The last thing he saw was the screen of his smartphone, the image of a little girl on a warm summer day. The white summer dress that was far too long for her, the smile that shone brighter than the sun. Then the memories of finding her cold body at the bottom of the stairs. How the police asked him what happened with his little sister.
The days that followed after the accident blurred into one big mess. He needed to arrange a funeral and inform the family members that don’t even care. After all, they abandoned him and his sister all those years ago.
But that was no longer important, the bottle of sleeping pills slipped from his fingers and dropped to the floor, landing on the soft carpet next to his bed. A smile crept on to his lips, soon he will see his sister again.
A bright light appeared in front of him, but how could he even see it with his eyes closed? The light started to form words in his field of view.
Welcome to the System! Your universe will become the 152nd addition to the multiversal System! Integration will commence shortly….
Did he take so many pills that even his mind was playing tricks on him now? He tried to move his hand but couldn’t even twitch his muscles, panic started to set in. What was going on?
The Integration is about to begin…we wish you the best of luck citizen!
The text vanished, and he felt like he was being dragged through the air by an invisible hand. Everything around him blurred like his eyes couldn’t keep up with the speed, only to suddenly stop again as a new darkness surrounded him. He wasn’t in his bed anymore. He noticed the smell of old books and wax candles, he felt the hard uncomfortable chair under him and the table his hands rested on. The rough wood of the table rubbed on his fingers while he moved them around nervously, looking for something to do with himself when he heard someone clear his throat in front of him.
“Young man you can open your eyes now. It’s time we begin with your preparations…” The man sounded old, his voice deep and full of authority.
Slowly, he opened his eyes and blinked a few times, his eyes adjusting to the dim light. He noticed the bookshelves that surrounded him and the man, he spotted the candles, one on the table between them and some on the sides of the bookshelves. Then he focused on the man. He looked old, very old. His beard vanished under the table and he wore a red robe that covered his slender frame. His eyes had sunken deep into the sockets and he felt tired, exhausted.
“Can we begin now, boy? Good, first let's look at your status, shall we?”
The man opened a massive book that suddenly appeared on the table. He leafed through the book and stopped somewhere in the middle, at that moment a window appeared in front of his face again.
Name: Ethan Delaney
Race: Human(?)
Level: 1
Class: None
Subclass: None
Health Points (HP): 100/100
Mana Points (MP): 150/150
Stamina: 100/100
Stats
Strength: 10
Dexterity: 10
Vitality: 10
Wisdom: 15
Intelligence: 15
Perception: 10
Willpower: 10
Free points: 0
General skills
[System Language][Identify]
Class skills
Subclass skills
“Mhm, looks like I got someone interesting.” The man pointed at his wisdom and intelligence stat. “Seems like you studied a lot in your life. It’s not a big bonus, but everything helps, right? Now let's discuss your class, Ethan.”
He flinched at the mention of his name. He hadn’t heard it for a while now, and it felt wrong to hear it from the man’s mouth. Still, the man was right - Ethan had studied all his life. Things like history interested him the most, but he also read a lot of fiction and played games, so he understood some thing the man talked about. Curiosity got the best of him. “S-sir, what is up with those stats? Like I played games but we don’t have things like that in the real world. Also, why does it have a question mark next to my race?”
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
The man listened and nodded, “Well kid, because you’re at the start of the integration. The system will make itself at home in your universe. About the question mark…-” he tilted his head and nodded a moment later. “Ah, sorry, I can’t talk about that. Enough delays, it’s time to pick your class.” The man snapped his fingers and three people appeared behind him. They looked more like mannequins, their features rough and sloppy. The one on the left wore light armor made from leather, a rusty sword in his hand and a shield on his back.The one in the middle had only some leather patches sewn onto his shirt and a bow in his hand. The one on the right wore a long black robe and an oversized hat, a wooden staff in one hand.
Of the three figures the right one called to him the most, when he focused on it a new window appeared.
[The Mage- A beginner class for those seeking to understand the arcane arts]
The man cleared his throat again. “Alright kid, pick your class then we need to talk about the advantage you want.”
Ethan nodded. “I pick the mage class…please?” he said, unsure how to ask the system but it worked either way
*Update* Class updated - None -> [Mage]
*Update* Skill acquired - [Mana Bolt]
“Good, you seem to manage better than most people, but don’t think it will be easy just because you picked a class. Now, at the start of every integration, the new citizens get to pick one benefit. This could be a powerful weapon or piece of armor, a spell, food rations, water, a magical item, an increase to your stats, or so on. It could be anything, but don’t expect to be able to cheat just because you got a weapon. It will only be powerful compared to someone at level 1, understand?”
Ethan was already thinking about what he wanted, should he go with a mighty staff? A powerful spell to kill his foes with one shot? Maybe a magical artifact but then he had a different idea, he needed something that could influence his path in a positive way from beginning to end.
Thoughts about the cold he felt before his suicide, an attempt that felt a life time ago and he just remembered, the cold…the days he played outside with his sister, building a snowman, how the made snow angels and both of them on the couch with a hot chocolate reading a book while the snow drifted to the ground.
“I decided what I want… I want an...affinity, like elemental magic. Is that possible? Maybe a list I can pick from?”
The man looked surprised and then smiled, it was a warm smile that was quickly followed by a laugh. “Oh boy, you really are special, huh? Good choice kid, not many think about the long-term in this situation.” He turned the book around and put it in front of Ethan. A long list greeted him
Common: Water, Fire, Earth, Air, Light, Dark…
Uncommon: Ice, Lava, Nature, Poison, Holy, Electric…
It continued for a bit and he frowned. “I don’t understand. Why are there common and uncommon affinities, and I bet even higher grades?” He looked at the man and raised an eyebrow. The old man nodded. “Yes, there are more. To explain it simply, if you look at Earth and Water, they focus on one element. You could also combine them to form a nature affinity, for example. Now, as for Ice and Lava, those are just advanced forms of their base elements, Water and Fire. Of course, you can succeed with all affinities, but specialized ones are usually stronger, at the cost of a narrower scope. That is all I can say. Which one will you pick? Before you ask, you can’t look at the higher grades.”
Ethan rubbed his chin, the cold he felt before returning, but this time more as a friend than as impending doom. “I will pick the ice affinity…” he nodded. The decision felt right.
*Update* Gained - Affinity: Ice
*Update* Race - Human(?) -> Human(Ice)
*Update* Skill change - [Mana Bolt] -> [Ice Bolt]
The old man nodded at him, a smile tugging on his lips that he tried to keep down. “I wish you luck, boy. You will need it. I will give you a small hint: in this world there are not only monsters and magic, but also gods and other beings you thought are fantasy. So be careful out there.”
With a snap of the man’s fingers, his clothes changed to the robe, hat and staff, and he vanished again, this time on his way to the tutorial, whatever that was.
Transport in progress….Good luck in the tutorial!
3……
2….
1…
Transport completed!
