The Protagonist System

I opened my eyes and I was sitting on a plain wooden chair in a place shrouded in darkness. The only thing I could see was a more elaborate white chair with a nightstand beside it about ten feet away. A book was on the nightstand and I wondered what it was, because I wasn't being forced to relive however many years Satou Kazuma lived in the normal world. It was an honestly freeing experience to not have an instant headache like usual.

I heard high heels clacking on the floor behind me, so I turned my head to look. There she was, an inappropriately dressed goddess named Aqua, and holy hell I could see right up her skirt without her bending over. She was wearing a white thong and I honestly thought that was too plain for a goddess to be wearing.

Where was the lace and black garters? The thigh-high see-through hose? The low-cut cleavage bearing top? I shook those thoughts from my head and tried to not let my disappointment show on my face.

Aqua walked by me as she spoke. “Satou Kazuma-san. Welcome to the Afterlife.”

My eyes went to her practically bare ass as she strutted by. Yep, she definitely needs some lace to highlight that ass properly.

“Unfortunately, you passed away moments ago.” Aqua said and walked over to her chair and sat down, crossing her legs. “Your life was a short one; but, you are in fact dead.”

Silence filled the air around us, mostly because I had nothing to say. She did, though.

“By the way, the girl you pushed out of the way to save her life? She would have been fine if you hadn't acted.” Aqua said, a smile blossoming on her face. “That tractor was going to stop before it hit her.”

I remained silent, just to see if she would keep going without me prompting her. She did.

“You died of shock because you mistakenly thought a truck had run over you.” Aqua said and uncrossed her legs, barely holding herself back, then she burst out laughing and gave me several nice shots up her skirt as she writhed on her chair and laughed her ass off. “I've been doing this for a long time and you're the first human to ever die in such a bizarre way!”

I watched as she turned mostly to the side and her laughs slowed to giggles.

“You were so terrified that you'd be run over, you wet yourself. You passed out and were taken to a nearby hospital and the doctors and nurses laughed at you as you had a heart attack!” Aqua said as she calmed down, then she stood and walked over to me to bend down with her face in front of mine. “Your family rushed to the hospital and now they're laughing out loud at the cause of death.”

I didn't react and she let out a little huff.

“Anyways, I've vented enough stress for now.” Aqua said and stood up straight. “My name is Aqua. I'm a goddess who guides humans who die young to the afterlife.”

My eyes dropped from her face to closely examine her breasts. Surprisingly, they were a little saggy and hung slightly to the sides, clearly showing that she wasn't wearing any kind of support there. When she moved her arms, they jiggled and proved that she needed it.

“You have two choices. You can start from square one with a new life or you can go to Heaven and carry on like an old man.” Aqua said.

My mind immediately replayed the last twenty years of my life as Harry Potter. Being an old man surrounded by family sounded pretty damn good. She must have seen it on my face, because she immediately bent over at the waist and her breasts jiggled a lot. Like, a lot a lot.

“To tell you the truth.” Aqua stage-whispered loudly. “Heaven isn't the dreamy place you all imagine it to be. Not only is there no TV, there's no manga and games, either.”

That didn't really discourage me, actually.

“You don't have a physical body, so nothing sexual goes on, either. There's nothing to do but bask in the sun for all eternity.” Aqua said. “You don't want to go to a boring place like Heaven, do you?”

I raised a single eyebrow at her.

“On the other hand, starting over from square one isn't so fun, either.” Aqua said, conspiratorially. “On that note, I've got a great offer for you!”

I watched as she stood up and her breasts shook, then she took a dramatic pose and began her speech.

“A world that has long known peace is being threatened by the Devil King's army! The livelihoods its citizens have worked for are being trampled by monsters! Everyone lives in fear of the Devil King's army's merciless pillage and slaughter!” Aqua exclaimed and spread her arms wide as a dramatic light turned on overhead to bathe her in golden light.

I blinked my eyes at the show, because her skirt billowed and gave me another great view. The light suddenly turned off with a loud click and Aqua bent back over to look into my eyes.

“Since that's the sort of world it is, everyone refuses to be reborn and the population is declining.” Aqua said in a normal voice.

“Really?” I asked and she nodded.

“So, we decided. Why not send people who've died in other worlds there with their bodies and memories intact?” Aqua asked, rhetorically.

“So, you're sending me there to die?” I asked, just in case she needed the excuse to keep going.

“Ha ha! No! I'm going to do you a huge favor. I'm going to grant you the right to bring any one thing of your choosing with you. It could be a powerful weapon or a tremendous talent.” Aqua said and crossed her arms. “You'll be able to redo your life with all of your original memories and bring one thing of your choosing.”

