Her name was Rhonda.

That was all she knew. Everything else was a blur while swimming through a black space of nothingness. Every time she reached for a figment of a memory, or a piece of knowledge that she should understand, it slipped away from her… grasp?

She had no idea if she could grasp things or if she had grasped things. Maybe there hadn’t been a past for her to hold. Maybe this was all she had. In a sense, she was like the blackness, a proponent of an endless eternity of inactivity.

Rhonda figured that was alright. She had a name. She had the abyss. If she had been a being that wanted more, then that didn’t matter here. She could discern that wanting more would bring… effort? If she could frown, she would. She didn’t like the sound of effort.

She liked peace, especially here. It was effortless.

It did not last forever, however.

 

Hello, hello! It is a pleasure to meet you, Rhonda. The Administrator is certain you would be a great candidate to brave the trials to come. I, the System, 100% agree. We require heroes from outside of our realm and⁠—

 

No.

 

⁠—we’ve found that you are an aimless soul who is unbound by the celestial powers of your… Hold on, did you say no?

 

Rhonda had no idea how communication worked here. She couldn’t recollect where the words had come from for her to be able to express her opinion. It would take too much effort to figure out how she knew what she knew, though.

It was safe to say she was more of a doer than a thinker. So she did the System a favor and repeated herself.

No.

 

So you did not say no the first time. Then, well, let me go ahead and relay the backstory of our world and⁠—

 

No.

 

Ah, wow, you’re what your world called a straight shooter. To the point, if a little blunt. How interesting. Unfortunately, I can’t do more research into your prior history. But from what we can map based on the residual feelings of your past, you were… Oh my. I’m sorry.

 

Rhonda didn’t know how to say no to any of this. Not anymore. Her curiosity was piqued. But to ask for more would break the peace. But if she didn’t ask for more, she sensed she would be bothered, and that would disrupt the tranquility she desired.

What?

 

You were greatly abused. You lived a hard existence. I can’t dig any further than that, candidate.

 

Then let me rest in peace here.

She liked the nothingness. She didn’t like the System disrupting her void of peace.

 

I can’t, Rhonda. There’s a karmic exchange involved when acquiring souls from other dimensions. The best candidates are those who’ve lived a meager existence and are, well, unworthy of your celestials’ attention. It seems you’ve both lived a meager existence and suffered, slipping through the cracks of their system. With that said, I can negotiate with the Administrator to see if we can sweeten your arrival to Mythokos. Grant you a rare class?

 

No.

 

My goodness, Rhonda! You are a tough one. Fine. It’ll be a hard conversation, but I’ll pry out a really unique character race from the Administrator. I know just the one he’s hoarding, and I think you’ll be the perfect candidate for it.

 

Rhonda didn’t bother with saying no anymore. Every time she did, it seemed to make things worse⁠—she even made The System work harder to interrupt her serene drift through the abyss.

She wondered what she could do to be left alone. She didn’t care about the tragedy of her past life; she was quite fine here.

After some thought, she came to a simple conclusion: the System wouldn’t stop wanting her, and to keep fighting it would be too much of a drag. Thus, Rhonda waited patiently for the System to return.

 

Ohhhh, ho, ho, ho! You’re going to like this. We have something cataloged from the olden times when dragons, giants, and fey had demolished most of the realm with their warring. Drat, I wish you were more into history, but I understand your patience is wearing thin.

 

Rhonda wondered if she really was losing her patience. She decided she was, and she wasn’t. She had no choice in the matter anymore.

Okay.

 

Before I send you off to start your journey anew, be warned! You will be of a rare and mighty race. Many will see you as an enemy, a monster, or… an opportunity.

 

Rhonda paid little heed to the System’s words now. She was focused on bidding a farewell to the nothingness. Wherever this place called Mythokos would be, she hoped she could find something similar to her time here.

The nothingness, of course, did not return the goodbye. But that was okay; the void was cool like that.

---

Hard. Solid. The sensation beneath Rhonda’s back was very unlike the void. She was not floating anymore, wandering without direction. She was very still. She felt she had… shape. A form. Her form was against another form, and neither yielded. This left her in a state of rest.

