Groggily opening my eyes, the first thing I notice is a holographic System Notification in front of me.
[Pixel Ford has cleared the Dungeon!]
'Christ, I wish there was a brightness setting for these things' I think to myself, my eyes adjusting to the morning light and the shining hologram rather poorly this morning.
[Rewards being distributed!]
[Extra Bonuses for First Clear!]
[5 Levels, 300 Rubies, 1x A-Tier Ability Upgrade Ticket, 2x B-Tier Ability Upgrade Ticket, 3x C-Tier Ability Upgrade Ticket, 50 Unallocated Stat Points, C-Tier Key, 1x Host-Tailored QoL Ability]
'Those are some really good rewards... And a Host-Tailored Quality of Life ability? I wonder what that'll be...'
Just as I was thinking about it, the ability information enters my mind.
[Personal Appearance(F): The host's hair and eye color will change based on which Personality has control of the body.]
"That's... definitely fitting to be called a Host-Tailored Quality of Life ability. It's not particularly useful, but I like it." I say out loud, activating the ability and heading to a mirror.
Buford's Ink-black hair has changed to a dark desaturated green, while his vibrant emerald green eyes have turned ink-black, taking on my appearance.
Seeing my own ink-black eyes staring back at me, the memories of yesterday flash through my mind, alongside other even more unpleasant memories.
I quickly grab the C-Tier Key out of my inventory and use it to enter my personal C-Tier dungeon, wanting to take my mind off of all the memories of killing.
I first reallocate my resources throughout my system, then I begin running around, fighting every monster I see with my bare hands, letting adrenaline take over and allowing my mind to focus on nothing but base it's instincts.
After a couple days of hunting, my clothes are in complete shreds, and my body is caked in blood, belonging to both me and the monsters, and I finally begin to let my mind take control over my instincts.
With my current appearance, the monsters have started to run as soon as they see me, and I decide to leave the dungeon and clean myself off.
As I shower, I think about what to do with the ability upgrade tickets. I gaze over my inventory, deciding to throw all the monster corpses onto the Awakened Auction House before continuing to check what I have, and then looking at my abilities.
[Inventory: Class Upgrade Ticket, B-Tier Key, 2x C-Tier Key, 1x A-Tier Ability Upgrade Ticket, 2x B-Tier Ability Upgrade Ticket, 4x C-Tier Ability Upgrade Ticket, 2x D-Tier Ability Upgrade Ticket]
[Active Abilities]
[Sprint (B)] [-] [+], [Mana Imbuement(B)] [-] [+], [Meditate (B)] [-] [+], [Fireball(C)] [-] [+], [Fatigue(C)] [-] [+], [Mana Muscle(B)] [-] [+], [Stealth(C)] [-] [+], [Techno Camouflage(D)] [-] [+], [Mana Lance(B)] [-] [+], [Incinerate(B)] [-] [+], [Flame Shield(B)] [-] [+]
[Passive Abilities]
[Well Fed (B)] [-] [+], [Gamer's Constitution(???)], [Gamer's Cognition(B)] [-] [+], [Mana Vamp(C)] [-] [+], [Life Harvesting(C)] [-] [+], [Mana Efficiency(C)] [-] [+], [Fire Resistance(C)] [-] [+], [Personal Appearance(F)] [-] [+]
'Hmm... I feel like it'd be a waste to use any of them right now on what I have. I should buy some F-Tier abilities with potential and use the lower-tier upgrades on those, and save the A-Tier and B-Tier upgrades for now, unless I find something particularly A-Tier or B-Tier worthy.'
Browsing through the shop, I write down a couple ideas on our phone for Buford and decide to go out for a walk.
I activate stealth, not wanting to have any social interaction, and wander through the city for a while. Every once in a while an Awakened notices me, but seeing my casual gait and the lack of gear they leave me alone.
As I'm walking, my gaze lingers a little longer than usual on the families I see walking hand in hand, and I find myself with a mix of conflicting emotions.
Happiness, that they have what I never did, sadness, that I never had what they do, and anger at my original world for what it put me and others like me through.
Pausing my stroll, I look up at the sky, noticing as the sun begins to fall over the horizon, casting a beautiful glow on the city.
'This world is so beautiful... I want to make my old world look like this.'
I find myself forming a goal for my life in my mind. I'm going to find a way to go back and I'm going to demolish every corrupt part of that world and rebuild it from the ground up.
My eyes flash with a dangerous gleam as I remember specific organizations and places in my world of origin, the flame hidden deep in my heart reigniting for the first time in what feels like forever.
'I won't let anything or anyone get in my way. I won't let anyone or anything snuff this flame again. Buford may be a fool, but he's right, and he's got an infectious optimism that we definitely need. Maybe one day the others will feel this too.' I think to myself.
"I truly hope they do..." I find myself saying out loud, thinking of the others, hoping they wake up soon to enjoy the new life we have and the good mother-like figure we've found.
Thinking of Julia, I send her a message.
TheGamer: Thanks, for everything. It means a lot to me.
GuardianGrace: I haven't done anything particularly worthy of thanks, but of course, How are you holding up?
TheGamer: Better than ever, to be honest. I feel like I've found a purpose and a life worth living, as opposed to the aimless wandering I'd felt before.
GuardianGrace: That's wonderful, I wish you luck on your goals and endeavors. And remember, if you need anything I'm always a message away.
Making my way home, I feel my consciousness shifting slightly as I enter the house, suddenly feeling like I'm no longer in control of our body.
Suddenly, the body shoots forward, running towards a mirror and looking itself up and down.
Watching the strange actions and facial expressions, it dawns on me what's happening as the last thing I see before my scenery changes is our hair shifting colors to a vibrant baby pink-hue, while our eyes also change color, becoming mostly white with pink, sprinkle-like dots littered through them.
And then, I find myself in a log cabin with Buford, as we both look towards a big holographic projected screen on the wall, showing the body's new appearance and actions from a third person's point of view, like a game.
I speak, just one word, and Buford looks at me in confusion.
"Lesley...."