There were many things that were good, even perfect, in moderation, but disgusting in excess, and one of them was the smell of fast food. The moment you walk into a branch of Doc Burgalicious, the fragrance of fried burgers and hotdogs assailed your nostrils. For your entire stay there, the smell compounds the taste of the food and you walk out after a hearty meal.
The ones that work there, on the other hand, have to keep smelling that. And after two hours, it starts to set in. It starts as moderate nausea and for an hour, it keeps getting worse. After that hour, though, the smell disappears.
It seems like it does, at least.
Dragging the stench of rancid oil and sweat with him, Theo walked home. It was raining and he hadn’t bothered to find an umbrella. It was somewhere in his house but he couldn’t be bothered to search for it.
Even if it was gone, why did it matter?
It wasn’t like he bothered to look at the weather forecast, and there’d be no use of it for someone like him unless he dragged it around every single day regardless of the weather.
Theo stared at his reflection in the steel door of the elevator: a lad of twenty with messy hair and shabby clothes that were faded from both the sun and wear. There were square glasses tucked on his nose, making him look chubbier than he was by blocking out his cheekbones.
For the umpteenth time, he made it a point to buy round ones.
They revealed his cheekbones, making him a dozen times thinner and that’d help in his pursuit of a wife, whom he had a slight inkling he would never have one of in his life.
The door opened, as it always did. He walked in, as he always did. It closed behind his back, as it always did. He turned around, facing the door, as he always did.
All of it was a routine for him.
Days melded together, Theo’s complete lack of care and the overwhelmingly monotonous reality working in conjunction to make it so.
As it always did.
The door of the elevator slid open after a ding, but instead of leading to a dark corridor on the fourth floor of a shabby apartment complex that had seen its prime thirty years ago, it led to a hospital.
That’s what you’d think it was with how sanitary it was, but Theo knew that hospitals didn’t have a soft white glow emanating out of nowhere.
The cycle of monotony was broken at that moment, but it would be a moment until it shattered. It would end forever and evermore, replaced with one that had a color other than gray: vibrant colors that screamed lively.
“Like my narration?” asked a deep-pitched voice of a woman, likely at the very edge of what could be called feminine, having finished a narration of his life. She sat looking away on a white office chair, adorned in a white suit. Even her shoes were white Oxfords and the socks underneath, too.
Theo didn’t understand how he could recognize it from this far.
But more importantly, her very skin and hair were pale white. Not the kind that was acceptable for a human, either. It was like white marble: inhumane, but oddly attractive.
“Do enter, please. You may leave at any moment and let me assure you, you are not dead,” said the woman and spun around, her eyes that couldn’t be told apart from the rest of her face staring right into his own.
“Then am I dreaming?” asked Theo, despite knowing that it’d be futile if he was indeed in a dream. After all, he was never much of a lucid dreamer, except… this time, he spoke out.
“I’m afraid not,” said the woman softly and for the first time, Theo spotted a desk in front of her along with a chair. She tapped on it with one nail and spoke, “Take a seat, if you would.”
Theo stepped into the white room that he could swear was the size of a football stadium and heard the elevator shut behind him. A glance over his shoulder made him shiver, for the only exit out of the room was gone.
It felt like the plot of a horror movie.
“I won’t bite. In fact, I’m throwing a bait and hoping that you’ll bite it,” said the woman and leaned back on her office chair, then put the ankle of one of her legs on the thigh of the other.
Theo slowly, but surely, walked up to the chair and took a seat. After that, he adjusted it so that he’d be staring straight at the woman, for it was tilted slightly to the side as if inviting him to sit.
“Let me be frank. I’m the closest thing to God you’ll meet and I want you to do something for me,” she said and a small smile appeared on her face, “I know you aren’t religious, Mr. Lane. I’ve seen enough of you to make that educated guess.”
“That’s creepy. Don’t do it,” he said, cutting her off in the middle of her monologue.
“I’m afraid that’s an essential part of the vetting process,” she said, “For that bait I’m throwing, that is. I want to offer you a chance to start your life anew. This life of yours is too mundane and you believe you can do mo-”
“I’m in,” said Theo, cutting her off once again.
