In a mythical archipelago hidden from the rest of the world from the dawn of the First Age, there existed a slumbering human male. While this human male slumbered amidst a soft grassy meadow, he had no idea that he was no longer in his own world nor that, when he woke, he wouldn't be suffering under his father's madness.
As for this strange archipelago he slept in? Well, it was created by Jas to house the stranger from another world.
Located on the far side of the planet, this strange archipelago had been granted resources that normally are scattered all over the mainland: Ore veins of the core ores from the game (even those that had not yet been introduced into the game), a few places to mine both rune and pure essences without need to teleport, and a type of rune altar that enabled him to create any type of rune. On the biggest island of them all in this strange archipelago, there was a small wooden cabin made from Ash logs.
At first glance, this cabin had nothing going for it besides being basic accommodations. It had basic furniture, a basic bed, a bookcase, and a clay fireplace. To an expert constructor (those who have reached either level 99, 120, or reached 200 million experience), there was room to grow and fully decorate this cabin. Unfortunately, there was nothing that crossed over here from Earth technology-wise, so Cole couldn't use the internet or anything like that here.
Yes, the strange human male slumbering in the grassy meadow is our protagonist.
As the sun slowly reached the peak of the day, the very archipelago itself seemed to begin breathing in more life than before. Wet splashes could be faintly heard nearby as fish swam into nearby places to fish, birds making squawking noises from far above, and soft rustling noises signaling the movements of small animals like rabbits. It felt like this archipelago held a strange sense of living in tune with the Anima of Gielinor and made itself feel like home to someone like Cole.
Then, right at midday, Cole stirred awake from his slumber by a subtle ringing bell.
[Welcome to RuneScape, Cole Sol of Earth!] a masculine mechanical voice announced within Cole's mind. [As this is your first interdimensional travel, you have been granted a bundle of rewards!]
"W-wha?" Cole inquired in his mind as he slowly woke up.
[First of all, thereveal.] it began. [You are not dreaming nor have you gone insane. You are no longer on your homeworld of Earth and have been transported from your original world into this universe by a deal made between the Elder Gods of this universe and the Primal Powers. This is due to your birthday wish of living freely.]
That woke him up more as evident by how he immediately sat straight up. Before he could let the reveal sink in further and potentially breaking his mind, the notifications continued.
[Secondly, you will not be able to return to Earth unless certain requirements are met to allow interdimensional travel.] it informed Cole. [This is because the differences between dimensions along with complex calculations needed to form a bridge between the RuneScape universe and your original homeworld.]
This one went way over Cole's head when it mentioned complex calculations and dimensional differences, but he did get the gist of what this strange notification was telling him. He was unable to go back home unless he was able to meet certain unknown conditions.
"Despite knowing I should be freaking out over having a System, I'm actually not that surprised now," Cole thought to himself. "It's a common trope in fanfiction and some original stories that the main character has some kind of overpowered System that helps them get stronger to beat some sort of big bad evil person. What makes me curious is what do I need to fight that requires me to have a System right at the start?"
Right as he finished thinking of this question, two System notifications appeared in his vision simultaneously.
[Thirdly, you are not the World Guardian of this iteration of Gielinor.] the System clarified. [The original World Guardian of this timeline exists and has not yet been born. This is due to being in a different era than the World Guardian blessed by Guthix himself.]
Then the next prompt said:
[Congratulations, Cole Sol! You have unlocked all the requirements to start the following quest: Mystery of the Dimensions. WARNING: This quest will be super long to complete and have a very high chance of dying multiple times in order to complete.]
As the rest of the introductory prompts appeared in his vision, Cole knew that he needed to figure out what this quest [Mystery of the Dimensions] was truly all about. It wasn't a quest that showed up in any of the RuneScape games and it seemed to be quite unique to him alone.
Then, he turned his attention back to the introductory prompts. He knew that he didn't know this System worked nor what was all going on, so he had no choice to put the things aside.
