In a dimly lit room in an unknown place. Two beings are seen.
One was a human, or the soul of one at least. While the other is a human shaped genderless blob of navy blue colored liquid.
The soul having an impatient look on his face as he glares at the unknown being in front of him. Arms crossed and a foot that's tapping on the 'floor' agitatedly while the being simply shows no facial changes nor any reactions to the soul's aggression.
As time goes on, the tension keeps increasing, at least on the Human's side. And after a few stifling minutes of the rather awkward atmosphere.
???"Well??"
Only when the word was uttered by the human did the other being react.
"Apologies, but your theory is far from the truth... You died in your sleep not kidnapped by me." The being calmly explained.
"Right, because people die when they go to sleep." Came the soul's unamused sarcastic remark.
Seemingly incapable of feeling emotions, the being calmly, near monotonely replied. "In a way, yes. But what truly killed you wasn't sleep, rather, it was suffocation from the smoke which filled your room through your open window. The smoke came from your neighbor's burning house."
"I have three houses as neighbors, which one?" The soul asked, his aggression lessening quite a bit but not disappearing completely.
"The one below yours." Was the simple reply.
"So her house burned down but I'm the only casualty?... Hehaha! Wow! So the world stopped making me it's punching bag and dealt with me permanently huh?!." A slight venom laced his tone at the mention of 'her' but the sneer on his face at his other comment cannot be mistaken.
"Merely a product of several variables coming together, not guided by any will... And they too were killed in the fire." The being comforted, albeit emotionlessly.
"Hard to believe but whatever... So? Seeing as she and her family aren't here, I'm guessing whatever it is you want is only related to me?"
Looking as though he just gave up and simply chose to let things run or be run the way they are, the soul now simply treats his situation as a game, or perhaps something interesting that will make him feel the things he lost. Only he knows.
"Correct. Perks such as this are only available to those who saved a life without ulterior motives and you saved two... Normally one would only be given a wish corresponding to the number of lives they saved. But the second life you saved is closely tied to the future of a human that has the blessing of a deity. As such, you were given an additional wish as well as a specification by said deity." The blo- being explained.
"What's a specification?" The soul asked, having understood all aside from that. Though he did have a vague idea on what it is.
"World choice, world settings, country choice, location, family condition choice, timeline choice, extra specification, and one talent choice. All in one.. Meaning it's value is higher than a wish." Replied the blue being.
"So those dual/multi option wish made by those authors who like to think they're smart aren't actually possible?" The human soul amusedly asked.
"Yes"
"Hmm, so 3 wishes and a specification...Then my first wish is-" Before the soul can even continue, he was cut off by the being in front of him.
"Apologies Mr. Sulva, but the specification takes priority, using the specification first is requested."
"Tsk! Fine!... Let's see.." The man now identified as Mr. Sulva started pondering.
'Seeing as it's a must for the speciation to be implemented first, I'm sure my wishes will get restricted to go well alongside the system I placed. Kind of a downer but would make things better in the long run. Having a mortal skill working against a divine is a completely retarded concept in my opinion. Same goes for an omnipotent skill being held as well as used by a human without the necessary energy and energy amount to use it in the first place. Anyway, most of my wishes are a big no with that and most of the remaining ones became useless in long term. Which leaves me with those few that I kept imagining when I was alive anyway, ironic that. Okay, let's go with those three.'
Having decided on what he wants, he layed out his specification.
World: Highschool of the dead
World setting: Rank type omniversal system
Country: Japan
Location: Tokonosu city
Family condition: Middle class family of three
Timeline: 10 mins. before the outbreak
Extra specification: Hidden private island (Pacific area) Settlements added. 6 people added. 10 random extra people added.
Talent: Weapon mastery
"As for the three wishes..."
1. Yogiri Takatou's instant death
2. Skill: Multiplier
3. Personal dungeon
[Acknowledged... Requesting... Granted... Requesting... Request denied... Searching alternative... Granted]
A mechanical female voice was heard.
"Specifications have been implemented. 1st wish has been restricted. 2nd wish has been restricted. 3rd wish granted." The being explained what the man already expected.
'It's now just to see how much those two got restricted... At least the dungeon didn't get a restriction, but I guess there's nothing to restrict in it. I mean, it's not like one can enter like, floor 100 at the start or something like that. The next floor can't be accessed unless you clear the current one.' Mr. Sulva thought before asking aloud. "What next?"
"Mr. Sulva will be dropped to the body that was prepared beforehand, which lived it's life mundanely aside from the little changes caused by the extra details you added. It was on what you call an 'autopilot' till the age of 18."
