“No way! A truck?” I exclaimed.
Right in front of my eyes, a truck skidded sideways and headed straight towards me. In the back were apples, ripped off their trees prematurely due to the harsh rain a few days ago—a mountain of apples that were meant to be discarded.
“Well, I’m done for...”
The truck flipped over and the apples fell, crushing me underneath. In an instant, I lost consciousness. Oddly enough, the sweet fragrance of apples lingered before slowly fading away.
✦ ✦ ✦
The faint smell of apples tickled my nose. Wait...that’s weird. I don’t feel like I’m breathing at all.
“...tsu-san.”
I looked around and saw only vast emptiness, shining white and bright. Where am I...? I looked downwards and saw the ground was as white as silk. I can’t even see my feet.
“Furutsu-san,” said a woman’s voice.
“Ah, excuse me for my late introduction. My name is Daisuke Furutsu. I’m thirty-three years old, have no girlfriend, and am your ordinary businessman,” I said. “Heh, just kidding. I’m already dead, aren’t I?”
“I do apologize for what happened to you while I was away,” the woman replied.
“Ahhh, I knew it. Are you, by any chance, God?”
“I suppose so... Perhaps from your point of view, I would be God. I really do apologize...”
“Judging from how profusely you’re apologizing, I wasn’t supposed to die yet, but did anyway thanks to some kind of mix-up.”
“Correct. You died in the middle of your life. One of my subordinates, who oversees the life spans of your world, fell asleep on the job and you were crushed by a truck,” she confessed.
“Asleep! That’s no little mix-up! But I get the picture. So that means I can’t go back to my world and I’ll be reincarnated into a different one, right?”
“How did you know?”
“Heh heh, I’m actually quite the bookworm. I’ve read a lot of those reincarnation novels recently. There are a lot of ways to die, but ‘getting hit by a truck’ is a classic. In fact, I’d feel pretty scammed if I couldn’t reincarnate after that!”
“I don’t quite follow what you’re saying, but I appreciate your quick understanding. You will indeed be reincarnated in another world.”
“Sweet! Come on, come on! What will my powers be? I’ll get something cool like an awesome skill or a special calamity-causing spell, right? Right?”
“I’m rather surprised you know that much.”
“Yup! I knew I’d get something OP! So what do I get? My death was a classic fastball right down the middle, so will my superpower be a cliché too? Or are you gonna throw me a curveball and give me something totally out of left field? Bring it on!”
She chuckled. “I’m glad you’re an optimistic person. In general, the base abilities of a reincarnated individual will be boosted, their potential will be strengthened, and they will receive a Card of Fate.”
“Ooh! A Card of Fate! Does that give me a special ability or something?”
“This time, however, seeing as your death is my responsibility, I will give you five Cards of Fate.”
“You sure are generous! Booyah! I’m gonna be so strong, with a whole bunch of abilities, and I’ll have my own harem and be suuuuper OP!”
“You must pick five out of one hundred facedown cards, and you must accept whatever fate you have chosen. Are we clear?”
“Wait, no do-overs? That’s a little scary, but I’ll probably be fine. I was lucky enough to get hit by a truck, after all. Today’s gotta be my lucky day!”
“You really are very positive... That’s rather unnerving. Um, are you really going to be all right? The cards you choose will determine your future. A good majority have useful powers, but some are quite the opposite. Please choose carefully so that you won’t have any regre—”
“I choose this one, this one, this, this, and this!”
“How quick! You really don’t dawdle! Are you sure you wish to pick these?”
“Of course. In situations like these, you just gotta go in and grab the bull by the horns! I’m sure I picked some good cards, ’cause I’m amazing!”
“Well then, let’s check your abilities, shall we?” she said with a smile.
She flipped over the five cards, one by one.
“This first card is i-incredible! I’ve never seen this before!” the woman stammered.
The card depicted a muscular man bending both arms and flexing his muscles.
“This is a ‘power’ card. Your strength, and your potential for growth and improvement, become limitless.”
“Woo-hoo! I picked a good one right off the bat! Hooray for muscles!” I cheered.
She flipped over the second card.
“N-No way! Your second card is also extremely rare! I can’t believe it!”
“Oho? I knew it, today’s my super lucky day.”
The second card had an image of an old woman with a staff.
“This is a ‘magician’ card. Any limits regarding magic have been removed for you. You will be able to learn any and all types of magic!”
“That’s crazy! I can go the magician route too? Hooray for magic!”
She gasped as she flipped over the third card. “I simply cannot believe my eyes. This is amazing! Y-Your third card is— What?!”
“Something good again? Heh, I rule!”
The third card was an angel peeking through the clouds, looking down at the world below.
“A ‘blessing’ card. With this card, no matter how much damage you sustain, you will always regenerate over time. Even if decapitated, you will survive.”
“Immortal? I’m gonna be some undying warrior? Oh man! Might as well pack it up now, right? I’ve already won!”
