I expected to live and die without anyone ever knowing my name. I lived in obscurity, even those I worked for unaware of who I was. My parents died when I was young, I had no other relatives, and I slipped under the radar almost from the beginning of my young life.

I thought this up until the moment my knife slipped into the base of yet another target’s skull, sliding upward and into the brain. I twisted the weapon for good measure before withdrawing it, allowing the corpse to collapse on its own.

Normally, that would have been the end of it. I’d carried out similar ‘jobs’ a hundred times before. I felt nothing, no sense of accomplishment, no disgust, no elation. To me, it was just work, the source of my daily bread…

… until my vision turned gold and words in black and crimson floated before my eyes.

Notification (cannot be ignored): For being the first being to kill another of its own species after Sublimation, Lyam Aldren is awarded the Title of Cain’s Successor. Let all fear the Kinslayer!!!

Dozens of small white windows popped up in front of the eyes of the plain-featured killer, causing him to stumble in shock. He barely remembered his real name, and it was a horrible shock to see it written in the very air before him.

That was only the beginning Lyam’ problems.

He was suddenly shunted to an all white room with a simple metal table in the center, a pretty Asian girl in her early twenties sitting behind it in a bare aluminum folding chair, looking through reams of paperwork with frightening speed. Her large black eyes moved with inhuman rapidity as she scanned each page, sometimes using a fountain pen to add a few notes here and there, at other times stamping it with one of the dozens such laid out on the makeshift desk in front of her before setting the finished pages on the pile to her left.

A winged humanoid (a fairy?) with gossamer wings was sorting the files, passing them into manila folders in a small filing cabinet that never seemed to run out of space one by one, a look of intense concentration on her tiny face.

Lyam didn’t see any reason to be rude, though he was, for once, somewhat discomfited with his current circumstances. He also kept seeing what looked like insubstantial parchment scrolls popping up at the bottom of his vision at a rather disturbingly fast rate.

After almost an hour, the woman finally looked up at me with a frown of mild irritation, “Ah, the Kinslayer. I hadn’t expected THAT particular Notification to pop up so soon after the System was established. Most humans are too busy to be killing one another right now, so I had thought it would be at least a few days before they got back to their usual pursuits.”

Her voice was contemptuous, and it was rather obvious she didn’t want anything to do with him, but Lyam found it impossible to even consider leaving her ‘office’, a fact he would have found more than a little disturbing if he hadn’t been embracing the chill that never seemed to leave his heart. He hadn’t had the time to ‘separate’ himself after killing his target, and his attention, though not his eyes, kept shifting to various parts of her body he might strike to deliver a fatal or crippling blow.

What disturbed Lyam most was that his intuition told him there was no part of her body he could stab, smash, twist, or crush that might fulfill that goal. For Lyam, that was unprecedented. Since he’d taken on his first ‘job’, he had always known where his targets would be vulnerable, how best to bring death to those who didn’t necessarily deserve it.

Something was very wrong about this woman.

“Lyam Aldren, Age 29, professional assassin, AKA ‘Hydra’. A contract killer who first appeared fifteen years ago, 113 successful assassinations. Known quietly for the patience and cold planning of his work. Hired solely through Dark Web forums and paid solely in digital currency,” She read from a file in front of her, one with his picture and a short list of Lyam’s few accomplishments typed in bold.

She looked up at him, “All irrelevant, of course, now that the System has been established. Still, it is an impressive record, if looked at in a certain, clinical fashion. Moreover, you are the first individual to gain a Title after the System’s establishment, so you are entitled to a number of awards that would normally not be allowed to someone of your stature.”

It was obvious that she had no choice but to make this explanation. It was equally obvious that she didn’t desire or need a reply from him, “The first, and arguably the most important, is the right to choose a race. Normally, a sentient individual’s race is chosen for them by their spiritual alignment, talents, and various other factors in combination with a certain level of random chance. This choice will effect a number of issues, ranging from your basic physical and mental attributes to how you are seen by those beings brought into this world by the System.”

She continued, “The second is the right to choose a Mythic Perk related to your Title that would otherwise only be unlocked at the highest tiers, of which there are none, since you are the First.”

“The third, is the gift of tools that will enhance your probability of survival in the coming days, whatever might come, including this very explanation,” She finished, obviously disgusted that she was going to have to give such treasures – he knew they were treasures to her, if not to him – to a creature such as Lyam.