"...That's a thing?!" Was Mr. Sulva's reaction. Don't get him wrong, he expected that, but not the fact that a 'vessel' was prepared for him instead of just giving him flesh and blood that's the same as what he had in his previous life. Though it did make him sigh in relief because his old body, for him, has too many impurities it's not funny.
"Merely to remove the physical traces of the previous 'you', due to the specification and because it is cost efficient."
Mr. Sulva, or Lazarus Sulva, could only facepalm at the last reason. Wondering if it was actually the only reason instead of just one among the few.
"Welp, that's that I guess. It's more in line with my opinion when I was alive. Annoying that experiencing what me and so many others want, actually made me forget said opinion and became a dreamer for a moment." The self mockery is evident in Lazarus' voice upon saying the latter words.
Still, he quickly shook his head to rid himself of such thoughts and continued. "So I'm guessing that's going to be all and I'll be sent to my 'next great adventure'?.. Ugh! that was hard to say.. How did Dumbledore stomach saying that repeatedly?"
"Correct. I wish you luck."
"I might believe that and thank you, if you actually said that with emotions..."
"..."
The sound of Lazarus' palm hitting his face echoed in the room before he vanished like he was never there at all.
**********
The first thing Lazarus heard and saw after 'waking up' was the chattering of what can only be highschool students and the beautiful face of one of the main reason he chose this world to begin with. Saeko Busujima.
"Gen-kun, are you listening?" The purple haired beauty asked with a slight tilt of her head.
"Oh-uh, sorry Saeko-san, I got lost in thought for a moment. Could you please repeat that?"
With a sigh the girl replied. "I was wondering if you are free for a spar after school. And I keep telling you to just call me Saeko."
'Is it just me or is she actually pouting a bit?'
"Sorry, but not today Saeko, Also, you can call me Gen as well. I'm gonna be busy in the next few days." 'Or years seeing as an apocalypse is just over 9 minutes away.'
"Oh... I see, but please come to me when you have time. I really enjoyed our spars."
'Please don't say it with that tone. I feel like a neglectful boyfriend right now.'
"Gladly, now if you'll excuse me, I need to freshen up." With that, Lazarus or as he is now named Gen Chomei or Chomei Gen, however you want to read it, got out of the classroom feeling a slightly heated gaze on his back and went to the rooftop.
Looking at his panels after sitting down with his back to the railings. Gen noticed an item in his inventory.
[Designer's gift pack - Contains a fixed item and a few random items of use to the player.
Rank: Unique
Grade: C
Note: Only given to those who have designed either a dungeon, a system, a tower and/or a world.]
*Error! Action not possible!*
'Damn! It didn't work.' Gen grumbled in his mind when his plan to use his Multiplier skill on it failed.
[Skill: Multiplier - Multiply non-living targets by a set amount.
Multiplier: 10x
Rank: F (Growth)
Grade: EX
Cost: none
Cool down: 24 hrs.
Charges: 3
Note: Cannot use on the same target and the results of the skill.]
'I guess my "cheat" of starting at a lower Rank so my skills and rewards get better than the rest wasn't allowed. Not really a loss with the Multiplier skill around. But it's a loss this early on since the Rank up bonus is 10 levels away instead of the 1 level that it would've been if I was allowed to start at the non-existent G-rank.' Gen lamented with a sigh before checking his profile panel.
Name:Gen Chomei
Sex: Male | Age: 18
Rank: F | Level: 0 (0%)
Lifespan: 42 yrs.remaining (months, days, hours and the rest won't be included)
HP: 20/20
MP: 5/5
DMG: 2
DEF: 3
STR: 2
STA: 1
VIT: 1
END: 1
PER: 2
INT: 2
WIS: 1
SPI: 1
Talents: Weapon mastery (EX)
Perks: Sokushi (F), Multiplier (F)
Skills:
'Oh, it shows the remaining lifespan huh.. helpful at times but mostly depressing for others.'
"Well, since the first try failed or was not allowed let's try this." He muttered
[Skill Successful! Select effect]
1. Quality
2. Quantity
(Cancel)
"Nope, not now. A single inventory slot with the size of 10mx10mx10m is big enough for the early days. That, and because I don't want mere 10 slots of the same size as my max."
Having confirmed that his skill works on the inventory, Gen cancelled the skill and checked the countdown to doo- apocalypse.
[5 mins 20 sec.]
'Right, now this one.'
[Opening Designer's gift pack]
[Obtained:
Skill card 1x
Weapon box (S) 1x
1 liter water 1x
Cheese burger 1x
Copper coin 10x]
[Opening weapon box (S)]
[Obtained:
Mana Crossbow 1x]
Mana Crossbow - A magical crossbow that doesn't require ammunition.
