And (N)one Shall Remain

“Puta Madre!”

 

The foreign curse echoed more as an garbled sound unlike anything produced by a human throat, barely understandable even if there was someone in the vicinity who understood the language and heard it. As it echoed through the mostly empty forests, it frightened some small animals in the vicinity, and also perked up the interest of a couple larger predators.

 

Those predators came closer, took a whiff of the foreign scent in the air or a peek at the odd shape that intruded upon their territory, before their survival instincts practically yelled at them to get the hell out of dodge. The animals, having lived their entire lives based on their instincts, followed that warning and quickly stayed as far away as they could from the strange thing that came in the midst of their forest.

 

We did inform you that you would be killed, did we not?

 

“I thought you said I shouldn’t contact you more than once a week or so?” asked the girl turned into whatever she was now in her mind as she felt the “voice” of the deities of old echo in her soul. The kerfuffle at the temple-like place - or at least it had felt like some sort of temple, kinda like the old Greek parthenon style of building if what she sensed were correct - was expected and she had been forewarned of it.

 

We felt that you would likely be in need of guidance at this moment, and as such had prepared for it.

 

What she had not really prepared herself for was the familiar sensations - she could not really call what she sensed as seeing as it was more that she felt her surroundings somehow in a way that built up an image in her mind - of the figures she noticed further away. Three of her classmates from high school. The Jerk-ass Smith, Nerdy yet nice jock Greene, and of all people, O’Connor, the one girl who got along with most anyone in the class.

 

One of the few in school who even bothered to treat Esperanza like a proper human being.

 

She felt the waves of power from the three of them, something that told her that they were the chosen heroes the gods would likely sic at her. While she likely wouldn’t mind biting off the jerk-ass’ face, Esperanza felt conflicted about the other two. They were good people, amongst the few in the school who didn’t just mentally shove her aside because she wasn’t a “white american” as they say it.

 

We feel your doubt, and would like to bring to attention that if you could bring them to our side, it would solve the problem you face. Killing two birds with one stone, we believe the saying was?

 

“Would it be that easy though? I mean… Look at what I look like now,” said Esperanza, as she tried to gesture in a way that pointed to herself. The sensations that allowed her to identify things around her also allowed her to notice her corporeal form, and the first glimpse made her wish she hadn’t bothered to check at all. “I’m a bloody eldritch abomination for fuck’s sake!”

 

The form is unusual. The physical form we created was quite a malleable one, and it would latch onto the concept it found in the inner subconscious of your mind, so whatever this form is, it originated from there. Could you think on what might have caused your thoughts to fixate on such a form?

 

“My subconscious?” asked Esperanza as she heard the reply from the deities. At first she wondered whether they had just fooled her and were intent on turning her into an eldritch abomination to begin with. Before long though, an idea pervaded into her mind, one that she could not truly deny, as it was all too plausible under her circumstances.

 

“Me Cago en la Leche…” cursed the girl as her mind placed the thoughts together. “You all called yourselves the old ones, then there was that negative sanity… I must have thought straight to those Cthulhu stories because of it… the form isn’t even far from how one of their creatures were described in the books…”

 

It likely was the case. That said, please rest assured that the physical form we crafted is malleable, and when you gain more control over it, you would be able to shape yourself more to your… image.

 

“If that was an attempt to cheer me up, it was a poor one, but thanks anyway,” said Esperanza as she finally came to terms that she would be an eldritch abomination straight out of the story books at least for the time being. That worry placed behind her, however, she realized that there was another worry she had to consider. “This negative sanity thing… does it also cause me to not… feel a thing about murdering other people? I ate someone’s face back there, Anda a Cagar! Why the fuck am I not feeling all weirded the fuck out about that!?”

 

The sanity value should have no such direct effect on your mind, as far as we know. If anything, it should render your mind more robust and firm as the value grows higher.

 

“So I guess I was always a touch of a psycho to begin with, huh?” said Esperanza with strange emotions in her words, a mixture of disgust, anger, as well as acceptance all in one. “I should’ve guessed when I felt nothing even after I stabbed that pendejo of a step-dad before all this shit happened, probably just didn’t want to believe it and was in denial until I died, huh?”

 

We are unfamiliar with the term and will not judge either way.

 

“Heh. Thanks for that, I guess. Sometimes you could be a dear, Oldies, even if you probably hadn’t meant it to be taken that way,” she replied.

 

We are uncertain what made you feel that way but we are pleased to see you in a calmer state of mind. If you have calmed down, consider checking your logs from the system. You should have acquired some valuable experience from what happened in the temple.

 

“I will, I guess,” said Esperanza. She willed the system image to project itself in her mind, and the screen before her displayed words much like what one would have expected out of a game of sorts.

 

You have defeated [Farmer’s Child Lvl20]/[Temple Guard lvl12]!

You have gained bonus experience for defeating an enemy of a higher tier than yourself!

You have defeated [Potter’s Child Lvl20]/[Temple Guard lvl5]!

You have gained bonus experience for defeating an enemy of a higher tier than yourself!

