Will approached the sapphire in wonder. There were runic carvings all over the face of the sapphire, but unlike the other objects in the room, they did not glow. All of the light came from the depths of the stone. Entranced, Will reached out and touched the stone.
Secondary Repository Detected.
Recommencing integration.
Mapping modules downloaded: (46/46)
Mapping Modules are out of date.
Updating…
Updating…
Updating map…
Checking GPS reliability…
Done.
Inspection Modules Downloaded: (64/64)
Inspection Modules out of date.
Updating…
Updating…
It went on like this for several minutes, with Will collapsed to the ground, held up only by the one hand that was stuck to the giant sapphire. His head felt like it was going to split open, but that was not what he was concerned about. He was concerned about the deep pain that seemed to emanate from somewhere undefinable, yet felt in every nerve across his body. With every new set of modules the pain came anew. First the mapping set and the inspection, then came the questing system, the cultivation system, looting, language, and the skills library. It finished with the spellcasting system. Finally, his hand released from the sapphire and he fell to the ground groaning in pain.
System integration complete.
Welcome William Thompson.
Would you like to view the System Tutorial?
Will sat up panting as the pain slowly receded. He was left with an ache in that indefinable location that had been hurt before. He hoped that the system hadn’t done any permanent damage to him. Eventually he focused on the last prompt the system had given him. He was tempted to deny the tutorial. He had always been an ‘explore to learn’ kind of guy. But this was actually important. He couldn’t just reload a save if he messed something up.
And so he watched the tutorial. It was actually really straightforward. He used his ‘intent’ to open or close various windows and otherwise navigate the system, which seemed like really complex Augmented Reality. For example he could physically interact with the windows, manually manipulating them as he willed, but they would only be tangible to him. He could also just manipulate them with intent as was intended. It was quite intuitive, and most of the tutorial was focused on odd little quirks of the system that Will didn’t really see being a problem. And so, for the first time, Will opened his Status sheet.
Status
Will Thompson.
Age: 22 yrs (Earth)
Height: 6’ 2”
Eyes: Green-Hazel
Skin tone: Fair
Hair: White
Blessing: No blessing selected.
Class: No class selected.
Level 8 (Error: No blessing selected)
Stats
Strength: 11
Dexterity: 9
Constitution: 11
Intelligence: 15
Wisdom: 11
Charisma: 12
Skills
Shadowmeld (Rare) Level 13
Mana Manipulation (Rare) Level 5
Concept Manipulation (Uncommon) Level 7
Manasight (Rare) Level 1
Inscription (Uncommon) Level 1
Swordsmanship (Common) Level 7
Sword of Desolation (Epic) Level 5
Notifications:
Congratulations! You have killed a Dire Arctic Wolf!
Experience Gained!
You are now level 3!
Congratulations! You have killed a Big Game Hunter!
Experience Gained!
You are now level 5!
Congratulations! You have killed a Big Game Hunter Leader!!
Experience Gained!
You are now level 8!
You have gained 7 levels!
You have 35 free stat points to allocate.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
Would you like to allocate your stat points?
Will looked over his stat sheet and grinned to himself. He didn’t know what the averages were, but if it was anything like DnD, 10 would be the human average. Which meant that most of his abilities were above average, and had been before coming to this world. That stroked his ego just the slightest bit, he was not afraid to admit. That said, he had 35 free stat points to allocate, which seemed like a lot. He could double half his stats. It did make him wonder what was considered normal for people on this world. The hunters hadn’t seemed particularly strong, except for the leader.
He looked at his stats again. Strength, dexterity and constitution were obviously what one needed if they were going to be fighting physically. While the other three were likely magic based. If he had the choice, he would go with a magic build, the problem was that he had no spells, and he didn’t know how he was going to get any. Besides, if intelligence and charisma actually affected his real intelligence and charisma, it was more than reasonable to choose them anyway. Still, Will was kinda weak. His clutch skill gain was all that helped him defeat the hunter leader. He figured that for now, he would focus on his physical stats until he knew more about what was going on. He dropped 15 points into strength, and 10 points each into dexterity and constitution.
Next he looked at the blessings, and a new window popped up.
Blessings
Blessing of the Human (Common)
Blessing of the Human (Lord)
Blessing of the Human (Baron)
Blessing of the Human (King)
Blessing of the Elf (Common)
Blessing of the Elf (Lord)
Blessing of the Elf (Baron)
Blessing of the Elf (King)
Blessing of the Dwarf (Common)
Blessing of the Dwarf (Lord)
Blessing of the Dwarf (Baron)
Blessing of the Dwarf (King)
Blessing of the Orc (Common)
Blessing of the Orc (Shaman)
Blessing of the Orc (Champion)
Blessing of the Orc (Chief)
Blessing of the Gnome (Common)
Blessing of the Gnome (Tinker)
Blessing of the Gnome (Inventor)
Blessing of the …
Apparently blessing meant race selection. Which baffled and kinda scared Will. If the integration hurt, how bad would forcible body modification hurt? Still he glanced through the list. Nearly every race he could think of was on this list, as well as ones he had never heard of before. And while some of them made him recall fond fantasies of being in a fantasy world, in the end he was human and was happy to stay as such. He did however open up one of the other blessings to have a look at the description.
