“You were late by nearly 15 minutes. You haven’t been late to my class once all semester, yet you chose today to be tardy? You do recall the zero-tolerance clause in my syllabus that was handed out at the beginning of the term, don’t you? I could’ve left you outside that door, and you would’ve failed your final. Inevitably failing my class.”
Alan forced himself to continue looking directly at his professor as he spoke, hiding his hands behind his back where he was fiddling with his backpack straps.
“You might have only been tardy today; however, you’ve been remiss in your obligations as a student for the last week. You’ve failed to focus in my class, and even worse, you submitted the wrong term paper, which would have cost you thirty percent of your assignment’s grade for being late if I hadn’t provided you with a day's extension. That assignment was worth a third of your overall grade!” This is a required course for you, Mr. Woods. Failing my class would’ve prevented you from graduating next week. Now, I don’t know what is going on in your personal life, but I know you’re a good kid. I’ve had you in my classes for nearly three years now and haven’t had an issue until now, so I’m willing to look past this and not hinder your grade on the final, but you need to focus and work past whatever is keeping you so distracted. You’re nearly done, and I’d hate to see you have to return next year when you shouldn’t have to.”
“Thank you, Professor Moody. I appreciate your concern and the help you’ve given me. I’ll make sure to focus on what’s important.”
“See that you do. Now off you go. I have another class arriving soon. And do take care, Mr. Woods.”
“You too, Mr. Moody.
Walking out of the science building, Alan stopped to look at the sky. It was a bright blue sky with a scattering of a few small clouds. It was a beautiful sunny day, yet he couldn’t find it in him to enjoy it. Ugh, it’s been quite a day. He’d known he’d been distracted lately, but forgetting to charge his phone last night nearly cost him his graduation. I should’ve listened to my parents and purchased an alarm clock years ago. I never would’ve heard the end of it if I had failed that exam because of it.
“Alan!”
Alan turned towards the familiar exuberant shout in time to catch Sarah as she lunged to embrace him. A bright, caring smile filled his face at her behavior as he spun her around to burn off the excess momentum. He’d become used to her antics over the years, as there was hardly a time she wasn’t full of energy. She was so full of life, constantly in motion from one thing to the next, never an idle moment missed.
“Ahhh!” she squealed. “I can’t believe we’re finally graduating!”
Her energy was contagious, causing Alan to laugh as he gently set her back down. “Speak for yourself. I still have another exam tomorrow. We’re not all lucky enough to have our exams earlier in the week.”
“Oh, shush you. We both know you’re going to pass.”
Alan stood there, taking in the moment as he stared into Sarah’s eyes, a gentle pressure on his chest where one of Sarah’s hands rested as she stared back at him. Just breathe, Alan, just breathe. You can do this; you need to do this. No more waiting.
Releasing another chuckle, Alan scratched the back of his head. “Yeah, I’m not too worried about the exam, but I still have to wait for it to finally be over. You’re free to fully relax now until the graduation ceremony.”
“We will both have plenty of time to relax after you’re done with your exam tomorrow.” As if her words weren’t suggestive enough, the wink she gave him while pressing herself against him with a flirtatious smile clued Alan into what type of relaxing activities Sarah was referring to. His already racing heart began beating a little faster; however, it wasn’t due to the stress and anxiety he’d been feeling.
“I’m sure we can find something to keep us busy until graduation.” They both chuckled as Alan took a step back while lightly grasping her hands in his. “I’ve been thinking more lately of what comes after graduation, though.”
Sarah’s eyebrows furrowed as she slightly tilted her head. “What do you mean? I thought we planned to go on a short vacation after applying for jobs.” Alan shifted his weight, standing as straight as possible while taking a deep breath to prepare himself.
“That’s still the plan. I meant more in a far-reaching sense.” Seeing her confusion grow, Alan rushed into his speech before any misunderstandings could ruin the moment. “As in what we plan to do together. We’ve been dating for three and a half years, and I’ve loved every minute of it. Whenever I think of our time together, the only thought that enters my head is that I don’t want our time to end. I love you and want to be beside you as we make our way in life. I’ve had my head buried in the sand trying to find the right time over the last couple of weeks, and I’ve finally realized that if I keep waiting for the right time, I might end up watching as it passes by.”
