A Chance of A New Life

 Ian felt like he was surrounded by pillows. Feeling something wrong, he opened his eyes as he stood up, his action mimicked by Kell, who was right beside him.

 "Whe-where are we?" Kell asked. He wished he had a clue.

 They seemed to be above the cloud, the floor they standing on being literal clouds. Aside from that, there seem to be no walls wherever they are.

 As they looked around, a voice greeted them, "Look like you both awake," 

 Jumping slightly, they spotted the source of the voice, a young boy who gave them a toothy grin.

 "Did I surprise you? Sorry for that," the boy apologized.

 "Yes, and where are we? Didn't both of us die in the explosion" Ian asked. After all, he still remembered the sensation of shrapnel piercing his body while the searing heat cooked him at the same time.

 "For the last question, yes, both of you die," not a surprise there, "As for the first question, it related to the latter. You see, normally, when you die, you will go to heaven or hell based on what you did in your life," he explained.

 "So the afterlife is real. Good to know," Ian remarked.

 "Yes, it is. However, sometimes, certain people will be given the choice to start a new life in another world," at that moment, Ian's eyes widened.

 "Wait, you are telling me, we will be given a chance to isekai to another world?" he asked in excitement. A fake cough suddenly reminded him of another person's presence.

 Slowly turning his head, he saw Kell giving him a teasing smile. At that moment, Ian wanted to dig a hole and stay there for eternity.

 "Yes, in a way, you are right. Normally, we will not give any power up to the said person, as it is their choice and they should live with their choices.

 However, there are exceptions. Namely, if you did a good deed that was approved by the higher beings, aka the gods, like me," the boy, sorry, the god, continued when Ian almost despised the fact of not having any golden finger.

 "Good deed? I could understand Ian because he sacrificed his life to make sure everyone could come out alive, but what did I do to deserve this?" Kell managed to ask before he could shut the oaf's big mouth.

 "Let's just say not wanting to leave your friends alone and willing to die with him made almost all, if not all gods being moved. So, they decided to allow this.

 Before you, there had never been any precedence of two people being sent at once to the other world, much less the same one at that.

 But considering how close you are, we decided to allow this once. So, will you accept?"

 Before Kell could accept it, Ian closed the bigger boy's mouth and said, "After we ask some questions first. Is that allowed?"

 "Hhmm, okay, go ahead," surprisingly, the god did not seem to be annoyed by it.

 "First of all, what kind of world are we being sent to?" Ian asked his first question.

 "If going by the genre in your world, it would be a fantasy world, with magic and different races inhabiting it," the god answered.

 "Second, do we need to do anything like defeating a big baddy or something?" while he could use the term demon lord, there might be other types of evil, like a tyrant who ruled over the world or a powerful monster that could be a cataclysm. 

 "If you want to," seeing how they look, the god elaborates, "You are given a second chance in living, not summoned there to do the bidding of the people or gods there. So, you defeat the big baddy if you want to,"

 "Thanks and for the third one, what is the advantage we will be given?" he asked.

 "Ahahah! That, I could not tell you. Only after you accept being sent to the other world will you learn of the golden finger the gods decided for you," the god explained to him.

 "That sounds like something out of a scam but I don't think a god will step so low so I will accept it," Ian told the god before looking at Kell.

 "So old buddy, what do you think? Do you want to go to heaven or do you want to live your life in another world?" he asked Kell, who seemed to be in deep thought.

 "Why do you ask me?" the bigger boy asked.

 "Because if I say yes, you will follow me. Considering you die because of you choosing to accompany me, at least this time, you will decide," Ian explained to the big oaf.

 "In that case, I accept. I want to live my life to the fullest but considering we die because those robbers bombed the mall, then we just have to do it in another world," Kell decided.

 "But before that, can we see our parents and what they are doing?" Kell asked the god first. 

 "An easy and reasonable request, I allow it," the god snapped his finger and the two watched as the air in front of them flickered before turning into a screen.

 There, they saw their parents, both Ian's and Kell's weeping in front of a coffin. "Considering how close you two are, your parents decided to just have you buried together," the god explained, pretending to not see the tears forming in their eyes.

 "T-thanks, for showing us that," Ian managed to say, his voice cracking as he sobbed, Kell doing the same thing. The god left them be, knowing they needed some time of their own.

-x-

 After some time, the god returned, the two had shed enough tears for now. "So, I will now give you the advantage, namely a system,"

 At that moment, they could see a screen forming in front of them. "I am going to explain to you about systems and the world you are going to.

 First, the world. The world is of fantasy setting. But unlike in the manga or novel, there are no levels there. The only way to determine someone's strength and value is their capabilities and skills.

 Skills are abilities that one could learn from practicing, from just swinging a sword to blasting an enemy with magic. Then there is talent. Talent is what determines what you are good at. For example, you may be good at swords and receive a talent called Sword Master which increases your proficiency in sword-wielding.

 Now this is where your system comes in. In exchange for points, you can acquire skills and talents. You can still learn skills in the normal ways so better to exchange them for talents. 

 I am not going to tell you anymore so you can make your own choice. Also, the name of your system will be varied depending on what you are good at. So, just look for the system's name and you can see what you are good at," the god told them.

 Kell did it and spotted the name of his system quickly, "Cool. Weapon Master System. With this system, you can increase your talents and skills regarding different types of weapons. Choose whether to be proficient in one weapon or be a jack of all trades. Sound good, what did you get, buddy?"

 Kell turned to his friend. At that moment, he could feel a terrifying miasma being emitted by the bespectacled boy, who seemed to tremble. Before he could ask what was wrong, the boy exploded.

 "What the hell is this?! Why did I get a support class system?!" he yelled.

 Kell quickly saw the description of the system and almost laughed out loud.

 < Support Mage System - Every protagonist requires a sidekick. With this system, you will be the perfect sidekick of the protagonist. You can cast buffs from increasing strength to healing. You can also enchant items into magical items. You can also cast magic to help the protagonist in destroying the enemy >

 "I think this will suit you," before Ian could tear a literal god, the god continued, "With this, you don't have to be in the spotlight. The protagonist, your friend, will take the spotlight while you can just be in the shadow and not have to worry about a thing,"

 Ian went silent. Kell wondered if it will work when the god asked, "So, do you want-" "Frick off," the god was brutally cut by his best friend.

 "This system is mine and I am going to rip apart anyone that dared to take it away from me," Kell could not help but look at the good with awe. To be able to make the stubborn Ian accept something like this, only a god could achieve that. Or someone that knew him well enough, he thought about it more.

 "If that is the case, then I will send you the" "Wait," 

 "What is it?" the god clearly annoyed by the sudden intrusion. "Can we have simple equipment, like a sword or something for our identity, along with some clothes that suit the world? Nothing fancy, just enough to allow us to claim as travelers without anyone suspecting anything,"

 "Hhmm, make sense. I allow it but it will be basic. Also, before I forget, you need to learn more about the world yourself. Along with what your system could do. For the former, I will tell you what is essential.

 First, the name of the world would be Althron. You will be sent to the town of Thrine. Everything else will be up to you. So, good luck and may you have a great second life," the god said.

 A portal formed in front of them. Without saying anything else, aside from a quick thanks, they entered the portal, eager to start their new life.