So.. I died.

. . .

And now there's a 'now what?'

"I'm so glad you asked!" interrupts a beautiful, singsong voice.

I'd do a facepalm, but right now I don't have either of those.

"And that's one of the things I'll help you with. But first-"

Stop reading my mind.

"No can do."

You asked for it.

*sings entire Wierd "Al" song 'Everything you know is wrong!' all 3 verses plus chorus after each.*

(go ahead and watch it on Utube before continuing)

"That was great! I knew I got a good one in you."

I turn my . . perception towards the melodious voice. And finally notice the presence of an extremely beautiful youngish woman. With literally glowing skin. Somewhere between the color of a freshly bitten apple.. and gold reflecting the light of the sun. Her eyes shining a bright silvery-white, like the full moon. And with long, flowing hair in a myriad of blue hues, like the evening sky. Her dress an iridescent shimmering masterpiece that would make any supermodel drool with envy.

Okay, I see where this is going.

"Oh? Do tell, please?"

Yeah, first, you're obviously a Goddess. Or at least someone who works for one. Second, this is a pre-reincarnation "interview." Which suggests third, you intend to offer me some sort of choice. Where to go, what to live as, special powers or whatever. And fourth, you're starved for entertainment. So this whole thing is less about "do the thing" than it is "make me not bored".

"Sorry, but you're wrong.. Well, just about the last one.. And only half wrong."

So then it's equal parts "do the thing" and "make me not bored." Yeah, that makes me feel so much better. Eyeroll.

"Why did you say eyeroll?"

Because I can't do one right now. Anyway, what's up?

". . Seriously? That's how you greet a Goddess?"

Oh, sorry. It's nice to meet you. Bow. May I have the pleasure of knowing your name?

"I would like to tell you, but mortal souls . . tend to . . shatter . . when they hear the Divine Language. But my worshippers call me *∇☼‡℘* so you can too."

Um, could you repeat that? I got everything but what they call you.

"*∇☼‡℘*"

Still a nope, might as well skip it then. How about I call you Eris for now?

"Sigh, and why's that?"

You just said 'sigh' out loud, hypocrite. Because Eris was the Greek Goddess of Chaos, known for tempting mortals with her Golden Apples. That's not a euphamism, they're the physical manifestation of her powers. And 'golden apple' is what I'd call the color of your skin.

"Oh? And what about my eyes then?"

I don't think the english language has a word for their color. Even though it has like 60 different words for blue and 40 for pink and so on. But can we get back to what's important?

"What, YOU!?"

No, your job. Or hobby or whatever.

"UGH! Fine. Spoilsport. So here's the deal: there's gonna be a new demon king in about 20 to 30 years. We want you to stop him, protect the races, yada yada."

Why don't you pick someone qualified instead?

"You are qualified. Highly so, in fact. First there's your soul strength. Then your strong moral convictions."

What about skills? I've never swung a sword before. And when I tried using a bow I did get a bullseye once, but on the wrong target. Not to mention the complete lack of magic. Except. .

"Yes?"

There was one time. .

"What happened?"

Well, there was an ongoing drought, so I wished for more rain. But instead of just 'wishing', I put out feelers of what I imagined magic might feel like and connected them to the sky at the same time.

"And then?"

The very next day a huge storm hit the west coast, from somewhere in Canada down into Mexico. Mostly light to somewhat heavy rain, over the course of around 5 hours of buildup, and back from heavy to light for another 5 hours. But in the centerline it was strong enough for lightning, hail, and occasional tornadoes.

Five days later, when it reached the east coast an identical storm appeared on the west again. And again five days later. Then they kept on coming for two full months.

"If you could do THAT in a world WITHOUT magic, what could you do in one WITH."

. . Okay, now I'm scared. . And intrigued.

"Enough of that. First we'll link you up to the world's System, then explain the parameters you'll be reborn with. Now this might sting a bit. ."

. . .

"Are you okay?"

Yeah, why?

"..Because. . You're not screaming?"

It was like getting pinched a little, and only for a second. Even a painless shot is less. Can we continue?

"But. . That can't be right. I'll double check. . "

. . You mean it probably didn't work right . . Because it didn't leave me a jibbering mess?

"This!? But that means!.."

And you're scaring me again.

"It did work right. . But your soul was so much more powerful than any we've dealt with before that. . "

So it's like the difference between shooting a squirrel with a .22 pistol and shooting a rhino with it instead?

"Well, yes. That's a good analogy. But with the squirrel being merely an average soul, and the ones we've usually handled more like a doberman or a husky."

If that's taken care of, then what's next?

"Next? Oh, right! A quick review of how to use your Status, as well as the Attributes and Skills.."

.

Everyone gains their first Class after they reach Level 10. Which ones you are eligible for depend on your Attributes and Skills up to that point. Some rare Classes are only unlocked at higher levels or with special hidden conditions. Like Hero, for example. *wink*

.

First, there are the basic Classes, like fighter, rogue and wizard. These gain bonus attribute points as they level, appropriate for their type. They also get a higher skill leveling rate for related skills. You don't have to be a fighter-type to wield swords, or a wizard to cast spells, but it really does help. Like, a lot.