Alan released Sarah’s right hand, slowly kneeling as he reached into his pocket, revealing the engagement ring he’d purchased nearly a month ago.
“Sarah Gardner, will you marry me?”
Expecting to see a surprised but happy expression blossoming on Sarah’s face, Alan was instead hit with a chest-wrenching pain as if he’d been stabbed and had the knife twisted around as he stared at the chilling expression Sarah wore.
“How could I ever marry a dead man? Is this some kind of cruel joke?”
“Wh-what d-do you mean… d-dead. I’m right here! What’s goi… Ahh!”
The ground suddenly crumbled beneath Alan as he plummeted toward a never-ending abyss below him.
----------------------------------------
“Ahh!”
Alan bolted upright to a sitting position, his head swiveling to take in his surroundings.
“It was a dream, just a bad dream. Thank goodness.” Alan’s body sagged as the rush of energy left him. He allowed himself to collapse onto the hard cold ground he’d found himself on. “Just a dream… Too bad it all wasn’t a dream.” Alan held one hand aloft, reaching out, hoping he could revert it all. To pull Gwen from the reaper's clutches and to be able to hold Sarah, even if just for one more moment.
It took a short moment for Alan to notice something was very wrong. The foreign image that met his sight was not the arm he expected to see. Confusion quickly took hold, with panic quickly following. Finding himself for the second time with a rush of panicked energy, Alan sprung back to a sitting position as he slowly scanned what had become of his body.
“What in the absolute hell happened to me!”
Alan found not the body he was born with, well, not the body he was originally born with, but an entirely new one as he was reborn through the advent of mana. They were not the minor alterations he’d imagined would come from turning into an undead but drastic changes that came with the use of insanely potent catalysis, causing his body to undergo massive changes. It wouldn’t be incorrect to say he was a newly born man.
Alan slowly stood as he adjusted to his new body. He hadn’t been short before, standing at 5’10”, but now he towered over his previous height by nearly a full head length. His shoulders had broadened out as well, with his muscle mass increasing throughout his body. “How is it possible that I gained muscle mass while dead? How does that make any sense?” Compared to the other changes, those were more menial, hardly worth more than a passing thought.
The more startling alteration was his exposed chest. It wasn’t as if he had a bare chest, but that his chest and nearly everything that resided inside, down to his torso, was gone. All that remained were his bones, revealing a rib cage that protected his new heart, Gwen’s heart. It was the same glacial blue, beating with a vigor he’d never felt before. Focusing on his body, he felt a rush of vitality and energy coursing through him in time with the beating of his heart.
“How in the world is it circulating without any veins?”
Alan turned his focus to his arms, noticing the only startling difference was that his skin had become alabaster in color, nearly identical to Gwen’s. Vibrant streaks of glacial blue and translucent greenish-white swirls spiraled throughout his body as if they were flowing through veins. “Hmm, I wonder if that’s the energy I feel coursing through me.”
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Reaching toward the heart inside his ribcage brought his hand to an abrupt stop as it impacted against a translucent greenish-white spectral barrier. Running his hand down the length of his chest resulted in the same outcome as the first attempt. “So I have a spectral exterior protecting my chest in place of skin. Alrighty then…” Alan tapped at various sections of his chest, receiving the same results as his first attempt. “I guess it’s not too noticeable unless it receives an impact? I wonder how it looks from further away.”
Alan's focus was lost as a stray thought that had been scratching at the back of his mind finally made headway to grasp his attention. “Oh, shit! Please tell me it’s still there!”
Looking down to inspect himself brought great relief to Alan. “Thank goodness…” Alan sighed in relief. “Here I thought I was boned…” Alan said through a slight chuckle. Inspecting the remainder of his lower half, Alan noticed that starting from his waist and continuing down remained mostly the same, the only difference being that it received the same transformation as his arms, holding an alabaster hue with streaks of color running throughout. “Not sure if I can even do anything with that anymore, but at least I have the peace of mind that it’s still there. If only I could see what my face looked like. I hope it hasn’t changed much; not like it would help much with first impressions…”
Alan glanced around, scanning his surroundings. Unfortunately, he once again found himself in an entirely unknown place. He seemed to have been moved into an icy cave with a singular tunnel leading out. The cave was rather spacious, and the tunnel was wide enough to comfortably hold three of him abreast.
