It's not every day that you can experience the sensation of being squeezed out of a tube. Me? I experienced it twice in one day... At least, I think it was one day. Time passed a little wibbly-wobbly between incarnations. I'm going to avoid thinking about what it was like being born. There is a reason we don't remember that shit. Hell, there is a reason we don't remember most of our first few years of squiggly, squishy, incredibly uncomfortable infancy.
Sadly, forgetting is not something I do, and I cannot express how regretful I am for having purchased the Perfect Recall ability. The upside is that I learned quickly to compartmentalize memories to avoid having to think about them. This is much better than in my previous life, where I would randomly remember a traumatic event with crystal clarity. It wasn't photographic memory; it was traumatic memories played on an infinite loop. No one punishes you more than you do yourself.
I learned several things on my first day reborn. The first is always to read the fine print. I was under the mistaken impression that I would start as a child. Nope, the birth canal was my first hint at that one. I was also mistaken in believing I was going back to my original life and starting over. This realization came with a voice.
[System initializing...]
[Welcome, Host, to the world of Bin'Evlam]
Once I got over the fact that I wasn't getting another go at my previous life, I consoled myself knowing that I at least got another crack at life in general and an isekai'd life at that. Complete with cheat-like abilities and phenomenal powers. At least I hope they are. If I knew what type of world I was going to, I could have prepared better. After my previous life's ignoble demise, I was itching to avoid that happen again. Let's hope I've got the juice to take this new world by storm.
'Let's see what we're working with. System? Status, please."
[NAME: JEIMS ARCHER
[HERITAGE: PRIMORDIAL HUMAN
[BLOODLINE: ALL'S FAIR
[SORTIS: LOCKED
[BLESSINGS: KISSED BY SOPHENI
*CHOSEN BY BLAER
*FAVORED BY THE RAVEN GODDESS
[CULTIVATION: LOCKED
[CONSTITUTION: SEVEN STARS CELESTIAL DRAGON BODY
[SPIRITUAL ROOT: MYRIAD RAINBOW
[MERIDIANS: GOLDEN MERIDIANS OF COSMIC RADIANCE
[ATTRIBUTES: SELECT TO VIEW
[SKILLS: SELECT TO VIEW
[ABILITIES: SELECT TO VIEW
[SHOP: SELECT TO VIEW
What fresh hell was this? 'System?'
[Yes, Host?]
'What's up with my Status? There is a lot of stuff here that doesn't match my original character sheet."
[ANALYSING... IT APPEARS THAT A THIRD PARTY MODIFIED THE SYSTEM BEFORE UPLOAD.]
'Who the hell did that?'
[THERE IS A NOTE. WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE IT?]
'Yes.'
[LOADING... HEY KID, SORRY ABOUT THE QUICK DROP. I KNOW YOU NEVER GOT TO CHOOSE YOUR OTHER TWO PARAMETERS; WE WERE OUT OF TIME AND I HAD TO MOVE YOU QUICKLY TO THE NEXT STAGE. I DID MANAGE TO CONVINCE A FEW OF THE OTHER GODS HERE TO BESTOW A FEW BLESSINGS ON YOU THOUGH. THEY SHOULD BE LISTED IN YOUR STATUS. THEY SHOULD BE SOME SIGNIFICANT UPGRADES, AND YOU'LL HAVE PLENTY OF OPPORTUNITIES TO GET MORE POWER SHOULD YOU NEED IT.
AS FOR WHY YOU'RE NOT IN YOUR HOMEWORLD, WELL, AGAIN, SORRY ABOUT THAT. HONESTLY, YOUR WORLD WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN ABLE TO HANDLE YOUR ABILITIES, TO BEGIN WITH, AND ONE OF THE RULES OF REINCARNATION IS THAT YOU CAN'T GO RIGHT BACK TO YOUR ORIGINAL WORLD. GIVEN YOUR PREFERENCES, I FIGURED YOU'D ENJOY THIS WORLD. I KNOW I SHOULD HAVE TOLD YOU IN THE BEGINING, BUT I HAVE MY REASONS. I HOPE YOU'LL FORGIVE ME AND IN THAT SPIRIT I'LL LEAVE YOU WITH TWO WORDS. CAT GIRLS.
