Chapter 3: Guilty
He felt good. Unbelievably so. It was hard to describe that feeling. It was as if he took a great nap just after achieving the dream he pursued for years. Oh, and if he held a beautiful woman in his arms. Something like that. Or maybe even slightly better.
He kept his eyes closed, while lying on the ground. The chirping of the birds, rustle of leaves in the distance, smell of a forest, touch of wind on his skin…
He could stay like that for hours, really. Yet remembering everything that happened to him lately, he knew, that it wasn't the smartest of choices. So he opened his eyes.
What greeted him was the same golden mist, that he encountered back in the white void. It was swirling in the air, forming into strange runes, just to disperse soon after. He extended his arm in the air, trying to touch it, just to immediately pause. His hand was small. And way too smooth to be his own.
He jumped on his feet, hurriedly checking his body. Petite posture, smooth pale skin, lack of any muscle whatsoever. He ignored his simple red clothing, and a dagger hanging at his waist. It was a standard starting equipment. Unlike his body it was fully expected. He was in a body of a child!
Then he noticed the ground he was standing on. Around him was a circular area of flattened grass, as if something very heavy pressed on it. Inside the circle were imprinted the same runes that were still hovering in the air; however these ones gave an impression of lasting for an eternity and were formed into rough shape of a giant eye.
Realization dawned on him. The wonderful feeling he had few moments ago, his body stature, the place of his awakening. He was no longer human. That was rather disturbing. At least out of the plethora of races in the 'Origins' universum he was still a humanoid.
Out of many races that players could choose from when starting the game there was a particular group of species that regular players stayed away from. Only some experienced players tried their luck with it. Elemental spirits. It was race that was hard to play, since although they are pretty powerful, they have a huge drawback of restricted growth. In short, while they gained large bonuses to everything even remotely related with their element, they faced various penalties with any other element. So it was only popular with players who liked to very strictly plan their build and take it into a particular direction.
However in his case, the situation was even more complicated. His was not a playable race. And for a very good reasons.
In the climax of the original game, Anavar - High God of Balance, ascended to heavens in a very forceful manner, regaining his throne that he was deprived of earlier. This led to flooding lower planes in high amounts of heavenly power, which in turn resulted in return of a race long thought extinct - Divine Spirits. They were introduced in one of promotional books that depicted events between finish of the original game and start of proper 'Secrets of the Origin'. The problem with it was that the author of this book went a little overboard with describing this race's perks and their impact on all spheres of a society. During development it was agreed that if it was implemented as a playable race it would break the balance of a game.
And here was a first problem. Although it's definitely a good thing that he received such a powerful race to begin with, he had no idea, how to build his stats. Although as a developer he knew more about the game than anyone else, he never seriously played it. So although he was familiar with few strong builds for the more common races, making one himself from scratch is extremely difficult for him.
That's something to think of later. Where am I?
He looked around. He stood in a clearing of a very old forest. Surprisingly not a sign of life in the vicinity. Then he noticed something. On the opposite site of the clearing there was a giant stone covered in moss. This in itself wouldn't be something weird. However this particular stone was more than hundred meters high, and had a rough shape of a royal throne.
"Fuck."
It was a pretty accurate description of a current situation. This throne was a pretty famous landmark called 'Throne of a forest's ruler'. According to game's lore it was located exactly in the middle of a danger zone 'Azgah's wilderness'. One of the most dangerous location of a game's first update.
Makes sense, actually. All of the Divine Spirits birthplaces are located inside danger zones. It's because heavenly power that this place emits is an invaluable resource with limitless uses. Although for the current him it's less than useless. It's actually dangerous to be next to such a hot potato.
Swearing at the constant problems he walked to the throne, and after clearing a small part, he sat upon it. If he has to leave, he has to prepare first. After sitting down comfortably he closed his eyes and following his newfound instinct called inside his mind.
"Status."
Name: Reus
Race: Divine Spirit (Altair)
Age: 1 day
Level: 1
Experience: 0/1000
Hp: 180/180
Mp: 320/320
Stamina 100%
Energy: 0
Stats:
Strength - 6
Dexterity - 11
Constitution - 8
Intelligence - 22
Wisdom - 18
Charisma - 14
Luck - 43
Skills:
none
Traits:
Child of heavens (Racial)
Guided by stars (Racial)
Guardian of a heavenly gate (Racial)
Seer (Innate)
One with the world (Innate)
Touched by a Void (innate)
Authority:
none
Blessings:
Ana's Grace (Basic)
"So my name is literally 'guilty'? This bratty goddess. Who does she think she is? Luckily this world doesn't know latin, or it would raise a few questions. And what's with this stats? This race is really broken. My Luck stat is especially too much. And 'Altair' as a subspecies? I suppose it's fitting. In the lore there are only eleven divine spirits alive. So carrying a name of twelfth brightest star should be lore friendly. However starting with three innate traits should be impossible" In the game there wasn't any level cap. However levels were of a secondary importance. The most important thing were traits and abilities that you could acquire in game. By completing quests, killing strong enemies, gaining achievements, special events and so on. Especially important are innate skills. They are defining points of a character. It's rare but possible, for an NPC to be born with one or two innate skills. Three would be something akin to a fairytale. In case of players if they want to acquire innate skills they have to do something big. Finish main storyline with a perfect score; solo a legendary boss; be the first to participate in a defining event of the game. However looking a descriptions of them he could somehow understand why he started with all of them. Yet the most attention garnered the blessings tab. "What the fuck is this?! Since when that bitch was any part of this game?! And 'Basic'?! Doesn't that just mean that I have her attention?!"
After tiring himself from all the cursing, Reus once again looked over his status.
<Child of Heavens> - Racial Trait - As a being born from rampaging heavenly energy you will forever be cared for by the plane and aided along the way.
Luck attribute + 25
Stat growth + 15%
Experience gained + 15%
<Guided by Stars> - Racial Trait - As a being carrying the name of a twelfth brightest star in the night's sky your destiny is forever tied with it.
Automatic absorption of the energy, while exposed to starlight.
Night vision acquired.
<Guardian of a heavenly gate> - Racial Trait - In commemoration of a first divine spirit who dedicated his life to protecting the heavens, all divine spirits are blessed with a body rivalling even strongest of titans.
Personal growth tied to your energy level. Allows to manipulate your body proportions within energy's limits.
<Seer> - Innate Trait - In your mind is locked knowledge of the future. As someone who stole the secrets of time you are extremely familiar with it. It constantly whispers in your mind, and provided you are strong and resilient enough you can ask it your own questions.
(passive) You instinctively sense imminent danger, and are sometimes able to predict your opponent's moves.
(passive) In a situation with limited choice you can roughly sense most optimal decision.
(active) You can observe both past and future events, provided your constitution, wisdom and intelligence is high enough. Requirements depend on your target's distance in time, how specific is your question, and possible interference from third party.
<One with the world> - Innate Trait - Wherever you are you are treated by the world like an old friend after long separation.
Boost to all skills related to nature +25%
<Touched by the Void> - Innate Trait - As someone who remembers his death and his experience inside the lesser void, your mind is much stronger than that of an average person's.
Immunity to mental interference.
"Wow, although the innate skills are supposed to be cheats, these are really exaggerated. But why it especially stated 'lesser' void? I'm sure that there was no such a thing in the game. Is this somehow related to the goal of the universe this brat was talking about? Hmm, eh, screw it. It doesn't have anything to do with me. I must get lost before something big comes here drawn by all the heavenly energy."
After saying that, and roughly deciding direction of his growth based on his status, he jumped off the throne and walked into the forest.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone