Seeing the expressive boys eyes seem to light up with the faintest of hope, the woman smiled as she nodded and said with a small laugh "Thats it boy. That look suits you so much better"
Before answering his question, she snapped her fingers lightly and another screen appeared in front of Leones eyes.
[Quest: Affinity~!]
Quest Details: Achieve 90% compatibility with at least 4 different ' race types.
Difficulty: EX
Completion Reward(s): Soul Armory Ticket [EX grade]
90%+ Compatible Races (17/4)
Quest Failure: Erasure of Memories
Additional information: Humans on average are compatible with 3 to 4 races and average compatibility outside of Human is approximately 60%.
Quest Status: Complete
Completion Grade: SSS+
[Accept Reward: Soul Armory Ticket [EX grade]]
Upon looking at the woman who nodded at him in a silent prompt for him to accept the reward, he pressed the accept button on the screen floating in front of him. Then out of nowhere, a small prismatic paper slip slowly floated down in front of him. By instinct, Leone reached out and snatched the slip despite still being unsure of what the purpose of this ticket was supposed to serve despite its fancy name.
"Once you have selected your race, tear that ticket and you will enter the Soul Armory, A repository of ancient and unique weapons and armor that have been isolated from the world itself. You will have 5 minutes to pick out one that speaks to you. If you cant pick one out in time, you will have wasted it" The woman explained lightly as Leone inspected the ticket. "In order for you to have a chance to survive, you are going to need a powerful weapon bound to you that can grow. But I have to warn you, you will only be able to inspect the details after you leave the armory!" she said with a serious expression unlike anything she had shown him so far. "You will have to trust in your instincts and pray that your choice is the right one my boy~" she said, However, no sooner had she said that, her head snapped to a different angle, staring at something in the distance before turning back to Leone and saying "I am sorry but I can't stay here much longer. Remember what I have said and with any luck, we will be seeing each other again!" she said softly.
With a snap of her fingers, her body became incorporeal as it scattered into the air like smoke, leaving Leone all alone, still reeling from the sudden information and the burden that this choice could possibly affect his life or death. What pulled him out of his thoughts was the systems notification.
[Race Selection]
All currently available playable races confirmed. Please select Desired Race to continue to the [Starter Village]
Soul Armory Ticket detected. Ticket will be automatically used upon confirmation of the Players Race.
Note: Stat Bonuses or Penalties will be applied based on Compatibility rate.
Seeing this notification, Leone was not pleased as he was still hung up on the negative compatibility with the [Human] Race. With little to no choice, he finalized his choice as [Adaptive Beastfolk]. As soon as he pressed the confirmation, He felt his body begin to burn up, a fiery pain unlike what he knew coursed through him, his ears, hands and back feeling the worst of it. The agony of it brought him to his knees but just as quickly as it came, the pain suddenly disappeared.
Huffing on his hands and knees, Leone immediately realized that his in-game body had been modified as he felt a protrusion on his back near the base of his spine. He also noticed that his finger nails had changed as well, claws had extended from them and were digging into the ground as he caught his breath. When he lifted his hands off the ground and relaxed a bit, the claws retracted like that of a cat. The absurdity of it all made Leones ears twitch but when he realized that, his hands shot to his head as cat ears had grown on top of his head. Craning his neck to look behind him, he saw a cute furry tail akin to that of a kitten swishing in the air. The revelation that he had turned into a catboy was a mortifying situation to the young man.
Despite wanting to hide in a corner, the system did not allow that as the space around him began to glow. As the light intensified, Leone was forced to close his eyes. When he reopened his eyes, he found that the plains had disappeared, instead he stood before an ornate metal door that was at least 20 feet tall and was locked with heavy chains. Besides the door, there was nothing there, the ground, the sky and everything else was pure white. The chains locking the door suddenly burst and the door creaked open, revealing a warehouse of sorts, various weapons and armors lined up in displays like a museum.
Leone did not have the luxury of observing these displays leisurely as another notification appeared before him.
Soul Armory Ticket (EX) has been used. Quest has been Generated.
Quest: Soulbound Partner
Quest Details: Please Select a Weapon, Armor or Accessory from the display before time runs out in 300 seconds. Failure to choose will result in no reward.
Completion Reward(s): ????
Difficulty:N/A
Quest Failure: ???
Additional information: The Armaments in this Armory have an ego. With a high enough compatibility, the egos will attempt to communicate with the player. Choosing a weapon that has no compatibility with the player will incur penalties.
Remaining Time: 297/300 Seconds
As if to help Leone keep track, a Red alarm appeared in the corner of his eyes, counting down from 300 to let him know how much time he left until this new quest of his ran out of time. Wanting to use his time most efficiently, Leone rushed through the door into the warehouse that now seemed more and more like a museum with hundreds of cases on display. However as soon as Leone entered the hall, he buckled over holding his head in pain.
[Coooooomeee tooooooo meeee…..]
