I'm falling…
Darkness surrounded me, pushing me downwards as my body felt like lead, stiff and heavy.
I did not know where I was, and all I felt was the weighty, oppressive feeling my surroundings enforced on me.
I had no control over my movements, and the only thing I was capable of doing was breathing, and blinking.
It felt like I was stuck in a void, for I felt no mass or air making contact with my body as I fell.
I tried to recall how I came to this place, yet there was nothing.
I tried to recall what I'd been doing before, yet there was nothing.
I tried to recall who I was, and yet… there was nothing.
No memories, no remembrance, no recollection, as if I was a blank slate; an empty vessel.
And yet, despite that… I felt a pull, towards something familiar.
A light in the distance shone, becoming brighter by the second.
I tried to move towards it, but there was no need to do so, for the light came to me with much haste.
It approached closer, and within seconds had enveloped my entire body, bathing me in rays of white, and gold.
I did not resist its embrace, on the contrary, I seemed to yearn for it, to reunite with it, as if it was a long-lost part of me.
As it surrounded me, vivid images began to flood my empty mind; memories, I realized.
A normal human, who lived a normal life, and met his end at the behest of a supernatural being, was granted a second life, albeit with his memories sealed for a time, as a child of royal lineage, who was forsaken by his mother and exiled deep below the earth.
These memories and emotions overwhelmed me, as I lived through each and every part of their lives, from the very beginning.
"Congratulations, it's a boy!"
"Oh my goodness, he's taking his first steps!"
"Oh, did our little Marvin get an A? Mama is so proud!"
Marvin… is that who I am?
"Look at him, burying himself in that book. Wanna know what we call people like him? A Nerd!"
"A– Am I so ugly that you thought you had a chance?"
"Hey Marv, why don't we join a gym? Also, can I borrow some money, I promise to pay you back, aight?"
"Yo dude, check out this weird animation."
"Skibidi dop dop…"
"I'm sorry, but there's nothing we can do, he overdosed."
"...Guess I'll go to the grocery store…"
"TRUCK-KUN… huh? who woulda thought–"
"My wish is…"
"For mine child to be born cursed!"
"Thy name shalt be…"
"Taketh the first of thy steps, Morgott."
"Ye art hurt again. Did ye run in the hallways, even when I advised ye not to?"
"Morgott, Mehg, come whatever may, I shalt love thee always…"
Morgott…
Morgott?
As it all settled into my mind, what was once half, had started to become whole again.
Ahh, is that so… what came before… I… finally remember… who... I am...
The last of the memories passed through, of our descent down here with Tricia, and the light started to dim until it flickered out of existence.
Darkness surrounded me once more, and I felt one final tug at the back of my mind.
Letting go of my body, I drifted upwards for a long while before the pull on my consciousness became stronger, and I felt myself flicker out of this plane of existence, entering the waking world once again.
X – X – X – X – X – X
"Grrgghh…"
Bringing my hand up to my face, I massaged my temples, maneuvering my fingers around my horns as I tried to calm the raging headache that struck me as I awoke.
My eyes were tightly shut as I left them to be while waiting for the headache to subside.
My mind replayed the experience, sorting through memories of two lives of a single person–me.
Well, that was something, alright. I guess I know now what the voice meant by my memories being sealed.
Which didn't mean jack-shit, considering now that they're unsealed, I vividly remember myself being breastfed by Tricia, having her clean my shit… and… piss…
Fuck, just kill me already!
Like why! Why do I remember that moment so clearly? I was only a baby then, so my memory shouldn't even be that good!
God damn it, if I was gonna remember anyway, why didn't they let me suck from Marika's tits!
I mean, seriously, I only saw her a few times in this life, and let me tell you… those bazoongas are insane.
As I kept rambling on, it took me a few moments to realize that the pain was already gone. My eyelids lifted, and a dimly lit room greeted my eyes.
Focusing my sight, I noticed a few Omens slumbering on the ground, their faces twisted in agony as they dreamt of horrible nightmares.
