Remember Chosen, there are many paths to power, too many to count in fact, that is why different types of advantages have been conveniently categorized for you to browse. Choose wisely, Champion, your future will be partially determined by what powers you choose in this moment.
Powers Of Self
Possessions
Allies
Environment/Biome/World Changes (EXPENSIVE)
A God's Favor (EXPENSIVE) (Only One Allowed)
Artifacts
Friendly Organizations
Let The Universe Decide
While apparently having the ability to get literal superpowers was nice and all, I really would have liked more clarification on which each of these things were. Some of them were rather self evident in what they did, but let the universe decide was rather vague and didn't really explain much besides that the universe would be making a choice for me, whatever the universe even was. It would been rather nice to have this explained to me.
(Powers Of Self)
Powers of self are abilities, powers and advantages that are contained within you, such as superhuman strength or genius intellect would be a power of self. It would not be any type of power or influence that comes from outside.
(Possessions)
Possessions are things such as amulets, weapons, armor, magic items, food, or other magic and non magic items that are not noteworthy or powerful enough to be considered an artifact.
(Allies)
Allies are just that; singular people in the world that will help you on your journey throughout the land of Eo Aeternis, whether they be made by you from the ground up, or already be preexisting in the realm. Fate and destiny will bend to make sure you cross paths at least once. May your friends help you and be loyal in all your endeavors.
(Environment/Biome/World Changes)
These are changes you can add to the world that can bend reality itself to your advantage in some ways, such as making you a hero that has been prophesied to save the world throughout the land for hundreds of years therefore giving you a large advantage. People across the realms are more willing to give you aid. It could also be as simple as changing the oxygen content across the ishgaric swamps by 1%. Choose carefully, as these changes could potentially have world spanning effects.
(A God's Favor)
Exactly what it says on the label; you get the favor and begin to draw power from a extra god of your choosing. By default, as you are her last conduit and champion in this world, you are currently in Valencia's Favor, as one of the Avenging Valkyries last gambits, she has managed to convince the pantheon to allow mortals to be a conduit to two gods at once. Beware Gabriel, channeling the power of a god can have unforeseen effects on a mortals mind, body and soul, so try to make sure you are not the conduit of a god of rape and slaughter of innocents, or something equally terrifying.
(Artifacts)
Artifacts are similar to possession in that they are items and that bring some measure of power, but that is where the similarities end. Artifacts are items of great power and importance, some of them being crafted by the gods themselves, most all of them are lost to time, and not a trace of their resting places remain, but for a not small amount of karma you can have some of these items teleported to your location. Remember to use these items responsibly, they can be used for horrible things in the wrong hands.
(Friendly Organizations)
Just like allies but instead of it being a singular person that is your eternal partner in crime, instead you can potentially have entire nations favor you to a much lesser degree, though getting a nation or race that generally despise humanity to favor you would cost multiplicatively more points than one that doesn't have a thirst for the blood of humanity.
(Let The Universe Decide)
Too many options?, Unsure what to choose? Well, do not worry, brave one, you can let the gestalt worldsoul of Aeternia choose for you! As compensation for this option essentially being mostly random, you get a 50% discount on the cost of whatever powers you get from choosing this option. Don't worry, it will always be something useful.
Well ask and you shall receive, I guess, at least whatever godly entity transported me here is helpful and not the overgod of bagels and being an annoying cunt. I would hate having to choose powers while being uninformed of their effects beforehand, looking through the descriptions of the different options. I was rather intrigued by the powers of self, I mean, who wouldn’t want to have superpowers? Having a friendly organization helping you could potentially be way more useful than being able to lift trucks, and I understood that my reason for wanting them was honestly rather childish, but honestly... I didn't care. If you had the options of being able to shoot laser out of your eyes and shitting magical rainbow cake or having the backing of the American government comparable to a diplomat or a politician, what would you choose? That's what I thought. Thus, I mentally pressed on powers of self, and was presented by, surprise, yet another blue screen.
Powers Of The Mind
Powers Of The Body
Powers Of The Spirit
Powers Of Magic
Before I started, I needed to consider what kind of build I wanted to have. In my free time when I was feeding orphans or saving puppies, I was an avid gamer and would normally play the best VR Rpgs that I could afford, and therefore was quite familiar with this rather gamelike interface, and therefore also knew the importance of knowing what kind of character you wanted to play before you started playing. I normally played something like a Sorcerer throwing around explosions willy nilly like highly volatile candy. For me nothing was more cathartic after a stressful day than dropping a meteor on Overlord McEvil Douchebags Castle of horrible, unrelenting torture and watching it crumble into ashes.... But this wasn't a game world, as far as I knew this was a actually reality with men and women of flesh, blood, and bone, with thoughts and emotions all their own. I couldn't go around casting spells with areas of effect the size of a city and expect no collateral damage to happen, and what if I was a rogue build? Do I sneak around waiting for a opportunity to deliver a fatal blow as men and women are being slaughtered by a pack of vicious monsters? No, I needed to be able to charge into battle at the drop of a hat and crush the opposition without mercy. To take hits meant for others, and protect those who could not protect themselves, I needed to heal the sick and injured, I needed to become a champion of justice incarnate. I needed to be a Paladin. Crusher of evil, Defender of the weak and an incorruptible Paragon of Virtue. With that in mind I clicked on powers of magic.
