3. The SoulSystem
“I’m blind” Matheus yelped in horror.
Out of thin air, words and numbers appeared right in front of his eyes. There was a ridiculous amount of information and he could barely see anything else. He was caught so off guard that he stumbled back and fell on his ass.
“The SoulsSystem” She repeated, not caring that Matheus was now on the floor. “It’ll be available for you during the duration of this Contest, and it’s the Hammer, Sword and Shield that you’ll need to use to win. With time, it’ll be just like any other extension of your body.
It all sounded amazing, but Matheus couldn’t read a thing. The texts were too big and everything was disorganized.
“Why is it not working properly?”
“It is. It has already been incorporated into you, the moment you arrived here. Each SoulSystem is slightly different for each being, designed to offer an easy transition.”
“Focus. You should be able to make it smaller and move it around at your will”
Matheus concentrated. Just as she said, the letters gradually changed to an appropriate size and moved to the left of his field of vision. He sighed in relief.
When he finally checked the information, Matheus noticed in astonishment a voice exactly like his own was repeating everything to him. It felt like talking to himself, inside his own head.
Matheus - Human No Title - No Class
Level: 1 Health: 12/12, Mana: 2/2 Unavailable: 0/0, Unavailable: 0/0, Unavailable: 42/42
Blessings: None, Curses: None
Stats Strength: 3, Speed: 4, Agility: 3, Intelligence: 4, Constitution: 3, Will: 1, Might: 1
Soul Connection: 1, Investiture: 1, Core: 1 Unavailable: 0, Unavailable: 0, Unavailable: 0
“Wow” Matheus exclaimed. That was just like a video game. Was this real? Matheus played video games all the time, it was his only way to escape from the hardships of life. Was this really what the Contest of Gods would be like? Maybe he really had a chance of winning it.
He was getting more excited every second. Matheus always wanted his own System. It was a dream coming true.
But, what are those stats? They seemed all extremely low, and half the information was unavailable. Heck, he didn’t even know what he had 42 of. He hoped it would turn out to be some kind of advantage.
And he had mana! Did that mean he could cast spells? It all kept getting better and better.
When he focused on a specific stat, extra information was fed directly into his mind, containing a short summary.
Health: If it gets to 0, you are dead.
Speed: The higher, the faster you’ll be able to move.
And so on.
He tried to get information for the ones unavailable, tried extra hard on the 42, that he’d already started thinking of as his Triumph Stat, but nothing. Frustrating, but expected.
Also irritating, some information was not helpful at all.
Connection: It’s your connection to your soul.
Core: It’s the strength of your soul.
“You only have access to the base Stats for now. More will be available for you as you progress in your journey.” The Entity said, interrupting him of his ruminations.”
Matheus wondered how far the similarities with video games went. A lot was still confusing for him, but the general picture was starting to make sense.
“This SoulSystem… what is it, really?”
“It is something different for everyone, designed to adapt accordingly to each individual soul. The information it contains, the way it presents it, everything aligns with what is inside of you.”
“So everyone experiences it in their own unique way?” Matheus asked curiously. All of this was incredibly interesting.
“Exactly. The SoulSystem will also adapt to your decisions, molding itself and presenting new Stats accordingly to your choices.” She kept going. “Do you see a blinking exclamation mark on the top right? Focus on it.”
Congratulations! You are a Human. This Race has no special Attributes. This Race has no starting Spells. This Race has no starting Skills. This Race has no starting Blessings. This Race is not granted any starting Curse. This Race is not granted any Stat Points.
That was just a long list of nos. Maybe his chances weren’t that great after all.
Wait, “This Race”?
“Is this not a tournament between humans?” Matheus asked, suddenly horrified.
“Of course not! There will be other humans, but this is a tournament among gods. The participants are chosen from all worlds with living and intelligent beings.
A chill ran down his spine. Aliens fucking existed? And he would have to compete against them? And he wouldn’t even get a special advantage, a unique cool spell or a cheat skill?
“How many participants are there? And how are the Gods involved in all this? Will they guide us? Do I have a patron?” Matheus asked excitedly, questions coming out in a rush.
“Questions, questions and questions. What use would it be for you, answers for what you don’t understand?” The Entity answered, impassive. “All in it’s due time. Now, focus deep inside. Every Soul is also a personal space.”
