《Atonement》 Chapter One: Death and Rebirth ¡°Because of that, you are now dead. I am terribly sorry my son.¡± ¡°Well, ya better be.¡± The old man proceeded to give me a confused look. The fancy clouds and shit all began to spread around the room. Kind of like a rug but like those really long ones for castles. Despite that, the two of us were in a tiny-ass apartment looking room. Kind of like one of those convertible apartments in NYC. Lightly decorated though. Sitting before me was some lanky old man who claims to be fucking Yahweh. For Yahweh to apologize for my death is kind of bizarre but then again I¡¯m only speaking with him right now because of the fact I punched a few angels when I got here. I was walking home from school like any other average joe when I saw a woman being robbed. Me being the decent human I am intervened. The robber had a gun but before he could even take a shot at me I was already pummeling down with my fist. The woman manages to get the gun but somehow manage to shoot the both of us. ¡°I wasn¡¯t thinking that someone would actually help her at the time and had it that she was supposed to take the gun from him and shoot him. I really am sorry. Many good people die trying to help others but your death was completely unexpected in this case.¡± ¡°So am I in heaven or something?¡± ¡°Yes and No¡­ You were in heaven but you didn¡¯t seem happy about that and sending you to hell for attacking angels would be wrong so I summoned you here to the land of divines. Humans usually don¡¯t get to come here unless they were truly of divine nature, but you were a special case. Um¡­¡± ¡°Mark¡± ¡°Yes, yes¡­ Mark!¡± A cup of tea appears in the old man¡¯s hand he takes a sip. Unsurprisingly and a cup of Joe was in front of me now. The old man can remember my favorite drink but not my name. Unless he offers joes to everyone he talks to¡­ ¡°Your reaction was a bit unsettling though¡­ I understand that you died and all but to attack the angels for telling you that you died is a bit crazy. I¡¯d understand if you were confused or upset but completely enraged?¡± ¡°My dad taught me the basics of CQC when I was fucking 7. I¡¯m a bit aggressive sometimes.¡± ¡°I put your father through many hardships in his youth. I shouldn¡¯t be surprised¡­¡± 17 years is too fucking young to die really. But holy shit it actually happened. ¡°So now what? Do I go to Heaven or Hell? Or do I just hang out around here with fucking Moses and¡­ Holy shit is that Muhammad Ali?!¡± ¡°No, no, your death wasn¡¯t supposed to happen, but there is another reason why I summoned you here.¡± The old man hesitated when he said that. ¡°You see while you¡¯re technically dead in your world¡­¡± ¡°And?¡± ¡°You¡¯re also capable of being reincarnated into other worlds. A second life of sorts. I understand if you don¡¯t want it but¡­¡± ¡°You want me to slay some evil demon king.¡± ¡°How did you know?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen plenty of cartoons about it.¡± The old man seemed shocked by how much I knew about his current situation. He kind of just gave me an absently minded stare. ¡°I understand that I caused a whole plethora of problems here already just by showing up. So to atone for that I happily be reincarnated to stop this demon guy.¡± ¡°When they said you manage to get into our files I didn¡¯t imagine you¡¯d find out this much¡­¡± The old man looked extremely surprised by the fact I manage to learn that much but I had a tendency of budding in on thing IRL. I admit I didn¡¯t expect myself to be able to bud in on conflicts of this scale but I did (and besides the fact that no one was guarding it made it just so fucking easy). Him offering me a second chance (although it being in another world) at life is already generous enough even if it¡¯s just an attempt to kill two birds with one stone.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Let me atone for something as well then. To a certain extent, I can grant you something of use.¡± ¡°Reviving me is enough but if you insist¡­¡± I¡¯d like it if I could actually come back in my original world but I gotta atone for what I already did up here. If I¡¯m in another world I gotta know what kind of world I¡¯m in then after all I am going up against some kind of demon lord guy. ¡°Question.