《Tristan the Black Mage》 Prologue: The Beginning of the End of the World Tristan sat at his desk in class staring at the clouds slowly drift by outside the window. He never paid attention the boring lecture going on at the front of the classroom. The teacher just droned on and on about useless information about the Romans and the Indus River Valley. Every day to him was just a monotonous cycle of the same boring things over and over again. He never understood how people took any interest in speaking to each other about random and unimportant information. Everyone else in the class was either closely paying attention to the teacher at the front of the classroom or trying not to fall asleep. He never had to worry about passing his classes because no matter what he did he always aced those tests made for the common idiot. As he watched the clouds go by he was thinking deeply about many things as he always was. "Why is existence so boring? What gives me this deep feeling of metaphysical dysphoria?" "Why can''t life be exciting and interesting like a fantasy novel or an online video game?" "How is everyone else content with their boring existence? How do they stand it?" *briiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing* As Tristan brooded on these dark questions the lunch bell rang breaking him out of his stupor. He gathered his stuff into his backpack and headed for the door. The hallways of the school were always so crowded that it made him feel dehumanized like he was just one fish in a school or one fly in a swarm. He was just one of the many unimportant human beings going about their daily lives. This thought was one of his greatest fears. Being unimportant and insignificant. "Why should I even try to live? Is it worth it?" "Life just seems meaningless and boring..." As Tristan caught himself thinking dark thoughts he shook his head and stopped thinking about it. As he finally got out of the crowd of people in hallways and into a less crowded one he felt the knot in his chest lessen greatly. He went down the stairs of the building to the lunchroom where he waited in line patiently for his food. As he got his food and inspected it he could see it would another day with no lunch. He would rather go hungry than eat this low-quality slop. As he took his food to an empty table and sat down he gazed around at the people around him. They all seemed to be happy, eating and laughing with their friends. He didn''t understand how they were so happy. Did they not know how meaningless their lives were? Or were they just so ignorant that they never thought about it? He knew the fault lay with him for not being able to enjoy himself. But even though he knew that it couldn''t fix the hole he felt in his heart. He sat there at his table growing more and more somber and depressed.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. After half and hour of brooding, lunch was over and it was time to go back to class. The bell rang and he went back through the halls feeling alone and insignificant. When he got back to class he took his seat at his desk and continued contemplating his life and staring out at the peaceful white clouds drifting by in the sky. After the rest of his classes, the day was over and it was time to go home. His home wasn''t a place where he could relax either, however. He lived with his schizophrenic father and his bitch of a stepmother. He hated being at home. He walked to his bus and got on. After about half an hour the school bus reached his stop and let him off. When he got back home and opened the door he looked around and stared at the mess that was his home. It was a mess. There were trash bags everywhere and he could see dead roaches on the ground. It was disgusting. He hated his parents and his home. They were idiots who were drug addicts and yelled at each other all the time. They weren''t at home they were out somewhere doing god knows what. Instead of sticking around in the filth that was his house he decided to get on his bike and ride around the neighborhood. He walked his bike out the front door and hopped on. Cycling calmed his mind. He loved the way the wind felt on his face and enjoyed the physical exercise. He rode around on the streets for about an hour thinking about his situation in life. He knew the facts about how most people would never leave the socioeconomic situation that their parents were in. Even though he thought he was intelligent, he felt like he was doomed to a life of mediocrity and poverty. His thoughts haunted and tormented his life. He didn''t know why he was so depressed today but the thoughts of his insignificance and meaninglessness plagued his mind. He decided he would do it. He had looked it up before many times late at night when he was dreading going back to school. He was going to kill himself. He rode his bike home and dropped it off at the front door before going inside. He knew where his dad kept a gun in case someone ever broke in. He walked into his Dad''s room and grabbed the handgun from inside the case he kept in his back closet. As he held the gun in his hand he was scared. He didn''t want to die. But he had to do it. He dreaded a life of depression and monotony more than he feared his own death. But he didn''t want to die. It was for the best he told himself. He hated his life and everything in it. He didn''t want to work a nine-to-five job that he hated for forty years. It''s best you do it now rather than suffer forty more years and do it later he thought to himself. But he didn''t want to die. He steeled himself for the deed even though he was scared. He knew it was for the best. Anything had to be better than his life now. He didn''t believe in God but he hoped he didn''t end up in hell. With his mind racing at full speed with his head full of fearful and depressed thoughts he put the gun up to his head and took the gun off safety. He aimed it at his temple and pulled the trigger, thereby ending his sad life.
Congratulations on your death! Because of your actions during your life, you will be reincarnated.
Chapter 1: Reincarnation?
Congratulations on your death! Because of your actions in your life, you will be reincarnated.
