Somewhere in the realm of Asgard
The game controller fell to the hardwood floor with a clatter as its back plate burst off and the batteries erupted out to scatter around the room. The man who had been holding it let out a groan and slumped back into the plump armchair that he sat on.
“Oh, my goodness, what is all this noise going on in here?” An ample woman in a blue strap dress questioned as she bustled into the room. A quick glance told her a story she had witnessed many times. Tsking, she collected up the scattered batteries and pieced them back together with the controller.
“Sorry, Sigyn.” The blonde man muttered. “I just no longer have the will to continue… All these games are so boring… Poorly written… Poorly produced… Not even one can hold my attention for more than an iota of time.”
“Well, my husband, maybe you should stop playing them then,” she offered the reassembled controller to him with a comforting smile. He groaned and reached out to take the controller back from her but froze just short of taking it. After a moment of pause he stood up fluidly from his previously lackadaisical posture. He embraced his wife and gave her a chaste peck on the lips.
“You are completely correct my dear, as always,” he said. “I do not need to play games any longer.”
With a wide smile, Loki finished, “I can make one of my own.”
***
Somewhere in the realm of Midgard
I stood, very confused. A pale woman wearing a cloak made of dark feathers held my hand. She had just pulled me to my feet. Looking at where I had been laying amongst the grass and bushes, I could see that I was still there, even though I stood above myself. Blood pooling around me, congealing to my cloths and skin. There was no doubt, I knew what this was. I was dead and this woman was fucking about with my soul or spirit or whatever I now was.
“Who are you?” I asked, slightly dazed.
“I am Valkyrie Hrist. You have been chosen,” she said in a harsh voice with a hint of a Scandinavian accent. The sound of her words flowed with an odd distortion that did not quite match the movements of her lips. It was reminiscent of old movies that had been dubbed with foreign audio.
“Valkyrie? Chosen for what? You mean the Viking thing, don't you? Valhalla?” I stammered out as she led me forward to a horse. It was a short stout animal, waiting patiently for its mistress. I haven’t been around one since I was a child, and since then I had developed a nervousness around the large beasts. But this horse didn’t give me the anxiety that others had. It gave me a sense of gentleness and calm. Looking at it I had a feeling it was just waiting for a friendly pat or scratch.
“Valhalla? No. I am afraid you have been chosen for another afterlife. Something new,” she answered with a thin smile as she mounted the horse. Her cloak parted as her well-muscled arm reached a hand out to me.
Inside the cloak her torso was covered in glinting scaled armor and a strange skirt that was made from metal plates. Her arms were bare, but her legs had a fine chainmail. I took her hand and muscles bulged on her strong arms as she pulled me onto the horse to sit behind her. Her strength was impressive, and she showed no effort in assisting me up.
As I sat behind her I wrapped my arms around her waist without thinking, it is what you did when you rode second on a horse. Her armor made her hard and uncomfortable to hold, the feeling as the cloak of black feathers poked at me making it worse. I gazed around at the site of my death.
It was nighttime, behind my small home. My body was laying atop a broken rake, the handle impaling my chest. A long tool was gripped in one hand, and a very rambunctious family of raccoons were chattering at my body from the limbs of an apple tree. Those damn pests, anger flared through my stunned brain. They were a menace, aggressively chasing my wife and harassing all the animals in the neighborhood.
I had been in a silent war with them for years, finally charging them with a limb saw like some form of medieval polearm. As if in a an old looney tunes cartoon, I stepped on a broken rake that was laying in the dark to disastrous results. I don’t think I could even describe properly how the thing had popped up and spun around to perfectly stab through my chest.
Hrist put her heels into the horse’s sides and it began to walk steadily forward. Before we were able to run into the fence that surrounded my small yard, we slowly climbed into the air. Looking behind us I saw we were leaving blue horses prints in the air. They faded after a short time, drifting away like smoke in a light breeze. Swiftly—this horse was no plodder—we were higher in the sky, above the levels of the houses. Then the horse began to trot, the ground beneath us blurring past for each footstep taken. The city where I lived and then the state and soon even the continent I once knew disappeared.
