Chapter 1: Alexandra Mercer

Alexandra Mercer didn't like her name too much. For several reasons, but the biggest reason was that she shared her full name with a character in one particular video game. For a fourteen-year-old with a weak immune system, this was just a dark joke. Some would say that a long-forgotten game shouldn't affect her life much, but when your name is literally the same as the protagonist's from a video game about a deadly virus, it's pretty hard to ignore.

Was it ironic that the first game she bought was Prototype? Yes. Did she find it funny when she learned the plot? Very much, but she would never admit it to her family.

The Mercer family consisted only of her parents, her younger brother, and herself. Alex tried her best to fulfill her role as big sister, and she was pretty good at it, even if the younger Mercer always looked at her with concern. Mr. and Mrs. Mercer often looked at her with the same concerned eyes, but she chose to ignore it.

She spent most of her time either at home or – again – in the hospital. She didn't have many friends, just a couple of people she talked to online. She usually spent her free time playing video games, watching movies and anime, or reading research on chemistry. From chemistry studies she moved on to physics, and from there she began to study an integral part of any science – weapons produced with its help.

She looked at everything from simple handguns to biological weapons, from grenades to nuclear bombs. And after several readings, she thought she understood how it all worked, at least in theory.

To be honest, the day when the FBI officers appeared on their doorstep was one of the most interesting in her life. They showed her search history and asked two important questions:

"Is that your search history?" and "Why?"

Alex just shrugged and muttered: "I wanted to know more about the world." Deciding that she can't say that she was pleased to know that there are ways in the world to die much worse than illness.

Alex has often been ill all her life and has gotten used to weak muscles and headaches over time. A common cold could knock her down for a month, sometimes even for several, but she still tried to live her life to the fullest.

Her family knew about her desire and therefore they tried to spend as much time with her as possible. Their longer holidays were held in different countries each time, and the last country where Alex visited before her death was Japan.

But this story is not about the life of Alexandra Mercer, oh no. This story is about what happened after her death.

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Goddess Aqua, the head of the Axis cult looked at her paperwork and barely held back tears. The blue-haired woman with a perfect figure wanted to hit her head on the table, but she knew that it would bring more pain to her than to the wood. This month's quota for reborn souls was incredibly high (two souls more than usual) and she didn't know where she would find enough brave people (idiots) to dare to be reborn in a new world! The last potential Hero (a lazy, perverted NEET without a slightest chance of surviving in a new world without cheats) flatly refused her request for no good reason!

She didn't have much time before the deadline and Aqua was praying… erm… to whoever she could pray to, for two more eligible candidates to die in Japan. And who would have thought, her prayers were answered!

Two files emerged from a Magic Circle and the Goddess whooped in joy as they fell on her dark oak table. She grabbed the first one that came to her hand and, without even reading the contents, called on the first candidate.

While the other Magic Circle transferred the Hero's soul to her realm, Aqua began to read the file and barely concealed her cry of happiness. Her new Hero has been sick and helpless all her life, she'll definitely grab the first opportunity to become stronger! Oh, and look at this cause of death! Now all she had to do was finish this girl and call on the second one!

Alexandra Mercer finally appeared in front of her and blinked a couple of times in confusion. She looked exactly like the photo in her file: long curly brown hair, stone gray eyes, and a thin face with slightly tanned skin. But Aqua didn't expect her to be so short… She looked at the file again– yep, exactly one hundred fifty centimeters and fifty kilograms. No wonder she looks like a walking skeleton. She was wearing charcoal black pants with a green tank-top that allowed Aqua to see her thin arms.

The Goddess waited a couple of seconds for her new Hero to recover and cleared her throat to get her attention. She looked around, trying to figure out exactly how she ended up in a royal-looking room with windows leading to a blinding-white nowhere, but in the end her eyes fell on Aqua, so she stashed that thought for later.

"Welcome to the afterlife, Mercer-san." Alex frowned, but Aqua ignored it and continued talking. "Unfortunately, you died. However, you got an extremely rare chance. It's even more fascinating than going to heaven or being reborn as a baby!"

There was a beat of silence before Alex started talking. "We'll deal with the fact that I'm dead later. You speak Japanese? Why do you speak Japanese? What's the point if the whole planet speaks different languages?"

A little taken aback by the sudden question, Aqua had to gather herself to support her image of the Goddess. 'I'll follow the script for now.' "My name is Aqua! And I have something nice for you. I am a Goddess who guides the souls of young humans who've died in Japan. So, it makes sense that I speak Japanese." She added as an afterthought.

Alex looked skeptical, but didn't say anything, preferring to inspect her surroundings. The endless darkness served as the walls of the room, and the black and white tiles on the floor stretched further than the human eye could see. The windows she had seen before were literally hanging in the air, so she had little doubt that this was reality. But just in case, she pinched her hand anyway to try to wake up – everything remained the same as it was.

