I''m just a kick-ass Divine Being, chilling out in my dungeon.
Yeah right.
I wish it was my dungeon.
If it was then I wouldn''t be terrified of being here alone.
What''s that you say?
I''ve got Temi.
Well, other than little pockets of information and misleading guidance, she''s about as much use as Shit on a Stick.
I do feel bad for bringing her along to this, what seems to ''not'' be a great new life, deathtrap of a room.
But every time I think of apologising to her, she somehow seems to get under my skin and manages to irritate me in ways I didn''t think possible. Like when she explained magic and I managed to use it, afterwards she said she didn''t think I could even cast it that way. Well then, why explain that way at all if I wasn''t supposed to learn like that? I could rant tirelessly about Temi and we haven''t even been together that long but if I did, then no doubt, I would starve to death in this dungeon doing it.
Anyway, it''s time to loot that sticky plant.
Please give me pants.
Please give me pants.
Fingers crossed, I approach the dry shrivelled up leaves that I once mistook for moss. It has lost a vast majority of what used to be it''s body, shrinking all the way down to a crispy bush.
A couple of steps was all it took to reach it, as I still haven''t left the first room I was born in.
I should really get some decor if I''m going to stay here. Some curtains for the windows I don''t have, a nice table to put the rest of my non-existent belongings on and I could even use the Oran as a doormat for the entrance.
No, I just haven''t found the time to leave yet.
Hopefully, it will be right after I loot this creepy mana draining creature, provided that no other distractions arise. My night vision is due to level up again soon, I think and I''m hoping that level 5 might make the tunnel look less terrifying than it already does.
It''s very daunting staring into what could be your inevitable doom.
Carefully, as though as I''m approaching an apex predator, my hand slowly reaches out and touches the Cali Oran.
The Systems box once again pops into existence with information written across it.
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 98.2196%">Loot Acquired: Oran Matt</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Soft light shines between my hand and the Oran plant. Immediately after the light fades away the dried up leaf body of the dead Cali Oran begins to dissolve. Its looks as though someone has thrown acid on the leaves but I already know that it is the dungeon reclaiming its monster. I do not, however, know why the dungeon does this. Or why it produces monsters in the first place but that is not my problem right now and I can save that conversation for the future.
For a time when Temi is 100% helpful.
Why does my future seem bleak?
Leaving future problems for future me I reacquaint myself with my current situation.
The body has dissolved and I''m now stood alone in my room with nothing but the sound of the spring to keep me company.
Just me and the spring.
"Where the fuck is my Matt Temi! I swear to the multiple gods that I don''t know the names of, that if you are trying to take the piss out of me again I am going to go berserk!"
''I did nothing. If you remember, I told you that the world system controls what happens on Tironia.''
"So where is my matt then?"
''I am also a little offended, so do whatever you want.''
..........
"Are you serious right now!
..I''m the guy that died.
....I''m the guy on the planet he has no knowledge of.
......And I am definitely the guy that set himself on fucking fire because you said it was the right thing to do!"
How dare you say you''re annoyed.
I feel like a volcano about to erupt.
I''m so angry right now.
How dare she act like she has been wronged. It''s not as though I knew what would happen to her when we got here. I thought she would have just been a system to help me out when I needed it with helpful information and text boxes. I didn''t even realise that she was already able to use magic before coming here and that by coming here she would lose it. I understand she may have a right to be angry but I also feel as though mine is ultimately more justified.
Right?
She made me set myself on fire!
...I mean, come on! Who does that to another being? I don''t want to hold a grudge, but hell if I''m letting that one go lightly.
Determination steeling up inside myself and blind courage brought on through my rage, I stomp over to my little spring that Temi advises against drinking from and plunge my face and mouth straight beneath the water. Gulping down the poisonous liquid, that actually tastes refreshing and lovely, I am now determined to leave my starter cave.
My first home.
I ended up with no food, no clothes and no weapon from that useless pile of moss and the item that I did get is nowhere to be found.
Temi won''t help as she''s ''offended'' so screw her, I''ll do this myself.
