When the wave of energy hit, I felt pain like no other. I did what I do when things get crazy or hard, I used my imagination. I shifted my focus and visualized wielding every magic imaginable. I had always dreamed of being the most powerful warrior wizard.
My mind immediately escaped into my imagination as the pain was unbearable. From using creation magic to create anything I could imagine. I thought about throwing fireballs, or creating crystal clean water, shooting shards of ice, or summoning lightning, soaring through the sky, to creating massive fortresses from solid stone and forging weapons from fantasy metals and crystallized mana itself.
On and on I went. As the pain intensified so did my imagination. I dreamed of using space magic to teleport around everywhere. Thought about moving things with my mind or reaching out and having conversations without speech. From there I desperately visualized traveling to different realms or creating a realm of my own, anything away from this excruciating pain and pure torture. That got me thinking about purity itself and being able to purify or transform anything. Which led my mind to think about dragons and hydras and their ability to regenerate. From there my mind thought about healing myself and all those out there that might be suffering as I was. I wished with all my heart I could resist and heal anything. A part of me always wanted to be a true healer.
From healing to wielding the raw forces of nature to smite my enemies. That made me think about nature itself and animals as I hoped they were not currently suffering as I was, if they were, I wished I could take their pain from them as they didn’t deserve whatever hell this was. Thinking about hell made me think about death magic and necromancy, my creativity coming to my salvation once again as I re-doubled my efforts to mentally visualize a different person. I was strong, stronger than the man of steel, I was faster too, wielding weapons I created to defeat my enemies.
Then my mind went to time and using it to speed up or slow things down. I thought about traveling through time to go somewhere before this event occurred or moving forward in time to when it was over. I used time to pause this pain and reverse it. This made me think of my family and the stories of our ability to glimpse insights we shouldn’t be able to know.
Finally, as the torture and pain hit a crescendo, I thought about purifying this, turning it into something I could use. I wanted to wield this very power and so I thought about a vast space where I poured all this pain. I imagined the pain in my blood that felt like poison and fire being sucked in this vast void. I mentally pushed and pushed, condensing all of it into a super dense well-spring, an ocean deeper than the Pacific. I pulled and pulled, creating a giant funnel in my mind that would draw everything into it.
I thought about nothing else. I just wanted to draw in the pain, removing it from my body so that I could wield this very power and turn it into whatever I desired. My massive funnel continued to draw in everything into the super-dense well-spring. At the same time, I visualized generating my own unlimited power to match, then exceed the power I was transforming my pain into. This power joined my own mass of galaxies and stars generating unlimited power. For a moment I thought of myself as a universe unto itself.
That thought made me remember all the animals and innocents that I hoped were not suffering as I was. With my last vestiges of mental will I increased the size and gravity of my funnel to desperately try to pull in whatever was causing this pain, making it grow to not just around me but the very planet itself. I did not care about my life any longer if I could sacrifice myself to save everyone else from this pain. That was my last thought before I blacked out.
I awoke or was having a dream, still not sure. All I knew was I was surrounded in pure white light.
“Am I dead?” I spoke out loud.
A jolly laugh that reminded me of St Nick and Christmas greeted me. “Ha, ha, ha, ha! No, not yet. We are between moments.”
“Which moments?” I asked.
“Good question. You will need that imaginative and critical mind of yours for what is to come.”
“What is to come?”
“Yes. Ages ago your world was shattered into different realms. Magic as you understand it along with the creatures of your fantasy were pulled into those separate realms. Since then, only the smallest trickle of magic has existed in your world beyond faith magic.”
“What caused this shattering?”
“Another good question. It was a sacrifice of one who willingly took on the sins of the world. The shattering limited the forces to interfere with the realm of man... that is until now.”
“I am guessing this has something to do with the unending and excruciating pain.” I stated.
“Yes. The forces of the Dark have finally twisted enough of humanity while those of the Light have asked for salvation. The agreement was made to begin to merge the realms and bring your world back into the fold. As such, your world is about to become a more literal battleground than you know.”
“Even in great tragedy there is good that comes from or in it.” I said as I recalled my family’s mantra.
“Ah yes, you glimpse understanding, yet there is more you must comprehend. This is something many have written about. Your spirit is already saved but you made a choice at the end there to sacrifice yourself to save everyone else. That act has created a choice.”
“A choice? You mean some kind of opportunity for these different forces.” I hypothesized.
“Ha, ha, ha, ha! Your combination of intuition and critical mind serve you well, hold on to both. Yes, you have presented an opportunity. You are not aware of what you were doing, not fully, so that is why we are speaking. Within all of humanity exists the capacity for good and evil... and I DO MEAN EVERYONE!” The voice boomed the last few words.
