Who am I?... What am I?

Those were the words that it had questioned itself countless times.

On a mountain in a secluded place, mostly untouched by anything other than some plants and small animals here and there lied a peculiar rock.

This rock had just woken for the first time. It was mysteriously given sentience even though it had no flesh, it had no brain or blood. Yet… it was able to think.

This rock sat in an enclave that faced a cliff, this enclosed cliffside overlooked a sea of clouds one day, a sea of greens mixed in with blue here and there the next.

Although it had just gained sentiance, it was already mesmerized by the sight. This rock which was only a few feet in height and a few feet in width, was clearly able to see. Its vision was smooth and crystal clear, like that of an eagle.

However… it also had no eyes, that it could tell of. When it had been raining one time, the enclave was somewhat rained upon by the extreme weather below. The weather which usually was held down by the atmosphere barely made it up and created a puddle next to the rock.

It saw itself in all its glory… that was two weeks ago.

It had been alive, mentally functioning, for about four weeks or so. When it first came up with the idea of weeks, it was like drawing a memory from a deep well using a small cup. Over this period of time, every day, it could feel itself feeling more fulfilled. It felt stronger, but not physically or mentally, but something deep inside itself was growing.

It was only until yesterday that the memories slowed down. They were somewhat scrambled still, somewhat unclear, but the knowledge of… well… everything, was there.

There were the skills of skinning, cutting, crafting. Then came the magic, a mystical force that acted upon the world similar to gravity but even more mysterious as it made things change uniquely. His memory of shaman knowledge suggested that magic was actually chaos given form. That didn’t mean it couldn’t be controlled though.

His elven knowledge knew of ancient magics such as enchanting, summoning, and various other things like the Shadow realm and Limbo realm that influenced the world in various ways.

However, as he gained more and more knowledge the world didn’t come together like a puzzle, but quite the opposite. He noticed a change.

Like how he started to refer to himself as a “he” unknowingly, the world was changing slowly but surely.

In the first, what he saw in his memories called an epoch or era, the world was born and mighty titans roamed due to the enormous power influx. In the second era, things like different races were formed and nations of great power took control of the world.

The third era introduced things such as different realms that connected to the world in various ways, they had magical and mystical things that couldn’t be found on the planet beforehand. The fourth era was the era of gods where people could literally train themselves body and minds to unspeakable power levels.

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Even the dragons which came from the first era were nothing but pets to these entities. The world only grew more mysterious as time came along. In his most recent memory, he was an older man who reached demi-god-hood, he could’ve even become a god if he tried really hard but felt it unnecessary as he had reached the end of his so-called journey. In order to become a god, he would’ve had to make sacrifices that went against his values.

These gods were the peak existences of the world, but only this world. There was something greater out there, something much greater.

The rock had been sifting through these memories slowly but surely, slowly absorbing the knowledge. At first, it was incredibly slow, but then, what one life said, “snowballed” and increasingly got easier.

Now he was kinda clueless as to what he could do. He didn’t mind too much just sitting there watching the world rise and fall, but there was too much mystery and too much unknown out there. Even with about nine lives of memories that were all successful while being even adventurous, he felt like he only saw a small grain of sand in a desert.

Somewhere out there was an oasis. This oasis would be worth suffering the journey of crossing the desert thirsty and tired. It was full of crystal water which would make the entire journey feel worth it, then he would find everything he could want but didn’t know.

This rock didn’t want to sit here, it wanted to go explore. But it knew it was already a unique existence, even with all nine lives, he knew of not one, that had an inkling of what he was. He was no “golem” or “wandering soul” he wasn’t even a reincarnated person.

[Ding]

[System establishing connection…]

What.

The rock was confused by the message, he was wondering if some of the last bits of memory were coming in, but when he felt around his “soul” he knew that he was successfully “full”.

The memories he gained were the remnants of the people that left, they brushed off their memories when they died, only Gods could die and potentially keep their memories, but even that was incredibly rare.

The message that seemed in his head, but also in his vision harmoniously appeared out of the blue. He had no idea what was happening.

[Ding]

[Sytem Established]

Ummmmmmm. Hello?

[System is now installed in user 0003]

[Congratulations!]

Woo? I don’t even know what a system is let alone how I should feel about it… though if it’s like gambling could I have hit something good somehow?

[System is an experimental advanced evolution system that ------------- has created, their purpose is to give out 100 systems across the cosmos in hopes of finding a potential asset to assist them in discovering the unknown, they care not if you are evil, dumb, greedy, or all three! Congrats!]

Hey, I am not at all any of those…

[As this is a pre-recorded message, any of your responses will not be noted, thanks for your non-existent feedback.]

Uhh, you got me?

[Moving on, as you grow stronger you will unlock more perks granted by the system which, in fact, do nothing besides give you clues to the creator behind the system, we hope that you will take this as a favor and one day repay us!]

Uhhh, ok I’m fine with that I think… too bad I’m a rock and STILL DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU DO!

[As the system has said before, I am an experimental advanced evolution system, we grant you access to possible paths to reach the peak of all existences whether in the world or beyond, hopefully beyond.]

Hmm, I wish I had one of my four beards to stroke right now.

[All system messages have successfully been said, now it will initiate its true functions. Good Luck!]

Thanks? I think. I’m so freaking confused still.

[Entity Analysed…]

[Data Establishing…]

[Please Say “Status”]

Ok, hopefully, you don’t mind my mind speak.

Status.

[Listing…]

-Creature: Rock????

-Future Evolutions: ?????

-Current Level of Lifeform: ?????

-Description: You are a… wait… what the hell?

Ow… Yes, thank you captain obvious for saying I’m a rock, and what’s with all these question marks?