Jester contemplated his choices. The status panel had listed 'avatar'. That implied a separation. Or at least a projection.
No, it was better to wait. To be safe. He didn't want to get used to enter the Toonworld in the middle of the day. It could be problematic in the future.
He should use it while resting. Ideally. As if entering a dream. Yes. Activating it before sleep made the most logical sense.
That way, if his mind was gone for a while, his physical body would be safe. Presumably asleep in his bed. And, if he disappeared along with his body, it wouldn't be that obvious.
...
Thus, Jester spent the rest of the day as he was used to do. Reading. He pulled out thick, leather-bound tomes from the shelves. On transcender class theory. On elemental alignments. On the structure of dungeons. On strategies for undeath cleansing.
Acquiring a Soulheart Gear was merely the first step. The path to power was long. Arduous. And brutally unforgiving.
He had a nine-star soulheart gear. Excellent. But it was just potential. He needed to understand how to fully harness it. To grow. To truly make a difference. His own survival depended on it.
Hours passed. The sun dipped below the horizon. Painting the sky in twilight hues. Before slowly faded to black. The only sounds were the distant hum of the town. And the rustle of pages.
Finally, the house was utterly dark. Save for the faint glow of the streetlights filtering through his window. He had turned of the light of his bedroom.
Jester prepared for bed. Laying down with eyes open. Staring at the ceiling. The moment had arrived.
He closed his eyes. Focusing on the faint sensation on his right palm. He pictured the watch. He willed it to appear. A soft, almost imperceptible shimmer. He opened his eyes.
There it was. A classic brass pocket watch. Its face a vibrant, pristine clear. It wasn't just a pocket watch in her hand. It felt like a part of him.
He took a deep breath. Focusing his intent. Pushing his will into the artifact. 'Activate!'
The world around him shattered. Not violently. But like a pane of glass dissolving into a million shimmering pixels.
The walls of his room. The ceiling. The floor. The bed. The darkness... All broke apart into geometric shapes. Each one was a riot of color. One that soon dissolved into pure light.
The sensation was not jarring. But exhilarating. It was like falling along a rainbow slider.
Then, solid ground. And fresh air. And color. So much bright color.
He blinked. He was no longer in his room. He was in a large, brightly lit space that defied conventional architecture. Walls were impossibly curved, colors were impossibly vibrant.
Everything seemed to have a distinct, hand-drawn outline. A subtle wobble that implied constant motion. The air itself hummed with a cheerful, energetic buzz. This was the... Toonworld.
He felt different. Lighter. Shorter, somehow. He instinctively reached up to his face. Fur. Soft, grey fur.
His gaze fell upon a massive, full-length mirror. Positioned against one of the curved walls. He approached it. A strange sense of wonder washed over him.
Reflected back was an anthropomorphic hare. Grey fur. Long, expressive ears that twitched slightly. A small, black button nose. And large, bright eyes that were still his own grey.
He wore a plain blue T-shirt and loose blue joggers. A surprisingly normal ensemble for such an extraordinary transformation.
His athletic build was still there. But now shorter. And streamlined in cartoonish way. Full of potential for exaggerated movement.
A faint, translucent overlay appeared at the edge of his vision. A Heads-Up Display. It was subtle. Unobtrusive. Like a ghost in his peripheral sight. This was definitely similar to the games he used to play on Earth. An RPG.
He focused. Remembering the mental command from countless hours of gaming. "Status!"
The HUD shimmered. Expanding into a full, detailed panel. Directly in his line of sight.
===[STATUS PANEL]===
[Name: Jester Eventide]
[Soulheart Gear: Toonworld Watch]
[Codename: ???]
[Level: 01]
[Class: -]
[Profession: -]
[Power: ✪]
[Speed: ✪✪]
[Vigor: ✪]
[Sense: ✪✪]
[Magic: ✪]
[Drive: ✪]
[Charm: ✪]
[Personality: Jolly Prankster]
[Personality: Smartass Comedian]
[Passive Traits: Toon Physique]
[Active Traits: Stretch!]
[Ranged Weapon: -]
[Melee Weapon: -]
[Combat Tool: -]
[Utility Tool: -]
[Costume: Basic Sport Suit]
[==Consumables==]
[ o Coins: 100]
[ o Main EXP: -]
[ o Permanent: -]
[ o Temporary: -]
[ o Healing: -]
[ o Raw Material: -]
Jester stared at the panel. Okay. This was real. And it was exactly what he expected. Yet somehow, far more.
A whole new world was literally, at his fingertips. The world of cartoon. The world of impossibility. Of absurdity.
Jester grinned at the fact. That the blunt reality of his new existence had just become a whole lot more animated.
