Rain awoke to a blinding light. He tried to block it out, but his body wouldn't move. After a while, his vision finally adjusted. He found himself surrounded by water, with no shoreline in sight, enveloped in a comfortable warmth.
Rain looked around, observing his surroundings. There truly was nothing but water. Just as he began to panic, a gentle voice touched his ears.
"Do not panic, unfortunate one. You are safe here."
An enormous man appeared before Rain and held him in his hand.
"This is the domain of the Water God Kyma, and I am her humble servant, Iraven."
The giant man, now identified as Iraven, spoke with an inviting smile on his face. His skin was a rich green color, and his hair was a piercing blue. Rain was shocked into silence; he had never been particularly religious, but now he was confronted by a proclaimed servant of a god.
Surely the man was aware of Rain's lack of faith, yet he was so kind. Rain was wary of him but completely powerless to do anything about it.
Iraven's smile deepened. "Trust me, I take no offense to your lack of belief. I saw your memories before I appeared before you. I don't blame you for not believing."
Rain calmed down slightly and tried to speak, but no words left his mouth. Just as the god was about to speak, Rain realized how to communicate.
"If you're a god's servant, then that must mean I died," the thought ran through Rain's mind. Iraven's expression deepened before he spoke.
"Quick on the uptake, are we? Well then, I might as well explain."
Iraven waved his free hand in front of Rain's face, showing his lifeless body on the park bench where he had fallen asleep.
"A sudden snowstorm swept across your city, and you froze to death in your sleep," Iraven said. He paused to give the boy time to contemplate his words. Rain looked somberly at his lifeless body before a thought entered his mind.
"Nothing I can do about it now. I just wish I had managed to accomplish something before I died."
Iraven was shocked; the boy was very matter-of-fact about everything and hardly seemed sad. Iraven spoke up once more, "Unfortunately for you, you were essentially fated to die in obscurity."
Rain processed what Iraven just said and his face twisted with annoyance, "That's rude, what did I ever do to you to get slandered like this."
Iraven was taken aback by Rain's sudden change in temperament. He had been mild-mannered in Iraven's memories, but having just died, perhaps he was understandably irritable.
"Allow me to explain in detail what I mean," Iraven said.
"You've been a target of the #$%^&@($&# since you were born. He loves to choose targets to torment at random. Mistress Kyma, who lost most of her influence in the Pantheon War, was unable to help you, and the other gods simply did not care." Iraven continued.
Rain interjected before the conversation could continue."Hold on, Who's been targeting me? The name missed my ears somehow"
Iraven showed a confused expression and repeated himself, "The #$%^&@($&#."
Rain stood puzzled. "I still can't hear it," he said, confused.
Iraven's face showed realization, then quickly switched to anger. "It appears he is meddling even now. Truly, an impudent man encroaching on Mistress Kyma's domain is too much even for him. Regnatus will at least issue a punishment for this."
Iraven composed himself. "Well, it matters not. Once you gain enough strength, he will no longer be able to impose his will over you, and I can explain everything in full." Iraven's smile returned as he spoke again, "Although I can't explain who has cursed you for now, I can explain why you were brought here."
Rain readied himself for the information, He had already inferred the man had a task of some kind for him but he wasn't sure what to expect.
Iraven Began his explanation."Your soul will be transported to a world known as Aurelia, once you get there You need to build up enough strength to become an avatar of Kyma and help rebuild her church, and re-establish her influence, any questions."
Rain was slightly overwhelmed by the burst of information, but quickly composed himself.
"Okay, first question why should I even help you, Next what is an avatar, and lastly if I do go along with this crazy plan how should I build my strength, as you can see I've always been small and frail."
Iraven smiled. "All perfectly reasonable questions. As for the first one, if you help Mistress Kyma, you'll be able to seek revenge on the god who influenced your past life. If you decide not to help, your soul will simply pass on to the afterlife.
Regarding your second question, an avatar is a warrior who has progressed a blessing far enough to harness a small percentage of their patron god's power."
Iraven paused before continuing his speech. "Now, the answer to the last question is a bit more complex. Let's start with your base attributes: Strength, Agility, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Willpower, and Charisma. Every person gets these base stats upon reaching level one, which are decided during their time as level zero. Most people naturally progress to level one as they age, but status can also awaken during times of extreme stress. However, most people don't progress past level one. Unlike the levels you may or may not be familiar with, there are no experience points earned to level up."
Iraven paused to give Rain time to process the information once more, then continued his explanation.
"To achieve an increase in power or level up, one must reach the stat limit by increasing their attributes. There are two methods to increase one's stats. The most common method is through extreme training focused on specific attributes. For example, knights often develop high strength through rigorous weight training to support their duties, while librarians might cultivate high intelligence from extensive experience with books.
"The second method, preferred by most adventurers, involves runes. Monsters award runes to their slayers based on the monsters' own attributes. This is undoubtedly the fastest way to gain strength and the method I highly recommend."
Iraven looked toward Rain to ensure he was properly absorbing the information, once confirmed he continued the last of the explanation.
Now, once you reach your current stat limit and level up, your stat limit increases, and you are awarded talents and skills by god's servants. At lower levels, you'll mostly receive awards from ranking servants, but as you grow stronger, more powerful servants will take notice of you. At the pinnacle of strength, talents, and skills can be awarded by the gods themselves.
"Additionally, there are godly rewards given at lower levels, such as blessings and favors from the gods. That's about it for methods to increase power."
Rain took a moment to respond, contemplating everything he had just heard. Then he replied, "Well, I don't see a reason to deny an entire second chance at life. Let's get started, I guess."
Iraven smiled "Perfect two more things before you leave, I can't control what you become when I transport you so good luck, Secondly, Kyma has awarded you a blessing to give you more of a fighting chance, so you will more than likely reincarnate as a species related to water or a Human in a coastal village, good luck and please don't try to betray Mistress Kyma, She'll be forced to strike you down and restart if you do and that would probably hurt her feelings."
Iraven waved his and Rain felt his consciousness fade once more.