The System is mostly unknown, but what little we do know is equal parts terrifying and truly wondrous
-Treatise on the System by Archmagi Leopold Von Zakar
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You know, I was always kind of hoping that I would be whisked away into a magical world someday, as opposed to living the rest of my life in boring normalcy. That said, I was never actually expecting it to happen, and now that it has I realize that no matter how many books that I had read about almost this exact scenario you can never be truly prepared for your life to completely and irrevocably change. But I'm getting ahead of myself, so let's start at the beginning of this story, which is one of the best places to start, or so I'm told.
It was a pretty average day, to be honest, decently sunny but not too hot with a few clouds in the sky. I was spending this nice sunny day indoors playing video games while enyoing the summer, as any self-respecting 20 year-old college student ought to do. My perfectly responsible behavior was interrupted, however, when I heard a DING and saw that familiar blue screen that every avid reader dreams of at least a few times in their lifetime, if not per day.
Welcome, Universe 241-349-O , and congratulations for your induction to The System, Please prepare for teleportation.
Just as I had finished reading, and before I really had a chance to question my sanity, I found myself seated behind a desk in a distinctly unfamiliar office, but in a distinctly comfortable chair. Sitting opposite to me was a very odd looking mannequin, it was pure silver in color and didn't have any visible joints, though it was humanoid in shape and wearing a very nice suit. It was also looking directly at me, and after making eye(?) contact a deep monotone masculine voice came out of it.
"Hello, I am your designated System AI, and I will be giving you a brief summary of the system as well as your general situation. There will be time for questions at the end, but if there is anything that you feel you must ask beforehand then please do so now."(System AI")
After saying its piece the AI went silent and seemed to be waiting for me to say something before continuing. Using this lull to take a quick look around, I noticed that the office, while decorated like what I imagined a cozy therapists room to look like with even a crackling fireplace in the corner, did not have any windows or doors. Since assuming insanity wouldn't help me in this situation whether it was actually the case or not, it seemed wise to treat this as real. After thinking to myself for a minute or two, all the while with the AI remaining silent and motionless, a very important question occurred to me.
"Why aren't I panicking right now? 'Cause I feel like I should be panicking right now, but I'm not, and even the realization of that isn't doing anything for me panic-wise."(MC)
"That is because The System has found that placing a calming spell over new inductees during their explanation has a positive correlation with the survival of those inductees in both the long and short term, as well as greatly expediting the process."(AI)
Ah. Well. That's not terrifying at all. Or maybe it is, hard to tell when you are incapable of feeling panic or fear.
"Well, that's all from me then."(MC)
"Very well then, it seems your universe has a significant amount of media about similar situations that you have encountered, so I will continue this discussion with that in mind. I shall start by correcting some of the more common misconceptions that new inductees tend to have. Firstly, every sentient being is given this same, or at least very similar, speeches at this time, also you are not the first universe to be inducted, nor will you be the last as The System is constantly expanding to new universes. On that note, interaction with other inducted universes will be nonexistent for the foreseeable future, however you may find reference to them or notable geniuses from them from various items that will appear on your planet or be given to you by the system. Secondly, while the system has dramatically increased the density of mana in your universe, it only sped up and regulated a process that was going to happen eventually regardless, so while The System will not stop or punish you for blaming any coming events on it, keep in mind that the survival rate of System-inducted universes are much higher than ones that The System finds after achieving similar levels of mana density naturally. With that out of the way, I will start the proper introduction, so please focus on yourself and inwardly call out your status screen, it should be fairly instinctual but some races have found that calling it out loud or by different names has worked better."(AI)
Did he just- because it sounded like he just said- Oh, hell yeah. Barely resisting the urge to shout out loud, I focused on the idea of pulling out my status screen and almost instantaneously a blue screen appeared before me.
