This is something like a prologue to the Other World Arc.
"Are you awake, Tenma?"
When Tenma opened his eyes, he found ten pillars of light standing before him.
"Where am I?"
At Tenma's murmur, one of the lights drifted toward him—no, it *tried* to drift closer, only to be shoved aside by the others, and went sliding magnificently, apparently face-first.
"What a good boy~! We've never had anyone like this before~!"
So said the feminine-sounding light that tried to throw its arms around him in a hug, while
"I'm so glad it was this one who came~"
came from another feminine light that drew near with what seemed like a warm smile in its voice, and
"You're the first one to ever say something like that!"
Then there was the light that slapped him on the back (like some middle-aged guy), a light that silently crept up and began sniffing his body while two others watched him from a short distance (pervert?), a light that writhed around while touching his entire body—including his lower half (this one was an even bigger pervert! For the record, he managed to protect the important bits), a light watching from behind the feminine ones, and another beside it that gazed at him timidly (this one alone had a darker tint). Surrounded by them all, they seemed friendly enough, but without seeing their faces, he couldn't really tell. While he stood there, bewildered, the light that had been shoved aside
"Everyone, back off for now—Tenma is getting overwhelmed!"
Those words seemed to settle the lights down, but
"I can't tell who's who when I can't see your faces or shapes—"
came Tenma's remark, and the clamor erupted all over again. Then,
"Oh! I forgot to make our forms visible to you. So-sor~ry! Tee-hee!"
With those words, the light that had been shoved aside (probably the one who'd brought him here) went off to get pummeled by several of the others. Meanwhile, the light that had been smiling drifted up and pressed its palm? against the area around his eyes,
"Just stay still for a moment~"
As it said that, the area around his eyes began to feel warm.
"That's enough~"
After about one to two minutes, the hands were pulled away, and standing before him was a gentle, composed beauty with a soft smile on her face. And she was well-endowed, too.
Beside her stood a slender, energetic-looking beauty with a fun-loving air. This must be the one whose light had hugged him.
Nearby, there was a buxom woman (she looked like an innkeeper) and a tiny girl peering out from behind her (she looked about ten years old).
A little further off, a boy of about fifteen was getting pummeled. The ones doing the punching were a massively muscular man (middle-aged), a man wearing what looked like a wolf pelt—and a handsome man (seriously good-looking) whose movements were strange and suspicious. Ah, their eyes met! He was winking at me and blowing a kiss—so it was him! The pervert from earlier! What a letdown!
After watching for a while, two men came over to greet him. One was a nice-looking, dignified middle-aged man. The other was a mage-like figure in a deep hood.
"Nice to meet you, Tenma. I'm the God of Destruction. This hooded one here is the God of Magic. Pleasure to meet you."
"How do you do."
They introduced themselves in order—the nice middle-aged man, then the hooded one. After them, the women came forward.
"Nice to meet you, Tenma! I'm the Goddess of Love! Let's get along~!"
"I'm the Goddess of Earth~. Nice to meet you!"
"I'm the Goddess of Life. Nice to meet ya, Tenma!"
"I'm the God of Death... nice to meet you."
In order, they were: the slender beauty, the composed beauty, the innkeeper, and the tiny one.
Just then, the three who'd finished pummeling came over.
"Hey there! I'm the God of Skills! Nice to meet ya, Tenma!"
The middle-aged man clapped him on the back as he said it. It hurt quite a bit.
"............I am the God of Beasts............"
The man in the wolf pelt approached from behind and sniffed him. So he'd been sniffing him because he was wolf-like... that made sense, but—no, it didn't! He felt like he was about to be eaten and it was a little scary!
"Hi there~! I'm the God of War. Nice to meet you! Te—n—ma—chu~!"
A wild? queen appeared. The queen's attack — Blown Kiss — Tenma dodged it, and the wild? queen looked disappointed. ...That was close~.
*Ahem!* "Nice to officially meet you, Tenma. I'm the God of Creation — the one who brought you here! Pleased to make your acquaintance."
