Elijah listened to Nia's game analogy.
They were going to give him a leveling up system just like the major characters in Isekai anime and light novels. However, the Isekai is a sub-genre of transporting or reincarnating into other worlds.
In Isekai, it transports the characters into a game world. Since this world was like the one he died in, there was no such thing as magic and no one had the System apart from him. There were actually people in this world. This isn't some game.
So this wasn't an Isekai situation at all.
***
"Hachoo!" Azrael sneezed.
"Are you okay brother? Could you be getting sick?" Asked Archangel Michael.
"Don't be silly. How could an Archangel get sick?"
"How about that time when you shivered and puked when you abstain from killing? I think you're having withdrawal symptoms."
"I don't get those symptoms within a day of killin-… Reincarnating someone Michael. Someone must be insulting me this very moment. No doubt it's Fortuna."
***
Elijah was nervous because he never enjoyed playing RPG games. After all, they were slow and the puzzles can be hard to solve. He liked playing FPS games instead.
Since the System worked like a standard RPG game, he was worried about managing his character stats. He wasn't smart either.
"Please wait a moment while I print out your character class choices," Nia said.
In front of her was a system screen that Elijah couldn't see. Nia looked like she was just reading something invisible in the air. She was looking at a list of modern character classes.
Soldier
Sniper
Demolitions
Medic
Field Scientist
Engineer
Martial Artist
Recon
To her surprise, these options were transparent and unselectable. When she tried selecting it, a notification popped up.
[This list is only available to one player]
"Huh?"
Nia crossed her eyebrows in confusion.
Elijah noticed this and then had a worried expression on his face.
'Am I not supposed to be here?'
It worried Elijah that the System got him mixed up with someone else because he didn't think he was fit to be the main character or a hero. He was just a regular guy.
He felt like an imposter and shifted his feet uncomfortably.
When she checked the destination, she found that one player was already sent to that world, and it was the boy she had interviewed a couple of minutes ago!
It was extremely rare that it sent two protagonists to a world where the Demon Lord didn't inhabit.
"Is something wrong?" Elijah asked.
"Uhh, no. I'm printing your list now."
A white sheet of paper materialized vertically in the air. It stayed still and didn't fall from gravity.
Nia picked it up and handed it to Elijah. He looked at it and exclaimed in surprise.
"Wha-what! I thought I could pick from modern classes?"
"I'm sorry, I was mistaken. Those classes are inaccessible right now but these traditional classes have never failed before!"
Elijah thought that the modern classes would involve guns so that he could leverage his FPS knowledge. However, what appeared on the list were the common classes he saw in an RPG game.
Hero
Warrior
Monk
Paladin
Ranger
Rogue
Mage
Necromancer
Dark Knight
Priest
'Hm? Hero class?'
It sounded strong and stood out from the rest.
However, another class caught his eye.
"Can I ask you about the mage?"
Nia was a bit surprised he asked about the mage. It was rare for the hero class to be an option and the hero class is overpowered. Why would he ask about the mage class?
"Go ahead."
"If I get powerful enough, could I teleport back to the world I lived in?"
The mage is specialized in magic and can probably learn teleportation spells better than any of the classes. It might not be available in the other classes.
If he can learn the teleportation spell, he might get back to where Alyssa was.
"Uhh, that would be almost impossible…" Nia said despondently.
"Why? Is it difficult?"
"Long-distance teleportation is a hard spell to learn, but there's no doubt you can gain it by getting stronger. However, the System granted to the Players eliminates the threat in the world. Unless the enemy you are fighting escapes to another world, the System won't let you learn world-class teleportation spells.
"The only other way is to find a spell model you can learn from, but it's unlikely that there is one in this magicless world."
Dammit!
It was like the world was stopping him from seeing Alyssa again. He had a feeling that he was just a puppet playing on a stage for the sick pleasure of those watching.
Even if it was almost impossible to see Alyssa again, there was a chance if he went with mage class. Even if it was a 0.000000001% chance, it was good enough for him.
"Can I choose the mage class?"
"Huh? Ye-yes you can but survival isn't guaranteed even if you have the System. Shouldn't you choose a stronger class like the Hero?"
Of course, he considered that. Choosing the Hero class would give him a much higher chance of completing his mission and things would be easier. Then he could settle down, get married, and have kids, but he already had someone in mind for that.
It was his "fault" that she developed feelings for him and then he "left" her. If he wouldn't fight through the forces of evil and travel between worlds to marry her, then what was love?
Genuine love was important for Elijah because he was raised by a mother that hated him. No one would be happy in a marriage with someone they didn't truly love. His future kids would be affected too. So he vowed to only marry if he truly loved someone.
That, someone, was Alyssa.
The memory of Alyssa mouthing those three words replayed in his mind again.
Suddenly a man wearing a blue coat and a bicorne hat (a two-cornered naval officer hat) warped next to Elijah.
"Ahhhhh!"
Both Elijah and Nia screamed at his sudden appearance.
Charles grimaced from the loudness, and then he opened his eyes.
"Nia! What's taking so long! The timeline is cementing! Hurry now!" Charles said walking to Nia's side.
"Eieee! Yes, Captain! Elijah, please make your choice now."