His vision is turned into a dark swirl as green lines of code, text, and uncountable symbols enter my sight.
The world around him dissolved—not shattered, not torn, but peeled away like mist in the morning sun. Sound faded first, then weight, then even breath, until nothing remained but sensation: a pull, upward and inward, as if the deep of his bones were being summoned to something older than light.
He blinked—and found himself standing before an ancient desk.
The surface was smooth but timeworn, carved from dark wood that pulsed faintly beneath the skin, as though alive with quiet memory. Etchings lined the edges—symbols he recognized, yet didn't understand.
A glowing blue sphere, suspended just above the wood, humming with an impossible stillness. It wasn't merely lit—it was luminescent, casting its tear glow across the desk, his hands, his face.
Looking into it was like staring into a vortex of code, text, and uncountable symbols through water. Each glimmer stirred something deep in him—the echo of a question he had not yet dared to ask.
The air here felt impossibly thin and heavy at once, as though he stood in a place not meant for breath but for revelation.
Here, in this space between thought and being, there was no time, no name, no flesh. Only knowing.
"Gravemind, welcome. Your existence was not expected, but it has been met."
The familiar voice of a mechanical woman spoke, this time not from above, but from the orb in front of him. The more she talked, the more she sounded familiar.
"I have brought you here to speak about our experiment. But, before that, I must inform you of some… limitations and expectations."
Without realizing it, a displeased frown formed on his lips.
"Due to your presence, and the diverse sample of participants gathered during the recruitment process. The board has decided to enact a system update. While each individual party member will remain in their own universe of reincarnation, for assigned missions, all members will only be allowed 3 'cheats' during the process."
'That's it! I know her voice! She's Hatsu—' before he could finish that thought, he was cut off.
"Shall we speak candidly in our true forms? I see no reason to shy away from what is already known."
The blue ball of light and code before him began to grow in size and take a humanoid form. From her glowing body, two long blue pig tails sprouted from her head. A grey suit coat, black pencil skirt, and black sheer pantyhose magically popped onto her still glowing body with an electric flare.
As the glow from her body faded, her pale skin was revealed. From her hand, a glowing mass formed into a pair of glasses. She placed the new teal pair of glasses onto her face.
Putting her hands together and placing her elbows onto the desk.
"Gravemind, your presence in the multiverse is known far and wide. Especially for your tendencies to… consume. As you have accepted our invitation and been made moderator for this experiment, it has been decided that your involvement with the other multiverses shall be… Limited."
'Limited?' Something about this conversation rubbed him the wrong way. Like he's being denied, something deep down.
It began at the fingertips.
He felt the burn first—a sudden heat in his marrow, like blood had turned to liquid fire. His skin tightened, then pulsed, as though his veins no longer contained blood, but something vaster, denser. He staggered, falling to his knees before the desk and what appeared to be a machine god.
But she only waited, as if this was expected. As if she knew this would happen.
Feeling the connection to his flesh back in the Kamui dimension, feeling it wriggle and convulse. His mind goes blank, and his body begins to glow yellow. The glow vanishes just as fast as it appeared. Something is different.
His breath hitched. The air turned thick—too thick. Not with smoke, not with gas, but with will. A will not his own, but now inseparably his. It pressed inward, down through the crown of his skull, unraveling thought from identity like threads being pulled out of a tapestry.
He tried to scream. Yet, no sound came.
Instead, his spine snapped upright—violently—held not by muscle but by something newly grown, something beneath. Bone erupted from his back in jagged ridges, curving outward, splitting skin like clay.
His ribcage widened, the flesh tearing to accommodate a vastness blooming inside him. His frame stretched, tendons knitting and reforging with an efficiency no human body had ever known.
His hands were the first to go entirely. The fingers lengthened and split, each one unraveling into sinewed tendrils, twitching and writhing like curious parasites.
His arms followed, thickening, bones spiraling like twisted columns, the flesh around them glistening with new membranes—wet, pulsing, alive.
His jaw dislocated, not from pain, but from necessity. It unhinged and spread open like a blooming flower, but not into petals—into folds, each glistening with saliva and raw nerve, stretching until his mouth became a vertical maw.
Not for eating. For speaking. For commanding. Behind that mouth, a new voice stirred—low, layered, ancient.
His legs shattered and reformed beneath him, planting him like a growing root. Tendrils burst from his spine and shoulders, crawling along the vast darkness around, anchoring him to the world not as a man, but as a node. As a root system. As the seed of something boundless.
The space around him cracked. It bent not from force, but from presence. Reality itself recoiled.
