I died as a 45yo virgin … hmm, that sounded really cliche now that I think about it and like I’m some trash pathetic MC in those webnovels I read to pass the time.

Oh, but don’t get me wrong.

I died a virgin not because I wanted or because I was a social recluse or feared talking with women.

I had an accident when I was a child and was run over by a bus. I was lucky to survive but I can’t say the same about my ‘little me’. I was paralyzed from the waist down and also lost both my ‘little me’ when the bus’ tire ran over my hips and squashed everything.

I don’t resent the driver anymore as I realized later that it was actually my fault for running down the streets and crossing without looking but I di-...

“Hello, Mr. Edward. I welcome you to the afterlife.” There was a man dressed in a black tux sitting on the other side of the desk in front of me.

“Hello there. How should I address you, though? God?” I replied, a little bothered that he interrupted my internal monologue.

“Oh please, don’t. I’m just an employee under the Karmic Division of the Reincarnation Department. You can call me Klaus.” Klaus replied while passing me a business card.

“I know you might have some questions but let me give you an introduction beforehand so we can address your doubts later.” He continues to which I just nodded indicating that I understood.

“As you might have guessed from my job’s title. You are eligible to be reincarnated, the eligibility is dependable on the Karmic Balance of an individual.” He said and fished a folder from a pile to his right and passed a file to me.

“Over here, you have a detailed account of your actions and the corresponding Karmic Value.

As you can see, you have a positive Karmic Balance of 2000. And I congratulate you for that as it is fairly above the average of 500 in your universe.”

As I looked at the file, I could see numerous visits and donations to Children’s Homes and Hospitals as well as assistance to the elderly.

I didn’t consider myself to be a good or bad person, if asked I would say I was average and did some good but also some bad.

I mean, If we take catholicism’s virtues and sins I would say I was pretty balanced.

I for sure had 4 out of 7 sins, that is: Gluttony, Envy, Greed and Pride.

As for virtues I considered myself having complied with Temperance, Diligence, Kindness and Chastity -well, I died a virgin so the last one I’m 100% sure.

All in all 4 virtues and 4 sins are pretty balanced as I said.

“With your Karmic Balance, we are offering you some chances in reincarnation for you to choose from.” Klaus said.

‘He really should stop interrupting others' internal monologue.’

“Unfortunately, you cannot reincarnate as your younger self nor in the past of your own world as those options were removed by the higher-ups after a lot of trouble with past individuals that almost broke the entire natural order of things.” He then pulled another sheet from the folder and put it in front of me.

“Here are your options:

 

Modern World (Native)

Modern World (Alternate)

Fantasy World (High)

Fantasy World (Normal)

Sci-Fi World (High)

Sci-Fi World (Normal)

 

We would usually have a few more options for you to choose from, but their quotas have been reached for this millennium already.

A heads up in case you choose your original world, you will be reborn on the same day from your death somewhere else in the world.”

As I looked at the options he gave me, those were really tempting.

I, much like a lot of others, always dreamed of having magic. After all, I grew up reading Tolkien’s books.

“I want to reincarnate back into the Alternative Modern World.” But as much as those options are tempting, I don't know how well I would fare in there. As for choosing between my original world or an alternate reality of it … might as well go for a surprise to make things interesting and I don’t want to go through childhood and puberty again.

Nodding at my reply, Klaus took back the file and checked Modern World (Alternate) and stamped it.

“Perfect, with the world chosen, next we have the specifics of your next life.” Klaus placed in front of me a brochure that had Next Life Programs written on the cover.

“In here, you will find Life Programs that have already been tested and approved.” He opened and pointed to a summary. “All these Programs are currently available and you can check their details in their respective pages.”

 

Next Life Programs
Ordinary Life 0	Guaranteed average status for a normal life
Super Genius 600	Enhancements to intelligence Photographic Memory Increased chance of enlightenments Talent: Research
Super Athlete 600	Enhancements to physique Improvement to body attributes Increased passive regeneration Talent: Motor Coordination
Super Businessman 600	Enhancement to negotiations ability Enhancement to analysis ability Increased luck to transactions Talent: Management
Super Artist 600	Enhancement to Voice and Charm Improvement to creativity Increased luck Talent: Singing and Acting
Super Human 2800	Super Genius, Athlete, Businessman and Artist Perks
Custom ?	Customized Specs *Customer satisfaction not guaranteed

 

“I presume the number under the programs is their cost?” I ask for clarification to which he just nodded.

