Chapter 1
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I’m floating
In the blackness of nothing I am floating.
Neither a sound nor a feeling, this place has nothing whatsoever.
My mind is an expanse of empty space, void of any semblance of idea or personality –A blank canvas, ready to be shaped into anything imaginable.
Suddenly, the sound of a desperate unearthly gasp for air rang thorough the darkness, violently crashing into my being. It screams through my mind, bringing with it a myriad of information.
Knowledge is injected into me at an alarming and confusing rate –the vast majority of which is exceedingly general –and I inexplicitly possess an understanding of atomic theory, as well as the basics of relativity, mathematics, biology and countless other fields.
Over in a second and I am left in a state of tense hyper alertness –completely still in the abyss with my non-existent eyes clenched tight. Then, the memories come –and with them one final piece of information is imparted unto me and I know where I am.
I have died –and this is Limbo.
Though given no inkling of how or when, I know that I had ceased to live at some point –of that I am certain. I do remember not my name nor my circumstance, and even the manner of how I lived my life is a mystery –my very species in question. However, one thing is forever burnt into my memory –my very being –and that is the White.
I remember coursing through that accursed stream of white fluid –the ethereal substance brushing past me as I fell through endlessly.
I was only half aware when –after I had flowed across its endless Elysian gases for untold ages –the barely present liquid thickened into tangibility and I slowed. Almost coming to a stop, I pass through what can only be described as a corporeal lens flare –seeping through the outer membrane of the universe. Compared to the aforementioned sensations, this was as if passing through stone.
Through the White had been arduous, the result has been worthwhile. For I have passed on to another world.
I have reincarnated.
As this information begins to sink in, my senses return to me in a flash of light –directing contrasting the endless black of Limbo – and I knew a fleeting moment of peace. It was not to last however, as I found my circumstance to be of a more pressing concern.
I had come into being in a square room of smooth stone with no perceivable entrance. My sluggish thoughts are slowly gaining traction, and I realize with a start that I possess three hundred and sixty degree vision of seemingly inscrutable clarity –in spite of the complete lack of any light source.
This revelation passing unnaturally quickly, I almost unconsciously give my place of birth a proper once over.
‘Where is this…?’ I ask inwardly, eerily calm –normal not even to myself.
I hear the light ring of a bell, and look to the centre of my vision on impulse. A floating screen of what appears to be polished silver with an unparalleled sheen has appeared –strangely two dimensional like a flying computer monitor. I stare intently as words begin to show, like lines rising from molten metal.
[Tutorial - Tutorial Start!]
[Welcome to the realm of Eoxraven traveller! You have been plucked from your world at the moment of your death by the omnipotent and ubiquitous void. Be blessed! You are one of the many mortals to experience the wonder that is reincarnation. As an organism that processes full cognitive ability at the moment of its birth, the memories of your previous experiences have been converted into Stats and EXP accordingly.]
Suddenly, the floating panel of silver vanishes in a dull flash of light, quickly replaced by another.
[-EXP Gained! X 128,443.000-]
[-Lvl Up X 233!-]
[-1,165 Attribute Points Received!-]
[-46 Skill Points received!-]
[-EXP to next Lvl: 153,564,970-]
[-… …-]
[Calculating Starting Stats…]
[-Done!-]
[-Strength + 13! – Constitution + 11! – Defence + 2!-]
[-Intelligence + 31! – Wisdom + 24! – Willpower + 26!-]
[-Dexterity + 5! – Charisma + 6! – Perception + 14!-]
[-Luck + 12!-]
[-… …-]
‘This seems… familiar?’ My mind ran to connect the dots to no avail, leaving me only with a peculiar sense of familiarity. ‘Hmmm…’
[-Race: Dungeon Assigned-]
[-You have outstanding Attribute Points, Assign? (Yes/No)-]
‘Uhh… what’s-’ I’m cut off mid thought, the now somewhat accustomed to feeling of information injection enveloping me.
Dungeons,
Living underground labyrinths of devious traps and impious monsters, home to many a treasure for those brave or stupid enough to delve into their depths –while at the same time playing an important role in the redistribution of mana. The fungi of the world’s mana, returning large swaths of borrowed power to the earth through their murderous ways, while taking some for themselves to bolster their faculty.
I quickly accepted the new information with a robotic efficiency –my blank impressionable mind showing its usefulness –and I attempt to timidly answer in the affirmative. I immediately find that I possess no form of communication –in fact I have no physical form at all.
The sensation of simply existing, abstruse though it is, is strikingly akin to my experience in Limbo. I am suddenly struck with a curious longing –What is like to have a body?
At this thought, another smaller panel appears, the previous gone without a trace.
