The Greatest Mistake

His breath paused and the air rushing past him ceased its screams. His body smashed into the ground.... or so he thought. 

He opened his eyes hesitantly, and the vision that greeted him was not of the gray sky or the grim hospital building. No, it was something he couldn't imagine, yet had always dreamed of. 

The vision of pure darkness extending as far as he could see. A single seat in the middle of nowhere, and a single Goddess standing opposite, her angelic wings in full bloom. 

[Sit.] 

Her voice commanded. It was an irritable voice for him, far too... unsettling.

He moved his legs and settled onto the seat. His body felt much lighter than when he was alive. 

He stared at the angelic figure before him, studying her features. Her slender body, blonde hair, pure white clothes contrasting the background, four angelic wings spread out, a golden aura emanating from her figure and those ember eyes eyeing him, as if curious.

[You have reached the ending of your story. Your new story will henceforth begin. Consider me a guide to the new world.]

He sat with an unreadable expression, awaiting her next words. 

[I am Goddess Arcia. I am your assigned Goddess. You are about to enter another world, with new rules and lead a new life.]

He closed his eyes and opened them. They had a certain fierceness, burning behind them, an untold rage. 

[You can think of the new world as a video game, you will be assimilated into the system, and it will give you quests. You simply have to complete those quests.]

This was the second chance he had always wanted, always dreamed of, a new start, and this time, he will be a truly...

[The rest of the information will be given to you as the game proceeds. Henceforth, you will be a...]

...selfish...

[... player.]

He contemplated for a while and finally spoke. "But why? Why was I chosen?"

The Goddess chuckled. 

[You think you are special? Everyone who dies in your world starts their new story in this one.]

"...I see."

The thought was chilling to him.

[You have first been summoned here so I can grant you your Three Wishes]

"Three wishes?"

[Within the confines of the rules that it must be within my power, and it must respect the rules of the new worldview, you can ask for any three wishes.]

"Alright, but how will I know I'm not breaking the rules when I wish?"

The Goddess stared into the abyss and contemplated, and then finally looked back and said. 

[The exact details will be too cumbersome to explain. Just ask for a wish, and I'll tell you if I can grant it.]

"That's good enough, I guess..."

He thought for a while. "Obviously, I can't wish for things like infinite money or power, can I? "

The Goddess shook her head.

 [You will enter the world with your stats zero, that is the rule. I cannot grant infinite of anything, anyway.]

"Aha, but you can grant me infinite of not granting me infinite of something." He smirked. 

The Goddess looked at him in stupefaction and processed what he just said. Then a soft smile was worn by her lips.[... you truly are an idiot. It has been a long time since a mortal amused me, I must say. Indeed I can grant that wish, do you want that?]

"No, of course not. Can I wish for some object to take with me?"

The Goddess chuckled and shook her head. 

[Only your soul will travel to the other world. Nothing, no power, no money, no object can be taken there.]

"Well, can I wish for more wishes?"
The Goddess shook her head again.

[That wish is not in my power to grant.]

His face contorted. "Then, what do I even wish for?"

[You can wish for mental or soul related powers. That, you can carry to the other world.]

"Well then can I ask for something like, telepathy or soul manipulation?"

The Goddess narrowed her eyes in annoyance. Was he getting a kick out of asking things she couldn't possibly grant?

[... stop making ridiculous demands. I am not omnipotent.]

He thought for a while.

 "Well then,I wish for knowledge of the entire new world."

The Goddess nodded in approval. 

[That is indeed within my power, however, I can only grant you with knowledge allowed by the system.]

"How much is that?"

[In the beginning, not much.]

"Well then, how about this. I wish that, henceforth, at any given moment, I will have all the knowledge allowed by the system at that moment."

The Goddess contemplated for a while and then nodded in approval. [A clever request. Granted.]

He felt a surge of memories enter him, memories that didn't belong to him, until now, information of the new world, allowed until now. 

[Your second wish?]

He considered it for a while, arranging the newfound information in his head, staring into the abyss beyond the Goddess.

The world will start with a tutorial for the new player, where they will be given an unbreakable sword that couldn't be taken out of the tutorial's wall made of a selective force field, temporary high stats, and they have to kill at least one monster to earn the ticket to exit the tutorial area. Each monster drops a random number of coins and they can kill more than one to earn more coins. The coins can be used to upgrade stats and buy weapons.

"Well then, for my second wish,I wish that the random coin drop from the monster be as great as is in your power to make them."

The Goddess' eyes widened.

 [.... that is indeed possible. You are an interesting mortal, most people ask for things like soul or mental powers.]

'Really? What useful wish do they even ask for?' He wondered inwardly.

[However, the wish only be applicable during the tutorial. Do you still want it?]

He recalled the information. A vast amount of monsters would be present in the tutorial so it shouldn't be a bad wish. 

"Yes, I wish for it."

[Granted. And your third wish, human?]

"Can I save it for later? Is there a time limit on the wish?"

[You must have your wishes before entering the world. That is the rule.]

He thought for a while. He wondered, just how malleable are the rules? Could he convince her to....

"What if we made a deal? Surely, in that big world there must be something you want?"

The Goddess was amused. 

[What kind of deal are you talking about?] 

"If you allow me to save the wish for later, I'll complete one quest given by you."

She studied him for a while, as if testing his expression. 

[It is possible to bypass the power of the rule by the power of the deal. However, there is nothing I wish for in that world.]

"Oh but...."

He needed to think something quickly. 

"What if you want something later? I'm guessing you can't go to the world easily, yourself so you'll have someone down there anytime you want."

The Goddess was amused. 

[That is a weak argument. There is nothing you can grant me, mortal. However, I shall accept the deal, just because you have amused me by the offer.]

He sat there silently and stared at her. She stared back. They stared at each other like this for a while. They both knew it was time for him to depart and studied each other for one last time. 

[... though as a God, I'm not supposed to say this, but don't die.]

"I don't plan to."

The silence lingered once again. Then it was finally time.

 [...I shall now reincarnate you in the next world. Talk to me through the system. Farewell.]

He felt the sight of the Goddess distorting and blurring, his senses warping and finally grinding to a halt. 

The wind once again greeted him. The sensation of his feet touching the ground and the heaviness of his body returned. 

He then saw light again. The vast blue sky opened to him once more, and endless expanse of greenery stood before him as he lay down, his hands and bare feet feeling the warmth of life and the coolness of the grass between them. He slowly pushed himself to his feet. 

A transparent bluish panel opened up in front of him. 

[You are now a part of the system! Enter your new name here: _____]