1 System & Transmigration
Mathias Berg is sitting on his computer chair in front of the computer. He is currently listening to music and just not doing anything at all.
'What am I even doing with my life?' He thinks as he stares blankly into the monitor. 'I've sat here for hours now, just staring and not doing anything.'
Indeed, Mathias has been sitting on his computer chair since he woke up until now, an approximate 17 hours. During all that time, he's done nothing productive. He's doing the same thing that he did yesterday and the days before.
'Ahh, I need to do something, anything. I'm bored out of my mind. But what can I even do? Everything I want to work on is impossible for me to do.' He thinks and releases a sigh. 'Either it costs money to realize, or I am just not capable of making what I want. I've thought of countless ideas, but all of them eventually get abandoned because of some problems, and most often, the problem is monetary.'
Mathias is a full-on NEET, and his only available skill is some programming. His only chance at ever having a stable income is by creating his own company as he is incapable of working for others for some reason. Mathias is now 22 years old and hasn't had a real job for over two years, and even then, the work he had in the past were all short term as he eventually had to quit due to feeling like shit and being generally unhappy with what he was doing.
'Fuck! I want money, so I can do whatever I want.' He thinks as he rubs his eyes because they are starting to hurt due to him being awake for too long. Overthinking himself into a bad mood, Mathias decided to go to sleep, so he moved his chair out of the way and put the bed mattress down on the floor and lay down, fully clothed.
'Damn window, it's always so cold in here.'
A year or so prior, Mathias's sister's boyfriend wanted to renovate the window and, as such, scraped the insulation from the window edges. He never finished the renovation, and now his window leaks in cold air all the time. Especially now during the winter months.
As Mathias drifts off to sleep, a quiet female voice makes itself known in his mind.
[Found Apex Gene, integrating system to the Apex Being.
Insufficient energy found for integration. Absorbing energy outside.]
After the voice talks about absorbing outside energy, a strong wind starts to manifest itself inside Mathias's room. Slowly the wind picks up speed as the absorption speed is becoming faster and faster. At the same time, everything around is dying and rotting at a visible pace. Seconds turn to minutes, and minutes turn to hours, hours turn to days, days turn to weeks, weeks turn to months and months turn to years. Slowly but surely, everything on the planet is dying. Eventually, the planets, stars, asteroids, and all objects and mass in the universe turns to dust. All except a slightly overweight man, sleeping.
[Sufficient energy absorbed, completing system integration with the Apex Being.]
[All energy in the universe has been absorbed, resulting in the universe's destruction, transporting Apex Being to a new universe.]
Directly after the female voice announces in a cold tone, the sleeping man disappears from the obliterated universe. A fraction of a second later, the man appears, still sleeping, inside a forest.
[Transportation completed.
System Integration completed.
Awakening the Apex Being.]
"Ugh, my head hurts a lot," Mathias mutters as he awakens. He opens his eyes and tries to look around, but it's hard as his eyes aren't used to being in the light, and opening his eyes hurts. "Agh, who set the lights to the max strength," He grunts as he rubs his eyes, trying to get used to the intense light. That's when it hits him. 'Why does it smell like a forest and its fucking way colder than it usually gets in my room. Where is my duvet?'
Mathias quickly gets used to the bright light and can finally see his surroundings.
'Why the fuck am I in a forest?' Mathias asks in his mind, baffled by the situation at hand.
[Responding to the Apex Being: You've transmigrated to an alternate universe due to the destruction of your old universe. As you do not have a place to stay here, you got transported into a forest.]
'What the fuck was that?' Mathias got spooked by the sudden monotone female voice that seems to appear inside his head.
"Who is there!?" He asks loudly to his surroundings.
[Responding to the Apex Being: I am the Apex System, I have integrated with your brain. You only need to think about something if you want to talk to me. No need to say anything out loud.]
'Huh? You mean, think like this?'
[Yes, exactly so.]
'Why do you refer to me as "Apex Being," and what exactly are you, why are you "integrated" with my brain and where exactly am I?' Mathias immediately barrages the "system" with questions.
[You are a being with the Apex Gene, making you an Apex Being.]
I've integrated with your brain as you are an Apex Being, I've been aimlessly searching for an Apex Being for a very long time. I immediately integrated with you the moment I found you.
As for me, I am the Apex System, a tool built by the first Apex Being. My purpose is to assist Apex Beings on the path to the Apex.
Currently, you have transmigrated to a forest called "Sanda Forest" located in a small town called "East Field" in a country called Sweden.]
'Didn't you say you transported me to another Universe, why am I still in Sweden?'
[You are indeed in a different universe, but this universe is very similar to your previous universe. Would you like me to tell you the differences?]
'Yes, go ahead.' Mathias responds, intrigued about the entire situation.
