Death was surprisingly uneventful.
At least, that was what Chase thought as he stared at the unfamiliar ceiling above him.
There was no heavenly light, no beautiful goddess waiting to explain the mysteries of reincarnation, and certainly no line of attractive women welcoming him to the afterlife.
Instead, there was only an endless expanse of darkness, a strange sensation of weightlessness, and the lingering memory of his rather pathetic final moments.
He had been an ordinary man living an ordinary life. He had no impressive achievements, no extraordinary talents, and no particularly meaningful contribution to the world. His daily routine consisted of working a job he disliked, spending too much time on the internet, and reading novels about people who were considerably more successful at life than he was.
Honestly, if someone had asked him what he wanted most before he died, his answer would have been simple.
Money.
Power.
A beautiful woman or two.
And preferably a way to obtain all three without putting in much effort.
Unfortunately, the universe had apparently decided to grant his wish in the most inconvenient way possible.
"Where the hell am I?"
Chase sat up abruptly.
He immediately regretted it.
A sharp wave of dizziness swept through his head, forcing him to close his eyes and wait for the sensation to pass. When he finally opened them again, he found himself sitting on a patch of soft grass surrounded by enormous trees.
The forest stretched in every direction, its canopy so dense that only fragments of sunlight managed to penetrate the leaves. Strange flowers grew between the roots, and unfamiliar insects buzzed through the air. Somewhere in the distance, something howled.
Chase slowly turned his head.
Then he looked behind him.
Then to his left.
Then to his right.
"...Okay."
He nodded to himself.
"This is definitely not my apartment."
He remembered falling asleep after spending half the night reading a webnovel. He vaguely remembered getting up to drink some water, stumbling over a charger cable, and hitting his head against the corner of his desk.
After that, everything had gone black.
He had assumed he would wake up with a headache.
He hadn't expected to wake up in the middle of what looked suspiciously like a fantasy forest.
"Don't tell me..."
A ridiculous possibility entered his mind.
He immediately dismissed it.
"No way. I'm not that lucky."
He pinched his arm.
"Ouch."
He slapped his cheek.
"Ow!"
He grabbed a nearby twig and poked himself with it.
"Okay, okay! I'm awake!"
Chase tossed the twig aside and examined his surroundings again.
The forest remained unchanged.
He was still there.
After several minutes of increasingly desperate self-examination, he finally accepted the situation.
He had either been kidnapped and abandoned in some bizarre nature reserve, or something had happened that was far beyond his understanding.
Considering the complete absence of roads, buildings, or other signs of human civilization, he suspected the second possibility was considerably more likely.
He took a deep breath.
"All right, Chase. Calm down. Think rationally."
He rubbed his chin.
"If this is really another world, then there should be some kind of explanation. Maybe I got reincarnated. Maybe there's a system. Maybe some god decided to give me a second chance at life."
His eyes gradually brightened.
The more he thought about it, the more reasonable the idea became.
He had read enough novels to know how these things worked.
A protagonist died, met a mysterious entity, received an overpowered ability, and began a new life filled with adventure, beautiful women, and enemies who conveniently existed to demonstrate how powerful he had become.
If he had really been given a second life, surely the universe would have the decency to provide him with a decent starting package.
"System?"
Nothing happened.
"Status?"
Still nothing.
"Open character panel!"
Silence.
Chase's expression darkened.
"Don't tell me I've transmigrated without a system."
The thought was so horrifying that he immediately tried again.
"System! Cheat! Golden finger! Anything!"
For several seconds, he stood in the middle of the forest shouting increasingly ridiculous commands.
Eventually, a translucent screen appeared before his eyes.
Ding![Multiversal Travel System successfully activated!]
Chase froze.
His mouth slowly fell open.
Then he clenched both fists.
"YES!"
He nearly jumped into the air.
"YES! I KNEW IT! I KNEW THE UNIVERSE WOULDN'T SCREW ME OVER!"
He laughed, paced around in a circle, and pumped his fist toward the sky.
"System! You're my brother! My best friend! My beloved! From today onward, you and I are going to conquer the multiverse together!"
The screen flickered.
[Host′s emotional state appears unusually elevated]
"Of course I'm excited! Do you have any idea how many novels I've read? Do you know how much suffering I've endured watching protagonists get incredible abilities while I sit around doing nothing with my life?"
He wiped an imaginary tear from the corner of his eye.
"Finally, it's my turn."
He straightened his back and adopted what he considered a suitably dignified expression.
"Now then, System. Show me my rewards."
Initializinghostinformation.
Name:Chase.
Current World: ThatTime I Got Reincarnated as a Slime.
Race: Human.
UniqueSkill: AkashicArchive.
MultiversalAccess: Available.
Chase blinked.
He read the information again.
Then he read it a third time.
His initial excitement slowly gave way to confusion.
"Wait a minute."
He pointed at the second line.
"Tensura?"
Affirmative.
"As in, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime?"
Affirmative.
"The world where a middle-aged salaryman gets stabbed and reincarnates as a slime, eventually becoming one of the most powerful beings in existence?"
Affirmative.
Chase stared at the screen.
A complicated mixture of excitement and apprehension washed over him.
On one hand, Tensura was an incredible world to be reincarnated into. Its inhabitants possessed all kinds of supernatural abilities, its power system allowed for extraordinary evolution, and its strongest characters were capable of feats that would make most other fictional universes look insignificant.
On the other hand, it was also a world filled with monsters, Demon Lords, ancient dragons, and beings who could erase him from existence without even realizing he had been there.
His excitement diminished slightly.
"Well, at least it's an interesting world."
He returned his attention to the status screen.
His gaze settled on the final line.
[UniqueSkill: AkashicArchive]
He frowned.
"Akashic Archive?"
The words sounded familiar, although he couldn't immediately remember where he had heard them.
He scratched his head.
"What kind of ability is that?"
The system responded immediately.
Akashic Archive is an exceptionally powerful Unique Skill that allows its user torecord, analyze, store, reconstruct,and evolve supernatural abilities and knowledge.
Chase stared at the screen.
For a moment, he said nothing.
Then he slowly raised one hand.
"Excuse me?"
[Please state your inquiry]
"My golden finger..."
He paused.
"...is a library?"