A man's body can be seen floating in a vast darkness. He was sleeping peacefully as a bright flash of light illuminated the void.
"... up." A light voice could be heard
"...ke up." The man stirs a bit.
"Wake Up!" A different voice booms. The shout is so powerful it ripples the space around the man's body and violently awakens him. He searches for the origin but cannot manage to find it. As he continues looking a text box appears in front of him. Complete with a floating keyboard.
He seemed stunned to see such an occurrence. 'This isn't normal, where did this come from? And where am I?' As these questions floated through his mind another, more pressing one, began to surface. 'Who am I? I can't remember anything about myself.' Then a name flashes into the front of his thoughts. Unconsciously his fingers type the name into the box.
Another window replaces the old one as he is lost in thought. He brings his attention back to the matter at hand. 'This seems like it is an acceptable choice. Yes, I'll be called Lugh'
{First Person POV}
I don't quite know why, but this name resonates with me. It filled me with a sense of completeness, like I had reunited with a loved one. As I looked back at the screen, a new sight welcomed me. A list of races appear next to what could only be described as a game avatar. Human, Elf, High Elf, Dark Elf, Vampire, Dwarf, Beast-folk, Giant, and Dragon. I had to choose just one? That's a near impossible decision! Any one of these have their perks, and I have to pick just one?!? I bring my attention back to the window and I see a new choice: Hybrid. Does that mean I can choose two different races? What about time? How long do I have to make a character?
"Time is non-existent in this space. You have as long as you want to create your new body." A deep, masculine voice sounds. Well, that answers that, but who are you? And new body? Am I dead?
"My name is not important, but I am a God, boy! And yes, you have died. However, as you accumulated many good deeds in life, I have decided to grant you a new one. And before you ask, NO, you cannot return to your old world." Well, I guess that's a relief seeing as I can't really remember it anyways. You said that I accumulated good deeds? How?
"When you were alive, you wrote stories, and while they may not have been perfect, they still brought joy to many. They brought people back from the brink countless times. It was a shame that you had to die like you did." 'Brought joy to many' As those words sank in, a feeling came from deep within me. Gratitude. Like I had needed to hear those words for so long.
"Thank you" As I said that, tears flowed down my cheeks. Ah, I made a difference to somebody, many at that. "I shall let you get back to what you were doing. Farewell!" As I tried to regain my composure, the voice faded away. And as it did, I couldn't help but think that I wouldn't hear it for a long time. I linger on that thought before turning my attention back to the screen. So, since I have all the time I'd need, why don't I try experimenting?
Well, to start off, I think I can remove Human from the running, considering I think I was one. So let's start off with Elf. Scrolling down, I notice that Human grays itself out, as if the screen heard my thoughts. Or is it once you move on from a race, you can never select it again? I think it's in my best interest for it to be the former. As the screen highlights Elf, I see a change in the model. The more muscular physique it once had transforms into a figure more in line with professional acrobats. The face becomes more delicate and the ears come to a point. After the changes complete, a new window appears, letting me customize the appearance more in-depth. Facial structure, muscle size, height, hair color and length, eyes, and *Ahem* other things. I can tell that a lot of thought will be needed for when I actually begin creation of my vessel. I could feel a change in me body, an incomparable heat spreading through me. As it gradually dissipated, I looked down and saw the same physique as the avatar. My line of sight had grown a little farther from the ground, which meant I had grown a couple inches.
I then notice an arrow pointing off to the right of the screen, beckoning me to swipe left. Naturally, I do so and another menu appears, titled Magic Guide. It lists a series of Magic, all of which seem powerful in their own respects. The list contained the names: Elemental, Sacred, Taboo, Arcane, and Special. I press on Elemental, since it was first, and am greeted by another selection. This time the choices are Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Ice, Lightning, and Lava. By this time my head was spinning from all the different options I could take. There were so many combinations that even if I had ten years I wouldn't be able to master all of them. Then I remembered, I had all the time in the world. I could spend centuries, even eons in here, making the best possible avatar. I am able to do whatever I want in here, experiment to my heart's desire. I've decided that's what I'll do, all in the name of my future life.
{Third Person POV}
Lugh lived and breathed as an Elf for a hundred and fifty years, slowly acclimating to its potential. In the first minutes, he found that Elves were incredibly flexible, easily doing what only professional acrobats could do without any training. After discovering he could use the magic he selected in the guide, he got a head start in mastering Elemental Magic. He had great abilities in using Fire, Earth, and Wind, but was mediocre when it came to manipulating Water. Once the one and a half century mark had passed, he finally decided he was ready to move on to the next race, High Elf.
(A/N: He doesn't actually know how long it has been, as there is no day night cycle, it's just that it took him roughly that long to master that body)
Once he moved on he found that he was right about the game-like screen: It could understand his intentions. That meant that each race could be picked more than once if he wanted. He then clicked on High Elf and his body changed again. It took him a significantly longer time to move on from this race, not because it was harder but because he was very comfortable with its capabilities. Magic was almost as easy as breathing in this form. He breezed through finishing Elemental and Arcane, as well as starting on Special. He only managed to start on Space-Time in the Special Branch when he felt it was finally time to move on. Unbeknownst to Lugh, the time he spent as a High Elf, was over a thousand years.
After the first two races, the Dark Elf felt a little boring. He mastered Taboo magic and it was through this that he learned that the void produced whatever he needed to practice certain magics. But that was about it, only 100 years in Lugh had enough and changed to a Vampire. Unfortunately for him, Vampires were another form of Elf, meaning he had to be an Elf yet again. Another century and he had only learned Blood Magic. The Elven races had drained quite a bit of Lugh's patience, but he persevered.
Next up was a Dwarf, and this was a huge break from the monotony of the Elves. Lugh, for the next 406 years, spent time not practicing magic, but testing the legitimacy of the Dwarven race being natural-born blacksmiths. With the void producing all manner of real world and fictional (to us) materials, he had a limitless wealth of resources to practice with. While Dwarves were not born wielding all knowledge of smithing, they were given many natural advantages over other races. Dwarves had a natural ability to sense the ambient temperature of the air, as well as being able to smell the scent of different ores. Their muscles were built for pure stamina, allowing them to hammer for hours non-stop. They could go for a whole month without eating, allowing them to accomplish more in a day than, for example, a Human could. Dwarves had an innate understanding of how a material might react when different stimulus were applied.
Lugh spent all his time as a Dwarf non-stop forging, creating countless works, ranging from poorly made to perfection. He was especially proud of a sword he made out of an alloy of three strange metals, carving runes that increased both durability and cutting power onto the blade with Runic Magic. The weapon appeared to be able to cut light itself as a rainbow would trail after the blade whenever it moved through the air. Lugh had also made many other types of equipment ranging from shields to armor to jewelry. The void in which he lived was littered with the various pieces he created, each more beautiful than the last. Alas, Lugh finally moved on from his intense crafting, changing into one of the Beast-Folk.
There were actually four different kinds of Beast-Folk, which are Wolves, Bears, Cats and Birds. So Lugh decided to choose one to keep it simple. He chose to be a Birdman, because it was the most unique out of the four. As a Birdman, Lugh was much taller than a Dwarf but not nearly as tall as an Elf, his fingers ended in talons, he had tawny feathers instead of hair, and his eyes were the color of amber. (Quick Note: It should be stated that Lugh started off at 6'6, then as the Elven Races was about 6'10, as a Dwarf was 5'1, and as a Birdman is about 6'0). At this time, he discovered a new function of the menu, he could read more about each race and their abilities. Reading more on the Beast-Folk, Lugh found that every single one of them had the ability to take on a more bestial form. So, he decided to try it, and it was easily done with a single thought. As he transformed, he grew in size, about a foot, sprouted wings from his back, and over all became even more bird-like. He looked similar to an owl, only with some human features. Lugh's first thought afterwards was to attempt flying, which he only failed at once. From an outside point of view it was similar to one of those flying machines that were inspired by birds, with flapping wings (Here's a link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8y3fIr4dVYE). He managed to get the hang of it after that first attempt, soaring through the void without a care.
Lugh practiced flying intermittently with learning the Special Magics. The total time he spent as a Birdman was approximately 220 years. He managed to master Space-Time Magic and touched on Aura. It was, however, finally time to move on to a new race. The screen was once again brought back, and the cursor landed upon Giant.
It was a completely new experience, becoming a Giant. Lugh's height was enormous, nearly reaching 32 feet. With muscles the twice size of a professional bodybuilder, this form's strength was measurable at a glance. He was utterly dumbfounded how such a large being wouldn't be crushed under their own weight. Deciding to read more about this body, he found out that, in the world he was going to, Giants usually compressed their massive stature with Magic. This way they'd be able to enter just about any city or town. The base of this compression was theorized by Lugh to be either a form of Curse or Runic Magic, as both had the ability to alter the body. He tried Runic Magic first as he wasn't willing to subject himself to what could possibly become a permanent mark on his soul. The Magic managed to bring him down to about 12'3, which Lugh was much more at ease with. He didn't spend a long time as a Giant as he wasn't able to get used to the body which was so different compared to any of the other races. In total, Lugh only spent about 40 years as a Giant before he called it quits. Before he got tired, he did manage to become fluent with Aura Magic.
