Goddess Collector: Every Hole is a Goal

Title: Nik Faran (1)

[Do you remember how you got here?]

A translucent red screen with golden words inquiring the circumstances of a young man could be seen in a space of absolute white. Even the youth himself felt that he stood on an invisible platform yet there was nothing aside from the white his dark pupils could see.

Long and dark, even lush. That's how the youth's hair looked like. From behind, one may even say that this man took care of his hair better than many women couldn't possibly imagine. His skin a bit toasty. Not fair, but warmer and wheaty in color. A small scar could be seen on the corner of his right brow. His naked body happened to be a frail one as if he was specifically made to look like a delicate yet exotic-looking female than a man. After all, the natural glossy feel of his skin that could be sensed from the pure white world indicated to youth's lifestyle, or so, one would misjudge.

"I... was executed. For trying to escape my home," the youth mumbled. His eyes dazed and his left hand still traced his neck, "There was a guillotine and... a bucket filled with heads right below me. Why am I not dead?" He inquired. Despite his situation, the youth was soft-spoken. It wasn't that raging waves didn't threaten to tear apart his calm facade but this is how he was trained. To remain soft. To evoke the natural feeling of protectiveness from his 'customers.' Why else? For a great tip, of course.

However, the entity that represented this translucent crimson screen, the gender of whom remained fully unknown, happened to be impervious to the charms of the youth.

[Death is a relative term. Your process of cleansing and reincarnation has not been fully executed and you retain a chance to 'live.' From now on, please keep your answers in two short terms: Yes or no. You will get a chance to question me about your situation as you see fit after this small, voluntary procedure.

Note that any answer aside from the stated terms will be regarded as a non-compliance to the policies and your process of 'death' will be continued shortly after.]

[Do you understand this well?]

The youth stared at the screen silently. Instead of replying, he looked around. Although his body could move, his feet seemed to be stuck in place and couldn't budge no matter what he did.

"Yes."

He nodded.

[At a chance for a new life, would you complete a single task?]

He frowned. If he didn't want a better life, he wouldn't have tried to escape that rather beautiful hell manned by one rather gruesome trainer.

"Yes."

[At a chance for a new life for one task that may continue for a foreseeable future, will you accomplish everything asked of you?]

His furrow deepened.

"... No."

The youth replied while closing his eyes, expecting everything to end now. Wasn't this the same thing as his previous job? If so, what's the point.

But the expected oblivion he felt when his head was separated from his body didn't occur. Slowly, he opened his eyes and found the words on the screen shifted.

[Voluntary contract applicable. Do you wish to understand your circumstances?]

"Yes."

The crimson screen flashed and the youth felt his surroundings turn into a blur, which was strange because all he could see was endless white. The only thing that actually blurred was the crimson screen. A strange expression filled his gaze as he felt a new form of understanding. This transfer of information transcended the method of reading and learning and then acquiring already learned knowledge for future use. This was fixed. What he was forced to understand was the general knowledge of causality. Why he didn't die? Only this remained a mystery.

[Do you accept these conditions?]

'It is... too good to be true, actually. No, it only looks good until I'm forced into these conditions...' The youth traced his chin thoughtfully. Right now, it is true that he had nothing to lose. He was... no, is dead. His body probably handed off to the darker section of his 'home', the necrophilia section where his body might be hardened and stuffed using chemical substances.

'Dang, I forgot about that. Not even a proper cremation.'

He scowled. His previous job was... in a word: All-encompassing.

Yet, being disappointed about his death wasn't his highest priority. It is to make use of this new opportunity.

"Yes..." the youth finally sighed.

His vision instantly darkened and the words on the screen began to change.

[Nik Faran, coded: GC—EHG—98034, added to Infinity. Authority Rank: 0 (0/100). Scanning compatible bloodline...

Scan complete. Reconstructing the body.

Bloodline Selected: Adonis' Ember (Common).

Mark of Infinity constructed.

Selecting Paradise.]

Meanwhile, even if Nik's eyes were now closed as he stood in the same spot, another screen popped in his 'gaze' as if inside his head.

[Do you have any additional inquiries?]

