1 Pilot
Tommy was an average guy. A little above average looks, good work ethic, and he got along with most people alright. He'd done good in school and went on to get a cushy office job that was just fine by him. Got along fine with his coworkers, and was even hit on by a couple of his female coworkers, whose passes he politely declined.
The reason for that is he never really had too much of an interest in women. He felt sexual attraction to them sure, it's just that he'd never found the right one, or so he told himself. However, what he did love were guns and military hardware.
Where others in college would be going on dates or to dances, he'd be in his room watching combat footage or guntubers. He had a large fascination with the tools of military trade, from the most benign civilian firearm to hulking chainguns like the GAU-8, his fascination was never sated.
Another aspect of his life was his love of Japanese media. Never much for anime, manga, and light novels really hit his interests. He'd been pretty fond of isekai and the like, as generic as it could be at points, in fact, some of the more generic examples were his favorites. And while not often, rarely these two interests would blend perfectly creating an awesome trip through fiction. He had to hand it to some of the writers that knew their shit in terms of military shit that had the ability to incorporate it into such odd places as high fantasy.
Well, it wasn't like he'd ever get to experience anything like it, he thought as he started packing his things getting ready to head home for the day. He said his goodbyes to his coworkers and declined a few offers for drinks as tonight he just wanted to get home relax, and maybe scroll through gunbroker or the like. He smiled imagining such as he left the building.
He happily walked his normal route to the bus stop, watching the evening sky turn darker as he went. He waited his turn at the crosswalk, before safely walking across. Just any other day he smiled to himself. He sat down at the bus stop waiting for the bus. He checked his watch and saw that it'd be showing up in five or so minutes.
As he was waiting a nice-looking lady sat down on the other side of the bench. He wasn't one to stare but he noted her sharp features and pretty build. He was thinking of starting up a conversation when he heard the bus approaching. The girl heard it too and she stood up ready to get on, only she was looking at her phone and didn't notice what was wrong.
The bus driver was driving erratically, and it didn't quite seem he was slowing down at all, or even yielding for traffic for that matter. Tommy felt instinctually something was about to go terribly terribly wrong, and when the bus turned and barreled towards the stop, he could see why.
The girl looked up from her phone and a look of horror covered her face. He watched as in almost slow motion she dropped her phone as she stared at the oncoming bus like a deer in the headlights. It was close, and only getting closer. He knew he could likely escape it, but it didn't seem she would get out of the way in time.
He made his peace with god and made his choice, running to her and shoving her. Her expression wavered as she fell and hit the ground. As she hit the ground he saw her face contort and heard her scream. It was the last thing he'd see as he heard crunching metal. His world went back as pain engulfed his being.
~~~
He blinked rapidly opening his eyes. The world was bright, too bright. He shielded his eyes from the blinding light and breathed a sigh of relief, he must be in the hospital he thought. Slowly but surely, his eyes adjusted to the light and he was able to look around. His heart sunk, this wasn't a hospital.
He looked around and saw that everything was white. The ground felt fluffy and cloudlike. It was almost comically like a depiction of heaven you'd see in cheese movies. He sat down and clutched his head in his hands. He'd died, no going back from this, whatever this is. But then he felt guilty as he remembered the girl.
"Don't worry, she made it with only some cuts and scrapes," a soft feminine voice said.
He slowly looked up and nearly gasped as he took in the beautiful figure before him.
"You however my unfortunate friend..." her face took on a sad look of empathy.
He swallowed taking it in. He'd died in the accident but had managed to save the girl. And now, he was here, wherever here was.
"I'm sorry Tommy," she said and he could see genuine sympathy in her eyes, "You did in fact die. The normal bus driver received a call that set him completely off, his wife was leaving him, and the court ruled that she'd take his kids. He ended up drinking heavily on his break and then..." she took a look at him.
He nodded sadly. While he hadn't had the most extravagant or fulfilling life, he had enjoyed his little piece of the world.
"That's it then," he mumbled sadly to himself, "Do not pass go do not collect 200 dollars," he gave himself a wry emotionless smile.
"And I suppose you're here to see me off then?" He asked the beautiful woman before him.
"Well yes, and no," she told him
"You could indeed go on to whatever's next or you could listen to what I have to offer."
He looked up at her with a slight glimmer of hope.
"While you can't go back to Earth I have a couple alternate options for you," she said.
She looked at him to gauge whether he was with her or not, "I can have you reborn in another world, in which you would start from scratch but likely lead a fulfilling normal life, or you could happen to have been summoned to the said world through a ritual. Of course, being summoned to another world you'd be granted a good few powers, some powers that I figure you would really, really appreciate. I can't exactly foresee just who or for what purpose you'd be summoned, but I can guarantee a safe summoning. You can choose one of those two or go on to whatever's next for you. It's up to you, no pressure either way."
Color returned to his face. He'd have a chance to really become a protagonist of some isekai like adventure. Hell, this was the dream of a lot of people, and he'd have it handed to him on a silver platter! Of course, he was still mournful for the loss of his life, but the thought of being a summoned hero or something similar... it was something he couldn't possibly pass up.
"What kind of powers would I be given exactly?" he asked her.
She smiled, "How about being able to summon all sorts of modern toys, the kind of which you could only ever fantasize about having or wielding back on Earth. You would have the ability to use these modern marvels of war, divine instruments of destruction, mankind's greatest killing machines, and have all of this within a fantasy-type world."
"I'd be completely lying if I said you didn't have my interest," he told her, "But what about leveling and systems that generally limit the power of characters in the books about this type of thing I've read?"
"Well, I admittedly can't give you everything from the start, but it would be a very loose system that evolved depending on the need. You would have the ability to contact me whenever you need, and I you, to negotiate terms and equipment. However, there is one thing about this world that would be quite different from what you've read about, though it may not necessarily be a bad thing." she told him.
"What exactly would be so different?" he asked worriedly.
"Unfortunately I can't give you the details, but I can assure you it wouldn't be anything major. Nothing world-shattering, just something that might be a little... 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵." she warned.
"So I suppose I would have to take your word on it huh," he asked.
"Unfortunately yes. But I promise you on my honor as a Goddess, that may even turn out to be a good thing for you," she told him.
"Alright, I accept. But what should I call you?" he asked.
"Aleina would be fine," she offered
"Well, I know you already know me and likely everything about me, but I'm Tommy, a pleasure to meet you," he offered her his hand with a smile.
"You can never be too polite," she agreed with him, "I look forward to working with you Tommy."
"As do I," he replied.
She spoke something he couldn't understand and once more, The world went black.
