NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1
1. Let’s Give You An Invincibility Skill
“Let’s give you an Invincibility skill.”
When the woman who suddenly appeared said that, I──Haruto Riva was dumbfounded.
Huh? Absolutely no damage?
First of all, who are you?
You’re incredibly beautiful!
You have big breasts!
Countless questions welled up all at once.
The latter part was more excitement than questions.
Around me, there was a vast white space.
I was floating there, bobbing up and down.
Where am I? What is this place?
At least, I was sure I wasn’t the town’s main street I was walking through just a moment ago.
“To put it simply, if you use that skill, your body will no longer receive any damage from physical, magical, or any other type of attack. You will become inviolable and invincible.”
Ignoring my confusion, the beautiful woman continued the conversation on her own.
“With that power, it’s up to you whether to do something or don’t something. It’s your freedom to choose.”
“Even if you suddenly tell me…”
It’s just too incomprehensible.
“I apologize for the delay. I’m a transcendent being in the multi-dimensional world── well, to put it in terms you can understand.”
The beautiful woman speaks dispassionately.
“I’m a Goddess.”
Huh, a Goddess!?
It’s an unbelievable story to be told suddenly.
I stared at her again.
She has long golden hair that reaches her waist and slanted blue eyes.
I’m captivated once again by her transcendent beauty.
There’s no doubt she’s a goddess-level beauty.
“Oh my, you’re praising me as beautiful. Thank you very much.”
The Goddess(?) blushes shyly.
I didn’t say anything─did she hears my inner thoughts?
“Perhaps my breasts might be larger than the average goddesses’, hehe. Some are even bigger than me though… ufufu.”
The Goddess smiles mischievously.
Uh oh, she even heard ‘big breasts’ in my mind!
Now it’s my turn to blush,
“Well, anyways──”
The Goddess returns to a serious expression.
“It might be hard to believe all of a sudden, but I’m a Goddess. And you, you have died once in the mortal world and are floating in this ‘place between time and space’.”
“I… died?”
When she told me that, my whole body suddenly got goosebumps.
Memories──suddenly resurface like a flashback.
A horse-drawn carriage approaching at great speed.
The voice of the coachman shouting, “Watch out!”
And a tremendous impact running through my entire body.
“I… I think, on my way to school? Yes, I got hit by a carriage…”
“Unfortunately, you have passed away.”
The Goddess informed me mercilessly.
“But your soul is a special. Therefore, this ‘death’ will be canceled, and you will be given another chance to live.”
“Eh, so I don’t have to die…?”
“Souls have something like a manufacturing number and certain numbers are given a chance for a ‘do-over’. Well, it’s like drawing lots. Congratulations.”
Despite the talk about life and death, the tone of the Goddess’s voice was nonchalant.
“At that time, you will also be endowed with unparalleled power. As I mentioned, you will have a body that absolutely does not receive damage from any attack. Depending on how you use it, you might even be able to change the world.”
The Goddess holds out her hand towards me.
A faint white light dwells in her palm.
“It’s time to return to the mortal world soon. Are you ready in your heart?”
“Eh? Wait a minute, there are still things I want to ask──”
I am completely bewildered.
“I can stay in this dimensional space for… ga… a little longer… za… explanation, any more… ga…………… za za…”
Suddenly, noise-like interference mixes with the Goddess’s voice, making it unclear.
Hey, is explanation time over already!
At the same time, my vision starts to blur.
My consciousness──fades away.
“I’m wishing you a better life. If possible, better than before.”
For just a moment, that voice sounded unusually clear──.
My consciousness abruptly ceases.
──When I come to, I am back in the original place.
“Hey, are you okay…?”
There’s a carriage right nearby.
The one calling out to me is the coachman.
“…Looks like I’m fine.”
Indeed, I remember getting hit, but there’s not a scratch on my body.
Did I really gain the skill to avoid damage just like that Goddess said?
──But it’s just too unbelievable.
After all, that earlier encounter felt like a daydream. I wasn’t hit by a carriage in the first place.
Because I don’t have a scratch now.
“I thought this guy was going to rampage suddenly… I thought he got hit by the carriage.”
See, it was definitely a daydream.
It’s a story like a dream where a Goddess appears and grants me special powers──that can’t be true.
I’m just an ordinary commoner’s child.
I’m not a hero, not a brave adventurer. Just a student.
“No, I’m fine, so don’t worry about it.”
I say to the coachman and bid him farewell.
I must hurry, or I’ll be late.
In this country, it’s common for commoner children to attend the royal school until they’re fifteen.
After that, some go to higher or university sections, while others enter the workforce.
I chose the former and am currently a second-year student in the high section.
There’s no deep reason for my choice.
I didn’t have any particular job I wanted to do, so I just went with the recent trend of going to university sections for now.
There are no lofty goals for the future, just mundane days of listening to boring classes every day──.
I go through such routine work today as well, and it’s now after school.
I’m walking home.
Although I had a strange daydream in the morning, it turned out to be just another ordinary day.
“An [Absolute No Damage] skill… huh.”
Suddenly, I look down at my hands and feet.
Gwoooonnn!
Then I hear a trembling roar from the depths of my stomach.
“W-what’s…!?”
Next, I hear a rumble and an explosion.
And the screams of the townspeople.
“Hey, run! A demon beast has appeared on the outskirts of town!”
Someone shouts at me.
“Aren’t there any adventurers!? Someone in a class that can defeat demon beasts!”
“The mayor is contacting the guild through magical communication! But there’s no way they’ll dispatch to a poor town like ours right away!”
When I look back, beyond the city walls surrounding the town, I see a face reminiscent of a large lizard.
It sends chills down my spine.
A dragon──.
It’s the epitome of the strongest demon beasts in this world.
The dragon is ramming into the city walls.
The sturdy walls creak and crack.
──Demon beasts are like disasters in this world.
They suddenly appear from another dimension, destroying and trampling everything around them.
There seems to be some precursor to the appearance of demon beasts, and based on that, a demon beast alert is issued.
But this time, maybe they couldn’t catch the precursor, so there was no alert.
It’s a surprise attack.
I have to run too──.
My reason tells me so, but my legs won’t move.
It’s not fear.
It’s a strange confidence, almost a certainty.
The events of the morning were lingering in my head.
[At that time, you will also be endowed with unparalleled power.]
I recall the words of the Goddess.
[Depending on how you use it, you might even be able to change the world.]
“She did mention an [Absolute No Damage] skill…”
I lightly punch my own cheek with my fist.
Thunk.
I expected a sound to come, but instead─
Clang!
It sounded like two metals colliding.
“Woah, what is this?”
Even though it’s my own body, I’m surprised.
I try rubbing my cheek with my palm, but it just feels like soft skin.
Yet, when I punch, there’s this strange metallic sound. What’s going on What’s with my body?
I try it again, putting more force into it this time.
Clang!
“Whoa, that’s loud!?”
The metallic sound is higher-pitched than before.
And this time, there were sparks of golden light.
Did I really gain the skill to be invulnerable as the Goddess said?
At least, this doesn’t seem like an ordinary body.
But even if I did become invulnerable, that wouldn’t be enough to defeat a dragon.
Now, what should I do──.
In front of me, the dragon just broke through the city walls.