I didn't know what awaited a person after death. Purgatory? A heart-to-heart with angels, the devil... God? I just pushed thoughts of my own death far away so I could enjoy my carefree school life. And then, boom — I died in an accident. I was riding my bike across the road at a GREEN light, damn it, and was hit by a truck. At least I didn't suffer for long. I felt unbearable pain for about three seconds — incredibly long seconds. And then my consciousness just faded away. My last thought was: "If only I could live again in more pleasant circumstances..."
Hello! This message was automatically generated by the Game God Administration, code number 45134. The Game God has assigned you to test the new Player system! Warning! The system is still under development. Bugs, crashes, and shortcomings are possible. If you have any complaints or suggestions, the Administration will review all your requests as soon as possible.
Do you accept the terms of the agreement?
Yes/No
A strange blue rectangular sign with text appeared in the silent darkness. Like in some RPG game...
It would be foolish to refuse a second chance. Besides, do I have any alternatives?
If you refuse, your soul will be purified and sent to the stream of rebirth. As befits a pure soul that has ended its life without being able to choose.
No way. I don't really like the idea of disappearing, so let's see what we've got here.
Thank you for participating in our project! Unfortunately, due to software limitations, the future Player is unable to choose their world. Considering this fact, the Administration has decided to give you a nice bonus! You have the right to choose your starting Unique Ability!
Warning!!! Choosing an ability will change your Destiny, so think carefully about how your environment will react to your Ability.
Blocked Abilities: Life Creation, Death Manipulation, Destiny Selection, and over a hundred more abilities. Want to see more?
Well... The reason why the Administration blocked these abilities lies in their terribly unbalanced power. However, I decided to look through the entire list of abilities and noted that there was no ban on Time Manipulation!
Have I found a free cheat for myself?! It's every child's dream. Although... perhaps the reason this ability is available lies in its development. Let's say I can stop time, but since I'll probably start at the first level, stopping time will only last a couple of seconds.
For the logic in your reasoning, your Wisdom has increased by 1 point!
So I got a freebie before even starting the game? Can I check my status?
At the moment, you are Dead. Dead people cannot view their status.
Um... That makes sense, I guess. Anyway! Bring on the Time Manipulation!
Are you sure about your choice?
Yes/No
And why does this warning make me feel uneasy? Think, think, what could go wrong... That's it! Such power could attract attention to me, and it could end up having a very negative effect on me. There are bound to be people who want to use me for their own dubious purposes, like world domination or... something like that. Or maybe I'm just getting myself worked up?
For the logic in your reasoning, your Intuition has increased by 1 point!
Now intuition? So I'm right? Why did intuition go up and not wisdom? Argh! Damn it! Never mind! Yes! I agree anyway!
Your Ability has been chosen! Unfortunately, your appearance will also be randomly generated. Given your Ability, you can choose one Skill from the high-level branches of its development, and you can only use it once. Keep this in mind when you decide to use it.
1) False Time Erasure. Activation words: "Time: False Erase." You will temporarily erase the very concept of time from the memories of a certain group of people within a twenty-metre radius.
2) Rewind Time by Twenty-Four Hours. Activation words: "Time: Reset." This ability can also be activated automatically in the event of the Player's death.
3) Create a Temporary Duplicate. Activation words: "Time: Doppelganger." With the power of the god Chronos, you create a complete copy of yourself. Warning! This ability is dangerous to use because the copy will have the Player's consciousness, and therefore, if the Will stat is low, it has a chance to turn against its creator to become the "original."
I didn't quite understand how Time Erasure would work, so I chose Rewind because of its versatility. I didn't take the Doppelganger because of the warning. Maybe it will be useful in the future, but definitely not at the start of my... ahem... "Game." So, the world, my destiny, and my appearance have been randomly generated, a unique ability has been chosen, and... now what, my dear Administration?
Are you ready to start a new life?Yes/No
Well, the most important thing is not to mess up the beginning, and then I'll take it as it comes.
I woke up with a sharp pain throughout my body. I couldn't really focus my gaze on anything. The world seemed to be floating before my eyes, my ears were blocked, and my body couldn't move and felt as if it were suspended from something.
"System!!! Tell me my status! What the hell am I doing in this position?!" I screamed silently in my head, unable to move even a finger in reality.
You are currently test subject No. 88. You are the only successful experiment in implanting the Clock of Chronos. You are at a disadvantage because only one Carrier can be the Keeper of the Clock.
You are in an illegal laboratory consisting mainly of scientists, guards and test subjects.
Location level: 20+
Danger level: practically impassable
Would you like to hear your current stats?
"Go ahead..." he replied to himself, resignedly.
Damn me for my greed... I was expecting some kind of dirty trick, but no, I hesitated and now I'm going to live in some kind of snake pit with crazy scientists.
Name: not chosen
Age: 13
Titles: none
Race: human (Particle of Chronos)
Class: not selected
Level: 0
Profession: none
Abilities:
Observation — Level 1. Focused on the target.
You are able to see descriptions and characteristics of objects and characters that cannot resist your mental abilities.
HP: 300/500
OD: 100/100
Strength: 10
Dexterity: 18
Luck: 1 (???)
