I've always fancied myself a bit of a philosopher, not in a real deep way but, thought experiments and alternative ways of looking at the world did always interest me. So with that I'd like to pose a question, what is the opposite of talent? What is the inverse of someone who excels? You might be tempted to answer an untalented person, and in a sense you would be right. However, there's a more accurate answer to this question: an ordinary person. The opposite of talent is not a lack of it, but a lack of anything extraordinary. Be it fame or infamy, a sage or a village idiot, they all in their own way are outside the mundane.
I was, unfortunately, one of the ordinary ones. I wasn't the smartest, or the most athletic, or the most popular. But conversely I always made at least average grades, did passably at PE, and had a decent group of acquaintances. But I knew at the end of the day I wasn't all that different from any other average person in this world.
Which is why I am extremely confused to find myself sitting at a tea table, talking to someone who claims to be a God.
"So let me get this straight," I asked dubiously. "I am not dreaming or dead, you just pulled me out of my world? Like I'm produce??"
The glowing, all too perfect looking young man sitting across from me gave a gentle smile.
"In your parlance then yes, I guess I did treat you rather like produce, but I promise that I did it with the best of intentions" the 'god' explained placidly. "You see I'm in the business of making waves, changing things for the better, and with you I saw a unique opportunity"
What an odd dream, I could've sworn I saw this same thing happen in a web toon like a week ago
"This isn't a webtoon Oliver, and like I keep telling you, it isn't a dream" the god said
"You can read my mind??" I exclaimed
"Why wouldn't I be able to? We're in my pocket dimension after all. But to explain why I've brought you here, I need to give you some background. You see, earth is not the only world in this vast reality, there are many different worlds that exist apart from each other, and are governed by different rules. They used to be able to coexist and share with one another, but after a rather unfortunate war, the gods were forced to separate the worlds from each other." He exposited.
"So the multiverse is real?" I asked in amazement, at this point having lost the capacity to care whether or not I was dreaming.
"Exactly," he continued "and because not all gods are equal in status and power, some worlds were granted better conditions then others. Your world, earth, is considered a minor world, its very stable but also almost free from divine influence. Becuase of this its progress and standing have long since stagnated, and it has been marked for recreation. This is really just a fancy way of saying they'll reset the world and put it under a different god's leadership this time. But not every human on earth is hopeless, so instead of just resetting everyone the pantheon council has decided to allow gods in good standing with the castle to 'headhunt' as you might call it, people with the potential to thrive in their world."
"So let me guess, you want me to come to your world and 'make waves' as you put it" I answered dryly.
"Exactly! And of course since you'd be getting a much later star than the native residents there I'm willing to send you in with some gifts as well" the god excitedly added, looking more and more like a kid in a candy store.
"Alright I'll play along" I said "what sort of gifts are we talking here?"
"In this world there are far more forms of power and talent then in your home world. One example of this being magic" the god continued as if this was an everyday conversation. "Another is skills which are like magic but more powerful, as a generalization, and you are uniquely suited to wield both very well."
"What do you mean?" I asked, confused. "I've never done anything magical or supernatural, and I never really had any special skills to speak of."
"That's where you're wrong. You see, your soul is inherently formless, and very adaptable and resistant to damage. In your world this is actually a hindrance because you won't specialize in any one field naturally. However, in a world where one's soul heavily determines their power your condition is highly desirable because you can hold many different types of skills at a high proficiency without burning out your soul." The god continued, visibly getting more excited with each passing moment.
"So let's say I believe you, which I'm not saying I am. What kind of gifts can you give me that would benefit that unique condition?" I said, skeptical of this seemingly too good to be true news.
"What I'm offering you, in exchange for transmigrating to my world and increasing its standing within the pantheon council, is the ability to learn and hold any skill or magic, as well as being the vessel for your own seed of divinity, which means you could eventually grow into your own type of demigod or deity."
"And if I refuse?" I asked, not maliciously but just hesitant to take such a one sided deal.
"Nothing," the god shrugged. "You're sent back to earth, the world is reset, and eventually you'll be born again, or not, there's no true way of knowing for sure."
I sat in silence for a moment, now seriously pondering what the self-proclaimed god was offering. If this was just a dream, taking or not taking the deal wouldn't change anything and I'd just wake up with a weird story. But if he was telling the truth, then I had very few things to lose compared to what I stood to gain from the agreement.
"Alright, I'll transmigrate to your world" I said, noting the delighted smile appear on the gods face. "But I want one more thing, since I'll be going in as an 18 year old guy I'll have a lot of distance to catch up to most people in the world according to what you've said. So I want to be able to gain skills in some auxiliary way to speed up my progress, and I want to have some basic skills preloaded into me so I don't immediately get killed"
"Done!" The god exclaimed. "Everything will be just as you wished it to be, I'll start you out in an area you can grow without being to afraid of dying right away, just remember to check your status card once you wake up!"
We shook hands and I felt myself slowly falling inward, like I had been drugged. The last thing I saw as my eyes fluttered closed was an excited young god staring at me, overjoyed with the new plaything he had obtained.