"U…? Uh…?"

How long had I been asleep?

Struggling to awaken my hazy consciousness, I opened my eyes.

It was a white room.

A perfectly white room with no doors and not a single stain.

I was wearing something like a white hospital gown, lying on the floor.

"Am I… alive? A hospital…?"

There wasn't even a bed, not like a proper hospital room.

There was a desk and a chair, and on the desk sat something resembling a computer.

"The wounds…?"

I instinctively reached behind me, but there was no sign of injury. Maybe I’d only been hit with a blunt object—no stab wounds to begin with.

Either way… I was alive.

"…………No, wait—could this be the afterlife…?"

It felt more natural to think this way.

"……He's dead……no, he was murdered, right? Just like Nanami… Nanami…"

Memories surged back like a flashback, as if they'd just happened moments ago.

The reality of Nanami's death weighed heavier on my heart than the fact that I myself had been killed.

More painful than the strangeness of being in this peculiar room was the sorrow and agony of knowing my childhood friend had died.

"It was all just a dream…? No way that could be…"

Even in this strange place, I could firmly assert one thing: that what had happened was real.

The scent of blood overwriting the familiar smell of Nanami's room.

Nanami, who had so recently changed expressions so quickly, now lying still, her life line severed like a doll.

"Guh… fugh…"

Tears welled up and spilled over.

Was it sad that Nanami had been killed, or that I myself had been killed, or both? Overwhelmed by a

brand-new emotion I couldn't put into words, I couldn't get up for a while. Why had I

had to die? Why had Nanami, who had never even

killed an insect, been killed? Why—why—why—had Nanami

cried out that she didn't

want to be sent to another world? That the killer

was a classmate she didn't even know by name

? Why was I here, in this place? My mind was a

jumbled mess. Grief, doubt, and

frustration crawled through my head, and for a long time I just crouched there, unable to move

. How long I stayed like that, I couldn't tell—time had lost all meaning

, and no one came into the room.

I had shed tears until I was completely drained, then staggered to my feet and stared at the computer screen in the room, left alone.

The text displayed there was more than enough to chill my mind.

"……No way… this can't be real…"

There, it read:

'You have been selected as a transferee to another world. Complete your bonus point allocation and begin your journey to the other world.'

— So it seems my life isn't over yet.

◇◆◆◆◇

"Why… why was I chosen…?"

Was it because Nanami's rights had transferred to me, the one nearest to her?

No… that theory should have been ruled out.

When a transfer candidate was killed in some country, someone completely unrelated from another nation would be selected in their place. In other words, if a transfer candidate died, a new lottery would simply be held.

Of course, the possibility that Nanami died and a new lottery was held, resulting in me being randomly chosen, isn't zero—but the odds of that are roughly one in seven billion. That's close enough to zero to say it's effectively zero, and besides, I should have died long before that.

When I lost consciousness after being stabbed in the back, it was still more than an hour before my scheduled transfer time. It's hard to believe I survived for over an hour after that.

There's also a possibility that someone else, unrelated to Nanami, died somewhere else, and I was picked in the subsequent lottery.

"…Maybe Nanami is already in another room right now."

Since I'm here despite being supposed to be dead, that possibility isn't impossible.

After all, it's a god who's responsible for the transmigration to another world. A literal, actual god.

The Nanami who died back then was just a husk left behind after being transferred to the other world, while the real one has long since been reborn and is thriving in that alternate realm—

or perhaps Nanami is still alive.

We never checked her pulse, so maybe she only appeared dead.

I seem to recall reading somewhere that humans don't actually die that easily.

Besides, right before losing consciousness, I prayed to the god.

Maybe the god heard my wish and rescued both me and Nanami from an unjust death.

I know it's just a sweet, naive hope, but I still wanted to cling to that possibility.

That neither of us was killed, and that we'd both go on adventures together in another world—

How wonderful it would be then.

Slapping both cheeks, he grabbed the mouse.

If that was the decision, he would survive no matter what to reunite with Nanami.

　

Focusing his resolve, he looked at the screen—just at that moment.

A dull "poom" echoed, and a message appeared on the screen.

'Transfer remaining: 3 minutes'

"Huh?"

Upon closer inspection, a timer in the top-right corner of the screen was slowly decreasing.

Probably—no, certainly—the timer had started the instant he arrived at this location.

"Only three minutes..."

There was no time for leisurely choices.

He'd have to go with his gut instinct first, and adjust later if time allowed—nothing more seemed possible.

He must avoid getting stuck in hesitation, or he'd end up transferring without having made a choice at all.

"Please allocate your skill points. Your total bonus points amount to 73."

"Seventy-three points?"

It feels like a lot, though I'm not quite sure. Surprisingly so.