An odd glow came from behind me, which I ignored.

“The people of that parallel world will earn someone battle-ready to help them.” Aqua said, her face beaming a fake smile. “Not a bad deal, don't you think?”

I sat there as the light behind me faded. “All right, Aqua. Show me what you got.”

Aqua laughed and did a kind of magical girl pose as she twirled around and lights and magic sparkled all over as dramatic music played. “Now choose! I'll grant you one power that is second to none!”

Then she tossed a pile of parchment papers at me and sat down on her chair. A bowl of potato chips appeared on her nightstand and she started eating them.

I flipped through the pages quickly and didn't see what I wanted. “I need a list of skills and abilities, please. These are just worthless items.”

Aqua gasped and gave me a glare. “They are not worthless!”

I held up the page with the picture of a hammer. “A cheap copy of Thor's Mijolnir. It's only half as powerful and doesn't grant the user magical armor.” I said and held up another with a sword. “An even cheaper copy of the legendary Excalibur, only it doesn't grant the King title or gives me lands to rule over.”

Aqua waved a hand at the stack of parchment and they scattered and disappeared. “We aren't legally allowed to use the real items. Copyright infringement is a real thing, you know!”

I had to chuckle at that. “Does that go for the skills and abilities, too? I can get the adamantium skeleton of Wolverine and not the healing factor, so I die of metal poisoning in a few hours?”

Aqua opened her mouth to respond hotly and a large glowing portal opened above us. We both turned to look at it as a gorgeous pink-haired angel with white wings floated down to land about twenty feet away.

“Your analysis is correct, Kazuma-san.” The beautiful angel said. “What is it that you would request if certain restrictions can still be met?”

I thought about that for a moment and then smiled. “Asking for you to come along would be out of order, because with God as my witness, your wings wouldn't stay white for long.”

The angel giggled and gave my body a searching look. “It's tempting to descend to the mortal world to experience that, as long as we married first.”

“Ah, I've met that qualification before.” I said and bowed slightly to her. “It's just as restrictive now.”

The angel nodded. “Make your actual request, please.”

“Do the heroes have a level cap in that world?” I asked.

The angel looked thoughtful for several seconds. “Apparently, they do. No one has ever reached it.”

I knew then what I wanted to ask for. “If it's possible, I want the skill 'unlimited rapid growth'.”

“You can't ask for that!” Aqua gasped.

“Ah, ah, ah! You said you would grant me a power that is second to none.” I said and her mouth snapped closed. “Did you lie? Is this all a sham to throw cannon fodder at the Demon King as a delay tactic?”

The angel looked surprised. “Kazuma-san, I assure you...”

“A simple yes or no is sufficient.” I interrupted and her mouth snapped closed, too. “I assume that means you can't lie or obscure the truth when asked to answer directly like that?”

The angel nodded. Wordy replies let them hide the truth, apparently.

“Shall I be granted the skill or not?” I asked. “Again, a simple yes or no answer.”

“How dare you...” Aqua started to say.

“Your skill will be granted.” A booming voice echoed through the space we were in. “In exchange, if you succeed in defeating the Devil King and his army, you will not receive the reward of any wish you want.”

I thought about that for a moment and nodded. “That's fair, Holiest of Holy. If the skill actually works as intended, I should be able to grant my own wishes eventually.”

A chuckling laugh echoed for a second and then faded away.

“You will be given a choice to stay or return to your world when your journey is over.” The pink-haired angel informed me.

“That's also fair.” I said and gave her a warm smile. “We can get married then and fulfill your fondest wish before I move on.”

The angel's eyes widened at my words and then she laughed. “It'll be the shortest marriage in history.”

I grinned at her and didn't correct her assumption. My marriage to Hestia was the shortest at 33 minutes. The floor below me lit up in a huge magic circle that I memorized, sure that it would come in handy later, and I felt something poke the back of my brain.

“Thank you!” I said and waved to the darkness, then my body floated up into the air and a huge portal opened up. A blinding flash lit the space up as I entered it... and I appeared standing on a dirt road just inside the walled-in starter town for adventurers called Axel.

The first thing I did was duck behind the small house nearby and used my magic detection spell. There was someone inside the house, a woman and a child, so I avoided the windows as I stripped off my clothes and pulled my backpack out of my dimensional storage space. I put on my bodysuit and then donned my full armor set.

