To say that Gab was both crushed and pissed would be the understatement of the century. 

 

After going through a seemingly extreme version of a nervous breakdown and pouring her heart out to the being who was meant to help her start her new second life without a hitch, she had to wait for said being to have a conversation with her boss at least a thousand kilometres away from her current location for about half an hour, only to be told that one of the conditions set out by Aurula’s Mistress was to become a [Freestyler].

 

In other words, she had to become a Classless Player!

 

Even though the one who acts as Aurula’s superior (who would without a doubt be someone very powerful and influential in Arbitrium’s settings) decided to take an interest in her unusual case and come up with a plan that could potentially accommodate her needs, she just couldn’t see how taking on a Style that not only is bereft of Class features but also bars her from taking up a Class is in any shape or form be of any help to her.

 

If anything, it makes it sound like the Mistress was telling her;

 

“Hoh, you want to switch between Classes at the drop of a dime? Now aren’t you a greedy one! In that case, why not have no Class at all!”.

 

Well, fuck that shit, you oh-so-mysterious arsehole!!!

 

***

 

“Acchoo!”

 

“Hmm?”, the Mistress, who was setting up for her task in a narrow cave, was slightly miffed when she suddenly sneezed, which very rarely happened throughout her years of existence.

 

“…why do I have the feeling that someone was cussing me?”, she pondered before shrugging it off, “Meh, it was probably one of the beings whom I “appropriated”. Anyway, I should make a start before Wanderer gets here.”.

 

“Now,”, she said whilst turning her attention to the five Class Cards laid out on the ground that she has chosen beforehand, “which one of you should I start with…”.

 

***

 

~Wanderer, please, snap out of it!!~ Aurula yelled desperately as she once again shook Gab’s shoulders, as the latter was visibly shaking with rage, ~I know that this step may not seem to align with your desires, but you have to remember that this is only one step in my Mistress’s plan to execute during Character Creation!~.

 

As soon as she said that, the Facilitator noticed that Gab’s full-body tremors seemed to have reduced in intensity, even if only slightly. 

 

Taking advantage of this, Aurula pressed on, ~To tell you the truth, my Mistress can be, how should I put this…lackadaisical in a lot of respects. She tends to tease others with cutesy pet names, she only tells the whole truth when it suits her whims, and she leaves her room so cluttered and disorganised that using the term “pigsty” to describe it would be a violent insult to real pigsties everywhere!~.

 

Even though she hasn’t completely calmed down yet, Gab couldn’t help but let her mouth quirk into a small, amused smile at truths the Facilitator was divulging to her that would typically be slander coming from anyone who didn’t work for Aurula’s boss!

 

For a moment, Gab couldn’t help but think;

 

“Fuck me dead, this “Mistress” sounds like more than “a little bit” of a handful to be acquainted with, much less work for!”

 

***

 

“Achoo, achoo, achoooo!!”

 

The Mistress was just about to start the first part of an important process when the same phenomenon as before happened again, and with greater ferocity at that, causing her to look sternly in a seemingly random direction.

 

“SERIOUSLY! Can you arseholes PLEASE stop using “that” particular trope so liberally?! If you don’t stop and cause me to muck this up, then you better PRAY I don’t find out your involvement!!

 

***

 

For some inexplicable reason that neither Gab nor Aurula could fathom, they both felt like the air temperature suddenly dropped to Absolute Zero, giving the impression that some unspeakably hideous being was eyeing them as prey!

 

Instinctively, Aurula stopped slandering(?) her Mistress and got straight to the point.

 

~…that being said, she never lies, neither intentionally nor by omission. She doesn’t give information that would prove detrimental to a person’s plight, even if it sounds like she wants to make it worse.~

 

~And most importantly; I have never heard her wanting to take an active role in helping someone on their current path, given that’s she’s generally more interested in the cumulation of a being’s efforts by the time their life is near its end. So I don’t think for one moment that she would tell you to fulfil a certain condition that wouldn’t be for a good reason.~

 

Hearing the Facilitator’s earnest opinion of her Mistress’s motivations, in particular having Gab become a [Freestyler] despite it seeming to not fit in with her usual desire to experiment with Classes of all types, she finally calmed down enough to truly consider complying with this request.

 

“…are you certain that I won’t regret doing this?”, Gab quietly asked Aurula, who vigorously nodded her head.

 

~If my Mistress says that this is an essential part of her plan for you, then I swear on my life and Titles as both the {Facilitator of Wind} and {Sworn Friend of Eight Changes} that you will most definitely not regret becoming a [Freestyler] for particularly long.~

 

Hearing such a powerful and sincere oath from someone whose job is to ensure the smooth transition of all the Players in Oceania to Arbitrium, Gab felt the last shred of unwillingness within her disappear.

