Sirens wailed in the distance, too slow, too far as I lay in a pool of my own blood. A man in a black military suit stomping through the auditorium, checking for signs of life. He nudged my cold body with the barrel of his gun while staring at me through black goggles.
"Why?" I croaked, pushing the air out of my lungs felt like running a marathon, but I had to know.
The gunman steadied his rifle to my head and said, "To send a message." Before pulling the trigger.
--
"Ahhhh!" I sat up, gasping, grabbing a hold of my head, eyes screwed shut. There was no hole, my body was warm. It must have just been a dream.
That's when I opened my eyes, before me was what I had previously not noticed, an empty stable, filled with straw in the portion of the room at I was sat in. I had woken up in a traditional wooden stable, on a straw bed. I looked down at myself, shocked to find that I wasn't wearing a shirt and the trousers that I was in were woolen and tied at the waist with a cord.
"Where the hell am I?" I wondered aloud, "Or, when the heck am I?"
[I'LL TELL YOU] A metallic voice in my head proclaimed.
Whipping my head around, I couldn't find anyone sat around, nor any speakers. So, I jumped up out of my straw bed, wiping any dirt off of me and grabbing what looked like a medieval tunic with a belt that was hung on a wooden peg on one of the heavy wooden beams that stretched just overhead.
I pulled the shirt on and buckled the makeshift belt, then began rummaging through the straw for any sign of a speaker.
[YOU WON'T FIND ME IN THERE] The voice said again. It sounded as if it were inside my head.
[THAT'S BECAUSE I AM]
I ducked instinctively, trying to dodge the voice that just intruded into my thoughts with its androgenous and metallic voice.
"What is going on?" I asked the air.
[YOU WERE KILLED IN YOUR WORLD.]
Immediately my mind was filled with the bright flashes and loud bangs of the man's gun firing into the auditorium that I was having my lecture in what felt like mere moments ago.
[AS YOUR LIFE WAS CUT SHORT WITH SO MANY OTHERS, YOUR WORLD'S MONITOR SAW FIT TO HAND YOUR SOULS OVER TO THIS WORLD'S MONITOR AND THEY DECIDED TO GIVE YOU NEW BODIES]
I looked down at my hands, realising for the first time that they weren't my own, the colour was slightly off and the calluses on my hands were in different spots.
"Whose body is this?"
[A NEW ONE CREATED AND INSERTED INTO THE MEMORIES OF THOSE WHO LIVE IN THIS WORLD]
"Oh, that's good." Sighing with relief, I sat down on the hay once more.
[FAIR WARNING, THIS WORLD IS UNLIKE YOURS, WHERE THERE WAS SCIENCE AND THE EMPTY VOID OF SPACE, HERE THERE IS MAGIC AND REALMS BEYOND THIS ONE.]
"So I've been reincarnated in a fantasy world?"
[YES]
"What's up with the voice then?"
[I AM AN EFFECT OF THE MAGIC IN THIS WORLD, MOST MAGIC TAKES THE FORM OF A SYSTEM, MUCH LIKE THE VIDEOGAMES IN YOUR WORLD, I AM THE VOICE OF YOUR SYSTEM AND THE ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTIONS OF YOUR REBIRTH]
I shrugged, "A lit-rpg then, I was reborn into a lit-rpg." It was a common enough genre of fantasy, meant for casual reading, found mostly in eastern media. Fortunately for me, I had read more than enough of these novels.
[IT IS GOOD THAT YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH SYSTEMS OF ALL KINDS, I WILL NOW SHOW YOU YOUR STATUS PAGE]
Before my eyes a marble slab about a metre long and 40 centimetres wide appeared, slightly translucent, floating a foot away from me. It had words engraved into its surface.
NAME: MAGNUS RUNGNE
SPECIES: HUMAN
JOB: N/A
LEVEL: 1
HP: 110
MP: 28
STRENGTH: 12
AGILITY: 14
CONSTITUTION: 12
INTELLIGENCE: 14
FAITH: 10
ABILITY POINTS: 0
SKILL POINTS: 0
[10 IS THE AVERAGE SCORE FOR A LEVEL 1, MOST PEOPLE AT YOUR AGE ARE AROUND LEVEL 20-30 DEPENDING ON THEIR LIFESTYLE, A FEW DEDICATE THEIR LIFE TO TRAINING AND THE SYSTEM SO REACH MUCH HIGHER. YOU AND YOUR FELLOW REINCARNATIONS WILL BE GIVEN INDIVIDUAL SKILLS FROM A ROULETTE TO AID YOU IN YOUR NEW LIFE.]
