When Damien opened his eyes, he found himself in an indescribable space.

The surroundings were pitch black, save for a small illuminated area before him, glowing with a deep, starry radiance.

“Bo ne?”

Ogerpon clung to Damien’s hand, her small face etched with shock.

The little creature had no idea where they were.

What happened to the promised other world?

Why had they ended up in this dark, eerie place?

“Hold on, let me figure this out.”

Damien was about to ponder where they were and what kind of world they’d entered.

But then, beams of light bloomed before his eyes.

“Bo ne!!”

The sudden glow startled Ogerpon, who swiftly summoned her Ivy Cudgel and positioned herself protectively in front of Damien.

Despite her shyness and fear of loneliness, Ogerpon was fearless when it mattered.

“Wait a second.”

Damien steadied her, focusing on the scene ahead.

Before them appeared a chair, a small round table, and a spread of tea and pastries.

Seated in the chair was a blue-haired girl.

“Welcome to the afterlife. Though brief, this gentleman’s life has come to an end.”

She looked about fifteen or sixteen, breathtakingly beautiful, surpassing anything Damien could have imagined.

How to put it?

The moment he saw her, the word “goddess” flashed through his mind.

Yes, only a goddess could possess such otherworldly beauty.

Her clear, water-blue hair gave an ethereal, gentle impression.

Her perfectly proportioned body… neither too full nor too slight… was draped in a loose, pale purple garment, often called a hagoromo.

“Hm?”

Suddenly, the blue-haired girl, mid-recitation, seemed to notice something.

Her clear blue eyes, matching her hair, fixed on Damien and Ogerpon, who stood before him with her mouth agape, showing two tiny fangs in an adorably fierce expression.

“???”

For a moment, the girl locked eyes with them.

“Huh?”

“Huhhh?”

Gradually, the expression of the beautiful blue-haired girl shifted, as if she couldn’t quite grasp the situation.

“…”

Damien and Ogerpon stayed still, not making any sudden moves.

Especially Damien, who felt an odd sense of déjà vu, as if he’d seen this scene before.

Blue hair, goddess-like beauty, and that outfit…

“Hold it!!”

Before Damien could ask, the scatterbrained goddess exclaimed, “Who are you people?!”

“Did the ascension mechanism break down?”

“And where did you two come from?”

“This is overtime! Overtime!”

“I protest! I firmly protest overtime!!”

Aqua had clearly noticed something unusual about Damien and Ogerpon.

As the goddess overseeing the afterlife for young souls, no matter how dim-witted, Aqua could tell they were still very much alive.

This felt more like an isekai scenario.

But reversed… people from another world had suddenly appeared in her space.

“Ahem, please calm down, great Water Goddess Aqua-sama.”

“Eh?!”

Hearing Damien call her name, Aqua froze, then broke into a smug grin.

“Pfft, pfft, pfft.”

The girl covered her mouth, barely containing her glee. “I don’t know where you’re from, but you’ve heard of the great Water Goddess Aqua!”

“No helping it, then! Fine, I’ll graciously acknowledge you!!”

“…”

Aqua’s reaction left Damien, who’d prepared a slew of persuasive arguments, feeling like an idiot.

Yes, he’d deliberately called her name.

His goal? To reach the Konosubaverse.

Its adventuring system and skill points were perfect for someone like him, who had Magicule and attributes but no combat skills.

But now…

“You want to go to another world to defeat the Demon King?”

Aqua plopped back into her chair, calmly opening a bag of chips and munching away in front of Damien and Ogerpon.

It was hard to believe someone with such a stunning, saintly face could act so rudely.

Even worse, with that dismissive attitude, why does she still look so beautiful?!

Damien didn’t know where to begin with his complaints.

Thankfully, he’d already known what kind of goddess Aqua was.

So, sorry, Aqua!

No matter how gorgeous she was, Damien had no interest in getting involved with her.

Associating with a dimwit like her was a crime in itself.

And with Aqua’s personality, who knew what chaos she’d cause if she tagged along?

“Ahem, yes.”

Damien said, “My companion and I are traveling across worlds, facing strong opponents to grow stronger.”

“Oh.”

Aqua didn’t think much of it… her empty head couldn’t hold complex thoughts.

Conspiracies and schemes? Far less interesting than Damien’s “great Water Goddess Aqua-sama.”

