Dying in your sleep like a candle dimming out... in stories, there was no kinder death than that. But reality was rarely so kind.
I lived my life on the straight and narrow, kept to my lane, gave a bit more than I took, forgave and forgot, embraced everyone with open arms, and I had even made it my life's motto to 'Treat others as you wish to be treated yourself'... I did everything they told me to do and say to be a good person. But in the end, what did it avail me? The prize of an early death due to someone else's greed and incompetence, and a lifetime's worth of regrets for being too meek, too passive, and too much of a damned coward my entire life... An obedient little doormat right to the end.
You have died!
"Yes, I did. What more do you want from me?" I bitterly snapped at the glowing words in a text box floating in a black void. The anger at such an ignoble death still hot in my blood, "Just let me go on my way, wherever that may be. Grant me the dignity to be able to face death braver than I had faced anything in life."
After this life cycle, you have accumulated enough Karma for Reincarnation to other worlds. Would you like to avail?
"Isekai." I said aloud as realisation filled me. "Do I... get choices in the details of my reincarnation?"
Correct. Would you like to avail?
Wait... this wasn't just any isekai! This is the Gamer System! A promethean framework of power that morphed life into a video game complete with stats, exp, level ups, skills and perks. I had thought this would just be a regular isekai, but now things just became much, much more favourable for me. I knew how hard the Gamer System could go: World Domination to say the least, outright Godhood in some. All I needed was to be able to not die again before I reached that point.
A burst of vengeful excitement came to me as I thought about the possibilities. But I saved them for later, because the textbox was still waiting for my answer.
"Yes." I all but growled as anger and anticipation boiled together in me. A second chance at life, a second chance for change. And as the text box winked out for a few second, I silently swore to myself that this time around- I won't be so meek, so passive, or so... pathetic. No, I was going to be better than that weak nerd who died for nothing and for no one. I was going to be the opposite- I was going to take what I wanted.
Please select a destination World!
Worm
Magic: The Gathering
Warhammer 40,000
RWBY
Game of Thrones
Avatar: The Last Airbender
The Elder Scrolls
Nasuverse
Mass Effect
DC
+ R +
...I must have eaten babies in my past lives if these are the choices. The majority of these are grimdark Deathworlds where I had a 90% chance of being killed, possessed by demons, or tormented for all eternity the first day I stepped in there, and a 10% chance to survive long enough to die to the mass extinction events in the following years.
I was going to be brave, not stupid.
"Avatar: The Last Airbender." I told the floating text box, and I couldn't fully repress the anxiousness that it might be a trick question when it looked like the sanest choice out of the rest of them. I need to move forward despite it.
World Selected!
AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER
Please select which of the Four Nations you wish to be born into!
This also includes the Bending Art which you begin with.
Northern Water Tribe : Finding strength in their traditions. The Northern Water Tribe holds the north pole territories with surprising tenacity.
Southern Water Tribe: Scattered, but not broken. The Southern Water Tribe consists of dozens of small villages across the South Pole.
Earth Kingdom: Calm and uncompromising. The Earth Kingdom is the vast collection of cities, villages and hamlets of varied cultures that span across the entire continent and its many islands.
Fire Nation: Fierce and militaristic. The Fire Nation has waged a war of aggression against the rest of the world for the last hundred years, and slowly but surely winning it.
+ R +
"[Fire Nation]." I answered almost immediately. It was the natural choice. Good tech level, good economy, good military strength. All that on top of the advantage of being a nation at war which will undoubtedly provide plenty of opportunities to earn exp. Especially since I'll be taking a more... aggressive stance towards gaining exp. And with a bit of luck, war crimes will be an extra large source of exp. It'll certainly be a new experience for me as I had never committed a crime before, but I'll try my best.
[Fire Nation] selected!
Before reincarnation may begin, you may put points into customising your reincarnation experience. These customisations range from your socio-economic conditions to personal characteristics of your body and mind. Please choose wisely for there is no second chance on your second chance!
Your current Karma translates to 1,000 Reincarnation Points!
"Reincarnation Points?" I parroted with a raised brow.
