My Ability Is Gacha (1)
How much time had passed since I began following the goddess's backside, trailing along the pure white corridor?
The goddess came to a halt and turned her head to look back at me.
"We're here."
Unlike when we first met, she didn't glare at me with eyes that seemed intent on murder. Perhaps she had managed to suppress her inexplicable rage. Her expression was merely one of annoyance.
Wow! What a massive improvement, right?
As I marveled at the change in her attitude, the goddess, perhaps sensing that I was lost in my own thoughts, immediately took a jab at me.
"Look at this guy? Spacing out here?"
"...I apologize."
"Ha~ Just what are you, anyway?"
"...Pardon? I'm not entirely sure myself."
"Ha, whatever. Every time I ask, you just say you don't know... and it's not like pestering you any further will get me an answer. More importantly, do you see that mirror behind me?"
After letting out a heavy sigh and berating me with a level of skill that could drain the soul of anyone hardened by military nagging—I wondered where she’d learned that, or if her personality was just as maxed out as her looks—she pointed behind her.
"...?"
I silently endured the scolding and turned my head slightly to the right to look behind her.
At the end of the path she was pointing to stood a massive, circular, full-body mirror, roughly five meters tall.
"Go on. This is as far as I can guide you. From here on out, you have to go alone."
"...Then, do you not know what happens after this?"
"Nope. I don't know, and the Main God doesn't know either. All I heard from the Main God was that a predecessor had left instructions to bring anyone here who lacked Karma."
"..."
"Well, I'm off."
"W-wait, hey...!"
True to her nature, once she had said what she wanted to say, she turned on her heel and vanished in an instant.
"Did she really leave? Ha... that rude woman... How can someone be so good at nagging that they could drain the soul of a man who’s already been hardened by military discipline? I’m pretty sure Maxim magazine said that looks and personality are proportional..."
I scanned my surroundings, confirmed the goddess was truly gone, and after a brief moment of grumbling, I slowly began to walk toward the mirror.
"I'm not asking for much... just an ability that won't make me look like a pushover. I don't want to stand out. Please..."
With every step, I prayed dozens of times in my head for a decent ability, and finally, I arrived in front of the mirror.
"Hoo..."
I took a deep breath and looked into the mirror, but the moment I did, I saw nothing. Not even my own reflection. It was just pitch black.
"What? Why... it's a mirror, but I can't see anything? A mirror should reflect something... is this not a mirror?"
Flustered, I tilted my head and examined the glass. As I looked around, the voice of the Main God reached my ears. I turned around to see the innocent-looking deity standing there.
"What's wrong? Not working?"
"Oh? You're here? The goddess didn't explain anything, she just told me to go."
"Hahaha! It's natural that you can't see anything. This isn't just an ordinary mirror."
"...Pardon? Is it some kind of portal?"
"Oh? How did you know?"
"...That's a common trope in science fiction... is that actually it?!"
"...Is that common?"
Is this... for real?
A portal inside a mirror, a trope that would appear in any movie, novel, or comic!
"As expected, the imagination and deductive skills of those from the Earth dimension are truly top-tier."
"Ahaha... thank you."
The Main God showered me with praise, seemingly fascinated by my ability to deduce the mirror's purpose. But praise is one thing... I knew it was a portal, but how was I supposed to open it?
I decided to ask the Main God, who had shown me a friendly side, for some advice.
"Then, how should I open the portal?"
"Hmm~ Oh, I don't know that either... I just came to watch because I thought you, being from the Earth dimension, would figure it out."
Seeing the Main God grinning, knowing the answer but wanting to watch me struggle to solve it, I felt a headache coming on and brought my left hand to my forehead.
"I really don't know, I tell you~"
"..."
As expected of a god, they see right through my thoughts. I know they don't know, but I can't bring myself to trust them!
"Do not doubt. Trust in me."
"..."
Whenever I showed even a hint of suspicion, the Main God would get serious and demand my trust. Giving up on thinking, I squeezed my eyes shut.
Then, the Main God's voice drifted to my ears.
"How about you think about crossing over from reality to another world?"
Another world...? This world? To go to this world... in some countries, a truck...
Ah, no! Stop thinking! Not that country!
What are you thinking about... let's think in the Korean style... let's think in 'This is Korean Style', Eodum.
Regaining my composure, I brought my left hand to my forehead and fell into deep thought with my eyes closed.
"Was there nothing revolutionary in your reality?"
"..."
I only learned about the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Industrial Revolutions in reality, though?
Ugh, this is frustrating. I want to turn on a computer and search for it with goggles. How convenient it would be to search. All the information is in there.
Oh? Wait a minute... Information? Search?
The starting point of searching is... IT, right?
What caused IT to grow explosively was...
Games.
My train of thought naturally drifted toward games, circling in my head.
