Name: N/A
Age: 0
Species: Spirit
➦ Skills:
Common Skills: 𝗙𝗟𝗢𝗔𝗧, 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗖𝗘𝗦𝗦, 𝗠𝗜𝗖𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗔𝗚𝗘𝗥
Special Skills: N/A
Rare Skills: 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘
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I awoke. As soon as I gained consciousness, it felt like a boatload of information was penetrating my brain. I knew everything; I was able to hear the sound of rushing water from a small stream nearly 6 miles away. I could feel the grass below me rustle, the wind around me felt like a soft song.
It felt like near omniscience. The only downside being it felt like my consciousness was being drowned out. Another thing was that I didn’t have a mouth, so I couldn’t scream in pain if I wanted to. So I screamed internally instead
[You seem to be in pain]
It was Afterlife Alexa!
<AFTERLIFE ALEXA, IT’S YOU!> I breathed a sigh of relief. <HELP ME, PLEASE! MY HEAD, THE INFORMATION IS TOO MUCH!>
There was a brief silence, and with each second of silence, I could feel my hope slipping.
[I will help you. It is outside my jurisdiction to interfere with the world as a whole, but as you are an anomaly, I will spare you.]
<I love you.>
I could’ve sworn I heard her shudder.
[You possess a Rare Skill named 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘, which is a very powerful cognitive analytical processing skill. It normally allows the user to think and process a thousand times faster than normal beings. Do you wish to use this skill?]
No need to ask.
<YES! YES PLEASE, I FEEL LIKE I’M SUFFOCATING! HOW DO I USE IT?!>
[It is very simple. Simply think about the skill, and it will automatically activate. All skills are woven onto a person’s being, so you will be able to use said skill with no training required. Think of it like breathing.]
So I just have to think about using the skill and it’ll activate? Easy enough. I let the thought of using the skill 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘 course through my mind…
«Activating the Rare Skill, 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘»
That voice…it was me! It was my voice, but I don’t remember saying anything. It didn’t matter though; in an instant the tsunami of information washing over my head was instantly gone. Although I knew where everything was and what was going on, it no longer felt overwhelming.
So this is the power of my skill. Neat.
Back to my surroundings, I was in a forest; more specifically, I was in a large clearing. The clearing seemed to stretch for a good 700 yards. The cloudless sky above me suggested it was around summertime.
«An entity possessing a great amount of evil karma is close»
That was the same voice I heard when I tried activating my skill! I just regarded it as a side effect of my skill.
I took a moment to process the information. My Rare Skill, 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘, allowed me to understand the world on a different level. It was like I was seeing everything as data and information, and my mind was able to analyze and process it effortlessly.
As I focused on the information provided by my skill, I felt a sense of dread wash over me. An entity with a great amount of evil karma? That didn’t sound good. What even was karma to people of this world?
I needed to figure out what was going on and how to protect myself. I closed my eyes and focused on my surroundings. I could feel the energy around me, and I used my Rare Skill to analyze it.
«Would you like to analyze the karma around you using the Rare Skill 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘?»
<Yes, please!>
After a brief period of silence, my skill reported back to me.
«Scan of 10 kilometer radius done. Report: A wave of evil karmic residue is coming west of here. No virtuic karmic energy can be detected within a 10km radius»
So the great big evil was just west of me, huh? I never really understood units of measurements much (which is why I have such bad directions) but I’m guessing that 10km is far. I’m hoping 10km is far enough, anyways.
I then began to think about my so-called “Skills”; what are they, and what can I even do with them?
<Hey Afterlife Alexa, what are skills?>
[I am the Administrator. Skills are provided to beings that have shown capabilities of strength and meet the required power for their respective karmic line.]
<For example?>
It almost felt like she…sighed?
[Monsters are inherently born of the Evils Race, or the Evil Karmic Line. If a monster is powerful enough either by birth or training, it is my job to give them their reward based on it: a skill.]
I see…so since I have a direct network to her…
<Heyyyy Admin, can you give me a ski->
[No.]
Should’ve known. But regarding my own skills, I wonder what they do.
<Scan skills>
«Scanning skills…»
«You possess 4 Skills, would you like a debriefing on all of them?»
<Yes, please!>
A brief silence occasionally broken what sounded like whizzing occurred.
«Debriefing Acquired Common Skills…»
«You possess 3 Common Skills: 𝗙𝗟𝗢𝗔𝗧, 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗖𝗘𝗦𝗦, 𝗠𝗜𝗖𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗔𝗚𝗘𝗥. The Skill 𝗙𝗟𝗢𝗔𝗧 is an intrinsic skill that allows your spirit form to move. The Skill 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗖𝗘𝗦𝗦 allows for your consciousness to work, without it will result in mind decay. The Skill 𝗠𝗜𝗖𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗔𝗚𝗘𝗥 is a rare Common Skill that allows you to split your mind.»
Split my mind? Like, clone myself? Now that I think about it, it did feel like I was thinking so fast in such a small amount of time. It felt like hours, yet the sun was still in the same position.
<How much time has passed, Admin?>
«9.56 seconds»
[Approximately 9 seconds]
HOLY CRAP, ONLY THAT MUCH TIME HAS PASSED? I did all that in less than ten seconds on the dot?
<H-HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?>
«Answer: This is due to the joint operation of skills 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗖𝗘𝗦𝗦, 𝗠𝗜𝗖𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗔𝗚𝗘𝗥, and 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘.»
I see, 3 skills built for accelerating thought are working together at the same time. If what Admin said was true, and that training gets me new skills, then if I grind hard enough I can possibly get even stronger skills.