“Both sides have agreed you will be given a choice and make a decision.”
“What kind of choice and isn’t making a choice a decision?”
“Yes. But this choice will impact your salvation and the decision you will make will impact all those on your world.”
“My salvation? You said earlier that my spirit was already saved.” I asked with some trepidation as I did not like where this was going.
“Yes. This choice will risk much and change that outcome and others. In your final moments you offered yourself as a sacrifice to save others. Do you still stand by this choice?”
I did not even give it a second thought. “I do!”
I heard dark whispers upon giving my answer. Some I could make out, others I could not.
“Pspsh. Pstst.”
“He has agreed.”
“He rejects salvation!”
“The die is cast.”
The voice boomed. “SILENCE! YOU ARE ALLOWED TO WITNESS BUT YOU SHALL NOT INTERFERE OR ATTEMPT TO MANIPULATE HIM!!!”
All at once the growing whispers ceased.
“As they have spoken so shall I. The Dark and the others that move in the void gain much when they turn away someone from their salvation, it denies the Light with another force for good. They also believe if you are turned you can be a weapon like no other to serve their machinations. This is the gravity of your choice.”
“I understand what I do for others.”
“No, not yet. Perhaps you glimpse it, but you do not fully understand. Others can still choose to turn away and deny, this in their eyes would diminish your sacrifice and make you a fool. However, the Light sees otherwise and so an accord is reached. Instead of immediately joining salvation, you will go back. You will be another path, a choice to save those you can or wish to. This event shall change the very nature of your world. As time progresses more changes will occur.”
“Another path? Changes?” I asked.
“You must choose to help those that remain in your world. Many would have died from the event. Your pain was so intense because you held on so long rather than accepting your salvation.”
“Oh. So, I caused my own pain, that sounds about right.”
“Yes, perhaps you are wiser than you even realize. You have chosen to return to a world that will go through dramatic changes over time. Magic and creatures of fantasy and nightmare will return to your world. Some of the old ones will still not be able to enter but their influence will still be felt.”
“Influence?”
“You will know it when you see it. Now that you have made your choice, as a result you shall be granted authority, and it is now time for you to make the decision.”
“Authority? What decision?” I asked in confusion.
“You will decide how the humanity will interact and interpret this new world.”
I knew I had to understand this situation better, so I spoke up. “Please provide me with more context.”
“It has been over two thousand years since your people truly Interacted with the universe and magic itself. There are many ways in which one can exchange and interact with the universe and the inherent magic that will now be within everything. You must choose the way in which humanity with comprehend this new world.”
“The way they understand the world itself. Well, we use our eyes and other senses to interpret the world but that doesn’t always quantify things as we would prefer. Yet everyone’s perceptions also influence our understanding. Hmmm. There are some fundamental truths though that you can try to ignore but that does not change the facts. My thoughts immediately go to a system, like something from one of the many LitRPG books I’ve read. A system that can quantify the world around us and help us understand the new reality we will be in. Is something like that possible?”
“Anything is possible. To answer your question, what you ask can be done.”
“It should be more than that though. We should have the capacity to use our senses, including perhaps a sixth sense to also understand things. Hopefully the combination will help us to thrive.”
“Wise to not rely on one thing. Such can be done. Anything else?”
“There should be some penalties for unjustified killing or murder. If that is not possible some way for those of us to counteract those who do such things.”
Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
“A balance must be reached. As you will follow a different path, I will grant you an awareness of such things, but the world must be allowed free will, even if it is to destroy itself. That is the accord, the meek must fight to bring about the world they want. IT IS DONE. THE DECISION IS MADE.” The voice boomed and echoed the last part.
“It is time for you to return and reap what you have sown. Remember you can pull others to a different path if you so choose. Those left in your world have already denied salvation but that does not mean it is not possible to receive it. Use your creativity, imagination, critical thinking, and intuition. All of those skills will serve you.”
Then there was a flash.
-----------
Like that I startled awake as my eyes shot open. I did what anyone would do and patted myself down. My eyes, ears, hands, fingers, legs, wiggled my toes, yep toes check. Grabbed my manhood, woo-hoo, check.
“Alright everything seems to be in place. Did I have some junk food induced wild dream about the world ending?”
Just as I said that a screen popped up in my vision!
Greetings! Your world has forever been changed, what was separated shall now begin to return. Magic is real as are the beings you called monsters. Many of you have left your world and reached salvation. Now it is time for you to determine what you will do with the rest of your life on this planet.
This system has been chosen to help you interpret the changes to yourself and the world around you. Think or say “status” should you want to view your character sheet or information regarding your skills and abilities. You can concentrate on an ability or area to gain additional information. If you desire to adjust your notifications or display think “system settings” and your options will appear. These options are limited by person due to a multitude of factors.
