(A/N: I am kinda disappointed with web novel cause most fan fics here are just translations. Like people stealing the work of another person without permission and then trying making profit off it. And its not like they translate it, no, they put the text in chat gtp like all of it.
And I have been wondering if there is any point on doing fan fiction anymore? Anyway I will put those thoughts on the back on my mind and continue writing.)
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Where am I? Who am I? What am I doing?" Justinian thought as he looked around. Darkness. Endless, suffocating darkness. No walls, no floor—just an abyss stretching in every direction.
"Oh great. Did I get kidnapped? Maybe I finally unlocked my third eye? Wait… was I struck by lightning?"
A voice suddenly cut through the void.
"Wakey, wakey, buddy! No time for existential crises! Hahaha—just kidding, you're dead! Oh, and yes, I can hear your thoughts."
Justinian flinched. The voice was far too amused at his predicament.
"Great. Either I've lost my mind, or this is the afterlife. If it is, then customer service sucks."
"You must be wondering who I am, but first, let's fix the ambiance. This place is too depressing."
A loud snap echoed through the void.
Suddenly, the abyss morphed into a well-lit, extravagant office.
Floor-to-ceiling windows revealed a nice sunny sky outside, as if it was in the living world.
The walls were lined with big bookshelves, filled with books that had absurd titles like "The Art of Trolling Mortals" and "101 Ways to Escape Responsibility.""
At the center of the room sat a massive, over-the-top, huge desk.
Behind it reclined a man with his feet propped up on the surface. He wore a sharp three-piece suit, his brown hair slicked back.
A nameplate on his desk read "Hermes, CEO of Post-Mortem Affairs" in bold gold letters.
In his hand, he lazily swirled a cup of coffee, steam curling in the air. The words "Best Boss" were written in obnoxiously large letters on the mug.
Justinian blinked.
"What the hell is this? Did I wake up in a corporate afterlife?"
Hermes grinned. "Welcome to my office! Pretty neat, huh? It's much better than floating in a void like some lost soul in an edgy horror movie."
Justinian stared, then cautiously pointed at the nameplate. "So… you're the boss of what exactly?"
Hermes spread his arms theatrically. "Oh, just the incredibly underappreciated department of Post-Mortem Affairs! I handle, reassign, and occasionally misplace souls.
The big guy down below—Hades—handles the serious stuff. I? I deal with the fun cases."
Justinian frowned. 'Hmm, he is way too suspicious. And this being the afterlife?
Heh, who does he think he is? This is obviously a secret drug operation, and I was ambushed and kidnapped because I had the potential to disturb their operation!
As for the void disappearing and a big office appearing, that's easily explainable.
They drugged me in order to cause me hallucinations so I can't reveal the location of their operation.
Damn, Justinian, your genius is frightening; what would the world be without you?' He thought to himself.
Hermes took a long sip from his "Best Boss" mug, smacking his lips.
'What an idiot! But that's what makes it interesting. I am sure, Justinian, that you will enjoy it as much as I will.
"Anyway, we have wasted enough time. I will reincarnate you now. Most reincarnators and tramigrators get 2 perks, but because I like you, instead of 2, you'll get 3, one as a bonus. As for the world, it will be Pokémon.
'Still continuing with the act, eh? Hehe, you might fool others but not me. It is obvious that by the word Pokémon, he implied human trafficking!
Sadly for you, I was the best detective back on earth. He thought.
"Anyway, it's time to teleport you to your new world. I am sure that you will like it.
You will gather Pokémon and meet new people while having a fun adventure.
It's way better than those idiots that got reincarnated in Berserk or Attack on Titan," Hermes said with a smile.
"Hehe, I agree. Imagine getting reincarnated as Casca or as someone else; it couldn't be me," Justinian said.
'How was my acting, Hermes? Do you trust me yet? Ready to reveal your master plan? While you were playing as a normal captain shinigami, I was playing as Aizen.
Hermes looked at Justinian, who had a smirk plastered on his face with a deadpan expression.
'Has that idiot forgotten that I can read his thoughts? Also, it is very obvious what you are thinking from your face alone. Alright, I had enough time for my entertainment to begin!
And with a flick of his fingers, Justinian disappeared from the void into a world that he knew, but yet it was still unfamiliar to him.
---
'What happened? Where am I now?' He thought, as he looked around to assess his surroundings.
'Huh, why am I lying on a bed made of hay? Isn't Pokémon supposed to be a modern world but with Pokémon?'
He tried getting up from the bed, but his body ached. As he moved around on the bed to check his body, he immediately noticed that he had bruises all over him.
'What the hell happened to me? Why am I wounded? And why are my hands so small! I am not that short; I am 171 cm!
Did that 'Hermes' guy really drug me and turn me into a child because he was afraid of my brilliance?
There should be a mirror in this house,'
Corkus thought as he looked around him.
The walls were made from timber. A rough wooden table with uneven stools stood near the hearth. Hanging over the fireplace was an iron pot. Also from the ceiling beams dangled dried herbs.
Against another wall was a shelf that had on it handwritten leather-bound books; their content was uncertain, and Justinian was too far to see the titles.
There was also a curtain that seemingly separated a room from the rest of the house. On the right side of the curtain was hung a mirror.
