I had been placed in the pod with more than a few pipes inserted where they shouldn't be. That included a face mask with a combined breathing and feeding tube. The pod was filled with a warm, thick liquid. I had fallen into a sleep induced by the pod and suddenly awoke here.
I was surrounded by white.
This was the place where my avatar would be created. I had no form, and everything would be done through mental manipulation. I had prepared myself for this, but it was still disconcerting.
The voice was expected and seemed to come from all around me with a mechanical tone, the voice of the System. I had read about this process and was ready for it. I had planned everything out and was prepared to follow through.
"I am."
The rules that I will have to follow appeared before me. I stop myself from skipping ahead, realising I need to ensure I do everything correctly, as I won't be able to come back and try again. So, I slowed myself down and re-read all the rules to ensure that they were the same and that I understood them.
There were no changes.
"Yes."
They disappeared, and the next part began.
"Hector," I said without hesitation.
"No."
A full-body mirror then appeared before me. I look at the image staring back at me. It was of me when I was thirty and was naked. Mentally, this was how I always pictured myself as my body degraded over time with my age; in my mind, it stayed the same. The images of myself in mirrors from later in life never felt right.
A list of options appeared next to the mirror, and I got to work.
I added more hair to the top of my head. I had always been short up there. Vanity was at play here, but also a plan.
When given the ability to create their own appearance and physical form, the vast majority of the first two waves had taken the option to make themselves as handsome or beautiful as possible. This helped them in their interactions on Hylore and also made them stand out from the crowd.
Many were there to do their job and to repay their "debt" to the System. The problem was that this made them readily identifiable as members of the first two waves, and they were constantly being asked to undertake increasingly challenging quests to battle the Eldritch forces trying to destroy the world. This factored into their high casualty rates. The System's "debt" protocols only dictated that you fulfil the quota required by the System. You could take on bigger and more dangerous quests if you desired, but that was a personal choice. Or, in the case of many within the first two waves, they were pressured or guilted into it by the local population.
Many had gone there, trying to be the heroes they envisioned themselves to be, only to find the true horror of what they were facing to be too much. The successful ones were those who kept their heads down and did what was required when needed. Those who sought to be heroes were always the first and quickest to die.
During my research, I quickly discovered that fact and made a conscious choice to avoid it. My appearance was roughly the same as it was in my original body, except with a thick but cut short beard and more hair on my head. The original light brown was transformed into black, and my hazel green eyes became blue.
I had already decided where I would be placed. One of the advantages of being part of the waves was that we could choose where we would be placed. I knew that this would be critical in determining how long I would survive in this new world. Like Earth, Hylore had a wide variety of climates and environments. The technology ranged from the late 1880s to the very early 1920s at best. Most nations had a hybrid mixture of technology levels.
Noreland was my destination of choice. It was a nation situated in the corner of the world's largest continent. It was about the size of France, but its environment was a mixture of British weather and Transylvanian terrain. The nation had several mountain ranges with vast forests between them. Most of the country was covered in dense evergreens that were deep and dark, making it a foreboding landscape. There were also a lot of bogs and swamps mixed in. Fog and rain were a constant presence across the land, making it an unappealing destination for tourists. The first two waves had also largely avoided the nation, with only two teams ever visiting it. This meant that Eldritch corruption was widespread in the land, and most of the population had been driven back to fortified communities linked by different transportation routes. Rail, road, and river were all used, but each presented different dangers.
The country had larger neighbours but was never invaded due to the mountain ranges protecting it and the surly nature of the population.
I went there because it was so unpopular, hoping to keep my presence hidden while quietly doing what I could to help the people living there.
The population was Caucasian, with black hair being the most common hair colour. The standard eye colours were blue, emerald green, and violet. Culturally, they were very similar to the people of Transylvania during the early 1800s, but with Celtic design aesthetics. They were very suspicious of outsiders and had quite a racist streak in their culture. Hence, my decision to blend in with them.
Most avoided them for that racist streak, but I could point to many nations' history on Earth and find just as blatant a racist attitude within their societies at one point or another. Just because they were like this now did not mean that they would stay the same; they deserved at least someone trying to help them survive the Eldritch horrors trying to consume them.
It was estimated that while I was in the pod, I could survive for another 3 to 5 years on Earth. That meant 9 to 15 years on Hylore. If I were careful with the missions I took and avoided revealing my existence to the authorities, I could survive those years with a relatively high degree of certainty. I would do this by keeping my level low and grinding low-level missions to fulfil the debt.
I reviewed the form that would represent my avatar and was satisfied with it. No, that wasn't right, so I made a few other changes to my avatar and moved on.
"I am finished."
"Yes, I confirm."
Suddenly, I felt dizzy and everything swirled around for two or three seconds.
