CH1: New beginnings
Mediocrity, I've come to realize, is the bane of all humanity.
To be average in everything you do, To consistently feeling sub-par, to always wishing for something more. Indeed, to be mediocre in a modern human society was a curse.
And walking through the blistering weather of the lively urban sprawl that is Manhattan, My observations solidified. It seemed as if Everywhere I looked, someone stood out. A juggler here, a musician there, and the normal hustler or two. I stopped to drink in the sights, appreciating the brief relief it provided my legs.
And yet, here I am; blending into the crowd as if I didn't even exist. To which, pessimistically, I considered a skill in and of itself? Directing a chuckle of self loathing inwardly, I tightened the straps of my backpack, gripping it's straps tightly as I continued walking down the streets, making a point in purposefully avoiding the cracks in the sidewalk, a small smile quickly found it's way on my face as I drew mild amusement from the act, “Well, It's the little things that win wars.” I stared at the ground as the time passed from the activity whilst I was heading home from University.
‘It’s funny,” I looked right as some cars passed, providing pleasant wind in the face of the heat. ‘I came to Manhattan for something different, but nothing really changed,’ and I wasn't wrong. I shrugged my shoulders as I mentally listed: No real friends, average job, and a decidedly average life in an above average city. Although I quickly ticked off the no friends part, smiling, “Carlos is the only real exception though, he's the type of guy to show up at three in the morning, no questions asked.”
A ripple of distant booms sounded out as I dragged my sight from the cracked ground into the sky, quietly noticing dark purple clouds make the horizon’s previous sunny disposition take on a more menacing form. I frowned, my mood rapidly souring. “Tsk, just my luck….” I hurriedly looked for cover, spotting a convenience store and rushing inside. And not a moment too soon as a heavy torrent or rain came down on the world outside.
“Thank God.” I sighed as I looked around the relatively small store, spotting some new flavor of Hershey's bar? It looked pretty good, I decided. Picking it up, I observed it in closer detail, reading out its contents. “Chocolate delight, a new experience guaranteed, huh?” It seemed to be a partnership between Hershey's and Lucasfilms, as there was a picture of a pre-clone wars Anakin Skywalker plastered on the front. “Twice the chocolate flavor in every bite, twice the satisfaction.”
I grinned, being a star wars fan, I supposed it wouldn't hurt to buy it. "While I don't have faith in this ‘new experience,’ it offers, I can't say no to Star Wars.” ‘It is just chocolate after all," I mentally added. “Plus, it's rude to hang out in a store without buying something.”
Making up my mind, I took the whole box, heading to the counter. Smiling at the cashier, or doing my best to at least, I placed it in front of him. A middle aged man with silver hair and blue eyes looked up from his newspaper, setting it aside as he looked at me, eyebrow raised. Picking up the item, he looked at it deeply, smiling as he placed it down. Resting his head on his hand, he looked me in the eyes. “Fan of Star Wars, or do you just like chocolate?” His eyes seemed to brighten, as his gaze seemed to stare me through.
I looked at the man, pleasantly surprised at the small talk. Smiling softly, I answered, “A bit of both honestly. I saw the chocolate, but my decision was decided as soon as I saw the advertisement.” Smiling, the store manager nodded and took his head off his hands as he crossed his arms, “what movies were your favorite?” I chuckled as I worked hard to surprise my inner nerd, ‘Don't want to keep him here all day after all,’ “The prequels, I think it had the best story of the series and was my introduction to the Star Wars Galaxy.” I paused, then quickly added “But the originals are good in their own way, of course.”
The man nodded, picking the box up and staring at it deeply, then me, before handing it to me. “Here, just take it, on the house.” He chuckles, “It was just collecting dust here anyways.” I looked at the box, then at him, “are you sure?” I questioned, to which he answered while waving his hand side to side dismissively, “sure, it's only five dollars for the box anyways.” He laughed as I took it, not asking any more questions else he take back his offer, “Not like it'll break my store, hahaha.” I smile widely in an effort to show my appreciation, and looked out the window to still see the rain pouring down.
