Everyone loves when magic makes sense. At least, on a superficial level. Science is tedious and requires a significant amount of not only logical proficiency but also quite a bit of knowledge. Scientists spend their entire lives and fill their massive brains with one specific subject, only to discover something new that shatters their entire perspective. Magicians expand their horizons ceaselessly by manipulating a few relatively simple elements in creative and interesting ways–without any deeper knowledge of what magic actually IS (beyond acknowledging it as some kind of “energy”).
Still, while “magic” is, by definition, an irrational and unexplainable forced (or, at the very least, one that has yet to be understood), humans still require a logical structure. Humans crave a feeling of control, of order, and without it, they will be driven into madness.
God, of course, took this into account when deciding where we should be sent.
Let’s start over–not from the beginning, because who really cares about what life was like before? Nobody. It was boring, difficult and unrewarding. The nuclear apocalypse, while terrifying, came as an unexpected relief to most. Those who weren’t evaporated in the first volley saw the news and got a few extra hours of sleep, ignored the calls from their bosses, and ultimately met their fate well-rested and completely satisfied with their decision.
God, however, had a rather chaotic time attempting to orchestrate the reincarnation of so many fallen human souls. Normally, humans die and are reincarnated as newborn babies on earth–their memories reset and their souls reduced to a blank slate. So, while it might be a reincarnation of the same soul, you do still technically die… everything that makes up “you” is washed away so someone new can replace you. If there aren’t enough babies for these souls to inhabit, then those souls are usually allowed to keep their memories and instead be transported into another world–generally taking control of a fresh corpse, which is immediately given life upon your entry.
Of course, if there are more newborn babies than there are souls, God is forced to quickly make new, very basic personalities for them so humans don’t get too suspicious. These hollow personalities do serve their own roles in human societies, as their functions are quite simple: they alter their behaviors to receive positive social or financial responses. While they are not evil, they tend to give little thought to morality or the world outside their extremely limited perspectives simply because they lack a real “soul”, which is what ultimately defines humanity. People like this generally become world leaders, politicians, car salesmen/women, insurance agents, television personalities (ironically enough), etc. Naturally, there are plenty of exceptions, but these roles are generally dominated by people with the simplest-functioning personalities.
That, of course, is irrelevant to the current situation. Right now, God faced a catastrophic conundrum–earth being one of the most populated worlds in the multiverse, filled with creatures who constantly seek a logical structure/understanding (even if they’re not very good at it), can become aggressive very quickly and no longer have a world that they can return to. Finding a home for almost six billion human souls (since soulless humans don’t count) is no small task, even for God.
Because humans lack familiarity or affinities with magic, and most other potential home worlds have some sort of magical system in place, each human should be gifted some affinity, skill, etc that would be relevant to the world they’re entering. Finding balance in this process is difficult enough already… and this is where everything begins to break down. The mass genesis of new, unique abilities gifted to human souls–malevolent and benevolent alike–would undoubtedly overthrow the balance of billions of worlds.
Not to mention, since it would be too tedious to pick the corpses they inhabit carefully, there would likely be a few terrified witnesses to these newly powered humans’ rebirth. That alone may be enough to upset the social balance of many worlds, depending on their beliefs, or result in the human soul being immediately sent right back to God.
This… in the middle of this chaos, this is where I begin… and end… then begin again.
I died when the first nuclear bomb dropped. Right on top of my apartment building, believe it or not. I didn’t feel a thing, I was just… gone.
Waking up in heaven, I didn’t feel surprised at all, which was explained to myself and the others who had arrived as a result of “the process”. The audience began growing rapidly, to the angelic speaker’s surprise, so the information I was given was pretty limited. With a wave of his hand, everyone else (including the speaker) melted away, save four others.
Confused and a little stunned, we glanced around at each other, wondering if we had been left behind or simply divided from the group for some reason. None of us looked particularly special… three girls and two guys, including myself, so there didn’t appear to be any reason that we would be singled out.
We gathered together in silence, most likely sharing one another’s confusion but finding it impossible to speak up or communicate beyond basic facial expressions. One of the girls did appear to be frightened, which the angelic speaker from before said should not be possible… it seems that many inhibitors have been put in place to help ease us into this transition. This poor girl must have been overlooked or maybe there was some kind of malfunction. The speaker from before did seem surprised by the number of people arriving… there is almost definitely a connection.