 

Taking a deep breath, Gab gave the Facilitator her final decision;

 

“Ok, since you’re that certain, I’ll do it.”.

 

A look of confusion coloured Aurula’s face as she tried to figure out if Gab’s declaration meant what she thought it meant.

But missed the Facilitator’s expression, as her focus was completely trained on a prompt that has been left aside for quite some time now;

 

<Please select your preferred Style from the following options:

 

1-The Way of the Battlefield: [Combatstyler]

 

2-The Way of the Passion: [Lifestyler]

 

3-The Way of the Unknown: [Freestyler]>

 

Taking a deep breath before she took the plunge into what she could most certainly perceive as an uncharted current, she managed to somehow make what she said next sound calm and composed;

 

“I select “The Way of the Unknown: [Freestyler]”!”.

 

<Processing…>

 

<Confirmed>

 

<Player “Wanderer” has selected “The Way of the Unknown: [Freestyler]” as her preferred Style>

 

<Please be advised that once your choice of Style is locked in, you will be incapable of changing over to another one>

 

<Are you, “Wanderer”, certain of your choice?>

 

<Y/N>

 

“As certain I’m going to fucking be! Yes!!”, Gab confirmed loudly, as Aurula happily bounced(?) in midair.

 

<Response acknowledged>

 

<Player “Wanderer” has become a [Freestyler]>

 

<Initiating the [Freestyler] Character Creation process>

 

As soon as the robotic voice dialled out, both the plinths for the [Combatstyler] and [Lifestyler] Styles suddenly began to sink back into the sea from which they emerged, taking their escutcheons and Class Cards with them.

 

Although she bemoaned having to go without even the Initial Classes, Gab wasn’t engrossed enough to miss the sight of the [Freestyler] plinth returning to the unknown depths as well!

 

Before Gab could anxiously question Aurula as to why even the Style she VERY reluctantly chosen decided to piss off as well, she noticed that for some reason, the escutcheon that was resting upon wasn’t following suit.

 

Instead, it remained suspended in midair, stay at the same point in space as it was after it emerged, before it started to gradually increase in size right before Gab’s stupefied eyes!

 

By the time the reflective “Kite”’s silent increase in dimensions was finally complete, its enlarged appearance gave the impression that it was a tear of a truly massive creature or being that was large enough to reflect all of Gab’s body in its entirety.

 

Whilst she was admiring the escutcheon’s significant change in appearance, Aurula gently floated to her side, wearing a relieved look on her face.

 

~Thank you for your trust thus far, Wanderer.~, Aurula said, showing how worried she was at the possibility of not receiving said trust.

 

Seeing this from the corner of her eye, Gab simply gave a light chuckle and gave a three-character response.

 

“Gab.”.

 

~Hmm?~, Aurula made a confused sound, unsure of what this Player meant.

 

Gab took a moment to run her hand through her hair before answering, “It’s what my friends call me in my world. Since you called me by my IRL name earlier, and you went so far as to call your boss to find a way to help me, I’d be a real cunt as to continue to let you call me by my IG one. So I’m happy for you to call me “Gab” when there are no Players who aren’t close friends of mine around. What do you say?”

 

The moment she finished explaining, the Facilitator’s face became so red that Gab almost expected steam to start billowing from her head. After a moment, she crossed her arms and turned her still red face away from Gab, although the Facilitator’s eyes seem to keep glancing at her.

 

~I-if you’re offering, t-th-then I suppose there isn’t a-any harm in accepting,~, Aurula stammered, then hesitated for a moment before finishing with, ~G-Gab…~.

 

Seeing how adorable and blushy the neon-green haired woman was acting in comparison to her usual self, Gab couldn’t help but think that if she were to add ~,b-b-baka…~ at the end, then it would only complete the scene before her!

 

As if detecting Gab’s shift in attention, the same robotic voice as before resounded once more;

 

<Player “Wanderer”, due to becoming a [Freestyler], you can now select three Skills to acquire that will reflect what path you wish to take>

 

<You have many options, but choose wisely>

 

After the voice ended on that happy note, suddenly a large black screen with large amounts of small, white text covering it was projected out of the escutcheon, making Gab wonder for a moment whether there was a cinema-grade film projector hidden behind the large mirrored shield.

