2 The System
Nothing was noticeable by Creed after his death he could perceive nothing in his surroundings and felt formless yet a clear voice seemed to sound out from his very being.
"Hello Soul, I'm sure this must be very confusing for you so allow me to introduce myself. My name is Cyrus and i'm a chronicler to the universe specializing in significant individuals. It is my job to record the actions and experiences of interesting individuals. What you just saw has been a brief account of your most recent life. Now however you are dead and I grieve for your loss but you also deserve congratulations for the universe has finally deemed you an interesting soul and granted you a reward. So in the Universe's infinite wisdom you have been granted a unique system and I have been assigned to record your adventures as well as answer questions upon your deaths. Now I want to reassure you while you have died I'd like you to think of this as a new beginning, that's how I plan to record it anyway. Now I can't glean any expressions from your soul but I assume your confused so any questions?"
"A few"
"I thought so, I can tell you anything that isn't a secret of the universe."
"Why can't I see or hear anything?"
"Well you're dead and exist currently as a formless soul and souls don't naturally possess eyes or ears. You can perceive your surroundings by simply thinking about it but we're currently in a void so not much would come of it."
"Well you already said I'm dead so that seems like a dumb question, so how about why am I interesting to the universe?"
"I'm afraid that's one of the Universe's secrets."
"Alright, when you say Universe do you mean a God of some sort."
"Ha, Gods those cosmic children? You're kidding right? You're not are you? Well I guess it is understandable you are a mortal soul after all. No the Universe is a being greater than gods, while gods can exert their influence over a finite number of worlds the Universe encompasses everything known and unknown."
"Okay, You said you're a chronicler are they similar to historians?"
"In a sense, Chronicler's however are generally more knowledgeable and act on a grander scale. Despite being assigned to you I am simultaneously chronicling millions of lives and events."
"How will you be chronicling me exactly?"
"I'll mostly be a mix of my point of view and your first person accounts while providing additional information or context when necessary. Don't worry my chronicling should have no effect on you directly or indirectly."
"Okay, you said this was a new beginning so what's next?"
"Well now that you're a special case you'll be taken out of the primary cycle of reincarnation and be sent to one of the Universe's playgrounds."
"Universe's playgrounds?"
"A universe's playground is a special world where interesting individuals are sent each with their own unique boons. On top of these individuals the playgrounds are filled with a multitude of races, a mix of technology and magic, numerous gods, and unique natural laws."
"I think I can understand the rest of it but what are the unique natural laws?"
"Well a natural law is something that describes a fundamental aspect of a world, every world's natural laws are slightly different so when I say unique I'm referring to a single aspect that isn't found in mundane worlds like your own. Some have unique methods of gaining strength while others have ways of recording statistics. You'll be sent to Ludum which has a system of levels and skills."
"What's unique about these levels and skills?"
"Nothing, to be frank they exist in most worlds Ludum however provides a means of understanding them. Ludum's laws allow individuals to examine their status and see what their skills are. This system while not the most impressive has a number of benefits it allows one to know themselves and makes improvement easier."
"I remember hearing something about a Legacy System, what is that?"
"It's the reward you were provided by the Universe, every interesting individual is provided a unique reward by the Universe or a boon by a God. You can consider yourself lucky as this is quite frankly an amazing reward, I've seen few Universal rewards that could compare and Godly boons are barely worth a mention next to this. You're system allows you to control your own reincarnation and grants your soul permanent buffs, I'm not going to lie even I'm a little jealous."
"You make it sound legendary but I'm not entirely sure what's that impressive about it."
"Of course you aren't, I often overlook how little mortals understand matters of the soul and reincarnation. Well to simplify it only greater gods and the universe itself possess the power to affect the system of reincarnation, while some mortals have gained control of their own reincarnation before it is still an impressive feat. Now the soul is the most important part of any being great or small, the soul is the only part of your existence with any permanence no matter how many lifetimes you live your soul will follow through every one. Therefore any enhancement to your soul is an enhancement that will follow you throughout every lifetime. Strengthening your soul can also allow you to possess stronger incarnations possibly rivaling the gods but don't tell them I said that."