“Hey, so… yeah…” a voice came from behind me, prompting me to turn… but the owner of the voice was nowhere to be seen, “a lot of new souls are coming in and we really need this room, so could you guys just pick your traits quickly and go?”
From the direction of the voice, a pedestal gradually manifested. By far the most heavenly thing about this place, apart from the seemingly infinite white room that contained us, had to be this pedestal. Its base apparently composed of a marble column flourished with intricately woven gold decorations that shifted eerily as if the object itself was breathing. On its face was a sheet of paper with several words listed on it, though I was still too far away to distinguish exactly what they were.
The other guy and two of the girls immediately began walking towards it, two of them waiting patiently while the first to arrive pointed to one of the words and immediately vanished. I was tempted to approach like the others, but hesitated because the scared girl was clearly having a rough time processing this. I couldn’t help but feel a bit of sympathy, perhaps because one of my own emotional inhibitors was malfunctioning, and offered my hand in an attempt to comfort her.
She looked at my hand, then up at me, her eyes glassy and terrified before accepting my hand and clinging to my arm tightly. I squeezed her hand comfortingly and began walking both of us towards the pedestal just as the last remaining person in front of us disappeared.
After we approached, I paused and turned to her, hoping this was enough to clarify that she should go first to avoid being left alone.
It was. Shakily, the girl turned toward the paper on the pedestal and began scanning the list for any trait that caught her eye. I joined her, since letting her pick first did give me enough time to put a bit of thought into my own choice without being rushed.
