I dreamed of the world. not Earth, because if I had to guess, my 'fate' with Earth was long over and I was unlikely to see it again anytime soon. this was probably the world I had recently arrived at, I say probably because at first I had no idea what I was looking at. I was in space, looking over a barren ball of rock. it was half broken open, large chunks of material had dislodged from the Planet and currently orbited the ruined mess left behind, and the only vibrant splash of colour came from liquid heart of the planet, its core, bleeding out into space.
Then just as I was confused, things started to move, as if things become magnetized, all of the fragments were pulled rapidly toward the barren planet. from there things got weirder. as light started glowing from the center of the planet, leaking out from the cracks in the earths surface. the light shined brightly and got brighter until it was truly blinding. and from there it seemed like nothing was happening for a long time.
until finally the light faded back into the planet, and it was no longer the huge wreck it had been. it was all in one piece, and the newly restored earth was shifting. some parts were rising into mountain ranges, and were others sinking, forming massive valleys and trenches- transforming rapidly as if some colossal creature crawled beneath its skin.
Things only sped up from there- until I was looking at a very complete, very beautiful finished product. it was hard to tell, but it seemed larger than Earth, and wait- yep it was getting bigger as my consciousness moved closer to the surface of the planet until I was hovering over a coastline. I got a better sense of just how changed the world was, an endless deep green forest and stunning white-gray cliffs stretched from horizon to horizon... And then I woke up.
Weirdly enough, I woke up above the water, in the same place my dream had ended... honestly though, lets be real, all of this so far was enough to drive a girl mad. and I wasn't fool enough to think I was dreaming anymore, this had to be real... I really think, that If I wasn't just a disembodied consciousness-type-thing - that my brain would have exploded by now from the mix of hormones and WTFs that would be firing through it. but I guess the wait was over, I now had something that I guessed would change things, and suddenly, I was a little excited.
"alright, system where are you hiding, lets see what we've got to work with!"
*Ding*
...System Notifications unpaused|
...System Updates Successfully Installed|
...|
Gained 'Unique' Blessing [Dare to Dream]|
Gained 'Unique' Blessing [Kin Eternal]|
Mail Received [New User Care package]|
"oooh system open mail- wait no, I can't betray the old traditions... System, gimme. Me. That. Status Menu!"
...Generating Status|
"... awkward. I thought there would be more fanfare... gee If I had arms they would have been waving and everything... lets just move on shall we?"
*******
Status|
User Emilia Eternal| |Level 0|
Species - [Unattached Soul]|
HP - 73,003/0| |MP - 0/0|
EXP - 0/100|
STR - N/A|
AGI - N/A|
INT - N/A|
*******
"uuuuuuuuhhhh wtf am I even looking at."
"hey system, what the shit am I looking at?"
...Warning User Will fully Dissipate In -73,003- Days|
"WHAT!" "...wait hang on, that's like, a super long time? and also you didn't answer my question! but still. System. A) What the shit, B) why is this happening and how do I fix it?"
...User Is Currently an [Unattached Soul]|
Quest Generated - Inhabit A Soul Anchor or Host Body To Prevent Dissipation|
Reward {[EXP]-100-} {[Stats] Unlocked}|
...Quest Hint - You Have Mail|
"... okay thank you, but that felt a little hand-holdy... and you still didn't answer- nevermind, open that mail."
*Ding*
Gained 'Gold' [Species Gacha Ticket] -1-|
Gained [System Guide For New Users] -1-|
"Okay, now open system guide."
Playing File [System Guide For New Users]|
and then, after a moment ,there was a click and then a voice- and a question, why did god sound like a Teenager?
"Hi there, my name is Rellis, god of [Ouros], the planet you find yourself standing on, and this is a small and rather limited tutorial to get you used to the amazing growth system I installed!"
"by now you've managed to open your care package, your next step will be to examine your status, just say 'open status' and it should show up! I'll run you through what everything means, but in future you can simply ask the system and it will clarify anything you want to know."
as the disembodied voice of the 'baby god' went on, each portion of the system interface he explained lit up, expanded and collapsed on cue, just in case the user was particularly confused about anything.