Regarding these points, I didn't have much prior information.

The only thing I know is that the initial point value follows a V-shaped curve, with 24 being the minimum age.

In other words, it could be said that the divine prefers "experience" and "physical maturity" over youth—the "potential" of youth.

According to the divine, abilities with greater effects require more points...

Either way, there's no time to waste. I must allocate these points quickly.

――――――――――――――――――――

・Name: Kurose Hikaru

・Age: 15 years old　▼

・Gender: Male　

・Special Ability ▼

・Physical Ability ▼

・Resistance ▼

・Spirit Magic ▼

・Items ▼

・Teleportation Point ▼

・Drawbacks ▼

Remaining Bonus Points 73p

――――――――――――――――――――

Surprisingly simple.

If that's the case, maybe I can actually make a choice even in just three minutes.

When I hovered the cursor over each option, a description appeared.

For example, over the Special Ability section, it read: 'A power beyond human understanding.'

Rough as it is, that might just be the divine intention.

I glanced quickly through each one.

First, age—remarkably, it can be changed.

Clicking the

mark opens a window. You can gain points by increasing your age, and by spending points, you can decrease your age—effectively becoming younger!

I am currently 15 years old.

Depending on the situation, it might be a good idea to slightly increase my age to gain more points.

Next, open the special abilities window.

"Ugh...! Is it really this expensive to use?"

――――――――――――――――――――

●Special Abilities

・Courage　20p

　Gain the strength to face difficulties and fears, and move forward.

・Hyper Focus　30p

　Ability to concentrate so deeply that you forget eating and sleeping.

・Sensory Awareness　15p

　Ability to detect the presence of living beings.

・Night Vision　15p

　See clearly even in almost no light.・Intuition 20p

Can choose options that feel advantageous instinctively.

・Apnea Activity 10p

Can perform maximum-effort actions for two minutes without breathing.

With training, can stay submerged for about fifteen minutes.

・Wide Vision 10p

Possesses an impossibly wide field of view, far beyond human capability.

・Mind Communication 30p

Can communicate thoughts with animals.

・Spirit's Favor 30p

All spirits will come to love you.

・Charm 50p

Develops a natural appeal that makes people find you likable.

　

・Foreign Language 0p▼

Can read and write the local common language of the transfer location.

―――――――――――――――――――

Indeed, all of these seem useful, but the descriptions are vague and hard to grasp clearly.

For example, it depends on how strong the ability is—whether it's courage or awareness, if it's too weak, it's pointless. Acting on what you thought was courage might just be reckless, and if awareness only lets you notice an enemy when they're already right next to you, it's useless.

Incidentally, when I opened the

dialect of the other world, it said, "Selected: None gives +20p." Not being able to understand the language would be a complete landmine. That one I absolutely can't choose.

Glancing at the time, already one minute had passed.

There's no time to hesitate.

After a brief moment of thought, I selected "Dark Vision" and "Spirit's Favor."

Together they cost 45 points, leaving only 28 points remaining, but these two clearly aren't things you can improve through effort.

Most importantly, I instinctively judged them as useful.

Normally, I'd want to be more careful, but right now, time is short.I also remembered what my younger sister said: "In this kind of game, it's generally safest to go for the high-point options. Also, even though the required points might be low, there should be several quite useful abilities, so don't forget to pick those too."

It's unclear whether there's any real basis for this, but my sister is truly a genius.

So it's probably safe to trust her.

　

Next, I open the physical ability section.

―――――――――――――――――――――――――

● Physical Abilities

　Enhancement of physical attributes derived from spirit power

・Physical Strength Up　Level 1–5 5/7/10/15/20

・Vitality Up　Level 1–5 5/7/10/15/20

・Spirit Power Up　Level 1–5 5/7/10/15/20

・Sight Up　Level 1–3　 3/7/10

・Hearing Up　Level 1–3　3/7/10

・Scent Up Level 1 to 3 1/3/5

・Taste Up Level 1 to 3 1/3/5

―――――――――――――――――――――――――

The number on the right appears to indicate the point cost per level.

For example, selecting Level 3 of Strength Up would cost 10 points.

Reading the note for Strength Up.

"At Level 1, gain 2x power; at Level 3, 5x power; at Level 5, 10x power. This enhances strength, stamina, and overall 'power.' Recommended if planning to fight in close combat. Even if not, this is one of the fundamental aspects of human capability, so it's advisable to take it at least at Level 1.

The description for Vitality Up is as follows.

"It represents vitality—resilience, endurance, and mental strength, not just measurable by numbers. In game terms, it's equivalent to HP. It's always beneficial to increase it if you don't want to die," it said.

Including mental strength, that seems like a significant advantage when operating in unknown worlds.

