“Here we go!” Leonard thought, rubbing his hands in excitement as countless threads of mist sprang from the dense cloud below him, wrapping him in strings of golden light.. As if the glowing strings of magic weren’t enough, Leonard was lifted off the ground where he hovered, awestruck.
Welcome Leonard, not Moron! Full integration prior to placement on Veil has commenced. As you have chosen to be integrated into dimension 008, you will be granted rewards respective to the standards established by the Eight Adjudicators.
Leonard gaped at the notification hanging before him, his heart pounding in his chest. He couldn’t believe this was really happening! After years of dreaming, he was about to get his very own personal status page! Awesome didn’t quite fit what he was feeling, but it was the only word that came to mind. And on top of everything else, the fragments of cloud were going to give him some rewards?
Yes please!
Congratulations! You are the 11th sentient being from your dimension and the 76th sentient being to enter the Eighth Plane. Truly, the Supreme Being smiles upon you to have achieved such feats! In recognition of your achievements, you are granted 2 minor boons.
As promised, by offering your companion for research and evaluation you have been granted a minor boon.
Total number of minor boons: 3
Leonard couldn’t help but dance a jig, which was a bit awkward as he was currently suspended in the air by threads of golden mist. This was better than anything he had ever dreamed of!
Attention! The creation of your Aura Signature is now complete. As such, you can now open your status page and allocate your allotted boons. Be advised, decisions made here will irrevocably impact tomorrow’s opportunities. Choose wisely.
Note: Boons must be used before departing the Eighth Plane.
Three transparent bars, a scroll, and an icon of a person flashed into existence at the edges of Leonard’s vision. He instinctively knew the red bar was associated with health and the green bar was his stamina. Strangely, the third bar was grayed out. But before he could delve into that peculiarity his status page opened of its own accord.
Name: Leonard, not Moron (Evolved Human) Level 1
Experience: 0 Experience to Next Level: 500 Age 19
Health: 100 Stamina: 100 Mana: NA
Attributes
Strength: 10 Dexterity: 9 Constitution: 10 Endurance: 10
Intelligence: 14 Wisdom: 8 Charisma: 9 Chance: 10
Brands: None
Titles: None
Languages: English
Skills: None
Abilities: None
Specializations: None
Attunements: None
Leonard couldn’t help but resume his little dance. He had a status screen! Granted, he was no Odell with those stats, not to mention that it was annoying his benefactors continued to get his name wrong. But he wasn’t going to contradict the powerful beings floating lazily before him. He wasn’t suicidal!
There was little doubt these Adjudicators were beings of immense power, which underlined how incredibly lucky he and Captain Glade were in running into them. Not only were they saving his commanding officer’s life, but they were bestowing on them the equivalent of what had to be a divine blessing.
Were they gods? If so, it would explain the elf girl's reaction. But the more he thought about it, the more he didn’t think that was the case. There was no doubt they were insanely powerful. But omniscient? Not likely. If they were, then they wouldn’t have gotten his name wrong in the first place, or miss calculated his stats.
Which brought him back to how should he go about correcting these misunderstandings?
“Thank you for this priceless gift, honored Fragment,” Leonard bowed his head as he projected his thoughts toward the closest floating cloud. He wasn’t sure showing gratitude was the way to go seeing as these fragments seemed to be all business and no emotion, but it couldn’t hurt either. “However, there may have been a slight miscommunication between us earlier. My actual name is Leonard Bernard Wolf IV. There is no Moron in my name. It's an understandable mistake seeing as we just met and all, but would it be possible to correct that? My name I mean. To correct my name.”
Leonard cringed at his less than stellar response.
Names are the building blocks of the soul and are one of many unseen factors that shape your interactions with the universe. While it is unfortunate the correct conveyance of your name was so challenging, it does not change the immutable truth that it is too late to adjust. Changing a true name requires a major shift within your Aura Signature.
Would you like to use a minor boon to alter your existing name?
Yes/No
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
Leonard stared at the notification, dumbfounded. If he understood the response correctly, the Adjudicators had integrated his name into some sort of cosmic aura connection with the universe? That made absolutely no sense. No sense at all. It was a name for crying out loud!
Though, he wasn’t dumb enough to confront the all powerful Adjudicators with that kind of attitude. Only a true moron would do something so suicidal. They were on good terms so far, but who knew if they were also a vindictive sort if pushed the wrong way?
Still, there was some good news. The message indicated there might be a way to change his name by using one of his boons. Not that he was going to use one of his precious boons for a simple name change. No, there had to be another way.
Eyeing his stats, he pondered for a moment whether or not he should bring up the obvious misrepresentation there as well. His intelligence stat looked about right, but his strength should be much higher after all those pushups he had done since joining the Army. And what was up with his charisma and wisdom? If 10 was the average, then both of those should be well above where they were currently.
The saying - nothing ventured nothing gained - ran through his mind as he rallied his courage to ask his hosts to reconsider their calculations. Maybe if he phrased his request in the form of a question it wouldn’t come across as too confrontational?
“Thank you for clarifying the situation with my name. I too am sorry for the… miscommunication on my part,” he was trying hard not to sound annoyed. “Could you explain how my attributes were assessed?”
Attributes have been weighed and calculated based on the standards of dimension 008 and are locked into your Aura Signature. However, unlike true names, advancing one’s attributes can be achieved through personal effort, leveling, magical enhancements, or use of natural treasures after you are placed on Veil. You may also use your allotted boons to adjust your attributes prior to placement.
