While I’m falling into the abyss, I slowly see little pinpoints of light in the distance, almost like stars. Slowly these points of light grow bigger and steadily come closer into view. One of these lights gains more and more detail and eventually I’m able to see Earth as if I’m looking at it like a satellite in space. There’s a glass covering around it making it look like a weird snow globe, but other than that it looks the same as I remember. More and more of these globes come into my vision and I realize that I’m seeing an infinite number of planets around me. Some of these look very similar to Earth, while others look fantastical and strange in every sense of the word. One looks almost like a spherical lava lamp with crystalline bubbles floating inside a thick, viscous, purple liquid. Each and every one of these bubbles has cities and life within. Another globe is just icy cliff lines with a deep red liquid replacing the water that would be on our own planet.
As I stare at the sights around me I feel myself no longer falling and slowly start to gain a horizontal trajectory into the void. At first it just makes the globes slowly pass me by and get replaced by new ones, but eventually I accelerate and am no longer able to make out any details around me except for passing lights making a tunnel around me. I start to get to the point of feeling nauseous and then all momentum is halted. After closing my eyes and taking a few calming breaths to settle my stomach, I open them slowly and notice one singular globe is left in front of me. The globe looks to be of the same variety as the other Earth-like ones, but has more vibrant colors to every aspect. The orb keeps growing and more details populate my vision until the planet is all that I see. I get disorientated and close my eyes quickly again before I can get motion sickness from this weird acid trip of a beginner sequence. Who knew you could get motion sickness from having your soul transported?
After I open them again I see that I’m floating among the clouds above a forest on this new globe. A game-like screen appears in front of me and I see a holographic version of myself to the left. On the screen reads “Welcome to Azurios!” in bold stylistic letters. I try tapping the screen, but nothing happens. I narrow my eyes in the direction of the next button and that seems to do the trick as the screen continues and I hear a familiar voice in my head.
Long time no see Alaina. Welcome to my realm. Let’s get this show on the road so you can enjoy my creation as you see fit, shall we? First, let’s go into the customization options.
As the words fill my mind, a new menu appears on the translucent blue screen in front of me. I see options with listings like eyes, ears, nose, mouth, cheeks, chin, jaw, among others with slider options next to them.
“Uhhh… What am I supposed to do here?” I ask confused.
Obviously, you are meant to change anything you want about yourself. You don’t have to if you don’t want to, but I like to give Traversers the option if they want.
“Wait Traversers? What does that mean?” I question with pure, unadulterated confusion on my face.
Traversers is the term that the people of this world have used to refer to people whose souls get transferred into the world. It rarely happens once a century, but it’s often enough that they felt the need to make a designation for those that reveal themselves as such. They tend to be more powerful than normal people as compensation for being transferred to my world. Now, shall we move on, or do you want to do some light plastic surgery to yourself?
“Nah, I’m happy with how I look. Although I guess that changes depending on my race, doesn’t it?” I reply curtly.
Your race shall not change your appearance as I have just upgraded the basis for a normal human. Without further ado, I shall give you the very basics of the world. There are many races that are unfamiliar to you here. They all have their own intricacies and political landscapes to deal with, along with conflicts among each other. You may pick a side, but please don’t do it based on just looks. Nobody likes a racist.
“Loud and clear Angela!” I say sternly while saluting stupidly into the sky. I swipe away the customization options and bring up the races tab just to see the options. They are all greyed out except for my own Human one, but the holograph of myself changes depending on the option I hover over. I can’t confirm it, but I want to see what their names and characteristics are like anyway. Gotta test the creativity of an-all powerful deity that controls the very fabric of reality that I’m standing in, right?
Most of these names I recognize, and they seem pretty standard for a fantasy setting. There are elves with their normal human-like traits, but with more angular features and pointy ears. Inside the elves section there are different subsections that occupy different regions. Badland Elves have tanned skin and hair designs that follow the tradition of some African tribes I’d seen from my own world. The elf seems to be wearing clothing that would suit a desert and before I can finish the thought of the area they may populate the planet below me slowly pans to areas around desert wastes.
