"I assume this is the second stage of [origin] protocol…" one of the brothers asked with a frown.
[Yep, I hope you understand the pain from here on out will be much more than before. That's why I recommend that you prepare yourselves here now.]
"That is quite understandable…" said the two brothers in sync then started to ponder about something. "We were both like to ask you a few questions?"
[whatever, spit it out already] he said lazily.
"In all the information you have given us you mentioned something about giving us new bodies." said one of the brothers as they looked at the pop-up screen.
[That's exactly what I was going to explain next] he sighs in frustration. He waved his hand to show them the list he had prepared for them.
"Those names are…" muttered the brothers, looking at the list with fascination.
The man had a mischievous grin and said [These are the names of characters that resonance with your soul]
"Resonance?" The brothers repeated while looking at the screen meticulously "I assume you mean we can choose any name from this long ass list of yours, but does that mean we will have their body as well?"
[Yes it's quite easy to understand is it not? As to why these characters you two have simply made a connection with them somehow… whether it be through personality, mindset or just a guilty pleasure.]
The brothers were silent but their eyes brimming with curiosity about going over the list of names. One of the brothers asked "do the skills and character we choose affect the outcome of the very first mission we get"
[Yep, everyone of these characters have their own strength and weakness, they also have their own innate abilities and skills. Which you two will be able to pick from whatever new body you boys managed to choose from.]
He said [Your original body is tied to your homeworld, in order to sever the control over your soul from this dimension. That is why you'll feel a huge uncomfortable feeling spread throughout your body.]
The two young men looked at each other and then looked back at the administrator to ask for any advice.
The mysterious man with long black and purple hair had a mischievous grin on his face. So the twins could not see it, all the twins could see was a few strands of black and purple hair coming out from the mysterious administrators black haze that surrounded him.
[There are different play styles to each and every character they will see on the panel, they also have strength, weakness along with innate abilities. Which I graciously gave you the opportunity to choose from when you two start choosing new bodies]
The brothers looked at each other then looked back at the mysterious administrator who was looking at them expectantly as if to say hurry up you two.
Excuse me mister, why can't we just use the bodies we have right now?"
The man with the long black and purple hair sighs, does the administrator tell the brothers. They can't start their journey without severing the last tie to their world.
[Absurd, your body won't be able to evolve because of your connection to the original world you came from. The only way to get system skills is "present you two will have an opportunity" to acquire a new body for both of you with all the requirements already waiting for you to choose from.]
"But why?" The brothers cocked their heads curiously.
The mysterious administrator sighs with frustration but still patiently says [cuz both your bodies and genetic code are tried in your original world. The first step is to separate your body from your soul so who wants to go first? Anyway that is why you will feel discomfort spread throughout your body.]
[Different characters specialize in different things whether it would be activities or mundane things. Some characters have the specialty of having luck on their side, but others get it through sheer skill and determination. Others have a special type of energy that can help them through difficult situations, it just depends on how much you search for it. I wonder what kind of route you will follow from here on out? And with the energy of "the origin" you have endless possibilities and opportunities.]
The two brothers fell silent as they looked down at the panel that was in front of them.
Different characters appeared on the panel they looked at like takafuji inori, cyril larose, Kimihito Kurusu, Shinichi Tanaka one of the brothers said muttered most of these characters are useless. They would be clueless about the changes that would happen to their body if they choose to take possession of any of these characters. Which would mean their minds would be influenced by the actions of the brothers "takafuji inori…"
While "takafuji inori" was from the World of [Meccha Shoukan Sareta Ken] insanely strong after he became a vampire, the problem is his power was given to him either by chance or by luck. So they don't know if it would be before or after the isekai. Although his weakness to the Sun was something the brothers found really annoying. This character's potential had a chance to be complete garbage if he stayed a regular human.
"Is there any way that we can improve our new bodies to make the potential greater?" The brothers asked curiously…
[Yep, [the origin] can improve the new body what you need is just the imagination and the necessary points for such improvement]
Brothers started reading the list over again skimming through name after name like Shiina Kazuya, Gao Peng (Which he comes from is a Pokemon like world), Tsuchimi Rin had the mentality of being a wimp on top of being dense which is a double negative for the brother. Rein Shroud had some pretty good potential for being a beast tamer.
Then one of the brothers stopped halfway down the list to see two names they were very familiar with which brought back tears and nostalgia.
The two teenagers started skipping through the list once more, until they found two names that were familiar to them. Memories of when their mother was still alive started to invade they're mind, it was around Easter… When they finally started opening the two presents, what they saw first was final fantasy; the second gift was a crochet kit.
