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The words flew in front of Peter’s eyes. Then the world turned bright, going from complete darkness to light, blinding him for a second. As his eyes adjusted, he found himself in a strange area. Standing on a featureless gray floor, with an entirely white background sprawling in all directions as far as he could see. Looking at his hands, he saw through them, he was sure they were his hands, but they didn’t seem to have any substance. Before he could start to panic, a wall of text appeared in front of him.

Greetings traveler, welcome to the Dawn of Nexus. You are in the avatar creation section. The creation process will begin in 3 minutes and 45 seconds. Please wait. The full neural interface will react to your mental instructions; however, you could use voice commands if you prefer.

Taking a deep breath, Peter began to experiment. He could minimalize the prompt with a single thought; he tried moving it around his vision, then pulled out the countdown. Encouraged by his tries, he added a clock in the top right corner of his display, showing the current in-game and real-world time. After a moment, he dismissed the real-time as it was distracting. Finally, the countdown reached zero, and a new series of prompts appeared.

Welcome, Peter Kowalsky. You will begin your avatar and tribe creation momentarily. You will have a week to complete it, starting now. While in the creation landscape, you can adjust your choices, but each change will have a cost.

You will begin with a 15000 Essence.

For winning one of the global tournaments, you are awarded additional 5000 Essence.

The first step of creation is to choose your race. This will be a starting race of both your avatar and your civilization. Additional races can be unlocked via the gameplay.

You can choose a random race. This will grant you an additional bonus of 3750 Essence!

A list with over a hundred races appeared in front of him. Humans, elves, dwarfs, goblins, orcs, beastkin, just to name a few obvious ones, but there were also sapient undead, half-elementals, even aquatic species. It was mindboggling. Peter just glanced over them. In his gaming, he played a few dozen races with good results. Another few just weren’t his fit, but they were a minority. He felt comfortable with most, but he didn’t ever fully commit to a single one. The choice before him was a major one.

“I still don’t know what the points do. Having a few thousand more than most of the competition is already a boon, but having another thirty-five would push me ahead even further, but what if I get some shitty race? Or one of the few I don’t like at all? On the other hand, the previous prompt said I could adjust my choices with a cost. I’m setting up for long gameplay, choices, choices, choices.” Peter pondered at a problem.

He was a bit of a gambler. The strategy he chose in the finals was a great example of that all-or-nothing play. However, that might be literally game-changing for him. On the other hand, he had only limited time to push his advantage and needed every angle he could get. The time was of the essence, and pondering over the choice was just costing him it. Deciding he went for a random option.

A figure appeared. It was a humanoid-shaped blob of gray goo that began morphing, growing, and shrinking, like trying to decide on its shape. The process was increasing in speed, the goo almost flowing free from the shaking creature before it started to settle down in a very familiar figure.

You’ve chosen your starting race: High Dwarf - one of the dwarf subspecies, know by its love of construction. They built their holds close to the surface, creating incredible citadels both on and below the ground. Due to spending a lot of their lives above ground, they grow a bit higher than their compatriots reaching between four and a half and five and a half feet. Each level they gain +1 Endurance and +1 free point, every odd level they gain +1 Ability, every even level +1 Might. Racial traits: Dwarven Endurance, Low Magical affinity, Magical Resistance (Minor). Racial techs: Basic building, Construction, Advanced construction, Basic Engineering, Stonemasonry, Basic Carpentering, Mining (common ore), Smelting (common ore), Mining (uncommon ore), Smithing

Do you wish to confirm your starting race? You can reject the random race at the cost of 5000 Essence.

“Hell yeah!” Peter exclaimed, pumping his arm in the air. Due to low mobility, the high dwarves weren’t his favorite race, but they were in the top five. The moment he said that, he felt his own body changing. It shrank a bit, his view moving a bit lower, but he felt his arms filling out and shoulders stretching. A mirror appeared in front of him. He lost half a foot, reaching five and a half, but gained at least a foot in shoulder width. He still looked a bit sickly. His natural thin body didn’t seem to fit the dwarf form. Concentrating on his looks, he began remodeling, adding muscles. It was a strange feeling, his body responding to the changes. He felt muscles bulging under his skin. A few minutes later, he was done. In the mirror, he saw a muscular dwarf with a bald head and a rich black beard woven in a single braid, almost a foot long. Long sharp brows, hidden emerald green eyes, adding a predator-like image. He also took care to remain more or less consistent with the rest of his body, just more muscular. Clothing options weren’t too plentiful, but a dark green tunic with leather pants seemed to work.

Happy with his luck so far, he focused back on the following prompt awaiting.

Congratulations, you are now a High dwarf. Please enter a name for your avatar: …

Horn was his nickname for the past two decades, but it didn’t seem right for a dwarf. On the other hand, that was only a game. He put the handle in.

