5 The Amalgam
Ryan had left and his presence which had brought a strange warmness that was hard to touch on went with him.
"You are so weird sometimes. It's not like it's forever."
Aeuan was right after all. Ryan had left his contact information and told me his in game character name. Kunn1_slayer. Where your real id could be checked by all your friends in game, your IG name is meant to protect you from certain solicitors in real life and in game.
Of course the game creators would still have records of it. Not that any country or individual could touch them. The game creators and moderators had very specific strictures and requirements about it. It also helped that in order to be a creator or a moderator, you couldn't have personal ties outside of the Virtual World. Some people had to emigrate entire families to the facility. It was common knowledge that when you became a creator or moderator, that was your life and no nations could touch you after that. Where each nation had made an Alliance of sorts, the Virtual World development was under that alliance, having as much power as a sovereign nation. Maybe more.
'I suppose you're right.. Hey, you're my assistant right?'
"NO! Well.. I mean. I am your Aeu Assistant. But not your personal Assistant! There is a difference!" She was overreacting again. I had sighed. Aeuan had quite the personality.
'Fine, fine. So, my Aeu Assistant. Do you know how to better improve my chances in the Virtual World?'
Yes.
That was what mattered. Even with an Aeu assistant, I didn't think I could work well in other fields. Especially with an Aeu assistant that had such a emotionally explosive and outward personality. It'd be hard to get much of any tasks done.
"Hmn.. Well, I suppose there may be a few ways. I think that strengthening up your soul would be something you can do."
'Strengthening up my soul?' Why did that sound familiar? It was then that I remembered a section of an article covering the special attributes. There was two that people started with. Luck and Soul Strength. No one really had a lot of information on those.
"Yeah. Strengthen it up some. Meditation and cultivation can do it. Also, studying on certain topics can increase your chances."
Wasn't that what I was doing? I frowned, thinking back to Aeuan. 'What type of topics are you talking about?'
"Things like old history books, game theories, how certain things works.. Hmn... There's not a lot of information about this stuff in libraries."
'Yeah.. There wouldn't be...' I took a sigh. There was estimated to be over a hundred million books before the world turned to shit. And nowadays, there was less than ten thousand. And that's spread between all the nations, households and libraries. In fact, there were so few libraries because of this fact. Some have been making a load of copies of certain books that they have.
"Well, there is an alternative?"
'What is it?'
"Essentially, I have loads of information from AD and the early PA. However, the strain of such information can overload your brain. So, what I will do is just create a virtual space using the Aeu Drive as a base and fill the library full of the lost books." She said matter of factly, however, I was starting to suspect something.
'Okay. . .' I tried to find a way to voice my suspicion before I sighed. It was a good idea, even if I was suspicious of it, I relented. 'Okay, go ahead.'
"Okay! It will just take me about a week to make it!"
I sighed. I expected that. 'I'm supposed to enter into the Virtual World tomorrow for Class. What am I supposed to do until then?'
Minors who first enter into the Virtual World are required to do accomplish at least 3 hours of schooling every single day, with the option of going up to 12 hours of schooling. And to be honest, I wasn't sure whether I wanted to go or not. The schooling was on stuff that I already knew, or wouldn't need to know as I had certain disabilities that prevented from being able to using most of the information in the work force.
"Oh, ho? Aren't you a little boy?" She was teasing me. I was feeling low about that. "Hehe. I didn't know I was so important~ Well, no worries! Your Aeu Drive comes with a backdoor to your senses. Unfortunately, your damaged audio canal makes it so that you can't utilize it in real life, but in the Virtual World, the Aeu drive will be able to have you hearing. It's why you can hear me like you can."
I was surprised.
Who wouldn't?
I just had my hearing taken and it was normal that such things transferred over to the game. But now I found that wasn't the case? What was this?
There have been a lot of records of limbless and disabled men and women who's disabilities crossed over into the Virtual World, whether it was an arm torn off in some freak accident or being born without an arm, it didn't matter.
