Finally a moment to relax I thought to myself, said thought came easy with a coconut in hand, and my still recovering body stretched in a hammock. The thought however came with the contrast of the present mixed with memories filled with stress, from a bad breakup, to stressful finals who I’ve barely passed, and let’s not forget about the dislocated shoulder before a big competition. The past six months had been brutal and yet here I was semi whole and with a couple of weeks to recover and the beautiful sea before me. I took another sip of the alcohol laced beverage and let my body relax even further. “Hey old man, are you going to stay moping or are you joining us?” The voice belonged one of my cousins, a young lean guy with short almost shaved hair called Miguel who in his 17 year old wisdom believed being 22 was requirement enough to be classified as “old”. To which I reply “In a bit you hyperactive gremlin.” Finishing the rest of my drink in one big gulp. I finally stood and stretched with my left arm, the right still strapped in a brace causing a bit of pain with the stretch, finally I walked through the sand until I reached the beach while family and friends of said family splashed around and play in the shallows, joining was hard at first since I believed myself to be an outcast, while they lived really close by from one another, I’ve been away for almost a decade, luckily for my awkwardness a particularly competitive match of volleyball was taking place, trying and failing to be careful, provided a venue for interactions, intense as it was there was no anger at the end which made me feel welcome, and first the time in a while I produced a genuine smile, wanting to corroborate I look down at the water that was clear enough to show a face that I’ve grown accustomed to bearded, with short, black wavy hair, and a seemingly perpetual frown now turned into a smile resting into my now tanning skin, but that wasn’t everything shown in a reflection, at the bottom a book like shaped was visible, curious I went to grab it. My fingers submerged and touched what I assumed was the front cover when everything went black.
I opened my eyes not knowing when I closed them, feeling exactly like the first time I got choked unconscious back when I was a white belt, when the disorientation started to pass I noticed that my surroundings were changed from the relaxed and sunny beach in southern Mexico to what looked like a small wooden cabin, I was lying flat on the wooden floor with only my swimming trunks and a brace waiting for the gremlin of my cousin to show up laughing his ass off but as the seconds turned to minutes the lack of noise made me feel uneasy and I got up saying “Anybody here?” worry starting to seep into my voice, without a response I started to inspect the cabin, the room had a bed made of wood, a singular window showing grey skies, besides a single door remained closed, the rest of the room was empty causing my attention was immediately drawn to the set table and chair which made the entirety of the furniture in the single room space, particularly to the book that sat upon the table, maybe because a book was the last thing I remembered before waking up, but I couldn’t help myself but to go straight for the thing, and as soon as I touch it the illusion of this being an elaborated prank began to shatter.
Access Granted Welcome Roberto B. to the great system.
I haven′t even opened the book when the letters appeared to be floating like in a videogame. “Carajo” I muttered in my native language a habit that I’ve kept even with more than half a decade living in the states, almost dropping the book as the letters began to disappear on their own. When the shock started to wear down I braced myself and opened the book. The letters that I saw on the page at first looked like runes straight out of a fantasy movie, but then began shifting until they’ve arranged themselves into legible English giving me the chance to begin reading.
If you are reading this book you have been selected as one of the few precursors before the new dawn that the system is meant to bring to your universe. You will find awe in this new age but also face many challenges and tribulations.
As a precursor it is your responsibility to make yourself stronger and become a beacon to those of your kind. After you’re finished reading this page the system will grant you access to its features which we will be going through in this book. Remember to stand proud and praise the ancients for this opportunity.
Just as the last word of the weird prologue finished my vision blurred for a moment only to clear now showing an interface that showed 2 bars the first one was red and it was missing a chunk of around 30% only show a V for as an indication for its meaning, the second one was blue and was full but otherwise it was similar to the first one showing an this was weird as fuck and the more I thought about it the more I noticed myself getting worked up, It took me a bit but when I managed to stop the torrent of thoughts the words escaped my lips “I’ve been Isekai’d” saying it out loud making me feel conflicted. During the past six months a considerable part of my mental health relied on watching such series, and I must admit that more than once I wished for the sweet embrace of truck-kun, during those dark times I wished to disappear and start somewhere fresh, however I was well on my way to recover and was really looking forward to this vacation. Nevertheless the text did mention that this stuff was going to happen to my universe so perhaps I could return. Double checking the bars to see if they were still there I stepped on my own foot due to the lack of a free hand for pinching and it felt real enough so I flipped the page.