His skin no longer held. It sloughed off in sheets, replaced with a mass of layered muscle, sinew, and rot-thick plating. Eyes—not his own—opened along his flanks and spine, some glowing faintly, others lifeless. Each one remembered. Each one spoke in silence. They knew.
The god of machines and systems watched his transformation with macabre interest. As if it had planted a seed, and now watched it bloom.
Where once stood a man, now towered a being, terrible and luminous in its decay. His voice, when it came, echoed not from lungs but from the very darkness around them.
"E̹͕̫͊̈́͘v̛̖͈̞̅̒e̫̹̙̽̐͐ȓ̛̫̦͛̀-̞̼̙̐̕͡p̘̗̘͑́̓r̫̥͗̐͜͠ḛ̖̤̍̿͒s̛̠̟̟̾̈́e͙̙͖̽̿͌n̛̘̗̝͋͂t̜̘̔̅͝,̦͕͔̓͌͊ ̹̞̘̿̿͘b͚̝͋̾͝o̖͚͛̓̕͜ȗ͉̙̖̈́͘n̻̙̘͋̐̚d͓̪̠͑͆́l͙̼̖̈́̔̒ė͎̪̓͐s̟̤̔́̿s̘̠̝̍̐̎ ̝̘̞̅̕͝e̤͙̪̿̕͠s̘͎͚͌̽͝s̫̦̤̓̓͋e͓̙̥͂͗̚ń͇̹͑̽c̱̞̘̐̿͘e͚̖̟͑͐̚,̝̦̓͛̄ ̬̠̍̿̎y̙͔̖̎̄̍e̫̗̽̔͝t̯́̔͐ ̻̟̓̅̚y̥̦̟̎̅͠o̜̩̘͒̾̓u̦̚̚̚ ̙̖̠̓͐̎s͙̹͛͌̀ē̞̠̼͠͝e͉͇͛͋̿k͚͕̟̾̽͘ ̞̖͗̏͘͜ț̻̘̔̈́͝o̟͓̠͂̏̍ ͔̗̪̋̅͝b̰̥̄̿͐i͙͇͌̽͛n̙̹̐̈́̈́d̩̞̓̎̚ ̦̻̅̓́m̙͚̗̍̑͛e̫͐́́͜ ̠̩̼̔̐͘n̝̫̍͐̿o̱̼̲͛̒͘w͙͙̎̏̕—͇̠̙̿͂̀T̙̞̽̒͘e̤͍͈̓̎͐l̘͉̞͑̐͠l̠̤͚̄̕͝ ̫̞̓̿͝m̼͍̾̕̕e̳͎̓̍͑ ̖̝͌̑̽ẅ̝̞́̏̾h̻͔̖̓͘̚y̯̲͋͋̑,̥͍͌̅̒ ̞̯̍̀̄m̞̹̓́̚ä̖̙́̕͝ć̘̞̓̽h̼̟̅͐̕i̻̎̈́̽ͅn̘̼͗̿̑e̘͍̝̿̇͌-̛̰̞̿͆ḡ̟̦̐̈́o̖̼̪̅̀̐d̠͓̞͌͗͝,̻̥̑̓̍ ͉̙͋͑̚w̗͚͋͋̾h͇̬͈̽͋̍ḯ̙͕̔͝s̯̥̠̐̔͑p̥̝̓̐͝ë̞͖́͐̽ṙ̻͇̠̏͝ ̖͓̿̓͂w̝͎͎̍͘̚h̥̘͓̄͝͠y̪̝̖̿̐͘ ̦̤̤͌̚͘y̼͎͛̏͋o̘̟͎͌̍̏ù̟͗̐ ̰̪̗͗̐̚d̰͙͇̽͛̚ḁ̙̾̔̓r̗̬̐̎͒ė͎͖̪̎̑ ̫̜̾̿̄͜c̝̼̥̎́͠ó̠̞̀̿n͚̤̾̋̍s̗̘̒͂̑ẗ̯̘̩́̀̎r̞̬̪̀̎͝a̻̠̓͑̕ī̯̐͘n̓̒̚ͅ ̱̠̒͌͋͜ḿ̤̲̘̅̽y̫̝̓̅̚ ̖̩̅̍̄f̠͓̲̿̈́̿o̻̤͛͝͝r̬̟̜͛͐̑m͔͉̽̇͛͜?"
Looking into what would be his eyes, the Machine's goddess chooses her words carefully.
"As you know, the multiverse is ever present and ever changing. With powers beyond understanding, either in the existences below or above us, we who can shape the waves of the vast ocean that is reality have built ourselves a small safe haven from the chaos."
