0002: Reincarnation

Darkness.

It stretched endlessly, an abyss without sound, warmth, or form. Pain floated in the void, his thoughts slipping in and out of coherence. He was dead. He had to be. After ten consecutive cycles of agony, his body had long given up. He had nothing to fight for.

So why was he still aware?

Ding!

A sharp chime rang through the void. It was accompanied by a loud male voice.

{System Notification: You have been selected as a Player}

{Initializing soul transfer…}

Pain's mind snapped into clarity as a blinding light began to envelope him. Suddenly, gravity seemed to have woken up and began pulling Pain downwards.

Pain gasped as he fell, his body forming around him in real-time. Cells, muscles, bones and skin all reconstructed in an instant. The moment his bare feet touched solid ground, he staggered forward, his senses assaulted by things he hadn't experienced in eighteen years.

Fresh air.

A soft breeze swept past his face, brushing against his skin like an old friend long forgotten. He inhaled sharply, his lungs burning from the sheer unfamiliarity of it. His fingers curled, feeling the texture of fabric—real, actual clothes.

Sunlight.

It kissed his skin with warmth, casting away the cold grip of slavery. The sensation was overwhelming. His throat tightened as he blinked rapidly, his vision adjusting.

Pain looked around.

A vast field of green grass stretched as far as the eye could see, swaying under the golden glow of a sun—a real sun. There wasn't a soul in sight. He wasn't in the Farm anymore. The more he looked around, the less sense everything made.

Pain turned his hands over, staring at his unscarred palms. No shackles. No bruises.

He dropped to his knees.

A choked sob escaped his lips.

"It's real," he whispered. Tears slipped down his cheeks, his chest trembling as he looked up at the sky. For years, he had lived in filth, forced into darkness. Now, the world bathed him In light.

He was free.

But… how?

A golden holographic box blinked into existence before his eyes.

[Welcome to Rivia, the Eternal Realm.]

[Initializing Player Data…]

A rush of information slammed into Pain's mind, knocking him off his feet. He knelt on the ground with his hands clutching his head. He struggled to endure the ache caused by the sea of knowledge flooding his mind. When it was over, he brought his hands down and stared at his palms.

Pain just knelt there, tears flowing down his cheeks. He could make better sense of everything now. At long last he was free. Free from the Slave Master's hold and his cruel fate.

"It's been so long," he cried looking up at the bright rays of sunlight with teary eyes.

Through his memories Pain could tell he was no longer on Earth. He wasn't just in another world, he was in a Game. Just as Pain was trying to make sense of everything in his mind, another notification box appeared in front of him.

{Player, Input Avatar Name}

"Hold on a sec, I need to think." He closed his eyes and began to search his thoughts for answers.

Pain exhaled slowly, forcing himself to focus. He closed his eyes, letting his new memories guide him.

From what he understood, he was in Hell's Foundation, a VRMMORPG. People referred to as players are trapped here without a way back to the real world. A lot was in his memory that didn't belong to him. Someone had brought them here, but he didn't know who or why.

Pain took a deep breathe in before looking at the holographic square in front of him. Right now, he needed to finish the Avatar creation process of the game. His name… He couldn't use his real one. That man, the slave he had been, was dead.

This life required a new name.

He smirked.

"Insert Avatar name- Demonic Angel." He said out loud.

{Congratulations, Demonic Angel. Avatar creation is 20% complete.}

Pain got up from his knees and stood erect, eyes focused on the screen displayed.

More golden text materialized.

{Player: Demonic Angel

Battle Zone: United States of America

Available Main Attribute Points: 25

Available Special Attribute Points: 10}

Pain's eyes narrowed. With his memories fully integrated with his mind, Pain wasn't surprised by the popup screens. They felt almost… familiar. As though he had seen them before.

As if some part of him already knew how this game worked.

More information on screens loaded.

