1 Fragile Beginnings
It was a normal night for me. I had gotten back from work and was relaxing in my room looking at the stats from my new video. I'm pretty well known within the JRPG community due to my persistence in challenging the most difficult modes and coming out relatively unscathed. My Vutube channel was well liked and would garner thousands of views whenever I released a new review or strategy for a game. One other thing I am well known for, is my obsession with Echoes of Revelo (EoR).
EoR was a grand slam of a JRPG when it first came out due to its immersive story telling and depth of characters. The strategies one had to employ in the game were thought provoking, and the mechanics revolutionized the industry. It received numerous awards, but for some reason never received a sequel. EoR was infamous, however, for one thing: DEATH. Your actions would lead to someone's death no matter what you did. You decided to protect Village A instead of Village B? Welp, that means one of the characters you could have potentially recruited died in Village B. You have to fight while heavily outnumbered while waiting for reinforcements? Sorry, one of your party members will sacrifice themselves in order to buy more time. There is no escaping death in this game. It is a frustrating fact that I have been trying to prove wrong over years of gameplay.
Every time I get closer to that 0 death run, something out of the blue occurs to stop me dead in my tracks. Many of my favorite characters also have death flags that are difficult to avoid, or even impossible to. Even with all of this though, I am in love with the game. My family and friends think I'm obsessed, and I can't help but agree with them. Whenever we hang out it's always a topic that gets brought up.
After checking my Vutube stats, I decided to watch some trailers for upcoming JRPGs. Nothing new from the developers of EoR, but it's no surprise as it's been so long. I shut off my laptop and decided to call it a day. I was going to meet with my parents tomorrow to look at some apartments for them and my sister. Now that I've been promoted in my job, I can afford to take better care of them.
[...Player identified...]
[Identification verified]
[Initiate protocol]
[Programming system]
What are these words? Is it one of those dreams again... Since I play so many games I sometimes have fantastical dreams which are pretty cool. I'll just close my eyes and wait for all this to be over.
[System complete]
[Begin sequence]
[Good luck player, we will be waiting for you]
A bright light suddenly engulfed my vision jolting me awake. An elegant room slowly began to enter my vision as my heartbeat began to rapidly build up its momentum. Why are my hands so small? What happened to my legs? Why does this bed feel so nice, wait ignore that.
The room I was in was the epitome of elegance. There was a stone bust of some guy in the corner of the room, paintings adorning the walls, and the bed itself had intricate wood carvings all around it. I spotted a mirror across from me and gasped as I stared at my reflection. A young boy with blonde hair and green eyes stared back. He mimicked everything I did perfectly.
[Memory dump will begin in 3 seconds]
Uh, what does that mean? As the countdown began, my anxiety skyrocketed as I began getting an inkling of what was about to happen. A searing pain began to rack my brain as unfamiliar memories began to come up unannounced. It was as if I was watching a movie in my own head while someone continuously stabbed my brain with a fork.
After what felt like an eternity, a small ding could be heard.
[Memory dump successful. Memories of Ray Glouse have been given to the user.]
Another message appeared before me as I recovered from the pain. It seems my speculations were correct. I have been transported to some fantasy world for some reason and have been given a system. If this were similar to the novels I've read, the goal would be saving the world or something and using the system to get stronger. I just hope my character isn't supposed to be a villain or something in this world.
"System, can you give me some info on the world?"
[System level currently 1. Information is limited. Currently this is the world of Echoes of Revelo. You are Ray Glouse, the heir to the House of Glouse, a duchy. You were supposed to die today from an illness, and thus have been brought here.
Objective: currently too low of a system level to give.
The system has many benefits such as the shop, giving information when available, storing information and items, and others when the level is upgraded. ]
"Thank you system. From my original memories I remember there being a duke who's son had died early on. This caused the duke to seclude himself, but he was never really mentioned beyond that in EoR. I guess that means the storyline has already changed just with my appearance since I, or I guess Ray, should be dead."
I began going through Ray's memories, and thankfully he was no villain. He was an innocent child who had a poor constitution since birth. His parents Duke Allen and Duchess Maria were loving parents. The doctor had said I wouldn't live past the age of 13 due to my constitution. Coincidentally my thirteenth birthday was a week ago. I let out a sigh as I noticed a bell on my nightstand.
I guess I should tell them the good news now that I'm awake.
"System, before I call my servant I would like you to pull up my stats please."
[System will open up the stats of character Ray Glouse. Reminder, system level is 1 thus information will be limited]
{Stats: Ray Glouse}
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Strength: 2
Dexterity: 2
Constitution: 1.5
Intelligence: 3
Wisdom: 3
Charisma: 5
Luck: 9
{Titles}
[NEW] Illness Survivor: Immune to any natural illness.
[NEW] (HIDDEN): SYSTEM LEVEL TOO LOW
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These stats are below average for a 13 year old, but it makes sense due to the illness that Ray had to deal with. My luck score is almost maxed out though, and my charisma is pretty high for a kid. I think I can make this work...
After thinking for a bit I thanked the system, reorganized my thoughts, and rang the bell that was on the nightstand so I can get this adventure started. My goal hasn't changed one bit, if anything I'm reinvigorated since I now have the unknown factor known as Ray to use.
