Arrival II

I growled in frustration, then froze momentarily, hoping that the guards outside the door didn't hear me. When all I heard was low conversation and the occasional creak of armour I realised I was still safe.

For a given understanding of safe anyway.

My new abode was a dressing room. And following the theme of the bathing room, it was over the top in its decor. Planks of light oakwood panelling covered the walls, larger in length and width than I would've expected to see on Earth. Still, they are mostly hidden behind massive tapestries, one on each wall that didn't have a door. The tapestries follow the theme of the previous room's mosaics. I did my best to ignore them. It was difficult, they were everywhere and there was always a new scene that caught my eye. I finally managed to tear my eyes away and continue my exploration of the room.

The exit from this room was directly across from the bathing room and thankfully it was made from the same wood as the panelling on the walls. Two massive blocks of wood that, frankly, looked like they could stop a bullet. Or a rhino. Assuming there were bullets here, or Rhinos for that matter.

From behind the massive double doors I could hear the whispers of conversation. I tried to eavesdrop but even as close to the doors as I dared to get, I could only catch maybe one word in 10. It is nonsensical and I gave up on trying to make anything out quickly.

The rest of the room was mostly bare. Excepting a massive mirror in the corner to the left of the bathing room. It was on a dark wooden stand, and keeping with the theme, it was the largest mirror I'd ever seen that wasn't nailed to a wall. It almost reached the three metre high ceiling and it was almost two metres in width too! - I held my spear sideways next to it for comparison.

Oh yeah, and then there's the dress. It was on a stand to the right of the bathing room.

I couldn't quite make out what it looked like. Not because I had trouble seeing, but because of it constantly changing its form; pure white with a long ass trail with a veil and tiara one moment; then, when I think it has solidified on a form it shifts, a myriad of colours rippling across the surface, the headdress shifting from a tiara to a cowl with massive peacock feathers along the band, the trail pulls in and it has a bell like skirt – like you see in Victorian period dramas. The only thing that always stayed the same was the veil, though even then, the colour of it changed alongside the rest of the dress. I tore my eyes away from it as it began transforming into a black form fitting number.

As fascinating as watching it was, it was giving me a headache. My [Inspect] attempts were met with failure too. Apparently I needed to be holding the item at my level to get any information on it. And I didn't want to touch it. It gave me the creeps. 'Course, I may not get a choice, it is the only piece of clothing in this place and I don't really want to confront the guards outside in my skinnies.

I leant against the wall beside the mirror, facing the door – I wanted to keep an eye on the door in case it opened – then slid down to the ground. Unsurprisingly the floor was very comfortable, a shag carpet, deep burgundy in colour covered the floor of the room. These carpets would normally be hell to clean, but of course there was not a speck of dust in sight. Likely Magic at work. Or perhaps taking the surroundings into consideration, some form of overworked-underpaid labour. I felt a small flash of pity if it was the latter, I would not want to be cleaning a place like this. I doubt they'd be lenient if One were to miss something.

I was busy trying to come up with a plan, but honestly, whatever happens, I had to get out of this room and deal with the guards.

Somehow I didn't think they'd trip over me and impale themselves on their own weapons. No one is that lucky. Not twice in one hour...

Wait. Lucky. I thought back to the message I received just a few minutes ago. That imp said something about luck. And about traits. He seemed to hint that I was powerful because of these traits, but reading between the lines only a little bit, he also seemed to hint there was a price for that power.

With nothing else to do I decided it was time to have a look at my status screen. In AoH, you had to say '[Status]' when in a non-combat environment for the window to appear. Here, well, here I tried just thinking it. I didn't want to give the guards any excuse to look inside. [Status].

Status HP: 385 (+1.1/s) MP: 278 (+1.0/s) ST: 355 (1.1/s) EXP: 0 Total Level: (N/A) Class Level EXP Req Name [Insert Name Here] Mental Stat Physical Stat Social Stat Traits [Error – no Race] N/A N/A Age 26 Control 59 Agility 62 Bargaining 61 Regeneration Race [Race Options] Resistance 48 Dexterity 51 Charm 42 Status Quo Party N/A Spellpower 44 Strength 60 Leadership 52 Sod's Law Guild N/A Willpower 58 Vitality 55 Luck -500

I Hmmm as I look through my Status screen, it looked pretty standard for a fantasy based game. For the most part anyway.