If you have common sense of continue reading before going out of the cabin congratulations, now as precursor you get immediate access to class while the rest will need to be at least level five for said privilege, bear in mind that this class is not permanent but will influence further choices with the next two choices being at level 30 and then 60. The classes should be contextualized to your knowledge. Keep in mind your strong points but don’t overestimate yourself lest you be plucked out before the new dawn. To make your choice think of “status” and follow the instructions.
Kind of accepting the state of things I thought and a medium size box appeared with the following information
Name: Roberto B. (System enhanced Human)
Level: 1
Class: None
Vitae: 70/100
Arcana 10/10
Strength 7
Dexterity 5
Endurance 7
Intelligence 7
Evocation 8
Perception 6
Affinities: (None)
Abilities: Inspect (Tier 11 G)
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Congratulations you have unlocked your first class please select one of the following
Martial artist (Uncommon): The path of the first is open for those who wish to transcend their limits, while limiting in choice a martial artist can also find freedom with each step.
+2 to all stats per level.
Abilities: Ki punch (Active tier 11), Ki Kick (Active tier 11), Ki enhance (Active tier 11)
Equipment: Small Interdimensional pouch (Uncommon)
Warrior (Common): The path of steel is a steep climb, whether you decide to put your enemies to the sword or guard your allies with a shield you will need to keep your wits sharp.
+1 Strength + 1 endurance + 1 vitae + 3 free points.
Abilities: Enhanced Slash (Active tier 11), Enhanced block (tier 11)
Equipment: Iron Sword (Basic), Wood Shield (Basic), Small Interdimensional pouch (Uncommon)
Mage (Uncommon): The path of the arcane can be foggy but with knowledge you can conquer its depth.
+2 Arcana + 2 evocation + 1 Intelligence + 3 free points
Abilities: Regenerative Meditation (Tier 11), Arcane shot (Tier 11).
Equipment: Cloak of minor Arcana regeneration (Uncommon), Wood Catalyst (Basic), Small Interdimensional pouch (Uncommon)
After finishing with the wall of text I was more than a bit perplexed, system enhanced human was self-explanatory but confusing at the same time, however there was the book that served as a manual and while in real life I used to skip those, here in this place I felt as if this information could be the difference between life and death. Therefore I keep reading and while I didn’t learn any particulars on the classes beside what was shown, I learned in the few following pages that the system generally gave 3 initial choices based on stats and affinity, I also learned that the stats were calculated to the moment I was transported as well as their meaning, which to be fair are pretty self-explanatory, Vitae worked kind of like hit points, Arcana like magic points, the rest aren’t not being that different to what was expected, strength translates to how much force can my muscles muster, dexterity is in charge of both my general and fine muscle coordination, endurance is tied to how well my body responds to trauma, intelligence is basically memorization and problem solving, perception is based on how well I perceive through my senses the world around me, last but definitely not least evocation, being the only one previously unknown to me but it’s function was tied to the efficient usage, potency and regeneration of Arcana. Taking that all of that into consideration I theorized that the system provided said options based on my life choices and stats of course martial arts was going to be a choice considering at the moment I was a purple belt in BJJ having practiced for a bit over 4 years, warrior was also a classic choice tangentially related to martial artist but also my most used class in video games, and last but not least Mage which I guess it was related to my evocation stat, prompting the questions why the hell was it my highest stat? I mean BJJ, while respectful of the past didn’t fall in the esoteric, and the other big activity were my ongoing studies in marketing which at least to my knowledge didn’t involve the usage of magic; I try turning the page but it was blank, so without any more information at hand I finally sat to weigh my options.
My first thought centered on discarding warrior even though it generally was my first option when I played videogames, I had to consider that it was the one with the least benefits and taking into account that I couldn’t use my and dominant hand it was easy to discard, the second one to go was harder because as a martial artist I felt comfortable and even though I was hurt I did make a Miguel tap while playing, trying to do a rear naked choke with only one hand was difficult on a normal untrained human and we were just messing around, I couldn’t imagine doing it to an orc or any larger challenge hinted by the book we, so with a bit of reluctance I choose Mage, as soon as I selected the class two things happened, first words started appearing on the blank page, at the same time words appeared in a discreet box at the bottom of my vision declaring the following.
