Office worker to Ruler

Music was blasting in my car to keep me awake on the drive home, like usual I had stayed much past my scheduled clock out time. Truly I didn't mind the overtime, it made my checks look good at the end of each month as well as funding my hobby.

Blacksmithing.

It was my true passion, regardless of my skill at said hobby. My best "blade" was a deformed pitiful attempt at a KA-BAR knife. It was no sharper than a cheap butter knife, but I took great pleasure in using it for such.

It felt good to forge my own things, and I knew one day I would become good enough that other people would want to use them as well. Too bad that tonight I was too tired to work on my newest project.

I parked my car in my driveway and walked past the door to my workshop as I headed in to my house. Not even bothering to shower or take my clothes off as soon as my head hit the pillow everything went black.

Only it was immediately illuminated again by the pale golden glow of a lamp sitting on a table that slowly grew brighter until it fully lit the room. It was strange though, no matter how bright the light got it didn't cause any discomfort to look at. If anything it was pleasing to the eyes and I would have continued to stare at it had I not noticed the handsome black haired young man sitting behind the desk that held the lamp.

He wore a neatly kept grey suit that hid his obviously athletic build. His hands were resting with their fingers locked over his knee that was crossed over his left leg. He was staring intently at me with with bright gold eyes. No pupils or whites just pure gold eyes.

His mouth formed into a smile as he waved a hand and a chair appeared beneath me and I was guided into its comfortable embrace. It was only then that I noticed I had been standing even though I had fell asleep on my stomach on my bed.

"Thank you." I said with a nod and his smile widened as he returned it.

"Well then, let's go ahead get everything going shall we?" He pulled a notebook from a drawer of his desk and began flipping through the pages with interest.

"Charlie Carron, office worker and a blacksmith in your spare time. No immediate family or close friends, just 2 dogs that's been with you since your parents died and you got your own place." I immediately looked around for Chachi. He was a big Rottweiler that I had originally gotten as a guard dog, but found out that he wasn't much of one.

The poor gentle giant was scared of his own shadow after all, leading me to guard him from any intruders and various inanimate objects. That's when I spotted him laying on the floor next to my other dog, Ruby. She is a golden retriever with a unique almost cherry blond fur that I got to keep Chachi company and be a sort of emotional support dog.

Even though Chavhi outweighed her by about 30 pounds, he would curl up against her and she would clean him as if he were a puppy. And that's what I saw when I spotted them laying on the ground beside me.

"Yes, they are alright. When I brought you here, they wouldn't let you go alone so I had to bring them along." The man said but I could of swore I heard him mumble something about it costing me later. I shuddered under his gaze, but straightened up and mustered the same confidence I did when speaking with my boss or other superiors.

"So… I died? This is like one of those isekai novels?" I questioned and his smile widened slightly and he nodded.

"Indeed." He confirmed and began leading through the notebook once again humming as he did so. The tone at which his hum resonated made my heart skip a beat, it was melodic and possibly the most beautiful thing I'd ever heard.

Chachi and Ruby had moved to either side of me and my hand now rested on their heads and I felt a wave of calmness wash over me. This was interrupted by the man's voice.

"Usually. You would be allowed to choose where you would like to be reborn, go to the afterlife or go to oblivion and have your soul repurposed for a new consciousness. However I have something I need done, and since I already took the liberty of bringing your companions with you I feel no guilt in putting this task upon you." He snapped the notebook close and laid it on the desk, leaning forward and picking up a glass of the table that hadn't been there before.

"And what is it that you need done exactly?" I asked immediately, not really sure why I felt so casual discussing my death. Or future life?

"There is a world that has been messing too much with the strings of fate and destiny. This path will eventually lead to its destruction and I don't like when my things are destroyed." He said with a displeased expression in his face.

"Then why don't you just stop them?" I asked naively. I should have known if he could directly interfere he wouldn't be about to send me there.

"Because, while to you I must seem like a supreme, otherworldly being. I am actually quite far down the totem pole of world guardians. I shepherd the worlds in my influence, but anything more and I'll be obliterated by my…. Manager so to speak in terms that you would understand."

"So he has a boss over him too then? And if you do something to mess up he would get in trouble as well?" I asked to see if I was truly following what was happening. The man merely nodded with a smile.

"It is as you have guessed. Now that we have that out of the way let's discuss your new life." He said and I nodded in agreement. I suppose most people would get upset at their fate being decided so casually, but I had already lived one life under my own volition and I had ended up a slave to a corporate office.