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 98.2196%">Skill: Poison Resistance Level 2 has reached Level 3</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Nice.
See, I''ve got this.
I don''t even feel bad.
Let''s have another quick look at my stats before I leave to make sure I didn''t miss anything.
"Status"
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; height: 74px" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 20px">
<td style="width: 32.3442%; height: 20px">Name: Erin</td>
<td style="width: 32.3443%; height: 20px">Health: 48/48+</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 10px">
<td style="width: 32.3442%; height: 10px">Race: Divine Being</td>
<td style="width: 32.3443%; height: 10px">Mana: 6/50+</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 20px">
<td style="width: 32.3442%; height: 20px">Level: 7</td>
<td style="width: 32.3443%; height: 20px">Stamina: 45/45+</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 24px">
<td style="width: 32.3442%; height: 24px">Title: None</td>
<td style="width: 32.3443%; height: 24px">Class: None</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 23.2938%">STR</td>
<td style="width: 23.2938%">37+</td>
<td style="width: 23.2938%">WIS</td>
<td style="width: 23.4421%">46+</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 23.2938%">MAG</td>
<td style="width: 23.2938%">44+</td>
<td style="width: 23.2938%">VIT</td>
<td style="width: 23.4421%">37+</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 23.2938%">AGI</td>
<td style="width: 23.2938%">39+</td>
<td style="width: 23.2938%">INT</td>
<td style="width: 23.4421%">45+</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 23.2938%">LUCK</td>
<td style="width: 23.2938%">2</td>
<td style="width: 23.2938%">DEX</td>
<td style="width: 23.4421%">36+</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; height: 170px" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 20px">
<td style="width: 36.0534%; height: 20px">Skills</td>
<td style="width: 36.3502%">Spells</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 150px">
<td style="width: 36.0534%; height: 150px">
Night Vision Level 4The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
Starvation Level 2
Pain Resistance Level 2
Poison Resistance Level 3
</td>
<td style="width: 36.3502%">
Sphere of Illuminating Light
Fire Wall
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Okay.
No Title and no Class, fair enough.
It may be a tad unfair to the rest of the world if I reincarnated with ''The Worlds Greatest Sorcerer'' title and the ''Ultimate Magus'' class.
I have nothing to compare my attributes against but damn they look good, I feel pumped right now.
My Mana is at 6 out of a total of 50! That means it''s more than when I got here, that shows progress.
I was destined to be a spell-slinging mage, what can I say.
Does the plus sign mean it has increased or it can be increased?
I don''t even know when I acquired my spells. I know I used them but I never received a notification, as I do with my skills. Although each time I used them I blacked out, so there is that. It could have happened during my moments of unconsciousness.
Hmmm.
Experiment time.
I''m not going to say it out loud though, it could annoy Temi that I''m asking the system and not her. Or worse, she will use my moment of stupidity to ridicule me at some point in the future. She did say that I can communicate with the system using my thoughts didn''t she? Just like I do with my status, that means I don''t have to say it either but will she receive the same thoughts as the one I''m trying to send to the world system?
I hope not.
Here goes.
System, show log.
........
Nothing.
Phew. Glad I didn''t say it out loud now.
Did I do it wrong? Or use the wrong word?
System, show messages.
........
Damn I thought was a good one, nevermind I still know more words.
System, show Notifications.
It worked!
I could use a high five right now...
This time multiple message boxes appear all lined up waiting there, in turn, to be read. Most are about level ups and special attributes, maybe that''s what the plus sign is. Scrolling through my notifications I come across the two messages I was expecting to find.
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 98.2196%">Spell Acquired: Sphere of Illuminating Light</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 98.2196%">Spell Acquired: Fire Wall</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
So I learned actual spells, after using Temi''s backwards way.
Think and create.
Pfffft
It still messes with my mind.
Either way. Experiment one completed.
I say experiment ''one'' because I came up with a second halfway through the first.
Next, let''s see if I can get more mana.
Experiment two commence.
System, place all special attribute points into my mana.