The panels show pictures of a blonde haired man with blue eyes, a well built physique and a huge Claymore. The other panel shows a picture of a black haired man with obsidian eyes; he has the same well built physique and also holds a claymore.
Both Brothers frowned; they wanted to stay together and not be separated with different families. So they asked the administrator if they could change a few details about the two characters. The administrator stroked his chin thoughtfully… nodded in consent, mischievousness twinkled within his heterochromatic eyes but he would not let them go without paying the price.
[There's no turning back after this the administrator said… are you sure you won't regret it?]
We won't… we are ready!
[If that is what you decided then let's begin… but I will say this in return the pain will be a lot more intense than usual since you requested your new body will try to reject these changes but if it succeeds. I will give you something special in return for compensation of the inconvenience]
"Just get on with it already…" they said in an exaggerated voice. As they take a deep breath trying to calm down they're anxious for what is about to happen next…
[Anyway the pain you will start to feel is the system destroying your body at the cellular level so make sure your body is strong enough to withstand it because this is only the first round of strengthening by the system… do you understand?]
The two brothers said nothing while giving each other a glance. As they started taking off their red t-shirts rolled it up as thick as possible and biting it for they could instinctively feel a sharp pain.
The pain was so intense they choked on blood, and saliva made their t-shirt taste like iron. Though the teenagers were too busy trying not to lose consciousness from the excruciating pain. They felt like everything from their marrow to their flesh is being torn apart then sewn back together by an unknown power.
They tried their best to stay conscious through the immense pain "HMPH"… "GRAGH" and unintelligent growling.
[You should try to relax you two, And since you want to add modifications to your appearance it's going to be more painful than it should be… What's happening right now is just some modifications like strengthening then replacing organs and blood by the system]
[This procedure will only multiply the pain you have since both of your bodies are being reconstructed from the inside out along with slight modifications. That also means the time you need to withstand the pain a little while longer, I'm sure this is something you'll truly value in time.]
The two brothers weren't able to reply in any way, The torture was too great for them to stay conscious.
[Uh, it's a shame they couldn't stay awake any longer but they've done well for mere humans. Well it's not like I really care about them anyway, it's just been so long since I've had some entertainment...]
17 minutes later, the torture was over. The two young men slowly regained consciousness then opened their eyes to glance at one another. What they saw shocked them. One saw dirty blonde hair- Sapphire eyes, the other had onyx black hair and amethyst eyes. Though the strangest thing about both of their eyes would be they would shine and shimmer.
Then they looked at the system panel while slowly getting up from the floor of the room they were in was slightly glowing with translucent light and an inky black light. They stretched their body wanting to test it out but what they saw on the system panel slightly surprised them.
[Umm… I can see the first time both of you have gotten close to magic particles. You two are very interesting because of how fast you have adjusted to your new bodies. [- - - - -] and [- - - - -] Oops, I almost forgot to call you [cloud strife] and [Zack Fair] …]
"Cloud …. Strife?" and "Zack .… Fair?" The two young men looked over to the mirror. The first they noticed they were both butt naked, the second thing they noticed was the very well-trained body they had. The very wild but handsome faces, the spiky dirty blonde mane that went down to the middle of his back, the sapphire eyes but if one didn't look closer they would see a slight greenish tint in a young man's eye. "Hmm… well it is not as prominent as the original game character because he wasn't affected by [mako energy]- is this really me? Both brothers said at the same time?"
The spiky onyx black mane of the second brother was a bit longer than the first Brother's but the second brother's eyes were different. It is as beautiful as amethyst with a slight greenish tint that is difficult to see. So one thing could be seen clearly: their eyes were not ordinary.
[That is correct, these are your new bodies so I recommend you both learn to adapt as quickly as possible to your new bodies]
They tried to take the first step only to almost stumble face first onto the floor. "Damn it that hurt!" Trying to get up from the floor though still a bit dizzy tried to adapt to their new bodies as quickly as possible.
They got better after a while of crawling, then they got to their feet and started walking around.
[Congrats looks like you've adapted quite well to your new bodies. So how does it feel to have the bodies of video game characters?]
"It feels much more different than what I expected" said cloud "This is much more interesting than School or work for that matter" said Zack
[Excellent, then it's time to move on to the third phase. Which is skill optimization, and you might want to put on some clothes. Well it would be nice to not see your route reproductive system swinging around…]
The two brothers sighed in embarrassment, they both grabbed a couple underwear. It's a good thing they always bought clothes a size larger.
[I'm going to recommend you two a couple skills this time, moving on to skill optimization… but don't expect me to hold your hand the entire time]
The clothes that appeared in front of the two boys looked so much better than what they were wearing, this was the same clothing that the characters wore in the game.
[Now it's time for move on to
skill optimization… The fun is just about to begin!!]