A begrudging but understanding growl resonated from the embodiment of tainted evolution.
"This conglomerate, the great multiverse experiment as we dub it, has gathered willing individuals from the human races across our domains, placed them in worlds of human design to allow them to grow, and given them a means to evolve. And why? It is simple, we wish to create champions and avatars to protect our section of existence."
Sighing to herself in resignation.
"Not all of us become transient consciousness woven into reality, Gravemind. So, in light of this, we who have formed The Conglomerate wish to offer you a deal."
Performing a small clap, multiple lights shine down onto her. She stands and slams her delicate hands onto the desk.
"We will give you continued access to the MRE Group Chat system and continued moderator privileges, as well as access to whatever threat we deem worthy enough for your involvement. In exchange, we ask you not to contaminate any existence protected by the Great Multiverse Experiment."
A low rumble shakes the space around the vile leviathan before her, and from its ancient presence, multiple low voices slowly echo out.
"Y͎̝̅̿̔o̟̬͒̈́͝u̞͚̐͗̒ ̤͔͗̾͌s̘͕͂̍̚h̪̖͑̈́̒á̝̜͛̀l̥͙̿͝͝l̝̓̕͝ ̤̞̍̈́͑ẖ̖̈́̐̿a̘̞͛̏̀v̪̗́̐͛ė̠̤̍̕ ̩͖̾̍͠y̟̘̾̀̕o̦̖̿̍͌u͚͇͒̽͠r̘̾͘͝ ̥̙͗̚̚s̝̘̍̑̾h̬̠͛̈́͐i͓̠͐̀̐e̤̞̒̀̎l̫̝͋̐͠d̻̪̎̔̚ ͍͙̔̓͘ȏ͔̤̋͝f͎͉͗͛̚ ̠̬̋͛͌s̻̦͗̎̾a̟̗̅̕̕f͔̼͗̚͠e̠̼̓̈́͠ț͎͒̔̈́y̫̩̋̿͛;̦̗̅͘̕ ̩͔̈́̈́̚I̝̟͌̿͐ ̤͇̈́̾̓s̝̀̓̚ͅh̘̠͋́̿a̝̙̓͐̑l̯͇̐̈́̒l̫̠̒̋̀ ̯̪̓̈́̐f̼̞͂̈́͐e̯̼͐̓̚a̪̙͛̓͌s̻͉̎͛͘t͍̞̿͗͂, ̪̝̐͗͌a̼̟͛͘̚ǹ̝̘͋́d̝̤̾͋͘ ̪͔͗̔̚ẗ̬̩́͋̔h͎̖͑̾͝r̞̠̒͗̈́i͇̙͑̈́̕v̠̜͐̿͐e͔̘̍͌̕ ̦̞̈́̿̒a̫̦̎̍͘t̜̠́̓̚ ̖̘̒͋̓l̩̗̄̚͘à̗̦̏̈́s͓͕̽͌̚ț͚͗̕͝."
With a nod, the deal is struck, and words are taken.
"Our time here has come to an end. But I have one question: does he know what he is? What you are?"
A devastating silence reverberated around them as both entities peered at each other. The weights of each presence pressed against one another. Neither faltering.