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°What kind of world am I going to? Like I know it has a demon lord problem but like are we talking medieval of sci-fi?¡± ¡°Compared to your world it¡¯s definitely medieval. I¡¯ll admit that¡¯s not the only problem with the world though. Most of the people there aren¡¯t as 3 dimensional as the people from your world.¡± Fantasy goes up, but living standards go down¡­ heavily. Thankfully my dad taught me basic survival skills for the case that everything hits the fan so my standards aren¡¯t going down that much. ¡°Yo about that one wish.¡± ¡°Oh, you know your wish now?¡± ¡°There is magic in that world right?¡± ¡°Yes, there is magic in that world¡± With magic in that world, I could do a lot of things actually. Boosting my survival ratings massively. I might have a chance now! ¡°What kind of magic is in this world?¡± ¡°Oh, you¡¯ll know it very well actually it¡¯s similar most RPG games magic systems. Or should I say most RPG magic systems are similar to mine¡­¡± ¡°Well with that I know what I want my wish to be then!¡± Take the basic survival knowledge my dad taught me, my joy of fantasy games, and the wish. There¡¯s no mistake I¡¯m perfectly suited for this. No matter what outcome! ¡°I assume from the smile on your face you think I¡¯ll grant this wish of yours¡­¡± ¡°I think? No, I know you¡¯ll grant this wish! Because I¡¯m gonna be using magic!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s double it and have it that you can use it right off the bat!¡± With that Yahweh raised his right hand and blasted me with a warm light. ¡°Since I need you to stop that criminal it¡¯ll be pointless to have you die again, I¡¯ll raise you basic physical abilities and other various things. Now you should know you aren¡¯t a divine so you¡¯ll still vulnerable to some human weaknesses like aging and starvation so don¡¯t overwork yourself and take your time okay?¡± He says that as he lowers his hand. I¡¯m thankful that I manage to consider that as well or else I probably would have fucked myself over. ¡°Once I send you out, I will not intervene as while I am responsible for your untimely demise this is youratonement for what you¡¯ve done as well.¡± ¡°Ya, ya¡­¡± ¡°Good luck my son and again I am sorry.¡± And with that, I lose consciousness ¡°I am sorry my son.¡± With Mark losing consciousness and fading away the old man turned around and pulled out a paper. Project Atonement In the case that someone was to escape the grips of hell itself and manage to perform the act of reincarnation and escape to one of the many realms, a suitable ¡°sinner¡± will be chosen to stop them. In this case, the ¡°sinner¡± will die in an ¡°accident¡± and will be given a second chance at life so long as they go and stop the escapee. Suitable ¡°sinners¡± are ones with basic survival skill or one practically attracted to the Isekai genre. Upon finding one offering them basically unlimited power to stop the escapee will usually sell them over. Upon their acceptance of this ¡°noble task¡±, they will also acquire a Harem of basic personality types as well to encourage the sinner on in her/his quest. While most cases are rather long most are successful as the sinner gets the job done and they then get to live out there fantasy inadvertently acting as guardian of that realm for the rest of their days. Most of the time the newly appointed guardian will probably have offsprings passing down their powers acting as a new guardian thus keeping that realm safe infinitely. Realms Currently in Use Realm 010101 - Mark R. Realm 010102 - William K. Realm 010103 - Richard K. Realm 010104 - Samantha P. Realm 010105 - Sonia B. Chapter Two: Rebirthenings The view was nice. I just wished I woke up on the ground and not in the sky. I¡¯m lying on the ground in some large field somewhere. On the bright side the old man wasn¡¯t lying about those buffs he gave me, but despite these buffs, I can still pain and now I¡¯m feeling a bit fuzzy¡­ ¡°Are you awake?¡± A female voice called out to me. Waking up I¡¯m in some tent. Turning to the voice questioning me a native American looking girl in stereotypical native American attire was on the other side of the tent gathering some things and mashing them into a bowl. ¡°I found you unconscious out nearby my tent. I¡¯m Rectas, of the Orientem tribe. We should be safe for now.