“How have your little experiments with these systems been, Goddess of Anime?”

  “Not good at all. Theoretically, it is possible to create the device and for it to work, but the only outcome so far has been needlessly putting souls through torture.”

  “I told you, even for us Goddesses, it is impossible for anything to allow someone to house bottomless and potentially infinite power. This sort of thing, where someone’s body can adapt to all energy sources and different types of power systems, only works in our fictional worlds. As soon as they step out of our domains, they will explode.”

  “It is possible. I just have not found the right person to house my system yet.”

  “Riiight.” The Goddess of Video Games answered with a roll of her eyes.

  Currently, both Goddesses were sitting in a garden. One held divinity governing all video game worlds, while the other ruled over all worlds based on anime. The only word that could describe this pce was Utopia. The stunning greenery, the pleasant melody of flying spirits—everything combined to create the perfect picture of peace.

  The Goddess of Video Games continued, “Anyway, that is not why I came here. I heard the Supreme Goddess of Yuri came to visit you. What was that about? It is strange for one of the pinnacle Gods to engage with a second-tier Goddess.”

  The Goddess of Anime, who had been reading a file in front of her, froze. For a moment, a conflicted expression crossed her stunning face. “She came to induct a single mortal into my experiments. I do not know how she learned the ins and outs of my work, but she was quite insistent on including this random girl.”

  “Did you not tell her that you have experimented on the souls of over a trillion people and none of them worked?” the Goddess of Video Games replied, equally confused. Both of them were aware of how slim the chances of success were, so why was one of the Supreme Goddesses getting involved?

  “I did, but she did not seem to care.” The Goddess of Anime frowned. “I did some research into the girl. Light Ashford, born into a normal family on Earth. The only aspect that stood out about her was the fact that the Goddess of Yuri sealed her own divinity and decided to befriend the girl while disguised as a normal cssmate. Unfortunately, Yuri failed to seal all of her divinity. After prolonged exposure to pure divine energy, Light developed an incurable illness by her world’s standards and died young.”

  “So Yuri killed her and threw her to you?” The Goddess of Video Games raised an eyebrow. “How are her test results looking?”

  “That is the annoying part.” The Goddess of Anime grimaced as she slid a paper with a picture of Light and all her results across the table. “All of her results are perfect. At this rate, Light will become the first person whose soul can adapt to anything.”

  “WHAT?!” The Goddess of Video Games smmed the table with both hands before quickly picking up the paper and scanning it intently. After taking in all the information, she reached the bottom part and froze. “How did Goddess Yuri know?”

  At the bottom of the page was a diagram dispying the strain put on a soul while trying to transform it to allow a system to be attached. All the measurements showed how the pain receptors were pushed to their breaking point, making it obvious why so many souls had failed before Light.

  However, right next to this diagram was another one showing the measurements of the pain Light had suffered due to her illness caused by divine energy exposure. Every metric showed the exact same results.

  Neither Goddess believed this to be a coincidence.

  Not only should the Goddess of Yuri not know about these experiments, but she had somehow replicated the transformation process seamlessly.

  “From the age of eight, this girl endured this level of pain for ten years. What is she?”

  “I do not know, but after being transformed, her soul will have the potential to surpass all beings. Yuri also told me to get you, the Goddess of Movies, and the Goddess of TV Shows to help hide Light in our worlds, where people with systems already exist.”

  “She wants to hide Light from the other Supreme Gods and Goddesses? They will not know her system can breach the realms of fiction until she reaches her full potential. By then, it will be too te… But why is a Goddess who sits at the top helping someone climb higher than her?”

  [Welcome, Host!]

  “Hmmm?”

  Light, who felt as if she had just woken up from a hundred-year slumber, groggily wiped her eyes before suddenly becoming fully alert. It was not just the unknown woman’s voice resounding in her head that startled her, but also her surroundings.

  Even in her sleep, she had still felt that annoying burning sensation, as if all her organs were being boiled in volcanic va. However, she had long grown used to sleeping through such pain.

  Scanning her surroundings, she found herself in a forest, her back pressed against a tree as greenery grew freely on either side of her. The st thing Light remembered was going out to eat with her childhood friend, first love, first girlfriend, and first everything else—Yuri. And then…

  “I died.”

  While the pair had been eating, a drunken man had stormed in, waving a gun around and demanding money. Someone had the bright idea of trying to wrestle the gun from him, and, seeing this, Light had reacted quickly, shielding Yuri with her own body. A stray bullet had found its mark.

  The worst part? The gunshot had not even hurt. Compared to the pain she had endured every day, it was like dropping a gss of water into an ocean.

