Day: Unknown

Month: Unknown

Year: Unknown

Time: Unknown

Location: Unknown

I felt a splitting headache when I woke. I looked around and saw nothing. Darkness surrounded me for as far as I could see. While I stared at the darkness that was everywhere, the headache only grew stronger as time went forward, or at least I think it's moving forward. My body felt like it was a part of the darkness. I shivered at the thought.

The panic I know should have been there wasn't. I felt abnormally calm as if I were in my mother's arms. Her warm, soft hand covered me, and I felt like I was being changed in a way I didn't quite understand. The only clue to what happened was a blue screen right in front of where my eyes should have been.

Would you like to start Status Evaluation? Y/N

What? That was the only word that came out to mind. I had some questions but no way to answer them.

What was going on? How did I get here? Where was here? And how did a blue screen straight out of some game appear from nothing? What Status?

My mind was going a mile a minute. The panic seizing my heart suddenly vanished like a small candle flame snuffed out by a mighty gust of wind. And with that wind came the calm, warm feeling of my mother.

One thing I was sure of was that something was trying to control my mind, or at least how I perceived the situation I was in right now. All I had to do was let it in, and it would explain. This realization came with that strange motherly wind. I wanted to let it in and let it spread throughout my body. With the answer came control, the wind whispered in my mind. That was something I understood was confirmed through my own experiences, but something deep down told me not to accept. And I listened.

The wind vanished, and I felt the warmth disappear with it. I felt tired in a way I didn't understand, as if I had just walked up a flight of stairs. Before I could even honestly question what just happened, the wind returned with a new voracity. The wind seemed to want in even more. The motherly wind that seemed to love and care for me vanished with the new wave of what now felt like static electricity prickling against what I think of as my skin. It didn't hurt, but it was uncomfortable. Slowing, but indeed, the prickling became stabbing. I wasn't being physically pierced, but it felt like hell. It wanted in, and it wasn't going to give up. That feeling bubbled up again, telling me it can't get in if I don't allow it and to hold out. To hold out during the whole ordeal, my mind went blind. I don't know when I started regaining my consciousness, but I questioned many things by then. Who was I? How did I get here? Why was I even fighting it?

I had never experienced such pain in my entire life. I was just in a library, half asleep a few moments ago, and now I was fighting something I didn't understand. One thing I knew was I couldn't keep it out forever. But that feeling told me to hold out as long as I could. I had to listen to this feeling because I had no other choice. It felt like something inside me was breaking. I tried screaming, but no sound exited as moments stretched to what felt like hours. I couldn't or wouldn't let the agony continue. The wind was now full-blown lightning striking everything inch of my skin. It whispered if I just let it in. The pain would stop. Maybe if I was some epic hero from the novels I always read when bored, I could have held out, but no, I'm just human.

The blue screen that floated in front of me for what felt like hours taunted me as the only way to stop the torture. I tried moving my hand, but I couldn't even feel it, much less move it. The only thing I felt was pain.

With the last of my will, I tried something I thought would be a long shot, but a shot it was. I yelled inside my mind, YES!!!!

Then nothing. No pain. Nothing changed besides the blue screen disappeared, and another appeared in its place.

I needed to focus even to read it from exhaustion.

Congratulations for lasting in a competition of will for approximately 126 minutes

Once Universe Integration is complete, Rewards will be allocated.

Once Universe Integration is complete? What does that mean? The first screen also said something about the Universe being Integrated into something and a system update. Is what happening to me also part of this integration? God fu...

Before I could even finish cursing myself, another god damn blue screen appeared, and with it, motherly warmth appeared again, but this time, it started invading my body.

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Status Evaluation has begun.

With the disappearance of the screen. The warmth started to spread to every inch of me. It didn't hurt, but it wasn't comfortable for sure. The feeling of change that seemed only surface level when this warm first arrived before was now changing my entire body or something else. I felt as healthy as ever been and as if I could run a marathon, but I could still not do anything but feel these changes. After several moments of this, the warmth started becoming a pressure. The pressure was building inside me from somewhere near my diaphragm, and the warmth seemed to pull there in greater and greater amounts. The feeling felt great, and the only thing I could compare this feeling to was an orgasm, but better.

It just continued growing till...

*POP*

A blue screen appeared at the exact moment.

Status Evaluation is complete

LEVEL UP!!!

