Chapter 1: As per the Contract...

The boy named Atlas let out a satisfied sigh. After a long day on the fields, he could finally have dinner with his family. He was a decently muscular, average-tall seventeen-year-old boy. The gods graced him with a handsome face. His hair was black, and he had two dazzling gold eyes. He lifted his hoe onto his shoulder and started walking back to his hometown, Blei. The city wasn't an enormous settlement by any means, but it was pretty populated. The portion of the city's land his parents owned was enough for them to make ends meet, unlike in his previous life.

His life in the past was filled with studying, working, and suffering; all these efforts were to make his parents proud. They were dirt poor, so he had to work. His parents wanted him to have a bright future, so he had to study. In the progress, he didn't make any friends, didn't have a girlfriend, and never got to enjoy life at all. But it's different now.

'No use thinking about the past...' he thought to himself. 'I have a new life now, and I'm gonna make the best out of it!'

The way home wasn't long. He passed the fisherman, who was here to sell the fish he caught east from the village. He saw the kids of the town dueling with each other until their mothers crashed the party since it was prohibited because of the dangers. Atlas smiled as he watched the kids run away from their guardians; they were giggling and having fun. This was the tranquil life he adored, and he would never have traded it for anything.

Unfortunately, fate had other plans.

'I wonder what is for dinner...' wondered Atlas as he took the last turn before reaching the house. Some dust has gotten in his eyes, so he blinked to ease the irritating feeling. However, when he opened his eyelids, he found himself surrounded by whiteness. Simultaneously, he noticed that the ground has disappeared as well. He was just... floating.

"We meet again, Eugene."

Atlas spun around to see the source of the voice. He was left in disbelief; Eugene was his name before he reincarnated. It couldn't be a coincidence, the name didn't even exist in this world.

Then he saw him: he didn't know him, but he was familiar. A man in his twenties, with blonde hair, and a body of a god. He smiled at Atlas.

"Or would you prefer me to call you Atlas? I don't mind. I gave you that name, after all." his smile felt like sunshine to Atlas. He was completely mesmerized.

He shook his head to break the spell of the man and gathered all his courage to ask: "Who are you?"

"I'm the God of this world, Zeus." he cleared his throat upon seeing Atlas frown. "Yes, I did steal it from your world's mythology. I like those names, and I am a god, so no big deal, right?"

"Sooo," started his sentence Atlas, as he started to catch on. "Did you make my parents think of that name? It is unusual in this world."

"Exactly." Zeus happily agreed, arms akimbo. He seemed satisfied with the wits of the boy.

"And I think you didn't bring me here to discuss our names...?" inquired Atlas.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Remember what you swore right before you died?" asked Zeus in an excited tone, as he leaned closer to the boy.

"What are you talking about?" the question was rather directed at himself, than the god before him. As he thought harder, the memories gradually returned to him. "No, you couldn't be talking about the..."

"I am. To reincarnate, you need something to tie you to the world you arrive in. I used your little *bucket list* to make that happen."

"Uh, oh. I don't like where this is going."

"You need to complete the list, or you'll be cut off from this world as per the contract. In 2 years."

Atlas needed a few moments to collect his thoughts before he asked.

"And why now?"

"To be completely honest, I was supposed to tell you a few years ago, but I forgot. I saw my calendar, and I remembered, how you were already supposed to have made about fifty percent progress by now."

'That means I have to work two times faster on the list than intended.' pondered Atlas. "Could you give me the list, please?"

The god snapped, and the list appeared in front of our victim. Atlas's eyes widened in shock. It was immense! 'Just how much of an emotional breakdown did I have to swear to do all this in my next life?' The list included becoming a successful businessman, seducing women, and exploring a new planet to state the hardest ones here. Hundreds and hundreds of wishes of a teenage boy were listed on that terrifying piece of paper.

"Anyway, to recall the list, just say *List Appear*, snap, and you'll have it in your hands. Good luck!" embarrassed by his blunder, Zeus quickly explained the must-knows of the list and disappeared, along with the whiteness.

