Hollow Reign: Getting Started

Name: Serenity

Race: Spirit Elf

Level: 1

Starting Class: Mage*

HP: 100/100

MP: 360/360

STR: 8

VIT: 10 (1pt=10hp)

INT: 18 (1pt=20mp)

WIS: 14

DEX: 12

DEF: 6

Total Attribute Points: 68

Unassigned Attribute Points: 40 (5 ((+25)+10)

(Average Adult Elf: 50 total)

'So that's my status? I can't tell if it's good or bad.' Ren thought after hearing the system reading off her status board.

From what she could tell she was slightly stronger then a level 1 adult elven male. Her first guess was that due to her being a Spirit Elf, as well as a mage, her starting status was higher as a result. She assumed that most players would have between 60-70 total attribute points to start off with depending on the choices they made. As for the bonus free stats she was given, it said they were bonus stats given due to her bodies condition. This most likely meant that an Olympic athlete would be given a slight edge due to the hard work they put into maintaining and enhancing their bodies in real life.

'Honestly some people might have issues with it but I think it's only fair to reward people for their efforts and encourage people to be healthier.' Ren thought before asking the system to repeat how many bonus free attribute points she had.

[User has 40 free attribute points waited to be distributed. Everyone is given 5 free attribute points due to being level 1 and as a small starting gift. Because of the users physique being average you have gained 25/50 available attribute points from your physique. Due to the user suffering from a disability, you have gained a set amount of bonus points, 10 points in total, in an attempt to balance out your disadvantage in the beginning levels.]

'Disadvantage...Average?...Although true, Sys is pretty blunt. Meh whatever, how should I distribute my points?' She though to herself before having an idea.

"Sys, can you make a physical version of my status the I can feel?" Ren said hopefully as this would make things easier in general.

[Would user prefer Braille or 3D words?]

'Ohh that's so handy! Hmm...although I think Braille would be more familiar maybe I should get used to feeling 3D words and numbers? That way I don't need to take the time to translate everything I need to read over to braille...' Ren debated for a while before choosing the 3D option which resulted in a solid projection of her status board forming in front of her, similar to how her own body did when she was customizing her character. She was able to run her fingers over her status and no longer needed her system to repeat things she forgot.

'Hmm... since I'm a mage maybe putting everything into Intelligence is best?' Ren though but figured before doing anything she should check what each attribute represents. After all maybe this game was different then others of the same genre.

"Help, Attributes." Ren called out figuring she had already taken a lot of time figuring things out so taking more didn't really hurt. This way when she got into the actual game she didn't need to take breaks to learn information she could have known prior.

[Attribute Points: The numerical representation of the bodies abilities or limitations.

-STR or Strength is the users physical power and maximum carrying capacity.

-VIT or Vitality is used to increase the health, HP regen, stamina and stamina regen of the user.

-INT or Intelligence increases the users total mana as well as their, deductive reasoning, knowledge, memory, logic and rationality.

-WIS or Wisdom is often viewed in line with INT. It increases the users MP regen as well as their self-awareness, common sense, restraint, perception and insight.

-DEX or Dexterity is used to measure the users agility, balance, coordination and reflexes. It also increases the attack speed of the user.

-DEF or Defense measures the resilience of a character and decreases the amount of taken damage.]

'Hmm…all of them sound useful. I remember reading on the web before starting that Mage's usually specialized in Intelligence, but it had also mention Wisdom. Even Sys said they were in line with one another so maybe both?' Ren thought to herself as she contemplated her decision.

'It's more likely then not that I'll get hurt and killed a lot at the start while getting the hang of things so maybe its best to put points into my other stats early as well?'

"Got it!" Ren called out as she felt the arrow's besides her attribute numbers and began to add her attribute points to the places she saw fit.

[Name: Serenity

Race: Spirit Elf

Level: 1

Starting Class: Mage

HP: 100/100 -> 140/140

MP: 360/360 -> 640/640

STR: 8 -> 12

VIT: 10 -> 14

INT: 18 -> 32

WIS: 14 -> 23

DEX: 12 -> 15

DEF: 6 -> 12

Total Attribute Points: 68 -> 108

Unassigned Attribute Points: 40 -> 0]

"Done!" Ren called out excitedly as she ran her fingers over the numbers one last time to ensure that everything was as she wanted it to be. Once she was done double checking she called out to the system letting it know she had finished allocating her points.

[Does user wish to enter 'Hollow Reign'?]

"Yes please Sys!" Ren confirmed her answer before preparing herself to experience the world created by those her brother praised.

[Command confirmed…creating character…scanning user's character…]

*Ding*

[Scan complete! User recognized as one of 'The Hundred', code name 'Pioneers'. Sending user to customized world.]

"Ehh?" Muttered Ren dumbfounded before she felt as if the floor underneath her vanished.

"EHHHHHH…AHHHHH!" Screamed Ren as she plummeted to what she believed to be her imminent death.

Silence soon descended the area Ren was once in as a figure slowly materialized. Unbeknownst to Ren, the area she was in previously wasn't a plain room like she had imagined. She had actually been floating on clouds underneath the night sky.

The figure finished materializing on the exact same spot which Ren has just fallen from as she peered through the clouds. The 'figure' was actually a beautiful woman whom possessed a majestic and holy air to her. If anyone had seen her they would be stunned speechless by this woman as she was the very definition of 'perfection' and 'flawlessness'. She was akin to a goddess that had just walked out of a painting while treading on clouds.

Watching as Ren fell towards the world below the woman reveled a gentle smile.

