IV. Genesis
Space was not black.
It was empty.
No background. No
floor. No sky. Just a pale blue light grid extending in every
direction, infinite, as if someone had traced a perfect geometric
grid over the very concept of nothingness—
— That’s
pretty, a male voice said from the void. Poetic. I like it.
—
— Though, "perfect
geometric" is a pleonasm. Geometry IS perfect by definition.
— Are we really
going to nitpick my narrative style now?
— Well, I’ve been
stuck in the void for I don’t know how long, so yeah, I’ve got
time to nitpick.
— Who are you
anyway?
— The MC. Well, I
assume. You’re the narrator, right? You’re supposed to know.
— I’m new,
okay? It’s my first day.
— Ah shit,
seriously? They gave me a trainee?
[NARRATIVE
MANAGEMENT SYSTEM — INITIALIZATION IN PROGRESS]
[NARRATOR
104: CONNECTION VALIDATED]
— Narrator 104, the
voice repeated. Not even a name. Just a number. That’s depressing.
— You don't even
have a body yet, so as far as depression goes, we're even.
[SECURITY PROTOCOL
CHECK...]
[LOADING TEMPORARY TRAINING PROFILE...]
A shape appeared
before me, about three meters away. Blurry. Misty. Humanoid, but
barely. It floated in the void, flickering like a candle flame caught
in—
— In what?
—
— There’s no air
in the void.
— It’s a
COMPARISON!
— A shaky
comparison.
— You’re
exhausting.
— You’re bad.
[PHASE 1: BODY
GENERATION INITIATED]
[RACE SELECTION — FIVE OPTIONS
AVAILABLE]
Five silhouettes
materialized in the void, lined up like mannequins in a storefront.
Human. Elf. Dwarf. Gnome. Half-orc.
Perfectly spaced. Perfectly still—
— Wait, they’re
moving, the MC interrupted. They’re spinning.
— Yes, but they
are still EXCEPT for the rotation.
— So they aren’t
still.
— They are still
WITHIN THEIR ROTATION.
— That doesn't mean
anything.
— FINE. Five
fucking silhouettes appeared: Human, Elf, Dwarf, Gnome, Half-orc.
Each represented by a translucent form rotating slowly. There. Happy?
— Moderately. You’re
tense for a narrator.
The MC — let’s
call him that until he chooses a name — started circling the
silhouettes like a kid in a toy store.
— Holy shit, the
choices! This is great! The half-orc is badass... The elf is
classy... The dwarf too...
—
— Wait, are there
bonus for each race?
AFFIRMATIVE.
RACIAL MODIFIERS AVAILABLE.
— Show me!
Information panels
appeared under each silhouette.
HUMAN: No
racial modifiers. Balanced base.
ELF: +3 Perception, +2 Agility, +2 Charisma, -4 Strength, -3 Endurance
DWARF: +3 Endurance, +2 Strength, +2 Willpower, -4 Agility, -3 Charisma
GNOME:
+3 Intelligence, +2 Charisma, +2 Perception, -4 Strength, -3 Endurance
HALF-ORC: +4 Strength, +3 Endurance, -3
Intelligence, -4 Charisma
Kael studied the
options, focused.
— So if I take elf,
I lose Strength but I gain Perception...
—
— But I don't even
have my base stats yet. How do I know what’s good?
— You don’t.
That’s the fun part.
— It’s NOT fun,
it’s stressful!
IT IS STRESSFUL
AND PERFECTLY INTENTIONAL.
Kael circled again,
hesitated in front of the half-orc, then the elf, then came back to
the human.
— I’ll take...
human.
A silence.
[HUMAN. SELECTION
VALIDATED.]
[RACIAL MODIFIERS: NONE.]
[BASE
STATISTICS: STRENGTH 5, ENDURANCE 5, AGILITY 5, PERCEPTION
5, INTELLIGENCE 5, CHARISMA 5, WILLPOWER 5, LUCK 5]
[BASE HEALTH POINTS: 10]
[BASE MAGIC POINTS: 10]
— Wait, the MC
commented. Everything is at 5? That’s... average, isn’t it?
— It’s the
base. It’ll change with your class.
— Ah. Okay. And the
Magic Points, what are they for if I’m not a mage?
MP ARE USED FOR
ALL SPECIAL SKILLS, NOT JUST MAGIC.
— Like ?
CLASS SKILLS,
SPECIAL ATTACKS, EVOLVED RACIAL ABILITIES.
— Cool.
This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.
The human silhouette
glided toward him. The MC began sculpting it with concentration.