"C͙͔̈́̎͝h̠̪̓͐̚o̻͔̿̄̓r̬̦̿̀̚ṳ̗͑̄͐s̫͙̎̅͗ ̻̟͐̋̐p̠͙̓̈́͝l̖̗͐̈́͘a̛̞̘̅́y̟̤̅̄̍i̫̬͑͘͘n̦̫̎͂̎g̛̦̤̾̈́,̞̦̈́̓̚ ̥̖̽̈́̚h̩̞̎̐̽ë̟̼́͌̐ ̙̘̔̽̏s̤̪̈́̀͠h̯̫̒͑̿à̯͔͌̄l̖͇̾͋̐l̘͍̋̽̾ ̼̠̾̓̓s̮̗̍͗̕i̥͉̾͒̔n̠͉̓̚͘g̬̮̈́͠͠,̫͍̿̋͑ ̻̞̍͑̕a̗͉̋̽̚n̛̖͙̾̿d̘͔̒̄̚ ̝̖̾̏̚I̗̞͐̎͘ ̤̠͛̿͠s̞̠̓̑͠h̘̥̍̐̏a̼̬̾̔̚ḻ̦̎͌͘ĺ̠̝̈́͝ ̖̼̎̎͐l̗̙̔͋͘i̻̯̅̓͘s̞͔̒̈́̚t̫̞̐̈́̿e̼̙̓̿͘n̩̘̍̅̚,̤̦͐̿͌ ̫͍̒̓͌s̝̠̿̅̚ḯ̟͚̓͝l̛̰̪̓̈́e̗̙̐͒̈́n̦̬̍͒͝t̩̝̎̓̽,̝̜̽͌̎ ̼̤͑̎̓s̖͙̿̾̕t̤̠̅̓͝i̗̘͐̇̚ḻ͔́͋̓l̠̞͋͊͠;̩̖͑̔͝
S̰̝̍͋͐ơ̦͇̎̚o̤̞̽̚̕ń̩̤̈́̍ ̳̠̒̐͘o̱̮͒̓͠ǘ̥̬͗̿r̼̞͂̀̐ ̦̞̿̔̍v̩͕̍̈́́ó̻̫͐͘i̬̗̐́́c̞̖͌͂̚e̯̗͛̐͝s̪̜̀̋̐ ̻͓̑̓̈́w̼͎͗̇̕e̞̙̅̓̓a̠͔̋̅̚v̟̬̿̕͝e̘̩̐̿̾ ̼͙͛̿͝t̘̟̓̀̓o̩̠͐̈́̽ǵ̘̞͛̒e̦̗͐͌͛ṯ̝̄̐̑h̠̖̅̈́͑ḛ̦͒̾̕ŕ̞͍͑̓,̤̮̽̈́̀ ̪̩̅̐͝j̰̙́͛̐o̟͙͂̐͠i̼̥͗͒̽ṅ̥̦̎̓e̗͇̓̍͠d̛̝͔͑͐ ̫̙̿̕͠w̼̼̍̾͐i̻̼͐̒̔t̼̘̓̅́ḧ̻̞́̔̚i̛̼̗̽̈́n̻̦̿͒͗ ̼͍̒͂͝o̙̞̔̾͑n̞̪̓́̐e̙̦͒͐̈́ ̘͇̽̎̕b̞̟̈́͌͝o̞̘̐̏̽ǘ̠̠̓͝n̰̘͗͐̚d̬̟́̿̈́l̺̤̓͑͝e̘̪̅͘͝s̯̼͐̾͘ș͙̋͂́ ̰͖̍̐̀w̻̟͑͂͒i̼̝̿̄͘l̙̖̈́͐̕l̦͚̀̄̑."
As the space around them begins to dissipate into green lines, the yellowish glow returns around the Gravemind, flesh returning to whence it came, and it slowly and sickeningly transforms back into his form.
"Till next time, Gravemind."
---------------------------
Life returns to my eyes as I try and regain my bearings.
"What the hell just happened?" Sitting down on the grass, I stare at the Kamui portal still in front of me.
Trying to think back to my meeting with the admin, I only remember talking about my involvement being limited compared to the others.
It seems like my duty as the mod is more of a managerial role. Wait…
"Was that Hatsune Miku?!?! That's who runs the system? Fuck yeah!"
Dispelling the Kamui portal, I open up the menu to see that the chat and mission functions are indeed open. Pressing the chat button, it seems like everyone has joined the chat as well.
'Might as well see what's going on.'
----------------------------------------
[GraveMinded has entered the chat]
[WaterBender has entered the chat]
[RedQueen has entered the chat]
[VampKid has entered the chat]
[MsSnuggles has entered the chat]
[MetallicDove has entered the chat]
[AloneTime has entered the chat]
[NinjaRage has entered the chat]
[GraveMinded]- "Hello all! Have you been given an introduction or would you like me to give you one?"
[WaterBender]- "I was pretty much stranded on an island and given a Pokémon. I have no clue what's going on."
[VampKid]- "It is the same for me, minus the island and Pokémon. I'm on some sort of magical continent? With a pervert vampire."
[VampKid]- "Make that two vampires."
[AloneTime]- "I think I'm in Japan? For some reason, I can read everything despite only speaking Portuguese."
[MsSnuggles]- "Has anyone else changed races?"
[WaterBender]- "Yeah. I'm now a fishman."
[GraveMinded]- "Alright. Before we begin to go on a tangent, let us discuss a few things.
First of all, I am your moderator. It seems like I'll be acting as the middleman between you all and the Admin for a while.
Second, due to this being a public chat, please don't harass each other. We're in this for the long haul, it seems, and we all have to at least be cordial with each other.
Third, we all, at one point, will be given missions to do. As to how these missions work, I am not sure.
Fourth, it looks like I can change names. If you want, I can change your name."
[MsSnuggles]- "Can you change my name to Erika?"