“Normally, the System itself would have simply bestowed these upon you, but, unlike more than 99.9% of the rest of humanity, you lack any familiarity with games or gaming, so it was determined that you would likely not recognize the significance of the gifts in time to use them,” She said as she drew a black leather belt with a large leather pouch out of thin air and tossed it to him.

His hands automatically reached out and put it on, his original belt vanishing seemingly into thin air. He wanted to frown at the loss (Lyam was rather fond of the belt), but apparently, he wasn’t even to be allowed to freedom to make expressions in this place.

“The pouch is what is often referred to as a ‘Pouch of Holding’ in games, and it is bound to your soul. Even should you die – and it is almost certain you will die – it will remain with your upon your resurrection or reincarnation, as will the objects within. Now reach within and think ‘Pouch Inventory’,” She ordered.

He obeyed, and suddenly a 50x50 grid, mostly made up of empty black spaces save for nine at the top, appeared before my eyes, hanging translucent in the air before me.

“The spaces represent space for objects that can be placed within the Bag. This Bag is of Legendary quality, and was generated by the System itself, so it is capable of holding 2500 objects, reducing their weight to one in ten thousand of what it would be otherwise. Now please think of removing the objects in the filled spaces,” She continued.

He did so, and a scroll, a pair of gloves, what looked to be a studded black leather jacket, a pair of soft dark brown boots, a pair of trousers identical to the jacket, a hooded cloak that seemed to be made up of black smoke, and a simple shortsword that nonetheless seemed to draw his eyes to it appeared at his feet. He managed to shift his gaze and noted two small glass phials, one of crimson fluid, the other of blue, lay to the right of the other objects.

“While the best of these objects is merely rare, they are nonetheless a princely gift in the world you will find yourself living in. Please look at the clothing and sword and think ‘equip’,” She ordered.

He did so, and a moment later, he was dressed in the clothing in question. Lyam noted that his own shoes and the black wool jacket he’d worn over his black silk shirt were now in spaces in the Bag, along with the black rubber gloves he’d been using for the job. He could feel the weight of the armored jacket and pants, as well as the cloak, upon his body… but somehow it was not a burden, which was confusing. He had never worn armor before, but he had assumed that it would weigh him down…

“You are possibly wondering why the armor does not weigh you down… the answer is simple. Your Title grants a number of small but significant attribute bonuses… the least of which is a +2 bonus to strength. I think you will find that you will find simple tasks far less strenuous than you once would have,” It was obviously paining her that she was being forced to explain things to him. The sense that she hated him had only grown stronger as she spoke, and Lyam focused instinctively on examining her for tells of a potential attack.

To his surprise, a translucent green screen full of data on the woman in front of him appeared in the upper right of Lyam’s field of vision, along with yet another minuscule scroll at the bottom.

Name: Uzume

Level: 999

Race: Demigoddess

HP 9999999/9999999

MP ??????????/??????????

Str: ???

Agi: ???

Dex: ???

Con: ???

End: ???

Int: ???

Will: ???

Cha: 16

Lck: 2

Lyam suddenly felt a ball of pure agony burst inside his skull, and he would have collapsed were he not somehow being kept upright. His vision blurred, and Lyam could feel himself somehow… slipping away.

“It is rude to examine non-hostile lifeforms, Mr. Aldren,” Uzume (?) said almost gleefully. It was rather obvious she had been looking for an excuse to punish him, and he had somehow given her just what she needed to do so.

He didn’t question that desire on her part. Nobody likes a murderer, especially one who doesn’t feel regrets or guilt over his actions. Lyam had no fondness for killing, but he never hesitated either. He’d even made it a profession despite that lack of fondness.

“Now, since you were so rude as to try to get a view of my character sheet,” She raised her brows, daring him to do so again, and she looked a little disappointed when he didn’t, “Go ahead and think ‘character sheet’ while focusing on yourself.”

Lyam did so, and a translucent white scroll appeared in the center of his field of vision.

Name: Lyam Aldren

Level: 6

Race: ???

