Chapter 2: Questions on the topic of reincarnation...(1)
I stared at the divine figure with curiosity in my eyes.
"Reincarnation? Amusement? She finds my way of life amusing so she's giving me a second chance for the sake of her entertainment?"
I was wondering if she was mocking me or not but then I realized it didn't really matter. Reincarnating to another world would surely give me the chance to learn new skills....but before that I needed to confirm something.
"Are there no skills to learn in the afterlife?" I asked.
I wanted to make sure if it was worth it to stay here rather than reincarnate. After all, maybe there are some things I can only learn here too. I didn't know if I would be allowed to stay here though.
At first, the deity or who or what I assumed to be a deity, seemed surprised at my question. But then she slowly started giggling and afterwards began to laugh somewhat audibly while covering her mouth with her pale white hand.
"Hehehe...You really are an interesting individual! I expected you to agree instantly considering your obsession with learning new things but to think you even want to learn something new in this place before anything else!"
She kept giggling by herself for a short while. I was a bit annoyed at her for wasting time like this but I didn't say anything due to the fact that I didn't know what consequences I might face if I anger her.
As I was on the verge of complaining she finally returned to her calm, polite demeanor and answered my question,
"Unfortunately, the afterlife isn't really what most people in your world imagine it to be. There is nothing to learn here and regardless of what deeds you did in life you will be treated all the same. It's just a boring place where you spend time in solitude while eating somewhat delicious food and sleeping peacefully before most people inevitably choose to request a reincarnation again. Though unlike you, they don't get a chance to reincarnate to a different world, just to their previous one. They also won't have their memories like you will."
Hearing her explanation, I was debating on whether I should trust her words or not. It's always best to see the truth with your own eyes so I was about to decide to check for myself....but then I looked around and found....nothing. Everywhere was just a blank white space for as far as my eyes could see. Seeing this I thought,
'So much for wanting to check things by myself'
The goddess or whatever she is must have understood my intentions and smiled while saying,
"I'm sure you understand what I mean by boring after checking out this space. It really has nothing. You can ask for food and a bed, which would be delivered by angels but that's it."
In the end I decided to ask about her offer.
"Tell me about your reincarnation offer", I asked.
"It's just as I said. I will allow you to reincarnate in another world in exchange for letting me observe your life. Of course I will only observe you when you take interesting actions that are visible to the public. So you can think of me as a bystander watching you when you do something intriguing.", she replied.
"Tell me about the world I'm reincarnating in." I requested.
"The world you will reincarnate is called Tellus mater. It is a world that's similar to the fantasy worlds you read in your world's novels. There's magic, monsters and different races. I could tell you all the details about how the world developed and everything but it would turn into a boring long lecture."
Hearing her mention novels. I was reminded of my own novel, it might be a shame for the viewers that I wouldn't be able to upload any more content but I myself didn't care because I wrote it only to improve my writing. But right now I need to ask something else.
"What kind of magic will I be able to use? In fact how does magic even work there?"
The goddess(?) smiled slightly as if she expected I would ask something of the sort.
"There are 7 kinds of magic in this world. Fire, water, wind, earth, light , dark and Unique magic. I don't think I need to explain the first 6. The last type of magic is magic unique to the Individual. Therefore, since it's called "Unique", while it's possible to have similar unique magic among many people it's still impossible for their magic to be the exact same. Talented people can use 2 or 3 magic of the first six but unique magic is special and so users of that magic cannot use anything else."
"Oh? That certainly sounds intriguing. Can you give me some examples of unique magic?" I asked with a new-found interest.
"I see this has piqued your interest. A few examples of unique magic would be anywhere from "Physical Reinforcement" to something as powerful and rare as "Time manipulation" . Of course the stronger ones can have severe side effects and conditions like shortening your life span if used recklessly and depleting large amounts of mana." the goddess answered while smiling.
"I see. Then let me cut to the chase. Are you going to allow me to wield magic? If so, what kind and how much potential will you allow me to have?"
This is crucial information for me. If I reincarnate in a world where magic exists without being able to use it, then not only will a large part of my reasons for reincarnating be lost but I also imagine my life will likely suck. Discrimination, powerlessness and other negative outcomes may happen although I know nothing about that world.
"You do not need to worry. I will give you as much power as you desire, granted it will still have to be within the limits of a mortal."
Hearing her answer, I started having mixed feelings. I don't want to be weak but I definitely don't want to hopelessly overpowered. I like having to put effort and thought into learning new skills. If I ended up with something simple yet broken then I won't enjoy using those skills at all. The more complicated a skill yet teeming with potential for improvement, the more satisfied I would be. This is also why I loved practicing martial arts and swordsmanship. No matter how much I improve them there is always room for improvement, which may be true for everything else as well but I personally think it's more apparent in those skills.
The goddess must have took my silence as dissatisfaction, as she began to say,
"Are you unsatisfied hearing that your magic will have to be within mortal limits? I'm afraid that's the best I ca-"
"No, no. I'm more the happy to accept those conditions. But I don't want my magic to be extremely strong from the get-go. Instead of it being simple and strong. I want it to be extremely complicated with various conditions and limitations. I'd prefer it to be weak at first but teeming with potential so I can perfect it into something strong"
Hearing my response, the goddess(I'm just gonna think of her as that) seemed a bit confused but then showed a look of understanding.
"I see. I suppose I should have expected this from you. Then I suggest choosing unique magic. Although you will be unable to use any other magic as a result, but as I previously stated this magic tends to turn out as very complex yet powerful when wielded properly."
"I see. Then I guess that'll be what I choose." I said after a moment of thinking it through.
"Please provide me with the details of the magic you wish to wield. I will make some adjustments fitting to mortal standa-"
"Ah wait." I interrupted her.
"I'd actually like you to create the concept and flesh out the details of my magic instead of me."
"Eh?" she blurted out with yet another confused look at my strange request.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone