Jax sat on the wagon, waiting for something to happen. He pulled up his status screen and started to read.
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Name: Jax
Level: 0
Exp: 295,132/10
Race: Hybrid (84% human, 15% Spiritual Protector, 1% Suffering Voidspawn)
Class: Undetermined
Attributes:
Strength: 8
Agility: 3
Dexterity: 7
Intelligence: 4
Constitution: 3 (10)
Perception: 1
Resources:
Energy: 70/140
Spiritual Energy: 295,132
Void Energy: 1
Titles: Once Reborn, Void Runner, Boundless Soul, Bound Warrior
Skills: Skill Crystal Absorption, Limited Telepathy
Faction: Gelkrin's Thralls
Rank: Battle Slave
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Jax scanned the lines carefully, focusing on each entry. The first few lines didn’t reveal anything new, but as he reached the "Race" section, he gained insight.
Suffering Voidspawn: A spirit of hate and vengeance that has managed to persist in the endless void. In rare cases, this spirit can be absorbed by a stronger entity if certain prerequisites are met.
That line eased a growing concern. He didn’t fully understand what the spiritual power meant, but somehow, he had overpowered one of the whispers from the void. Jax continued down the list until another item drew his attention.
Constitution: 3 (10)
Attention: Your soul is currently in flux; due to recent soul damage, your life force has been greatly lowered. Your constitution stat will restore to its base value as the damage to your soul repairs itself.
Attention: Your soul is currently merged with 295,133 other spiritual entities. Until these entities reach a spiritual accord, you will suffer from a major soul injury. Constitution -7. Any new experience received will be shared among all entities present. You will be able to progress level and attributes based off this energy, but you will be unable to utilize stored experience.
Jax grimaced. That explained his weakness and lack of progression. The experience wasn’t truly his but marked the souls that had attached themselves to him. Glancing down at his left arm, he noted the faint green glow of the Nyads he had killed on Earth. These souls seemed to be leeching off him, inhibiting his progress.
He moved to the titles section.
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Once Reborn: This creature has died and been reborn in a true body. Constitution +5
Void Runner: This creature has traveled through the void and returned mostly unscathed. Intelligence -2, Dexterity and Agility +1.
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
Boundless Soul: This creature's soul space is limitless. +1 contract slot.
Bound Warrior (temporary): This creature has been bound by either a contract or a slave collar and will be compelled to follow its master’s orders.
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As Jax read, notifications appeared at the edge of his vision. He opened them with interest.
New Achievement: Comet - Travel more than 1 billion miles away from your planet. +1 Agility.
New Achievement: Divine Presence - You spoke with a god-level entity. +1 to all stats.
He noted his Agility had increased to 4.
Danger: A number of souls in your presence have latched onto your new physical form.
Danger: You have entered a B-grade planet. Creatures of A grade or higher may be present, and energy levels are sufficient to support an S-grade entity. Tread carefully.
“Shit,” Jax muttered, knowing he was in trouble if he encountered such a creature, though he had little concept of what an A-grade creature entailed. He continued reading.
New Achievement: If it Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It - Your primary species remains unchanged in your new body. +1 faction slot for a humanoid if you own a faction token.
New Achievement: Banker - Store over 100,000 experience. +1 to a stat of your choice every level.
He filtered through the rest of the notifications, most of which were danger or status alerts. The system had backlogged events from his life on Earth, including injuries. After reading, his updated status screen appeared as follows:
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Name: Jax
Level: 0
Exp: 295,132/10
Race: Hybrid (84% human, 15% Spiritual Protector, 1% Suffering Voidspawn)
Class: Undetermined
Attributes:
Strength: 9
Agility: 5
Dexterity: 8
Intelligence: 5
Constitution: 4 (10)*
Perception: 2
Resources:
Energy: 70/140
Spiritual Energy: 295,132
Void Energy: 1
Titles: Once Reborn, Void Runner, Boundless Soul, Bound Warrior
Skills: Skill Crystal Absorption, Limited Telepathy
Faction: Gelkrin’s Thralls
Rank: Battle Slave
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Jax highlighted Constitution.
G rank cap reached for Constitution. Achieve level 1 and a class to further the attribute cap.
Jax considered the message and turned to Jerg, who hadn’t moved from his seat behind him. He could hear Gelkrin pacing at the front of the wagon.
“Jerg, do you have a moment?” Jax asked.
The gray giant looked at him, studied his face, and then nodded.
“Well, I was wondering if you could tell me how to get a class.” Jax watched as the giant frowned.
“The way one gets a class, Soft Meat, is to be the class.” Jerg looked satisfied with his answer but didn’t elaborate.
“And how exactly does one... be one's class?” Jax pressed.
“A farmer is a farmer. He sows his crops; he tills his fields. Eventually, the world notices, and he is recognized. A merchant sells goods; if he keeps selling, he is recognized. Be who you are, and the world will recognize you. Once recognized in a way you accept, you are that person. Only then will you grow.”
Jax thanked the Gong and turned back to his thoughts. To reach a higher level, he needed to decide who he wanted to be, act accordingly, accept the class the system gave, and find a way to repair his soul—or rid himself of the spirits clinging to him. Nothing too difficult, he mused.
“Don’t worry about that, Fresh Meat,” the Gong said, staring straight ahead. “Most don’t last long enough to make a difference. This is a hard life. One as frail as you is unlikely to grow.”
Jax looked at his impassive face and then turned away, determined. He wouldn’t die here. No matter what the mines had in store, he would survive and find a way out, one step at a time.
Just then, Jax saw Derg approaching the wagon with two large mares. It seemed their adventure was about to begin.