[This universe is very similar to your previous one, everything is the same except for some minor details. For example, the entire world speaks the same language, English.
There are also a lot of cultural differences as such, games, movies, music, etc. are different compared to your previous universe.
Besides those two things, everything is the same.]
Mathias is stunned but excited at the same time. 'Language barriers be gone, I'm pleased about that. It also means I've got a lot of entertainment to indulge in.'
'Oh, wait a minute, you mentioned that my previous universe got destroyed. What happened to it, why did it get destroyed?'
[A tremendous amount of energy was required to allow me to integrate with you. Your body did not have enough reserve energy, so I absorbed outside energy instead. The amount of energy needed was too much for your universe to supply, the result being everything disintegrating.]
'Wha..' Mathias is shocked, realizing that he is indirectly responsible for killing everything in the universe, including his family.
'You mean, I-I indirectly murdered my entire family and all living things in the universe?'
[Yes, as a side-effect of the energy absorption, all life in the universe ceased to exist. Including your family.]
'Ahh, that's unlucky for them. I most likely can't be punished for it, so whatever. It's mind-boggling, though, to think that I'm responsible for a whole universe's death. No need to fantasize about taking a life anymore, I've sort of already done it. And just as suspected, I'm not too bothered by it. Would I be bothered about directly killing somebody, I wonder?'
[I am unable to answer that question. You would have to experience that yourself before I can answer that question. If you want to find out the answer, then I suggest you move out of the forest and directly kill somebody.]
{
Quest Issued! (Killer!)
Quest Objective: Kill a sentient being.
Quest Reward: 100 System Points
Quest Penalty: None
Time Limit: None
}
'What is this? A quest?' Mathias wonders as he stares at the blue screen filled with text that suddenly appeared in the middle of his vision. No matter how he turns his head, he can't get rid of it. 'This box is kind of in the way, how do I make it go away?' Immediately after, the box disappeared.
[You only need to think about making a Dialogue Box disappear for it to happen.]
'That's convenient, thank you... eh, do you have a name, what should I call you?'
[I do not have a name, I am the Apex System, you can call me whatever you want.]
'That's sad. Everyone needs a name. Hm, how about I name you "Arya"?'
[Noted, I will note down my name as "Arya." Thank you for giving me a name.]
'No problem, Arya' Mathias provides the system with a name and is oddly satisfied by it.
'Come to think of it. You were supposed to assist me, in what way can you do that?'
[The system comes with five different functions.
The first function is the Status Function, which can help you see your status.
The second function is the Store Function. It gives you the option to purchase anything you want as long as it exists in any universe.
The third function is the Quests Function. It is responsible for issuing quests to you to increase your will to go through with decisions you may have. Some quests are voluntary, and some you will be forced to accept and do, in which case a penalty will be given to you if you fail.
The fourth function is the Relationships Function. It assists you in keeping track of your relationships with other beings, provided you want to register them in there. The relationship status for beings you register will automatically update with any shift in your relationship.
The fifth function is the Inventory Function. It allows you to store any objects you'd like provided they are not alive or claimed by a sentient being.
All functions of the system can be accessed and used by merely thinking about it.]
'Let's try this out then, open status' Mathias thinks about opening the status function, and it immediately pops up in his vision.
{
Name: ????
Race: Apex
Age: 22
Level: 0
System Points: 0
}
'I don't have a name?' Mathias is bewildered by the missing name.
[You are no longer the "Mathias Berg" as before. You are now a fully-fledged Apex Being, and as such, you would need a new identity.]
'Oh, alright. I'll need a name then, I guess. Should I give myself a new name, I wonder? No, it would feel weird calling myself something different. But I should probably change my last name. A normal last name doesn't fit my identity as an apex being. It's decided. I will be called Mathias Apex.' Mathias Berg, now known as Mathias Apex, finished the naming process quickly, not realizing the change in attitude, now being more arrogant than before.
'My race seems to be "Apex," I wonder, has it always been that?'
[Yes, you've been an Apex being since you were born.]
'Okay, I don't feel different to a normal human, though?'
[The apex race is a bit different from other races. The Apex Gene exists in all races in the multiverse. Still, the chance of being born an Apex is so meager that there is usually only a single Apex Being alive at one time throughout the multiverses. At the moment, you are the only living Apex Being in any universe. The previously living Apex died 37 Septillion years ago. An Apex Being always carries the characteristics of its parentage. The only difference being the exclusion of any limits to your body.]
'Okay, I'm sort of glad to be human, would be weird for me otherwise.'
'What is this "Level" and "System Points"? Is it similar to a game where I can level up and become stronger, and I'm assuming "System Points" are used to purchase things from the store function?'
[The System Points are indeed used to purchase items in the System Store as you'¨ve guessed.]
[You can obtain System Points by completing quests, and as for the "Level," that is used to visualize your strength in the most efficient manner. You don't level up by completing quests or killing things. Your level is just an informative way of showing your current power level.]
