Character Creation

[Oh I completely forgot to introduce myself. I am the regulator, in charge of all interdimensional travel to and from the abyss. A being as old as the Abyss itself. As for a name, well I'm far too old to have one. Or maybe I do have one? Hmm. Hard to tell if I don't have a name or if just forgot it. It's one or the other, not that it truly matters. Hmm, while I try to remember if I have a name or not, why don't you ask another question. Perhaps I'll remember the answer to that one, instead of my poor situation now.]

"The AI seems pretty advanced. No, I have no more questions.

[Oh good, in that case, we should get started on our real business. Now then. let's see. Ah yes. Now then, you see, there are, unfortunately, a few rules for traveling between worlds. These have been around as long I have and there is nothing I can do to change them. So, first thing's first, here, just sign this scroll. It's important if you wish to go any further.]

The man pulled out yet another scroll and covered Jason's vision with it. This was slightly different, however, as there were no images, but rather text.

[Terms and Conditions

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

Do you agree to the above terms and conditions?

Y/N]

[As you are a beta tester we already know your email address, but we would like to confirm it's you. We have sent a second email with a code, so please enter it below:

____________________________

...]

As soon as this new message came, a notification informing him of a new email arrived. He opened it to find the code that was just mentioned and used the illusionary keyboard to type it in.

[Code Confirmed. Thank You for your patience.]

The man pulled the scroll away and hid it for the last time.

[Now then, we are done with all the scrolls, It's time to get to the truly important problems. Now then, first of all, physical objects are, unfortunately, unable to travel between worlds, so your current body will have to be left behind. Meaning you'll need a new body. As I don't have any bodies lying around for obvious reasons, well have to make you one. This body won't be real of course but acts more like a puppet you can control. The good thing is that the puppet can still be refined to grow stronger and you can customize its appearance. Why don't you have to go at it, or if you find it bothersome I could simply give you a random appearance. There's no guarantee you'll like it, however.]

Another person appeared, surrounded by displays of buttons and sliders, and Jason realized that it was the puppet the cloaked man mentioned. The displays around said puppet was the various customization options such as their apparent gender, apparent race, and of course, hair or eye color, along with many, many, many other things.

Jason messed around with the options a bit until he found a design he liked and pressed the [Finished] Button.

What did his final design look like? Well, there were 3 available races one can make their character look like, namely the Human, Elven, and Demon races. The Demon race however was actually just the classic Beastmen race.

Anyway, Jason, having always loved elves, made his character a male Elf with black hair and green eyes, light skin, and a lean and muscular frame. They also, of course, had elongated, pointy ears.

[Ah, you finished. Good. Now that we have a physical vessel for you, we just need to fine-tune it and you'll be on your way. A but first, to make sure the fine-tuning is done properly, I have to ask, what weapon and abilities do you usually use. If I don't know this I can't fine-tune your body to match your abilities and you may run into a few issues.]

As the man said this, a wheel appeared featuring 5 equally large segments, each segment featuring an image of a person in a different kind of clothing holding a different object, often a weapon but a book and staff were also present, and some text to the side. The topmost segment had vibrant colors while the others were darkened, which meant they weren't selected.

[Please choose a class:

- Soldier - Soldiers are trained to fight on the battlefield and make it out alive. With training in virtually all types of equipment, very few can claim to be more reliable. Advanced classes include Knights, Guardians, Storm Breakers, etc. Their main attribute is Fortitude.

- Fighter - Fighters are strong and know how to pack a punch. With their natural instincts for combat and plenty of real experience, few last long underneath their mighty fists. Advanced classes include Warriors, Berserkers, Martial Artists, etc. Their main attribute is Strength.

- Hunter - Hunters are light on their feet and rarely miss a target. Born and raised to kill, they possess great cunning and are natural masters in the arts of trickery and death. Advanced classes include Rangers, Assassins, Beast Masters, etc. Their main attribute is Dexterity.

- Scholar - Scholars possess incredible perception and great intellect. With their proficiency for machina and arcane powers, they are a force to be reckoned with. Advanced classes include Artificers, Sorcerers, Elementalists, etc. Their main attribute is Perception.

- Healer - The supportive backbone of any team. While they aren't combatants by any means, no one has ever gotten very far without a healer's gracious hand. Advanced classes include Shamans, Revenants, Holy Seekers, etc. Their main attribute is Spirituality.

...]

Jason read the description of all the available classes. "Hmm. 5 classes huh. Hmm, I think I'll go with the Soldier class. That one seems like it's the most well-rounded of all the available options. Plus being a Storm Breaker sounds pretty cool."

