He awoke in darkness.
Or perhaps an absence of… anything. It was difficult to parse. Everything felt… wrong. Loose. His body, his self, his very identity seemed… hazy. Nothing was clear. Nothing was… The car! His awareness spiked with alarm, and he remembered. An accident. Thunder. Lightning. Pain. So much pain.
Then there was… a voice? A gong? A moment of blurry obfuscation marred his awareness again when he tried to recall what had happened. To organise the recollections that wouldn’t quite form into being. He had been… Travelling. Driving. To a… function? Celebration… a party! A birthday party for his… sister. His sister, Cassandra. Cassandra!
“Cassandra!” He shouted, before staggering at the sudden feeling of a body.
He stood upon an expansive, white platform of infinity. Everywhere he looked was nothing. Only more white, onwards and forever unto eternity. His head started to spin, his breaths became short. Panic gripped his chest—
He blinked and looked around. He stood within a small grove. A forest clearing of a sort he had never seen. Flowers of blues and pinks and purples and reds and every other possible hue and shade saturated the area, filling it with a riot of colours that assailed his senses with smell and beauty. He let the strangeness of it all wash over him, and stepped toward the single large tree at the centre of the glade. His fingers found purchase upon the bark, ancient and granular to his touch, and possessed of a shade of white that stood starkly against the norm for what he understood as regular vegetation.
His fingers traced the platinum whorls in the bark, almost akin to a seamless and infinitely looping, complex alphabet that was linked together by convoluted connections he couldn’t begin to understand. They almost looked metallic. His mind didn’t even attempt to properly comprehend, too lost in the strange sense of comfort he derived from the mysterious tree. He felt like he should have been panicking. He should have been far more… emotional, and yet… yet… the…
He abruptly staggered backwards with a cry of pain and reached up to claw at his head.
“This isn’t real!” He shouted in desperation, and instantly the grove shattered.
A distant chime sounded, and when he next opened his eyes he stood once more within the infinite white.
This time, however, a small blue screen hovered in front of him.
He stared.
Welcome, Nephilim!
System Assimilation has initialised.
Soulforce framework has been successful.
Your signature classification is: [Transcendent]!
Would you like to proceed to the actualisation stage?
YES
NO
He stared at the screen for a moment in mounting disbelief, confusion, and then abruptly erupted into a panic-and-hysteria fuelled giggle. “What the fuck?” He demanded of the nothingness, voice echoing strangely to his own ears.
“This is… what the hell? Am I in a video game?” He tried to turn away from the screen, but to his chagrin it followed him; still perfectly positioned in front of him at the ideal height for his fingers to interact with it.
“I am not a fucking isekai protagonist.” He growled at the screen, before turning away again and — perhaps not unexpectedly — watching the damnable projection follow his movement unerringly.
“You have got to be kidding me…” He mumbled to himself, panic once more rising within him as he looked from the screen to the infinite tableau of whiteness. “I… oh God… I’m dead, I…” The memories returned. Faster. More vivid.
His sister’s voice.
The flashes of lightning.
The rolling and smashing car.
The thunder and the spear of light.
Pain. The thunderous gong. Darkness.
His breathing began to hitch, and he started to hyperventilate; folding over his own gut as fear, nausea, panic, rage, and denial hit him like a multi-layered cargo train. His legs failed under him and he dropped to the white surface beneath him, feeling tears trailing down his cheeks uncontrollably. He felt like his bladder would have released had he anything to unleash.
His mother. His sister. His father. His family. Gone. Lost to him.
The edges of his vision started to blacken and constrict, and he found it harder and harder to breathe as the reality of what was happening settled on him like a breath-stealing blanket, choking his ability to regulate his breaths. There was no going back. There was no stopping what had happened. Denial was a poor balm against the irrefutable reality that he was not dreaming and this was all too real.
“Oh… oh god… oh god no…” He whispered, feeling himself collapsing ever deeper into his own mind as the mental faculties he had cultured his entire life fell apart like wet paper before a king’s tide.
