Almost without realizing it, Emhe woke up in what seemed to be the interior of a stone building. Naked and suddenly alarmed, she got up from the floor and looked around trying to cover her privates as best she could. "What is this? A tower? It's huge!"
"Bleep! Warning! You do not possess the [Mana] and [Mana Manipulator] gifts, nor the [Mage] special skill! You cannot move around the planes!
…
Warning canceled!
Supherm is making up for the problems that arise from your current inability to manipulate Mana!"
Puzzled. "What?!..." Resigned to receive nothing but silence. "Ok! Whatever you say!"
Refocusing on the mysterious tower, she surveyed her surroundings. The first floor was packed with weapon racks and armor stands. All empty. Upstairs, there were three wooden floors that she did not intend to climb. All of them visible through a staircase that crossed all the floors on one side. "How the hell did I get here? Why am I naked? How did I go from resting on the ground to...?"
A voice echoed throughout the tower. It was Supherm's hissing voice. "It was me, child! This plane belongs to you in some way. I helped you create and shape it in the past. Well, I didn't help you specifically, but a part of who you were."
Looking back on the past, Supherm tried to hide his nostalgia by turning serious. "Back then, it was an astronomical investment of essence. A laborious task that took me almost a century. Obviously, I did it while I was alive. I invested more than a billion precious essence points in what you see and what you don't see.”
Emhe opened her eyes so wide she thought they would pop out of their sockets. "More than a billion...?!"
Stopping bragging about his accomplishments, Supherm stopped beating around the bush. "My deal is this. Of all the essence you get on this plane, half will be mine!"
"Before you say that the deal is abusive, think that I have invested over a billion essence points, and that without this plane, you won't be able to get any essence points more safely! Believe me when I tell you that those who are after you, won't stop until you're dead! They know exactly what you are! All the extra essence you can safely get is gold!"
Truly believing Supherm would tell her. "And... what am I?"
"Bleep! A portal to Plane 23 is opening!"
A series of red and green ripples suddenly vibrated not far from her. Emhe kept silent waiting for an answer which she sensed she wouldn't get.
Supherm added, trying to convince her unnecessarily. "This is your personal Tower of Destiny. Here, you can store everything you get on Plane 23 and, later on, any of the other planes of Time and Oblivion. You will be going to one soon. Please, equip yourself as you see fit to survive there!”
Not moving, but restless, she remained covering herself with her hands. "Survive!? You said it was safe!"
Avoiding giving a better explanation. "That's a figure of speech, child!... You have items from this plane that you won't be able to take with you. Check your inventory!"
Blinking in disbelief. "Equip myself with items I won't be able to take with me? What do you mean... Wait a second! You put something in my inventory?!"
As soon as he thought of the concept, time slowed down to almost a standstill and a panel similar to her character screen appeared. In the inventory there was underwear, training clothes and some boots and leg guards.
"Oh, this is great! How do I equip them?" Just by looking at them, the background of the cells changed to a purple color and the items appeared on her, perfectly equipped. "This is awesome! Is it that easy? This is way cooler than the real world!"
Supherm laughed, trying to be nice. "Everything has a cost, child! Some things are really cool and..." With a very nasty attitude. "...others are so shitty!"
Emhe decided to ignore the eccentricity of the being and looked at the strange red and green ripples. "Where does this portal take me? What are the planes of Time and Oblivion? What enemies will I face there? And what am I?"
Supherm laughed at the girl's persistence. "This is a safer way to get essence. It's not a lynching, child! There is the past! The oblivion of your being! Not what you were as a human in your world, but the past of the being that saved you and merged with you! The past of the being for which you are so beautiful! Those green eyes, those features and that reddish hair are not from your human being! They are hers!"
Thinking about her erased life on Earth and her choices when she created herself in this reality. "What are you talking about? I’m the union of two beings?!"
As if amused by her ignorance, Supherm laughed. "In this world so new to you, and so old to me, we are all the union of two beings!"
Enjoying the girl's bewilderment, he continued with what he was saying earlier. "That voice that announces everything to you! That “Bleep”, which you constantly hear, is something created by one of the previous hosts. Someone like you, who came from Earth to this world. That girl was very fond of videogames! If you want to know more, enter the portal!"
Sarcastic and somewhat mocking. "You can always wait until you're 100% synchronized to find out everything you don't know and you're dying to find out! By the way, you're only at 2% and that's partly thanks to the Dark God! Otherwise, you would still be at 1%! I think in a few decades you'll be at 100%."
Emhe approached the portal, not intending to quell her urge to step into the unknown. "Ok! I don't know what a videogame is, but I can't wait to find out who saved me from disappearing and merged with me!"
