Richard's eyes widened as the marbles glowed brighter and brighter, culminating in a deafening BANG. The next moment, everything went silent. He found himself enveloped in an eerie stillness, with only the faint hum of ambient mana filling the air.
"What just happened?" Richard whispered, looking around. The office was gone, replaced by a vast expanse of glowing, interconnected lines stretching out in all directions – the Mesh.
A disembodied voice echoed in the void. "Scanning soul records... initializing Mesh integration..."
Richard felt a strange sensation, as if something was probing deep into his very being. He saw flashes of his past – moments of triumph and failure, choices that defined his life to this point, and the endless hours spent tinkering with drones and cracking codes.
"Integration complete. Unique class [Techno Mage] granted," the voice announced. A green semi-transparent window appeared in front of Richard's vision, looking like something out of the Matrix, showing:
--
image [https://i.ibb.co/5cJL2RV/500400.png]
[NEW CLASS UNLOCKED]
TECHNO MAGE
Born in a world devoid of mana, the mesh has set a new path for you. Use the power of information and innovation to reach your potential.
--
Right as Richard finished reading the description, confusion and questions swirling in his head...
"Prepare for transport," said the AI voice.
"Wait?!? Transport... Techno Mage?!? I am not some kind of 70s disc jockey trying to come up with an edgy name here.... give me a minute."
Richard tried to move his head, and he quickly realized that no matter where he looked, the endless expanse of the Mesh followed his eyes, almost like an optical illusion with the message window following as well. He barely noticed the countdown timer that had started at the bottom of the screen...
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"What do you mean 8 seconds?!? Until what?!? Where am I?!?" Richard shouted, seemingly at the void. He began to panic.
4......3.....2.....
"Oh god, what is about to happen?!?" Richard tried to curl up in a defensive position, but he wasn't even sure he had limbs anymore.
1.....0
With another flash came darkness again, but this time it brought the strong scent of mold and mildew, almost like a root cellar, and a wet coldness to the bottom of Richard's feet. After blinking his eyes and attempting to wave his hand in front of his face, he discovered that wherever he was now, it was incredibly dark as he could see nothing. He slowly uncurled himself, trying to get a feel for his surroundings.
Suddenly a new window similar to before appeared in his vision.
--
image [https://i.ibb.co/r2WcX8f/500x400.png]
[Skill Selection]
(Iron) - Mana Infusion: Grants the ability to infuse mana into living and non-living things.
(Bronze) - Basic Runecrafting: Grants the ability to read/write Basic runes onto surfaces and items.
(Carbon) - Terminal Access: Grants a personal terminal interface.
--
As Richard read over the options, his mind continued to swirl with questions and panic. As his heart rate began to climb, Richard began to sweat. His mind continued to race until finally, Richard screamed.
"ENOUGH!!!"
His voice echoed in the dark, damp place, making it sound like he was in a large cavern. He could hear bats screeching in the distance.
"The first thing I need to do is choose a skill so I can at least get this window out of my face. Then I can hopefully try and find a way out of this place."
"The Mesh mentioned in my class description that it 'laid a path for me.' I am not sure if I am okay with some enigma deciding how I do things. But as I say sometimes, you have to play the game," Richard thought to himself.
"[Mana Infusion] seems like it could be a very fundamental skill for a mage to have, but there were two other options to consider. [Basic Runecrafting] was a [Bronze] skill, which normally means it would be more powerful than [Mana Infusion], but without any knowledge of how to begin, it will not help me get out of this cavern."
"Finally, there was the elephant in the room. [Terminal Access] practically screamed PICK ME PICK ME. Any true gamer would see the Carbon tag and know it was the obvious choice, but I think whatever this [Mesh] is trying a little too hard to force my hand here... You know what, FUCK IT. What do I have to lose? We are a long way from Kansas, I can almost bet, so why not stop letting life control the situation and instead start carving my own future."
Without another second's hesitation, Richard gave the mental command to choose [Terminal Access].