Character - Chapter3_*DING* : A Dreamer’s Game

James came awake in a rather odd place. He seemed to be in a large flat white room with a mirror splitting the room in half. Or at least that's what it looked like to him. Looking forward, he saw his own reflection looking back at him. Curious, he tried to get closer to the mirror, but he was immediately assaulted by two very strange facts. One, his reflection did not move as he got closer. And two, he didn't have legs. Looking down he realized he didn’t seem to have any body at all. It was in this moment of panic he also realized he was not in a room but instead a seemingly endless flat white plain of nothingness. If he had lungs, he was fairly certain he would be hyperventilating right now.

After calming himself and deciding he probably wasn’t dead, he tried to move around his surroundings. Upon testing, he realized he could move however he wished, even moving several times his own height above his stationary body. He took this opportunity to get a closer than normal look at himself.

As usual, he wasn't very impressed with what he saw, especially now with these close unflattering angles. He was a tall white man with short cropped black hair and a bit of a slouch. If he stood upright, he may be over six foot, but he always seemed to move as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders. He looked physically strong but also rather soft. He liked to tell himself he was only thirty pounds overweight, but he was probably at least forty. For a young man in his early twenties he wasn't that bad looking. He had handsome features, good hair, and a broad back and shoulders. However, what the image before him spoke of was a lack of confidence and drive.

Once he was thoroughly discouraged, James tried to look for a way out of this place. Thinking he might be able to find one of those glowing messages he had interacted with before, he looked around for a green glow. As soon as he went looking, two panes of text popped up next to his body in front of him.

Character Creation: Accept? [Y]

Character Name:_________

Character Level: [0] EXP:(0/10)

Character Title: [Dreamer]

Character Race: [Human]

Character Age: [22]

Character Stats: (1-20)

Strength: [15]

Dexterity: [8]

Constitution: [13]

Intellect: [16]

Wisdom: [11]

Charisma: [7]

Luck: ???

Warning: your stats are too low and not considered "heroic" enough. You can opt to either place 3 points in any category or choose one stat to re-roll.

Character Class: [Dream Weaver]

Character Sub-Class: [Empty]

Character Professions:

[Student] Lvl. 1

[Steam Master] Lvl. 2

[Empty]

Character Equipment:

[Work Clothes]

[Phone]

[Ancient Note]

After looking through the whole message he began to get a little excited. This whole scenario made him think of the times in high school he and his friends would get together and play the tabletop RPG Dungeons and Dragons together. Whatever this was, it also seemed to have the same stat block system he was accustomed to. Or almost the same, besides the curious luck stat. He wondered for a moment what the ??? meant before deciding there were more pressing questions to be answered.

His stats were about what he expected and yet it was still disheartening to see such a low charisma. He understood the low dexterity. He was known for tripping over painted lines, but the low charisma was much worse than he expected. He was really intrigued by the ability to change his stats. If he increased his intelligence would he actually get smarter? Let alone what wisdom might do! Well, before he messed with his stats he needed to know what his class was and what stats it relied on.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Focusing again on the text he tried to mentally reach out and click his class name, still finding himself lacking any fingers to click it with. To his excitement there was an audible click then the class description opened.

[Dream Weaver]: [Dream Weavers] are very few and far between. As a hidden class, it is not one that can be trained into and often generations can pass by without a single [Dream Weaver] being born. [Dream Weavers] have an innate connection with dark, illusion, sleep, and creation magic along with a less understood connection with the divine magic of dreams. Their main abilities have to do with bringing forth dreams into the realm of reality. A young [Dream Weaver] may be able to, for a short period, bring a weapon, an armor, or even a shelter from their own imaginings into reality. A more experienced [Dream Weaver] can create magic stones, enchanted armors, powerful golems, or even entire citadels and make them permanent or semi-permanent.

It is a common saying "A [Dream Weaver] is only limited by their imagination." Some people have suggested in ages past that the whole of this created world was formed by a single dream of the greatest Weaver that ever lived.

A Weaver’s magic is dependent on the Intellect stat.

Ability: [Weave] Using your connection to the magic of dreams, you bring an object from the world of dreams into reality. Skill varies with level, comprehension, talent, and imagination.

After reading that description James found that even without a heart, he could feel it racing in him. What an incredible ability. How can I use this? Can I make money or gold? Well it wouldn't be permanent until I get strong enough. I've always wanted a castle. All these thoughts flew through his head in a single moment as he began to fantasize about the possibilities.

Catching himself, he decided to get a better understanding of the whole of his character before he moved on. Next, he looked at his title and professions.

[Dreamer]: Title given to one prone to dreams. To some this is a curse and others a blessing. Dreams of import and dreams of future events will come easier to you. This title can evolve under the right circumstances.

[Student]: One who has made it a habit to study and thinks of learning as a way of life.

Ability: [Exp. Bonus] EXPX1.15

Ability: [Skill Transfer] Through meticulous study of a manuscript or under the tutelage of a teacher you are much more likely to gain a skill, even one outside of your class or profession.

Level 1 EXP (87/100)

[Steam Master]: One who has immersed themselves in the ways of steam control and steam endurance. You have gained an affinity and understanding of steam and an endurance to its effects.

Ability: [Steam Proof]: Your soul has been steeped in steam. Due to this conditioning, all but the greatest of steam exposure will not result in your harm. This however, does not mean it will be comfortable.

Ability: [Heat Resistance]: X1.2

Ability: [Steam Release] Your body gives off some of the stored steam energy within your soul. It can either be given off in a large low effect cloud or in a concentrated blast. This skill's effectiveness is dependent on character and profession level and is powered by the users own energy.

Level 2 EXP (122/1,000)

Well, neither of them seem like trash professions. He thought to himself. The student one is self-boosting and provides a nice overall boost to my experience gain. And the ability might come in real handy in the future with how useful the skills I currently have are. I do wonder why I haven't even leveled up [Student] once even though I've been a student my whole life but just after a few months of working this job I'm already level 2 [Steam Master]? Well, I've never really been a good student and the description of the Steam Master talked about immersion in steam which I've been doing every day in that incredibly hot boiler room. Never thought I would be thankful about that... As he thought on, there was one thing he realized needed his immediate attention. I guess I will have to pick a name after all.

After a short deliberation he simply put "James" in the box. Sometimes the best thing you can do is not get ahead of yourself, he decided. After that was taken care of, the only thing he had left to do was deal with his stats.

I know the smart thing to do would be to play it safe and put all 3 points into intellect, but I really can't get over how low my charisma is. And thinking about it there is a really good chance of getting more than 3 points of charisma...

At that point he made his decision. As soon as he did, he saw four 6-sided dice appear hovering in the air in front of him. As he remembered, he was to roll all four and drop the lowest one. Without delay, he decided to roll all four at once.

Oh... Oh no....

Character Name: James