"A hundred points? But then, that means choosing Dragon as a race would leave me with just a quarter of it left… right?" Luther confirmed with the Fae.
It nodded in satisfaction that he understood.
"What happens when I run out of points?"
"You begin your journey," the Fae said vaguely.
Huh. Yeah. Sure. My journey would begin, whatever that may be.
"Does that mean that until I finish my points, I can't begin my 'journey?'" Luther asked mockingly.
"No," as always ignoring the subtleties in Luther's speech, "you can always opt to begin it prematurely."
Prematurely, huh, Luther said to himself, making a mental note. At last, he felt his mind clearing back to his usual self. His disgust for the Guardian's treatment of them, still peering over at the back of his mind.
"Then, what else do I use them for, if not these races?" Luther began asking further. He needed to plan his way forward, lest he be led by others like his previous life. He still doesn't know if his prior evolved genes would transcend with him.
"Let's leave that be for now. First, you should choose a race to be born into," the Fae systematically ignored him, and replied as a moderator should.
Luther was speechless at how stubborn the Fae was--rather, not as much stubborn as much as it can't defy its nature. He felt that the Fae has some semblance of a personality; he treated it as another human being. Hence, he thought it could allow some allowances with the rules. Alas, it held steadfast with its programming.
Helpless, he glanced at the rest of the hangar for clues, only to be left wide-eyed at the events in the other cells.
In one of them, he saw someone transfigured into a Beastkin--no, Half-Beastkin. His spine lengthened; bronze-colored fur sprouted on his forearms; his body build grew in proportion; a tail grew at the end of his spine; and a beastly aura emanated from his being. From afar, he looked as if possessed by a tiger stalking the savannah. Even then, Luther glimpsed at the struggle present in his eyes, the agony of his flesh being stretched to its limits, the fear of losing control of what he had called his body.
In contrast, another cell held someone whose ears have lengthened, eyes sharper, and slightly taller than normal. An elf. Luther didn't understand how he could tell instinctively, but he knew. At the same time, while he hadn't seen the transformation that took place, he could tell the differences in their experience. He could see the look of derision in the elf's eyes towards the Tiger Beastkin.
Unlike his instinct telling him what kind of race the elf was, the derision in the elf's eyes seemed more personal. It felt like it was ever present even before the transformation. He could guess the elf's previous background simply from that proud look: one of the nobles who led the human race to implode on itself.
The anger in Luther's heart bore deeper; at first, that Guardian that looked down on them as simple toys, now, he remembered his enmity towards the upper echelons of humanity that ruined everything. He engraved his grudge, as well as the face of that elf, into his mind.
He swore to himself, never again.
"I don't have all day, Luther," the Fae reminded him. Of course, it was only jesting; the Faes had no concept of time in the catacombs.
"Human." Without hesitation, Luther replied.
Once he found back his purpose, he couldn't let anything else hold him back. Thus, he chose what he was most comfortable with, the choice that disdains the decision of that noble. They had fought for the prominence among the humanity, yet the noble had chosen to leave humanity. Luther harrumphed at their difference.
Status updated.
Name:
Luther
Race:
Human
Age:
Title:
He Who Has Left His Family
Affiliation:
"Is age next? How does that work?" Luther had wanted to hurry the process, but he was baffled by the next item in his status.
"We'll skip that one until the end." The Fae beamed a smile. "For now, I'll show you the catalog of things you can spend the rest of your points for."
Again, skipping on important details. Does it mean to let me decide freely on my points? Or is a consequence waiting for me should I use it all up? Luther began to doubt the Fae. He remembered how the Fae were a manifestation of the system, and by extension, the Guardian. What game is he playing at?
As he sunk into his thoughts, the catalog popped up on the screen before him. It was mostly white boxes with short descriptions, except for a few greyed out boxes with description that were no longer legible. Even as he pondered his situation, a few more boxes were greyed out.
"You should hurry up. The others are buying out your options," the Fae reminded him, contrastingly amicable. Its tone sounded provocative to the ears of Luther.
He looked around the hangar once again. He noticed a number of cells were already empty, while some had inhabitants slightly panicky at the screens in front of them. There were only a handful of people like him who had the leisure of spacing out.
He reverted his gaze back at the catalog. By now, he caught on to the decreasing number at the lower right of each box; upon reaching zero, it greys out. He scowled at the Fae.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
"I warned you might run out of options." The Fae kept the obnoxious grin on its face. Luther groaned.
Along with the options still available to him were elemental compatibilities. It ranged from the Fire element, Earth, Metal, Water, Wood, Wind, and Lighting; each of which cost 5 points for [Minimal] compatibility, 7 points for [Bad], 10 for [Average], 20 for [Good], followed by [Talented], [Genius], [Master], and [Divine] for 30, 50, 60, and 80 points respectively. Beyond that were the elements Dark, Light, Space, and Time; the four cost 10% more than the previous seven elements for each compatibility level. There was one more element called 'Chaos(Normal)' which cost three times as much as the first seven, meaning only a compatibility level of Talented was allowed for them. Luther didn't know what the 'Normal' beside it meant, but he figured it was far beyond their grasp so he didn't bother.
Of those elements, most of the [Good] and [Talented] compatibilities were taken. Few of the higher levels were chosen, probably because they cost too much in consideration of how much they could spend.
After elemental compatibility were weapon masteries, with [Beginner], [Intermediate], [Advanced], [Elite], and [Master] levels for 5, 10, 20, 30, and 40 points respectively. This was also divided to different categories, such as Dagger Mastery, Sword Mastery, Axe Mastery, etc.
Following that were sensory enhancements, increased comprehension, and transformation abilities. Even as more and more boxes get greyed out, Luther can only feel helpless. He didn't want to be rash with his points, and wanted to choose the ones most suited for him.
"Is there a way to filter these out?" He asked the Fae. Truthfully, he wasn't expecting much from the moderator, given its previous lack of cooperation. Surprisingly, the Fae grinned further.
"I was hoping you would never ask," it said.
The Fae waved its hand, and another window appeared on top of the catalog. On it displayed a list of categories and filters that can be used to flip through the catalog. Luther was again surprised, no longer counting how many he had been shocked since he woke up and more likely, even more after this.
"You're one of the few who would actually think things through, unlike those overenthusiastic fools who just grabbed whatever sounded powerful." The Fae's tone felt utter revulsion towards those who had left early. It felt that they had let go of such a rare and powerful opportunity.
Luther agreed. They were on unknown waters, and to barge through is simply suicidal. Did they think transcending would give them enough benefits to survive every ordeal? He severely doubted such.
"Can you narrow down the options even more?" He attempted further, trying to make use of the Fae's annoyance to get a better leverage. He wasn't really hoping for anything, however.
The Fae looked surprised for once, then its previous scowl returned to that unnerving grin.
"You know what, I think the Guardian would love that."
Then, it slowly faded into the background. Luther could feel that it hadn't truly left, but rather simply taking a step back for something else. He shuddered, as he noticed the dreadful Guardian in the center was looking at him. No, rather than looking at him, it seemed as if its total attention was sent over his way; no indication whatsoever was seen on its enigmatic figure. Even then, he felt that similarly, the Guardian was grinning at him.
The screen in front of him changed. The status screen remained translucent in the background, but the suspended window had changed.
Please choose a major path:
Warrior, Thief, Ranger, Mage, Shaman
If previously, he had the freedom to choose his path and bridge together the abilities available to him, the now he felt that he only had to choose, and the screen will show him an appropriate path.
"What does each path entail?" he asked. Alas, no answer. His spectators chose to remain silent, as if mocking him; he had already gotten a lot of help just by displaying to him the possible paths, yet he asks for more.
He grimaced in frustration. He glanced at the other cells; roughly half of the original number remained. They didn't look as confused and indignant as he was. In front of them was the same catalog screen he had before, some with the default catalog, while others had the filtered one. He focused back on his screen.
Warrior seemed like a melee class. It meant rushing into battles, fighting with swords, spears, axes, and such. It meant fighting on the frontlines with his life on the line. Of the five choices, it was probably the least suitable for Luther. The anxiety his previous life had brought him was too much. He wouldn't seek danger without a proper reason.
Thief or Ranger sounded more reasonable for his tastes. Increasing his survival skills would better his chances of whatever the Guardian was planning; whether Luther decides to actually fight or do everything he can to delay and circumvent the chaos to come.
Mage, on the other hand, is also inappropriate for Luther's plans. They tend to have a weak defense, reliant on the protection of others. If he wanted to live a worry-free life, Mage definitely won't help him, because whoever it is would just contribute reasons for joining the war.
There was still Shaman, though. He didn't really know what that meant. Shaman were essentially non-existent in his planet, and he didn't have enough clearance for information from other systems as well. Hence, he didn't really think much of it.
In the end, as he had pretty much already figured out, he was left with Thief or Ranger. A decision to choose between hidden melee, or ranged attacks (at least that's what he thought the main difference was).
"Ranger." Finally having made a decision, he told the suppressed Fae. It maintained its smile, only waving its hand to forward the process.
Please choose a specialty:
Archery, Scouting, Survival, Combat
"Survival." Without hesitation, he chose his specialty. He had already laid out his plans for the future. He needed to survive most of all.
Allocating… Please wait…
He could almost hear the Fae humming a tune in delight. It baffled him at how much it is enjoying his decisions. It made him doubt if he should have chosen differently. Alas, he thought it was more likely that he couldn't go back on his choices.
Attribute Transfer (STR->AGI)…
Attribute Transfer (INT->AGI)…
Attribute Transfer (WIS->AGI)…
Attribute Increase (CON) x2…
Attribute Increase (AGI) x2…
Attribute Increase (DEX) x3…
Allocating Ranger traits and skills according to specialty…
Allocation successful.
Name:
Luther
Race:
Human
Age:
Title:
He Who Left His Family
Affiliation:
HP
100/100
MP
100/100
STR
8 (-2) [-2pts]
CON
12 (+2) [-4pts]
AGI
15 (+6) [-4 pts]
DEX
13 (+3) [-6pts]
INT
9 (-1) [-2pts]
WIS
9 (-1) [-2pts]
Traits
Sharp Vision (250m) [-10pts]
Enhanced Hearing (100m) [-5 pts]
Skills
Bow Mastery (Intermediate) [0/20,000] [-10 pts]
Dagger Mastery (Beginner) [0/10,000] [-5 pts]
Foraging (Advanced) [0/15,000] [-15 pts]
Stealth (Advanced) [0/30,000] [-30 pts]
Spirit
Please confirm your status.
KEEP | EDIT
Luther was pleasantly surprised at the prompt. He wasn't surprised the system used up all his points but he didn't expect the system to allow him to edit the point allocation. In addition, he got more confused at the Spirit option in his status. The system hadn't filled it up unlike the traits and skills section.
When he asked to view the available Spirit options, he was shocked to find it under the Shaman category.