A boy who looked about fifteen called out to him. He had roughly eight cartoonish bumps all over his head. ...Getting beaten up that badly and ending up with only bumps to show for it was honestly kind of impressive in its own way.
"Nice to meet you all. I'm Tenma Ōtori. First things first — can someone explain what's supposed to happen from here?"
"Sure thing. I'll do the explaining, then. Have a seat."
The boy who called himself the God of Creation pointed, and a chair materialized next to Tenma, with ten more appearing in a semicircle around him. The boy straightened his posture and—
"Nice to officially meet you, Tenma, and welcome to our world — Fantasma! ...Though I suppose we're the only ones who actually know the world's name."
"Before that — mind if I ask a question?"
"Go ahead."
Waiting for the God of Creation to respond, Tenma decided to ask the thing that had been bothering him the most.
"I've heard all your titles — the God of this, the God of that — but nobody's actually told me their names."
The God of Creation stared blankly for a moment, then—
"Names? We don't have those. If you really want to call us something, our titles are basically our names."
Now it was Tenma's turn to be dumbfounded.
"Isn't that kind of inconvenient?"
He shot back, but the God of Creation—
"Gods' names change all the time depending on the era and who's in charge. Besides, it just feels weird going by names that humans made up on their own. It's a total hassle."
Tenma kept to himself that the last part was definitely the real reason.
"Anyway, putting that aside — the main thing I want to get across is this: just because you've been reincarnated into this world doesn't mean I have some job lined up for you. Once you were reborn, my reason for bringing you here disappeared. You're free to live however you want. Well, I suppose if you tried to destroy the world or went on some kind of killing spree, we'd probably step in."
He said it with a joking lilt, but there was nothing joking about the look on his face.
"Got it. I'll keep that in mind."
"I'd appreciate that. It'd be a real pain if I had to step in."
That's all he ever thinks about — the God of Creation.
"You mentioned I'd get some kind of cheat ability. What kind are we talking about?"
"Sure. First up is the classic of classics — Appraisal. Super useful. Then there's Growth Power Boost, which multiplies all your growth rates and experience gains by roughly ten times compared to what ordinary people receive. After that, the gods who've taken a liking to you will each grant you their Blessing or a cheat ability. The gods gathered here have already decided to give you theirs."
"What kind will they give me?"
"That's a secret — something to look forward to after you're reborn. But you're the first person to ever receive abilities from this many gods at once. Lucky you."
"First? So there have been others who came to this world before me?"
"There have. All told, maybe forty or fifty of them? And among them, it wasn't always humans. Some were dogs, some were cats, and in one odd case, it was a fish."
"A fish…"
"It was a Japanese koi, actually. A giant one called Namitaro, if I recall — over two meters long. It got caught by a fisherman almost immediately after being reincarnated."
"That's pitiful."
"Most were humans, but some of them had pretty terrible personalities. There were even a few that didn't receive Blessings or cheat abilities from anyone. Still, everyone got at least one or two cheats."
"When you put it that way, it is a lot. Thanks."
"You're welcome. Well, shall we get started? Oh, what about your memories from your previous life?"
"Keep them for me."
"Understood. It'll be done while you're sleeping, so when you wake up, you'll already be reborn. Oh, and one more thing — since we'll be creating your body, you won't have parents. Instead, I'll bring you near someone who seems like they'd raise you well. And even in the worst case, you'll have your Blessing, so things should work out."
"That's pretty irresponsible. Fine, whatever — just get on with it."
"Wow, harsh! But sure, I'll try to find someone as kind-looking as possible. Alright, let's begin. Tenma Ōtori — I hope your second life will be a happy one. Goodnight."
"Yeah. Goodnight."
After Tenma Fell Asleep
"Well then, shall we bestow our blessings and cheats upon young Tenma? I'll give him 'Appraisal' and 'Growth Power Boost,' plus 'Creation Magic,' 'Bestowal Magic,' and while I'm at it, 'Concealment.' And of course, a Blessing."
"I'm pouring everything I've got into my Blessing. Well, that's all I have anyway."
