The fall took what felt like an hour. Ross’s fear gradually converted into annoyance at the extended length of time it took him to fall, unable to think of anything but the ground approaching. Due to this, he was unable to focus on his surroundings beyond surface-level observation, and this turned his annoyance into some semblance of anger. This was, in turn, looped back into fear as the approaching ground grew exponentially closer. Finally, when it would be mere moments before impact, Ross closed his eyes. He could feel himself scream, but couldn’t hear it.
Then, all was quiet.
Ross sat stark straight, blinking. He had a throbbing migraine, and saw nothing but stars for a few moments. During that time, he held what little hope he had that it was still possibly a dream in his mental fingers. It was only after realizing he tasted fresh sod in his mouth that he reluctantly observed his surroundings, accepting he was most likely not in REM sleep.
He was in a hole - no, a crater.
A perfectly spherical crater.
He looked at the walls and realized only light trickles of loose dirt and small clumps of grass fell inside from the surface. The walls seemed to be perfectly stable, maybe even solidified to some degree. He blinked again, removing the last of the floating colors from his vision, and promptly entered a coughing fit. It racked his lungs and made his migraine flare up with every wheeze, but it only lasted long enough to allow the disturbingly large, packed clump of soil to dislodge itself from his esophagus and splatter on the ground in front of him. He took a moment to catch his breath before realizing it was significantly easier to do so. He then realized, despite not wearing his prism-laden glasses, he could see. He could actually see! He nearly yelled in triumph before a twisting pain caught him by surprise, and he doubled over.
After another moment, Ross checked his pelvis, where he felt the pain. It wasn’t visibly damaged, but when he touched it, sparks of pain danced across his brain. Broken bones, indefinitely. He then realized he was indecent from the waist down. Further investigation revealed he was, indeed, in his birthday suit. He felt something hot and wet slowly seep down his forehead, and he wiped it off. He saw it was a viscous, blue-tinted substance that something deep within him said was his blood.
He gagged, which not only brought about another migraine flare-up, but another coughing fit, which did not help. Ross was never great with gore of any kind, let alone any viscera involving his own body.
After calming his body down once again and massaging his head, he took a deep, gentle breath. It was then that he noticed odd boxes in the corner of his vision. After trying to half-heartedly investigate one of them - a navy blue box that looked like it belonged in Windows Vista - and failing, he moved his vision with some difficulty to where the box resided with just his eyes. This inevitably made the pulsing pain worse, but not as much as coughing did. The box expanded into a full-blown window in his vision and he scooted back a couple of inches, the box following him. It perfectly fit his vision.
[You have (11) new Announcements. Would you like to read them?]
He blinked slowly, a shudder running through his body. Memories from the room he sat in gods only knew how long before came flooding back into his mind, far clearer than they had actually played out. This window, despite being a deep blue instead of gray, looked quite similar to the windows he had seen there. He blinked a few times, more rapidly than before. Minute pellets of dirt flicked from his eyelids, and his migraine’s potency was greatly reduced. Relieved by the fragmentary release from such intense pain, Ross sighed. The sigh came out as a squeak, something in his throat dislodging. He proceeded to make far more disgusting sounds than he’d care to think about again before finally spitting out a mound of mucus, spittle, dirt and gravel onto the ground, and any urge to cough was immediately eased.
He took a shaky breath before looking at the screen before him. He didn’t see any buttons that said ‘Continue’ or ‘Accept’, so he assumed he’d need to interact with it in a different way. He tried to press at it with his hand, but he couldn’t do it - the screen was just at too much of an awkward angle. He croaked out a moan, feeling his tender vocal cords for the first time. He tried thinking of the word ‘Yes’ as intently as he could, but nothing happened.
“Goddamn it… Yes, open the-” he groaned, then cut himself off. The moment he said the word ‘Yes’ out loud, the screen expanded into a massive, scrawling wall of text. He let out an annoyed grunt before looking over the new information.
[Announcement: Welcome to the world of Terraegnus, Adventurer! We understand that the introductory process was rough, but we didn’t have much time to cross you over the border between worlds. Please forgive us for this, as it was our fault for such a hasty transfer. We did mean to bring you over during the end of your natural life, which would have been at the age of 59. However, fate is not perfect and you had a terrible fate befall you before that moment. As we can only transfer you over at the moment of death, the unscheduled process had to be rushed. We should have been more prepared for your arrival.
Regardless, we thank you for such an efficient character creation process, only taking (0:23:29:093) to complete the questionnaire! For this, we have granted you a bonus Achievement and a better guide to your world. You will, unfortunately, have to find that guide yourself - they are approximately (913) miles away from you at the moment. Once they find you, they will give you a tutorial of sorts for this new realm.
