Sometimes you can't help but wonder, how did I get here? Some would say luck or circumstance, others might say it's one of life's greatest mysteries.
I was just an average guy, living an average life. Attending college while working a part time job, very few friends after high school.
Nothing about me was extraordinary or special, just another guy going through life. Yet, here I stand after getting turned to paste by a semi-truck, entering the afterlife just to meet a man offering me a contract from some multiversal organization known as The Company.
I didn't hesitate to sign the contract, perhaps that's why they approached me in the first place, at their level, they would know exactly who would accept or reject their offer.
And now, here I stand, on a small island floating over the void. The Skyblock challenge as The Company calls it. The island is 25 meters x 25 meters x 25 meters.
"Mmm… where is this…?"
Seems like my partner has finally woken up.
"Good morning" I greet the blonde elf. During the Skyblock challenge, you are given a free T5 companion. I wasn't sure who exactly to choose, there were so many characters and I didn't fully understand their capabilities. Until I saw her.
Serafina, the reincarnation of a goddess from that world, from that hentai series Kuroinu.
Since she was the reincarnation of a goddess, I thought she would definitely be very useful and powerful. She wasn't like her sister Celestine who was a pacifist and thought she could talk things out with literal rapist who want to establish a "Cuntry". At least Serafina was more than willing to fight back, or at least that's what I read about online when I was curious.. But, since she is a character in a hentai, it didn't matter how powerful she was, the author would just make her dumb or make some convenient excuse to how she could be easily defeated.
There were many options for companions that I was very tempted to choose, but many of those people wouldn't be a good fit for this situation.
She looked around in confusion before her eyes widened in realization. Must be the information The Company transmits into the minds of purchased companions. She stood up, giving me an amazing view of her body. Another reason why I chose her other than her powers. She didn't have any clothing whatsoever. Only small golden jewelry that covered her intimate areas. Serafina is easily the most beautiful woman I've ever set my eyes on.
"Umm, Sir…?"
Oh, right, introductions. "My name is Leon" I extend my hand for a handshake which she takes, and wow! Her hands are very soft!
"I'm Serafina, and if I may, can I ask where we are?"
I reply back, "Of course, though we should sit since it will be a pretty long explanation"
She nods and we both sit down on the grass under the sole tree on the island. Now where to start.
"So, this place is called Skyblock, it's a demiplane with an infinite sky and the only thing here is this island. We have a small pond of clean drinking water, the soil is very good for crops and this tree produces up to five fruits a day, each fruit able to sustain an adult human for one day. Though they don't have a long shelf life after they are picked off the tree. We do get a survival kit, which is that crate over there, filled with survival gear to help us."
She simply nods along with my explanation. "So what's the purpose of this place?"
"Well, it's a challenge. The only way to expand this place is to purchase more land with credits but we can't earn credits here, well, at least not right now. At the end of every week, a portal will open to a random world, and we have 24 hours to do whatever we can in those 24 hours before the portal closes. And don't worry, if we don't make it to the portal, we will be forcibly brought back and be given a penalty of one less hour in the next world. Our goal is to expand from, well, nothing"
"Will these worlds be dangerous?" She asked.
"For now, not really. For the first month, the maximum danger rating for a world we can encounter is 3. And that maximum will keep increasing until it caps out at 10. So it's best that we thoroughly prepare for each world and try to reap as much as we can from each world. To earn credits, we have to capture targets or complete missions, though capturing would be easier than missions since I only need to just stamp someone once. The only problem from that would be finding people that are worth any credits."
"And that's about it, a simple rundown of the situation. Any questions?" I don't say anything more and let her process the information, and I have to admit, she looks very adorable when lost in thought.
Serafina stayed quiet for a moment, her expression thoughtful as she absorbed everything I'd just told her. The only sound was the soft breeze that moved the leaves and our breathing.
"I see," she said finally, her voice as elegant as her appearance. "So this is our domain, and we are to build it up from nothing. That seems... daunting."
"It is," I admitted, "but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited. I get a second chance and I get to explore worlds that I can only dream of."
She tilted her head, her golden hair spilling over one shoulder. "Is that how you see it? A second chance?"
"Kind of hard not to when your first one ends under the grill of a semi," I said with a half-smile. She didn't laugh—maybe she didn't know what a semi was considering her world was still primitive, still in I think should be the medieval age—but her gaze softened, just slightly
"I'm sorry," she said sincerely. "Your death... it must have been painful."
I shrugged. "I don't remember much after the impact. Honestly, I'm just happy that I didn't feel any pain from the impact and that everything ended so quickly. Then I woke up in a white room, talking to a guy in a suit with glowing eyes who offered me the chance to join some multiversal... company."
Serafina nodded. "I remember something similar. One moment I was... somewhere else. The next, I was here, and then came the knowledge. Like a dream sliding into my mind."
I nodded. She's a clone purchased from the catalog so basic information about The Company is installed in her mind. "Yeah, that's the Company's way of downloading the essentials. Saves time. So, you already know your role here?"
"I do," she said, her voice gaining a little confidence. "I am your companion, your partner. I am bound to you through the binding and will aid you in this challenge."
"Thank you, Serafina. I kinda expected some resistance to the current situation, since it's not exactly ideal."
She looked away for a moment, her expression unreadable. "It's not ideal… but I've experienced worse."
I blinked at her response "You have that knowledge, huh?"
"Yes," she said quietly. "Everything the original Serafina endured—every indignity, every failure. And now I awaken, reborn yet unchanged. A perfect copy... except I am not her, am I?"