I took a step forward to steady myself, realising suddenly that I was in my new body. I looked down, surprised, and quickly used my hands to test that everything was real and in the proper place. I felt my chest, face, and head. The avatar would also come with a HUD display that would appear in my vision, which would only activate when I reach Hylore.
"Wow, that was fast."
There was one other thing attached to the HUD which caused quite a deal of unease. That was a translation and knowledge matrix for the local population. The locals spoke a wide range of dialects and languages, similar to those found on Earth. The translation matrix translated everything they said into English or the language the wave member chose as their primary language. One of the odd side effects of this was that the names of both people and locations became similar to those from that language. However, when speaking back to the people, the words used by the avatar were in that language. One example I read was that if a man's name were similar to Adam, he would be referred to as "Adam," and when speaking his name, the avatar would use the proper pronunciation instead of "Adam." This also extended to the written word.
The Knowledge part, also known as skills, downloads the knowledge directly into your mind. That could be anything from knife fighting to knitting. Learning skills was possible, but buying skills from the System was another acknowledged route.
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
Why? No one has ever received a satisfactory answer to that.
Hence, the concerns of many.
A list appeared before me, followed by the number zero.
"I understand."
Now we get to the meat and potatoes of it. I had 70 points to allocate among seven stat locations. This comprises dexterity, strength, vitality, endurance, intelligence, wisdom, and luck.
This was the second and most disastrous mistake made by most in the first two waves. Many thought they could minimax their characters, focusing on one stat to offset a more balanced approach. I, too, had read novels and seen anime where the main character had a ridiculous level stat in one of them that offsets all the others, giving them an unfair advantage over everyone else.
The problem was that this System did not play by those rules. Those who minimaxed did not last long. It was fantastic having a massive strength stat, but if you didn't have the dexterity to hit anything, it was useless.
I had read countless tales from the survivors of people who had minimaxed and the normally fast and painful deaths they endured. To increase your stats, you had two choices: first, you could spend the one point per level you gained. Or the second, you could train your body and mind. Occasionally, rewards or elixirs were available, but they were rare. Here was the second part of my plan coming into play. I decided I was going to be a generalist and set all my stats to 10.
The human norm in terms of stats was 10. Any stat reaching 15 was considered Olympic or genius level. Anything above that was considered superhuman. On Hylore, few people had exceeded 15 in any stat, and the few who had were scarily powerful. One of the great things about the avatar form I now had was that I would never lose these stats unless I suffered a grievous wound or some form of divine or System punishment. So, any improvements I gained would be permanent. I could stop training and never lose any of my physical or mental abilities.
Dexterity was first on the list. It was apparent in how capable you were with your reflexes and reaction times. This covered everything from shooting to melee and even dodging. Strength was another obvious one; it covered how hard you hit and how much you could carry.
Vitality was essentially how much damage you could take before dying, similar to your hit points or health. Endurance was a bit more interesting as it played into both your physical resistance to things and your mental resistance to the Eldritch horrors. It controlled your stamina level.
Intelligence refers to how much you can understand and learn. Wisdom came into play when you were trying to understand puzzles or figure things out. These two mental stats also played into your ability to resist the Eldritch effects on the world. This was also where magic came into play, as you needed good stat numbers to cast magic, as well as dictating how big your pool of magic power was.
Finally, there was luck. Now, luck was an odd one. It was the only stat that could not be increased unless you were involved in a quest or a rare event. It could increase and decrease depending on your actions. The problem was that it was such a nebulous thing that no one could quantify it from the first two waves.
There were, of course, some in the first two waves who maximised luck, thinking it would give them a massive advantage. Many times it did, but there was always a point where those who relied too heavily on luck found it missing when they needed it the most.
I placed 10 points into each stat line. This would make me an average man with no advantages or disadvantages.
"I am finished."
"I do."
I felt a tingling sensation across my body, and then it was gone.
Right here we go, the rest of my character sheet. It would be heavily influenced by the stats I had chosen.
The first section was on titles. Titles can be earned through acts of great courage, brutality, or even cowardice. Most titles could not be hidden from someone who could view a character sheet. They were a physical representation of your deeds and standing within society. I would receive one straightaway upon arriving on Hylore, that of Summoned Crusader, which was the same as all who are members of the waves receive. It was one of the few that we were allowed to hide from scrutiny. It was a way to accept the debt and reap the benefits that came with our decision to help the world.
Next was Eldritch Corruption. This represented how much we had been exposed to the harmful and destructive forces trying to consume the world. The higher the level, the worse it was for us. The corruption could be removed, but it took time and effort, mainly involving avoiding any further contact with the horrors. It always starts small with the effects of whatever you encountered. Then came the voices as the level of corruption increased. Then, hallucinations and disrupted sleep patterns. This would increase the longer you fought without taking a break. Eventually, when you passed 80%, the chance of a psychotic break became dangerously high. If you reached past 90%, you're highly likely to be joining the enemy. You were no longer human, 100%.
