???

  The night was cold. The iced winds pummeling against the walls of the chapel. I looked over to the client. He was a decrepit looking bugger, old, wrinkly, and smelled of cabbage of all things. His eyes were filled with a silent resignation I only ever saw in those who were about to die. I just hoped he'd pay me first.

  Chanting. Echoing off of the high ceiling and the rows upon rows of pews. I shuddered at the haunting sound. Unease crept up my back. I was in way over my head. After all, there's only one reason for over twenty [Elite Ritualist]s to work alongside a [Master Ritualist] who's so close to death.

  A [Legendary Hero] Summoning ritual. The be all end all of rituals. The deciding factor for the future of the world. Now we just had to hope we could get a good one, not some psychopath like back before the Current Iftani Theocratical Empire was formed.

  "Ey, boss-man. This is a legal one right? I ain' tryna ge' hun'ed by th' Iftanian Inquisition ya know..."

  Might've been a mistake to speak, but it didn't matter to me anymore. I was dead if I was wrong, and certainly dead if I was right.

  The Master turned to me with inhuman speed. His smile was all I needed to know whether or not the Saint had permitted this particular summoning.

  "Awh... crud."

  He raised his hand, whispering something so fast that all I could gather was that he kept repeating the word corpse. I was so fucked.

  [System]

  [Notice: You are under the affect of the Skill: [Instantaneous Death]. Failed to Resist.]

  Shinohara Akira

  Nothing ever went my way in this accursed world. Sure, when I was in school I had a girlfriend, a decent amount of money, and excellent grades that put the other students in my dentistry course to shame... But I was so done with this life. I wanted to be something unique. Someone cool. That led to me playing video games to escape my boring existence almost 13 years ago. One of my favourites of all time being Eurani: The Prelude to Chaos.

  I, personally, was stoked when I found out one of my main rivals on Eurani was making a game. Feyre Agrifiti, or as I knew her "AlmightyPotatoMasher" was a legendary player who had not only 100% the game on every single pathway. She had also boosted noobs up to level 300 for free out of the pure goodness of her heart. Not only this, but when asked about it she reportedly said:

  "Do I do that? I can't remember! I just try to help out as many as possible. Eurani is a hard game to get a foothold in, if I'm honest. But oh so worth it at the medium to higher levels so I guess I just ended up boosting everyone to level three hundred, Hah!"

  How could someone not look up to such an angel on this god forsaken earth? I truly didn't understand all the hate she got from some of the E-Sports teams that competed in Eurani. She helped all of the teams get better, not just her home country's.

  Whoever didn't look up to her, I would class as an enemy to humankind. Truly, AlmightyPotato was an altruistic soul who I believe genuinely just wanted everyone else who played Eurani to get the same help that she received when she first played. She truly lived up to the title of "Eurani's Benevolent Goddess".

  And that's why, sitting on my living room floor, watching the news. Something inside me broke. I hadn't cried in a long time. Not since my wife had left with the kids, not since I'd found out in that very same week that my parents had both passed away in a random terror attack in Kyoto

  "Dead? What are the American's doing!? She was the sole hope for Aetherium: Successor of Order to actually be good! God Damn it all!"

  I sighed and reached to my left, fumbling for a Soju Glass as I buried my head in my knees. I didn't know her personally, not really, but I knew her enough to know she didn't deserve such a stupid and meaningless death.

  I'd only ever met her once in real life, at a Game Con, but we'd talked a lot when it did happen. I had been so excited to meet her and she'd been so nice to me, even treating me to a meal and getting the both of us crepes. We did, however, speak a lot on the World Chat in Eurani. After all, she'd gone out of her way to learn Kanji, Katakana and Hiragana just to be able to have conversations with us. I was the one who'd started her online fan club after she became the lead developer (and part time streamer) in and for an up and coming gaming studio. I was the one who'd threatened to sue Emplirical Games for trying to get her studio to cease and desist on their Aetherium game due to 'A disturbing similarity to our now shut down game Eurani: Prelude to Chaos.'