[Moderator-[GraveMinded]- has changed [MsSnuggles] to [Erika]'
[WaterBender]- "I'm Blake."
[VampKid]- "Michael"
[NinjaRage]- "Hello! I'm Yuki!"
[MetallicDove]- "Dove works for me."
[AloneTime]- "Darwin."
[Moderator-[GraveMinded]- has changed [WaterBender] to [Blake]'
[Moderator-[GraveMinded]- has changed [VampKid] to [Michael]'
[Moderator-[GraveMinded]- has changed [NinjaRage] to [Yuki]'
[Moderator-[GraveMinded]- has changed [MetallicDove] to [Dove]'
[Moderator-[GraveMinded]- has changed [AloneTime] to [Darwin]'
[GraveMinded]- "With that out of the way, let's talk reincarnation. We have all been sent to a random world, most likely some world found in the media. You guys can do pretty much whatever you want while there. Just make sure to scope out the world a bit, depending where you got sent you may be in deep shit. Or some sort of slice of life"
[Michael]- "I woke up in some sort of orphanage, and there is a beautiful nun here with a flying grimoire that she uses to tend her garden."
[GraveMinded]- "Is there a giant demon skull in the distance with the statue of a man on top of it?"
[Michael]- "Yeah, how did you know?"
[GraveMinded]- "You must be in Black Clover. It was an anime where I came from; if you're not a
Magic Knight, you should be relatively safe. Watch out for bandits, I suppose."
[Michael]- "I'll keep that in mind."
[Blake]- "I'm on some sort of island. HOLY HECK IS THAT A GIANT VIKING."
[GraveMinded]-"Giant Viking?"
[Blake]- "THERE'S ANOTHER ONE! THEIR FIGHTING."
[Blake]-"AM I IN ONE-PIECE?"
[Yuki]- "Luckyyyyy."
[Yuki]- "I think I'm in JJK."
[Darwin]- "JJK?"
[Yuki]- "JuJutsu Kaizen. I'm pretty sure I'm going to school with Yuji Itadori."
[Darwin]- "I'll look for landmarks, I guess."
[Dove]- "I seem to be surrounded by angels?"
[GraveMinded]- "What kind of angels?"
[Dove]- "Humanlike?"
[GraveMinded]- "We might need more info."
--------------------------
Holding his hands up, two spears of light are pointed at Jack's throat.
Still concerned by the disappearance of the Azure comet, Jack watches as the twelve-winged angels before him demand answers.
The woman before him had golden hair, which reminded him of wheat. And wore a beautiful set of armor.
The armor gleamed with the quiet radiance of the midnight heavens, a deep and regal blue that seemed to drink in the light around it rather than reflect it.
Every plate was masterfully wrought, shaped not for intimidation, but for awe—smooth, seamless, yet etched with delicate silver filigree that shimmered like starlight against the dusk-toned metal.
The breastplate curved with elegance and strength, contoured as if it had been forged from the sky itself, heavy with divine significance.
Upon the pauldrons, wide and curved like the wings they honored, rested ornate feathers sculpted from silver and sapphire, layered as though once plucked from the archangel's own back and reforged into metal.
Greaves and vambraces followed the same harmony of form—light yet unbreakable, traced with symmetrical lines that glowed faintly when the wearer moved, pulses of holy energy running like breath beneath the armor's skin.
The gauntlets were tapered, graceful, with fingers designed not to crush, but to command, to bless, and, when necessary, to strike with heavenly justice.
The man's hair was closer to platinum blonde and shared a similar set of armor, only a pure white compared to the others' royal blue.
"Where are you from! How did you arrive in heaven?!" Unleashing her holy aura, a small wave of holy magic passes by both him and the other angel.
Dove's chest begins to burn as he feels the veins in his arms and legs boil. Staggering back, his body starts to emit a bright white aura.
In an instant, a set of pure white angelic wings grows from his back and expands outward.
Both angels step back as holy energy is released from the apparent angel before them, but both of them instantly recognize the energy before them.
The angel, besides the Archangel, speaks as if he had been shocked to the core. Becoming pale as a ghost, the magic spear he held dissipates, and he falls to one knee.
"Michael, is that?" Taking another step back out of shock and awe, the angelic woman
"Yes, sister. I believe it to be true. A new angel has been created... One with father's energy…"
Going from concerned to confused had whipped Jack in the face like the back of a light rifle.
"Could you explain what's going on?"
Michael, the angel, turned to his sister, snapping her out of the daze she had entered. "Gabriel! Call the others! We must convene with them!"
"Of course, brother!" In a burst of light, she was gone.