“I did anticipate that answer, but you’re a few seconds too early,” said the woman after a short pause.
“You sold it the moment you said another life,” he said.
“That is good to know indeed, but there are some catches,” said the woman, paused for a bit to wait for his response, and continued after she got a nod of approval from him, “Think of yourself as a messenger. I want you to prepare one of my worlds for what’s coming.”
He stared at her for a while, examining her features. She bore an uncanny resemblance to marble sculptures from Greece.
“Why me? You had a lot of choices, probably. At least eight billion from my world and who-knows-how-many from other ones,” he asked finally.
“Because you are, no offense intended, a geek,” said the woman and scoffed after saying that.
“I’m not smart, though,” he countered.
“I’m not looking for a brilliant scientist that’ll bring about a technological revolution, Mr. Lane. I’m looking for someone that has the bare minimum of knowledge on how to deal with the particularly troublesome denizens of my worlds,” said the woman.
“So I’m supposing that planet isn’t as boring as this shit hole. It’s different, somehow. But in what way, I’m having trouble figuring out,” said Theo and the woman opened her mouth to explain, allowing him to see that even her tongue was white. He raised a finger and stopped her, “Let me guess. There are superpowers there and you’re here because I have nothing better to do than escape reality by watching all those shows and cartoons.”
“Perceptive,” said the woman and nodded, “So, how about it? You’ll be one of the first heroes in that world, or villains. I don’t care how you prepare them for it. If you wish to conquer it and turn it into some meritocratic heaven for those with superpowers, do so. If you wish to fight for the innocent and become their symbol of hope, do so. All I want you to do is to make its denizens competent.”
“Love it. When do I go?” asked Theo, hopped up and clapped his hands. Then he raised a finger, opened his mouth slightly, sat back down, and asked, “What power do I get?”
“All of them,” said the woman after closing her eyes.
“There’s a catch,” said Theo.
“As you may expect. You’ll get all of them with time, but how you get them should be quite familiar to you. Like a game,” said the woman and snapped her fingers. That created a window similar to one you’d find as a pop-up in a game, with a black background and light blue letters, “For everyone with powers you fight, kill, train, create, you’ll be rewarded with points. Think of them as Skill Points in a game. And with that, you’ll buy your powers. Simple, isn’t it?”
After another snap of her fingers, the notification screen that had appeared was replaced with one that was full of information. It was shown in four columns, two of them repeated twice so that it’d save space.
Power
Cost
Powers
Cost
Super Strength I
5 Points
Flight I
10 Points
Super Speed I
5 Points
Telekinesis I
10 Points
Super Durability I
5 Points
Telepathy I
10 Points
Energy Potency I
5 Points
Regeneration I
10 Points
“It’s just something I’ve thrown together to make it more intuitive for you Harbingers. It’d be impossible to summon you once you’re placed in one of my worlds, after all,” said the woman and as if she remembered something, she added, “Which one are you going to be, then, Mr. Lane? A hero or a villain? I’d much prefer the former as not many of the Harbingers I’ve invited are willing to play the hero.”
“I’m fine with that,” said Theo and after a moment, he asked, “What should I refer to you as?”
“Goddess, Queen, Bitch. Names mean nothing to me. If you refer to me, I’ll know, for I realize the very intent behind those words,” said the marble woman and snapped her fingers again, “To put it into perspective, this is what you’ll have to do in that world to gain points. Let me warn you ahead of time, though. Some of the powers become expensive. As high as a million points. Obviously, certain goals such as conquering the world will earn more. Feel free to look through them after you make it there.”
Task
Reward
Task
Reward
Defeat Superhuman
5 Points
Destroy City
500 Points
Kill Superhuman
10 Points
Take Over City
1000 Points
Imprison Superhuman
25 Points
Destroy Country
5000 Points
Recruit Superhuman
50 Points
Take Over Country
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
25000 Points
As far as she was concerned, it seemed that he could destroy cities and take over countries to gain points if he wanted to, and considering how many there were, grinding points through that was possible.
It was an intriguing concept.
“Just so you know, being a hero isn’t a requirement. There’s nothing forcing you to keep that promise. As long as you don’t kill everyone in that world, I’ll be rooting for you. I’d just prefer it if you actually did good,” said the Goddess.
