Meddling The Omniverse

The dim light of sunset filtered through the wooden beams above, casting long shadows that danced with the gentle sway of the ship. In it, a peculiar group of people chatter and cheer inside what could be described as its tavern-like mess hall.

Figures moved around the place, each carrying weapons—massive swords, strange crossbows, and other tools that seemed too oversized to make sense. One thing is for sure: none of them were idle: they were chatting, eating mountains of meat, sharpening weapons, carrying cargo, or attending to other tasks.

All of them are doing such things, except for one.

He was in the corner of the hall, resting on the dining table near the crates, barrels, and large chests. The unfamiliar scent of saltwater and delicious food filled the air, mingling with the smell of leather and iron.

"Momma said no food… or you'll puke…"

Curiously, a bipedal cat whizzed past him in a rush, stray furs fluttered around the slumbering person's nose.

"Ah… Aaah… AHCHOO!!!" that stray fur sneezed him awake.

His eyes fluttered open. "Uh… Weh…?" His voice barely made it past his lips.

The rhythmic creaking of wood and the distant murmur of voices slowly broke through the fog clouding his mind.

The ship rocked gently, The chatter of nearby voices grew louder, and to him, it felt off. 

He tried to push himself up, but his body felt sluggish and uncooperative. 

"Oi, did you hear? We're almost there!" 

A voice snapped him from his daze, jolting him awake.

An energetic armored figure sat directly across him. The man looked young, sporting a mohawk that exuded youthful vigor. "Ya ready to grab this new world by the horns?"

W-what? What horns? He thought. 

The man with the mohawk continued. "Don't know about you, but it feels like ages since I left home to join the commission…"

"Commission?" Trying to make sense of the man's words. His voice cracked with confusion. 

Where am I? From that single thought, a sudden pang gripped him. 

The man across from him frowned, tilting his head slightly. "You hit your head or something? Or maybe you drank too much?" he leaned in to check the recently awoken man and found no smell of alcohol.

He chuckled, but there was concern in his tone. "Too nervous?! I get it. Anything could happen to us. Still, it's better to keep cool-"

"Hey, aren't you one of the A-list hunters joining us?" a woman asked.

"Woah! REALLY! Then you're also one of us!!" the man with the mohawk excitedly added. "Hey! What's your name buddy!"

"Name? It's… Jaune Arc… I think."

"I think? Oh boy, to even stumble your name… You must been on the very edge, well it's the new world we're talking about. Tensions here are ridiculous if you know what I mean." the mohawk man playfully moved his eyebrows.

"Just chill out. We're on the Fifth Fleet, heading to the New World! We're almost at Astera. You're not having second thoughts about joining, are you? Us hunters were supposed to have nerves of steel."

Fifth Fleet? Astera? Where the hell was this? The words were gibberish to him. His brain struggled to connect the dots, but nothing made sense.

"You'll figure it out when we dock. Just… get a grip of yourselves, alright?" The mohawk man patted Jaune's shoulder. Trying his best to handle someone troubled by seasickness or worse, cold feet. 

"Hey, as fellow A-Lists, why don't we celebrate our new life with a toast? What do you say?" The woman raised her mug of booze while sliding two more to Jaune and the mohawk hunter. 

Remembering that he is still in his teens and feeling the ship's rocking motion, Jaune Arc politely rejected the mug, "Thanks for the offer, but since I'm feeling uh… queasy. Maybe something more stomach-safe, like juice or… maybe water."

"A light drinker are you?" the armored man snickered, "just kidding! Hey waiter, get me one of the special remedy drinks for our fellow hunters here." From that holler, a bipedal feline rushed to their table.

The cat briskly offered a mug of warm steaming brew in front of Jaune.

The cat! It's walking on two legs?! Jaune almost stood up in surprise. Fortunately, he didn't and just accepted the drink clumsily. 

The smell?! Jaune was taken aback by the herbal and spicy scent wafting from the drink.

"One of our remedies for under-the-weather hunters. Warms your belly and stops the spinning in your head," the woman said with a smile.

"Oh, uh… thanks." Jaune took the mug and raised it toward his lips.

"Hold that drink!" a hunter with a mohawk cut in sharply, making Jaune flinch.

"Huh?"

"Bro, don't forget the toast!"

"Oh, right. So, uh, how do we—?"

"Three, two, one—!"

"Cheers!" "Cheers!" "Uh, cheers?"

The three mugs clinked together with enthusiasm.

"To the new world!"

"To hunting!"

