Are all humans born equal?
That question haunted me since childhood.
Born into an average middle-class family, I lived an average life, scored average in school, took out loans for college, landed a corporate job where sucking up to my boss was the closest I came to "career growth." Then came the AI wave, and I got fired, like many others.
Unemployed and depressed, the only solace for me was in games and anime, slowly turning me into your typical otaku-weeb hybrid until I grew dull of social life.
And then I died.
A heart attack. An unimpressive end to an unimpressive life. No drama and no inheritance to my name, not like there was anyone to give it to.
Just another failure the world wouldn't notice missing.
I half-expected to wake up in hell, sentenced to eternal damnation for wasting the gift of life.
But instead, here I am.
The cold ocean breeze brushed past me, its touch strangely soothing, as if whispering comfort to my weary soul. I closed my eyes, letting the sensation wash over me.
It had been an hour since I woke up and found myself here, stranded alone.
At first, I thought I was hallucinating. Some kind of dream, maybe? But everything felt too vivid to be false.
The salty tang in the air, the rhythmic crash of waves, the soft prickling of seawater lapping against my legs, it was all real and I couldn't deny it.
Ripples danced outward as I waddled my legs, back and forth, over and over, my mind kept circling back to the same point:
Where was I?
The last thing I remembered was dying of a heart attack at the age of twenty-two.
I still remember it vividly.
I was in the middle of my filthy, smelly room, empty energy drink cans scattered across the floor, garbage piled up in corners I'd long since stopped noticing. I was reaching for my gaming PC, ready to finally boot up GTA VI.
But fate had other plans.
And just like that, it all ended.
The thought alone made tears stream down my cheeks. Of all the things, that's what broke me. Not the wasted years or the meaningless job. No, I wanted to scream, "At least let me play the god damn GTA 6 once before killing me!"
But my voice faltered. My mouth barely moved. It was like I was a newborn again, completely helpless and fragile.
A thousand questions swirled inside me, questions that I had no answers to.
'Sigh.'
In the end, only a sigh escaped my lips.
I looked down at the ocean, at my reflection, faintly mirrored in the turbulent ocean.
Hair blazing like fire, strands flowing down to my shoulders with the radiance of the sun itself. It was in one word, majestic.
My brows were sharp and symmetrical, perfectly aligned with piercing golden eyes and a chiseled jawline. I looked like the textbook definition of those "Alpha males" you see in memes.
The cold wind swept through the light fabric of my ragged clothes, pulling them aside just enough to reveal a sculpted torso, six-pack abs and muscles brimming with strength. I looked like I'd stepped straight out of a Greek statue.
It was as if the "God" itself had sculpted his body for him!
"Well, it seems like God really did give me my body," I muttered with a dry chuckle, my gaze fixed on the floating green panel in front of me.
[You have just been born by your mother, Gaia, with only a single mission in mind:
Save humanity from the cruelty of the Gods, and restore balance between Gods and Humans.]
"Huh. Well, that's interesting."
Instead of panicking, like any sane person probably would, I just chuckled again. Maybe it was the shock of it or maybe because I had nothing left to lose.
I stared out across the vast, glimmering ocean, letting the silence speak for a while.
'Save humanity?' I squinted at my reflection in the water again and smiled bitterly.
'I couldn't even save myself from depression and being a total failure.'
I shook my head dismissively, brushing off my thoughts.
Then I focused on the green panel again and it shifted almost immediately. The mission text vanished, replaced by a new interface.
This time, it showed me. A full stat screen, just like in an RPG.
…
[Name: Nameless]
Class: None
Species: Unknown
Level: 0
Sub-class: None
True name:
Titles:
Skills:
Gift: Starter pack of
…
…
Health: 200
Strength: 10
Defense: 10
Stamina: 10
Dexterity: 10
Speed: 10
Physique: 10
Magic: 0
Spirit power: 0
[Note: Average humans stats are around 2-3]
…
There were two panels floating in front of me.
One displayed my status, skills, and all the usual RPG trimmings.
The other showed a full body diagram, my health and whatever else this world measured.
Looking between them, a familiar itch clicked in my gamer brain.
"Hmm, So how do I go about this?" I muttered, touching my chin.
First things first, loot always comes before paperwork. I navigated to the system's gift and tapped it open.
[You have opened the starter pack of
[You have gained a unique skill:
"…That's it?"
I stared blankly at the notification.
I was utterly gasted in my flabber that the literal Goddess Earth, my mother, had apparently given me a single skill and told me to fight Gods!?
Calming my breath, I activated the skill in my mind.
[Beep]
An unfamiliar sound rang in my ears, and for some reason, an odd itch crawled inside my ears. I instinctively reached up to rub them, but before I could—
A smooth, mechanical voice echoed inside my head, the kind of voice that you did hear in clankers. The slur word for AI, I made.
[AI has successfully merged with the host's soul. My sole purpose is to assist the host.]
[Please choose a name for me.]
I smiled bitterly.
"Even in a fantasy world, I can't escape AI. Got replaced by one and now I've got one. Figures. Honestly, I'm not even surprised anymore."
Thinking aloud, more like musing to myself, I responded to this "AI".
"I'll name you, [Sofi]."
[Thank you, host, for granting me my name.] Her voice echoed again, crisp and mechanical.
A sudden thought struck me, and I tilted my head. "So… are you a woman? Or something else entirely?"
[I am an
"Were you implying something…?" I muttered, frowning, then I realised it…
Cough! Cough!
"A-anyway, moving on. How do I use you? And I'm supposed to save humanity from the gods, right?"
[Yes, this is the main mission, Host.]
[Main Mission: Save humans from the gods' torture and restore balance between gods and humans.]
[Time allotted: 1 Godhood.]
"Very well," I grumbled, strangely accepting my fate. I pushed myself up from the dock and stretched my stiff limbs.
[... Host, aren't you going to ask me anything!?]
"What?" I laughed with a casual voice. "Since I'm the son of Mother Gaia herself, she wouldn't just let her own son die, right?"
[...]
"Since you want me to ask questions, sure I will then," I glanced down at my stats. "How do I level up? Almost every stat of mine is at 10 right now."
[My purpose is to assist you in this mission. I can analyze anything in the world and help you merge skills to grow stronger.]
"Well, that's certainly interesting," I muttered to myself, intrigued. "But how exactly is that supposed to work—"
[Congratulations, Host. You have learned a new skill:
[Breathing: Allows the user to breathe]