Profession: Hired Killer

Class: None

Title: Cain’s Successor, Kinslayer

Available AP: 26

HP: 900/1100

MP: 300/300

Str: 12

Agi: 14

Dex: 16

Con: 12

End: 12

Int: 14

Will: 16

Cha: 10

Lck: 8

Martial Skills: Light Blades 40 (Sublimated, Dagger Specialty, Journeyman), Backstab 25 (Sublimated, Apprentice), Stealth 25 (Sublimated, Apprentice), Magic Resistance 1 (Novice)

Magic Skills: Examine 30 (Sublimated/Altered)

Non-Combat: Perception 50 (Sublimated, Adept)

Perks: Kinslayer I (5% damage boost to sapient humanoids, -5% to damage taken from sapient humanoids)

Talents: Compartmentalization (This individual can shuffle his emotions to the side almost at will), Cold Mind (This individual will ignore all attempts to sway him emotionally from a chosen course, whether born of magic or conventional means), Persona Creation (This individual naturally adopts personality traits that will give him a better chance of success in his chosen endeavors)

Uzume made a moue of dissatisfaction at the sight of his abilities, “Ugh, your sublimated abilities are way too high. If I had my way, you would have started without those nasty Talents of yours.”

He would love to have asked about what she meant by sublimated, and the moment he thought it, she made a disgusted sound.

“It is fairly simple, and you would have already known this if you’d ever bothered to play a VRMMO. Sublimated skills are those you are determined to already possess at a high enough level to be recognized by the System and have been used since it was established. Normally, you would not possess any magic skills at all, but your Perception allowed you to automatically gain the Examine spell, without a need for you to be taught. Normally, even the most capable of individuals from before a world is incorporated into the System would only possess an Apprentice or Journeyman rank skill at best, but your Perception seems to be inborn as well as honed, so the System determined you to already be at Adept rank… and unfortunately, I don’t have the right or power to strip someone of Sublimated skills,” She explained in a grumbling tone, obviously compelled rather than willing. Apparently, whatever drove her to give these explanations was responding to his doubts, rather than running on a script.

“To finish my explanation for rank beginners, did you see that you have available AP on your character sheet? You can use these points to upgrade your basic statistical abilities, giving you greater power and expanding your all-around capabilities. I would suggest that you at least get your Luck up to 10, as the penalties incurred from Luck below the baseline of 10 are unpredictable and often terrible,” She explained.

“Your title grants you one extra AP per level, as it is a mythic Title and grants continuing benefits from the point where it is obtained. While high levels of skill and proficiency can often overwhelm those with higher stats, those with equal skills and differing stats clashing will often have predictable results. Depending on how you wish to live in the new world you find yourself in, you will want to take care in how you use those points. Most people don’t start out with as many exceptional or above average attributes as you have, though,” That last was said with yet another look of distaste in his direction.

“My last explanation is of the Perks offered as a reward for your… accomplishment.”

“As the Title you gained as Cain’s Successor, the Perks offered to you are unique in every way,” She waved her hand and one of the little scrolls at the bottom of Lyam’s vision unfolded into a large sheet of parchment with three symbols with a few paragraphs of text written underneath.

Blood of Cain: Your blood becomes a deadly and incurable toxin that will deliver damage in direct proportion to the power you possess over time.

Consumer of Lives: As you kill others, so shall you be fed. Whenever you take a life, the entirety of the individual’s life energy shall be gained by you, restoring your health and mana, as well as a 5% boost to xp gained from killing.

Absolute Metabolism: You become capable of metabolizing all toxins, disease, radiation, and curses as if they were normal sustenance. Poisons, whether mortal or otherwise in nature, are merely food or drink to you. An assassin who seeks the easy way with you will be in for an unpleasant surprise!

Lyam considered the three, not really understanding the full benefits… but he found himself attracted to the third more than anything else. As novel as he found the first, Lyam could only imagine the unpredictable accidents that might occur as a result of turning his blood to an incurable poison. The second also seemed beneficial… but his instincts raised alarms about the way it would synergize with his predatory nature.

He chose the third, and Uzume’s eyes widened in surprise… and a little respect?

“You chose well. The other two have a great potential to lead to a far darker path than even the one you have walked until today.”

She continued, “Now pick your race. I warn you, once this choice is made, it cannot be undone.”

A massive spreadsheet appeared before Lyam’s eyes, showing him the literally thousands of races he could choose. Each one seemed to have benefits and demerits, but he quickly narrowed it down to a small group of humanoids. Apparently, actual humans weren’t an option for him, as it was grayed out with the words ‘Individual potential is incompatible with Tier 1 humanoids’ in gold over it.

One had triangular animal-like ears and a long bushy tail, mischievous golden eyes seeming to look into his own with curiosity.

