18 hours of work a day. 7 days a week. One week of vacation per year. No bonus. Minimum wage.
"...What the fuck? Just what is this unreal black company that you were working in?"
"What the fuck indeed."
Here I was, sitting atop a cloud that was somehow able to support my weight. Standing across me was a bearded man wearing a white robe; everyone noticed by now, but yes. He was the transcendent being—the very definition omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent—a.k.a. the Random Omnipotent Being.
"Hm... you signed a 10-year contract out of desperation I see. Thus enslaving yourself."
"And then, game over. What could I do afterward? Sue them? Yeah, as if I'll win a lawsuit against the entire company, one with numerous connections here and there nonetheless."
Nodding, ROB scribbled something down on a small note that suddenly popped on his hand.
"Hospitalized due to overworking... 2 hours of sleep a day... yet forced to work even in said hospital remotely... 7 meetings a day... alright."
ROB groaned. It seemed that he already was fed up with just the tip of the iceberg that defined my life.
"Let's... just forget about that and move one now, shall we?"
"...Sure."
I agreed. Since I died already, I'd rather just forget about the tortures I've gone through and move on.
"Anyway, Calvin Klein, my boy. You're dead!"
"Duh."
"..."
"H-Hooray!"
As ROB twitched his eyebrows as if not finding my reaction satisfying enough, I forced out a hollow enthusiasm. Right, don't forget that the one in front of me is the being who can split my existence into ten quadrillion pieces in a femtosecond, myself.
"So you must be wondering, what now? Heaven or hell? Rebirth? Well, you aren't wrong there!"
Suddenly, he took out a dart out of nowhere and threw it into the empty space.
"...Huh?"
At the next moment, the dart was pinned on a portion of a dart board that suddenly popped into the existence. That portion read:
Reincarnation to a new world!
"Oh, you got the traditional weeb route!"
"You mean the anime plot development, right?"
I then rubbed my chin and hummed,
"Does that mean that I receive a perk of some sort?"
"A perk?"
"Something like infinite mana, herculean strength, magic sword, system, infinite growth potential, you know what I'm saying?"
"Well, duh? That wasn't what I was asking for."
ROB crossed his arms.
"Question is, why should I?"
There was a brief silence, because really, there wasn't a reason for him to make me into some omega-cheat character whom all the women swoon over and men urinate all over themselves out of sheer fear.
ROB then chuckled with his gaze fixated on me.
'Did he read my mind?'
"Yes."
'...Oh.'
"Putting that aside, let me ask you another question then. If you were to have one wish of yours granted or given a perk as you said just now, what will it be that you wish to have?"
"Passive income!"
My answer to that question was instant.
"Enough to make a living without needing to work off my butt the entirety of my life! Enough for me to roll on my bed 7 days straight without getting out of it!"
"Figures."
ROB laughed at my response, before shaking his head.
"Unfortunately, I won't be giving that to you."
"...Aw."
I nodded weakly, having expected such an answer.
"What I can do for you, however, is to give you a chance."
"A chance?"
"To give you a realistic chance to create that ideal life of yours."
"Can you elaborate a little more, if possible?"
"By that, I meant your background."
"...Ah-hah!"
ROB was saying that he won't make me be born into a slavery or an equivalence that will drop me to the dead bottom right from the start.
Upon realizing that there was possibility of such happening to me, I felt a cold sweat running down my spine.
"Grateful, eh?"
"Definitely! Thank you, er... transcendent being!"
"Sure, sure. Enjoy your second life then. Bye."
ROB abruptly snapped his fingers. Then, there was a burst of light, enough to blind my sight.
When the light faded, there was a darkness. Realizing that I had my eyes closed, I slowly opened them.
My vision appeared blurry, but I could sense that there were three adults looking down on me—wait.
"Waaaa! Waaaa!"
The voice was definitely mine. I was crying... am I a baby?
"Oh, look at him, how cute!"
"Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Klein. What will your son's name be?"
The voices of the adults ringed into my ears. They were loud beyond belief, and I would've twitched my body out of pain if I could've—not that I could, for I felt as if my entirety body, with the exception of the eyes, wasn't in my control.
"...Well, we've already chosen one for him quite some time ago."
"Calvin. That's what his name shall be."
"Then Calvin Klein it is! Once again, congratulations!"
'...Huh?'
I found myself dumbfounded upon hearing the name that would forever define who I am.