"Wakey wakey."
"Customer... Wake up..."
"Customer?"
"Human..."
"Human customer!"
"Ahhhh, wake the heck up, you wild sleeper! How can you be napping at this hour?"
"...uhh...?"
Blinding white light flooded his vision as he slowly regained consciousness. He jolted to his feet, a sudden realization washing over him.
"Right, Efron stabbed me..." He ran his hands over his body, expecting to find wounds, but to his amazement, he was unscathed.
"How?" he murmured to himself.
"What do you mean 'how'? You're on the brink between life and death. This is where we decide whether to send you back or move you on." The woman seated across from him, dressed in a sleek white suit, spoke, with a black table between them. Her allure extended beyond her white hair and pale skin, captivating him, but he quickly refocused his thoughts.
'...those alluring curves, what would it feel like to rest against them?' A fleeting thought crossed his mind, only to be interrupted when her gaze locked onto where he was staring.
She cleared her throat and continued, "You seem awfully composed for someone who's just passed away."
"Oh no! I'm dead!" He suddenly exclaimed, leaping to his feet in a fit of panic, disrupting the previously perfect silence. The disturbance rippled through the seated individuals, even those seated far away across the white plane, and all eyes turned toward him. He awkwardly adjusted his shirt and, in embarrassment, sat back down.
"How was that?"
She squinted her eyes at him.
"What was what for?"
"That was me panicking because I died."
"Which you didn't do until I mentioned it."
"I was preoccupied with other matters," he replied with a sheepish smile.
Choosing to ignore him, she returned her focus to the papers in front of her.
"There are three categories for returning. You can regress, which allows you to revisit your past, up to a maximum of ten years, to the day you borrowed your friend's sword skill. The second category is rebirth, where you're born anew in the same world and era but surrounded by different people and as a different person. The third is reincarnation, where you return to the same world but at a different time and era, with things not the same. Your worthiness for these options and the retention of your memories depend on our judgment."
He looked around, curiosity piqued. Suddenly, the attendant at the nearby table stood, tracing a door-like pattern with his hand. The white backdrop vanished, and he escorted the man seated in front of him, dressed oddly, into the portal.
[Would you like to copy the skill "Authority Of Phanes" - Rank: Immeasurable?]
'Immeasurable rank? Is that even a thing? The first time it's showing "immeasurable rank"... Whatever, copy that skill.'
[Copying Skill...1%]
[Skill copying might take some time]
[Copying Skill...5%]
"Excuse me, customer, but this seems odd. You did nothing but sleep, not even save a single life. I understand if you're introverted, but how can you sleep so much? You barely did anything. If I calculate the number of years you spent sleeping..."
[Copying Skill...45%]
"Ahhh!!!" She screamed, her mouth wide open, before quickly covering it with her hand.
[Copying Skill...68%]
"Customer, you died at 23, right? You spent approximately 17 years of your life sleeping. How is that even possible?" Her shock was palpable, but he didn't grasp why everyone was making such a fuss about his sleep habits.
[Copying Skill...81%]
She sighed, closing her eyes. "I know you probably wish for death right now."
[Copying Skill...88%]
"Wait, wait, wait! You can't do this to me! I want to live!" He yelled, grabbing her wrist.
"What do you think you're doing, customer? By grabbing an attendant's hand, you could be arrested." As she mentioned "arrested," two white, metallic figures with halos over their heads appeared beside him.
[Copying Skill...99%]
[Copying Skill...100%]
[Skill: Phane's Authority; Rank: Immeasurable has been successfully copied]
[Do you want to use the skill immediately?]
'Damn it, System, I don't have time for your explanations now. This is a matter of life and death. Just do something,' he thought. The two metallic guards stared at him as he reluctantly released the attendant's wrist.
[Using Skill: Phane's Authority (Immeasurable rank)]
*Whoosh!*
A powerful gust of wind swept away the papers on the tables, forming a line that gradually transformed into a door. The white backdrop vanished, revealing a blue sky before him. His inner voice echoed with a single thought, over and over.
'Jump in!!'