"Ah, finally a mirror!" Justinian exclaimed with a smile as he got up from the bed he was lying in while removing a wool blanket that he was covered with.
As he approached and looked at his reflection in the mirror, he frowned.
'The hell? This isn't how I remember myself! I was 24 years old when I died and not what looks to be a young boy in his early teens with a nose bigger than the years it has been alive.
Also, even if I am that young, that face seems familiar; I swear I have seen it somewhere!', he thought.
'Wait, is this Corkus from that traumatizing manga I read a while back, Berserk? Also, didn't Corkus die from a female apostle while he gave up on life at the same time?
This can't be real! This must be a dream; yes, that must be it.
Maybe I am in the Pokémon world, but I could be sleeping!
Oof, I got panicked for a second there; heh, this must be a realistic lucid dream, Justinian thought as he wiped non-existent sweat from his face.
Suddenly he noticed a small piece of paper close to his feet.
'Weird, there wasn't something there before,' he thought. As he bent to pick it up.
"Oh, someone has written on it," the paper read:
[Hello, Justinian, or I would rather say now, Corkus. This isn't a dream of any kind. As for why you aren't in the world of Pokémon, that has a simple answer.
I lied. You got trasmigrated as Corkus in Berserk. Why, you may ask? Because I wanted to. It seems you weren't paying attention in school during history class.
Because after all, Hermes, in what you mortals call "Greek mythology," apart from being the messenger of the gods, is also the god of mischief. If you knew that, you might have been able to accept the reality quickly or simply be suspicious of my words.
You were suspicious of me, but for the wrong reasons. Sherlock Holmes made in China. But it doesn't matter because that's what I like seeing the most.
The despair that mortals feel when they finally learn of the truth brings me so much joy! I will be watching your life from now on; after all, it will be interesting.
Entertain me, Corkus. Also tell Griffith when you meet him that I said hi.
Hahaha, have fun during the eclipse; let's see if you might survive it and change the fate that befalls the original Corkus.
P.S. As for your perks, one is in your house. As for the 2nd, I will let you discover it on your own. And the 3rd isn't here right now, and if it was, it wouldn't be useful to you for now.]
Corkus's face turned from shock to anger, and he immediately cut that paper into a hundred pieces.
"You bastard! Come here and say it to my face; I swear I won't attack you; we will just have a civilized conversation." Corkus said, but his face betrayed his emotions.
"Hehehe, that's what I wanted from the start! It was part of my plan, and you, Hermes, fell for it. I just played along because I wanted to challenge myself, yeah, that's it," he said, clearly coping while trying to manipulate himself into believing the lie he just said.
'Anyway, I should try to find that "first perk" first,' he thought.
But then, noise started coming from outside of the heavy wooden door that was reinforced with iron bands. It was the sound of jingling keys.
*creak*
The door opened, and what Corkus saw was a man with brown hair, but he was clearly balding. He was clean-shaven and had deep brown eyes. He was wearing extravagant white robes, while hanging from his neck was a small, maybe iron-made falcon.
When that person took notice of Corkus's presence, his face turned stern.
"Oh, look who decided to wake up," he said with sarcasm.
"I hope that you have learned your lesson and will not repeat the same mistake again in the future.
But I am sure that you will find a new way to disappoint me again. Though I hope that this time it won't bring shame to our name and reputation.
'What the hell is this man bubbling about?" Corkus thought confused.
The man ignored the look that Corkus was giving him and continued talking.
"When it was heard that the son of a priest would get into a fight with other children?
And all for what? To save a fucking kitten, what a joke! We have plenty of cats in this town; losing one doesn't matter!
What are cats even useful for? They spend their days lazing around while basking in the sunlight.As for hunting mice? Anyone can do that, and more efficiently as well."
"Anyway, as for you, your punishment, it will be to help me with the preparations for the big celebration at the start of the next month.
After all, it will be 990 years since the establishment of the Holy See.
May God bless us, sinners."
"Normally, I would beat you up, but you are already injured, and then I would have to do all the work by myself if I caused your wounds to worsen.
For now, complete this list of errands for me," he said as he gave a handwritten piece of paper to Corkus.
The he sighed, rubbing the iron falcon around his neck between his fingers as if he was seeking patience.
"You make things so difficult, boy." His voice softened, but not out of kindness—more like a weary man speaking to an unfixable mistake.
"The Lord may forgive foolishness, but I don't." He glanced at Corkus, his deep brown eyes void of warmth, and then turned away as if the conversation was already forgotten.
"Do as I say, and don't embarrass me further."
"If you need me, I will be in my quarters," the man said as he moved to the room behind the curtain.
'Is he supposed to be my father? Or is he one of those priests who kidnap young boys?' Corkus shuddered at that thought.
'Also Is this guy serious? How does a priest talk like that? Aren't they supposed to be humble with a huge patience?'
' Anyway, I think I need to rest for a bit. The situation might have affected my mental being; usually my conclusions aren't that outrageous,' he thought, but then he felt a huge headache that brought him out of his thoughts.
(A/N: That was the chapter, tell me what you guys think. The chapter turned longer than I thought it would be, so a part of what I had planned for the 2nd chapter has moved in the 3rd.
Anyway see you tomorrow guys. I hope that you have a great day or had, depending on the time you read the chapter.)