I felt a weight on my legs and looked down to find my sister, her head resting on my lap.
Right, I have a sister now.
Just like the other Omen, she dreamt something terrible, as tears fell from her eyes and she writhed in place.
She was the only one to have the nightmares out of the two of us, as for some strange reason, I was only met with pleasant dreams every time I slept.
Although I had an inkling as to why it was, I felt miffed that I was the only one having the privilege, while she had to suffer daily.
That's something I'll have to find a solution for because there ain't no way I'm just gonna let her keep suffering like this for the rest of her life.
Sure, I regained the memories of my first life, but that doesn't mean the time I spent with her is gone.
Our bond is very much real, and anyone who says otherwise can just strap themselves to a chair while watching Boku no pico as it plays on repeat for an entire day.
I wonder if there's a way to share this ability with her.
Presently, I did the only thing I could and started caressing her hair and face, in hopes that the little warmth I could provide would ease her suffering.
It didn't have a major effect, but It felt like her writhing had lessened just a tiny bit… or maybe I was just coping.
Shifting my attention, I finally decided to deal with the elephant in the room.
"System…" I called quietly, realizing that my voice sounded squeaky. I sounded like one of those squeaky shitheads from a COD lobby.
It was a bit grating that I sounded like that, but it's something I'll have to deal with for a few years.
[Greetings, sir. How may I help you?]
As I called for it, a bright blue panel with words written on it appeared from thin air, floating right in front of me.
At the same time, I heard a masculine voice echo throughout the room, startling me, and almost causing me to curse loudly for everyone to hear.
"Shit, keep it down man, you're gonna wake everyone up!" I whisper-shouted, trying to keep my voice as low as possible.
[My voice is directly being transmitted to your mind. As such, you are the only one who can hear my voice.]
"Oh… is that so?" I replied, feeling a bit embarrassed.
As he spoke, I could see the panel changing in real-time, constantly updating to present each and every word that he said.
In other words, they were subtitles.
[Also, you can communicate with me through your thoughts.]
"Right, I remember the voice suggested adding that in, so…" My voice trailed off, as I continued the rest of my thoughts.
Can you hear me now?
[Yes, I can hear you, sir.]
Oh, so it does work. That's nice.
I let out a satisfied hum, pleased that I wouldn't have to speak out loud whenever I wanted to communicate with the system.
Alright, system– hold on now, we never gave you a name, did we?
[You did not, sir. However, I do not think you need to do so. I was created for the sole purpose of helping you grow into a powerful being. As such, I believe just "System" would suffice.]
Sure, I could call you that… nah, let's give you a name. Calling you system over and over again would honestly get tiring and annoying.
[...If that is your wish, then very well.]
Now we're talking! Let's see, what should your name be? Jarvis– no, too generic. Siri or Iris wouldn't work either…
I thought hard, trying to come up with a unique and original name.
Come to think of it, he does sound like Chris Hackney, so I think an appropriate name would be…
How about… Rusty. How does that sound?
[Rusty? Rusty…]
He repeated the name twice, almost as if he was checking to see how it'd feel in his voice.
[I… suppose it is an acceptable name.]
Maybe I was hearing it wrong, but I could have sworn that his voice fluctuated and for a brief second, he sounded joyous.
Eh, I guess it's a good thing if he's happy.
Alright! Now that that's over with, let's get to the good stuff. Rusty, pull up the menu.
[As you wish, sir.]
As he said that, the floating panel in front of me changed, now having a list of options, instead of just subtitles.
{ – System Menu – }
{Status}
{Skills}
{Inventory}
{Shop}
{Dungeons}
{Dimensional Travel}
{Missions}
{Settings}
First things first… let's see how weak I am.
With a thought, I selected the first option, causing a larger panel to appear, one with all my information on it.