-G]
Alright, one, what a dick. He basically misled me to his own ends. If he'd told me up front, I would have made different choices. If I knew which type of world I was going to, I would have made different choices. Two, 'catgirls' is one word you normie. Although, I suppose since he said that, I could assume that catgirls exist in this world, which could definitely sway me towards forgiveness. If this is a full-blown fantasy world with elves, animal-eared, and other waifus, I'll totally let the other world deception thing slide. I always wanted to isekai anyway. Anyway, he did get me some extra bonuses from other gods, so I suppose-
[HOST, THERE IS ANOTHER NOTE, WOULD YOU LIKE TO READ IT NOW?]
Oh, here it comes. 'Yes.'
[DEAR JEIMS,
DON'T BE FOOLED BY MY INCORRAGABLE FATHER. HE DID NOT CONVINCE US TO GRANT OUR BLESSINGS. WE INSISTED ON IT AFTER SEEING HIM SEND YOU UNDER PREPARED INTO A DANGEROUS WORLD. FORTUNATELY, I WAS ABLE TO INTERVENE AND PLACE YOU WITH A KIND FAMILY TO EASE YOUR TRANSITION. IF NOT, YOUR FIRST YEARS WOULD HAVE BEEN NOTHING BUT HARDSHIP, AND WHILE STRUGGLE BUILDS CHARACTER, I'D PREFER IF YOUR STRUGGLE WAS MORE THAN THE STRUGGLE TO GET ENOUGH TO EAT.
THE TRUTH IS, YOU WEREN'T SENT TO THIS WORLD RANDOMLY; WE NEED YOU THERE. I CANNOT SAY WHY, BUT YOU SHOULD WORK TO MAKE YOURSELF STRONGER. THIS WORLD IS MORE OVERT IN THE NECESSITY FOR STRENGTH THAN YOUR PREVIOUS WORLD. POWER IS REQUIRED TO LIVE THE LIFE YOU WANT. STRUGGLE FOR THE LIFE YOU WANT AND RISE TO NEW HEIGHTS. UNTIL THEN, WE ARE WAITING.
-S]
Yep, my first evaluation was correct—what a dick. The goddess sounds nice, though. If she's one of the goddesses that blessed me, I'm guessing by the 'S' that she's Sopheni. I wonder how gods work in this world? What kind of goddess is she? I suppose I'll learn all this as I learn about the world.
'System, what is... Actually, System, can I give you a name? Calling you 'System' feels weird. It's probably from all those books I read.'
[THAT IS ACCEPTABLE HOST.]
'Well, we're going to be friends for a long time, so I'll go with Cara."
[HIDDEN QUEST COMPLETED: NAMES ARE IMPORTANT. GIVE A NAME WITH MEANING TO YOUR SYSTEM A.S.
REWARD: STARTER PACK AND NEW SYSTEM FUNCTION: GACHA.]
'WHAT! No, I told him I didn't want a quest system. I hate how the systems usually lead the MC around by the nose with them. Cara, is there any way around the quest system?'
[NO HOST, HOWEVER, ALL QUESTS ARE OPTIONAL. THEY ARE DESIGNED TO HELP THE HOST NAVIGATE SOME OF THE TRICKIER ASPECTS OF THIS WORLD.]
'What about penalties for not completing quests?'
[THERE ARE NO DIRECT PENALTIES, ALTHOUGH THERE ARE CONSEQUENCES THAT ARE OUTSIDE OF THE SYSTEM'S CONTROL FOR CERTAIN QUESTS.]
'So, like if I get a quest to escape from a cave and chose not to, the System doesn't punish me, but the cave-in that the system was trying to warn me about will still kill me, right?'
[THAT IS CORRECT HOST.]
'Fine, that's not terrible. It's like a warning system for hazards in that way, I suppose. Anyway, obviously, my new name is Jeims Archer. Good to know, my Heritage has changed from High Human to Primordial Human. What's the difference there, Cara?'
[PRIMORDIAL HUMAN IS A HIGHER TIER ENTITY WITH GREATER BASELINE POTENTIAL THAN EITHER HUMAN OR HIGH HUMAN. IT IS THE SOURCE FOR ALL HUMANITY.]
'Doesn't that sort of fly in the face of evolution?'