Terror mixed with horror and he half-gasped for air, half-wept. The memory of his death. His death. It washed over him like a tidal wave, smothering all sense of reason and acceptance as he curled inward and held onto his stomach, attempting — and failing — to suppress the mounting despair until, at last, he faded into a shock-induced state of grieving disassociation.
Time passed. Minutes. Hours. Days. Weeks. Months. Years.
It felt like an age of the world that he lay there, lost in the oblivion of his own mind, and weeping until there was nothing left. Crying until all despair and denial and railing against his fate had vacated, and he remained little more than an exhausted husk.
Only when he had truly emptied himself of grief did he breathe again. A shaky breath.
He stretched out slowly after that. His body shifted and moved until he lay quietly on the whiteness. He breathed quietly, moment after moment, and steadied his still-racing heart. In and out. A slow count to three each time. He felt himself relaxing, felt his muscles uncoiling, and though some anxiety remained… it was… manageable. He let out a quiet sigh and turned to where the blue screen still hovered, lower now that he was on the ground, but still ever-present. Immutable. Undeterred.
“I always wanted to be an isekai protagonist, and the moment I am, I have a mental breakdown…” He said with a quiet, mirthless laugh. “Sounds about right. Well then…”
He pushed himself up and slowly rose to his feet, stretching his back and wiping away the last remnants of tears. It would likely not be the last time he cried, but perhaps it would be the last time he let it control him. His father had taught him better than to be a slave to his own grief. Feel it. Understand it. Let it out… and move on, son.
He nodded to himself and took a deep, cleansing breath before reorienting his focus on the screen. “Right then. Welcome Nephilim yadda yadda… Soulforce ignition successful, that seems… good?” He read the rest of the words quickly. “Hm… and then type is… Transcendent? Well, that sounds proper OP. Nice.”
He had a feeling he was going to enjoy being part of this particular fantasy.
“Okay, let’s get with the character creation then. YOLO. Actualisation is a go!” He tapped the YES option glibly.
A moment of silence followed, and then another window populated.
Actualisation stage initiated. Please wait.
Preparing basic information…
Please enter your name.
________________ ________________
He raised an eyebrow and then let loose a low “Mmm…” of thought, peering at the two blank lines. A name? That was probably an important choice. He knew that it usually defined anyone going forward, and the many novels he’d read always had the name meaning something. “Well I can’t exactly go with something simple… should be suitably powerful and dramatic sounding…” He frowned as he thought, reaching up to scratch his chin.
“Latin is always good. Maybe something Roman? I do like Rome…” He pondered further as he peered at the endless white around him without properly seeing it, fidgeting all the while. “Aurelian was the GOAT, as far as I’m concerned. That’s absolutely a good one. But I do love StarCraft, and Arcturus is a badass name too… then there’s Augustus, who was, like, the gigachad to end all—” He brought both palms against his face in a double-facepalm, speaking through them with a groan. “Holy shit I sound like a moron. All these names start with A! Biased much?”
He rubbed his hands over his face and idly clapped his cheeks. “Come on man, think!”
Another few moments spent in contemplation, and he peered at the screen. “What if I wanted more than two names? Like middle names?” He reached out and carefully tapped the blue box. “Hey, uh, System? Can I have more than two names?”
A chime sounded and he jumped, but then before him the box flashed, and suddenly there were several more lines for his input. He grinned.
Actualisation stage initiated. Please wait.
Preparing basic information…
Please enter your name.
________ ________ ________ ________
“Very cool. Okay, let’s see… I’ll go with…” He reached out and tapped the first line, at which point his chosen option populated the line immediately.
“Okay, that is awesome.”
Two more quick taps followed, and he reached up to rub his chin as he reviewed his choice. As he did, the box flashed again and his choices, along with a new option, populated the bottom. He also noticed the unused line was removed.
Actualisation stage initiated. Please wait.
Preparing basic information…
Please enter your name.
Aurelian Arcturus Augustus
Confirm selection?
