NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1
Chapter 1: Hello. World!
What is a god?
I had never thought deeply about it until now, but I could definitely tell that something in front of me was a god.
It had the shape of a human, but its body was made up of the universe, a strange being.
Just looking at it was overwhelming and oppressive; if this isn’t a god, then what is?
“Oh, you’ve opened your eyes. I’ve waited quite a long time.”
And then it spoke in an unnecessarily familiar tone! As if it’s talking to a close friend!
“There’s a lot I want to say, but it would be meaningless to you now. I’ll only say what’s necessary.”
The god, who had no face, smiled.
Wait, it has no eyes or mouth—how did I even notice it was smiling? What? What’s going on?
“I’ve created a world. Would you like to be reincarnated there?”
Reincarnation…? Is this some kind of reincarnation genre?
Wasn’t that trend over? It feels a bit outdated, doesn’t it?!
“Of course, you have the option not to accept my offer, but in that case…”
The god moved its hand to draw a rectangle, and that rectangle emitted a bizarre light, revealing a different scene.
“Your original body is already dead.”
What?
“Sudden cardiac arrest. Died from myocardial infarction while sleeping, so there was nothing you could do.”
I’m dead…?
Without achieving anything substantial, just as I was starting to step into society…?
“So, what will you do? Will you accept my offer?”
If I’m already dead… I have no choice but to accept. Damn it…
“Yes. You’ve made a good choice. I’ve prepared the best body for you. You’ll definitely like it.”
But why is this god making me such an offer? Why me? Does it have an ulterior motive?
“Purpose? There’s none. I just wish for you to live a joyful and happy life.”
Saying that, the god paused for a moment, then added,
“But if I just send you off without anything, you might not feel motivated… Alright! I’ll give you one condition.”
Condition?
“If you achieve something in that world that satisfies you, I’ll grant you one wish.”
A wish?
“Anything you desire, I’ll grant only one. If you wish to return to your original world, I’ll make it happen.”
Return to my original world…?
“But, I’ll be strict in judging. You have to be genuinely satisfied, from the bottom of your heart—thinking nothing could be better. It won’t be easy.”
After saying that, the god quietly clapped its hands, and suddenly the ground beneath my feet gave way.
“Have a good journey!”
Like rolling into a deep chasm, my soul began to flow somewhere, and in the endless darkness surrounding me, I lost consciousness.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
[The creator god of this world. Opinions vary on why this nameless god created the world, but no facts have been revealed.
The Guardian Dragon of the kingdom, known as the first creation and first intelligent being, did not know the god’s intentions. In fact, no one in this world truly understands the creator god’s purpose.
Perhaps the creator god wished for a world where its creations could live freely.
Historian Edward Rochus]
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
I once read a phrase in a book.
[A bird struggles to break out of the egg. The egg is the bird’s world. Anyone wishing to be born must destroy a world.]
It was definitely… Demian, wasn’t it? There was more to the phrase, but that’s not important right now.
I was living this phrase literally, without any metaphor.
The world surrounding me. I was pushing hard against this infinitely solid world.
The me, not yet born, must destroy this world to be born.
Hmm… Am I an egg? A bird? A lizard? From the limbs I have, I guess I’m not a snake.
The god said it prepared the best body for me… Not a human, but some kind of beast?!
Among creatures born from eggs, the best body could only belong to… perhaps, a legendary creature like a dragon.
Well, fantasy might be considered nonsense, but at the moment I faced a god, reality and unreality became meaningless.
The best body or whatever—I’ll find out after I’m born.
I pushed with all my might against the walls enclosing me.
Flailing and twisting my body in the cramped space, the egg enveloping me finally showed a tiny crack.
A faint line. A sliver of light seeped through, barely visible unless looked at closely.
That was the beginning.
As I pushed hard, the thin line extended, split, and widened.
Thus, the world that enveloped me breaks and crumbles.
With dazzling light and a cold breeze, I broke out of the egg’s world and faced a new one.
Hello. World!
A greeting to the new world.
With that, the once-still world began to move.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
I was born a dragon with silver scales.
Still young, with a relatively large head and quite small wings on my back. But hey, a dragon is a dragon!
I look at my reflection in the water pooled nearby. The appearance of a young dragon covered in silver scales… looked like a lizard with horns.
What is this? A cute lizard, maybe? One that seems like it could star in an animation by the world’s most famous mouse company.
It’s lucky that even at such a young age, I don’t feel uncomfortable moving my body.
I lifted my body and looked around the area I was born.
A small cave with nothing in it, except for a corner where water pooled. No trace of the parents who bore me, nor even the sound of insects or birds in this strange space.
Yes. The world I faced was a peculiar space.
How should I put it, unfinished? A result with many lacking aspects?
If asked what was lacking, I could mention this and that, but for starters, the trees are small.
The largest tree doesn’t even reach my waist. It looks like all the trees were just planted recently.
Plus, there were no insect sounds. Not even the sound of birds.
There seems to be no sign of life at all.
Is this world okay…? Just as I was pondering this, something popped up from the bottom right of my vision.
The shape of a small envelope. What’s this? Like some kind of message…
I carefully touched the envelope with my scale-covered fingers, and suddenly it unfolded.
┌─────────────────────
│Looks like you’ve reincarnated safely!
│That world hasn’t been around for long.
│So there probably aren’t any proper creatures yet.
│But don’t worry!
│I’ll give you some abilities as a reincarnation bonus.
│First ability is the power of creation.
│You’ll be able to create anything you want!
│The world itself is like your toy.
│I’ll imprint how to use the ability in your mind.
│Fill this world with the life you create!
│But to create life, you need to know a lot.
│So, the second bonus is the ability to
│look into information from other worlds.
│The internet, was it? There was something incredible about it, you know.
│Of course, you being from that world should know well.
│I think it will definitely help you.
│Lastly, I’ll give you the ability to manipulate time.
│Even if your lifespan is infinite,
│If you live day by day,
│Even you will likely become exhausted.
│Stopping time, accelerating it, or reversing it can be
│a bit risky, so I’ll put some restrictions on its use.
│In that world, you can become an omnipotent being.
│By the way, this was made as a messenger for gods.
│Named GodTalk!
│For now, it’s just you and me using it.
│Maybe someday, if there are gods in that world, they’ll use it?
│If you have any questions, ask through this messenger.
│I’ll answer as kindly as possible.
└─────────────────────
What is this?
At that moment, a massive wave of knowledge begins to crawl into my mind.
The first bonus. The power of a god. The power to create. The power to create life. All those methods of using power filled my mind.
Following that, knowledge related to the second bonus flowed into my mind, and I used the ability without hesitation.
As I used it, a square window appeared in front of me. It had the very familiar look of a web browser.
Seeing the appearance of the most famous search engine from the previous world, I was at a loss for words.
This is… the reincarnation bonus…?