LIGHTNOVELONLINE 001, After Death (Part 1)
Chapter 1. After Death. ~A Lost Soul.
Alright. So, I’m confused.
I can’t really see anything. I can’t hear or smell or touch anything either. But I can think? So, time must be passing. Thing is, I was just-…
Huh… Oh, that’s really trippy. Because when I first got… here? I had a distinct set of memories leading straight up frame by frame until -Bam!- confusion, because the whole world changed in an instant. But now… my life before is like a dream I can’t really remember.
I know I was a person, a guy, a human, an adult. I can vaguely understand that those things are all different concepts, and some of them seem like they shouldn’t make sense to list out. But the context of this, lack of space, seems like it’s important to think about them.
I know I tried to be my definition of good. Or at least, I tried to try? I get the feeling that I wasted a lot of my potential and squandered a lot of opportunities. Yet, I also don’t feel that guilty about it as I sit here and think about it being over.
I remember love.
…
I remember crying and pain and emptiness, but oh do I remember love. But I can’t remember who. I can’t remember why or how. And that hurts.
That pisses me off. Oh! I remember rage now. I remember being afraid of my rage. But here, in this place? This place that has stripped me of my memories but not my feelings. This nonexistence has the audacity to let me feel love but not know love? Yeah, no.
“FUCK. THIS,” echoes in this suddenly confined space. I feel my heart beat, just once, but more clearly than I had ever imagined it could.
Welcome to your Initiation!
You’ve awoken your Mana Heart and are undergoing reclassification as an Entity.
“THAT SEEMS- That seems… That seems good? Does that mean I was a non-entity before? Not responding to questions yet I see,” I sigh. I sigh? I’m breathing? Okay, cool, I can breathe again, and-!! Yep, there goes another heartbeat. Still no sight, no smell, no sense of touch other than the feeling of breathing and the occasional thump from the heart. Still, better than nothingness.
I can’t really hear my voice, though, “I can somewhat speak.” Still, I’m starting to think that maybe this Initiation thing isn’t working out the way it’s supposed to. Perhaps being filled with rage wasn’t the best way to introduce myself.
“Sorry for yelling earlier. Is there anything I am supposed to do to help this process along? I’m kind of just sitting here breathing, it makes me feel kind of useless. Kind of twitchy.”
*Scanning Entity to reevaluate species.
“Wow. That’s uhh… You’re just going to say that right to my face. My perspective? Wait a second… I know I’m speaking, I can feel that, and that’s super weird without hearing anything else. But you’re not speaking. I’m just reading your words. That seems more wrong than speaking without a voice. How do I read without sight?”
*Scan complete. Most compatible species is {Dungeon Core}.
Welcome to your Initiation!
As a Dungeon Core, you have the vital task of refining Mana. An otherwise toxic non-dimensional substance that interacts with physical reality.
“You’re just going to ignore me completely, aren’t you? Also, what I’m doing now definitely feels like I’m interrupting your speech, which, really feels like it shouldn’t be possible. I just want to vent a little bit. Because somehow, I doubt that I’m going to actually get enough information about what the heck is going on.”
Your first task as a Dungeon Core is to select your {Type} of {Mob}. This will play a pivotal role in how you interact with Mana and how the other races interact with you. As a Warning, if all your Mobs are disconnected from your {Lifestream} you will be vulnerable to being subsumed by the other races. While your purpose of refining Mana is vital to the stability of the planet, your independence is not.
What. The. Fuck.
*Here is a selection of seven {Types} for you to choose from:
Leviathan
Irregulars
Legions
Juggernauts
Pyramid
Factory
Swarmhosts
*Choose from the options above.
And now, I have a list superimposed on my lack of vision.
One that, nope, isn’t going away. Sigh… Well, at least I can scroll back up to reread the earlier messages, so that’s good. And considering how willing it was to ignore me before; I don’t get the feeling that I’m in a time crunch or anything.
Now though, I have a choice to make. Because… I suspect that I ‘should’ be able to get more information about these {Types}, which is a strange instinct to have now, when before I felt absolutely nothing from this, {System}? Okay, yeah, it’s a system. Good to know.
Still, if I’m wrong about being able to get more details, I want to be relatively happy if I end up getting stuck with the first thing I think too hard about. So, yeah. List still superimposed on my lack of face? Check.
Hmm… Okay, so, first things first. Becoming ‘vulnerable to being subsumed’ seems like something I desperately want to avoid. So, I won’t pick- one of the options first. Even though it sounds like so fricking cool and oh boy do I really, really, “Really!-” want to pick it. I just can’t afford to deal with the consequences if the system just decides to jam it down my throat.
Next up on the not first pick, is the thing that seems like it might be too complicated to start off with. After that, I don’t really want to get stuck with not having the stability that is implied by one of the options. Then there is a similar problem of my favorite with another option, which leaves me with just three.
And I think, for the sake of safety, I’ll pick the boring option to test. Because all three seem really intriguing, but without a more in depth understanding, I’d rather get stuck with “{Legion}” if I can’t learn more about what each option means.
Legion: Your Mobs are many. You can still create Elites, but the vast majority of your power is split into whichever branching options you have available. When more Mob classes are unlocked, you can choose your distribution to a degree, but mostly you create a tide of fodder.
*Choose Legion? Y/N
Okay, perfect! It worked, and let’s see if I can just ignore that prompt. -Oh, now I’m getting paranoid. What happens if…
“I would like more information on the other {Types} before making my choice.”
*Which {Type} would you like to investigate next?
