"Michael! Come on!"
I smile a little and charge toward my father and throw another punch. My father is a former boxer that won a national boxing match, but he decided to retire a year ago after getting a severe injury in one match when he tried to go international level.
He is still training his body, and when I'm old enough, he decides to teach me some boxing moves.
Today is 4th March 2030. While the world is currently on the brink of war, daily life is relatively peaceful. It all began when North Korea decided to test its missile in an area too close to Japanese territory.
At first, the Japanese government decided only to send a warning to Kimmy boy, but when North Korea decided to fire another missile and this time, it was closer than before by three hundred meters.
This time, the Japanese Government decided to send a strong warning, but Kimmy boy ignored it once again and sent another missile.
When North Korea fires its third missile, America decides to intervene and give an ultimatum to North Korea. It has been two months since America gave Kimmy boy an ultimatum, and he stayed silent for most of the time.
As I have a training session with my father in the backyard, I see a bright light coming from the sky. A second later, I don't know anything.
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"BREAKING NEWS. North Korea has declared war against other countries by sending five nuclear bombs. The nuclear bomb has been detonated in five different countries. The first bomb exploded in the capital city of South Korea, Seoul. The second one exploded in Tokyo, Japan. The third exploded in Singapore. The fourth one exploded in Jakarta, Indonesia. The last one has exploded in Darwin City, Northern side of Australia."
"After the bombing of five countries, North Korea declared war against America and its allies. After the war declaration, Russia, China, Vietnam, Laos, and Cuba decided to join North Korea in this war. Other countries will join them. This aggression is the start of another World War. Please follow the government instruction from now on and stay indoors."
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I open my eyes and can only see an infinite white space. I have been here for who knows long, looking at the white 'ceiling' and doing nothing. I cannot move my body at all. I cannot move my finger, my hand, or my leg. There is nothing I can do but stare at the white ceiling.
"Huh? I never thought that a human could breach the barrier."
I look to my right and see an old man walk toward me. He looks like a mage in the fantasy book. The old man is wearing a white robe, with a long white beard that reaches his stomach and an eye that shines in power.
"It is the first time I see a mortal soul breaching the barrier between the world."
The world? Huh? What does he mean by that?
"It is like what I say. You breach a barrier that separates between your world and mine."
Huh? I don't know if there is a barrier that separates earth and other earth. Also, did he just read my mind?
"Why, yes. I can read your mind, or rather I can read your soul. You are nothing but a soul after all."
Ah… I guess I'm really dead then.
"Yes. You and the rest of your Earth are on their last breath."
Huh?
"The light that you see is a Nuclear Bomb that was fired by Kim Jong-Un, the leader of North Korea. Because of this, the other country declared war against North Korea and started World War 3. Let me tell you. It was not pretty. There are no people charging at each other or fighting in a single place. It was not a war but rather a man-child pressing a button to send their toy to each other. I guess I can see why the Gods of Earth decide to create their own dimension and let the human wipe themselves out."
Ah…. It was Kimmy boy's fault that my family and I died.
"Yup"
Haaaaa…. So, what are you doing here?
"Well, this is what you call a limbo. A place where we, God, travel between worlds."
Travel between worlds? Does that mean you are visiting earth then?
"Yes. I visit your earth."
Why?
"I want to participate in taking all the remnants of the energy of the earth."
Remnant energy?
"Earth is created by the combination of the power of Gods. With your earth who has MANY different gods, your earth has one of the most potent energies in this multiverse."
In this Multiverse?
"Yup. Do you think there is only one Multiverse? The theories in your world that saying there is an infinite Multiverse is true. There are too many Multiverses that have many universes of their own."
I… Don't really understand.
"Hmmm. It was like a tree. This one tree is what you called Multiverse, and each branch is the universe of its own. Sometimes even the branch of the tree will make a branch of its own. This is usually what happens to the world you call a Xianxia world, where there are many planes in a single universe."
I see.
"I'm not done yet. This one tree, the multiverse, is not the only tree around. This tree is one of millions upon millions of trees inside this forest. Do you know what makes it more complicated? It was not the only forest. There was another forest in the other location."
That is big.
"Yup. There are too many multiverses that make us, the god, decide to ignore it."
I see. Then what will happen to me?
