Chapter 1: Chapter 1: New Life, New Hell?
The atmosphere in the office was tense as the man, clearly agitated, strode up to his desk. "You still haven't finished the paperwork, and it's riddled with mistakes!" he shouted, his voice echoing through the quiet workspace. "Do your work properly, you useless piece of shit!" The worker stayed silent at the verbal attack and stammered out apologies, but the man continued to berate him, his anger mounting with each passing moment. Finally, he kicked the worker out of his office and slammed the door shut. As the worker trudged back to his own workspace, he couldn't help but hear the whispers of his co-workers. "He got scolded again," one muttered. "Coach is really useless," another chimed in. The words stung, but the worker knew he couldn't let them get to him. He settled back into his work, determined to do better and prove himself to his boss, no matter how difficult the task.
Coach's shift had finally come to an end after enduring a long day of beratement from both his boss and co-workers. Ten consecutive overtimes had taken their toll on him, and he hurried out of the facility to make his way home to his apartment. As he walked, memories of his younger years flooded his mind, when he had been full of hopes and dreams for the future. But those aspirations had slowly been replaced by the harsh realities of corporate life, turning him into a lifeless corporate slave.
Upon finally reaching his doorstep, Coach let out a deep sigh of relief. "I'm finally home," he muttered to himself. But as he began to remove his shoes, a cockroach suddenly darted across the floor in front of him. Reacting without thinking, Coach instinctively threw his shoe at the insect, but missed by a hair. Coach's annoyance turned into anger as he chased the cockroach around his rundown apartment. The piles of garbage made it difficult for him to catch the elusive insect, but after a few minutes of struggle, he finally cornered it. With a deep breath, he brought his foot down heavily on the cockroach, releasing all of his pent-up frustration with the satisfying sound of crunching exoskeleton.
Feeling victorious, Coach let out a heavy sigh of relief. But as he stood there, his vision suddenly blurred and his body grew weak. He stumbled sluggishly towards his bed, but accidentally stepped on a small water bottle and slipped backwards. In a moment of panic, he realized his head was about to collide with the corner of his table, but before he could react, his vision went black and he collapsed to the floor.
As Coach lay unconscious on the floor, his mind drifted in a hazy dream-like state. Suddenly, a voice pierced through the fog, calling out to him. "Wake up," it said firmly. At first, Coach ignored the voice and tried to sink deeper into his sleep. But the voice persisted, and soon he grew annoyed. "Can't you let me sleep just a few more minutes?" he grumbled.
The voice relented. "Fine, I'll give you ten more minutes," it said. Coach thanked the voice and drifted back into slumber. But even after ten minutes had passed, Coach remained fast asleep. The voice grew impatient, urging him to wake up, but he slumbered on, oblivious to its pleas. Eventually, the voice gave up and fell silent, waiting for Coach to wake up on his own.
Twelve hours later…
Coach woke up feeling satisfied, but as he looked around the darkness, he realized he didn't recognize where he was. Suddenly, he heard a voice muttering nearby. "43201, 43202, 43203, 43204, 43205," the voice counted.
"Excuse me," Coach spoke up. "Are you okay?"
"Do I look okay to you?!" the voice snapped back. "Do you know how much time I wasted waiting for you to wake up?!"
"I'm sorry," Coach apologized instinctively.
The voice sighed and changed the subject. "It's fine, now that you're awake, I have good news and bad news for you," it said.
The voice explained to Coach that he had died in a pathetic way, but the good news was that he would be given a choice to be reincarnated or to rest in the land of souls. Coach chose to be reincarnated, but before he could do so, the voice warned him that the process was random. If he was lucky, he could come back as a human, but the probability was low. The worst-case scenario was that he could come back as a pile of dog shit. Coach gulped nervously, hoping for the best as he awaited his new life.
"I understand," Coach replied, steeling himself for what was to come. As he spoke, Coach began to glow with an otherworldly light. Before he could disappear completely, the voice spoke up again. "Wait," it said. "I almost forgot to tell you. You will be reincarnated into a world called Cendrosia. It's a place full of magic, monsters, and all sorts of fantastical creatures. It's like one of those Isekai worlds you always used to read about in your former life."
Coach was stunned by the news. He had always been a fan of those kinds of stories, but he never thought he would actually end up in one. Coach was concerned after learning about the concept of reincarnation, and he asked the voice, "I'm worried about how I'll be able to navigate this new world without any prior knowledge?"
"Don't worry, I will guide you in that world," the voice replied. Coach was satisfied with the answer and closed his eyes and wondered what he would reincarnate into. When he opened his eyes, he found himself in the middle of a vast city sewage line. The sewage was so big that he felt like a tiny speck in the grand scheme of things. As he looked around, he saw a broken mirror nearby and walked closer to it, he was surprised to see his reflection staring back at him - he had reincarnated as a cockroach.
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