"Hmm-hmm…"
A young man lying on a bed, stared up at the ceiling, humming.
This ceiling... it was unfamiliar, nothing like the ones he was used to seeing.
Marble and smooth stone, old-school, with thick beams crossing over one another.
"Hmmmm~."
A gust of wind whistled into the room, slipping through a cracked window to his left.
It made the scene look picturesque, more so with the room smelling of roses and fresh air.
Quite cozy, and not at all unusual... yeah.
"Hm-hm-hm!"
Especially not with the young man's humming.
Nothing about this was unusual.
'Hm.'
He sat up, feeling up the soft, unnecessarily fluffy mattress under him, and glanced around.
The room was simple yet nice, with a wooden dresser, a tall mirror, a massive wardrobe that looked like it could swallow a grown man whole, and a small desk covered in parchment and unusual-looking pens.
Without thinking much, he slid off the bed and looked down.
He tapped his left foot a few times, moved it around, and nodded.
Looking up, his eyes met the mirror, and he gave himself a look-over.
'Yeah... This really isn't some weeb's roleplay dungeon.'
The young man looked... well, he looked somewhat like himself, only quite a bit taller and way younger. Sixteen, maybe seventeen, no older than that.
Actually, there was another difference: his hair was no longer a grayish white but a pure white, ridiculously so, longer than most girls, reaching his back. And, unfortunately for any chuunibyou dream he could've had, it wasn't the cool platinum anime kind, but more like somebody had dunked him in bleach and left him there too long. It was to the point that it almost seemed to be permenantly highlighted.
His face was pretty decent, sharp-ish jawline, clear skin, eyes the same gray they'd always been.
Oh, also, he was thin as fuck.
And if it wasn't stated enough, he was tall as fuck too.
'Six seven, maybe…'
If he went bald and wore a suit, he'd look like a character from his nightmares when he was young, the one he got from all those horror game playthroughs he binged.
'Did my family abuse me? Or do I have some sort of condition?'
He thought about that only for a moment before shrugging his shoulders.
It didn't matter; what mattered was that, all in all, he was not too bad.
If he were a girl, he'd definitely hit that.
'...Too much.'
Shaking his head, he looked away.
But just as he was done admiring this new and arguably improved version of himself, somebody opened the door, not bothering to even knock.
A maid entered, a young woman with short brown hair tucked under a bonnet, wearing the classic black-and-white uniform.
She looked at him dismissively.
"Young Master Xenos."
Her voice held obvious hate for him.
"Your parents request your presence at the breakfast table."
Xenos raised his brows...
"Xenos, huh… It's mine?"
The maid tilted her head, appearing exhausted already.
"...Yes? Obviously. Gods, how useless can you be? Try to act less like a halfwit for once, would you? The whole House already pities your existence."
'Hm, cool name. Stranger, I believe.'
Not listening to a word she said, Xenos nodded, a satisfied smile gracing his face.
At least it wasn't Von something.
That name was 'cool…' once.
"Are you deaf as well as stupid?"
She snapped and stepped closer.
"Get moving. Don't make the rest of us get in trouble because you're too busy gawking at your own reflection!"
Xenos flicked his head back at her, and his eyes widened.
'Oh.'
It seemed that his twisted mind had realized something.
Ever so casually, he walked up to her and stopped right in front of her, towering over her.
Instead of flinching from the sheer difference in stature, she smirked, lifting her chin, staring right at him with open disgust.
"You going to throw another tantrum? That's all you're good for, after all. A pathetic, spoiled coward."
Smack!
Her smirk exploded into shock as his hand cracked across her face, snapping her head to the side.
"—Uggh!"
Clutching her reddened cheek, she staggered, fury flashing in her eyes."You… you dare—!"
Smack!
He struck her again before she could finish, harder this time, sending her stumbling into the wall.
Her trembling eyes widened, more in disbelief than pain, and she nearly choked on the sob that tried to escape her throat.
'Hm… Did I used to hit them harder?'
Xenos tilted his head, studying her, until finally, realization dawned.
'Oh, I wasn't the type of young master that did that?'
The misunderstanding he had created by himself had cleared.
'Guess I was the coward type then.'
And he landed on the obvious truth that he somehow didn't hear.
'I should've figured that out from just how thin I am… It's usually the fat ones that hit servants.'
Expression unchanging, he stepped back, hid his face behind his hands, and screamed:
"AAHHHHH! PLEASE DON'T HURT ME!"
Stunned, the poor maid continued to stare at Xenos, terrified and bewildered in equal measure.
Xenos, not to be outdone, peered at her through his fingers, wailing dramatically.They locked eyes in silence, predator and prey, confused over which was which.
Neither made a move, that was until, deeming it a lost cause, Xenos lowered his hands, coughed lightly, and straightened up.
'Yeah, no, fuck that.'
Acting scared was going to be annoying.
'Besides, it's tough for me... too much work.'
He chuckled to himself and flicked his hand at her dismissively.Shoo.
That, she certainly did, not wanting to be before him even a second longer.
If it wasn't obvious by now, this "Young Master Xenos" was unhinged, as he, still without a change in expression, walked over to the wardrobe and threw the doors open.
He pulled on a simple outfit, dark pants, a loose white shirt that tied at the collar, and a dark jacket that looked unnecessarily fancy.
It was soft, though, comfy.
He tucked the shirt in, because, insane or not, he had manners, and laced up some worn leather boots.
'Good enough.'
Stepping back into the hall, he took it all in.
The place was huge, with thick red carpets running along the floor, wooden walls hung with old oil paintings, and the occasional mounted sword or shield.