I scroll to the next option called Frost Elves and see the holographic image change to a paler and sturdier built elf with thick fur clothing on them. The hair changes from the dark colors of the Badland Elves to be mostly light browns and shades of blonde. The planet again pans over to a new location and I see a frozen mountain range with many evergreen trees.
I tap onto the next one on the list and the holo changes to a dusky grey skinned elf that is more lanky like the other elves. It wears clothes that seem more geared towards warm wet weather and slowly the planet reflects that change by panning to a massive wetland covered in reeds and other water thriving plants. I can almost feel the heat and hear the buzzing of insects from here.
I quickly go to the final option on the list and see another variant of elf that seems to be more in line with the normal elf. The differences on this one seem subtle at first, a small smattering of freckles on the face here or there, the skin tone slightly less pale than normal, the hair more reds and browns than anything else, but then I finally see the major difference as small, stubby bone white protrusions appear above the hair. Huh… The Wood Elves here have antlers. That’s pretty neat.
I continue to scroll through the list past more names of races I already recognize along with their own subsections. Dwarves are exactly as you’d think with shorter, stouter people being the staple. There seem to be frost, cavern, and forest options for them as well. Humans are the exact same with different subsections based on the regions they inhabit as well.
I scroll past all the options I recognize among the prior races until I come upon a big section. The overarching race name is Beastfolk, but instead of having their subsections based on where they live they are broken apart by the animal that they tend to be based off of. On the list I see Mammilians, Reptiliads, Avians, and Amphibians.
Mammilians have the most diversity out of all of the Beastfolk breeds. They can cover anything you can think of. There are the Leonine tribes which are lion-like humanoids that have tall, muscular frames with thick, furry manes on their heads and claws. Another example is the Ursines which cover a cave dwelling tribe near the mountains and forests. They look like the many different kinds of bears you’d find back on earth with huge amounts of muscle mass and shorter fur than the Leonines. As I flip through the options I even notice groups of people that look like humanoid moles, raccoons, wolves, and many other animals.
Reptiliads are broken apart into similar groupings with Lizarians, Ophidians, and Draconids. Lizarians are scaled people with claws and elongated jaws with sharp serrated teeth. They don’t tend to have any hair, but some have feathers instead. The scales range from any color you can think of to match the environment they are in. Instead of ears they have holes in the sides of their heads and there are spikes along the ridges of their brow and forehead that range in pattern as well. Ophidians are similar to Lizarians, but instead of muscly frames they are more lithe with elongated limbs and necks like some sort of snake. They didn’t seem to have any of the spiked ridges either with their scales being more smooth looking and less sturdy. Draconids look exactly like Lizarians, but they had long muscly tails and wings on their backs that range from feathered to dragon or bat like wings.
Avians are bird people and have a huge variety of features from short stubby beaks like a chickadee to long curved beaks like a toucan. Their feathered bodies also change color and size to match the regions they are in along with the type of talons their feet have. Instead of having their wings on their backs like Draconids, they have their feathered wings attached to the backs of their arms with the plumage spreading down from their arms. Most of them have enlarged eyes to spot prey or predators in their area with perception to match.
Amphibians cover the range of people that look more frog or salamander-like and look similar to Reptiliads but aren’t scaled and instead have slightly wet-looking, leathery skin that comes in a variety of colors. Depending on where they are found, they can have colors that match anything from a normal green frog or toad, to a poison dart frog with bright neon colors. Their features also match their regions as well, but they mostly tend to live near wetland areas. Some have frog features, others have salamander features, others have axolotl features, and others still have fish features and tend to live near oceans.
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“Alright I’m getting overwhelmed, let’s move on.” I say as I rub my temple with my left hand and swipe the menus away with the other.