"What an interesting child…'Sys' huh…" *Giggle* laughed the woman, clearly amused at the fact that such a young and frail girl had dared to name 'Her'.

'I'll be sure to keep an eye on you.' She thought to herself as she slowly extended her right arm before waving it to the side.

Along with the movement of her arm, the clouds parted as if adhering to her command.

"AHHHHHhhhh…"

In accompaniment to her actions, a scream echoed for a brief moment before fading into the distance below.

Erasing the smile off her otherworldly face, the woman slowly glided across the clouds without moving her actual body. It was as if some force was propelling her.

Along wish her disappearance, the clouds continued to part every once in a while followed by screams.

Thus began what would later be known to the players as 'The First Descent into Hell'…yet that was a tale for another day.

…

Ren didn't know for how long she had been falling. Yet it wasn't long before the feeling of her plummeting towards what she could only assume was the hard surface below, stopped abruptly.

'Huh…is…is it over…am I dead?' Ren thought as her once numb body slowly regained it's feelings.

Turning her attention away from the state of her body, Ren heard something she hadn't noticed before.

'Birds…'

*Chirp*

*Chirp*

Hearing the echo of birds chirping reverberate around her and smelling the distinct scent of nature, Ren concluded that she was most likely in a wooded area or forest of some sorts. After coming to that conclusion, Ren felt her feet come into contact with solid ground. Unable to stand on her still slightly numb feet, Ren collapsed onto her hands and knees for support.

"I never thought I would miss you so much Mr. Ground" Ren said with a mix of humor, relief and fear.

Regaining her composure Ren began to investigate herself. Judging by the feeling, she found herself dressed in strange yet fashionable clothes.

The clothes which she was wearing were composed of a white and golden bustier top which covered her chest and served as a brassiere. It had a layer of fabric sewed into it which covered some of her stomach before connecting to a band which circled her waistline. For her lower body, she had black, formfitting pants which didn't seem to limit her movements in any way. Over her clothes she wore what seemed to be a pure white hooded button up coat with gold accents which was also form fitting like her pants causing it to appear more like additional clothes rather then a coat. The coat was all one piece and it extended to her waist before frilling out to the sides leaving the middle open to show her legs and black boots that were extremely comfortable.

Over all it gave off a feeling of modern and fashionable, yet inspired from fantasy elements. She liked it quite a bit because although there was some skin exposed it was still conservatives and could be modified to better suit the wearers preferences.

After getting a feel for her clothes and how she looked, including her new longer then normal ears, Ren turned her senses towards her surroundings. It was at that moment, when she had attempted to use her senses to figure out what was around her, that she discovered something was off.

She felt as if she was connected to the forest around her. It was almost like roots were extending from the soles of her feet and establishing a connection between herself and nature.

It wasn't as if she could suddenly 'see' anything, as her vision was still completely unresponsive aside from helping her slightly understand that it was night time. The reason she was able to assume this was that all the evidence she had managed to gather so far pointed to the fact that she was currently outside. Going by that logic if the sun was out and shining down onto her, she should be able to feel the heat and her 'darkness' should brighten up slightly.

She even opened her eyes slightly in an attempt to better distinguish the brightness of her surroundings. When she opened her eyelids her mesmerizing purple eyes, that were a result of the changes she had done to her avatar, appeared for the very first time in this world. If it wasn't for the fact that her eyes were unfocused and seemed off when compared to normal human eyes, it would be hard to notice she was blind.

Yet if one looked deep into her dark pupils they would notice a few glimmers sparkling ever now and then painting a stark contrast against her pure black pupils. It made it seem like her eyes contained the cosmos inside of them, increasing her 'otherworldliness'. Ren didn't know this obviously, but it was a result of the Spirit bloodline that flowed through her body.

"This…it's like I can tell what's around me, yet…I can't? What's going on…" Ren asked to herself as she immersed herself in what she was feeling.

"If what I'm feeling is right…then there should be a tree right…about….here?...No way!?" Feeling the hard bark of the tree prod against her soft hand made her dazed for a moment.

*Snap*

Hearing the sudden noise to her right, Ren snapped out of her stupor and almost instinctively attempted to use her new found 'ability' to 'see' what had made that sound.

'Nothing there…nothing…there either'…*Rustle*…"Where?!" Ren searched almost franticly around her using her connection with nature yet she wasn't able to discover the origin of the noise.

It was as if she was blin…

'Wait…' As if she realized something. Ren stopped relying on her new 'ability' and calmed her mind. Focusing on her hearing, she soon could hear the sound of trees rustling in the wind.

*Wooshh*

Hearing something which sounding similar to 'cutting' air, she realized that a bird was flying nearby from tree to tree.

*Snap*

'So that was what the sound was…I really need to calm down.' Ren thought to herself as she heard the bird drop something during it's flight. Most likely a stick of some sorts.

'I might have changed what I looked like, and gained mystical abilities but I'm still me…I'm still Serenity Rose Leonora and I have my own way of getting by!' Ren thought as she chided herself for loosing her cool so quickly at the thought of being able to finally 'see' something.

The truth of the situation was that she still couldn't see anything. The connection she had somehow established with nature allowed her to instinctively know what objects were in her surroundings. She could tell where a tree was located nearby, and what bushes were where. Yet she couldn't visualize anything using the ability.

'It's almost like I'm listening to someone describe the surrounding, leaving it to my imagination to fill in the blanks.' Ren thought as she began testing the best way to integrate this new ability with her already strong senses.