Alex woke up a few hours later, a bright blue screen greeting his groggy mind, earning a grunt of pain from him. He blinked a few times, while he was sure that there were a lot of very interesting things in front of him, right now, he just really didn’t want that in front of him. As soon as that thought passed through his head, the screens vanished, instead, his eyes stared straight into two glowing blue eyes.

“Are you awake?”

Alex blinked a few times in in disbelief, his mind was…foggy. He wasn’t entirely sure about what happened previously, still, his attention was drawn to the person in front of him.

Their face was white as snow and inhumanly beautiful, despite the fact that it was covered in scars, he taken back by…him? Her? Even though he saw them as beautiful, he honestly could not tell their gender, it was oddly androgynous. “I think there is a problem. His eyes are open, yet he isn’t reacting.”

“Was his mind broken by that thing?”

“Maybe, I tried to heal it, but minds are kind of delicate things.”

Alex blinked a few times; the fog seemed to lessen in intensity as he put his thoughts into order, doing his best to not focus on the face in front of him. Right, he needed to say something.

“I’m up! I’m up.” Alex said while shaking his head.

Alex then felt himself being lowered, he finally noticing his position. He had been carried bridal style. He felt hall of his remaining pride shattering as his back hit the cold snow, which…actually didn’t feel that cold, oddly enough.

“How are you? Can you get up?”

Alex honestly wasn’t sure, but he tried to, slowly raising to his feet. As he did so, the person in front of him took a step backwards, giving him some space.

“I’m…fine. I think.”

“Good, take your time.”

At least his body was. His mind wasn’t doing great, He thought about the previous day, trying to remember how he got into this situation in the first place. He briefly wondered if he should be panicking about waking up In the middle of nowhere, but he had a feeling that they didn’t mean any harm, with that in mind he looked around the place.

His eyes were once again immediately went to the person in front of him. They were a bit short, smaller than he was, and he wasn’t exactly tall either, they were dressed in a white shirt and pants, and he still couldn’t tell their gender.

He then looked around him, he was in the middle of a snow covered forest, and it seemed that it was nearing nightfall, the place looked…vaguely familiar, he had been in a place like this previously, in his sides were two people, both of whom he vaguely recognized, a witch, and an elf.

The memories from the previous days slowly returned, his eyes going to the person in front of him. He remembered a witch and an elf, yes, but he remembered that it was a party of three…

“Wait, are you that knight?”

He heard the elf and witch sniggering, while the person seemed to find amusement in his words, a smile spreading through their face.

“I’m…not really a knight in any sense. You can call me Sky, it is a pleasure to meet you.”

Sky then raised their hand towards Alex, whom stared dumbly at it before shaking it. It seemed that some gestures were multi-dimensional.

“You can call me Alex. It’s nice to meet you too.” He said, and then turned to the two other people present.

“I mean, you already know our names since you joined the disaster team, but if you want to be formal…I’m Alice, pleasure in seeing ya” The witch said.

Alex looked at her again, noticing that she was flying in her broom, he vaguely remembered that she did that previously, it was really weird to look at.

“Wind. It’s an honor to make you acquaintances.” The elf said.

He stared at the two of them for a second; both women were stunning to look at, especially Wind, the elf looked inhumanly beautiful, even more so than Sky, his eyes were then drawn towards her ears, they were…really weird to look at in person.

“First time meeting an elf?” She asked with amusement obvious in her voice.

“Y-yeah, sorry, I’m just…a tad disoriented. A lot of shit happening.”

“Don’t worry, it’s quite common. At least you aren’t flirting with me.” She said as she shot him a grin.

Alex was a bit surprised with her attitude; he had expected a bit more of stereotypical elven pride. Maybe he was being a tad racist.

“Anyway, that kinda of ties in one thing that we are curious about.” Alice said. “Well, more than one thing, really. Where are you from? And how did you get summoned?”

“Well, that’s…a complicated question.” Alex said with a pensive look on his face. Should he just tell them? They apparently saw him pop up in the same circle as an interdimensional horror, so there was probably no harm in telling them the truth.

“I’m from the United States. It is a country from another dimension. I got here because I saw a blue screen popping up in my face asking if I wanted to be summoned.”

Alice just looked at him for a few seconds, a look of disbelief on her face, then, she started laughing, Alex noticed that the other two had blank looks on their faces.

“I’m sorry, it’s just…stupid.” Alice said with a grin on her face. “What’s his face was talking such a big game about summoning a being from out of this realm, and then summoned a random guy.”

Alex stared at her, not sure about how to feel about what she was saying.

“You…don’t seem to be bothered by the whole from another dimension thing.” Alex noted.

“I have seen that kind of stuff happen before. I mean it isn’t exactly common, but all of us have encountered someone like that at least once. And no offense, you are the least threatening one I have met so far.”

“Certainly less threatening than that monster.” Sky said.

“Or the blood thing.” Wind said.

“The curious thing is that you are the first human looking interdimensional traveler that I have ever met. Do you have any idea why?”

