I look at the being in front of me, confusion clear on my face.
"Please, take a seat."
He waves his hand, and an expensive-looking chair materializes in front of me. I sit down and look back at him.
"What is happening? Is this some kind of dream? Afterlife, maybe?
"A dream? No. Afterlife? To some, yes. However, you have been chosen by the Cosmic Wheel."
"What?"
He turns to the right, revealing a gigantic wheel in the distance. It's roughly twenty meters tall and twice as wide.
"Really? A literal wheel?"
"Yes. We place the names of individuals with suitable souls onto the wheel and spin it. You were chosen. Now, you will be given a choice."
"What kind of choice?"
"Clear a mission for me. Just one mission—and the rest of your life is yours."
I blink for a few seconds and say.
"That's it? What's the catch?"
"Catch? There is none. I'm not a fiend trying to claim your soul. I want results, and being straightforward produces better outcomes. It even makes a lot of past agents return for more work and have the same enthusiasm."
"And how does this work?"
He snaps his fingers. A second later, three holograms appear in front of me. They're very familiar. These are my CYOA builds I made in the past. All of them are coming from the same CYOA.
"CYOA? Really?"
"Yes. Out of the eleven builds you created, only these three meet my requirements. Choose one, and I'll send you to that world with the mission in mind. Some builds will make you forget the setting—though you'll retain everything else."
He looks me directly in the eyes.
"So, which one will you pick?"
Without hesitation, I choose the middle one.
"Oh? NieR: Automata, huh? Why not the others?"
"And throw myself into the FGO or Warhammer universes? Don't get me wrong, FGO has plenty of waifus that I want to get close to, but it's also a death world packed with existential disasters waiting to kill me. I'd gain strong powers, sure, but I'm not confident I could stand up to the real monsters there. If it is Fate Stay Night or Fate Zero, I will pick them without hesitation, but it is FGO. Yeah… I'd rather not."
I shake my head.
"And don't even get me started on Warhammer. Especially 40k. Even dying doesn't get you out of trouble there—you still have to deal with the Four or whatever other horrors decide to notice you."
"Fair enough. Still, it's a shame you didn't choose Warhammer 40k. That universe has… many problems."
"Then give better points next time. A bonus hundred would be nice when you pick that world as the starting world. Outside of Sandbox, which I know you will not pick, there are not a lot of points to outweigh the fact that Warhammer 40k is an extreme world."
He chuckles.
"A tempting idea. But even I must be careful when granting boons to mortals. There's a reason CYOA includes drawbacks, you know? They temper the soul, mind, and body, allowing you to wield more power safely. Without them, your soul will explode and disappear into nothingness."
"Huh. Is that how it works? Interesting."
He nods, still watching me closely.
"So? Do you accept?"
I think it over.
With this build, I'll forget the setting. But that's not the goal of the build anyway. It's designed for a slice-of-life experience, one where I help androids trapped in an endless war against machine lifeforms. The goal is also to restore the planet to its previous glory.
Meta-knowledge isn't necessary for what I am going with this build.
As for power…
I'm a Pre-Mending Planeswalker centered on colorless mana, much like Ugin, while still retaining access to all five colors. I also possess the mental faculties of Niv-Mizzet.
That means I can mentally simulate spells, refining them instantly. A spell that would take days to learn could be mastered in moments. The same with rituals, warding magic, and formation magic. On top of that, I have an innate mind-rending touch—a graze is enough to destroy someone's consciousness. With enough control, it can be shaped into something far more precise. It is similar to the ability Nicol Bolas possesses.
That combination alone is enough to break worlds.
And I'm still not done.
I chose Easy Mode. What does this mean? It means that I receive 100 SP and 100 CP. I can take more power.
What is my next power? My body is no longer human, but transhuman—a 2.8-meter-tall (~9 feet) pinnacle of genetic perfection forged by the Imperium of Man.
That's right. I'm an Adeptus Custodes.
However, I am not done. I also acquire the knowledge necessary to rival the famed Custodian Ra Endymion in combat and can continue to grow stronger.
I'm a one-man army. With proper equipment, I could face hundreds alone.
It's unfortunate that I don't receive standard Custodes wargear—but that's why I chose my final power.
Inspired Inventor.
It allows me to create advanced technology by investing charges into specializations. I receive ten charges daily, each equivalent to four SP under the CYOA rules. However, unlike direct power, it provides me with knowledge that enables me to build the tech from those specializations.
These charges reset every twenty-four hours.
That means constant growth. Once a specialization reaches a high enough level, the technology I create can achieve effects indistinguishable from magic.
Time manipulation. Spatial distortion. Matter creation.
With enough time, I could rival even Necron technology. Sadly, it will take years or even decades before I can reach their level. However, I have the potential to reach Necron on their highest level.
To support that growth, I also selected an item called the [Base Builder 9000], allowing me to operate like an RTS commander. It allowed me to create things from the blueprint inside it and gather materials without any tools. Not only that, but it can also create things very fast.
It truly makes me into a commander in an RTS game.
There's one more power—from the Type-Moon universe. I chose it mainly to spend my remaining points, but it's far from useless. It grants me a pull toward the downtrodden—those steeped in despair. I can nudge their perspective, help them see light where they see none.
This build was never about conquest.
It's about living and helping others live better. It is a build that lets me go on adventures, helping people, and heal the planet.
"Yeah," I say. "Let's do this."
"Excellent. I'll drop you at your chosen starting location. Once you complete this mission, we can discuss further work—with proper point-based compensation."
"What's my mission?"
"Simple. Destroy the Machine Lifeforms. Locate their main server and eliminate it. Virus, orbital strike, conceptual erasure—I don't care. As long as you don't tear reality itself, any method is acceptable."
"Got it. Will I remember what the Machine Lifeforms are?"
He grins.
"Nope. You'll recognize your target when you encounter it. You'll know something must be destroyed—but not what, until you see it. When you encounter your first machine, you will know that you need to destroy the one producing them."
"That works, I guess."
He claps his hands, and reality shifts.
The white void fractures into an infinite spectrum of color, swallowing me whole. When sensation returns, I'm lying on the ground beside the ruins of a building.
Where the hell am I?
I frown as I realize something's missing. ROB has already removed my memory of this world.
I know I have a mission—to destroy something—but I don't know what.
He did say I'd recognize it when I saw it.
That means that it can wait. For now, a problem is approaching me.
A two-meter-tall boar stares at me from a distance, pawing at the ground as it prepares to charge.
Looks like my isekai adventure starts with a fight.
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