I didn’t feel like eighteen years had passed when I opened my eyes again, yet I knew, undoubtedly, it had for one of my personalities. I was back in my room, lying on my bed and staring up at the crude wooden ceiling. I thought that it would have been strange to have more than one set of thoughts and beliefs, but luckily, my perspective of this world had been unskewed by my previous one. Since we came from two different worlds, our egos didn’t clash with each other, instead aligning themselves perfectly with the other.

Very strange, yet somehow peaceful. I felt slightly intoxicated as I re-briefed myself about both of my lives in my head.

My first life had been very tragic. My mother died when I was just seven years old, and because of that, my father had a massive increase in his alcohol consumption. He started to beat me, and the majority of the time he was drunk. I did well enough at school, had a few friends, but often got bullied by other schoolmates. My life back then was clouded with anxiety, stress and fear of my father. It had been a blessing to be relieved of that life by those thugs.

My current life was quite the opposite. Although boring, it had been quite peaceful and relaxing. I lived on the outskirts of Nunyek, a small town which survived mainly on the surrounding farms. I had been born an only child, similar to my previous life.

However, with no children my age for the next few kilometres, I lacked social skills and the ability to converse with others who I did not know well. Luckily for me, I had plenty of friends in my past life and could use those skills here.

The majority of my current life was spent doing chores, learning how to use weapons, trips to town, and the occasional hellstorm, which I would hide from under my bed when I was younger.

I was so caught up in my memories and thoughts that I failed to notice a tiny woman flying around my head. Wait. A tiny woman flying around my head?

I shot upwards, and the blood rushed down from my head, making me feel light headed for a few seconds. What was a tiny woman doing flying around my head?

“Hey! Who are you?”

She had small wings and a chubby face, looking no older than ten years old. Her hair was a grey-brown and she wore a fitting green dress.

“We meet again, Ikite Dorau.”

I realised that it was her voice that I had been hearing the whole time, from when I first died to the merging of my soul.

“Who are you? What are you?”

She smiled and nodded her head in knowing.

“You were always so full of questions. I am a prototype console fairy, something specifically designed to help new souls integrate with the game system of The Afterlife.”

“You have awakened your second soul and gained powers and access to the game. Normally, you would have been provided with a ‘console’ which is a small black slate that would have been your access panel to the game and where you would be able to see your profile, statistics and any other information about yourself. It can also provide limited information about this world and the game that every resident of The Afterlife participates in.”

“However, god has picked you to be my tester. My future and the future of consoles are now controlled by how your journey goes. If it’s satisfactory, I may be reproduced so that others can use me.”

I had more questions to ask, but this was a good start. I hesitated for a few seconds to think about what to ask, then settled on the one that burned in my mind the brightest.

“What is this game system anyways?”

The console fairy smiled inwardly and nodded yet again before replying.

“Of course, you had to choose the one with the longest answer.”

I raised an eyebrow. Was she giving me an attitude?

“The game system of The Afterlife was created by the god. It is much like some role playing games you used to play back in your previous life, with levels, classes and experience points. However, unlike video games, you only have one life in this world. If you die, your soul won’t move on like it did before. Instead, it’ll just be stuck to this world and eventually stop existing. Luckily, god has been kind of enough to grant players the boon of everlasting life, disabling your aging after your awakening.”

“As you get experience points and level up, you will get base attribute points, which you can add to statistics to improve yourself. This isn’t the only way, as you have mastery for everything you do. Mastery is the amount of experience and the measurement of how good you are at a particular skill or action. The more mastery you have for that skill, different opportunities can appear. If you complete mastery for that skill, it will evolve.”

“You have equipment and items have categories which determine how powerful they are too. You can get better ones by exploring or purchasing things with your gold.”

“This game system is all connected to the core, where there are nine floors between each layer. The core is the centre tower of this world and where God sits on top of. If you can reach the top of the core, God will grant you anything you wish for. However,climbing the floors of the tower are incredibly difficult as you must find a hidden key which you may need to pass a test or kill monsters to acquire.”

