*??? POV*
*Date: July 20th, 2000*
*Location: London, England*
You know those CYOA things you see online everywhere, the kind where you might complete a form for a specific world, or you can choose from a variety. That, alongside various powers, perks, drawbacks, and scenarios to add some flavor to your chosen world/character. The only problem with my build is that I didn't really focus on the drawbacks so much as scenarios, aka added little events or features of the world you can get for magic and points.
Those scenarios were why I was internally freakign out as I wandered my newly acquired wizard tower, which blended right into the London environment. One of those would be under the multiplayer tab of the Magic Multiverse Mayhem Final, of which I chose two under it, one being "Multiplayer", bringing multiple other people who completed one of their own CYOA and Words "That Nerver Reached You" aka a version of me that did an entirely different build and used another CYOA form like the other transported individuals.
Oh, did I fail to mention I chose Earth Bet as my starting world, aka Worm or Parahumans if you want to be specific, a world with a depressed alien entity that gave humanity a bunch of powers. Of course, I probably didn't help because if the stuff I added to scenarios was added here, then well, we now have three new problems from the nasuverse.
The first two scenarios are underneath the Invasion tab, one being Dead Apostle Ancestors alongside their lesser kin, and to top it all off, I had allowed Crimson Moon entrance into this world, essentially bringing something that could probably kill an Endbringer into the picture that enjoyed toying with humanity. That alongside Type-ORT, aka an alien entity that resembles a spider, and lacks our sense of death. So that's three extremely powerful entities capable of wiping out humanity like Zion.
Then there was the person problem I created for myself, one that even if I were to take care of these other entities, would require a team. "Seeing Double" which essentially amounted to an evil version of me that had all the same tricks, skills, and magic, and was essentially a mirrored version of me, only you know evil.
So that's a fun little thing I did, lucky for me, I also gave myself some decent perks that helped with mental defenses, soul defenses, and protected my mind from outside influence. That and I went all in on the Magecraft part of the CYOA, giving myself 25 EX-Rank magic circuits, alongside an assortment of magecraft fields, some of which included spatial and time-related fields. I picked the usual Mental Interference, Bounded Field Creation, Material Transmutation, Mystic Code Creation, Formalcraft, and a whole bunch underneath that particular tab, choosing to be instead a prepper.
It also helped that I got Runes alongside the Primordial version thanks to Regression of the Gods, giving me access to that particular set. I didn't just stick to Magecraft, though, I also got another magic system, albeit one that will take a little more time to develop, one from my favorite book series titled "Skullduggery Pleasant", making me an Adept Mage, but stopping myself from getting immediate access to a true name.
It also gave me access to a taken name, one that would defend me against those who use a similar system of magic when using my given name against me. I choose the troll who most likely sent me here with all these terrors and goodies.
"My new taken name is Mercury Zelretch Schweinorg." I decided to keep the middle and last name but chose to name myself after the Roman god of travelers, and once I did so in the center of the vast labyrinth of a library hidden within my tower, I could feel the magic from the Root or Source, or whatever you wihs to call it solidify acknolwedging my newfound existence.
I was currently sitting in the center of my tower, reading one of the many books already stored here. Probably meant to facilitate/help my growth into the wider area of magic itself, well alongside imagecraft, as both systems I currently have access to had entirely different concepts drawn upon to use mana. For example, the chosen elements I had for the magecraft part of my build were Ether/Void to give myself an extra boost alongside the energy provided by the Second True Magic Kaleidoscope, which allowed one to traverse parallel worlds/timelines.
The other element I chose mostly at random was Earth, giving me a bit more access to cultivating specialty plants if given the chance. I lacked a certain discipline from the Adept category, which meant I had to learn it from the ground up using some of the books already here in as I said previously, to help with my growth. Honestly, I was guessing the other transmigrators had something similar working for them, depending on the versions.
Anyway, the specific discipline I was going to be working on would be the one that made China Sorrows so deadly, Signum Linguists. It would take some time to become truly proficient in it, but if used in tandem with the runes/primordial runes I had access to, it would make my tower, my workshop, far deadlier to any who dare invade. That, alongside inscribing them into my body to make myself stronger, both physically and magically, and increasing my defenses.
I was currently reading a book on that very subject, which went into great detail on the basics of sigil magic, essentially. Honestly speaking, with my newfound knowledge on Magecraft/Magic, I was able to understand how it functioned, but like with all things, it would take a lot of work to fully comprehend. Overall, whilst I did have access to a whole assortment of goodies, I would need to fully study them and practice my newfound craft to make sure I don't make mistakes.
That, alongside one particular item I chose that would prove itself extremely useful, one that I chose over Maliketh's Black Blade, which had the concept within it. The Jeweled sword of Zelretch, which can draw energy from parallel worlds, alongside a mighty conceptual weapon, even if it can't be used to travel to other worlds. Beyond that, though, I had an idea on how to make this mighty weapon my own, one that involved turning this entire tower into a mystic code satellite, essentially.
Well, if such a thing were possible anyway, but it would be an interesting goal to aspire to at the very least. Right now, I needed to gather every bit of information I could on this world, and luckily for me, the second true magic, the kaleidescope, would help me in this task alongside the jeweled sword, but mostly the internet. After all, depending on the people transported into this world, they may very well be going after certain already known threats immediately, like the Slaughterhouse Nine.
I also needed to figure out how many other players were on the board besides my technological counterpart, at least I hoped it was that version. Alongside this would be figuring out how to properly form a team strong enough to face my evil self that would be born or was already plotting/scheming in this world or on Earth Aleph, for all I knew. Even then, that wasn't considering all the other players that are now on the board.
But look at my erambling, not even taking the time to see what kind of body I was working with and writing down my newfound vast knowledge that essentially jammed itself into my brain. I just rubbed my temples, knowing full well that I was essentially rambling at this point, taking stock of my current situation alongside, perhaps possible allies if given the right opportunity.
Honestly, right now I could use a stiff drink of literally any kind to take the edge off, relax a little, but odds were this place probably wasn't stocked. I also felt like I was forgetting some of the scenarios alongside a few other things, probably, but right now I just needed to relax, gather myself, and write everything I knew both about this world, well at least large events that involved the year 2000, than the scenarios I stupidly picked out to gain more magic points to use.
"*Sigh* This is going to be a long existence, should've gone for a different Zelretch build entirely, maybe one combined with the Toru magic system."
As I closed the book I was currently reading, describing the basics of sigil magic from Skullduggery Pleasant. Highly interesting alongside Magecraft itself, and I was wondering if perhaps they could truly work in tandem with runes. Well, that was where the scientific method came in, experimentation, see what works, and repetition till you knew it would work.
Odds were I was butchering that, but the fact I was eerily calm and not externally freaking out spoke volumes of my self-control.