Welcome to Astraeus
The screen shone brightly for a moment before fading out of existence before being replaced by a new one
Integrating Host…
I mentally cursed Pride. That damn bastard. I obviously still had more questions to ask. Important ones, too. Like whether I would be able to contact them again. Or what would happen if I died…
I seethed for short while, but after a few minutes, that became boring, and I was starting to get impatient. I had never been a fan of loading screens, and this one was more boring than most. There was nothing to distract myself with either, since I wasn’t able to look anywhere but at the loading screen, presumably because I was just a soul, and didn’t actually have eyes. It made me wonder how I was seeing anything at all. Since I was just a soul, I don’t have a brain either, so I shouldn’t be able to mentally picture anything either. But then again, I shouldn’t be able to think about anything in that case. There was probably some divine magicky intervention occuring to allow me to be conscious for this.
My thoughts were interrupted by a loud beep as the screen in front of me flashed red
Error! Integration failed. Host’s body is dead.
Then, the red screen faded out and was replaced by another blue one
Updating status to [Undead]. Please select a race (Options limited to [Undead] species that possess bodies and souls)
[Ghoul] [Lich] [Vampire]
Ah, this must be the “surprise” that Pride was talking about, I thought. Being an undead didn’t sound that appealing, but the way Pride said it, they made it sound like it would be a good thing. I wasn’t sure how to pick one though. Was I just supposed to pick one based off my Earth knowledge of what each of these were? Even if they were somehow the same as they were in Earth stories though, how was I supposed to know which story? Before my train of thought got too far off course though, I tried something I had seen in many webnovels. I tried to focus on the term [Undead] to see if it would give me a description, and the screen changed once again.
Undead: A term referring to creatures in Astraeus that are not biologically alive. All undead are weak to Light-attribute magic
I was a bit disappointed in the low amount of information given to me, but if I could do this for each of the options, I should at least have some idea of what I’m working with. I willed myself back to the selection screen, and then tuned into the [Ghoul] option.
Ghoul A race of undead that originated from a very powerful necromancer trying to recreate the Vampires. Ghouls look similar to humans, but are physically superior, and have heightened senses and enhanced regeneration as well as a special claw ability. Ghouls must consume human flesh to survive. If they spend too long without consuming human flesh, their mental stats will deteriorate.
While that sounded interesting, I mentally vetoed that option when I read the last sentence. With the intelligence and skill I already had, I could do a lot with an enhanced physique, but I wouldn’t want to eat human flesh to survive. [Vampire] might have a similar problem, but at least I wouldn’t need to kill or permanently injure anyone to feed. I might not even have to hurt anyone at all. I had read a few stories about vampires where they were able to substitute pig’s blood for human blood.
I went back to the options screen, and was surprised to see that [Ghoul] had been grayed out. Apparently it had read my thoughts when I mentally rejected that option. I shouldn’t have been surprised, since it had been reading my mind to navigate the menu, but it was still nice to see the System being so intuitive and responsive. I focused in on the [Lich] option and the description appeared.
Lich The result of a very powerful necromancer’s attempt to achieve immortality. A lich is a being that keeps their soul in a phylactery and controls a body (usually their own corpse) remotely. When their phylacteries are well hidden, they are nearly impossible to kill. Liches are masters of necromancy and soul magic. (Note: if this option is selected, the host’s body will be set as both the phylactery and puppet body. Can be changed at a later time)
This option appeared better than [Ghoul], but I still wasn’t too keen on it. There were too many uncertainties. It said that Liches were masters of necromancy and soul magic, but that probably only applied to people who became liches the normal way. I had no knowledge of necromancy or soul magic, so my options would be limited. And since the body would then be a puppet rather than my own body, there might be nothing to keep it from deteriorating. That might not be true, since Pride had said that they wouldn’t have that, but it was also possible that they said that because they were sure I wouldn’t pick this option. I put a hold on this option and moved on to [Vampire]
Vampire
Vampires are one of very few naturally occurring [undead] species, and the only naturally occurring [undead] to possess both a body and a soul. Vampires are creatures of the night created by an anonymous god near the beginning of civilization. They have great powers, and are superior to humans in almost every way, at the expense of having great weaknesses. Vampires can control blood, heal rapidly, and hypnotize their victims. Having no life force of their own, Vampires must take the life force of other living creatures by drinking their blood. If a Vampire goes too long without drinking blood, their stats will decrease, and they will die. If a Vampire is touched by direct sunlight, their stats will be drastically reduced.
Almost as soon as she finished reading this, the screen changed once again.
Race [Vampire] chosen. Updating status…
Once again, the system acted based on my own thoughts without waiting for my conscious instruction. It had been nice the first time, but if it did it every time, it would probably get annoying. I hoped that there would be some kind of setting I could toggle in the menu later to prevent it from doing that.
