It was early in the morning and I woke up to a weird ding. Thinking that it was my alarm clock, I sat up with much effort, my head still groggy. But it wasn't my alarm clock, which was sitting not far away and not moving at all. The time on it showed 3 o'clock. I groaned and fell back onto my bed. What could it be?
Ding!
There it was again, a loud noise, coming out from nowhere. It better not be hallucinations. I still have college today. Rubbing my eyes, I lifted myself off the bed again. If I could not sleep, I might as well be productive and finish the essay that was due next week. I stumbled into the living room, turning on the lights while still half-dazed.
Ding!
I groaned. What was it? It couldn't be my phone, as I always connected that to my old pair of wired earphones for convenience purposes. Shaking it off, I sat down in front of my desk and turned on the computer. It whirred to life, and-
Ding!
Before I got the chance to complain about it, something appeared in front of my vision. Was that a... floating blue box?
Hello inhabitants of Planet #3576-E, congratulations on the Successful Integration of the Omniscient System. There are still a few more steps to go, but we are almost done. It is now time for all of you to gain a Class. Good luck!
Generating Class... Success!
Lvl.1
Raven Dawn
ADULT
Abilities: N/A
Strength: N/A
Defense: N/A
Magic: N/A
Mind: N/A
Class: Storyteller
Skills: Story Weaver [Lvl.1], Artist [Lvl.1], Illusions [Lvl.1]
Storyteller
Category: Class
Hmmm... You look promising. Our team, the System Workers designated to you, will keep a close eye on you. Maybe we will finally get a pay rise. Good luck, human!
As a Storyteller, anything you imagine becomes reality, but you have no power over anything you create once it is out in the real world.
Now, 80% of you would have gotten a Class. You are lucky people, but the rest... As for those who received their Class, entertain our Creators well. I will see all of you soon for the first Major Event.
The screen flickered off then, leaving me confused. Did others see this too? It was far too real to be an hallucination, but I knew that I should double-check just to be certain that I wasn't still dreaming. I took my phone from the table and put on the earbuds. Typing quickly, I sent a message to one of my friends, Aemira.
'Emi, did you see the blue boxes too?' I typed out, but my finger hovered at send. What if it was an illusion and I just make a fool of myself? I didn't need to think any further, though, because Emi started the conversation, 'Birdie, I think video games are real'
'What? You mean the blue boxes?'
The answer came quickly, 'You saw them too? Great, so I was not dreaming'
Another message was sent just as fast, and when I read it, my stomach dropped for some reason, 'Did you get a Class? I didn't'
The System had told the Classless 20% 'good bye', and somehow, it sounded omnious to me now. While I felt glad that everything was real, it also felt scary. What was the Major Event? What would the Omniscient System do to us except giving us video game-like Classes? Aemira was the gamer out of the two of us, but under her influence, I didn't skip out on many games either, so I knew the importance of gaining an archetype or Class in most games for the abilities it would grant the player. It really didn't give off a good feeling for the 20%.
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'I did. The System's Workers said that it was strong too' I replied. It was only a mild worry that I came off as proud - we were close enough that it wouldn't affect our relationship. But I never got to see her answer, so I wouldn't know.
Ding!
The now-familiar ring echoed in my ears as a bolt of light came down from the sky and enveloped me in its yellowish-white brilliance. It didn't hurt, surprisingly, and instead there was a warm, fuzzy feeling tingling all over my body. The bolt was semi-transparent, so I could see the surroundings through the flickering pale yellow. Then, all of a sudden, I began to rise.
I jolted when I initially realized this, but the rate of ascent was slow enough that there was no nausea. Would I fall? I looked down with much effort, but there was a glass-like panel beneath my feet, tinted yellow, that prevented me from falling to the ground. I continued to rise, phrasing through the ceilings of the my room and the rooms above mine in the apartment and eventually out of the whole house through the roof. I was not hurt at all.