Yes, it is very much real. No, you are not dreaming. Yes, you are in a ‘comatose’ state on Earth, and an operative of ours is taking care of your pet {Eduardo.}
We understand how discombobulating this can be for those uninitiated in the ways of our universe, so let us paint a picture for you. You've been transported to a place similar to Earth in many ways. There are paths and roads connecting every location on the planet within reason, and although the technology isn't quite as advanced as Earth's, we make up for it here through the use of Magic, as well as a special System run by a member of the local Pantheon. There is running water and an equivalent to electricity, but many things that should be automatic are manual and vice versa. Bosses tend to steer clear from populated areas unless they're influenced by a god or other higher power. Just treat this as you might a virtual reality experience from Earth, but with very real consequences. Finally, laws here are nearly identical to your world's own. In particular, they match closest to those of the continent called {North America). Many laws are adapted to fit a magical world, but maintain the same ideals. For more information on this world's equivalent of law enforcement and politics, please reference your Trainer.
We do hope you’ll decide to aid us in saving this world from those who would seek to demolish it before they can do so and move onto your old planet, {Earth}. If not, we understand and can provide transport back to your world. You will not remember any of this, but you will keep your new body and skills. This will not be the only chance you have to go back to {Earth}, but it will be the only chance for a long while. If you choose to stay, we will inform your Trainer and allow you the basic starting equipment needed for your class, {Full_Counter_ERROR}. Let us know as soon as possible! The next alert will bring you to settings, where you can change your overlays to suit your needs.
Yours truly,
Preshisu Krytema of the T.A.R.P]
“The hell does T.A.R.P stand for..?” Ross huffed. A combination of concern and relief crossed over his mind, remembering his pet iguana. The thought of a stranger roaming around his studio unsettled him, but if they were going to take care of his home, he saw no reason why not to explore this new realm. If Eduardo was safe, excellent. If Eduardo was killed or neglected, well... Ross had no qualms with sending a stranger to the ICU. His mind ebbed at his conscious thought, alarmed at the thought of a new reality. He decided to shove those thoughts aside before trying to click an X that wasn’t there, sighing, then saying “Next!” Sure enough, the message disappeared, and a settings tab appeared before him. He looked over the settings, of which there were not many. His setting for ‘Menu Interaction’ was set to Verbal. There was also Physical and Mental, but both were grayed out. Trying to verbally select either revealed why.
[{Physical} unavailable due to Class. Selecting {Physical} would be a threat to you.
{Mental} unavailable due to Status:{Concussed}. Remove this Status to enable this choice.]
Indignantly, Ross directed his attention to the window sizes. Fiddling with it for a few minutes, he managed to keep the windows from being so close he could touch them with his tongue, but still close enough to read effectively. He was able to interact with them physically while setting up his overlay to his liking, discovering a few bars colored in each primary color. Red was marked as ‘HP’, blue as ‘Mana’ which was dulled out, and a darker Yellow labeled ‘Absorption’. There was also a green bar labeled ‘Stamina’, but he noted it too was dulled out, so he assumed he couldn’t use it. Whether that was a bane or a boon was yet to be seen.
Observing the red bar, he saw it was only lit up with a tiny sliver at the left end of it. Underneath was a bit of text; 1/500. No wonder he felt like a steaming sack of manure; he was down to a single hit point of hundreds in that pool. He decided he’d take it easy in his personal crater, letting out a breath. At least some of this was starting to make sense to him.
He dismissed the Settings tab, and the minimized window appeared where he set it to - just next to his bars at the bottom center of his vision. The next window seemed to be a wall of text in its own right.
[Achievements: 10/9,062 - Please speak the name of the Achievement for more details and to claim rewards for gaining that Achievement!]
Without skipping a beat, Ross read aloud the name of every achievement he saw.
[Extraterrestrial
Acquisition: Come to Terraegnus from another realm.
Reward: Basic Subclass Clothes
Custom Trait
Acquisition: Create a custom Trait upon entering the world of Terraegnus, intentionally or unintentionally.
Reward: Legendary-Grade Weapon
Subclass Crafter
Acquisition: Create a new Subclass upon Character Creation, intentionally or unintentionally.
Reward: Permanent 5% Increase to Experience Gain in {Full_Counter_ERROR}
Daredevil
Acquisition: Participate in a life-threatening stunt, intentionally or unintentionally.
Reward: +2 to Luc, +50 Base HP
Without a Parachute
Acquisition: Jump or fall from 5+ miles in the air.