“Do you have anywhere I can sit while the rain pours?” He looked at me, betraying no emotion in his voice, “No, get out.” My smile instantly crumpled as I winced at the instant refusal, but before I could turn around, he laughed and slapped the desk. “oh, you should have seen the look on your face!” He wiped a tear from the corner of his eye, “Of course I do, there's a bench in the back.”
My left eye twitched as I deadpanned at him, “Thanks.” To which he grinned, “No problem, kid.”
Making my way to the back, I sat down on the promised bench, placing the box beside me as I took out my phone and headphones. I promptly swiped through all my apps before selecting Spotify and playing Lithonia by Childish Gambino. And before I knew it, I slowly began to nod off.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
Later:
I wiped my eyes as I stood from the bench, looking towards the door as the middle aged store clerk from before entered it, looking in surprise at me. “You're awake?” He looked at the unopened box beside me, nodding to it. “Well, I guess you should be on your way then. Rain ended a while ago, and it's getting late so I'm gonna have to close up shop.” He paused, opening the door for me as we walked out.
I nodded to him as I passed, seeing him lean on the wall beside the door, crossing his arms while staring at me, a slight smile on his face. “Thanks, sir, I-” The man freed one of his arms stopping me, “None of that now, you just go out and enjoy your life.” He said, an aura of mystery about him.
I nodded, heading towards the double doors, seeing the golden horizon outside. Mentally cursing my sleep schedule, I opened the door. But before I could exit, the man called out, “Hey kid…” I looked back and tilted my head to the side, he hadn't moved from his spot as he stared at me, “sir?” He eyed me silently for a few seconds before smiling, “May the force be with you.” grinning at him, I excitedly waved my hand at him as I finally exited the building. “Thanks! You too Mr……?” I trailed off. “Picking up my invitation, he shook his head, “You can just call me clerk.” Raising an eyebrow, I nodded and turned around.
Once again tightening the straps of my backpack, this time with extra cargo, I began my trek home again. The pleasantly cool breeze made the journey much more tolerable than the earlier heat, and before long, I found myself at the front door of my shared apartment.
Fumbling through my keys, I unlocked the door and stepped inside. Nodding as I passed my roommate, I entered my room and took off my backpack, taking the chocolate bars out of it and placing it on my nightstand. Opening one of the wrappers I began eating it, finding the flavor to be just like any other chocolate bar. I chuckled, “well, I didn't expect much.” I considered it for a moment, ‘In the wise words of MJ: “expect disappointment and you won't be disappointed” she was right about that.’ I looked at the themed wrapper, “At least the wrapper is cool…” sighing in exhaustion, I pulled the lamp's string as darkness overtook my vision.
Interlocking my hands behind my head, my thoughts turned towards my life so far, before I crushed said thoughts, actively deciding not to subject myself to that torture of monotony. Instead, they turned towards my responsibilities for the day, such as the advanced Composition homework that was due Monday. ‘I should probably do that.’ I nodded before chuckling, a distinct lazy tone escaping me, “Like Hell. Sleep first, work later.”
I snuggled deeper into my covers as I began to sleep. Unaware that today would mark the end of my time on earth.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
“Whoa?” I groggily called out towards the world, opening my eyes and seeing a dark void surrounded me, there were no walls, no ground, or even a ceiling. As far as I could tell, I was standing on nothing.“What the hell?” I looked around, spotting nothing before looking in front of me, seeing a weird screen floating mid air.
“System initialization success.”.
A voice called out in the otherwise empty area, causing my head to whip around in search of it, to no success.
“Who are you?!? Where am I?” I paused, breathing deep. “What did you do to me?!” an emotionless voice answered me, albeit indirectly.
“Welcome to the rebirth system lucky drawer number 001-4566. We have taken pity on you upon seeing your mediocre life in which you did nothing productive or remotely useful, and your earnest wish for change.”
Okay, ouch. My panic subsided as slight anger and hurt took its place. ‘I already know I lived a relatively average life, but was it really necessary to say all that?’ Regardless, my interest peaked. “Who's we?” I asked the voice with a little fire in my voice.
There was a second or two of wait. “Your question has been deemed to be….” A pause, “Unimportant.” The voice continued as I twitched my eyes in annoyance, not being able to summon any rage. “Okay, where am I then?”