Blessing of the Dwarf (Common)
You have been blessed with the indomitable craftiness of the dwarves. Any craft you choose will be 20% easier to master, and you will be 30% more likely to have an epiphany while working on your chosen craft.
Strength +1
Constitution +2
Blessing of the Dwarf (King)
You are the epitome of what it means to be a dwarf, and the world leaps to your command. All crafts come as naturally as breathing. All crafts are 80% easier to master. You are guaranteed to have epiphanies while mastering your craft. All crafted items are 20% stronger and gain the effect of Dwarven Craftsmanship.
Strength +5 (+1 per level)
Constitution +10 (+2 per level)
That was interesting. Obviously the king version was far better than the common version. It stood to reason that the lord and baron versions were somewhere in between. If Will was interested in crafting, he might have gone for it too. Not that he was uninterested in crafting, he was simply unwilling to make it his entire life. The elf blessings were focused around woodcraft and movement. Interestingly, the elves got strength and dexterity. The Gnomes got blessings to technological and technomagical inventions. They got intelligence and wisdom. Along with those, there were a whole host of other races with various odd abilities. It was interesting to glance through them, but Will was only interested in the first four offerings.
Blessing of the Human (Common)
Despite their seeming weakness, humans have continued to exist since the dawn of time despite several concerted efforts to eradicate them. Under new pressures, Humans find new ways to survive and get stronger. +10% to luck. Luck Stat revealed.
Intelligence +1
Wisdom +1
Charisma +1
Blessing of the Human (Lord)
Despite their seeming weakness, humans have continued to exist since the dawn of time despite several concerted efforts to eradicate them. Under new pressures, Humans find new ways to survive and get stronger. +20% to luck. Luck Stat revealed. You gain access to the skill: Prospector.
Intelligence +2
Wisdom +2
Charisma +2
Skill: Prospector (Rare) (Passive)
You are guided to that which you seek. Scales with Luck and skill level.
Blessing of the Human (Baron)
Despite their seeming weakness, humans have continued to exist since the dawn of time despite several concerted efforts to eradicate them. Under new pressures, Humans find new ways to survive and get stronger. +50% to luck. Luck Stat revealed. You gain access to the skill: Prospector. You gain access to the skill: Negotiation level 10.
Intelligence +3
Wisdom +3
Charisma +3
Blessing of the Human (King)
Despite their seeming weakness, humans have continued to exist since the dawn of time despite several concerted efforts to eradicate them. Under new pressures, Humans find new ways to survive and get stronger. You are the epitome of what it means to be human. +100% to luck. Luck Stat revealed. You gain access to the skill: Prospector. You gain access to the skill: Negotiation Level 10. You gain access to skill: Regal Bearing.
Intelligence +5 (+1 per level)
Wisdom +5 (+1 per level)
Charisma +5 (+1 per level)
Skill: Regal Bearing (Epic) (Aura)
All who enter your aura know that you are something greater than the common man. All will consider you two ranks higher than you actually are in whatever society you find yourself in. Increased Negotiation success. Increased Persuasion success. Increased Intimidation success. Your aura will impose a failure chance on any skill activated without your permission. Failure chance determined by the level of Regal Bearing contested by the level of the activated skill.
Will wasn’t so narcissistic he would consider himself a king, or even remotely qualified to be such. But he knew a good thing when he saw it, and the blessing of the human king was far better than any of the others bar none. Sure he could get a race that did what he was looking to do really well, and some were really good with their specializations. But when he didn’t know what he wanted to do past today, that wouldn’t be particularly good. The blessing of the human king gave him what he was really after, and that was options. All of the benefits would still be useful even if he chose to pivot and do something completely different.
And so Will chose the blessing of the human king.
You have gained a new skill!
Skill: Prospector gained!
Skill: Negotiation gained!
Skill: Negotiation is now level 10!
Skill Regal Bearing gained!
Will could feel a wave of power blast out from him and settle in a sphere around his center. It looked like a hazy mist in his manasight. That must have been part of the effect of the Regal Bearing skill. Will was marveling at his new aura, when his whole body started to itch. It then started to burn as he could feel his flesh moving around. Will screamed at his torment. He had chosen human to avoid this! Fortunately the pain was brief. Will staggered to his feet and found a mirror amongst the clutter of items. When he looked at himself he was shocked.
Will still looked like himself. Sort of. Every line of his face had been slightly altered. It was hard to say what had actually changed, but the face looking back was strong and intimidating. Even with a look of confusion, it was a face that screamed confidence. He wasn’t beautiful like a male model. Some of the lines of his face were too harsh. But he looked better, and had a domineering look he quite liked. But his hair was still white. Will checked his concept to find it was sealed away quite well. His eyes had changed back to their normal color, though he was sure they were a brighter green than what they had been. His hair though was that same stark white it had been. He might have to dye it. He would probably dye it.
Will set down the mirror and stood up. He stumbled before he realized that he was another inch taller. It only took a minute to acclimate to his new height. He looked back at his status and saw that his status now reflected the choices he had made.
Status
Will Thompson.
Age: 22 yrs (Earth)
Height: 6’ 2”
Eyes: Green-Hazel
Skin tone: Fair
Hair: White
Blessing: Human (King).
Class: No class selected.
Level 8 Human (King)
Stats
Strength: 26
Dexterity: 19
Constitution: 21
Intelligence: 20
Wisdom: 16
Charisma: 17
Luck: 5