"If you get the Goddess of Love's Blessing, you'll meet wonderful people, so that's nice, isn't it~? I think I'll give him my Blessing and 'Detection Ability'~"
"I'll give him 'Life Force Boost,' 'Recovery Boost,' and a Blessing."
"I'm thinking 'Instant Death Resistance' and 'Abnormal Status Resistance.' No Blessing from me."
"He won't care about that anyway. I'll give him 'Technical Skill Enhancement' and a Blessing."
"I shall bestow 'All Magic Attributes,' 'Magic Boost,' and a Blessing."
"...I shall grant 'Sense Boost,' 'Familiar Enhancement,' and a Blessing..."
"I'll go with 'Destruction Resistance,' 'Destruction Boost,' and a Blessing."
"I'll give him~... 'Myself'— Kyah!"
""""Take this seriously, do it properly, get to work!"""
"What's with you guys~!? Fine, fine, I got it! Then 'My Love'!"
""""You clearly don't get it at all."""
"Oh, you're impossible~! Fine, 'Martial Arts Mastery,' 'Physical Boost,' and a Blessing. There, happy now!?"
"That's settled, then. Let's bestow everything onto young Tenma now............ Done. Let's take a look at his current abilities for the time being."
Name... Tenma Ōtori
Age... 25
Race... Human
Title... Child of the Gods
HP... 15,000 (50,000)
MP... 15,000 (50,000)
Strength... B- (S+)
Defense... B (SS)
Speed... B (SS)
Magic Power... C+ (S+)
Spirit... A (SSS-)
Growth... C (SSS)
Luck... D- (B)
Skills: Swordsmanship 8, Hand-to-Hand Combat 8, Throwing 8, Cooking 8, Staff Techniques 7, Endurance 7, Disassembly 7, Spear Techniques 6, Traps 6, Night Vision 6, Archery 5, Axe Techniques 4
Gifts: Blessing of the Gods 10, Appraisal 10, Concealment 10, Detection Ability 10, Technical Skill Enhancement 10, Familiar Enhancement 10, Growth Power Boost 8, Life Force Boost 8, Recovery Boost 8, Abnormal Status Resistance 8, Sense Boost 7, Physical Boost 7, Destruction Boost 5, Magic Boost 5, Creation Magic 5, Bestowal Magic 5, Destruction Resistance 5, Instant Death Resistance 5, All Magic Attributes 5, Martial Arts Mastery 5
"...Maybe I overdid it this time."
The other gods could only smile wryly at the God of Creation's muttering.
This concludes the prologue. From next time, I'd like to move into the main story.
When the God of Death said she wouldn't bestow her Blessing, the reason the God of Skills thought it wouldn't matter was because of the rumors that past reincarnations had despised the God of Death's Blessing, or that those who received it died young. None of that is actually true — the rumor simply spread because when you look at the cause of death for those who have passed, it tends to be conspicuous. The mortality rate for Blessing holders is essentially unchanged.
The Goddess of Love mostly had abilities aimed at women or abilities that would receive an R18 rating, so she couldn't think of anything that would suit Tenma. (Things useful for nighttime activities, and so on.)
Creation Magic is a spell that creates whatever you imagine, and depending on how you use it, it can be nearly omnipotent.
Martial Arts Mastery increases your comprehension and acquisition of weapons and martial techniques, but it doesn't instantly make you an expert. Incidentally, it also applies to activities that involve moving your body, such as sports.
Technical Skill Enhancement applies to things that Martial Arts Mastery doesn't cover, such as cooking, painting, and blacksmithing.
As for Status, an average person has HP of around 2,000, MP of around 500, and stats ranging from D- to C+. An average knight or mid-tier adventurer has HP of around 5,000, MP of around 2,000, and stats from C- to B+. Even a top-tier knight or adventurer has HP of around 15,000, MP of around 8,000, and stats ranging from B to A+.
The numbers outside the parentheses in Tenma Ōtori's stats are his abilities from before reincarnation, while those inside the parentheses are the predicted values of what he will eventually gain through Blessings or other cheat-like powers. While his stats are understandably low right after reincarnation, they are expected to increase quickly.
I think there will be fewer opportunities for the gods to appear from now on.