The First Column was something you'd see in almost every MMORPG. Though I did briefly wonder where the dividing line was between a Party and a Guild. The second Stat column – Physical – was a direct copy from AoH. AoH was a Physical based game only, there was no Magic system or social Skills system. Pure combat only. The third Stat column – Social – was something I was expecting, during beta testing it was known they only had access to the Physical and Social aspects of the game. The Magical stuff was left out until launch. Only tested in-house by the developers, this was to ensure it remained a secret until it was available to the general public. And in this they succeeded. No-one, not even the beta testers knew how the Magic system was going to work.

As such the first Stat column was new to me and like the Social Stats, the Mental Stats were somewhat unusual. Usually in a game you'd get something akin to Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma with maybe things like Willpower added into the mix on occasion. This was not the case for Elmeron the VRMMORPG and I saw it was not the case for Elmeron IRL – still trying to ignore that part. Stupid brain!

After whacking my head on the wall to quell any disturbing thoughts attempting to make their way to the surface, then spending a couple of minutes trying not to breathe too hard as I had forgotten where I was for a moment, I got back to scanning my new self. My [Status] screen.

I skipped past the Stats, they are mostly self explanatory despite their unusualness– is that a word? Words can be so weird... - and while they were also a lot higher – barring one – than I expected, I suspected one of my three Traits would be the cause of this. I focused on the first one. [Regeneration].

Regeneration – Trait

You gain an additional (+1.0/s) Health Regeneration for every Total Level you have.

Wee-ell, that is pretty damned awesome. Self-healing was always a problem in any game I played, but with this I wouldn't need to worry about it. And the Trait would improve and get stronger as I did. Of course, so would my healing needs, as the damage I took would no doubt get higher as I fought stronger and stronger monsters. Even so, I couldn't be anything but happy about this Trait. It was totally Awesome and almost broken by any gaming standards. This wasn't a game though. As much as I might have been pretending otherwise – for my sanity as much as anything. Nothing I had gone through so far was conducive to a stable mind. I suspected, having seen my Stats, that the abnormally high Mental Stats were the cause of me not curling up in the corner and gibbering incessantly. As I was, sitting in the corner and terrified of what comes next, was not really much of an improvement. I moved onto the next Trait in the hopes of finding something that could help my predicament.

Status Quo – Trait

Your body will always revert to its Status Quo no matter what happens to it. In effect this means your body will no longer age, feel fatigue or require sustenance. Scars will not remain for long and any loss of body parts will regenerate over time rather than require a spell, potion or other to regrow.

In addition one negative Status affect you are under will be removed with a 50% chance every hour. This could be – but not limited to – any of the following, loss of vision/hearing, poisons, diseases, magical constraint or social Skill effects. Other Effects that can be removed will have to be learnt – and remembered - at your displeasure

"Holy Shit!" I shouted. If the previous Trait was almost broken by gaming standards then this Trait was extremely broken by, well, pretty much any standard. I almost suffered whiplash when I whipped my head up to look at the door, someone was knocking on it. The sound of metal striking wood – probably a gauntlet covered fist. Apparently they heard my shout.

"Is everything okay in there Your Grace?" a hesitant voice sounded from the direction of the knocks.

Your Grace? "Err, just fine thanks..." I replied, sounding as confident as I possibly could. Which all things considered wasn't very confident, not at all. There was a slight pause before the next reply, as if the person talking – probably one of the guards – didn't really want to interrupt whatever the now-dead Elf was supposed to be doing – which if the lack of any other item in the room was an indication, was bathing then putting the creepy looking changeling dress on.

"As you say, Your Grace." Yep. Whoever this was, he didn't want to be talking to 'Your Grace' any more than I wanted him to be. "However I should warn you, you will need to leave for the Ceremony in the next quarter of an hour. I'm sure you know this already, but umm, your father ordered me to make sure you get there in time... and didn't try and run away again. As such I will have to come in there and..." Here he stopped completely, his diction getting both softer and more hesitant as he finished. Obviously, though having to come in, and possibly force a probably very naked and beautiful Elf into a dress, then drag her to the Ceremony was not a thought he really wanted to even consider. Let alone enact. Especially as the Elf in question was in possession of a freakin' spear. Again, who the fuck takes a spear with them to a bath!?

"Don't worry, I'll be with you in time." This time I sounded more confident. The guard's reluctance for this conversation spurring me on.