"Well, that is up to you. You are an anomaly. You can decide to go with me and be reincarnated into my world, or you can decide to stay here."
Can't I go to where my family is?
"Sadly, you can't do that. Remember when I said that the Gods in your world decide to make a dimension for themselves? Well, because of that, there is no reincarnation circle or even Hell and Heaven."
Then… Then… where does my family go?
"Back to the earth. The earth absorbs your family's soul and converts it into energy to maintain itself. Sadly because of the constant rain of Nuclear weapons and without the support of the Gods, the earth cannot maintain itself."
So the Earth is dead, which means that all my family soul is wasted.
"Pretty much, yeah."
Dammit! Dammit! DAMMIT! WHY?!? WHY?!?
I continue to shout and shout to no one for who knows long before I stop and look at the old men.
Can you kill me?
"Huh?"
Can you kill me instead? Destroy my soul. I don't want to live anymore.
"You… Are you really giving up?"
Yes. My only goal in life is to make my parents proud. I want to make my mother, father, and little sister proud. I want them to say 'That is my son' or 'That is my big brother.' I don't have any other goal in life.
I only want life in peace. I only want to live a peaceful life with my family and my future family. I don't have big ambitions. I only want to have a peaceful life.
"Then you should not be giving up. You can do it in your second life. Why do you easily give up? There must be a reason you come here. Maybe it was one of the gods in your world who decided to give you a second chance. Maybe they want you to be the torchbearer that will carry on the flame of humanity from your earth."
I… I… I guess you are right. My parents will not want me just to give up. I regret that I cannot do anything to prevent their death. I know it was something that I cannot prevent, but I still feel regret inside my chest.
"Heh. So, what do you want? Come with me or decide to stay here?"
I want to be reincarnated. However, before you do that, can you tell me your world?
"Truth to be told, it was the same as your Earth with a few differences."
Like what?
"Well… My world is a little bit more dangerous."
Huh?
"You see… My world has this place called Dungeon that will appear at a random time. Once it appears, the human needs to either conquer it or tame it. This dungeon is the source of Energy Crystal that they can use to power up many items. Not only the crystal, but the dungeon also provides a powerful item."
So, that means the most powerful individual rules your world.
"Not all of them, but basically yes. The people that decide to be dungeon crawlers are called hunters. Hunter is the one that helps maintain peace in the country by conquering the dungeon and defeating the Monster wave."
Monster wave?
"Monster wave is a time where the dungeon sends its force to attack the human."
Why do you make that?
"I'm not the only god in my world, you know? There are others as well. The dungeon and monster are not my creation. I'm Varixha, the Gods of Agriculture, Earth, and WildLife. The one that created these dungeons and monsters is my sister, Lusarina, the Goddess of Chaos, Darkness, and Death."
I see.
"She says that the reason why she does that is that she wants humanity to have one main enemy. Because of this, they will not fight each other like in your world. Her plan is working. However, even with that, she can only reduce it, not erase it."
If you cannot handle a human, why did you create them, to begin with?
"What? Do you think it will only happen to humans? The other races also have a desire to create conflict. Even gods fight with each other from time to time."
I guess that makes sense.
"Anyway, I must warn you. Because of your unique souls, the power checker, the human, cannot read your unique soul. You will be branded as an E-rank individual."
E-rank?
"Ah! I guess I should explain it. As you said, the world is ruled by a powerful individual, and these individuals usually have a powerful inner power. The power classification is like this: SSS-rank -> SS-rank -> S-rank -> A-Rank -> B-Rank -> C-rank -> D-Rank -> E-Rank -> F-Rank. SSS-rank people can be considered the Nuclear Weapon of the country this individual stays in. The country will spoil this individual to the point they can be considered a king. On the other hand, F-Rank is the people that don't have any Magic or Ki inside their body."
Magic and Ki?
"Magic is your Mental Energy, and Ki is your physical energy. You will learn it when you are born."
That means I will be considered a superhuman, but because the power reader cannot read my unique soul, I will be considered a weak superhuman.
"Yes. Don't worry about being bullied by the other. I will reincarnate you into a family of farmers and in the community of farmers."
I see. Thank you. Really. Thank you for everything.
"No, problem. My only wish is that you could plant as many trees as you can. It is really different between someone planting their own tree and people growing a tree using their power."
Of course. I promise.