Chapter 2 : Purpose

"Well, I can tell you for sure that you aren't tasked with defeating the king of an incredibly passive kingdom." she giggled "And, those horned goth people you call 'Demons' are called 'Dameons', like I said they are one of the six major races in Erevus."

I transfer my gaze towards the hovering hologram, trying to avoid the laughing face of the divine woman.

"You're tasked with something much more important." she returned to her calm demeanor.

My gaze fell from the blue transparent planet above, towards the serious face of Era.

"Like I said, my people rely on magic."

"With a snap of a finger, anyone who has an affinity with magic would be able to conjure up a ball of flames. While anyone with enough experience, materials and knowledge with magic would be able to destroy a city overnight."

Suddenly, the entire room was engulfed in flames. My heart dropped at the sight of the conflagration around us, but I was quickly relieved to find out that the fire was just some sort of illusion. The heat that I expected from seeing all this fire was non-existent. I sighed with relief as the Goddess stared at my reaction with a smile on her face. But, her smiling lips curved downwards as she continued.

"But, my people have been far too reliant with magic." she frowned.

"It is both a blessing..."

Suddenly, the entire room turned from a raging sea of flames, to a peaceful and beautiful forest. Groups of bizarre animals I've never seen before appeared from their respective homes. A horned white rabbit hopped from it's hole and bathed under the dazzling rays of sunshine. Water peacefully flowed onto a nearby river emitting a lullaby-like sound that nearly put me to sleep.

"... And a curse."

Then, the forest's calm aura was shrouded by pandemonium. The entire area went dark as the blood red fire that ate away the bark of numerous trees pushed away the pitch black darkness of the night. The burnt corpses of numerous animals were scattered throughout the burning sea of flames. The horrible crackling sound the conflagration made was absolutely horrid and disgusting. I swear I could smell the odor of death even though all of this was an illusion.

After a couple of seconds, the Goddess waved her hand and the entire scenery began to crumble, returning back towards it's better white emptiness. Who knew I would be so happy seeing this place again. I rejoiced in my head now that the horrible scene disappeared, but that parade of happiness was quickly shot down. I was reminded of the embarrassing moment that happened. I wanted to curl up due to embarrassment, but no matter how much I want to do that, I cannot allow myself to do that. Information is crucial, and this woman in front of me was pouring it like a waterfall. I can't miss a single thing she says.

"Due to magic, my people rely on false rituals and unanswered-" she paused as her face strained "... Prayers to heal others from plagues and diseases."

"They believe natural disasters such as earthquakes, typhoons or even the eruption of volcanoes are due to either the wrath of Gods or someone with incredible magical prowess caused it. And the majority believed the latter!"

"We can't even directly affect the mortal world! If we set foot on the physical world, then the mana of the world would overload causing it's own demise!"

"Besides, why would I cause mass destruction towards my people?! That's like telling yourself to go and pull off your own nail! It is an arduous painful task and you would gain nothing from it!"

The Goddess massaged her temples as the onslaught of words finally ended. I stare at the divine being and quickly began thinking for a reason why she would summon me here. Clearly magic is somewhat the problem here. She said from her speech that her people have been really reliant on magic. They relied on it so much that they lack some scientific development and depended on ritua-

Then, just like the truck that kills the main character in every Japanese light novels, the realization hit me. Without wasting any time, I shot up a question.

"You want me to develop the science of Erevus?" I asked.

It seems I was right, the Goddess' face suddenly lit up as she her gleeful gaze met mine. She swiftly opened her mouth and I quickly guessed what she was going to say; "You got it!".

"You got it right!" Eh, close enough.

"My people desperately need scientific developments. I mean, they've been stuck in the medieval age for the past 3000 years!" she raised her arm and slammed it on her own leg.

"And you know the biggest problem here?" she asked.

"They think they're at the peak of their technology?" I quickly replied

"Correct! They think they're at the peak of their technology!" she said with a large grin etched across her face.

"I do love my people, they may wage wars here and there, but sometimes I really wish I could give them more brain cells! Oh wait, they don't even know what a brain cell is..."

"Ok, so what particular gain do I receive from helping you?" I asked her.

The Goddess just stared at me for a second and calmly said her reply.

"You'd receive a second chance at life. You will retain your memories and your 17 year old body. You would be able to do things you didn't do on Earth once more!"

Would I be able to say a proper goodbye with Reena? No. But, I didn't say that.

"How am I supposed to achieve the dreams I had back on Earth when nearly all of them required something that isn't here. Some people that isn't here."

The Goddess raised her index finger and opened her mouth as she was going to retaliate, but the words wouldn't come out of her mouth. She slowly pulled back her hand and placed it at her chin, clearly thinking of a different approach on this matter.