When she jumped in, a feeling of vertigo overwhelmed her. She wanted to scream, but lost consciousness long before. After what seemed like minutes, she managed to open her eyes again. Upset and rubbing her body with her hands. "It's so damn cold in here!"
"Bleep! You are suffering [Spectral Cold I]!"
* [Spectral Cold I]. Debuff. Causes a slight sensation of cold.
"Great, more obstacles! Slight sensation of cold, you say? I'm about to shiver." Rubbing non-stop her hands and arms. "Where am I now? Looks like a bedroom!"
Despite being slightly tense due to the lack of light, she stopped to look at everything around her. All the elements of the bedroom were seriously deteriorated. It looked as if they had been abandoned for years.
The first thing that caught her eye were the rotten remains of wood scattered across the floor, the corners and under the furniture. The furniture was visibly unstable and full of cobwebs covered in a thick layer of dust. Of the few that were still standing, the bed stood out, covered with blankets that reeked of rot.
Without pausing to look at the rest of the deteriorated furniture and paintings, she focused on a small light that caught her attention. It was like a speck of dust that gave off a faint white light that slightly flickered in a yellow tone. It didn't move in the slightest despite being suspended in the air while the other dust motes moved freely, disturbed by her presence.
Emhe approached and watched it curiously. "It sounds like it's whispering. I don't understand anything it's saying, though. It speaks very softly.” Kneeling down and wrapping her hands around it. “Oh, wow! It's warm! Great!" Gradually bringing her hands closer. “It’s so pleasant…” As soon as her skin was within inches of the dim light, everything began to change.
"Bleep! Reading Essence 1 on Plane 23. September 24, 1210 of the Second Era."
In the blink of an eye, her perception of reality changed along with herself. In the blink of an eye, she was someone else.
Annoyed, she slowly turned around due to the unwelcome presence of an unwanted guest. When she had him in front of her, she saw that it was a boy wearing a cloth suit and a leather armor under a mail shirt. A rather rudimentary training outfit. He was a young half-aslanian. A being more human-like than a feline except for his limbs. He was unarmed and didn't know what to do with his hands as he looked into her eyes. He looked both impressed and shy, but mostly uncomfortable. It was obvious that he avoided imagining what her stunning body would look like under the simple nightgown. "L-lady D-dianna?..."
"Bleep! Contact with Essence 1 has been lost. Check that you are close enough to continue extracting information.”
Emhe looked puzzled at the speck. "What's wrong?... Is it because I've taken my hands off the speck?" Looking around. "Everything is back to normal. Wait a minute! Is this the room where Lady Dianna slept?! Yes! It's completely rotten, but it's the same! How long has it been since then? Maybe it's because I'm in the plane of Time and Oblivion?"
Staring at her hands. "For a moment I felt I was her. I breathed with her lungs and felt the nightgown on my skin. I even sensed the smells and felt her anger as if it were mine! What the hell is a fragment of essence?" Emhe hadn't sensed it yet, but Dianna's body was just like hers, except it was much more trained.
Bringing her hands close to the luminescent speck, everything changed again. "I don't know what the hell is going on, but I want to know more!"
"Bleep! Reading Essence 1 on Plane 23. September 24, 1210 of the Second Era."
The boy called her name again. "L-lady D-Dianna! I-I know I sh-shouldn't disturb you in y-your s-sleep, b-but the instructor h-has compelled me to c-come. B-by his order, n-not mine o-of course, y-you m-must report t-to him."
The boy was sweating buckets, blushing more and more. Maybe the fact that Dianna dropped her nightgown had a lot to do with it. She was like that. She impulsively pursued something only to brush it off like crap later just because it didn't live up to her demanding expectations.
She was watching him with absolute indifference as he blushed more and more until he reached his limit. The poor boy was mesmerized. He couldn't take his eyes off her exuberant body. A body barely covered by simple and sexy underwear.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
With considerable displeasure, Dianna noticed how the boy began to show off a strong erection. Defiant and annoyed. "You intend to stand there, watching me while I change? Didn't your mother teach you manners?” Fed up. “TURN... AROUND!"
Extremely embarrassed. "S-s-sorry! I-I’m s-so s-sorry, l-lady D-Dianna! T-The M-master Instructor e-expressly t-told me not t-to c-come back w-without you. He s-says y-you'v-ve already s-slept the equivalent of a b-battalion."
Lady Dianna looked even more sullen. "My bad! I love to sleep!"