Having heard her name, they must be her devotees.

And Aqua was quite lenient with her believers.

“Sure.”

Aqua said, “Nobody wants to go to that world anyway. If you’re willing to help, that’s great.”

“Then…”

Damien went for the kill. “Great, wise, beautiful, and noble Aqua-sama, could you grant us a small… perk?”

“Hmph!”

Aqua basked in his flattery, practically begging for more. Keep talking, you smooth talker!

“Normally, that’s a no-go.”

“But who am I? The great Goddess Aqua!”

“Behold! Accept with gratitude the blessing of the exalted Goddess Aqua!”

With a grand wave, parchments scattered around Damien like falling petals.

“Ohhh!!”

Damien exclaimed, “Truly worthy of Aqua-sama!”

This wasn’t flattery anymore… it was genuine.

Handing out perks right off the bat? Aqua, you’re a real one.

Sure, she was a bit dim, but when it came to treating others, she spared no expense.

In the original novel, Aqua’s debts often came from splurging on feasts for entire guilds.

Even for an outsider like Damien, she was willing to bend the rules and grant a cheat ability.

For that generosity alone, Damien silently vowed: If I see Aqua and Kazuma struggling like in the original story, I’ll lend you some gold coins, Aqua.

“Choose one.”

“But only one.”

Aqua pointed at Ogerpon. “Her life composition is unique, tied to you, so she can’t receive a cheat.”

In short, by Konosuba’s rules, Ogerpon was Damien’s summoned creature.

If that allowed extra cheats, Damien could summon a hundred skeletons and fleece the gods dry.

“Fair enough.”

Damien was a bit disappointed, but rules were rules.

You can’t be too greedy… scoring a free cheat from Aqua was already a win.

“By the way.”

Flipping through the parchments would take too long, so Damien decided to ask directly. “Is there a cheat that lets you quickly learn skills?”

“Oh, that one.”

Aqua, who often read comics and light novels in her downtime, instantly got it. “That one lets you copy skills from people you touch. The catch is, copied skills start at Level 1, and their effectiveness depends on your own attributes.”

That was Konosuba’s system.

Skill points could be spent on any learnable skill, and you could keep investing to level them up.

Take Megumin’s Explosion magic… it required a ton of skill points to unlock.

Leveling it up demanded even more.

Megumin’s Explosion was so powerful because she specialized, dumping all her points into it.

So, as Aqua explained, if Damien copied Megumin’s Explosion, he’d get a Level 1 version.

And if his Magicule wasn’t sufficient, he wouldn’t even be able to cast it.

“So, that cheat’s kinda meh.”

Aqua said, “You still want it?”

“Hm…”

Damien didn’t decide immediately, asking about other cheats he thought might suit him.

But they all had limitations or thresholds that didn’t quite fit him and Ogerpon right now.

“Alright.”

With no better options, Damien made his choice. “I’ll take the skill-copying ability.”

“So, uh…”

Aqua blinked. “What’s your name again?”

“I’m Damien, and this is Ogerpon.”

“Bo ne um!”

Ogerpon was utterly confused, her mind swirling with Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing here?

“Damien-san, and your familiar Ogerpon, you’re about to head to another world as a reserve hero to defeat the Demon King. When you succeed, you’ll receive a gift from the gods.”

“You can have any wish granted, no matter what it is.”

As Aqua chanted, a glowing magic circle appeared beneath Damien and Ogerpon, lifting them gently upward.

Damien didn’t resist… this was the power of Konosuba’s gods, far beyond his current ability to defy.

Ogerpon, ever obedient, stayed quietly in Damien’s arms, not making a fuss.

“Hero! May you stand out among the reserve heroes and become the one to defeat the Demon King!”

“Now, set forth!”

Light enveloped Damien and Ogerpon, Aqua’s voice echoing in their ears.

When the light faded, Damien found himself on a medieval European street.

Carriages clattered over cobblestones, and rows of red-brick houses lined the way. Beastmen with animal ears and elves with pointed ears mingled among the passersby. Without a doubt, this was Axel, the beginner town from Konosuba.

***

Bonus Chapter:

100 Power Stones = 1 BC

300 Power Stones = 2 BC

500 Power Stones = 3 BC

700 Power Stones = 4 BC

1000 Power Stones = 5 BC

***

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep