Chapter-3<*Cloud Strife*> [ Edited ]

"I guess now comes the second phase of the [Source] protocol..." - said the boy as he frowned slightly.

[Exactly, although the pain will be much worse than before, that's why I recommend you to prepare yourself].

"I understand" - replied the young man as he pondered - "I have a few questions though."

[Shoot]

"In the information you handed me, there were a few paragraphs about a new body" - said the young man as he looked at the pop-up screen.

[That's what I was going to explain to you.]

The young man was silent as a huge listing of names appeared in front of his eyes.

"These names..." - The young man muttered.

[It's just as you think, they are the names of all the characters your soul resonates with.]

"Resonance?" - repeated the young man as he looked carefully at all these names appearing in front of him - "You mean I can choose from among these characters and I will take their body?"

[That's a simple way of summing it up, as to why these characters, it's because somehow, you managed to connect with them, be it their mindset, their personality, or just a guilty pleasure].

The young man was silent as he began to go through the names, one after another - "And do they affect my first mission at all, or the skills I'll be able to choose?"

[Indeed, each of these characters have strengths and weaknesses, as well as acquired and innate abilities, of which you will be able to choose from when you manage to decide on your new body]

"I can't use my original body?" - asked the boy as he frowned slightly.

[Impossible, your human body can't evolve to acquire system skills, this is why we "gift you" a new body with all the requirements ready to start].

"Why?" - The young man asked curiously.

[Because your body and genetic code is tied directly to your home world, the first step separated your soul from this dimensional control, that's why you will soon begin to feel a huge discomfort in your whole body].

The young man frowned before nodding and starting to review these characters in more detail - "Any advice?"

[It all depends on your "play style", there are characters that specialize in different types of activities, there are others that their best advantage is their enormous luck, even if you search hard enough, you might even find some character that can use some special energy, it all depends on how much you want to search, or what kind of routes you want to follow, [Source] has infinite possibilities].

The young man again fell silent as he rested his eyes on the pop-up screen again.

"Satou Kazuma, Ikari Shinji, Ichika Orimura" - the young man muttered as he frowned because these characters were useless, besides, he didn't know what kind of changes they might bring him when he took possession of their bodies, which meant it was possible that his mind would be influenced by them - "Yancha..."

While Yancha's abilities were useless compared to that of other [Dragon Ball] characters, the young man had to admit that in terms of base power, he was one of the most powerful on the list, even if his potential was garbage.

"Can I improve my body's potential with the system?" - asked the young man earnestly.

[Of course, [Source] can do anything you want, you just need the imagination and the necessary points to achieve it.]

The young man decided to continue reading the names, which took at least about two hours, and what was worse was that he still didn't even get halfway through the listing. He had gone through interesting names, such as Izuku Midoriya, and Hyodou Issei, but he discarded them not only because of the personality factor, but because something told him that their innate abilities would have a huge "but" marked on them when he chose them.

The young man continued to watch in silence, until his gaze stopped on a name that made nostalgia invade him.

Memories of his time as a child at his mother's side during that Christmas night, the same night his mother was barely awake after a long work shift.

A tear ran down his cheek as he remembered how he opened his Christmas present and saw a huge box that had the PlayStation logo on it, and next to it three discs with a young blond man showing his back on the cover, carrying a huge sword.

"I choose this one..." - muttered the young man as he stroked the name.

[Are you sure? I ask because this is a decision you can't go back on].

"Yes" - muttered the young man as he remembered the times when his mother would sit beside him to help him through the most difficult areas because he didn't understand even basic English.

[I'm going to ask you again... Are you sure about this decision?]

"Yes" - replied the young man as he took a long breath.

[Ok, seeing that everything has happened faster than I thought, I'm going to advise you again to look for something to bite, unless you wish to feel the taste of your blood after biting your tongue].

"You don't have to repeat it" - replied the young man as he took the same polo shirt he had rolled up earlier and bit it, only to feel an even stronger pain than before. It was as if they were tearing his flesh from his bones directly, as if they were piercing his organs - "HMPH!"

[Relax, this is a regular situation, the pain you are feeling is because the system is destroying your body on a cellular level, and at the same time replacing it with new cells taken from the subject you have chosen, each of your organs has been removed and replaced in the same way, to make sure your body is strong enough to withstand the first round of strengthening by the system].

The young man continued to squirm as he tried to concentrate on the voice and thus at least ignore the pain a little.

[This is a process that happens all at the same time, that's why the pain is getting amplified, though this also means that the time you need to resist is much less, I'm sure that's something you'll appreciate]

The young man couldn't respond, the pain was so great that he quickly lost consciousness.

[Oh, it's a pity he didn't last longer, though I have to admit he held out longer than I thought, not bad for a basic human...]

15 minutes later, the pain was over, and the young man began to slowly open his eyes, only to feel how everything seemed much clearer, as well as notice slight changes in the room he had been renting, the first being that some objects were glowing slightly.

[I see that your first approach to magic particles was much faster than I thought, you surprise me more and more every time, [- - - - - -], oh, right, now I have to call you [Cloud Strife]...].

"Cloud... Strife?" - repeated the young man as he walked to a nearby mirror, only to notice how first, he was naked, and second, he had the appearance of the protagonist of the game [Final Fantasy 7: Remake], meaning, a well-trained body, but without cumbersome muscles, a handsome face, spiky blonde hair, with a hairstyle that would take hours to prepare, despite being natural, and blue eyes with a slight greenish tint, though not as prominent as his counterpart's because he wasn't being affected by the [Mako Energy] - "This is me? "

[Indeed, this is your new body, so I recommend you move, so you can adapt to your current form].

The young man, no, Cloud, nodded weakly before starting to take a few steps, only to stumble as he took the first step - "Ugh..."

[Take your time, this is a normal thing, your brain is still not adapting properly to your nerve receptors, that's why you need to repeat this until you can do it normally, it will help you get through the first few steps in your first world]

Cloud nodded again before getting up and starting to walk. It was difficult, but the blond was getting there little by little.

[Congratulations on taking your first steps figuratively and literally... How are you feeling?]

"I feel better than ever" - Cloud replied as he started walking normally.

[Perfect, I guess now it's time to move on to the third phase, skill customization, though first, I'd like you to wear some clothes. I may be talking to you through a pop-up screen at the moment, but that doesn't mean I can't see your reproductive system moving every time you walk]

Cloud coughed to hide his embarrassment before nodding, though he quickly understood one small detail, all his clothes were too small for him, even his underwear - ". . ."

[*Sigh* Ok, I'm going to help you this time, though I recommend you don't expect this to be a continuous thing...]

Cloud thanked her when he saw a familiar outfit appear in front of him, this was the same as the one the character [Cloud Strife] wore in the game.

[Ok, it's time for us to continue, now comes the skill optimization part].