Name: Mason King Race: Human (+6 free points per level) Level: 1 SP: 1 Classes: N/A(1 Slot Open) Titles: N/A EXP: 0 EXP to next level 100 Mana: 90/90 Stamina: 70/70 STR: 8 INT: 12 DEX: 10 WIL: 11 END: 7 WIS: 9 Skills: N/A Traits: N/A
After opening my character sheet and giving it a cursory read, unsurprised by the presumably lower than average physical stats, as while I am fairly tall at 6'1, I don't exercise more than just the walking to my classes, relying on my metabolism to maintain my lean figure, the AI angled its head away from me and towards the floating screen and once again began talking.
"Normally, nothing is able to see your stat sheet unless you purposefully show it to them or they use an identification skill, however as a fragment of the system I am able to see it for explanation purposes. Your name and race should be self-explanatory, though it should be noted that while you can not change your name manually, it will change if you truly recognize your name to be something else. Next is your level, records of your planet show that you already have the concepts of levels and stats through both literary and game mediums so I will be using them as examples. Your level is how much system experience you gained through various actions depending on your classes and is where you get most, if not all, of your attributes from with the exact amount depending on your race and classes, it is important to note that while level is a good indicator of strength, due to different class rarity and the synergy between them, it should not be used as the only determiner, especially at higher levels. Classes are what you have declared as your chosen specialty or specialties to the system and can be gained through either unlocking them via actions/skill gains or by certain items, mainly class gems but there are other items that can grant classes, though it should be noted that there is no way to gain more class slots outside of reaching the requisite level, but that will be covered more in depth later. Classes also reduce the required proficiency for associated skills to be learned and level. Titles are rewards for certain feats and will grant permanent bonuses to various things depending on the title, and you can have as many active as you can earn. There are also achievements which will give one time rewards such as SP or stats but will leave no permanent mark on your status screen. EXP is gained through various means, depending on the specific class or classes of the individual. EXP to next level is how much EXP you need to increase your level. SP is your skill points, which can be used to obtain skills or traits from the system shop once you reach level ten, and you will gain one per level. Mana and Stamina are as you would expect and determined by WIS and END * 10 respectively, it should also be noted that the displayed amounts are the amount your body can spend safely and it is possible to go into the negative at great cost to your health, and the regeneration for them is both dependent on your situation when resting, though a good nights rest will usually fully refill both. It is also possible for you to make use of other energies, though most are in some way a combination of mana, stamina, and/or intent and as such will not appear on your status screen unless you either get a physical reserve that can only hold that energy type or otherwise become unable to naturally produce one or all of them. As for stats, STR is the force your body can exert, INT is how fast you think and the force of your mana, DEX is general acrobatics, fine motor control, and physical reaction speed, WIL is mental resistance and control over your mana, END is physical resistance and stamina, and WIS is how good your memory is as well as the size of your mana pool. It should be noted that increasing one stat will also minorly affect other aspects in order to balance your body, for example STR will have a minor effect on the toughness of your body so that you will never injure yourself simply by moving, but it is still ill advised to invest soley in one stat. Skills are what the system has recognized you as capable of and gives you bonuses for while traits are passive effects that differ from skills in that they can not be levelled and are much harder to obtain. All skills have a maximum level, which will allow you to evolve the skill into a better version, and you will be given one or more options for how the skill will improve depending on your personal usage of the skill, and while traits can also evolve, it is always through outside events and unreliant on training or practice of the trait itself. While both traits and skills lack rarities, there are still large differences in power between certain skills."(AI)
After going over the aspects of my status screen the AI once again paused, seemingly to let me process the information. All in all, it did not seem that different from the books that I had read, and while there may be questions that I should ask, I am more focused on trying to impress the current information into my memory. After going over everything and making sure I have at least a basic understanding of my status, I nodded towards the AI to continue.