[-(Create/Edit) Core?-]
[-WARNING, creation of a Core will concentrate current body (Mana Mist) into selected option, and as such will greatly increase the mana density and corresponding potency of mana, but will also change current perception of surroundings into the appropriate option. This is known to possibly cause mental breakdown if unexplained and subsequently unprepared for. Are you sure you wish to continue? Be aware: refraining from this transformation will cause body to eventually disperse-]
‘Uhh…’ I hesitated ‘I don’t think I have a choice but, thanks for the heads up?’ I thought, proceeding to send a mental ‘yes’ without thinking of how.
Mana Mist (Current)
An extremely thin mist formed of adjacent mana at moment of birth.
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Pros:
Intangible- Unable to be physically touched or interacted with.
Medium Mana Conductivity- Flow and subsequent control of mana is of moderate quality. Due to the fickle nature of this form improvement is impossible.
Cons:
Intangible- Unable to physically touch or interact with any substance.
Low Mana Conductivity- Form causes flow and subsequent control of mana to be slightly impeded.
Very Low Mana Potency- Miniscule density causes extremely low mana potency. Due to the fickle nature of this form this is permanent.
Non-Replenishing- Form slowly degrades into nothingness with time. Due to the fickle nature of this form reversal is impossible.
Mana Cloud
Denser Mana Mist, mana is concentrated into a thick cloud.
Pros:
Semi-Intangible- Extremely difficult to be physically interacted with.
High Lightning Affinity- Cloud form allows for high collection rate and concentration of Lightning Mana energy.
Lightning Nebula- Passive collection of static electricity, allowing powerful Lighting Mana based attacks and utility abilities.
Medium-High Mana Conductivity- Flow and subsequent control of mana is of above average quality. Able to be temporarily improved through stored Lightning energy.
Cons:
Semi-Intangible- Extremely difficult to physically interact with any substance.
Low Mana Potency- Very low density causes low mana potency. Potency may be temporarily increased alongside Lightning energy concentration.
Mana Water
Denser Mana Cloud, mana is further concentrated into a thin liquid. Water in its purest form.
Pros:
Perfect Mana Conductivity- Nature of form allows for unparalleled flow and subsequent control of mana.
Perfect Water Mana Affinity- With the nature of form as the pure base of water, concentration and rate of collection of Water Mana particles is insurmountable.
Cons:
Low-Medium Mana Potency- Low density causes slightly lower than average mana potency.
Shapeless –shape is wholly determined by subsequent container. No container causes extreme Mana Potency demerits.
High Value- Due to popular belief, heralding as Holy Water is very common. Will be fanatically pursued by believers upon discovery.
Mana Gel
Denser Mana Water, mana is even further concentrated and diluted into a thick gel.
Pros:
Formless- Shape is completely dictated by container, however will retain and remember any shape it encounters and be able to change at will.
Medium Mana Conductivity- Form allows for average flow and control of mana.
Medium Water Mana Affinity- Form as a heavily diluted Mana Water causes moderate concentration and rate of collection of Water Mana particles.
Low-Medium Air Mana Affinity- As Mana Water diluted with Air Mana, this form has a slightly higher concentration and rate of collection of Air Mana particles.
Cons:
Low-Medium Mana Potency- Form causes slightly below average mana potency.
High Fire Mana Aversion- Heat bubbles and deforms this form, causing concentration and rate of collection of Fire Mana particles to be very low.
Medium-High Value- Due to use as a potent alchemy catalyst and skin product, retrieval and creation of this form is a large industry.
Mana Crystal
Denser Mana Gel, mana concentrates further and forms fractals around a single point.
Pros:
Adaptable- Form can slowly change and improve through crystal layering with manually crystalized mana.
High Light Affinity- Crystalline construction allows for high concentration and rate of collection of Light energy particles.
Medium Mana Potency- Decent density allows for substantial starting mana potency. Due to the nature of this form continual potency improvement is possible through continued crystal layering.
Very High Mana Conductivity- Nature of form allows for very high flow and subsequent control of mana. Crystal layering allows for extremely slow improvement.
Cons:
Low Darkness Mana Aversion- Form causes Darkness Mana particles to have no attraction to you. Active collection required. Due to pressure exerted, potential concentration is actually slightly higher.
Medium-High Value –Due to use as a potent mana battery, Mana Crystals are pursued for monetary gain.
Fragile- form causes cracking to become much easier, causing lower health and risk of breaking on layering.
Mana Stone
Denser Mana Crystal, mana is concentrated further, fractals collapse and an incredible level of density is reached. Earth in its purest form.
