Chapter 1 - Karma

This is my second ever book, I currently have a second I'm also working at along side this one. I'm still a growing writer and I hope you all enjoy.

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  Location/POV - ?????

「Select a Class」

'W..What? Where.... Where am I? Who am I?' Grabbing my head I sift through my thoughts, my head throbbing pain as if I had drank an entire winery, my memories blurry but semi-intact.

「"Please Select a Class"」, once again the disembodied and feminine(?) voice enters my ear? No, it's more like it's in my head, which is NOT helping with my headache.

Looking around I notice I'm in what seems to be an open void with a watery-like floor, the space ever expanding and no light in the distance, the only source of luminescence being the screen in front of me, its black background and white text beaming in my eyes.

'The hell is this? Why can I tell the background is black, it doesn't seem to be blending into the space behind it, is this a regular black vs. a colorless black? Odd, how did I end up here? No, I remember, didn't some wizard hit me with some spell because of what I did. Thought magic wasn't real, and why would a wizard dress like that?'

「"You weren't hit by a wizard or a spell, it was a homele-"」

'Hm? Ah right, so I did get it before his spell hit me', looking down at my hand I notice my reward for what I had done, a Klondike bar, definitely worth being hit with a spell.

"「How do you have that you should only be in a soul form and they weren't a wizard they were a-」," the voice seems to give up as I turn back towards the screen taking a bite out of the bar.

'That's not what matters right now, where am I? Guess I'm dead, I don't really feel scared or anything, that's what most feel when they hear they died right'

「"You are in a sub-space reality built for those who were chosen for this form of reincarnation/transmigration. It seems the 'spell' (Gun) that killed you hit your Prefrontal Cortex causing some memory interference, the body, mind, and soul are linked so it's causing your soul form to be experiencing 'pain' as you'd call it. As for your lack of fear, your Frontal Lope is in front of your Prefrontal Cortex so it was probably hit too causing emotional change for the moment, and your soul was pulled quite fast so you probably felt the grasp of death for little time."」

'Way too lengthy but I guess that makes sense, anyways you mentioned class or something? Guess reincarnation exists too but what can I really do, complain? But what do you mean by this 'form of reincarnation',' a screen immediately appears at my questions, dozens of options presenting themselves ranging from basic options like Fighter, Berserker, and Ranger all the way to The Honored One, The Black Swordsman, and The Chosen One.

'A lot of these seem to be based off of anime and other pieces of fiction, right? There's got to be a caveat right?'

「"Correct, you are going through a form of what we call Karma Reincarnation. It was a recently instated form of reincarnation, at least this specific version of it, only being 150 thousand years old. You will use the Karma you gained in life to 'purchase' skills, classes, and many other things, please note that you can't reverse a purchase. Also, you can't see the exact amount of points you possess, we've had to deal with far too many min-maxers and some people aren't smart enough to deal with all the options."」 

'My karma huh... Can't say I was the greatest person in my life. Partying, Drinking, and Sleeping with a few too many different people than I'd like to admit. Then again that's college for you, I mean what did the staff expect from a bunch of engineering kids to do, then again some tended to join us so I doubted they cared,' I stare into space remembering some things I did in my life, many blurry faces and a decent amount of different parties I'd experienced in my time.

Right, I had been a Computer Science and Electrical Engineering Major. Pretty sure I had minored in general science but it's kind of iffy, I had gone to an engineering school for a couple of years before.... The stress eating away at me had me turn to drinking and partying. Honestly can't remember a week where I hadn't at least been buzzed, got so bad that I got good at working in those conditions to the point I worked better at sometimes... sometimes.

'Can I ask where I'm being sent to?'

「"You're being sent to a world in the Marvel-verse, the exact one I can't say, though you can purchase that information, there isn't a thing you can't purchase if you have enough Karma Points (KP)."」

(Small Note: I'm using 'World' in tandem with the words Universe or Reality.)

'Fuck, can't say Marvel is the worst option but it depends on what world. I never really read the comics either, only ever saw the movies and played the remastered version of Yuri Spider-Man. Guess you can include Web of Shadows but I can't remember it for shit. Hey, what about my body, can I force myself to be put into someone's body, or have you already chosen who?'