There was a subtle tension in her voice, a slight waver beneath the grace. Not sadness exactly—more like resignation.
Well, shit. I didn't expect this to happen and I'm not exactly great at talking with others, especially when she remembers such traumatic memories that aren't really her own. Perhaps I should have requested that she didn't have those memories but I wasn't really thinking that far ahead at the time.
I sat there in silence for a few seconds, not really sure what to say.
What could I say? "Sorry you inherited a bunch of trauma from a woman who technically isn't you"? Yeah, no. That'd be worse.
So I went with honesty.
"…No. You're not her," I said, slowly. "And I don't mean that in a bad way."
"You're you, Serafina. Yeah, you have her memories, but you're also here, in this moment, in my story. That makes you someone new. Even if the world doesn't see it that way, well that wouldn't be right since this is our world."
Her lips parted slightly, but no words came out.
"I'm not gonna pretend I get it," I continued. "The stuff you went through—or, I guess, the original you. But you're here now, and that's all that matters"
Then she chuckled—quiet and breathy, almost like she didn't mean to. "Your words are kind," she said softly. "Naive... but kind."
"I'll take that as a compliment"
She smiled at that—really smiled. For a moment, the weight on her shoulders seemed to lift, just a little.
"I think I like you, Leon."
"I'd hope so. You're stuck with me, after all."
She gave a small laugh—light, almost musical. A laugh that felt real.
"But I must ask," she said, cocking her head slightly, "why did you choose me? Out of all the options, many of which I'm sure were... less complicated."
I scratched my cheek, a bit embarrassed. "Well... I mean, the powers were part of it. You're a goddess, you've got divine magic. That's insanely useful in a survival scenario."
She raised an eyebrow. "And?"
"And... you're beautiful," I admitted, "Like, very beautiful. Which is nice, you know, when I'm stuck on a floating rock for who knows how long. Good morale boost."
Serafina looked amused. "Flattery? Or honesty?"
"Bit of both," I said with a shrug.
We sat in silence for a while, but not the awkward kind, more relaxing if I had to describe it.
Then she turned to me. "So… what do we do now, Leon?"
I exhaled and finally stood. "Now? We check the survival crate and start setting up."
She stood too, brushing grass from her thighs with that same quiet grace. "A proper start, then. I'll assist however I can."
Perhaps I should avoid companions with trauma, though I'm happy we are good with each other now.
…
…
The days passed by in a blur. After I had that talk with Serafina, we went through the crate and organized all the tools and supplies. We set up both tents, then continued talking until nightfall.
These past few days have been very boring. There isn't much to do on the island. I spent this time primarily talking with Serafina and working out. Since we'll be going to other worlds, some of which will be dangerous, it will be beneficial if I'm at least in decent shape. I've thought about getting a loan of credits so I can purchase some talents and defenses, but held off until I think it's necessary.
And for the most part, I'm glad I chose Serafina. She's been a great conversation partner, something I'm glad to have on this small island. It would suck if I had an introverted partner. We mostly talk about our past, me talking about my family, hobbies and my time in school, while she talks about that stuff as well, she is very verbal about her friend and knight, Iris.
And from what I remember, she shared a similar fate to Serafina in the original material. Iris was completely loyal to Serafina and despite all the torture she went through, she still held on. It was only after seeing Serafina's broken state of mind that Iris finally gave in and decided to stay with Serafina as a sex slave.
Perhaps I could get Iris from the catalog as well for Serafina, but I'll have to put that idea on hold until I've purchased some talents and defenses, and have expanded this island a bit.
We've made a list of the things that are essential to our survival here, though it was mainly me filling out the list since I'm more knowledgeable about modern equipment. Hopefully our first world is a modern one, I desperately need materials to make at least a primitive toilet.
That's the worst thing about this place so far, no toilets. So far we did our business near the edge or dug a hole and covered it back up after finishing. Absolutely sucks, well for me it sucked since she didn't actually need to do any sort of business, which was kinda embarrassing when there are no walls for privacy.
Serafina also spoke about her powers since it's quite important to know. I don't think the original material actually went into depth of what she was capable of since it's a hentai, such things don't matter. People only watch it for one reason.
Anyway, she has some good abilities, she is basically a support that can throw out some good damage. Healing wounds, removing poisons and curses. Her divine energy is basically a counter to undead and evil aligned beings, and she can summon beams of holy energy to attack. And she is able to apply debuffs on monsters which greatly weaken them, though the debuff doesn't affect humans, elves or beastmen. So, she's kinda like Aqua from Konosuba but not an idiot, though Serafina isn't able to resurrect the dead like Aqua can.
Moving on from that, is the more important matter. Tonight is when the portal will open. We didn't have a bag or anything to actually carry stuff back to the Skyblock and my pockets won't do, Serafina doesn't even have clothing. So I made the decision to take out a loan to purchase pocket space so that we can store away the stuff we get without having to keep making trips back to the portal.
Checking the time, there is only a few minutes left until the portal opens. The sun had already set, or now really since this demiplane doesn't have a sun but still simulates a day and night cycle.
I turn to Serafina and ask her "Sera, you ready?"
"I am, I'm quite curious what another world is going to look like"
A bright light appeared in the center of the island, and slowly a blue portal formed.
~DING~
Receiving the notification on my phone, I look at it. Some missions have been generated for the world, and looking at the world name, I have to say I really didn't expect it.
"Nekopara?"