As the horse trotted through the sky, I stared up at the stars brilliantly painting the night brighter than I had ever seen in the city.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“Somewhere new.” I heard from Hrist.
“Why am I going? I do not worship any gods. I don’t even believe in them.” I still didn’t believe in God, no matter what dying hallucination this might have been.
“But they believe in you,” Hrist said with more emotion this time, as she looked over her shoulder at me. Her bright blue eyes were visible even in the night only lit by stars. “Just because you of Midgard have stopped the old ways of worship does not mean we have abandoned you. And now we have to… bend our entrance requirements to harvest new warriors.”
“But gods do not exist,” I wisely responded stubbornly. “No proof has ever been presented.”
“Not recently. The agreement between the pantheons put an end to direct intervention with mortal beings.”
“Then what do you call this?” I announced releasing her waist and gesturing around us, which made me stagger and I quickly grabbed her again for support. She glanced at me again.
“Souls are immortal. Once mortal bodies fail, they are up for grabs to the most fitting pantheon. You in your battle with those animals just barely qualify. Not quality enough for the glory of Valhalla or Folkvangr, but maybe just good enough for this…” She explained. I felt slightly insulted that my battle against such fearsome beasts wasn’t quality enough for her Valhallan standards. Or Folkvangr, whatever that was. But the insult blew away as a piece of island came into sight.
It wasn’t the land that caught my attention, but the massive structure built atop it. On a rocky island with jagged and steep cliffs was a Tower. With a capital T. It was massive taking up most of the island and reached into the sky far enough to touch the stars. The stone it was made from was dark and unnaturally smooth, engraved with a huge tree that took up a majority of its surface space, with many trunks spread out along the bottom, but the limbs all intertwined and connecting. The horse’s distance-eating footsteps continued, and the tower slowly grew to encompass my entire view, until at last the horse came to a rest next to it. In my wonder I dismounted without thinking and looked up and to the sides, the Tower expanded for as far as I could see in all directions. It was an understatement to call it big. But gods damned if that wasn't the only word going through my head while I was looking at it.
“Now what?” I asked. Not receiving a response, I turned around only to find Hrist, and her friendly horse were gone. Well. Hell.
I walked up to touch the tower; it was made of a matte dark gray stone. Similar to some basalt pillars I had once seen on a vacation, but so much smoother. I could see some of the carvings of one of the trunks of the great tree on it in the distance, so I started wandering that way. The island was rocky, with a very thin layer of odd moss-like vegetation, each step I took damaged and broke it away. It made me feel like my footsteps were disturbing something that had taken centuries to grow and may take just as long to repair itself from my touch. My footsteps… If I am a soul… Why do I leave footsteps? The edge of the island was not far from the edge of the tower, just enough space to possibly fit a roadway for a single car.
The wind ripped at me and occasionally sprayed me with salty waters of the sea. I avoided getting too close to the edge. It looked treacherous, waiting to grab me and pull me off the island to the dark waters below. I walked for a time.
The carvings of the tree trunk got closer, as I got to the first line that I could touch, the indentation was deep enough that it measured the length of my arm. Tiny runes filled the entire surface of the engraved portion, the size of my pinky nail. Looking up again, and tracking the engraved lines, my mind boggled at how many tiny runes would cover this tower if the entire engraved surface were covered in them.
I followed the tower further, running my hand along the engraved portion and enjoying the feeling. At about halfway, by my estimation, into the trunk portion was a hole. Nothing adorned the gaping space and nothing could be seen inside, just an unnatural cave opening into the tower. Well. Double Hell.
I took a deep breath and entered the darkness. Soon the weak starlight wasn’t enough to see by and I walked through the darkness following the wall. It was pitch black. The sound of the waves crashing into the island shore rescinded until the only sound was my breathing and footfalls, it was eerie.
