Origin ARS 4

by Scottie Futch

  ***

  Shara sighed lightly at the monitor. She had to choose a backstory, stats, and skills for her avatar. Her community service project could not begin properly until she did so. The skills and stats were simple enough to choose from. The problem was not related to the system and the alpha-testing she would have to perform. No, the issue was that the red-haired goddess could not decide what she wished to do in regards to the world-setting and backstory.

  “I guess I could be an American, like Scott.” Shara smiled gently then sighed a little after she thought of him. She had developed a huge crush on the man over the years, but she knew that it was not really love. If anything her desire to be with him was more due to obsession over her sister’s interest and her loneliness. He was a great guy, and if her sister was not so stingy, they would have really cute babies at some point. Sadly, such was not the case.

  “Scott...” said Shara with a soft sigh. She’d had her shot at a Scott of her own, but his heart had not been ready for the love that she’d had to give. Now she was at a loss. She was fine with only being friends with her sister’s love interest, but she also liked him. Well, the idea of him.

  She thought about that for a moment. “What was that called again?”

  Shara blinked then raised one finger up into the air as the term came to mind. “Dimensional Analogous Typological and Approximate Soul Syndrome.”

  Yes, poor little Shara had a severe case of DAT ASS. Every time she thought of Scott, the symptoms of DAT ASS became quite apparent. It was a common affliction among the gods. It amounted to an inter-dimensional concept of not being able to love the one you want, so you ended up loving the one who you were with at the time. It was similar, except for the fact that both people were essentially different reality versions of the same person.

  “I so have a major case of DAT ASS.” said Shara with a sigh. There was no cure for it, either. The only way to treat the affliction was to actively end up in a relationship with the person you longed for, or one of their close dimensional analogous approximations. It was all the same soul anyway, just different expressions of that person that existed on alternate points on variable timelines.

  “Too bad there’s no Scott in this world.” said Shara sadly. Until she found a Scott of her own she would be forever miserable due to having a severe case of DAT ASS.

  Shara blinked a moment later. “Wait; is there a Scott in that world?”

  She began checking through the records for various spiritual patterns. Personalities can be different between soul expressions, but the spiritual resonance pattern was always identical. It did not take long for her to discover that there was indeed a Scott in that world.

  “Hmm, information more than one year after insertion is blocked until after the initial insertion period is over.” It was annoying but it did make sense to her. The timeline would be changed by the insertion of the few thousand alpha-testers involved. If they knew what originally happened, they might cause even more disruption to occur. The entire purpose of the project was to try and mitigate those sorts of issues to an extent.

  Scott would be roughly two years old by the time she was inserted. That was nice. He would be older than her. Shara giggled softly then thought about how she could be his cute little junior.

  “Please take care of me.” she said sweetly to the infant on the screen.

  “Well, I know exactly where I am going to be inserted now. I just need to figure out a background that will allow me to meet up with community service Scott.” said Shara.

  She scoured the local area for a worthwhile family to give birth to her. Eventually, she gave up and chose the custom family option. It would allow her to have parents crafted for her, as well as a custom backstory. It was not as good as being born normally, but at least it would meet her requirements with greater ease.

  She opened up the character model generation kit, and began to craft her family members. She would be an only child, as that would be easiest to deal with at the moment. Her father would be a ruggedly handsome man who was a mixture of Caucasian and Latin features. He would meet her mother, the daughter of a traditional Japanese ninja master, during a business trip to Japan.

  Shara threw in a few random parts about her father having been born to a family of American demon hunters, so that her parents had something in common. The family business, so to speak, was fighting crime and supernatural evil. They also sold weapons.

  The backstory flew from her fingers as she crafted the perfect background for her avatar. After she finished a few more things, she hit send. It took a few minutes, but the project leader sent back his approval. A dozen mortal souls were contacted and after a brief moment of discussion they chose to be contractually obligated to reincarnate in the world according to Shara’s requirements. They would have the chance to live again, and would also be part of helping that world’s human population. In short, it sounded like fun to be demon hunting ninjas instead of disembodied floating masses of spiritual essence.

  “Excellent, I have a family on that world for my avatar, and I can live near that Scott. What else do I need?” she asked.

  Shara had to consider the future carefully. She already knew that she would have the expert knowledge and skills of a demon hunting ninja master by the time the community service ended. What she had to work on was her character interaction. Namely, dare she go for the brass ring and make an attempt to get to know this Scott on a personal level? Did she want him to help her deal with DAT ASS?

  Yes, yes she did. “I’ll have to really make an impact in his life. I wonder how I’ll accomplish that?”

  The ninja goddess was practically giddy at the idea of being able to spend a mortal life with Scott, even if they ended up as just friends once more, there was no reason for her to believe that she would feel like an outsider forever. Besides that, Rhea could not be mad if she did all manner of interesting things with community service Scott. She had laid claim on a different one already.

  “You know, this could be fun. Maybe, I can be the cute childhood friend who he secretly longs for.... Oh, that would be great!” Shara squealed with such excitement that Gambol would have been proud of her tone and volume.