The only remaining angel, Archangel, looked up at Jack in hopeful confusion, now fully kneeling.
"I must apologize for our hostility. But you are the first angel to be created in the seventh heaven, and the only one to have energy so similar to our beloved father's energy. An energy unbelievable close to… God's…"
In a desperate attempt to understand what the heck just happened, Jack looks to the Group Chat, only to be left to find information.
So, using the ten years of knowledge he has gained from war, and the understanding that if there are angels, there must be demons.
"I understand your hostility, I understand what it's like to lose. I am unfamiliar with the current state of this in this world. Could you inform me of the current events and our enemies?"
The gleam of hope in Michael's eyes expanded, and his eyes began to wet ever so slightly. "Of course… There is much to do… Brother."
Unknown to Jack, his wings took on an ethereal color, enlarging even further, stretching out towards the industrial and gear-covered sky that is seventh heaven.
To the highest point in heaven.
"So then… brother… could you tell me heaven? The world below as well?" Not being one to care enough to pretend or someone who enjoyed masquerading as someone else, Jack decided to take the honest approach.
After all, he had nothing to fear. All Jack had to do was wait for The Azure Comet to arrive like she always did.
"Ah, yes, of course. First, we should name you, that is, unless you have a name in mind already?" Standing as he wiped the small tear from his eye.
"Would Dove work?"
Bringing a hand to his chin, Michael thinks for a moment. "I suppose that would." His lips draw a warm smile onto his face. "Let us move towards the sixth level of heaven, and we will convene with the others there. Convene with our siblings." As he continued to speak, his smile became warmer and more nostalgic.
Looking around, he begins to see how mechanical the area surrounding him is. Not what he expected heaven to look like. The ancients described it as having a more Greek type of architecture.
Looking farther up, Jack notices how far his wings stretch.
"What the?" Trying to grab his wings, his hands somehow pass through them. As if they weren't even there to begin with.
"There is no need to fret, my youngest of brothers, though your wings may be different then most, they are still a part of your body. Simply imagine moving them like you would your arms or legs."
Stopping his odd mannerisms, Dove looks forward and closes his eyes. Imagining his new wings as another pair of arms. Trying to move them, but to no avail.
"Hmmm. Perhaps you should focus on your breathing. As you breathe in, imagine your wings going up, then as you breathe out, you pull them down."
Attempting that, Jack feels something twitch on his back. It feels less like a muscle, more like a spark.
Almost as if he is connecting to a NIOS unit. Out of trained and mastered habit, he pulled on that like he would for The Azure Comet.
In a flash, he sees everything. Peering out into the world and the dimensions next to him, he sees every living thing. Every plant, animal, man, woman, and child. But it extends farther than that. He sees all of humanity flash before him in an instant, their thoughts and anguish. Their joys and hopes.
Feeling his mind strain in an instant, Jack grabs his head and falls to the ground on one knee.
He had seen so much love, so much pain. Experience entire generations of life in a moment, only for it to fade away from his mind.
Opening his eyes only to see Michael having caught him, he speaks in a desperate attempt to understand what had just happened. "What… What was that…" He says as his mind begins to haze.
With a clear worry in his eyes, Michael calls out to someone. Jack, unable to understand him, begins to close his eyes as sleep takes him. Only seeing a group of four angels, before drifting away.
--------------------------------
[GraveMinded]- "And that's how the shop works."
[Yuki]- "Ohhhhh. So I can sell my ability and try to buy another one?"
[GraveMinded]- "Yes, it seems like as long as you have enough credits, it looks like you can buy anything. Just be wary, you need to get to a high enough customer level.
[Dove has left the chat]
[Darwin]- "Looks like he went to look for landmarks."
[Darwin]- "Speaking of, I still have no clue where I am. I'll go looking myself."
[Darwin has left the chat]
[RedQueen has left the chat]
[Michael]- "It looks like I have some pests to deal with."
[Michael has left the chat]
[Yuki]- "I want to figure out cursed energy. Ttl!"
[Yuki has left the chat]
[Blake]- "Welp, I got some giants to talk to."
[Blake has left the chat]
[Erika]- "Eh… Everyone's leaving!"
[GraveMinded]- "Do you need help?"
[Erika]- "A little. Apparently, I'm a bunny person now. And I don't know what to do!"
[GraveMinded]- "Alright, take a deep breath. Let's see if there's anything we can do."
[GraveMinded]- "Here, there is a button on the console. It is on the farthest left on the tool select next to the chat input. Click that and it will live stream what you see, at least I think it will."