Rank: S
Grade: S
Damage: 35 + DMG
Range: 200m(Effective range)
Mana: 70/70
Durability: 80/80
Note: Each bolt cost 2 mana. And it has its own, aren't you a lucky one?.. Silent but deadly.
'Noice, but what's with the sass? Now this one'
[Skill Successful!]
[Skill slot increased: 1 > 10]
Skill: Multiplier
Charges: 2
'Next'
[Obtained:
Skill card 10x]
[Skill card used 10x]
[Skills created:
Appraisal (F)
Fake out (F)
Mental interference immunity (F)
Heal (F)
Pain resistance (F)
Thermal resistance (F)
Suggestion (F)
Abnormal status immunity (F)
HP devastation (F)
Pain collector (F)]
Skill: Multiplier
Charges: 1
'Done!... A bummer that regeneration type skills, immortality skills and resurrection skills are not allowed. Expected in the case of the latter 2 but surprising for the first one. Well I did design this system with the goal of enhancing the galaxy while culling humanity in mind. I mean, if you're truly smarter, stronger, more cunning, luckier and simply better than others as you like to think you are, then you should survive. What's the point on feeling better about yourself but you die like the rest on the first day anyway? Isn't that just self satisfaction? Would something as shallow as that be worth passing down to the next generation?' Gen's inner monologue was interrupted when he noticed something.
"Anyway, it's almost time to go."
[1 min. 22 seconds]
******
Upon returning to their classroom, Gen immediately used one of his new skills.
Skill: Suggestion - Puts a suggestion in the mind of a target which acts as a 'command' triggered by the sound of the user's voice.
Cost: 5 MP
Range: 1 km
Cooldown: 1 minute
Duration: Permanent
Note: You're on your way to becoming a brainwashing tyrant... Effect can be resisted by the target by exceeding the skill rank with their own rank.
'I'm not planning on becoming one!!!' Gen roared in his head at what he read while his eyebrow twitched.
'It's temporary anyways, I just want to prevent her and a few others from the protagonist's halo. He can have Rei and any mob characters we might save later but I'll be damned if I let him have the named ones.'
Even while he grumbled in his mind, Gen still had enough focus to allocate in the use of his skill. His target being obvious to any otherworldly watchers.
[Skill used!]
[Target: Saeko Busujima]
[Suggestion: Stick to Chomei Gen]
[Successful!]
'Yessss!!'
The only reason he didn't fist pump is because of the school wide announcement that got cut off by the announcer getting eaten alive which started mass panic.
Noticing the fact that Saeko's eye immediately sought him out, made him grin inwarldy. Outwardly though, he gave her a serious nod and proceeded to go with her outside the room leaving their classmates who seem to have forgotten all evacuation drills they were taught.
It's only after stepping out of the room did something happen that only Gen can see.
[Apocalypse has begun]
[System fully online]
[Unlocking system features]
Leveling unlocked!
Rank up unlocked!
Inventory unlocked!
Global chat unlocked!
National chat unlocked!
Area chat unlocked!
Store unlocked!
Auction unlocked!
Party unlocked!
Wildlife evolution started!
EXP Bank unlocked!
Friend list unlocked!
"Well, that's that." He couldn't help but mutter
"Did you say something Gen?"
The beauty beside him questioned.
"Hmm? Oh nothing, just this." 'Invite Saeko Busujima to my party'
[Request sent]
"Wha-?! What's this?" Saeko's surprising loss of composure almost made him laugh, almost.
"Shhhh! Keep your voice down. Just accept it." He whispered to the swordswoman while checking if others heard or are looking their way.
Thankfully, the rest are busy panicking or being frozen in shock to even register the two of them acting slightly weird.
[Request has been accepted]
[Party Leader: Gen Chomei
Members:
1. Saeko Busujima]
[Unlocking system on party member Saeko Busujima]
Name: Saeko Busujima
Sex: Female | Age: 18
Rank: F | Level: 2 (0%) [ ]
Lifespan: 67 yrs. remaining
HP: 20/20
MP: 0/0
DMG: 2
DEF: 3
STR: 2
STA: 2
VIT: 1
END: 1
PER: 3
INT: 1
WIS: 1
SPI: 1
Talents: Swordsmanship (C)
Skills: none
'Damn! What's with that level? Now that's just not fair.'
He wasn't jealous, not at all and he's not pouting.
At that point 'they' appeared, some stumbling about while most are chasing their screaming prey.
--------------------
AN: I wrote this for fun so updates would be inconsistent. I'm also currently too busy and only write when I feel fed up with my daily routine as a means to unwind.
Though if you have spare stones then I won't say no to them.😉😉