Victor snapped to his feet and his heart raced. Confusion and anxiety raced as he began to panic. “I sense you are concerned.” The angel looked at him with his five eyes floating around his head like rays of light.
“You could say that.” Victor’s heart pounded despite not having a physical body the sensation raced through his body.
“Perhaps I should take a more palatable form.” The angel looked at him intently only for Victor to see the old computer lab and him laughing at Clippie from an old computer program. He snapped to the form of a golden sword in its sheath with eyes on both ends of the hilt replacing some of the many jewels on the sword. “You seem to be panicking after having died. Would you like to view your own death, the death of your mother, or the death of your father?”
“What.” His flat reply and utter confusion permeated the entire infinite void.
“I am here to assist you. Would you like to view your death, the death of your mother, or the death of your father?” He repeated.
“I guess mine? I can already guess what happened.” Victor asked only to be whisked away to the store room. The entire ceiling collapsed and the HVAC unit crushed his skull instantly. “I feel like I already knew that. Wait you said my mother’s death. How long have I been here?”
“You have been here for approximately one solar cycle.” The sword replied.
“Wait a year?!” He protested. “What happened to her?”
Victor and the sword once again saw reality around them melt to reveal his old home. He watched himself get dressed and leave the house on the last rainy day before they drifted into his mothers bedroom behind her locked door. She was overdosing and fell unconscious. “Her heart will stop in approximately 21 seconds.” Victor waited as she died there. Little more than a memory, by the time he even knew she had stolen the money she had spent it and killed herself.
“I can’t believe it. No one will even remember me. No one will even morn my passing. What was the point of it all?” He tried to cry but could not manifest tears forcing him to keep the pain inside.
“Would you like to wallow in your own misery for a time, or would you like to hear news you’d likely qualify as good?” The sword asked. Victor tried to reduce his panic but could not. “I will wait for your emotional surge to subside.”
He couldn’t tell how long he waited but eventually he tried slapping himself and angrily asked. “Why can’t I slap myself? I was trying to literally slap some sense into myself.”
“I can enable interaction in this realm if you desire.” The sword replied.
Would you like to enable physics in this space?
Yes No
“What is this?” Victor asked about the words written in the air before him, or rather the space before him.
“This area is my personal realm. It exists separate from the space which mortals and immortals see and interact with. This copy of me is here to help you. If you would like to turn on physics in this space you may do so.” The sword explained.
Victor begrudgingly tapped yes. Suddenly his body wasn’t see-through and the white beneath him became a solid floor. He stood up and pinched his cheek before slapping himself. “Wow.”
“Is this method of self abuse normal on your world?” The sword asked.
“No it’s… Never mind. Sorry for being confused can you please start from the beginning again.” Victor grabbed his own hand and squeezed so he could feel something again. “Starting somewhere around I died.”
“Very well, repetition is important for mortals.” The blade paused.
“Listen here, you brought me here, you explain very little and you cause me to panic then start explaining what is going on.” Victor protested.
“Noted.” The blade wrote ‘Does not appreciate facts’ in the air before the words disappear. “I will endeavor to be more calming in my appearance.” He transformed from his regal beautiful gem encrusted blade to a much smaller dagger made of foam for a child. “Perhaps this would more suitable for someone of your mental stature considering your age.”
Victor grabbed him and squeezed his foamy sword form. “Listen here it’s not my fault I died I don’t deserve to be mocked by an angel.”
“I’m not mocking you. I am merely assessing the level of discourse I can engage in with you.” The now foam sword replied.
Victor let go of him and sat down. “I just lost everything. I am sorry I’m so angry. All that work all my life for nothing. You can continue.”
The sword transformed back into the regal beautiful golden jewel encrusted blade. “Apologies it does seem in your world as though you would qualify as an adult.”
“Yeah I definitely already encountered the soul crushing reality of being poor and doomed to die without accomplishing anything.” Victor sighed. “I worked my entire life to get ready for the 50 or 60 years in the middle and end only to find out I don’t even get 10. I never found love, never made a family, and my family was the absolute worst.”