Suddenly and without warning my entire vision was blasted by an eye-searing blue screen. I tried to close my eyes and cover my face with my hands, but it did not help. The blinding blue screen covered my entire vision. I cursed violently for a good solid minute while my eyes burned at the screen and my heart calmed down.
“I fucking hate jump scares!” I screamed indignantly.
The screen filled in with white lettering.
[Welcome]
It said simply, before the text continued.
[You have been chosen for this unique and exciting opportunity.]
It started, reading like an introductory offer to a timeshare. I could almost hear the chipper salesman's voice that was pitching it to me.
[Starting today your afterlife has been co-opted for the alpha* testing of the greatest gaming experience ever conceived! You will enjoy such benefits as Respawning, Classless Skill-Based Leveling, Milestone Perks and so much more!]
[*WARNING: This game is still in alpha stages, expect frequent updates and balance adjustments as you play.]
I raised an eyebrow, I loved games, they were my favorite hobby, only seconded by tinkering with various game engines to try to make games. Which was the ultimate puzzle. I haven't been able to play as much recently as I would have liked, such as it was when getting older, getting married, having kids, and growing responsibilities taking away your free time.
It suddenly hit me like a brick. Married. Kids.
I was dead, obviously dazed or in some sort of afterlife shock, and had completely forgotten about my life. Suddenly I was on my knees, tears draining down my face as I remembered my wife and kids. I would leave them all behind, with nothing. I wasn’t well off, I didn’t have a grand life insurance policy. I was just a paycheck-to-paycheck guy, taking a break from work after a stressful life situation during the pandemic times. My wife supported us financially currently, and I was a househusband trying his best to keep an overactive daughter and household functioning. I was a burden more than anything, I berated myself. Now they would find my dumbass dead, stabbed through with a rake.
Some serious therapy and an expensive funeral later they may be okay. But I wasn’t okay with it. I missed my wife, my daughter, and my sons who had flown the coop to go off to college. During my momentary breakdown, the screen was present, unrelenting in its presentation. But it sensed that I wasn’t paying attention and paused its text so I wouldn’t miss a single moment of its pitch. After a good manly cry, I wiped my face, girded my strength, packed all those messy emotions away, and went back to it.
[Inside this tower, built by the uncontested best of the Aesir, there are nine floors, each themed off the nine realms. As all things in your life centered around Midgard, so shall this tower. Your first floor to explore, pillage, plunder, and subjugate will be Midgard. It will also serve you as homebase and central gathering point for your adventures on the other floors. Your ultimate goal is to reach the top floor, Asgard - the home of the gods, to win the ultimate prize.]
A yellow line of text took up the screen, with a small chime noise accompanying it.
[Quest Received: Explore Floor 1: Midgard]
[Subquest: Establish a homebase in Midgard.]
The white text continued with its introduction.
[But be warned, you aren’t the only adventurer with the same quest. This is a multiplayer game, and it's up to you whether these other players are friends or foes, to be preyed upon or to be partied with.]
The blue screen was blank for a time before the next question faded into existence.
[Are you ready to play?]
[Y/N]
I stared at the question, as if I had a choice to do anything different. My stare turned into a glare. And I started to mutter very unkind things to any gods I could recall.
“You know what?” I spoke to the blue box. “No, fuck you. I don’t want to play your games.”
People always said I was a contrary sort in life, why stop now? The blue box highlighted the N and I confirmed selection with some mental focus.
[Are you sure you want to quit?]
[Y/N]
I chose the Y this time.
[Warning, if you continue you will be at risk of losing your soul. Are you not ready to play?
[Y/N]
I frowned, this game was persistent, but I was stubborn. I hit Y, the way the question was worded almost tricked me.
