I died a very embarrassing death, it's not something I'd like to delve into right now. But when I did die, I was presented with three options.
The first one, and ironically the most unsettling out of all of them was something called Serenity. It was something about being whisked away from all responsibilities and experiencing endless calm and peace. At a glance that did sound like a good choice, I didn't have to do homework, yipee!
But it didn't set right with me, I couldn't do anything, I was just supposed to lay dormant forever and chill out. I might feel calm when I do that, but I want to have a personality, or a story, something cool and exciting, not an infinite spa day.
The next option, Take 2, gave me the chance to relive my life again with all the knowledge I had, starting from when I was a baby. I mean, this would be an excellent choice, I could finally muster up the courage to ask whatsername out, I could invest in certain cryptocurrencies and become a mega-billionaire, the possibilities were limitless.
Though that didn't really excite me, I was actually afraid, I don't want to relive those years again. They weren't embarrassing or anything, it's just- I don't want to delve into those either, it's something I can't fix with my foresight.
Then, the last option caught my eye. Alien. The name didn't sit right with me, but maybe it's just bad marketing. The subtext however was a different story.
I looked it over. 'Take your chances and live a new life in another world, the possibilities are endless' It was so simple but it was enough to drag me in, this was the chance I needed to take in order to have my own story, my own legacy. I could possibly do that with Take 2, but then again, this gave me the chance to not live through those years again.
Now, for the selection.
Yeah, I didn't know how to choose, there were no buttons, just options and complete darkness, maybe if I just think about it hard enough-
And a wave of calm washed over me.
Nope, that's just water.
I hacked the disgusting liquid from my lungs.
Seawater.
Everything had just went by so quick, I died by- nevermind - and immediately I was presented with options, but I did manage to deal with the situation calmly, that might've just been my brain ignoring the weight of everything and just dealing what was right in front of it, it might've been a supernatural force that allowed me to consider it all with a clear mind that wasn't addled by any strong emotions.
Who knows, who cares? I picked what I picked and I think I'm happy with it. Living in a new world would probably be a bit of an adjustment but I think I could muster the strength to carry on and make my story and create a legacy.
I stood up, I didn't like seawater, the salt seeped into my scabs and stung like a wasp.
I looked around, I was on a beach, there wasn't anything all too remarkable to say about it, there was a pier not too far off that led into a small town. There was a vendor selling seashells, which isn't that effective of a business strategy considering we're at the beach, but oh well, can't disrespect the hustle. Another stand was selling some freshly caught and cooked seafood, and there were quite a few people relaxing and sunbathing.
Oh- shit, god damn it's hot, I need to find shade, I sunburn too quickly, my beautiful body will get ruined. I stepped out of the water and onto the hot sand.
It felt like my feet were melting into the ground, the demonic star in the sky cursed it with the essence of flames, each step I took was a step closer to turning into ash and being one with the sand.
I reached the seawall, the curved top providing just enough shade for me to sit down on and relax, it didn't feel like the AC was blasting or anything, but it'll do.
I saw some passersby looking at me like I was an idiot, but I wasn't, I just had sensitive skin and spawned into the world on what appears to be the hottest day of the year.
I was huffing and fanning myself all over, it seemed like I had already gotten sunburned. I was deeply appalled to say the least.
Debuff Applied: Sunburn
Description: It stings, that's about it.
What was that?
A message just popped into my head, a sunburn debuff... Debuff? Like in a game?
It was like those choices presented a few minutes earlier, words in my head, but different. There's normal thinking and then these words, they felt like it came from a different part of my brain, or they took priority over my normal thoughts. These words have an aura of authority, like it's a fact, I couldn't think otherwise, these words were an indisputable truth.
At least that's what it seems like, the brain is a powerful thing, I could just be hallucinating everything that's going on right now.
When I prodded deeper into my mind, I found more of these messages, I wouldn't refer to some of these as messages, considering they're more static, set in stone sorta things rather than a pop-up or a notification.
One of these "messages" was a status page, one that looked like it was ripped straight from an RPG game. I didn't play much of any RPG's in my day, not that I had the chance, but I knew the general gist. Grind, level up, grind, repeat. Of course there was some variation and different activities, features and all sorts of new and exciting things each game gave you, but as I said, that was the general gist.
Name: [Create]
Level: 1
Age: 18
Class:[LOCKED]
Debuffs:
Sunburn
Legally Blind
Socially Inept
Stats:
Strength:5
Agility:4
Constitution: 6
Perception:1
Charisma:2
Free Points:
Skills:
Perks:
Blue Body
Calm Sendoff
Slots:
Starterpack Slot: Basic
Well it was nice to be reminded that I was blind and I didn't have my glasses with me. And it was nice to know I had no free points to allocate into perception or charisma to help get rid of what debuffs I had.
What were these perks anyway? Blue Body? Calm Sendoff?
The perks opened up and the descriptions popped up in my mind
Blue Body:
Your biology matches that of the average human male in the All Blue
Calm Sendoff:
You remain calm until you have fully adjusted to the world
All Blue? THE All Blue? The All Blue from one piece? God fuckin' damn, I made a terrible decision, I'm gonna get murdered, aren't I? At least this Calm Sendoff thing is making sure I don't curl up in a corner and bawl my eyes out in fear of all the dangers this world holds, that's something.
