I don't really want to open my eyes.

But I have to, don't I? I can't just let them be closed forever, besides, I'll get bored if I do. Boredom is scary, scarier than any pain or loss, you may laugh at this, you're telling me boredom is scarier than losing someone dear to me? Than having something horrible done to me?

Yes. Because people never experience true boredom.

Do you know what the most excruciating form of torture is? It's sensory deprivation. You are put in a white room, incapable of hearing, seeing and feeling anything. People usually go insane after less than a month.

That's still not true boredom. Because you can still think, because you can still make stories in your head. But what if you can't even think, yet you can still feel bored? Not a single thing here to distract you, there is no escape, you're stuck in a situation where going insane would feel like a relief, because it would be something in an endless sea of nothing.

Eldritch horrors beyond my comprehension feel like a joke compared to something where there is nothing to describe, nothing to see, nothing to hear.

I'll take the worst tragedies and mediocre stories over ever experiencing this again.

One.

I pat my chest, as always, nothing there.

Two.

I open my eyes, a bustling medieval city presents itself before me.

Three.

"Menu," I say without much excitement. I flinch as a thousand menus present themselves before me, I don't really flinch out of surprise as much as out of habit.

...ho, there IS a new menu this time.

USER INFO USER STATS USER SKILLS DIARY/NOTES INVENTORY ALIGNMENT

It looks functional enough.

USER INFO

Name : [N/A]

Nickname : None Race : Human Sex : Male Class : [N/A]

Age : 20 minutes

Basic info, I'll just change my nickname to "Leave" but it looks good so far.

USER STATS Strength : Loading...

Endurance : Loading... Agility : Loading... Dexterity : Loading... Intelligence : Loading... Wisdom : Loading...

Also pretty basic, it's going to take a while to load with how big my actual stats are. If you're wondering why the stats here are named differently from those I have, it's because the soul can do a lot of things, and most gods pick and choose which part of the soul they want to put focus on.

For example, wisdom here would be in charge of critical thinking and intelligence in charge of remembering and processing raw knowledge. My intelligence stat does both for convenience.

I'll look at more of it later, but this menu is actually not half bad, pretty responsive and optimized, which is pretty rare. Most gods don't really bother with optimizing their menus since no one will usually notice, but I might actually dig into this one later to see if there's anything I can learn.

Ho, what does the universe look like?

It's a fantasy world, there's fantasy races around, beast folks, elves, you name it. And of course good old medieval European architecture. It's basic, but I don't mind it, sometimes it's good to take a break and go back to predictable things you know? It's like comfort food.

It might sound weird that universes have systems at all, you might think it's unnatural or that it should be a one-off thing, but if you think about it systems make a lot of sense.

Systems are, for all intents and purposes, built for convenience. A god has to do everything manually when creating a universe, and systems just automate a few things that would normally require a more hands-on approach. Of course, that does not mean RPG like systems are the only way to automate things. Physical laws and magic are often used to do the same thing, it's really up to preference. But I personally prefer systems, they tend to be more consistent.

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I just wander around for a while without a specific destination in mind, unfortunately, worlds like this are often built with self-improvement in mind. Doing things, getting experience and becoming better, but I kind of peaked in that regard, so it's not like I can show up in an adventurer's guild and start from the bottom.

Well, I could, but it'd get boring real fast.

The sun starts to set, and I still haven't found anything fun to do. I make my way to a tavern as I brainstorm what to do in this universe. It is what you would expect from a place like this, adventurers sharing their stories, depressed people taking one too many drinks before passing out, a shady cloaked person at the other end of the room waiting for someone so they can make some secret deal of questionable legality.

You know, the usual. I actually have a theory as to why so many worlds follow the same fantasy pattern, just like how things keep evolving into crabs, universes keep ending up in medieval fantasy because of some unknown advantage I don't get.

I order a glass of apple juice and take a seat at an empty table. I don't actually have any money to pay this with, but I'm sure I'll figure something out. More importantly, I need to figure out what my gimmick should be here. Sowing random chaos is fun and all, but I like it when there's a clear conclusion, right? If I just do things at random, then whatever end I reach won't feel satisfying because there was no proper setup.

A woman approach the opposite end of my table, "Mind if I sit here?" She asks nonchalantly as she sits down, before I can even answer. This woman is...

Subtle beauty, that's how I'd describe her.

Having a good-looking face or body can certainly make people like you, but it doesn't always work. As a matter of fact, some people are biased against beautiful people for their own reasons. Which is what differentiates her from someone that just "looks good". Her smile feels genuine, her alluring gaze is not so powerful that it makes you uncomfortable, but instead it feels like that of a friend that is there for you, willing to listen to anything you might say.

"Don't think I've seen you here before, what's your story?" she asks, but she does not say it like a question. It feels like a suggestion, that she's not pressuring me to do anything. Her body language says more than any of her words ever could. Everything about her makes me want to trust her, to let her take care of me, to want her by my side.

But it's all fake.

At first, I thought I was under some kind of charisma related effect, but I'm not. This woman has such a perfect control of her body that she can mimic perfect honesty. There is not a single flaw in her posture, in her voice. Not even someone that has studied body language for their entire life would be able to tell that it's all an act.

The only way I was able to tell is because her soul is not in line with what her body says. Souls tend to mimic or learn things from the body they inhabit, and I'm getting one burning emotion from her soul.

Hunger, her soul is practically salivating at me, like a dog that has seen meat for the first time in their life.

No one would be able to hide such a strong emotion without it showing at least a little in her body language. Which means she must somehow be controlling her entire body manually. And the fact that she's not making a single mistake in that puppet show of hers is impressive beyond measure.

It might sound like I'm exaggerating, but the fact her charisma tendrils are actually holding back and not instantly digging into me shows how much self-restraint she has.

Examination Search the universe's database for any information on the target. Targets will almost never notice they are being examined. Does not work in a systemless universe. The veracity of the data gathered depends entirely on the system's database.

Examination result

Name

Nickname

Race

Sex

Class Age

Sventlinaritikeld

Trin

Succubus

Female

Monk

700 years

Succubus

Succubi are demons that feed on souls through intercourse. However, a Succubus cannot absorb the soul of someone if the sex is non-consensual. The amount of soul absorbed is proportional to the love and trust the target has for the Succubus.

While learning this is kind of a spoiler. It just gave me a very fun idea.

I finish drinking my apple juice and answer her question, albeit a little late. "Ha... I'm kind of down on my luck, to be honest. I've been searching for another adventurer to accompany me on a trip. But they all think it's too dangerous, I'm going to be back on the road soon too. Feels lonely at times."

An obvious bait.

"A dangerous trip, you say?" She tilts her head, as if she's seriously thinking of saying anything but 'I'm interested'. After a couple of seconds spent staring at the wall, she answers

"Mhh... and what would that theoretical companion get in return?"

But she doesn't have any other choice but to bite.

If she's really willing to do anything to get my soul, then that means that no matter what I do, no matter what I say. She'll have to pretend to like it. She'll laugh at my bad jokes and go along with whatever stupid plan I make. I won't even have to try, when it comes to being annoying, I'm kind of a natural.

So we'll see who cracks first. I end up falling in love with her, or she goes insane from my antics. We both shake hands after agreeing to travel together. She has no idea what she's in for.