Name accepted. Please enter a surname: …

That was a new one, but it was an RPG in the end. He pondered for a while but then found a perfect one. His real surname - Kowalsky, was an eastern European one, his grandfather was an immigrant, but he was proud of his roots. He explained its genesis to Peter, ‘Kowal’ meant smith, the ‘sky’ was just a suffix, but its meaning in English was clear enough. Combining it just felt right – Horn Skysmith.

Surname accepted. Please chose your clan.

A list unfolded with hundreds of proposals. The game wouldn’t let him create one by, but it still was impressive. A few minutes later, he was done.

Rejoice! The high dwarves of the Lightforge clan are returning to the face of Nexus!

A summary appeared, with a short question to confirm:

Name: Horn Skysmith

Race: High dwarf

Allegiance: Lightforge Clan

Level: 0/0/0

Essence: 0

Current class: -

Previous classes: -

Health: 18 / 18

Stamina: 16 / 16

Mana: 14/14

Attributes: [6 free points]

Might: 12

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Reflex: 8

Mind: 8

Endurance: 12

Spirit: 10

Ability: 12

Presence: 8

Skills: -

Traits: Chieftain, Dwarven Endurance, Low Magical affinity, Magical Resistance (Minor), Low light vision.

Titles: -

He quickly went through the attributes. There were a couple of new ones, but most were already available in the previous game. Presence and Ability were new ones. Focusing on each brought a short and enigmatic description. It was a bit of a surprise as in ToN; each attribute was clearly explained with all mechanics behind them. Horn wondered what such change would mean.

Might – The strength of one's physique. Slightly affects maximum health and its regeneration.

Reflex – The speed of one's reactions. Slightly affects maximum stamina and its regeneration.

Mind – The power of one's will. Slightly affects maximum mana and its regeneration.

Endurance – The willpower of one's body. Affects maximum health and stamina and its regeneration.

Spirit - The density of one's soul. Affects maximum mana and its regeneration.

Ability - The potential of one's creativity.

Presence – The aura of one's character.

It seemed that his dwarves would be pretty resistant and both strong and good with crafts, which suited him perfectly. He wasn’t sure yet what to put his points into, but that could wait. The levels themselves seemed strange. 0/0/0 didn’t mean anything for him right now.

Finally, he checked the traits.

Chieftain – As a chieftain, you can take over and use a Soul Well. Losing all your wells for more than two weeks will result in forfeiting this trait and your clan.

Dwarven Endurance – The dwarfs are known by their resilience. They can pull through a lot more than other races. Your stamina expenditure is lower for all activities.

Low Magical affinity – Your people have a more challenging time learning magic due to innate resistance to mana. Leveling any class related to arcane magic takes twice as much essence.

Magical Resistance (Minor) – Your race is slightly resistant to magical effects, the direct spells affect you less, and the duration of any magical effects is similarly decreased.

Low light vision – Your race is living on the border of the surface and the underground, long hours in the tunnels allowed it to adjust to seeing with minimal lighting.

The descriptions were at least a bit more detailed than the attribute ones, but still, Horn was missing many details. To be able to truly work his strengths, he needed more information. A bit frustrated, he sighed and proceeded to the next notification awaiting him.

The time has come to chose a path forward. Chose your first class!

In front of him, the air swirled, and blobs of energy appeared, quickly morphing into several incarnations of himself, their bodies and faces were the same, but they clearly were differently equipped. The first one was evidently a warrior, clad in metal armor with a heather shield and an axe. A prompt identified him as a Fighter. Next to him with a hammer in hand and leather apron stood a smith, or rather a Crafter. The third figure held a mace with one hand, and calming light emanated from the other, the worn chainmail with a tabard on top of it filled the picture of a cleric, and indeed the class was called an Adept. The final figure was almost an exact copy of himself. No additional clothing or tools were present and was called simply – Laborer.

It was a surprisingly sparse collection of classes. Horn was sure he was missing something. Why only four? And why such a strange collection? Where were mages, rogues, rangers, and so on? He could believe that his race had something to do with it, but cutting down to only four choices? It seemed strange. The first prompt said FIRST class, but it still was weird. He checked his status sheet, and an idea came to him. He only had four attributes of ten or above. Horn wanted to try adding a few points to one of the characteristics.

On the other hand, he had only six free. He pondered on the problem for a while but finally decided to try it. He put two points into his presence, bringing it up to ten. He was a chieftain, so it seemed logical to invest at least somewhat in it.

He didn’t feel anything change for a moment, but then another swirl of energy appeared next to previous avatars, and from it came another iteration of himself. Dressed in fancy robes, with a large bag of what he could guess were coins, he was a Trader.

“So classes have a prerequisite. Interesting, so if we’re going via the archetypes, then Reflex is hiding some rogue or ranged class and Mind, probably a mage one. Neither are interesting for now. I wonder what higher scores hide, but for now, it's time to decide.”

