Chapter 1: This is Not My Afterlife

Trigger warning for some graphic child abuse, child death, the use of some slurs and some graphic gore.

Further warning for the fact periods, puberty, blood and mentions of child death.

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Well, death wasn't what I'd been expecting; a great black void. We had proof of the afterlife, definite proof - I'd been to a couple of them. I'd also done a number of things to prove the existence of the gods. I was one of the oldest of the great empires for Elistraee's sake! This wasn't Limbo, and this wasn't my world! Nor my supposed Afterlife!

Dying to that lich so my sons could have more time… worth it. In my opinion at least. But seriously, this isn't where I should be. He didn't soul cage me or I'd know by now. Where?!

Ah, it's changing.

You've completed your first play-through in the beta of The Game!

Calculating final score!

"Okay, I know I had just been killed. By Szass Tam no less… but what?" I echoed into the void. More letters popped up in my vision.

The Game is the system in which you lived. You just completed our first trial of the world of Faerun - which in the multiverse is often considered a fictional world, in which a recreational hobby takes place. We thank you for your participation, and are elated to offer you new options!

Would you like to see them?

Yes / No

"Why would I choose death?" I muttered. "Of course I'd say yes." As the last word left my mouth, the world shifted, and I could see my body - something I manicured quite well - looking back. My hair, just a touch longer than my shoulders, was perfectly straight, eyes the shade of lilac which was uncommon, even for my people. High cheekbones and an overall unremarkable face, well at least for one like me - I'd been an elf, so "average" was well.. Different for us than most others. Why humans and most other races thought we were so attractive, only Elistraee knew. My tattoo was the only other thing of note, a swirling shape on my right arm, shoulder blade to elbow. A marker.

In the past I'd hoped to never have to come back again.

On the left was what I'd looked like when I was young, the human equivalent of six. Longer hair, a soft face, and no tattoo. If only it had stayed that way.

Would you like to make any cosmetic changes before we continue? Most worlds don't have elves, so your ears, at least, should change.

We will allow you to revise this later if you so wish, before character creation is complete.

For now, just remove the tattoo, make my hair wavy, and round out my ears. I'd gotten along with humans best and all of my adopted children had been human, so I wouldn't mind.

Would you like to change your Name?

Kalanast 'Sindrie' Amaglain was not a common human name. I'd instead take the name of a good friend I had before I died, something more common.

"Yes," I replied. "Could we change my name to Aubrey? I suppose if I'm getting a new life I won't get exact control of whom I'm born to," I say aloud, before pausing. "And is there a way to issue commands mentally?"

Of course! Mental Commands enabled.

Name Changed!

Depending on the world you go to, you may have control of your last name, but this is variable. You can edit later if you don't.

Do you want to review potential worlds now, or would you like to rest, first?

'Let's review now,' I think. 'No time like the present.'

Very well! After some calculations we think you would like these three worlds best -

...

Pokemon

A world full of powerful magical creatures who are tamed and used to fight for glory, against crime, and generally for other things the humans want. Very peaceful generally, trouble is brewing…

The Magical World

This is a world known as earth, where many people known as Wizards and Witches covertly separated themselves from the rest of humanity, due to the normal humans fearing their power and trying to kill them. There are many forces of good and evil - and never is there a shortage of intrigue!

The Elemental Nations

This world is largely controlled and managed by people known as Shinobi. These Shinobi take jobs for money, and can control the elements with their internal energies, known as chakra. With it they can do things like magic in your world could, including walking on water, teleportation over a certain distance, and of course elemental control.

I wasn't much of one for animal fighting or relying on others, so Pokemon was out. Both this 'Magical World' and those 'Elemental Nations' did sound interesting, but ultimately, I suppose I didn't want to deal with anything too different from what I knew right now. I like to think I know magic pretty well. I always liked intrigue anyways.

'Let's go with the Magical world,' I decided. 'Say, if I die, would I get to choose again?'

Magical World selected.

Perhaps. If you continue to impress our staff and put on such a wonderful show like you have been, we'd be honored to have you continue the test with us!

So this was based on a merit system? How odd.