1. Emperor (taken)
1. Grants destiny: Great Leader, Wealth
2. Grants skills:
1. Organized (Unique)
2. Strategic (Master)
3. Commanding Presence
4. Perception
5. Loyal Followers
6. Warrior (Master)
7. Manipulation (Moderate)
3. Grants abilities:
1. Doubles Strength of All Soldiers Under Your Command
2. Foes Who Lose to You May Be Recruited as Loyal Allies
3. Prisoners Answer Any Questions You Ask
4. Quadruples All Personal Stats When On Your Own Territory
5. Those in Your Harem Will Always Adore You
6. Those in Your Command Adore You
7. Your Subjects Adore You
2. Weapons Master (taken)
1. Grants Destiny: Great Warrior, Legend
2. Grants Skills:
1. Perceptive (Unique)
2. Coordinated
3. Strength (Moderate)
4. Adaptive
5. Terrifying Presence (Master)
6. Analyze Movement (Master)
7. Analyze Intent (Master)
8. Quick Movement (Master)
9. Temperate
3. Grants Abilities:
1. Can Use Any Weapon Masterfully
2. Battle Stats Multiplied by Number of Opponents You Face Alone (No Cap)
3. Recover Quickly From Injuries and Exhaustion
3. Grand Healer (available)
1. Grants Destiny: Long Life, Beloved
2. Grants Skills:
1. Calming Presence
2. Intelligent (Moderate)
3. Perceptive (Moderate)
4. Adaptive (Major+)
5. Lucky (Major+)
6. Healing Magic (Unique)
3. Grants Abilities:
1. Most Beings Will Not Attack You First
2. Your Friends Are Eternally Loyal
3. You Can Instantly Kill Any Undead Enemies
4. You Are Immune to Manipulative Magic
5. You Can Cure Any Ailment With Magic (Exceeds Master Affinity’s Limits, Can Only Be Used Once Per Day)
4. Archmage, Archwizard, Warlock (taken)
1. Grants Destiny: Immortal, [N/A]
2. Grants Skills:
1. Intelligent (Major+)
2. All Magic Affinity (Master) - Excluding Healing Magic, Capped at (Apprentice+)
3. Grants Abilities:
1. Unlimited MP
2. No Cast Time
3. Immune to Magical Attacks
4. Unique Behaviors:
1. No Set Destiny–Flexibility, but High Risk.
2. Inescapably Socially Awkward.
5. Nerd (4/4 available)
1. Grants Destiny: [N/A], [N/A]
2. Grants Skills:
1. [N/A]
3. Grants Abilities:
1. Learn
4. Unique Behaviors
1. Strength Stat Difficult to Develop
2. Agility Stat Difficult to Develop
3. Intelligence Stat Develops Quickly
4. Endurance Stat Difficult to Develop
5. Starting Health Low
6. Can Learn Skills From Books (Inefficient)
7. Easily Frightened
World Summary:
1. Environmental Threat Level
1. Moderate to Low
2. Hostile Creatures
1. Yes
2. Common
3. Powerful Creatures
1. Yes
2. Uncommon to Rare
4. Intelligent Creatures
1. Yes
2. Common
3. Diverse
5. Current Economic Status:
1. Poor
6. Current Social Status:
1. Poor
7. World Age:
1. Ancient
8. Magical Presence:
1. Alternative System
1. No Individual Leveling
2. No Linear HP/MP Meter
3. Skills:
1. Extremely Diverse
4. Abilities:
1. Primarily Found in “Monster” Class Creatures
2. Powerful, Can Not Normally Be Learned
9. Technology:
1. Underdeveloped
10. Projected World Outcome:
1. Extremely Poor
[Warning: The World You Are About to Enter is Marked as EXTREMELY HOSTILE. Choose Your Traits Carefully. The Following Skills Have Been Boosted to Accommodate This Environment: Perception, Intelligence, Lucky, Adaptive and Strategy. The Following Abilities Have Been Boosted to Accommodate This Environment: Some Beings Will Not Attack You First to most Beings Will Not Attack You First; You Can Weaken Undead to You Can Instantly Kill Any Undead Enemies; Battle Stats Multiplied by Number of Opponents You Face Alone (Up to 10) to Battle Stats Multiplied by Number of Opponents You Face Alone (No Cap); Learn; Learn; Learn; Doubles All Personal Stats When On Your Own Territory to Quadruples All Personal Stats When On Your Own Territory; Increased Subject Satisfaction to Your Subjects Adore You; Foes Who Lose to You May Be Enslaved to Foes Who Lose to You May Be Recruited as Loyal Allies; Reduced MP Cost to Unlimited MP; Reduced Cast Time to No Cast Time; Minor Strength Boost to All Soldiers Under Your Command to Doubles Strength of All Soldiers Under Your Command]
[Note: Changes Tend to Be Minor. Major Changes May Cause Trait Instabilities. Please Report Any Suspicious or Imbalanced Traits to (removed).]
[Have a Nice Life.]
Nevermind. Far too much detail has been added or removed… or maybe we’ve been given less time to read it over thanks to the sudden influx of people. Most likely, it is a combination of both.
Wait a second… There are only two options left! One of the two available is simply called “Nerd” and has four in stock while the others are all Unique. Ah, I think only four people were meant to choose from this list, and the “Nerd” option was sort of supposed to be the hardcore choice for people who want to build their own destiny or whatever. What is with this ability, though? “Learn”? All the others are much more descriptive–what exactly can you learn with this ability?
My concentration broke when I felt the gaze of the girl next to me burning a hole in the side of my head. It’s pretty obvious why: she wanted the Grand Healer trait, which appeared to nerf the hell out of this world. I can’t really blame her. In an easier world, the Nerd trait would actually be pretty appealing, since you could just sit around and read to learn plenty of useful skills. However, with that ominous warning label beneath it, it seems more like a death sentence…
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
Without matching her gaze, I reached over and took the girl’s wrist, guiding it across the sheet until it hovered over the Grand Healer trait. I felt her grip tighten, so I squeezed her hand reassuringly. A moment later, she vanished.
Guess it’s my turn.
I held my finger just over the Nerd trait and a message popped up in front of me, maintaining its position in the center of my vision everywhere I looked:
[Warning: This Trait Has Not Been Properly Balanced. Would You Like to Pick a Different One? (Not for Yes, Shake Your Head for No)]
If I could feel fear, this would probably be quite a relief. I nod, grateful that I wasn’t stuck with such a terrible ability, but found that nothing had changed. I was still in the same room and the sheet still displayed the exact same list of traits with the only remaining option being Nerd. However, it now said there were only 3/4 available.
Wonderful. Although, this does give me an idea… if there are no options to choose from, then someone would have to offer me a new trait before sending me to another world, right? Even if it doesn’t work, I think it’s worth a try.