Race: Kitsune

The Kitsune are a Spiritual Humanoid race capable of shifting from a phantasmal fox form to a humanoid form. They are skilled in the use of illusions, fire magic, and mind magic. Most are also quite skilled with weapons that require finesse and high levels of dexterity to wield. Kitsune have a natural lifespan of 300 years, which can be extended through Species Evolution to up to 4000. Kitsune are natural tricksters and passionate lovers who protect and protect those they care for with terrifying ferocity while being capable of surprisingly sadistic behavior toward those they do not consider of value. Their above average base lifespan tends to make them think in terms of decades or human generations instead of in months or years. Racial Abilities: Youkai Evolution, Kotodama (may command the will of others through verbal commands if lower in level).

He focused on another, this one an odd humanoid with ebony skin, pointed ears, and white hair. Cold arrogance defined the attitude of the figure before him, and he had a sense of contempt for the weak emanating from its cold red eyes.

Race: Drow

An elf variant race born from extreme speciation after a rebel faction of the High Elves retreated into an underground realm, rich in chaotic, dark magics. Like all elves, drow do not have a lifespan, instead living until they either lose the will to do so or mishap or disaster claims their lives. They are frailer than the base humanoid races physically, but possess nearly unmatched manual dexterity amongst humanoids, along with a nearly unlimited affinity for all elemental and chaos-aligned magics. Their society is highly matriarchal and males tend to rank low unless they have proven ability that transcends gender in every way. Strength and power are honored, while weakness and sentiment are considered the qualities of slave races. Racial Abilities: Perfect Darksight, Silent Steps, Ambidexterity

Lyam frowned then moved onto the next, a lithe humanoid with huge eyes who stood over six feet in height, their skin tinged slightly with gold.

Race: Aruul

An ancient humanoid race that has nearly been driven to extinction a thousand times over. Aruul tend to create great works but are often eccentric and hedonistic by nature. In the distant past, Aruul were the sole race to fend off the multiverse-conquering Gelaan, and they are also, to this day, the only beings to have gained the respect of that arrogant, nearly all-powerful species. Aruul are extremely creative, using various means to alter the world and phenomena around them, regardless of the physics of the world they currently exist in. Aruul can procreate with any gendered humanoid species (and generally will), with the resulting child having Aruul features dominant. Aruul have affinities for all magic and can, potentially, learn any skill. However, it is difficult for them to pass Adept in any skill, due to a lack of focus. Original Aruul lifespans were less than 500 years, but continual evolution over the hundreds of thousands of years since they ventured out of their own universe has extended that to 4000. Aruul have naturally high Intelligence, Agility, Charisma and Dexterity stats while suffering a slight penalty to Wisdom. Racial Abilities: Humanoid Procreation, Infinite Affinities, Allure of Novelty.

A part of Lyam greatly desired to be an Aruul, but his instincts told him that race would also have effects on his personality, as well as his abilities.

He looked at the next race more out of curiosity than anything else, even though it was grayed out just like humans with the words, ‘Higher Sphere Existences not compatible at current Plane of Existence’.

Race: Gelaan

Gelaan are the dominant race in several universes, their relatively small numbers made up for in their immense personal power and natural affinity for teleportation and dimensional gate magic, as well as quantum mathematics at an instinctive level. Gelaan are the creations of a higher being, made from drops of his own blood in order to perpetuate his will in a war against others like him. As a species, they are arrogant, dominating, and dismissive of all lesser races as potential rivals. This is justified, as even at level 1, they possess attributes equal to that of a lesser deity. However, the race can only procreate artificially (products of conventional procreation are unstable and/or insane) and at age seven display murderous aggression for both parental figures and all other members of their race. A program of training to control these impulses and their natural desire for power spanning a century is required for a Gelaan to be considered an adult, and less than one in fifty of these ‘children’ survive this period. Gelaan cannot be chosen as a race within the System, but several are bound to the System through contractual obligations. Racial abilities: Instinctive Mathematics, Time-Space magic, Demigod-Tier Mana Generation.

Lyam moved onto the next race, shuddering, despite the coldness of his thoughts, at what he’d seen in the description for the Gelaan. The next race was a short humanoid creature with ridged gray skin that looked tougher than leather with vicious claws at the end of each of its three fingers and single thumb. Cruel crimson eyes glared out from deep sockets beneath a bony ridge of a brow.