Pros:
Perfect Mana Potency- Dense form allows for insurmountable mana potency.
Perfect Earth Mana Affinity- Due to nature as the pure base of earth, concentration and rate of collection of Earth Mana particles is paramount.
Very High Mind Mana Affinity- Mana of the mind has an extreme attraction to this form, forcefully pulled in and towards it. Causes semi-permanent mind blank and subsequent amalgamation of surrounding non-resistant life forms.
Very Solid- Dense nature causes higher health and virtually no risk to crack.
Cons:
Null Mana Conductivity- Due to nature of form the flow and subsequent control of mana is non-existent.
Perfect Elemental Aversion- Excluding Earth Mana, all Mana types are repelled from this form.
Very High Value- Due to being heralded as the fabled Philosophers Stone, pursuit is fanatical upon formation as all minded beings feel its pull.
The 'ding' of this new panel rings throughout the silence -eerily bouncing from wall to wall. I watch intently as I consider –my still recovering mind continuing to piece itself together
‘Well, Mist and Stone are out of question, I do not want to die again' I rule out two immediately. 'And who would give up the control of mana?’ I think, pertaining to the stone. ‘Better not choose Water either, don’t want some extremist defiling me’ I add again with a shiver.
Both Gel and Crystal have their boons, but as Crystal has good control and ‘Potency’ –which I assume is power related –as well as continued improvement, I end up choosing Crystal Form, though worried about possibly shattering.
I send another mental command, this time of ‘Crystal’.
[-Creating Body … Please wait-]
Nothing happens for a while and –just as I began to seriously doubt –it begins.
[-Condensing… 0%-]
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It is strange. My perception of my surroundings feels as if it is shrinking –unfocused and blurry. The strangest headache like pressure is pressing down on me, harder with every passing moment yet never painful –like a really tight hug around my entire being.
‘This is… comfortable.’ I think.
[-Condensing… 50%-]
However now, as the process reaches the halfway point, my vision begins to unsettle me. Like a violently spinning vortex of molten glass, it is magnifying and collapsing in on its self again and again –like a kaleidoscope devoid of any colour save silver and white. The patterns that are forming and their complexity are causing my rediscovery of the lost sensation of nausea.
As my concern builds, the spinning quickens –faster and faster parallel to my increasing anxiety. Just before true panic sets in, it stills with an uncanny quickness. Like a puzzle clicking into place, the spinning stopped –the surface solidifiying into a smooth silver. Although now like staring through crystal mirror, my vision is as it was before –though with two glaring differences.
Firstly, there it now a strange blue and diaphanous mist-like gas slowly swirling around me –like an extremely thin wispy fog.
'I think this is mana.' I assume with the information gleaned from my choices of form.
The other change is somehow stranger still. I focus particularly hard on an object –corporal or otherwise –And a set of information appears on one of the floating screens. However, as the the only thing that surrounds me now is stone, all I can look at now says simply:
[Stone]
This is definitely some kind of ability to identify. For some reason unkown to me, I am urged to call it a skill.
[-Skill = Appraisal identified…Adding information to Status-]
‘Huh?’ I am momentarily dumbfounded. ‘What’s… status?’ I wonder. Some part of me remembers this, if barely, and I think…
On a feeling, I sent a mental command akin to ‘Open Status’. Instantly, another screen appears.
[-Status-]
Name: Lesser Newborn Dungeon Fledgling (N/A)
Titles: Lesser Newborn Fledgling
Age: 0
Level: 233, 34%
Race: Dungeon
Sub-Race: Lesser Dungeon
Form : Crystal
Fame: 0
Reputation Lvl: 0
Health: 555/555
Life-force: 555/5,000
Stamina: ∞/∞
Internal Mana: 2,155/2,155
External Mana: 5,000/5,000
Mana Potency: 50
Strength: 0 (13 – 100%)
Constitution: 11 (11 + 0)
Endurance: ∞ (∞ + 0)
Defence: 2 (2 + 0)
Dexterity: 5 (5 + 0)
Agility: 5 (5 – 100%)
Intelligence: 31 (31 + 0)
Wisdom: 24 (24 + 0)
Willpower: 26 (26 + 0)
Perception: 14 (14 + 0)
Charisma: 6 (6 + 0)
Life-Span: ∞ (∞ + 0)
Skills:
{Mana Vision} – Lvl: 1
{Appraise} – Lvl: 1
Intimidated, I pause.
I am just beginning to question the difference of Stamina and Endurance, when without warning, the earth shakes. As a distant thundering roar sounds, the room incurs a deep pulse –the earth lurching in a low wave. The once gently breezing wisps of mana begin to vibrate violently as an invisible wave of force shoots past them.