Until now, everything felt like a dream. His caretaker's death, then his own, and now this. A sense of numbness was already present inside of him and he couldn't help but question. His voice didn't echo but the mysterious entity was well aware of the question and replied through the screen.

[I am a formless entity. Refer to me as Infinity, if you must.]

Another question followed up.

[I have not selected you for your profession. Such motives are meaningless to me and as already described, I only wish... things.]

The youth felt his head buzz and he sighed.

[It is not a matter of your will. Your plane considers you 'removed' and even if you wish, you may not return to that plane until you hold sufficient strength. However, since you don't wish to return, it works out just fine.]

Soon, his consciousness faded as he truly had nothing to ask. If given proper time to process his situation then countless inquiries would follow surely but the mysterious entity wasn't bent on it. However, the youth already knew what needed to be done. To survive, at least.

He simply switched jobs. That's all. From one overbearing cunt to another mysterious one. Still, he felt lucky that he won't be forced to work on some wrinkled and rich screw-up always asking for him in his previous world even if his corpse might still be used.

'Oh, shit, I forgot to ask if I'll still be naked—'

---

A sweet and rare warm autumn evening of October.

From a bird's point of view, neat structures built on either side of a paved street with colorful banners and loud calling of many sellers setting their stalls indicated the small street to be a market, a rather frequented one since the evening sun basked plenty of men and women in its hazy orange glow. Couples walked hand-in-hand and this market seemed to be more friendly and warm in its presentation. After all, most of the stores were the front of the houses of the owners. This gave a pleasant and comforting feeling to customers.

Behind one such store, a bookstore, to be precise, a young woman could be seen practicing with a bamboo sword. The sword taped in the tip, center, and the attachment of the hilt with her tight grip handling the sword with expertise.

"Hup!"

She swung the bokken and it let out a sharp whistle as if cutting through the air. The area which she practiced in seemed to be a small backyard. Walls surrounding the small garden with a single tree growing from the corner and shrubbery lined against the perimeter. The grass and leaves quite a bit dry and a large patch of ground already devoid of its greenery.

Despite it being strangely warm, the girl wore a thin jacket and a pair of warm training trousers. After all, she didn't wish to catch a cold by giving into the temperature and wearing slightly short and thin clothes.

"Hup!"

Sucking in a mouthful of air, the woman moved quickly. Her shoulder-length coffee-brown hair tied into a tight pony yet her bangs, especially two unruly ones couldn't be managed easily that gave her a refreshing and untamable impression.

*Krshh*

Her boots skid across the ground with a coarse sound and she struck her bokken vertically fiercely once again.

But as she struck, her hair bangs began to whip without any control. A gale seemed to be blowing right over her head and unknown to her, a meter right above her head, a pitch-black hope spread out in from the void as if it could slice the empty space itself.

"Hmm?" The woman looked up, and her eyes widened before she hurriedly rolled stepped forward.

"Mom—"

She shouted instinctively when a body fell right in front of her.

The black mouth closed instantly and the gale disappeared as if it wasn't present in the first place.

The woman fell silent. After all, the body fell on the ground face first and all that was right in front of her widened eyes were a pair of tight buttocks. An unconscious man with his cheeks presented while a sweating woman clenching a thick wooden stick taped from the tip as if to purposely make it blunt and smoother. Just this sight was enough to fill the spectators with strange, bubbling emotions and this was true for an older, middle-aged woman who finally slid open the dark-tinted glass door to the backyard and snapped, "Call the ambulance! He's bleeding!"

Yet, for a moment, both of them couldn't help but glance at the long mark, almost a tattoo but it seemed like a deformity instead. From the left elbow stretched out, a single spiral of a red mark could be seen imprinted on the body of this strange visitor.

---

"Hmm?"

He woke up. Blinking, the first sight happened to be his twitching toes under the cover of a comforting white sheet. Four walls around him but no handcuff, or wooden saltire cross to spread him over.

'Looks like a hospital...' He looked around and his body ached simultaneously. Not only that...

He could see the blur of the patch over the bridge of his nose and poking it slightly made him twitch.

'Broken? Did I land bad?'

Only if he knew.