Energy Manipulation
Conjuration Magic
Magical Resistances
Druidic Magic
Restoration Magic
Alchemical Magic
Abyssal/Demonic Magic
Enchantment Magic
Concept Magic
Eldritch Magic
Transformation Magic
Divine/Celestial Magic
Necromancy
Illusion Magic
Divination
Just for funsies I decided to browse a bit through the giagantic list of spells it seemed I was right about the part of their subactergories having sub categories, There were also spells for anything, from something to inccuous and innocent as summoning a ham sandwhich, specifically a ham based sandwhich, to horrible, disgusting, and proabably brutally effective spells such as Mezodar the Sadist's Power of Living Outside Organ Orientation, which I didn't even bother clicking on the description of as I could inference the effects of the spell well enough from the title, and didn't read the description to confirm my suspicions of the spells effects, because I didn't feel like upchucking all my newly gained fluids I had in my body after just getting them.
If I didn't already know what I wanted, I would probably be completely overwhelmed by having at least 12 different broad categories of magic to choose from was rather distressing. I clicked restoration magic and was once again greeted with more subcategories. I mean, I appreciate options and freedom to choose and all, but Jesus, is there an end to these categories?
Physical Healing
Mental And Spiritual Healing
I rummaged around the two categories through literal hundreds of spell and incantations for hours, it seemed I was right about the part of their subactergories having sub categories finally coming to pick several spells that satisfied my requirements.
Cleric Zahpon's Legendary Cure All
This magic is a powerful and versatile spell created by the cleric Zahpon after traditional healing spells proven to not be enough for the refugees injured during the attack of a painbringer demon. The parasitic magic in their bodies would feed off of regular healing magic to create tumorous growths on their bodies. Faced with this problem, Cleric Zaphon created this spell, which was both powerful enough to heal mortal wounds and disease, subtle and precise enough to not be detected or interact with the curses left behind by the painbringer, and so versatile that it could be used for healing anything from a light scrape to crushed organs. With minimal mana inefficiency that plagues most variable mana input spells, this is truly a powerful spell.
Karma Cost 5,000
Panacea Of Self
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
After an outbreak of wrath parasites in the city of Malad'Dur that caused 24% of the population to break out into a murderous rage before the district was sectioned off and quarantined, the royal court wizard and legendary priestess, Halla Vern, teamed of to create a solution to the conundrum of the mental and spiritual wrath parasites. The result was this spell. Not only can it expel and destroy hostile emotional parasites, it also has the power to cure mental disorders in humanoids with non alien physiology and minds. After its invention and before the spell was privatized by the Noble's Court of Malad'Dur, it was widely used to help war veterans with PTSD get back into the workforce, treat depression and anxiety disorders. Among its more subtle effects, however, it also can be used to exorcise any unwanted spiritual tagalong
s as long as you have enough mana to overcome the possessors natural resistances to being expelled. Never deal with depression or possession ever again.
Karma Cost 5,000
Considering the seemingly great power of these spells, I’m guessing that 100,000 points of karma is significant in some manner. For ten thousand of those points I had gotten a spell that could CURE CANCER and another one that could AUTOMATICALLY FIX MENTAL DISORDERS, ethier my habitual humbleness had caused me to underestimate just how much I helped people in my past life or this Goddess Valencia was pulling all the stops to make me powerful. Actually, why not just ask the universe, since it seems so helpful? "Excuse me Mr, Blue Screens, what determines the amount of karma points I get?"
Karma point allotments are determined by three major factors:
Firstly, how moral and kind your actions have been to others throughout your lives and reincarnations. Secondly, according to your mind and soul, what you are willing to do for others given the opportunity to do so, what are you willing to sacrifice and risk to give to help others?, Thirdly, how much of Valencia's power she is willing to spend on her champion? In your case, this was everything she had left. Normally 25,000 karma points is the maximum allowed by anyone of Valencia's champions, but She of Glorious Radicance and Kindness has become desperate, and has instead allowed you a allotment of 100,000 points. All other champions of Her Grace that have been called on have fallen, either due to corruption of evil powers or death, therefore The Goddess of Light and Life has given you the potential to be her most powerful champion. Sadly, though you have the capability to exceed the maximum of 100,000 points by a amount of 27,432 karma points, some of the more unsavoury gods have imposed some limits on you, thusly you have 100,000 points to spend.