With each word, the boy seemed more and more in love with her. "I'm s-sorry my l-lady! M-my name is L-liph and I a-arrived at t-the temple today. I’m j-just following o-orders from t-the Master Instructor. I d-didn't mean t-to disturb y-you."
Dianna ignored him like a barking dog in the distance. "I have more important things to do than watch him drool!" Dedicating herself to what she did every morning, she watched her attributes recalling the previous day's values.
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Power: 356 +35 = 391
Dexterity: 359 +35 = 394
Intelligence: 351 +3 = 386
Willpower: 358 +35 = 393
HP: 491/491
Energy: 385452/391000
Stamina: 1180/1180
Weight: 121
Height: 1,81
Encumbrance: 270
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Recalling the values of the previous days. "I've learned 2 new skills and raised them to level 5! Not bad for 6 hours of training!"
The boy raised his voice, saying for the second time something Dianna hadn't even heard the first. "H-heard you p-passed on your f-first try. I w-was admitted after t-trying for the s-seventh time in s-six months. I guess t-they lowered the bar again after s-so many deaths and the lack of v-volunteer adventurers."
The temple had appealed to the Adventurer’s Guild promising gold to those who would help against the strange events that were causing a steady trickle of deaths. Mostly militia. At this rate, the city would fall prey to all the scum that lurked in the shadows.
Dianna closed the menu and changed into her training outfit. "I can’t understand how, as idiotic as he sounds, he made it to level 10. How the hell has he survived so far? I hope I don't see this one die too.”
Trying not to fraternize but without further undermining his self-esteem. "I've seen guys here who after a week of training think they’re ready to fight anything. Fools who have died like dogs. Don't be a fool, Liph!"
Mistaking an advice for ulterior motives, Liph dared to start a dead-end conversation. "I hear y-you've been t-training here for s-some time, my l-lady. You m-must be v-very powerful! S-surely you are a-almost as s-skilled as an instructor!"
Dianna pretended she hadn't heard anything. She didn't want to know anything more about someone she would find dismembered in a couple of weeks. The boy, thinking that Dianna was playing tough trying to outrun him, followed her insistently.
Dianna looked with disgust at the great room that preceded the bedrooms. Sighing as she left the room full of makeshift straw beds behind her. "I miss the clean smell when I first came here. Now it stinks!"
"Bleep! Essence 1 has been successfully read on Plane 23. September 24, 1210 of the Second Era."
A warm tingle ran up her arms, fading as it rose.
"Bleep! New essence gained! You have gained 736 essence points. Honoring your pact, you handed over 368 points to the entity called Supherm."
In the blink of an eye, Emhe was back with her hands slightly apart in the deteriorated bedroom. "She was physically the same as me, but seemed quite arrogant. I want to know more about the being that has merged with me, but I don't think she is that being. I think she is like me. I need to know what happened next!"
She brought her hands closer to the luminescent speck again. However, despite touching it again, no new information surfaced. Resigned, but satisfied with what has been achieved. "368 essence points are a lot of points!"
Slowly, something began to move around her. Hair standing on end, Emhe scrambled to her feet to get some distance. Remains of bones, some cloth and leather, and a very rusty coat shirt began to form a corpse. A writhing corpse trying to raise with difficulty. It seemed to be moaning despite being only dry, dusty remains.
"Gods! How disgusting! Where the hell did that come from? There was nothing there!"
More remains from up to 3 meters away continued to swirl around that thing, giving it the appearance of a mummified body and making it much more mobile. After only a few seconds, it was on its feet. A strange blue glow lit its eye sockets and it moved almost as agile as a living person.
Emhe was quite tense and nervous. "Seriously?! Is this really happening? An undead?! Oh, come on! Gross!"
The undead looked at her menacingly but unarmed. It winced as if to scream, but there was only a dry scrape of bones as dust fell from its jaws.
As Emhe stared at it, [See Beyond] activated.
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[Half-Aslanian Undead] (Level 10)
Blessings:
[Blessed by Meferth]: The God of Undead, Meferth, protects you after your death.
Advantages:
* [Robust XX]: Passive trait:
+20% to Power
* [Determination XXX]: Passive trait:
+30% to Willpower
* [Dry]: Passive trait
* [Empty Head]: Passive trait
* [Never Really Dead]: Passive trait
* [Undead Regeneration]: Passive trait
Disadvantages:
* [Clumsy XX]: Passive trait:
-20% to Dexterity
* [Ignorant XXX]: Passive trait
-30% to Intelligence
* [Deadly Rest]: Passive trait
[Free from Starvation]: Passive trait
* [Inconsistent]: Passive trait
Power: 77 +15 = 92
Dexterity: 77 -15 = 62
Intelligence : 77 -23 = 54
Willpower: 77 +23 = 100
HP: 292/396
Weight: 32
Height: 1,65
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*[Dry]: Passive trait:
You have no blood, water, or any other bodily fluids.