  Shara thought about what things might be like once they were older and her eyes widened. She pulled out a paper fan then laughed loudly in a disturbingly goofy and lecherous manner. “Oh ho ho ho ho ho.”

  Chapter 5: True Human Potential

  The darkness erupted into a dazzling kaleidoscope of intense colors as a Prismatic Sphere of burning light exploded in the center of the room. Rat-men screamed as they burned. Their vision and hearing had been compromised for the moment, and that moment was all that Rhea needed to slip in and finish them off.

  Scott continued forward and used his [Burning Prismatic Sphere] spell once more. It had been a simple matter to work their way through the warrens of the rat-men bandits that had plagued the country-side recently.

  While they were roughly level sixty monsters, it did not matter much when Rhea had such a major advantage in equipment. Scott’s spell, a level three fire spell that caused a blind and stun effect, was quite potent when used in an enclosed area. The damage was mitigated somewhat due to the level of the monsters versus his own, but the status effects still kicked in since the Rat-Men were weak to bright lights and sudden loud noises.

  By the time the warrens were cleared they had burned their way through forty or so of the diseased vermin. The battle report was quite nice to behold.

  [Battle Report]

  You have defeated thirty-seven Rat-Men in a running battle. Bonuses and rewards await you!

  + 99,900 EXP

  + 123,245 Fayth

  + 232 Ability Points

  Item(s) Acquired:

  Rat-Man Fang X 12

  Garnet X 2

  Corroded Sword X 5

  Steel Dagger X 14

  Leather Battle Harness X 2

  [--]

  “Sweet, close to gaining another level.” sa
id Scott.

  Rhea smiled at him. “Good. It takes a little longer after you hit forty, doesn’t it?”

  “Yeah, no kidding. It’s better than having it double every time I gain a level, though.” he said with a smile of his own.

  “Plan on giving it all to Ero again?” asked Rhea.

  “Yeah, that’s what I want to know, too.” said the happy little fairy. Ero fluttered over to Scott and batted her eyelashes at him cutely.

  “Yeah, I still think I should get you to level forty before I continue on. This is enough to help you reach level thirty-three at least.” he said.

  Ero giggled excitedly then hugged herself. Soon she would be filled with more of her Scott’s lovely experience. They had spent two days working on the requests from the town quest board and during that time Scott had managed to reach level forty-two. The moment he had reached level forty, his experience requirements jumped considerably.

  Scott immediately began the transfer protocol and Ero squealed in great excitement. She fluttered erratically for a moment before Scott caught her. The poor little thing spasmed and turned bright red as her body was filled with so much wonderful experience. She could hardly contain her enjoyment of the moment.

  Eventually, Ero started to babble about her goodness. Every now and then she would whisper out, “Oh my goodness...” in soft, sultry, tones before she ran her hands along her body.

  “Sometimes I wonder if she is having a fairygasm, or if she looted a personal stash of ecstasy.” said Scott.

  Rhea laughed at him then walked over and looked down at the softly whispering fairy. She certainly looked like she had found a great deal of personal bliss.

  “I should catch up with you soon, if you keep doing that.” said Rhea.

  Her heightened experience requirement meant that it took ten times more experience than a human to gain a level. Scott’s human experience gain bonus made it so that he received far more experience when he defeated a higher level opponent than she did. It was problematic at times, but since he had to give his experience to Ero they managed it well. Such things would change when they transferred to the other server, but for now it was a workable situation.

  “Will your experience requirements increase like mine?” he asked.

  Rhea nodded to him. “Yes. Yours will increase again at level seventy and then once more after one hundred. Though, it won’t matter since we’ll transfer to the other server around that time.”

  Scott smiled at her. “You know, I still don’t understand why you need so much more experience as an elf. The reincarnation thing sort of negates the purpose of an enhanced lifespan, doesn’t it?”

  “A little, but it is more of an endgame and lore thing. Elves are meant to be epic and powerful beings with incredible skill in the endgame. They take a lot longer to reach the higher levels, but when they get there they are far stronger than most other races” said Rhea.

  “That makes sense. Given how quickly I could hurl myself up the experience ladder, most humans probably struggle with their ability points.” said Scott.

  It was on old topic, but he had decided to revisit it since it had always bothered him. In the end, what real purpose did it serve other than to keep the number of elf players down? Of course, that could be the true purpose. After he asked Rhea that point specifically she smiled at him.

  “Yes, that is part of the reason. Elves are meant to be rare and powerful existences. They are one or two steps below the divine races of the world.” said Rhea.

  “Divine races?” asked Scott.

  Rhea nodded at him. “Yes, as an elf I am connected to the forces of nature in a more direct manner. I can’t use primordial magic because of my class, but if I were to reincarnate as an advanced class for my race, I could be connected to the wind and the rain, or the earth and the flame.”

  “Oh, so you are naturally connected to something I have to learn?” asked Scott.