  Yet, despite everything, it was this pain, this event, that had killed her. She had died protecting Yuri.

  Staring at her hands, a stray tear forced its way from her eyes. But as soon as one fell, it seemed to call for all its companions. Sitting against the tree, she began sobbing uncontrolbly.

  “I will never be able to see her again…” Her only anchor, the only thing that had kept her going, had been taken away.

  [Host?]

  “You again.”

  After crying silently for who knew how long, the voice from before seemed to grow impatient.

  “Can a girl not mourn in her own afterlife?”

  [This is not the afterlife, Host! You have been reborn.]

  Picking up an unfamiliar herb beside her, she muttered, “I am guessing this isn't Earth either, so it doesn't really matter where this is to me.”

  Although Light would not go so far as to say she knew every pnt on Earth, there was no way the herb beside her had come from her world. Not only was it growing everywhere, making it seem common, but she could also feel a faint energy radiating from it. Either she had been reborn as Poison Ivy, or this world was not her own.

  [You are so smart, Host. This is indeed not Earth!]

  Light simply rolled her eyes at the btant attempt at fttery, not in the mood to indulge in the voice’s antics. A part of her was happy to be alive and free from pain for the first time in as long as she could remember, but that happiness was suffocated by her grief.

  She had no idea how long it would take to return to her normal self, but it was definitely not going to happen anytime soon.

  Sitting in silence for a little longer, Light gently knocked the back of her head against the tree.

  “So, what is all this, anyway?”

  [I thought you would never ask!]

  [You have been reborn with the ability to travel to a limited number of fictional worlds—ones where other reincarnated people have taken over the body of the protagonist.]

  “Fictional, huh?” Light mumbled.

  Her thoughts instantly drifted back to when she and Yuri had lived in the same orphanage. Yuri had always been oddly fixated on ensuring Light shared her hobbies, making sure she read, pyed, and watched a wide range of fiction.

  Remembering the quiet moments spent reading together in their shared room, the times they had sat shoulder to shoulder watching anime, a small, pain-filled smile found its way onto Light’s face.

  “What world am I in now?”

  [The world of Danmachi. About one month before Bell joins the Hestia Familia.]

  “Danmachi, is it? The one with Bell, Ais, Freya, and Ryuu?” Light asked rhetorically, speaking to herself more than anything else. By her tone, it was easy to see that she didn’t exactly believe the words of this apparent system.

  [That exact one!] The system answered anyway, rather acting oblivious or genuinely being so.

  Light nodded at the overly energetic female voice, which sounded like it belonged to a gyaru character from an anime. Honestly, she wished this voice could read the room and dial it down a little. It even reminded her of Yuri when she got overexcited, but she quickly erased that thought.

  “So, what does that make you? A system? Isekai stories and fanfiction love having them. They exist to give someone with no discernible skills the ability to be a Mary or Gary Sue. Not that I am compining. Having life on easy mode is everyone’s dream.”

  Light chuckled. Internally, she was certain that whatever she was speaking to was not actually a system. Knowing her luck, it would be some spirit that wanted to take over her body or something.

  [I am indeed a system! However, my functions are currently limited. Until you grow stronger and empower me further, all I can do for now is operate a store where you can use negative and positive karma as currency, travel to different worlds, and, most importantly, activate the Sign-In function. By going to pces of importance or completing tasks reted to people of importance, you can be handsomely rewarded.]

  “Wait… for real? You are actually a system?”

  Light asked in utter disbelief. She had thought she had used up all her luck just by getting reincarnated, but had she really been given a system as well?

  “Prove it.”

  She needed proof that whatever this voice was, it was telling the truth.

  [I am not sure how… I can awaken the three skills innate to your soul. Will that suffice?]

  “Now I know you are lying. If my soul had such abilities, do you think I would have worked part-time in customer service in my st life?”

  [Some worlds limit the abilities of people's souls, leaving their innate powers dormant. Your old world must have been one of them. I can confidently confirm that you have three unique abilities tied to your very being.]

  “Go on.”

  Fictional Exchange – The ability to summon a handheld console that can turn any piece of fiction into a pyable video game. The user can freely exchange items earned in the game world for real-world equivalents.

  Innate Domain – The ability to summon and bring people into a separate dimension of the user's creation, assuming they have given permission to enter. Within this world, the user can alter time, heal injuries and sickness, and create perfect copies of people they have seen for combat practice.

  Skill Book – The ability to copy any of the abilities owned by the host into a skill book, allowing anyone who reads it to instantly learn the same skill. Doing so does not remove the skill from the host.