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"Alright then, next I will talk about what has happened to you and your planet and what that means. Integration to The System involves forcibly raising the mana density of the universe to standard levels, this has the effect of rapid deterioration of previous buildings and items built from non-mana materials, which is currently all of them, and facilities rapid growth and mutation in all life, The System does this over the course of one month, during which time you and all sentients will be placed in a tutorial zone designed to help integrate you to the new reality as well as provide some items to give you the needed edge for your species to survive and thrive."(AI)
"Wait, so will all of humanity be put on another world for a month while ours changes?"(Mason)
"No, you will be placed in small teams based on an algorithm of age, familiarity, and distance, for the tutorial and then teleported into a set location that the system has deemed safe with a much larger group afterwards."(AI)
Well, I suppose a small team of friends would be better than trying to deal with a horde of panicking people, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't hoping for a larger group for the sake of safety, even if I do intend to make use of the tutorial to get as strong as possible as the apocalypse books that I have read rarely paint a good picture for the weak. And while fiction books may not be the best source, I would rather not risk it. With my musing done, I once again nodded to the AI to continue.
"The tutorial itself will have a few special conditions that differ from the real world, firstly there will be the presence of loot orbs, which can contain all manners of items depending on the rarity of the orb, that can be obtained as a drop from any monster as well as being hidden around the world. Secondly, the danger of the world, in both monster strength as well as environmental hostility will grow in direct proportion to how far away from the starting area you are, with rewards being increased in turn. Lastly, every sentient being will be given their choice from among three random class gems for classes that they have an affinity for, with a set of basic equipment to match. Be aware that classes do have rarities dependent on their strength and while you will unlock a second class slot at level 10, the third is not unlocked until level 50 and needs a certain level of personal achievement to be unlocked, with following class slots needing an increasing level of achievement alongside their level requirements, which I am not allowed to disclose. Using the provided class gem is not required, as you may choose to use a class that you have unlocked throughout your life, however you will not be reimbursed should you lose your chosen gem, nor will it be bound to you in any way, but it will follow you into the tutorial in item form."(AI)
Honestly, hearing about the free equipment was a godsend. Not only because I just realized that I was not wearing pants, but also because a tutorial meant to get you used to fighting monsters, or at least surviving them, seems like it would be much harder without a weapon. Also, seeing as I had no skills on my stat screen and my life as a college student was not particularly remarkable, my only chance at getting a good class was likely the random selection, but the mention of class rarities did bring up a question.
"Is there any way to change or remove a class, or will you be stuck with a common class forever if you choose one now?"(Mason)
"Removing a class is possible, but very difficult. However, every 50 levels you have the opportunity to evolve all current classes depending on your actions/achievements, though it should be noted that it is in no way guaranteed to unlock a higher rarity option and the classes themselves will not be more powerful if they are of the same rarity, just more or differently specialized. There are also very rare items that can alter a class but they often have severe side effects or requirements."(AI)
Cool, so at least if I get stuck with a common class I still have a chance, although depending on how hard getting to level 50 is, I'll have to carefully consider whether to prioritize rarity or class synergy. That said I was still hoping to get some legendary or whatever the highest rarity class is and live out my dreams of being overpowered in a fantasy world. Not hoping too hard of course, as while I have always been lucky I'm not that lucky, but I still hoped to get better than common, at least.
"Alright hit me with the options."(Mason)
Giving me a nod, the AI reached into his desk and pulled out a board that had three wheels on in and held it out to me.
"Would you like to spin, or shall I?"(AI)
Seeing my obvious confusion at the wheel breaking what was otherwise a serious and tense atmosphere, minus my lack of pants, the AI spoke with what almost sounded like a resigned voice, compared to the emotionless tone that it had for our previous interactions, though it could've been my imagination.
"The system has found this method to be effective at both displaying the randomness of your options as well as reducing tension before the tutorial, as the calming spell will disappear once you leave this room, in addition to making inductees feel more in control should they elect to spin the wheel themselves".(AI)
"..."(Mason)
"Exact efficacy is still being tested."(AI)
Letting out a sigh of my own I spun all three wheels and decided to check my unlocked classes while I waited for them to finish. And while I did not have very high hopes for my options in the first place, I was still disappointed when I saw what the efforts of my 20 years of life were in the eyes of the system.