I listened carefully and took it all in. So apparently this world had become a role playing game of some sort. The main goal of the game was to progress up the core to meet God who would give you whatever you wanted. Interesting, but I actually didn’t really want anything at all. I already had everything I wanted in this life. A loving mother, a peaceful life, chores to perform. Why would I go up the core if I didn’t have a goal in mind?

“What if I don’t want to go up?”

I swore a look of confusion appeared on the fairy’s face before she replied.

“But you have to go up? It’s the soul’s deepest nature to desire something.”

“But what if I already have everything I want?”

“Well... “

The fairy paused for a few seconds, probably thinking about whether or not my question was a rhetorical one. It wasn’t.

It was a pity that my mother chose that moment to barge into the room with a concerned look upon her face.

“Ikite! You’re awake? Who were you talking to?”

She looked at me, not noticing the console fairy whatsoever.

“Uh… You can’t see that?” I said as I pointed towards it.

My mother looked in the general direction of the fairy, but seemed to see right through it.

“What’re you talking about silly? Did you hit your head when you fell over just now?”

I shook my head and bit my lip. What should I say to explain this?

“Ma, I’ve become an awakener.”

* * *

“Hey Kimi, can you teach me about my statistics and perks?”

I paced around the barren field behind our house, ready to blast something or start flying. It had been a week since I awakened and, after a long conversation with my mother, started to spend some time figuring out the details of this game.

The console fairy who I named Kimi, displayed a holographic light-blue screen with my profile on it.

Profile

Name Ikite Level 0 Race Descended Human Class Scavenger/Diplomat Status Peasant of Hell Family Name Dorau Age 18 (+0) Strengths Diplomacy, Running, Fast Reflexes, Curiosity Weaknesses Thinking, Engineering, Curiosity Perks

Aligned Perception, Extension

Statistics

Strength 5 Intelligence 2 Dexterity 4 Constitution 4 Sense 2 Charisma 4 Comeliness 3 Adaptability 6 Unspent Base Stat Points 4

As I read through the profile, I noticed that some things had changed from the last time I had seen it. There was now a level component on my profile, my age had settled at eighteen and I could finally see my statistics. I also had four unspent base stat points. Having not played many RPG games during my previous life, I had Kimi enlighten me on what each of the attributes were.

“I will show you the information for the attributes now, if you have any questions afterwards, you can ask me.”

My profile screen disappeared and another screen took its place.

Statistic Information

Strength Your overall body fitness level. When increased, your stamina will improve and all muscles will become stronger evenly. Intelligence Your ability to make smart, fast decisions. When increased, your general knowledge will not improve, instead you will be able to learn things faster and make better decisions. Dexterity Your overall hand-eye coordination and ability to use different items. When increased, you will become more agile and gain access to more extensive classes of items. Dexterity is closely linked to intelligence, sense and your perks. Constitution Your amount of health that you have and how much damage your body can take before it gives out. When increased, your stamina and HP will increase. Sense Your ability to tune in with nature and how well you can use your five senses. Closely linked to dexterity. Charisma Your chance of getting a positive reaction from a person or animal. When increased, people are more likely to be friendly around you and allow you to lead them. Closely linked to Comeliness. Comeliness Your attractiveness to other people. When increased, people are more likely to notice you and want your opinion or buy things from you. Adaptability Your ability to adapt to the environment around you and when using items. When increased, you see more opportunities within the environment which you can use it to your advantage. Closely linked to intelligence and sense.

As I read through each attribute, I couldn’t help but notice that not all of them were used for combat. Most of them were useful for daily chores or for someone’s non-combat class.

“How many base stat points do I get per level up?”

The helpful console fairy replied briskly.

“Four points per level up, although you can train mastery for different skills that will help improve your statistics too.”