And as for the unknown power to us—Spirit Force Enhancement—here's how it's described:

"Spirit Force is the energy consumed when using spirit magic. It increases the total amount of Spirit Force you can store within your body. Since the baseline amount of Spirit Force each person can hold varies individually, it's difficult to quantify precisely. However, if you're using spirit magic, having higher Spirit Force enhancement is clearly advantageous."

It's a bit hard to grasp, but if each person naturally has different Spirit Force capacity, then increasing it might not make much difference for someone with initially low MP.

It seems better to allocate points toward physical stamina or vitality, which are more reliably effective, rather than spiritual energy, despite its potential.

Reading the explanations takes more time than expected.

One minute and thirty seconds remaining.

In any case, physical abilities are likely to be improvable later—through level-ups or similar mechanics unique to the other world. That makes it worth considering whether to prioritize them from the start.

I decided to check my resistances before allocating points.

After all, resistances can't easily be acquired later, or only with great difficulty.

―――――――――――――――――――――――――

● Resistances

・Poison Resistance Level 1～3 Level 3: Poison Immunity 3/7/10

・Disease Resistance Level 1～3 Level 3: Disease Immunity 1/3/5

・Aging Resistance Level 1～5

Level 5: Immortality, Level 3: Aging speed halved 3/5/7/10/15

・Increased natural recovery (damage) Level 1–5 3/5/7/10/15

・Increased natural recovery (spirit energy) Level 1–5 3/5/7/10/15

―――――――――――――――――――――――――

"Immortality costs little!"

This might be what my sister Karen meant by "a useful ability that requires few points."

In any case, it's so cheap in points that other abilities seem insignificant by comparison.

With just my remaining points, I could easily reach Level 5.

The surprisingly low cost of disease resistance probably exists because it wouldn't be fun if transferees died from illness, or perhaps because disease is rare in this world.

Enhancing natural healing ability, especially for wounds, would probably be useful, though it likely depends on the extent. For instance, if taking level 5 means even fatal injuries eventually heal with time, then it's worth obtaining. But if it only slightly speeds up healing, it might be questionable.

"There's no need to hesitate here."

I chose aging resistance level 3 (7 points) and disease resistance level 2 (3 points). Then, I immediately opened the age field and increased my age from 15 to 17.

The two-year increase granted me an additional 6 points.

Since selecting aging resistance level 3 doubles my lifespan, this exchange is quite advantageous.

Frankly, I don't have the resolve to take eternal youth.

That leaves me with 24 points remaining.

The time left is quite tight, but I'll also take a look at the spirit magic section.

"Only one spirit magic can be obtained. Each one is useful in its own way. The only one without an offensive ability is healing magic. While spirit magic allows only one contract, it doesn't have overly extreme stats."

―――――――――――――――――――――――――

● Spirit Magic

・Fire Spirit Magic　　10 Points

・Water Spirit Magic　　10 Points

・Wind Spirit Magic　　10 Points

・Earth Spirit Magic　　10 Points

・Light Spirit Magic　　10 Points

・Dark Spirit Magic　　10 Points

● Magic

・Healing Magic　　　50 Points

―――――――――――――――――――――――――

"Fifty points?"

Only healing magic is considered "magic." I can't tell what's different, but maybe it's just a matter of rarity. Ten points isn't particularly high compared to what I've seen so far—it's fairly average.

For example, spirit magic might be obtainable over there, but healing magic seems quite difficult, or perhaps impossible.

Either way, fifty points is out of the question.

"What about items?"

―――――――――――――――――――――――――

● Items

・Recommended Basic Item Set for Transmigrants 10 points

Money (medium) • Mixed healing potion set • Beginner's 'Spell' scroll pack (1x "Fire Spear," 1x "Wind Blade," 1x "Earth Wall," 1x "Water Heal," 1x "Illusion Light," 1x "Shadow Mist," 3x "Small Heal," 2x "Medium Heal," 1x "Large Heal," 1x "Dispel Curse," 1x "Fear," 1x "Small Teleport") • Emergency First Aid Kit • Local map • World map • Compass • Adventurer's full gear set (shirt, coat, pants, belt, underwear ×3, socks ×3, boots, hat, leather gloves, leather chest guard, short sword, short spear) • Notebook • Writing supplies set • 3-day food supply (bento box, water flask) • Long-term portable rations set • Cutlery set • Towels ×5 • Handkerchiefs ×5 • Pocket tissues ×10 • Knife • Blanket • Lantern • Oil • Matches • Hand mirror • Portable shovel • Backpack • Belt pouch • NaIron Rope · Wire · Cloth Tape · Sewing Kit · Sack ×2 · One of Each Spirit Stone

Some items are only obtainable through the Basic Pack, so be careful if you decide not to take it.