YES
NO
“Alright, do I really want to be Triple A for the rest of my life?” He rubbed his forehead. “Not sure how I feel about thinking of myself as bad insurance…”
He tapped the NO option quickly, and the screen reset once more.
“Okay, definitely going to stick with Aurelian. Absolutely. Arcturus is… nah. Can also scrap Augustus. Sorry, Octavian.” He grinned a little. “But who said it had to be proper latin, anyway? Let’s go with…”
He quickly input his selection, and then set the screen to populate again.
Actualisation stage initiated. Please wait.
Preparing basic information…
Please enter your name.
Aurelian Lucis Imperius
Confirm selection?
YES
NO
“Aurelian Lucis Imperius.” He sounded out slowly. “Yeah, now that sounds weighty. Gold, Light, Empire. Perfect.” He reached out and, before he could second-guess himself, stabbed the YES option. Immediately a gong sounded, and he felt an increase in density within himself he couldn’t quite explain. Like he was… more.
A moment later, another window appeared.
Congratulations, Aurelian Lucis Imperius!
You have successfully chosen your name.
“Cool, now I can—” He cut off when another window appeared.
Staring at it in confusion, he started reading and his eyes widened.
Congratulations, Aurelian Lucis Imperius!
Hidden Conditions met!
You have chosen a unique name!
Achievement Earned: Cast Your Own Shadow!
For successfully having a name unique across the Realms, you have been awarded the following:
1 x Attribute Point
1 x Bronze Chest
1 x Unique Trait
You will begin your journey at Level 2!
“Well that’s pretty cool.” He said with a whistle. “Sweet, what’s next?”
As if in answer, yet another window appeared.
Congratulations, Aurelian Lucis Imperius!
You have taken your first steps into the Realms.
Please select your [Race]. Options will be p̶̩̋͜ǫ̶̛̲̔̋̽̕p̴̢̧̢̭̆ú̴̩̰̟̮̻̆̐̚͠#̶̨̦̻̪͆̇̀͑̇̓$̵̢͖̹͕̾!̶̛̰̿̇̑͘͠!̵̬̻̪͍̊̃͛̚—̸̖̲̗̹̩̰͆͒ ̵̝͔͒̉̽̓̀̇ͅp̸̨̖̥͊́o̴̰̺̔̿͛̉͑@̵̙̣̘̫͓͈͂̎̃̈&̷̤̗͑%̷͎͖̀̈́̿̎p̷̫̍͛—̶̪̜̀̄
ERROR
PREDETERMINATION DETECTED
SYSTEM OVERRIDE IN PROGRESS
STANDBY
Aurelian stared in silence at the prompt, and felt a little flutter of nerves. “That… doesn’t seem normal.” He said warily. These events rarely ended well from what he remembered, but sometimes… Sometimes they weren’t so bad.
Sometimes.
He only had moments to worry about it, however, until another prompt appeared.
OVERRIDE COMPLETE
RE-ENGAGING ASSIMILATION PROCESS
STANDBY
. . .
Congratulations, Aurelian Lucis Imperius!
You have successfully chosen the Elysean race!
Would you like to view the details of your race?
YES
NO
Aurelian staggered at the sudden feeling of realness that slammed into him. A hoarse scream tore from his throat as he felt muscles, tendons, bones, and his entire anatomy shifting, changing. He grew, his bones becoming denser, his organs becoming larger. He felt himself becoming more in a way he couldn’t properly quantify. It lasted for an eyeblink, or an eternity, and when it was done… when it was done he felt almost whole again. He blinked his eyes, and stared down at himself.
He immediately realised he was taller. He’d been above average most of his life at 5’10”, in the casually americanised nomenclature, but now he was easily closer to 6’3”. His body also felt… tighter. More compact without sacrificing power. He still had a noticeable roundness to his gut, but now it felt more… solid. His entire frame, in fact, felt more powerful.
