As my eyes slowly opened, I was somewhere else. A blinding white platform beneath me, floating in what seemed like an endless void without any hint of color. Just white.

Confused and disoriented, I tried to remember how I got here. But my mind was blank. The last thing I could recall was passing out in a ditch by the side of the road, my body numb from all the booze. Bad fucking night.

But how the fuck did I get here?

I tried to sit up, but my body felt heavy and unresponsive. My head was throbbing with a dull ache, and my vision was blurry, making it difficult to focus on anything. It felt almost like a dream.

A faint hum started to emanate from the plattforms surface. It was a odd sound. Both soothing and unnerving at the same time, like the purr of a cat that could turn into a growl at any moment. It slowly moved, coming to a stop right behind me.

With an effort of will, I managed to turn my body to face the direction of the sound.

Behind me stood a statue. A human, or at least humanoid statue. It was made of a grainy, dark rock that contrasted starkly with the featureless surroundings.

Then it started speaking.

"Please choose your race", it said.

I couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation. It was a manic laugh. Something you'd hear of a madman.

"Fuck you" I croaked out.

The statue didn't react.

"Please choose your race", it tried again.

"I said Fuck you", I said, trying and failing to get to my feet. "Who even are you? And why am I here?"

I settled for sitting.

"You are about to be deployed in the trial," the statue intoned, its voice dripping with condescension. "Along with 5000 other contestants. Both humans and other species. Only 10 of you will be left standing at the end."

Huh. So that was why I was here. Bloody hell. I looked around, searching for any way out. Nothing. Just whiteness. I stood on nothing in an endless white void. Great. I turned back to the statue. The only thing not white in this hell.

It looked at me. "Will you choose a race now?".

My mind was racing. I needed time to think.

"You make a compelling argument. But here's a counteroffer. You let me out, and in exchange I will stop bothering you. Sound good?"

What had I gotten myself into here. This sounded like some sort of death games. A diet hunger games. What a load of shit.

The statue droned on before me "This is not possible. There are only two ways out of this trial. Either you win or you die. I don't think I've ever had a race this obtuse.."

I tuned him out. Pompous moron.

The statue's words hung in the air.. "Win or die," it had said. Could it be true? Well shit. Surely not right? No way anyone could just kidnap random people for some knockoff hungergames.

On the other hand I was talking to a god damn statue. This situation clearly wasn't normal. A part of me wanted to scream, to lash out at the injustice of it all, but I decided to play along. For now at least.

"So selecting a race huh? Like in a video game or what? You do realize that I already have a race. I'm human."

The statue stopped his tirade to look at me.

"I do not know what a video game is. But yes, you are indeed human. For the most part you will even stay human. However I wouldn't recommed staying a pure human. Your species is terribly weak."

He paused to fixate me with his eyes.

"You will be going up against species so much stronger and more advanced, the council has graciously decided to grant your species this boon. You will be able to fuse with a race of your choice, to assimilate some of its powers. But be warned, you will only have this choice once. Once finalized it will be permanent."

My thoughts were racing. If any of this was real, which was a big if, I was in deep shit. A deathmatch against aliens. That wasn't how I thought I'd go out.

I shook my head. No. Thats some defeatist bullshit. Yes the odds were stacked against me. But I'll be damned if I don't at least put up a fight.

"So whats my choices?", I asked. Resignation evident in my voice.

"Good. You have finally decided to see reason. You are able to choose from an assortment of races that match you genetically."

"Status". A interface appeared in my view. I was too tired of the magic bullshit to even be surprised. Or course it's litrpg. I took a closer look. There were various races listed, with a picture and a short description for each. I began reading.

You have qualified for the following races:

High human An evolved version of the baseline human. Both mentally and physically superior, the high human can be a fearsome opponent. He does however not posses any special abilities.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

The attached picture was just me. A very athletic version if me, but not really too different apart from that. Bit boring really. I decided to move on.

Spartan A martial variation of the high human. Spartans are known for their impressive physiqe. They are generally much bigger and stronger than ordinary humans. They also have excellent reflexes and combat sense.

This one was quite similar to the first. Bit taller, bit more muscular. The combat sense sounded kind of interesting. Would that make me into some kind of super fighter?

Night Elf A rare undertype of the High Elf, the Night Elves are a generally smaller and more physical compared to their cousins. They are known for their otherworldly beauty and cowardly behavior. However be warned. They are ambush predators and often possess an affinity for the darker types of magic.

Now that was interesting. The elf probably looked the closest to what I actually looked like. At least in terms of physiqe. Skinny, but with some lean muscle visible. Definitely a lightweight compared to the other two. He also looked very pretty. Not handsome. But pretty. The most enticing thing about the elf was the mention of magic though. That sounded like it could be invaluable. Also it was called night elf. As a human the night was when we are the most vulnerable, but as a night elf? Perhaps a way to sidestep that problem.

Imp A lesser demon, the imp is a a magical creature. They are neither particularly fast, nor particularly strong. However they do have a terrifying affinity for the traditionally most destructive aspects of magic. Their wings allow for short bursts of flight. As they're demons, most races will kill them on sight.

I discarded that one almost instantly. Like sure, they are badass flying magic demons. But is that worth getting hunted? Hell no.

With a sigh I looked at the last race offered.

Warlock Commonly believed to be a class, the warlock is actually its own distinct species. A very large species, warlocks tend to be over 3 meters tall. They are well versed in the dark arts and killing one of them can be exceptionally hard. Besides their height they are easily recognized when injured. Instead of blood they bleed light.

Another good one. Honestly sounded like it was probably the most straight up powerful of them all. Magic user, physically strong and durable on top of that. I was still sceptic. The first problem was the size. The attached picture depicted a super tall and skinny version of myself. That would make hiding exceedingly difficult. It would force me to fight. And not on my own terms.

I couldn't help but notice how all magic capable races I'd been offered had some sort of dark magic.

I looked up at the statue. "That's all? I don't have any more options?"

While before it looked somewhat exasperated, now it looked outright bored. "Those are the races you are most closely aligned to. Choosing anything else would result in dimishing returns. It has been decided that you will only be able to chose from the best options."

I couldn't hide the doubt from showing on my face. "Spartan? How does that relate to me in any way?"

"Both high human and spartan are default evolutions for your species. They don't especially fit you, but rather humanity as a whole."

He looked at me appraisingly.

"In your case they might not be the ideal choice."

My brows furrowed I started to go through my options once more.

High human sounded pretty good honestly. Likely the most adaptable. Also a save bet, considering its essentially an upgraded human.

There was one big problem though. I was going to have to survive some sort if trial against a bunch of other people. And if high humans were going to be common, they would also be easily countered. Also the other options just sounded much more interesting.

Well. Maybe not all of them. I discarded both imp and spartan out of hand. Both for different reasons.

The spartan simply didn't fit me at all. It was the most stereotypical fighter out of all of them. And fighting is something I would like to avoid for the most part. Especially against much stronger opponents.

It came down to two options. Night elf or warlock. Both were amazing in their own right. The longer I thought about it though, the more I was leaning toward night elf. The reason was simple. The warlock was a fighter. A badass magic slinging giant with some sort of regeneration power. Which was great. Except this wasn't about fighting. No, the statue said it earlier. The last ones surviving will win. For that exact purpose the night elf seemed almost perfect. Much smaller, easier to hide and probably active during the night. Also it had magic for gods sake.

"I choose night elf as my race.", I announced to the statue.

It just looked at me. "Good. Now get out."

At his words the world crumbled.