Would you like to continue to character creation, or would you like to have a randomly generated life?

'I'll go to character creation, sure,' I mentally pushed. I wouldn't be some random person, thank you very much. I preferred having control.

Very well! You need to assign your stats.

Str - How hard you hit and how much you can lift.

Agi - How fast you are.

Dex - How much fine motor control you have.

Con - How good your immune system is and how much damage you can take.

Int - Your ability to learn new things.

Wis - Your ability to use what you know.

Luk - How fortune smiles on you.

You have 40 stat points for level 1 - you will be starting as a 4-year-old.

Your stats may change with perks and bloodline, which come later.

Well, spellcasting wasn't about being strong, so I could neglect that. Fine motor control, ability to learn, reason and luck? All very important. Going for longer would be good, too. I imagine building speed would come if I exercised, so I would leave the two most simple stats low and work on them.

3 Str

3 Agi

6 Dex

5 Con

6 Int

6 Wis

6 Luck

Fast or strong? No. But I could work on those. I'd just do the light routines I had my grandchildren do. A short jog and a few repetitions of exercise.

My years as an assassin were paying off.

Finalize stats?

'Yes.'

Stats Complete! Please pick bloodline!

Half-Giant

Half again as large as normal, your might is far greater than normal - this does cost you some points of Agility, as your speed decreases with your strength.

Veela

An Avian race that looks human, but can, at will or under duress change into an avian creature with immense control of fire. Comes with the Drawback of an Allure - all of the opposite sex are involuntarily drawn to you, unless they have immense self control.

Part-Goblin

As a part-goblin you're smaller than normal, and as a result your physical might goes down. However your speed goes up, as does your control of your body!

Human

Normal, Standard human. Nothing special, but no baggage coming with it. Humans have the most liberty, but the least gifts.

'Human,' I chose at a snap. People probably disliked veela, half-giants would not fit in and I'd never allow myself to be called a goblin after my last life. Blighters could all go burn in Avernus for all I cared!

Race Selection Complete!

Calculations Complete!

You have 18 perk points to spend and pick your new body's abilities!

There are many kinds of perks as you will see. The more expensive, the more powerful or useful, generally.

Actor - 1 point

You are an exceptionally skilled actor, naturally. You can pick up details, such as the habits and quirks of a person by watching them for a while to successfully impersonate them. Why with some polyjuice potion (A substance which when imbibe you look like the person it's keyed to) you could convincingly pretend to be a well-known and respected public official from another country for months without anyone noticing anything was amiss. (Observation, Acting and Deception all start at "Adept")

Investigative skill - 1 point.

You are a gumshoe of some note, capable of making connections that others would miss and you are keenly observant allowing you to get a much more accurate idea of the situation with a simple glance at a crime scene than an ordinary person would get by combing it carefully. (Investigation, and Perception start at "Adept")

Seeker - 1 Point

Your skill at catching things is downright unnatural, you could catch an inaccurately thrown cockroach in a teapot from across a large room. Your ability to accurately predict the path an object is going to take in the air is uncanny and your hand eye coordination is such that you can make catches others would think are impossible. (Hand-Eye Coordination starts at "Adept" and Flying (All types) Starts at "Adept)

And so the list went. On. And on. And on. But a few caught my eye.

People Like You - 2 points.

You've got a way about you that makes people just like you. You could be sweating copiously while sitting across from someone who can read your mind and they'll still usually come away thinking of you fondly. Treat people decently and you'll have more close friends than you know what to do with. (Give +10 to all reaction checks in interactions with any other creature.)

And of course:

Occlumens, -2 points.

Your mastery of Occlumency means a fully ordered mind with the ability to instantly recall any memory, and hold off Legilimencers through use of memory redirection of brute force. You can resist veritaserum.

I asked the game to define this. That was a dream for me as it meant no one could read my mind or force me to tell the truth. Any assassin's dream! Also a good way to defend my knowledge of this power I have.

All kinds of magical boons, titles, and even a way to control my birth situation! After doing some tinkering with the system, I came out with the following.