What? He couldn''t believe his eyes. He killed himself and now some blue screen telling him he was going to be reincarnated appears? That certainly isn''t what he expected would occur. He thought at worst he would end up in some "hell" but really what he expected was a black void. To be honest from what he saw around him, he wasn''t far off. All around him was darkness. The only thing he could see is the blue screen in front of him. He sat floating in the void for a while contemplating his past life and how meaningless it was. It was truly a boring and meaningless existence. The blue screen said "because of your actions in your life" that he would be reincarnated. He wondered what the messagemeaned though. Was it because he killed himself? Or something else? He flicked the blue screen away with a swipe of his hand and thought, "Damn, that''s cool. It''s like a video game." More importantly though, where was he? And where did the blue screen come from? Washe in hell?He doubted it. There was a serious lack of fire and brimstone. He guessed that he was in some void while he waited to be reincarnated. Suddenly, another blue screen appeared in front of him.
Hello Tristan. I am God. Sorry about the wait. I was busy, with uh - something. Welcome to the Afterlife.
"You''re God? A blue screen?" Tristan thought bewildered. He always pictured God as some awe-inspiring being.
No, I am not a blue screen Tristan. This is just a way for me to communicate with mortals. If you saw me your soul would be ripped apart by my godly aura. I''ll have you know I''m quite awe-inspiring.
"Aren''t you all powerful? Couldn''t you just make it so their souls don''t get destroyed by seeing you?" Tristan said. It seemed kind of weird to him that any God would be restricted by anything if they were all powerful.
Ok you got me. I just thought talking to people through blue screens would be interesting. It gets boring being the all-mighty creator of the multiverse sometimes you know? Gotta keep things varied.
"Ok then. Anyways, you said I am going to be reincarnated right? Why is that? What did I do that got me the chance to be reincarnated during my life?" Tristan asked.
Oh well the reason you are being reincarnated is because I made a mistake you see. You were supposed to be placed in universe D-167 but instead you were placed in D-168. Silly mistake am I right? That is probably why you were so discontent with your life. You were made to live a different life. Sorry about that.
A mistake? My whole life has been a mistake?The fact depressed him a little bit but at least he had a reason for why he was so discontent with his past life. One thing still bugged him though...Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. "Would you tell me how an all-powerful-being makes a mistake?" Tristan asked interrogatively.
Hey don''t blame me! I have a lot going on you know. With creating universes and new souls. There is a lot to do around here. Sometimes things get mixed up! But don''t worry about you will be compensated for this mistake. I have great some great options for you to choose from!
You will be reincarnated into a world of magic and swords similar to a fantasy game from your past world.
Pick four things from this list and it will be given to you in your next life as a compensation for the mistake.
Title: Fast Learner - Gain 3X EXP from all sources. Gain 3X skill proficiency from all sources. Extra stats per level.
Title: Noble- Be born into a noble family. Everywhere you go people will treat you with respect. Luck tripled.
Title: Pack Rat - Your inventory will be unlimited. Itemsstored in inventory have no weight.
Title: Athlete - Dexterity and Vitality stat effects tripled. Unlimited stamina.
Title: Legendary Mage - Intelligence and Wisdom stat effects tripled. Mana increased x10.
Legendary Tome: The Grimoire of Drakkath - Soulbound. Contains the secrets of the black mage Drakkath.
Legendary Tome: The Holy Book of Ra - Soulbound. Ability to establish a religion. Faith stat gained. Contains the teachings of Ra. Faith stat effects tripled.
Legendary Equipment: Armor of the Deep - Soulbound. The ultimate platemail. Can breath underwater. Grants bonus Vitality.
Legendary Equipment: Arcana Staff - Soulbound. The ultimate staff. Can cast all types of magic. Grants bonus Intelligence.
Legendary Equipment: Leather Armor of the Shadows - Soulbound. The ultimate cloth armor. Can turn invisible. grants bonus Dexterity.
Title: One Who Shakes the Heavens - Grants the ability to cultivate Qi. Qi increased x3.
Title: Beautiful - Everywhere you go you attract attention. Charisma stat gained. Charisma stat effects tripled.
"Wow...there are so many options," Tristan thoughtsuprised. He knew what he was going to pick though. It was an easy decision. He knew that he was intelligent and always played mage in fantasy games so he was going to pick the options geared toward being a mage. After looking over the list a couple more times to make sure he didn''t miss anything he made his choices.
Good choices Tristan. I can tell that you are going to be a great mage. I expect great things from you.
You can look at your status page when you get into the world! Just think in your mind "Status" and a blue screen with your status will appear in front of you. It is time to say goodbye Tristan. You are ready to go. Be careful though, this is a dangerous world full of monsters and monsterous men. It won''t be easy. Good luck. You are now going to be transported to your new world. When you next awake you will be a new man!