Available Classes: Scholar(Common), Librarian(Common), Clerk(Common), Student(Uncommon)
I could understand where the classes came from, with scholar and student obviously being from my many years of school and likely the most common classes on earth, librarian being due to how much I read and time spent in libraries even with my lack of visits in recent years due to switching to online books, and clerk being from my high school and summer job being a cashier. Still, I didn't even bother reading the descriptions for them as none of them seemed aligned to combat, although librarian, scholar, or student had some potential if my random classes were too bad. Waiting a few seconds for the wheels to finish spinning revealed the three class gems that I had to choose from, all shaped like elongated hexagons a bit smaller than my palm that each seemed to have shifting images inside of them. With a bit of focus the prompts for them popped up in front of me, all of which I extended the class descriptions for.
Mage(Common) Adept in the usage of mana, but not specialized in any particular school, this class is perfect for those who do not know what they wish to be in the future but have a devotion to the mystic arts.(+ 2 INT, +1 WIS, +1 WIL per level) Blacksmith(Common) With hammer in hand the Blacksmith turns ore and ingots into tools and weaponry.(+2 DEX, +1 STR, +1 END per level) Elementalist(Rare) Where Mages transform their mana to be merely attributed to their element of choice the Elementalist forges a connection with the elements themselves, letting them control the elemental energies directly, resulting in more power and better control at the cost of being unable to use elemental magic, skills, or classes for unattuned elements.(+4 WIL, +2 WIS, +2 INT)
Praise RNJesus. Not only did I get a magic class like I wanted, I even got two of them, with one even being rare, and while limiting the magic I can use isn't the most exciting prospect, the class sounds clearly better and gives double the amount of stats per level, plus it didn't seem to limit me too much, only limiting elemental magic until I fulfill the condition and not mentioning non-elemental magic at all. That said I should probably get the scoop on rarities now that it a bit more immediately pertinent.
"So what are the rarities anyway, and on that vein are there different rarities for different things?"(Mason)
"The rarities are Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic, Legendary, and Mythic and while the same rarities are used for everything, certain items are limited in the rarity they can be. For instance, class gems only offer up to rare rated classes, and always share the rarity of the class they provide."(AI)
Alright, so it seems that I got far more lucky than I originally thought, since I got the highest rarity possible for a class and it's magic focused. With that said, my choice was obvious, so without any further delay I reached for the far right stone, which upon closer inspection seemed to have various representations of elements inside of it with a lightning striking the ground and turning into a blazing fire which started to spiral and turn into a raging tornado before picking up water and turning into a giant hurricane. After a few seconds of admiration I focused on using the item and watched as it quickly turned gray in my hand before dissipating into nothingness.
Congratulations, you have gained the Class: [Elementalist] Congratulations, you have gained the Trait: [Elementalist] Congratulations, you have been granted the Attunement: [Lightning I] As you have attuned to an element your attunement and attunement level will now be displayed on your status screen
Immediately, I felt different. It is hard to explain but I felt Lightning and understood it to a level far beyond the scientific understanding that I had of it before, I could feel it crackling under my skin waiting for me to call upon it, and I could also feel that I had merely scratched the surface and that lighting had so much more to offer me if I strengthened my connection. But now was not the time, first I needed to examine my new stat sheet and trait.
Name: Mason King Race: Human (+6 free points per level) Level: 1 SP: 1 Classes: Elementalist(Rare) Titles: N/A Attunements: [Lightning I] EXP: 0 EXP to next level 100 Mana: 90/90 Stamina: 70/70 STR: 8 INT: 12 DEX: 10 WIL: 11 END: 7 WIS: 9 Skills: N/A Traits: [Elementalist]
Trait: [Elementalist] Allows for the attunement of more than one element with no upper limit but makes it impossible to use/obtain any elemental magic,skills, or classes for non-attuned elements.
After examining my new information and basking in the feeling for a bit longer the AI asked if I had any final questions for it, and after a few minutes of questioning, I told him I was ready and prepared to teleport, since my new gear would apparently appear on my body when I entered the tutorial.