Chapter 3: Bad

[Class Select]

[>Melee]

[>Tank]

[>Healer]

[>Ranged]

[>Magic]

Jaxir found himself in a world of endless white, the only color aside from himself coming from the floating screen before him.

If there were any special classes to get, they certainly weren’t here, so Jaxir looked over the five choices and tried to remember what he would have picked before everything went to shit.

"I guess if I pick based on my personality... Magic?"

Jaxir wasn’t even sure if he had a personality anymore because whatever made him, him, had been stripped away a long time ago. But he had once been someone who appreciated cleverness, and if he was serious about finding some piece of that person again, Magic seemed like the choice that aligned with his former self most.

"This is as good a turning point as any."

Jaxir slapped his cheeks and was a bit surprised at the feedback, feeling not only the sting but the bone beneath his gaunt cheeks and the slightest elasticity of his skin. It was too real, but after everything that had already happened today, that barely made the list of things he needed answers for.

[Class Selected]

[Please Select your starting Path]

[>Destruction]

[>Hex]

[>Conjure]

"Hex is probably most like me."

Destruction probably referred to those fireball-throwing mages, while Conjure would be summoners like beast tamers or necromancers, which left Hex as some combination of control, debuffs and curses...

Back when he was a teenager, he would’ve been all over a class like Hex, half because almost no one would pick it because it felt boring and half because he’d want to see if he could find some exploit to break the game through it.

He’d also had a pretty common streak of thinking he was better and more "unique" than everyone else, but typical teenage edginess aside, the choice still sounded fun to the him of now.

[Path Selected]

[Stats Distributed]

[Status Screen Construction Complete]

Name: Jaxir Chance

Class: Magic

Level: 0

Alignment: Neutral

Experience: 0/100

Marks: N/A

Titles: N/A

HP: 40

MP: 160

Core Stats

Body: 4

Mind: 16

Free Points: 0

Abilities

Body: N/A

Mind: N/A

[Please Select {3} Starting Vestigem Cards]

[>Raw Mana Bolt]

[>Kindling]

[>Concussive Wave]

[>Flare Burst]

[>Static Charge]

[>Power Word]

[>Overcharge Strike]

[>Mana Burn]

[>Detonation Field]

[>Shockwave]

Something in Jaxir’s chest twitched when he saw the list because it was like watching his parents’ life’s work populate in front of him. Every one of these cards had been designed from the foundations they created, and even though the versions in Divinity were only simulations, Jaxir knew the real technology well enough to recognize pieces of it.

Vestigem Cards were a staple of real life, basically portable software on cards that had revolutionized warfare before spreading into commercial and hobby use as well. His parents had been hired to recreate that technology inside Divinity without exposing the military secrets behind the real thing, and the contract had catapulted the Chance Corporation to heights it had never reached before.

Sometimes Jaxir wondered if that was why they lost their lives, but he had never gotten any real answers on that front. His fingers passed straight through the floating symbols when he reached toward them, and after a moment he forced himself to focus on what was actually in front of him.

"None of these look particularly good for a Hexer, but Flare Burst has a blinding effect, and Concussive Wave should give me some space if something gets too close."

Jaxir looked over the remaining options before settling on Static Charge, which seemed useful as a last line of defense considering he doubted a mage would have particularly good movement.

He still didn’t know much about the game, and he understood a lot more about Vestigem Cards than he did about whatever challenges Divinity was about to throw at him, especially since he had been very involved in his parents’ work. Picking three cards that at least overlapped with what he imagined a Hexer should do seemed good enough for now.

What was the worst that could happen? He’d die in a video game and wake up to the same terrible life he’d always lived anyway.

[Vestigem Cards Selected]

[Selecting Tutorial Zone]

The world around Jaxir twisted, but instead of whatever tutorial he expected to appear, another notification flashed across his vision.

[Error...]

A sharp pain spiked against Jaxir’s spine, and before he could even wonder what was wrong, his consciousness felt like it had been ripped straight out of his body. He hit stone hard enough to hear the impact echo through whatever space he’d landed in, then groaned as he pushed himself onto an elbow.

He hadn’t thought this was what Lue meant when he spoke about realism, and for a moment Jaxir half thought he was back in his real body already. When he opened his eyes, however, he found himself in what almost looked like a dungeon hallway, with torches lighting stone walls and a stairway climbing toward an altar at the opposite end.

Sitting on that altar was a jack-in-the-box.

It was a beautiful little silver and blue piece, and if not for the silly implications of such a thing, Jaxir would have thought it was a work of art put on display rather than a practical joke. He stared at it for a few seconds before glancing around the empty hall, but there wasn’t anything else here to give him a clue about what he was supposed to do.

"What am I supposed to do with that thing? Wind it up?"

Jaxir climbed to his feet and started forward, only to notice almost immediately that the weakness of his real body wasn’t here. His steps became quicker as he approached the stairs, and when nothing jumped out to attack him, he broke into a light jog without even thinking about it.

He had forgotten what it felt like to have a healthy body, which was strange when there had once been a time when he loved sports, especially Vestigem Sports. Jaxir pushed the thought away as he reached the altar, then wrapped his fingers around the handle of the jack-in-the-box and began to turn.

A musical chime filled the hall, becoming louder with every rotation until Jaxir’s body tensed in anticipation of whatever was about to jump out at him. The lid never popped open, though, and instead a surge of silver-blue light flooded the room and swallowed him whole.

[You have been Marked by a Major God]

[You have been granted the Mark of the Jester]

[Your Alignment has shifted from "Neutral" to "Bad"]

[Divine Ability, "Encore", unlocked]

[Encore (Divine Ability)]

[Vestigem Cards are one-time use items, but not for you, Jester. Replenish the use of a card and trigger it in an Encore, gaining two usages for the same card]

Jaxir stared at the notifications as the light slowly receded, his attention immediately settling on Encore. Vestigem Cards were one-time-use items both here and in reality, so an ability that could replenish one after it had already been used effectively doubled the value of every card he got his hands on.

That sounded absurdly useful, especially when Jaxir only had three of them, but the first notification bothered him almost as much as the ability interested him. He didn’t know enough about Divinity to understand exactly how difficult it was to receive the Mark of a Major God, yet after the memories forced into his head and the dream of the God of Games, the word "Jester" certainly didn’t feel like a coincidence.

Then there was the other problem.

His Alignment had changed from Neutral to Bad. And as though Divinity had been waiting for him to notice... another string of notifications appeared.

[Your Alignment to Level ratio is poor. You have been barred entry from Tutorial Village]

[Quest Received]

Quest: The Clownish Criminal

Description: You are a Level 0 of negative merit. You play no significant role to the empire, and yet you have the audacity to be a drain on society. That is unacceptable and will cost you. The village head has detected your request to be admitted into the Tutorial Village and has reacted with rage. A warrant has been put out for your arrest and the reward is quite nice.

Objective: Avoid detection and reach Level 1.

Jaxir read the quest twice, his gaze lingering on the fact that he’d somehow become a wanted criminal before even reaching Level 1. Apparently, receiving the blessing of a Major God had come with the slight downside of the tutorial deciding he was a drain on society who needed to be arrested.

"... Well, that’s rude."

The world warped around Jaxir before he could complain any further, and a moment later he was plopped into the middle of a forest wearing simple brown linen clothes with little more than a card clip hanging from his hip.