Race: Daemon Soldier

A Lesser Eldritch Species born from deliberate breeding programs by the Daemon Lords of Lyndan. Possessing unnatural strength, agility, and vitality, this species is used as the foot soldier in their armies, fighting on the front lines against the lesser races in wars of conquest. Daemon Soldiers are of average intelligence amongst humanoids, but their overall physical abilities surpass those of any other Tier 2 race. Unfortunately, aspects of their design have resulted in a tendency towards sadism and bloodthirst, and this race finds it difficult to avoid violence in any situation. Racial Abilities: Skin Like Stone, Lesser Regeneration, Unnatural Power (Physical)

He dismissed the Lesser Daemon species definitively after reading the description. The psychological alterations such a species might inflict on him would far outweigh any physical advantages.

He shuffled through a dozen other races, dismissing most of them outright, before he came to one that caught his eye. It was creature almost human in appearance, save for the blackness of its eyes, its slightly pointed ears, and the small talon-like nails at the end of its elegantly dexterous fingers.

Race: Saevere

A Mystic Race that was born on a world with massive concentrations of elemental mana. Martial artists, brilliant craftsmen, and great sorcerers are common to them, as their curious nature gives them a drive to explore and discover that is rare even in the shorter-lived races. They possess a Mana Core, rare in Tier 2 races, allowing them to live for indeterminate periods of time and – at a higher level – to alter their state of being. A Saevere’s limitations only lie in their drive to seek out new things, to push themselves to new heights, and their will to see their course through. Racial Abilities: Mana Core, Innovative Nature II, Inspiration

Without further thought, he chose the Saevere, somehow understanding that the race held something he currently lacked, something he needed intensely. Something he had wanted his entire life without knowing he wanted it.

Something came into being within him, a warmth that quickly turned agonizingly painful, and he fell into the abyss of unconsciousness before he could even think to regret his choice.

__________________________________

Once Lyam was gone from the white room, Uzume slumped into her cheap chair, feeling deeply weary. Thousands of years dealing with humans as a lesser goddess hadn’t prepared her for what the System required of its lowliest of servants. Normally, someone with a karma as dark as Lyam’s would not catch her interest or be within her aegis, but the System ruthlessly used her as his guide for reasons she couldn’t begin to fathom.

“Losing your godhood has also caused you to lose some of your poise, I see,” The deep baritone voice belonged to Susanoo, a relative and wild child of the family before the System broke the pantheons.

“His karma is darker than most, yet his spirit is as firm and solid as stone. I don’t understand him,” Uzume admitted.

“One can have a karma that is pitch black while still managing to care for others and treat them well. Karma is a debt one owes the world. It is not the full measure of the soul that owes it. His long solitude and the path of darkness forced upon him by his accursed talents were the prices he paid for it. It will be interesting to see how he lives now that that karma has been made irrelevant,” He mused to himself aloud.

“Irrelevant? How can karma be irrelevant?” Uzume asked in confusion.

“The System does not recognize the karma of the worlds it absorbs. It only recognizes the karma born after it absorbs them. We are remnants of what was before, so we can see the karma that belonged to souls born in the old world, but the System sees nothing… thus, it is irrelevant,” He explained.

Uzume did not like this idea. To her, the old world was still everything… her separation from those who believed in her, her inability to respond to the prayers offered up to her still were almost physically agonizing.

“Reduced as we are, is there anything we can do for our children?” She whispered.

“You? Nothing. Your divinity was never strong. It is why you have been reduced to a mere Guide and an Examiner. Me? I can still answer prayers, though only through the System’s laws. It will be some time before I can again grant blessings as I did before, but it will happen, in time. I pity the pantheons broken by time… they have been reduced much as you have. Without followers sufficient to maintain their divinity within the System, they will become mere cogs in its machine,” He said, cruel satisfaction in his orange-gold eyes. Susanoo’s hatred for the Greek and Syrian pantheons was infamous amongst the Yaoyorozu. He was likely entertaining visions of his old foes taking on roles similar to her own.

“What is the System, milord?” She asked softly.

“I do not know. We attempted to resist when we felt the encroachment, but we were overwhelmed and absorbed almost immediately, made tools to prepare Earth for its arrival. We inspired creators to make role-playing games that hinted at its rules, and we manipulated humans so more and more of them would consume those products, until only a small percentage of humanity was unfamiliar with them. I do not why the System operates the way it does, but I do know this… it is ruthlessly fair. Far more so than our children will know. Fulfill your duties and one day, your followers will restore your divinity, if in a weakened state. Just be thankful you aren’t a forgotten goddess,” He admonished her for her attitude at the last. Susanoo was a deity who was more of Chaos than Harmony. He seemed to be thriving on the changeability of the situation and demanded the same of her.

Uzume wondered if she could arrange for the System to make him do some of her paperwork. It would serve him right.