Waking up has always been a sort of sudden revelatory affair, for me. "Oh, right," my mind comments - "I exist." - and then I'm awake. I've never had the slow climb into consciousness that other people seem to have. No need to take stock - I know who I am. A quick check and then I'm thinking. I'm good to go. Quick as checking the time. This time isn't any different in that regard.
That said, it's like looking at a clock with a giant eye for a face, and just... not realizing that anything is out of place. Plenty of people glaze over things, seeing what they expect to see. Happens to even the most astute of us, sometimes.
As is traditional for crawling out of unconsciousness, I brace myself for the array of minor aches and pains that come with life after a certain age: a twinge in the wrist here, a crick in the neck there, a sore spot on the back...
... and nothing.
You'd think that'd tip me off, but the human capacity for obliviousness is not to be understated.
What I do notice is an absence. There's supposed to be a beeping. Why isn't there a beeping?
...
Oh, no, I'm late.
I try to push myself up, and that's where things start to go sideways.
For one thing, I've apparently used too much force, because I go shooting up faster than I'm used to.
For another, I'm not in a bed - it looks like I'm lying on some kind of stone table, set a few feet off the ground. Well. I was, anyway. Now I'm lying next to a stone table. Which I have sort of crashed into, having lost my balance trying to sit up.
What a stellar specimen I am, right?
Doesn't hurt nearly as much as I'd expected, though.
As I try to pick myself up, my vision is suddenly obscured by a curtain of blue - and it's that last part that finally gets my attention.
| [Translation Complete!] Welcome! You are likely to be disoriented! A helpdesk will be available outside this chamber to help inform you about your journey. When you exit the entry chamber you will lose visual access to these messages. Before you go, you should select your initial class and familiarize your [Status]. Please [Proceed] when ready - just [think in brackets]! |
...
What.
This can't be real.
I blink a few times, but the afterimage is still there, as if it were projected directly onto my eyes. I look down, and the blue only intensifies.
... nothing else for it, I guess. [Proceed?]
The text in front of me blips away, replaced by new information.
Not sure I'm cool with something that can read my thoughts, but it doesn't look like I have much say in the matter.
|
You got it! |
[Ideal Selection], huh? Not sure if that's going to be better than picking and choosing, in a situation like this.
| [Ideal Selection] confirmed! Good choice! The process will take a few moments... |
Aw, beans.
| [Illusionist] class selected! You can [Inquire] about your class for further information, or familiarize yourself with your [Status]! |
Shortly after I finish reading the sentence, the words disappear.
There's still a lot of blue obscuring my vision, though.
When I wave my hand in front of my face, I realize why:
That's hair.
Specifically, that's my hair.
Did I always have hair this long? Or with a sky-blue coloring?
I don't...
I don't remember.
That's alarming.
Let's... just do an inventory, here.
Start simple: do I remember my name?
...
Sure don't.
What about other details? Age? Hometown? Job, or education, or something like that?
Nothing.
Except... hm.
There's a vague sense of this wasn't true before with my hair, so maybe I can figure some things out via process of elimination?
Guess I'll figure it out as I go.
There's a whole lot to figure out already, anyway. What did they mean by 'top investors'? I don't remember investing anything. Maybe I'm a businessman of some kind?
And maybe I should stop staring at my hair and get on with figuring things out.
I brush the curtain of hair aside - apparently it's just about shoulder-length - and get a look at a thin, delicate hand with short nails painted the same blue as the hair.
The hand seems unfamiliar, too.
Maybe I should just check my [Status] to get more information?
| Info | |
| Name: | Lotus |
| Gender: | Female |
| Species: | Human |
| Class: | Illusionist |
| Level: | 1 |
| Investment: | 95% |
| Stats | |
| Brawn: | 3 |
| Finesse: | 7 |
| Mettle: | 4 |
| Ardor: | 8 |
| Diligence: | 5 |
| Observance: | 5 |
| Grit: |
6 |
| Class Skills | |
| Discern Illusion | 1 |
| Minor Illusion | 1 |
| [Next Skill Available At Level 5] | |
| General Skills | |
| Weapon Potential* | 1 |
| Aptitude Potential* | 1 |
| [Empty] | |
| [Next Slot Available At Level 5] | |
| Personal Skills | |
| [Empty] | |
| [Next Slot Available At Level 10] | |
... wait a second, I'm a girl?
I do not remember this being the case before.
Looking down, sure enough - there's curves there, albeit mostly covered by a cloth wrapping of some kind.
Should I be freaking out about this?
I don't recognize my name, either, though.
Human... seems right? I guess?
The stats aren't familiar, nor are the skills. And an illusionist? Really? That seems... less than ideal.
I'm a girl.
That's...
Not sure how I feel about that.
You know what?
I'm just not gonna think about that for a bit and focus on where I am and what the hell is going on, instead.
Come to think of it, I haven't really looked my surroundings.
There's a stone table (which I just fell off of) at the center of a circular room.
The room itself is made of stone bricks, too - a lot of them with cracks and chips running through them. This place looks like time has taken a massive toll on it.
Not much else in here... oh, wait. Some rubble on the floor. Looks like it came from a carved sign on the wall above the door. Looks like there was writing.
The only intact word is a chunk of rock with the word SACRIFICE on it.
...
Well, that's not creepy at all.
Maybe I don't want to be in this room anymore.
Besides, wasn't there a help desk of some sort out there? That might help me figure out more of what's going on, and keep me from having to think about other things just at the moment.
Plain but heavy-looking wooden door? Here I come!
... why in the world am I a girl?
Based on the casual response of "Huh that's weird, I could swear that wasn't the case before... Guess it's a mystery to solve", I think I have a good theory and I'm betting it has to deal with the fact that the system can seemingly detect subconscious desire and that whoever set this up seemingly is interested in giving MC a positive experience... Th-The theory is MC was a trans woman before whether she knew it or not and the system gave her an Ideal Body... Heck based on the fact she didn't notice her body until after Ideal Selection activated that could have been the moment that her body got changed.