Surprise surprise, the mastery system was linked with the statistics. The more I seemed to learn about this game, the more connected everything seemed to be. I wanted to ask more about mastering skills and such, but I needed to do what I came out here for.

“So, Kimi, what are these perks that I have? Can I throw fireballs or something with them?”

She nodded and I felt my spirits soar. I was finally going to get to the good part of the game.

“For certain perks, that would be the case. However, neither of your skills are directly for combat.”

Huh? My face transformed into an artwork of disappointment and shock. Did she just say that I didn’t have any combat perks?

“Wait, this can’t be. What do my perks do then?”

I still held on to a sliver of hope that I would be able to do something cool or amazing with them.

Yet another holographic screen appeared, replacing the one with information about my statistics. This one consisted of three parts.

Perk Information - Ikite Dorau

Name Aligned Perception v.1 Rarity Mythical Power Level 0 Activity Level Active Cooldown None Status Available Mastery 0% Information

Enables the user to see the world from ‘God’s eyes’. The user’s vision will change to a grey and the outlines of animals/people will glow (colour will change depending on purity of aura and brightness depends on density). Viewing rates will also increase so each decisecond (1/100 of a second) will be seen as one second. The user’s body will move at the same speed it normally would, but the brain will be able to think ten times faster and will also be able to see faster. The user is also able to see aura flow through creatures and through walls. At current mastery, no other effects are available.

Name Aligned Perception v.2 Rarity Mythical Power Level 0 Activity Level Passive/Active Cooldown None Status Available Mastery 0% Information

Enables the user to see the profiles and windows of people and items. Always active, but once the user sees a window for an item once, he/she won’t see the profile windows for that particular item/person again unless specified. The profiles of people consist of name, level, race, class, status, family name and age. Item windows consist of name, grade, durability, restrictions and buffs/debuffs. More information will be revealed as mastery increases.

Name Extension Rarity Basic Power Level 0 - INF Activity Level Active Cooldown 1 Hour Status Available Mastery 0% Information

Enables the user to use a weapon that he/she is holding as a part of their own body, being able to control it in precise ways (if touching it). Benefits range for different types of weapons. Weapons/Items that this skill is used on can’t move in ways that they wouldn’t normally be able to. Skill lasts for as long as the user is holding the item of choice. Mastery increases individually with the item it’s used on. As mastery increases, durability and damage of the weapon may increase as well as the control over the weapon.

Oh no. Oh hell no. This couldn’t be happening to me. I couldn’t shoot fireballs out of my hand or have laser vision? All I had was some stupid x-ray vision thing and a item-bending parlour trick? How could this be?

“Kimi, how were my perks decided?”

I must have done something to deserve this. It couldn’t have been some dumb bad luck-

“Your perks were decided randomly.”

What. The. Actual. Hell. How could I have been this unlucky?!

Calming myself, I decided to re-read the skill information to see if there was anything that could give me an advantage when in combat. It appeared that my perk Aligned Perception wasn’t that bad, as it could slow the world down for me which might allow me to be more precise with my hits I guess? Extension seemed to be pretty useless unless I used a flexible weapon.

“So how do I use my perks?”

Kimi pointed to the screen.

“For those perks that are passive, you are using them at all times. For those that are active, you can either call them out, or think about using them. Which would you prefer?”

I thought about it for a few more seconds, then settled on calling them out, as I could accidentally think about them and use them.

“I’ll call them out, thanks.”

The console fairy nodded twice and the screen disappeared.

“You can try them out now.”

I looked down at my boots, and when a fluorescent screen with the words “Worn Assassin Boots” popped up beside them, a little excitement came back.

Item Window

Name Worn Assassin Boots Grade D- Durability 16/20 Restrictions None Buffs/Debuffs 10% Stealth increase, +1 Dexterity Information

A pair of used boots that came from a murderer. What else could you possibly want in your life? These boots are light and fitting. It eliminates all noise from walking or running.

