Project: TheirWorld - Chapter 005 - Part 2

_____________

Guin Grey Through The Looking Glass

_____________

TheirWorld

..."You were born in the Spring, under an eight color rainbow. Your mother was a knight. Your father was a spirit - a gumiho, in fact. It is now up to you how these things will affect the person that you are destined to become.” The fox eared man smirked, stuck the small parent cards with the larger cards, and even added details. He conjured up two more cards - one with cherry blossoms, one with the eight color rainbow - and then turned back to her. “There are a few more choices that lay before you now, are you ready to make them?”

“I am,” she answered happily.

Two dozen cards popped up around her this time as he said, “This is where I shall leave you. Pick among these traits as you will, to a total point value of fifty. Some traits will take away points from your total, while some traits will add to points to your total. They shall both help and hinder you when you are born into the world. You have unlimited time to choose from among these traits - but choose as efficiently as you can, for time and fate wait for no one!” With that, he disappeared in a flicker of blue flame just as his cards had.

Looking at the cards, Dassah scratched her head. There was a lot to consider.

“If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me!” came a small voice. Dassah turned to see the Biku Biku had reappeared, bobbing up and down in the air quite close to her face.

“Thank you!” Dassah said with a smile.

Surprisingly, it didn’t take her long to settle on her traits. Though she struggled a little with the point total restraint, she managed to get most of the traits that she wanted from her selection, including the traits [Veil Walker], which allowed her to interact with the spirit world, [Gifts of the Other Realm], which boosted her stats and gave her the ability [Spirit Armor], and the actual trait [Child of the Gumiho]. To get the [Child of the Gumiho] trait, which was a powerful beginning trait what boosted magic resistance, her Fox Spirit reputation, gave her an innate charismatic skill, the shapeshifting ability [Fox Form], plus 10% lifesteal on all damage dealt, she had to take quite a few extra negative traits. She tried as hard as she could to make her character's traits as relatable to her own person as possible, but she was unsure of the effects of traits like [Haunted] and [Superstitious]. From what she knew from the forums, most of the negative traits that were available functioned more as nuisances in the worst case scenarios; quirky character details at best. It was suggested that they were geared more to help guide people to choose classes that suited them based on personality rather than mere desire.

Because who doesn’t want to be an Archmage or a raging death god if they have the chance?

She also took a gamble and chose the trait [Fear of Humanoids] which decreased her stats by 5% around people. This trait was rumored to have a glitch that it only functioned in the physical realm and not the spirit realm. If the humanoid was a spirit, it didn’t count. It was also a trait that was already confirmed to be removable when the proper requirements were met.

Eventually, she ended up with something that looked like this:

>

<>

<>

<>

<>

< Body - 3 >

< Endurance - 5 >

< Resilience - 1 >

< Reflexes - 7 >

< Intellect - 4 >

< Spirit - 15 >

< Presence - 2 >

< Resolve - 2 >

< Perception - 8 >

< Fate - 12 >

>

>

>

> [Mist] 1500 [Spirit] 1000 [Fox] 500 > [Charismatic] [Beginner] [Beguiling] [Intermediate] [Hunting] [Beginner] [Animal Handling] [Beginner] > [Fox Form] [Spirit Armor] [Veil Phase] > [Nature] 2% [Magic] 2% [Spiritual] 2% > > [Veil Walker] [Haunted] [Gifts of the Other Realm] [Superstitious] [Lucky] [Ordinary] [Spirit Blood] [Hatred of Dolls] [Favored of the Fates] [Hatred of the Dark] [Child of the Gumiho] [Fear of the Depths] [Hunter] [Fear of Humanoids] [Veil Sight] [Anxious]

She wasn’t a stranger to MMOs, and she had never bothered about the math, but the stats seemed strange for a first level character. It was true that many of her stats were low because she had sacrificed them for high amounts of Spirit and Fate - however, she wondered just how high the stats could get if people focused on stats rather than the effects of the traits. But the real gold should be in the extra bonuses, not the stats… she thought, looking over the details. Stats were attractive - but you could build them just as easily from what she gathered.

Nevertheless, she had gotten many of the traits that she had initially wanted from the game and that was all that mattered. She wasn’t terribly interested in the numbers or the mechanics; she just wanted to enjoy the game for what it was.

“Is this alright?” Biku Biku asked her to confirm. “Be advised that once you choose, you will be born into the world, and you can never look back.”

Dassah gave a strong nod. “I am ready!”

“Very well,” came the soft voice of the wind. “Then listen, human, to the fate that shall be bestowed. As I foresee it, you shall be born into the small rural village of Bade Your mother was a Knight of the Imperial Army who retired from the battlefront to look after her sick mother. While there, she fell in love with a spirit of the forest - a handsome Gumiho. After their union, your father was not heard from again. You were born in the Spring, with the blossoms all in bloom, and a rainbow over your head. Afterward, your mother raised you with the support of the village. Your spiritual gifts, however, were unable to be hidden. The spirit blood in your veins gave you great power and allowed for you to see into the spirit realm. As you grew up, the attention that you received was not always positive. Spirits came to haunt you, and the people around you found you odd - even scary. You learned how to present yourself as ordinary to the point where your presence often bores people.”

Listening in awe, Dassah was stunned at how the AI had build her a story of the choices that she had made and had been made for her. Certainly, it shouldn’t have been difficult to come up with certain factors, but just thinking how much work would have gone into syncing the hundreds of thousands of characters at any given moments made her head hurt.

“You will go now into the world,” the Fate said. Dassah felt her body becoming smaller, and the world around her felt like it was getting bigger. Smiling in anticipation, she looked at her hands, and then into the mist. She had become a child. “Go now, human child. Go and learn much before you come to the Second Fate. Thus is your task.” A ding sounded throughout the area and a new screen popped up:

>

Your task is to spend time learning about the world and build strong relationships in and around the town. Once you have completed your education and achieved these relationships, you will be given further instructions, and you may continue at any point afterward.

This quest is mandatory. It can not be skipped.

While this quest is active, your character’s rate of learning skills and abilities will be 2x as fast as normal.

While this quest is active, you character will not gain experience points.>

>

With a smile and a wave of the hand, Dassah sent the message away. The fog became thicker, and Dassah - now Guin Grey - was enveloped in white.

And so it begins.