  I couldn't tell how long I sat there, head in my knees and unopened soju bottle in my hands. But I knew it was far longer than it should've been. Was this what I felt when I was at my parent's funeral? I couldn't tell. But I knew that there was something suspicious about that Truck Driver and I knew I was going to get to the bottom of it even if I ended up being killed, fired, or worse.

  I jumped to my feet, throwing the soju bottle to the side and my eyes ablaze with righteous indignation. How dare that man assassinate my goddess AlmightyPotato? I'll bring him to true justice, since the legal system had done absolutely diddly squat about it.

  Shinohara Akira - 10 months later

  I stood before the court. Chains around my wrists because they didn't think I was safe to be let out. They were right. They were oh so right. I'd gotten my justice for the Goddess, but what about those idiots online who'd made fun of her death, calling it cliche and joking that maybe she'd been isekai'd into the game she was making.

  Right as I was led to my seat and told to sit I felt a weird tingling in my stomach. It wasn't unlike butterflies in my stomach. Yet, instead of anxiety, I just felt a pull. I wasn't sure where I was being pulled to, yet I knew I was being pulled away. I scowled and everyone around me flinched away.

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  I had made something of a name for myself recently. After avenging Feyre and her, what I found out during my hunt, assassination. I hunted down those who had ordered it. Then, realising the flaws in the legal system when it came to the rich and powerful, I went on to avenge many a victim. I think by the time I was caught by the Miami Metro while trying to flee the city. I thought I had killed about twelve CEOs and that's why the United States were so desperate to get me. One of those CEOs had been planning to run for President apparently, I guess I put a stop to that. The reason I wasn't sure was because some of them had different titles for the same job or role in a company so I was just lumping them all in together.

  While I was thinking all that, the pull got stronger and stronger until I was physically in pain. Then I assume I spontaneously combusted or something because I felt a burning sensation all over me and lost my senses including sight.

  I came to at some point. I have no idea how much later or earlier I came to but it happened nonetheless. I was in some weird nothingness, a dark grey expanse of... well... nothing for as far as I could see. Or at least as far as I thought I could see. Depth perception is hard when everything is just one colour with no gradient.

  Suddenly everything started spinning. White columns appeared and a smooth tiled floor popped into existence. Then, I fell. I fell onto a seat made of marble and looked up. Before me was a woman on a throne. She was gorgeous. Snow coloured hair that seemingly never ended. Sharp and stormy grey eyes looked down at me, staring straight into my soul, and out the other side if her thinned line of a mouth was anything to go by.

  Pop.

  A cat appeared on her lap. It stared at me even more judging than the lady. Then it spoke.

  "Well... I suppose I should start us off."

  It was... so bland. A constant monotonous voice echoed slightly around my ears. I nodded silently, finding myself unable to speak.

  "You are currently being summoned to become a [Legendary Hero]. Congratulations."

  One of those comedy fake clapping sounds could be heard. I cringed slightly.

  "Due to your relentless pursuit of justice, however misguided and illegal, you have been deemed worthy to pick your own [Favoured Race]. You're lucky that [REDACTED] has fixed all the bugs since we sent in a Beta Tester. They had a pretty terrible start."

  I flinch slightly. That poor tester probably got dropped right into the middle of a forest or something with like... a stick, if this was anything like those Manga I'd read before.

  "Worry not, [Legendary Hero] , you get to choose your race and looks. Although to keep things from getting out of hand we are unfortunately unable to change your gender without a bit of setbacks in the customisation.

  I raise an eyebrow at the cat and shake my head, deciding not to question this seemingly very powerful yet monotone being.

  "Alright."

  A bunch of sliders appear in front of me. A bit like the new experimental character creator they'd used in Aetherium: Successor of Order. I did a double take.

  "Wait, is this-"

  The cat cut me off.

  "No. It's not what you just thought. It's a world called Eurani. You of all people should do quite well in that world, mister number two player."

  I shrugged, putting on an air of apathy that I didn't truly feel. I was clearly being rewarded for my good deeds on earth. I mean, the cat had said it itself. I was being rewarded for my pursuit of Justice.