That was something to keep in mind later, I suppose. But I won't let it drag me down and allow other people to have free reign dictating how I lived my life. I already tried that the previous lifetime, and I wasn't about to go through that. Never again. If the world will spit on me for practising the compassion, obedience and tolerance that they imparted to everyone since birth, then I'll just grow the backbone to spit back. This time, I wasn't going to let anyone or anything stop me. I'll reforge myself into something stronger, someone better, someone greater.
= PERK SELECTION =
Stat Gain Perks
Careful, you can only choose Stat Gain Perks perks now! Powerful Build (400 rp): You are gifted with a naturally powerful body. Start with 15 Strength, and gain Strength twice as fast.
Agile Frame (400 rp): Quick reflexes with quicker eyes, a markedly swift combination. Start with 15 Dexterity, and gain Dexterity twice as fast.
Robust Body (400 rp): Pain and poison are no great obstacles to your tireless vigour. Start with 15 Constitution, and gain Constitution twice as fast.
Genius Mind (400 rp): You were always born for greatness, now you can list the reasons why. Start with 15 Intelligence, and gain Intelligence twice as fast.
Bending Prodigy (400 rp): Your grasp on the spiritual is stronger than most. Start with 15 Spirit, and gain Spirit twice as fast.
Stat Malus Perks
Stat Malus Perks are exclusive from their corresponding Stat Gain Perks, but Special Quests may remove them.Limp Noodle (+200 rp): Your body simply doesn't build muscles that fast. Gain Strength half as fast.
Oafish Frame (+200 rp): It is not that you're slow per se- you're just slow to develop coordination. Gain Dexterity half as fast.
Sickly Body (+200 rp): Your health is fragile, and illnesses haunt you. Gain Constitution half as fast.
Dull Mind (+200 rp): You were dropped on your head as a child. Gain Intelligence half as fast.
Spiritual Imbalance (+200 rp): Your connection to your bending is stunted. Gain Spirit half as fast.
Miscellaneous PerksRare Special Quests may reward these perks, or... you can buy them now.
Lucky! (50 rp): Lady Luck has your back. Whenever you gamble, have the odds slightly skewed to your favour.
Siren's Voice (50 rp): Your voice is like molten chocolate in people's ears. +50% to Reputation and Affection gains from conversations.
Compass (50 rp): The power to un-lost yourself. You possess an innate, but imprecise compass towards your Quest's next objective.
Friendly Scent (50 rp): Mother Nature's Seal of Approval. Animals and Spirits will be much friendlier towards you... to an extent.
Pretty Privilege (100 rp): Oh no, he's hot! Sometimes a great body and a roguish smile are all one needs in life.
Weapon Familiarity (50 rp): Instant HEMA and Wushu. Whenever you wield a new weapon, automatically gain basic foundational proficiency on it equal to one week of continuous study and training.
Magic Fingers (50 rp): Your GF will thank you for taking this perk. All your massages are supernaturally good.
Expanded Inventory (100 rp): More space to hold your useless junk. Increase your inventory capacity from just a closet space to a pair of shipping containers
+ R +
"A lot of these Perks are really good, but I'm short on points." I pointed out to the Gamer System, "Can I take anything to give me more points?"
Make your reincarnation experience interesting with Challenge Perks!
Pick as many as you like, or none at all.Conscripted! (+300 rp): Goo~ood morning, Earth Kingdom! Start your new life as a fresh recruit on the hellish frontlines.
Ripe (+200 rp): Showering won't help. Start with the [Smelly] perk.
Bad First Impressions (+200 rp): Something about you just strikes people off the first time around. Everyone starts at -10 Reputation.
Malfunction (+200 rp): A major malfunction to a critical tool. Start with the [Impotent] perk.
Marked for Death (+300 rp): A noble somewhere will keep hiring professional assassins to kill you until you find and confront the noble.
Blind (+600 rp): Like a bat, or a Toph! Start with the [Blind] perk.
Bendless (+600 rp): Powers over the Elements are for chumps. Start with the [Non-Bender] perk.
Schneider (+600 rp): Well, this *is* a Nickelodeon world... Gain more feet-related Quests.
+ R +
"... No. Just no." I firmly refused, "It doesn't matter how high that rp bonus is. I'm not taking that Challenge perk. But I will happily take some of these..."
My Gamer System has a foot fetish... Shaking my head, I turned my attention back to making a build that see me dominating this world. It took a few minutes of mulling it over, but...
I knew my build now- what I wanted to be in this life.
