An utterly ordinary life.
I'd graduated college, joined what they called a major general contractor, and was now thirty-seven, living alone. No girlfriend.
My older brother—several years my senior—was supporting our parents, which meant I was a carefree bachelor noble, as it were.
I wasn't short, and my face wasn't ugly either. But I couldn't get girls. I'd tried once or twice to make something happen, but after getting rejected three times in a row, my spirit was broken. At this age, honestly, chasing after a girlfriend sounded like too much hassle.
Work kept me busy, sure, but it wasn't like I was suffering without one. I'm not making excuses here, am I?
The reason I was even thinking about all this was—
"Senpai! Sorry to keep you waiting!"
A cheerful young man walked toward me with a smile, and beside him walked a beautiful woman.
My junior colleague Tamura, and the company's so-called Madonna—the receptionist, Sawatari.
Right. Today, these two had asked me to hear them out because they were getting married. That was the reason I'd ended up musing about why I couldn't get girls in the first place.
I'd been leaning against a pillar by the intersection near our meeting spot after work, lost in thought.
"So. What's this consultation about?"
I gave Sawatari a polite nod and asked.
"It's nice to finally meet you. I'm Sawatari Miho. I've seen you around the office, but this is the first time we've actually spoken. I'm a little nervous."
I'M the one who should be nervous! For starters, I'm terrible at talking to women. Read the room! I grumbled inwardly.
But honestly, if you ask me, there's no way someone who looks as unappealing to the opposite sex as me would be the right person for this kind of consultation. This has got to be rubbing it in. No doubt about it.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Mikami Satoru. No need to be nervous. Sawatari-san is famous around the office, so I'd know who you were even without an introduction.
Tamura and I happened to go to the same university. We really clicked at a company training session and have been close ever since."
"Famous? What do you mean by that? Are there some weird rumors going around?"
"Oh yeah. Things like you're having an affair with Department Head so-and-so, or you went on a date with that guy from Accounting!"
I just couldn't help teasing her. I meant it as a lighthearted joke, but Sawatari's face went bright red and her eyes started to brim with tears. Cute.
I'd been told more times than I could count that my jokes were tactless and had zero finesse, so I really should stop—but the words just came out anyway.
Another failure, then. Yeah, my personality really is rotten.
Tamura patted Sawatari's shoulder and stepped in to mediate.
Damn you, Tamura! Moments like this are exactly when you're supposed to shout "normie, go explode!"
"Senpai, cut it out! Miho's just getting teased, that's all."
Tamura laughed as he smoothed things over. A solid junior.
He was easygoing, fresh-faced, and just plain impossible to hate.
Tamura was only twenty-eight—quite a bit younger than me—yet for some reason we just got along. Oh well, I might as well give them my honest blessing…
"Sorry about that. It's just my rotten personality kicking in. Anyway, it's weird just standing here talking—let's go somewhere else, grab some food, and chat over a meal."
Jealousy wasn't going to get me anywhere. And just as I said that—
"Gyaaaaaaah!"
Screams. Chaos.
What?! What's happening?!
"Out of my way! I'll kill you!!!"
I turned toward that voice and saw a man charging at us, kitchen knife in hand, bag slung over his shoulder.
Screams everywhere. The man was closing in. In his hand—a kitchen knife. The tip of that knife was—
"Tamura—!!!"
THUD! I shoved Tamura out of the way,
SLICK! A searing pain erupted across my back.
"Out of my way—!!!"
I watched the man scream as he fled, then checked to make sure Tamura and Sawatari were unharmed.
Tamura came running over, making sounds that weren't even words anymore.
Sawatari seemed stunned by the sudden turn of events, but she didn't appear to be hurt. Thank God.
Even so, my back was burning. The pain was one thing, but it went beyond that—my back was just genuinely hot.
What is this? It's too hot… Give me a break.
**《Confirmed. Heat resistance acquired… Success.》**
Wait—did I just get stabbed?
Getting stabbed and dying? That can't be—
**《Confirmed. Stab resistance acquired… Success. Following: physical attack resistance acquired… Success.》**
"Senpai, blood—there's blood—it won't stop—"
What a nuisance. Tamura, was it? I thought I heard a weird voice, but if it was Tamura, then fine.