[HOST SHOULD NOT THINK IN THE TERMS OF LINEAR TIME IN THIS CASE. WHILE EVOLUTION PLAYS ROLES THE DEVELOPMENT OF SPECIES, CERTAIN FACTORS EXIST TRANSCENDENT OF TIME AND YOUR CURRENT UNDERSTANDING OF THE UNIVERSE. ONCE A SPECIES HAS REACHED THE PRIMORDIAL STAGE THEY STAND OUTSIDE OF TIME.]
'Wait, does that mean I'm unaffected by time? That's not necessarily good right now.'
[PERHAPS IN THE FUTURE HOST, FOR NOW, YOU MERELY POSSESS THE POTENTIAL.]
'Okay, for now, what does Primordial Human get me in terms of stats and abilities?'
[PRIMORDIAL HUMAN RAISES THE POTENTIAL OF ALL QUALITIES AND THUS ALL ATTRIBUTES AND STATISTICS AS WELL AS THE INHERENT HUMAN TRAIT OF ADAPTABILITY. ADDITIONALLY, HOST HAS DEVELOPED ADDITIONAL PASSIVE PSYCHIC ABILITIES, WHICH IS VIEWABLE IN THE ABILITY SECTION OF THE SYSTEM INTERFACE. HOST SHOULD ALSO NOTE THAT THE PRIMARY REASON BEHIND THE HERITAGE UPGRADE IS DUE TO THE BLOODLINE UPGRADE.]
'Yeah, I was going to ask about that next. What's up with All's Fair. I'm pretty sure about the reference, but what's it all about?'
[ALL'S FAIR IS AN ARTIFICIALLY CREATED BLOODLINE CRAFTED BY THE GODDESSES SOPHENI AND BLAER TAILORED TO THE HOST'S NEEDS. IT COMBINES ASPECT OF THE GODDESSES INVOLVED IN ITS CREATION. THIS BLOODLINE IS FAR TOO POWERFUL FOR THE HIGH HUMAN HERITAGE HOST ORIGINALLY CHOSE, WHICH IS THE REASON FOR THE UPGRADE TO PRIMORDIAL HUMAN.]
'...'
[...]
'That's it? Cara, there's got to be more than that. What does the Bloodline actually do for me?'
[YES, HOST. THERE ARE SEVERAL ABILITIES, SOME OF WHICH ARE CURRENTLY LOCKED. BEYOND THAT THERE IS A QUALITATIVE IMPROVEMENT OF ALL QUALITIES AS WITH PRIMORDIAL HUMAN. OF THE ABILITIES UNLOCKED MOST NOTABLE IS THE ABILITY TO DISCERN FAVORABILITY AND INTENT.]
'Elaborate on that, please?'
[HOST CAN THINK OF IT AS A SCALE OF LOVE AND HATE WITH A SUBSCALE OF LUST AND HOSTILITY. THE FIRST IS A GENERAL MEASUREMENT OF THE HOST'S FAVORABILITY WITH THE TARGET AND THE OTHER MEASURES DIRECTED INTENT WHETHER HOSTILE OR LUSTFUL.]
I'm starting to get an idea of what these goddesses are goddesses of. 'Is there anything else?'
[HOST WILL ALSO RECEIVE MORE BENEFIT FROM ACTS RELATED TO THE BLOODLINE.]
'So, like, I get extra XP from sex and combat?'
[PRECISELY HOST.]
'Noice!' Not that I'm a battle junkie, but if it's going to happen, I might as well get extra benefits from it.
'I see Sortis is locked, but what is it.'
[HOST CAN THINK OF IT AS A CHARACTER CLASS. AN AWAKENING CEREMONY IS PERFORMED ON THE SOLSTICE AFTER A CHILD'S TWELFTH BIRTHDAY TO AWAKEN THEIR SORTIS.]
'That sounds rough, like predestination or something.'
[NOT ENTIRELY HOST. WHILE THE SORTIS IS BASED SOMEWHAT ON THE CHILD'S APTITUDES, TRAINING AND EDUCATION ALSO PLAY AN IMPORTANT ASPECT IN THE ACQUISITION OF A SORTIS. IT IS ALSO POSSIBLE TO CHANGE OR EVOLVE A SORTIS.]
'Okay, so it's not just a 'you were born to be a hero' destiny nonsense thing then, and even people who get ditch digger can change their Sortis with effort?'
