Opening the binder full of introductions of universes, the first thing I saw was a table of contents.
It was numbered as page one of 99 million, and that was just the table of contents.
These are just the realities I could theoretically afford to visit.
I can not imagine how high that number would have been for every universe.
Seeing the vast list, I was thinking that this slim binder has to work with some form of reality, or space manipulation and that this was going to take a while.
Right then the angel gave me some help.
"You can use speech or touch to use the binder, if you don't want to leaf through it.
A filter can be used to limit the search.
You can also search for a specific page with a universe, a group of specific universes like every terminator universe, or a main category like cultivation as well."
So it works the same way a tablet does, so why does it resemble a binder then?
Probably, a preference of the angel.
Let's focus on our search.
First remove every universe that costs more than 20 percent of my karmic balance.
Wow, the table of contents halved.
Okay, that probably removed nearly every cultivation universe, because I can imagine them being pretty expensive.
Next let's remove all realities that are mundane or nearly mundane.
So those with no, or minimal fantasy elements in it.
That left me with about 10 million pages.
Okay, zombies and the lot as a main theme can go as well.
7 million left, that was a great amount of zombie universes.
Nah, can't be.
It was probably the addition of the lot that made such a difference.
What else can I add?
There have to be humans in there.
Wow, I didn't think that it would make such a difference.
3 million left.
The angel chimed in at that.
"It also removed any universe without any pure humans.
So, even if there were sub-human races they would still be taken out."
Makes sense to me.
A universe without humans, I wonder what it would be like.
What else can I use as a restriction?
It has to be a universe where it is possible to significantly lengthen my lifespan.
It should, theoretically, be possible for anyone in some way.
500,000 pages left, that took a chunk away.
I like Marvel and DC, but I don't want anything to do with Thanos, the Beyonder, and any of the otherpsychoss.
Maybe another time, if there ever is another time.
So remove any Marvel and DC verses and those linked to them and while we're at it let's remove Star Wars, Star Trek, and the universes resembling them.
100,000 still remain.
Hmm, how about choosing something with some form of taming as a theme, that was always my favorite.
20,000 leftover.
All Universes that are similar to Digimon, Pokemon, Shin Megami Tensei, and Yokai Watch.
There still are 10,000 pages left.
Man are there many universes out there.
I probably should have made this requirement from the start but I didn't wish to limit my options immediately.
Let's have a look at the first few pages of the remaining table of contents.
Hmmm, why are there still Harry Potter verses here.
Let's remove those and those like it.
That's better, about 2,000 are left.
Hmm, maybe if I add a familiarity requirement to Digimon, Pokemon, Shin Megami Tensei, and Yokai Watch I can decrease the pages to a reasonable number.
Let's set it to 40 percent.
900 are leftover, what if we raise it to 50 percent.
There still are 600 pages, but I can live with that.
Let me read the 600 pages of table of contents.
Reading that took a while.
Well at least it allowed me to think about my choice some more.
I think out of all of them my favorite are the verses of Pokemon and Digimon, so that's what we're going to filter.
Wow, there are surprisingly still 10 pages remaining.
That's way more realities than I would have thought possible for just these two.
Let me focus on just Pokemon then, since I like that one a bit more.
4 Pages.
I would have most likely screamed at myself about how I should have done that from the very beginning, if I had to endure someone doing this in front of me.
But I don't and this is an important choice, so I have to consider everything.
Sorting the universes by price, brings all universes strongly resembling "canon" be they anime or games to the top.
The reason for that is probably the existence of the problem solving MC.
I mean Ash does some crazy things, I am not going to lie.
Okay, limiting the cost to at most 10 percent brings that list down to 1 page.
Now, let's see.
All of them are alternate universes.
That's okay, I can live with that.
Time to compare them all.
I think I have the one, that I am going to choose.
I like the overview of this universe the most.
The overview focuses only on the planet that I am going to be born in, and gives a short summary, but I still think this one is the best.
Pokeverse 6942.
The price of this pokeverse is 9 percent.
The planet of the Pokemon World is called Terra by its inhabitants.
All I got about the solar system is that it has a single sun that Terra circles, since the overview focused on Terra.
Terra has 15 times the radius of Earth.
That makes the surface area of Terra nearly 226 times that of Earth.
Terra has roughly 1350 times the mass of Earth, which results in a gravity of about 6 g, meaning 6 times Earth gravity.
A single year has 36 months.
A month has 30 days.
A week is still 7 days and a day has 24 hours.
One hour is still 60 minutes and a minute is 60 seconds.
There are 6 seasons on Terra.
Spring, Growth, Summer, Harvest, Autumn, and Winter.
Because of the 6-times greater gravity all adults seem naturally, without additional training, two times stronger than even the strongest human on Earth at least.