The voice did however immediately answer my question this time,
“You are currently in the customization screen for your new life in the Star Wars Galaxy, before you are three choices: character, location, and Financial status. You may only pick one to customize and the other two will be randomized.”
“Right, thanks.” I waved my hand to the side and the screen followed my hand. ‘this is weird…shouldn't I feel more panicked or angry? Shouldn't I be scared as shit right now? I mean, apparently I died so….?
“Correct. Here however, things are different. All strong emotions will be suppressed to ensure the best atmosphere for the winner to be rational in the selection and customization of any of the three choices. Oh, and yes, you did die. You have one question remaining.”
Widening my eyes in surprise, I shook my fist towards the roof of the white room
“Hey! I wasn't told that I had limited questions, plus that wasn't a question directed at you!” I shouted in defiance, to which I got no response.
Sighing in defeat, I carefully considered my options, “I could ask what happened to me, but that wouldn't help me here…” I closed my eyes, before opening them, nodding to myself. ‘This is the right question to ask given my current predicament.” Bringing the screen back to center focus, I asked, “Can you tell me the different options between the three?”
The mechanical voice spoke in monotone,
“Choosing financial status does exactly what it says. It allows you to choose your financial status in the Star Wars galaxy. It also allows you to pick your starting family.”
‘So, definitely not a bad choice overall. Money makes the world go round, and it's more than likely true for the galaxy.’ I shook my head, thinking of huge corporations like the corporate sector authority or the Trade federation, ‘No, it's definitely likely. And what's to stop me from choosing the Skywalker family?’ As if reading his thoughts, the voice crushed his idea,
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
“Keep in mind that a family won't translate into power for you. You could choose the last name of an immensely powerful figure as your family, but still be utterly powerless.”
‘There goes that idea.’ Nodding, I motioned for the voice to continue, to which it did.
“Location allows you to pick a planet, City, and if your character meets the age requirement, selection of this choice allows you to build a house or base up to a threshold of five million credits, which is special only to this choice”
‘All in all, a solid choice. However, given that my age is not guaranteed, that gets rid of this option in my opinion.’ I mentally tossed this choice behind financial status, finding its benefits lacking in comparison.
“Finally, character allows you to personalize a character from the ground up, allowing customization of physical characteristics and passive traits as well as mental. Be aware that you only have 1,000 physical trait points,(PP) and 1000 mental points. (MP) but base physical choices such as EYE COLOR or HAIR are unlimited in customization. You now have no questions remaining, please choose an option.”
‘Okay, so just like any other RPG…okay this is the obvious choice of the three. It makes the most sense from my standpoint. If I build a good enough character then my money and location wouldn't exactly matter in the long term.’
I nodded to myself before aptly pressing the character option.
“The User has selected ‘character’ as the option”
confirm?:
Pressing the confirm button, I was suddenly transported to a pure white padded room with a mirror in front of it.
“Welcome to the Character customization Screen! To start the creation of your new life, please input your name:”
…
Starting first name: Dale
…
Would you like to change this?
Considering it for a moment, as this was a chance to be born anew, I deleted the name, Inputting Ethan. “Sure, why not?”
“Excellent! You have chosen ‘Ethan’ as your name. Now, please input the physical description of your character.”
…
SPECIES[_]
AGE[_]
HAIR [_]
EYE COLOR[_]
SPECIAL PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS (1000 POINTS-p) [_]
↓
“Randomizing Special character options based on previous life’s desires…”
…
Strong: you are strong, really strong for your selected species. (Random chance of being 2 to 4 times as strong as the average specimen from your species upon completion of your character.)
-250pp
…
Eagle eyes: You can see really far, in great detail. Weaknesses in opponents are seen as yellow dots, both organic and mechanical.
-600pp
…
Lightning reflexes: In battle, your agility and dexterity can be what determines life or death. When facing an incoming fatal blow, your mental thinking speed will increase four times, but your body will still move at the same speed.
-500pp
…
Rapid healing: Your healing speed is increased naturally, making fatal wounds more easily survivable at the cost of an increased metabolism.
-500pp
…
Tall: has a chance of being between {6} and {7} feet. This percentage scales with your trait choices once confirmed. Being tall is an advantage in a lot of things, but being short isn't bad either.