Horn was torn at choosing the class. If he were to lead a clan, he’d preferably chose some kind of leader or commander class, but they were not available. The fighter wasn’t an exciting option. He’ll have plenty of them. Laborer seemed even less compelling, Trader wouldn’t be the worst choice, but he had no idea how big of a clan he’d get and how soon he could use any of Trader’s benefits. That left Crafter and Adept paths. The First would be undoubtfully helpful at raising his base, but the second was a healer variant. He recalled that he’d have a time limit to establish himself after the tutorial part, so he guessed the resources and manpower would be limited. Healing could help.

It came to the final consideration, was he micro or macro manager. The answer was simple. He loved to be in the thick of the action. Most of his strategies revolved around unprecedented moves and striking at the opportune moment. He wouldn’t be able to do so while sitting comfortably at his settlement crafting. So the choice was obvious.

Congratulations! You’ve become a level 1 Adept. You are a conduit between your people and the gods. You are still discovering them at this stage, but you’ll have to dedicate yourself to one of them at one point. Despite martial prowess not being the focus of your duty, you are prepared to fight those that threaten your people. If God is with us, who can be against us? You gain +1 Spirit per level. You gain +1 Might, Endurance, or Presence per level.

Congratulations, you’ve learned skills: Combat proficiency, Cure Wounds, Radiance blast. You can learn a single out-of-class skill.

You’ve reached level 1. You gain: +1 Endurance, +1 Ability, +1 Spirit, +1 Might/Endurance/Presence (choose one within 1 hour or it will be randomly assigned), +1 Free attribute point.

He went with the safe option and assigned the point into the Might. As soon as he had done it, he felt something change. His body shivered as it adjusted to a slightly different shape. His muscles grew minimally bigger, and his breath became a bit deeper. A sense of calmness spread through his mind. However, the game didn’t wait, and another prompt appeared.

It’s time to chose your first champion. The champions are heroic individuals that will impact your tribe. They have exceptional strength, but also their own needs and desires. Align with them and prosper, disregard them and face the consequences. The first champion won’t cost you Essence. You can either pursue the soul well to find one that suits you or chose blind luck and receive an individual of higher rarity. You can reject the random champion at a cost.

On a cue, a massive see of energy erupted in front of him. Familiar swirls of energy began condescending in hundreds of dwarfs. There were warriors of all types, wielding powerful weapons, others clad in armor, leaving only small slits for eyes. Others looked like rogues, rangers, mages, and hundreds of other professions. The view was breathtaking. An army of heroes stood in silence.

Horn was dumbstruck. It could take him a week alone to go through all of them. He focused on the first one, and a short description appeared.

Irvil Ingotcrusher – the Watcher – Uncommon – Irvil was one of the captains from the Order of everlasting watch, guarding the Empire’s underoad, always scurrying the tunnels to exterminate any monster presence that could endanger the trains. His mastery of throwing axes and trapmaking served him well. He died in a Drow ambush, sacrificing himself to buy time for the Empire’s heir to escape.

He sounded terrific, and his image radiated expertise. Despite wearing only leather armor, with some metal studs, it fitted him perfectly. A dozen of short axes hung from two belts crossing on his chest. Another bigger one was held firmly in his grasp. His short-cut hair of chestnut color was blending with a short beard. Horn has almost chosen him at the spot, but then he checked another individual and another and another. Each of them had a similar short tale of their strength and a story of their demise. None were identical, but each was heroic. But what else could he expect from choosing a Champion?

Half an hour later, Horn started to become frustrated. Every single one of them was appealing, but none was breathtaking. The notification was still open in the corner of his eye, with a random option floating up there. It became tempting, so tempting. Previously system said he would be able to refund random race if he didn’t like it, and again there was such annotation. Deciding, Horn chose the random option.

You have summoned your first champion. Heroic units have several advantages over other sentients. They are more powerful and grow quicker, and even if they’re dead, they can be resummoned from your Soul well. However, the long wait in the Soul well diminished their capabilities. Those are your most precious allies, but each of them has its own personality and goals. If your actions conflict with them, the heroes can leave your service and become independent or even openly revolt in extreme cases. By selecting a random champion, the soul’s rarity was upgraded to Scarce.

You have summoned: Ingrid Sharptong – the Boar Breeder – Scarce – Ingrid was a daughter of a minor lord in the Anvendar Empire. In her young years, she saw her father losing most of their family fortune and land. Diminished to being a wealthy peasant, Ingrid decided to reclaim their heritage. However, she had only a tiny herd of dwarven work boars. A few decades later, her herds were one of the most sought out in the Empire. The royal cavalry used her boars as mounts. Despite rising in ranks and officially reclaiming her peerage, her dream wasn’t fulfilled in her lifetime. Her family was always treated only as peasants by the rest of the court. She died almost a millennium later in a fire set by her competition while trying to save her champion boars.

“What the fuck?” Horn cursed.