[As a final offer, the Administration is prepared to offer you a head start on your new life. Not only will you start with additional stat points to assign, you can choose unique starting perks. Would you like to be twice as strong, be granted a free magic item, or start life with a fortune of treasure and riches?]
[Y/N]
I feel I was proven right in my assumption that the screen had a salesman persona. I again declined to play and hit N.
[As a final, final offer, the Administration is prepared to offer you ALL previous offers and include a catered boon. With this boon you will have any single wish or desire granted.]
Stolen story; please report.
[Assessing Desires…]
[Desire: Be difficult.]
[Cannot grant boon, user is already in possession of maximum difficulty setting.]
[Do you want to throw it all away?]
[Y/N]
I snorted. My wife would agree. I hit Y.
[Final Warning: You will cease to exist. Are you sure?]
[Y/N]
This thing had more warnings than canceling a social media account. I selected Y again. The text faded slowly, almost like it was disappointed in my words. When it became about half transparent everything froze. The screen itself seemed to glitch out, frazzled and pixelating, like a paused VHS tape. I could no longer move my body froze in position. I tried to breath, but nothing happened. I started to panic.
[CRITICAL ERR: 404 Choice Not Found]
Bright red text flashed in the upper left corner of my vision. I mentally thrashed as my body refused to respond in anyway. As time passed and I exhausted my mind, I found that I wasn’t dying. Breathing didn’t seem to matter. Time stretched on. I had no idea how long, the notification continued to blink at me. To keep my mind from wandering to places best not unpacked again, I focused on counting the blinking. After around 432 blinks, a static discharge exploded, popping and cracking like live electrical wires. If I could have jumped, I would have been three feet into the air from the sudden noise and burst of light. I hate jump scares! I screamed in my head with a good mix of vile vernacular. If my heart was beating, I’m sure it would have been racing and thudding hard enough to hear.
“This will not do!” A voice announced from behind me. With a snapping noise my vision was clear, and my body slumped to the ground. I felt exhausted, as if I had been working out all day. Apparently being on pause still strained the body, even though the mind was free. I took a deep breath and the cool air felt like a balm to my anxious mind. Not breathing sucked.
“Jesus!” I moaned pitifully with a large exhale as my body trembled. I raised my head from the floor to find an ambient light filling the previously dark hallway.
“No, but close!” A smiling man greeted me. He had a lustrous head of long blond hair and a matching beard that was braided with silver bangles. His blue eyes sparkled as he smiled. He was handsome, movie-star handsome.
He resembled an Aryan Giga-Chad. The sort of guys that they take pictures of for hipster hair salons. But his suave ended there as he was wearing a blue bathrobe and some fur-lined house slippers. The bathrobe was open, and he wore a t-shirt that said ‘Eat. Code. Sleep. Repeat.’ and pajama bottoms with tiny eight-legged horses on them. I’m pretty sure the footwear he was wearing were electric blue crocs.
“Who the fuck are you?” I managed to get out.
“I am Loki Laufeyson!” He announced grandly and spread his arms. “And this is my creation. And you…” He frowned this time, looking at me with intense eyes. “...broke it!”
“You don’t look like Loki,” I muttered at him. He suddenly went rigid with a scowl distorting his beard.
“Oh?! And what should Loki look like?! All dressed in green leather?! Ridiculous gold horns coming out of my head? Dark. Black. Oily hair?!” With each suggestion, he scowled deeper, and on the last part he grabbed a lock of his hair and glared at it. I noticed his t-shirt changed, no longer listing the life of a programmer, and now sporting a big red X over the face of the person he described. Poor Tom, he eventually got to wash his hair.
“No little man. I am the one true Loki. The one I wish to be at this moment anyway.” He huffed.
“Well…” I stretched the word out into a grumble as I got back to my feet and faced him fully. “Prove it.”
“No,” he said simply and began to ignore me. He swaggered over to the stone wall that made up the hallway. It was a continuation of the tower’s dark stone with an uncountable number of tiny runic inscriptions. I could see no end of the hallway in either direction. As he approached a section of the hallway the runes began to faintly glow. It was more of the horrid blue color.