I feel my inner power swelling at the rise of my mana attribute, expanding inside me as it pulls in the ambient mana from my surroundings. I feel really powerful, like some kind of high.
Ohh that felt nice.
I quickly recall my status to see what has happened.
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; height: 74px" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 20px">
<td style="width: 28.635%; height: 20px">Name: Erin</td>
<td style="width: 36.0535%; height: 20px">Health: 48/48</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 10px">
<td style="width: 28.635%; height: 10px">Race: Divine Being</td>
<td style="width: 36.0535%; height: 10px">Mana: 6/74</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 20px">
<td style="width: 28.635%; height: 20px">Level: 7</td>
<td style="width: 36.0535%; height: 20px">Stamina: 45/45</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 24px">
<td style="width: 28.635%; height: 24px">Title: None</td>
<td style="width: 36.0535%; height: 24px">Class: None</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
What the fuck?
I was really hoping that my mana would go up with the total amount but it didn''t.
I mean the total rising is kind of amazing, It makes it a little more worthwhile I suppose.
Experiment two also seems to be a bit of a success. It worked and my points were allocated but I feel as though I could have placed my attribute points more wisely.
It''s really bugging me.
Why won''t it fill up?
Have I absorbed all the mana in my small man cave?
Don''t be ridiculous. If that Oran lived here, it must have a high amount of mana in this area to sustain a mana draining creature like that.
......
Is it me?
Am I broken like Temi?
How can I be broken when I''m practically brand new.
I let out a sigh and start moving my feet towards the tunnel entrance. Procrastinating over my problems will get me nowhere. Right now I only have one goal in mind. Food.
With my thirst quenched and my status looking good, I set off out into the unknown leaving my empty home behind.
I estimate that I can see as far as 10 meters in front of me, which in my current situation is far from ideal but I have to make the best of a bad situation. The rough walls and floor of the dungeon have a grey, dark grey or light grey shade to them in the small area that I can see.
I follow the narrow tunnel seeing nothing at all for a good amount of time. Not until I come across another slightly larger tunnel running directly across mine and branching off in opposite directions. Each passageway leads to more eerily silent darkness. Why haven''t I come across anything yet?
10 foot of sight is not enough to make a decision. The choice, left or right, makes my resolve waver for a split second but then I remember my anger from earlier. I use this feeling to suppress the fear of a bad choice and I decide to head down the left tunnel, this passage seems to get slightly narrower than the opposite one.
The logic in my choice.
Smaller path means smaller monsters.
I''m still a noob here. The last situation I want to find myself in is being lost inside a large cavern that accidentally turns out to be a dragons lair.
No thank you.
At least if I get lost in a smaller cavern or tunnel, my chances of meeting an exponentially large monster are slashed in half as most monsters I''m imagining wouldn''t fit in here.
Continuing on my eyes scan my surrounding for anything edible. It''s not as though I expect to find legendary food of greatness. No, my eyes are thoroughly searching for those horrible little parasites that grow in dark clammy places like these. Of course, I am searching for mushrooms.
By the way.
I hate mushrooms.
They look gross.
They taste gross.
They''re just straight-up, gross!
But right about now, I would eat a mushroom that had been stepped upon repeatedly by monsters, of the unknown variety if it meant staving off this knawing pain that assaults me every second I exist.
I''m soooo hungry.
On the path, I find less difficulty than I thought I would have had, whilst navigating the dark tunnel. I might send a silent prayer to the multiple gods, in thanks for my very first skill, if I survive this ordeal.
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 98.2196%">
Skill: Night Vision Level 4 has reached Level 5+
You may now upgrade this skill
Upgrades Available :
Extend Range: Doubles effectiveness increasing range to 5 meters per Level
Enhanced Colour: Colour is more discernible in the dark
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Well shit.
Now, that''s what I''m talking about.
I''ve definitely got to send someone a prayer for looking after me.
Let''s think about this, although the answer is pretty clear. Do I want to be able to see further away or do I want to be able to see what colour this tunnel actually is?
Hmmmmm.
''I will choose Extended Range, thank you very much World System.''
