Goddess, Is This Really Okay?

"Goddess, is this really okay?"

"Bearer of a kind soul... please open your eyes..."

At the voice that seemed to echo from the heavens above, the boy opened his eyes. Was death truly accompanied by such a sweet resonance? He sat up, feeling as though he lay on a darkened stage. For a moment, the boy decided to assess the situation that had befallen him.

He'd hoped an afterlife might exist but hadn't truly believed it. Among the religions he knew, how many had female gods anyway? Greek mythology, perhaps? Such absurd thoughts crossed his mind as the goddess waited patiently and silently.

Spotlights poured down from above onto the goddess and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the boy amid the pitch-black stage. There was light, but beyond it lay only impenetrable darkness.

"Am I... dead?"

"Yes. You have ended your short life and been drawn here by my call. Please, grant my request."

"Uh... sure."

He didn't say something like Why me?. It was obvious she was someone extraordinary, so he bowed his head without argument. Ever one to avoid needless trouble, the boy politely listened to the goddess's words.

Her beauty was like a 2D illustration come to life—something he'd never seen in his lifetime—and even her voice was soft enough to make his heart race.

"There is a world you know nothing of, currently threatened by a great evil. You, with your kind soul and immense karma... become the hero and save that world."

Straight to the point. A request so simple even an idiot could understand it! The prologue to every fantasy novel he'd read to death. It was so textbook it almost felt clichéd, to the point where he idly wondered if it wasn't a bit outdated.

"...Me? Why... why me?"

No matter how he thought about it, he didn't have even the basics of a hero. If asked if he was athletic, he'd say he hadn't even played soccer with classmates. And special talents? None. He'd just lived an ordinary high school life and died pointlessly.

"Because you possess a kind heart. And though you may not know it, you have been chosen by the threads of causality."

With those words, a cluster of stars swirled dramatically before him. The goddess explained they were constellations—beings from a higher dimension.

Beings above even a goddess?

"The constellations will offer their karma and grant you the power to move forward. Never give up—be hope itself."

Ten or twelve stars, each a constellation. No sooner had she finished than tickets began drifting down from them—one per constellation.

One power per constellation... Was this the classic munchkin setup where he became ridiculously overpowered right away?

"Those constellation tickets..."

She called them tickets, huh? He'd expected some fancy, grandiose name!

"Ahem."

"Sorry!"

"Those tickets will grant you 'power' without any cost... though the nature of that 'power' is decided solely by the constellation itself. All I can do is connect your fate to theirs."

He gazed down at the hefty stack of eleven tickets in his hand.

Is this really okay? Can I save the world like this?

"Please save the world, Hero of Fate. I will always watch over you... If you wish to meet me again, seek Moira Providence Atropos, Goddess of Fate, at the All Gods Temple..."

"Pardon? Say that again!"

"Moira Providence Atropos... Shall I write it down?"

"Ah, thank you."

The goddess meticulously wrote out the spelling on a piece of paper. It felt so different from novels or comics—almost mood-breaking. She even clenched her fist, pumped it up, and shouted, "Let's do our best—fighting!"

"The Goddess of Fate bestows upon you a name and new life... May the constellations' blessings guide your journey..."

She smiled prayerfully. Then, from behind her, light erupted. A blinding rainbow flash overwhelmed his vision, and his body soared upward with a whooshing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sensation—like tumbling off the bed upon waking from a dream.

"...An unfamiliar ceiling."

I'd been suddenly reincarnated into another world after death.

★

I awoke atop a pile of straw in what looked like a dilapidated old house and briefly wondered if it was all a dream. But the sensation of death had been too vivid. The rotting stench overflowing the ruin felt far too real, as did the cockroaches scurrying across the floor and the rat the size of my hand fleeing from me. Beyond the gaping hole where a window should have been flew... a pterodactyl?

A winged dinosaur soared through the sky. If only it were a dream.

"Uh, um..."

I wore what resembled a school uniform, draped in a white hoodie emblazoned with a golden scale weighing stars on one side—likely the goddess's symbol?