Just then, the hay around me began lifting into the air and weaving into a whell with a pointer at the very top, divided into pie sections by deep grooves within the weaving. There were also grooves in the different pie sections, these spelt out words.
In the four different sections, were written: Manipulation Skills, Physical Enhancement Skills, Physiology Skills and Psychic Skills.
[YOU MUST SPIN THIS WHEEL TO GAIN YOUR SKILL, A RANDOM SKILL FROM THE CHOSEN CATAGORY WILL BE CREATED AND GIVEN TO YOU ALONE, THE MEANING OF EACH CATAGORY IS AS FOLLOWS:
MANIPULATION SKILL - SKILLS RELATING TO OR GIVING THE ABILITY TO MANIPULATE CERTAIN OBJECTS OR ENERGIES, PERHAPS EVEN TO CREATE SOME.
PHYSICAL ENHANCEMENT SKILL - SKILLS THAT GRANT AN ENHANCEMENT TO ONE OR MORE ASPECTS OF YOUR BODY AND FUNCTIONALITY.
PHYSIOLOGY SKILL - SKILLS THAT GRANT YOU ASPECTS OF ANOTHER SPECIES, AND OFTEN INCREASES ONE OR MORE PHYSICAL TRAITS, THOUGH NOT IN A WAY THAT IS AS EXTREME AS A PHYSICAL ENHANCEMENT SKILL.
PSYCHIC SKILL - A SKILL THAT CHANGES SOMETHING ABOUT THE WAY YOUR MIND WORKS, OR ALLOWS YOU TO INFLUENCE THE MINDS OF OTHERS IN SOME SPECIFIC WAY.]
Pausing for a moment, I tried to attribute each definition to a section of the wheel and the physiology skill seemed the most appealing to me in that moment, I could gain traits from another species, who knew, there could even be dragons in this world.
[WHATEVER SKILL YOU ARE GRANTED WILL BE OF SS RANK, THE RANK GRANTED ONLY TO DEMON KINGS OR HEROES. YOU WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO GAIN SKILLS OF OTHER RANKS THROUGH QUESTS, LEVELLING YOUR JOB OR SPECIAL DUNGEON REWARDS]
"Okay.." I murmered, so this skill would be extremely helpful and better than any skill I could gain in the future?
[INCORRECT, YOU WILL HAVE OPPORTUNITIES TO GAIN MORE SS RANK SKILLS IN YOUR FUTURE, NOT IMMEDIATELY HOWEVER]
I nodded, understanding what the voice of the system was saying. So, looking around, I placed one hand on the wheel and spun it with all of my might. Then, not baring to look, I turned around, waiting for the cranking sound of the wheel to stop.
It took several moments for it to wind down to a level that wasn't audible so I turned back around to see the last moment as it ticked over from Physical Enhancement Skills to Manipulation Skills.
[PLEASE WAIT AS A MANIPULATION SKILL IS BEING GENERATED]
[SS RANK SKILL GENERATED]
YOU HAVE GAINED THE SS RANK SKILL - PSYCHOKINESIS - LVL 1
Inwardly I cheered, but on the outside, I just turned my attention towards the status screen ahead of me that had grown in length to display my new skill.
SS - PSYCHOKINESIS - LVL 1
THE USER CAN EXERT A PSYCHIC FORCE TO MOVE OBJECTS AND SUBSTANCES WITH THEIR MIND, THE PRECISION, RANGE AND POWER WITH WHICH THIS SKILL CAN BE USED INCREASES PER LEVEL.
[UNLIKE IN YOUR WORLD WHERE VIDEOGAMES HAD BUTTONS TO ACTIVATE SKILLS, THERE ARE NO BUTTONS IN THIS WORLD TO ACTIVATE THEM]
"How do I do it then?" I asked, focusing on the medieval pitchfork leaning against the corner of the room, clearly used to shovel this hay.
[TO ACTIVATE A SKILL, SIMPLY THINK ABOUT IT]
"That sounds like it would be too easy." I murmered to myself, focusing on the pitchfork, thinking about activating my skill and willing the farming equipment to raise into the air.