“Ugh, please tell me this isn’t going to happen every time I pass out. Where am I this time?”
World Dungeon
Now entering the dungeon, Heart of the World.
Progress passed the starting area when you’re ready to proceed.
Alan flinched backward, unprepared for the system prompt that appeared before him. “What in the hell? Proceed to what? How did I get here? And what in the hell do you mean by dungeon?”
[Direct queries toward system provided guide.]
“What guide!? There is no one here but me!”
[Direct queries toward system provided guide.]
“Ugh, wonderful. I survive dying just to be stuck with some broken system that can’t explain what’s happening. Fine then! Guide, where am I, and what is going on?”
Alan waited, growing more irritable as time passed. After two minutes without a response, Alan tried asking out loud again.
“I’m not getting a response from my so-called guide, so what is going on?”
[Analyzing situation… Analysis complete]
[System guide currently indisposed. Check System notifications to view backlog.]
“Alrighty then. Notifications.”
A tiny blinking square in the bottom right corner of Alan’s vision that he hadn’t noticed suddenly expanded, releasing a barrage of unseen notifications that filled his vision.
[Mana threshold has reached operational capacity.]
[System initiating…]
[Initial assessment commencing…]
[Assessment completed.]
[Anomalies detected.]
[Scans indicate a high probability of tampering.]
[World core absorbed by sentient inhabitant 4,849,147,825… Initiating Protocol WSR-2531]
System-Assisted Species Evolution
Available Evolutions
World Spirit
Accept Species Change?
Accept?
Decline?
[Species change automatically declined as inhabitant is deceased… Recalculating.]
[Reclaiming world core…]
[Error… Previous indication of deceased not applicable. Inhabitant currently undergoing evolution… World core is unrecoverable.]
[Scanning possible evolutionary paths.]
[Error… Evolutionary paths are incalculable. Priority escalated. Further review required.]
[System assistance granted for inhabitant’s evolution.]
[Evolution successful. Unknown if evolved species is applicable to accept responsibilities as a World Spirit.]
[Protocol WSR-2531 initiated.]
[New world core required… planet Earth will be merged with another initiating planet. Adjusting topography… Topography adjusted. Prepare for relocation.]
“Well, that explains why I’m no longer in the Altar room, but what in the world does it mean my evolution is incalculable?”
[The creation of Unique Species is not calculatable as they have yet to be defined in the System database.]
“Alrighty then. So what did I become? Are there any benefits to being a unique species?”
[All available personal information is displayed in inhabitant’s status sheet.]
“Status? Wha…” Alan paused as the notification screens were replaced with what Alan assumed had to be his status.
Name
Alan Woods
Race
Grim (F)
Titles
A New Beginning, Voice of the World, The One and Only, First Classer
Class
Grim
Profession
N/A
Level
1
Stats
Strength
33
Intellect
35
Dexterity
32
Wisdom
37
Endurance
33
Will
37
Vitality
35
Charisma
32
Perception
31
Luck
36
Free Stat Points
0
System Currency
0
“Not much information to go on from here. Hey, System. Should I just call you system, or do you have a proper name?” Alan waited for a brief moment for the system to respond, yet the moment was only filled with Alan’s awkward silence. “Anyways… Is there some baseline for stats that I can compare mine to? It’s nice that I can see my stats, but it doesn’t help me if I can’t conceptualize it.”
[All available personal information is displayed in inhabitant’s status sheet.]
“So… bare minimum of assistance. Thanks for that.”
Alan focused on the race section of his status, hoping to receive additional information that could be useful. His attempt proved successful as another screen appeared before him.
Grim
An archaic being thought to be the Progenitor of Death. Historical records indicate they were the arbiter of souls, shepherding the deceased to their life after death.
Alan’s brows furrowed the further he read the information on his new species. “Alrighty… Well, that definitely doesn’t scream ominous. Doesn’t really provide me any immediately useful information, either…”
“Why couldn’t you identify my evolution if you knew about my species?”
[No definitive records have been recorded throughout the system's operation. This is the only known emergence of a Grim.]
“How does that make any sense? How long has the system been around?”
Alan’s question was once again answered with a resounding silence. “I guess the system won’t answer all of my questions, or maybe it can’t. I wonder just what is the system?”