The attache case clutched in my hand upon waking was quite heavy. The locked combination was probably my birthday? Nope—just "0000." Setting down the rectangular case and opening it revealed a jumble of items. I read the note on changing the password, folded it neatly, and tucked it away. Then I checked the ID, Minerva Academy enrollment papers, and wallet with some currency.

"Radamu Dice, 19 years old?"

The ID bore my name and photo. Adjusting my glasses, I noted the species: Human (Pureblood). Why specify that? "Affiliated with the Trust Union?"

The text was readable—either the goddess made it so or it was coincidence. The wad of bills was there, but I had no idea their value. Checking the wristwatch from the bag, I reviewed the enrollment papers.

"Welcome to the Trust Union's premier academy, Minerva Academy."

Pass the written first exam, then take the second on this date... A map was included, thankfully, but did they expect me to know my location?

That worry vanished the moment I stepped outside. A massive academy loomed straight down the lone path. Glancing back, the ruin was gone.

And then, a translucent window appeared before me.

No apparent penalty... In recent novels, failures usually meant death or something.

"So the goddess wants me to enroll in the academy, learn the basics, and take down the Maou?"

Thorough support for a total newbie. And here I was, accepting a sudden mission without complaint—probably why I'd died so young. My personality, I guess.

"...How do you even use this?"

I examined the constellation ticket from every angle.

Just that inscription. The constellation decides what comes out—no probabilities listed. All at the whims of beings above even the goddess?

"Still... eleven of them."

With that thought, I tore along the perforated line.

A puff of stardust burst like fireworks—a modest effect—and a translucent window appeared.

"..."

A chime rang out, and a [Skill Window] popped up beside it. The skill was named Gender Swap.

My head already throbbed. This is just the first one?

"...Opening it up, the skills are even worse..."

Sub-skills were basic succubus abilities. So it's a tech tree thing—need prerequisites to unlock. But I acquire them directly from constellations, skipping steps...

...Did I just get screwed?

I tried denying reality, but this was harsh truth. Hands trembling, I tore the second ticket.

"......Uh... um..."

Good? Time Rewind seemed insanely powerful. Gripping the manual, I tried using it.

Nothing happened. I didn't know the principle behind it. Even great powers are useless if I can't figure them out. Or if they need sub-skills.

"Nine left!"

"Should've prayed more diligently in life."

Then the constellations might've pitied me and given strong skills. Was it really just random junk? No usable skills at all?

"Fireball!"

I chanted and thrust out my palm. A spark popped and fizzled—not even a lighter. Sure, some cast without subs, but this was pathetic. And what was Levifoot? "You are a forest"—what the hell?

"Constellations, why! No, seriously, why!!"

Calmly summoning fried chicken into my hand and munching it consoled me: at least I wouldn't starve.

Entering the academy gates, a riot of diverse subraces assaulted my eyes. Long-eared folk, animal-eared ones, bat-winged or pure white bird-winged. Unidentifiable races mixed in.

"......"

No humans in sight, no matter where I looked. Instead, stares poured in like I'd brought an exotic pet—expressions as if they'd never seen a human, like encountering a mythical unicorn.

"...Thanks to Clear Mind, I'm not shaking..."

Thanks, ■r constellation. With this mindset, I can take the exam. The goddess wouldn't throw an ignorant newbie into a brutal test. I had eleven skills, after all... even if I didn't know which worked!!

"Like any fantasy novel, I'll take my first step by enrolling in the academy!"

Steeling my resolve, I strode into the exam hall. And lost to the goblin in the practical test. I failed the entrance exam.

Academy enrollment: failure. The goddess surely hadn't foreseen this.

"Yeah... even without the academy, there must be a way...!"

Offering thanks to the goddess via prayer, I tore the new ticket while walking out alone.

"I thought I'd be grateful for anything, but I didn't mean literally anything!!!"

Isekai reincarnation, day 1. Skills owned: 12. Academy dropout: Radamu Dice. Alone in an unknown vast world.