Wow... that was in depth. Normally in the litrpg books I have read, whoever controls the blue screen is some kind of snarky, mocking bag of dicks. Nice to know that my personal life calculator is helpful and friendly.
I aim to please, sir
It also seemed it was sentient and read minds, but I can have a existential crisis on a extra-dimensional entity reading my innermost personal thoughts after I finished sifting through this veritable ocean of traits and spells I can choose from. I sighed from anxiety as I realized how many different categories, subcategories, and sub subcategories there were. I could potentially be here for days if I actually wanted to make sure that I was making a informed and intelligent choice, which I would have to. From the the limited information I had on this world, or Aeternis, as I should probably call it, now my planet for the foreseeable future, it was incredibly dangerous. So while I did have spells that could cure cancer and mental disorders at will, there were also probably things here that could cause immeasurably worse afflictions and pain at the drop of a hat. They would probably do so for no other reason than that they find it amusing. I centered myself back on the original screen and took a couple more deep breaths.
Powers Of Self
Possessions
Allies
Environment/Biome/World Changes (EXPENSIVE)
A God's Favor (EXPENSIVE) (Only One Allowed)
Artifacts
Friendly Organizations
Let The Universe Decide
Well, I guessed there was nothing more to do than to get to work. Hopefully my choices wouldn’t get me turned into a kabob by a stab happy monster later.
Time Skip
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I hadn’t slept for four days and four nights, relentlessly shifting through every option I could find. There were options for hyper quick regeneration of the body, being the king of a tribe of oompa loompa type creatures, having a railgun, and the power to represent entire concepts like kindness, pain, desire, generosity, greed or everything in between. I was lucky that something was teleporting meals and water in front of me every 6 hours otherwise I probably would have just given up and gone to sleep already. After days of deliberation, though I had narrowed my choices down, instead of taking a lot of small options, I had grabbed a few big ones. While they cost a whole helluva lot, damn, were they worth it.
The Unconquerable Soul (Power Of Self)(Power Of Spirit)
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.
* Invictus, by William Ernest Henley
You are possessed with a soul of adamantium. Your soul shines like a beacon of light on a pitch black night. No force, no matter the size or power may sway you from your righteous path. You can never be possessed or mind controlled, and any illusion or enchantment spells that are cast on you fizzle out and break against the unbreakable mountain that is the power of your soul. Any spiritual attacks attempting to damage your soul will also be as threatening as splashing a cup of water against a stone wall. Let all evildoers know that you cannot be tricked or swayed, that their only options when faced against you... is redemption or death
Karma Cost -50% for pre existing trait (Ancient Soul) New Karma Cost is 12500
The Determinator (Power Of Self)(Power Of Mind)
Though my world is troubled
My confidence is high
Though I may have struggled
My will, will never die
Though I may be mocked
I'm still a determined man
And never will I stop
I insist to journey on
My eager feet may tire
And obstacles may rise
But my passion won't retire
It's the vision of the wise
Strength has never left me
Endurance is true and deep
Victory must someday be
For the truth is always free
* Ralph N. Staples
Your motivation is a force as unstoppable as nature itself. No matter the setbacks, or obstacles in your way, you will carry onwards towards your goals like a man possessed. No matter how long you have to wait to achieve what you want to achieve, whether it be minutes.... or aeons, If the gods decide to obstruct your path then you will kill the gods; if fate is written that this possibility is not allowed, you will spit in destiny’s face, kick it in its balls and tell it to fuck off somewhere else and tell someone weaker what they can and can not do. Your willpower and motivation stats are pushed to the hard cap of 1500. The threads and chains of the Weave Of Destiny no longer affect you as do any other negative probability altering items. Finally, God Curses are no longer able to affect you, as they are the only things things that could possibly cause pain enough to sway you from your path. Good luck in all your endeavors, Champion, though I don't think you need luck anymore.
Karma Cost -20% for pre existing trait (Determined) New Karma Cost is 20,000
Lightning Bruiser (Power Of Self)(Power Of the Body)
"He was a big guy, so my first thought was that he should be slow, right? Kid probably put all his points into strength and constitution and then just forgot about agility, right? Boy, was I fucking wrong. I went up and tried to use my agility and dexterity to just circle strafe around the big guy and the next thing I knew I was lying on the damn floor with less teeth than I had before"
- Berloth Cult Assassin describing his run in with Legendary Pugilist Marcus "Lights Out" Jerome
Not only are you strong as a troll and able to take a immense beating, but you are also faster than Mocari Speedrunner on Pixie Dust. For every point you put into strength or constitution, you also get a single point in agility, turning you from dangerous, to a full blown killing machine
Karma Cost - 15,000
When I played games, I was always one of the best player I’d encountered, but not through mainly superior skill, though I was generally very good a videogames. But instead through my ability to stack the deck in my favor. This is why, when I found a certain special item, I couldn't help but laugh hysterically at what I was about to do. I always found it hilarious when I found a way to break a game and the mechanics within it so thoroughly.
