2

The second thing you should probably know about me is that I'm an overthinker. I overcomplicate, over-nitpick, over-analyze, and over-worry about things I can't fix anyway. I've tried in recent years to curb that, and while, on the surface, many believe I have dialed it back, but they are far too naive. Inside, the hamsters are hard at work in their wheels running nowhere. This overthinking carried over into the system I designed.

While building a character in any system, the first thing they usually tell you to do is come up with a concept. What type of character do you want to play. When you are playing, well, yourself, the question is whether you are too honest or are you going to create an idealized you. Most people, I've found, have a lot of trouble playing themselves. They end up playing what they wish they were or what they fear they are.

After your concept, you start thinking about how you want to structure your character. What do you want your character to be able to do and know? In my system, that got a little complicated. Actually, it was all complicated. One of the most important aspects to consider when building a character in this system is your bloodline. Most of the tabletop games I played were fantasy or gothic horror, heavy on the gothic, and pretty minimal on the horror. In fantasy games, you could play an elf, a dwarf, other miscellaneous fantasy race. While the gothic horror games, vampires and werewolves were the norms.

In this case, you might think, 'well, obviously, you'd take human if you don't want to be dissected by the government when you get back,' and you'd be right. However, nothing is that simple in my system. There are dozens of bloodlines and heritages in the world, and that is before you include the ones that I made up for the system. How about a lineage of witches or psychics? What about a mixed bloodline? What about building a perfect human conglomeration. If you have enough points, the world is thine oyster.

I was pretty sure about the initial direction I wanted to go, but all this new information was overloading my brain; if I had such a thing. There are dozens of books just on human variations; I just needed to find what I'm looking for, and eventually, I found it. I sold back my baseline human heritage for some extra points to put towards my upgrade. The new heritage I chose had several things going for it. Its name is not one of them, mainly because the language doesn't correspond to anything I've ever seen. The important thing is they are pretty much human, only better.

Why better? They just are. Mind, Body, and Soul are all higher grades, allowing for the possibility to exceed the Standard Magnitude. That's a big deal. What's even more of a big deal is that they are natural psychics, each possessing an innate psychic phenomenon. The downside? They're expensive. If I used the modern Earth module for character creation, it would cost half my points. Fortunately, I happened to find something interesting two shelves over.

Mixing modern Earth and cultivation novels might be a bit wonky, but it's no worse than if I went with the superhero books. Honestly, I might wander into those, too, just to see if anything sparks my fancy. Hell, I'll probably wander through several different modules. It's a smorgasbord of potential, and I like to taste different things. Anyway, the nice thing about the cultivation module is the starting points and the extra character options.

Besides the heritage choice and the bloodline options, there are three other options to explore that will give me significant advantages in the future, Constitution, Spiritual Root, and Meridians, and that's before getting into the actual cultivation methods. There is a lot to take in, and I could sit here for days reading it all. I have to narrow down my priorities since I have a limited amount of resources to distribute. I got some extra points selling back my basic human heritage, but I spent three times as much on my new heritage, which I suppose could be called human plus or maybe high human.

So, what are my priorities? Well, first things first, body control. I want to refine my body and adjust things to match what I want to be. As I said, I wasn't bad-looking, but there are definitely some things I would have liked to adjust. I always wished I was a little taller, not like super tall, but around the one hundred eighty-five centimeter mark. I also want to be able to adjust my build without sacrificing strength or speed. The best option for that is with the psychic ability Biokinesis. This is why my newly acquired high human heritage was ideal. It came with a free psychic power built right in.

Now, I know what some people would think. 'Change your body? You mean like your...' Yeah, I get it. If studies are to be believed, though, I wasn't doing too bad the first time around, well above the average man anyway. However, being able to adjust on the fly to suit the partner or partners you're with seems like a pretty awesome perk to an ability that can also keep me young and virile for as long as I want. There is so much that Biokinesis can do. It's why it topped my list of superpowers I'd like.

Speaking of topics of the carnal kind, I narrowed down my choice for a bloodline. The problem was that all the good ones are incredibly costly or have some nasty body horror side effects. Eventually, I noticed that I could get the effects that I wanted with the right base bloodline if I diluted the bloodline a little more. The power gamer in me looked at the dragon and angel bloodlines and nearly creamed his shorts, but the perks at the level I could afford it didn't translate into something I was going to need in the real world too often. The boost to my energy levels would be nice, but the flaming sword manifestation or fire breathing just didn't strike me as appropriate in the modern world.

In the end, it was the Cambian Incubus bloodline that won out. This one also had increased energy levels across the board, but its extra perk was a short-range empathic and telepathic psychic ability. The Cambian dilution of the Incubus line regressed their dream walking ability into the base psychic components while losing the vampiric nature of the power. The psychics had a hard cap on how powerful they could get, but that's fine. I really didn't want to have the ability to control minds. That just seems like the path to the dark side, especially considering the heightened libido of the bloodline.

There was so much information to go through. I only had one shot, and I didn't want to fuck it up. "Is there a way I can keep notes?"