Ressssssst.

She liked this state. She did not need to move. She could stay put and be at ease. She was so pleased with this she splayed her fingers⁠—fingers? Oh no. She was growing curious now. Curiosity meant she would move and inspect. If she did that, she would disrupt her rest.

Rhonda chewed her lower lip⁠—another curious gesture.

This new experience was already many levels different than being in the void. Nothing she could do in the void would change anything. But one little shift, one little movement, encouraged a sensational reaction.

Her curiosity was piqued!

She did not like this curious part of her. It would require effort to satisfy. But she reasoned not everything about her could be perfect.

Rhonda wriggled her fingers some more. She heard the tappity-taps of her fingers striking a surface. She felt it, too. She took a sharp breath, sucking in the icy crisp air that circled wonderfully within her lungs. The pleasure of breathing made her squeeze her toes⁠—she had toes! Did this mean she might have… feet?

Rhonda’s eyes fluttered open, glancing down at herself. She had lumps on her chest⁠—breasts. Her belly was flat, almost tight. Her hips, thighs, and everything else was… stout? Thick? Was that better than being… skinny?

She slowly pushed up into a seat, staring at her wiggling toes. She had information or ideas of what to call things and what those things meant concerning her, but she had no idea of the origin of this knowledge.

She did understand that she was black due to her dark skin. That resonated deeply. But what did it really mean? She wasn’t very sure.

Everything seemed perfectly fine to her. This was her body. She felt reassured in it. Alive. If she tried to stand up, she could test out her liveliness on her legs. But then she reconsidered, wondering what that would mean?

If she got up, she could move. If she moved too much, she might stumble upon something like the System. Then it might make her do things.

Nah.

Rhonda laid back down, closed her eyes, and sighed with relief. She had honored the bad side of her⁠—curiosity. It would be sated, for now, leaving her to enjoy more of her rest against a solid, unmoving thing—a floor.

For a moment, she wondered what was around her that gifted her a floor to lay on. She quickly brushed those nasty curious thoughts aside—no need to think too much. Everything was fine the way it⁠—

A sharp feeling yanked against the inside of her belly. A monstrous growl followed the pain!

Rhonda’s eyes shot open. She pushed off the floor; then she went a level beyond that. She got to her feet! One hand clutched her stomach, the other… uh… reached out to grab something. Anything. Whatever she could get to end this… this…

HUNGER!

Ugh. This sensation was terrible. Her stomach was attacking her because it needed… food. This was why the void was so much better; she didn’t need food there!

But now she was in a huge stone room. Before Rhonda could survey her new location and make sense of it, the System returned.

 

Welcome to Mythokos! Or specifically, the Abandoned Estate of Scrogof the Lesser Giant Lord, Brogheim Southern Hills, Brogheim. The province Brogheim usually requires a level between 25-55. But for your origin, you are to awaken here in a special area. Hint 1: Think stats to look at your status sheet. Hint 2: look around to trigger system quests.

 

How do I get food? Rhonda thought after the System disappeared with its message. She waited for an answer.

Her stomach grumbled, ached, and begged for sustenance.

Rhonda balled her fists and continued to wait. Wait. And wait. She waited until, finally, she couldn’t wait anymore.

She had to do things! Ugh.

She decided to follow the first hint. If she did what the System told her, it should reward her. So, she thought about stats really hard.

 

 

Rhonda nodded. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Still no food.

She glanced briefly over her stats and felt… peeved. It was hard to consider any of these numerical things on an empty stomach. It angered the stomach further. The only thing that did catch her attention was her race and size.

She wondered why being a Giant was so special that the System was thrilled over it. She considered the size and tried to compare it to her… past life? But it was just like before, wisps of faded memories that swirled into the nothingness.

For all she knew, being 17 feet tall could be normal here. Nothing out of the ordinary, nothing to fret over. That was if she ignored the System’s warning…

Oh well.

This was her new life now. She supposed she better move on with it and take action on hint 2. Sooner or later, she would get what she needed⁠—FOOD⁠—and then make good use of that Basic Rester quirk. She liked the sound of it a whole lot.