[10 Years Later]

  It’s barely spring, but let me tell you—it’s hot as hell today!

  Being a truck isn’t so bad, though. Life is way simpler. Just driving around all day, making deliveries, an about every two weeks or so...

  Oh—feel that, Jim? Looks like we’ve got another delivery request in! It's subtle, but I've gotten where I can detect the flow of mana whenever *they*, whoever they are, decide on a target.

  Jim’s pretty cool. He’s been driving for about a week now. Spends all day on the phone with Tiffany. Literally all day. From what I’ve gathered, she works retail, so they just hang out in each other’s earbuds nonstop. Adorable.

  Sigh.

  I don’t think either of them will handle this kind of delivery well, though. It's nice that everyone else resets, but I can always sense a change in the drivers afterward. They might not remember it, but their soul feels the lingering stress from having believed they caused someone's death. The drivers rarely last six months.

  Let’s see… the package should be in sight by now. Ah, there!

  Wait, seriously? That twerp? Ugh, maybe I’m not transporting hero’s after all. That guy looks like he needs a hero more than anything.

  I spot a group of teenage boys up ahead. Three of them walking elbow to elbow, jeering at a fourth, who lags behind. The tallest one flicks pennies at the frail-looking kid.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Classic bully and prey dynamic.

  Don’t worry, bud—I’ll try to make it quick. I can feel the mana well up inside me, it’s pulling me towards him, even if it appears like I’m obeying traffic laws.

  The kid stops at the crosswalk, clutching his books close to his chest like he’s trying to fold into them.

  Hope he likes isekais.

  The bullies strut right up to him, pretending to bump him into the street just as I come into range—but the kid is so frail and awkward that he actually trips over himself. Oh yeah, he definitely reads isekais.

  His eyes go wide.

  Jim blasts the horn. I can feel him slam the brakes—but you can’t stop this train, bud. Once they choose a package, there’s no turning back.

  This will be Package #217.

  217 successfully massacred— I mean delivered— since I died. The first fifty or so were pretty traumatic. But words are powerful, and “what you whisper to yourself, the universe shouts back.”

  Easily one of the top 5 bumper stickers I’ve seen. It really is all about how you frame things.

  Just then, the taller bully reacts—on pure instinct—yanking the kid back out of the way.

  That’s not good.

  The system does not like surprises. The last time someone got brave and tried to intervene, the package and I both ended up in a koi pond... one of us pinned under the water until the ritual completed. I can only imagine how traumatic that was for the package.

  Like a homing missile, I feel my front wheels twist violently to chase after the boy, who’s now clumped together with the bullies. But the ring leader isn’t done yet!

  Like a freaking ninja, he kicks off his two buddies and **launches himself and the package back into the road—**successfully saving all three of them! Damn, that was impressive. He’d have made a great hero, they should send guys like him.

  My front wheels react again, but it’s too late.

  CRASH!

  I slam into one of those iron poles that block traffic from entering pedestrian areas.

  The airbags deploy.

  Good—Jim should be fine. A loud hiss erupts from my radiator and feel the engine shut off. I’m suddenly very tired. That's weird, trucks don't usually feel tired.

  Wait.

  I recognize this feeling.

  Oh, look. A magic circle. Suddenly, I’m once again engulfed in a warm light, but then, darkness.