He grunted something that almost sounded like another 'Your Grace.' I waited another minute on baited breath, before the low murmurs of the guards started up again.

I brought up my [Status] again. I needed to get this whole Trait thing – among others - sorted before I confronted the world outside.

If I was reading [Status Quo] correctly, which I was, because I read it a few times to make sure I had all the information I could glean from it, then it was way overpowered. Dismissing the fact that I could no longer age – and its ramifications – everything else about the Trait was all good, all of the time. And really, being ageless wasn't necessarily bad, it was just like everything else that had happened since I arrived here. It was all too big to process in one sitting. Way, way too big. In fact it was something that would normally require One to sleep on. Which apparently, was something I no longer needed – assuming that no longer feeling fatigue would end the need for sleep anyway. I did wonder however, if, I could still sleep if I wanted to. I also sincerely hope that while I no longer need to eat or drink, I still could if I wanted too, otherwise that'd be too sad. Fine food and drink was one of the greater pleasures in life after all. And it seemed as though mine might be a bit longer than I ever expected.

Assuming I could get out of here alive that is.

It also looked like any negative Status Effect I ever gain would eventually be removed, even if it took a while. Though, I knew from my gaming experience, anything that could hold me even for a few seconds could be devastating. It wasn't quite a get out of jail free card. It was, however, the next best thing.

And also not something that could be considered so negative that the imp's bosses threw me here during a transport because they didn't want anything to do with it. Or me.

No, considering the name of the final Trait, I figured I had saved the worst till last.

Sods Law – Trait

Sod's Law states that if something can go wrong, it will go wrong and with the worst possible outcome.

Your Luck Stat starts at -500. Due to the disparity an additional 500 Stat Points have been distributed to your other Skills at random.

You will gain positive Luck at a rate of 3 Luck per 1 gained. This will show on your status as decimals. Only whole numbers count towards the total.

You will gain negative Luck as normal.

I just barely held back the expletive, one that would have been far harsher and louder than the previous one.

Definitely a negative Trait, this one, I quickly skipped past the first sentence, the ramifications thereof giving me shivers every time I glanced at it. I practised my new skill, steadfastly ignoring anything that would make me have nightmares – assuming I could still sleep – and moved onto the rest, which was more than bad enough.

I didn't know how Luck would work in Elmeron, but surely starting with such a low, low amount of it could only be considered a bad, bad thing. A very bad thing, I'm so screwed.. Not only that but apparently it would be basically impossible for it to improve and would be extremely easy to decrease.

This is bad, bad bad bad bad bad... I let out a small cry of frustration followed quickly by a sob. Which once started, was like opening the floodgates, all of a sudden I was crying so hard I couldn't see anything but blurs. Fortunately, despite some louder mutterings and a bit of shifting around, the guards didn't try and talk to me again – clearly they had decided to wait out the fifteen minutes, fifteen minutes that were swiftly falling by the wayside.

Nothing had gone well since I clicked that blinking Yes, accidentally transporting myself to a fantasy world, and, according to some random Trait, this, this damnable system gave me, it wouldn't be getting much better. In fact it was likely to only get worse, then end in my death. If I was lucky. Which I'm not.

I stifled my tears as soon as I could however. I'd only just gotten here after all. No use in giving up at the first hurdle. No, I would try and be optimistic – something I struggled with at the best of times, I was a realist at heart – and see if I could come out of this situation better off than I started.

Which, let's be honest, hasn't exactly been a walk in the park up till now either...

I rubbed the tears out of my eyes with one hand, then looked at the spear I was still clutching in the other. I smiled slightly as I rested my eyes on it, it was a hesitant smile, a forced smile, but it was a smile nevertheless. There was one positive to come out of my start in this world after all. If I could keep on seeing the positives and not the negatives then, maybe, just maybe, I could get out of here with my head on my shoulders, and hopefully the rest of me still attached too.

On account of my new outlook on this situation, I decided I needed to choose my race before I went anywhere.

In fact, I got up and looked in the mirror and yup, still same old boring human me. I still had that annoying mole on my upper lip too. The one that everyone told me is 'cute' then proceeded to stare at instead of looking me in the eyes. Was it really too much to ask that it be removed when transported to another err, dimension? Universe? Plane? Ahem. I derailed that train of thought before it could take hold again. I settled back down on the floor and focused on [Race Options] on my [Status] screen.