"SURE. JUST THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU WANT TO TAKE NOTE OF."

A separate screen popped up near me. I started copying over notes about effects, books, and page numbers of the various things I was looking through. I didn't just take notes of the best of the best stuff either. If something tickled that sixth sense in my mind, I'd note it down. Such as if a Constitution or Spiritual Root had an odd effect or a severe downside that didn't make sense, and I found a few. The exciting thing was that you could create an incredibly overpowered cultivator with the right combinations of mediocre or even downright poor Constitution, Spirit Root, and Meridians.

Eventually, I found what I was looking for, and two of them are on the cheap... relatively speaking. It's funny, in most cultivation novels, the characters have a dantian that they have to fill up and refine the energy to advance a level, but according to a quick search of the interwebs, most real-world belief centers around the idea of three dantians; one in the head, one in the chest and one in the lower abdomen. Of course, the books explain that most people only cultivate one of them because trying to cultivate more is just extra work for the same result, immortality.

The third thing you should know about me is that I like to overcomplicate things, especially my life. When I was a kid, an English teacher assigned us to memorize a poem and recite it in class. Normal people went with something of reasonable length twenty or thirty lines, five maybe six stanzas. Me? I went with a poem with two hundred-sixteen lines and thirty-six stanzas. Why? See above.

So, I see that one is enough to get the job done and the most needed is three. Then I find Seven Star Celestial Dragon Body in the list of oddball Constitutions. Not only does this Constitution REQUIRE you to cultivate all three dantians, but it also adds four more in the mix just to be an asshole. The benefit? Massive increase in energy capacity and output. It also gives a significant bump to the primary aspects of Body, Mind, and Soul. On top of the High Human heritage and the Cambian bloodline means I'm already beyond human maximums and rapidly approaching demi-god status.

The downsides? Two things really, the output is stupidly high, so high that it can blow the whole system out without tempered Meridians. The second is energy intake. You need so much world energy that even with a top-of-the-line single element Spiritual Root, you probably won't make it to Nascent Soul before you have reentered the reincarnation cycle. My solution is the Myriad Rainbow Root.

When you hear Myriad Rainbow Root, you obviously think this is not a single-element Spiritual Root, and you're right; it's a seven-element Spiritual Root. You want single element roots because conflicting energies from multi-elemental roots create impurities in the refinement process that slow cultivation and interferes with breakthroughs. The problem can be somewhat corrected through alchemy, but the pills are costly, and the results are never one-hundred percent. However, the fun thing about the Myriad Rainbow Root is that it is a rainbow, meaning that the colors, or elements, in this case, are separate. This wouldn't matter so much with single dantian cultivation, but when you have seven dantians, you can divide the seven elements into separate dantians, thus leaving you with essentially seven single-element Spiritual Roots and clear sailing for your breakthroughs.

Now, I know what you're thinking. 'What about the energy requirements? You still need more energy than any ten cultivators combined.' Well, remember the myriad in Myriad Rainbow Root. Myriad means ten thousand, and while some roots have a high number of points of absorption through acupuncture points, around six-hundred seventy individual points drawing energy. Myriad Rainbow Root has ten thousand... or something like that; the text just indicated that it's a lot. However, this leads back into that same problem as the Seven Stars or the Celestial Dragon, energy overload.

This one, I can't cheap out on. I wish I could, but I'm just going to have to suck it up and get a Divine-tier set of Meridians and figure out a way to get some tempering pills once I get a body. The Meridians alone cost as much as both the Constitution and Spiritual Root combined. I have so much more I want to get, but my resources are dwindling.

Before I close the book on the cultivation module, I come across a spiritual treasure that I can use to help stretch the points. It's called a Soul Vault, and it is fantastic—the classic dimensional storage trope with the bonus of being upgradeable. I don't just mean in size, but also function. Its base form is as storage for non-living items held in stasis. For these purposes, undead count as living. However, the second tier, Soul Palace, can contain living things as long as they don't resist. Once inside, they'll be in a state of suspended animation until I remove them.

The final evolution is Soul Realm. At this stage, I can bring people in with me and have absolute control over the environment, including the flow of time. The only thing is, I can't create life or high-tier materials inside. I can grow them, though, if I bring them in from the outside, which raises interesting possibilities.

I want this because, other than the obvious, I can purchase training resources such as books for a significantly discounted rate over buying the actual skills or techniques and store them inside. The downside is having to learn the skills and techniques the old-fashioned way, but the learning process should be a bit smoother with the upgrade to my Mind, Body, and Spirit.

I buy some cultivation and alchemy materials and choose three techniques I can have placed in my Soul Vault for later. These are what I call 'Of The' techniques. It's a common phrasing and hard to escape. I'd guess because it sounds cool. Way of the Primordial Dragon God. Doesn't that just sound epic? Much better than Jeff's Breathing Technique for the Discerning Cultivator. The way I look at it, though, anytime you mix the words 'dragon,' 'primordial,' and 'god,' you are pretty much guaranteed to have yourself an overpowered technique. I barely glanced at it before writing it down.