"It's a new special feature that is in development. Don't be so shocked. Anywho! I'd meditate in the virtual world and start off by doing just the training exercises. Lots and lots of the training exercises~~ TRAIN UNTIL YOU BURN! MUWAHAHAHAHH..." Her cackling faded and I could just imagine Aeuan slipping out the room while having that laugh. What a personality.
I sighed, before glancing around. Now that she had gone, it had went all silent. I was still in my hospital room, but I would be cleared later tonight if all went well. But as I had the Aeu drive, I could log into the hospital's port and get into the Virtual Reality.
When I decided that, I ate the lasagna that my sister left me and then I jumped onto my feet and started exploring through the hospital hallways. I walked down way after way and even though I knew what to look for, it was hard finding it. And it was embarrassing to ask for directions, because I wouldn't be able to hear anything the others said.
Eventually, my desperation outmatched my pride, and I had gone and asked one of the hospital clerks. I couldn't hear him, but he did point and I could understand pointing. I was actually quite fluent in the pointing language, because I found the area I needed in an instant.
The port was essentially a 7-8ft tall cylinder. There was a singular column running from the bottom to the top of the cylinder on the back side. That strip was where the neural port connected to.
Fun fact though, the cylinders were not needed to log into the Virtual Reality. One can enter while they sleep if they so choose. But the difference is that no one would bother someone in a pod, but parents or things in the real life could awaken people out of their connection and in some places, that can be quite the trouble.
In a port, however, you stay in unless your in real life body is in danger or unless you log out. Which, is very convenient for those who want a stable connection that gives all the control to them.
And that's what I chose.
I let my neck aeu settle down against the back strip and instantly I felt a surge of consciousness. All that I saw faded in whiteness and I found myself in a white room of sorts.
Ding!
「 Welcome to Virtual Reality : Red String 」
I saw in mid air, a notification popping up. And the whiteness was soon split into different scenes.
There, one had a young warrior struggling to learn the way of the sword from the local guards in a small village of sorts.
In another screen, there was a farmer checking the quality of his harvest of very strange foods and vegetables.
There was scholars and sculptors. Blacksmiths and builders. There was magic and love. There was adventures and the adventures changed from person to person. And the scenes moved about, my eyes and head darting to each scene with fascination.
Ding!
「 The Red String of Fate will guide you on your adventure 」
「 Calibrating Soul 0% 」
「 Synchronizing Talents 0% 」
I only had a second to glance at the red screens before they turned green and two consecutive dings followed.
「 Calibrating Soul 100% - COMPLETED 」
「 Synchronizing Talents 100% - COMPLETED 」
「 Sense Soul Calibrated 」
「 Talents found and are able to be Unlocked 」
I paused for just a second. Lost at all the information that popped up before a ding interrupted before anything could be formed.
「 Character Menu updated - Please Think Character Menu at any time to Check 」
'Character menu..?'
Before the thought could finish, it popped in front of me.
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
Aviaro James Espinar-Sainz -"U n c h o s e n"- Level 1
Freelancer
Job: "U n c h o s e n"
Race: "U n c h o s e n"
Age: 10
Sense Soul
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
[ Health Pool : 8 / 8 ]
[ Mana Pool : 51 / 51 ]
[ Stamina Pool : 14 / 14 ]
[ Mental : G ]
[ Physical : G- ]
[ Special : G ]
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
"Variable Attributes"
Might: 1
Agility: 4
Vitality: 1
Resilience: 2
Knowledge: 9
Wisdom: 4
Insight: 7
Charisma: 2
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
"Special Attributes"
Spirit: 3
Luck: 6
-
-
-
Alignment: Chaotic Good
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
[ Skills & Abilities ]
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
[ Inventory ]
-1x Novice Box
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
It was while I was analyzing everything when I heard the next ding.