An unstoppable fire-breathing warrior stomping onto the battlefield with [Powerful Build], [Agile Frame], [Robust Body], [Bending Prodigy]. That's what I was going to become: Stronger, faster, and tougher than anyone else there.... Right before I murdered everyone for exp with my bare hands. Confident in my current intelligence, I felt like I can afford to take [Dull Mind] and allow my Intelligence stat to lag behind the others.
[A/N- To clarify That value is added to his stats from the first life. So, even if his INT was zero, he would still be as smart as he was before reincarnation.]
After all, I can just do the Special Quest to remove it. My only need for the Intelligence stat right was knowing the best way to leverage all of my other stats towards gaining more exp.
What I could not ignore in my build, however, was the distinct lack of Charisma stat and the dangers that could bring. That's why [Pretty Privilege] and the [Siren's Voice] were hopefully going to supply me with enough persuasive power to prevent some silver-tongued snakes from playing the social game and turn people against me.
But the biggest question remained: Was there really any rush? There was no need to take any Stat Perks, wasn't there?
I could ignore the stat gain perks, just take all the miscellaneous perks, and train until I reach godhood- ignoring any of the 2x stat gain. Except... there was the possibility that stat growth would end being geometric. As exp payouts increase, my stat growth would possibly accelerate; and eventually, the difference between taking and not taking a stat gain perk will become as stark of a contrast as night and day. It could possibly save me decades of training... I did not know how powerful this Gamer System can go- if there is even an upper ceiling of power that it could grant. But power beyond Avatar-level was a fair bet.
All I needed to do now was balancing the early game risk so that I can reach the eventual late game payoff in raw power.
"Risk and reward..." I muttered to myself just for a moment before making my choices.
Selection made. Please confirm...
Origin StoryFire Nation: You were born unto the Fire Nation and its colonial territories. Fierce and militaristic. The Fire Nation has waged a war of aggression against the rest of the world for the last hundred years, and slowly but surely winning it.
Stat Gain PerksCareful, you can only choose Stat Gain Perks perks now!
Powerful Build (400 rp): You are gifted with a naturally powerful body. Start with 15 Strength, and gain Strength twice as fast.
Agile Frame (400 rp): Quick reflexes with quicker eyes, a markedly swift combination. Start with 15 Dexterity, and gain Dexterity twice as fast.
Robust Body (400 rp): Pain and poison are no great obstacles to your tireless vigour. Start with 15 Constitution, and gain Constitution twice as fast.
Bending Prodigy (400 rp): Your grasp on the spiritual is stronger than most. Start with 15 Spirit, and gain Spirit twice as fast.
Stat Malus PerksDull Mind (+200 rp): You were dropped on your head as a child. Gain Intelligence half as fast.
Miscellaneous PerksCompass (50 rp): The power to un-lost yourself. You possess an innate, but imprecise compass towards your Quest's next objective.
Expanded Inventory (100 rp): More space to hold your useless junk. Increase your inventory capacity from just a closet space to a pair of shipping containers
Weapon Familiarity (50 rp): Instant HEMA and Wushu. Whenever you wield a new weapon, automatically gain basic foundational proficiency on it equal to one week of continuous study and training.
Pretty Privilege (100 rp): Oh no, he's hot! Sometimes a great body and a roguish smile are all one needs in life.
Magic Fingers (50 rp): Your GF will thank you for taking this perk. All your massages are supernaturally good.
Siren's Voice (50 rp): Your voice is like molten chocolate in people's ears. +50% to Reputation and Affection gains from conversations.
Challenge PerksConscripted! (+300 rp): Goo~ood morning, Earth Kingdom! Start your new life as a fresh recruit on the hellish frontlines.
Bad First Impressions (+200 rp): Something about you just strikes people off the first time around. Everyone starts at -10 Reputation.
Marked for Death (+300 rp): A noble somewhere will keep hiring professional assassins to kill you until you find and confront the noble.
+ R +
"Confirmed..." I replied to the text box as I steadied myself. "Is that all? Do I drop in now?"
Customise your appearance and give yourself a name.
I grinned with relish. Time to sculpt an appearance to match my capabilities.
______________
A/N- Just a random whim, depending on the response of the story I might not continue or discontinue, a few stones or comments maybe? Pretty please? (๑•﹏•)