"So… I died how exactly? The last thing I remember is when I went to sleep at the hotel." She tried to remain serious because right now she was literally talking to a fucking Goddess, you never know what she would do if she was pissed off.

But to her surprise, Aqua let out a giggle that soon became a full belly laughter. Alex didn't know what was happening at all and she had to wait for her to calm down. "Huu~ you– after so many years of being sick and fighting for your life, you– you– Bwahahaha!"

'Okay, I take my words back. She's not a Goddess, she's a source of annoyance.' Alex's eyebrow twitched, she decided that since she was dead and still not in hell, she didn't care what would happen next. She approached the Goddess's table and snatched the file she was reading from her hands and began to read it herself.

"... Death by a fallen ceiling fan? That's not even funny." She whined. "Why am I here?" Aqua quickly regained her composure and remembered why she summoned her soul to this domain.

"Ah, right!" She sat up abruptly and wiped the last of her tears from the corners of her eyes. "You see, there is a world different from yours, it's a world of sword and magic, similar to those video games you've played before! Sort of like an MMORPG in real life!"

She immediately took a step back; she didn't like the enthusiasm with which she talked about this world. 'I swear she has a crazy light in her eyes.'

"What's the trick?" She asked.

"No, no. No tricks. Well… there's an existence called the Demon King. Because of the advance of the Demon King Army, the world is in danger. People who were killed by scary monsters don't want to be reborn!" How she said it with a straight face, Alex would never know. "And since mankind would die out and perish at this rate, it was decided that someone who died in another world will be sent here. Someone like you who died young and did not even have the chance to feel the taste of life!"

She repeated her words in her head several times. "You do realize that this sounds like a death trap? If even the people who lived in that world refuse to reborn, then why should I?"

Aqua spun in place and raised her arms, trying to give off the impression of a mighty Goddess. "So why don't you take a chance in your hands and not live a full life? Kill the Demon King and become a Hero! Just like in a video game!"

Yeah, she looked like a crazy cultist, alright.

'She just ignored me?' Alex took another step back and shook her head. "No. I'll die there on the first day," she crossed her arms over her chest. "I know how every Isekai would actually go: a reborn person without any knowledge of the world and documents will end up either in prison, in a grave, or in a lab deep down underground. So, fuck no."

Aqua immediately grabbed Alex by the shoulders and started shaking her like a ragdoll with tears in her eyes.

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"Why?! It's fun there! A world full of swords and magic! If you kill the Demon King, the Gods will grant you a wish! This month's quota is really harsh! It's either you or another NEET pervert!"

Alex pushed her hands away – she didn't succeed, she was too weak for that – and almost fell when she let go.

"Do you see me?! My body is skin and bones! I can't fight with this!" She flexed her thin-ass arm. "See?"

Aqua's eyes lit up again and she abruptly turned to face the table. Alex didn't have time to look away and now she knew that even Goddesses have quite a human anatomy. 'But why isn't she wearing any–'

"Don't worry about it! The person who goes there will have an amazing Perk!" She took out another old leather tome and opened it at a random page, showing descriptions of rare divine items.

"And you're only talking about this now!?" 'Was she hoping I'd just go into this new world with my bare ass? If I go there, I'll take everything I can with me.' She was ready to hit her with a slipper, but then remembered that she didn't even have socks on, so she decided to hold back for a while.

"Even if you go to the other side, it'd be pointless if you died right away, right?" She ignored Alex's shouts. "Some are amazing unique powers, while others are ridiculous abilities. You can even have some sacred treasured weapon." She shoved the book into the girl's hands with tears in her eyes. "So please, consider helping!"

Alex really wanted to refuse. Really. But she didn't have much choice and didn't really want to know exactly where her soul would go after death. Hell was quite a possibility given the life she had lived.

Sighing heavily, Alex picked up the book. "Okay, let me see what's in there." Aqua let out a high squeal of happiness and walked over to her desk. She sank into a chair and looked at Alex expectantly.

Alex opened the table of contents and looked at everything the book had to offer. Immediately she dismissed the idea of choosing any kind of weapon. Weapons could be broken, lost, or stolen; she doesn't need those problems.

Left with powers, abilities, and other perks, Alex thought about how she could throw away everything that wouldn't suit her future possible class. The book in her hands instantly became lighter by half. She looked at the pages in shock and noticed that the weapons and several dangerous powers had disappeared. 'Why didn't it do this sooner?!'

"This fucking book works worse than its owner. It's a miracle." She muttered and continued to look at the contents of the book until her eyes landed on one particular page. Alex read the name of the power, then the description. And again. And then again. Finally, she looked at Aqua who took out some chips and a magazine – written in a language unknown to her – from somewhere.

Alex put the book on the table and jabbed her finger at the page. "Are you serious? What genius decided to add [Blacklight Virus, but! no virus] here?"