―――――――――――――――――――――――――

"I see, I suppose I can't just go completely bare. Wait, does that mean I'd have to stay in this hospital gown if I didn't have the Basic Pack?"

Too hardcore. I'm literally barefoot!

But ten points is heavy. I only have twenty-four points left.

If I started in town, I'd be better off with just clothes and money rather than the Adventurer's Pack.

I guess it's a more cost-effective bundle than swapping items one by one, but ten points is still a lot.

Beneath the Basic Pack, a wide variety of items are displayed, seemingly available for exchange with whatever you like.

I quickly skimmed through it and found that weapons, armor, tools, magic scrolls, potions, maps, bags, and even money could all be exchanged using points.

While the variety of weapons and armor isn't extensive, it seems they can be exchanged according to the transmigrant's size.

There were magic swords and armor available, but all cost only in the teens of points—far too expensive to afford.

In any case, if I'm only exchanging items with few points, it'd be better to wait and exchange them later.

"With the remaining points, I'll get clothes and money. Everything else will go into boosting stamina and vitality—then I'll finish up."

　

There are only 40 seconds left on the timer, but it looks like I can manage.

Just to be safe, I'll open the "Transfer Point Selection" menu.

―――――――――――――――――――――――――

● Transfer Point Selection

・Relocate to a relatively safe area: 27 points

A location that has been partially developed by humans with low danger. Nearby settlements are within close proximity.

・Relocate to a safe area: 30 points

A place where dangerous wild animals have been nearly eradicated. A town lies directly ahead.

・Random relocation: 0 points (default option is random relocation)

You won't be teleported to instantly deadly locations such as the middle of the sea, lava fields, or deep within massive forests. However, it remains quite dangerous unless you're extremely lucky.

If fortunate, you might end up near a settlement.

An early-game joke option. Not recommended.

―――――――――――――――――――――――――

"E... Ehh!?"

For a moment, he couldn't comprehend what was written.

There are two unusually high-point items here... I casually thought that.

Then, after reading it twice, I finally understood.

The default is random transfer.

I should have realized such a trap was set—

"What about the remaining points!?"

There are only 24 points left.

Not even enough for a 'relatively safe location transfer.'

If I don’t reset, I’ll be randomly transferred to another world as-is.

Come to think of it, every human on Earth is watching in real time.

I should have considered the possibility that the gods might be playing such a game.

"This is bad, bad, bad! I have to erase something and restart—any option will do!"

At that moment, I was completely panicked.

If I had stayed calm and operated carefully, I could have made it in time.

Yet, forgetting exactly which attribute he had allocated points to, he ended up opening the 'Physical Ability' section.

"Ah!? Wait—where did I put the points? I think I put them into stamina and vitality—"

The mistake lasted no more than a moment.

He quickly realized he hadn’t yet assigned any points to physical ability.

It had taken him about five seconds.

—Yet those five seconds proved fatal.

He immediately closed the 'Physical Ability' tab and reopened the 'Special Abilities' section.

He turned off night vision and swiftly opened the teleportation destination field—

at the edge of his vision, the remaining time had dropped into single digits.

He had to erase one ability and add another.

If he failed to do so in time, he’d end up losing his special abilities for nothing.

The thought flashed through his mind just as he froze, his hand stopping on the mouse.

The timer's number reached zero with merciless precision.

'Transfer time has arrived. If you have points remaining, you can resume your build after transfer. Some abilities will not be selectable after transfer.'

The screen dimmed slightly, and the message appeared without mercy.

Then, the PC froze completely—no response at all—only the words "30 seconds remaining until transfer" etched into the display.

"……I should have trusted my gut feeling that 73 points was too much."

The realization that I was being randomly transferred drained all the blood from my body.

"I remember cutting off the reset midway, so there should be 24 points left…?"

The fact that I could still exchange points after transfer was, at least, a silver lining.

After all, the remaining points might have just been discarded entirely.

— Regardless, the die has already been cast.

'10 seconds remaining'

'5 seconds remaining'

'1 second'

'Then, may you have a wonderful life. Wishing you good fortune.'

And so, I was enveloped in blinding light.

———————————————————————————

• Name: Kurose Hikaru

• Age: 15 years old ▽

Aging: +2 years +6p

• Gender: Male

• Special Abilities ▽

Night Vision 15p

Favor of Spirits 30p

• Physical Attributes ▼

• Resistances ▽

Disease Resistance: 2 3p

Aging Resistance: 3 7p

• Magic ▼

• Items ▼

• Transfer Points ▽

Random Transfer 0p

• Drawbacks ▼

Remaining bonus points 24p

―――――――――――――――――――――――――