I continued reading and checking their details and it is pretty consistent with those cliche MC templates from novels.

“Why is there no System option here?” I asked after not finding anything about it.

“It has come to our attention that systems, especially those that issue missions, are conflicting with the basic concepts of free-will. Moreover we are short-staffed, so we can’t relocate our staff for who knows how long to act as a system guide.” Klaus replied and I could imagine that as it was something I also thought of when reading system novels.

I nodded at his explanation.

“And what about this Custom Program?”

“As the name suggests, you can create your own program by picking and choosing enhancements and improvements but please be aware that it can backfire as there have been cases of it happening, for example creating a situation that you have super computational processing brain but your body can’t handle it and you can potentially end up brain dead just because you tried to decide what you wanted for breakfast. The programs have already been tested and optimized so there will be no downsides, only the benefits.”

Pondering the information, I was really inclined to choose the custom program. I was a fan of RPGs and trying new builds, I was even successful in creating a few archetypes for a few online games.

Ok, its decided.

“I’ll go with the Custom Program.”

“Are you sure?” Klaus asked for confirmation to which I just nodded.

He then handed me a tablet, it weirded me out since it had been papers and brochures until now.

“In here you will find all the available perks and also their corresponding prices.”

I picked up the tablet and started going through the list of perks … and it was a lot.

“What’s the difference between the enhancements and improvements?”

“Both Enhancements and Improvements are multipliers to basic status and abilities but Enhancements are more targeted towards specific aspects and therefore give a bigger multiplier, meanwhile Improvements are more broad and therefore have lower multipliers.”

I nodded and started picking the ones I judged more important for me and will pick whatever I need later to balance the perks.

‘First of all, if I want to live longer then I’ll need a healthy and strong body.’

• Enhanced Passive Regeneration - 200
• Enhanced Physique - 150
• Enhanced Immune System - 200
• Improvement to Body Attributes - 100
• Improvement to Luck - 100
• Talent: Motor Coordination - 350
• Miscellaneous: Past Life Memories - 100

‘That should do it. Now I need a brain strong enough to coordinate a high-spec body.’

• Enhanced Brain - 200
• Improvement to Intelligence - 100

‘This should be good enough, it would cost me 1.500. That leaves me with 500.’

Klaus looked at my selection but didn’t comment on any of my choices.

“Can I choose something else after reincarnating?” I asked as I didn’t know what else to pick as I had no idea what I wanted to do in the future.

“Unfortunately, no. After reincarnating you cannot come back unless you die.” Klaus shook his head while explaining.

“Hm, I don’t know what else to pick. I believe that with those perks even if I don’t pick a profession perk I would still be able to learn the skills. Any advice, Klaus?” I asked as I was truly puzzled on how to continue.

I like creating builds but in games the number of abilities are far more limited and if I want I can re-spec it later.

Looking at the brochure and the perks in there I didn’t think the list of possible perks was so extensive.

“Unfortunately, I cannot interfere in your choices, Mr.Edward. If I give you advice it can be seen as me interfering with your free-will.” Klaus shook his head and scrolled the perks while continuing “As you can see, there is almost an infinite number of perks combinations that you can create.”

As Klaus retracted his hand I looked at the tablet again, deciding to check once more what else I could pick.

But when I looked down at the tablet, the first option on the list from where Klaus removed his hand was something that made me smile from ear to ear like Cheshire.

I looked up at Klaus and he just gave me a non-committal smile.

• Body Customization - 350

I quickly selected it and I knew immediately what else I could use and did a quick search, at true enough I soon found what I wanted.

• Background Customization - 100

After confirming the perks, I was taken to a new window in which I could create my new body and later my background.

Finally, I gave the tablet back to Klaus.

He picked the tablet and checked to see if I missed anything.

“Oh, that is a fairly normal background. Some individuals in the past had gone ham with the background and we have had to edit a few things out but yours is fairly simple.

So much that you could even go with the standard background auto-generated.”

“Well, what can I say? I like having control over things as much as I can.” I shrugged.

I know that the background I created wasn’t anything spectacular like a lost scion or retired assassin or mercenary but I just didn’t want to have to potentially deal with some problems from the auto-generated background.

‘I’ve read my fair share of transmigration novels where the character had a load of crap to clean that their predecessor left behind.’

“After checking everything is ok, you still have 50 in your Karma Balance and it will be kept in your soul bank. As a representative of the Reincarnation Department, I wish you a happy next life.”

With Klaus words, the world around me turned black and I was on my way to a new and hopefully fulfilling new life.

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