“No idea. My only knowledge of dimensional stuff before was from fiction. Hell, part of me thinks that I’m currently dreaming or I am insane or something of the sort.”

The whole situation was crazy, but…he felt oddly calm about all of it.

Alice flicked him in the shoulder, it hurting a whole lot more than the flick should, feeling like she had shot a rubber band in his shoulder.

“Ouch. What was that!?”

“Exactly. It’s all real, relax.”

“Alice, please don’t hit random people.” Sky said sounding exasperated.

“Relax; it was just a small flick.”

“All right. Please don’t flick random people.”

Alex was a tad annoyed by it, but the pain was quickly fading…it helped to confirm that it wasn’t a dream, at the very least.

“I…have several questions, also. Where are we? Why are you three here? Why did that guy summon me? Why did he summon a tentacle monster? Does anyone have a coat?”

It was cold, and it was getting colder, it was to the point that his breath was visible, even so, he felt like it should be affecting him far more than it was currently.

“While I am sure that you have a lot of questions, I would rather we continued our journey, I’d rather reach the inn before night.” The elf said.

“And we do not have any coats or anything that might help. The cold doesn’t really affect us, so we don’t bother bringing anything of the sort.” Sky said.

Both things annoyed Alex, especially since he had answered their questions, but…he figured he didn’t have a lot of choice in the matter. Plus, the sooner he got into shelter, the better for him.

“Alice could create a bit of fire for you though.” Wind said.

“I would appreciate it. I really wasn’t expecting snow today.”

Alice nodded. “I will do that, now, do you prefer Wind or Sky to carry you?”

“What.”

“Well, I’m pretty sure you are unranked, so someone will need to carry you the rest of the way.”

“What.”

“I have a feeling that he has no clue what being unranked means.”

“Thank you, Wind. I couldn’t have figured that without you. To simplify: We are fast, and you probably aren’t, so, to reach the town quickly, someone has to carry you.”

Alex didn’t feel like being carried any more. Maybe it was misplaced pride, but the thought didn’t sit well with him.

“I mean…don’t you have horses or something?”

“What is a horse?”

“Big four legged thing with hooves. You ride on top of them?”

“Like phonars?”

“I think that the wildlife in this world is a lot different from mine.”

“Anyway, choose who will carry you!” Alice said

“Can’t you carry me in your broom?”

“It can’t fit two people”

“Alice, stop trying to prank the new guy and just let him ride the broom.” Sky said, giving her an exasperated look.

“But-“

“No buts. You are already wasting far too much time.”

“Fineeeeeee.”

Alice pointed her tongue at Sky, then floated down with her back towards me. “Hold tight and don’t try anything funny.”

“Good thing I’m not a comedian.”

Wind groaned in response. “Now there are two of them.”

Alex sat down in the broom behind Alice, she sliding forward, giving him space to hold it; it was…really uncomfortable, to the point that he wondered how Alice managed to stay in it for a prolonged periods of time.

Then, the broom started floating upwards.

“I think I’m starting to regret my decision.”

“Too late. Now deal with the consequences.”

He was not afraid of heights, but when they shot forwards at the speed of a bike, with the only thing holding him in place being a piece of wood, he was not ashamed to admit that he was scared shitless.

Eventually, Alex got used to the flight, it took a while, but he managed to do it, it helped that it seemed that they were deliberately trying to have him not go splat, with Sky behind him and Wind in front of him, probably in there to help him in case he fell.

As he relaxed, he managed to enjoy the situation a bit, it was still uncomfortable as hell, but the sheer magic of the situation excited him. The smell of the forest, the beautiful landscape and the comforting warmth around him…wait a second.

That made him stop and think for a second, he finally noticing that he wasn’t feeling cold anymore, he stared at Alice’s back, there weren’t any visible flames, but he saw sure that It was thanks to her.

“Thanks!”

He tried to shout over the rushing wind, but she probably hadn’t heard it, Alex making a mental note to thank her properly later.

A few minutes passed, Alex doing his best to try to tolerate the trip, however, he once again saw a blue screen pop up in front of him.

Warning! The time to accept your gifts is expiring. Time left: 5 minutes.

Alex then remembered that a bunch of stuff had popped up In front of him earlier, and he was a bit busy to bother reading them then, could…they appear again?

A perk has been generated:

Combat Strategist.

Insight has increased. (X10)

Willpower has increased. (X9)

Perk: Strong mind has leveled up.(x10)

Perk: Elemental resistance has leveled up.(X2)

A low-level disaster has been averted thanks to your help! You will receive rewards based on your contribution.

Earned XP!

Level up!(X20)

Three entities have offered a choice of a gift in thanks to your actions; would you like to see them?

A quest has been issued by ????

Your class has been generated.

Combat Strategist (0/100% to next level)

Your mind is very good at creating plans on the thick of combat. Increases your abilities to create and enact plans on the middle of fights, while also increasing the quality of these plans.

