After a few moments to calm down Rykler sat back into the chair, his clothes were drenched in sweat but he couldn’t care less.

The voice from the man standing outside was heard again “Alright everyone should have touched the cards by now. You are all officially citizens of Astra now! To bring up your information just think ‘Status’ within your mind and you can view them… please take your time analysing it, I will explain more shortly.”

Rykler clenched his fists as he desperately thought ‘Status’, a blue screen then popped up in his vision:

[Name: Rykler Earth (New surname has been assigned)]

[Age: 87]

[Race: Earthling (Elf bloodline 10%)]

[STR: 3, DEX: 4, CON: 2 (+10), INT: 20, WIS: 15]

[Class (Locked)]

[Skills (Locked)]

[Arthritis (Major)] [Asthma (Critical)] [Parkinsons (Minor)] [Dementia (Minor)] [Heart Disease (Major)] [Eyesight Deterioration (Minor)]

Rykler was again startled and moved his head around the room, no matter where he looked or how he moved his head, the blue screen was always at the centre of his vision but was transparent so he could see behind it. When he looked in the mirror, he could see his reflection but no trace of the blue screen could be seen.

But that wasn’t important. “WHO IS THIS!” Rykler shouted in surprise pointing an accusing finger at the handsome man in the mirror.

The man stood tall, defined but still small muscles could be seen beneath his shirt. He had a head full of long and wavy purple hair that cascaded down his shoulders. His green eyes stared back at him with the intense vigour of a man in the prime of his life. Slightly pointy ears could be seen poking out of the purple hair. This imposter in the mirror was pointing an accusing finger at him, just like he was…

Wait a minute…

Could this be him?

He was an 87-year-old man who looked like a walking corpse only minutes ago, no amount of plastic surgery or advanced medicine could change his looks in such a short time.

Feeling a little silly he decided to read the floating blue screen in front of his eyes, maybe it held the secret to his change.

First his name… Earth? His surname was Bateman not Earth. His age was correct… hmm. My race is, Earthling? Why not Human? Is there a difference between me and Adam on the genetic level? Aren’t we both humans… well I did see one of them get thrown into a wall and live so maybe they are much stronger than us?

Wait, I'm part ELF? WHAT THE fuck… there’s elves on Earth? If there are elves, then are there vampires too? What about dragons… I always loved dragons as a kid.

If I think about it, everyone in my family has green eyes, blonde hair and they all love nature. My great grandfather all those years ago used to tell me he could hear the forest's voice, we all called him crazy old Joe. He did live to a ripe old age of 143 though. Elves usually have long lives, don’t they?

What do these numbers mean? ‘STR:  3’? Does that stand for strength, possibly… 3 sounds kind of low though? I guess I am a weak old man that would probably lose a fight against a child at this point. They could just run circles around me until I run out of breath and collapse. Hahaha.

Why does ‘CON’ have a +10 next to it? Is that why I feel so energised now? My body has improved…

“Alright everyone please leave the rooms to listen to my explanation”

Rykler gave himself one last look in the mirror, a smile was plastered on his now rosy face with less wrinkles. Apart from the purple hair and muscles, he looks just like how he did around 20 years ago!

Grabbing the purple card like it was some kind of treasure he quickly left the room behind. After leaving the room he met face to face with a woman walking out the room to his left. Her green eyes locked with his.

She was simply stunning, flawless face, fierce green eyes, and long purple hair.

“Diana?”

“Grandpa?”

They asked at the same time, both gawking at the other.

Without needing to speak they both embraced each other in a warm hug, Diana was quietly sobbing in Rykler arms while muttering “He is better, oh thank the gods he can be cured”.

Before Rykler had a similar height to Diana due to his hunched over back but now he easily rested his chin on her head and surveyed the room. Everyone else also had purple hair, the same colour as the card in their hands.

“Listen up!” A short man with green hair said. “Your bodies have all been assimilated with the mana around you. Normal humans have around 5 in each stat.”

Rykler looked at the floating blue screen:

[STR: 3, DEX: 4, CON: 2 (+10), INT: 20, WIS: 15]

‘Hmm so I'm actually weak compared to a normal human, makes sense considering I'm 87 years old with all these illnesses…’

“Now you may notice a +10 next to your CON stat, this means your body's constitution has been increased. Your bodies are 3 times tougher than a normal human. You will be immune to most illnesses like the common cold, your body will heal light wounds in hours instead of days. Headaches are no more and you will only need 3 hours of sleep a night.”

The man took a breath and then continued his speech,

“You actually were granted +10 to all your stats. However everything except the constitution is locked on Earth. Any Questions?”

One of the officials hands shot up, he was a tall man with a moustache which had turned purple.

“How come the constitution stat is unlocked?”

“Good question! The CON stat also directly increases your lifespan, many people from Astra including myself are old and only stay young due to a high CON stat. Some on Astra are even immortal and have lived for over a thousand years.”

Everyone's eyes went wide.

“Immortality???” The dream of almost all humans is to live forever…

The man simply nodded to them as if it's not that big a deal, “Any more questions?”

Another woman in the group quickly raised her hand, “Why is our hair purple? Can we change it back?” 

Rykler remembered this woman's face from the plane earlier, she had dyed blonde hair back then but now had short purple hair.

“On Astra hair colour is seen as a status symbol. People with brown, black, blonde and ginger hair are considered as normal citizens and make up the majority of the population, they all have white cards. Green hair is considered lower nobility, in your world's logic it would be like a knight's captain or a rich merchant. Blue hairs are considered normal nobles like a Baron. Black hairs are upper nobles like a Duke and then finally Gold are the royals and the council members.”

“Purple will be considered equal to Green in terms of power, if you change your hair to a colour like blonde you will still retain your status as a purple cardholder but others won’t be able to easily recognise your status and will try to make trouble for you. Therefore I suggest you stick with it…” 

“Alright, no more questions! Follow me!”

The few officials with their hands raised put them down and followed the man out the room.

Inside the next room was a glowing blue portal…