.

Then there are advanced Classes, like ranger, spellsword or archmage. They require high attributes to unlock, or maybe even having two or more disparate Classes. But they offer higher benefits than a lower Ranked Class. Such as more bonus points, higher skill affinities, or a wider range of skills.

.

You can have a second Class after reaching Level 50, and a third at 100. But doing so without a plan for advancement is almost always detrimental. When having multiple Classes, you can only choose to advance as one of them with each level. You could take fighter and wizard at the same time, to try to qualify for spellsword later. But if you don't specifically try for it, then it's mostly just a waste of levels, leaving you unable to advance later. You'd be much weaker as a level 80 fighter/wizard than a level 60 duo of one of each.

.

Rank is a measure of the, well, rank of your Class, combined with your Species. If levels measure the extent of your advancement, then Rank measures the breadth. It usually just measures the total bonus attribute points you gain per level. Then 2 or less is E, 3 is D, 4 C, and 5 B. But starting from Rank A, it either takes more than just one point, or some other major advantage to advance your Rank.

.

The adventuring guilds popular in Vulamar, that's the name of the world by the way, also use ranks. But theirs mean how much you've accomplished in an official capacity. How much you've proven yourself as capable.

.

Health, Stamina and Mana are pretty much self explanatory. If your Health runs out, you die. You use up Stamina to perform strenuous physical activities like running or fighting, as well as using physical Skills like dash. If it runs completely out, you faint from exhaustion. Mana is like Stamina, but only used for Magic and related Skills. If that one runs out, you'll wish you'd faint 'cause of the migraine. You gain them all from Attributes, also sometimes called stats. But that's too close to Status, so please don't. You also gain Health and Mana, but not Stamina by gaining Levels. How much depends on your specific Class and Rank.

.

The attributes are divided into 3 main categories, with anything else in the general category.

.

The first grouping is Body, with Str, Con and Tuf. Each of these gives at least one point each in both Health and Stamina, with Con giving much more than the others.

.

Str refers to overall body strenth. This affects things such as carrying capacity and melee damage. Somewhat improves Stamina as well.

Con is constitution. For bodily health and resistance against various physical ails, like disease or fatigue. Gives an additional 5 Health and Stamina per point.

Tuf is toughness. Which helps you absorb, negate or otherwise reduce physical damage you recieve. The higher it is, the more you can simply ignore whatever someone throws at you. Figuratively, or literally. Also slightly boosts Health.

.

The second group is Move, with Dex, Agi and Spd.

.

Dex is dexterity. How well you handle handling things. With your hands. Affects crafting and weapon accuracy, especially with small or nimble weapons and ranged attacks.

Agi is agility. How well you handle controlling your total body. Mainly affects movement Skills and dodging attacks.

Spd is speed. Your basic walking speed, also your reaction time, as well as how fast you can go before draining Stamina. Also affects your attack rate.

.

The final grouping is Mind, with Int, Wis and Spi. Each of these gives at least two points of maximum Mana. With Spi giving significantly more. Yours in particular is absurdly high. But your choice of class usually matters more. I say usually because.. absurdly high. That's why we chose you.

.

Int is intelligence. This lets you cast stronger magic spells, getting more kick out of the same level of spell than others, so long as you have the Skill to do so. It also improves the rate of gaining Skill exp, which is unlisted in the Status. People from your world, with its institutionalized education system usually start with around 50-60 in this Attribute, sometimes higher.

Wis is wisdom. It makes spellcasting more efficient, using less Mana to get the same results. Also reducing the amount of Skill exp needed to advance a Skill to a higher level.

Spi is spirit. Both increasing how quickly your Mana refills and giving you resistance to mental or magical attacks.

.

Any other Attribute goes in the general category. I'll only mention the three everyone has unlocked automatically: Cha, All and Luk.

.

Cha is charisma. More about how approachable you are, how much weight your words carry and so forth than in how handsome you are. It's very much for leaders and merchants.

.

And con artists.

"Don't interrupt."

Sorry.

.

All is allure. This one is all about how you look. Whether you're attractive or . . not.

Luk is Luck. It helps in small ways in every situation.

.

As you gain Levels in your Class, you gain bonus points. Usually the bonus points have a particular type; Body, Mind or Move. These points can only be used within their category. But there are also general points which you can assign to any of the Attributes you have, except for Luck.

.

The Traits are simple bonuses, or penalties, based on your Race and Class. If the total starting bonus in any category is twenty or higher, then you also get proportional bonus points in that same category. For example, +25 Str and +15 Con would give you +2 Body points with each level up. Which you could use to improve your Toughness.

.

The Skill lists are mostly self explanatory.

Each Skill gains levels with Skill exp., as mentioned previously. There is no limit to how high most Skills can level, but each new level requires exponentially more exp. than the last. Increasing by about 19% each time.

.

So then, it'll double every four times?

"I told you not to interrupt. But, yes that's right. You're pretty good at maths then?"

I'm not up to accountant level skills, but I'm still pretty good at it.