It’s decision hadn’t been wrong though. Vampire was by far the best option. My body would be my own, unlike with the Lich, and I wouldn’t need to become a cannibal, unlike with the Ghoul. And, if Pride was telling the truth about the passive skill they had granted me, then that passive skill should nullify the stat reduction I would normally receive under direct sunlight.
After a few minutes of loading, the screen vanished, and my senses returned to me. I was dressed in little more than rags with chains on my wrists and ankles, and I was laying on the cold stone ground of what seemed to be a jail cell. I sat up and took in my surroundings. 3 of the walls of my cell were solid, windowless stone, and the fourth had a thick steel door in the center. There was a wooden pallet on the wall suspended by chains that must have been the previous owner’s bed.
It took me a moment to realize that there was no light source in my cell. How was I seeing all that, then? Was it a racial perk? [Status] I thought, and a blue window appeared.
Name:
Lucille
Age:
22
Sex:
F
Race:
[Vampire]
Class:
[Con Artist]
Level:
19
HP:
460
MP:
1400
Status Effects:
[Undead], [Incarcerated], [Pawn of the Gods]
Passive Skills:
[Pride] lvl MAX
[Dark Vision] lvl MAX
[Vampiric Superiority] lvl MAX
[Vampiric Weakness] lvl MAX
[Dagger Mastery] lvl 16
[Mana Sense] lvl 9
[Rapid Regeneration] lvl 1
[Enhanced Senses] lvl 1
Active Skills:
[Pickpocket] lvl 17
[Pick Lock] lvl 16
[Stealth] lvl 15
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
[Appraise] lvl 11
[Persuade] lvl 6
[Deceive] lvl 6
[Charm] lvl 6
[Hemokinesis] lvl 1
[Create Thrall] lvl 1
Stats:
Available Points: 12
Notice:
Intelligence and Willpower have been automatically adjusted to match host’s abilities.
Category
Base
Bonus
Total
[Strength]
20
20
40
[Dexterity]
64
64
128
[Agility]
64
64
128
[Vitality]
23
23
46
[Intelligence]
75
75
150
[Willpower]
70
70
140
[Charisma]
59
59
118
[Perception]
30
36
66
Seeing all my stats and abilities laid out like that was a lot to take in. The previous owner of this body was a con artist, which would explain why I was in prison, though given my listed class and abilities, it made me wonder why security was so tight. She must have conned someone very powerful to get locked away in a place like this.
I wondered how she died. Her vitality was low, but I didn’t think that should have caused her death. It wasn’t cold enough to freeze to death. She must have either been sick, starved or poisoned. Well, it didn’t matter anymore. All that mattered was how I was going to get out. It was possible that I could just hide out there and serve however much time was left on my sentence while the other incarnations fought each other, but that would leave me at a severe disadvantage once I did get out. Besides, how was I going to get blood to feed if I were in solitary confinement like this?
I needed a plan, but since I didn’t know what options were available to me, I needed to familiarize myself with my stat sheet. Some of the items there were self explanatory, but it was better to read through all of them. It seemed that the items in brackets were the ones I was allowed to see more information on, so I started from the top and worked my way down
Con Artist
An evolution of [Thief]. A class that grows by tricking people out of their money.
Unlocks: [Persuade] [Deceive] [Charm]
+5 Cha and +2 Int every level
Incarcerated:
You have been caught committing a crime and are currently being held in Baron Humphries’ dungeon
Remaining Sentence: 1649 days
Undead
Your body is dead. Your heart has stopped, you no longer breathe, your digestive system has stopped working, and you can only move with magic.
At this one, I paused, and focused on my own body for a few moments. It was then that I realized that I had not once breathed since I woke up. I held my fingers to my neck for a few seconds and didn’t feel a pulse. This could be useful later, I thought, before returning to my stat sheet.
Pawn of the Gods
You are a pawn in a game played by the gods. You must survive and defeat the other pawns in order to be free of their influence.
Enemies remaining: 6
This part cleared up another question that I wished to ask Pride. How was I supposed to know whether I had won, or how close I had gotten? I would need to check this regularly to keep track of how I was doing.
Pride lvl MAX
You have been acknowledged by the Demon God Pride as the most prideful among humans. You are confident in your own superiority, and nothing can change your mind.
Grants: Immunity to all mental status effects and negative status effects
Dark Vision lvl MAX
You are a creature of the night. It would be odd if you could not see in the dark, no?
Grants: ability to see in the dark as if it were daytime
Vampiric Superiority lvl MAX
As a vampire, you are better than other races in nearly every way.