Okay, next we have to go over stats and attributes. These are very important so pay very close attention. I know making big numbers go up is quite entertaining, but some numbers being bigger than others works better depending on your skills and class.
“Harsh…” I respond as I scroll down to the stat sheet breakout.
Information
Alaina Glace
Race: Variant Human Tier I
Class: ???
Level: 1
Status
Health Points: Unassigned
Stamina Points: Unassigned
Magic Points: Unassigned
Attributes
Strength: Unassigned
Dexterity: Unassigned
Endurance: Unassigned
Constitution: Unassigned
Wisdom: Unassigned
Intelligence: Unassigned
Charisma: Unassigned
Luck: Unassigned
Skills:
Programming III, Procrastinating II
Titles & Achievements:
N/A
Racial Traits & Bonuses:
N/A
“Why does this look like every video game screen ever?” I ask while raising an eyebrow and lifting my head upwards.
It’s much easier to have them in terms that you’ll understand. The basic meaning is the same for everyone, but the actual terms change depending on the person so they understand it better. Do you have any questions about anything before we go through the assignment process of your stats?
“Will I be assigning my own attribute points? And what kind of stuff will you get for Achievements and Racial Traits?” I ask as I stare at the different words on the screen.
You will be scanned before I disperse you onto the planet for your attributes. I can’t have everyone assign their own attributes or it will end with incompatibilities and everyone will try to distribute them according to the “Meta” for their race or class. As for the other questions, you will usually receive small attribute bonuses, specific gear, or random item rewards from getting Achievements. There is a huge variety so it really depends on what you achieve personally. Racial Traits and Bonuses will be dependent upon your starting race. If you were a Beastfolk you would have a bonus that would help you in your preferred habitat. Elves naturally have higher Intelligence and sometimes Wisdom, Dwarves have bonuses for Strength and Constitution, and Humans tend to have slightly higher Dexterity, but they also have higher diversity for classes since they don’t have as high an attribute bonus for their Racial Trait. Most races also have Legacy Skills that they will get depending on their ancestral lines or tribes. You won’t have them since you technically are a unique starting race to make up for being ripped away from your previous life.
“Wait I thought I died or something and that’s how I got here. What do you mean ripped away from my previous life?” I demand angrily, staring daggers into the clouds.
Some are able to be resurrected, or Isekai’d as your world sometimes refers to it, into other worlds, but this is a unique circumstance that I can’t give you any more information about. You didn’t die, but were instead transferred through the multiverse into this world. As I said before, there is recompense for these circumstances and I will go over them now in more detail if you would like.
“Is there any way for me to go back to my world? I didn’t have much, but I liked my life.” I ask longingly towards the clouds.
I’m everywhere and nowhere at the same time so you don’t have to look upwards to respond to me, but it makes you look like you’re worshiping me so you can continue. There may be ways for you to traverse the multiverse in the future and when that time comes I promise you I will provide you with a link to your world to make the transfer much simpler for you. I apologize, but that’s the most I can offer on that front. There are entities more powerful than myself that govern the cosmos and everyone past a certain threshold of power has to follow their laws or they risk the wrath and ire of those entities. Most prefer not to speak of them and all refuse to refer to them by their names as that will give them more reason to gaze upon your activities. If they find you making errors or committing cosmic atrocities then everything you know and love will be erased from existence with extreme prejudice. Rumors say it is quite a painful process so let’s move on.
“Okay… Well I guess I’ll have you explain my benefits you talked about earlier then so we can change the subject.” I say with barely any confidence or surety. I’m extremely confused by everything happening around me so I’m just kind of rolling with the punches so to speak.