The other two were just as pretentious sounding. Enlightenment of the Gentle Blade sounds like the author is talking down to you, not because he thinks he is better than you, but because he is beyond such petty concerns and you're not. Finally, I take the movement technique Dance of the Ebon Storm Phoenix. That just sounds cool. I want to see that. I want to see some wind and lightning attributed bird of legend tear through the world like a black storm over a calm sea. It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it.

Enough of that, though. I spent too many points and too much time on xianxia; I still have some basic abilities and talents, plus magic and one more psychic ability before I run out of points. Not to mention upping my attributes, the ones I can anyway. I need to free up some points.

"Hey, can I sell back a few of these skills I don't need? I mean, this computer program right here isn't going to be created for thirty-five years after I'm born. I really don't need some of this stuff anymore."

"I DON'T SEE WHY NOT."

"Excellent."

I immediately traded out points in weird and extraneous skills I won't need for twenty years, or maybe ever, in exchange for some skills with magic, alchemy, swordsmanship, and some crafting skills. I know that sounds a little weird, but I have an idea I want to experiment with in the future, but I don't want to spend a lot of time learning about weaving, for instance.

I also bought a little into linguistics and the Polyglot ability. I was never all that great with languages, and I always wished I was. Now, I can correct that. I also added the Perfect Recall ability to help me remember important dates and times. Knowing where to place my bets and investments is better than speculation.

After that, I upped my Soul attributes, Charisma, Poise, and Will, as well as Wits up to fives. It was as high as I could go without leaving things I wanted on the table. Of course, those things are a grimoire called 'The Twilight Sage's Guide to the Omniverse,' and the psychic ability of Telekinesis. I double-dog dare some mother fucker to drive like an asshole around me. They'll need the jaws of life to pull them out of the twisted metal that used to be their car. Also, I can manifest it as a personal force field and maybe even a bit of flight if I want.

I was this close to buying a ki blast ability. I restrained myself from hopping on a flying cloud and looking for a turtle-shell-wearing hermit or maybe boarded a starship for a swamp planet looking for a frog-looking hermit. Ever notice how these ancient masters are all hermits? I can empathize with them.

Now that I've spent all my points, I let out a long sigh. I hope I'm not forgetting anything important. I have several contingencies in place in case something out of the ordinary happens. I almost laugh at that. Like any of this is normal. Perhaps I'm overthinking again—frigging Echoes.

"ARE YOU FINISHED?"

I let out a sigh. "I suppose it's as ready as It'll ever be."

"THEN I'LL START THE PROCESS."

"What? Shit, wait, I haven't-"

"DON'T WORRY WE GOT YOU COVERED."

"But I-"

"GOOD LUCK AND TRY TO ENJOY IT MORE THIS TIME."

The world twisted around me, and suddenly I understood what toothpaste felt like.

...

As I was fading to black, a conversation was taking place in the realm I'd just been squeezed out of. I never heard it, but there's no reason you shouldn't.

"ARE YOU SURE ABOUT THIS?" a slightly more feminine version of the god voice asked.

"NOT REALLY."

"HE'S GOING TO BE PISSED WHEN HE FIGURES OUT HE'S NOT IN HIS ORIGINAL WORLD."

"I NEVER STATED THAT HE'D GO BACK THERE, ONLY THAT HE'D GET ANOTHER CHANCE AT LIFE."

"YOU COULD HAVE TOLD HIM."

"HE WOULD HAVE MORE FULLY EMBRACED HIS POWER-GAMER TENDENCIES, AND YOU AND I BOTH KNOW WHAT THAT WOULD HAVE LED TO. IF HE HAD TREATED THE PEOPLE OF THIS WORLD JUST AS CHARACTERS IN SOME GAME?" When a god gets a chill down their spine, never mind two of them; you know it's not good.

They both paused before the more masculine voice continued. "HE CARED ENOUGH ABOUT SOME OF THE PEOPLE IN THAT PREVIOUS WORLD NOT TO OVERWHELM IT WITH RAW POWER. IF WE'RE LUCKY, HE WILL DEVELOP SIMILAR RELATIONSHIPS THERE BEFORE HE GETS TOO POWERFUL."

"HE'S REASONABLE. IF YOU'D TOLD HIM HE-"

"-WOULD HAVE PLAYED NICE BUT HAVE HATED IT FOR BEING PUSHED IN THAT DIRECTION."

"I SUPPOSE YOU'RE PROBABLY RIGHT, BUT I HOPE YOU ARE READY FOR THE CONSEQUENCES."

"I HAVE TIME TO PREPARE. YOU WOULDN'T HAPPEN TO BE ABLE TO-"

"-NOT A CHANCE. YOU KNOW MY GOALS. I WON'T RISK THEM BY PUTTING MYSELF BETWEEN THE TWO OF YOU. YOU MADE YOUR DECISION; NOW WE ALL HAVE TO LIVE WITH IT."