[Ahh, I see. A fitting role. Well then, I suppose your body will have to be tougher than normal. Alright, are there any specific enhancements you want at the moment? I have limited materials though so you can't do too much.]

Once again a screen showed up, this time all text, showing 6 values, of which one at the bottom was written in gray and the other 5 were pure white. There was a small white exclamation symbol next to each one, which upon focusing on would open a second window explaining that attribute.

[Please determine your attribute distribution:]

Strength: 5

Fortitude: 6

Dexterity: 5

Perception: 5

Spirituality: 5

Resonance: 1

Attribute Points: 15

...]

[Strength - A measure of your character's physical power and ability. Higher values promote deadlier physical attacks, faster movements, and increases the chance of inflicting physically derived status ailments. Increasing this value also increases vitality and stamina recovery, and affects storage space and equipment capacity. This value also determines the effects of some physical skills and proficiencies, especially those involving damage and/or strenuous physical exertion.]

[Fortitude - A measure of your character's endurance and vitality. Higher values reduce the loss of vitality, increase physical resistances, and lower the effects of physically and naturally derived status ailments. Increasing this value also increases maximum vitality and stamina, and affects storage space and equipment capacity. This value also determines the effects of some physical skills and proficiencies, especially those involving defense and/or difficult physical conditions.]

[Dexterity - A measure of your character's control of their body and the fluidity of their movements. Higher values promote greater accuracy, better critical action rates, better movements, and higher damage. Increasing this value also decreases stamina and epilloga drainage, and affects opponent drop rates and bullet time. This value also determines the effects of most physical skills and proficiencies, especially those involving accuracy and/or repetitive movements.]

[Perception - A measure of your character's observational and comprehensive learning abilities. Higher values promote greater clarity, better instant reaction rates, better interactions, and higher damage. Increasing this value also increases stability and epilloga recovery, and affects character interactions and bullet time. This value also determines the effects of most spiritual skills and proficiencies, especially those involving ingenuity, discovery, and/or spiritual damage.]

[Spirituality - A measure of your character's willpower and faith. Higher values reduce the loss of stability, increase spiritual resistances, and lower the effects of spiritually and naturally derived status ailments. Increasing this value also increases maximum stability and epilloga, and affects character interactions and bullet time. This value also determines the effects of most spiritual skills and proficiencies, especially those involving willpower, patience, and/or spiritual defense.]

[Resonance - A measure of your character's attunement with the world. Higher values increase experience collection rates and your soul binding capacity. This attribute cannot be increased by attribute points, refinement, or real-world transactions of any kind. Only through exploration, the use of special items, and the completion of certain quests can this attribute be increased.]

[Vitality - This value is a measure of your character's overall physical function. As your vitality drops, your character's ability to maintain themselves falls, and when it reaches 0, the character is rendered completely incapable of any further action, henceforth 'Dying'.]

[Stability - This value is a measure of your connection to your character. As your stability drops, your ability to control your character's actions also falls. and when it reaches 0, you lose the ability to control your character and are expelled from them, henceforth 'Dying'.]

[Stamina - Your character's physical energy. This energy is drained by moving and using physical skills.]

[Epilloga - Your character's spiritual energy. This energy is drained by focusing and using spiritual skills.]

After reading all the attributes descriptions and seeing the number of points he had, Jason began to carefully consider his options.

"3 physical attributes, 2 spiritual attributes, and 1 special attribute. I can't really do anything to that last one, although it would definitely be useful. Hmm. In most games, I'd reduce a few and increase others, but here, that doesn't seem like it will really work. In that case."

Jason began to adjust the point values for the 5 available attributes.

[Confirm the following attribute distribution?

Strength: 9

Fortitude: 10

Dexterity: 8

Perception: 7

Spirituality: 7

Resonance: 1

Y/N

...]

"Of course."

After distributing his attribute points Jason watched as the cloaked man stepped to the side.

[Alright then, now that we're done with that, it's time to attach you to your puppet.]

Jason felt himself move closer to the puppet body and the cloaked man and watched as the cloaked man reached out for him and covered his vision with his hand. He variety of colors and images flashed before him, and everything went black. A few seconds later, he felt his eyes open.

He was standing before the tear, the cloaked man standing to his side.

[I've merged your soul to the puppet. Try moving around, and then walk through that tear. You'll find yourself in Haven, the only allied city you have at the time.]

Jason followed the man's instruction and moved around, then looked back at the man.

[Everything seems to be working perfectly. Well then, what are you waiting for? Go!]

And so, just like that, Jason stepped through the gate.