YOU ARE NOW LEVEL 1!

Stat points will be auto-allocated according to your achievements

Once that blue screen disappeared, another one appeared in its place.

Choose a starter skill.

Appropriate starting equipment will be allocated.

This time once the blue screen disappeared, five separate blue screens appeared.

At this point, I was sure I was dreaming. No doubt in my mind that everything going on wasn't real and couldn't be real.

But, the pain. Deep down, that told me this was real, but I ignored that feeling and decided I would treat it as one. And so I decided to see my options.

[Inferior Weapon Mastery] (Rarity - Lowest)

[Inferior Mana Punch] (Rarity - Lowest)

[Inferior Mana Shot] (Rarity - Lowest)

[Inferior Mana Bolt] (Rarity - Lowest)

[Inferior Healing] (Rarity - Lowest)

The only thing I could think of was that they all had "Inferior" in the name, probably meaning they all are garage. I never played many MMO or RPG games. Well, I did, if you count D&D, which I don't. I always played the wizard or mage build. The fact that four or the five skills seem like mage skills didn't help. I needed to know what the skills did before choosing one. In a long shot, I didn't focus on the first skill with the intent to select but to learn more about it to inspect the skill. It seemed to work because the first skill expanded while the rest went into the background.

[Inferior Weapon Mastery]

(Rarity - Lowest)

You haven't even touched on the bare minimum to be considered mastery. Maybe you can improve or even specialize. Only you can decide.

You gain an inferior understanding of all weapons.

-1% to stamina usage with all weapons.

+1 to STR and DEX

That was a little harsh. I don't think I want to be a close-up fighter, but those stat bonuses. Wait, do I have stats? Something tells me I can't check them till I'm done picking a skill. I wondered if all the skills have stat bonuses. I guess on to the next skill.

[Inferior Mana Punch]

(Rarity - Lowest)

You haven't even touched on the bare minimum to consider the spell a [Mana Punch]. A spell that delivers massive amounts of destructive power into your foes through a single punch. Maybe you can truly touch upon the essence of this spell or even change the spell to your own desire.

You gain an inferior understanding of the spell [Mana Punch].

Drains an inferior amount of mana when casted.

+1 to INT and DEX

Again the harshness of the descriptions. It is the same problem as the first skill. I don't want to be killing things from close-up to the next skill I go.

[Inferior Mana Shot]

(Rarity - Lowest)

You haven't even touched on the bare minimum to consider the spell a [Mana Shot]. A spell that infuses an arrow or bullet with massive amounts of destructive power that can be delivered to your foes. Maybe you can truly touch upon the essence of this spell or even change the spell to your own desire.

You gain an inferior understanding of the spell [Mana Shot].

Drains an inferior amount of mana when casted, amount varies depending on the size and quality of the object infused.

+1 to INT and DEX

The descriptions are almost the same, with minor differences. I wonder if maybe I could learn the spells one day. But I don't think I'm choosing Mana Shot. I can't even use a gun or a bow. A gun wouldn't be hard to use, but I'm not going to be good at it.

[Inferior Mana Bolt]

(Rarity - Lowest)

You haven't even touched on the bare minimum to consider the spell a [Mana Bolt]. A spell that sends massive amounts of destructive power at your foes through a single bolt. Maybe you can truly touch upon the essence of this spell or even change the spell to your own desire.

You gain an inferior understanding of the spell [Mana Bolt].

Drains an inferior amount of mana when casted.

+1 to INT and WIS

This seems to be the best for me, but I still wanted to see the last option.

[Inferior Healing]

(Rarity - Lowest)

You haven't even touched on the bare minimum to consider the spell [Healing]. A spell that heals massive amounts of vitality to the target of the spell. Maybe you can truly touch upon the essence of this spell or even change the spell to your own desire.

You gain an inferior understanding of the spell [Healing].

Drains an inferior amount of mana when casted.

+1 to INT and WIS

There were many questions and not a lot of answers. What is Mana? How does this relate to me ending up? I needed to get through this, and the only way to do that was to choose.

You have chosen [Inferior Mana Bolt] as your starter skill

Starting equipment will be allocated once Universe Integration is completed.

You have finished undergoing alterations.

WARNING: You will enter stasis till Universe Integration is complete.

What does it mean by stasis? I couldn't ponder on the thought any longer before I reentered unconsciousness.