Grants: 2x bonus to all stats
I wanted to continue reading, but as I was about to move onto the next item on the list, I heard a noise from outside of my door. I couldn’t quite make it out clearly, but I thought I heard footsteps and voices. I immediately dismissed my stat sheet and started preparing the escape plan that I had begun to formulate when I read about my [Undead] status.
Since my heart wasn’t beating, and I wasn’t breathing, if I held still, I should have been able to pass for dead. It wasn’t much of a stretch either, because the original Lucille had actually died down here. Although I was very alone down there, there was no way that they wouldn’t check on me at any point, even if it didn’t happen right then. And then, upon finding my body, they would move me out somewhere to dispose of it.
Given that I was a criminal, they would most likely not honor me with a proper burial, but I didn’t know the customs of this world. Perhaps being buried was the highest disrespect, and I would shortly find myself underground. Being buried would be preferable to burning at least. If I played dead for the entire burial process, I could dig my way back out after they left, but if they tried to burn me, I would need to escape, and they would realize that I wasn’t quite as dead as I seemed.
In the best case scenario, and what I thought was the most likely, they would just take my body and dump it somewhere out in the wild to feed the birds. If they did that, then I would just have to wait until they left, and I would be able to get up and walk away.
I layed back down on the ground with my back to the door like I had been before, and relaxed my whole body, making it still as the footsteps got closer and closer to my door. It took longer than I thought it would– I guess I hadn’t fully adjusted to my enhanced senses yet– but they eventually did stop in front of my door. I heard the sounds of fumbling and clinking metal before they unlocked and then opened my door.
When the door opened, the flickering light of a torch flooded my room. I had chosen to keep my eyes open because it would be better to see than not, and I assumed that the guards would not think too much of them, given that I would appear dead.
“Get up, bitch!” said one guard.
I ignored him.
“Hey didn’t you hear me? I said get up!” He kicked me as he said those last two words.
It hurt, but I willed myself to remain limp, and did not react to the blow.
“Shit!” said the guard.
“I think she might be dead,” said the second guard, speaking up for the first time.
“Oh, ya think?!” replied the first guard. “Dammit.”
I heard the rustling of his clothing as the first guard bent down and roughly jerked my body, rolling me onto my back. As he clumsily felt my neck, searching for a pulse, I kept my staring straight ahead, unfocused, using my peripheral vision to get a look at the guards.
The one kneeling over me looked to be in his mid-twenties, and he reminded me of a typical television bully with his powerful build, strong jaw, and close-cropped blonde hair. He was dressed in what looked like leather armor, and I could just barely see the hilt of a sword on his hip.
The second guard was standing behind him holding a torch over my head and trying to peer over the first guard’s shoulder to get a good look at me. He looked much younger, perhaps even in his teens, and very timid. He was shorter and thinner than the other guard and had slightly longer black hair, but he wore the same leather armor and sword.
“Shit!” said the first guard.
“Is-is she dead?” asked the second.
“Yes. Now get over here and help me lift her.” said the first, shifting my so that he had his hands under my armpipts.
“B-but-” the boy started to protest
“Just do what I say!” said the older.
“Y-yes sir.”
The younger guard hurried out of the room and returned a few seconds later, no longer carrying the torch and together, they lifted me and began to carry me out of my cell.
“Are we in trouble?” asked the younger guard.
“Not from the Baron. He doesn’t give a rat’s ass what happens to her. But we might be if we let her body sit here for too long. We got her pretty quickly after she died, fortunately. Her skin is still soft. If we came a few hours later though, she would have stiffened up and started to smell. It’s a good thing we haven’t been feeding her much, or the smell would have already started.”
“Oh,” said the younger guard. I felt his grip on my legs slowly slip from the sweat on his palms. “W-what are we gonna do with her.”
“We’re gonna dump her in the river. Let her feed the fish.” The younger guard started to speak, but the older continued. “Of course, we’re not carrying her all the way there. We’re just dropping her off in a cart out back, and one of the servants will take care of it.”
“Oh.”
The two guards carried me up the stairs in silence, and while I kept my face blank, internally I was rejoicing. Being dumped in the river was the best outcome to being found dead. I wouldn’t have to do anything, and I would get deposited safely outside of the city and forgotten.
The two guards greeted another pair of guards at the top of the stairs and informed them of the situation before continuing their journey to the ‘back’ wherever that was. It only took a few minutes before I found myself roughly tossed into a wooden handcart only slightly larger than a wheelbarrow. My arm was bent under me at an awkward angle, and it hurt, but I couldn’t do anything about it.
A a few minutes and quick exchange between the guards and the servant later, the cart finally started moving, and I was on my way out of the Baron's manor. I was internally celebrating my success when a ding and a bright flash in front of me nearly caused me to flinch.
Congratulations! You have successfully deceived two [Noble Guards] Deceive lvl 6 --> lvl 8
I would need to get used to that later.