Reward: +2 to Luc, +1 to Dex
Fly Like an Eagle
Acquisition: Fall for at least 15 minutes straight.
Reward: +3 to Dex, +1 to Luc, +1 Gliding Suit Schematics
Rod of God
Acquisition: Hit the ground after falling from at least 100 miles in the air.
Reward: +10 Luc, +7 Str, +5 Con, +300 Base HP, +5 Orichalcum Coins
By a Thread
Acquisition: Survive a single strike on 1 HP.
Reward: +5 Base Health Regen, +5 to Luc, +2 to Con, +10 Orichalcum Coins
Customized
Acquisition: Customize your Overlay.
Reward: +1 Gold Coin, +10 Silver Coins, +100 Copper Coins, +1 to Each Stat
T.A.R.P Aid
Acquisition: Participate in a T.A.R.P-led activity without resistance or subterfuge.
Reward: +5 Electrum Coins, +10 Unused Stat Points, +1 Bag of Holding (Legendary)]
Ross scratched his head. He didn’t think he knew about orichalcum, and electrum was vaguely familiar from his tabletop gaming days, but he knew about gold. Gold was something very good, and he hoped a single gold coin could get him some bed and breakfast. Noting the sun directly overhead, he corrected himself. “Lunch and bed,” Ross muttered, “Sounds simply incredible right now.”
It was only then that he heard his own voice.
It was similar to the one he was familiar with, but more gravelly. Deeper and rougher. He instinctively knew that it wasn’t just from his orifices being fed debris from his impact; his voice was different, just like his body was different. Gray skin, harshly rounded features, muscular and lanky arms and a head full of wispy white hair. He felt his face, smiling slightly at the curling hair just under his nose, before refocusing on the achievements. He decided to try something that he hoped could make this all go by far faster.
“Accept all..?”
Immediately, he felt a tug down on his body, but not like someone or something was pulling him down. Moreso that he had just gained a handful of pounds - twenty? Thirty? He shook his head lightly to avoid a returning headache, realizing it was almost like the weight of a heavy school backpack dispersed throughout his whole body.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
Then, he felt what could only be the regeneration.
He let out an all-too-suggestive moan as his broken and battered body began to heal itself. Much to his joy, the headache left first. It throbbed for no more than 5 more minutes before truly fading away. He closed his eyes, letting the feeling of a rapidly healing body wash over him. After 15 or so minutes, he felt raw, but unbroken. It was only then that he considered opening up settings again. Much to his joy, the ‘Mental’ option was now available. He pushed the nagging questions about how a concussion healing in just 5 minutes was possible out of his mind, deciding to simply revel in the new ease and speed of his overlay control. He took a deep breath and went back to the alerts he’d gotten; two new ones were listed below the rest. He shrugged before clicking on the one just below Advancements.
[Alert: You are falling at a rapid pace, and are prone to severe injuries. The height you have jumped from, approx. (172 Miles), is ill-advised. Please do not attempt this sort of jump again without proper equipment.]
Ross just snorted before closing the announcement and opening the next few, agitation growing with each new warning he read.
[Alert: You are now (10 Miles) from the ground. Please aim for a body of water, feet-first.]
[Alert: You are now (1 Mile) from the ground. Please aim for a body of water, feet-first.]
[Alert: You are (500 Meters) away from hitting the ground. Please aim for a body of water, feet-first.]
[Alert: You are about to impact solid ground at Terminal Velocity. Please ready a Healing Spell or Healing Potion.]
“What the fuck did you want me to do!?” Ross screamed at the window, voice still hoarse. “I didn’t want to be air-dropped into an alien planet from nearly two hundred miles above ground!”
He broke into another coughing fit, this one racking his body with quickly-fading pain before coughing up even more phlegm-dirt. He took a deep breath, then kept reading notifications.
[Alert: You have made a massive impact on nearby nature. Any nearby sentient plants or animals will come explore for 5 minutes. If predatory animals come, you should be ready to fight.]
Ross looked around rapidly, more on edge than before. He didn’t want to go hand-to-hand with some sort of mountain lion or grizzly bear. He was pretty sure that would keep him from living for very long. He then realized the message mentioned sentient plants, and he swallowed hard. He decided to go through the alerts a bit faster.
[Alert: You are on your last Hit Point (HP). Losing this will make you go unconscious, and it will take you an amount of time equal to {1000 - your Con Score} seconds before you become conscious again. During this time, you will be fully vulnerable to all attacks, and you will not have any chance to evade attacks. If you gain healing during this time, the time to wait decreases to {100-your Con Score} seconds.]