I kept the Hestia Familia emblem on the chest, since the whole point was to show it off. If anyone asked me about it, my personal Goddess Hestia was going to become known here, too. I strapped my mythril sword to my hip and put my backpack back into my storage space, changed my hair to white and lengthened it, and walked around the house to go into the main part of the town.

As I walked, I finished altering my features to my normal handsome face. There would be no insults or making fun of me for having an average-looking face. No sir. I didn't want people to dislike me or think I was untrustworthy, just because I didn't look rugged enough to be an adventurer.

I saw a lot of happy peasants as I walked. The children ran and played, men worked at odd jobs, and women looked happy to be tending house and taking care of their families. I also saw a lot of adventurers. The outfits on the female adventurers ranged from slightly provocative to downright sleazy; and yet, they carried it off with a confidence that was lacking in any other culture.

The men were like me, heavily clothed and armored. Anyone that wasn't was probably a magic user of some kind. Or a thief. Or a rogue. Or poor and lazy. I had to chuckle at those thoughts, because if you wanted to work, there were tons of jobs to do everywhere. This was the starter city for a reason. People started their careers here.

A man wearing an armored chest plate and thick helmet walked by. He wore normal pants and his arms were bare, so he either ran out of money for more armor or he was a close ranged fighter with a weak upper body defense. His female companion wasn't much better.

She wore a stylized bra and plain brown cloth panties, two pieces of split cloth as a skirt that barely covered the cheeks of her ass as she walked, and had armor pieces on her shoulders. That was it. She was fairly pretty, though. Maybe that was enough for her? Even her boots were plain and not armored.

I slowed my walking down and looked over at a group of adventurers chatting beside the road. I could clearly see who was a fighter and who was a mage. It was almost like a uniform standard for the women to wear revealing clothing. Bare abs there, deep cleavage over there, and lengths of glorious thighs everywhere. Some outfits were like bathing suits, bikinis, and thin bodysuits.

When I saw a young woman about 18 wearing a skin-tight purple bodysuit, I had to walk over and introduce myself. She was my preferred body type with a slender build, small breasts, and a cracking ass. Her eyes almost popped out of her head when she saw me approaching her.

I chuckled at her taking a step back from me and I reached up and took off my helmet. That let her see my shoulder length white hair and I cast a silent wind spell to have my hair flutter. The young woman blushed slightly and smiled at me.

“Hi, there. I'm sorry to interrupt your conversation.” I said and the other members of her party stopped talking and turned to look at me.

The woman fighter was wearing a red and white bathing suit with a metal breastplate and had a huge sword hanging from her belt. She gave me a very pointed inspection and looked like she liked what she saw as she smiled widely.

“You shouldn't bother with the newbie until she has more experience. If you're looking for some exciting... conversation... you don't have to look any further than right here.” The woman fighter said seductively and motioned to herself.

I ignored her blatant flirting and only looked at the girl in the bodysuit. “I saw you when I was passing by and realized I needed to introduce myself. I'm Satou.” I said and bowed slightly, took her hand, and kissed the back of it. “Could I talk to you for a few minutes and ask you how to get to the Adventurer's Guild?”

“Hey! I was talking to you!” The woman warrior said and took an aggressive step towards me.

The guy with a bare chest and short leather jacket grabbed her arm to stop her. “Denitha, stop. Look at his armor.”

“I saw it.” She spat at him. “I was trying to stake my claim on the rich boy!”

That got my attention, so I looked at her. “What makes you think I'm rich?”

“You had the piles and piles of Eris to buy that from a professional blacksmith! Of course you're rich!” The woman warrior almost shouted, which gained a lot of attention from other adventurers and most of the nearby peasants.

“I didn't buy this armor.” I said and saw her face go angry, as if she was going to accuse me of stealing it. “I made it myself.”

That caused every single man, woman, and child in the area to freeze. The adventurers looked stunned, the thief trying to sneak up behind me stumbled and fell because he was in mid-creep, and the peasants all had open mouths as they stared at me.

I ignored it all and looked back at the young woman whose hand I still held. “How do I get to the Adventurer's Guild?”

“Walk straight until you cross the bridge, take a left to get onto the main street, and then follow it to the city center. The guild hall is off to the right and you can't miss it.”

“Thank you for the help.” I said and kissed her hand again. “It was nice meeting you, Amilie.”

The young woman nodded and I let her hand go before I walked away. No one moved or tried to follow me, not even the thief.

There was a sharp intake of breath behind me. “How did he know my name? I never told him what it was!”

I chuckled and walked faster, just in case they got it into their heads to come after me and find out. Magic detection was a great spell and gave me all sorts of information when I spammed it.