Chapter 22 - Choices_Welcome to the System

Aaron woke up slowly and opened his eyes, his vision was blurred in shades of blue so much he couldn’t see anything, his whole body was heavy and he couldn’t even feel his legs he tried to scratch his eyes but his arms failed him, confused he asked for help “Hemmgh” someone laid a hand over his eyes and said “It’s alright now you are safe” relaxing, he let himself go back to sleep.

When he woke up again his body was hurting like hell, his vision was still blurred but this time he managed to rub his eyes with his hands and the images slowly came into focus, blue windows filled his field of vision and, although they were see through, there were so many of them it was hard to focus on anything else, as a way to distract himself from the pain he started to read the first one.

Congratulations, you were blessed with Intermediary 1

What the hell? With no way to know where this came from he just moved on with the messages.

You lose 16% HEALTH from heat

Congratulations, has became Intermediary level 2

You lose 13% HEALTH from heat

Great Achievement! Your direct actions have caused the indirect death of more than a million creatures, an impressive feat, as a reward you receive 1% of their XP in a 10 kilometer radius of your location + 12652XP

Congratulations, you have reached level 5! As a human you receive 1 attribute point

Resting his head back he closed his eyes for a moment digesting the new information, the sound of the door opening made him open them again “Good you’re awake” with fewer windows he was able to finally see the familiar white hospital room, trying to turn his head towards the door his neck exploded in pain.

“How are you feeling Aaron?” “Like crap” “then you’re much better than expected, where does it hurt?” “Everywhere” there were still some windows left but he ignored them in favor of the doctor that stood besides his bed analyzing half a dozen machines “Ha, where does it hurt more then?” “My neck and chest are killing me” “Not the head?” “No” the doctor finally bent over him, he was around 40 years old and bearded “Damn I am good!”

Slowly turning his head towards the doctor he endured the pain and asked “What happened?” “Well you screwed up and ended up getting roasted for it then there was whatever the hell you did to your head, boy were you fucked up! We had to cut you up and take the worst burned parts out and test a new regeneration technique finally we opened your head to take out a dozen aneurisms before praying for your recovery”

Well that explains the whole body pain, turning his head back he tried to touch his chest but it was covered in bandages, he still couldn’t move his legs and every one of his words hurt his throat “Am I a cripple now?” Making some annotations on a clipboard the doctor answered distracted “Na, a week ago you would be a corpse but today, with those healing potions and troll serum, you should be back on your feet in about two days and back to work in another five with nothing more than a few scars to show for it, now, if you excuse me, I have more work to do”

Releasing a breath of relief he returned to his initial position where his neck didn’t hurt so much, he had been overconfident, so sure nothing could truly hurt him he let his guard down and nearly died, what the hell was he thinking, sighing he decided to read the rest of his messages

Congratulations, you’re the second human to get to level 5, your title now gives you +15% XP

As you reached level five you can now choose a class

As a human you have 3 possible generic classes: WarriorMageArcher As you have met the necessary requirements you have 6 specific classes SoldierMentalistAssassinRune fighter Rune CrafterMind warrior

Warning! Extensive use of regenerative substance has damaged your body! -7 STR, -7 END, -5 SPD, -6 DEX, rest and exercise are needed to recover

Warning! The extensive use of distilled troll blood has permanently consumed 500 of your mana and given you the skill Beginner level 1, further consumption of troll blood can increase this skill

After he finished reading all the blue windows his head started to hurt and he became incredibly tired, probably a combination of such low endurance and the many wounds in his body, trying to get more comfortable in his hard hospital bed he briefly considered what class to choose but his eyes refused to stay open and he couldn’t even see the class descriptions, exhausted, he fell asleep once again.

Aaron stared at the bathroom mirror, one hand gripping the sink and another holding a metal pole with an IV bag, he had taken a whole five minutes just to walk to his current position from his bed, his completely hairless reflection starred back at him, even his eyebrows were burned off and he was still covered with bandages on the chest, neck and the top of his head, he looked like a damn mummy.

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He had lost the fifth day since the arrived in a bed unable to get up but his recovery was going at an accelerated rate and his new ability should make it even faster, thankfully scars were not the only thing he had gotten from the fire he started, the massive experience gain meant he wouldn’t fall behind by so much when he finally recovered.

