"Three hours have passed since I encountered Gildarts. Yet, I still can't believe it was effective against him."
I muttered, my gaze drifting across the vast expanse of the emerald forest. I wasn't observing the trees—my eyes were fixed on Gildarts, his body lying motionless before me.
"Heh… How amusing…"
I chuckled, a quiet laugh laced with peculiar satisfaction.
"However, if I could kill powerful mages easily, then perhaps this life isn't worth much after all."
With those words, I turned and silently made my way south.
"I don't know how I died in my previous life, but I do know how I was born into this world."
"I had already regained consciousness inside my mother's womb. Not only that, the moment I was about to leave—I was suddenly teleported somewhere else."
[Fairy Tail—December 5, Year X766]
"Ding!"
A light chime rang inside my head the moment I regained consciousness.
A familiar yet unfamiliar feeling washed over me at the same time. I immediately realized what was happening. I was no stranger to the system—it was a blessing bestowed upon reincarnators.
I couldn't open my eyes yet. However, the interface existed and was accessible in my mind, so I didn't have to worry about it.
Even in my previous life, I didn't know how I lived or how I died. But there are still memories resurfacing, probably because I spent most of my time reading novels and watching anime. That was probably the cause of my death—if I didn't die from abusing my body. It's likely I died for a simple reason.
"Reincarnation..."
I said to myself. Reading too many novels probably implanted in me a belief and faith in second chances.
"Gaslighting yourself to believe that there's a second chance after death?"
There's no way for me to verify this. However, it's very likely since the majority of my life was wasted on reading novels. Which makes me ponder.
"What did I learn?"
I let out a deep sigh.
"Whatever."
"It's pointless to think about it; I probably made a huge gamble and succeeded."
Instead of thinking about useless things, I focus on what's important. I already lived my life as a loser, and I don't want to repeat the same thing again.
"How do I communicate with this system anyway?"
"System! System! Hello, are you there?"
...
"No response, huh..."
For some reason, I feel embarrassed.
"Whatever, this is probably a primitive version."
"Well, I don't expect it to be responsive like Jarvis."
From the looks of things, I have to figure it out manually. While exploring the interface, I'm a little skeptical. It's different when you're reading, but after experiencing it firsthand, I definitely feel weird. There's no such thing as free candy in this world. So I found it suspicious that I suddenly got reincarnated and received a golden finger.
"It's definitely suspicious..."
What's the criteria for being chosen? Why was I chosen? There are an endless number of questions, yet not a single answer. As a matter of fact, the existence of the system is definitely suspicious.
Why?
Anyway, it didn't take long for me to understand this so-called golden finger.
This kind of thing instantly grants a power-up to its host while also keeping interaction to a minimum—or rather, zero. Which is also a good thing; I don't like hyperactive systems.
Knowing it's a one-time function means I don't have to worry about endless quests, and it's up to me to increase my strength and live up to the power blessed upon me. In that respect, this golden finger is perfect.
"It's up to me whether I achieve the best outcome or not—and that involves my cheats."
This golden finger has given me the freedom to choose three magical abilities from the anime Fairy Tail and one character template from any anime I've watched.
"Although it grants freedom, I'm probably bound by restrictions. They're unknown at the moment, but I have several ideas in mind. But that comes later."
"For now..."
How many anime did I watch in my previous life? A hundred? Maybe even a thousand? Having multiple options doesn't necessarily mean it's a good thing—it can become a dilemma. If I didn't get myself reincarnated, perhaps I would choose Rimuru, Anos, Goku, or even Yogiri.
I don't want to reach godhood level immediately. It feels like I'm living the same life. I could probably get whatever I wanted in my previous life too—or perhaps I never had a chance to get anything I desired, which resulted in me losing the drive to crave more.
I might end up killing myself in the process or just go with the flow. That's quite miserable; it's no different from regression.
In order to avoid that, I must set goals, no matter how nonsensical they are.