{Each player has 25 points at the beginning. They are to be distributed amongst the 4 main attributes; namely: Strength, Agility, Vitality, Intelligence}

{The Strength attribute {STR} will determine the amount of physical damage you cause when attacking with your bare hands or with a weapon. This attribute is primarily used by attack based Warriors. 1 point of STR = 2 points of Physical Attack Power}

{The Agility attribute {AGI} defines your speed particularly when avoiding the attack of a monster, NPC or player. Unlike other attributes, AGI doesn't depend on the points allocated to It alone. A player's physical qualities and innate talent also enhances this attribute. With low AGI, it is possible to avoid attacks if you have fast reflexes and good reaction speed. 1 point of AGI = 2 points of Speed}

{The Vitality attribute {VIT} determines the number of Health Points (HP) your Avatar will have in Rivia. This attribute is the most important at the beginning of the game since your Survival in Rivia depends on your Health Points. It also affects the rate of HP regeneration. 1 point of VIT = 10 HP +1 Defense point + 1 Fatigue point. The higher your Defense points, the less Damage an attack will have on your HP. The higher your Fatigue points, the higher your stamina}

{The Intelligence attribute {INT} determines the amount of Magical Damage you cause when attacking with Spells or Magical Weapons. It also influences your rate of MP regeneration. This attribute is most important for Mage-type Avatars. 1 point of INT = 10MP + 2 points for Magical Attack Power}

{There is no limit for the value of any of the four Main Attributes.}

At first glance, Pain could tell he had read these messages before. He already knew everything they were telling him. As soon as he read a screen, it would disappear.

{Player, Demonic Angel, at the beginning of the game, it is advisable to give points to each attribute.}

Immediately Pain read through it, other screens appeared.

{Available Main Attribute Points: 25}

{STR: - 0 +}

{AGI: - 0 +}

{VIT :- 0 +}

{MAN:- 0 +}

{The 0 represented the current points each attribute had and the – and + signs are to withdraw and add points as the player desires}

{WARNING: A failed attempt in the addition of an attribute point would result in its permanent loss. Distribute carefully}

His finger hovered above the screen. The normal thing to do would be to distribute the points evenly amongst the attributes but Pain knew better. He had a feeling this was the best thing to do. At the end, the list of main attributes looked like this.

{Main Attribute Points: 20}

{STR: - 1 +}

{AGI: - 1 +}

{VIT :- 1 +}

{INT:- 2 +}

{Congratulations Player, Demonic Angel, Avatar creation process is 50% complete}

"Proceed."

{The two Special Attributes are Luck and Charm. Both can be given a maximum of 100 attribute points.}

{The Luck attribute Is naturally related to your fortune in Rivia. The higher the points in the fixed attribute 'Luck' the more likely you are to deliver Critical Hits or Amor Penetration Hits in your attacks. In addition, the level of Luck also influences the rate of drops within Rivia.}

{While the fixed attribute 'Charm' is related to how high your charisma will be in Rivia. The higher your Charm, the greater your chances of getting along with the NPCs which in turn will get you better missions and rewards.}

The previous screen of the main attributes disappeared and another screen took its place.

{Available Special Attribute Points: 10}

{Luck: - 0 +}

{Charm: - 0 +}

Naturally, filling Luck and Charm with their maximum points would correspond to getting 100% of their benefits.

Right now, the game only allowed 10 points to be shared between them. But instead of dividing the points, Pain gave it all to Luck.

{Available Special Attribute Points: 0}

{Luck: - 10 +}

{Charm: - 0 +}

"Add 20 Attribute points to Luck!" Pain commanded the System.

For a brief moment, there was no response from the System.

{Congratulations, Demonic Angel, you are the first Player to make such a request in the whole of Rivia and so, your request has been granted. Further requests shall be rejected."

{Available Main Attribute Points: 0}

{STR: - 1 +}

{AGI: - 1 +}

{VIT :- 1 +}

{MAN:- 2 +}

{Available Special Attribute Points: 0}

{Luck: - 30 + }

{Charm: - 0 +}

Pain felt a sense of relief and pride when he saw the congratulatory message. Before now, he knew nothing about VR Games. Pain was simply following the directions of his new memories and thanks to them, he had uncovered a Hack in the Game. According to them, a Golden Finger awaited him at the completion of the Avatar creation process.

{Congratulations Player, Demonic Angel, Avatar creation process is 70% complete}

"Proceed!"