1 Beginnings

The coldness of the floor caresses my body as I begin to lose consciousness. Then the sensation dissipates. I am now dead. I hadn't lived a particularly good life up until the end, trying to save the girl before me from a murderer. I didn't intend to be some "hero," everything just happened by chance. I was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Nothing matters now though, I am dead. I awoke in a plain white room with nothing in sight, just pure whiteness. I began to take a few steps forward but before I could take my fourth step, a woman in white appeared. "Greetings Richard, welcome to judgement day. You will now be judged based on your actions. After we finish our evaluation, we will decide what to do with you." said the woman with a stern yet mellow voice. She then instantly teleported out of the room catching me by surprise. I began to reflect on my past actions. I was never a good person and I mostly lived a selfish life without much care about those around me but I wasn't outright evil either. I didn't go out of my way to do those things, it was simply in my nature. At least that's what I thought to myself. I didn't want to go to hell or experience a worse fate. The mysterious woman in white returned with a scroll that looked ancient and worn out. She opened the scroll vertically and began to read. My heart raced. "Richard Redd, after careful evaluation we have determined that you are not eligible for heaven due to your past, but your heroic efforts in the end determined that you are not destined for hell either. That being said, by default you will be reincarnated into the world of Zaeter, a fantasy-like world of sword and sorcery." I began to wonder whether this would be a good or bad thing as the novels I've read about portal fantasy always seemed to go either way. The woman began to speak again and her eyes trailed to the bottom of the scroll. "Finally, we have determined that you will be reincarnated as a lesser rock golem." I blinked and continued to do so for what felt like ages. I was in complete and utter shock. A rock golem? Were my actions in the past so bad that me saving the girl was hardly enough? I began to wonder if this was some sort of sick joke so I protested, "a rock golem!? You can't be serious. Why are you giving me such a horrible option? Was me saving the girl not enough to at least let me remain human?" I turned red from the anger and began scratching my head with frustration. The woman in white replied with her usual stern voice, "you will soon come to realize why we did what we did. Time will reveal everything." I was still boiling from the anger but the sound of her voice put me at ease. Slightly. She began to speak again, "we wouldn't just throw you out into the world without anything, we aren't that cruel so we gave you a way to survive in the form of a system like the ones you would see in a fantasy world," She breathed in and continued "simply say or will into your mind the word 'system' and you will be able to see it." My anger had subsided even more at the thought of at least having something I was sort of familiar with and being able to survive in what I hope was not too harsh of a world. "Is there anything else I should know?" I asked in a sarcastic tone. "No. Everything you will need to know will be revealed eventually when you reach Zaeter. Now, it is time for you to depart. Carve your own destiny, Mr, Redd and good luck on your journey. If you become powerful enough, this world will be your oyster. Now go and remember what I told you, good luck." Before I could say anything, my consciousness faded until everything went black. __________________________________________________________ I awoke to find myself in a large open, plain grass field with large boulder-like rocks surrounding me. In front of me was a large humanoid rock whose arms were stretched out in front of me. He began muttering words I did not understand and I freaked out when I saw materials floating and infusing within my body. It appeared to me that this humanoid rock was, in actuality, a rock golem and the other rocks around were as well. I noticed that as he infused the materials within me, I gradually felt stronger, and stronger to the point where I felt renewed. I then realized that I was being created by this rock golem. Pieces of stone, crystals, and other earthly materials were being infused on my newly created body. My legs, arms, and torso were each infused with different types of materials. They were all mixed around in my body which I speculated all had their uses. Finally, the creature stopped and placed a black crystal on my stone head. [Initializing system. Please wait…] I was confused at first but then I remembered my situation. It seems this crystal is linked to my system and I was the only one who had it because as I looked around, no other rock golems besides me had such a profound black crystal. For whatever reason, my creator decided to give me such a powerful item. [System Initialized. Please enter your name] I wasn't sure at this point whether to change my name or keep it as is. I really liked my name so I wasn't about to change it. I decided to keep it and so I just willed the words "Richard Redd" into my mind. [Thank you for your patience. Welcome to Zaeter, young rock golem. I will be your guide until my assistance is no longer required. Would you like to see your status?] "Yes" I thought. As soon as I said yes, a status screen appeared. Status Name: [Richard Redd] Race: [Lesser Rock Golem] Titles: [Reincarnator] Level: 1 HP: 110 MP: 40/40 Strength: 10 Agility: 5 Intelligence: 15 "W-woah…" I thought. I don't know how strong people are in this world but I felt that I was slightly stronger than a lesser rock golem should be. Having over one hundred HP will definitely be a lifesaver in the future and my MP, which I assumed was my mana, also seemed good. My other stats didn't seem very high but overtime I could probably fix that. All in all I was fairly content with my stats. After having checked my status, I closed it by simply reiterating status in my mind and snapped back to my new reality. My creator was finally putting some finishing touches on my body and I felt more than ready and eager to make my mark on this brand new world.

To be continued

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