Once again, I hovered my index finger over the Nerd trait and nodded. After repeating this process twice more, a second message popped up, this one carrying a fairly predictable message:
[Note: No Other Traits Are Available at This Time. You Are Being Connected With A Soul Service Agent Now…]
[Connecting…]
[Connecting…]
[Connection Failed]
[We Regret to Inform You That No Agents Are Available at This Time. Your New Life Will Now Begin.]
[Use Code GOD During Your Next Visit to Guarantee a Healthy Start in a Wealthy Family.]
I woke up with my face half-buried in the mud. Coughing up the dark, wet material, I attempted to lift myself off the ground only to be assaulted by a stabbing pain in my gut. Looking down, I saw that I was wearing a suit of armor that had been severely warped–like someone had blown a hole through it with some high-caliber anti-tank rifle–to the point where it curved back into my stomach.
“FUCK!”
[Internal Damage Resistance (Minor) Learned]
[Language (Beginner) Learned]
Slowly, carefully, I laid myself back down, knowing that a sudden movement could result in the metallic blades shredding my organs. A message had popped up in the corner of my vision, but I found it difficult to care at the moment. The agony of each breath that only grew as the initial shock wore off convinced me that I already had some internal damage already. All I could do is lay here and wait for death. The fuck. What the actual FUCK is this?
[Internal Damage Resistance (Minor+) Learned]
[Endurance +1]
[Defense +1]
[Rest (Beginner) Learned]
[Pain Nullification (Minor) Learned]
The pain waned slightly, but not enough to silence the screaming in my brain. Every few seconds, I felt a wave of terror wash over me, followed by dread and anger–wanting to hurt whoever did this to me. My brain was wracked with emotion to the point where I was barely able to process anything that was happening, much less how I got here in the first place. I’M NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE. I was sleeping in my bed and I died from a nuclear blast. Somehow I know that. How do I know that?
[Critical Thinking (Beginner) Learned]
[Intelligence +2]
[Pain Nullification (Minor+) learned]
[Internal Damage Resistance (Moderate) Learned]
[Regeneration (Minor) Learned]
[Health +1]
[Defense +1]
[Pain Nullification (Moderate) Learned]
“God… Shut up already. I can’t even… s-something’s wrong.”
[Language (Beginner+) Learned]
My thoughts were slowed. The world around me began to spin and throb painfully, only adding to the torrent of confusion and fear that had engulfed everything. I don’t want to die. All I can think is this–I don’t care if there is an afterlife, I don’t want to die. Someone please help me…
Almost as if responding to my quiet summon, I could hear footsteps sloshing through the thick, swampy terrain, occasionally colliding with something dull or metallic. The approach was soon followed by voices in a language I couldn’t quite make out. Their tone was dry–almost bored.
“C-khaaa…”
I tried to call them, but was only able to push out a weak moan. However, this was still enough to catch their attention since I could hear their approach more rapidly and directly somewhere off to my right. Finally, they will be able to ease my suffering.
[Prophecy Learned]
[You Have Prophesied]
Prophecy? That is… reassuring.
I felt my body relax a bit as I looked up at the blurry, cloaked figure above me. Though lacking in detail, I could already sense their warmth and intent to aid radiating from them. Their motions seemed to carry a mix of surprise… at least, I think it’s surprise… and pleasure as they reached into their cloak to pull out an oddly-shaped wooden object, which I assume is a wand of some sort.
I know there is healing magic in this world thanks to the girl who chose the Grand Healer trait… I wonder how she’s doing now. I should try to find her and the others when I recover. Maybe we could form a party of some kind and work to fix this wo-
Thwump
[Piercing Damage Resistance (Minor) Learned]
[Piercing Damage Resistance (Minor+) Learned]
[Piercing Damage Resistance (Moderate) Learned]
[Piercing Damage Resistance (Moderate+) Learned]
[Holy Magic Resistance (Minor) Learned]
[Holy Magic Resistance (Minor+) Learned]
[Holy Magic Resistance (Moderate) Learned]
[Holy Magic Resistance (Moderate+) Learned]
[Holy Magic Resistance (Major) Learned]
[Holy Magic Resistance (Major+) Learned]
[Holy Magic Resistance (Unique) Learned]
Ah… I think the person I saw might have been using a crossbow, not a wand. I’m not really sure what all the holy magic stuff is about, though… maybe
[Critical Thinking (Beginner+)]
I’ll take that as a yes.