So this was the power of Aligned Perception v.2. Feeling refilled with enthusiasm, I started to try out my other perks.

“Aligned Perception!”

The world spun for a moment, then everything around me turned slightly translucent and grey. I could see through the walls of our cottage and ground. The buffalo in the paddock had a dull white outline around them, glowing slightly.

They moved so, so slowly and munched on their food like they were in slow-motion. I tried turning my head around and found that I moved as slowly as the buffalo. Seconds seemed to tick away and by the time I had turned around to face Kimi, I felt like I had become an old man.

Kimi had a different glow about her. Instead of being white, it was a dark shade of red and very faint. As I looked down at my hands, they took on a white outline, similar to the buffalo in the pen, except mine was a whole lot brighter than theirs.

“Deactivate.”

The world returned to normal and I glanced up at Kimi. She seemed to not have noticed I had activated the skill.

“What is this aura around me that I see when I use Aligned Perception?”

“Ah yes, aura. Aura is one of the main elements to the game system. It surrounds every living thing’s body and is their source of power. It is your accumulated experience, your stamina, and your health. The brighter it is, the more stamina and health you have.”

“It’s colour depends on the amount of experience points gained in any particular element. The more fine the colour is, the more of a buff you get in that area. For example, a fire salamander will give you red experience points, which, when added to your aura, will turn it one shade of red. The more fire salamanders you kill, the more red your aura will become. The redder your aura is, the more buff you have against creatures with red aura.”

So this was what that strange aura was. It was essentially the life energy of this world, which gave different buffs when improved.

“So my aura is brighter than the buffalos because I have more HP?”

“Yup! You’re quite a fast learner, compared to some of the people in Heaven who are still scratching their heads, wondering how to use their perks.”

I had to replay her words in my head before realising the significance of that statement.

“Wait. You know some of the people in Heaven?”

Kimi nodded her head and smiled a little sadly.

“Indeed. I was born in heaven and awakened there. I had a great life, fighting monsters and trying to progress through the core. However, I foolishly decided to enter the 19th floor’s dungeon by myself, and died miserably. God, taking pity on me since I had been one of the first to reach such a high level, decided to retie my soul into this body and gave me a new life, one as a console fairy.”

I was shocked. I hadn’t realised that Kimi the console fairy had been a person before this, let alone have a tragic backstory.

I stood there awkwardly for a few seconds, not sure what to say to her. I wanted to console her, but she gave off the feeling that she didn’t need it.

“What do you suggest that I do now?”

I broke the silence with a question that I hoped would take her (and me) off the topic of her history.

“Well, to conclude the tutorial, you should spend your base stat points. However, as you haven’t decided what class you’re going to choose or what you’ll specialise in, I would suggest leaving them be for now.”

I nodded in agreement. It was common knowledge to not place whatever points you had randomly into any stat that you wanted. Although I hadn’t played many games in my previous life, I knew that life choices were important - especially since I couldn’t get stat refunds here.

Deciding to call it a day, I walked back to the front of my house to pick up the town deliveries before night time came. As I opened the front door with the parcel of wood and vegetables, I noticed my mother holding a strange looking letter with a green seal.

“Hey Ma, what’s that?”

She jumped in surprise and had to wait a few moments before talking.

“Jeez Ikite, you scared me. How was your discovery session?”

She wiped her eyes quickly, trying to appear nonchalant, but I saw through her guise.

“What’s wrong, Ma?”

She shook her head and wiped her eyes once more. I could tell something wasn’t right.

“Ikite… You shouldn’t need to hear this at such a young age but…”

Her voice trailed off and she burst into tears. I knew at that moment that something terrible had happened, but I needed to find out what. I put down the deliveries and walked over to her, pulling her into a hug.

“Ma, just tell me what’s wrong.”

More tears spilled out of her eyes and she said in between sobs;

“Ikite, your father passed away while serving in the army and they need you need to fill his place.”