"Yes… to a new journey," Jaune added softly.

They each drank deeply from their mugs, savoring the taste in all of them.

Jaune had to admit while the smell was intense, it tasted great, and he felt comfortable throughout his whole body. The feeling of puking lessened, allowing him to catch snippets of conversation around him.

"Finally, we'll get to see it with our own eyes. The New World…" "Think we'll spot an Elder Dragon right off the bat?" "Nah, we're just scouts. Save the heroics for later."

He rubbed his temples, trying to shake off the leftover dizzying confusion. He couldn't remember how he ended up on this ship. None of the names, places, or even the people were familiar. 

Only the topic of hunters was the constant of this place, yet weirdly to him, it rang the wrong bells in his mind. 

His mind for some reason knew what hunters were, but an intrusive thought screamed that his current A-list hunter role he was labeled as was completely different than the one he knew in his heart. 

he couldn't shake this nagging feeling inside. A deep sense of unease grew inside of him. He knew If he didn't get it, then he will be screwed. All this bubbling feeling drives him crazy, and it shows on his face.

All that immediately changed.

The ship suddenly lurched, and everyone in was flung to the side. Jaune Arc's head hit the floor with significant force.

A deep, low rumble echoed from beneath them, so low it seemed to reverberate through his bones.

The woman propped Jaune up. "EVERYONE! Is that…!?" The woman shouted. 

Everyone replied with a conforming silence. Only one of them was none the wiser.

What have I just GOTTEN myself into?! That knock returned all the missing pieces in his mind, but he was not happy. 

Sweats dripped down his forehead. This isn't my world! OH, what kind of mess did I get myself INTO?! Jaune Arc's pupils dilated and his body involuntarily shook.

Before he could think further, a roar tore through the air—a sound so powerful, so massive, it sent shivers down his spine. 

The wooden floor beneath him trembled, rattling loose objects and scattering them across the hold. The air grew thick with panic as the hunters on deck sprang into action, shouting orders and scrambling to grab anything for a decent fight.

The ship lurched harder, sending him tumbling to the floor again. He groaned as pain shot through his side, but before he could regain his bearings, something massive surged out of the water beside the ship.

A mountain.

No, not a mountain. A creature.

He stared, wide-eyed, as the massive form of the creature broke through the ocean's surface. It was unlike anything he'd ever seen.

Colossal, ancient, covered in jagged, molten rock. Its sheer size dwarfed the ship, casting a shadow so immense that it swallowed them whole.

The hunters were yelling now, scrambling to maintain control of the ship as it buckled under the creature's sudden appearance.

"What the hell is that?!" Jaune gasped, the words slipping out before he could stop them.

He was thrown back by the force of another jolt, sliding across the deck toward a pile of crates that had been knocked loose. 

Weapons—massive, absurdly large blades and hammers—spilled from said crates, clattering all around him. 

His heart raced, yet at this dire time, something deep within urged him.

Without thinking, he reached out, wrapping his palm around two items, a medium-sized blade and a decently-sized shield.

Another roar and the ship tilted violently to the side. Desperate, he took them in and braced himself, every muscle in his body screaming in protest as he struggled to stay upright.

The creature roared again, its molten eyes locking onto the ship.

The chaos was deafening, but amid the screams and the sound of cracking wood, one thought echoed in his mind:

This isn't a dream… He stared at the maw of that giant. But dang isn't this too much!!!

—

"Done!" a hooded Seth celebrated his job well done.

"Seth…?" Ristarte, hiding in some corner peeked herself out.

"Yes?."

Ristarte massaged her temples, "Ain't that place a bit too… brutal for the… him?"

"He said he wanted to become a huntsman, a combative hunting-like occupation in his original world. So why not just send him there to learn the trades?"

"Seth, there's a difference between learning the trades and risking your life while doing it," Ristarte folded her arms.

"Trust me on this, my future peeking thingy said he will thrive there, whether he wants to or not."

"what about his gimmick–I mean his cheats?"

"Just a cheat that makes mastering weapons and fighting styles easier."

"Nothing more?"

"Nope, if I add more, his journey would be too much of a breeze."

Ristarte looked undelighted yet Seth continued, "He needs to earn those skills."

"Hmm…. you know what, you do it your way" Ristarte crossed her arms.

Then something entered her mind, "Now that I think about it… How many more isekai are left for today?"

"Hmm…" Seth checked the files, "that's it for today." 

"Wait, THAT'S IT!?" 

"Yup."