Atlas was once again standing on the street, now dumbfounded. Still dizzy from the quick change in his surroundings, he stumbled into the nearest alley and uttered the words.

"List Appear."

It wasn't a dream. The list appeared in his hand, leaving a tingling sensation on his fingertips. As he inspected the list more carefully, he understood just how impossible the task was. The list was supposed to be executed in four years, and at a quick pace at that. So how was he going to complete it in a mere two years? He couldn't think of anything.

"And there goes my peaceful life..." he agonized as he stared at the passerby on the street.

'Snap out of it. I gotta make a plan and tell my family about my departure.'

Atlas stood up and headed for his family's house.

Moments later, the door of Atlas's house opened, followed by a long creaking sound. Multiple smiles greeted the young man entering the house.

"Dinner will be ready in a few minutes. Good work out there!" the mother of the Atlas, seeing his frustrated expression, tried her best to cheer him up.

"Thank you, mother." Atlas ran upstairs, straight into his room, leaving her confused.

'I wonder what happened' she thought. 'What made him so flustered?'

The very moment she thought that Atlas began looking through the list, now sitting at his desk. He noticed that some of the list items changed according to the laws of the current world. For example, winning a car race turned into claiming victory in a horse race competition, and hosting a house party turned into hosting a noble's assembly. He gritted his teeth and made a priority list of the most unrealistic feats that were to be completed. These were the following:

1. Becoming the most successful merchant of the century

2. Making at least three girls fall in love with you

3. Entering a new fracture

4. Becoming the most powerful wizard

5. Becoming a feudal lord

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Atlas threw himself on his bed. After thinking about his situation for a long time, he concluded: 'If I want to have another chance at life, stuff like this is inevitable. I'm gonna go downstairs, have my last peaceful dinner, and set out to the Capital of Divis tomorrow'. Even after reaching this conclusion, he still couldn't help but think:

'But how did I even come up with this massive amount of bullshit while being on the verge of death?'

A gentle knocking sounded on the door. "Atlas? Is there a problem?" It was his mother. Seeing how deeply she cared for him, Atlas sit up on his bed and reassured her. "I'm okay. I've been thinking about some big things, that's all."

Although it worried her, the mother had put off the questions until her son decided to tell her more. After they finished dining, Atlas stood up, facing his parents. "Mother, Father, I want to see the outside world. Please let me go to the capital!"

His parents were shocked, but after a brief discussion, they agreed.

"Next year, you'll be old enough to join the academy. We can't put into words how much we'd like to have you here forever, but you need to pave your own life." said the father, already teary-eyed.

'Yeah, I can't put into words how much I'd like to stay here either.' thought Atlas, missing his uneventful life in advance.

They spent the rest of the night talking, enjoying their time together until it was time for Atlas to go.

"Mother, Father. I'll be leaving now." looked at them Atlas, already standing in the doorway. His mother smiled as she cast a sleep supplementary spell upon seeing how tired her son was.

"Wait, it'll be hard for you to work if you're out of..." his mother quieted Atlas with a smile. He knew it was time to depart.

Atlas was standing on the busy streets of Blei. He planned on looking for someone heading for Divit, possibly a merchant, but anyone was fine who was to escort him for a bit of money. He checked the contents of his bag. Fifty thousand rivi, a general map of Divis, a compass, and some food. Not much, but he knew that this was the best his parents could help him with.

Atlas spent the rest of the day looking for an escort. He got lucky. The fisherman agreed to take him for ten thousand rivi and his two muscular arms. Sadly, his ride only reached Prole, which was only a bit more than halfway to the capital.

'You can't get everything.' sighed the boy, still not sure how he'd get to Divit from there.

They departed that night. The plan was to first go to Verre river, then sail up north until they reach Prole. Atlas knew this would take a while, but he wasn't planning on wasting it. He already had a plan thought up and nothing could stop him.

'I'm going to complete this list, and return to my tranquil life. As per the Contract.'