To start a game, you have to enter your personal information and sign up, right? And to press the 'Start Game' button... usually, before that...
Oh?
Oh, oh?
No way...
Could it be?
Seriously?
This is insane...
Do I really have to shout that line?
The devil's word that serves as the driving force for people who have failed at life to jump off rooftops in the vain hope of living in a new world...
'Log Out...'
Is that the very word that signals the beginning, allowing the devil's word to exist?
After shouting 'insane' in my head dozens of times, I lowered my left hand, opened my eyes wide, and stared at the mirror.
Damn it... should I do it?
Am I really going to shout it?
If this fails, I have to be prepared for the humiliation! I can't even imagine how much the Main God will laugh at me!
The Main God, who had approached my side, pointed at the mirror and said,
"Looks like you've made up your mind."
"...Yes."
"I can tell just by looking at your eyes. The will to do it, even if you might be teased for it! I can feel that will."
This guy knows everything.
Ha... suddenly I don't want to do it.
"Don't want to? Shall I call the goddess?"
"Ah, no, that's fine."
"Good~ Why do you make things so tiring? Now, say what you just thought of."
"..."
For some reason, the Main God was even threatening me to hurry up.
"Ha... I'm doing it?"
"Yep~ Hurry up~"
To overcome the pressure of having to say such an embarrassing line in front of someone else, I took a deep breath and let it out.
Hoo—ha.
I'm doing it...
I'm really doing it!!!
I squeezed my eyes shut and finally opened my mouth.
"Lo... Log... Log-In !!!"
I shouted it at the top of my lungs.
Did you see that?
Did you see it!
I finally shouted it!
I managed to say that line—which is definitely in the top 10 list of things you shouldn't say in front of others—not in front of a person, but in front of a god!
I was busy praising myself in my head, curious about the result, and wanted to look at the mirror immediately, but I was too scared. I turned my head slightly to look at the Main God and peeked through the corner of my eye.
"..."
The Main God was looking up at the mirror. Their gaze was fixed on the glass, and they didn't say a word.
What is it? Did it open!?
Flustered by the Main God's attitude, I turned my head to look at the mirror.
"..."
And like the Main God, my gaze was also fixed on the mirror.
Because inside the mirror, where nothing had been visible before, a beach and a sandy shore were now unfolding.
Is this for real?
Is there really a beach inside the mirror?
Staring blankly, I turned my head to look at the Main God again. The Main God was also looking back at me.
Facing each other, neither of us could say a word for a moment.
"This... actually works?" "This... actually works?"
"What is this? It doesn't make sense for a world I don't know to unfold... Is it a world created by Father?"
"Are there things even the Main God doesn't know?"
"I haven't been watching everything, so I can't know everything. But at least, there shouldn't be a world I don't know. Is this Father's legacy?"
The Main God approached the mirror and reached out to touch it.
At that moment.
-Unauthorized user code detected-
With a crackling sound and a beep, a warning tone and a woman's voice mixed with static came from the mirror.
"!?"
"!?"
Startled, the Main God and I stared at the mirror. The beach scene had vanished, replaced by the word 'Error'.
"This is..."
"Er...ror?"
"It says error when I touch it. Judging by the mention of a user code, it seems to be connected to the Akashic Records."
"The Akashic Records?"
"Yes. It seems Father connected it... You try touching it. It seems this mirror can only be opened and entered by you."
"Only... by me..."
The Main God stepped back so I could touch the mirror.
The first time is hard, but would the second time be any different?
Standing in front of the mirror, I shouted the word that now felt familiar.
"Login!"
In an instant, the Error screen disappeared from the mirror, and the beach and sandy shore reappeared.
I slowly reached out my hand toward the mirror.
Ripple—
The surface of the mirror began to shimmer and change.
Authorized user code confirmed. Welcome. Welcome to the Akashic Records.
This time, it wasn't a crackling sound or static, but a clear, transparent woman's voice.
Whoosh—
"...!"
As soon as the woman's voice finished, my feet began to turn into light, and I started being sucked into the mirror.
It looked just like the scene from the movie 'The Matrix' I had seen on Earth, where the protagonist is being uploaded.
Flustered, I turned my head to look at the Main God.
The Main God was smiling and waving their left hand.
"W-wait!"
"Don't worry, go ahead. You trust me, right? Nothing will happen."
"Then! I'll be going..."
As the Main God saw me off, my consciousness was gradually pulled into the mirror.
Please... let me get a good ability...
I bowed my head to express my gratitude, and just as I was about to be peacefully sucked into the mirror, the Main God's unbelievable voice struck my ears.
"Oh, right! I can't help you at all, you know? So, I don't really know anything either~ Nyahahaha!"
"You god! You son of a b*tch!!!!"
Cancel that gratitude!
Damn you, Main God!
Along with my curses directed at the Main God, my consciousness went completely dark as I was sucked into the mirror.