Soul Weapon (Possessions)(Handheld)(Magical)(Weapons)
A soul weapon is a physical manifestation of your soul in the form of a tool of combat. Its power and durability and special traits all depend on the structure and power of your own soul, combined with your own personal willpower. For a person who's meek and weak willed and never been reincarnated even once, it might as well just be a really durable but otherwise utterly mundane weapon. For those of strong will and old souls, however, these weapons are a force to be reckoned with on the same of high level rare weapons able to destroy plate armor and stone walls with ease. Another unique property is that soul weapons grow stronger as their wielder rises in level with their power. It’s potentially limitless as long as the owner keeps leveling, so come, Champion… All shall fear the power of your soul.
Karma Cost - 5,000
But I was still not done. I still had 37,500 karma points left in my repertoire. The total power I could have could be potentially greater than usual if I chose the “Let the Universe Decide” option, but I didn't want to have a hodgepodge of traits that didn't actually mesh coherently. Like being a jack of all trades in most situations was not helpful, I also still had a few traits that I had my eye on.
Knight In Shining Armor (Power Of Self)(Power Of Spirit/Mind)(Gestalt Trait)
You are the prodigal knight in shining armor to other, brave, honorable, and kind folks. Most people find you extremely attractive and of persuasive personality because of it. As long as you act with honor, loyalty, bravery, and kindness, your effective charisma score is doubled. Oddly enough, you also find yourself unable to ever avoid helping damsels in distress. You just can't stand the sight of a fair maiden in danger positively, though relationship boosts from saving women in danger is multiplied by 3x. So, remember, Brave Knight, walk forward on your path with as much courage and kindness as you can muster, and others will follow, especially the ladies.
Karma Cost - 7,500
WARNING, this trait can cause personality changes.
The Paladin (Power Of Self)(Power Of Mind/Soul)(Gestalt Trait)
My good blade carves the casques of men,
My tough lance thrusteth sure,
My strength is as the strength of ten,
Because my heart is pure.
Paladins are warriors dedicated to furthering the cause of all that is good. Holy crusaders, they combat the forces of evil wherever they are found, and defending the helpless as much a possible. Above all else, Paladins are good. An evil Paladin is a literal contradiction of terms; a Paladin that turns evil ceases to be a paladin. As long as you fight for the cause of justice and good, you will be able to learn and use divine magic of a positive alignment significantly easier. People of good and neutral alignments will also trust and come to like you vastly easier as your goodness radiates off you like a physical aura. This aura also makes those of evil alignment nervous and fearful of you, as well as weakens them. Beings of evil alignment will have their stat alignments reduced by 15% when within 60 feet of you. This is even worse for personifications or representations of evil, such as blackguards, abyssals, demons, or eldritch, for which the debuff is doubled to 30%. This trait can however be lost if you act in a manner heavily unbefitting a Paladin, so always act with only justice your goal. All those with evil in their black shriveled hearts will learn to fear the light that is your radiance. You will be their Judge, Jury, And Executioner.
Karma Cost - 50% for pre existing trait (Paragon Of Kindness)(Variant)(Evolving Trait) New Karma Cost is 12,500
WARNING, this trait can cause personality changes.
I believe that my build was starting to shape up to look like a proper paragon of virtue, truth and justice, while the personality change warning were a little disconcerting. I wasn’t really all that broken up about being possibly changed into a nicer person. I had all the traits that I had already decided that i needed for my build, so i guess now it's time to press the big scary random superpowers button and hope for the best.
(Let The Universe Decide)
Too many options?, Unsure what to choose? Well, do not worry, brave one, you can let the gestalt worldsoul of Aeternia choose for you! As compensation for this option essentially being mostly random, you get a 50% discount on the cost of whatever powers you get from choosing this option. Don't worry, it will always be something useful, so don't worry about spending 10,000 karma for a spoon that summons milk and cereal.
Well I never really had excellent luck, but nothing is more entcing then a 50% discount on all purchases. It was time to nut up or shut up, and to bite the proverbial bullet, "Please for the love of Valencia don't make me regret this", And then with nervous anticipation, the button was slammed like a victim of domestic violence, and I waited in horrible anixety for the rest of the traits that would affect the entirety of the rest of my life.