible; your body is already… irreparable. But as a fair compensation, I offer you reincarnation in another world with one wish of your choice. Most people ask for wealth, physical strength, or some powerful magic. You decide."
Takumi didn't think twice; he had read hundreds of stories exactly like this situation.
He knew exactly what he would ask for; he didn't want to be reborn as a weak baby and spend years learning magic just to reach something decent.
"I want the maximum possible power," he said firmly. "The highest level in magic and skills, so that when I grow up, nothing and no one can stop me—SSS-rank magic or whatever they call it there."
The God fell silent for a few seconds, as if consulting something within itself.
"Granted. Your soul will carry a Soul Core with SSS classification. In that world, no one has been born with that potential in over a thousand years; you will be quite the anomaly.
But remember, great potential doesn't mean immediate power; you need to work hard, gain experience, and… form deep bonds with others to fully awaken it."
"Bonds?" Takumi asked, confused.
"They are secrets of that world; you'll discover them in time. Do you wish for anything else?"
Without another word, Takumi shook his head.
"No, I just want to be the strongest; that's all."
"Very well. May your new life be long and prosperous." With that, the light intensified until it completely blinded him.
Then he felt himself falling into what seemed like a deep vertigo, as if the entire universe was spinning around him.
And then, he began to feel cold—a damp cold that reached his bones. Without warning, Takumi opened his eyes wide.
He was lying on what seemed like a hard, damp straw mattress; the ceiling was old wood with too many leaks dripping into a rusty bucket.
The place smelled of age and wet earth; through a small window, a reasonable amount of light came in, through which he could see thatched roofs and chimneys.
He tried to sit up, but something was wrong—very wrong.
He noticed his arms were thinner than he remembered; his fingers were slender and visibly delicate.
He slowly looked down, his heart beating faster and faster.
He was wearing a nearly torn and dirty nightgown that covered a body that wasn't his; his chest was no longer flat—there were two small mounds outlined under the thin fabric.
His hips were wider, and his legs shorter.
'No… This can't be.' he thought in horror.
He brought his hands to his face with a slight tremble; his cheeks were soft, his lips fuller, and his nose small.
He felt a strand of short white hair fall onto his shoulder, brushing his skin.
He tried to run—or rather ended up stumbling—toward a bucket of stagnant water that reflected like an improvised mirror.
What he saw felt like a punch to the gut.
It was a girl, barely eighteen years old, with a delicate face and large, intense red eyes.
Her hair was short white and a bit messy; her skin was pale and marked by dirt and hunger.
She was a complete beauty who stood out despite all that.
Takumi opened his mouth, and the only thing that came out was a choked, high-pitched, feminine scream.
'The god said reincarnation… but he didn't say anything about this.'
At that moment, deep in his mind, a cold and mechanical voice echoed for the first time:
[Soul Core detected.
Latent Rating: SSS.
Current Status: Sealed.
Effective Rank: F-.
Owner: Aria (unregistered orphan).
Welcome to Elyria.]
Takumi—now in Aria's body—fell to his knees on the damp straw, his hands trembling.
'This isn't what I asked for.'