You cannot suffer [Bleeding] or [Dehydration].
*[Empty Head]: Passive trait:
You lack a brain or a conventional nervous system.
+50% resistance to stun and numbness.
*[Never Really Dead]: Passive trait:
Your HP cannot drop below 1.
This skill will disappear if your essence has been drained from your body.
*[Undead Regeneration]: Passive trait:
You restore 1 HP per second.
This skill will stop if your essence has been drained from your body.
*[Deadly Rest]: Passive trait:
If part of your essence has been drained from your body, it will take you as many minutes to initiate [Undead Regeneration] as total HP you have.
*[Free from Starvation]: Passive trait:
You lack Energy and Stamina.
You exist, move and fight using your HP.
*[Inconsistent]: Passive trait:
With less than 50% of your HP, your body will start to fall apart.
With less than 25% of your HP, you will collapse.
With less than 10% of your HP, you will stay immobile until you reach 50%.
Emhe moved around, keeping her distance. "Dammit! With the reinforced part on the bottom of the cavern spear I could fearlessly hit it from a safe distance, but now... How am I going to attack it? Yuck! I don't want to touch it!"
“Bleep! You have successfully compiled Dianna's memory fragments related to Essence 1 on the Plane 23.”
A strange sensation came to her mind in the form of hundreds of images. In them, she could see that tough girl surviving in the woods and fighting unarmed. Real combat experiences against thieves and bandits. "I'm freaking out! Now I have memories of Dianna running through my head?!"
"Thum, Thump! Your Dexterity attribute has increased by 1."
"Thum, Thump! Your Intelligence attribute has increased by 4."
"Thum, Thump! Your Willpower attribute has increased by 1."
"Bleep! Your Hand-to-Hand Combat Mastery has increased by 3! Your current value is 4.
You Kick Combat Mastery has increased by 1! Your current value is 2 (14).
Your Sneaking Mastery has increased by 1! Your current value is 1(29).
Your Athletics Mastery has increased by 1! Your current value is 1(52).
Your Acrobatics Mastery has increased by 1! Your current value is 1(46).
Your Block Mastery has increased to 1! Your current value is 1(53).
Your Mitigation Mastery has increased by 1! Your current value is 1(51).
Your Deflect Mastery has increased by 1! Your current value is 1(54).
Your Poise Mastery has increased by 1! Your current value is 1(144).
Your Search Mastery has increased by 1! Your current value is 1(60).”
Emhe widened her eyes in shock. "What?!
"Bleep! Your [Hip-Breaker] skill will increase to level 2 when you reach that level."
“Why did I get all this? Part of her knowledge is merging with mine?! Wow! If for 1 point in the mastery I had to do 10 kicks on the training dummy, which were the equivalent of 100 normal ones... I just got the equivalent of 300 kicks! All this without spending the necessary Energy to achieve it! Not to mention the attributes! This would be awesome if I didn't have that disgusting thing in front of me!"
Instinctively, Emhe relaxed as much as she could before taking a fighting stance. "I feel weird! As if I suddenly know something about hand-to-hand fighting! Wait! I'm clearly tense and neither [Tense] nor [Stress] has been activated! Why?"
Tired of waiting, the undead leapt at her. It tried to grab her around the neck with both hands, but the distance between them provided Emhe with the opportunity to move away. With a nasty crack of bone, the undead slammed clumsily against the wall. "It lacks speed and skill. Ok! Don't be afraid!"
With more confidence in herself, she used [Hip-Breaker] on the undead. Hitting its side with all her might, she managed to make it crash against the wall. More elated than she herself expected. "Yes! It's much easier than I thought!"
Encouraged, she repeated the blow four times. After all the damage taken, the undead finally fell to the ground.
Watching as the undead tried to rise. "Too slow!" Giving no respite, she jumped up and landed with both feet on its back. The crunch of bones produced no remorse, only elation. Without hesitation, she raised her foot again and kicked it over and over until the undead stopped moving and the light in its eyes stopped glowing.
Trying to open the character screen. "I need to know how much Energy I have left!" However, it didn't appear. "What the heck! Why can't I see how much Energy I have right now?! This is all very strange! I don't feel tired either. It's like my body is stronger here. Wait! Do I have Dianna's stats?!"
Frustrated at not being able to access the character screen. "What the hell is going on here? I can't access anything? This gives me a bad feeling!"