"Well, let's finish up then."

.

Each Title you earn gives you a significant bonus of some kind. The Main Title's is doubled.

.

Just for heroes like you, there's also a local Map and an Inventory. However, just because something is in your Inventory doesn't mean it doesn't add to the load you're carrying. Just consider it as being like a thief-proof backpack you can empty but can't remove. Luckily you can increase your capacity with Strength or Stamina. Also, you get a small reduction in effective weight as your Inventory Skill increases.

.

That all sounds simple enough. 'Status.'

Name: ___ Class: ___ Level: ___

Rank: ___ Species: ___ Title: ___

HP: ___/___ SP: ___/___ MP: ___/___

Attributes

Body: Str __ Con __ Tuf __

Move: Dex __ Agi __ Spd __

Mind: Int __ Wis __ Spi __

Gen: Cha __ Att __ Luk __

Bonus points: __

Common Skills

___

Passive Skills

___

Combat Skills

___

Magic Skills

___

Unique Skills

___

Titles

___

Traits

___

Map

Inventory

You left a couple of important things blank.

"Your name will be chosen by your new parents, and we'll discuss your race before sending you down. Then you'll pick a Class around puberty or so. The Skills and Attributes will fill themselves in as you earn them. Any other concerns?"

What's the baseline average on Attributes? I mean, what's average for an adult human with very low levels?

"That would be.. about 25 to 30, all the way across. Except for luck which is around 5 to 10."

Then even without the System and Levels, you'd have some people on Earth with 40, 50, maybe even higher in one or two physical Attributes, like strength or agility. Then there's the Unique Skills. I'm a bit concerned about that one being plural. I mean, half of the enjoyment in a good life is with family and friends, but the other half is about overcoming some kind of challenge. Whenever I read a story, if the MC was too OP, I just got bored of reading it. I don't wanna turn into One-punch Man's Saitama and lose all my happiness in living my life.

And hair.

"Don't worry, you'll only get one. That category is pluralized just so it isn't too different from the others."

So, Eris, about that race entry.. How do we go about it?

"Oh, right. First though, and this is related, we have another task for you."

(frown) Neat-o. How about I design my own Unique Skill as compensation then?

"So long as it isn't . . OP. Even us Gods have some limits. (I nod) So in addition to stopping the Demon King and saving the 3 main continents from their invasion. We also want you to stop the human Kingdoms from conquering, ravaging and enslaving across the beastkins' continent. That'll limit you to choosing one of the beastkin tribes to be born into."

Fox.

"So next you'll look over this chart detailing each tribe's relative Ability bonuses and Traits."

Fox.

". . Please?"

Groan, okay. Hand it over.

She passes a tablet-looking something to my . . hand? It seems my 'spectral form' has reconstituted about to what I originally looked like. Then I spend about a quarter-hour looking through the more promising options. Dismissing most with a glance, but putting some in a short list for re-appraisal.

For example, tiger beastkins have a +20 bonus to Str and +10 each on Con, Tuf, Agi and Spd. But with penalties including a -10 to Int and Wis.

Those penalties are a dealbreaker. In addition to Int affecting spellpower, it increases Skill exp gain. And Wis improves Mana usage, making a given spell less costly while also reducing the amount of exp necessary to increase a Skill's level. Whether Magic or Skills, I want both as high as possible in my ideal build.

As for a beastkin race that has a good bonus in both of them, without being too costly elsewhere..

. . .

. . .

Fox. And also, make sure I remain a male. If it's not too much trouble can I also have heterochromia? I've always wanted a golden eye. Like that Bond-dude.

"Sure, that's fine."

Now about the Unique Skill. I have an idea, but . . Does having a drawback or restriction to the skill drop the cost to make it?

"Yuh-huh."

Alright. Then how about this: what if I can raise, or lower any parameter for anyone I touch. Literally anything, even if it's not listed on the Status. But only if it can be described in one word. And only once per day on any given individual. AND limited to the Skill's level in how many uses per day, as well as how many types of bonus per individual, and finally how many total bonuses per each type.

"Th. Wow, let's see. Can you write that all down for me?"

. . .

". . Carry the six . . Yes, it's just within the points budget. Unfortunately that would mean you can't buy any Attribute boosts or bonus Skills like magic affinity to start with."

That's alright, I'd be able to make my own.

At this, her moonlight-filled eyes shone like a doubled camera flash. Then she studied the written version of the Skill I had handed her for about a minute, followed by furiously working through some more calculations.

"Ah, hahah, HAHAHAHAAHAHAHAA! Heh, heh, whew. Wow. . Oh, sorry about that. Yeah, this Skill of your is OP. And it isn't at the same time."

"Considering it on its own, yes. It's very OP."

"But taking into consideration you won't have anything else to go with it, when normally you would have had a whole bunch. Then it isn't, barely. But that mostly depends on how well you use it."

That just means I'll have to plan ahead then, and that's the challenge. So I'm taking it. Anything else, Eris?

"Nope, that means we're done here. Bye-eee!"

And that's when I fell down through a door in the floor that wasn't there before.