At that moment, what I saw was a cloudy sky accompanied by falling rain, but my vision started to blur and fade. When I tried to move, my body wouldn't respond.
"Why? What's happening?"
The longer it went on, the weaker my body felt. I sensed something hollow and empty, along with a wet and sticky sensation, and then I caught the scent of blood around me.
"A foul smell... What is this smell?"
I felt like I couldn't move at all anymore, and that's when I saw someone—despite my fading sight, I could make out that it was a woman. She looked like she was crying and in shock.
Not long after, I realized that I had just been in an accident. My body had a gaping wound in the stomach area, and I couldn't feel anything.
Then the woman came closer, tears streaming down her face. Despite the pouring rain, she tried to lift me up and hugged me, whispering:
"Why... Why did this happen?"
After that, I gave her one last smile and took my final breath, accompanied by the sound of her crying.
"Hiks, hiks…"
Then, I found myself in a strange place. I thought I was in the afterlife, but it turned out I had been brought somewhere unknown, a place I couldn't even begin to understand.
"Where am I?"
Before I could start thinking, a circle appeared right beneath my feet, and it startled me instantly.
"Huh? What's happening now?"
"What is all this?"
Suddenly, I appeared in a grand palace. There were seven others there, making the total number of us eight. But before I could process all of it, I saw a woman—she was beautiful and elegant.
She stood tall and appeared friendly as she confidently introduced herself:
"My name is Goddess Casca."
The moment she said her name, something clicked—I felt a strange familiarity. Then I realized it was the same name from a game I had played, one year and a half-month before my accident.
(Wait, isn't she from the game I used to play?)
(And that game was titled…)
[Destroying Hell from the World]
(Also known as [DHFTW])
This game is kind of hard to explain, but the gist is that you have to survive every attack that comes your way—even unexpected plot twists. Most players who played it were split into two types: pay-to-win and free-to-play noobs. In this game, you also needed a strong mindset—not because it was particularly scary, but because for noobs, it was mentally exhausting since most of them played for free.
Basically, you needed to be patient with everything, like grinding EXP, upgrading gear, and so on. Of course, that wasn't an issue for the pay-to-win players—you already know what I mean.
But in this game, you could choose one out of seven characters, each with their own unique and diverse skills. The most interesting thing was that out of those seven, three were reincarnated—but only in the game, not in real life like me.
At that moment, the goddess asked us to introduce ourselves one by one. Even though I already knew who they were, I couldn't skip it—I was now inside the game itself.
"Alright, starting from the far right."
"My name is Yaira, female, 16 years old."
"My name is Kuco, male, 18 years old."
"My name is Koyui, male, 18 years old."
"My name is Rey, male, 17 years old."
"My name is Samanta, female, 18 years old."
"My name is Yano, female, 17 years old."
"My name is Kanae, female, 18 years old."
All seven had finished introducing themselves, and now it was my turn. But before I could speak, someone whispered:
(Get ready…)
I ignored the voice and went ahead with my introduction. Standing up straight, I began to speak.
"My name is Ace, male, 17 years old."
"Oh, what a unique name," the goddess remarked.
After she said that, she revealed a floating screen that displayed the skills each of the seven characters had. But before she could finish, her expression changed when she saw my status. Her once kind face turned into a look of disgust.
"I can't believe someone exists who doesn't even have a skill."
"Heh, worthless trash."
Immediately, the others turned to look at me—some with smug laughter, others indifferent, and a few looking uncomfortable.
I was confused. Why was Goddess Casca being so sarcastic toward someone without a skill? In the game, she was known to be kind and helpful to anyone in trouble. But as I thought more deeply, I felt like I was being shown their true nature.
The goddess walked toward me with a haughty expression, which made me feel disgusted now that I had seen her true colors.
"Tch, you're such a nuisance."
"You'd be better off disappearing from our sight."
She began chanting a spell, forming a magic circle beneath my feet. I thought it was some kind of teleportation. But before I could make sense of anything, someone suddenly appeared.
Bathed in light, they stood in front of me and placed a hand on my shoulder.
"I almost didn't make it in time."
"Sorry for the commotion."
In an instant, I was taken away with them—to yet another place. This was the third time I had been transported.
Once we arrived, I found myself in another unfamiliar location. Before I could even wonder where I was, the person crossed their arms and asked me:
"Hey, do you want to be reincarnated?"
I was still confused by everything happening, but I couldn't stay silent.
"Hmm, is this... some kind of contract?"
They smiled at me, then their expression turned serious. Honestly, it made me nervous.