After I re-read the notification, I mentally dismissed it. As soon as I did another series of notifications popped up.
Congratulations! You have created a magic core! When creating your core, you must determine its nature. Upon creation that core and its functions are solidified. Growth and some change in functions can change or evolve but those changes must align with the original intent of your core. Size, strength, capacity, and magical type or types all factor in to determine the rarity and purity of the core. Anyone can use magic they are attuned to, but a true magic caster or warrior requires a core to accomplish the miraculous.
Congratulations! You have created an Omni-Core! Omni-Cores are the rarest as all magic types exist and are attuned within this core, as a result, you have 100% chance at wielding any, and all magic types. This also grants you the ability to learn any spell, body movement, or combat form without restriction. Warning you must possess the mana required to use said ability or you could kill yourself in the process.
Congratulations! You have created a magic spiral! Mana and energy can be gathered and regenerated without a spiral but at a slower rate and far less efficient manner. Magic spirals are constructs that help you cultivate the magic around you. Size and speed determine both length of time to grow and evolve your core along with how quickly you regenerate the energy spent. New spirals are fragile constructs, easily shattered, or lost without focused time and attention. Continue to strengthen your spiral to further solidify and grow its capabilities.
Congratulations! You have created a Celestial Spiral! Celestial spirals can gather energy at a cosmic level, across realities. Such spirals are exceptionally rare and require a comprehension of multiple elements and an insatiable hunger for growth and knowledge.
Congratulations! Your Celestial Spiral has strengthened and grown to a gather intensity beyond that of a black hole. How it has not shattered is beyond comprehension. Your core has expanded to accommodate the prodigious growth rate. Your will must be strong, or perhaps you had help, either way, congratulations on not killing yourself!
“Errrrr, hold up! Wait a minute! What?! Congratulations on not killing myself?! You can kill yourself by gathering too much energy?!” I thought about that for a moment.
“Well, if I think about it, I guess that is true in science, too much energy or a big enough catalyst and boom. Ok note to self, try to avoid going boom. For that matter no boom boom right now either.” I said before diving back into my notifications.
Your creativity and imagination allowed you to strengthen the visualization of your core. This has let your core rapidly expand and take in multiple magical and energy sources. Taking in energy not aligned with your nature can lead to poisoning your spirit or ultimately result in your death. However, you possess an Omni-Core which has allowed you to take in any magic or energy source and transform it into what you require. Core’s capacity has vastly increased.
Congratulations! Your quick thinking and willingness to sacrifice yourself caused you to take in magic across the planet, taking just enough to save many lives. This selfless act has caused your core to gather enough energy to reach the pinnacle stage and forced it to evolve into a Divine Core!
“Was that what the voice was talking about. He said I could save lives.” I commented before continuing reading.
Congratulations! Your Divine core and Celestial Spiral have merged and evolved into a Divine Infinitum! A Divine Infinitum has the larger capacity and potency of a divine core, along with the ability to absorb magic and energy across multiple realities. What sets the Divine Infinitum apart is its ability to both transform any energy into what it requires and its ability to generate magic itself! This allows the wielded to not be restricted in environments where mana has been absorbed or devoid of a type of mana desired. Warning if not handled correctly can result in an apocalyptic event if you travel to a world without magic.
“Whaaaat?! I can generate my own magic?! That’s so freaking cool! Hmmm, apocalyptic event? I wonder if something like that influenced what happened to Earth? If what the voice told me is true, then most of my family and friends should have been saved. I somehow knew of a few that believed the lie and as such would not have chosen salvation. It was for those and others I did not know that I chose to return. Eh, figure out the whole cause of the apocalyptic event later. Time to see what my status says before I start making plans. Hmmm, let me change my name to one of my gamer handles. There we go.”
Name: Shadowalker
Race: In Transition
Level: 1
Strength: 8
Dexterity: 10
Constitution: 10
Intelligence: 21
Wisdom: 26
Charisma:15
Spiritual Attunement: Omni
Core Stage: Divine Infinitum
Spiral Stage: Divine Infinitum
Health, Mana, Stamina Values & Regen Rates per hour (pH)
HP: 130
MP: 286
SP: 188
HP/pH: 5
MP/pH: 130
SP/pH: 82
Core Capacity: 13
Special: Core Generation
Core Generation: 13
“Interesting. As to be expected my Strength and Dexterity are ok, not great but not bad considering the ‘Dad Bod’ I have cultivated over the last several years. I am surprised my Constitution is higher than I expected but still not where I would like it to be. I knew I had a sharp mind so no surprise my Intelligence is one of my higher stats. I definitely did not expect my Wisdom to be so high, that is a total trip. Lastly, Charisma is surprisingly decent. This may be real life, but I have played enough games to know you do not ignore Charisma, especially if I plan on trying to help others.