*Click*

A youth with soft features walked in and seeing the patient already sitting up, looking around curiously, he couldn't help but scowl momentarily. There were internal reasons for such a reaction. Yet, wearing the white uniform of a nurse and the identification card pinned to its fabric meant showing a smile and treating every patient without any stereotype commanding their actions.

'Beautiful bastard...' Clearly, this one couldn't.

"H-hello, are you feeling well?" The nurse sighed and inquired. Finally realizing why his rather irresponsible senior would relinquish this task to him so quickly. Given the meager amount of self-respect she controlled barely, that would slip in her drunken stupor and the silent records of her irresponsible behavior all indicated that the foreigner in front of him was that 'bad' decision that might end up getting her fired.

However, the dark-haired patient only tilted his head inquisitively. Although he spoke something, the nurse couldn't understand it at all.

"Not a native tongue, huh..." the nurse smiled and stretched his hand towards the man making the patient flinch for a moment but what followed was a surprising moment. With an intense stare, the patient's eyes acted as a warning and the nurse stopped in his action.

Awkwardly taking his hand back, he picked the empty glass set on the stand next to the hospital bed and poured water before offering it to the patient. This action was met with a warm welcome as the patient took the glass with a nod and drank it.

'I can't even communicate. Only two ways about it. Either learn the language or raise my authority point enough to purchase it from that mysterious... organization.'

He handed the glass back to the dark-haired youth in a white t-shirt and trousers before looking at the single mark on his left forearm.

'It's real... I managed to escape her... nice!' His eyes glowed. Excitement bubbled in his body and he instantly stepped out of the bed. His gown was pulled by the blanket a bit carelessly and the nurse's eyes widened.

'Sweet mother anaconda... that's limp?!'

The nurse wanted this patient outside the country at once.

"Nik..."

Nurse's brows twitched. This word was clear enough. Sounded a bit western but too short to categorize it as such instantly. Seeing the patient pointing at himself and speaking the word: Nik, once again, realization flickered in the nurse's eyes and he sighed softly. It was hard to get mad at such a face that looked so sincere.

"Takato," the nurse smiled and pointed at himself.

"Taco..." Nik nodded and walked past him, pushing open the only door to find a rather familiar type of toilet which instantly brightened his mood.

---

"So? Any theory?"

"Have you been watching those detective shows again?"

Two men in blue uniform walked through the neat corridor of the hospital with the antiseptic scent making them inwardly bitter for a moment. One of them was partially bald with an oily spot that reflected the light and the other one with greying sideburns. Exposed by the older of the two, the one with grey sideburns scowled and asked hesitantly.

"How did you know?"

"You would usually say: Did you find anything, Shinto-san? And I saw you taking that Holmes series back home. And you are supposed to be the energetic and aspiring detective... sigh," the man with whitened hair shook his head and the younger partner couldn't help but chuckle in embarrassment.

"But, no. That kid is not present in any records. And that mother-daughter pair seemed convinced that this kid suddenly fell from the sky and broke his nose... good thing that they turned him but... if he wasn't unconscious, the kid would have been looking at serious sexual assault charges."

"Um, Shinto-san, isn't it possible that something's wrong with that... uh, what was it... yeah, Amano mother-daughter pair?"

"They did not seem under the influence of any substance and called an ambulance instead of going crazy and accidentally hurting the kid... you tell me if they are on any substance." Shinto's lips twitched.

"Anyway," the younger one sighed, "If that kid is really a foreigner, then we have a little trouble in our hand. I will send out notices and requests to other prefectures to post his image in the missing column and look if anything surfaces."

Shinto nodded, "Let's do that."

"Still, what about his accommodation? That Takato guy said that they will be forced to dismiss 'Nik' by tomorrow. He doesn't even have any clothes..."

"Why don't you take him home, Raiji?" Shinto chuckled.

"Shinto-san, don't kid me. One look at his face and my wife will be all over him when I'm not around..."

"Oh, about her, did you already get enough evidence?" Shinto grew a bit solemn.

"Yeah, thank you for hinting about her... actions to me. I'm consulting a lawyer so when it really goes down, her infidel ass cannot get a single asset!"

Raiji huffed.

"Well, all the best. I will contact the mother-daughter duo to finalize the formalities and ask them if they have any thoughts of providing accommodation to Nik. Still, we should have Genta-kun take a look. Doesn't he boast that he knows quite a few foreign languages? we'll know if he has been telling truth or lies!"