The familiar inhibitors from heaven kicked in instantaneously after I died, so fortunately, most of the emotions from earlier didn’t carry over. Still, I do think there should be a little more quality control when it comes to where I’m reincarnated. From what I gathered, I think I just took over the body of a fallen soldier–probably one that had been dead a little while since there were others searching the remains. I suppose it could’ve been worse, then. I could’ve been reincarnated as a dead slave or gladiator… I wonder if this world has stuff like that.
[Intelligence +1]
Hang on, is that supposed to work in here? If I’m dead, why am I still leveling up stats? Also, where is heaven? Everything is still dark and empty.
[Temperate Learned]
[Unique Behavior Suppressed: Easily Frightened]
Wait a second, that’s definitely not supposed to happen.
[Immortality Learned]
Well… I’m sure they’ll fix it. This is probably just a temporary effect–I imagine they’d probably reset all of my stats when I go wherever they plan on sending me next.
[It Seems You Died Within The First Five Minutes of Your Reincarnation. We Will Attempt To Reincarnate You Into The Same World Once Again. Please Take Care And Avoid Wandering Into Dangerous Areas, as This Offer Will Not Be Extended Again Due to an Overflow Of Lost Souls. Your Next Visit Will Result in a Thorough Washing of Your Soul.]
Lovely.
Oh yeah, I have that code they gave me last time… I wonder if I can use it. I’m not sure how to communicate it other than just thinking “code: GOD”, but-
[Code Rejected. Reason: Expired]
My opinion of heaven is currently hovering around two stars.
[Your New Life Will Now Begin.]
[You Learned A New Discipline: Necromancy]
[You Learned a New Spell: Raise Undead Follower (weak)]
I jerked back to life, immediately attempting to assume an upright position but was pinned down in the mud by yet another suit of armor–this one much larger than the previous one. In fact, it was far too big for my own wiry frame, prompting me to briefly wonder why such a small soldier would even be wearing this kind of armor.
Then again, I’m a low-level reincarnated nerd. It would make sense that my physique would reflect my stats, regardless of the corpse I’m inhabiting. Hm… Oh well.
Lifting my arms, I slid down and out of the heavy iron (I assume) chestplate, gauntlets and helmet, then pulled my legs out of the soft fur interior of the heavy leggings. After briefly checking and rechecking my now fully exposed body for injuries, I let out an audible sigh of relief and leaned back against the armor I had just escaped. Seems I’ve got a solid chance this time.
[Rest (Beginner+) Learned]
Several minutes passed before I became aware of my surroundings. An overcast sky and an extremely distracting series of personal developments had allowed a few major details to slip past my perception, but once you see it, well…
Around me lay tens or perhaps hundreds of thousands of fallen soldiers belonging to what seemed like several different armies based on the colors and symbols they wore. Some had decayed more than others, leading me to believe that whatever battle was fought here lasted a very long time–to where soldiers came to this location and stood on the bodies of their fallen comrades and continued to fight. This “mud”... it’s probably the product of their decaying flesh.
I vomited. Well, kind of, I hadn’t eaten anything, so I mostly just retched and coughed. I did very well, I think, especially considering how this was the first time I’ve ever actually seen a dead body in person. Still, it took me about an hour to recover enough to stand and begin moving through them–now more worried about disease than the sight of death. Even if they only exist as status effects in this world, this seems like the most likely area to contract some horrifying ailment that slowly and painfully kills you.
Oh yeah, speaking of death… I wonder if I kept that immortality skill… ability… destiny… whatever it is. Does it mean I can’t die no matter what or just that I don’t age? Ah, probably best not to test it out. Maybe there’s a way to learn more about skills and abilities in a settlement or from some locals.
Oh yeah, I wonder if there are intelligent creatures on this world apart from humans. That would be pretty cool.
[Health +1]
[Agility +1]
Oh? Seems like this walking is doing my health some good, though I still feel a bit queasy. I’m sure it will pass soon enough, though. Things are starting to look up.
[Contracted Blood Rot]
[Disease Resistance (Minor) Learned]
Uh oh.
A couple of voices shouted from somewhere behind me, so I turned to see three… no, four figures in green patterned cloaks–very similar to the ones I saw in my previous life–sprinting straight towards me. They were still pretty far, but this battlefield is massive and didn’t exactly have anywhere for me to run towards, meaning the only option I have is to run away from the threat. Honestly, I would’ve been fine with doing just that, but I can barely move and they can apparently just run on top of this mess somehow.