All in all, not a bad start. I had areas to work on regardless of what ‘build’ I was planning to go with. Heck, I don’t even know how I level up or how many stat points I get per level. That’s a good question.
“System? How do I increase my stats and or level up?”
Query Accepted.
Another notification popped up in my view.
There are multiple ways to gain permanent stat points. The most common is fighting and killing other beings. When a being dies some of its accumulated magic is released. Part of that magical energy is collected in the form of experience points. If you contributed to the kill in any way, whether directly damaging or providing support to your allies you gain a portion of those experience points. The higher your core and gathering spiral, the more experience you can gain per kill. Gathering enough experience points will cause you to level up.
When you level up, humans will gain 5 attribute points, which are commonly referred to as ‘stat points’, to distribute into any area you choose. Please note: your Divine Infinitum grants you an additional 8 ‘stat points’ per level...
“Wow, way to go Divine Infinitum!”
Query Accepted
Another notification popped up right in front of what I was reading.
Please Note that creation of a core is exceptionally rare so early on. The creation of the Divine Infinitum at all, let alone at this level... let’s just say the probability is so low that to display the number would take up too much text. In your current state it is unwise to let others know you have formed a core. Others may attempt to kill you for your core as attempting to absorb power from cores is another way to attempt to gain additional stat points and help expand your existing core.
Additional note: There are beings out there that can swap their core for a larger one if it is of the same type.
“Good to know! Thank you for the warning, System!” I said before thinking ‘Let’s not think about how it interjected itself, but maybe it has to do that to help us understand this new reality.’
I went back to reading the stat gain notification.
Additional ways to gain stat points include the following:
· Attempting to absorb cores from other beings.
· Potential stat gains from absorbing concentrated mana sources similar to cores.
· Performing specific magical rituals that can provide both temporary and permanent stat bonuses.
· Stat gains from certain Titles and Achievements
· Crossing a threshold in your magical cultivation can also provide stat bonuses.
Please note: Additional descriptions are available if required.
I whistled. “Whew! That is a much more expansive list to gain stats than I was thinking! I’m going to file all those away for now, but I will come back to them. For that matter... System is it possible to prompt me when I encounter one of those above sources and provide me additional information at that point?”
Query Accepted
Text appeared in front of me once again.
System Setting Changes Have Been Applied.
“Cool! Thanks System, you rock!”
Just then another thought crossed my mind, so I asked my favorite source.
“Umm System, how do I use magic or gain new spells?”
Query Accepted
Most magical abilities come from the following:
· Gaining a class can automatically grant new abilities and spells.
· Learning to channel your power to a certain part of your body or Experimentation using your creativity and imagination in combination with your power to unlock existing known spells and abilities or create new ones...
I was reading along until my brain caught up with what I read. “Wait, there are classes in this system?”
Query Accepted
Yes. Classes can be unlocked after level 13. Options for available classes are based on a multitude of factors including but not limited to achievements, titles, formation and type of core and spiral, etc.
Please note: A class does not need to be chosen right away but will grant bonuses per level gained afterwards.
“Man, that is a big catch 22. Rush to choose a class and you might miss out on something better later. Wait and you miss out on additional bonuses per level that you can’t get back. Again, let me add it to the list of things to address later. Back to reading. Where was I, oh right, I can gain spells and abilities through experimentation.”
As I returned to the notification describing how to learn magic, I noticed the warning text next to it.
...Experimentation using your creativity and imagination in combination with your power to unlock existing known spells and abilities or create new ones. Warning: Experimentation can lead to crippling injuries or even death if you carelessly try to force through your magical channels or you expend too much power before your body, mind, and spirit are ready.
“OK so take it slow and cautious when it comes to experimenting.” I said to myself before reading the final line with some golden text right after it.
... Some cores can contain abilities that can be gained upon absorption. Core must align with your magic type, your core must have capacity to absorb the ability, and your body, mind, and spirit must be capable of using said ability. User must spend extra time to attune to the core prior to absorption attempt. Warning: Some cores are such an anathema to the user that absorption attempts could result in injury, loss of sanity, or even death if a proper healer is not available. Please Note: Your Divine Infinitum does not possess these restrictions and is based solely on probably chance. Attunement prior to attempt can increase the chance of success.
“Now that is freaking awesome! My mind is running wild with possibilities! As long as I take time to sync up with the cores, I’m absorbing I could gain all sorts of cool abilities!”
After getting an initial handle on this new system, I figured it was high time I assess my environment and do some proper situational awareness.