-250pp
…
Handsome: Your handsome,...quality of life, doesn't really do anything except allow easier charming of others and increased attraction from others.
-50pp
…
Speed; you're pretty fast at everything you do
Functions Like the trait Strong.
-150pp
…
Commanding presence: gain respect and attention of others easier.
-150pp
…
Supreme durability: allows you to tank a lot of hits from conventional personal weapons such as blasters or blades, but doesn't have a strong effect against more powerful weaponry.
100pp
…
Courageous: you have a strong resistance to fear, being brave against insurmountable odds doesn't mean not fearing death, it means you do it anyway. Makes you resistant to fear or other emotions associated with it, such as anxiety or hopelessness.
-400pp
…
Inwardly marveling at the choices, I considered the options.
“Strong Is definitely a good choice…so is speed. It's kind of redundant to pick both though. Eagle eyes is definitely the best on the list, but costs the most.”
I moved across the list, “And courageous is a damn good trait for the short term ... but courage can be built along the way. The question is whether I'm able to survive long enough to gain some, the same with commanding presence.”
Pausing on, ‘Rapid Healing,’ I passed it over. “This isn't strictly needed…medical technology is super advanced in the star wars universe. Just look at General Grievous or all the robotic limbed people.”
“Honestly speaking, Lightning reflexes is a really good trait to pair with eagle eyes, but the points don't allow it sadly…” I sighed as the idea of a super fast dueling or gunner build filled my head before waving it away.
“And Tall is a good complement for any of these skills, obviously.”
Pondering for a moment, I hesitantly picked the options I wanted before inputting the other less important information.
…
SPECIES [Human]
Age: 0
HAIR [Hazel Brown]
EYE COLOR [Ocean Blue]
SPECIAL PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS (3) [Strong, Tall, lightning reflexes]
…
I chose [human] for obvious reasons, the culture shock will be easier to handle as a human than another species. And starting as a newborn would allow me to take full advantage of my knowledge of the galaxy. And as for my hair and eyes, which I noticed changed in the mirror to my fascination, I just liked the colors.
“As for the physical traits… Strong and Tall build a good base for any build and play off each other, and I would have chosen eagle eyes if I had the points, but settled on lightning reflexes as it was also a good choice and fit in the budget.” All in all, I considered it as a well balanced melee/brawler build with a healthy fallback given the lightning reflexes.
PLEASE CONFIRM.
Pressing confirm took me to another screen.
Generating height for selected choices…..
[6ft 4 inches]
Strong…..[2x]
I grinned at the height, but frowned at the Smallest strength multiplier I could have gotten from the selection., “granted a 2x multiplier is nothing to sneeze at and would give me a very good advantage in fights and life in general.”
“Physical traits have been selected and can no longer be changed, now please select your passive mental attributes with your available 1000mp"
…
Deep Focus: in stressing times, you are more easily able to maintain a good focus in something be it fighting or something else.
-200mp
A better memory: scales with points applied:
↓
Base (good)-100mp
Excellent-200mp
Photographic-500mp
Eidetic-700mp
Force attuned: you are a being that has been gifted with the ability to utilize the force. Midichlorian levels Scale with points applied and are randomized.
-400mp: [6,000-7,000] {average-basic}
-500mp: [7,001-10,000] {above average}
-700mp: [10,001-15,000] {high}
-950mp: [15,001-20,000] {legendary}
Smart cookie: allows you to learn things faster, but knowledge will be lost without sufficient practice to keep it.
-50mp (base)
-100mp (prodigy)
-300mp (genius)
Inner peace: you’ll always be able to find your inner peace, keeping you cool, calm, and collected when things get rough.
Staring at the choices given to me, my eyes widened. “What kind of choice is this, of course I'm picking force attuned!” I instantly dumped 950 points into the selection, and chose a smart cookie as it was the only one I could select with the remaining points. ‘I would have preferred a good memory, but I would have had to go with a lower force aptitude. “Smart cookie” is just as good though, given that they don't exactly speak English over there. And may not even sound remotely like it despite the movies.”