Do you wish to use one of your boons at this time to adjust your attributes?
Yes/No
Leonard stopped himself from sighing in disappointment. He may not agree, but ithe Adjudicators had made it crystal clear they wouldn’t change anything without him using one his boons. Hopefully, the others weren’t having the same troubles he was.
As he thought of the others, Leonard made a note to warn Captain Glade before his Aura Signature was locked.
Pushing those thoughts aside, Leonard again focused on his status page. Just because he had these issues now didn’t mean he couldn’t find a work around. But in order to do that, he needed to understand what he was working with.
To begin, he focused on his race.
Evolved Human: A race from an extra-dimensional universe that has evolved past the need for mana to sustain themselves. Evolved Humans have unprecedented abilities and natural talents to advance in all areas but the arcane. While capable of attuning themselves to any of the spheres of magic, Evolved Humans must forcibly carve mana channels within their bodies and souls in order to do so and will suffer a -50% penalty.
Average life expectancy for this race is 75 years . Evolved Humans gain 3 attribute points per level that can be allocated as they see fit, with an additional point per level that is allocated to their most used attribute.
Leonard was fascinated, breaking down the prompt in an attempt to understand more than it was telling him. It now made sense why his third bar was grayed out. Humans on Earth had evolved past the point of needing mana to survive, which was stupid. That sounded more like a de-evolution in his opinion.
Still, it wasn’t like he couldn’t use magic. Even the prompt indicated he could forcibly carve mana channels, which sounded painful. Though he didn’t know if it would be worth it seeing as it had a -50% penalty. The mention of unprecedented abilities likely referred to human ingenuity.
But there were some things he didn’t know how to assess, such as if the number of attribute points allocated per level was good or bad?
“Could you help me understand how Evolved Humans compare to races found on Veil?” he asked.
Sentient races on Veil are vast and varied, each one with unique talents that sets them apart from others. Do you desire to use a minor boon to change your race?
Yes/No
Leonard’s jaw dropped in surprise. He could change his race?
The idea struck him like a thunderbolt. This changed everything! Ever since he had escaped into his first video game, Leonard had fantasized about being anyone other than himself. More specifically, anyone other than the perpetually disappointing son his father had been inflicted with.
Part of why this momentous experience was so incredible was that he could finally change himself at a fundamental level!
Without hesitation, Leonard selected yes, diving into the list of hundreds… no, thousands of options the Adjudicators laid out before him.
Anxious for what he would find, Leonard mentally selected the first race on the list.
Aarden: A race known throughout Veil for their gentle natures and love of stonework. The average Aarden can grow up to eight feet in height and are renowned for their innate ability Stone Growth. Aarden are highly sought after for their architectural wonders and sculptural masterpieces. Due to their unique ability, natural attunement in earth magic, and their mild natures, Aarden are typically born into indentured servitude with only a lucky few being born free.
Average life expectancy is 130 years. No sub-races are tied to the Aarden, which gain 5 attribute points per level, 2 of which are auto allocated into strength. If selected, you will gain an additional 3 points in strength and endurance.
Would you like to change your race to Aarden?
Yes/No
A picture of a massive human male with a flowing red beard, ivory skin, and bright green eyes appeared next to the prompt.
Leaning on his years of gaming experience, Leonard quickly broke down the information hovering in the before him. Stone Growth sounded like an incredible ability which he could think of half a dozen uses for. They were also large and muscular with definite bonuses in strength and endurance, ideal for a tank. However, the comment about them being gentle giants caused him some concern. Would selecting this as his race change him on a fundamental level?
Then there was the comment about most of the race being born into what amounted to slavery. He couldn’t help but feel the Adjudicators were not so subtly warning him away from this choice.
Still, he didn’t want to move on just yet. The comment about Aarden having an earth attunement caught his eye.
“Can you explain what an attunement is?” he asked.
An attunement is the fundamental resonance a being has with specific elemental spheres of magic, which include Air, Earth, Water, Fire, Light, Shadow, Corporeal, and Astral. Attuning to these spheres of magic can be advanced through a variety of means and are contingent upon race, resonance growth, exposure, and natural talent. Attunements can only be advanced after opening one's mana channels.
The information provided left Leonard with more questions than answers. Attunements appeared to be essential to casting magic and were tied closely with opened mana channels, whatever that meant. While he had some guesses, he needed more information.
For the first time since leaving Earth, Leonard wished he had access to a wiki.
Seeing no other notifications, Leonard grudgingly turned back to the prompt referencing the Aarden. While the ability to grow stone sounded incredible, he wasn’t interested in the race as a whole. But it did cause him to take a moment and think.
This new world he was about to enter was full of unknown dangers. He held no illusions that this chance to live out a lifelong fantasy would be fraught with danger. He needed to find a way to mitigate his information gaps while maximizing his advantages from the beginning.
The recent assault his team of specialized operatives made against the Godfather’s facility came to mind. A team of 10 had wiped out an entrenched force of more than twice their number in a matter of minutes. That was the kind of power he needed to survive in this new world.
More specifically, he needed to find a race that could not only provide the best advantages from the onset, such as advantaged stat growth and racial abilities, but that also provided the benefit of having significant backing. The more powerful the better.
And above all, his future race had to be compatible with magic.