Noticing my mother’s discontent with my words, I decided to elaborate further, detailing some of the privileges I had. The biggest one I made sure to stress was that I was able to change my race. It was nice to know that there were other races in the world, such as Dwarves, Elves, Beastkin, and Humans. There were a few I had no idea about, such as Brinthera and many others.
“Are you planning on changing your race then? What are your options, and what does it give you?” My mother, of course, was the first to ask the questions. I suspected she was worried that, by changing my race, I would no longer be considered her son.
“I haven’t checked yet. When I saw it, I was worried that if I started to look, I would have to choose. I didn’t know if there might be some weird race that others would view as a monster on sight and try to kill me. Let me look and see what I find.”
The universe contains an extensive variety of races, each with unique traits and abilities. Specify your preferences—such as physical characteristics, magical aptitude, or combat skills—to refine the available options.
I thought about telling my parents what it said, but the moment I tried, an almost imperceptible pressure stopped me from giving voice to those thoughts. Apparently, this was something I had to do on my own. I understood that changing my race would be fundamental to who I was, and outside influence would not be good.
With those thoughts running through my head, I started narrowing down the options. I knew I wanted something strong since I enjoyed fighting, preferably something better with my hands, as I was just not comfortable with a sword. I also wanted to be able to use magic. That was pretty much the main reason I even came to this world in the first place.
I always enjoyed the idea of being tall, like my parents. Especially since I wanted to be a front-line magic tank, kind of like my father—though I was not a fan of just using barriers.
Preferences have been noted. Options listed below:
Primarch – Primarchs are comparable to the Titans in some Earth stories, though they only stand around 7 feet in height. Wielding magic as though they were born of it, it is said that the Primarchs were the creators of the system itself. Primarchs have a +10% to all attributs and +5 to all mana manipulation skills.
Ryvek – The Ryvek, as they call themselves—or Dragonkin, as others call them—were born from a Dragon and a Primarch. Their scales offer strong physical and magical defense. They have wings and stand 8 feet tall. Supposedly, the color of their scales shows their affinity. Ryveks have a +15% to all damage reduction and +5% to all attributes.
Elf – Elves are said to be pseudo-immortal but actually just have very long lives compared to races such as Humans. Elves are extremely strong and dexterous due to living among forests and moving through branches. Elves have a +10% to strength and dexterity, a 10% bonus to movement speed in forests, and a 50% faster cast time for all spells related to nature.
Urthog – Like the Giants of old, Urthogs stand over 15 feet in height. Giants are strong and proud creatures that tend to stay in the mountains away from others. Giants are known for their regeneration. Giants receive a +12% to strength, dexterity, constitution, and endurance, and they halve the time it takes to heal all wounds. However, due to their towering form, there is a 3% reduction in reaction time.
Human – Humans are the most numerous of the races throughout the universe. While humans, in general, may not be as strong or powerful as other races, they excel at teamwork and coming together to face threats that cannot be beaten otherwise. Humans receive a +1% bonus to damage done while working in a group (per group member, up to 5), as well as a 10% increase in improving all skills.
The race choices were impressive, offering a wide array of strengths and abilities that sparked my imagination. After a careful read-through, I quickly decided against being an Urthog. While their massive bonuses to physical stats were tempting, their towering size felt like a disadvantage in most scenarios. Although they had the massive bonus to physical stats, their size was a downside in my opinion. Not to mention that the other races, except Humans, had the magical bonuses I wanted.
Even though Humans didn’t have the magical bonus of the other races, the 10% increase in improving skills, as well as the bonus damage per group member, was hard to ignore. If I could increase my skill levels high enough, I might overcome most of the bonuses the other races had. However, knowing I would have to hide my talent, and its abilities, meant I would be less likely to work in a group most of the time.
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Ryveks were an easy no for me. Don’t get me wrong—being part Dragon and having wings to fly around sounds super awesome. However, the idea of being covered in scales all the time felt restrictive and inconvenient, especially when imagining how it might affect daily interactions, clothing, or even comfort in different environments. I’m not saying the bonus wouldn’t be worth it, but if it were a transformation ability allowing me to turn into a Dragonkin, I would jump all over it. As it stands, though, it’s a no for me.