「 The Red String starts your journey! 」
「 Choose your race from Fate's Choices 」
[ 1. Tabaxi ]
[ 2. Human ]
[ 3. Half Elf ]
[ 4. Half Orc ]
[ 5. Merfolk ]
[ 6. Hobgoblin ]
A list popped up on the left side of the screen. And to the right, descriptions of each of the races popped up.
「Tabaxi |-| Tall and dextrous, theses feline humanoids are able to climb impossibly sheer cliffs and are able to track with their nose as well as their eyes. Often obsessed with trinkets and shiny objects, they are quite the attention deficit race. 」
The tabaxi seemed like great explorers and rangers. Able to get around many difficult terrains. It definitely seemed interesting and useful. Besides, being able to experience the aspects of a feline sounded like a life changer.
「Humans |-| Varied and populated across the realms. They are the jack of all trades, starting with no specific advantage or disadvantage. They are renowned at diplomacies and strategies. Their kingdoms stretch across mountains, over rivers, down valleys and along coasts. There is always humans in the lands, unless they are not permitted.」
The standard. But since there was so many, there wouldn't be many problems conversing with different cultures. Most of the races were humans, partial humans or humanoids anyways. So, being a human had its various purposes from what I've read in the past Virtual Worlds.
「Half Elf |-| A half breed between humans and elves. They share both worlds, usually very keen with diplomacy and speech. They are livers of both the human and elvish customs, but at the same time, they are known to be of neither too. A race by itself which may make things both harder and easier. 」
Half elves have about the same benefit as humans, only they were able to lean from their elvish bloodline sometimes. There were half elves that had renowned abilities with archery and druid magic in past tournaments hosted within the earlier versions. But they weren't lying, it was a flip of a coin whether half elves would be universally accepted or rejected in certain regions.
「Half Orc |-| A half breed between humans and orcs. These races possess an intelligence that is not often found amongst the orcish race, with more might than what is found in the human race. They are warriors, mercenaries and outlanders. Usually ostracized from either community depending on location and local cultures.」
Half orcs. The traditional warriors. I could supplement my lack of strength with this class and hone my mental capacities. My only problem with this was similar to the half elves. Outside of some orc communities, half orcs were looked down upon immensely. It really was unfortunate. Considering how great warriors they are, they could do a whole lot more good if they were better accepted.
「Merfolk |-| The indisputable inheritors of the waters and seas. With an ability to convey messages to the water breathers, and to learn the language of the air breathers, they are one of the more adaptable folk. They also have learned how to breathe underwater and swim at incredible rates.」
This one seemed a little strange. I didn't like the head of having gills and a fish head. Not that aesthetics mattered a whole lot, but it was a race I'd have to keep for twenty years. Did I really want to be a fish for so long. I really wasn't confident that that was what I wanted, but I kept it in mind because of its unique aspects.
「Hobgoblin |-| A monster with low intelligent and a high sense for survival. With lower strength, this race relies on their dexterity, wild propagation rates and dirtiness just to survive as a race and prosper. You will always be hunted. You will sometimes find comfort in monster villages. You will have a chance to evolve your race under certain merits like the monster you are.」
. . .
The system. . .
Gave me a monster a choice of race? The hobgoblins were commonly seen as mobs, and not just anytype of mob, but early gamemode mob. Always hunted and hated. Somehow, I felt like the system hated me for a little bit.
I made a quick glance through the descriptions of each race with great focus. It was then that I heard a ding!
「 Due to your incredible luck, the Red String has guided a 7th option to appear. 」
[ 7. Hybrid Creation]
「Hybrid Creation |-| A rare chimera of different races. Usually artificial and incomplete. Due to your fate, your hybrid creation will be set from the earlier pool of races. There is a moderate chance that the race's aspects will disintegrate during the experiment. There is a slight chance that the race's aspects will be strengthened during the experiment. There is a sorta, kinda, small chance of failure. There is an extremely small chance that the race's aspects will be greatly strengthened during the experiment.」
This was a bit of a gamble. It could be really good, or really bad. It was literally a flip of a coin. Plus, I didn't like how it kept saying experiment over and over in the description. That itself scared me a little.
However, I needed to get strong quick to help provide for my sister and hopefully alleviate the money problems that she was facing. You couldn't get anywhere without risk.
With a gulp, I tapped the 7th option.
A brilliant swirl of blue lightning and red ribbon like mist surrounded me.
Ding!
「 Finding the base for the Hybrid design. . .」
「Base Model Found. Initiating Half Elf base.」
A few seconds later, my body started feeling strange. As if every inch of my skin was asleep. It was a tingly sensation.
「Initiating the [1st] Merge || Tabaxi 」
「Tabaxi has been merged. Tabaxi's aspects have been weakened.」
That wasn't a good start. I felt an incredible shocking pain stretch up my arms and down my spine. Starting with a decrease wasn't good.
「Initiating the [2nd] Merge || Human」
「Human has failed to merged. 」
It seemed that my luck was getting worse, my body seemed to heat up and my heart sounded louder than what I was used to. My head felt dizzy.
「 Initiating the [3rd] Merge || Half Orc」
Even before the result was stated, I had an explosive migraine in my head. My body bent forwards, and my hands curled protectively around my head. Why didn't they mention anything about the pain. I was right to be suspicious about the experiment part! It was very, very suspicious.
「Half Orc has been merged. Half Orc's aspects have been weakened.」
Why was it only being weakened and failing. What are these chances!? I didn't have time to truly complain before the next merge started up.
「 Initiating the [4th] Merge || Merfolk」
I couldn't breathe. I took large gasps of air to no avail. I clawed at my throat before it released with the next notice.
「 Merfolk has been merged. Merfolk's aspects have been weakened.」
I took deep breaths. Why was this all painful. I still had the stupid kobold's merge left. I was hoping to have as little of that monster's blood as possible. I had a feeling it'd just get me in a lot of trouble.
「 Initiating the [5th] Merge || Hobgoblin」
Where on the others I felt pain, as the hobgoblin was initiating, only a could feel was a warmth spreading from somewhere along my spine to the rest of my body. I was confused, I expected something more tyrantial for the monstrous being.
「Hobgoblin has been merged. Hobgoblin's aspects have been greatly strengthened.」
「Due to your good luck, the Hobgoblin's racial skill [ Evolve ] has evolved. It now applies to certain skills and all races shared by the user.」
I was flabbergasted. The one race. The. One. Race. That. I. Didn't. Want. A. Part. Of. Was. The. One. Race. That. Was. Strengthened. What type of fate is this?
Ding!
「 The hobgoblin special racial features have unlocked a part of the Half Elf race. 」
「 Your elvish bloodline has been revealed. You are half drow.」
Drow... The infamous dark elves. Looked upon as scum and a lot of the more famed villains were dark elves. My fist clenched a bit. The system was giving me such a Villain's start.
「 Due to your mixed bloodlines, your race has been changed to Amalgam. 」
「 Amalgam |-| A mixbreeded race of monsters and humanoids. Due to the dark skin and the glowing eyes, contention is usually directed towards them from most of the normal races. Due to your expanded heritage, you have a wide collection of knowledge with languages and other races are more easily identified after certain practice. There is a chance to activate some of the more dormant racial skills. 」
I had never seen such a race before. And moreover, as a mirror flashed into existence to the side, I could see myself.
I seemed.. a little shorter than how I was in real life. The facial structure and poise seemed to be about the same as what I had in the outside world. The colors were all off though. My hair color was bright silver in the Virtual World where it was raven black in the real world. My eyes were still piercing green, but it seemed to have more narrow and catlike slits for pupils. My ears were about the same, but that's because the surgery had made my real life ears look pointed. In here, there was elegance that washed and soaked in the image that I saw.
It was a dark being, but at the same time. It was me.
