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Aiming To Be The Best Soccer Player In The World With The Skill I Got From Gacha ~ [Skill] That Grows With More Effort ~

Childhood Chapter

Episode 01 I Played [Gacha]

My name is Kakeru Sato. I was stunned and almost lost my lid when I heard what God told me.

I had been busy with work and lacking in exercise recently.

“I never thought I would die …. Oh, boy …. I’m only 30 years old.”

Yes, I was experiencing the world after death.

Everything was white for as far as the eye could see.

There was a rock standing in the middle of such a pure white space. A tengu** was sitting on top of it and looking this way.

“This is the easiest way to show you what happened.”

A huge screen suddenly appeared and projected moments leading to my death.

The video was played indifferently, and then stopped before I was cremated. Who would enjoy seeing themselves being barbequed?!

It was the worst. It felt like I was right in the midst of a dark cloud where a single ray of light could not penetrate. I was at my wits’ end.

Seeing my own corpse was completely unthinkable.

However, the relatives after my death were unsightly. They were trying to fight over the very little assets I left behind, since I worked for an exploitive foreign company. What are they thinking?

Haaah … so it came down to something like this? Please spare me.

I tried to digest the facts being told, but it did not work.

“W-why am I d-dead?”

That was my first time speaking with God, so I was stammering in confusion. I was shown a video of my death so suddenly.

“Your cause of death was acute myocardial infarction. You were rushed to the hospital, but they couldn’t save you.”

As I thought … I felt a little uncomfortable at first, but it quickly worsened, so I called an ambulance. That was all I could remember.

I guess I wasn’t saved, huh …?

I hope my death was not wasteful. At least my mother would benefit from my life insurance.

I was raised by a single mother, but to think this is how my life ends …. Haaaah ….

“Could this be the time of deciding whether I go to hell or heaven?”

“We can do that if you want, but there’s another option. You may not remember, but my grandson is indebted to you. As a token of my gratitude, I’m giving you another chance to live a second life.”

S-seriously?! A s-second life?! Reincarnation?! Awesome —!!

But … wait a minute. I would certainly remember meeting a tengu, but I could not remember anything. … Could he have mistaken me for someone else? I should go along with it without raising his suspicion.

“Ho ho, I see you have forgotten. Well, I erased your memory to be exact. That time, you were only 6 years old. My cute grandson got lost in the lower world. I was looking for him in a frenzy, but I couldn’t make it in time. You saved my grandson just before he was hit by a car.”

Huh … he can read my thoughts! Did something like that happen?

His grandson who could mimic anything human dropped his wallet → While crying, he was searching for his wallet  → God found his wallet → And then called out to the crying boy who was walking → A car sped toward the grandson → I pulled him fo safety, and we both avoided being hit by the speeding car.

That seemed to be the chronology of the incident.

Well — I don’t remember, but thanks to my little self back then! 　To reiterate, I did not remember that incident at all.

From now on hee hee hee!

A reincarnated life in a different world is waiting for me, yeah —! I’ll create hee hee hee a harem!

I was indulging myself in such a delusion, when suddenly

I heard a thud.

“Hey! Listen to what I have to say until the end. No, it’s not like what you think … I’m sorry to break it to you, but you can only reincarnate on earth.”

Whaaaaaat?!

My dream of reincarnating in another world as a magical warrior ….

Somehow I knew that kind of story would be too good to be true.

“The other world is out of my jurisdiction. But I can do something with my power if it were on earth. I’m sorry about that.”

No, please don’t apologize. Giving me a second chance to live was already a big deal. I had the advantage of 30 years of life experience.

I would pursue the path to become a soccer player that I could not achieve in my previous life.

I started playing soccer in high school because I wanted to change myself. But then I realized that I was serious about becoming a soccer player.

At first, I thought I was a genius and would be selected as a regular member of the soccer team.

But of course, that story was also too good to be true. After three long years, I could not even make it as a bench warmer. I was cheering the team from the sideline every time they played.

At the time, I regretted not starting to play soccer earlier.

I was really thrilled to think that I could play soccer again.

“Looks like you have accepted my offer. I’m really grateful to you. Rest assured, I’ll guarantee you have a healthy body. Besides, the body will be that of a fetus that was originally destined to be a stillborn. You shall grow up with love in a reasonably wealthy family.”

“Thank you very much! This time, I will live my life to the fullest as best I can, with no regrets!”

“Ho, ho, ho, no need to be hasty. Last but not least, I shall ask you to spin [Gacha] three times. You shall be granted whatever [Skills] that come out. Rejoice, this is your favorite cheat!”

“Woah! For real?!”

“Look, just place your hands here and spin.”

Right after God finished his sentence, the white space distorted. A huge, five-meter tall [Gacha Machine] appeared.

“That [Gacha Machine] is packed with things that are likely to be useful to you. A lot of good stuff is packed in there, though what you’ll get is going to be random.”

T-this is awesome! Isn’t this my favorite development?

I love [Gacha]!

My good luck be with these fingers, no, these hands of mine!

Here I go —!!!

I turned the lever.

Gacha! Whir, whir, whir.

I’ve spun it three consecutive times!

This is bad.

My heart won’t stop pounding!! I’m dead, right? Why is my heart pounding?!

I’m nervous.

Excitedly, I took the first one in my hands and opened it.

What popped out of the capsule was

— [Cutting Edge Soccer Studies] —

I-is this a … cheat …?

When I stared at God, he said,

“Ho ho ho, that [Skill] is a book with a video that describes all the soccer studies up to 2050. Of course, it will take a certain amount of effort to master before you can enjoy the knowledge.”

I-I see. Isn’t this pretty good?

Rather than being taught by an inexperienced coach, I could learn and practice based on a reliable scientific source.

Besides, I had put in many years of effort (delusion) so I could further evolve in becoming the strongest soccer player.

“Okay, next one, open the next one. Your time staying here is getting shorter. If you don’t do it quickly, granting the [Skills] will take forever.”

I hurriedly open the rest of the capsules.

— [Dexterity] —

— [Effort ★] —

Oh? What’s with this difficult-to-understand lineup?

I could not anything because I did not know the details regarding these skills.

“Ho, ho, ho, ho! You are pretty lucky! You managed to draw three Luce system skills. All three of them are good [Skills].”

“Luce system? Are they strong [Skills]?”

“They are [Skills] with tremendous potential. This [Effort ★] will be your [Skill] once you cleared the necessary conditions. And Dexterity is a supporting [Skill]. Well, you can check the details in the status description column after reincarnation. Oh? It’s time.”

After God said that, my consciousness gradually faded … out.

“I’m really grateful to you. Live a good life with no regrets.”

Translator’s note:

* Gacha is a vending machine-dispensed capsule toys popular in Japan.

Ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gashapon#Gacha_mechanic

** A tengu is a legendary creature in Japanese folk religion.

Ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tengu