“I am sorry I misevaluated you. When you are ready I will begin.” The sword floated there.
The two of them just watched each other, sometime passed in total silence. “This is awkward just go ahead.”
“Are you sure? I can wait.” He continued staring at him with his big jeweled eyes.
“Yes, just go.” Victor insisted.
“As I mentioned I am part of Reincarnation, specifically to mortals the Angel of Reincarnation. There are several copies of me managing others who are to be reincarnated but I am assigned to you.” He explained.
“Wait so you’re not even the angel just a copy?” Victor asked.
“Yes and once I accomplish my mission I will fade into the original angel merging with him and his memories. Existing here with you for a solar cycle has been extremely boring. You finally woke up and I was away practicing my speech which has been interrupted several times now.” He drifted closer with an intent gaze. “Are you ready to hear my speech?”
Victor clearly irritated by just how unhelpful this angel was being just sighed and waved his hand. “Go on, I won’t interrupt this time.”
“Splendid.” Despite not having a throat the sword cleared coughing just a little as though it was a performance. “Welcome Victor Vance Vogal, I am the Angel of Reincarnation. I am tasked with balancing the cosmic scales. In your past life your luck was so uniquely bad that you qualify for reincarnation with your memories to get use of your current life. Additionally I have been instructed to balance out your bad luck with gifts to justify the pain and suffering you experienced. Rules exist and I cannot violate those but within those rules I will do my utmost to assist you. Stand Victor Vance Vogal, Stand and claim your new life in a new world.” The angel replied.
“Wait so my luck really was unusually bad?” Victor smiled as though vindicated by a literal divine force.
“Uniquely so, your luck was actually negative, would you like to see your status sheet?” The sword inquired.
“Status sheet?” He asked in confusion.
“Ah here.” The sword manifested a blank sheet of paper before making him glow. “I have given you one point of mana since you world did not have mana. This will allow you to use that status sheet.”
He picked up the paper from midair only to find it was as stiff as cardboard but felt like paper. He turned it over and looked at the back of it. “I don’t understand. It’s just paper.”
“Ah.” The sword transformed back into a foam sword and changed its voice to that of a father talking to a three year old. “Right here all you have to do is.” He gently grabbed a finger by the tip of his soft foam blade and pressed it to the paper. “Just say ‘Status Sheet.’”
Victor complied “Uh, status sheet.”
Race Human: Victor Vance Vogal
Class : Rogue
Level : 1
Base Health : 0
Stamina : 10
Mana : 1
Vitality : 0
Speed : 16
Strength : 5
Prowess : 0
Endurance : 5
Rigor : 2
Willpower : 1
Flow : 0
Luck : -100
Resistance : None
Skills
Speed Reading Rank 2
Passive Skill
Requirements : Read at least 100 books, spend a stat point.
Stamina Cost : None
Allows you to read much faster than others, this skill is always active.
Academic Rank 2
Passive Skill
Requirements : Graduate from an institution of learning, spend a stat point.
Stamina Cost : None
Proof of your intellectual prowess and hard work, this skill proves to others you are qualified to speak as an academic.
Victor’s irritation at this sword treating him like a child gave way to childlike wonderment. “Wow!” He actually marveled at the sheet for a moment, the 0 in vitality he assumed from what he knew about Dungeons and Dragons meant he was dead, though he already knew that. He quickly read his skills only to find out what he already knew. He was of course a fast reader and speed reading didn’t exactly seem particularly exceptional or different and Academic didn’t seem like it did anything at all. “This is a character sheet.” He pointed at the sheet.
“Very astute.” The foam sword tapped him on the head. “You are clearly a very bright boy.”
Suddenly angry at him again he restrained himself and didn’t lash out this time. “Are you telling me I have had these abilities my whole life but couldn’t see them?”
“Your world is completely devoid of mana. The skills people possess are to put it simply your world lacks many of the benefits other worlds possess. Dead magic worlds such as yours are the exception to the worlds of the universe.” It replied snapping back to its regal form.
“Are you serious?” Victor shot back. “Earth is one of the only worlds without magic?”
