Chapter 7 - Customization(Part 2)

"To start things off, let me explain what kind of world this is that you'll be reincarnating into. For starters, it isn't a round planet, it's actually flat...well, more like an upside down semi-circle kinda shape, with the flat side face-up.

The land on the flat face-up side is surrounded by oceans that end up as waterfalls at the edges of the world, which get sucked back into the middle of the facedown side of it and back up into the face-up side," She began her explanation.

"Uhh...okay, I think I can understand how that works. So, like, if someone fell off a waterfall at the edge of the world, they'd get pulled back in through the middle of it from underneath and emerge back up?" I surmised uncertainly.

"Well, technically speaking, yes. But anyone who ends up in that situation is pretty much guaranteed to die. The currents of the waterfalls are incredibly powerful, plus it takes days for the water that falls off to reintegrate back into the world. Because of that, it's very rare that ships will venture out too far across the ocean.

The atmosphere on the face-down dome-shaped side is unsuitable for humans to begin with, there's no oxygen down there, so death is assured. And even if you somehow did survive it, some of the water that flows back in through the bottom ends up in large lakes of salt water around the most barren area of the world.

And a bunch of dangerous aquatic Monsters reside in those salt lakes, and most of the rest of the water flows into underground streams, some it it connecting to rivers and streams, before the rest flows back out into the oceans. You'll probably get stuck somewhere underground and drown in the highly unlikely event that you survive falling off the waterfall," She informed me.

Talk about a shitty way to go, huh?

"Guess I'll have to stay away from the oceans then," I replied wryly.

"Yup, the ocean only surrounds the land, there aren't any especially massive bodies of water within the land, besides the salt lakes I mentioned and a few large rivers. The land of this world is split into two continents, both approximately of the same size, each with five countries. Originally, many races lived spread out all over this world. But humans are the current dominant species.

The Demi-Human races, Elves and whatnot, were mostly enslaved, with those who managed to avoid enslavement living in hiding in forests and caves within some of the countries, where they're hunted for either slavery or just for sport.

After the Demi-Humans fell, the humans started fighting amongst themselves. See, humans born in this world all possess either a Dark or Light Attribute.

They began discriminating each other based on Attribute, which led to a long, drawn-out war, and in the end, people with either Attribute ended up divided by the two continents, considering those with the other Attribute to be evil," She explained, as I listened in fascination.

I see...so, one continent is full of people with the Dark Attribute, and the other is full of people with the Light Attribute.

"I'm guessing it's impossible to have both Attributes, huh?" I asked her.

"Actually, no. It's rare, but it does happen...those with both Attributes are referred to as Heretics, reviled by the inhabitants of both continents. People who you'd consider to be open-minded in this regard are very rare, the majority revile Heretics and those with the opposite Attribute.

And even if there are people who disagree with this discrimination, they'll hide their opinions, because that's how deeply ingrained the prejudice is.

The continents are split by a long, wide stretch of infertile wasteland, full of criminals, Heretics and stray Demi-Humans. It's basically a slum the size of a big country.

Each set of five countries in either continent are allied with each other, at least outwardly...the countries in the Dark Continent employ a class-based hierarchy system, while the Light Continent employs a hierarchy based on their religion.

The Dark Continent has a slightly better technological level, plus there's your distaste towards religion, so I'll be reincarnating you in a country in the Dark Continent."

"Sounds good to me. But I don't want to be reborn to a rich, important family. I'd much rather just have a normal, peaceful life," I sighed wistfully.

"Each country in the Dark Continent has a large capital city, where only Nobles are allowed to live, with the exception of slaves, maids, butlers and other types of servants to the Nobility.

Outside of the capital cities, are small towns and villages, where Commoners, the majority of the population, live. You'd have a more comfortable and lavish life as a Noble, but pretty much all Nobles try to maintain a good image and strive for high levels of class and etiquette, so-..."

"Yeah, in that case, I'd much rather be a Commoner," I remarked immediately.

"I figured as much. Just know that Commoners are typically mistreated by the Nobility if their paths ever cross, though most Commoners go their entire lives never interacting with a Noble. Most Nobles never leave the capital cities of their nations, you see," She informed me.

"In that case, I'm probably gonna need some pretty strong powers, just in case," I mused thoughtfully, "Hey, if I ask to have both Attributes, and become a so-called Heretic, is it possible to hide that fact?"

"Yeah, sure. As a bonus, I can give you the ability to switch your active Attribute at will. A person develops their powers at the age of ten, after which they're required to go to either the Royal castle of their country, for Nobles, or to a Guild in a nearby town, for Commoners, where their abilities can be discerned, including Attribute.