He also blinked in shock at seeing his hair had changed as well. Where before he’d had a kind of unremarkable, dirty blond-brunette mix; now instead his hair was the colour of platinum; a pale hue that, in many cases, might have been melodramatically described as ‘moonlight silver’. He ran his fingers through the strands in stunned disbelief, vaguely aware they fell almost to his shoulders. “Woah…”
His gaze lifted and he stared at the unmoving blue screen, before selecting the YES option quickly. Immediately another box appeared.
ELYSEAN
Legendary Race
Elyseans are an ancient race, whose origins are linked to the first Calamity. Elyseans were known for their incredible physical and arcane might, and their capacity for great innovation. They have been deemed all but extinct, faded from time and remembered only in ancient stories and by the ruins they left behind.
Racial Bonuses
Elyseans gain the following bonuses:
+ 3 Willpower per Level
+1 Charisma per Level
Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.
R̷̛̫̗̱͘͜!̵̲̞̪̓g̴̜̣̦͋̑ͅ4̷̱̝̉͆͝h̶̬̗͇̖͠&̷̨̧̈͊ͅ ̶̧͇͂͒́ͅo̷̱̞̠͐̓͊f̷͙̑̀̎̃ ̷̺̝͍̜͛̈̿D̸̨̺͌͗̈́o̴̙̺͈͋̈́͋m̸̼̤̓%̴̳͕̹̗́̀͝!̶̞̳͙̈́̈͝!̶͍̙̼̥̋͌̎͑
ERROR
PREDETERMINATION DETECTED
SYSTEM OVERRIDE IN PROGRESS
STANDBY
Aurelian read through the information with contemplative silence, nodding as he perused the details. An Ancient Race? That was pretty cool. He wasn’t sure why the System had overridden his ability to choose, but the notion of being a precursor race seemed pretty awesome. The bonuses seemed… less than ideal, given he definitely held a bias in favour of the more melee-oriented forms of combat in the various games he’d played.
“Games?” He muttered. “God, this isn’t a game…”
Dismissing the insanity of his new reality for a moment, he worked to focus instead on the prompt that appeared before his eyes, constituted by the System. Apparently the esoteric force that controlled his new reality, or at least managed it — which seemed consistent with what he knew of portal fantasy, anyway — was having a rough day. He doubted the sheer amount of errors was a good thing, and what basic knowledge he possessed of programming told him it was likely not something that was there by design.
Especially not when he considered the blatant and very obvious change in font and the bolding of each error message. The gamer and fantasy nerd in him was screaming ‘something isn’t right’ but, then again… he was living an isekai story.
‘Something isn’t right’ seemed ready to become a regular state of existence.
Congratulations, Aurelian Lucis Imperius!
Hidden Conditions met!
You have been granted the unique title:
Elysean Reclaimer!
The bearer of this title is the chosen heir of the Elysean Empire. Summoned through time and space by its last rulers, they have been granted the right to take back what was stolen.
Beware! There are forces both great and small that will see this as a threat to their dominion. Be wary of whom you chose to trust, for power is a great motivation for betrayal, deception, and worse.
As a result of this, you gain the following:
+3 Attribute Points per Level
+1 Skill Point per Level
+10% XP Gain
“Very useful.” He said as he reviewed the title, his right hand scratching at his cheek in thought. “I have no context for whether or not those bonuses are good, but it seems pretty solid. I guess it depends on how many attributes and skills I have, and what that actually means for my… build? Progress? God, I have so many questions…”
Aurelian dismissed the window and waited for—There it was. Another window, almost immediately. He was becoming used to the insanity of it all, and quickly too. He didn’t want to think about what that implied regarding his mental state.
You have almost completed your assimilation!
Your name is Aurelian Lucis Imperius, you are an Elysean with the title Elysean Reclaimer!