You have selected Mage, congratulations on your first class.
After a couple of moments the text began to fade and a light appeared on the table in front of me leaving a small rectangular pouch made of leather, as soon as I grab it the letters reappeared.
You have acquired and linked an interdimensional storage equipment Inventory enabled.
Taking a glance at the recently added letters on the page I looked for more information finding the following.
Regarding abilities I: Abilities are one of the main advantages to being enhanced by the system, in your journey you may redefine what is possible many times.
Regarding inventory: the space is determined by the equipped interdimensional storage, and it can be accessed by focusing on the term “inventory.”
Regarding rarities: you may find the range from basic to legendary in equipment, consumables, classes and more while abilities are based on the tier system from tier 12 being the least strong to tier 0 being the strongest.
After the selection it is expected that you received your basic equipment and gain access to your first abilities. Bear in mind that this cabin is the only safe zone in this area. Make sure you keep it that way testing your abilities outside and to equip yourself before going out.
As soon as you go outside you will receive a quest.
After this information dump I sigh on the chair and I said out loud “This is a lot and you are being really irresponsible by giving the responsibility to someone as irresponsible as me, are you sure you don’t want to change precursors or whatever?” I didn’t really expect a response and I didn’t receive any so I continued to play around accessing the inventory finding the cloak and the staff in an interface similar to a certain legendary survival horror game I noticed that even though it said small it had a space similar to a closet. Taking out the equipment was as easy as thinking about it and retrieve it from the pouch which was comical to a certain extent with the catalyst that looked more like a walking staff made out of pale grey wood, retrieved the cloak I discovered the interesting piece of clothing, navy blue in color made out of a rough and resilient fabric. Trying it on I noticed that it had a hood and it was wide enough to cover his torso and it reached above the knee. As soon as I put it on energy course through my body making me feel awake and aware, and that caused a light bulb to light up on my head proceeding to open my status revealing the following.
Name: Roberto B. (System enhanced Human)
Level: 1
Class: Mage
Vitae: 70/100
Arcana 10/10
Strength 7
Dexterity 5
Endurance 7
Intelligence 7
Evocation 8 (Regeneration +20% percent Cloak of minor Arcana regeneration)
Affinities: (None)
Abilities: Inspect (Tier 11 G), Regenerative Meditation (Tier 11 A), Arcane shot (Tier 11 A).
Noticing the expected change and the explanation I stood and grab the staff and that caused another change
Name: Roberto B. (System enhanced Human)
Class: Mage
Vitae: 70/100
Arcana 12/12 (+2 Wood catalyst)
Stamina 90/100
Strength 7
Dexterity 5
Endurance 7
Intelligence 7
Evocation 8 (Regeneration +20% percent Cloak of minor Arcana regeneration)
Perception 6
Affinities: (None)
Abilities: Inspect (Tier 11), Regenerative Meditation (Tier 11), Arcane shot (Tier 11).
With all of that info I was ready to embark when I questioned the usefulness of the inspect ability causing a box with the explanation to show.
Inspect (Tier 11): This ability can be used to identify the properties of different elements such as items, creatures, and more within the expanse of the system.
Previously I have ignored the ability because it seemed pretty self-explanatory my attention was on the effects of the classes but I guess since I haven’t unlocked them the information didn’t show. I proceed to try it focusing on the staff which said.
Wood Catalyst (Basic): System generated item provides +2 Arcana. Integrity 100%
Knowing that I had some more reading to do I sat again, and explored the last 2 abilities getting the following information
Regenerative Meditation (Tier 11): This ability boosts the natural recovery of the body while in a meditative state stamina 5% per hour, Vitae 10% per hour, Arcana 20% per hour. Integrity 100%
Arcane shot (Tier 11): Release a bolt of neutral arcane energy causing medium to low damage, cost 2 Arcana with the usage of a catalyst, 4 Arcana without the usage of a catalyst.
Overall the abilities were great and I felt a 100% percent better with my decision making skills, however a bit of sadness was mixed in due to the memory of the person who taught me how to meditate, even after all this year’s her absence still caused pain from time to time, giving a silent thanks I sat on the floor with my back straight and I began meditating.