{ – Status – }
{Name: Morgott}
{Level: 1 (0%) | EXP: 0/100}
{Title: None}
{Class: None}
{Credits: 0}
{HP: 800/800 | HP Regen: 0.08 per second}
{MP: 260/260 | MP Regen: 0.26 per second}
{SP: 100/100 | SP Regen: 0.10 per second}
{VIG: 4 (8)}
{MND: 13 (26)}
{END: 5 (10)}
{STR: 3 (6)}
{DEX: 6 (12)}
{INT: 13}
{FAI: 10}
{LUC: 6}
{Stat Points: 0}
Huh… they're kinda higher than what I was expecting, even if it's not by much. Also, why do some of them have differing numbers?
Hey Rusty, what's up with the first five attributes having different numbers?
[Those numbers are present due to the existence of a passive skill, which you will find in the {Skills} section.]
I have a passive skill? I know I decided on a few while designing the system, but I don't remember there being one that increases my stats.
Is that so? I'll take a look at it once I'm done with this section. For now, let me take a closer look at the status bars, attributes, Class, and Credits.
Upon my request, the panel was updated, now having descriptions that expand upon all the important bits of the status sheet.
{ – Status – }
{Level: A person's measure in numbers. It is used as a way to gauge someone's overall strength and experience. The level of an average person is 10.
While simply used as a unit of measurement for others, each level increases all attributes by 1, and provides 2 additional Stat Points to you, by virtue of being a Player.}
{Title: Granted by the system as proof of your achievement, given that said achievement is known by at least one being. Some Titles may provide benefits, depending on the nature of the title.}
{Class: Defines a path you can take. Each class influences how your stats may grow, what skills you acquire, etc.}
{Credits: An integral part of the System. Allows you to purchase items, skills, and the like from the {Shop}. Credits can be acquired by exploring, killing enemies, doing missions, and a few other ways.}
{HP: Stands for Health Points. It is a way to keep track of your vitality. If your HP hits 0, you will die.
HP = VIG*100 | HP Regen = VIG/100}
{MP: Stands for Mana Points. A way to keep track of your Mana reservoir. If your MP hits 0, you will suffer from Mental exhaustion.
MP = MND*10 | MP Regen = MND/10}
{SP: Stands for Stamina Points. A way to keep track of your stamina. If your SP hits 0, you will suffer from physical exhaustion.
SP = END*10 | SP Regen = END/10}
{VIG (Vigor): Represents your vitality, and ability to take damage. Heavily affects HP and HP Regen.}
{MND (Mind): Represents your magical capacity, ability to sustain prolonged mental efforts, and affinity with the supernatural. Heavily affects MP and MP Regen.}
{END (Endurance): Represents your ability to sustain prolonged physical efforts, and to surpass your physical capabilities. Heavily affects SP and SP Regen.}
{STR (Strength): How much power your body can exert, whether it be lifting, running, punching, kicking, etc.}
{DEX (Dexterity): Your reaction speed, fine motor control, mind-body coordination, and how well you can perceive things around you.}
{INT (Intelligence): A representation of your knowledge, how smart you are, and how well you can understand something.}
{FAI (Faith): Your belief in something, whether it be a deity, a rock, or even yourself. Affects your affinity with the supernatural,}
{LUC (Luck): How lucky you are. Increases chances of getting better loot from enemies, chance encounters, etc.}
{Stat Points: Excess points that you may accumulate in the future, and assign to any attribute you choose.}
Reading through each explanation, I found that most were pretty straightforward. However, there was one thing I was curious about.
Hey Rusty, quick question.
[Yes?]
So about the Title, I know it says that my achievements have to be known by at least one being. So… does that mean you can count as that one being?
[...I suppose so.]
Noice!
I did a mental somersault upon hearing that.
Alright, let's move on to {Skills} now!