When the menu was brought back, Dragon was the only one left aside from Hybrid, which was a custom mix of any two Races. A new choice appeared when Dragon was selected, between Humanoid Dragon or Standard. Lugh was curious as to what the distinction was among the two, so he brought up what he called [The Archive]. What it said was that a Humanoid Dragon is what is born when either two Dragons conceive in Human Form or if a Dragon and Non-Dragon Race have a child. They are unable to become Standard Dragons but have the ability to grow wings and scales, and still have the same level of strength. [The Archive] also stated that Humanoid Dragons can still breathe underwater as well as undergo Tribulation, same as normal Dragons. As Lugh read his eyes lingered on the word Tribulation, as it sounded familiar to him. Reading what was written on this event, he discovered that all Dragons would experience them, starting when they reached 10 years of age. Tribulations would then occur every ten years after until 100 years of age, then they would happen every 100 years and so on. (A/N: That means when they hit 1000 years the Tribulation happens every thousand years, then every ten-thousand, every hundred-thousand, and then every million. You get the picture.)
Lugh had a theory that Tribulations didn't happen to his soul form in the void. He made sure by checking with [The Archive] and it confirmed his thoughts. His final choice on which Dragon was to be a Humanoid Dragon. The avatar in the menu shrunk to about 7'0 and a pair of horns grew out from just above its temples. Feeling the side of his head, he discovered the exact same happened to him. These horns swept to the back of his head with a slight twist and had a smoothness akin to crystals. They did still have some unevenness, but had the luster of gemstones. Looking back at the screen, Lugh paid closer attention to the avatar's physique. While not nearly the size of a Giant's, its musculature was very apparent, but still well-balanced. They weren't so bulky that it would hinder movement, while still showing off their explosive power.
An incredibly long time would pass before Lugh moved on, about 10,000 years. What was he doing during this period? Training, not just physical training but weapon training as well. Not long after becoming a Dragon, Lugh discovered [The Archive] could bring up not only real world training manuals, but fictional ones as well. Things like {Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryu}, {Santoryu}, {CQC}, {Ansatsuken}, {Hokuto Shinken}, {Sendo} and many more. Lugh never got around to learning any of these fictional powers, as he was too busy learning all the real world's. It was probably for the best as any one of these could easily shake the foundations of his new home. {Sendo} and {CQC} might have been safe choices but not bringing any was the safest one.
Lugh, walking on his hands, felt he had spent enough time training and it was now or never. The moment he had spent millennia on. It was time to create his body and he knew that this new world wasn't going to be easy to live in. Bringing up the menu, he arrives at the last choice: Hybrid. Selecting it, two empty slots appear before him, demanding his answers. Lugh, nervous, types in two Races: High Elf and Dragon.
When the avatar changes due to his choice, he realizes that these two had incredible synergy. A near infinite amount of vitality plus a vast mana capacity equals an unrivaled power. This new body would be able to use Aura Magic perfectly, without any negative side effects. Lugh could already tell that in this body he'd be a lady killer, even without editing the face. The gentleness of an Elf with the sheer masculinity of a Dragon? A deadly combo.
Checking the head, it's obvious what two races were interbred, having both horns and pointy ears. It isn't off-putting however, it frames the face quite well, adding to the handsomeness. Lugh decided to edit only a few things, like the hair and *Ahem*. He chose to lengthen the hair a bit, to about his shoulders, combing it back while a few bangs hung in front of his head. He colored it a deep emerald, as well as making his eyes crimson. He retained the musculature of his time as a Dragon while gaining the flexibility of an Elf. Lugh gave one last look around, remembering everything that had happened, and exhaled his held breath. The menu buzzed, asking
<
Another deep breath and he presses yes. And as the menu confirms, a familiar voice booms
{First Person}
"So, a High-Elf Dragon Hybrid. A Fine choice but it still won't be easy living in this world. Well, I'm just happy you finally got around to making the damn body, you spent over 10,000 years on it after all."
"I spent that long? I couldn't even tell, guess I got absorbed by learning, huh? Well, I missed some of the companionship that your voice provided. So, when do I leave?"
"I'll ask you when you want to go, but first, is there anything you'd like before you go?"
Wow, that's difficult, I always wondered if I could bring anything along. I mean, there is any of my weapons or equipment I made when I was a Dwarf. Oh there's also [The Archive], that would make life easy.
"You can't ask for the full capabilities of [The Archive], but you can ask for a version that only contains knowledge of your new world. And I suppose you could take one piece of equipment as well."
"I'd like that version, please, and I guess I'll take one of my enchanted rings, the one that has the largest storage."
"Just the ring? Couldn't you just make another?"
"I could but the ring is special to me, I think it looks like a family heirloom."
"Hmm, well I suppose that some memories are harder to erase than others, family heirloom it is then. Are you ready to go?"
"Yes"
And my vision turned black.