The wind screamed past Nexus's ears as Tokyo's skyline shrank to toy size beneath him.
At 32, he'd conquered many a thrills life has offered—skydiving, shark cages, free solo climbs. But this? Midnight bungee from the world's tallest urban bridge? Pure arrogance.
"Last chance to Back out, Nexus!" his buddy shouted from the platform, phone recording. Nexus flashed a wolfish grin. "Record this for the 'gram. Title it 'Final Frontier'.
"Snap. The cord uncoiled. Freefall ecstasy hit like heroin—stomach lurching, heart exploding, world blurring to primal colors. Fifty stories down. Aiming for the Perfect arc. The Perfect—"
!!SNAP!!
Reality inverted. The cord shredded mid-air, taur stone-grade synthetic failing like wet paper. Nexus's grin froze.
Engineered snap? Not at a time like this they couldn't have planned my death like that. It's so suden for it to be the cas—
CRUNCH.
Darkness. No pain. No impact. Just... floating?
«Reincarnation detected.
Soul signature: stable.
Compatibility: 99.7%.
Deploying to merged NEXUS WORLD.»
A voice? Not heard—felt. Like code compiling in his brainstem.
«Gifts allocated:
Adept of Infinite Resonance (Unique).
Alchemist (Synergist Evolution).
Ancient Magic Affinity(High).
Soul Core gained»
White light fractured. Nexus's consciousness slammed into infant flesh—crying, helpless, but aware. Tokyo General Hospital, 2003. His new mother's face swam into view.
«Nexus integration: 87%. Multiversal awareness LOCKED until god-slaying threshold. Welcome to the crossroads world, NEXUS.»
He couldn't speak, but his tiny fist clenched. What the hell just happened? Was his last thought for long while before blacking out.
~Time skip~
Seventeen years later, the now named Hajime Nagumo, high school first year, average in every possible way, was enjoyable his lazy monday in the class at lunch when a long dorment power the multiverseal awareness flickered for the first time, strange & taboo knowledge began entering his mind, yet just as quickly the connection broke.
At that moment he heard 2 giggling girls entering the room Kaori Shirasaki giggled across the classroom, her long black hair catching sunlight. Shizuku Yaegashi rolled her eyes beside her, black ponytail swaying.
Arifureta girls? Here? Hajime's Resonance gift hummed faintly, Just quiet observation.
Class 3-B chattered about semister exams. Kouki Amanogawa shone at center stage, golden boy hero complex in full bloom. Daisuke and friends laughed too loud. Aiko Hatayama-sensei smiled nervously trying to calm them down.
Ordinary day. Ordinary life. Hajime sketched gun schematics in his notebook margins.
Until suddenly it isn't.
A magic circle that suspiciously enough looks like the circle the game he play last night made by his father's company. It was the all famous Summoning Circle. The circle expanded, swallowing desks, walls, bords, etc.
Screams. Ensued obviously not that i cared, I was more focused on the eiree statue that stranglely enough looked like Jesus with his arms speed wide in the titanic Ahem- accepting pose.
Ehit's sanctum that's what the cathedral was called apparantly.
robed priests lined up and chanted prayers at the sight of us.
We were let to a large dining hall where we were served some refreshments, most of the boys include me checking out the maids, thought i felt a sudden chill it was probably my imagination.
After that the usual bs and shit happened that happens in every game after the hero gets summoned, Demons bla bla bla, save us bla bla bla, we cannot send you back bla bla bl--
WAIT that was not on the script this wasn't supposed to be like this.
And of fuckin course our resident idiot belived it in its entirety and is ralling the rest of the students to go along with him.
Poor aiko chan is trying her best act like a teacher and opposing the hero complex chid but the more you tell this type kids to not do something the more they do it.
After all this we desecded from the divine mountain into the kingdom bellow.
...
King Eliheid in the throne room first kissed Pope Ishtar hands in greeting and respect, the he shifted his focus on us along side his wife and children the queen, the princess and the prince. The king glowered from thrones."Chosen heroes of another world!"
He intoned. "Save our realm from demon hordes!"
Few days of adjustment later we were led to the traning ground to get our evaluation, according to meld the church creates status plates for every one that also doubles as their identity card.
Once every student recieved theirs they were told to rub a drop of blood in the back of the plate in what appears to be a magic circle carved on it.
When Hajime did so he felt it.
Hajime's Resonance pulsed. Multiversal awareness stirring.
Tortus world from Arifureta confirmed. Classmates = exact Arifureta roster.
Status plates materialized.
Hajime scanned his:
**Hajime Nagumo / NEXUS**
Job: Synergist → ALCHEMIST (EVOLVED)
Level – 1
HP: 490 [(Vitality X 20) + (Defence X 5)]
MP: 450 [(Magic X 15)]
Strength: 15
Vitality: 20
Defense: 18
Agility: 20
Magic: 30
Magic Defense: 10
Skills: Transmute — Alchemy — Language Comprehension
HP*R =(20+18) X 0.6 →22.8 or 23/min
MP*R =30 X 1→ 30min
Gifts: Infinite Resonance (LOCKED), God-Soul Devourer (LOCKED) (the gifts won't show in status plate of Tortus)
Alchemist...? Resonance thrummed. His fingers itched to create. Kouki puffed chest. "We'll save this world!" Cheers erupted. Kaori glanced at Hajime, worried. He nodded calmly. Stay low. Observe. The "heroes" received swords, armor, celebratory feast.
Hajime got transmutation tools—a hammer, ore samples. Perfect. That night, Resonance whispered:
«Abyss awaits. God-slaying path begins.»
Hajime stared at the alien moon. Through he didn't understand what it ment but abyss the only thought in this mind was "Challenge accepted."