"Say, Shinto-san, if we happened to be jumping into a teenager's backyard and fell to unconsciousness, would be considered perverts or some unknown victim?"

"Pervert..." Shinto's expression turned bleak.

"That's what I thought... maybe we should really charge that bastard..."

"For what? Being more handsome than you? Just walk forward," Shinto snorted and the two policemen exited the hospital.

---

'Alright... according to infinity, I only have to think of eligible actions allowed and...'

Nik silently lied on the hospital bed and his gaze brightened when a crimson screen with golden edges appeared in front of his eyes. It was translucent and the striking golden words finally made it sink into Nik that he had a new job with at least one benefit thoroughly known— he gets to live again.

[Name: Nik Faran

Age: 20 (80)

Code: GC—EHG—98034

Authority Rank: 0 (0/100)

Paradise: Transmigration

Bloodline: Adonis' Ember (Common)]

Nik silently looked at the number '80.'

'My natural age limit, huh... now, what else. Hmm, Authority Benefits...'

[Authority Rank: 0

No benefits.]

Pursing his lips, Nik began to check whatever he could.

[Transmigration in: 156:46 hours.]

[Skills:

Bloodline—

1) Charm of Adonis: The user's charm can attract the opposite gender and similarly oriented individuals.]

Nik continued to look in a daze.

'That's it, huh... I can't even communicate here. And...'' Nik thought once again and looked at the ring of red on his left forearm. Resisting the urge of doing something so stupid under the presence of many individuals constantly checking up on him, Nik did not invoke the mark of infinity branded on him to look into the other side. Instead, he took advantage of this flexible system of the mysterious organization that this infinity represented and quietly thought of something else.

[Acquire language of the homeworld?

Cost: 1 AP (Rank 0)]

'One authority point, huh...'

Nik turned and looked at the empty glass before glancing around and leaned down to pick the small candy wrapper left by one of the blue-uniformed men and suddenly, the wrapper disappeared from his hand.

[Authority Rank: 0 (0.00007/100)]

Nik sighed and leaned back. This was a hopeless endeavor.

From one cold world to another, Nik could only close his eyes and rest. He wasn't the least bit impatient. After all, he was going to live here for a long time so he wanted to make the best use of the comfort provided to him because even if he was from another world, he knew hospitals to be a rather lucrative form of organization and such a location wouldn't waste their rooms on penniless individuals.

'Still, not being scrawny any longer is already the second-best thing to happen to me aside from being resurrected.'

The next day, another uniformed inspector, Nik realized by now, came over. Unlike the two previous officers, this one was younger, his body build similar to Nik's and he also brought a package with clothes, one pair of it.

"Kaese ho aap?" The man began with a smile and Nik blinked. Gazing at the younger officer with a strange expression, Nik finally spoke up.

"I'm... good." He understood it, a little. The language the man spoke was quite similar to his own world's and given the fact that the man scoffed a chuckle meant that the two of them were on the same page.

"That's some good fortune. I didn't know Hindi would actually work. I spent three years of college in India as an exchange student," the man smiled but confusion once again took over Nik's expression. He couldn't understand half of it.

Seeing this, the man shook his head and introduced himself, "My name is Asagi Genta. Can you tell me what happened?"

Nik looked at the clothes in Genta's hands and then grew a bit thoughtful. In the rules stated imprinted by Infinity in his head, there was no such thing as not talking about his experience of reincarnation. There was only one thing Infinity demanded but that wasn't the issue. But even if reincarnated, Nik wasn't kicked hard enough in his head to just spout the truth fully realizing that it may either be considered a fool's rambling or some secret that shouldn't be exposed in the first place which may lead him to a mental asylum or a dangerous and confined ward.

"I don't know. I was taking a bath and the next thing I know, I'm in this hospital. I can barely talk to others, too," he replied while sighing. He wasn't fortunate enough to get a window room or he might have already tried to escape.

Sitting down, Genta placed the clothes on the bedstand and crossed his arms. Solemnity flashing across his face, "You don't remember? Your file does not state amnesia."

Nik smiled and nodded, "I don't."