Ross sighed. He didn’t see any animals on his first sweep, so he assumed he was safe while unconscious. He didn’t want to count himself lucky quite yet, because he still didn’t fully accept that nothing was waiting for him to get near the top of his personal chasm. For a moment, he worried about how he’d actually get out of the chasm, but then realized he had bigger issues to tend to. Such as a near-complete lack of all information.
[Alert: You have unclaimed Achievement rewards! Open your Achievements tab to see a list of your completed achievements and unclaimed rewards!]
Ross waved this message away, only to be faced with congratulations on accepting said rewards. He rolled his eyes and waved that message away as well, finding the last pop-up to be a layout of his current stat sheet. His jaw dropped at the ability descriptions finally granted to him.
[Character Sheet
Name: Ross Olsen
Trait: Shock Absorber
Trait Rarity: ???
Trait Status: Passive, Active, Offense, Defense, Utility, Support, Regen
ERROR: Ability claims all Statuses. Will appear as though it has no Status to
others.
Advancement 1: You gain the ability to obtain Absorption, an alternate energy source. When attacked, you will gain an amount of Absorption equal to the damage taken by any physical source. You have no maximum Absorption value. You may use any amount of Absorption to add an equal amount of Kinetic Damage equal to the amount of Absorption used.
Advancement 2: You have gained the Subtrait Immovable Object.
Advancement 3: ??? {4.99%}
Advancement 4: ??? {0.4%}
Advancement 5: ??? {0.4%}
Advancement 6: ??? {0.05%}
Advancement 7: ??? {0%}
Advancement 8: ??? {0%}
Advancement 9: ??? {0%}
Advancement 10: ??? {0%}
SUBTRAITS:
Immovable Object
You cannot be brought below 1 Health by a single attack of any kind. You are immune to Knockback effects.
Requirements for [1st] Mutation:
* Reach Advancement 10
* 100,000 EXP
* Complete 10 Dungeons
Race: Firbolg
Racial Trait: Hermit
You are unable to select certain classes. It is harder for you to grow relationships with locals of {Terraegnus}.
You will not be able to find a teacher for a secondary class.
Racial Trait: Mountain-Dweller
You are capable of traversing through rough terrain as though it were a flat-tiled hallway.
You cannot be lost while traveling along a mountainous region.
Racial Trait: Powerful Build
You have no maximum carrying capacity. Your movement will be slowed by 5% for every extra Ton (2000 lbs) you carry within your Inventory.
Class: Defender
Class Trait: Endurance I {0%}
You are able to endure hits that would otherwise inflict bonus negative effects.
Chance of triggering: 10%
Class Trait: Armorless Defense I {0.1%}
You are capable of treating your body in common clothing as though it were plate mail armor.
Defense gained: +1
Class Trait: Health Regen I {1.3%}
You gain a base Health Regeneration score. Your Health regenerates every 5 seconds.
Base Health Regen: +1
Class Trait: Unarmed Combat I {0%}
You are just as capable with your bare hands as a sword or hammer.
Bonus unarmed damage: +10
Class Trait: Protector I {0%}
When defending someone or something, you gain a bonus to your Defense
Defense gained while actively defending: +5
Subclass: Full Counter
Class Trait: Grazing Blow
You can use any amount of Absorption to reduce the damage you take from an incoming attack. Half of the used Absorption will be applied as damage on your next Attack.
Class Trait: True Absorption
You can see how much damage an attack will deal when thrown. The damage can vary from the viewed amount depending on the location hit, but the initial damage can be treated as the actual damage when using your {Full_Counter_ERROR} Abilities. Any increase or decrease in the attack’s damage on impact will be appropriately scaled with the new damage total.
Class Trait: Unheeding Strikes
Your strikes, when empowered by Absorption Points, ignore armor.
Class Trait: Overwhelming Reversal
If your Subtrait {Immovable Object} activates, your next attack may use all of your Absorption Points. If it does, it will deal triple damage.
Class Trait: Kinetic Regeneration
You may use any number of Absorption Points to regain that many Hit Points {HP}.
Class Trait: Retaliation
When empowering unarmed strikes with Absorption Points, you may choose to halve the bonus damage inflicted. If you do, the struck creature will be Stunned if their maximum HP is equal to or less than the number of used Absorption Points. If their HP is greater than the number of Absorption Points used, they lose an amount of Defense equal to the number of Absorption Points used for the remainder of this combat.
Class Trait: Full Counter I {0.04%}
You have a chance to gain bonus Absorption Points from hits, and your Damage
to Absorption Point conversion rate increases with each level of Full Counter you
have.
