Oddly enough, the trip through the whirlpool was very uneventful. Dean thought that he would get swept around in the whirlpools rotation, but it was more like waking through a regular doorway.

Even his prone posture from being dragged in was magically corrected and he landed steadily on his feet.

'Out of the frying pan and into the fire, right?'

Dean was not looking forward to what was coming next. Meeting The Master and becoming something new were all things that others decided for him.

But what could he do?

In his earlier desperation, he hadn't noticed but as he was listening to the wraith-like figure speak he was able to detect the immense power it restrained beneath the surface.

It was like talking to a well-trained beast. Sure, it acted well-behaved, but you could never quite get rid of the nagging sensation that it might bite a chunk out of your leg.

Dean couldn't imagine how powerful The Master had to be to command such obedience from such a figure.

'Okay, I'm here, but there's not much to see,' Dean's head did a slow and methodical swivel; however, all he could see was an empty expanse of void.

'I was rushed in here, yet I still have to wait around. Tch, I knew I had enough time to ask a few questions.'

In times like this, the best way to work off stress and fear was to make jokes and snide quips.

Only then could he face the horrors of his situation.

After doing two complete swivels, Dean still didn't see anything in front of him so he turned around only to be greeted by the sight of another wraith-like figure sitting on a decidedly simple throne quietly watching him with those terrifying whirlpools.

If it wasn't for the drastic difference in power he sensed from this new figure he might have mistaken it for the other one he met.

'So this is The Master, huh?'

The Master wasted no time with introductions and with a flick of his wrist he made dozens of vertical tiles appear midair in an 8x8 grid directly to his left.

Each tile had a unique design of some fantasy creature on its back.

Some were easily recognizable depicting simple, yet intricately drawn caricatures of goblins, dragons, phoenixes, and various other popular mythological creatures.

However, others were far more obscure and weird.

One tile just depicted a series of tentacles with what appeared to be countless mouths covering their surfaces. If you looked closely you'd even be able to see saliva hanging from the lips of several of the mouths while others had tongues that lolled around hapzardly.

Another caricature displayed a bloodshot giant eyeball with bat wings on either side.

'Oh my god, I really don't want to do this,' Dean unconsciously took a step back after seeing the options available.

As if sensing that Dean had observed all of the tiles, they flipped over and began to erratically switch places with another.

Before long, all of the tiles were randomized and now Dean could only see the plain, black backsides of the tiles.

He glanced at The Master hoping to get some hint as to which tile he should choose but one glance at those whirlpools made him turn his head back towards the tiles.

'I doubt he'd help anyway.'

Seeing no distinct difference between any of the tiles, Dean went with his gut instinct and picked the tile at the bottom right corner.

'Please give me anything but that eyeball or tentacle monster,' Dean looked impatiently at the tile and waited for it to turn over.

The tile unceremoniously turned over to reveal what appeared to be a plain round face that only had two small round eye holes and a larger one for the mouth.

This tile was so plain and unassuming that Dean had overlooked it earlier while examining the more eye-catching designs that he'd seen on the other tiles.

Doppelganger(Medium Monstrosity)

Base Stats at Lvl 1

Strength: 11

Dexterity: 18

Constitution: 14

Intelligience: 11

Wisdom: 12

Charisma: 14

Racial Abilities

Doppel: Polymorph into a small or medium humanoid, or back into its true form. Stats, other than size, are the same in each form. Any equipment being worn or carried isn't transformed. Reverts back to true form in the event of death.

Read Thoughts: Read the surface thoughts of one creature within 20 feet.

Resistances

Charmed: 100%

'Thank goodness,' Dean released the breath he hadn't noticed he'd been holding. 'I could do a lot worse I suppose.'

From the description, it seemed that Dean was rather lucky. Being a doppelganger, while still terrible, was a lot better than the vast majority of the other options presented.

Heck, if he wanted to, he could even become human again. It wouldn't be his real human body nor would it be his true form, but beggars can't be choosers.

Wasting no time The Master flicked his wrist once more, and a smaller 4*4 grid of vertical tiles appeared and began floating to his right.

There were no caricatures on the face of these tiles, but rather they were numbered from 1 to 16 in what appeared to be common Times New Roman font.

All of the tiles flipped over revealing identical black backsides that soon began erratically swapping places with another.

He seemed to treat his words like gold because rather than explaining what all of these new tiles meant, he just erected another longer tile that simply said "Boons".

'Sigh, silent characters like this always get on my nerves. I mean would it kill you to speak a bit more?'

Staying true to the method he used to pick his new race, Dean picked the bottom right tile once more and waited to see what his new Boon would be.

'What is a Boon anyway? Just one of many things I still don't understand.'

The tile flipped over revealing the number 8.

Boon Acquired Doppel ability greatly enhanced.

"That's it?" Up till now, Dean had heeded the first wraith-like being's advice and restrained himself from speaking, but the sheer disappointment in his Boon selection made him slip up.

If The Master heard or was upset by Dean's question he made no indication.

He simply flicked his wrist once more and Dean began to dissimilate into countless particles that were immediately swept away to some unknown destination.

**********************************

The Master watched Dean scatter into countless particles that were quickly whisked away to be placed into a new world capable of accommodating the creature's new form.

With a wave of his hand, all of the floating creature tiles to his left turned over revealing that they were all the same.

Every one of them sported the same plain and unassuming round face that represented a doppelganger.

In quick succession, the Boon tiles were similarly turned over revealing that they all shared the same number 8 on their faces.

Shockingly, the entire selection process was a farce!

"This is the truth of things," Releasing a profoundly tired sigh, The Master spoke for the first time in ages. "Oftentimes freedom of choice is nothing more than an illusion."