The Chronicles

As Frederick contemplated his next steps, he was abruptly put into pitch darkness. Bewildered by the sudden change, he tried to perceive anything, but he only found himself unable to feel even his own hands! An entire minute passed before he realized a startling truth. He lacked a body! Grappling with his anxiety, Frederick tried to understand what was happening.

'Is it … hell ?'

Before he could delve deeper into his thoughts, an iridescent blue screen materialized before him, suspended in thin air.

'… What ?'

However, right after Frederick finished reading the panel, another one appeared from nowhere.

<Teleporting to the initiation room... please remain patient.>

'The heck just happened?! Also, what does it mean by godhood? What the fuck is even the Chronicles?' Frederick couldn't really believe that something this outrageous happened and tried to ask a few questions, but couldn't since … well, he didn't even have a mouth.

Suddenly, a bright light flashed before Frederick's eyes that temporarily blinded him. After getting used to the light, he noticed he was now in a kind of giant white cubic-like room and could finally feel his body. In the center of the room, there were two elegant wooden chairs and a wooden table.

Taking a deep breath, Frederick pondered about what the heck was happening. He proceeded to check all over the room and tried to find any door that he might escape through, but unfortunately, there was nothing except the furniture in the middle of the room. Frederick then tried to test if he could break the wall, but the only thing he got was a painful fist from trying to hit the wall.

However, as he thought about using the chair as a tool to break out, a sudden familiar voice took him aback.

"It is impossible to breach this room. I advise you to cease your attempts."

Startled, Frederick looked at the person who was now sitting in one of the chairs in the middle of the room. Frederick saw a familiar male in his twenties to thirties, with short black hair, an average face, beautiful green eyes, a big scar on his left eye, and fair skin. Frederick was astonished to see that it was a very familiar person.

Frederick frowned and said in a grave voice, "Who are you?! And why do you have my face?!"

With a deadpan expression, Frederick's clone said, " First of all, please take a seat. You may call me Question Puppet. Your face is set as the default setting. Please notify me if you want me to change it."

After thinking for a moment he subconsciously took a seat and asked with an even graver tone, Frederick asked, "A Question Puppet? What's that? And where am I? Is this some sort of evil sect or something?" asked Frederick.

With the same cold voice, the Question Puppet said "A Question Puppet is designed solely to provide answers to inquiries posed by new candidates regarding their journey within the 'stories.' As for your location, you find yourself in the initiation room. This space serves as a conduit for addressing queries posed by new candidates."

"Candidate? Story? Are you trying to fool me?" Asked Frederick, but only after a few seconds did he realize that the sudden darkness, the feeling of not being able to touch his body, felt too real and almost… magical.

"A candidate is the name given to participants of The Chronicles. The Chronicles revolves around a series of trials known as 'main stories.' Failure in these main quests carries a profound consequence as the potential to ever reach level 99 is lost, thereby extinguishing the chance of ascending to godhood.

These main stories are obligatory for all candidates, meaning that you cannot hide from them and will be forcefully teleported each time the main story is carried out. Each main quest varies, unfolding in different worlds with unique challenges. These challenges can range from safeguarding a precious object to surviving in hazardous environments. Each is an essential step for candidates striving for godhood. And no, I cannot lie."

"God?" Frederick was curious now.

"Indeed, the Chronicle acknowledges the achievement of godhood when a candidate attains level 99 and accomplishes what the Chronicle terms 'The Final Harvest,' an event that bestows the ultimate level of 100. However, it is important to note that I am unable to disclose the precise nature of 'The Final Harvest.'"

Frederick started to frown and asked, "Levels like in a video game? Also, you said that the Chronicles 'call it' meaning that it's alive?"

"Certainly. Similar to the structure of video games in your world, you possess levels and attributes, which can be accessed by vocalizing 'status.' Naturally, the greater the value of your attributes, the more proficient you'll be in the corresponding skill.

By way of comparison, a typical human adult maintains a baseline of 10 points across all attributes, and progression yields 1 attribute point per level achieved. The means to level up rests upon the accumulation of experience points, earned either through the completion of side stories or the act of… eliminating living beings.

It's worth noting that the potency of the entity vanquished directly influences the quantity of experience gained. In response to your inquiry regarding the sentience of the Chronicles, strictly speaking, it does not possess 'sentience' or consciousness. Yet, you might conceive of it as an advanced artificial intelligence, analogous to those in your world…"

However, before the puppet could even finish what it was trying to say, Frederick suddenly interrupted him by saying out loud "Status" and the familiar blue panel reappeared from thin air:

—————————————

<Welcome back, candidate>

Name: Frederick Field

Race: Human

Age: 26 years old

Level: 1

<Authority >: Forgotten times (Unique)

<Curse >: One Against the World (Unique)

-One Against the World (Unique):

Effect: The world will try to kill you by every means possible and the experience points earned will be divided by ten times

Remark: How did you even survive until now?

<Statistics >

-Constitution: 10

-Mind: 10

-Perception: 10

-Dexterity: 10

Experience points: 0/1000

—————————————

Shocked at the reappearance of the blue panel, Frederick could only adapt to the situation and believe the "Question puppet" for now, at least… He first wanted to verify the authenticity of the information that the puppet had given before anything else.

"You… said that we can reach godhood… right? By completing those "Stories"… and murder, right? And what are authorities and curses? My curse looks terrible…" asked Frederick with a grimace that was forming slowly on his face.

"Indeed, as previously mentioned, the path to godhood unveils itself through the failure of the essential 'Main story,' a recurring event every four months. It's important to emphasize that there are no tangible rewards upon successful completion of these 'Main stories.' Instead, a distinct compensation takes the form of experience points gained from every living being vanquished in the process.

However, as said previously, it is crucial to acknowledge that should a 'Main story' fail, the consequence is profound as you will face forfeiture of the opportunity to ever reach level 99 and pass the "Final Harvest" event, thereby extinguishing the prospect of achieving divinity by reaching level 100. As for the acquisition of authorities and the weight of curses, the responsibility lies with each individual to seek and uncover these facets."

Frederick was truly speechless. Something that mystical made him unable to even think correctly; however, he still asked in an excited timbre, "Is… there any duty that you accomplish as a god?"

"Absolutely not," responded the puppet with the same tone as earlier.

"Then what abou-" Before he could finish his sentence, the puppet interrupted him and said in an even more robotic tone,

"The time allocated for questions has now concluded. You will be transported to the 'Main Hub World' in a matter of moments. Once again, we extend our best wishes for your journey."

Suddenly, he found himself thrust back into darkness. Before he could even gather his thoughts, he was teleported once again into a forest this time with a simple message from a familiar blue panel in front of him :

<Welcome to the Main Hub World !>

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