Character Creation

As the man smiled, the entire surroundings changed around me. Instead of an office space, I stood in a white expanse as the man stood next to me.

"Normally, there are typical starting packages. We call it Goldfinger deployment. It can be a power template, for example, you can choose to start your journey with the powers of a character you are familiar with. Or you can start your journey with a system like those Gamer Systems. But, personally, I recommend you don't go for something like that. Such templates are a handicap in your growth. They narrow your vision and your experiences are cheapened. You will forever remain in the shadow of the powers you begin with and it will be dangerous in many worlds. Not to mention, such templates come with the burden of altering your mental state to the character's own, which makes the whole point of choosing external agents moot. But we allow free will here. You can decide to ignore my suggestions and choose as you will."

I glanced at the man and shook my head. "I am not arrogant enough to believe I know more than my patron who is giving me the chance to traverse across realities. As they say, this is definitely not your first rodeo."

The man nodded. "True. So, what is it you want? We have a catalogue you can browse. But, I don't see the harm in letting you decide. There are some limitations as to what I can offer you, as such exchanges typically have to follow equivalent exchange. This means, you have to prove your worth before you are allowed to afford truly dangerous powers."

I nodded. I expected nothing less.

Well then. What do I lack? Knowledge. Magic. And ways to grow stronger.

"Do you have CYOA essences?" I asked as the man grinned.

"Why, yes we do. Let's do this. I can allow you to choose one essence for now. And after your complete your first world, I can give you an option to choose your second one. It will be like a Fibonacci sequence after that. So, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, etc. You can have your power ups, as you finish these worlds. We have a few worlds to test our probies. And your first world will be easier, too."

I nodded. "Will I only get this essence?" I asked as John shook his head.

"CYOA Essences are powerful. That is why, we restrict how much you can take. Typically it is not even considered for probies. But, since you are an exceptional hire, let's consider it your starting bonus. But you can choose another power beside a single CYOA Essence. That will be your default power."

I nodded. What do I need? No matter what, magic and supernatural energy is a must have. Apart from that, I don't need much technically.

As for CYOA essences, I have one already in mind. Essence of the Archmage should be a very good starting point. And I would choose it, too. But before that, I need Essence of the Warlord. This essence will give me battle training and round off most of my weakness. I don't have any battle experience technically. Gun fights and life as a SEAL taught me that I know very little about battles and war.

Essence of the Warlord should take care of that problem. I would learn from my battle experience as that should be a must for surviving in death worlds.

As for my starting package, I want to be able to handle esoteric energies and supernatural threats. What good is combat experience, if my weapons cannot pierce or damage ghosts?

I looked at John who nodded.

"I would say, you made a very good choice. Let's see. Essence of the Warlord. Here you go. The template card for the Essence."

I looked at the glowing card.

ESSENCE OF THE WARLORD:

By consuming the essence of the Warlord you are granted several boons.

A body just above peak of your species in ability, one sculped to your tastes.

Infinite willpower to tackle any foe, even bloody and broken you will not stop.

Endless endurance, stamina, and immunity to pain.

You possess potent regenerative abilities, otherwise fatal wounds like getting impaled through the heart or having your intestines torn out is a minor inconvenience. Organs will right themselves and heal back as they were, severed limbs will come back and reattach themselves, and any unwanted or hostile foreign contaminants will be expelled with extreme prejudice. Even decapitation is not the end as long as your brain or body is relatively intact. Anything too damaged or completely destroyed will otherwise simply spring forth anew where it should be.

Supernatural mastery of many weapons and unarmed styles, even just plain old brawling.

Immense skill conducting war on a strategic and tactical level.

Good handle of logistics and how to raise and train a force from a small band of soldiers to entire armies.

Charisma to lead and inspire said armies even at your darkest hour.

The ability to call forth homunculi troops that are trained and equipped (including mounts, beasts, or vehicles up to a certain size) to at the very least of the standard of whatever world you find yourself in. Should you have different tastes or the requisite skills these forces may be called forth with equipment that is produced by yourself such as enchanted weapons and armor for your elite troops. The number of homunculi you can call forth is determined by your power, the stronger you are the more homunculi can be called forth. These homunculi are absolutely loyal and cannot be turned on you through normal methods. The upkeep and Logistics of these homunculi are taken into account when summoned the necessary supports summoned with them.

I looked at John who nodded. "This is a very good starting Essence, if you ask me. Additionally, you want a weapon that can handle esoteric energies or powers. Here I have two options. A powerful weapon cannot be simply granted to you. That is not how this works. Here you work and earn your keep."