This explains some of the stuff Ash and the others keep pulling off, like carrying hundreds of kilograms and still being able to run and jump around.
The natural life expectancy of standard humans on Terra is around 100-Terran years, that is equal to 300 Earth years.
Training, getting stronger and bonding with Pokemon can increase that number.
The mystery of the slow or nonexistent growth of Ash and the others in the anime can be explained this way as well.
The planet has a 60-percent water to 40-percent landmass ratio.
There are 2 super-continents, 6 great continents, 24 continents, and countless islands on Terra.
Their size in this comparison is relative to the whole surface area of the Earth, which is about 510 million square kilometers, this includes the area of all water bodies and landmasses.
A super-continent has 8 times the surface area.
A great continent has 4 times the surface area.
A continent has about 2 times the surface area.
All Islands combined have a bit more than 2 times the surface area of the Earth.
The humans of Terra are currently only living on the edges of four of the continents near each other and on islands between them.
There are settlements named like those we know about but the sizes, distances, and proximities to each other are different.
So there is a Kanto region but it is bigger than shown to us.
Distances between main cities is larger.
The number of cities and town is higher.
The distance between regions is larger as well.
What is also mentioned in the overview is that there are more Pokemon species on Terra than publicly known on Earth, which is logical since it is a whole wide world.
Even the Pokemon species known to us have many more variants.
This was one of the main points that got me, the variants.
Dragon type Gyrados and friends here I come.
The relationship between humans and Pokemon is slightly different and the Pokemon themselves are way stronger, or at least they can get way stronger.
Legendary and Mythical Pokemon are exactly that, and not the "weaklings" shown in our media.
So, no challenging Mew or Lugia after the league or anytime soon after.
They are beings that participated in the creation of Terra, at least the original ones did.
As such their powers are extremely high as well and even their descendants are extremely powerful.
That was all the information I could get from the overview.
"My choice is Pokeverse 6942.
Now that I have chosen the place I want to travel to, can I determine my future living conditions and looks?"
The angel that looked relaxed despite the long time it took me to choose, answered me in a mild manner.
"Go ahead, but remember that depending on your choices the cost is going to increase.
The total cost is currently 18 percent.
You still have 82 percent of your karmic balance left."
82 percent should be enough for all of my plans.
"I wish to be given to a relatively well off family, with both parents alive and well.
My parents should be in their mid-twenties during my birth.
I would not want them to be too old, since I would prefer to spend a long time together with my new family.
It would be better, if my parents are normally incapable of getting children despite their wish for one.
Except for their incapability to have children they have to be perfectly healthy and under no risk of getting hurt or killed for one reason or another.
I neither want or need a tragic backstory."
The specifications this far would turn my birth into a personal miracle for them.
This way I don't get siblings without some big interference and I don't replace some other poor guy.
I don't wish to start my new life with erasing someone else.
That would not be good for my conscience.
Should I desire some siblings somewhere along the road and my new parents yearn for another child as well, then I believe I can help them somehow.
"Hmm, I probably ought to mention that I want to be male."
I paused here and looked at the angel.
"0,5 percent for now."
That's less than expected, so let's specify.
"I prefer black hair and dark brown eyes.
Brown eyes mixed with green is okay as well.
My future ideal height should be between 1,80m and 1,85m.
The body type should be a natural swimmer / athlete body, that means lean and compressed muscles.
My skin tone should be between ivory and warm beige.
That's what I am used to, so I would like to keep it that way.
In this vein, I would like to be named Mikail this time around as well.
I don't care about the new surname, so it could be anything.
I want us to live in Kanto.
The location should preferably be in a town somewhere between Viridian and Pewter City or between Pewter and Cerulean City.
A medium sized stand alone house with a medium or large size garden would be great."
"One percent."
Is what he said after I paused again.
So let me add some conditions to my birth.
"I want a problem-free birth and some form of shield to keep my memories from myself until my little body has matured enough to walk, control my behind, and accept my mental activity without repercussions.
While this growth process happens, I want the important memories, emotions, and experiences of my baby form to bypass the shield, so that I have access to them.
This should help a seamless fusion between us after the shield opens and allows me to perfectly take over and carry on.
This is done so that I have a bond with my new parents, so that I can see them as such and am spared the worst of a rebirth.
The era I am born into should have an equivalent to most modern appliances.
So inner plumbing, a heater, a fridge, toilet paper, and near-instant communication."
"2 percent of your karmic balance.
Good choice."
I have chosen my destination and set my living conditions.
My family and looks are the way I want them to.
Did I forget anything, I think not.
So, that leaves me with 80 percent for things, abilities, and knowledge that will help me in the future.