¡± That last comment isn¡¯t reassuring. What does she mean for now? ¡°If I may ask, what is your name?¡± ¡°Huh? Oh uh, Mark¡± ¡°That¡¯s an odd sounding name¡­ are you from the west?¡± ¡°... Yes.¡± ¡°I see, well pay me no mind then. It¡¯s a nice name.¡± ¡°You too.¡± ¡°From your attire, you look to be a mage-knight. What brings you to the eastern plains? If you don¡¯t mind?¡± ¡°Huh? Well um¡­¡± Before I could make up a story Rectas shushed me as she went to grab her blade. Despite her native American appearance the sword she was grabbing look to be something like one of those Asian swords. Then again this is another world so all I for all I know it could be a traditional weapon for her people. ¡°I¡¯ll go see what¡¯s going on. Can you walk?¡± Getting up I moved around for a bit before giving her a nod. Walking out of her tent she came back in after a few seconds. ¡°Damn it! It¡¯s bandits!¡± Well, we¡¯re cutting right into the action, aren¡¯t we? ¡°They must be planning on raiding some of the nearby towns.¡± Looking at me and back outside to the bandits she went and grabbed a bow and arrow. ¡°We have to stop them. There doesn¡¯t look to be a lot of them so I¡¯ll draw their attention with my bow¡­ I don¡¯t have anything for you to use but I¡¯m sure you can cast some spells right?¡± ¡°... Right, don¡¯t worry I¡¯ll be fine.¡± Giving me a confident smile she and I exited her tent. ¡°Damn it he said that someone would have landed around here¡­¡± ¡°Why are we even looking? He paid us already so we could just run off with the-¡± Before he could finish she landed a clean shot through his head drawing the attention of the other few bandits. As some of the other bandits closed in she land clean shots into each and every one of them. ¡°Damn it there were more than I thought¡­¡± Looking at her I notice that her quiver had only a few more arrows in it. Throwing her bow into her tent she drew her sword and prepared herself. Taking note of her effort I grabbed one of the fallen bandit¡¯s axe and readied myself as well. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°You know how to use an axe?¡± ¡°For cutting wood yeah¡­ but I¡¯m sure it shouldn¡¯t be that hard, right?¡± From the look on her face, she didn¡¯t like that answer but she honestly doesn¡¯t have a choice right now. With to bandits coming in hot, one of them raised their axe and swung it down towards me. Dodging to the left I swung my axe into their side before using my leg to kick them away from me. Thankfully these bandits were shirtless so I didn¡¯t have to worry about armor or padding. Pulling my axe away from the bandit¡¯s side I swung for the head and landed a clean cut straight through the neck decapitating him. Turning to his other bandit friend I swung my axe upwards hitting him right on the chin. Turning to Rectas she seemed to be doing fine cutting the last remaining bandits down with ease. ¡°Great work, Mark! Didn¡¯t know you were capable of wielding an axe that well!¡± ¡°Like I said, cutting wood works!¡± Sharing a laugh the two of us returned to her tent. Turning in for the night. Waking up I found her still asleep right next to me. Slowly move away woke her. ¡°Yawn, Good morning, Mark.¡± ¡°Good to see that you¡¯re awake.¡± With the both of us getting up I turned around as she got dressed. Do to her living alone now she only kept one sleeping bag around so the both of us shared it. She stated that the nights tend to get cold so it was also safer for the both of us to share the bag anyways. I was still wearing my old uniform as she didn¡¯t have any clothing for men so I kind of just took my clothes off for the night. Getting dressed I only now just noticed the changes to my body. The scars from my previous life were gone and I was much more toned as well. I was hoping I¡¯d keep my old body but, it made sense. The buffs the old man gave me were meant to help me out in this new world so it is fitting for my body to be a bit better than my old one. Besides, my dick was bigger so the new body was totally worth it. ¡°That fight yesterday must have taken a lot out of you.¡± ¡°Whadda mean?¡± ¡°From the way you acted yesterday that was your first time killing someone.¡± ¡°You¡­ could tell that just from the way I acted?