That was something I was going to keep a close eye on.
The following section was health, stamina, and mana. Anyone who's played any form of computer game RPG, hell, even a few of the shoot 'em ups, knows what these do. There will be bars in my HUD that are part of the avatar's vision.
There was a section for spells. I didn't know any yet, so that the section would be empty. One of the advantages of being a Summoned Crusader was that we were not restricted in learning. Magic was a complex concept for most people to grasp and was often associated with priests or specialists.
Next, there were four sections covering skills, which were broken up into weapons, crafting, magic, and general. These represent your ability to accomplish tasks effectively. One of the best examples I read about from a previous wave member was that of revolvers. Anyone could point and shoot a gun. Your dexterity and strength played a part. Dexterity for aiming and strength to hold the weapon as it is discharged. Then, your skill level came into play. If you didn't have a skill in revolvers, you wouldn't have any bonuses or improved accuracy ability. Put simply, just hitting the target would be very hard. But if you did have a skill that would enhance your chances of hitting where you are aiming at, as well as if you are lucky, inflicting a critical strike upon your opponent.
These all had to be learned. Intelligence and wisdom played a role here, as they were integral to the learning process. Repetition and practice also helped develop learning skills. Finally, there were the rare and highly sought-after skill books that not only taught the skill but also provided a bonus to your percentage number, which represented the skill level.
Weapons, crafting, and general were easy to understand. Magic was a bit more interesting, however. This covered much of the arcane arts and alchemy. Chemistry was part of the sciences of this world, but alchemy also played its part.
"I am done."
"No."
There was one last section, however, that I needed to read.
I had a rough idea of what was going to be written here, but I read it slowly to ensure I understood it. This was, in some ways, both the hardest and easiest thing about what we were doing and the world we were going to live in.
Hylore had Gods. But not in the way we understood them.
There was a pantheon. But unlike Earth's pantheons, they were not, yet at the same time, were individuals. They represented concepts and ideas which sometimes crossed between different members of the pantheon, depending on the faithful's interpretation of them.
The Father and the Mother led the pantheon. These two represented the most worshipped of the pantheon. The Father was seen by most as representing law, justice, and governance. He could be prayed to for other things and might take action to help those who are devout enough. The Mother mainly represented the family, social structure and compassion. Many others were worshipped to different degrees in different nations.
The Gods of Hylore rarely intervened openly and chose to work more passively through titles or unique rewards supplied by quests. They never interfered with the System or its decisions. It seemed that they were walking a cautious line between the two powerful forces—the System and Eldritch corruption — now present on their world.
The one thing that the first two waves had learned very quickly was that if you stepped over the line, they would hit you back across it hard. Some of the openly religious members of the first and second waves tried to convert or dissuade the locals from their faith, and they were the first to suffer from retribution.
The others quickly learned their lesson and avoided the temples and the Gods where they could. A few even embraced Hylor's Gods and gained significant benefits from it, but they were soon burnt out by the demands placed on them.
I was going to avoid them at all costs if I could.
"I am done."
"No, I am ready."
A 2D map of the world of Hylore appeared. All the nations were represented in the major cities, and towns were also present. I knew I could zoom in using this map, right down to seek individual houses if I wanted.
"Noreland, the city of Seahold."
The map shifts, and I see the city where I plan to be based. It is situated directly on the coast and is constructed on three large hills and a deep Y-shaped valley.
"Noreland information, please."
The mechanical voice droned on, providing me with statistics and figures about the land, but it was at the end that the piece of information I was looking for was announced.
<…. Current Eldritch corruption level, orange.>
Eldritch corruption was rated on a scale of 1 to 5. Technically, there was a zero, which was blue, but very few places in the world had that rating anymore. One which was green was only mildly corrupted. The second was yellow, which represented greater threats that were increasing in strength. Three was orange, indicating that large chunks of the countryside were either no-go areas or had to be traversed with heavily armed convoys. Red was four and represented that the area or nation was soon to be overrun. The final was five and was classified by colour as Purple. That meant that the region or nation had been overwhelmed by Eldritch corruption and monsters. The odds of it being reclaimed are very low. There were rumours of a sixth level, but that was never confirmed.
The last reports I had heard of were that Noreland was rated yellow. It seems that things had been getting steadily worse there.
"I wish to go to Seahold, Noreland."
"I confirm."
I expected to be whisked away then, but nothing happened. I looked around momentarily, confused, as this was not supposed to happen. Odd.
"Er.. Sort of. I was the first to volunteer as it was my idea to recruit the old of my world as one last chance for us to make a difference."
Before I could ask about the query, my world went dark, and I knew no more.