“So… Why am I here?” I asked him as he got closer to the wall and began inspecting the runes.
“Hmm?” He absently made noises at me. I knew those noises, the same noises I would make when someone asked me something when I was trying to focus on a string of logic. I waited patiently and he eventually got some words out. “Oh, you know already, the System and Valkyrie explained it all.”
“Uhm… No. The Valkyrie wasn’t all that chatty, and the screen was full of nonsense…” I complained as he poked at the wall. If I didn’t know any better, I would have sworn that some of the runes had changed with his touch. He frowned and looked at me.
“I guess I’ll have to run the scripts by the Q/A team again then,” he suddenly smiled, it was a very wide smile. “How lucky that I have a little Alpha Tester here to help me find all the little bugs and confusions that will spring up with the System.”
A blue pop-up window came into my vision, this one only blocking a portion of it, it slid down from the top with a tiny fanfare.
[Achievement Unlocked - Alpha Tester]
[You have been branded an official alpha tester by the Administration! Congratulations!]
After a short moment, the achievement notifications slid back out of my vision. And Self-Proclaimed Loki went back to scrutinizing his wall of runes. Before I was brave enough to pester him further, he let out a gasp.
“You said no?! You said no to playing my glorious game?! Even to the incentives?” He looked completely taken aback. He stared at me, honest to god, with his mouth agape. Which god I am being honest to, I’m not sure anymore. Apparently, it never entered his mind that someone would say no to his creation. “Nobody has ever said no. But then again, nobody most wished desire was to be difficult.”
“Why wouldn’t a trickster god, full of strategy and shenanigans, account for people being difficult? Seems a little short-sighted.” I asked.
“Why would anyone’s biggest desire to be difficult when their very existence is in jeopardy?” He ignored my question. Apparently, arrogance was the answer as to why he wouldn’t see anyone saying no to him, but I didn’t mention that bit.
“Spite,” I said instead.
“Why?!”
“Cause, fuck you, that's why,” I answered deadpan.
He grinned widely again. The way it split his face seemed unnatural, showing a little too many teeth. Sharp-looking teeth, I noticed them with a flash of uncomfortable heat traveling up my neck. I might have gone and fucked up. I did my best to keep my face schooled neutral, but I couldn’t do much about the heat I felt in my face. However, when he stepped closer and grasped my shoulder, his body language brought a sense of relief, not a sense of impending doom.
“I like you, little man.” He patted my shoulder. I wasn’t that little. I suppose compared to his large muscular frame I was. “So, we are going to fix this little issue and send you back along the path. And any other little bugs you can find for me would be appreciated. So, you feel free to explore your contrary nature. Go ahead and try your best to break my System, and each time you succeed, I will give you a reward. You can be my little Alpha Tester.” He said and I felt his hand on my shoulder again, a threat implied with just a little too tight of a squeeze.
“But do not talk to me like that again, or I will pitch your soul down to some festering shit hole where they will make you remember to be respectful for the next few centuries.” Loki said with a feral grin.
I nodded, knowing when not to poke the bear. He nodded back and raised his hand up to my face. When he snapped his fingers, it was explosively loud, the lights dropped. I screamed, just a little. And could hear booming laughter in the back of my head.
“God. Damned. Jump scares!” I screamed hysterically into the renewed darkness.
The blue screen again sprang into the forefront of my vision, giving me another jump. And after a few moments of time to allow my nerves to come back together I gave it my attention again.
[Are you ready to play?]
[Y/Y]
The white lettering faded into being. Had the lazy bastard really just hacked in two yesses? Really?! I mentally slammed on the second Y, just hoping I could break it again. But alas, all that happened was the lettering flicked green for a moment and then faded away. Lines appeared on the blue screen segmenting it up into various boxes. I guess the extra powers, prizes and treasures were no longer available for those who tried to back out. Including me. I might regret that later.