If I'm not gonna be crying, I better at least be productive, let's see, I have something called a Starterpack Slot of basic rarity. I suppose I open that the same way I chose to sign my chance of life away and die in this god-forsaken world.
A slot machine appeared in front of me, it merged with the seawall that provided me with the shade I so desperately needed. I took a small moment to realise it was there considering my lack of perception. I looked around for the handle which was quite easy to pinpoint as there was a big red bulb at the end of it and I looked at the slot. As far as I could tell, there weren't 3 slots like , it was just one big one. What I saw was a black and brown blob with a few items that I couldn't discern.
When I yanked on the handle, the slot spun wildly, different colours varying from grey to green to blue to yellow to red flashed before my eyes, before finally slowing down and finally settling on something with a Blue background. My years of gaming allowed me to intuit the fact that these colours that appeared denoted rarity, and I'm gonna take a big ol' guess and assume that Blue is something of decent value.
You have won: The Businessman Starterpack (Rare)
100,000 Beli
50,000 Beli Suit (+1 Charisma)
100 Business Cards
Entrepreneurship (2/125)
30,000 Beli Shoes (+1 Agility, +1 Charisma)
That was quite the boost, I had a decent amount of money to spend and a step forward in gaining the skills required to sustain myself. I didn't see myself becoming a huge businessman in the future but it could help in other endeavours, who knows.
I didn't have to carry the money and the suit and whatever else I had attained, instead it was in my inventory, which I now just realised I had.
These past few minutes have been quite mentally draining, even with Calm Sendoff changing how my brain responded to the situation, it was a lot to keep up with, I had no direction at all, I wasn't born here, I couldn't simply just get pushed into getting a job and chill, no, I was a noob for lack of a better term, I haven't even made my new name yet.
I won't focus on that for now, that can come later, I just need a plan of action so I can sustain myself for the next couple of days. I have some decent cash on hand so I could rent out a small place for a few weeks, figure out what I should do and then live out a normal life from there.
Alright, I just have to survive for a few moments out of the shade and hope the sun doesn't eviscerate me.
Here goes nothing.
I made a mad dash for the pier, I decided to equip my new shoes for that tiny oomph in agility, though I quickly realised the fact that my stamina was abysmal, I couldn't see a statistic for it but I reckon it'd fall under constitution.
Not only did these shoes protect me from the sun, but I was a considerable bit faster, I don't know how much an extra +1 meant in the grand scheme of everything, but it sure as shit felt good.
The only downside was the sand that somehow found its way into my shoes. It was gonna be a pain to clear out but I'll have to endure.
After gathering my breath I made another mad dash to the pier, this time I was able to reach the steps going up to the boardwalk.
Staggering up, I had finally reached my destination, now it was just smooth sailing down to the town, I walked over with a pep in my step and finally made my way to an alleyway where no one seemed to be watching, I wanted to empty out my shoes and put on my suit, I was deemed socially inept by this system and I will do what I can to appear somewhat presentable.
Putting on the suit gave me an extra +1 to Charisma, which brought me to a staggering 4 points of charisma, I no longer had the Socially Inept debuff, instead, it transformed into something else. Awkward.
That'll have to do for now, at least my chances of finding a place are better now.
I made my way outside of the alley and patted my pockets instinctively, wait- There was something here.
I pulled the item from my pocket, it was a-
EPhone 14 Pro (Artifact):
An electronic device that can receive and transmit messages
It looks like I brought something along with me when I died.
I slipped back into the alleyway and opened it up.
I had a signal.
That was certainly something of note, I checked all my usual apps like Discord and Instagram, but I wasn't able to connect to their servers. After scrolling through the pages of apps I had, something caught my eye.
There was a new app on my phone.
Mushi Messenger
Its logo was your stereotypical Den Den Mushi that you saw in one piece, just a big snail with big eyes devoid of any emotion.
I opened the app up. No contacts, my chats were as desolate as they were in my past life, some things just carried over.
The fact that I had this was quite a shocker but after a few minutes of toying around, playing some mobile games and prank calling numbers that were only a few digits away from mine, I realised that my activities were taking a toll on the batteries. I don't think power outlets and chargers exist in this world, I'd assume you power up a regular Den Den Mushi by just feeding it, not plugging a cable in, so it would be hard to charge it up.
I pocketed the device and walked outside of the alleyway yet again and aimlessly walked around. I was just looking for the tallest building, this was a tightly packed town and I didn't see any houses around so people must've lived in some sort of accommodation.
And luckily for me, I managed to find a place to stay. It only took a few random twists and turns and I found myself in a hostel, it wasn't the best place but it'd have to do for now, a place like this should be rather cheap so I would be able to stretch whatever I had in the bank.
I made my way to the receptionist and tried to get the conversation over with quickly, I asked how much I needed to pay for a night, I slipped over the cash and I was escorted to my bunk. I was gonna be sleeping in the same room as 5 other people tonight.
They were all doing their own things, keeping themselves busy, one was shadowboxing in the middle of the room, a couple others were reading the news and another was playing with a rubik's cube.
I quickly waved to everyone, the boxer didn't respond but he did shift out of the way a little bit so it wasn't as awkward trying to navigate around the man.
I laid down on my bunk and curled up under the covers in my fancy suit, the sun was still up but I needed to give my brain some rest time, there was too much to consider all at once.
I closed my eyes and rested.
I hope these bitches don't rob me.
Discord: EMvrKkMRxc