Face. Hair. Height. Every adjustment materialized in real-time.
— The hair
shorter... Yeah, like that... The jaw a bit more square...
Ten minutes later, a
young man stood in the void. Early twenties, short-cut brown hair,
angular face, hazel eyes, average build. A small scar above the left
eyebrow.
Not a hero of legend.
Just someone... normal.
— There, the MC said
with pride. That’s me.
[PHYSICAL
APPEARANCE VALIDATED.]
[PARAMETER: SUBJECT NAME?]
— ...Kael.
A silence.
— Kael is good,
right? Sounds heroic. Well, a little.
—
— You’re forced to
say that.
— No, really,
it’s good.
[KAEL. VALIDATED
AND REGISTERED.]
[PHASE 2: INITIAL CLASS SELECTION]
Five options appeared
as glowing panels with stylized icons.
WARRIOR —
Specialization: Melee combat and endurance
RANGER —
Specialization: Ranged combat and survival
ROGUE —
Specialization: Stealth and precision
MAGE —
Specialization: Magic and arcane manipulation
ASPIRANT —
Specialization: Healing and support
Kael examined each
option.
— What are the
concrete differences?
[DISPLAYING CLASS
SPECIFICATIONS.]
New information
appeared:
WARRIOR
Creation Dice: STR/END/AGI = D20 | PER/VOL = D10 | CHA/INT/LUCK = D6
Bonus:+5 to one primary stat
Level 10
Evolutions:
Weapon Master, Mercenary, Duelist, Knight (Human only)
RANGER
Creation Dice: END/AGI/PER = D20 | STR/VOL/LUCK = D10 | INT/CHA =
D6
Bonus: +5 to one primary stat
Level 10 Evolutions: Bounty
Hunter, Trapper, Sharpshooter, Tracker (Elf only)
ROGUE
Creation
Dice: AGI/PER/LUCK = D20 | INT/CHA/VOL = D10 | STR/END = D6
Bonus: +5
to one primary stat
Level 10 Evolutions: Assassin,
Agent, Burglar, Swindler (Gnome only)
MAGE
Creation
Dice: INT/CHA/VOL = D20 | AGI/PER/STR = D10 | END/LUCK = D6
Bonus: +5
to TWO primary stats
Level 10 Evolutions:
Elementalist,
Necromancer, Summoner, Runemaster (Dwarf only)
ASPIRANT
Creation Dice: END/INT/VOL = D20 | CHA/LUCK/STR = D10 | AGI/PER =
D6
Bonus: +5 to TWO primary stats
Level 10 Evolutions:
Cleric,
Monk, Druid, Shaman (Half-Orc only)
— Wait, Kael said.
The dice mean some stats have a better chance of being high?
— Exactly. A D20
can give between 1 and 20. A D6 between 1 and 6.
— So if I take
Warrior, my Strength has a better chance of being high, but my
Charisma is going to suck?
—
— And mages and
aspirants get TWO +5 bonus?
CORRECT.
COMPENSATION FOR THEIR PHYSICAL FRAGILITY.
Kael thought
intensely.
— The level 10
evolutions... "Knight, human only"... does that mean some
races have exclusive classes?
AFFIRMATIVE.
EACH RACE POSSESSES A UNIQUE SPECIALIZATION IN EACH CLASS TREE.
— Like, if I had
taken elf, I could have become a Tracker?
CORRECT.
— Shit. I should have maybe...
—
— Yeah, I know.
He stared at the
options for a long time.
— Fine. I’ll take
Warrior.
—
— Yeah. I want to
hit things. It’s simple, it’s effective. And Knight sounds
classy.
[WARRIOR. VALIDATED
AND REGISTERED.]
[PHASE 3: RANDOM ATTRIBUTE GENERATION]
[BASE: ALL STATS AT 5]
[APPLYING CLASS DICE...]
The eight statistics
displayed in glowing columns, each with its assigned die.
STRENGTH (D20) —
ENDURANCE (D20) — AGILITY (D20) PERCEPTION (D10) —
INTELLIGENCE (D6) — CHARISMA (D6) WILLPOWER (D10) — LUCK
(D6)
— Ok, Kael said
nervously. What order do we roll in?
STANDARD ORDER:
STR, END, AGI, PER, INT, CHA, VOL, LUCK
—
— I’m gonna need
it.
[STRENGTH: PLEASE
ROLL 1D20]
A twenty-sided die
appeared, magnificent and translucent. Kael grabbed it, weighed it in
his hand, then threw it. The die spun. One rotation. Two. Three. It
landed.