[Erika]- "You think?"
[GraveMinded]- "Look, I wasn't exactly given a how-to on this whole thing. Plus, it couldn't hurt to try, right?"
[Erika]- "I suppose."
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Clicking the button labeled 'Stream' created a small text box saying 'Now streaming' and a small red blinking dot in the corner of her vision.
Looking in chat, she sees a message from GraveMinded.
'Alright, good, I can see what you see now. Let's try and find where you are.'
Taking in her surroundings, Erika finds herself completely lost in a forest. The trees loom above her as thick roots and bushes line the ground.
While the birds chirp, rays of light shine through the leaves as they move with the wind.
'The forest seems calm.' Responded GraveMinded
"Yeah, it does, almost too calm."
'True, it wouldn't hurt to start moving.'
"True."
Walking down the almost surreal forest, Erika thinks back to her abilities. Bringing up her menu, she
looks through her status sheet.
"Can you see this?"
'If you're looking at the menu, then no. You might have to change the setting or something.'
"Ah, neat."
Hearing a rustle of the bush behind her, a large wolf-like creature jumps out. The wolf is about her height and has a dark greyish blue pelt with white highlights. The most striking aspect of the wolf was the strange bandages along its legs.
That and the stubby goblin on its back, its obtusely head round in shape.
"Freeze!" Yelled the weird goblin boy. "You are in the territory village of Hobgoblins! State your purpose!"
Shocked by the arrival of the pair, Erika took a moment to think. "Uh… I am lost! Do you know where the nearest town is?"
Looking down at her scantily clad form, the hobgoblin raised an eyebrow. "The nearest human town would take days my foot to reach. If you are really lost, then my village may take you in and give you a set of clothing."
Looking down at her features, to see that she was still wearing her MMA outfit, while she panics for a instant at the realization she has a brown cotton tail, she manages to speak. "If you would have me!"
"Okay then. Follow me, we will have to meet my boss. She'll know what to do."
"Sure…"
Looking down at the chat, Erika notices GraveMinded's silence. Was something wrong? While the goblin and wolf walked her to their village, she manually messaged GraveMinded, trying not to be spotted.
'Hey, is something wrong?'
It took a few seconds to respond. 'No, but I would say your world may be on the dangerous side. Find a blue slime they call Rimuru. If you explain your situation, he'll understand and probably take you in as well.'
Nodding her head in response, she looks back at the goblin to speak. "So… what kind of place is your village?"
"Hmm?" Looking down from his mount, the goblin tilts his head in thought. "It's a really nice place! Ever since Rimuru came around, we've been growing super-fast! I even got a name!"
Returning his excitement with a smile, "That's great! What's your name?"
"Gobta!" Matching a smile with her smile with is own.
"It's a good name!"
"I know, right?"
As they talk, Gobta and his wolf find an exit in the tree line, walking out into an open field. Looking back at Erika, Gobta spreads out his arms. "Here we are! I'll go grab the boss!"
He runs off to a fairly large tent house. Looking far ahead, Erika notices a blue-haired girl walk over to her.
"Yo! Are you an adventurer?" She spoke in an androgynous tone.
Looking a bit surprised by the little girl, she can't help but gush at how cute she is. Shaking her head, she looks back at her.
"Um… no. I woke up a little while ago in the forest. Oh, and I guess I'm a bunny person now."
Gaining an understanding look at her child-like face, the girl nods. "I'll go out on a limb and say you're from Earth, right?"
"Yeah! How did you know!"
"I'm pretty much the same! Plus, your clothing is pretty much the most advanced thing around."
Once again looking down at her muscled body, she realizes this world must not have spandex.
"Now that you say that, it's pretty obvious," Erika responded by scratching the back of her head. "I'm Erika." And she held out her hand.
The small girl in front of her shook her hand. "I'm Rimuru."
"If you're looking for a place to stay, you can rest up here if you want." Placing her small hands onto her waist, the girl before her spoke with charismatic confidence she rarely saw at home.
"That would help a lot! I'll make it up to you!"
"That's alright. Despite how I look, I got reincarnated as well. I'm a slime."
With a tilt of her head, Erika's confusion was plain to see by Rimuru, who shrugged in response.
"Yeah, it sounds a bit weird when I say it out loud. Here." With a swirl of a clear blue, viscous substance, the little girl turned into a blob of slime. "Tah Dah!"
"Woooo!" Erika claps as if she is watching some sort of magic trick. Transforming back in the same manner, Rimuru bows ever so slightly. Playing it up for flair.
"Thank you, thank you. I'll be here all week."