Intuition: 61
Willpower: 40
Wisdom: 26
Build: 30
Endurance: 10
Charisma: 49
Intelligence: 40
Mana: 0 (locked)
Karma of the Gods: Chronos +100 (Status: curiosity).
Special
Black Fate
You were born under Black Fate. Wherever you go, you always get into trouble, which is why you learned to predict future misfortune through Intuition from birth.
Now I think I understand where his high Intuition and Willpower come from. The kid was just trying to survive. As for his Charisma, it's probably because he often got out of trouble with his sharp tongue. Probably...
A piece of Chronos
Now Time itself is at your command. Each attempt to influence Time will cost you OD points.
P.S. A hint from the Administration.
Unfortunately, the Administration cannot provide you with information about your patron. In the future, you will have to find information about him yourself.
No one will tell me anything about Chronos for free, right? Got it, I'll keep that in mind.
Player's Body
Transforms the user's body into the body of a character, so instead of receiving wounds, you lose HP, and as long as you have HP, you can recover.
Player's Mind
You retain your sanity under almost any circumstances.
Debuffs/Buffs
Severe Exhaustion (3 hours, 54 minutes, 10 seconds until full recovery)
Due to the long and painful process of implanting the Clock, your body was on the brink of life and death. By a lucky coincidence or a cruel twist of fate, you survived, thereby slightly amusing the god Chronos. From this moment on, he will closely watch your every move. The higher your god's reputation and influence, the more power he will grant you. Remember that!
And what should I do to amuse him? Oh, never mind. My mood has already shifted from cheerful and joyful to terrible and doomed because of such a start. Although, maybe I should be happy that I was given a second chance?
My vision returned to normal, and I was finally able to look around. A small white room, five by five, with mirrored armoured glass in front of me, and me suspended and immobilised by some kind of steel tentacles that prevented me from moving. Only pitiful wheezes escaped from my mouth. Apparently, I had been screaming quite loudly, since I couldn't even speak properly. Above the door was a lamp that suddenly lit up with a red light. A small group of soldiers and a middle-aged man in a white coat with round, dirty glasses burst into the room.
"Schneller, verdammte Schweine! (Faster, you damned pigs!)
German? And that symbol on their uniforms... Nazis?! Have I been transported back to the Great War and am now a prisoner of the damn Krauts? Please, not 1941!
I felt that I shouldn't open my mouth, or I'd say something wrong — and that would be it. Either more torture, or a blow to the temple with the butt of a rifle. Considering my "luck," it would be... unpleasant.
Intuition +1
Out of curiosity, I decided to use Observation on this "Doctor Mengele."
Name: Heydrich Faust II
Level: 23
Age: 51
Race: Human
Titles: "Child of the Destroyed Empire," "Mad Scientist and Fanatic," "Symbol of the Reich," "Alpha and Omega."
Attitude: -1000 (item)
Everything else was hidden behind question marks. Apparently, this was due to the difference in level and strength: judging by his titles, he was a big shot. A survivor of the Great War who decided to start all over again. Well, that gave me a little hope, because I didn't really want to die in the middle of the twentieth century somewhere in Germany, and since this was a small group of fanatics, all I had to do was come up with a plan and get my act together so I could escape from here as soon as possible. Judging by the way this professor treated me, I was nothing more than a "thing," an "object," a "toy" that he could use as he pleased.
The steel tentacles holding me let go, and I fell to my knees. Immediately, two soldiers grabbed me and dragged me away. We left the room and entered a long corridor; on both sides, there were cells filled with dirty and bedraggled people of all ages, dressed in the same dirty white shirts that are given out in hospitals or mental institutions. I was wearing the same clothes. They had a peculiar, "empty" look in their eyes. The look of a person who had been robbed of all hope. It made me shiver, but it only lasted a couple of seconds, because the passive skill of the Player's Mind kicked in and my feelings quickly dissipated. Finally, they dragged me into a cell, opened the steel door, rusted from age, and threw me inside. It was a small, solitary cell with only a washbasin with a half-broken mirror, a toilet as rusty and disgusting as the door, and a half-torn mattress. Out of curiosity, I decided to go to the washbasin and see what I looked like.
A teenager with a small, messy mop of... wait for it... green (!) hair and expressive amber eyes that glowed slightly in the darkness. As soon as I closed my eyes, I began to resemble a certain "Ichimaru Gin" from Bleach. I even managed to pull off his trademark snake smile!
You have unlocked the passive ability "Impenetrable Mask"!
When you create this image, even those above you in level cannot predict your actions.
The probability of successful Bluffing/Intimidation/Persuasion in Mask mode will depend on your Charisma stat.
"Smile — it's annoying!"©
Well, well. What do we have here: I'm a prisoner. No idea where. No idea when. No idea who captured me. It was very rash of me to make assumptions about the time period: so what if I don't remember Heydrich from history? It's not like you can remember all those Nazis! But if they're even half as cruel, I have very little chance of surviving imprisonment. Escaping on my own is unlikely. But the first item on my plan is set: figure out my ability. Closing my eyes, I imagined a notebook (every computer has one — how is the System any worse?) and carefully wrote:
The beginning didn't go well...
***
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