But, what she doesn't know is that she no longer requires a different approach to this predicament. My mind wanted to jump at the task instantly, another chance at life to do things I didn't do in Earth? And in a magical world?! Imagine the possibilities! Even though I didn't have the materials and people to do the things I wanted to do, I am still capable of creating and finding replacements!

Although I wanted to accept, I wished for another thing. Although a second life at a magic planet was nice, I wanted something every main characters in light novels have.

"I want a cheat ability." I smiled at the Goddess.

Even though the Goddess was deep in her thoughts, her ears managed to caught the word "cheat ability". Thus she faced towards my direction and wanted to make sure that what she heard was right.

"What?"

"I accept your task with developing the science of Erevus. But, I want a powerful ability that would help me in your world."

Era thought about my demand, after minutes of thinking, she opened her mouth.

"I agree with your terms, but there will be a slight problem."

"Carry on." I replied.

"The 'cheat ability' you said is what we call a 'Divine Factor'. These Divine Factors can only be given to 'Heroes'."

"Then aren't I a hero? After all, I am going to save your planet from the destruction of underdevelopment."

"That isn't what I meant" she sighed "Heroes are people with the title "Hero". This title is can only be attained from a God or Goddess."

"Then give me the title so we can go on with what we were doing."

"It isn't that simple" my suggestion was quickly shot down by four words.

"You see, there are 2 types of Heroes."

Suddenly, the white room turned pitch black. Once again, the trusty hologram of Erevus illuminated the area, keeping us from being completely veiled by the darkness.

"Chosen Ones are people given the title 'Hero' by a God. They would receive a Divine Factor chosen by the God."

Then, to her right. A white silhouette of a person instantly materialized. The silhouette seemed to hold what looked like an incredibly large sword. While their other hand held what seemed to be a large shield.

"Hmm, if you are able to give me the title 'Hero', then you could've given it to me a while ago. But you didn't. That means you can't give it to me right?"

"Yes. Chosen Ones can only come from Erevus. Since you are of Earth, you can't become a chosen one."

My shoulders drooped once she finished her sentence. It seems I can't gain a cheat ability or "Divine Factor" because I don't have the title "Hero". I admit, I don't really want a cheat ability, I need it. If I, a person who came from a world where magic was fiction, jump into a world where magic is the norm. Then I'd be completely destroyed by some kind of magic related being. If I had a cheat ability, I'd at least have some sort of edge against them and I might be able to survive their encounters.

"So, what is the other type of hero?"

"Summoned Heroes."

My eyes lit up when she said "summoned". But the light was quickly crushed due to two factors. One, I wasn't "summoned", I was reincarnated. Two, the Goddess should've been able to grant me a Divine Factor if I was a summoned hero, but because of the topic of this conversation right now, I doubt I was a Summoned Hero.

"I'm not a summoned hero am I?"

"No."

"Is it because I was reincarnated? Being reincarnated is far from being summoned after all."

"Well... That is one reason."

I tilt my head at her reply.

"You see, I don't summon my heroes. My people do." she paused. "And when my people summon heroes from another world, four heroes will always be summoned."

Then to her left, four different colored silhouettes of people materialized. The red one at the bottom held a sword. The yellow one towards it's upper right held a bow. The one next to the yellow silhouette was blue, it held a staff of some sort. Finally, the Green one on the top held a large cross, but with a diamond in the intersection of both the cross' lines. All of them were very different, but each one of them stroke a pose that made me think these silhouettes were fighting an enemy.

"I guess that's some how your trademark. The diamond in your right eye?" I said.

"Correct. Four people as in the four points or sides of a diamond." she proceeded to point towards the direction of her right eye.

"The diamond is my symbol in this world after all. So why not take advantage of it and make them summon four heroes? Like the saying goes: The more, the merrier." she began to laugh lightly.

"If we assume that I am a summoned hero, then that would be impossible. I don't see three other people beside me." I sighed

"So, no cheat ability then?" I added

The Goddess paused as she thought about her response.

"Well, there is one Divine Factor that I am able to give you." the Goddess smiled, but I could see a faint feeling of fear from her smile.

My eyes lit up once again.

"But?" I warily asked.

"But, you have to promise me one thing. Do not tell anyone I gave you this Divine Factor and do not tell anyone that you are from another planet."

"Alright, I am a man of my word. But if it is ok to ask. Why?"

She sighed "Numerous Gods and Goddesses are trying to pull me from the throne. I don't want to deal with the trouble that follows once they found out I gave a Divine Factor to someone who isn't a Hero."

"You mean other Gods and Goddesses can take that pretty white crown of yours?"

"Yes. And if they do, Erevus would undergo a massive upheaval. Killing billions of people. I do not want that to happen." she ended her sentence with a serious tone, opposite to her laughing demeanor a while ago.

"Besides, I like my job." she smiled

"Okay... What is this cheat ability?"