"First, what is my goal in this life?"
I don't know... I couldn't think of anything. A man without ambition is no different than garbage. All I can do is sigh in contemplation.
After pondering for a while, I at least made some decisions.
"This is probably the world of Fairy Tail... an anime about family and friendship."
"Oh, the contradiction..."
"From the looks of things, I probably haven't gotten rid of my greatest sin—pride!"
"I can't remember every detail of my life, but the feeling of shame still lingers deep inside me, hidden at the edge of a bottomless abyss."
This makes me think...
I can be prideful, but without the ability to back it up and produce achievements, I am nothing but a hollow echo of potential—all noise, no substance.
An inflated ego with no foundation.
All bark, no bite.
A shell of delusion.
A pretender clothed in arrogance.
"It's the same thing..." I clench my fist in silence, letting the rage consume my body.
"I decided then..." I said with a look of determination.
"My goal... it's simple! To become a legendary figure in the Fairy Tail world."
I will live a life completely opposite of what I did in my previous one.
Since I've specified my goal, the next step is to identify which magic I should choose. Like I said before, I don't know much about Fairy Tail. There are so many powerful magics, and I don't know them all.
Even if I'm aware of some, that doesn't necessarily mean I have high compatibility with them.
"Should I opt for dragon-slaying or god-slaying magic?"
Those abilities are powerful, but they don't appeal to me. In fact, I often find myself admiring teleportation abilities.
I draw inspiration from Obito Uchiha's Kamui and Tobirama Senju's Flying Thunder God technique. In Hunter x Hunter, I admired Knov's Hide and Seek and Luini's abilities.
And it doesn't stop there; in the world of Fairy Tail, there's a character I really like—Marin Hollow. Ever since I learned about his abilities, I've been eager to rewatch Fairy Tail from the beginning just to see how he dealt with Erza, though I never got the chance to do so.
"I can hardly wait to face him and his magic, the so-called Rules of the Area."
I smirk inwardly as a thought crosses my mind. The more I dwell on it, the more terrified I become. Although I wasted my time reading too many novels, I'm grateful that this knowledge will help me during critical times.
I have already chosen my list of magical abilities, so now it's time to select a character. Choosing an anime character is the hardest part—I'm not sure whether I will inherit the character's personality or just their abilities. Either way, I'm uncertain how much I'll inherit, which could become problematic.
Dark guilds infest every corner of the world, their nefarious deeds whispered with fear and loathing. I want my name alone to instill terror in their hearts—to be known for my unyielding brutality.
If my goal is to kill dark guild members without discrimination, then I must distinguish between what I need and what I want.
"Oh, that's it!"
I struck my palm with my fist as the metaphorical lightbulb in my head flickered to life. It felt like my brain had been buried under cobwebs and dust—evidence of long neglect.
A flood of ideas surged through me, one after another, until a single, compelling notion took root.
"I'll choose this character. He aligns perfectly with my goal—and complements my magic."
With a satisfied grin, I filled in the blanks almost instantly. The moment I thought of him, I couldn't help but smirk.
[Choose 3 Magic Abilities and 1 Character Template]
Magic:
— Space
— Time
— Enhancement
Character Template:
— Sōsuke Aizen
Would you like to proceed?
[Yes]
Before clicking "Yes," I glanced at the name once more.
Sōsuke Aizen.
He didn't always plan everything—but everything always unfolded as if he had.
With a versatile ability set, paired with Irene's enhancement magic and the powers of time and space, I had more than enough to forge my tale.
Just imagining myself unsheathing a blade and murmuring, "Would you take a look at my Kyōka Suigetsu?" sent chills down my spine.
I confirmed my choices and pressed the button. A notification immediately popped up:
[The host has chosen too many powerful abilities at once; a repercussion will occur.]
"Repercussion?" I muttered.
Before I could fully register the message, everything around me began to dissolve. My vision darkened, and the world vanished into a void of nothingness.
"What...?"