<How do I train to acquire skills, Admin?>
«Answer: To gain new skills, you must hone in on the traits you wish to improve. For example, if you wish to gain proficiency in fighting and combat, you fight monsters and other beings to gain experience»
So it’s almost like a game! On that note, is Admin ignoring me? Every time I ask a question, only my skill responds.
<What skills can I hone in on and train?>
«…Analyzing…»
«Analyzation Complete: You are able to train the trait Spirit. Spirit-based Skills are good for both offense and defense.»
Should be easy. I’ve played a ton of RPG and Fantasy games when I was back in my world, so this leveling should be a walk in the park. It might be a soulless grind, but I’ll be powerful enough to fend for myself.
I stopped. I have no clue where I am exactly, and to top it off, I’m terrible with directions… but luckily, my skill comes in handy. I needed to find other living things… civilization!
<Can you point me towards civilization?>
«Assessing Request… request denied. No such skill in arsenal suited for visualization»
<Visualization?>
«A visualization skill is needed for the skill 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘 to use to assist such a request»
Aaaaand just my luck, 0 “visualization skill” in my arsenal. Even though I perceived time very slow, it was still going. Night was still coming, and I didn’t want to find out what lurks in the dark in this world.
<Admin, please, if you’re there; may you please tell me how to gain a visualization skill?>
There was a brief moment of silence as I held my non-existent breath.
[To gain a visualization skill, you need an advanced version of 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗖𝗘𝗦𝗦 skill. Unfortunately, you lack said skill.]
She was right, but why was she so sassy?
<Is there another way?>
She paused for a second, analyzing probably.
[By using the skill 𝗠𝗜𝗖𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗔𝗚𝗘𝗥 to create a separate mind and having that mind use the skill 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗖𝗘𝗦𝗦 to analyze your surroundings, there is a slight chance you might receive the desired skill.]
Slight chance huh? Well, if there’s even a chance, I’ll take it.
I closed my eyes and focused on using the skill 𝗠𝗜𝗖𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗔𝗚𝗘𝗥 to create a separate mind. I felt a strange sensation, as if a part of me was being split off. It was like another consciousness was in my mind, thinking on it’s own. From what I could tell, it didn’t seem to have a consciousness or any sentience.
With my other mind, I activated 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗖𝗘𝗦𝗦 and analyzed my surroundings over and over. My parallel mind began receiving a stream of geographic information, from the mountains to the north to the rivers in the south.
That same information then trickled to me, the main mind, in which I then used 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘 to speed up the processing power. The skill was way more efficient at processing information than I gave it credit for.
<How many times have the surroundings been analyzed?>
«200 times»
Yeah, I’m not even surprised at this point. This thing is a whole beast when it comes to processing information. At this rate, that visualization skill is within reach. I can feel it!
«Alert: Massive evil karmic wave was doubled.»
I didn’t forget about that either. Using 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘, I could tell that the evil energy hadn’t moved. Something was amiss here; how was it doubling it’s energy output without moving an inch?
<How many times has the area been scanned?>
«700 times»
Man, getting this visualization skill was-
[ACQUIRED SPECIAL SKILL 𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗣𝗛𝗘𝗥]
Awesome! It didn’t really take long to get this skill, so there wasn’t really much of a celebration going on. I was still proud of myself for thinking up the plan to use my current skills to get new and helpful ones.
[WOULD YOU LIKE TO UPGRADE SKILL 𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗣𝗛𝗘𝗥?]
I can do that?
<Wait, is that possible?>
[YES, YOU HAVE LEFTOVER KARMIC ENERGY. IT WOULD BE A WASTE TO NOT USE SAID ENERGY]
<Then upgrade away!>
[UPGRADING SKILL… ADDING SKILLS 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗡𝗔𝗩𝗜𝗚𝗔𝗧𝗢𝗥, 𝗣𝗔𝗧𝗛𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥, 𝗔𝗥𝗘𝗔 𝗔𝗡𝗔𝗟𝗬𝗦𝗜𝗦..]
[…]
[SKILL UPGRADE SUCCESSFUL. SPECIAL SKILL 𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗣𝗛𝗘𝗥 HAS BEEN UPGRADED TO RARE SKILL 𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪. WOULD YOU LIKE A SKILL EXPLANATION?]
<Yes please!>
It’d be really helpful to know what skill does what so I can merge and optimize them for later.
[THE RARE SKILL 𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪 IS A UNIQUELY POWERFUL SKILL, NOT FOR COMBAT, BUT FOR STRAGETIC PURPOSES. THE SKILL AUTOMATICALLY ANALYZES THE AREA AROUND THE WIELDER UP TO A 40 KILOMETER RADIUS AND CREATES AN INTERACTIVE THREE-DIMMENSIONAL MAP OF THE AREA IN THE USER’S HEAD]
Oh sweet! With this, I can now see exactly where I am at all times.
<Activate Skill 𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪>
Opening my “eyes”, I saw a large miniature model re-make of my surroundings. It was like an extremely interactive Google Earth, but with infinite zoom.
No my north was a mountain range, to my south was a river, to the west was more of the forest but more thick and dense, and to the east was more forest as well. Only the eastern forest looked like trees were being chopped by how sparsely they grew.
That could only mean one thing: Civilization!
<Admin, is there a possibility that there are people living west of me?>
[…THERE IS A 76% CHANCE SENTIENT LIFE LIVES EAST OF THIS LOCATION]
«Answer: There is confirmed life east of this location»
Interesting…it seems as though Admin didn’t want to disclose this information to me for some reason. Meh, no matter; armed with a skill that let’s me see everything in a 40km radius and a literal search engine in my brain, I’m set.
Now armed with the info I needed, I set out for civilization.