Please select your Origin f̸̝͝r̶͓̐͘ô̶̫̮̘͊̏m̶̢̘̮̽̍̃ ̸̰̠̀̍́́͜b̵͚̰͙̔̕e̶̡̦̭͒̎̽ͅl̷̩͙͊͝ỏ̵͚͔̥͐͛͑̃w̴̝̍̓̈́́͝…̸̺̤͈̋
ERROR
NEPHILIM ORIGIN SUPERSEDES ALL
STANDBY
“Is that good?” He murmured worriedly, before remembering the words the System had broadcast to him just before he’d died. “Something about a Calling… so maybe this is some sort of summoning? And people who are summoned are called Nephilim?” Given his limited understanding of myths and lore, that did make sense. Nephilim in many tales were said to be divine creatures descending from, or originating by, the intervention of Heaven. Or Hell. It stood to reason he might be classified as such if there was an equivalency between Earth and the ‘Realms’.
Congratulations, Aurelian Lucis Imperius!
You have chosen the Legendary origin:
Nephilim!
Nephilim are beings of mythical power and might, whose tales of origin date back to the ancient days of the Realms. Little to nothing is known of them, save that their potential is said to be limitless. They are known as agents of both miracle and calamity.
As a result of this, you gain the following:
+2 Attribute Points per Level
Nullification of Skill Limit Penalty
+10% XP per Level
Aurelian still possessed no scope of reference for what he was reading, but he’d read enough to understand that a skill limit penalty was likely frustrating, and nullification of it was probably… really good. Really good. The extra attribute points were nothing to sneeze at either. Given the status of the origin as Legendary, and his Reclaimer title as unique, it stood to reason that the attribute point bonuses would be comparable in power to the origin and title that granted them. That meant that the additional were, most likely, incredibly rare.
He could work with that.
“Now, what’s next?” He said as he dismissed the screen, and received another in response.
You have almost completed your assimilation!
Your name is Aurelian Lucis Imperius, you are an Elysean with the title Elysean Reclaimer!
Please select your Zodiac f̸̝͝r̶͓̐͘ô̶̫̮̘͊̏m̶̢̘̮̽̍̃ ̸̰̠̀̍́́͜b̵͚̰͙̔̕e̶̡̦̭͒̎̽ͅl̷̩͙͊͝ỏ̵͚͔̥͐͛͑̃w̴̝̍̓̈́́͝…̸̺̤͈̋
ERROR
PREDETERMINATION DETECTED
SYSTEM OVERRIDE IN PROGRESS
STANDBY
Aurelian let out a groan. He hadn’t even had a chance to review the options!
There was interference, and then there was blatant management. He had no idea what the System was doing, but it definitely wasn’t normal. Or… was it? He realised, in that moment, that he had no actual frame of reference. There was no empirical normal to his knowledge because he hadn’t experienced it. As far as he could reasonably ascertain, this was a relatively usual experience.
The thought was… less than comforting.
Congratulations, Aurelian Lucis Imperius!
You have chosen the Legendary Zodiac:
Dragon!
The Dragon is the symbol of ancient power. Icons of honour, valour, and prestige; Dragons represent the greatest of heroes, and the greatest of calamities. Long thought extinct, their Zodiac was said to have died with them. Dragon has, until now, been lost to time and memory.
As a result of this, you gain the following:
+2 Strength per Level
+1 Vitality per Level
+10% XP per Level
Language: [Draconic]
Aurelian raised his eyebrow at the new eventuality, and then let loose a low ‘Hmm’ as he surveyed the screen. He did like dragons, and the addition of Draconic as a language was pretty awesome. All in all, not a very terrible choice. He wished he could have seen the others, but this one was… acceptable. At least he didn’t get something idiotic, like a Fish or Dog.
Though, he did like dogs.
The entire concept of Zodiacs wasn’t exactly new to him either. His sister and mother had both dabbled in the fanciful realm of astrology, and he’d known more than one ex-girlfriend that had been taken by the ideas of crystals, star signs, and natal charts to the point where he’d sat through his fair share of prophetic dithering.