  A dull light grey screen appeared in front of me along with a replica of me, on a podium.

  I looked over myself scathingly. I wondered if there was a way to just... beautify it slightly. I jumped back as it glowed and suddenly I was almost perfect. Almost. My one qualm was still being human, or well 'Hythangir', if the Plaque was anything to go off of. I mentally scrolled through the races, briefly noting the ones I actually took an interest in and what they would correlate to in my high fantasy and manga knowledge.

  After some consideration, I narrowed down the list to three. Siavyllin, the elf equivalent that live for about 4,500 years. The Dwamera, a dangerously close to being copyrighted name for the Dwarf equivalents. Although, these guys weren't short, lived above ground, and rode wyverns. And finally, the Astricalla. These guys were the beast-folk. Demi-Humans in high fantasy terms, and also had the most customisation for me.

  I thought long and hard about it, until I saw a specific option for the Astricalla which made me choose it instantly. I get to mash up a bunch of different animals to be the sole version of my kind. What's a more tragic backstory than being the last one of your species left? I couldn't tell you. I chose it.

  Instantly a bunch more light grey screens popped up, each one correlating to different edits and settings. I grin and start adjusting myself on the podium. Strong and tall, while also being pretty lean, after all I can now be my ideal self, there's no reason for me to hold back right?

  The final touches were made quickly and I turned to the cat and glowing lady, which I was starting to think was the embodiment of the System or something, even though that's absurd... Very absurd.

  I quickly move on from that thought. There's only one goddess for me and now I can continue her legacy of justice and kindness.

  The cat nods at me before I am whisked away, back into the grey expanse.

  Not even a few moments later I feel myself begin to change.

  "I forgot to mention this process is quite painful."

  I let out a guttural cry as my very flesh ripped off of my muscles, followed closely by my bones stretching and growing thicker in some spaces. My muscles snapped and regrew, over, and over, and over again until they were exactly how I'd chosen them to be on the selection screen. A heaving sob wracked through me, right as my organs started being rearranged. I hadn't realised that the options I'd chosen had gotten me an extra heart, but I wasn't too upset with it other than the extreme agony it was currently causing as it squished my lungs against my now exposed ribs.

  Once the changes had finally ended I was so thankful that I think I teared up. Which must have look absolutely crazy to the corpses and old man in the church or chapel or whatever this world called it that I had ended up being summoned to.

  "Uh... Hello there, older gentleman. I am Shinohara Akira. I have answered your summons."

  My voice sounded off, and I definitely wasn't speaking English, or Japanese for that matter, and yet I could understand it so perfectly.

  The Old Man scoffs and falls to the ground, his head making a resounding crack. I flinch away and look around. This isn't exactly what I had expected, for sure. But I didn't mind such an off kilter summoning. It just went to show that this wasn't some simple cliche filled Isekai Manga.

  I looked around and saw that there was a glowing chest not too far from me.

  "Alright... Maybe there's a little bit of cliche going on. I hope its decent and not some crappy starter gear that I can't get rid of."

  I walked over to the chest and popped it open. It was filled with random stuff and as I reached for it a System notification appeared.

  [System]

  [Notice: Loot this [System Chest]?]

  [Y/N]

  I nodded and suddenly the chest vanished before my eyes. I inherently knew that they had all been placed in an Inventory. I opened it and took out the armour, attempting to put it on. I was kind of lucky. Unlike what usual armour would've been like on earth, this one was seemingly using magic to change size so once I put it on I didn't need to adjust anything. The Pauldrons fit nicely over my shoulders and my couters nestled against my elbow just enough. The vambraces and gauntlets left just enough room for me to move perfectly and yet also seemed to leave little to no gaps actually in the armour. I was mightily impressed.

  After sorting out the other specialist pieces of plate armour, like the Tasset, Poleyn, Greaves, and Sabatons. I decided to take out the helm and visor. It was sleek. Looking at the other stuff I realised everything was super sleek and looked pretty damn cool.