I just lay there, staring blankly at the first thing I've seen since ever, letting the situation process in my not-brain.
Despite my patience, the delusion does not, in fact, fade away. It just stares back at me as I stare at it.
'Alright. What the fuck is this then? Some delusion my not-brain conjured up after I'd gone insane? Some desperate attempt by my soul to entertain myself before I break? Or is it maybe some cruel prank played by the Entity that sent me into this far-flung realm?'
'What the fuck are you?'
[By the grace of the Great Crawling Chaos you have been granted the Chaos Gacha, a 'System' that allows you to live out a new, glorious life in another world for his entertainment]
[The Gacha will decide your fate]
'The Crawling Chaos? Who is that? Why did he send me here? Why did he bind me to you?'
[The Crawling Chaos, also known as the Black Pharoah or the Faceless God is a being far beyond your understanding, host.]
'Well that's fucking terrifying. Why would a being of unfathomable power like him want with me?'
[Not to worry, host. Now that you are bound to me he can't influence you any further. He can just watch your journey.]
[As for your other questions, the answer is the same. The Outer Gods get bored watching over the known realities, for they already know everything that has happened, is happening and will happen. The exception being in cases such as our own.]
'Why is our situation different? I'm just some washed up never-been from a little planet like Earth, why would I have anything exceptional against an Outer God?'
[Because you have me.]
[The odds of you actually contracting me, host, is around one in ten to the power of two-hundred. The fact that you didn't instantly extinguish means you are special in some way. A way that makes you interesting to people like the God of a Thousand Forms.]
'So what you're saying is, because you're attached to my soul, I have a baseline protection against eldritch beings?'
[Basically]
Alright then. So I've actually gone batshit insane. It was bound to happen, I guess. After all, I've gone through a lot of shit and done a hell of a lot more, so it makes sense that my brain/not-brain would degenerate to this state.
Because that's what has to have happened, right? Theres no way my soul got lost after death and was stumbled upon by some fucking eldritch deity, who then banished me off to the middle of fucking nowhere where I collided with an entity on his level who decided to bond with my own soul.
Obviously that didn't happen, so this is all an insane delusion.
You have acquired 3 Gold Random Gacha tickets.
World Transfer will initiate once all tickets have been spent.
Fuck.
'Alright then. If this all real, then what the fuck are gold random tickets? How do I use them?'
Explanation - Starting Tickets: Tickets allow you to roll the corresponding gacha they align with. The Gold Random Gacha Ticket can give you anything ranging from Items, Familiars, Powers and Skills that are contained in the Gold rank gacha. Simply prompt mentally to roll a ticket.
'Fan-fucking-tastic. And this world transfer business?'
Explanation - World Transfer: Once all tickets have been spent, you will begin your new world in a random world across all of reality that the user is aware of. Mostly from works of fiction from their world of origin.
'Any world I'm aware of? Does that include non-human worlds like Cars and Zootopia? Does it include out of pocket insane worlds like Lord of the Mysteries and Bloodborne?'
Yes
'Do I at least get to know the world beforehand?'
No
'Well shit. So I can end up anywhere from My Little Pony to Warhammer 40k. And all I can rely on is three random attributes or items from the infinite cosmos.'
Yes
Damn.
Three tickets, three chances. Anything can happen. World at my fingertips.
'Roll the first ticket.'
Rolling Gold Random Gacha…
A Rare Trait!
[Demon]
|Rare Trait|
Race Change - You are a demon, a middle rank infernal being. As a demon, you have augmented physical and magical stats. You possess a greater affinity towards Unholy, Darkness, Infernal and Fire. But are vulnerable to Holy, Light, Divine and Exorcisms. You can also turn your body parts into natural weapons, such as sharp teeth and claws.
Note- If undesired, race change traits can be rerolled with the ticket they came from if you have not turned them on.
Well that's…
I actually don't know how to feel about that. If I end up in a world like DxD it could be fine, I guess, but if it's a world like Blue Exorcist or Lord forbid, Frieren, I'm cooked beyond measure.
At least it comes with insurance? That way if I end up in a strictly hostile world I can get another go.
'Roll the second ticket.'
Rolling Gold Random Gacha…
A Rare Ability!
[Suggestion]
|Rare Ability|
[Class: Thinker, Master]
Allows you to send a mental suggestion to your target to subtly make them do what you want them to do by making them perceive it as their idea to manipulate them or condition them.
Now this ability…
'Hey System! Do you take me as some kind of gross hentai protagonist! This is slander on my already shitty name! You take this back! I'm innocent, damn you!'
'Well, not innocent, but you get the idea!'
[The rolls are random, host. I do not influence them in any way.]
[Although it is a little revealing that that is where your mind went.]
Well…
'I plead the fifth. Roll the third ticket.'
Rolling Gold Random Gacha…
An Elite Skill!
[Expert Teaching]
|Elite Skill|
You are an expert teacher, the kind a protagonist would encounter mid-way through their journey to learn an essential skill from you before leaving and forgetting about you. You are incredibly skilled at imparting your knowledge and skills to your pupils, you could pick any old farmboy and turn him into a fine warrior.
'You see System, now you understand me. I'm a fine, noble mentor type. Not the sneaky mind control type. This is more in line with who I am.
[Incorrect]
[Data from the host's life shows that this skill will see very little use.]
'Well that's old data! The old Percival! That guy had a brain riddled with depression and anxiety and a body on the brink of death. Soul Form Percival has none of those! I'm a prime, clean mental specimen, and don't you declare otherwise!'
'Still… No offensive options is a real bummer. I mean, what if I end up in some combative world like Solo Leveling where every random mook could ice me in a minute? Maybe I can go all 'There is no war in Ba Sing Se' on their asses before they grab mine…'
⬘⬗⬘⟢⬘⬗⬘⟣⬘⬗⬘
So… Three Gold tickets to start, as dictated in the 'Transmigration' option in the CYOA part of the Chaos Gacha.
Now it does say you're allowed to re-roll if you don't like what you got, but honestly, I didn't feel the need to.
Plus, I knew that if I did it once I'd do it a thousand times. Its better just to settle, yk?
The Demon card is the one I'm least happy with.
Honestly, Teaching and Suggestion are both kinda shit as well, but we'll be fine.
For now.
Also, you may have noticed that Percival isn't acting like a grizzled old Veteran Merc, and there's a good reason for that. In Canon, the reason is that his new soul-form and also future body are free from mental illnesses. His addictions are gone, his Depression is cured and his Dopamine receptors are functioning. He was also a massive fucking dork in the first place, who used anime and shit like that as an escape.
Wonder what that's like…..
The other reason is that I need to work on Character Writing. I'm going to try to get experience on that, but for now the tone is sort of 'off the dome' and since I'm unwilling to use A.I for actual writing, (I sometimes use it for Inspiration or to redirect my train of thought} Everything is organic.
Tell me what you think about his starter 3 pull and I'll see you all next Chapter.
(P.S. I know some people don't like sentient systems but I'm a real big fan so...)