Darkness. Pitch dark emptiness. An endless void , that is what Salazar Midgard was resigned to. After all that he'd done ,for his family , for his friends and the world.

As he literally drifted in the endless nothingness of the void between worlds , he unwillingly recalled his life on earth. After all , it's not like he had anything better to do.

Salazar Midgard was a great scientist. A master inventor , who had made most of the technological breakthroughs in his time possible. People called him the modern day Da Vinci for his brilliant inventions and great innovations. However it wasn't always like that. There was a time that he was once a history and physics teacher , trying to impart his treasure trove of knowledge to the world.

Unfortunately none of his students ever took the initiative nor showed any interest in what he had to say. Therefore , he took matters into his own hands because he didn't want his ideas to die with him.

With the help of a few friends , he made his ideas a reality. But look where that landed him, he thought.

The way he died was such a funny thing. He didn't even know what hit him. He was kidnapped by masked men and heavily interrogated.They were trying to get the blueprints of one of his most powerful tech ,one that the government had confiscated because it was too dangerous. Everything related to the item apart from the tech itself was destroyed.

Salazar didn't know how they found out about it , but they wanted him to draw out the schematics for it. When he refused, they tortured him day and night for a month. At the end of which , his frail body gave out. He was sure that the group had no intention of killing him, at least not until they got what they were looking for, but , oh well , too bad for them. And too bad for him too.

As he floated there , reminiscing about the past ,he heard a sudden ' ping' sound. In the darkness of the void , that computer system like sound was so odd that it startled him for a moment.

He glanced about ,frantically looking for the source. The first thing that entered his mind was 'is the journey over. '

Thinking he was about to enter the afterlife or be reborn or whatever , he glanced about , looking for that point of light that signified the 'end of the tunnel 'that he had hard so much about.

There was another 'ping' sound , and right before his eyes , a screen like the one most usually used in RPG games appeared. Now , although a scientist ,he did have kids , and he used to play with them every chance he got , in whatever way they desired. Thats why he instantly recognized this thing. Whatever it was.

Anyway, the screen appeared right before his eyes. He was too shocked to react appropriately, so he just floated there watching at it in blind disbelief with a touch of confusion.

[Ping. Initialization complete. Start installation. ]

[Installation complete. ]

[Recalibration to meet the hosts needs ]

[Complete. ]

The screen disappeared for a moment ,leaving Salazar in a more confused state. It reappeared a moment later.

[Hello Mr. Salazar. ]

[ I am your personalized system known as 'Voice of the world ' - a universal instructor unique only to you , to help you achieve your goal. ]

'Goal,' Salazar thought with frustrated confusion. Going from a guy who knew almost everything in the world to one who didn't understand sh*t of what was happening was really hard for him.

Then , he remembered. Just before he died , his mind went back to his childhood. About the stories his mom told him about heroes and kings , and he thought. 'I'd have liked to be a king. '

His mind was drawn back to the annoying robotic voice droning in in his head.

[You have gained enough merits in your previous life to be reborn in the highest world available. Do you want to be reborn in the world of Astoria?]

[ yes] [ no]

The f**k.

Salazar stared at the text in complete disbelief. He did not expect this , not even in his wildest dreams. He was a man of science , he didn't believe in such things , yet such a thing was actually happening to him.

He stared at the notification , wondering what would happen if he just ignored it. Maybe someone was playing a prank on him from beyond the grave.

Was that even possible ?

'Wait , what would happen if he chose no. '

[Answer :You will be reborn in a more traditional way, with your memories erased. ]

He did not expect to receive an answer. He thought about his life. All the knowledge he as accumulated. All his experiences. And there was still so much in his life that he hadn't done. If he lost his memories , didn't that mean that he'd never get any of those things done. He didn't want that.

He stared at the notification before his eyes and clicked yes , tapping the icon like it was a button.

[Congratulations,you will be reborn in Astoria as one of the weakest monsters in the world- a mudman. ]

'Wait , what? 'A confused look entered his eyes. 'What's a mudman?

But before he could ask, a sudden flash of bright light engulfed his figure. He felt a slight pull , and bam , lost consciousness.