The first world I consciously stepped into was the same one we all live in: modern Earth.
I was born and lived in Korea, a small but advanced country in East Asia with a highly developed industrial economy and welfare system.
My first life wasn't particularly dramatic or eventful compared to my second and third lives.
In a positive light, it was peaceful and serene. Life in modern society wasn't without its challenges. At least, it was better than living in an environment where you could die any day.
The hardships I experienced in modern society included struggling to get into a prestigious university only to find that the job market for my degree was already oversaturated, making it hard to find a job.
Standing at 5.4 feet tall, being unattractive, and socially awkward, I spent 30 years lonely without a girlfriend, enduring the pitiful looks of those around me and my family.
Was that tough enough for you?
Back then, I was so miserable I even thought about suicide, but after experiencing my next two lives...
In that world, no matter how lonely or socially isolated I was, I at least had clean water, delicious food, a safe home, and various forms of media to pass the time.
It could be called a paradise to think about right now.
Anyway, I lived at my parents' house without a job until I was 32 or 34 years old. One day, as I was walking to the study room to study for my certification...
'Brrr! Screech!'
'Oh, shit?'
Bang!
I was hit by a delivery motorcycle that ran a red light, performing an unexpected quadruple axel in the air before smashing onto the crosswalk like a broken watermelon, scattering my brains everywhere. Game over...
[...]
[End of Life #1 - Earth 109# Cause of Death: Traffic Accident]
I thought my consciousness and existence had melted away like the last snowflake of winter in the spring breeze, disappearing forever...
'...Click... Clank... Click... Clank...'
Contrary to my expectations, I woke up in a strange place filled with the loud noise of giant gears meshing together.
The place where I was reborn was a world where clockwork had advanced to extreme levels.
Severe global warming caused by the extensive use of chemical fuels from the previous civilization had submerged almost all land.
But the remaining humanity continued by connecting barges on the few remaining pieces of land.
The thermodynamic technologies of the previous civilization, which caused environmental destruction, were lost during its collapse.
These technologies were destroyed and erased by the fanatics and social leaders who led the new humanity.
For thousands of years, humanity's primitive civilization persisted on tiny island-like lands and barges made by haphazardly connecting plastic bottles.
About 3,500 years after the collapse of human civilization, new clockwork engines that harness bio-thermal energy from photosynthesis by genetically engineered artificial seaweed called "Enirmite" were developed over 500 years.
The civilization that reemerged from the ruins, rebuilt with reason and science to dominate the seas, was called 'Caesar' and began writing the history of humanity once again.
After 4,024 years since the collapse of the previous civilization, a company named Arizonet in 'Caesar' conducted a project to salvage and restore records of the previous civilization buried deep in the ocean.
However, this exploration brought about the downfall of the 'Caesar' civilization once again.
Pathogens from the ancient civilization caused societal effects similar to the Black Death, infecting and killing more than half of the population.
A vaccine was developed and administered to nearly all of humanity living in 'Caesar', halting the pathogen's progression.
However, the vaccine had severe side effects. Six months after administration, it killed and transformed the brain cells in the frontal lobe, causing vaccinated individuals to devolve into monstrous beings that only indulged in destruction and slaughter.
The 'Caesar' civilization, which had expanded to 5,000 miles from a small island, became overrun with human-like monsters, animatronics mimicking humans, and jukebox songs sorrowfully singing the brilliance of the past civilization, filling the city streets.
So it was that kind of world that I was born into for the first time in my reincarnation. Fucking hell.
"Ugh... What the...?"
When I woke up in this strange, dark, and noisy place right after being hit by the motorcycle, I was very confused. As I hurriedly touched my body here and there, I immediately felt something awkward.
"What... What is this? Breasts? No... Are these extremely large, ripe peaches attached to my chest? There's no way I could suddenly have such huge things on my body just because I was hit by a motorcycle..."
"Aaah! Why does my voice suddenly sound like this? It sounds completely like a girl's voice!"
"Is this... Have I fallen into hell? Damn it! What did I do wrong? All I did was live as an unemployed weeb virgin for 30 years, leeching off my parents!"
Unfortunately, I seemed to have been reincarnated as one of the sex dolls that the wealthy of the past 'Caesar' civilization enjoyed, which were left abandoned on the factory floor.
Artificial cat ears peeking through synthetic hair, an unnaturally large chest and hips by human anatomical standards, a power-recharging crown attached to my spine, the appearance of an 18-year-old with perfect facial features, alluring freckles on my forehead, and a long, elegant cat tail with a white tip attached to my tailbone.
Surrounding me were other automatons designed to look exactly like me.
Perhaps all civilizations ultimately converge to some half-furry fetish right before their downfall...
Anyway, I was extremely confused and disoriented. As I looked around the abandoned factory, I saw unfamiliar symbols and gigantic mechanical devices that resembled clockwork parts, and animatronics like me.
After gathering my thoughts, thanks to my 20 years of weeb experience, I quickly assessed my situation and shouted,
"Ugh... Is this that isekai reincarnation thing I've only heard about? But what is this? Where's my cheat ability? My reincarnation blessing? Where's the strongest system window only I can use? ..but I've reincarnated as a strange cat robot with unnecessarily heavy breasts and hips without any perks... Damn you, God... Damn it all!"
From then on, out of sheer determination, I resolved to survive in this world using all the knowledge and experience I had accumulated. As a sex robot designed for pleasure, I somehow managed to narrowly escape dangerous moments thanks to my weirdly agile body.
After spending decades honing my clockpunk tinkering skills and understanding the workings of this world, I finally found a group of human survivors. When I first met them, they mistook me for one of the rampaging animatronics and fired at me without hesitation. I thought I was going to die then...
Anyway, after spending years with them, building various relationships, and helping them rebuild civilization with the clockpunk skills I had learned outside, I was hailed as a hero destined to save the world and asked to embark on a journey to restore the central control system.
Even in this apocalyptic world, there was a pitiful guy who lived alone like my past self without a girlfriend... I spent quite a lot of time with him... As comrades, we had a mutual understanding... He liked me a lot as well. (because of my appearance?)
They praised me as a savior of the world and requested that I embark on a journey to restore the central control system. Eventually, after various twists and turns, I ended up resurrect the central control device...
It's a shame, but if I continue reminiscing, it will take too long to get to the what happening here right now, so I'll save the details for a future spin-off...
... But why even am I assuming someone is listening to this story? Is there anyone who would read this if I wrote it down?
As I lie in a cradle, reincarnated as a baby in another world, I'm just bored, reminiscing about my past lives...
[End of Life #2 - Earth 326# Cause of Death: Unknown until spin-off revealed ]