[THAT IS CORRECT, HOST.]
'Alright. What about Blessings? I see what Sopheni and Blaer blessed me with, but what about this Raven Goddess. She sounds pretty cool.'
[INDEED, HOST. THE BLESSING OF THE RAVEN GODDESS COMES IN TWO PARTS. SHE HAS IMPROVED YOUR MERIDIANS FROM THEIR PREVIOUS DIVINE TIER TO THE UNIQUE MERIDIANS GOLDEN MERIDIANS OF COSMIC RADIANCE. NOT ONLY ARE THESE MERIDIANS ABLE TO SUPPORT THE HOSTS CONSTITUTION AND SPIRITUAL ROOT, BUT ALSO INCLUDE FOUR GOLDEN MERIDIANS.]
I frowned a little at that. Cultivation revolves around how you cycle qi through the meridians; I'm not sure the cultivation techniques I have will account for the addition of four meridians. I doubt a blessing from a goddess would fail to account for that.
'Cara, how will this affect my cultivation efforts.'
[THE HOST NEEDS NOT TO WORRY. THE GOLDEN MERIDIANS AUTOMATICALLY ABSORB AND CYCLE QI ENERGY THROUGH THEM WITHOUT DISTURBING THE HOST'S OTHER CULTIVATION PRACTICES.]
'Wow. Does that mean I can sit around doing nothing, and I'll still be cultivating?'
[YES, BUT HOST NEEDS FIRST TO UNLOCK HIS CULTIVATION, AND THAT WON'T HAPPEN UNTIL HOST STARTS PUBERTY. HOST SHOULD ALSO NOTE THAT HE WILL GAIN NO BENEFIT FROM CULTIVATION TECHNIQUES UNLESS HOST ACTIVELY USES THEM.]
'Really? I have to wait that long?'
[IT IS NECESSARY FOR THE BODY TO BE FULLY PREPARED BEFORE THE START OF CULTIVATION.]
I'm not in a rush, but I'm pretty sure I can speed that along if I really want to. Biokinesis is my friend, after all. If I need to get my body ready, I'll get my body ready. As for the benefits of the cultivation technique, I definitely will be exploring those in the future.
'You said the Blessing came in two parts. What's the second part?"
[HOST HAS ALSO BEEN GRANTED THE RAVEN'S EYE ABILITY. THIS ABILITY MOST CLOSELY RESEMBLES THE INSPECT ABILITY THE HOST IS FAMILIAR WITH FROM VIDEO GAMES.]
'Oh, that's great. I was hoping for something like that.'
In fact, that was going to be one of my parameters since I couldn't find a way to squeeze a decent one into the build without sacrificing too many other necessary skills. The annoying part is that I don't really need those skills anymore since I'm not on Earth. Well, maybe I'll still get some utility out of them.
I double-check my attributes and skills, and they're all pretty much where I expected them. The physical Attributes and Agility were all 1D, which means rank one Diminished. It's the magnitude below Standard or S. The one thing that blew my mind was how high my Qualities were. In-game terms, my Qualities are my Body, Mind, and Soul. These are the three principal aspects of existence. A normal human possesses Qualities with a 3S rating. Mine, however, were all rated at 14M, rank fourteen Mythical. That's the equivalent to a low-ranked demi-god in terms of base potential. I had been shooting for mid-tier superhuman originally, a full two tiers lower than this.
I'm excited to check on the Ability section of my Status, but I notice that the room which had been bustling a few moments ago is silent. I try to move my head around to see what's wrong, and despite my newborn blurry vision, I can see that everyone in the room is watching me closely.
"He's moving around, which is a good sign, but he hasn't made a sound. This is not normal. Amelia, sweetie, you might want to prepare yourself; he may be mute," a sweet voice, from a rather busty brunette blotch of color to my left, says. She seems nice. At least I know why the room is silent. I don't know why they apparently speak English, but that makes some things easier. I don't have to learn the language from scratch, at least.
The real question is, how should I quell their fears. Obviously, reciting poetry or song lyrics is out, or any real words, for that matter. I decide on a mewling call, and a shake of my arms like a happy baby might make.
"Oh, thank Sopheni," says the blonde-colored blob holding me, and hey, I can get behind that sentiment too. 'Thanks, Sopheni.'