[PICKMEPICKMEPICKMEPICKMEPICKME]
[I am your destiny, pick me and I shall lay the world at your feet]
[Quack Quack Quack]
Thousands of voices called out to him, screaming, beckoning and cajoling were like incessant echoes inside his head. His vision blurred as blood trickled from his ears and nose, time became a blur to him as even his eyes began to bleed. However, before he passed out, A deafening roar ripped through his mind.
[SILENCE]
As if by magic, after the roar, the voices disappeared as if they had never been there to begin with.
.
Leone struggled to his feet but stumbled due to the sudden lightheadedness from the blood loss. Leone took a glance at the timer to see how much time was left and was horrified when he saw [Remaining time: 94/300 Seconds]
With no time left to waste, Leone picked a direction and hobbled off, looking at the various weapons in ornate display cases as he passed. The sheer mystical presence of some of these weapons were impressive like sleek obsidian sword that glimmered with a faint light reminiscent of the moon, twin daggers that had a sickly jade colour to them and Wings made of what looked to be molten metal. Despite their fancy appearance, Leone felt deep down that they were not meant for him, they were not good enough! Leone felt like he was about to pass out but he kept moving forward, seeking for something that even he did not know.
[Remaining time: 15/300 Seconds.]
Out of breath, Leone found himself at a wall with a solitary piece of equipment on display. However, unlike the other weapons, the case was dirty, the equipment inside was a rusty pair of bracelets, looking as if they would fall apart at the slightest touch. Despite all that, Leone couldn't look away as he felt his heartbeat accelerate, his instincts screaming at him that this was the one.
It was at that moment that Leones feet gave out on him, tripping forward, his bloodied hand pressed against the case. A display appeared before him. Without the time to check the details, Leone murmured: "I choose this one….." before his consciousness faded, slumping to the ground unconscious. The timer had ticked down to 1 second
[What a bold young man. Following your heart and not being swayed by appearances even as he is about to die. Was it Fate that led him to us? Or was it something else?].
A soft but deep voice reverberated through the air as the case around the bracelets shattered, glass scattering as the bracelets floated into the air, suspended in the air above Leone.
[We can't let him die so soon, Lets first ensure his survival, and lets see the future he yearns for. Today is not where this childs' story ends].
The bracelets turned into a ball of light before dropping into Leones body, disappearing inside of his chest. At that moment, Leone was unaware of the details of the quest completion rewards as his own body began to turn into a ball of light, disappearing from a now empty room.
Quest: Soulbound Partner
Quest Details: Please Select a Weapon, Armor or Accessory from the display before time runs out in 300 seconds. Failure to choose will result in no reward.
Completion Reward(s): Star Bracelets of Creation and Destruction (??? Grade)(Growth-Type)
Difficulty:N/A
Quest Failure: Death
Additional information: The Armaments in this Armory have an ego. With a high enough compatibility, the egos will attempt to communicate with the player. Choosing a weapon that has no compatibility with the player will incur penalties.
Remaining Time: 1/300 Seconds
Quest Status: Complete
Completion Grade: EX.
Additional Reward: Body Adaption (Unknown Grade)
The hospital was in chaos, doctors and nurses who had been in charge of a young boy confined to a bed with a mysterious illness suddenly began convulsing on his bed while playing a game his sister had brought for him. A relatively new nurse covered her mouth and turned away, unable to watch any further as the boy began to vomit blood. The doctors tried to pry the helmet off his head so they could check on and try to help him but despite their best efforts, the helmet seemed to be glued to his head. Despite their best efforts, the doctors and nurses were powerless to help them as the EKG machine that tracked his already weak heartbeat flatlined. Even using a defibrillator proved to be useless as the boy remained unresponsive. WIth no other choice, the doctors began to call the time of death Some of the nurses who had gotten to know the boy silently sobbed. They were all in total disbelief that the young boys condition could deteriorate so quickly in just 5 minutes.
The doctors and most of the nurses began to leave the room, some to clean the blood off their bodies while others went to fill out the paperwork and call the next of kin to inform them of the boys passing. As the last doctor, an old man who had long grown tired of loss, was about to leave the room, the EKG machine that had flatlined suddenly began to detect a pulse.
"What….? WHAT?! EVERYBODY, COME BACK! H-HIS PULSE! HE"S ALIVE" The old doctor shouted at his colleague, rushing back into the room to check on him.
The young boys frail body was still on deaths door but somehow the weak pulse had become stronger, his chest visibly rising and falling in a steady motion meaning the boy was beginning to breathe. The doctor was flabbergasted, he had heard of the Lazarus effect happening before but in all of years of practicing medicine, it looked like the boys condition was improving. It was a situation so preposterous that it could only be called a miracle.
The doctor stared at the boy, a weird premonition came to the doctors mind but he quickly dismissed it. It was as if the boys body was evolving in real time. That was impossible….right?