Writer's Note: Hello! I will try to make this story like a virtual reality in real life. I'll try to make it as unique as I can. Random four chapter release Today. The Snake Immortal is scheduled to be released tomorrow. Stories start up fast with ideas so don't be surprised with these four chapters being released. Enjoy the read..
Chapter 2: The Awakening
*Beep. Beep*
Body Modification in ProgressYou have a total of 13 customization points due to reaching Prestige 7.
Here is how they are be distributed
Youth: each point will age back 5 years. Age cannot go under 10.
Physique: each point will add a year's worth of professional training to the body.
Strength: each point will double current strength.
Agility: each point will increase your speed by twice the amount.
Intelligence: each point will increase brain's memorization process.
Wisdom: each point makes you smarter by 20 IQ points.
Beauty: each point adds beauty in terms of society's view and not a particular person.
Reflex: each point doubles reflexes.
Senses: each point heightens senses.
Warning
This is the only time such a change is made by choice. Choose well.
If you do not know your own body: tough luck.
"Where am I?" Magnus asked as all he saw was darkness, the table glowing in front of him as he floated above it.
"Your mind is in the Void, a place you cannot understand. There are no Earth words to describe it," a voice answered. "Time on Earth is paused until each of the 300 million normal Spirit Lords and the 10 thousand Beta Survivors make their choices. When you awaken, you must choose ten skills, or the equivalent. Clarifications will be made when you awaken."
"There is no point to youth as 18 is the best. I don't want to go back to third year middle school as a thirteen year old. Physique is a must. It must mean overall muscle mass and endurance. I don't need strength as I am a warrior class cultivator. I'll probably add a point in intelligence and wisdom. I'll add a point in beauty. I'll admit I am kind of vain," Magnus laughed. "Still, it should make the physique more appropriate. The problem is reflexes and senses...."
"Have you decided?" the voice asked.
"I'll add a single point to intelligence, wisdom, and beauty. Two points will go to physique, senses, and agility, and four points will go to reflex," Magnus answered.
"Four in reflex? Why?" the voice asked.
"Why are you asking me that?" Magnus asked.
"It is what is asked to all the Spirit Lords and Beta Survivor Spirit Lords. The Divine System asks the reason for the highest stat change," the voice answered.
"Well, reflexes are the most important for fighting. It lets you respond to sudden changes more quickly and seems like agility, but lets you do things normal people cannot," Magnus answered.
"Very well. The body modifications are complete. You will awaken as a cultivator of the celestial race. Your stat distributions are finalized. You have three hours to prepare for the arrival of the Hellion. Just like leveling in the game, you are awarded two stats you can distribute over four categories per level. Choose them well. Certain objectives and events can also award stat points. Weapons and armor have certain armor and damage ratings. Dranzex the Deicide Blade is a growth item of the prestige rank. Its damage cannot be calculated. Good luck," the voice said as the final tables appeared.
Stat Table
Power: determines physical damage and defense.
Magic: determines magic damage and defense.
Recovery: determines divine energy and physical regeneration.
Spirit: determines spirit energy within the body.
Item Ranking System
White Tier: Level 1-9.
Green Tier: Level 10-19.
Bronze Tier: Level 20-29.
Iron Tier: Level 30-39.
Silver Tier: Level 40-49.
Gold Tier: level 50-59.
Rune Tier: Level 60-69.
Valkyrie Tier: Level 70-79.
Heaven Tier: Level 80-89.
Legend Tier: Level 90-99.
God Tier: Level 100Note
All prestige items are growth items.
Growth items are not included in ranking system.
Crafted items still apply in ranked system.
---------------Back in the real world-----------------
"Ugh," Magnus groaned as his consciousness returned to his body.
"You look normal," a voice said, a younger male by the sound of it as Magnus opened his eyes. "Sister also looks normal.....whoa! Jorge has pointy ears and crimson eyes!"
"Alex?" Melissa asked, sitting up as she stared at Alexander. "You're awake?"
"Yeah! I saw a blue box shine in my dream and woke up, the box still there. What's happening? Why did you guys faint?" Alexander Smith asked, the eleven year old confused and scared as he hugged his sister. "Why's the sky red?"