“Shit.”
[Language (Novice) Learned]
Wait, I have that necromancy spell, right? All I have to do is raise the dead to protect me… or distract them for a moment. Hopefully they don’t just run around it or take it down instantly, but whatever, it’s better than sitting here and waiting for death.
With a newfound determination, I lifted my hands, pointing my fingers towards a nearby corpse that looked to have its armor largely intact.
“Um… get up?”
I have no idea how to use magic.
The figures were close enough that I could hear their feet clattering against the armor strewn across the battlefield. With a quick glance, I realized they were just stepping on the armor and shields rather than wading through the “mud” like my brilliant ass. Still, they move much quicker than I can, so escape was never an option.
[Perception +1]
Oh, I have an idea.
Turning my attention down to one of the shields that was sort of propped up against a small pile of bodies, my hands tightening into fists, and punched it as hard as I could.
[Pugilism (Beginner) Learned]
[Strength +1]
[Endurance +1]
[Pain Nullification (Moderate+)]
[Defense +1]
Fuck! I think I broke my hand! I learned the skill, but it’s not like I can fight like this…
[Regeneration (Minor+)]
[Endurance +1]
I paused, and to my astonishment, my hand suddenly stopped hurting. There wasn’t any visible damage to begin with, but with a few cautious movements, I began to see the unexpected power behind my regeneration skill. I’m surprised I was able to get something so useful this quickly. Then again, my only ability is literally just called “Learn”, so I guess this is reasonably fair considering the position I’m in. It’s still nothing compared to some of the other abilities that were listed.
[Disease Resistance (Minor+) Learned]
The clang of the encroaching threat slipping on a loose shield brought me back to reality. Having only a few more seconds until they arrived, I began beating on the shield as quickly as possible, ignoring the damage I was inflicting on myself. I didn’t have much choice, but to my surprise, the following blows felt much more solid and the impact was not only painless, it was comfortable. I mean, as comfortable as possible.
[Pugilism (Beginner+) Learned]
[Pugilism (Novice) Learned]
[Agility +1]
[Pugilism (Novice+) Learned]
[Disease Resistance (Moderate) Learned]
[You Have Recovered From Blood Rot]
[Pugilism (Apprentice) Learned]
[Health +1]
[Pugilism (Apprentice+) Learned]
[Endurance +1]
[Strength +1]
Muscle memory that would normally take years to learn developed rapidly, allowing me to predict and almost perfectly land every single blow, which now carried enough force to slightly dent the shield. I’ve never felt more incredible in my entire life (as short as it’s been so far, I suppose that’s not a very high standard)! I don’t think I could possibly be more prepared for-
Something very fast appeared in the corner of my eye, but before I could react, it struck the side of my head and I fell to the ground, unconscious.
[Rest (Novice) Learned]
[Unconscious Resistance (Minor) Learned]
[Internal Damage Resistance (Moderate+) Learned]
Destiny Skills Abilities Stats Disciplines Status Effects Unique Behaviors N/A Internal Damage Resistance (Moderate+) Learn Strength: 3/10 (-) Necromancy Strength -2 Strength Stat Difficult to Develop N/A Language (Novice) [Hidden] Agility: 3/10 (-) Strength Reduced Growth Agility Stat Difficult to Develop Rest (Novice)
[Hidden]
Perception: 4/10 Agility -2 Intelligence Stat Develops Quickly Pain Nullification (Moderate+) [Hidden] Intelligence: 6/10 Agility Reduced Growth Endurance Stat Difficult to Develop Critical Thinking (Beginner+) Prophecy Endurance: 5/10 (-) Intelligence Increased Growth Starting Health Low Regeneration (Minor+) Magic: 3/10 Endurance -2 Can Learn Skills From Books (Inefficient) Piercing Damage Resistance (Moderate+) Health Power (HP): 5/10 (-) Endurance Reduced Growth Easily Frightened (Suppressed) Holy Magic Resistance (Unique) Defense: 6/10 Health -1 Temperate Luck: 3/10 Does Not Age (Immortality) Disease Resistance (Moderate) Pugilism (Apprentice+) Unconscious Resistance (Minor)