[Blacklight Virus, but! no virus:

Blacklight Virus is an evolutionary chimeric mutation-causing infectious agent that can reproduce only inside the living cells of other biological organisms. But because we don't want to destroy our good old world, the Blacklight is now only yours! Live with it! Become a one-man (or woman) army today!]

"And why are there incomplete descriptions everywhere? It looks like a bad joke."

To be honest, Alex liked the abilities that the Blacklight virus gave. The fact that the main character shared a name with her attracted her to the game, but she stayed because of the gameplay. She knew how the virus worked, so she didn't need an explanation much. The problem was that every ability was described like this.

"Huh?" Aqua skimmed over the contents of the page, but ended up shrugging her shoulders. "I don't know, most likely someone from the higher ups put it there. What's the problem?"

Alex just turned around and lay down on the ground. She refused to deal with this shit immediately after her death. "Nay. Nein. Nyet. No. Ikke. Send me on my next great journey, I've been ready to die since the age of twelve." She put her hands behind her head and closed her eyes. "Even Hell has to be better than this bullshit."

Strangely enough, Aqua didn't start crying and begging her to be reincarnated, she just tilted her head and looked at Alex in a new Light. This wasn't a person who the Goddes could bargan with. But she needed to finish the quota of today's month by all means necessary. "Say, if you wanted to be reborn, what would you choose?"

Alex didn't even have to think long. "Considering that I know all the pros and cons of the Blacklight virus, then I would choose it. I don't like how this power is hooked at eating humans, but it's cool. Now send me away, stop stalling."

Aqua clapped her hands and smiled slyly. "Great! Now I'll send you to Axel, a city in the country of Belzerg. It's a city full of noobs, the perfect place for an aspiring hero!"

Alex abruptly got up and wanted to yell at Aqua, but suddenly she felt lightheaded. Her head spun and she fell back to the ground, she tried to say a word, but from her throat came only gurgling sounds.

"Now then, Hero. You should begin your journey to take out the Demon King!" Aqua announced and a Magic Circle appeared under Alex feet. The girl disappeared in a flash of light and left the Goddess to herself. Aqua rubbed her chin and looked at the second file.

"Sato Kazuma. Dies in a week… Well, a NEET like him will jump at the chance to be reborn at the first opportunity. Just one more soul and I'll meet the quota!" She cheered, not knowing that the deal with Kazuma wouldn't go according to plan.

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Alex blinked a couple of times to get rid of the dark spots in her vision – for the second time today, mind you. She was lying on a small clearing in the depths of the forest and trying to figure out exactly why she was still alive. Alex sighed heavily and sat down, took a deep breath and began to spit out every obscene word that was in her arsenal.

"You blue-haired bitch!" Hearing her first shout, the nearest birds flew away as far as possible from the idiot who decided to scream in the forest. "I said that I don't want to be reborn in any fucked-up world full of death and demon shit! I will destroy your every church and piss on the rubble!" By the time she finished shouting, she was already on her feet. She stopped to catch her breath and slowly calmed down.

The forest around wasn't too dense, but the wide crowns of the trees didn't allow even a ray of light to break through the leaves. Alex looked around, but there were only trees and bushes. The problem was that the trees were a little… wrong. The shape of the leaves was a bit off the mark, the tree trunks were too thick and a bunch of not so important little things were wrong too.

Alex ran her hand through her long hair and sighed heavily. "I was hoping that something else would be waiting for me after death, not this." Deciding that she would achieve nothing just by standing still, she picked up a stick from the ground and put its thin end up. The stick fell to the ground and pointed to the right, so that's where she headed.

The forest around her was getting thicker with every step Alex took, but she didn't have time to think about the structure of flora in the new world. She put all thoughts aside for later, preferably when she had a roof over her head or at least when she would be within the city walls. Alex wiped her forehead from sweat and frowned. 'Why is it so hot in here?'

After an hour of walking, she began to feel her skin burning, and her strength began to waver. Alex frowned even more and leaned against a tree, trying to stay conscious for a while longer. She wasn't sure what was happening to her, but suddenly one thought hit her like a hammer on an anvil.

"That bitch actually infected me with the Blacklight virus." She slowly slid down the tree to the ground and coughed. Alex wiped her mouth with her hand and teared up when she saw the blood on her palms. "It enters, re-purposes and changes the cell. The new cell replicates with formerly dormant non-encoding regions active, causing drastic biological changes."

She blinked and felt something warm trickle down her face. A drop of blood fell from her cheek onto the damp ground, causing Alex to frown even harder. "I'm actually crying blood…? Man, the last time I felt this bad was after I ended up in a barrel of ice-cold water at four o'clock in the morning…"

For a couple of minutes, she fought against the desire to fall asleep, but in the end her eyelids became too heavy and she lost consciousness.

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