You'll be able to mentally switch out the Attribute you want active...either one of Dark or Light, or both at the same time for access to all the powers each one offers," She explained.

"Oh, sweet. Then I want both Attributes."

"I should warn you though, you should never let anyone from the Dark Continent see you using the powers that are only accessible to Light Attribute users...otherwise, you'll be executed, at best," She replied wryly.

At best, huh? If I have to guess what's worse than death, probably torture and slavery.

"Mhm, that's right. People might try to brainwash or mind control you into becoming their puppet and make use of your powers, or you might get sold into slavery," She nodded in response.

"Yeah, I don't want to experience any of that. What else is there to the power system of this world besides Attribute?" I inquired curiously.

"It's a pretty complex system...each Attribute gives you access to different Elemental powers, along with other powers specific to each Attribute. The Dark Attribute includes Earth and Plasma, along with powers relating to destruction and manipulation.

And the Light Attribute includes Wind and Water, plus powers relating to healing and protection.

Furthermore, each Elemental type has extensions. Water extends to Ice and Mist, Plasma extends to Flame and Lightning, Earth extends to Metal.

There are also combinations. For example, Flame combined with Earth gives you Lava, or Flame combined with Water gives you Steam. As for Wind...it doesn't extend to anything, but is still pretty versatile, even allowing you to fly if you master it well enough.

Additionally, Heretics have access to more powers...Flame and Wind can combine to make Firestorm, Earth and Wind can combine to make Duststorm, Water and Earth can combine to make Mud, and so on.

That's why Heretics are feared by both sides, they've got the potential to be the strongest in the world," She remarked with a grin.

"Interesting...so, then, with both Attributes, there's a practically unlimited number of Elemental combinations the user has access to," I replied with a nod.

"That's not all there is to the power system though. There's also what's known as Skills. Each person possesses five Skills, various abilities that don't relate to the Attributes or Elemental powers. Though, there's a million possible Skills, so a lot of people end up with some pretty useless ones, you have to be pretty lucky to develop multiple powerful Skills.

I can let you choose the ones you want, but it'll kinda be like a dating app in which you haven't paid for the premium package...once you view a Skill and pass on it, you can't go back to it if you change your mind and decide that you want it after all," She responded, as she brought up a massive list to show me.

"Huh? Seriously? Can't I like, I don't know, select a bunch that sound good into a separate shortlist, and then narrow it down to five after that?" I groaned in disappointment.

"Well, that's a bit unfair since everyone else in this world are randomly assigned five out a potential million options...but I suppose I can allow that if you agree to only pick three instead of five, and I'll assign some random, common two Skills to your remaining slots," She offered, after mulling it over.

"Hm...so, I sacrifice two slots in order to be able to choose the three that I'll probably think are the best? That's kind of a hefty price, but...going through a list of million and having only one chance to select each option sounds awful. Alright, fine, I'll accept your offer," I relented with a sigh, "So, is there anything else to the power system of this world?"

"Yeah, a couple more things. One is called Soul Weapon...a powerful weapon unique to each individual, that they can manifest at will. Soul Weapons also have a second form that's several times more powerful and gives the user a tremendous power boost, but it takes several years, even decades, of training to master it. 

You need to raise your Mana capacity to its maximum and master the use of your Soul Weapon's first form. Very few people ever manage to achieve the second form of their Soul Weapons, it's about a one in a million occurrence. Anyway, moving on, the final factor to this power system is the Contract System, which is rarely ever utilized.

See, this allows you to make contracts with a Monster or Magical Beast, though it's pretty much impossible with one that isn't intelligent, of which there are only a few. The majority are just like normal animals but with Magic powers," She replied with a shrug.

"What's the difference between a Monster and a Magical Beast?" I responded curiously.

"Simple. Monsters are carvinores and typically aggressive, and Magical Beasts are herbivores and are usually more docile in nature, though they can be aggressive if they've been attacked by humans before. So, yeah, like I said, just like regular animals," She answered.

"Oh, wow, that is simple."

"I know, right? So, what else do you need to know? I can explain how the class system rankings work in the Nobility, if you want," She suggested, as I mulled it all over.

"Nah, that's fine. I'm sure I'll find out if necessary. But I'd rather live a life far removed from any involvement with Nobles. I just want a peaceful life, and I can have fun with these powers.

But there's no guarantee that I won't ever run into any hardships, so I should make sure I get the best use out of this power system as possible," I declared with a grin.

"Sounds smart to me. Okay, without any further ado...let's get to setting up and customizing your power system for this world!"

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