In fact, Zodiacs almost seemed to be one universal constant that was almost comforting, in a way. It was something he could relate to. Something he could understand. He’d never truly been interested in astrology the same way that others around him, namely his college acquaintances; but there was enough context within the scope of it, and how it overlapped with tarot cards, that he could at least find some anchoring of normalcy within the selection.
The crazy blue boxes might not have been his idea of a ‘normal’ occurrence, but certainly the idea of having a Zodiac was. What he didn’t know is whether or not the Zodiac was tied to a month or specific date, or if it was just… there. He’d have to investigate.
When he swiped away the window this time, another one populated immediately… and this time Aurelian felt himself truly growing excited.
“Finally.”
Congratulations, Aurelian Lucis Imperius!
You have successfully selected your name, race, and zodiac. All that remains is to finalise your initial spread of Attributes.
Would you like to proceed to your character sheet?
Warning: Once you proceed, you cannot change your selections.
YES
NO
“I didn’t have a choice anyway. Let’s do it.” He hit YES without hesitation, and the screen morphed immediately. A gong, almost like a chorus of approval, rang throughout the space — or was it in his head? — and the screen shifted shape and size into something he definitely recognised: a character sheet.
CHARACTER SHEET
Indentity Information
Name
Aurelian Lucis Imperius
Level
2
Race
Elysean
Origin
Nephilim
Gender
Male
Zodiac
Dragon
Status Information
Health / HPS
70 / 7
Mana / MPS
57 / 5
Stamina / SPS
25 / 2
Attribute Information
Strength
14
Agility
8
Dexterity
8
Vitality
7
Endurance
6
Intelligence
14
Perception
11
Willpower
15
Charisma
8
Skill Information
N/A
N/A
Title Information
Elysean Reclaimer
Unique
Experience Information
Progress to Next Level
0%
“Okay, so that’s an… interesting distribution. Nine attributes, and it looks like it’s parsing them based on my actual self…” He muttered as he regarded the character sheet, his thoughts whirling. If this was supposed to be a recognition of his existing self as he’d been on Earth, then the stats made some sense; they were the ‘human average’ from where he’d come. That meant that he had a baseline. He had no doubt they were probably considered low, but that wouldn’t matter too much.
Assuming he survived, he could likely change and alter those pretty handily. On top of that, it was likely he’d end up in a very solid ‘starting’ zone as the System reckoned it, if his experiences were anything to go by.
A chime sounded, and the blue screen was momentarily superseded by another one.
He paused.
“Wait, I have mana? Hold on…” His eyes widened. “That means magic. I can use magic?! Awesome!” A laugh erupted from his mouth, and he held his head. “Oh my god, of course. I completely forgot! I can use magic! This is going to be amazing!” Then he paused, abruptly, at realising he had no idea how his values were calculated. “That’s… a problem. Maybe if I focus on—Woah!”
As quickly as he’d spoken, a new window appeared in front of him.
Status Calculations
Health
Vitality x 10
Mana
Intelligence x 3
+
Willpower Total
Stamina
Endurance x 3
+
Vitality Total
Based on the information, and a quick glance at the larger window of his status sheet, he immediately noted the pattern of the regeneration. It was the total number of either his health, mana, or stamina divided by ten and rounded down. That was… consistent. It would have been better if it’d been rounded up, but he understood the System’s intention behind curbing the scaling. It meant things were… smoother. Fractions were always annoying to work with.
Now that’s settled, I guess I’m ready.
As he swiped away the calculations and peered at his sheet, he noticed how large it was once again and sighed. The main issue was the… clutter. He didn’t want to have to be poking at the air and dealing with a screen every time he wanted to review things. It would be easier if it was just done in his head.
Do you wish to activate Interface Compression?
This can be undone at any time.
YES
NO
“Huh…” He raised his eyebrows. “Well, sure. Let’s see.” A click of the YES and the blue screen vanished, replaced instead by a projection in his vision that, for a moment, caused him to go cross-eyed until he realised it was… scrollable text. Only in his vision, and controllable by his eyes and mind. It was far less… elaborate than the blue screen, and something he could access easily on the go. He approved.