[Fourth,] the System continued, [as you are someone from another world/dimension, you have been granted the ability to directly manipulate Anima. You are able to still use runes like the native humans of this universe, but you are able to use Anima directly without needing runes or sources of infinite runes. All spells from the Normal, Lunar, and Ancient spellbooks will have Anima requirements to cast.]
[Lastly, you are unable to tell other beings, including the World Guardian, the future nor the nature of where your knowledge comes from. This restriction is because certain events (ex: Death of Guthix, Elder God Wars, and destruction of the Stone of Jas) are fixed in time and, thus, must play out as they should have in the game. You are allowed, however, to amend specific events that may have otherwise resulted in the death of people you have grown fond of (ex: Sister Catherina and Hazelmere).]
Cole understood these prompts as he finished reading them. From the classic tropes in stories, most transmigrated protagonists that know of the world's lore from video games or novels tend to abuse that knowledge and cause a Butterfly Effect in where their choices altered the course of history. It was fairly obvious that things were going to be interesting in this new life of his.
"But wait a minute," Cole thought to himself. "How do I know when certain events happen? the game's quests messed with the timeline a lot by adding in new events that happened during the year 169 of the fifth age. Do I just guess when they happen?"
As if to respond to Cole's worries, two things happened there. One was a Clock that appeared in the middle-right hand corner telling the current time and the other was a notification of changes made to a Quest Log.
"Let me guess," Cole thought to himself. "I have to either say or think something to open it? Quest Log."
His theory proved correct, at least with the mental one, as the [Quest Log] opened up to reveal over five hundred quests. It seemed to be listed in the Timeline order and Cole noticed that it was stuck like that permanently as he attempted to reorganize them into membership status, but was received with an error message.
Unlike in the main RuneScape games, the timeline of quests seemed to have been expanded from the original Fifth/Sixth/Ambiguous organization. It went from Pre-First Age and expanded all the way to quests that had not yet released after Eclipse of the Heart in the Sixth Age. Cole was actually surprised that there were over two hundred quests just in the Pre-First Age section alone, but it left a nagging feeling in his mind that there is something else behind the expanded quest log.
"Wait a minute," Cole pondered. "Will I be alive during the First Age?! Then, how can I do the quests in the Fifth age alongside the World Guardian?!"
In response to his fears, the [Quest Log] closed itself and his [Profile] opened.
==={+}===
Profile: Cole Sol
Name: Cole Sol
Age: 18 (Aged down due to !@$#@%^$!^!)
Race: Human (Otherworlder Variant)
Level: 1
EXP to Level: 0/2000
Tier: Bronze (Early)
Status Ailments: None
=={RS:NS}==
Vitality: 10
Strength: 10
Agility: 10
Perception: 10
Intelligence: 10
Wisdom: 10
=={RS:NS}==
Combat:
+ Attack: 1/120
- The Attack skill (by level) is the ability to wield certain weapons up to level 99. Beyond level 100, there are currently no weapons that fit the requirements.
+ Strength: 1/120
- The Strength skill (by level) is the ability to hit a certain damage threshold up to level 99. Beyond level 99 is virtual levels.
+ Magic: 1/120
- The Magic skill (by level) is the proficiency and control over magical spells using Runes. Depending on the user's Magic level, they can cast powerful spells that can scale damage. Beyond level 100, the levels gained are virtual.
+ Ranged: 1/120
- The Ranged skill (by level) is the proficiency and accuracy of the user's long-range attacks. This skill primarily focuses on bows, arrows, crossbows, bolts, and thrown objects. Beyond level 99, the levels are virtual.
+ Prayer: 1/120
- The Prayer skill (by level) is the ability to channel divine power to aid the user in tasks. From protecting an extra item on death to siphoning life energy from enemies, the prayers vary by level. Beyond level 99, all levels are virtual.
+ Summoning: 1/120
- The Summoning skill (by level) allows the user to conjure spectral allies that can aid in various tasks. Beyond level 99, all levels are virtual.