「"You can purchase a specific body yes, if you don't then a body befitting your choices will be given. Say you decide to take a negative trait to gain more KP like losing an eye, then you will be given the body of a character that has only one eye. Though Mental Traits won't act the same." 」

Nodding I scroll through the list, biting into my Klondike Bar, I take notice of the sheer volume of options, some being disabled as I don't meet the requirements of them, 'so what's the caveat with choosing things?'

「"Price and personality/action requirements like following a god or being a good person your entire life. There are a few more but nothing else of immediate note other than the more powerful a class the more it costs the less powerful the less it costs. Basic classes will be the cheapest, the more unspecific a class the cheaper they are as well. Think of classes like package deals for specific abilities you will automatically unlock or have the natural ability to unlock at an easier rate than other classes."」

Sifting through them all a couple grab my attention, those being The Ghost of the Uchiha, The Legendary Super Saiyan, and The Scarlet Speedster. It seems race changes and bonuses are also a part of these packages, guess that makes sense but how expensive are they?

The voice takes notice of my interest in them and answers my unasked question, 「"You couldn't purchase those classes, but you could buy lower tier versions of them as well as take a discounted version. Discounted Versions possess fewer attributes/traits and come with debuffs or negative traits without the added bonus of KP. "」

I start chuckling to myself a bit, imaging the sad dipshits that picked the most overpowered classes but just discounted, probably making it harder to get their overpowered ability. Getting themselves killed in the process. Neckbeards, as much as you hate them they're funny to see being idiots.

'Anyways, you said basic classes are the cheapest for the most part right? From what I understand I can obtain other class abilities right? You said 'or have the natural ability to unlock at an easier rate than other classes', so that means I can get other class abilities right?'

「"Correct, although difficult it's entirely possible."」

'Can I multi-class?'

「"Yes, though that class will cost more than normal if it's the multiclass choice."」

'Fine, can I have the Artificer Class and Summoning Class, or do I not have enough,' I shift my body around, taking a seat in place, the floor below rippling as a warm feeling spreads up my spine.

The screen moves itself to follow me as Bill Cosby talks to me once again, 「"That is fine, they only cost a low amount, you still possess a good amount of KP."」

「Classes Selected, Primary Class: Artificer, Secondary Class: Summoner. "Would you also like the Necromancer Subclass?」

(I'm aware that Summoner is a mage/wizard class or specialization but the systems have infinite classes and Summoning isn't always 'magical' it's also spiritual which aren't always the same.)

'...no, Why do you ask?'

「"They're commonly purchased together so I figured I'd make it easier and ask. What specialization or subclass would you like for your classes."」

'Why do people wanna be a necromancer so badly? Summoners are just better, Necromancers are just summoners but limited to the dead and that causes a shit ton of problems, specifically the part where they're dead people. Whatever, can I have a jack-of-all-trades option for my summoner class, or just non-specialized?'

「Summoner Subclass Chosen: Summoning」

'Huh....,' I take a moment finding out that summoning is a specialization in summoning, makes some sense but isn't it redundant? Who am I to judge god I guess.

'Now I need one for Artificer, knowing Marvel it'd probably be best to go with an engineering type, choosing something like Artillerist or Battle Smith probably wouldn't be the best. I did Major in two things for a reason, the options. So my final answer is Engineering.

「Artificer Subclass Chosen: Engineering」

'So what next,' I press the back of my head towards the floor, the softness of a pillow during a thunderstorm while it's raining enveloping my head.

「Abilities and Traits"」, a screen with an innumerable amount of abilities and traits shows up, completely stalling my brain.

'God damn it, I could be here for hours, why can't things be as easy as me eating this Klondike Bar,' taking another bite I notice that the Klondike Bar keeps rejuvenating itself.

'Hey, I can take Negative Traits, right? What if they conflict with my natural personality, like if I smoked a lot what would happen if I took a smoking trait?'

「"They would even out, taking a Negative Trait simply gives you an impulse, if you're used to the impulse then it won't affect you. Please note that traits have tiers to their effects."」

'Good, can you grab both a medium workaholic and alcoholic trait,' immediately a screen telling me I acquired both these traits appears, KP being added to my amount, which I was never told.