Immediately it lifted upwards, hovering in the air. Surprised, I lost my concentration on the skill and the pitchfork dropped to the ground with a clatter, landing with its handle in the hay.
Grinning immensly at my childhood dream come true, I held my hand out, willing the pitchfork to lift into the air again. It rose into the air horizontally at first, then I turned it, inadverently turning my head at the same time, so I was viewing the world diagonally. This was more difficult than I had imagined, I felt like I was trying to thread a needle with the circulation to my hands cut off and ski-gloves on at the same time.
I managed to slowly turn it, with my head straight this time, until the prongs were facing the floor. My hand was still outstretched, so I willed it towards me. The pitchfork bobbed along mid-air, my control over its altitude leaving something to be desired. Eventually, it was within reach and I snatched it out of the air, deactivating my skill at the same time.
"Wow." I murmered to myself. "This is amazing, like a dream come true." Though I had sacrificed everything to have this, albeit non-willingly. I forced that line of thinking out of my head though, it wouldn't lead to anywhere good afterall.
[YOU WILL NOTICE THAT YOUR JOB IS MARKED AS N/A THIS IS BECAUSE YOU ARE YET TO CHOOSE A JOB TO PERSUE, YOU CAN ONLY CHOOSE ONE, SO BE CAREFUL IN YOUR DECISION MAKING. THIS WILL LARGELY DECIDE WHAT YOUR LONG TERM LIVING PLANS WILL BE]
[THE LIST OF JOBS TO CHOOSE FROM ARE AS FOLLOWS:]
Another translucent screen replaced my status screen, showing a long list of class titles, many of which would be from videogames and a few of which I had never heard of. To the right of the list was an indented bar with a deeper indent taking up a small section of the top of that bar.
"No way.."
I reached out with a finger to the list and pressed in the air where I saw that deeper indent, then pulled down. The carving in the translucent marble flowed like water, the names of the jobs blurring as new ones, further down the list too their place.
[AS YOU CAN SEE, IT IS A SUBSTANTIAL LIST]
"Yeah." I said aloud to the voice, only half paying attention to what it said as I tried to scroll through the list, reading hundreds of names. "Is there any way to filter it?"
[THE SCREENS DISPLAYED CHANGE WITH THE WILL OF THE PERSON WHO HAS THAT SCREEN, YOU CAN CHANGE IT HOWEVER YOU LIKE]
"Huh, that's pretty handy." So I tried to will the screen to change, filtering it into only magic casting jobs. It was a fantasy world and I had already read may classes like Flame Mage or Saintess. The jobs on the list blurred, re-forming into names of casting jobs and the second indent in the scroll bar became larger, taking up far more of the bar now. Considering that the screens could change to suit my needs and wants, I decided to try and influence the appearance of the list.
Within an instant, the marble vanished, the indents within the marble forming from pure white light hovering in the air instead, the scroll bar appearing only as the secondary indentation. With this, it was much easier to read than before, and much easier to see what was behind as nothing, translucent or not, was blocking the way.
There were many jobs listed, from classic classes like the Warlock, to ones I had never heard of before like Getsuga. If I pressed on the individual jobs, it opened another screen that describes its details to me in a couple of paragraphs as well as the names of the two starter skills I would gain from each job.
I looked over to where the wheel with the skill types had been, my attention had entirely drifted away from the strange construction while experamenting with my skill and looking through the job list. But to my surprise, it was no longer there, as if it had never existed in the first place, there was only a slightly heigher pile of hay there than in all other places.
Looking back to the Job list, I was starting to get tired and more than a little confused about all of the options shown to me, so I began to narrow down the classes by other tags as well, making sure that they weren't purely one element or another, could actually cast spells and didn't just summon some kind of beasts to do everything for them. I wanted to be compotent in a few different areas and I knew I definately did want to be able to fight hand-to-hand as well.
The list compressed by a huge amount, leading to only two jobs showing up, Sword-Saint and Cosmic-Null.
I frowned, reading through both Job descriptions.