[Welcome to Character Creation]
It announced across the top of the screen.
The lower boxes were full of various numbers, letters, and a small low-poly picture of myself, slowly rotating on a pedestal to show off my figure. There wasn’t much of one, let me tell you. Slightly Diabetic Dad Bod might be the best category for it.
Strength 5
Agility 5
Constitution 6
Wits 7
Recollection 4
Charisma 4
Luck 7
Reserve Points: 3
Focusing on each stat gave me a quick description of each, for the most part, it seemed pretty standard old-school RPG rules with a few name changes and tweaks.
Strength - Brute physical power.
Agility - Speed and precision with body mechanics.
Constitution - Physical and mental endurance.
Wits - Intelligently applying knowledge to a situation.
Recollection - Absorption and recalling data.
Charisma - Convincing others to do what you want them to do.
Luck - Things generally go your way. Or not.
[Do you wish to keep the current defaults, or customize your Avatar?]
[Y/N]
I selected N, what person, given a chance, wouldn't tweak themselves?
The numbers all evened out to 5, and a point pool appeared at the bottom of the list. My little poly body took on a very bland appearance. I was not quite sure if it was male or female now. Something very default and in-between. I could still recognize myself in it, but now only if you took a clay version of me and softened all the edges. It was very androgynous, and not at all flattering.
If this game followed the normal conventions, luck was probably a dump stat. Something that people would purposely put into the to zero in favor of more favorable traits. However, I doubt the creator of this game would think that way. Thinking about the stats as they applied to my previous life, it made sense. I was of average strength and agility, tended to weather illness and injury well, and was relatively quick on the uptake. However, I had a pretty shit memory and tended to have a hard time articulating myself to people in a way that would convince them to go along with my plans.
Luck was interesting and made me think of my life in the last handful of years. It was pretty shit at times. My wife coming down with cancer, bankruptcy, and my daughter developing various social disorders because of it all. However, thinking about it, and all the handfuls of drama and complications that happened, a list too long to even recall it all. We always came out a little better off. We were always a little lucky.
I took a few minutes to think about my wife and daughter. A few minutes wondering if my sons would come home for my funeral and help their mother and sister. I felt guilty for what they would find and have to deal with. I had to latch on to the hope that they would be okay. And maybe by some quirk of fate, they could all die in a horrible battle against a household pest and join me here. Then I felt a little more guilty that I was wishing for their demise just so I could see them again. Fuck.
I packed it all back up and continued with the character creation.
“Okay Pat,” I named the avatar, remembering some old SNL skits about androgynous characters. Probably not very PC these days. But I was dead, so PC can eat a dick. “Let’s fix you up a little bit.”
I began to put numbers in various stats, to see the differences they would make. For the most part, it was rather straightforward. A bunch of Strength gave the avatar muscles and an impressive physique. Agility seemed to make the body lean and more of a runner's swift build. Constitution added a quality of density and increased height fractionally. Wits seemed to give the eyes a more cunning sparkle. Recollection didn’t give any outward changes. Charisma was an odd one, expecting it to make the Avatar more beautiful, it instead gave the face a look of subtle confidence and a more trustworthy face. Luck, the last stat, seemed to give the face a mischievous smile, like it knew things were going to go its way, no matter what.
Alternatively, I could lower stats from the base level of 5 as well. Some of the results were amusing, but nothing I would pick. A skeletal and sickly-looking frame lacking Strength or Constitution, low Wits giving the avatar a vacant stare mouth agape. Low Luck giving the expression on their face as if it were about to be eaten by an invisible dragon? No, thank you.
Eventually, I settled on numbers pretty similar to my natural state. I was a little bit worried that I wouldn’t be able to adjust to a large deviation from what I was used to. But more than that I was just comfortable in my own skin. I did increase my deficient stats to average. And put another point in luck. If luck led me into this weird ass afterlife, another point couldn’t hurt. After all, what afterlife would I have wound up in as an alternative? I can’t imagine telling the devil to go fuck himself, something very much within my personality norms to do, would end well for me. At least Loki just threatened me… a little.