+ Necromancy: 1/120
- This skill, relatively new to RuneScape, is a combative skill that falls outside of the normal combat triangle. This allows the user to call forth undead allies to fight enemies and perform necromantic rituals that can increase necromantic abilities or unlock them. It is also the only combative skill that reaches level 120.
Support:
+ Thieving: 1/120
+ Slayer: 1/120
+ Dungeoneering: 1/120
+ Agility: 1/120
Gatherer:
+ Fishing: 1/120
+ Woodcutting: 1/120
+ Mining: 1/120
+ Farming: 1/120
+ Divination: 1/120
+ Hunter: 1/120
+ Archaeology: 1/120
Artisan:
+ Construction: 1/120
+ Smithing: 1/120
+ Herblore: 1/120
+ Crafting: 1/120
+ Fletching: 1/120
+ Runecrafting: 1/120
+ Cooking: 1/120
+ Firemaking: 1/120
=={RS:NS}==
+ [Boon: Endless Resurrection]
- This boon, granted by #$!%!$#%!, allows the host to endlessly resurrect and (optionally) visit Death's Office. This boon, however, is powerful enough to even prevent dying by the Elder Gods (Jas, Bik, Wen, Mah, etc).
+ [Boon: Anima Avatar]
- This boon, granted by !!$#%!#%!, allows the host to utilize Anima directly outside of using Runestones. Runestone creation and usage is not prevented.
+ [Boon: Eidetic Memory]
- This boon, granted by the Eternal System, enables the host to retain all memory perfectly with no degradation. Also, through the Intelligence and Wisdom stats, this boon will evolve to higher tiers.
+ [Boon: Aetherium Paradox]
- This boon, granted by the Eternal System, has mysterious effects on the host. By completing System-granted Quests and solving Mysteries not tied to Archaeology, the host will explore more about this boon.
==={+}===
"WHAT THE-" Cole shouted out loud in shock as he read his [Profile]. This action might have startled some cute bunnies nearby, but that was all.
Before Cole could fully grasp just how powerful his System Profile was, he focused more on the boon of Endless Resurrection. While it doesn't appear to say the full effects, He did get a good hint from the wording of the boon's description.
"So, it seems like I can endlessly die and be brought back? That sounds like I'm immortal," Cole thought out loud. "I sure hope that I'm not going to be the first human to die because I'd rather not become Death when its supposed to be Harold who becomes him."
He took a breath after that and spent the rest of the day going over the rest of the System notifications.
=={RS:NS}==
Nighttime, Unknown Time
After going through all of the System notifications and further understanding how the System works, Cole got up and went into the nearby wood cabin. He saw the interior and knew that this cabin was going to be his home the entire time he is on Gielinor. From what he knew of the Construction skill, he knew that he could replace the materials and expand upon this cabin if need be.
What was only odd to him was that there was no House Portal here. From the game, this was one, if not the, main component of the Construction skill in where players can build their own homes within a separate dimension. As to where you could put your home, it can alternate between various cities like Rimmington, Taverley, Pollnivneach, Rellekka, Brimhaven, and Prifddinas. Here, this seemed to be his home and Cole got this vague feeling that he wouldn't be getting a home like in the game in this new world.
"Well, at least I know I can sleep here without an issue," Cole remarked to himself. "I think Jas and her sisters knew that I needed my own space away from other people since my father abused me."
He was sitting on the edge of his basic bedroll as he inspected his new bedroom, but the rustic fantasy feeling seemed to soothe him greatly. Cole even had the suspicion that this was the feeling Guthix had during the First Age when he opened the World Gate.
"Now, I'll get up tomorrow and truly start figuring out what I need to do. I have a lot of time to work out how things go here, but I do wonder..." Cole thought to himself before his eyes shot up wide.
"WAIT A MINUTE?! I'm on Gielinor BEFORE Guthix arrived?!"
=={RS:NS}==
Continued in: The First Task.