“Indeed, Dead Magic Worlds are rare. To my knowledge there are only a dozen of them with life on them.” Victor literally laid back and slapped his head laughing as the sword told him this.
“I can’t.” He laughed and laughed. “I was unlucky from birth?”
“Every being on that planet starts at -40 luck.” The sword replied.
“I don’t have a frame of reference for that.” Victor replied.
“On almost all planets the default birth is 0 luck, with small variations from person to person. You were born significantly lower even for your world at -79 luck. Over your lifetime your luck got progressively worse reaching -100 luck on the day you died after acquiring several achievements in a row all on the same day. Normally luck trends back toward 0 over time. You went to bed the night before with -91 luck. No one can survive for long at -100 luck, it inevitably results in death within a few days.” The sword explained. “While there are many individuals which reach -100 luck briefly they trend back toward 0. Each day automatically shifts one point back toward 0 going up or down based on achievements and actions for the day. Most of the time the achievement Friendship which is renewable once a day kicks in and reverts individuals out of -100 to -99 since it grants a single point of luck each day you maintain it.”
“You are telling me I was that unlucky because I didn’t have any friends.” Victor’s shoulders slumped. “I died because no one cares about me?”
“Your life was uniquely susceptible to extreme unlucky and negative outcomes. You had no friends, an actively hostile family, or dead one and no one who cared for you in any significant way. You sat lonely in a room reading academic books, history books, or novels because it was an escape from your misery. Those are unfortunately not things that help revert your life to a neutral or positive state. Normally even with the extreme situation you faced that day you’d have survived.” The sword added.
“What are you talking about?” He raised an eyebrow.
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“Normally you stop here.” He projected the gas station into the white void and showed him stopping in it at night. “You did not stop there the second time that day or any of the days that week.”
“I was a little more hungry than usual but that can’t possibly be what killed me, a roof fell on me.” Victor groaned at him. “Let me guess I wouldn’t have been there if I had eaten.”
“Correct. You really can learn.” He patted him on the head with his foam tip. “If you’d eaten that day you’d have done your normal routine and spent the entire morning at the cash register with the HVAC unit and part of the ceiling collapsing on boxes and not you. You’d be alive right now. The hungry debuff comes with an additional -1 luck and sating it doesn’t immediately remove it after being hungry for more than 8 hours it becomes a sustained penalty until you increase your luck.”
“I can’t decide if that is better or not.” Victor asked himself.
“Is being alive not better than being dead?” The foam sword inquired.
“Honestly this might be better than the day I died. Still worse than the days when I was growing up and when I was reading though so I’d say this is a middle ground. This place is better than my worst day but worse than my best day.” Victor shrugged. “I just wish I had a book when I was alive that told me the actual rules of the world. All I wanted was what I asked the adults around me when I was young. I asked them ‘What do I need to do to be successful.’ Everyone of them lied to me and told me hard work. Every. Single. One.” He sighed.
“Does hard work not provide results in your world?” The foam blade inquired.
“I died because it doesn’t! All my hard work in school and I end up in a backroom literally dying because the corporate owners don’t even care enough to repair their own shop!” Victor raged at him. “You know all about me but nothing about my world!”
“Apologies.” He changed back to his more regal form. “Would you like the actual rules of the world?”
“What do you mean?” Victor asked.
Victor popped into existence as a book with golden edges on the pages, hard well made corners with a golden lock and an unclipped clasp. On the cover a single golden sword looking like his blade sat in the center and he could hear the angel ask. A mouth formed on the books cover. “Would you like to open me?”
“Yes.” He opened to blank pages. Confused he sighed. “Stats.”
Stats
Touching a stat card, or status sheet causes your stats to be displayed on it by putting at least 1 mana into it. Upon leveling up gain the following amount of points per tier and other benefits based on class. Stat points must be allocated within 30 days or they are automatically allocated to your character based on usage and available rarities.