"YOU M-MEAN!? Only HIM!?"

"Yes."

"Ain't the daily quota a bit TOO small?"

"It is small, and because of it, the pay is also small." 

That statement gave her some questions, but he answered it before her, "That's why the reincarnation-transmigration department sends many of them. They're not doing this for the pay. No no, they're after the bonus."

He pulled a document on the next person, "Plus, if the one you sent accomplished something great, the god who sent them will be generously rewarded."

"Wait?! Ain't that the same as a freaking lottery!?"

"Pretty much."

That widened her eyes, "Wh-what about the methods, you know, how to send them!?"

Seth formed a list before them, "Other than those on this list, all's fair game."

Ristarte quickly read the list, then noticed something missing. "Are my eyes playing with me? Are all of them just do's and don'ts?"

Seth nodded, "they are."

"What about the number of blokes you can send?"

"No limit, as much as you possibly can."

That answer clicked in her mind, "Just for a scenario, can we just… brute force our way by dumping tons and tons of them?"

"Like I said, you can."

"What about their skills and qualities."

"Doesn't matter, you're paid per each transfer, not by how good they are that's why we added the lottery-like thing, for those lucky ones of course."

"...hold it!" She raised her hand, "What about automation—I mean if a god uh… automated their isekai? Would that still be legal or something?!"

"Very legal. Some I met created a program that sends trillions of isekai emails across the multiverse hourly."

"Don't tell me!"

"Yup, once bozos consented to the contents of the email, those emails will send them to other worlds."

"I feel like that's kind of illegal to do this haphazardly, it feels like you're tricking them into this."

"It is illegal."

"Wh—what did you mean—"

Seth raised his finger. "Let me finish."

"..." She crossed her arms, "Go ahead."

"It is illegal to whisk away random people to another world," he stated. "To make it legal, we must prove to them that the isekai is real and ensure their decision comes straight from the heart."

"How do you do that?"

Seth pulled up several screens, each displaying a mystical phenomenon that would leave any mortal in awe. "We show them something so unbelievable that there's no denying the truth of the isekai," he explained.

"After that, we make them understand that if they agree, they won't be able to see their old world and family again (most of the time). Still, our main focus is choice, so they could still reject our offer due to fear or not wanting to leave their families."

"I feel like this could still lead to so many accidental agreements, I would say?"

"We have countermeasures for that."

"That's cool. I don't like the thought of regrets and stuff"

"Yup, same here."

"Yeah…about the countermeasures…"

"...Confidential."

"Ah… Too bad."

"It is."

"Yeah…"

"Mhm."

"..."

"..."

"...?"

"...So, are there any other questions, if not then what are your thoughts?"

"Honestly, I find it ridiculous that your branch's paychecks are based purely on quantity," she remarked.

"Go on," Seth prompted.

"You earn by sending as many people as possible… But then, how could they possibly pay everyone? Oh, wait—I'm dumb." She facepalmed.

The organization they were in was that rich. Even if the whole department had to pay all their employees a gazillion times more than they're supposed to, they could still pay them all with much more to spare. 

She got another question, "Why do they do it like that? Basing your earnings purely on numbers alone? Won't they create sneaky unethical ways to get more?"

"It's all designed to create competition. If everyone exploits the system, we'll end up with a 'law of the jungle' situation where only the most effective employees succeed—in my eyes, that's brutal, balanced, and fair."

Ristarte blinked a few times, "My gosh I never thought the isekai department would be this Cutthroat! Now I feel so much better being in the hero department."

"Yes, that is true, that's why I'll not be in this department for long anyway."

"Huh?"

"Top secrets." Seth wagged his finger, causing Ristarte to pout. 

"Hey! Wait a minute! If you can just automate this whole thing, then why are you doing THIS!" she meant the interview-like thing.

"Because of the rules." 

Basically, for many reasons—primarily technical, ethical, and related to consent—you can't automate the isekai of the dead. This interview-like procedure must be done to allow the gods to reincarnate the dead; automation is only permitted for living people.

"—Plus since they are dead, they will very likely agree with being sent to other worlds because their only other option was to accept their death, a big perk in many's view."

"Is that all, i don't think that's enough to entice many of them gods over."

"It wasn't. To hit the final nail on this method's use, the pay and bonus for reincarnating these dead souls are now made way-WAY more worthwhile than the live ones," Seth concluded.

"Are the differences that big?"

Seth pulled two types of paycheck—one for living, and the other for the dead—when Ristarte compared the two, she gawked.