"You both look the same but more toned and beautiful. I'm glad my girlfriend looks even more beautiful. I'm a luck guy but.....Magnus, really?" Jorge laughed.
"I had thirteen. You had nine. I could spare one customization, four more than you in any category," Magnus shrugged.
"We have to stay away from Beta Survivors," Melissa began. "They'll attract danger."
"Let's pick our ten skills before we do anything. Try to pick skills that could be useful or save your life," Magnus said, staring at Jorge who nodded.
Multiple tables had appeared before the three of them, Alexander looking at them as they seemed to inspect something invisible. After an hour, Magnus was the last to pick his ten skills, or the equivalent. There was a reason why the voice said the equivalent: some skills were over-powered and considered more than one.
[tr]
[tr]
Chosen Skills: 7Skill Information
Swordsmanship: increased proficiency with wielding swords.
Kick: increased proficiency with kicks and anything involved with lower body.
Hidden Weapons: able to make various weapons that are undetectable on your person.
Tailor: able to craft divine light armor.
Spirit Sense: sense and communicate with spirits. Able to detect spirit energy.
Berserk Will: increased divine energy by drawing upon the Spirit Lord's core.
Destroyer Aura: 4 skill equivalent. Creates a black aura around your core and can radiate from body. Able to hide spirit energy and block damage from Hellion miasma. Pain is lessened when aura is active.
"Whoa! You chose an over-powered skill?" Jorge said as he saw the aura. Only over-powered skills could create auras.
"Yeah. They are better than regular skills. I would have chosen blacksmith, but the hidden weapons skills allows me to make all kinds of weapons. All I needed is tailoring, to make light armor," Magnus answered.
"That's cuz you chose to be a cultivator. Me? I chose to be an elementalist again. Got to love the magic. Chose to be a blood elf. Thus, the pointy ears and crimson eyes. I got my prestige two-handed sword, prestige chain mail shirt, and my one-of-a-kind two-handed magic sword skill. I had to be an advanced mage class. My title is Spell Blade, you know. Meaning: I can wear leather or heavy armor despite the mage class! Ha!" Jorge laughed. "I forgot what your title was."
"Sword Sage, the perfect title for a cultivator. Given to me for being the first person to ever prestige. It allows me to create flying swords of the appearance of my Dranzex sword. I'm sure the people who were the first to reach second to ninth prestige got similar titles of power," Magnus said and turned to Alexander and Melissa. "You two okay?"
"This is all so sudden. Also, why don't I have a class? I cannot even choose to be a rogue," Melissa asked.
"What skills did you pick?" Jorge asked.
"I chose chef, leather work, carpentry, archery, blacksmith, spirit sense, stealth, apothecary, tracking, and hawk eye," she answered. "I wanted to be a beast master and own my own pet. However, I forgot I needed to be level 10 to get classes. Since you two have classes, you are both Beta Survivors? What's this about titles?"
"You're both Beta Survivor Spirit Lords?" Alexander gasped.
"Just tell them," Magnus said, Jorge sighing and turned to the siblings.
"Yes, Magnus and I played the beta version of the game. He chose the warrior class: cultivator. As for me, I chose the mage class known as the elementalist. Titles are extremely rare. You only get them by reaching your first prestige. Prestige means to reach level 100 and revert back to level 1 for a one-of-a-kind item or skill. The highest prestige I heard of is four people reaching the ninth prestige. Of course, the Divine System made prestige impossible from now on. You also get titles by doing certain actions up to the point where you kill your first world boss," Jorge answered and turned to Magnus. "I also chose spirit sense, but can't sense any spirit energy in you."
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.
"It is the Destroyer Aura skill. It counts as four skills and one effect is hiding my spirit energy. My clothes give it away though," Magnus answered. "Since the game was mostly played in the United States, most of those three hundred million should be here. Alex, how did you get affected as a non-player?"
"Um, the system says my level goes up to 9 and that is the limit of white tier equipment. The game says I can be a vassal to a Spirit Lord and increase limit to level 39, the peak for the iron tier items. However, being a Vassal means that I can only use my divine skills based on my Spirit Lords rules. I become an advanced class, like yours, but only learn the two basic class skills you learned at level 10," Alex answered. "Until I become a Vassal, I don't know any skills like my sister."