{ – Skills – }
{Gamer's Mind (MAX) (Passive): Grants immunity against all attacks of a mental nature cast directly upon you. That includes illusions, mind-bending powers, and the like.}
{Gamer's Body (MAX) (Passive): Your body can now act on video game logic. Attacks that would outright kill you will only deal critical damage. Remove any limiters that may hinder your growth, now the sky's the limit.}
{Observe (1/20 | 0%) (Novice) (Passive/Active): Allows you to view basic information about anyone and anything within your field of vision, as long as you focus on them, and as long as their Level is within a certain range. Current Level Range: 10
Cost: 10 MP per use.}
{Demigod Physiology (1/5) (Passive): Born of the Golden Lineage, you inherited the immense might that comes with being part of the offspring of Queen Marika. Divine blood flows through your veins, tainted as it may be due to the Crucible's Blessing.
Increases all attributes by 100% at the skill's current level.}
{Cursed Blessing (1/5) (Passive): Blessings of the Crucible were revered in the ages past, but now are reviled as a curse. Accursed blood flows through your veins. Causes growths of horns and other animalistic features such as tails, and wings.}
{Dagger Proficiency (10/20 | 15% ) (Novice) (Passive): How well you can handle a dagger-type weapon. As a novice, you have little experience with daggers other than inefficiently slashing and stabbing.
Provides a flat 10% boost to damage output.}
Hmm… {Gamer's Mind}, {Gamer's Body}, {Observe} are there as expected, though it's a shame that {Observe} isn't maxed out, which means at my current level, I can only use it on someone 10 Levels higher than me.
It also confirms why I never had any nightmares, which can be considered as a kind of mental attack by vengeful hornsent spirits.
Man, fuck the hornsent, all my homies hate the hornsent.
It's understandable why Marika is racist against them, disgusting shits keep being annoying even in death.
{Demigod Physiology} though… I guess that's what is affecting my stats. Not that I dislike it, more power is always good.
{Cursed Blessing} sounds a bit worrying though, with the whole accursed blood thing.
I know in the game that Morgott– or rather, I, had sealed away my blood into the Cursed Sword.
I also know that it allowed me to use Bloodflame, which is even more worrying, as Bloodflame was entirely Mohg's thing after he was blessed by the Formless Mother.
My sister, Mehg, can also use her blood, although she only used it to heal my wounds, and never for any offensive purposes.
It couldn't be… could it?
Looking directly at her sleeping visage, I cast {Observe} on her. I could feel something metaphysical–most probably my Mana–leave my body as a new panel popped up before me.
{ – Status –}
{Name: Mehg}
{Level: 5}
{Title: None}
{Class: None}
{HP: 900/900}
{MP: 100/100}
{SP: 120/120}
Not gonna lie, I was a bit worried since this was my first time using a skill, but I guess I didn't have to be.
Reading through the panel, I noticed that I couldn't read her attributes or skills. So I called out to Rusty, hoping he could answer why.
Hey Rusty, I don't see anything below her SP bar, why is that?
[That is because the skill level is not high enough. You need to have it at Intermediate rank at least for you to be able to see her attributes and skills.]
Welp, that kinda sucks, but alright.
I deflated visibly, peeved at the new revelation. Sulking for a few seconds, I moved on to the next part of the System.
Opening the {Inventory}, I was met with rows of empty boxes, except for one, which contained a singular item. Just reading its name, I could tell it was something valuable.
{ – Inventory – }
{Beginner Class Change Token (x1)}
{Beginner Class Change Token: A token that allows you to change your class. One-time use only.}
It was something I needed if I wanted to get stronger at a faster rate, as I'm pretty sure each class would provide additional stat points, depending on the path I chose.
I didn't find anything else in my {Inventory}, so I moved on to the next section…
Growl…
Or I would've, had my stomach not rumbled in protest.
Well, I suppose I'll have time later to check out the rest of the System, but for now, a man and his sister's gotta eat!
Feeling an itch on the back of my neck, I started scratching it with my hand, feeling a soft, fur-like texture on my palms.
I scratched normally, but my hands froze after a few seconds, as a dreadful realization hit me.
…
I'm a furry now…
…
FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUC—
X – X – X – X – X – X
Drop a comment or something, or else I'll break your Nico Nico Kneecaps.