I apologize for the overload of information. I understand it is more than you can comprehend currently, but I wanted to give you as much as I could in the situation. Since you won’t have any Legacy Skills, I will give you enhanced energy control and a bonus to start out stronger. More precisely, I will add plus two to all of your physical attributes and plus one to the mental attributes so that you have as high a chance of survival as possible. You will also gain beginning proficiency with lots of basic survival skills and the Instinctual Understanding skill right off the bat. This skill is a unique skill to help you understand things much easier and may even help you understand when people are lying or telling the truth easier. It has different effects on everyone I’ve tested it on, but I have a feeling you prefer honesty above most things so I will try to steer it in that direction. You will also be able to upgrade and evolve the skill after gaining mastery to it so please take good care of it. I will now remove the other skills you currently have even though you didn’t acknowledge my joke at all. Quite rude I might add, but alas no harm, no foul in the matter.
“I honestly thought you hit the nail on the head with those and thought they would transition into other skills or something. I don’t know what level of technology this world has so I figured they might be useful.” I say as I shrug my shoulders. I watch my stats change in real time as symbols and lines appear and swipe across the letters and symbols that were there. After a quick wipe the screen changes to show the following:
Information
Alaina Glace
Race: Variant Human Tier I
Class: ???
Level: 1
Status
Health Points: 30/30
Stamina Points: 40/40
Magic Points: 15/15
Attributes
Strength: 7
Dexterity: 8
Endurance: 6
Constitution: 6
Wisdom: 5
Intelligence: 6
Charisma: 5
Luck: 10
Skills:
Survivalist Basics I, Shelter Building I, Assessing Eyes I, Instinctual Understanding (Basic) I, Energy Control II
Titles & Achievements:
Ancestral Progenitor (Be the first of a race of your design. Congrats! Plus five percent effectiveness of all charming skills or spells)
Traverser (You got yourself Isekai’d… Cool, I guess. Want a cookie? Gain Instinctual Understanding Skill)
Vaelorym’s Trace [True] (You got handpicked by Vaelorym, The First Division. The True level of the blessing refers that you got the blessing directly from the deity in question. Maybe they will offer you further skills or improvements in the future)
Racial Traits & Bonuses:
N/A
“Can I please gain some physical characteristics of different traits for aesthetic purposes? I really like the elven ears and freckles from the Wood Elves without doing the whole animal thing with the antlers.” I plead while throwing in a good old fashioned puppy dog look.
That’s acceptable. Request granted. Do you have any questions before you start your journey?
“Not that I can think of. I’m still trying to process the explosion of my entire reality and everything I thought being a lie over here.” I say while casually holding my hands interlocked behind my head.
Fair enough. I will say that the maximum for all stats on this planet for a level one is five so the fact that you have much higher than that in most areas is amazing for a level one. The average person usually has a two or three with most people having a luck stat closer to one. I gave you much higher for that since I find myself liking you. Put it to good use.
“Huh, I guess that makes sense in a sort of Stockholm kind of way.” I say while thinking about the ramifications of this information. Does that mean I’ll be an Olympic level athlete now with the mind of Sherlock Holmes or Einstein or something? With a luck of ten I probably won’t be allowed to trip while running away from anything in a horror movie anytime soon either.
As a final bit of advice, try and find any sort of adventuring guild or institution that has the capability to test your affinities. They will tell you everything you need to know about that when you get there. Your blessing I gave you will give you full access to all basic things and most religions will give you preference to anything you desire. Show it sparingly or only to those that can be trusted, such as guild leaders or trusted religions, or you may be targeted by people. Some may think that you are undeserving of it or outcasts of different religious sects might attack you to gain favor of their wretched deities. Please be careful. Anyone that holds the title of Guild Master can be trusted no matter what. They have a direct blessing by one of my subordinates to gain that role, so no fear on that front. Take care and good luck Alaina.
Suddenly the world goes dark around me and I’m spinning again. I really hate getting thrown around like I’m the tennis ball between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, but here we are. I close my eyes before I vomit from my soul and get slapped into unconsciousness by the cosmic entity that must have been Vaelorym.