“I’ll try to be a hero, don’t worry. I can’ find it in myself to hurt people. But from how you refer to Harbingers, in plural, makes me wonder, though. What are you preparing those worlds for? What’s dangerous enough for God to give godlike powers to random people and to send them to do whatever they wish in a world you created?” asked Theo.
“The Avatars. There exist beings that are beyond even our comprehension, and they corrupt the worlds we created by granting a mortal their powers as I will to you. They’ve taken enough of my worlds and I’m not willing to lose any more of them,” she said.
“How long do I have?” asked Theo.
“No one knows. It depends on how long they take to get through to the world they’re eating up now, but one without a Harbinger won’t last for more than a few months. And there are dozens of worlds with Harbingers, just like you, chosen to prepare my worlds. Whether they’ll make it and delay them enough for the rest of the worlds to have a chance is something that falls even beyond my expertise, and I’m good at guessing,” she said.
Theo nodded.
It made him feel like he was actually useful.
At work, he was just a cog in the machine. He could be taken out and replaced by anyone willing to make a few spare bucks. But as a Harbinger, he’d be more important. If not in the grand scheme of things, at least in the world he’d be spirited into.
But there was this heavy feeling within his chest now: responsibility.
He didn’t hate it.
“What happens if I die?” asked Theo.
She was a Goddess, so perhaps she could resurrect him.
“There’s nothing I can do. You’ll reincarnate, your soul recycled to give birth to another,” she said and Theo sighed.
It’d be too good of a deal if he had immortality or the ability to reincarnate repeatedly, but this was good enough.
“Oh, right. Do I start with any points at all?” asked Theo.
“Of course. That System of mine will guide you through every step of the way, don’t worry,” said the Goddess and snapped her fingers again, “We’re running out of time. I can’t keep you here for much longer. We’ll meet again if fate allows it.”
There, behind him, a door creaked open, leading to a bathroom of a pub or restaurant lit by a dim blue light that might as well have no lights at all compared to the room he was in.
“That world on the other side of that elevator. It’s an unfamiliar place. You’ll have no home, no relatives and no identification. But I believe you’ll survive, especially with that System of mine,” said the Goddess and expectantly stared at him until he left the room.
“Stop staring. That’s creepy,” he said and with large steps, walked out of the room.
Theo closed the door and opened it again, only to be met with an empty toilet stall.
“I guess I’m alone,” he mumbled to himself.
The only living relatives that he had back in his old world were his uncles and aunts that he wasn’t very close to. The only one that would even realize he was gone would do so after a few months, he surmised.
But it was ironic.
The landlord that he hated so much for raising the rent far too frequently would be the only one to realize that he was gone.
If he didn’t turn up at work, no one would care. They’d just think that he decided to ditch it until he inevitably changed his mind and came back: that happened thrice before.
“Shit,” said Theo after a few seconds of standing around motionless.
He decided to agree on the fly but he didn’t even have a change of clothes nor any food. He didn’t know if the money in this world was the same as his own either, and his credit card was useless now that he was in a world in which it wasn’t registered in the banking system.
The smell of the bathroom was certainly not a pleasant one and he walked out of the room with a frown and furrowed eyebrows.
Out of all the places he could’ve been dropped into, she chose a bathroom of all places!
Everyone probably dreamed of saving the world at least once but he wondered how many of them would leave their own world to do that. Many, but not as many, perhaps. Attachments were a thing for others, after all. They could have had enough wealth to live comfortably and a happy family, too.
He had none of those things.
Theo had something of an idea, but for that idea to work, he’d expected himself to have access to at least some necessities.
He had none of that.
It was the bathroom of a restaurant and a fancy one at that. It had candles lit on some of the tables and people with fancy suits and dresses sat behind them. Waiters with clean white shirts and black vests walked around with food and drinks atop silver plates.
The smell was different from that of oil you’d find in fast food places like Doc Burgalicious. It actually made him hungry, making him close his eyes and bite his lips for a bit. He was looking forward to eating that leftover pizza from yesterday so he didn’t grab a free burger today.
The last time that he was in a place like this was back when he was a kid with parents who were very much alive: that was back when he was twelve.
