The last thing I remember was driving back home from a party. Halfway there, a blinding light hit me, and then... nothing. Everything went black, like the universe before the Big Bang.

"Where am I?"

"Do not fear, mortal, for you have found the grace of a goddess."

A voice answered my question in the absolute void, and I didn't know whether to feel terrified or relieved.

"Who said that?" I looked around but couldn't find the source of the voice.

"Look ahead," it said. I did as told, and there I saw her.

What I saw was a being with a feminine figure, but made entirely of purple light.

"W-What are you?"

"A goddess. I could swear I've had a conversation like this before."

"Where are we?"

"We are in the true void, where all souls pass after going to heaven or hell to have their sins cleansed. Here, their memories are erased before they cross the river of reincarnation."

"I don't remember going to heaven or hell."

"That's because you didn't. I used my authority to take your soul after death and am using my power to keep your memories intact because I want something from you."

"W-What do you want from me?"

"Entertainment."

"EH?"

"Yes, entertainment. To be honest, you're not the first soul I've taken and wanted to reincarnate. But I had a little misunderstanding with the previous one, so I'd better make things clear. As the goddess of reincarnation, I have a lot of free time, and I get bored easily. So I noticed other gods reincarnating mortals for various reasons and thought, 'Why don't I do the same?' And that's how we ended up here."

"What happened to the other soul?"

"She's fine. I reincarnated her a few years ago, and everything's going well for her. It's just that… well, she doesn't always do interesting things. For example, she goes to school, and if going to school is boring, imagine watching someone go to school. So I thought of reincarnating another soul—you, in this case—so if one isn't doing something interesting, maybe the other will."

"… Are there rules to this?"

"Yes, I choose your appearance and the world you'll reincarnate in, but I'll grant you three wishes in return."

"What will I look like, and where will I go?"

"This will be your appearance." She made a motion with her finger, and an image appeared before me (the image from the cover).

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!"

"A combination between a demon and a dragon, but retaining feminine traits."

"WHY?!"

"Because I want to," she replied with a playful tone.

"And the world?"

"You'll only find out once you reincarnate."

"YOU!" I wanted to curse her, but given my situation, I thought it might be a bad idea.

"You're not obligated to accept. If you refuse, you'll continue with the cycle of reincarnation."

"…" I stayed silent, contemplating my options. The first was to refuse and reincarnate normally, but there was no telling if I'd have good or bad luck. I didn't know if I'd reincarnate as a human or an animal, and even if I were human, who knew what my life would be like?

The second option was to accept the deal and reincarnate as a monster in an unknown world—but with three wishes. That final point made my decision.

"Alright… I accept the deal." The goddess seemed to smile at my response.

"And what are your wishes?"

"First, I want the protagonist's ability from Re:Monster along with the synthesis ability."

"Granted, with the restriction that any living being you eat will only give you their abilities if you killed them. This doesn't apply to inorganic objects… for obvious reasons. Also, the synthesis ability will only work on other abilities."

"Second, I want a status system that shows me the abilities I've obtained and helps me use synthesis."

"Granted. Since that's fairly simple, I'll give it a small upgrade."

"What kind of upgrade?"

"It's a surprise, but don't worry—it's beneficial to you."

I didn't like this, but what could I do?

"And… for my final wish, I want an ability that lets me travel to different worlds of my choosing… and also comes with a list of recommended worlds for me."

I couldn't see the being's face, but I could tell her smile had grown even larger.

"Granted, but with the restriction that it takes six months before you can travel to another world."

When she finished speaking, I felt myself losing consciousness.

"Good luck." And with that, everything went black.

…

When I regained consciousness, I was in a dark, cramped space. I felt suffocated and had a strange impulse to push against the walls around me, so I did.

I started pushing, and I began to understand where I was. The walls quickly began to crack, letting in bits of light.

I kept pushing until my body burst out of wherever I was. I had to close my eyes because of the light, but after a while, I managed to open them again. The sight before me was one I would never forget.

I was in a forest surrounded by gigantic trees, teeming with all kinds of life. I saw red birds flying, bright yellow frogs, some kind of firefly glowing intensely, and a massive yellow iguana with a blue belly and black stripes accompanied by smaller versions of itself.

Wait a second, isn't that a Great Jagras?! Hold on… am I in the Ancient Forest?! Am I in the Monster Hunter world?!

"AHHH!" I wanted to scream in excitement, but the only thing that came out of my underdeveloped vocal cords was a sound more like a growl. I guess I can't talk yet.

But that didn't diminish my excitement. If I had to guess, since the Great Jagras has only appeared in Monster Hunter: World so far, I must be in the New World. I just need to figure out if this is before the game begins, after, or if the DLC events have already happened.

To do that, I need to get out of here. As I suspected, the place I was trapped in was an egg. I finished breaking free from my prison of birth and took a closer look around.

I was on top of a tree stump, not a nest—no leaves, twigs, or anything else, just the trunk. And since I don't see any creatures like me, as the goddess said, I am the monster she showed me before but smaller.

So it's one of two things: either in this Monster Hunter world, my species exists and there are more like me, or the goddess just placed my egg here, and there's no one else like me.

Given that this isn't a great spot to place an egg and that I don't see any kind of parents, I'm guessing it's the second option.

Alright, I have a grand adventure to live, and my first obstacle… is climbing down this tree stump.

I appreciate any comments, suggestions, or reviews. It would also be very helpful to receive suggestions for future worlds.