“Please confirm, be aware that once you make this choice, there is no going back and you will move on to the final step. Origin and surname generation. Your surname will be generated based on mental and physical traits selection.”
Confirm?
Selecting confirm caused the previously white screen to turn green, momentarily surprising me.
Congratulations on creating your character, “Ethan.”
Now all that is left is getting your surname and selecting your origin
“collecting information…”
“Generating surnames based on selected choices…”
“Surname selected”
Surname: Sunrider.
Now select an origin and era.
Time eras:
KOTOR
Old Republic
Rise of The Empire
Rebellion
LEGACY
“Well, Sunrider is definitely a really good surname to have given its powerful Jedi lineage.” I rubbed my chin in thought as I stared at the era list. “Given that I know the most about the rise of the Empire and the fall of the Jedi order. That makes the most sense.
Quickly pressing the rise of the Empire, I moved on to the last section, ‘origin’
Please select your origin:
Random location: You will be born on a random planet in the galaxy, your financial status will be randomized and your family will be randomized with it.
“Okay, this is a horrible choice. Next.”
Jedi: Given that you have selected “force aptitude” you have been given the chance to join the order. You will have no family or financial status. You will awaken in the Jedi nursery facility where you will be raised until you can be put into an initiate clan and begin your training.
“Okay. Now this is way better. What else?”
Dark acolyte: Given that you have selected “force aptitude” you have been given the chance to join the darker side of the force, giving you an easier time and better affinity towards the dark side. Your location and financial status as well as family will still be randomized.
Noticing the title of “dark acolyte” and lack of the antithesis to the Jedi order raised a question, “not bad, but why a dark acolyte and no sith option?”
“There is no sith option as the conditions for ‘the rule of two’ have already been met.”
I blinked. “Right, that makes sense now that I think about it.”
My lips pursed. “I do not want my location to be randomized, for all my luck, I could be born on Felucia or somewhere in Hutt space.” My foot tapped, “but being born in the Jedi order isn't much better given what happened to them, but given my knowledge I should be able to find a way out.” I discarded the dark acolyte option, if I was gonna be a dark side user, then I was gonna be a sith damnit.
"Plus, what's the point of being able to use the force If I dont get trained in it?" Shrugging, I promptly selected the Jedi option, causing the screen to blow up into confetti and materialize around me, much to my amusement.
As the confetti fell to the ground, the screen reappeared, listing my character.
----------------------------------------
...
Name: [Ethan Sunrider]
Age: [0]
Origin: [Jedi]
Hair: [Hazel brown, wavy]
Eye color: [Ocean Blue]
Physical traits:
[Strong] 2x multiplier to your strength
[Tall] destined taller than the average human-6ft4’’
[Lightning Reflexes] Upon coming in danger of a lethal blow, mental thinking will increase four times, but actual body speed will not.
Mental Traits:
[Smart Cookie(base)] gains a 25% boost in learning speed. (DOES.NOT.EFFECT.MEMORY.)
[Force attuned:] Congratulations, you've been given the privilege of being able to use the force.
↓
RANDOMIZING…
↓
MIDICHLORIAN COUNT [19,480] LEGENDARY
Final Remarks: A basic, if effective character. You really lucked out on the midichlorian count, truly elevating this character's potential, but whether or not you can live up to it remains to be seen.
...
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My eyes nearly popped out of my head at the count I just got. That's more than Yoda, no, scratch that, more than fucking palpatine! I grinned, overlooking the status again. “This is amazing!” And I wasn't wrong. I had a safe start in the Jedi order, I had excellent potential, and with my knowledge of what happens, I can be well prepared for just about anything the galaxy can throw at me.
Laughing, I pumped my fist through the air. “This is amazing!”
My celebrations stopped however when the same voice from earlier piped up,
“Character creation finished, please click the confirm button. Once clicked, the system will disappear and your life will be born anew.”
I clicked confirm, shielding my eyes as a bright light engulfed me, and before I knew it, I heard crying all around me, and the view of a small, robed kid with auburn hair and blue eyes stood before me, smiling softly.
“Hᒷꖎꖎ𝙹 ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ∷ᒷ.”
‘Fuck, they don't speak English.’
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End of CH1: New beginnings.