“Sir, the restaurant is boo-” started one of the butlers but Theo simply shrugged and walked out.
“I know, I know,” grumbled Theo, interrupting the waiter’s words. Then he made a beeline toward the exit as fast as he could.
It was uncomfortable being in fancy places. He wasn’t used to it and they wouldn’t welcome him even if he was. Not with how shabby he looked.
The light of the sun didn’t assault his eyes as violently as he expected it to. Maybe it was because he had been in a room that was so bright and he hadn’t been inside the restaurant for long enough for his eyes to adjust. Every inch of that room was practically glowing, after all.
Welcome to Terra-38, Harbinger!
Your task is to prepare the world for the inevitable assault of the Avatars.
You have been granted 50 Points to assist you in your duties.
It waited for him to leave that restaurant to appear so he assumed that it had some degree of awareness. It would be troublesome if it popped up during a fight, after all. Or was that a mere coincidence?
Was that all?
So much for being guided through it. He didn’t even know how he was supposed to open the window that contained the skills, but just as that thought process completed, the window in front of him morphed into that one.
It wasn’t like normal games where it closed for the next one to open, or for the new window to appear on top of the previous one. Instead, it morphed. Letters turned into blobs which formed other letters and the size of the windows smoothly transitioned from one shape to the next.
The same window from before appeared again. From how they had a Roman numeral at the end, he could assume there were several levels to them. Considering that she said that one of the powers cost a million points, he assumed that some of them went far. How much their cost and potency increased, though, was a mystery for now.
He had to get a feel for this System that she’d given him.
There was his grumbling stomach that wanted him to put that thought away and find something to eat first, but he knew how dangerous it could be. He was in a world where there were Superhumans, after all. It’d be plain suicide to not have any contingencies in his back pocket.
So the most important one was [Super Durability] I, which cost the same as the other powers labeled Super. Strength, Speed, and Durability, all three attributes that he would prefer to have than not.
And then there was [Flight].
He focused on [Super Durability], trying to get any information about it and the System obliged.
She promised intuitive and she delivered on that promise. There was no need to tap it at all when he could simply direct it with his mind. Tapping on air was an easy way to seem like a madman and if he was going to prepare this world by playing hero, then it was the worst first move.
Or… it was the best move.
Playing an alien could work.
It’d explain him not having any money or lodging, not to mention the lack of knowledge specific to this world. At the moment, it seemed similar enough to his Earth so he wasn’t too out of place, but he didn’t know what was different.
Hell, he didn’t even know if the countries in this world were named the same, but he doubted they would be. If the Goddess wasn’t the one that created his world, then it was unlikely that things were even remotely similar aside from the existence of humans.
If he was thrown into another world, it’d have to be in a wholly different multiverse. From how she said that she had at least a dozen worlds.
Super Durability I
Enhance your Durability to a level at which low-caliber rounds from pistols make mere scratches on you and you are able to be hit by smaller cars traveling below the speed limit and not be injured.
Cost: 5 Points
Low-caliber rounds were essentially useless but it said that it’d make scratches, and that meant if it caught him in the eye or a major vein, it could still down him. Still, he needed this so he purchased it, which was also another matter of willing it.
If he had 50 Points, he could put up a power set that would at least give him some of a fighting chance against most normal Supers.
After he purchased the first one, the next level was unlocked.
Super Durability II
Enhance your Durability to a level at which your flesh is impervious to low-caliber rounds and high-caliber rounds make mere scratches on you. You are able to endure a speeding car crashing into you.
Cost: 10 Points
Before, it said that he wouldn’t be injured by a car traveling below the speed limit, but now, it said that he wouldn’t be injured by a speeding car, which was far better.
Theo was once good at science but that was back in elementary school when the greatest accomplishment he could achieve was winning the Science Fair at school. He never bothered to study after that, for there was nothing he could do with that knowledge.
Not with his background.
That’s what he believed, at least.
In total, he’d spent 15 Points on Durability and he needed some other abilities as well. He deemed [Regeneration] and [Flight] necessary, as it wouldn’t be complete without them. If [Super Strength] had the same price as [Super Durability], he had his starting powers in mind.
Super Strength I
Enhance your Strength to a level at which you can pick up a grown man and throw them several meters away, as well as punch through most wooden objects.