“I am not quite sure of what you’ve won, but you are indeed incredibly lucky! At this rate, I’m afraid of what the fourth card could be.”
She flipped over the fourth card.
“Ahhhh! Why? Why did you get this too?” she shrieked.
“What, a card that makes you scream? Let me see... Hm? The picture for this one is kind of boring, huh? Is that a box?”
“Th-This is a ‘storage’ card. You have access to a storage unit that holds an infinite number of items. As long as it isn’t alive, anything in this storage unit will never deteriorate.”
“Whoa! A storage card, huh?! You always need storage!”
“What’s more, this is an extremely rare card. There is only one of these cards in existence, and it can only be obtained if the previous owner relinquishes it or dies. There are normally only 100 Cards of Fate, but this is the special 101st. How lucky are you?”
“For real? That’s awesome! I can’t believe it’s that rare!”
“That’s not all. The card’s new owner also inherits every currently stored item. Any items inside this storage will now be yours!”
“Seriously? So if the previous owner was like a super amazing hero, there could be a legendary sword that can slay the demon king or something in there?”
“That certainly is possible.”
“I didn’t expect to be this OP already. I can just lay back, enjoy my harem, and be super successful like a certain izakaya pub in yet another world, can’t I?”
“Huh? I’m sure anything you desire will be possible.”
“I mean, it’s not like I want to start a pub or anything.”
“Now then, let’s flip over the last card, shall we?”
“Oh, that’s right! Heh heh, judging from how things are going, I bet my last ability will be insanely strong too. Let’s go! What do we have here?”
She flipped over the fifth card.
“Oh my!”
“Hm? What’s wrong? Uh, God, your card-holding hand is trembling.”
“Ah... How could this be?!” God’s shoulders trembled as a few tears sprang to her eyes.
“Did I pull something truly amazing? Man, I sure am lucky!”
“This is a ‘curse’ card. Anyone who chooses this card will, um, well, be reincarnated as whatever took their life.”
“Excuse me?”
“If you were to be killed by an animal, you would become that animal. If you were to fall from a high place to your death, you would become that place.”
“Okay. So if I get eaten by a tiger, I become a tiger. What’s ‘become a place’ mean, exactly?”
“If you fall from a building, you become a building like it. If you fall from a tall mountain, you are reincarnated as a tall mountain.”
“Whaaaaaat?! Hold on a second! Isn’t that a really bad card, then? Besides, what even happens when you ‘become’ a building?”
“If you are reincarnated into something that cannot move on its own, you will still retain your own consciousness, but you will remain immobile until you finally turn to dust.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“Are you serious? I don’t want that! That means I’m gonna be a truck! No matter what powers I have, I’m not gonna be able to move unless someone drives me!”
“I have seen someone get reincarnated as a ship before,” she reassured me. “Though it took many years, they were finally able to move on their own one day. I’m sure you’d be able to do the same.”
“Wait, really? They must be incredible!” I pondered this for a bit. “Hey, God? Getting reincarnated as a truck is a bit much, don’t you think? If I was some sort of animal at least, I would think I’d find some kind of joy in living.”
“I’m very sorry, but as I said earlier, you must accept whatever fate you have chosen. From here on out, please carve your own future with your own two hands.”
“Well, guess there’s no helping it, then. Since I’m going to be reincarnated anyways, I might as well enjoy my new life—well, truck life!”
“You really are quite a positive person.”
“There’s no use crying over spilled milk.”
God chuckled. “Now, the gates to a new world shall open. For the first three days, you will still be able to converse with me, so I hope that puts your mind at ease. May your soul live a healthy life!”
As the words left her lips, my surroundings were enveloped in a warm, blinding light. Yikes, that’s bright!
✦ ✦ ✦
I can’t see or hear anything. So this is how life will be from now on, huh? I’m totally stuck, just as expected. And anyway, can a truck seriously learn to move on its own?
“Furutsu-san, can you hear me? Furutsu-san?”
Hey, God! I can hear you.
“I’m glad you were able to reincarnate proper— Huh?!”
I guess I saw this coming, but I can’t move at all! I don’t have eyes either, so I don’t have any idea what’s going on around me. Well, trucks are made of steel, so I imagine I won’t break easily. But I guess if I was some fine-tuned machine, I might be pretty delicate.
“N-No, that’s not it! Furutsu-san, you’re...”
Hm? What’s not it? Anyway, man, it really is inconvenient to lose all five of your senses. Guess that’s par for the course when you’re a truck, though.
“F-Furutsu-san! You’re not a truck! You’re not a truck at all!”
Huh? I mean, I got hit by a truck, didn’t I? And so the “curse” card made me into—
“I’m telling you that’s wrong! You didn’t die from getting hit by a truck!”
Huh?
“You’re an apple! You’re a picture-perfect bright red apple!”
WHAAAAAAAAAT?!