Blinking the sleep out of my tired eyes, I turn to face the cold side of my pillow. The rays of golden sun infiltrating my humble room lit up the dark surroundings, drawing patterns on the floor and walls. Once again I had spent the day sleeping, eating, and doing nothing in particular. Sure, there have been days where I'd attempt to do something productive like cooking, cleaning, taking a walk... well that's about it. Why should I make an effort to do something when I have no particular need?

I have a nice family. They care for me and love me more than what I ask for. Of course, that includes sending me an allowance every week or so. Currently, they're away on a romantic wedding anniversary getaway, so that leaves me here alone to do whatever I feel like doing, even if that's lying in bed until it gets dark.

I'm completely happy with the way I do things. Getting a job and being a functioning member of society is something I have yet to do in all 23 years of my life. If anything, I prefer staying at home and leading a peaceful life full of absolutely nothing. I don't really bother anyone and barely go outside of my room. I bet if I mysteriously died no-one would notice I was ever missing.

I take a look around my small room. As always, piles of dirty clothes are scattered on the floor in an orderly mess. Taking a long yawn, I slowly get to my feet and stumble across the floor to the bathroom. Staring at myself in the mirror, I'm almost taken aback by my unruly reflection. Messy mouse-brown hair framed my face, sticking to the dried drool on my cheek. Large dark circles lined my bloodshot eyes. I bend down to the faucet and wash my face with cold water.

Walking slowly back to my bed, I flop down onto the mattress, closing my eyes for just another moment before hearing my stomach grumble in protest against my newly discovered hunger. Not bothering to get up and grab myself a snack, I try to stifle my hunger with some more sleep. Curling up into a small ball I begin to drift back off to dreamland.

Suddenly my calm sleep is interrupted by another growl originating from my stomach. Was I really that hungry? Opening my eyes again my face twists into a grimace as an instant pang of gut-wrenching pain spreads throughout my body.

"AHH!"

A burning sensation was quickly filling me, tearing me from the inside out. What was this feeling? This uncontrollable pain was something I had never experienced before. Wracking my brain for an explanation, the pain was only growing worse. As far as I knew, I had never had any medical problems, so this must be something normal right? Something common right? Then it came to me. While spending my time in my room, my only hobby was browsing the internet for entertainment. During my journey for entertainment, I had watched a number of medical dramas. A common pain, that originates from the stomach area. Could this be appendicitis?

With my limited medical knowledge, this is the only explanation I could think of.

It must be... "ARG"...

The pain was becoming more and more impossible to manage. No way, am I going to die? Here? Now?

This is not how I pictured it. I thought I was going to live a long, uneventful life. Even though I didn't have anything I wanted to do in particular, this is still not how I wanted it to end!

Black stars were beginning to cloud my vision. The pain was the only thing I could focus on, how long has it been since the pain started? An hour. It seemed to be much faster with all my senses being dulled. I was slowly starting to lose consciousness.

This is it... this is how I die. After accepting it, it seems so much easier to let go. What happens after death? Will I be reincarnated? That might not be so bad. No matter how much I think about it, I can't see myself doing anything other than nothing. Maybe I'll be a rock in my next life, that way, I can do nothing professionally.

If there's anything I could wish for...

"I wish I could have a simple next life. I wish my next life would be spent doing exactly the same thing as I have all this time, nothing!!"

Hushed whispers

"What should we do with her?"

"Such a pathetic girl, despite not achieving anything throughout her life she has the nerve to leave her soul out here for us to deal with. It almost makes me want to forget about her rebirth."

"Even so, don't you think that's a bit harsh?"

"Then how about..."

Where am I? Why can't I see anything? Everything is dark, and I can't feel anything except a cold wind brushing against my skin. Who are these people and what are they talking about. Rebirth? Is that like reincarnation? What happened to me. The last thing I remember... lying down in my bed, and then... going to sleep... so does that mean this is a dream? If this is a dream then I should be waking up anytime soon, although for some reason I can't seem to open my eyes.

"What a curious child."

A voice was suddenly resonating inside my head, making my head ring and throb with the sudden sound. Somehow, the voice felt gentle and calming amidst the confusion I found myself in.

"So many questions from someone who isn't usually very active. Have I made a mistake with the soul I chose?"

I felt questions brimming to the surface. I wanted to know what situation I was in and whether or not this was a dream after all. I had never felt so isolated before, partly because I was never in any situation where that would be a consequence of my actions. I was never someone who would associate with many people outside of my family, so this was a brand new feeling for me.

I wanted to ask questions but I quickly discovered that I, in fact, was unable to open my mouth to speak up.

"Don't worry girl. This feeling will be over soon, just bear with it for a little longer."

It seems like the voice was trying to reassure me.

A few seconds later I began to feel a prickling sensation on my body. It wasn't an unpleasant feeling, it was actually rather pleasant. It felt warm and comfortable as if it was always meant to be part of me.

As soon as the feeling came, it faded just as quickly, leaving me feeling empty and cold. I attempted to open my eyes once more and this time, I was greeted with the blinding light of the hot sun shining down at me.