 

As Gab took a closer look at the black screen, she couldn’t help but take a sharp breath;

 

“Ho. Ly. Fuck! It wasn’t kidding when it said that I had “many options”.  Hell, I think it was even understating how many I had!!”, she exclaimed, and she wasn’t even remotely wrong!

 

For as she scrolled down the list that was on display, Gab saw in alphabetical order, thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of Skills to choose from! And this was just starting from those starting with the letter “A” and stopping at “B”!

 

Thankfully, there was a search bar that allowed her to narrow down her searches, such as only displaying basic Class Skills from either Combat or Production Classes, Actives or Passives, offensive or supportive, low to mid-level effects or simply ones that come up when searching for keywords. There were even Skills that don’t belong to any Classes.

 

However, even after using all those search options, there were still too many to choose from!

 

“Fuuuccckkk, those Players who willingly chose to become [Freestylers] must real masochists, considering the amount of shit(Skills) I have to sift through!”, Gab growled, feeling that her patience, which was already well and truly tested earlier, was wearing pretty fucking thin at that moment!

 

~Oh, you don’t need to worry about this, Wande…I mean Gab!~, Aurula suddenly spoke up, only flubbing her confident words when she remembered that she received permission to use Gab’s IRL nickname. 

 

~After all, the steps for the Mistress’s plan that requires my assistance are both the Skill and Weapons selections, so you can rest easy.~

 

“Oh, what do you need to do during this and the next part of the creation process?”, Gab asked, curious about where this is going.

 

~It’s simple, I just need to select Skills that the Mistress thought would suit your future path. Well,~, Aurula paused whilst letting out a sheepish chuckle, ~it only simple now that I’ve been given the authorisation to do so.~, she clarified, before turning her focus back onto the Skill selection.

 

~Before I choose the Skills, I need to ask if you have any particular Skill preferences, just in case me and the Mistress accidentally choose a Skill-type that you’re not fond of.~.

 

“Nah, I’m sure I’ll be fine with whatever you choose. Besides, I don’t have any concrete Skill preferences or stratagems, I only chose Skills based on what Class I’m using at any time and what way I can experiment with the abilities of said Class”, Gab said, feeling more relieved than annoyed that Aurula and her boss even choose what particular Skills and Weapons she’ll be using, especially since she wouldn’t have a solid build for her avatar if she isn’t using a Class as a point of reference.

 

~Haha! If that’s how you truly feel, then I won’t keep you waiting!~ Aurula said boisterously, before simply placing the palm of her hand on the screen. 

 

In the next split second, the Skill list started to scroll down so quickly that the text became a blur before Gab’s ordinary human eyesight. The only way she knew that the Facilitator was choosing Skills for her was the three successive “BING!” sounds she heard, and the reappearance of the robotic voice that followed shortly after;

 

<Assessing selected Skills>

 

<Awaiting response>

 

<…>

 

<Confirmed>

 

<Congratulations, Player “Wanderer, for choosing your first three Skills!>

 

<The chosen Skills are as follows:

 

1-[Freestyler] Active Skill: [Surface/Enemy]

 

2-[Freestyler] Passive Skill: [PCM]

 

3-[Freestyler] Passive Skill: [Struggle Glow-Up]>

 

<That concludes the Skill selection>

 

<You have made your choices, don’t regret them>

 

<Proceeding with Weapon selection>

 

<Your weapon, no matter which one you select, will be the instrument that can make or break your rhythm in a battle for survival>

 

<Although it needn’t be said, choose wisely>

 

“If any movie director worth their salt we’re looking for someone to fill the role of “Ominous Narrator”, they needn’t look further than “that” guy…or lady…or person/being…oh never mind!”, Gab muttered under her breath, until she remembered something vital. Three somethings to be precise.

 

“Anyway, what’s up with those three strangely Skills Aurula selected for me anyway? One Active Skill and two Passive’s, and all three them are for [Freestylers]?”, Gab thought to herself.

 

Whilst she was curious about what each of these Skills chosen for her do, she figured that she could wait until she finishes creating her [Freestyler] avatar so that she can look at them in more depth.

 

As she walked back towards the display screen, which now only showed solid white icons of God knows how many weapons, Aurula floated directly in front of Gab with a nervous expression on her face.

 

~ Wande…Gab, there’s no need for you to see this next part! As a matter of fact, just turn around and keep your eyes shut!!~, the Facilitator stammered quickly.

 

“…Aurula, why do I have a bad feeling that you’re about to do something incredibly sketchy?”, Gab asked with a raised eyebrow.

 

~I’m not doing anything…” sketchy”, per se. It’s just that what I select for will not be what you would expect, so could you please do as I say!~.