3.
Absolute silence.
— ...Three?
[RESULT: 3]
[STRENGTH: 5 (BASE) + 3 (DIE) = 8]
— THREE OUT OF
TWENTY?!
— Yeah, that’s...
not great.
— I AM A WARRIOR! I
NEED STRENGTH!
CHANCE
GUARANTEES NO COHERENCE.
— Tell them to let
me reroll!
RANDOMNESS IS AN
INTEGRAL PART OF THE PROCESS. NO INTERVENTION AUTHORIZED.
— Sorry, man.
Keep going. Maybe it’ll balance out.
Kael gnashed his
teeth.
[ENDURANCE: PLEASE
ROLL 1D20]
He threw it angrily.
11.
[ENDURANCE: 5 + 11
= 16]
— Well. At least
that's okay.
[HEALTH POINTS
RECALCULATED: 10 + (END × LVL) = 26 HP]
[AGILITY: PLEASE
ROLL 1D20]
Roll.
16.
[AGILITY: 5 + 16 =
21]
Kael straightened up.
— HA ! Now we're
talking! FINALLY!
— That’s
excellent.
[PERCEPTION: PLEASE
ROLL 1D10]
[PERCEPTION: 5 + 7
= 12]
[INTELLIGENCE:
PLEASE ROLL 1D6]
[INTELLIGENCE: 5 +
4 = 9]
[CHARISMA: PLEASE
ROLL 1D6]
[CHARISMA: 5 + 2 =
7]
— Of course, grogna
Kael.
[WILLPOWER: PLEASE
ROLL 1D10]
[WILLPOWER: 5 + 5 =
10]
[LUCK: PLEASE ROLL
1D6]
Kael squeezed the
small die, closed his eyes.
— Come on. Please. A
six. Just a six.
Roll.
2.
[LUCK: 5 + 2 = 7]
[MAGIC POINTS
RECALCULATED:
10 + (INT×LVL) + VOL = (9 × 1) + 10 = 29 MP]
— Seven in Luck.
That’s... not great, is it?
— It’s below
average, yeah.
— And what exactly
is Luck for?
LUCK CAN BE
ADDED TO OR SUBTRACTED FROM A D100 ROLL TO MODIFY A RESULT. LIMITED
USES PER DAY.
— Like, if I miss a
hit, I can use my Luck to make it land?
CORRECT. OR TO
EVADE AN ENEMY HIT. OR TO INFLUENCE NARRATIVE EVENTS.
— It’s a crucial
stat, actually.
— And I have 7.
Super.
[CLASS BONUS:
WARRIOR]
[+5 TO ONE PRIMARY STATISTIC OF YOUR CHOICE]
[OPTIONS: STRENGTH, ENDURANCE, AGILITY]
Kael thought.
— If I put +5 in
Strength, that makes 13. That’s okay. But my Endurance is already
at 16...
— Take Endurance.
It increases your HP.
— Yeah, but my
Strength is pathetic.
WITH 8 STRENGTH,
YOU WILL DIE ANYWAY. MIGHT AS WELL DIE SLOWLY.
— It’s SUPER
reassuring, thanks!
Kael hesitated again.
— Fine. Endurance.
[ENDURANCE: 16 + 5
= 21]
[HP= 10+(LVLxEND)][HP RECALCULATED: 10 + (1 × 21) = 31HP]
The final summary
displayed in glowing letters.
KAEL — HUMAN —
WARRIOR — LEVEL 1
STRENGTH: 8 ENDURANCE: 21
AGILITY: 21 PERCEPTION: 12
INTELLIGENCE: 9
CHARISMA:7 WILLPOWER: 10 LUCK: 7
HEALTH POINTS: 31 HP
MAGIC POINTS: 29 MP
ADDITIONAL DAMAGE:
STR/2 = +4 damage
CRITICAL DAMAGE: PER/2 = +6 damage on
critical
CRITICAL MODIFIER: LUCK = ±7 on D100 rolls
— Well... It’s...
original.
— You have
excellent Agility and Endurance. You’re an agile and tough warrior.
— With the Strength
of a twelve-year-old boy.
—
— And the Charisma
of a potato.
—
— But at least I
have 31 HP. That’s good, right?
— It’s very
good. Most basic warriors have between 20 and 25.
— Ah! See! I’m not
completely garbage!
JUST
PARTIALLY, CONGRATULATIONS.
[GENERATION
COMPLETE. ENVIRONMENTAL IMMERSION IN: 3... 2... 1...]
The void vanished. The
world appeared.