¡± ¡°You weren¡¯t eating much yesterday as well.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Well, don¡¯t worry about it. Taking a life is a hard thing to understand at first but it gets easier as you keep doing it.¡± Not an assuring thing to say but I see what she¡¯s trying to do. Besides when the old man told me this world was a bit medieval. I made sure to mentally prepare myself to do such a thing. ¡°Say, Mark¡­ there is something I wanted to talk to you about.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Despite yesterday being your first time doing actual battle you seem to be quite the natural in the ways of war.¡± ¡°Yesterday was my first time killing someone. Not my first fight.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s an assuring thing. Which¡¯ll make my next proposal easier.¡± ¡°That being?¡± ¡°Would you join me in my travels?¡± ¡°Why would you want me to join you?¡± ¡°About a year ago my parents died¡­ along with the rest of my tribe.¡± Ouch¡­ being the last of your tribe is probably a lonely thing. Especially for someone like her. Hell, she looks to be my age right now. ¡°Bandits attacked us at night and with that my tribe was slaughtered¡­ my father died protecting me, and with me being so young and a woman he knew of the things they would do to me¡­¡± Annnd now she¡¯s getting the sniffles. Though I can¡¯t say I could relate. While she is capable of taking on a few bandits she is still a young woman. A rather nice looking one too but I shouldn¡¯t be thinking of that right now. I mean, I know I was bound to getting me a few but to get one so early? With a sad backstory? The old man is a bizarre guy. ¡°Thankfully, since I¡¯m still capable of bearing a child my tribe can still live on but¡­ No, No more thoughts on the past.¡± Good to know she¡¯s a person of tradition at least. Patting her on the shoulder she¡¯s fixing herself up. ¡°Mark, I want you- No, you need to help me get stronger, so that I may avenge the death of my people. Yesterday¡¯s encounter showed me that I won¡¯t become stronger or survive long out here alone. You have outstanding strength but you lack technique. If you agree to join me I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll both benefit greatly from each other!¡± ¡°Hmph¡­ with an offer like that, I can¡¯t really refuse. Plus, I still owe ya for helping me out yesterday. I¡¯ll join you in your journey to becoming stronger.¡± ¡°Wonderful! Thank you, thank you we¡¯ll be better off working together, I know it!¡± While the hug seemed a bit extra I¡¯m sure she¡¯s just happy to have someone to travel with. With that, I¡¯m sure my life in this new world will be a good one. I mean with how this is going I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll be fine! Chapter Three: Twin Knights and a Place to stay The next day the two of us headed to town to resupply. The journey ahead was going to be a long on and since I¡¯m tagging along I need to be well equipped. Arriving at town Rectas helped me get some better gear and a weapon. Selling the bandit¡¯s axe I got myself a short sword and a small shield. An equal trade. Walking around town the two of us discussed our new roles now that I¡¯m tagging along with her. While we discussed on what I was gonna be doing I notice the wide variety of people carrying weapons around. Compared to my short sword and shield the people in town seem to be experienced adventurers. ¡°We¡¯ll need a larger source of income now that you¡¯re living with me. I managed to scrape by via hunting and selling but even then it was hardly enough. While I¡¯m sure living off the land will probably be enough to keep us fed I¡¯d prefer not to be the only one¡­¡± She suddenly quieted down now as we approached an alleyway. Getting closer I heard what sounded to be an argument between a few people. Leaning in my assumption was correct. ¡°You wanna take a look?¡± Giving me a nod she stepped into the alleyway. As she entered the alleyway I followed, advancing through the narrow path with her. At the end there was a quarrel between four women. Two on each side. All of them looking rather fine and around my age. The two at the end of the alleyway looked to be twins aside from the fact that one has green hair and the other has red hair. Both of them wearing similar armor. Nothing fancy like the ones the other adventurers just simple grey steel. They looked like they were arguing about some golden claw. Wasn¡¯t really paying attention till Rectas interrupted them. ¡°Sorry to interrupt your argument but may I have a moment of your time?