Racial Options

All new Arrivals will be allowed to choose a Race based on what and who their interactions have been since arriving in Elmeron. Your options are as follows:

Human

Half-Elf

Elf (High)

Elf (Planar)

Four options. More than I was expecting. Clearly accidentally killing an Elf counts as 'interacting' in the systems mind. I wondered if I could leave my Race choice to another time. See if I could interact more and gain more options, but when I attempted to dismiss the screen nothing happened. At least at first. After a few attempts however, it soon started to blink incessantly at me and the glow increased, causing a mild headache. At least until I stopped trying to get rid of it and then it just returned to the normal harmless screen it was to begin with.

Apparently, now that I had chosen to choose my Race I wouldn't be getting any more options and I had to do it post-haste. Ugh, if I'd known that I probably would have left it longer.

Then again maybe not, if the [Status] screen was any indication, I didn't actually have a Class or any levels, which could not be a good thing. All things considered, maybe doing this now is the better option – optimism, see I can do it, if I try!

It was time to check out my options, then hope a Race change didn't take very long, I likely had less than ten minutes at this point to make my choice. So saying, or thinking as this case was, I brought up my first choice – [Human].

Human

Humans are the most average of Elmeron's sapient races. This is not a bad thing.

Humans may get no Racial Bonus Skills but their affinities for the many Skills in Elmeron are often higher than any of the other races.

Humans gain 8 Stat points of their choosing during the 10 Base Class Levels and 5 Stat Points to spend at will during any of their chosen classes thereafter, in addition to the Stat Points provided by the Class.

About what I'd expected for a Human. Jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none had always been our niche in games. I scanned over the hints at how the levelling and class systems worked. As much as I'd love to nerd out, I simply didn't have the time. Instead I focused only on the other aspects of the Race.

No Racial Bonus Skills was a bit of a bummer, but I didn't really expect any. Humans rarely get any bonus's and usually make up for it with their versatility.

I couldn't tell if the amount of Stat points per level was a good thing or not without looking at the others so, as time was still ticking I focused on: [Half-Elf].

Half-Elf

Half-Elves vary greatly depending on which type of Elf Sired them. You choices are (High) or (Planar).

Even Half-Elves of the same Racial Heritage differ vastly, as such what you Stat bonus's are and any Skills and/or Affinities won't be generated until you choose the Race.

This was... surprisingly unhelpful. I could've guessed at my Racial Heritage without this screen and it wasn't really telling my about anything else I could get. In fact, reading between the lines, I suspected the bonus's, Skills and Affinities being positive or negative, was something that would be based completely on luck and considering my Luck Stat, this was not something I'd ever feel comfortable doing. So as cool as a Half-Elf might be, it was definitely not something I'd be choosing. From this day forward I'll either remain a Human or a full Elf. Assuming there wasn't another way to change your Race. And really in a place with Magic and a game-like system I suspected there was.

I focused on my first Elven option: [Elf (High)].

Elf (High)

The High Elves of Elmeron are the City-Born of the Elf-kind, and are generally perceived to be an 'upper class' of Elves by outsiders. This is not always the case. High Elves have an aristocracy, but no more or less so than most of the other Elven variants.

Due to their Nature and usual upbringing High Elves are normally better suited for the magical arts and/or for Craftsman roles. Their Racial Skills, Affinities and Stats reflect this.

High Elves get two Racial Bonus Skills at Level 10 of their Base Class.

Low-Light Vision (available to all elf variants excepting the Dark and Aquatic variants who get a stronger vision option) and either Nimble Fingers or Elven Meditation.

High Elves gain a boost in affinities in the Artisan crafts and in Magical Skills – varying by individual on which ones in particular.

High Elves gain 5 Stat Points of their choosing and + 1 Control, Willpower and Dexterity during their 10 Base Class Levels and 3 Stat Points to spend at will during any of their chosen classes as well as + 1 Control and Dexterity thereafter, in addition to the Stat Points provided by the Class.

In comparison to the Half-Elves and even to the Humans, this was quite a lot of information. Then again, Half-Elves were apparently random by nature in how they turned out and I had spent the last twenty-six years of my life as a human, so I probably had a pretty good idea of what one was.

High elves were a very tempting class choice. Cool bonus Skills, especially in Magic. And Magic was something that I planned on getting handle on, if I could at all. I mean I had been transported to a new world and I planned on getting the most out of it!