This was the power of the Omniscient System... But what was it trying to do?
My question was quickly answered in the worst way possible, when a large, dark ripple of water began to generate from nothing down below while I continued to go up, up, up. The curtain of water swept over everything beneath me like a tsunami, growing taller and taller until it submerged the biggest building that I could see. I was safe up in my little bolt of energy, and I could see many more golden flashes from all around me, but I was still worried that there could be people not picked up by the System. I was too far up in the sky to check, though.
The water persisted for a few more minutes, before an even more miraculous thing happened. It slowly receded back into nothingness, leaving not weckage, but a flat, empty plain. But that was not all, a ripple flashed through the surface of the city, and out of nowhere, a new blueprint of buildings, mountains, and more emerged. My mouth was wide open with shock, my fear for the Omniscient System increasing even more now.
Gradually, things calmed down and my bolt began its descent. It didn't take long for me to get back onto the surface, and once I did, the yellow light melted away, and I was left alone again. I could see the same thing happening nearby, with some people still up in the air.
Emi! Was she okay? I took out my phone, hoping that the new world has data, but just as expected, there wasn't. With a heavy sigh, I put the phone back into my pocket. I would have to go and check up on her soon - she didn't live very far from here, so it should be okay.
Ding!
Survive the First Purge
Category: Achievement
Of course, you live. Good job!
Stats unlocked, Abiltiies unlocked, Currency unlocked, Chat unlocked, Gift System unlocked
The Purge did not sound good, but 'Stats' and 'Abilities' caught my attention. I remembered seeing my stats and abilities in my profile page, but they were blocked back then. Since they are unlocked now, they wouldn't show N/As anymore, right?
Lvl.1
Raven Dawn
ADULT
Abilities: N/A
Strength: 10
Defense: 10
Magic: 10
Mind: 10
Class: Storyteller
Skills: Story Weaver [Lvl.1], Artist [Lvl.1], Illusions [Lvl.1]
It was disappointing to find that abilities showed none, but I should have expected that outcome. The stats were generic. I hummed, wondering if I could take a closer look at my abilities. As soon as I had that thought, three blue boxes popped up, one overlapping the other. I looked at the top one first.
Illusions
Category: Class Skill
We enjoyed crafting your skills. They were as strong as we can make starting skills be, so please survive well and use them with a boom. We want that pay rise!
You can create realistic illusions. Simple. While a target is under said illusion, you can control what they see, hear, smell, etc. The illusion is not real and would not hurt the target physically by themselves, but few can see through them. At Level 1, you can put 3 people under this Skill.
[0/5 Uses to Level 2]
I clicked that away. What pay rise was the System Workers talking about? I fought a laugh when I realized they were still trapped under money. Money is everywhere, I guess.
Artist
Category: Class Skill
We hope you are good at drawing. This compliments your Story Weaver skill very well.
If you draw any item in any medium and with anything, it would become real as long as you want it to be real. If the 'item' is an animal, plant or other, it becomes alive if you wants it to be (yes, it can come out dead, but that's not fun) and has all the properties you want it to have. It might be better to write those properties down, though, unless you want a flesh-eating plant instead of a little pet because of a stray thought.
[0/5 Uses to Level 2]
That is powerful... I had to admit, I thought Artist was just going to let me draw better or something. It was as if the System knew what I was good at. I took writing and drawing courses for a few years before I had to stop because, y'know, college, but I was certain that I could still regain my former expertise with some practice. The Class name made so much sense now. I clicked Artist away, too, while wondering if I could draw with my finger on thin air. Does that count as a medium?
Suddenly, there was a loud roar and screaming all around me. I quickly dismissed the last blue screen without even looking at it while turning to the source of the noise. What I saw terrified me: a huge lion was jumping around in the streets, causing great panic and injuries wherever it went. It would bite into someone, tear a chunk of flesh out, and toss the person away like a broken toy.
And it was coming in my direction. I cursed.