 

“…alright. Since I’ve trusted you this far, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to be ignorant for the time being.”, Gab conceded, turning around to shut her eyes despite both her curiosity and the ominous feeling she was getting as a result of Aurula’s actions at this moment.

 

Confirming for herself that Gab has indeed closed her eyes, Aurula shot back to the screen and executed the action her Mistress allowed her to take ask fast as someone of her capabilities can, lest Gab somehow “accidentally” opens her eyes!

 

And considering how swift she is normally, the time it took her to complete this particular task was fast as fuck!

 

BIIINNNGGG

 

<Assessing selected …>

 

<…Awaiting response>

 

<…>

 

<……>

 

<………>

 

<Confirmed>

 

<Congratulations, Player “Wanderer, for choosing your first …>

 

<The chosen … … as follows:

 

i-OMITTED>

 

<That concludes the Weapon Selection>

 

<You have made your choice, don’t regret it>

 

<Proceeding with Attribute Point Distribution>

 

<Whether it be in battle with warriors or a competition with a rival producer of goods, the way you spread your points will determine your chances for attaining complete victory>

 

<If you make an unwise choice with even a single point, said chance can fall to “completely nonexistent”>

 

<Make your choice>

 

…TWITCH!!!

 

Gab…could not express her feelings regarding…whatever the hell THAT was all about in coherent words, much less sentences! All she did during the time was trying to stop a massive headache from overtaking her and desperately willing herself to not vomit up blood in disbelief!!

 

For one thing, the “BING!” sound that’s usually made when making a selection was far more drawn out and heavier in comparison to the short, crisp ones that were made when her Skills were selected a short while ago, although it should only be one starter weapon.

But the strangest thing was the way that some of the information was omitted/redacted, which implied the possibility that Aurula was not only given the authorisation by her Mistress to choose weapons in Gab’s stead but to also withhold information from Gab on what precisely was selected, at least for the time being.

 

And, quite frankly, that freaked out Gab more than anything, causing her to question what the hell she got herself into!

 

Turning back around, Gab saw one of the culprits for what just happened to float with both her hands behind her back, whilst whistling of all things!

 

“…Aur-”

 

~Oh would you look at that, it’s time for you to apply your Free and Fixed Attribute Points!~, the Facilitator pointed out in an overly exaggerated tone as if that would somehow magically cause Gab to forget about what happened just now, ~Now it’s your turn to contribute to your Character Creation!~.

 

“…you’re not going to give me any chance to talk about what the hell was up with that last selection process, aren’t you?”, Gab said in a dull tone, already guessing the Facilitator’s response whilst resigning herself to having to wait at least a little longer to get her answers.

 

~I don’t know what you could possibly be talking about. Anyway, here you go.~, Aurula replied in a not-so convincing tone whilst moving a little to the side, giving Gab her first glimpse at the Attributes that will determine her overall capabilities from the moment she truly starts the game:

 

<Free Attributes>

 

STR: 0

 

VIT: 0

 

AGI: 0

 

DEX: 0

 

INT: 0

 

Points Remaining: 30

 

<Fixed Attributes>

 

Causality: 0

 

Gravitas: 0

 

Comprehension: 0

 

Points Remaining: 30

 

Ok, this was something that Gab felt confident in doing without Aurula’s help. Since she’s played D&D, as well as other RPGs that uses Attribute Points, she has a fairly good idea of what each Attribute represents:

 

-Strength (STR) typically is an indicator of how much Physical Attack power a Player is capable of at any given time. 

 

-Vitality (VIT) represents not only determines a Player’s original max Health Points (HP) but also their Physical Defence as well.

 

-Agility (AGI) acts as an indicator of how fast a Player can move and react in real-time. Also, the higher ones Agility is, the more fluidly one can control their IG avatar.

 

-Dexterity (DEX) refers to how well a Player can handle weapons, tools, cast magic that requires precise hand movements and gestures and the like.

 

-Intelligence (INT) is the universal magic stat, determining a Player’s original max Magic Points (MP), Magic Attack, as well as their Magical Defence.

 

For the Fixed Attributes, which are the stats she can’t freely distribute points towards like the Free Attributes, Gab wasn’t entirely sure of their purposes since their names are a little different from she’s used to, but she can make an educated guess:

 

-Causality was basically Arbitrium’s version of the Luck stat. The more points one has in this stat, the higher the chances of causality acting in their favour, i.e. better drops from slain enemies, scoring critical hits more frequently, foraging rare materials etc.

 

-Gravitas must be another name for the Charm stat, which is crucial if Players want to receive Quests and the like with better rewards than most from NPCs, although that’s just scratching the surface of what it’s capable of.