'Hm, alright. That is indeed a very efficient way of showing someone's power level. It would be annoying to be "Subhuman Trash" instead of Level 0, haha.'
'I guess I'm done with the status function, its just information about the current me, open the store function.'
{
Search for Item:________________
}
'Hmm? There are no lists, no categories, just a search box?'
[Yes, the store can provide you with any item that exists in any universe, putting all that inside a visible list and categories would make it impossible to browse through. Instead, the system comes with a smart search system. All you have to do is ask the store about an item. It will display anything matching your search criteria. Please give it a try.]
'Alright, please search for a weapon.'
{
Search criteria too broad, please be more specific.
}
'Hmm, I see. Then, search for a weapon from this planet.'
{
Search criteria too broad, please be more specific.
}
'Search for firearms from this planet.'
{
Please select a firearms category.
Bullpups
Assault Rifles
Battle Rifles
Multi Barrel
Pistols
Revolvers
Submachine Guns
Carbines
Shotguns
Bolt Action Rifles
Sniper Rifles
Machine Guns
Recoilless Rifles
Grenade Launchers
Blow Forward
Delayed Blowback
}
'Wow, there are a lot of categories in regards to firearms. Select pistols.'
{
Listing available pistols, please enquire about an item for more info.
2mm Kolibri
Akdal Ghost TR01
ALFA Combat
ALFA Defender
AMT AutoMag
etc..
}
'That's a long list of pistols, seems to be sorted alphabetically, let's try something. Show only pistols starting with the letter G.'
{
Gaztanaga Destroyer
Glisenti Model 1910
Glock 17
Glock 18
Glock 19
Glock 20
Glock 21
Glock 22
etc..
}
'Ooh, it worked. Sweet. It seems I can scroll and enquire about items on the list. Select Glock 17.'
{
Glock 17 (60 SP)
The Glock 17 is the original 9x19mm Parabellum model, with a standard magazine capacity of 17 rounds.
It comes with one free magazine and 17 bullets preloaded.
}
'60 System Points for one? Ahh, I wish I could afford to purchase a pistol. Oh well, close the shop.' The shop window immediately closed.
'Let's investigate the quests function next. I believe I was issued a quest earlier.'
{
Currently Ongoing Quests (1)
Killer!
}
'Looks like I only have one quest currently, the one I got before, didn't pay attention to what it was. Select the "Killer" quest.'
{
Killer! Quest
Quest Objective: Kill a sentient being.
Quest Reward: 100 System Points
Quest Penalty: None
Time Limit: None
}
'Oh, it listened to my thoughts about the effects of killing someone on my psyche, interesting. Would the quest system generate quests based on my goals and what I'd like to accomplish or do?'
[Yes, the quest system will monitor your desires and goals and set an appropriate objective, rewards, and penalty for failure.]
'Okay, let's see if I can generate some.'
'I should be making my way out of this forest to civilization and find someplace warm to stay for the night. It's freezing outside.'
{
Quest Issued! (Escape the forest)
Quest Objective: Move outside of the woods.
Quest Reward: 10 SP
Quest Penalty: None
Time Limit: None
}
{
Quest Issued! (Seek Shelter)
Quest Objective: Find someplace warm to spend the remainder of the night.
Quest Reward: 15 SP
Quest Penalty: -15 SP
Time Limit: 4 Hours, 37 Minutes.
}
'Heh, easy quests to finish. Oh, the second quest has a time limit of 4 hours. I don't have my phone or anything. I wonder what time it is anyway?'
[The current local time is: 01:23]
'Oh, so the quest time limit ends at 6 AM. That gives me plenty of time to get out of the forest and find someplace warm to spend the remainder of the night.'
'Anyway, let's check out the Relationships Function.'
{
No registered relationships found!
}
'Oh, well, not much to see there. I'll have to foster some relationships to find out how this function works. Let's check out the Inventory Function next.'
{
No objects found in the Inventory!
}
'Hm, not much to see here. But how do I store things in the inventory?'
[Storing objects is a simple thing to do. You have to have bodily contact with an item and think about storing it in your inventory.]
'Alright, let's try it out.'
Mathias bends down and picks up a random stick that's lying around on the ground.
'Let's see if this works. Store the stick in my hand.' Immediately after sending the command, the stick disappears from Mathias's hand. 'Open the Inventory.'
{
Wooden Stick (1)
}
'Oh, it's there. It's so fascinating. How do I get the stick out of there?' Immediately after the thought passed, the stick reappeared in his hand again. 'Oh, how easy.' Mathias then deposits and withdraws it again a couple of times.
'How convenient, but I guess its time to move out of the forest and find someplace to sleep.'
Mathias drops the stick on the ground and starts moving out of the forest.