Cost: 5 Points
Super Strength II
Enhance your Strength to a level at which you can punch through thin metal plates and break bones of a grown man as if they were uncooked spaghetti.
Cost: 10 Points
Uncooked spaghetti?
That made Theo chuckle.
If anything, the Goddess had the metaphors down. It let him vividly imagine just what level of strength and durability he’d have in simple terms. If it was in scientific terms, then it would have been difficult to make sense of them.
The screen dissolved into small squares and moved aside, blocking his peripherals in favor of his front, where an old man with a tuxedo and clean beard stood, glaring at Theo from below the stairs.
Right, he was blocking the exit.
Theo stepped aside and let the man pass, who kept on glaring at him as he walked in. It seemed like he’d been standing there for a while, too. Most likely a minute or two. He didn’t even understand what time it was, but he knew that it was getting dark, meaning it was an evening.
From the fact that it was warm enough to walk around with a plain black shirt that was completely drenched, it would seem to be sometime close to summer.
Drenched…
Theo looked at his shirt and tugged at it, only to realize that it was dry like it wasn’t even wet a few minutes ago. Maybe it was a little gift from the Goddess. He raised his hand, held the sleeve of the shirt, and put it close to his nose.
He sniffed a few times and only found the scent of flowers.
It seemed that he wasn’t as shabby as he could be, but the cleaning service didn’t include replacing his clothes for fancier ones.
Now, out of the way, he stood leaning on one of the pillars at the gate of the restaurant, which had an uncanny resemblance to the ones in Greek temples. The moment he willed for the window to reform, the small squares placed themselves where they were before and formed the same view that he’d been looking at before.
It reminded him of one of the transitions on Microsoft Powerpoint that he liked when he was a kid, which made him feel impressive compared to everyone his age the first time he discovered it.
Power
Cost
Powers
Cost
Super Strength III
25 Points
Flight I
10 Points
Super Speed I
5 Points
Telekinesis I
10 Points
Super Durability III
25 Points
Telepathy I
10 Points
Energy Potency I
5 Points
Regeneration I
10 Points
Both [Super Strength] and [Super Durability] cost 25 Points now, so he could assume that their prices scaled the same. They were similar, after all. For a moment, Theo thought of choosing [Super Speed] but that’d leave him with only 5 Points which wouldn’t serve anything after he chose another one that cost 10 Points.
As enticing as it sounded, it was an objectively bad move and even if he was fast, he could get injured, which was when [Regeneration] would shine.
Regeneration I
Enhance your Natural Regeneration to a level at which you can naturally recover from most injuries without a scar. You will heal from small scratches in a day, large gashes in a week and major injuries such as a broken spine within a month.
Cost: 10 Points
It made his healing faster, but more importantly, it let him recover from most major injuries. While he didn’t assume he could regrow limbs or organs yet, it was a good enough deal if it could heal a spine in a month, preferably to a level at which he could be serviceable.
Then, the most important part of it all: [Flight].
Flight I
You are able to fly at the same speed as your normal speed, but it is taxing and difficult to keep up for more than ten minutes. Your Stamina drain is increased dramatically while flying.
Cost: 10 Points
With that, the initial 50 Points were spent.
He didn’t even think about [Telepathy] and [Telekinesis] yet, for they were more auxiliary powers he had to get later. The base was the most important thing for survivability, and how was he going to warn the people and prepare them if he got killed off too early?
[Flight] was an essential escape tool.
Both of their prices climbed up to 25 Points: the same as [Super Strength] and [Super Durability].
He had to defeat 5 Superhumans to afford the next level up for them, kill 3 of them, or imprison one. Recruiting a Superhuman sounded enticing, though. He was always a sucker for teams. It made everything cooler, which was sadly not something he had in his last life.
All he had were co-workers who were on the verge of collapse, most of whom were in college or high school. They were around his age, sure, but they were fundamentally different from him: most of them weren’t orphans and they could afford at least some manner of education after graduating high school.
He couldn’t.
Not without trying hard enough at school, but he found that it was difficult to manage it when he was working every day of the week to make ends meet.
Everything was in place now.
That meant it was time for food.