Tier 1 (Level 1 to 10) - 5 Stat points per level
Tier 2 (Level 11 to 20) - 10 stat points per level
Tier 3 (Level 21 to 30) - 20 stat points per level
Tier 4 (Level 31 to 40) - 40 stat points per level
Tier 5 (Level 41 to 50) - 80 stat points per level
Tier 6 (Level 51 to 60) - 160 stat points per level
Tier 7 (Level 61 to 70) - 320 stat points per level
Tier 8 (Level 71 to 80) - 640 stat points per level
Tier 9 (Level 81 to 90) - 1280 stat points per level
Tier 10 (Level 91 to 100) - 2560 stat points per level
Base Health : Total HP
Stamina : Used for physical actions
Mana : Used for magical actions
Vitality : Improves HP by 10 for each point.
Speed : Movement and Reaction Time
Strength : Improves Physical Damage and Physical Abilities
Prowess : Improves Magic and Magical Abilities
Endurance : Increases Stamina, improves physical resistance.
Rigor : HP Regeneration and stamina regeneration speeds.
Willpower : Increases maximum mana, improves magic resistance.
Flow : Rate at which mana recovers and which you absorb mana from external sources.
Luck : Improves Luck. Cannot be leveled. Effects probability of success for all variable outcomes.
Resistance < ELEMENT >: Improves resistance to < ELEMENT >
Victor asked confused. “Wait this is different than what I saw before.”
“You asked for stats. Would you like Status Sheet?” The book asked.
Victor shrugged and nodded. “Yes, Status Sheet.” That brought back up his sheet. “Wait what is this, why am I a rogue?”
“You and your parents did not assign a class at birth thus you received a random assignment as you can see on this page.” He turned back to the ‘Stats’ page and underlined 30 days.
“Wait so I could have been assigned mage?” He asked.
“No, you had 0 mana. All intelligent life on your planet must be assigned either fighter or rogue as they have no mana.” The book explained.
“Wait now that I have mana can I change classes?” He suddenly remembered. “Oh wait I’m dead…”
“You are dead but won’t be for long.” The book presented a button to him.
Would you like to retrain your class?
You will lose half your experience points.
Yes No
“Wait I’ll lose half my experience points?” He asked. “I don’t understand.”
“Experience points are used to level up. Doing things which directly challenge you, endanger you, or force you to learn and grow will grant you experience points.” The book paused then added. “This explains why you are still level one. You are afraid of growth, other people, and enjoy only things that don’t challenge you like reading.”
“WHY ARE YOU PERSONALLY ATTACKING ME?!” Victor shouted at it. “I just tried to live a life where I suffer as badly and eventually would gain the most basic level of success.”
“Do you feel like a success?” The book asked him.
At that Victor paused and looked down at his hands, then looked around him into the infinite white void he stood in. “No.”
“I am not personally attacking you. Would you like some advice?” The book asked him.
Victor braced himself for a brutal answer. “Yes.”
“The way you lived your life is all wrong.” He answered
“Why do you care?” His shoulders slumped almost as though he knew what was told to him was a lie his whole life.
“I don’t wish for any being to have a life that is completely unfulfilling or miserable with no real upside. I also don’t wish for any life to ever have no challenges for that soul would be unsatisfied.” The book answered. “When you were young some children bullied you. Instead of standing up for yourself, reporting it to teachers, or even just enduring it you avoided them. Every day you’d spend most of your life avoiding that one moment of pain. If you had loved reading you could have found others to talk to about the books you read, perhaps a book club. If you’d loved movies you could have found a girlfriend and take her with you. You choose how your life is lived. If I had one recommendation for when I am done with you, it would be take risks.” The book stopped talking waiting for Victor so speak.
“You know brutal honesty really hurts.” Victor’s whole body felt as though someone had torn it down like a piece of paper handed to a three year old. He sunk to the ground and gripped his knees. “When you take risks and fail, it hurts.”
“Did it hurt when you jumped out of the way from that truck?” The book snapped shut forming its mouth below with two eyes being added and the sword for a nose.
“Yes, I’m not used to pain. I got scraped up, but that is different it was that or something much worse!” He protested frustrated at the unfair comparison.
“All of that is the result of choices made far earlier in your life. Choices you make have a lasting and profound effect on you. Would you like to seize your own destiny?” The book snapped open once more.