As I groggily sat up and got used to my surroundings, I noticed the land around me is completely barren. There is nothing around me for miles in all directions. Nothing but dry, cracked, sandy land and some damp piles of seemingly hydrated piles of dirt.

Where am I!?

Raising a hand to my face, I looked down and saw that my hand was abnormally small and frail. Almost like a child's. I got to my feet, feeling conflicted. Am I scared? What is this place? It appears like I was asleep, and then there were voices talking around me, and now I'm here. Wait, Is this... Reincarnation?!!

Come to think of it, one of the voices I heard just now was saying something about rebirth right? Does that mean I died and was given a new life in this small body? Despite the circumstances, I felt dejected at the fact that my peaceful life had come to an end. Even though I lacked the mental fortitude to get myself out of this mess, I got to my feet and began walking towards the tallest sand dune I could see. Perhaps if I got to the top, I would be able to find a way to something that wasn't sand and uninhabitable land.

As soon as I began walking, my foot caught on something and I fell face-first into the floor.

"Ow... damn rock."

As I reached out to properly see the fiend that had tripped me up, I saw a small stone sparkling in the little dirt pile. Brushing it off, it took a closer look and upon inspection, it was a rather beautiful amber colored gem.

All of a sudden, right in front of my eyes, a rectangular screen popped to life. It was simply hovering above the ground a few feet away from my shocked face.

Moving closer to the white screen, there were a few sentences written in cursive.

NAME: Lizzy ______                          MP: 10

RACE: Human                                    HP: 100

LEVEL: 1

SKILLS: Hear the voice of god

TITLE: The chosen one

"...WHAT IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW?!"

NAME: Lizzy                                         MP: 10

RACE: Human                                      HP: 100

LEVEL: 1

SKILLS: Hear the voice of god

TITLE: The chosen one

"What's up with this weird screen?"

Seeing as I am able to wave my hand through the floating screen, it doesn't have a materialistic body. In other words, it's a hologram.

"Am I dreaming?" I whisper to myself.

"Negative," A voice suddenly echoes inside my head, sending shivers up and down my spine, "Welcome to your second chance at life, granted to you by what humans refer to as 'god'. 'God' is currently unavailable to answer your questions, due to the low employment rate of 'The space between'. For now, any and all questions will be answered by the automated 'call and response system'."

...Stay calm Lizzy, you can't afford to lose your cool here. The only time you lost your cool was that time in 5th grade when you crapped yourself in front of the class. I should rationalize this situation and bring it under my control.

"So are you the automated call and response system?" I asked the voice in my head.

"Affirmative." It answered in a monotone voice.

"Ok, so what is this weird hologram thing in front of me? Some sort of status board?"

"Affirmative. The 'status board' displays your personal information and condition. Newly acquired skills will appear here, as well as your 'Health points' (HP) and 'Magic points' (MP)."

"Wow. The more I hear about this the more this starts to feel like a game. So... Mr.Call, what is the space between?"

"I am unable to answer your question."

"Then tell me about why I was brought to this world."

"I am unable to answer your question."

Furrowing my brows in irritation at the amount of information available to me by Mr.Call, I was annoyed at how powerless I felt. Well, there must have been a reason that I was reincarnated into this world. Am I maybe a super overpowered character?! Come to think of it, I wonder what this 'RACE' thing means.

"Mr.Call, what is meant by 'RACE'?"

"The RACE of a person is determined at birth. There are many RACE variants such as elf, dwarf, human, and beastman, however, it is possible for a RACE to evolve once the individual has consumed enough MANA."

A new hologram appeared in front of me displaying each race's evolved form."

ELF < GREATER ELF

DWARF < GREATER DWARF

BEASTMAN < GREATER BEASTMAN

Looking at the evolved forms, my heart sank as I noticed that my race, Human, wasn't written down.

"Why are humans not displayed here? Are we unable to evolve?"

"Affirmative.  'Humans' are considered the weakest of the four races and are often discriminated against for their lack of affinities with the 'elements' and combat skill compared to the other races."

"Why are we unable to evolve?"

"I am unable to answer your question."

This sucks. Not only was I brought here against my will, but I've managed to reincarnate into the worst race possible. And on top of that, they discriminate against humans here? I'm starting to wonder if living in this world is going to be as easy as I had hoped. All these new terms were swirling inside my head, mixing with these emotions I hadn't felt since I was small. It was almost as if my mind was also going through the process of being reborn. My mind was getting flooded with thoughts. Somewhere in those thoughts were memories I had sealed away long ago. Things I had wanted to forget. The pressing reality of my sudden situation was overbearing.

Taking a deep breath, I steeled my resolve. There was no use in crying over spoiled milk.

"Mr.Call, you said something about elements right? What are elements and how do you use them."

"This world is compromised of four elements. Wind, earth, fire, and water. The four races are able to use these elements to their advantage in everyday life, or in combat against magical beasts. To learn more about your personal status board and how to use the elements of this world, use skill, 'hear the voice of God' for more information."