Oh, thank goodness. It doesn’t- No, I’m not even going to put that into thought. Just say, “Thank you. Tell me about {Leviathan},” since I don’t think I can afford to select it, I at least want to know and salivate over what I’m going to be missing out on.
Leviathan: Singular. The leviathan is a Mob of unparalleled power and grandeur. It is also almost impossible to disguise. Choices will have to be made about how you interact with the other races rather quickly, because by picking the leviathan you’ll be quickly put into contact with them. The leviathan grows quickly as your entire {Lifestream} is funneled into it, but should it become disconnected from you, the backlash will take time to recover from until you can start generating another.
Oh yeah. I love that more than anything… And I can’t pick it, no matter how much I want to. With no idea about these other races, picking a giant target, even if I can imagine so many various scenarios that it ‘could’ work out, if I’m too weak at any point, or grow into too much attention… yeah. No dice. Also, there is that term again, though it’s an elevated word somehow, but there’s this distant part of me that wants to call it something different… “Mako.”
I shake my thoughts to clear them, an otherworldly sensation without a head, “Could you tell me about {Factory} please?” I initially thought it would be too complicated to get stuck with, but maybe the description can change my mind.
Factory: You start off with a single kind of Mob, a builder. Using the means brought about by your {Affinity} and {Theme} these builders will create the Factory. And then more varieties of Mobs can be built from there with increasing sophistication, size, power, and efficiency. The Factory must grow.
*Choose Factory? Y/N
Okay, that actually sounds like a contender. Better than Legion at least. Though it sounds like the startup might be a bit more challenging, which is a concern, exponential growth does have an initialization issue. Hopefully there’s something that feels better, but I think I’d be willing to accept that one if all else fails, yeah.
Also, new terms! Affinity and Theme sound really fascinating. But, moving on! “May I know more details about {Pyramid}?”
Pyramid: Every mob is a brick in the grand pyramid. When enough of the weak gather, one among them becomes strong. When enough of the strong gather, they show their weakness and so a new strength must rise to the top. Thus, the great pyramid reaches the heavens upon the backs of the hordes and their masters.
*Choose Pyramid? Y/N
Also, better than Legion, in my opinion. Though aside from seeming to have a better start… I think I’d still prefer Factory. I guess, if nothing better takes my attention, I’ll have to really consider how concerned I am about getting started.
Swarmhost: Much like the juggernaut, the swarmhost is a powerful entity. Rather than said power being concentrated within itself, it instead serves as a {Wellspring} for an endless tide. Of note, the swarmhost starts off far weaker than the other {Types} but the replicative nature of the Mob allows for greater insurance against being subsumed.
*Choose Swarmhost? Y/N
So… I didn’t ask about that yet, but it was going to be my next question. Which does mean that the {System} is paying attention to me, at least somewhat. Some thoughts try to come to mind, but I do my best to push them aside and bury them. I don’t need to deal with- whatever it is that my mind wants to dredge up. So. Back to business.
…
Yeah. I could dance around this for a while, but honestly, there isn’t much point. It learned and understood my desire and presented me with the option that most fit my needs. “Yes, I choose {Swarmhost} as my mob type.”
Swarmhost selected! Now that you have your {Type} of {Mob} selected, your {Affinity} will be determined and your {Theme} will be created.
*Scanning for {Affinity}.
I take a deep breath to calm myself. And partially to pass the time. Now, it’s just a matter of waiting. I suppose, I should really think about the fact that I’m dead, or that I died, I suppose. Because this certainly doesn’t seem like being dead. But I don’t know, I guess it just doesn’t really feel all that important, especially with my memories being mostly gone. Just fragments remaining.
Though, as this ‘scan’ continues to take its sweet time, I begin to wonder what sort of monstrosities I’ll end up creating. Also, what sort of monstrosities they’ll create as well, because-
*Scan complete. Entity has no {Affinity}.
Wait… What? How do I not have {Affinity}? What is that supposed to mean? Also, did you interrupt my thoughts, you can do that?
Based on Soul Resonance, your {Theme} will be extrapolated from your {Affinity}.
Okay, so, back to not answering my questions, great. So, what sort of theme can I get without an affinity then?
{Taste from Old Angles} derived from {Eldritch} chosen!
*Perk Granted: Timeless Perspective
Uhh… So, that’s a good thing, I guess. I definitely wouldn’t want to summon Cthulhu if it would break my mind to do so. And I get a bonus? Sure. Still don’t really understand how not having an affinity means I have that one though.
{The Moonlit Restless Tide} derived from {Undeath} chosen!
Wait a second… First eldritch beings from beyond reality, then a horde of undead? Those feel like dreams I’ve had before, waking dreams of what I would want to get access to. Does no {Affinity} mean zero, or that all the affinities are balanced against each other, which means all of them?
{Embers of the Eternal Flame} derived from {Faith} chosen!
Okay, that one feels different somehow. It resonated from a different place… but I can’t quite place it.
{Grey Goo} derived from {Technology} chosen!
Now, I’m getting more concerned. I don’t think there should be this many errors, and I’m getting seriously freaked out by all these {Perks} I’m getting, because even when I concentrate on them, nothing happens.
{Akashic Records} derived from {Knowledge} chosen!
Maybe I’m just stuck in the selection loop and that’s why I can’t learn more.
{Lotus Casino} {Luck} chosen!
Okay, and now I’m more concerned about the {System} itself. Because not repeating information and condensing the output is one thing, but I really don’t think it should be doing it to this degree.
{Meteorite Shower} {Gravity}
Yep. That checks out.
*Escalating to higher Authority.