SWORD-SAINT
BY CHANNELING YOUR MP IN THE FORM OF KI, YOU WILL HAVE ACCESS TO NUMEROUS DIFFERENT SPELLS AND MODIFIERS TO BOTH YOUR MAGIC AND YOUR PHYSICAL CAPABILITIES. SWORD-SAINTS ARE LOOKED UP TO AS IT IS A RARE JOB THAT REQUIRES A LOT OF DICAPLINE AND TRAINING TO MASTER EACH SKILL GIVEN. THEY CAN BECOME ONE OF THE MOST CAPABLE JOBS IN WEILDING BLADED WEAPONS AND HAVE A WIDE VARIETY OF SPELLS THAT CAN BE MODIFIED WITH DIFFERENT LEVELS OF POWER AND ELEMENTAL MODIFIERS.
SKILLS GAINED:
A - KI RECOVERY - LEVEL 1
A - SACRED ARTS - LEVEL 1
COSMIC-NULL
AS A COSMIC-NULL, YOU WILL BE ABLE TO SHAPE FIVE KINDS OF MAGIC TO YOUR WILL, EARTH, FIRE, WATER, AIR AND VOID MAGIC. EACH WILL HAVE DIFFERENT EFFECTS WHEN USED IN TANDEM WITH ANOTHER. COSMIC-NULL IS A JOB THAT VIRTUALLY NO-ONE HAS EVER HEARD OF OTHER THAN SCHOLARS OF THE MOST OBSCURE JOBS. TO THIS DAY, IT IS ONLY KNOWN THROUGH THIS DESCRIPTION AS NOT ONE PERSON HAS CHOSEN IT.
SKILLS GAINED:
S - THE FIVE ESSENCES - LEVEL 1
B - COSMIC AWARENESS - LEVEL 1
"A job that no-one has ever chosen?" I asked the voice.
[ONLY SENTIENT SPECIES CAN SEE THE STATUS SCREENS AND TAKE JOBS AND, LIKE HUMANS IN YOUR WORLD, ALL SENTIENT CREATURES FOLLOW OTHERS IN THEIR SOCIETY. JOBS THAT NO-ONE HAS EVER CHOSEN ARE RARE BUT DO EXIST AS AN INCREDIBLY HIGH PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE CHOOSE JOBS THAT ARE POPULAR]
[THIS WAY OF THINKING DOES HAVE ITS BENEFITS THOUGH, AS YOU CAN LEARN THE INS AND OUTS OF YOUR JOB FROM THOSE OF A HIGHER LEVEL THAN YOU AND THROUGH TEXTS ON THE MATTER.]
"So basically, if I choose this Cosmic-Null job, I won't have anyone to help me through it?"
[PRECISELY, NOT ALL CASTING JOBS HAVE SPELLS, OTHERS USE AN ESSENCE TO CREATE MAGICAL EFFECTS, THOSE EFFECTS AND HOW TO CREATE THEM HAVE BEEN CATAGORISED AS SPELLS, BUT AREN'T ACTUALLY SPELLS AS THEY AREN'T SEPARATED ON THE SYSTEM.]
"Okay.." I sighed, sitting down in the hay, resting my elbow on my leg and my face on my fist. If I went with exactly what I wanted, I could go for either of those two, but only the sword saint would have anyone to help me along. Then again though, the level of what looked to be the casting skill for the Cosmic-Null was S ranked and the Sword-Saint's was only A ranked.
[THE OTHER REINCARNATIONS HAVE ALREADY MADE THEIR JOB CHOICES]
"What? How do you know that?"
[JUST KIDDING]
I breathed a sigh of relief.
[I AM ONLY A VOICE TO EXPLAIN THE BASICS OF YOUR NEW LIFE TO YOU, I AM NOT CONNECTED TO THE OTHER REINCARNATIONS, THEY HAVE THEIR OWN VOICES]
"Oh, that makes more sense. Though I bet most of them have already chosen theirs, a few won't have even realised that there was a scroll bar at the side I bet."
Leaning back in the hay, I pondered my decision again, the Sword-Saint would give me a degree of respect and the Cosmic-Null would probably just alienate me from others, but if what the voice hinted at was true, I would be able to create my own magical effects with the Cosmic-Null Job, plus that B Ranked skill Cosmic Awareness skill sounded useful.
"May as well take the leap." And with that, I pressed on the Cosmic-Null Job again, a smaller window appearing showing a simple question.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO CONFIRM YOUR JOB CHOICE?
YES
NO
I pressed on the yes and felt a flush of energy flow into me, the wind in the small stable room picking up a bit.
YOU ARE NOW A COSMIC-NULL