In my case getting the most out of it meant Magic. Lots of Magic. And High Elves, according to my summary screen here, were good at Magic. Sure they weren't as flexible as a vanilla Human would be, which was always the draw of Humans in such settings, but being a High Elf would give me some bonus Mental points every level and increase my Affinities] for Magic. Plus if my general knowledge of games was any indication [Elven Meditation] was probably something that would increase my passive Mana Regeneration while active, another positive for this race.

Honestly if these were my only three options, I'd have already chosen to be a High Elf. Instead however I had one more option left. Something also told me that the best may have been saved for last. I decided being a High Elf would be my fallback option.

I focused on: [Elf (Planar)].

Elf (Planar)

Planar Elves are one of the rarest variants of Elf-kind. These Elves are rarely born, even a child of two Planar Elves will usually be born as one of the parents original Sub-race, though not always. Planar Elves are usually an upgrade of sorts chosen by those that explore the many different planes available in this universe, the energies that their continued exposure during planar crossings accumulates and can sometimes mutate an Elf into this variant.

Due to their Racial Heritage Planar Elves are well suited to Magic of any kind, especially Magic of the Planar, Transportation or Spatial inclination. Their Racial Skills, Affinities and Stats reflect this.

Planar Elves get two Racial Bonus Skills at Level 10 of their Base Class. If they are a mutation then these Skills become additions to previous Racial Skills, unless already owned.

Low-Light Vision (available to all elf variants excepting the Dark and Aquatic variants who get a stronger vision option) and either Mana Sense or Planar Resistance.

Planar Elves gain a boost in any affinities that pertains to Magic Skills and Resistances of any kind.

Planar Elves are an Advanced Race, as such they gain 6 Stat Points of their choosing and +1 Resistance, Willpower, Vitality and Luck during their 10 Base Class Levels and 3 Stat Points to spend at will during any of their chosen Classes as well as +1 Resistance , Willpower and Luck, in addition to the Stat Points provided to the Class.

Dayum. Apparently my whacky transportation and introduction to this world had given me an Advanced Race option. I had no idea what an Advanced Race was, but if this was any indication it was definitely something everyone should be aspiring toward. Access to rare Racial Skills, a boost to all Magical Affinities – whereas the other Elven option would only be a boost to some – alongside a boost to all resistances.

Of course I still had no idea what an Affinity was but it sounded like something I'd want.

If all that wasn't enough I'd get almost as many 'free' Stat points during my first 10 Base Class levels as a Human would. It wasn't quite as flexible after that, but it was still actually more Stats overall. Definitely a number worthy of being called an Advanced Race – at least in comparison to the others.

This was however a life changing decision and probably permanent – even if there were other ways for a Race change I doubted they'd be easy. I needed to spend some time making sure I got this right.

I didn't want to screw myself up right out the gates. Not when I had a choice at least.

So, vanilla Human. A Race I was intimately familiar with, one that would allow me to follow whatever path I chose – mostly at any rate, I still needed to figure out these Affinities – alternatively I had two Elven Races, both with their up and downsides.

I mean sure, the Planar options look better and being an Advanced Race, it probably is. However it's almost completely focused on Magical traits and not much else. On the other hand I could choose to be a High Elf, a Race with slightly more flexibility but would be slightly weaker overall. Hmmm, decisions, decisions...

I hear a knocking on the door, then a voice calling out – deeper and more assured than the last, likely the previous speakers partner – telling me, or 'Your Grace' anyway, that I only had a couple of minutes until it was time to get a move on.

He put it more politely of course. With lots of 'Your Graces' and flowery language – clearly this guard was more experienced talking to the upper class – but the meaning was more than clear; the 'Emperor' required my presence at the Ceremony.

Deliberation time was over.

I got up and look in the mirror. I wondered if this was the last time I'd see my current visage. I wondered what will change in me. I wondered what would happen next and if I would survive. I wondered if it would hurt because really there was one thing I'd noticed when reading through the [Race Options] and honestly it made the other options superfluous. I was, however, afraid. Deathly afraid. In fact I was completely terrified. I was trying to put off my decision until later, a learned reaction I had to the unknown.

There was no later. Not this time. This time, I could not put off a hard decision until later, as I was so practised at doing. I took a deep breath and made my choice, committing to my decision before I could hesitate any longer.

I hope this is not a mistake.

*