I died today, funny story really.

I was camping by myself for a couple days, I had some PTO saved up from work and wanted to relax, so here I was in the great Albertan wilderness, with me I had a full camping set, I could probably live out here with all I brought.

I had my emergency tent, a knife set, including a large hunting knife, an outdoor cooking set, with a grill and pot, a small folding shovel, a hatchet, a collapsible fishing pole, and my very handy, in-case-of-bear gun, more commonly known as a Mosin-Nagant.

With this equipment I was very confident in my survival, oh how I wish that were true...

I was fishing when it happened, blissfully minding my own business, staring out at the pleasent stream when I heard a rustling, something in a bush behind me, I turned slowly, placing my hand upon my rifle.

Out from the bush emerged a massive grizzly, it's immense size casting a shadow on me. I instantly stood, dropping my fishing rod and bearing my rifle.

I took aim at the feral beast as it let out a bellowing roar, with not many options, I fired at the bear, grazing it's shoulder as it turned to me, in its eyes I saw hatred and hunger, I only managed to piss it off more.

The bear dropped to all fours and began sprinting towards me, I managed two more shots before taking a swipe from its massive paw, sending me flying into a treeline, I landed hard against the trunk of a tree, having the wind knocked out of me I struggled to breathe, I look to my side to see my rifle bent at a 45° angle, and smeared with blood, that confused me, I didn't think my shots actually penetrated the bear, that's what I thought until I tried to move.

I felt an overwhelming agony as I sat up, looking down at my body, my flesh had been torn and I was losing massive amounts of blood, looking at this I should've felt scared, I wanted to be scared, but at the sight of my own blood, all I felt was angry.

Taking the large hunting knife from my belt, I stood up, screaming in a mix of pain and rage, I saw the bear, it licked it's teeth and stared me down.

We both stalked closer to eachother, with adrenaline pumping through what remained of my veins, I plunged the knife into the bears thick neck, it roared as it sank it's teeth into my shoulder, I screamed as it started to rip and tear at my flesh, the bear sank it's claws into my lower spine, holding me in place, with my last moments of life I began repeatedly stabbing the bear's throat, ripping through its jugular with jagged, desperate cuts.

Not much later the bear fell with me still in its hold, it lied still on top of my broken body, I was in so much pain, but I smiled, I won, I finally won at something, and with that everything became dark as I fell into the endless sleep.

So maybe it wasn't that funny...

When I awoke, I was sitting in a comfortable chair, I took in my surroundings with curiosity and caution, was it all a dream? Did I not truly die?.

As I tried to comprehend my situation I had failed to notice the person sitting across from me, "Ahem..." The voice was soft, but had a strictness to it that commanded my attention.

I looked to the person sitting across from me, it was a beautiful woman, she had gorgeous golden hair, eyes purple like fine cut amethyst, and her smooth skin had a slight sun kissed tan to it, she wore a business casual outfit, something you'd see in a professional setting, but not so formal as to be off-putting.

She gave me a satisfied smile once I started paying attention to her, "hello miss... sorry if I seem rude, but I don't know how I got here" I spoke to her nervously, flustered and disoriented by the whole situation.

She seemed to smile brighter, having a calm reassuring effect on my nerves, "William Mason, welcome to the afterlife", she spoke so sweetly that it took me a few moments to register the true weight of her words, "wait, I'm actually DEAD?!" once the truth finally settled in, I could hardly contain my emotions, I was dead, that kinda sucks, but that's to be expected when you're dumb enough to fight a fucking grizzly bear, I should've run... probably would have died anyways, but I'd live just a little longer.

"I know this must be hard for you to accept, but it's true, you died a gruesome death to a superior foe, and before you ask, no you did not manage to kill it, what you mistook for its death was it crushing you so you'd stop stabbing it" hearing that, stung, guess I didn't win.

She smiled again and placed a cup of tea in my hand, "but fear not, due to the circumstances of your untimely demise and the relatively good life you lived, you are entitled to your choice of afterlife, and you have some great options".

I stared at her inquisitively "I have options? I assumed it was just Heaven or Hell, but honestly I just thought I'd cease to exist, what options do I have in particular?".

She nodded along to my questions, "you can go to Heaven if you wish, but you're also eligible for Valhalla, there's also the option of reincarnation, I could send you back home and start your life over with an entirely new family and no memories, or I could, oh... What are the kids calling it these days?, ah yes! I could Isekai you into a new world, a fantastical place with magic and monsters, apparently that's becoming more popular in recent years, so what do you say?".

I sipped at my tea while I thought about it, Heaven or Valhalla sounded nice, but there was no way in hell I was going back to earth, that place sucked, I breathed in and let out a deep sigh, coming to my decision, "please tell me about this magical world".

The woman nodded, relaxing in her chair and drinking from her cup of tea before beginning her explanation, "the world I am sending you to is the Realm of Mageia, in this world, magic is common but not what you may expect, a person's abilities are tied to their identity, for example, one who is diligent in study, and who's core values lay in hard work become great wizards, while those ruled by ego, and raw talent become sorcerers, magic wise they're quite similar, with the exception that wizards can learn more spells, the same principles can be applied to those who fight without spells, people with a love for battle and practice the art of combat become warriors"

Suddenly she stared me down, her eyes piercing through me, as if staring into my very soul, "there are also those capable of great violence, who fight until their last breath, turning defiant anger into their greatest weapon, and their mightiest shield, The Barbarians".

I was taken aback by this, was she accusing me of being a barbarian?... I mean, if the shoe fits, then I suppose she's right.

"So, what now?" I asked once her explanation was finished.

"Now you must choose your class, and I'll allow you to take everything you died with, rifle not included, this world isn't ready for that yet", I nodded and thought about it for a moment a 'class', did she mean like in DND?, it fit the setting I suppose... But it can't be that similar.

"Barbarian I suppose, seems to fit me" I smiled softly as I thought about it.

The woman nodded and held her hand out to me, I took it gently as my body started to glow with a golden energy, "very well, enjoy your new life, William Mason, The Barbarian", she smiled sweetly as I disappeared.