"Man, I really wish I could reincarnate."

Every human's dream, right? Instead of living a bland and dull life on Earth, wouldn't exploring mysteries in a new world of magic be infinitely more enjoyable?

Fuck, I would do it no doubt regardless of what kind of world it was.

Without any need to confront troublesome landlords who complain that 'you haven't paid rent in four months, you scum!' or such nonsense, I would just live a peaceful and small life as a hidden master.

On Earth, I was nothing. Nothing special, nothing even average. I was just a insignificant human. Reincarnators? The world itself revolved around them.

I was so damn jealous.

"I'm jealous, damn it!"

Why?! Why did I have to live such an ordinary life?! I studied hard, I did everything I was told to do, but I was still working at a fruit market while everyone else got a corporate job!

It was fucking unfair!

Did they do anything that I didn't? No! One of them was a friend who had attended a total of five classes in a year, and now he had a salary of five times my own.

Bullshit.

I stomped quietly at the till whilst waiting for another customer to come.

The job itself shouldn't have been that bad—after all, I was jumping in joy when I had found out that I had been hired. Seriously, half a year without employment was really messing with my mind.

But only when I looked around did I realise the pitiful state of myself.

I don't care. Yup. It doesn't matter to me anymore.

…

"Fuck!"

Today was worse than normal.

An old friend had come to buy his wife some apples, and only even came to this unknown shop because he heard that I was working here.

The worst part?

He didn't do anything wrong. He never gloated when he saw me, nor did he mock the state of my being.

Instead, he gave me a look of pity.

Damned pity.

It was always those eyes they had when they looked at me. At first, I didn't even notice it. But as time passed, that sensation of bugs crawling around my body had become clearer and clearer.

Deep, unbridled embarrassment.

Before I flew into another fit of obscenities, the sound of a door opening startled me to awareness.

"Hi, what can I get for you?"

It was a man who had entered, eyes completely bloodshot and hair so dishevelled it seemed like he had just run electricity through.

Taking a small glance to the lower half of his body, one would find a bloodied knife.

So, a cosplayer?

Probably a lunatic.

The words instinctively poured out of my mouth as a mutter.

"This is my chance."

Kill me.

"Kill me damn it!"

Assisting my death was far easier than being the sole contributor to killing me. I would make sure that the man would have no issues in this activity.

Jumping over the till, I ran right in front of him and spread my arms out wide.

"I'll save you all! Kill me instead!"

The store was empty.

Well, it looked like the man was too faded to notice that fact, and instead started speaking emotional dialogue.

"I…I didn't want to do this…the world is forcing me to do this…it's the world's fault…no—"

"Absolutely! This world is twisted, and never will get better you fucking stupid old man! Haha, do you think anyone cares? Nobody cares, dumbass! Haha, I bet you can't kill me!"

A small tremor ran throughout the man's body. HIs dim eyes seemed to glow a dull red as they looked into my own upturned eyes.

"What, you got a problem, you fucker!?"

Strange.

Why was I getting embarrassed?

Damn it. The CCTV…!

"Wait, wait, I'm joking! No! Put the knife down you crazy—!"

Dull red had transformed into a blearing crimson, almost as if to match the colour of the knife he now had raised.

I ran.

Not out the store, but to the backroom. I didn't know if I could be at peace in the afterlife when video evidence of my actions were readily available.

"There!"

Grabbing the only chair in the room, I slammed it into the computer responsible for the CCTV, and also smashed it with my foot to break anything that I had missed.

Whilst finishing up on that, I felt a small piercing feeling near the side of my stomach.

Looking down, I saw red.

"Kuah!"

My throat. Something had went past my throat.

The edge of the knife.

"The world…is ruined. I will save the world."

'Definitely high. Damn, I should've tried something before I died.'

With that thought, the world began to fade in darkness.

"Dwayne."

Huh?

A squeaky voice called out to me inside the void. All sense of my body had dissappeared, only having my hearing remain.

"Yo?"

Nobody talked.

"I apologise."

Although I couldn't be certain about my situation, it wouldn't cause harm speaking with a bit more respect.

"Good. I have a question. Aren't you ashamed to live so pitifully?"

...Who was this? I knew I was lacking, but I didn't need other people to tell me too.

Slightly irritated, I answered "Yeah, I guess. I also have a question. Will you reincarnate me please?"

"Kiiraleo, banish him to a year in Cerberus's Domain."

"Wait, wait! I was joking! Sorry, it was a mistake!"

If I could feel my body, I would've slapped my cheek to gain some sense. This wasn't the same as the crazy old man—this was unknown.

"Dwayne Mikael. 31 years old, two siblings, and parentless. After barely graduating, you spent your days endlessly wasting your time and being a nuisance to other people. So basically, you're fucking useless."

Most of that were lies! I didn't just waste time after graduating, fuck, I spent a stupid amount of hours trying to get employed!

"And yet somehow, you have [Protagonist Aura]. A miniscule amount, sure, but it's still there. You. Are you a gift from my father? Hahaha, you're just what I need! Say, say, reincarnation right? I'll do it!"

What a lunatic. An odd situation had now arrived after I died—a situation that I had been dreaming of for years!

That was all that mattered. The strangeness of having no body but still being able to speak, whoever this entity speaking was, all of it was a small distraction.

"Will I get a golden finger? And why are you reincarnating me?"

Small distractions that I unfortunately had to pay attention to if I didn't want to fall for a trafficking scheme.

"Father really wasn't joking when he said most humans ask about golden fingers, huh. You'll get something. A [Unique Skill] that surpasses all of humanity, giving you the chance to even attain Godhood beyond your dreams!"

Praise! There was no point in reincarnation without a golden finger—even if this guy was speaking bullshit, which hearing what he was saying he probably was, there must have been something.

"I am reincarnating you because I want to save my world. That's right. I am a god!"

Did he want me to say something? A silence came upon after his declaration, only broken by my small words of praise.

"W-Wow! That's crazy!"

"Haha, I know, I know! Right. I need you to enter my world and save it from the roots of evil that are taking place. You'll get what I mean when you enter. You don't have a choice by the way. You must go."

My dream seemed a lot less desirable the more time passed. Having such a disgusting tone really felt unpleasant.

"Okay? Tell me what my skill is going to be then."

"I have countless skills under my arsenal—just fitting for a god. It'll be a random choice—don't worry however, everything under me has immense might!"

This voice…seemed to be quite haughty. Fitting for a god, maybe.

"So it's random. I could get a shitty farming skill, or I could become a cheat holder. I'll take my chances."

Whoever this god was, it seemed that they didn't like to waste time as they shouted "Good, good! Let's start it now then!"

–Shhhh!

In the black void, light began to seep out of nowhere. It spun in circles, exponentially growing larger and larger until the entire space had turned white.

"Good luck, apostle."

—

Bwak!

"Do you think you're something? If you dare look at me like that again, I'll break your arm."

"Arhhh!"

My head felt like it was splitting into two. All I could see was a blurry torrent of different colours crashing to my sight.

With my head splitting came 'space' for something to stream inside of.

"Ahhhhhhh!!"

Memories.

A small life's worth of memories had begun to enter my mind.

Who was I?

Was I Dwayne Mikael?

Or was I Arlen Droder?

No.

What was I?

Human. Reincarnated. God.

That was right.

Jumbled memories began to move into a chronological order inside my mind, forming a solution.

I was Dwayne Mikael, now dead. So truly, I was Arlen Droder.

After coming to that conclusion, the blurrines began to fade away allowing me to properly witness my surroundings.

A damp room with mould formed at every wall. Water was intermittently dripping from the tattered roof.

And the floor was covered in blood.

When I considered the obscene pain stemming from my mouth, it was most likely my own.

Although I wanted to stand up and explore, I couldn't move an inch—every limb felt as though it was stuck to the ground.

What could I do? I had no actual ability to move, and I hadn't got that fucking [Unique Skill] that the voice had promised me.

"Goddamnit!"

"Ahhh!"

"Who did this!"

Time passed in an unpleasant manner.

It was only after what felt like an eternity passed that something finally changed from my mundane hours.

[Protagonist Aura influences <>%>=> decision!]

[Unique Skill Granted to Arden Droder!]

[Unique Skill: Infinite Regression!]

[Description: Any damage done to the body will cause a passive activation of regression. User will be sent back to the first conscious memory in the First Timeline.]

Huh?

[Damage Inflicted!]

[Human: Arden Droden will be sent back!]

Bwak!

"Do you think you're something? If you dare look at me like that again, I'll break your arm."

"Arhhh!"

My head felt like it was splitting into two. All I could see was a blurry torrent of different colours crashing to my sight. With my head splitting came 'space' for something to stream inside of.

"Ahhhhhhh!!"

Memories.

A small life's worth of memories had begun to enter my mind.

Who was I?

Was I Dwayne Mikael?

Or was I Arlen Droder?

No.

What the hell?

I had gotten three sets of memories, one which seemed like a fever dream. It was a memory of my current situation.

The final progression of the memory was about the [Unique Skill] I had gained—Infinite Regression, a skill that would send me back in time to my first memory. As the pieces had begun to fit into place, a notification entered my hearing.

[Damage Inflicted!]

[Human: Arden Droden will be sent back!]

Fuck.