1 – Congratulations on Your Death

Matt scratched his medium-length brown hair, thinking hard about which of the two newest MMA fighters he would recruit. His organization has limited funds, so he has to be careful. He had to ensure his choice had the star power to draw the audience.

"You still like to play management mode, huh?" Matt's older brother, a bald man driving beside him, commented. "You've always been like that. You play management in a wrestling game, not wanting to touch the other modes. You never want to play with me."

"Because it's fun, Ryan," Matt answered while staring at his phone screen. "Bring my organization to the top is something that gives me satisfaction."

"In the end, it wasn't real." The big brother chuckled. "But I wanted to talk to you about pro wrestling, though. I haven't watched it in a long time, you know? My fiancé forbids me. The event we are going to is probably the last for me."

"What?" Matt lowered and put down his cell phone. "Looks like you picked the wrong girl. Pro wrestling is in your blood, bro. You've been a fan of it ever since."

"Shut up." Ryan snorted, stopping his car at a red light. "Just tell me what's hot right now. So, I won't be confused while watching the show."

That weekend, Ryan took Matt to a pro wrestling event, where the men and women perform various choreography in pre-determined matches. The invitation surprised Matt, but he didn't refuse as he had been an avid fan too since childhood.

Matt sighed. "Don't you read the news or the highlights on the internet? I follow MMA a lot more now, but I'm always updated with what's happening in the pro wrestling world."

"I told you my fiancee doesn't like it when I touch pro wrestling stuff." Ryan drove the car again. "So, please just tell me. What's so hard about it?"

"The thing is…." Matt barely spoke one sentence, and a deafening horn blared into his ears. As he looked to the side, he saw a large red truck speeding towards him.

In the next second, Matt could only see darkness accompanied by a thunderous crashing sound.

***

Matt's cheek felt a little itchy as if small sharp-pointed objects tickled it. He opened his eyes and discovered some trees illuminated by the sunlight. After a few seconds, he jumped to his feet in panic and found that he had just been lying face down in the grass.

"What?" He then checked his own body, which turned out to be okay. Even his gray hoodie, blue jeans, and white sneakers remain intact.

There were no signs that he had just been in a major accident.

Before he could fully comprehend what was happening, the cell phone in his hand rang. He frowned as he saw the string of text on his communication device.

—

Congratulations on your death, Matthew Nash!

You don't need to know who I am yet. One thing is clear, I brought you to that world for one thing: to build a fighting organization filled with fierce individuals from the multiverse. My friends and I think the existing organizations are sucks, you know? We need another alternative, and I believe you are the right person!

I don't want to waste any more of your time. You can't wait to do this job, right? First, close this text, then choose your assistant. They will explain everything.

One more thing, your cellphone contains everything you need. I purposely made it similar to yours for familiarity.

Best regards,

Your secret fan.

—

Matt still froze, unable to properly digest those words. His heartbeat crept up, and a conclusion popped into his head.

Had he, at the age of eighteen and just graduated from high school, resurrected in another world?

He then raised his face. "What the fuck?"

It took several minutes for Matt to come to his senses and close the text page. What he found on his cellphone after that was different from the usual apps but new icons such as staff recruitment, fighter recruitment, construction, and so on.

He feels the vibe of playing a management game but with several different features.

Feeling he had no choice, Matt pressed the [Staff Recruitment] icon, bringing up a new tab with another different menu. Upon selecting the [Assistant] icon, he was greeted with photos of various individuals.

Matt was even more confused when scrolling through those menus. Almost all of them look like humans, but some have sharp ears like elves, lots of hair like monkeys, or have other oddities.

And Matt's choice fell on a photo of a dark-blue-haired woman with glasses.

"Whatever." Because the descriptions in the photos were almost the same, Matt chose one that caught his eye, a woman with a cute face like a Japanese idol singer.

Moments after pressing the photo, Matt jumped back in surprise. Something had just fallen in front of him, causing a loud thump.

"Ouch." The young woman that Matt had chosen rose from the ground. She adjusted her glasses, brushed off her short skirt and dark stockings, grimaced in pain but then smiled. "Ah, you must be Mr. Nash, right? I'm glad you chose me. I am Megumi, a God’s servant from the world of Xenova, universe 712. The number I mentioned refers to one of the discoverable universes of the multiverse. You are from the earth in universe 33…."

"Whoa, whoa." Matt interrupted. "Please, slow down. I just woke up in this place, you know. I'm still confused."

"S-sorry, I was too excited. I'm tired of my job as an angel watching over humanity in…." Megumi cleared her throat. "Why am I telling you that... Anyway, what do you want to ask?"

Matt observed that ponytailed woman. Despite her tiny stature, she still has quite a curve.

"Sir?" She massaged the nape of her neck and kept her dark-blue eyes away from the young man.

It seems she’s very nervous.

"Ah…." Matt massaged his forehead. "First, what exactly is this place?"

"We are in universe 235." Megumi took a small notebook from her dark blue uniform shirt, then leafed through it. "Errr…. This is the world…. Or you can call it a planet…. This was Planet Askreim, a world where all civilizations had been annihilated. As to why she chose this place... I also don't know."

“She?”