Alex rapidly read everything in front of him, feeling a bit worried by his insight, it reminded him of a certain game about eldritch abominations…he just hoped that he wouldn’t go mad from any revelations. Still, he had to focus now; he didn’t want to lose something because he couldn’t focus.

Alex stared at the screen in front of him, how did he see the offered gifts? As soon as that thought went through his mind, another blue screen appeared.

Choose one

Gift of the leader.

You will become a natural leader, people will find it easier to follow your orders and you will find it easier to give said orders, people around you will flock to fight for you.

Unlocks Charisma stat.

Gift from Athorax, the god of war.

Offer expiring in 5 minutes.

Gift of Fortune

Events will conspire to go in your favor in every way, fortune will be drawn towards you, all endeavors of your endeavors will find success, and you will defy death at every turn

Unlocks luck stat.

Gift from Kandros, god of fate.

Offer expiring in 5 minutes.

The breaker of chains:

Choosing a blessing means that you bind yourself with said entity, for good or ill. This is because gifts are bound to the divine, and should they choose, the gift could vanish any day.

This is a gift without any strings attached, gaining it will not bind you to anyone or any cause, on top of that, the gift is entirely under you control, and you can vanquish and reclaim it as you wish.

By choosing the breaker of chains, the difference in power between you and your enemies will be lessened, this effect increasing against enemies that are more powerful.

There are countless tyrants that hold themselves higher thanks to raw power. The power of the breaker of chains allows all of it to become meaningless, showing them for whom they truly are.

Differently from all other gifts, you will be able to take this one at any time, on top of that, it will become more powerful as more and you do more deeds.

Take care, however, for you will attracting attention by taking this gift.

Synergy with class: defiant.

Offer made by ????

Alex stared at the screen, he…was not sure. All of them seemed useful, even if he was a tad scared of the first one, because of the implication of it messing with people’s minds, he…really wished he had more time to decide. Still, one of those called his attention more than the others.

Warning: 1 minute left to decide.

The last one was addressed directly to him. At least he felt like that, plus, it felt...different from the others.He weighted the decision on his mind, and then waited until the other gifts vanished. He had a lot of reasons for not wanting to choose the other two, but ultimately, it come down to one thing: He didn’t want to bind himself to anything just yet, especially without knowing more about what he was going to bind himself to.

The option to choose the two other gifts vanished, only the breaker of chains remained, and he gave a sigh of relief, a part of him feared that he had been duped and would get nothing of the whole deal.

Then a thought came to his mind: Apparently, gods were real. And he had just ignored two of their gifts. He really hoped that they didn’t hold a grudge.

Alex took a deep breath, he would ask the group about the subject later, but for now, he had other things that he wanted to look at.

“Status”

Name: Alex Watson.

Age: 22

Gender: Male

Class: Defiant

Title: None

Path: (Generating)

Affinities: Advanced dimension, fire, ice.

Level: 0(20)

Inflexible attributes:

Strength: 90 (9)

Dexterity: 110 (9)

Agility: 100 (9)

Constitution: 100 (9)

Logic: 120 (9)

Semi-flexible attributes:

(current max increase:0)

Insight:12

Willpower:10

Free Points: 0 200(Currently usable:0, current standard daily usable increase: 10)

Alex was confused. What did any of that mean? What did the numbers next to his attributes mean? What was the difference between inflexible and semi-flexible attributes? What did his attributes do in the first place? He sighed; the system didn't come with a tutorial. He wondered if there was anything that it could tell him?

Class description:

Defiant:

These who faced beings greater than them and survived became known as defiants. They found ways to bridge the gap in power between beings, to face their enemies as equals and thus, they defy the natural order, fighting against all odds for what they believe in.

Jack type class.

Skills focus in making it possible to fight against much more powerful opponents, on top of that, provides passive resistance to all forms of manipulation and magic.

Alex thought about the class…he liked it, even If he wasn’t sure about how useful it was, but he didn’t have anything as a basis to compare it to.

He then tried to ask the system about a bunch of things…with no results, much to his annoyance, why the hell was his class the only thing that the system described to him? Another question to the pile.

Then, there was only last thing that he had almost forgot about. Something about a quest?

The breaker of chains.

The world is stagnant and ruled by beings whom have chained reality itself. The cycle persists for untold millennia, and will continue forever more if no one breaks these chains.

Objective: Kill all of the gods. (0/13)

Reward: Unfathomable power. Potential for apotheosis.

Quest issued by: ????

Alex stared blankly at the quest. What the hell? He had to kill gods? He paused, remembering the offer that he received earlier. He did not have to, it was an option given to him. He…wasn’t sure what he felt about killing gods, if they were the Greek-like assholes, then…maybe. He didn't want to kill anyone, the quest implied that they were kind of assholes, but...there were far too many unknows.

But how the hell could he even kill a god to begin with? How did gods even work in this world? How powerful were they? A thought went through his head, if they were assholes...what would they do to him if they knew that he had a quest about killing them? That plagued his mind until he reached the village.