Your dexterity has recovered by 1, current DEX: 8

Glad the IV bag was doing its job of nurturing his body he finished washing his hands and dragged the pole back into the room, sitting down on the bed panting for breath he materialized a single string and used it to turn on the TV on the wall, a military operation was being covered “Our soldiers are now trying to conquer the city of Chicago as a way to…” Turning the volume nearly all the way down until it was just background noise he distracted himself with small exercises for his power twisting twelve incredibly thin strings in precise movements, there was a time he could do it with 30 strings but his decrease of dexterity affected even that aspect of it.

“Hey, you’re awake!” opening his room door Eric walked in holding the hand of a blonde little girl “Aren’t you supposed to be conquering a city or something?” “Just came back, it was strange without you” pointing towards one of the chairs on a corner he said “Go ahead, make yourself comfortable” he also sent one of his strings and pulled the chair away when Eric sat down making him fall on his ass.

Clapping slowly the blonde man shook his head “Oh very mature Aaron, very mature” “Sorry I am just so bored staying here” the little girl was giggling at their exchange so he sent another string to ruffle her hair and laid down on the bed to rest “So, how’s the war going?” “About the same, the east coast is completely in our hands but general Owen is locked down on the Northwest and they’re trying to open the way for him to come back, and you, are you okay?” “Yeah I am fine, should be back on my feet for the second wave.”

“Great, man the huge slime boss from the last mission was bothersome enough I would hate to have to face stronger monsters with only the Einherjar there.” “Ha, I have to tell them you think they’re weak!” “No, wait, that’s not what I meant, they’re just not suited to fight such strong beings” “No human is suited to fighting those things Eric we are just freaks, that’s why we invented teamwork.”

“I guess that’s true” Eric said distracted as he opened the huge backpack he had brought with him, pulling out a small juice box he handed it to the quiet little girl then pulled out two Styrofoam cups “Coffee?” “Oh thank God!” grabbing the cup in a lightning fast movement despite the pain it caused he cradled it close to his chest “Oh I missed this so much”

He drank the coffee quietly while watching the TV, the hot liquid went down his throat like ambrosia healing his mind far more than his two days of rest, finishing his cup too fast he eyed the one in Eric’s hand with undisguised lust “Could you not do that?... Aaron!” “What?” he said licking his lips.

“Sigh, here” The blonde extended his arm offering the cup, picking it up as fast as the first he said “Oh, you didn’t need to” “Hand it back then” “NO! My precious!” drinking his second cup slower he closed his eyes to better savor the wonderful taste “This is bliss.”

Opening his eyes once again he used one of his strings to guide the empty cups into the trashcan in the corner, looking eagerly towards Eric he hoped there was a third one inside that bag “What are you doing?” The large man was gently using a sheet to cover the sofa by the wall and trying to make it more comfortable, a pink pillow was pulled out of the backpack as well as a toothbrush and shampoo “They want me to get to level five before the second wave hits so I have to leave in about two hours for another mission” “So?” taking out a cute bunny plush and laying it on top of the pillow Eric turned his way with a most dreadful smile.

“Lily will be staying here with you” “No” “I have…” “Hell no!” “You own me Aaron” it was true, the man did save his life “Anything else then, just say it” “What I want is for you to take care of Lily for two days” they stared at each other for a while but, ultimately, he lost “Fine whatever, but I am not changing any diapers.”

“I don’t use diapers!” said the little girl puffing her cheeks in pure indignation “Of course you don’t, uncle Aaron is just being mean” he declined to comment on the subject returning to his exercises while Eric finished getting the room ready “Cheer up man it will be good for you to have some company” “Sure it will.”

When he was finally done Eric gave the girl a hug and kissed her forehead “I have to get ready now sweety, be sure to treat the mean uncle well” “Uhm!” she grunted in agreement, coming closer to the bed Eric extended his hand, he took it and pulled the guy closer to whisper “Are you planning to adopt the girl now?” “we are still searching for her parents” “Do you really think you’re gonna find them?” without saying anything more they parted with a pat on the shoulder, before releasing Eric’s hand he looked deeply into his eyes and begged.

“Don’t I get a kiss too?” “Screw you!” he laughed loudly as his had was slapped away but, when Eric got to the door, he had to say something “Hey man, thanks” “Don’t worry you would have done the same for me” “Maybe… if I was in a good mood” shaking his head Eric walked out, a small smile creeping up on his mouth.

Since his new economic sized roommate seemed to be content drinking her juice he decided to ignore her for now and finally review his new class options.

WARRIOR Requirements: a level 5 human + 1 STR every even level

+ 1 END every odd level

acquired when learning the class