¡± Turning their attention to her she gave a little wave to the four with the twin in the back staring in confusion while the two closest to her pointed crossbows towards her. ¡°Who are you and what business do you have with us?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have business with you but I do have business with the two in the back.¡± Despite having two crossbows aimed at her she didn¡¯t seem to mind it that much. Putting her hands behind her back she signaled me with a little wave. ¡°I was wondering if you were willing to sell me that golden claw.¡± Noticing what she was trying to do the redhead in the back smiled.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°We¡¯d be willing.¡± Entering into the frame the two aimed at me. In that moment of distraction, Rectas attacked one of them. Noticing her intent I dashed in and smashed the other one¡¯s head into the ground. Knocking the other one out Rectas approached the twins. ¡°Are you okay?¡± ¡°Y-Yes but the claw is¡­¡± Pointing at me I looked down and noticed that the claw was broken under my knee. Picking up the remains of it I held it out for them. ¡°Sorry?¡± ¡°Ha¡­ don¡¯t worry Mark I didn¡¯t intend on buying it anyways.¡± Taking the claw she tossed it towards the twins with the green one catching it. ¡°Thank you for the help. I¡¯m Viren and this is my sister-in-arms Ruby.¡± ¡°Th-Thanks for saving us.¡± Ruby said as she stood behind her sis. Getting a closer look they weren¡¯t actually twins but from afar they looked like it. I¡¯m just gonna call them green and red though. ¡°Good to meet you. I¡¯m Rectas and this is my companion, Mark.¡± I simply nodded in her response as the red got closer to her green counterpart. Well, that¡¯s reassuring. Although judging from the fact I suddenly zoomed in and smashed someone head into the pavement in a matter of seconds would probably be a scary sight. Leaving the alleyway the three of them began chatting about what they were doing in this town. ¡°So what about you Mark where are you from?¡± The green one said snapping me out of my thoughts. We were in a inn now and I was just sitting next to Rectas sipping on so tea. While I was trying to think of my response Rectas came to my rescue stating that I was knocked out in a field and how I don¡¯t remember much. ¡°Oh¡­ well, that¡¯s a shame.¡± Afterward, they continued their conversation as I continued to sip my tea. Listening in on the conversation didn¡¯t really help as all they were talking about was on how they got the golden claw and how Rectas met me. An exposition dump really. ¡°So how about you two go and register for the guild?¡± Now that was something that got my attention. I don¡¯t know if the green girl or the redhead said it but Rectas turned toward me and repeated. ¡°Should we?¡± Was all she asked. Giving her a nodded she smiled and told them that we¡¯ll register tomorrow. A guild huh? Kind of like those in them adventure novels. If it''s anything like that it¡¯ll be perfect for me and Rectas. Plus it¡¯ll give me a chance to test out my new god powers. ¡°Thanks for suggesting it. We¡¯ll make sure to register tomorrow as soon as we can.¡± ¡°Great! Maybe one day we¡¯ll all go on an adventure together!¡± Smiling we both said our farewells and the two were off. Rectas went ahead and got us a room and upon entering it there was a single bed. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ a bit low on funds.¡± was all she said as we looked around the room. The room looks the be the size of a cheap motel room with a bed, desk, chair and a chest. Looking out of the window, the view of the town was nice. The sun was setting and looking at Rectas she was just lying on the bed. It was a nice site. Which is probably why the old man wanted me to slay the demon lord guy. I stared at my hand for a bit and placed it on the area I was shot. My heart¡¯s beating and I¡¯m breathing air. ¡°Are you coming to bed or are you planning on just standing?¡± ¡°I¡¯m coming.¡± Putting down my gear I went to bed.