What would you say if you were asked what the most important thing in the world was to you?
Maybe Love?
Family?
Friends?
Perhaps Wealth or possessions?
The list goes on and on, but if I am being totally honest with you, it's all a crock of objective shit.
The reason is simple: in my short life, I've seen brothers turn on each other, spouses cheat, people steal from the needy, and the rich get richer by exploitation. On the flip side, all of those things can be just as easily obtained as they were lost as long as your Ratings allow it.
In reality, only two things truly matter in this twisted and messed-up life: Stars and Ranks.
Either by themselves or together, the equation to get everything you ever wanted exists, so long as your ratings are high enough.
However, it's all a roll of the proverbial dice that is fate.
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Somewhere unknown in a snowswept, dirty, and dimly lit cave lay a lad, appearing to be only around 15 or 16 years old.
It was difficult to tell his actual age because, from his hand-me-down and worn-out clothing to his shaggy ash blond hair, he was the epitome of unkempt.
If it weren't for his bright emerald eyes, which shined like gems, there wouldn't be much setting him apart from any other homeless bum you'd find on the street.
Laying on his back and staring up at the frosted rocky cavern above, he couldn't help but feel lost and uncertain about his future.
"What am I supposed to do…how do I keep progressing?" Releasing a tired and concerned sigh, the Lad covered his face with his forearm and muttered to no one in particular.
With a storm of depressive thoughts and doubt threatening to overcome his mind, he looked away from the dry and cracked skin of his arm and found an odd sense of solace and comradery in something not far away.
"ZzZzZz." About 15 feet away from where the Lad lay, half the reason he was managing to stay somewhat sane could be found, happily snoring away on an extremely uncomfortable and rickety bed, was a creature perfectly adapted to the fridged terrain they had been forced to call their own. Top of Form
For a moment, his eyes drifted away from the sleeping creature and toward the semi-transparent window floating above his head, known as a Traveler's Display, something that only those who had awakened at the age of 16 were able to access.
---
Oh, right, I'm saying things you may not understand and giving zero background information. HumHum, well, for starters, allegedly, every Human Terrian has a 58% chance of awakening at the age of 16 to become what we on Terra call Travelers.
I have no idea where that number comes from; not even the teachers we learned that figure from could give us an answer, considering they were reading directly from the government-mandated textbooks.
Anyway, moving on, in short, on the last day of every month, all those who turn 16 during the month mentioned above are gathered together at school in the gymnasium, and at 6 pm sharp, those who will awaken will, and those unlucky few who don't, well…you know…don't.
Awakening and becoming a traveler was an odd sensation that, even several hours later, I can't exactly describe. In a sense, it was like both drowning and eating a satisfying meal all at the same time as dropping a good dump.
Regardless, it only lasts a minute at most, and ding dong, you've stepped out of the realm of being a Mundane, like that lackluster teenager wearing hand-me-down clothes, into being a TRAVELER!
Superpowers, adventure, riches, women—the world becomes your burrito, waiting for you to take a massive bite! Although statistically, it was extremely improbable that you'd be gifted God-given powers and an extremely powerful Attribute or "Special Skill," you shouldn't let that dampen your spirits; the Lad sure didn't.
He was so full of hope and promise, and as he watched the Principal of his high school open the gym floor to reveal the School's Flume *Transfer Portal*, he was practically vibrating with excitement.
Flumes are the only means of travel between the Ash-Blond Lad's homeworld of Terra and Genovia, a world 5000 times the size of Terra, one where anything was possible.
And the only ones who can access these magical artifacts, are Travelers. If a Mundane, aka someone who didn't awaken, tried to access a Flume, they would never live to see another day, and that's because the natural human body isn't able to withstand the chaotic energy inside the transversal teleporter.
Technically speaking, Flumes were a strange and somewhat mystical artifact; all a traveler had to do was mentally or verbally speak the coordinates or name of where they wished to travel, and they'd be whisked away to Genovia and dropped off where they wanted.
And before you ask, yeah, there are an unfathomable number of locations you could travel to; however, there are just as many restrictions in place stopping unwanted Travelers from randomly showing up alongside you.
The reason was that each New Traveler was given a randomly decided piece of land over which they would become the lord. Unless otherwise given access, no one could use a flume to get to another Traveler's Territory.
Who decides said Territory is unknown; some people say it's one of the billions of Gods that civilizations have worshiped for millennia, while others say the TD *Travelers Display* or whatever entity is in control of the TD determines it. Still, in the end, there's no true way of knowing.
Personally, I subscribe to the theory that your initial Stats and Attributes determine your starting location.
But at the end of the day, the answer is unknown and thus considered "Random."
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"Newly Awoken Travelers, it's time; we will be going by order of Classes, and when your name is said, step forward, take your Beginner Starter Pack, and do as you've been taught." The Principal, a stern-looking man with a short military-style haircut, cleared his throat, grabbing the attention of everyone in the Gym, a certain ash-blond-haired lad included.
However, since the Lad was in Class 3-E, the last on the list, he quickly lost interest, slipping into autopilot and following the crowd like a good little sheep while mentally running through the starting plan he'd had spent years preparing.
'The moment I touch down, I need to set up my shelter and construct my personal Flume. It sucks that I'm stuck with a Null- 1 Star (☆) Flume, but it's fine; I'm sure I'll be able to get all the resources I need to upgrade it relatively quickly…if only…' the Ash-Haired boy's thoughts trailed off for a moment as he watched the new Travlers from Class 1-A step forward while ignoring the starter kits.
Seeing the smug-looking "Young Master Types" ignore the government-subsidized equipment made sense because all of them were from well-off families who no doubt wasted no expense in providing their children with the best their vast Wealth could purchase.