Half-Blood -

Your parents were magical, one was born to normal people "No-Maj" or "Muggles" and the other to a powerful pureblood house. The mixing of these bloodlines opened up the possibilities to you. As the last living branch of the main house, you are also quite wealthy! This gives you racial bonuses, which grant you a bonus on level up. Check stats for more information. -3 points.

This was so I could study magic and not be looked at odd for doing physical things, I hoped.

Potential. - 8 points.

You were born to greatness, and this reflects in everything you do. Magic is second nature to you. While you don't get any skill or knowledge innate with this perk, nor any gifts or talents that pass down bloodlines or through rituals, you now have limitless talent in every single branch of magic apart from these limitations.

Besides that, you are a genius at learning magic too, mastering material at positively enormous rates. This growth continues indefinitely, never slowing no matter what.

With time and effort on your part, your grasp of magic and its theoretical framework could be such that you can manipulate the very nature of it, and do so with an almost contemptuous ease. You would be able to take apart spells and rituals. Even altering spells in real time could be a possibility to you, changing their effects, size, scope, everything. As is coming up with entirely new pieces of magic, with due research and innovation.

Finally, to fuel all this, your 'Magical Core', per se, is proportionately vast. You have a humongous amount of magic at your fingertips, stretching far and beyond any known metrics well into the realm of legends like Merlin and the Founders.

This is the power level the magical titans operate at - to name a few famous ones you may interact with - Albus Dumbledore, Thomas Marvolo Riddle, Voldemort, Harry James Potter and a few others. They are referred to as "Archmagi" generally, or in older terms, Warlocks or Sorcerers.

Of course I took Occlumens as well, and to round out my final three points I took Actor, Investigative Skill and a feature called Parseltongue which the perk indicated had its own brand of magic attached, which I liked. I tacked on a specialization perk I felt might come in handy down the line - an ace-in-the-sleeve, if you will.

Parseltongue - 1 point.

You have the rare gift of Parselmouth. As a Parseltongue you can talk to and control snakes. Has the potential to do far more, there are even legends of it being used in various magics. Be careful, this trait has negative stigma attached.

The Shadowed Path (2pts)

You have a natural affinity for the arts of the Shadow - you can use Shadow magic, and stealth starts at Journeyman (Level 31)

Are you certain you wish to lock in these perks?

Yes/No

'Yes,' I thought. 'Revise stats. Please?' I asked, wanting to see what may have been modified from these perks.

3 Str

4 Agi

7 Dex

5 Con

7 Int

7 Wis

7 Luck

My guess would be Int and Wis were from the 'Potential' Perk, while Dex and Luck were going to be from my family. Probably. I would really need to focus on my physical stuff to keep it all balanced.

'Will I keep access to the systems here while playing the game?' I realized. 'Or will I be clueless as I was before?'

You will have access if you wish. Do note that this is the same as your last life, and if it becomes a deterrent to your living properly and fully, we will revoke access. We've seen too many get wrapped up in becoming the most powerful.

This is supposed to be fun, challenging and realistic. You've chosen to be inordinately skilled, yes. This just means you will be challenged equally. After all, life would be very boring if you weren't challenged.

'I agree. Any insight on those challenges?' I asked the system, or entity that was managing it.

That would spoil the fun, my dear! You may choose a family name - those that match your specifications are as follows…

The list had over twenty names on it. I settled on Hawthorne. They were old and had apparently made a few wand-makers in the line, but other than that, there wasn't anything notable. They were powerful in magic but were solid midfielders. Politically. I'd rather not come into things having enemies. Bigots and fools may not like it, but I couldn't care less.

Ah! I seem to have a brother and a sister, both younger. I was born 1979... which was the number of years after someone important died. Currently, it was 1983, in mid-December. I had just turned four, according to these screens. My Sister had just been born. Basic information on who I was covered, I got ready and turned to the words. At the bottom of my very short biography (truly, 4-year-old me was very uninteresting. I could do anything and it would fit this persona. Nice, but ultimately not a challenge.)

Ready to begin your new life?

Yes / No

'Yes,' I assured myself more than the game. 'Let's get going.'

Then the world was black.

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