I nodded.

"But, what I can offer is this. A weapon that has unlimited ammo and only needs your pool of energy to charge itself. And an armour that can function as your clothes to suit any reality you find yourself in. Your clothes are self-repairing and will restore themselves after a suitable amount of time. But they will be resistant to mortal weapons of all kind. As a Planeswalker, you are afforded certain priviledges. To begin with, you are a Dimensional Being, so you are shielded from all powers that scry or divine your locations. In Worm world terms, you are a Stranger to all precognition. Even divine beings cannot sense your presence. These dimensional energies can not only fuel your travel, but also give you a nigh unlimited hammerspace. This storage space organises itself, can hold things in temporal stasis, but cannot sustain living things inside it. For that you need a different power. You will get unlimited ammo that is custom to your weapon and this weapon can transform into any weapon you wish. Your Essence gives you mastery over weapons. Well, this weapon will be a mortal level weapon capable of transforming from sword to shield to trident to spear to a gun to a rocket. Anything short of Artillery, this weapon can transform. If damaged, it will recover and repair within short duration. It is a mortal weapon in all ways that matter, bar a single fact. It can transform and it can learn. It can grow. And over time, it can become your most powerful ability."

I smiled excitedly as I nodded.

John smiled and gave me another card as I stared at it.

"Now that you have selected your build. You have to select your worlds. To begin with, your worlds are typically decided by your superiors. But here, I am letting you choose. The exact Alternate Universe will be decided by me. But you can tell me which reality you want to visit."

I looked at the options as hundreds and thousands of media and fantasy opened up to me. There were gods and devils and demons and superheroes, and all I could think of was, "Being Careful!"

I looked at John and shrugged. "I am at a loss. There are so many options, and I want to choose something that is not dangerous, but worthwhile in exploring. Do you have any suggestions?"

I asked quietly as John nodded.

"There are a bunch of options. But if you are willing to find out, why not go for a zombie world? They are generally low impact and low threat worlds especially for external agents."

I nodded. "Something like The Walking Dead? But I don't see there being any use from visiting such worlds."

John shrugged. "The zombie worlds rarely have any use for us. Mostly, for such Apocalyptic Worlds, we prefer a hard reset. Maybe, you would like to participate in one of such purge missions? It could help you get used to your powers."

I nodded. "Sounds like a plan. But perhaps, for my first world, I would like something that is useful for my build as well as good for training my powers."

John nodded. "Makes sense."

I kept browsing through the options until I saw something I can work with.

I looked at John who nodded.

"Not a bad option. But you must be careful. There are hidden dangers there."

I nodded. "I can imagine. I just need to know. Are there gods in that Universe?"

He shrugged. "Normally, yes. But there are Multiverses where the Gods have abandoned humanity here. Why, I see a few Death Worlds in that reality. Good. You are in luck."

I nodded. "Then, I've made my choice."

John nodded as he waved his hand.

"Then, I bid you adieu. If you don't die, then I shall see you again when you are done. There are User Interfaces that help you keep track of your missions and deliverables. Some are critical, while others are...soft targets. All the best."

I nodded as the white world around me shifted rapidly until I appeared in the desert with sand and heat around me.

The world felt very real, so real, that I could taste the heat in the air and the dryness on my tongue.

Despite the scorching heat, my clothes were transformed into something suitable for desert, with linen pants and shirt with scarf and hat to protect me from the weather. The cotton scarf was cooling and refreshing as my internal temperature swiftly regulated to suit the hot and dry desert environment.

My Essence of the Warlord suddenly activated as all my senses suddenly became superhuman. I could taste the heat, and the subtle taste of some exotic particles in the air, that I could visibly see floating within the sands of the dunes around me.

The heat was unbearable, and I can easily imagine why humans wore special suits that looked like spacesuits to protect themselves from the heat and from dying to the scorching harsh weather.

But I was built different. I was made different. The Essence of the Warlord made me beyond human. Beyond the limits of my biology. The moisture in my body didn't evaporate nor did I feel the harsh weather intolerable.

Instead it simply felt like a tropical summer, nothing worse than my posting in Colombian jungles.

I stood erect as I stared at the group of people who appeared over the sietch dressed like the local people I expected to see.

"Who are you outsider? Why are you not in Still Suit? Do you wish to be claimed by the desert?"

"I think he is suffering from delusions. Inhaling too much spice can have that effect on the outsiders."

And as they raised their blades and their weapons at me, I smiled.

And so it begins...