  “In a manner of speaking, though as a Sorcerer you also are deemed somewhat special.” she said.

  “What do you mean?” asked Scott.

  Rhea tilted her head to the left then tapped her chin. “How do I explain it...?”

  She blinked then pounded her palm with her fist. “Yes, of course. As a sorcerer you have a divergent soul.”

  “OK, a new term... How many of those will I have to learn about before I understand this place?” asked Scott with a smile.

  Rhea laughed softly. “It’s nothing world-shattering or anything. Mostly, it’s just lore. Would you like to know the origin of the sorcerer’s power?”

  “Sure, but can you tell me about that soul thing first?” said Scott.

  “Of course!” she said.

  The elf girl tapped her chin for a moment then nodded. “A divergent soul is one that can find true balance between opposites.”

  She noticed that Scott now wore a curious and confused expression so she continued, “Normally the path of magic requires total focus or the amount of power that you possess will always be second rate. This is why other hybrid classes usually focus on physical combat and only have minor spell casting ability.”

  “Sorcerer’s are different because they can find a greater balance in the two types of combat?” asked Scott. That seemed a little simplistic to be honest.

  She shook her head. “That’s part of it, but the real difference is that a sorcerer has taken on the power of the primordial magic. They have in some ways become that power. It is why that sort of magic is available to you after all.”

  “Primordial magic again, huh? I still don’t get its usefulness.” said Scott.

  “It’s hard to explain because it exists outside of the system in some regards.” said Rhea.

  Scott looked at her in surprise. “Outside the system? How is that possible?”

  As far as Scott knew, the entire world and everything in it had been created by Rhea’s family. The thought that something outside of their system existed in this world was quite unsettling.

  “Well, we had to make the world out of something Scott. Even we need a medium to work through. Basically, the primordial magic is the essence of my family that was allowed to suffuse this space and was then used to generate the world.”

  “So, primordial magic is like the metaphysical life’s blood of your family?” asked Scott.

  “Yes! That’s one reason why we hate it when the board calls for a reset. Every rock, every tree, every monster and every race... They are like our children.” said Rhea.

  Scott smiled softly at her, but she was not finished yet. Rhea looked up at him then acquired a faraway look. “When we created this world, we did so out of love. I was but a child then, as far as childhood goes for my kind. I sang the song that engendered love in the world. Every joyful sonnet or desperate sorrow brought about by one being having care and concern for another exists because my very life’s essence is bound to this world, rather to all of the ARS servers.”

  “Rhea...” said Scott gently.

  She looked at Scott then offered a soft smile. “You are the first person I have ever cared for deeply who was not directly a part of my essence, as my family and this world is.”

  “I’m something not of ARS... doesn’t that make me odd, strange?” asked Scott.

  “Yes. You are an oddness in the world, Scott. You’re an outside element, a chaotic and dangerous element.”

  “How am I dangerous?”

  Rhea slipped closer to him then took his hands in hers. “Because you are a true human, no matter what race you choose for yourself in this world. A being of such unimaginable power can be nothing but the most dangerous of elements.”

  “Powerful? You could easily kick my ass.” said Scott with a nervous laugh.

  “As you are now, yes. However, if you were to attain the heights of what I had hoped for you... You can’t imagine what you’ll be capable of accomplishing. You would not only have the power of my family, but the unlimited creative potential of true humanity.”

  Rhea b
egan to tremble then released a softly shuddering breath. Scott reached out and pulled her close. “Rhea...What do you mean?” he asked after her trembling ceased.

  “You really don’t know, do you?” she asked him simply.

  “There are many things I don’t know.” he said with equal simplicity.

  She kissed him softly on the cheek. “Is it alright, if I allow you to remain naive for a time?”

  “Hell no.” said Scott cheerfully.

  Rhea snorted then pulled back and laughed. “You really are a silly boy, aren’t you?”

  “I should remind you that despite my appearance I am not a boy. I am in fact, a silly man.” replied Scott.

  “Ah, I stand corrected.” she said, a smile on her lips and a sparkle in her eyes.

  “Good, now tell me all of your secrets.” he said happily.

  She screwed her lips to the left then chuckled a little. “Fine, you got me.”

  “Good, I hope I can keep you.” said Scott.

  She patted him on the cheek gently. “I know.”

  He snorted at her and she grinned. Such a cheeky response from Rhea could only mean that she was in a good mood. Still, he refused to let her redirect the conversation. “So, tell me about humanity and your family’s essence.”

  “Right, well... It’s not that complicated really. As a naturally occurring mortal soul you are actually one of the most powerful forces in existence.” she said.

  Scott stared at her flatly for a moment and she grinned. Rhea said, “I understand that it does not sound right, but it is. The creative potential of a mortal soul is well beyond the capacity of any one member of my race.”

  “How?” asked Scott.

  “Well, it’s like this... A god, as we are known, has but one existence. We can only ever be one thing. We can divide our mind in millions of ways and have great power because of that focus, but we are still limited to one mind.”