Blood? Well, yeah. I'm still human, after all. Stab someone and of course there's going to be blood!
Still, this pain is unbearable…
**《Confirmed. Pain nullification acquired… Success.》**
Uh-oh—I'm starting to lose my bearings from the pain and the panic.
"T-Tamura… You're so noisy. It's n-nothing serious, right? Don't worry about me…"
"Senpai, the blood—the blood—"
Tamura's face was deathly pale, on the verge of tears, as he tried to lift me up. So much for the tough-guy image.
I tried to check on Sawatari, but my vision was blurring. I couldn't see clearly.
The heat in my back faded away, replaced by a violent chill that seized my whole body.
This might actually be bad… People die when they don't have enough blood, right?
**《Confirmed. Creating a body that does not require blood… Success.》**
(Hey—you. What have you been saying this whole time? I can barely make it out…)
I tried to speak, but no sound came out. This is bad. I really might die here…
More to the point, the heat and the pain were gradually fading. In their place, a crushing cold. An unbearable, hopeless cold. Unbelievable—to freeze to death now? My luck is truly something else.
**《Confirmed. Cold resistance acquired… Success.**
**With the acquisition of heat and cold resistance, the skill has evolved into "Thermal Fluctuation Resistance EX."》**
At that moment, the last surviving brain cells of my dying body recalled something critically important—like a bolt of lightning.
That's right! The contents of my PC's hard drive!!!
"Tamura!!! If worst comes to worst—if I die—take care of my PC for me.
Submerge it in the bathtub, run current through it, and wipe the data completely…"
With my last ounce of strength, I delivered this most vital message.
**《Confirmed. Data erasure via electric current… Insufficient information. Cannot execute. Failure.**
**As an alternative measure: electric shock resistance acquired… Success. Additionally: paralysis resistance acquired… Success.》**
Tamura stared blankly for a moment, not sure what he'd just heard.
But once the meaning sunk in—
"Haha, that's so like you, Senpai…"
He managed a wry smile. I didn't want to see a grown man cry anyway. A bitter laugh was better than sobbing.
"Actually, I—I wanted to brag to you about Sawatari-san…"
I figured as much… Seriously, this guy.
"Tch… Fine. I forgive you for everything. Just make her happy. And don't forget about the PC…"
With my last breath, I passed on those final words.
Just like that, Mikami Satoru died.
But at that very moment, Mikami Satoru's soul had, by sheer coincidence, linked with a monster that had spawned in the same space-time of a different world.
A dimensional rift so small it was invisible to the naked eye. A clump of Magicules that had just come into existence, and a soul that had bonded with it.
The clump of Magicules—the source from which monsters are born—began constructing a body based on the will of the soul it had linked with: Mikami Satoru.
By an astronomically improbable chance, Mikami Satoru was about to be reincarnated as a monster in another world.
An utterly ordinary life.
I'd graduated college, joined what they called a major general contractor, and was now thirty-seven, living alone. No girlfriend.
My older brother was supporting our parents, which meant I was a carefree bachelor noble.
Thanks to that, I was a virgin.
To think I'd leave this world without ever having used it… My son is probably crying too.
Sorry, buddy. I couldn't make a man of you…
Next time I'm reborn, I'm going all out. Talk to every girl I see, eat up every opportunity… Wait, no. That won't work either.
**《Confirmed. Unique Skill "Predator" acquired… Success.》**
And here I was, almost forty years old—if I'd been a thirty-year-old virgin magic user, I'd be well on my way to becoming a sage by now… A Great Sage isn't out of the question either, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.
**《Confirmed. Extra Skill "Sage" acquired… Success.**
**Following: evolving Extra Skill "Sage" into Unique Skill "Great Sage"... Success.》**
…Hold on. What is this? What is this "Unique Skill Great Sage" thing? Are you kidding me?
That's not unique AT ALL!
This isn't funny, you know!
The nerve…
And with those thoughts drifting through my mind, I let myself fall into sleep.
(So this is what dying feels like… It's not as lonely as I thought.)
Those were the last words Mikami Satoru ever thought in this world.