“A personal space? Do I have an Inventory?”
This time, Matheus wouldn't let himself be surprised. He planted his feet firmly on the ground, squinted his eyes and said the command slowly.
Nonetheless, he wasn't prepared.
He felt his vision being pushed to the inside of his mind, and it took all he had just to stay on his feet.
"I'm blind" Matheus yelped in desperation again.
"Relax. Try to focus. You need to clear your vision".
“How do I even do that?” He complained. After some seconds of concentration, his eyes adjusted and the blurriness finally went away. And he could see… a whole lot of nothing. Just empty space.
“There is nothing here.” He announced. “What am I looking at?”
“Your Soul, of course.”
“Well, there’s nothing there. There’s nothing inside my soul” Matheus said with a sour face.
“Well, of course. You need to put something in there first.”
“And how do I do that?” He asked, unenthusiastic.
“Simple. You need to analyze its Soul first.”
As the Entity finished speaking, Matheus suddenly startled.
“Wow, how did you do that?” He was astonished. In a blink, the whole room changed and he found himself surrounded by hundreds of different items. There were weapons, clothes, toys and even paintings.
A big green sword with emerald diamonds shone on his left, taller than he was. Around it there were different shaped knives, all with engraved hilts. There was a long black cape, a dragon outlined on its surface. A carpet flying in mid-air. An armor made of gold.
Everywhere he looked, the wonders would not end.
“Try looking into the Soul of something.”
He hesitated for a moment, still not over his prior experiences. Was he really interested in knowing what was inside the soul of a sword?
He could already feel the headache coming.
Shaking his head, Matheus decided to try with something smaller first.
And he’d just found the perfect candidate.
A small mist danced around it, which made Matheus think it was made of clouds on his first glance.
He picked the ring in his hand, feeling the cold touch of the metal. This close, he saw there was an emblem of a white lion on its top.
“SoulAnalyze” He said out loud, letting his mind leave his body. In a blink he went and came back, now with a System message in front of him.
Ring of the Ghost Sect Effects: +2 Intelligence +2 Agility This ring grants access to the Ghost Sect!
That was much better than he’d hoped. The experience just gave him a small tickle on his eyes, but he would get used to it.
He was going to start analyzing all the rest when suddenly everything turned into dust.
“You made your choice.” That was all the Entity answered.
“My choice?” Matheus noticed the ring was still on his hand.
Hesitantly, he put it on his finger. He checked his stats and noticed the extra points were there.
If he had known he would get to keep the item afterwards, he would have chosen something else completely. This thing was extremely frustrating.
Still, it was his first item, and it had potential to be something great later on. He couldn’t complain.
An idea passed through his mind. Before he could process the stupidity of it, he looked straight into the Entity in front of him.
“SoulAnalyze” Matheus said, a second before feeling his mind break.
It felt like his thoughts were glass and they all shattered at once. Nothing rested but tiny little senseless pieces.
Until everything was put together again, almost instantly.
Matheus gasped, finding himself on all fours.
“It looks like we have a curious one here, don’t we?”
He didn’t answer, still gathering his breath. That had been worse than dying.
“Let me give you a little peep.”
Ahálá - High Angel Guider of Souls
Level: ?? Health: ??/??, Mana: ??/?? Unavailable: ??, Unavailable: ??, Unavailable: ??
Matheus stared at the information in front of him in awe.
This Entity was a High Angel. Well, it made sense they would exist, if Gods are real.
“Unfortunately, I’m afraid that’s all the information you can handle without going mad.”
Matheus didn’t feel the energy to keep asking questions.
Maybe it would be better to just get this over with so he could start grinding some levels. That part seemed pretty straight-forward. But something was still missing.
“Where can I see my skills?
“What skills?” She asked with a sarcastic tone. “As soon as you manage to get any, the System will adapt with the new information.”
Of course he would have to start from zero. Matheus felt his hope slipping away. But he held onto it, and a small part remained, giving him strength,
“Can we stop with all the exposition now? He said, with confidence he wasn’t really feeling. “Let’s start this already.” No point in delaying it. He had a long road ahead of him, and waiting was only making him anxious.
“Not yet. First, you’ll have an opportunity to prove yourself. Consider it a taste of the challenges to come.” When the Angel finished speaking, the world was flooded with light again, strong enough to turn everything white.