"Regular Spirit Lords get their first skills at level 10 when they choose a class. According to the voice, that's what it was like in the beta phase," Melissa agreed.
"I do only know three skills, because of my prestige skill. Of the seven times Magnus reached prestige, he got three prestige skills. Thus, he should know five," Jorge assessed.
"Do you pick what you get?" Melissa asked.
"Oh. No, you don't. The game gives you a prestige item or skill based on what you lack," Jorge said as the siblings noticed a small white-furred monkey appear on Magnus's shoulder with a bright red face and red-colored, fur-less chest. It had a long white tail and rested on his head, appearing very cute to the others.
"A monkey!" Alexander cried. "Is it a Hellion?"
"No way! That's a pet! I thought only beast masters get one. How did you get one?" Melissa said and Jorge cleared his throat, drawing their attention.
"That is a Demonic Ape King, a reward Magnus got for reaching the fifth prestige. You get a prestige pet if you soloed for a hundred levels and did not party with anyone for assistance. It was proven by a solo player who got his pet for reaching third prestige and posted it on the forum.The forum is closed, so we can't access it. I'll bet it opens in a few days. During the beta phase, every choice you made impacted the prestige award. The Divine System, the game's system, told us that when we first played the game," Jorge said. "Beast masters are able to tame certain creatures to replace their pet, or feed them to the current pet to evolve it. It was the favorite class among beta testers for the first two months, some choosing to remain as a beast master to upgrade their pet through the prestige awards."
"We cannot let anyone know we are Beta Survivors. Just tell them we are Spirit Lords, if they ask," Magnus warned the siblings and turned to Jorge. "You can still pass off as a Spirit Lord as we are allowed to wear any weapon, but cannot learn certain weapon skills. However, your Spell Blade title allows you to wear any armor. Just wear that chain mail shirt beneath light armor or risk exposure."
"I even picked the blacksmith class," Jorge sighed. "Still, you're right. I can still wear under armor. I'll make or buy heavy armor to prepare for the time I am exposed. Growth items drop at random so we can still wield our weapons, even now. Let's first find and secure food."
"What about our weapons?" Melissa asked as she saw a two-handed sword appear before Jorge. The siblings and Jorge saw a sword, belt, jade cauldron, and black talisman with cyan runes appear before Magnus. "What are those?"
"Ah, these are our prestige items. This is my prestige great sword: Spirit Titan," Jorge grinned as he put the great sword on his back, a sheath appearing out of thin air. "Too bad I don't got any money."
"This is my prestige heavy long sword, Dranzex the Deicide Blade. I got it for killing a Death God and defeating and binding Undine, the Great Spirit of Water. I did that before I prestige and was awarded with the sword for it. Non-players don't get those and Melissa should be able to sense the spirit in her handheld when she chooses a class and her element affinities. We'll explain those then," Magnus began as he put the sword at back.
"Looks like a fantasy sword from those Chinese wuxia," Melissa noted. "Whats that black paper slip for? The one with the runes?"
"Ah, this? It allows me to access my Legendary Palace Dimension. Let's just say that it is my own private pocket dimension. I got water spirits I captured to be servants and terracotta soldiers as animated guards. Had to pay a fortune for an earth element specialized elementalist of the celestial race to animate each one. The water spirits was the easy part, my personal spirit being Undine," Magnus answered as he stored the cauldron and talisman into his belt, strapping the belt around his waist. "Too you lose all your money with each prestige."
"I know. I was a multi-millionaire and now I'm broke," Jorge agreed. "You lose legendary weapons and armor as well. Only legendary items from world quests are exempt. I can only imagine how Victor will react now that the virtual world is now a part of the real world."
"Victor?" Melissa asked.
"He's Magnus's nemesis," Jorge laughed until Magnus glared at him. "Self-proclaimed by Victor, of course. Victor reached eighth prestige and his spirit is Infernus, the Great Spirit of Fire. In the game, you use your real first name and your in-game appearance is similar to real life. face-wise. He failed to get the palace because Magnus killed him. Magnus is a PKK while Victor was one of the top ten PK.