Strength 5
Agility 5
Constitution 6
Wits 7
Recollection 5
Charisma 5
Luck 8
I thought it was funny that my height with six Constitution came out to 5’ 11”. All the vain internet trollops won’t be having no man below six feet after all. But fuck them, I’m married. I hope my wife would be proud of my afterlife resolution of no internet trollops.
I hit the finish command that had been patiently waiting at the bottom of the screen.
[Congratulations on your choices, please choose a listed perk to assist you on your journeys! Further perks will be rewarded at skill-level milestones in the future!]
[Alpha Tester - Benefit] - Due to your assigned title of Alpha Tester, you are allowed to see all available perks regardless of requirements.
Well, I guess that was the reward that Loki had promised for breaking his intro sequence. An extra perk that allowed me to see the normally hidden rewards at perk selection. I guess that would help me know what I was missing out on, and maybe help me guide my progression to something more desirable. The ones I couldn’t take were grayed out.
Meathead - You adore muscles, after many trips to the gym, you have developed a body that can better build and hold onto strength. Requirements: Strength 7+
Brickhouse - You are built like a brick shithouse. Be it infection or injection, your body resists damage and disease better than others. Requirements: Constitution 7+
Gymnast - You can bend your body up, down, and all around. Be the human pretzel you were always meant to be! Requirements: Agility 7+
Whippersnapper - Your quick wit snaps back with comebacks often enough that you are known to have a silver tongue. For better or worse depending on the person. Requirements: Wit 7+
Well Actually… - You can remember the minutest of irrelevant rules. Requirements: Recollection 7+
Carrot Toupee - You are extremely good at convincing groups of people to do questionable things no matter what may or may have happened in your past. Requirements: Charisma 7+
Golden Ticket - You have a certain aura about you that helps the coin toss fall in your favor. Requirements: Luck 7+
Exceedingly Average - You have a certain quality about you, not good, not bad, just excessively average. At least you can blend in better. Requirements: No Stat 7+
Between the two selections I had, I figured getting myself into more trouble with sass would be a bad thing. I was already full of sass. I chose Golden Ticket, hoping I wasn’t throwing away my points and selection on trash stats.
[What is your name, hero?]
The screen asked, with extra sass on the hero, I noted. Even the blue box was giving me hell now. It's okay, the ugly bastard didn’t even know how ugly it was. I took some time to think. In life, my name was very common, so common I went by a nickname my entire life. I found it always greatly inconvenient going anywhere ‘official’ and having three guys stand up when my name was called. I had to give this some thought.
I wanted to have a nice strong name, but not some made-up new age shit, like being named after a rocket engine or something crazy like that. I could be sexy and suave, an Arturo. I could be boring and semi-offensive, an Alan. I could be a super edge lord, a Damien Lucifer Morningstar. Eventually, after running through lots of names in my head, I decided on Viktor. Not horribly common or uncommon, a little bit exotic feeling with that K, and even a little more arrogant. If I was going to be someone in this afterlife, I wasn’t going to be at the bottom of the pile, I was going to win.
I hit the confirmation and a final display of my character showed. My Avatar still rocked a bit of dad bod, with those Strength and Constitution stats, but maybe it was just me, it looked to stand a little taller and radiate more confidence. It was me, on my best days. And that was okay for me. Because on my best days, I would be victorious. I would be the victor.
[Viktor]
Strength 5
Agility 5
Constitution 6
Wits 7
Recollection 5
Charisma 5
Luck 8
Titles: Alpha Tester
Perks: Golden Ticket
Skills:
As of yet, the skills were empty, but that wouldn’t stay long, I was sure.
[Is this you?]
[Y/N]
I chose yes.