"when you kill something or complete quests you will be granted something called Exp or Experience, this represents the energy that the system uses to help you grow stronger, with each 'Level' you gain, the system uses this EXP to raise your 'stats' of which each stat represents a portion of your strength, some stats represent aspects of the body- some the mind- and some a more ephemeral aspect, like magic and the soul! at certain levels, the energy you have accumulated with your levels can be used by the system to allow you to achieve a higher life level- essentially it will, help you Evolve. This will further be explained to you by the system when you reach your first evolution. as will classes when you fulfill the conditions required to obtain one."
"Next I'll explain HP and MP. HP represents the activity of your cells- if you have a organic body that is. it's short for Healing Potential, or more commonly 'Health points'. for those with Energy based forms or non organic bodies, it represents Energy reserves and Durability respectively. MP is even simpler, as it stands for 'Mana Points' and presents how much magical energy your body can store in easy-to-read numbers, spells that the system recognizes will also state the amount of magic they require as a cost in these numbers."
"Now, the big ones, 'Stats'. I'll only explain the basic three that everyone starts with and leave the system to explain any others as they show up. the main point to take away however is that each stat has hidden 'sub stats' associated with them. STR is strength, and raising it will raise not only your Bodie's physical strength, but also your constitution and resistance to poison and disease! AGI, or Agility, covers things like speed, dexterity and your reflexes. both agility and strength are stats that are easy to gauge for system users because of their measurability. INT or Intelligence is slightly less so, as it boosts things like, speed of thought, reasoning, intuition, and memory retention and recall. the increments are harder to measure, but still very worthwhile to most species."
"Well that should cover the basics, all I'd like to say otherwise, is welcome to my world, I hope you grow strong and prosper during the time you spend here. maybe we'll even met one day face to face! good luck, and goodbye."
I let out a huge sigh, "that was a ton of info all at once, and while I could guess most of it considering the games i played on earth it helps to have confirmation... and now that I have answers maybe I should see about fixing my whole 'dying-very-very-very-slowly' problem. now it's time. time for a gacha. which, now that I think about it... is a truly torturous and unfair way to bring someone into the world."
*sigh* "alright system, I want to use the gacha ticket."
...Ticket Consumed| |...Choices Generating|
Insect - [Mosquito] - Evolution Potential [HIGH]|
Avian - [Storm Petrel] - Evolution Potential [HIGH]|
Mammal - [Platypus] - Evolution Potential [LOW]|
"omg a platypus? that's Awesome!... but, why'd it have to have low potential? that sucks... but really, if I don't count how cool it would be to have a bill and poisoned bone spurs, it only really leaves me one option, no way would I ever pick a shitty insect like a mosquito. and, not to seem ungrateful, but where are the humanoid options? or, if I keep evolving will they show up?"
*gasp*
"do-does this mean their are going to be a ton of demihuman girls walking around? Nani? is this god kid even old enough to know what Fanservice is? is this the key to my future 'Happy life'?... will we find out next time on dragonbal- okay that's probably enough."
"system, I've made my choice. I Pick Avian."
...Selection Confirmed, user will be teleported to corresponding habitat and materialized|
Teleportation Initiated|
Once again I had the distinct displeasure of feeling my consciousness be forcibly shutdown and being powerless as the blackness encroached.
*Ding*
Quest Complete - Inhabit a Host Body|
You Stats are No Longer Locked|
You Have Leveled Up|
I was woken this time by the gentle sound of seabirds calling out to each other, and very quickly noticed something different. I could smell the ocean, hear the waves and- feel the ocean breeze ruffling my... feathers, well that makes sense I guess. once I finally had my bearings I did a quick look around, It turns out I was in some sort of cave. I quickly came to the conclusion that it was a nest, as that's exactly what I found in the center of the small space. It was made of twigs and sticks, which told me there must be trees nearby, but it was the other thing I noticed that gave me the most sense of assurance. it was empty, so even if another bird lived here I should be able to chase it away. Now that I had that sussed out I turned my attention to the only other thing of note, the small crack on one wall letting in the only source of light and the stunning ocean breeze.
"I guess this is Home now..."