Current Conversion Rate: 100%
Current Chance for Increased Conversion: 1%
Increased Conversion Percentage: 10%
HP: 430/850
Stamina: N/A {Full_Counter_ERROR}
Mana: N/A {Full_Counter_ERROR}
Absorption Points: 499/∞
Base EXP Gain: 105% {Full_Counter_ERROR}
Base HP Regen: +6
Specializations:
None
Stat Points Available: 10
Stats:
STR: 28
DEX: 17
CON: 18
INT: 11
WIS: 11
CHA: 11
LUC: 36
Inventory:
{Legendary Weapon: Kinetic Shields}
{Monk’s Leggings}
{Monk’s Footwraps}
{Gliding Suit Schematics}
{Bag of Holding - Legendary Grade}
Coins:
Copper: 100
Silver: 10
Gold: 1
Platinum: 0
Electrum: 5
Orichalcum: 15 ]
Ross sat in quiet contemplation, a wide grin plastered on his face. As he sat, his HP ticked up more and more - by the time he’d finished reading the full character sheet and all the ability descriptions, his HP was up to 650 or so. He decided not to try and get out of the hole until he was back to max health, and decided to try on the leggings and footwraps. Thinking he’d need to do it himself, he mentally selected the two items. He was shocked when he was, in an instant, wearing them. It almost reminded him of something like the Sims, switching clothing instantly like that.
He scratched his nose while looking over the other items he could call his own. The Bag of Holding caught his eye first. If he already had an inventory, why make that item at all? After selecting it, a new pop-up appeared, asking him if he’d like to use it to expand his Inventory. He tentatively thought ‘yes’, and a moment later, the weight that was on his shoulders was practically gone. Looking back at his abilities once more, he nearly choked.
[Racial Trait: Powerful Build
You have no maximum carrying capacity. Your movement will be slowed by 0.001% for every extra Ton (2000 lbs) you carry within your Inventory.]
That answered his question - bags of holding must act like bonuses to someone’s Inventory. He rubbed his eyes and went back to his item list, short though it may be. He decided to look at the Gliding Suit Schematics next, and his overlay told him he’d need a whole laundry list of tools, materials and skills before he could even attempt to make it. He huffed, rolling it up and putting it in his pants pocket. It unfortunately stuck out, the blueprints being about four feet long and three feet wide. For the moment he ignored it, selecting the last item in his inventory; the Kinetic Shields. In the next instant, he was holding what looked like two heavy, brass discs with a pair of handles welded to one side of each. It almost looked like he was holding a pair of miniature sleds.
Upon focusing on them once again, a new description scrawled across his vision.
[Legendary Weapon: Kinetic Shields
Defense, Utility
Shields powered by pure Kinetic energy. Use Mana{ERROR}
Compensating for {Full_Counter_ERROR}...
Shields powered by pure Kinetic Energy. Use AP (Absorption Points) to grant the Shields an amount of Defense equal to twice the AP put into them. You need only to put AP into one of them, both gaining twice that much kinetic energy in charge. As they lose charge, you gain that much AP.]
Ross grinned wider. If he understood these mechanics right, all he had to do was pour some or all of his Absorption Points into one of the shields to power both, and once both ran out of power, he’d gain back four times the amount put in?
His sharp, excited laugh cut through the air like a knife, which made him flinch. He hadn’t forgotten about the wild animal warnings, and his hair stood on end just thinking about it. He focused on the pair of micro-toboggans and focused on putting 400 AP into the leftmost one. After a moment, Ross looked down. His blank, brass handles had become full-blown shields, perfectly circular and laced with runes in three different layers. He couldn’t make out what it said, but something told him it was an ancient language. The letters seemed to be floating letters constantly orbiting the center of the shield at a leisurely pace, while the rest of the ornate item had orange, violet and white light lacing the spaces between the metallic letters. It almost reminded him of a ritual circle from a few different RPGs he’d played put together, but better. The shields were identical in every way, which made him wonder what would happen if he poured power into each individually. Could he even do that?
His thoughts were interrupted as, just above his health, absorption and mana, a new pair of bars appeared. One was orange, labeled ‘Shield L’, and the other was violet, labeled ‘Shield R’. The rounded ends of those bars faced one another in the middle, a reflection of one another. The bars were filled and kept count of the amount of charge in each. They were both set to 800, which gave Ross some measure of relief. At least he wouldn’t need to take enormous hits to the face for his abilities to be used.
Yet again, a nagging reminder that this wasn’t real - that this couldn’t be real - crept into Ross’s mind.
Yet again, he pushed those thoughts out.
He had a tutorial to find, stat points to allocate and a hole to dig himself out of.