You have defeated [Acolyte’s Child Lvl20]/[Temple Guard lvl14]!

You have gained bonus experience for defeating an enemy of a higher tier than yourself!

You have leveled to level 2! +1 Free Major stat point gained! -1 Sanity gained! +0.5 Willpower Gained! +0.5 Intuition Gained!

…

…

…

You have leveled to level 7! +1 Free Major stat point gained! -1 Sanity gained! +0.5 Willpower Gained! +0.5 Intuition Gained!

You have learned the Class Skill [Fleshweaving] Lvl1!

You have learned the Class Skill [Shape Alteration] Lvl1!

 

Name : Esperanza Marisol de Gonzalez Cabrera

Race : Human (?)

Age : 18

Class : [Spark of Hope Lvl7]/???/???/???/???

 

Stats :

Free Major Stat Points: 6

 

• Body : 22

    - Strength : 19

    - Dexterity : 16

    - Constitution : 31

• Mind : 11.66

    - Intelligence : 13

    - Perception : 12

    - Wisdom : 10

• Soul : 38.33

    - Willpower : 17

    - Intuition : 14

    - Sanity : -84

 

Skills:

 

Class 1: [Spark of Hope]

• Far Down the Deep End :EX

• Fleshweaving: Lvl 1

• Shape Alteration: Lvl 1

• ???

• ???

 

General Skills:

• Respawn: EX

• Language Understanding: Lvl 1

• Gaze Unto the Abyss: EX

• ???

• ???

 

“I got a couple questions before I check these new skills,” said Esperanza to the voice of the old gods in her mind.

 

Ask away, we believe the phrase was?

 

“Right. First, what’s with those child classes those three people I… killed seem to have? Also how the hell does it work? I assume that this… body you give me is probably above human-grade in terms of power, but how am I taking down people who got, as the system pointed out, a whole tier ahead of me just like that?”

 

That has a lot to do with the system, and your nature as a summoned hero. As you might have guessed, every inhabitant of this world was inducted into the system right after birth. As a result, everyone started with barely any stats, and only grew a small amount in their childhood, as the classes available to children were all of poor quality. On the other hand, summoned heroes like you have stats that rivaled a native near the end of their second tier even when you were freshly summoned. In short, you can sort of see it as a head start for the summoned, and as a result, none of the natives would ever reach the height of power summoned heroes are capable of, and thus, unable to challenge the gods and their rule.

 

“Ookay. That’s a bit plenty to take in, but I get the drift,” said Esperanza after a moment to digest the words of the old gods. It was unfair for the natives, but also a clever safeguard she thought. The way the system was set up favored the summoned so much it was not funny, which meant that they would be more impactful while the natives could only languish beneath them. “And what are these… free points? And the sanity I seem to be gaining on each level for that matter.”

 

The free points are something you could distribute at will. Each point goes directly into your Body, Mind, or Soul, and are equivalent to three points in the sub-stats, to be distributed as you wish. While it was unavoidable with your sanity, we would recommend that you try to balance things out a bit more, especially this early on. It would not be too late to specialize later if you wish to. Each class also rewards points in specific stats on level up, although this was usually only present at later tiers. Summoned heroes like you usually had some even from the start, though.

 

“Okay, so a more balanced start and specialize later? A pretty safe way I guess. I don’t see the demerit of that as I assume I’d need some of the other stats anyway even if I specialize in one or two later on, is that right?”

 

That is correct.

 

“Got it. Here goes, then,” said Esperanza as she willed the points to distribute itself into her stats. Since Oldies said to aim for some balance, she distributed two into each, and used them to shore up what she lacked in, rather than increase what she already had plenty of.

 

Stats :

Free Major Stat Points: 0

 

• Body : 24

    - Strength : 22

    - Dexterity : 19

    - Constitution : 31

• Mind : 13.66

    - Intelligence : 15

    - Perception : 14

    - Wisdom : 12

• Soul : 40.33

    - Willpower : 20

    - Intuition : 17

    - Sanity : -84

 

“Okay, that’s done. I also noticed that I apparently respawned right in the middle of a frickin’ jungle here. Any suggestions on what I should do, Oldies?”

 

We recommend that you take this chance to grow your power. At the moment you are far too weak to affect anything, even lacking the capability to defend yourself. The respawn had sent you far away from the temple you emerged in, though still in human lands. This area should be relatively uninhabited, so it should be pretty safe for you to take your first steps on the stairs of power.

 

“So… roam around and hunt whatever’s in the forest?”

 

That is what we suggested, yes. There are plenty of wild beasts around you, and we assume you would feel no qualms about hunting the wild creatures for the sake of survival and the future.

 

“Yeah… I guess it’s definitely easier to stomach compared to the alternative,” admitted Esperanza as she thought of said alternative. She had worried that Oldies would have suggested for her to descend on an unsuspecting village and feast on them or something like that. Compared to that, hunting and feasting on wild animals was indeed a far preferable option. “I’ll be off hunting then. See you in a week or so?”

 

We will be seeing you, Esperanza. Good Hunting.