In the back of my head, I feel the natural urge to work and the light taste of alcohol on my tongue desiring more, 'This doesn't seem that bad to control, shouldn't be an issue'

'But what else should I get, now that I think about it what will I do in the new world? Will I be a hero, will I just go back to living my life...My life huh,' I pause for a moment, deciding to just roll with it as I don't even know what I'll find when I enter this new world yet.

Honestly, most of my decisions have just been what I like as an RPG, my affinity towards building, and my love for summoning shit...Summoning huh.

'Hey, can you give me an ability that allows me to create contracts or marks with anything?' This time the voice takes a moment as the screens starts twisting and changing before a new one appears.

「"Pact and Contracts is a natural ability of the Summoning class but I can alter its natural ability to fit what you want". Skill: Summoning Contracts Altered to Work on Non-Living Beings *This Ability Only Work When A Mark Has Been Placed On The Desired Objects.」

'What about me wanting to summon things I don't have contracted'

「"Summoning non-contracted/marked summons is possible, it will all be based on your skill and if what you're trying to summon is sentient or not, or if it's possessed by someone else. I don't think I should have to explain that powerful artifacts and beings require a lot of skill to summon, though this gap or skill requirement can be substituted by a catalyst or a bribe such as souls, blood, and much more. Plus not all beings have to accept, though you can force contracts through submissions if skilled enough, or the summoning style allows it."」

Taking a moment I re-read the words a couple of times, now that I think about it this reminds me of something. A Binding Vow I believe is what it was called, 'Can I get the ability of Binding Vow'

「"Yes, though that ability will cost a decent amount, though it'll be cheaper as it will just alter your summoning contract ability. Summoning Contract is what you would call a Sub-Skill it's a skill based off of contracts so obtaining other contract-based abilities will be easier and cheaper for you." Skill Obtained: Binding Vow.」

'So I don't have much left then right? Hm... Can the rest of my points be spent towards the body I'm going to get, as long as it's unspecified it should be cheaper, right? Also, what's gonna happen to Fred (The Klondike Bar)'

「"Yes it'll be cheaper to allow things to be random, gambling is considered a skill so it's cheaper to let things choose themselves. As for... Fred, you can keep it, consider it your first summon, you can only let three other people a day eat one unless they pay a cost for one. It can also change flavor but can't be changed to possess anything like poison, though it can be doused in poison and then given to someone."」

As Karen the Robot talks the screens start rapidly changing, one of them talking about Summoning: Fred being obtained and some unintelligible things appearing here and there.

「"One final question, what would you like your starting summoning catalyst to be"」

'Summoning Catalyst? So how I summon my summons, spell formations I guess?'

「"Spell Formations is a given, but you need a natural cost for a spell, how your spell summons materialize, think of it like a wizard choosing a basic element of their choice, or choosing a Pokémon. It's simply the start and you can quickly get new ones."」

'I guess shadows then, they're quick, easy, and always on me'

「Summoning Catalyst: Shadows and Spell Formations *Benefit from Summoning Class*」

「Everything Has Been Chosen, Please Enjoy Your New Life」

Slowly everything starts going black as I feel myself being dragged into the water, a warm blanket covering me, 'A new life huh, wonder if it'll be better than the last'.

With that, my mind goes into a deep slumber to awake anew tomorrow.

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End of the first Chapter, hope you all found the premise and choices cool. It was interesting marking and coming up with the ideas and the type of character I wanted to make.

I'd been wanting to start a second book for a while now and had just finished the Insomniac PS5 version of the Spider-Man game and though that it'd be cool to do a Marvel book, though it's gonna be a pain in certain aspects.

Just a final thing I wanted to talk about is Marvel, the Comics specifically. I haven't actually read the comics, at least not any in years, though I plan on starting them. If any of you know anything about the comics or just have cool ideas I'm willing to hear them and implement them, I definitely plan on playing some audio books or something just going over the Comics as I find adding stuff from them is really fun to do.

Anyways hope you all enjoyed