Name: Aurelian Lucis Imperius
Level: 2 | Race: Elysean (L) | Origin: Nephilim (L) | Gender: Male | Zodiac: Dragon (L)
Health: 70 | Mana: 57 | Stamina: 25
STR: 14 | AGI: 8 | DEX: 8 | VIT: 7 | END: 6 | INT: 14 | PER: 11 | WIL: 15 | CHA: 8
No Skills
Titles: Elysean Reclaimer (U)
0% to Level 3
You have 7 Attribute Points available!
You have 1 Skill Point available!
The last part had not been part of his original sheet, but likely it had to be prompted elsewhere. He was momentarily confused at the number of attribute points, until he realised he was already a level higher than his base and had a spare point from his achievement, which meant he had likely accrued one point as a result of that level. Whether or not that was a normal gain outside of his bonuses, or if it was significant to his first level up he didn’t know. Only experimentation would reveal that, and he was definitely eager to gain levels if nothing else.
A few moments’ more perusal, and he also noticed the regeneration rates of his three main status modifiers weren’t shown, but that seemed… fine. He could always toggle them on manually, he suspected, and he didn’t really need to know. They were a numerical representation, but he’d likely feel his regeneration in a way no number could properly quantify. A long moment of careful consideration was given to his attributes after that, followed by a cursory examination of his available points, and he bit his lip. “What I want more than anything is to survive, and I have a feeling low vitality really won’t help that…”
He doubted health was a strictly empirical representation of his ability to survive, as much as it was a more arbitrary proclamation of his ability to withstand damage. If things worked the way he suspected, then greater health would simply infer a higher tolerance for grievous injury. A longer time to bleed out, greater ability to withstand dismemberment — not a pleasant thought — and more. If he was beheaded, he very much doubted any number of health points would ameliorate that.
Still, the ability to withstand injury would be his most critical weapon. After what happened to him in the car accident on Earth, and the memory of how useless he’d been with an injured arm, he realised he couldn’t afford that kind of thing happening in a world with magic and levels. It was very likely he was about to step into a world with creatures far beyond his imagining, in terms of danger; especially given the name and information on his zodiac.
There was only one real option if he wanted to survive.
With a flex of his mind, Aurelian injected all his available points into his vitality attribute. Immediately the number flashed to 14, and then flesh-altering energy rippled through him like a surge of lightning; forcing him to bend over double with a gasp. He felt himself become more solid. It was difficult to describe it other than to say he became more dense. More fully present. It was a subtle thing, but he knew instinctively that his body was immediately more durable.
“Woah… that was… wow.” He flexed his hands as he said it, feeling more… durability in his fingers as he did. It was a good feeling.
An alert chimed in his ears, and he scanned the text that appeared in his vision.
Would you like to configure your HUD (Heads Up Display) now?
Y / N
Aurelian snorted and immediately willed toward the affirmative. He knew that it would be a very important part of his new life, and he would be damned if he skipped it.
Immediately after his selection a new vision filled his eyes, showing icons populating his space. A red, blue, and yellow bar represented his health, mana, and stamina at the middle and bottom of his vision. Easy to track, but not obstructing his view. A small circular map appeared on the bottom left, and he realised with a quick bit of experimentation that he could change the shape, but not the overall size. Most likely he’d need to access it on a proper outer screen to examine it in proper detail.
On the right side of his vision was a blank area he immediately recognised to be the location for any afflictions, buffs, or conditions affecting him. In the same manner of knowing, he also realised that there would be a ‘combat log’ below his conditions display, allowing him to review any combat he engaged in after the fact.
That would be very useful.
His eyes next moved upward, and at the top of his view was another blank section, though he had a feeling something was supposed to go there. What that might have been remained unclear, at least for the immediate moment.
The moment he finished examining his HUD, another chime entered his view.
You have successfully completed your actualisation!
Prepare for insertion into the Realms!
Good luck, Nephilim.
The space before him exploded into light, and everything went black.