"Player killer and player killer-killer," Magnus explained to the siblings. "People kill others for items and currency that drop at random. However, you get penalized by losing a level if you die, a bounty is put on you, you cannot enter a city until a day in-game passes, and no one gets penalized for killing you. You also drop two items if you die. Unless it is a prestige, quest reward, or growth item: anything else will drop. I got ten thousand spirit coins and his favorite dagger upon killing Victor. Sold it to him too, for a higher market value."
"See? It's no wonder Victor hates him. What's the plan?" Jorge asked.
"We go to Miami. Your girlfriend's parents live there and my brother is celebrating New Year's with his best friend who moved there. He should be heading to Miami, so that's our destination. We can't take a flight as it is easy prey for flying Hellion," Magnus answered.
"Will mom and dad be okay?" Alex asked.
"Can't you call them?" Jorge asked.
"Phones are offline. No connection," Melissa said as she checked her cell.
"We can only wait for the forum to open as we get there by foot," Jorge sighed.
"I got my beta reward: a teleportation talisman. However, I can only go fifty miles and the cool down is four hours. I can't use it blindly as I might take us to a place crawling with them," Magnus said.
"Fuck, all those people are going crazy. Luckily, we entered the hotel. People must be scrambling for their stuff. Let's go to the kitchens of the buffet. We should be the first ones there and beat up any in our way," Jorge said. "My beta reward was a storage ring that can store a hundred items, stacks of the same item are allowed. You and I can just store them all."
"I'll head up to the lower floors and and break into them for cash. We'll need it until people value the spirit coins more than dollars," Magnus said and stored their bags and changed into pure black clothes, his motorcycle helmet on his head. "I'll first hit the upper floors and penthouse. I'll store any clothes I find. We could use them and I have the tailor skill. Don't forget, Jorge, we get one extra stat per prestige. See you in the casino parking lot. Break into where the ushers keep the keys and find a big truck. There will be chaos when the Hellion arrive."
"You guys get any weapons?" Jorge said as Magnus checked his handheld for the game's forums.
"We only get this black staff," Melissa said as the siblings pulled it out of thin air.
"Ah, the novice staffs. Those are the only items you can make appear or disappear from thin air. We need to get you guys armor and weapons. Well, let's get our food first," Jorge said and turned to Magnus who pulled out a novice staff, storing his sword and his monkey in the storage belt. "Kill or be killed."
"Mercy is a weakness," Magnus said and the two bumped fists. "Good luck. The Hellion should be coming in an hour."
"What are Hellion exactly?" Melissa asked. "What about your Demonic Ape King, was it?"
"You'll find out the Hellion soon. My Demonic Ape King is bound to me and my storage item is a prestige reward. It can stay there without consequence. Be wary of security cameras," Magnus answered and turned to the door.
The siblings watched as Magnus rushed out of the hotel room, looking back at the red sky outside. The lunar eclipse was still occurring. It was as if time stopped and was waiting for the Hellion to arrive before continuing.
------------------Current Status----------------
Magnus Wang
Level: 1
Class: Cultivator
Title: Sword Sage
Prestige: 7
Player Status: Beta Survivor
Stats
Power: 1
Magic: 1
Recovery: 1
Spirit: 1
Note: 7 stats are awarded due to prestige. 7 stat points available
Weapon: Dranzex the Deicide Blade (prestige heavy long sword)
Jorge Rivera
Level: 1
Class: Elementalist
Title: Spell Blade
Prestige: 3
Player Status: Beta Survivor
Stats
Power: 1
Magic: 1
Recovery: 1
Spirit: 1
Note: 3 stats are awarded due to prestige. 3 stat points available.
Weapon: Spirit Titan (prestige great sword)
Melissa Smith
Level: 1
Class: None
Player Status: Spirit Lord
Stats
Power: 1
Magic: 1
Recovery: 1
Spirit: 1
Weapon: Novice Staff
Alexander (Alex) Smith
Level: 1
Class: None
Player Status: Not applicable
Stats
Power: 1
Magic: 1
Recover: 1
Spirit: 1
Weapon: Novice Staff