Adam reached up and scratched his stubble, feeling just as confused as he did before. Almost everything of what was going on made no sense, with the exception of the part where he could store spirits within his soul. It sounded like a reasonable explanation as to how Sanna was able to stick around all these years even after she'd physically died. ''So-...'' He started, the box of text disappearing from his view as he looked towards the ethereal woman seated in front of him again. ''I'm different, yeah? What's going to happen now?''
She chuckled at the questions, clearly amused by how quickly he seemed to adapt to the situation. ''You're different, absolutely. But so is every creature in the multiverse. No two beings are ever alike. As for what's going to happen now, you'll be entering a tutorial that I've created by request of the system.'' She shifted in her seat, the pale gown she wore rustling slightly from the movement. ''You're only going to have one objective during this fourteen day period, Adam.''
Before he could even ask another question, the room around him began to shift out of existence, disintegrating before his very eyes and being replaced by an empty void. Panic surged once more, gripping his heart in a fierce hold when everything turned pitch black. Only a pair of bright crimson eyes lined by snow white eyelashes remained. Her eyes. How did he not notice them before?
''Here's my last advice for you, Adam. Survive.''
Then they were gone, taken by the same darkness that stole everything else away from his sight.
******************
Sanna hung weightless in the black void, the prior conversation she'd had with the strange woman refusing to leave her. The world was changing. And not for the better. In an attempt to tear her thoughts away from the strange being, she instead focused on the new box of text that had appeared in front of her.
--------------------------------
Sanna Lindholm
Human (Spirit)
Level: 0
Affinity: Life
Archetype: Healer
Attributes: 10 available points to spend
Strength - 0
Agility - 0
Constitution - 0
Intelligence - 10
Regeneration - 8
Charisma - 10
Cultivation stage: Neophyte
Body - N/A
Soul - N/A
Core - N/A
Abilities:
Healing Touch (Common)
Spirit Sense (Rare, Passive)
Serene Touch (Common)
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Focusing on the attributes portion, the section expanded to show the descriptions of each attribute in more detail.
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Attributes: 10 available points to spend
Strength (STR) - The physical power you can excert with your body. Current: 0
Agility (AGI) - Represents the physical control that you have over your muscles. Current: 0
Constitution (CON) - Reflects the physical resilience of your body. Current: 0
Intelligence (INT) - Measures your mental acuity, problem-solving ability and magical aptitude. Current: 10
Regeneration (REG) - The speed at which you heal from wounds as well as having an impact on mana regeneration. Current: 8
Charisma (CHA) - The measure of your ability to connect with others, whether through persuasion, empathy or sheer presence. Current: 10
--------------------------------
She read over the description of each ability, immediately understanding why her physical attributes were represented as zeroes. She didn't have a body. Nor would she probably ever have one, so it was probably better to dump her stats into other things that could help her in the immediate future.
Focusing in on intelligence, she put six points into it before moving on and putting two more in both regeneration and charisma, bringing her up into double digits in all three attributes. Not that she knew exactly what was going to happen in the future and what she could even do, but focusing on that which just felt right to do might just do the trick. Smiling to herself, she willed the screen to shut down, clearing her field of view once more only to be met with the vast emptiness of the void all around her.
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******************
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Adam Johnsson
Human
Level: 0
Affinity: Life, Death
Archetype: Mage
Attributes:
Strength - 10
Agility - 7
Constitution - 10
Intelligence - 8
Regeneration - 7
Charisma - 3
Cultivation stage: Neophyte
Body - N/A
Soul - N/A
Core - N/A
Abilities:
Energy bolt (Common)
Arcane Shield (Common)
Mutated Spirit Sense (Unique, Passive)
Mutated Spirit Storage (Unique, Active)
Mutated Spirit Shape (Unique, Active)
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Adam looked over his attributes one last time before he willed the screen shut and felt a revitalizing sensation he'd never before experienced. The points he'd spent to bring his physical attributes immediately made themselves known, flowing out from the center of his chest and spreading outwards in a wave of sheer vitality. The rush immediately shocked him into a state of near euphoria only to disappear just as quick once the process was done, which only took a few seconds to complete. Tightening his fist, he felt stronger than ever before and more confident than when this entire thing had started. With strengthened resolve, he focused in on what he had to do once he was put in the trial that the woman had told him of. To find Suz and protect her at all costs. Everything else was a secondary priority.
The world around him twisted without warning, a sudden lurch in his stomach making him feel as if he were being yanked through space itself. In the blink of an eye, his surroundings had turned blindingly bright. Instinctively, he reached up to cover his eyes, squinting while he was adjusting to the light. The comfortable warmth he'd felt in the library-like room with the strange woman in it was gone, replaced with a biting cold. Hushed murmurs surrounded him, pulling him fully back into reality. With his vision quickly adapting, he began to look around at the many faces all around him, scanning to see if he could quickly find Suz in the sudden crowd of people.
''Suz!'' His voice sounded hoarse, almost as if it'd been unused for a few days. His gut twisted as he scanned the faces, each second stretching unbearably long. A few muffled calls rang out around him, with people searching for their loved ones. Calling out again, he mustered as much force as he could into the shout. ''Susanne Johnsson!''
''Dad!'' Suz's voice cut through the increasingly chaotic population, before she suddenly squeezed inbetween two men, both of them as confused as the rest of the gathering. With movements quicker than he'd ever mustered before, he rushed over to her and embraced her in a tight hug. Burying his face in her neck, the realization that she was not wearing her regular pj's but instead a long and simple robe with a small backpack strapped to her back, brought him back to what he was wearing. The usual comfort clothes he always wore at home were gone, replaced with a simple robe not too dissimilar from hers.
He pulled back from her, his hands still gripping her shoulders as he inspected her face. Looking much like how she always did, come rain or shine, her freckled features were framed by her fiery red hair. Just like her mothers. The thought hit him and he began to look around for Sanna, trying to single her out from the crowd around them.
''I'm here, Adam.'' Sanna's voice came out from behind Suz, calming him like she always had a tendency to do by just existing. ''I thought I lost you for a moment there,'' he started, locking eyes with his other half, ''I didn't know if you'd still be around after the crazyness I experienced earlier.''
A slight shake of her head was answer enough as she placed her reassuring hand on Suz's shoulder. ''I'll always be here with you two.''
''What's mom saying?'' Susanne followed Adam's gaze, looking behind her only to not find her mother, just like how it always was. The tiny spark of hope that Adam had of his daughter now being able to see her mother flickered out, quickly being replaced with a growing resolve to figure out what the hell was going on at the moment. ''She's just saying that she wont ever leave your side, Suz.'' He leaned in to plant a kiss on her freckled forehead before looking around them to figure out what to do.
They were stood in the middle of a clearing of trees, surrounded by dozens—no, over a hundred people. Many of the faces he recognized, realizing many of them were their neighbours even though he'd never interacted much with anyone of them. Reaching down and gripping Suz's hand, he began to walk towards one of the less populated sides of the clearing. Many had already began to gather up into small groups with their family members or acquaintances, forming small cliques throghout the clearing. The frantic chaos that had ensued when they all found themselves in this new place had began to die down, yet he now heard the sobbing of a few still panicked people.
A sudden chime rang out, silencing any who were still talking with a crisp, unnatural sound.
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SYSTEM NOTICE: You have entered the Multiverse survival trial.
Main objective: Survive for 14 days.
Side objective: Earn points to gain better rewards at the evaluation.
Current participants: 49.978/50.000
Your current points: 0
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