"Alright then how do I control this system?"
"It can only be accessed after death and works similar to character creation in a game, you can access this system by thinking about it. From there you'll be able to pick your race and talents but are currently unable to choose your name or birthplace as your soul isn't strong enough to completely control your reincarnation. More options will become available as your soul increases in strength but only simple options exist currently."
"Alright", 'System'
Name: N/A
Race:
Strength: 0/20
Dexterity: 0/20
Constitution: 0/20
Wisdom: 0/20
Intelligence: 0/20
Charisma: 0/20
Skills: N/A
Origin: N/A
Legacies: Criminal Emperor, Protector of Children
Legacy Points: 1,000
"What are Legacy Points?"
"Oh they're a measure of your accomplishments throughout a lifetime and can be spent to improve future incarnations. For your main stats every increase will have a cost equivalent to the number you get for example to get a 1 in Charisma costs 1 LP but getting a 2 costs 3 LP as you need to buy both one and 2. To simplify things this is the ratio
1: 1
2: 3
3: 6
4: 10
5: 15
6: 21
7: 28
8: 36
9: 45
10: 55
11: 66
12: 78
13: 91
14: 105
15: 130
16: 146
17: 163
18: 181
19: 200
20: 220
So to get 20 in all stats you need 1,320 points. You're current points however indicate a free gift from the system as your past lifetime barely qualified you for the system leaving no LP remaining. Now the system was customized to mimic the status screen in Ludum to avoid confusion. You can add points by thinking of the action and can similarly gain a description of the attributes by thinking of them, in essence all system related actions can be accomplished with an associated thought.
'Alright, guess I'll start from the top Name is unavailable so Race'
Race:
Signifies the species one belongs to with possible variations due to culture or location. Additional racial bonuses are also provided in terms of attributes or skills.
Options:
Goblin: 0 LP
'Huh, is that it?' "Why is there only one option for race?"
"Ah, one of the system's caveats you can only reincarnate into a race you've previously encountered. The system has granted you the Goblin race for free, usually however a race will require an initial unlocking fee."
"Okay any other caveats I should be aware of?"
"Yes, the earliest you can reincarnate is a day after your previous incarnation was born while the latest is a day after their death. You can reincarnate as specific individuals granted you knew them during a lifetime and neither of the previous rules are broken, this however will cost a significant number of LP. Any similar Legacies will be merged together or absorbed by the strongest one. Oh and any skills learned in a lifetime will be easier to reacquire in subsequent lifetimes due to your souls experience. Other than that there is another one about Ludum's status, Ludum grants individuals character traits upon birth that have near permanent effects. You will eventually be able to control this aspect but for now your soul isn't strong enough."
"Anything else?"
"Nothing that I'm currently aware of, however it's entirely possible a functionality exists that I'm unaware of."
"Huh, guess I thought you knew everything."
"Only the universe is capable of knowing all and even then it rarely does."
"Any advice on my first life?"
"The average on any attribute is a 10 in Ludum ignoring racial bonuses, so I recommend trying out an average Goblin and saving LP for when you know how everything works."
"Thanks, that sounds like a decent idea."
"That's what I'm here for."
'System'
Name: N/A
Race: Goblin
Strength: 10/20
Dexterity: 10/20
Constitution: 10/20
Wisdom: 10/20
Intelligence: 10/20
Charisma: 10/20
Skills: N/A
Origin: N/A
Legacies: Criminal Emperor, Protector of Children
Legacy Points: 670
"Okay, now how do I start my new life?"
"You only need to think about it."
'Alright let's try Reincarnate'
The interesting soul then vanished from the void on to a brand new life.
"How's that?"
"Alright, we'll have to see how the soul lives first. I don't have much faith, average goblins die easily it's mostly just to gain experience."
"Ha, the universe thought he was interesting for a reason. So what if he's only gaining experience, even if this life is lackluster I have no doubt he'll influence Ludum for generations to come."
"Eh, you just want a good story to write."
"Who doesn't hope their story is good, I for one am excited."
"Yeah yeah, tell me when it's done."
"Who else would I tell my stories to."
"Alright see ya then."
"Til the next life and the next story."
