Chapter 5: Luck of the draw


    <em>Entering ss Selection. Environment based on yer data.</em>


    The words echoed in a monotone robotic voice, then the sound of quiet conversation brought ke back to reality. For a moment he thought it had all been a bad dream. He opened his eyes and saw a busy coffee shop bustling around him, a pretty barista who smiled at him from the counter, and a sleek, newptop sitting before him on the table.


    ke closed his eyes and breathed. Then he read the text on his screen.


    <em>Wee to ss selection, </em>said the same sexy, British woman in his mind as he read<em>. This is an extremely important choice, as it will shape all your future decisions toe. The list has already been made ording to your talents, but pick the one you feel is best in a vast, chaotic world. Remember the goals of the game. And please inspect your profile.</em>


    With a reflexive thought, said profile appeared on the screen.


    <table style="border-copse:copse;width:100%" border="1">


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td style="width:99.0609%">


    ke Nimitz


    Strength - 2


    Dexterity - 2


    Vitality - 2


    Intellect - 5


    Will - 4


    Presence - 6


    Luck - 42


    Skills/Education. None applicable. Note: these are ordinarily hidden and will not appear in the future.


    sses: None.


    Powers. None.


    Talents. None.


    Titles: Alpha 01 (+2 luck), Alpha tester (slightly enhanced system attention)


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    ke epted his new world and forced his fears behind ayer of will. Then he stared at his skills and education and frowned at thebel of ‘none applicable’. <em>Well if that</em><em>’s not a condemnation of the education system</em>, he thought,<em> I just don</em><em>’t know what is. And what about all those project management courses? </em>


    His statistics weren’t exactly a shock in terms of their weight, though he had no idea if a two was terrible and if a six was awesome or just alright. A forty-two luck seemed much higher than anything else, but he supposed that might be just how the stat worked.


    <em>Your gic and background assessment arepleted. Initial ss suggestions determined. Please stand by.</em>


    ke’sptop screen lit up with a list of sses, just like a damn video game. He snorted when he realized the little avatar under each was actually him, dressed variously in different outfits, generally looking like a caster type in robes or a staff sting magic. Though there was also a version in a suit shooting waves out of his head. Another guy was surrounded by allies, and looked like he was supporting them by healing their wounds. The list was fairly extensive, and ke scrolled and scrolled, no idea how he’d choose.


    Abjurer? What the hell did that even mean.


    Enchanter? A specialist who could maybe infuse items with magic. Too specific.


    Conjurer? Some kind of pet ss, which was appealing, but sounded too vulnerable.


    Priest? No. Just no.


    As he kept scrolling he began to feel like he needed to apologize to a girl or two who’d called him afraid ofmitment. He was feeling vaguely terrified of choosing any of the specialties on offer. What if the magic specialty he chose turned out to be rather…underwhelming? Or just useless too much of the time? Or chosen by practically everyone else? He wanted flexibility. He wanted opportunity. OK, he wanted it all.


    Finally he scrolled all the way back to the top and realized he’d basically missed a ss in his enthusiasm to search. They were listed alphabetically.


    [Arcanist. A magical master of none, but often better than a master of one. The arcanist can choose any magical path in the game.]


    ke looked around at the somewhat blurry faced patrons of his imaginary coffee shop, and grinned. That was it. That was his ss. He’d always been a generalist. The image of him on the screen had many hidden pouches and tricks, in a library surrounded by books. <em>Thinker. Problem solver. A knower of everything. That</em><em>’s me</em>, ke thought. Adaptability and charm, that’s how ke Nimitz survived in the old world, and that’s how he’d survive the new. No doubt he should have thought more, weighed all the options, checked out all the sses andpared and contrasted. But as he did so many times in life, he had a gut instinct that told him <em>this</em> was the right thing, and he went with it. He picked Arcanist.


    <em>Initial ss selected. Please select your initial powers. You may choose two.</em>


    Power list. Right. Well this was going to be considerably harder. As before the list was vast, maybe in the hundreds, and the descriptions were pitifully brief.


    ke suspected the Arcanist in particr had a huge range of choicespared to something more specialized, which would benefit him in the long run but might screw him at the start. Anyway how could he pick without knowing what challenges he’d face? Broad use, he supposed, something flexible. He suspected even in a world of chaos he’d be working with others. That’s what he always did, and going it alone in this world wasn’t a thing for humans. At least not humans who nned to live long. They were social animals, they worked best in groups, and ke was a leader of groups. His ‘presence’ stat was also highest, and powers would likely scale or at least synergize with stats, because well, video game.


    He found a power called Mental Influence, and forced himself to take it. If someone had told young ke he’d one day get to have some kind of mind control superpower, he’d have danced a bloody jig. He couldn’t let the little guy down.


    But he needed something if words failed, too. There was offensive powers, that was for sure. Fire and ice sts, electrical touches and acidic spits. That was all fine and dandy but again ke wanted something…subtle. Something…flexible, because you just never bloody knew. And frankly roasting things alive just wasn’t his style.


    He smiled when he found Telekinesis. Moving things with his mind? Throwing knives? Undoing bra straps? Avoiding manualbor forever? Um, yeah. That was another damn superpower, and ke wasn’t about to betray his younger self. He picked it without hesitation.


    <em>Excellent choices, and congrattions! You are now ready for the tutorial. Please select your tutorial preferences. You have one minute remaining. Good luck!</em>


    His what nows?


    The power list vanished on hisptop, reced by some very simple choices.


    Forest? Mountains? Desert? Ind?


    A tropical ind sounded pretty nice. ke picked that without much thought.


    Alone, or with others? Again, pretty obvious. He pushed with others and drummed his fingers on the table.


    <em>Thank you</em>, intoned the voice. <em>You are now ready for your tutorial. Good luck, yer. As always, we are rooting for you.</em>


    “I appreciate that.” ke forced himself to smile, then cringed slightly as the people around him seemed to literally melt into the floor. The pretty barista copsed like she was made of sand, then the chairs, then the walls, until ke realized they had <em>literally</em> copsed into sand. He was suddenly standing on a beach.


    He heard the gentle sound of waves, and when he blinked the blue sky had appeared above—mostly clear, with a slight breeze blowing a spattering of clouds. He breathed in the salty air, then turned to see a few trees and rocks and other vegetation, but mostly nothing except him on a white, sandy ind.


    “Hey,” he frowned, “I was supposed to be with others.”


    Just as he’d finished speaking, he heard a slight ssh from the water, and turned with no idea what he’d do if it was an enemy. Then with a toss of her long, blonde hair, a young woman emerged and swayed her way up the beach before she noticed him and froze. ke grinned his most charming grin.