Maybe this life would be better? Besides I have my 2 best friends with me.

"There is a story on your world called, The Beginning After The End. That is the world you will be sent to." I tilted my head as I tried to think of the title. It did sound familiar, but it was probably one of the many books that got left unread on my shelf in favor of my hobby.

"It seems you aren't quite familiar with, that's no problem as I will implant some useful knowledge into your soul when I send you there." This time I raised an eyebrow at the wording.

"My soul?" He looked at me incredulously and responded with a melodic chuckle.

"Well of course. After all I can't implant it into the brain of a body that's not going there. You'll be placed within a new body. Don't worry it can have the same appearance or you can alter it slightly."

A mirror appeared in front of me showing my rugged yet mildly attractive features. I was probably 6 or 7, neither ugly nor amazingly handsome and I liked it that way. People found it easy to talk to me and I didn't feel like I was disturbing people when I approached them.

My dark brown hair was kept short ending just above my eyebrows. Any longer and my hair became untamable curls. My bright blue eyes shone back and my dark brown stubble of a growing beard contrasted my white skin.

"I'm fine with my current appearance." I said resolutely and he nodded before continuing.

"Perfect, then we can continue. The world you are going to is a typical sword or sorcery style world, though it is more focused on cultivating internal energy called mana. It's rather inefficient if you ask me, but I won't give you too many hints." He said waving off the thought as he looked back to me.

"Now because I'm not giving you a choice in the world or how your afterlife goes, you are allowed certain perks. Such as since your hobby is Blacksmithing, I'm giving you mastery in it and artificing. You'll find out more about the latter once you get there, I think you'll find it very useful for your skills.

Next will be a spatial storage with unlimited capacity. However it is limited to inanimate objects or deceased organisms.

Lastly I will give you proficiency in armed combat, and accelerated growth in your core. After all you'll be slightly behind as most humanoid races don't form their core until around 12 years old. You'll be starting at black core at age 27, so this truly isn't as amazing as it may have sounded."

"What about my dogs?" I asked and he looked at me perplexed.

"What about them? They're already going with you, what else do they need?"

I sat up straighter and looked into his eyes.

"It seems that this new world is going to be quite dangerous, I don't like their chances of survival as they are now. Especially if there is magic in the world." He nodded and smiled calmly.

"Have no fear Charlie Carron. Your companions would not be ordinary animals when they got there. I had already thought of that much after all. In fact they will fit in quite well with where I plan to send you. To a large grouping of islands some ways off the eastern coast of the continent of Dicathen.

Dicathen is home to 3 main races of Humans, Elves and Dwarves along with magical beasts and dungeons. You will be on a forgotten island chain known as Carrine, the home and origin of the race known as the Beast People. A conglomeration of humanoid animals of many varieties. And no you won't be a beast person yourself, you will still be a human.

They have a legend that I have influenced to be passed down through the generations that a human with 2 loyal dog beast men by his side will lead them into a new age of prosperity and reunite them with their long lost descendants the mana beasts. You'll learn more about it once you get there, so I won't keep you any longer."

I gave a slight bow while still seated and rose with a smile of my own.

"Thank you…" I trailed off and he finished for me.

"Aurum, Aurum of the 31st multiverse, and many other titles I won't bore you with." He said dismissively.

"Thank you Aurum. Hopefully it will be awhile before we meet again, ah no offense." I added hastily and he responded with another melodic chuckle.

"It is no problem, Charlie Carron. Now go and live your new life as the King of Carrine."

Everything started to spin and the only thought that was in my head was.

"King of Carrine?! I just wanted to be a blacksmith!"

All I heard was the familiar melodic chuckle as just like with how I got here, I was enveloped by darkness. A wave of information flooded into me and I lost consciousness, with only the laugh of Aurum and the warm fur of Chachi and Ruby warming my skin.

~~~~~~~~~~Introduction end~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I would like to first apologize for the long intro chapter. I'm usually one to make the switch from earth to the new world as short as possible, but I just started writing and kept going.

Uploads will most likely be Tuesday and Wednesdays until I officially go part time and then I'll try to write more on other days too.

I will warn that I know basically nothing about Blacksmithing so there won't be many nitty gritty details about the smithing process. I'm thinking of putting MC into the TBATE world about 10 maybe more years before Arthur is born as I feel that's a decent amount of time for the amount change he is going to bring to their land.

Anyways. Until next time!