 

-Comprehension would allow a Player’s perception of the world of Arbitrium to be both expanded and concentrated, allowing one to understand complex subjects more clearly, notice signs and symbols that are hidden in plain sight and so forth.

 

As she was reaching out to start the process, she felt light and slender fingertips suddenly tap the back of her hand, cause her to look to the side, find Aurula holding what looked like a holograph panel in her other hand.

 

“…is there some way, in particular, I need to distribute my points?”, Gab asked curiously, whilst at the same time enjoying the pleasant sensations the Facilitator’s produced, making her feel like she was truly caressed by the wind.

 

~No, your points are yours to distribute and yours alone. Although,~, Aurula paused with a cheeky smile on her face, ~knowing you, I can make a pretty good inference as to exactly how you’ll utilise them.~.

 

Feeling as if Aurula truly did know how she going to go about this, Gab felt torn between either laughing or crying.

 

~No, what I need you to do is to agree to this condition set for by my Mistress.~, Aurula said before handing Gab the holographic panel, which surprisingly only had a single question written on it;

 

<Do you, Player “Wanderer” agree to waive your ability to choose whether or not to allow your achievements to be announced?>

 

<Y/N>

 

“Wait, why in the fuck does your Mistress want me to sign away my ability to keep every Player and their mother from hearing any accomplishments I achieve if I even make any?”.

 

~Honestly, I don’t know, since I only received that basic agreement from the Mistress just mere moments ago. Although I can make a few guesses as to why she would want you to do this.~.

 

Gab raised her eyebrow at that last remark.

 

“Any, in particular, you want to share?”, Gab asked, but Aurula only shook her head indicate that she won’t, causing Gab to sigh in defeat.

 

Shaking her own head at the absurdity of this whole situation, Gab then clenched her teeth and went, “Fuck it, it’s not like I’ll be making a broadcast worthy achievement anytime soon, right?!”.

 

As soon as she said that, she selected <Y>.

 

<Thank you for accepting this agreement, Player “Wanderer”>

 

<From this point forward, all achievements that worthy of country-wide, region-wide and international-wide broadcasts will be announced automatically, without any need for your assent or dissent>

 

“…well, now with THAT out of the way, I got some points to spread out!”.

 

Whilst most Players would have spent at least a few minutes agonising over what stats they should focus on and then inputting them, it only took Gab less than twenty seconds to do hers!

 

Although, that’s purely because her stat distribution was, well…

 

~…I’m so glad you didn’t make a bet against me over whether I guessed right, Gab, because it would’ve been the easiest money I ever got!~, Aurula giggled smugly, resting her elbow on Gab’s shoulder, which annoyed the said “elbow-rest” enough that she didn’t point out that this was the first time the Facilitator said her IRL name without stammering.

 

“Oh shush, will you! It’s bad enough that I went into this game blind, but I’m also doing almost the same thing in regards to your Mistress’s bloody mysterious scheme!”, Gab snapped, before taking some calming breaths.

 

“That being said, I think this is a good start for the time being.”, Gab remarked, observing the display screen that now looked like this:

 

<Free Attributes>

 

STR: 6

 

VIT: 6

 

AGI: 6

 

DEX: 6

 

INT: 6

 

Points Remaining: 0

 

<Fixed Attributes>

 

Causality: 10

 

Gravitas: 10

 

Comprehension: 10

 

Points Remaining: 0

 

An even spread, that was Gab’s plan for her stats.

 

Normally, she would either distribute her stats to bring out the full potential of the Class she has chosen to play at any time or arrange them in such a way that they wouldn’t be typical of said Class. 

 

However, Gab felt that making her [Freestyler] avatar completely balanced in terms of stats was the smartest move she could make at this point, given she didn’t know what else the Mistress had in store for her and she hasn’t had enough time to look at her newly acquired Skills.

 

Not to mention whatever Aurula did in regards to the Weapon Selection…

 

<All of your Free and Fixed Attribute Points have now been distributed>

 

<Assessing current point distribution>

 

<Awaiting response>

 

<…>

 

<Confirmed>

 

<Attribute Point Distribution is now complete>

 

<Congratulations, Player “Wanderer”, you have successfully completed Character Creation for your IG avatar!>

 

<All the necessary funds to be allocated to your Player Inventory will be calculated based on your current build and transferred to you once you enter Arbitrium>

 

<Time until Oceania Battle Zone opens: 10 minutes and 48 seconds> 

 

<Prepare yourself; for the choices you made will soon be tested…>