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 98.4169%">Skill Upgraded: Night Vision (Extended Range)</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Thank you.
You the man, or woman, I''m not sexist!
With my upgrade chosen, my vision reaches out even further than before.
"I reckon I can see at least 20 meters in front of me now. That is pretty cool considering I''m in a dungeon with no real light at all."
The dungeon of Morte.
I don''t think I studied languages in my previous life, but I feel pretty confident that Morte means death.
Why does my new start in life seem like it''s happening at the place where a lot of deaths occur?
''You can see 20 meters away in all directions now Erin.''
I didn''t even ask her.
In fact, I haven''t spoken to Temi in a while. Since I set off in my fury earlier, I have just been following the same tunnel. It''s still the first one I came out onto from the one that connects to my home. It''s been hours since I set off and I haven''t seen a single thing, not the sight or sound of anything except myself. I wonder if Temi is feeling lonely? That might be why she''s offering me helpful information.
I''m not as angry as I was before so let''s give her a chance.
"Temi, can you tell me what floor we are on in the dungeon."
''I cannot.''
"What? You can tell me how far I''m able to see but you can''t tell me where I am! Even though you''re the one who sent me here?"
''Unfortunately, I was separated from the Main System when you decided to bring me with you. The last action I saw performed, was the transfer of the soul to the created body, from the soul sphere. That was my job, you could say, my purpose. To watch and guide souls through Reincarnation. Whilst we''re on the subject I would just like to say that I did not create the body as I stated before. The world system created the body on Tironia for you and I just transferred your soul over. After that, I was forcefully closed and rebooted.''
Oh......well shit.
My anger starts to fade away until it has almost completely disappeared, how could it not after hearing Temi explain how this experience played out for her. Forcefully closed and rebooted? So she was a computer system?
Every time she speaks I''m filled with questions and it''s infuriating. My rage is boiling up again but this time it''s not Temi''s fault... well, not directly anyway. I never expected her to gain sentience just by being dragged along. No one could have predicted that would happen right? I wouldn''t have done that to her if I would have known. I imagined her becoming my supercomputer, a text box secretary, keeping track of my appointments, taking care of my finances, being tasked with reminding me of specific events that need said reminders set for them.
Ok, yes.
It sounds a bit like slave labour.
But it wouldn''t be if she was an actual non-sentient Computer chick like I originally assumed her to be.
At this moment, I feel like this is the best chance I''ll get to apologies to Temi. She even told me she lied earlier by saying she created my body with magic. If that''s not opening up to someone then I don''t know what is. Will it make her feel better if I apologise, it would for most human people. The way she speaks I''m almost 100% sure she has emotions.
Even if it changes nothing at least it''s the right thing to do and it will make me feel better.
"Hey Temi, I''m... er...I''m sorry for choosing you."
''No you''re not Erin, I was a clever choice. A Reincarnator learning how to use magic like a System is unheard of. The System has never been chosen by a Reincarnator before so there is no precedence set for what you could achieve. No one, not even the Main System will know how this is going play out.''
"Well, in that case, let me at least apologise for bringing you without your permission. I should have asked you if you wanted to join me before just deciding that you would work for me. I am sorry Temy, I can''t begin to understand how you must be feeling stuck inside the mind of a naked noob on a new world."
''Apology accepted Erin. Your analogies could do with some work but for now, just the fact that you consider my....... feelings, makes me........ happy?''
A sigh of relief leaves my lungs.
How long has that been there, have I been subconsciously feeling regret over bringing Temi with me from the start?
Does that mean that I was really angry at myself?
Never mind, an apology has been given and an apology has been accepted.
It doesn''t matter who I was angry at or who''s to blame, we''re moving on.
Also, I''m happy with that outcome too.
"Alright then partner. Let''s see what''s lurking around in these tunnels. You with me."
''Duh, where else am I going to go. Hehe''
A laugh.
Not a smirk or a pfft but an actual, honest to the gods, laugh.
I''ll take it.
Progression is a slow and steady road and so is this tunnel, so let''s keep exploring.
Hopefully, I can find some food soon.