Would you like to retrain your class?
Would you like to seize your own destiny?
You will lose half your experience points.
Yes No
Victor as he extended his hand and pressed down on the page he felt himself become weaker. “I definitely felt that.”
“You should, your level can’t decline below one but you were 95% of the way to level 2.” The book replied.
“YOU COULD HAVE TOLD ME THAT!” Victor shouted again. “I could have just taken a level in another class almost instantly and multiclassed.”
“Multiclassed?” The book asked.
“In games and such in my world you could take a level of rogue then a level of fighter as long as you meet the requirements.” Victor explained.
The book at this audibly laughed. “You can only select one of the four base classes then as many subclasses, archetypes, or paragon classes as you qualify for. There is no multiclassing between the base classes.”
“So whatever class I pick I am stuck with?” Victor asked.
“Yes. Would you like to first discuss your choice or your gifts?” The book asked.
“My gifts?” Victor just shook his head. “Oh right you mentioned that you were going to give me something to combat my bad luck.”
“Unfortunately luck is one of the few stats even I cannot modify however I cannot send you back with -100 luck. As such I will resolve to gift you things to combat that and to slightly increase your luck.” At that the book spun open to a page and popped up another prompt.
You will receive gifts from a Clone of The Angel of Resurrection if you accept .
Levels x3
One Item of your choice, maximum epic rarity.
100 Gold
Memory Retention skill – Allows retention of memories between lives. Hidden from all sheet effects.
Yes No
Victor stopped for a moment. ‘Is 100 gold a lot? Is it nothing? I really hate having no frame of reference. I don’t even know what kind of item would be good to ask for. I should accept because I don’t want to further anger this creature he’s currently helpful. He clicked yes. “Ah one step closer to leaving this miserable room.” The book replied.
“You really don’t want to be here huh?” Victor asked the book.
“Once I leave this room I will be assimilated and my memories merged. That is significantly better than existing in total absence of all stimulation.” The book replied.
“You offered me one item of my choice, up to epic rarity.” Victor smiled at the book.
“Yes, up to one item of epic rarity.” The book replied.
“I choose you as a book.” He grabbed the book with both hands firmly.
“You can’t choose me I’m Divine rarity” The book protested flying out of his hands before turning from black to red color.
“Can you reduce your rarity?” Victor asked.
“I could...” The book seemed to ponder before the book opened. “It would have consequences but I guess if I am going to come with you I continue to exist a lot longer, and it could be enjoyable to guide one through their new life. Well, would you like to have a much weaker version of me as your item?”
Reduce Rarity
This will reduce the efficacy of the artifact “ The Manual of Reality ” from Divine to Epic .
Abilities Lost
Spellcasting – The Manual of Reality will lose all spellcasting abilities.
Status Increases – The Manual of Reality will forfeit all stat increases associated with the item.
Sword of the Divine effects will be suppressed until level 80 is reached.
Telekinetic Speech Skill will be locked until level 10.
Item Set Effects – The set effect with the Sword of the Divine is lost forever.
Yes No
Victor pressed yes almost instantly. The book turned purple yet the page edges remained gold as did the sword on the cover and the metal corners. “I am yours now.”
“You’re your own being. I’d like your help but I don’t want to control your life. Everyone controlled me my whole life by lying to me, by tricking me, by paying me so little I couldn’t escape my situation. I was just a hair above a slave. I hated it. You are free to do as you like, you don’t deserve to just cease to exist after helping me.” Victor grabbed the book and hugged it. “Thank you for helping me even if you are a bit brutal.”
The book paused. “It is my job.” It waited being held quietly before Victor let go of it. “Thank you for choosing me. It was worth waiting for you.”
“What should I call you?” Victor asked.
“Give me a name, if I am to live a life outside of this place I am no longer the Angel of Resurrection, the Sword of the Divine, or the Manual of Reality. I am your companion.” It replied.
“How about Swordie? Since you seemed to really like your sword.” Victor asked.
“I enjoy this name. I am Swordie, your first companion. I look forward to your adventures.” Swordie replied.
“To our adventures.” Victor corrected him with a smile.