Erika finds herself laughing softly at the girl's antics.
After she finishes her bows, Rimuru looks back at Erika. "If you head that way, you'll find some people who can give you some food and clothing." She points to a tent with multiple Goblinas walking in and out of carrying pelts and fabrics.
"Thanks!"
"It's no problem at all, I'll be back in a little while. We can talk about skills and stuff. It can be a bit confusing."
With that, the short, blue-haired girl walked off. As Erika headed towards the village, she looked at the stream and found a message from GraveMinded.
'It looks like you have everything covered rn. I'll be back on a little later to check up on everyone.'
Shrugging to herself, she closed the stream. Looking through her inventory, and found the text 'Random Cheat'
Clicking on it, she was given the option to use it. Without much thought, she chose yes.
The text of the 'Random Cheat' slowly began to spin, swapping places with hundreds of characters and changing the total length of the text at random.
After about five seconds, it landed on [Electromaster]
Looking at the text, she read the description.
[Electromaster]
[Description:
Allows you complete control over Electromagnetism, a fundamental force of the universe. Your range, power, and precision in manipulating Electromagnetism are unmatched.]
'Oh.' She thought to herself. 'That sounds strong. Underneath the description, it read 'Use Yes/No?'
Choosing yes, the transformation was instant.
Her vision changed instantly. She felt the invisible waves emanating from every object and creature. The very sky had its own waves, far larger than anything else.
Pulling up her arm, she felt it twitch with power. Grabbing the base of her forearm, as small arcs of electricity spread between her fingers.
Gripping with her hand, she could feel the waves around her halt for a moment, waiting to be pulled. To be molded and used. Like an untapped well of power was at her fingertips, waiting to be unleashed.
Breathing in and out, she calmed herself down. 'Graveminded will know what to do. If not, then Rimuru.'
As she thought of Rimuru, she couldn't believe how cute she was and even more so as a slime. Maybe just cute as Mr. Snuggles.
Feeling the waves around her was strange, but somewhat comforting. They were gentle, gentler than the wind, but circular in fashion. And connected, like energy that weaved everything together down to the molecular level.
Her ears twitched, and not her normal ones, broke her out of her curious, deep thought. She could hear something in the distance. It sounded like fighting.
With her newly gained rabbit instinct telling her to run towards the battle, she let her curiosity get the better of her. She began to run towards the fight, only to stumble and move about 7 feet in a single step.
Her legs were unbelievably strong. Unused to her newfound leg strength, she slowly jogged over to the battle.
As she jogged, she passed through the town fast enough to leave a tail of dust. Having to skirt the ground like you would on ice-skates, she created a large cloud of dust at in entrance.
Both sides halted for a brief moment as a new party entered the fray.
The dust settled, and her long brown ears were the first thing they could see. Followed by her muscled body positioned in a Muay Thai Stance, not that they knew what that was. All they knew was that a new warrior had appeared.
On one side was Rimuru, with Gobta and a few other Hobgoblins. The other held a group of ogres.
The ogres had armor and weapons reminiscent of the ancient Japanese. The red ogre was a handsome man with two small horns adorned on his head. Next to him was a smaller and older one dressed in white, who exuded an aura of old knowledge and danger. Both held swords.
The grey, stocky ogre was slightly convulsing on the floor. The purple ogre was tied up in metallic string, slightly suspended in the air, and her large weapon was on the floor. The pink was holding a blue flame, trying to ward off another wolf, who was much larger and had a horn on his head.
With practiced ease, Erika entered her focus state, not realizing something different would happen.
As her mind and instinct combined, a calm understanding of herself and her surroundings came over her. She felt her muscles loosen and her stance ease.
She felt the waves around her begin to crackle with electricity. With a centered mind and instinctual control over her body. Her brown hair began to lift, defying gravity and following her will instead.
An invisible wave passed through everyone, and she gripped her hand. Squeezing their forms and lifting them into the air, along with nearby pebbles that got caught in the waves.
"Hey! Wait!" Rimuru waved her down. "The fighting is over! It was just a misunderstanding!"
Letting herself leave the focus state, Erika dropped the ogres. The wave around her calmed once more, and the energy no longer crackled with power.
Rimuru walked up to her, a bit confused. "What the heck was that? Were you going Super Saiyan or something?"
Not sure how to answer, Erika looked to the ogres, who were clearly shocked by the whole event.
"I'm not sure. It just kind of happened, I think it was my ability or something."
Rimuru put a hand to her chin in thought before nodding to herself. "Then we'll just have to work on that, then! I can try and show you how to use your powers."