Elves seemed like a fun choice. Even in Earth lore, Elves either lived far longer than Humans or didn’t die of old age. The physical aspect of Elves did surprise me some, though I guess running, climbing, and swinging through trees would tend to make one strong and agile. However, from what my parents told me, the Elves of this world tended to be more isolated than the rest of the races. If one were to suddenly pop up in the middle of the city without there being a record of them entering, it would probably lead to questions I didn’t want to answer.
That left me with the Primarch. They seemed more generalized due to their increase across the board and a small bonus to all mana manipulation. As far as I could tell, they were mostly human-looking, just tall, which was something I wanted anyway. Based on the information I had, it seemed the Primarch was the strongest. The bonuses other races received, while useful in more specific situations, felt as though they could develop into strength in their own right.
With all the information at hand, I felt that Primarch was the right choice for me. Upon that realization, a burning sensation—like my whole body being set on fire, while every muscle simultaneously locked up and relaxed—took over. Luckily, the sensation only lasted for a few seconds before my body returned to normal.
Congratulations! Your race has been changed to Primarch. You have completed a hidden quest. Reward for hidden quest: Inventory.
Name: Jace Obexis Talent: System
Level: 1
Class: N/A (Available at level 10)
Experience: 0/100
Profession: N/A (Available at level 10)
Experience: 0/100
Race: Primarch
Strength: 11
Dexterity: 10
Endurance: 12
Constitution: 11
Wisdom: 18
Intelligence: 25
Luck: 24
Skills:
Identify – Level 1
Panoptic Sense – Level 1
Mental Reverie – Level 1
Shield Mastery – Level 1
Leadership – Level 1
The moment I could move again, I looked at my status. The stat changes weren’t massive, which is probably why the sensation only lasted a few seconds. While my stat bonuses weren’t huge now, they would eventually become significant. I also noticed that I was just a touch taller, having gained maybe an inch.
I didn’t have a tab but I did have an ability for the Inventory, but I gained an innate understanding of how to use it. Anything I put in would come out the exact same way. I could not put living things inside, though I could put plants. However, if I put a plant in after removing it from the soil—even if I took all the roots—it would never grow again.
“I changed my race to Primarch,” I said with as much confidence as I could muster. “I was able to choose between a few races, but first I had to describe what I wanted with my life.” I went on to describe the races, their abilities, and the racial ability I had gained.
“I think you made a good choice based on the information you had. You didn’t choose one overtly different from Humans, and it will make you stronger overall and quicker as well. That is the biggest thing a parent wants: to have their child exceed them and be safe. Well, at least one of the biggest things, for a good parent anyway.”
After that, I explained that I had received an Inventory and everything I knew about it, about how the skill itself came with an instinctive sense to use it.
As I described the Inventory, I could see my father’s eyes widening, probably thinking about all the illegal things that could be smuggled into the city with such an ability. The look in his eyes betrayed a mix of awe and calculation, which made me wonder if he was already strategizing ways to safeguard against such potential abuses—or perhaps considering how it might be used to our advantage. His reaction was both amusing and slightly unsettling, a reminder of just how sharp and practical his mind could be. Knowing him, I wouldn’t be surprised if, in the next few weeks, he developed a skill that allowed him to check other people’s inventories.
“What about your professions? I know you have those available to you, but I didn’t see you choose one in your status screen.” I said, wondering what kind of professions there were and whether you got stats or not for them.
“I have yet to decide on mine. I have a few choices such as Guard, Guard Captain, Knight, and then some like Blacksmith, Tailor, and Leatherworker. I am trying to decide between Guard Captain and Knight currently.” My father informed us.
My mom spoke up as my dad finished, “I also have not chosen yet. I have similar ones like Tailor, Leatherworker and Tanner, but I also have some like Mind Soother, something called a Psychiatrist, and then a general Healer profession.” I could definitely see my mother being a Psychiatrist, with her ability to push her emotions on others it could help if someone needed to get past a traumatic event and have their emotions calm during that.