Jester stared at the panel. His new hare eyes blinked. Then blinked again. The panel was less a display and more a window into his new reality.
He took a deep breath. He tried to analyze the panels. Breaking down the systems into more comprehensible meaning.
He focused on his first entry. [Name: Jester Eventide]. His real name. His father had given it to him. A hope that he would always bring laughter. Always be the one to lighten the mood.
To him previously, it had felt more like a burden sometimes. A constant pressure to perform. But here, in Toonworld? Maybe it was a prophecy.
His gaze flickered to [Codename: ???]. Three question marks? It felt wrong.
It probably meant that he needed to pick a name. An identity to use in this Toonworld. He didn't want a random codename. He wanted something fitting. Something that hinted at his given name. But with a shadowy twist.
'Nightclown.' He thought.
A clown was... well, that was just a jester with more paint. And his family name. Eventide was pretty much evening. A time before nightfall. Using the word 'night' seemed not too obvious. But also not too random. The thought solidified.
The [Codename: ???] shimmered. Then slowly, deliberately, letters began to form. [Codename: Nightclown]. He felt a small, satisfied jolt. It worked. Mental commands were real.
Next was [Soulheart Gear: Toonworld Watch]. He looked at his left wrist. His brass pocket watch had turned into a simple, cartoonish wrist-watch. Bright orange with a cream face.
It had the same three-dial interface and functions. Just more... cartoonish.
Next was [Level: 01]. Standard for a classic RPG game. Starting really at the very beginning. He wondered how he could level up. Did he need to defeat monsters?
And he also wondered whether the level in the Toonworld reflected his transcender tier level in Sherra. Transcenders did have tier level in Shera. Ten stages. From the Novice (Tier-01) to the Divine (Tier-10).
[Class: -] and [Profession: -] followed. Both blank. This made sense. He was new. An unassigned character.
In most RPGs, you picked a class: Warrior, Mage, Rogue. Here, it likely represented a core power set, an archetype. Or, it might be linked to the class and profession he would acquire in real world.
The next step to do after the Soulgear Awakening would be learning and developing a class specialization in Transcender Academy after all. Choosing one of the nine transcender classes... Fighter, Barbarian, Knight, Hunter, Marksman, Rogue, Acolyte, Druid, or Sorcerer.
And then, after graduation, he needed to pick a transcender profession. This one was even more plentiful. Hundreds of them. From the obvious Teacher, Soldier, Journalist... to something obscure like Sniffer, and Colorist.
At the moment, he was still undefined. Tabula rasa. Blank slate. That was fine. It meant flexibility.
Then came the core stats. [Power: ✪]. A single star. Power. That was raw physical strength. The ability to deal damage. To lift. To hit hard.
One star meant he was average. Not surprising. He was a cartoon hare. He wasn't exactly built like a bodybuilder. He was streamlined. Fast, not strong.
[Speed: ✪✪]. Two stars. This made sense. Speed meant agility, quickness, reaction time. Hares were fast. This should be his strong suit. At least initially. He would have to rely on it.
[Vigor: ✪]. Vigor. Health. Endurance. Resilience. Again, a single star. Well, he wasn't a tank. And he didn't want to be one. He couldn't take a punch and keep going without consequence.
But, this was Toonworld. He suspected his definition of 'durable vigor' was about to get a major overhaul.
[Sense: ✪✪]. Two stars. It should mean perception. Awareness. Intuition. Or perhaps even the ability to detect gags or traps. Hares had sharp senses. Enhanced hearing. Twitching nose. Wide field of vision. This felt right.
[Magic: ✪]. Just One star. This was the wildcard. In Toonworld, 'magic' shouldn't be wands and spells.
It was probably something like 'Toon Logic Manipulation'. The ability to pull huge mallets from behind his back. To produce anything from thin air. To defy gravity for a moment. To bend the rules of reality to his will.
A single star should mean he had the potential. But no real prowess yet. He couldn't just conjure a bridge over a canyon yet. He needed to work on that.
[Drive: ✪]. Willpower. Determination. Resilience of spirit. One star. He thought he was persistent. But perhaps not in the cartoonish, indomitable way.
Cartoon characters could be flattened, blown up, and still get back up. His drive was human-level. He needed more of that cartoonish stubbornness. The kind that made you run off a cliff and not fall until you looked down.
[Charm: ✪]. Charisma. Appeal. The ability to win over others. Or to be endearing enough that even villains paused. One star. Normal. He was, by his own estimation, reasonably personable.
But cartoon charm was probably different. It might be the ability to disarm with a smile. To get away with mischief because you were 'cute'. Or to convince someone to walk into their own trap. He was a new character. Unproven.