Light streamed in from tall windows, casting everything in a morning glow.
It was beautiful.
If Xenos wasn't so, well, himself, he would've stopped and admired the view for a second.
But because Xenos was Xenos, he continued on his way... yet, eventually even he wasn't immune to stopping in his tracks.
He paused before a big painting on the wall.
A family portrait.
Five people stood proudly in it: a tall, broad-shouldered, hulking man with stern green eyes, big beard, and familiar white hair, a graceful woman with matching green eyes and a kind smile, a cocky-looking older brother, a beautiful older sister with a reserved expression... and finally, a younger version of him.
Except, of course, his eyes were gray.
Everyone else had royal, vibrant green.
'Hm... Incest?'
He shook his head.
'But yeah, that explains the state of my body. Guess I'm some kind of weak outcast in this House. That's a bit cliché, but at least there's a reason for it. That's sometimes more than you can ask from most authors... Or maybe I'm expecting more out of 'Them.' Still, it's a decent start. This'd do well as the beginning for a fanfic of the game. I bet their community would dig the hell out of it.'
Of course, he called them family, but that was all it was. A word. They were strangers wearing the mask of kinship, and he wasn't interested in playing a part of such a relationship.
'I wonder if they'll be useful...'
Thinking that, he continued on his way, passing maid after maid who looked away, acting as if they didn't see him.
He did the same, though not on purpose, as his attention was taken by the views outside.
Below and far out on the green and the marble, he saw people celebrating, waving large flags that held... Runes, seemingly screaming the same thing over and over.
'The Day of Runes... so it's today, huh?'
Runethera.
This was the name of his new home, a land of Runebearers.
It was commonly known that when the Gods created this world, 'They' sent down every Rune there was. But since then… the Day of Runes, which the world now celebrated, no more Runes were sent down.
The only way more Runes came into being was when they were bestowed upon children on the Day of Runes, their 'coming of age' event.
That naturally made the world a dog-eat-dog one where everyone fought another for Runes, and that phrase came in almost a literal sense because there certainly were a lot of bitches around.
One might commonly find nobles killing their children to bear their Rune.
He didn't doubt that this was something this family planned to do to him, a moment that, oh, he so waited for... the face slapping would be delicious.
Well, it would if he survived what was coming next...
And yes, what he stood on the precipice of was most difficult.
The usual awkward and unnecessarily dramatic scene of him meeting his family!
...May the Gods help him.
Click.
That sound announced the opening of the massive doors before him, welcoming him to the Breakfast hall, if one could even call it that.
It was an absolutely massive room with long tables, high ceilings, and huge windows overlooking the gardens outside. Fresh bread, fruits, cheeses, and meats were already laid out like a mini buffet.
At the head of the table sat his "father," already sipping what smelled like black coffee. His "mother" sat to his right, her hands folded neatly in her lap. His "older brother" lounged casually, one boot propped up on the chair's lower rung, while his "older sister" sat with perfect posture, glancing at her reflection in a polished spoon.
Xenos looked at them one by one, and just like that...
Flashes of memories he didn't really want settled into his brain.
Lessons, scoldings, family dinners, punishments, and cold shoulders.
Surprisingly, no pain came with the memories. They were always there; he just didn't know how to recall them.
'Guess we're avoiding that cliché today.'
Acting completely beside himself, Xenos gave them a polite nod.
"Good morning, Father Veynar. Mother Lyssandra. Elder Brother Draven. Elder Sister Selvara."
All of them blinked in surprise, not at all expecting this type of greeting.
Usually, he mumbled something like "mornin'" and kept his head down, not today.
Without waiting for permission, he walked over and plopped down into his seat, grabbing a plate and piling it up with food.
Draven let out an annoyed scoff but said nothing more, knowing that his message was received.
Caring not for that, Veynar, clasped his hand and ordered:
"Let's begin."
Everyone dug in after that...
Everyone except a certain mother.
Lyssandra glanced over at him, frowning slightly.
"Is something wrong today? You're different than usual."
He took a bite of bread, chewed, swallowed, then casually asked:
"You know anything about a group of eight Higher Gods with really colorful eyes?"
She blinked once more, stunned, while across the table, Selvara stiffened, shooting him a warning look.
"It's a simple question. Please answer it."
Underneath the table, his older sister kicked his shins hard, but he didn't even appear to acknowledge it.
"No..."
Eventually, Lyssandra shook her head.
"But if you focused on your lessons, you'd know that there isn't such a group."
Xenos nodded.
"Yeah, I know, it's mostly Greek stuff, the lower caste of their Gods, but it's weird, I never knew this group existed before, and that doesn't make sense to me, like at all. You can't really play a game for at least ten thousand hours and not know such a massive part of the lore."
"..."
"..."
"..."
Dead silence met his words.
But, of course, he didn't stop.
"Besides, I cracked the game, so most of their weekly updates didn't even get sent my way. People don't really know that you can do that to MMOs, but it's very possible. It was a bit annoying adding the DLCs manually, but eh, it's not too much trouble."
"…"
"..."
"..."
Everyone kept staring at him like he'd grown a second head, not understanding a single word that he said.
"What? You all think I'm cheap?"
He smiled, an expression finally reaching his face.
"Oh, yeah, I am. Piracy for the win… unless it's for novels, and don't ask me why I say that."
"..."
They all wanted to say something, 'ask' something, but his sister was the first to do so:
"Ten thousand hours?! Lore?! Piracy? MMOs?! What in the Tartoros are you on about?!"
Or rather, she was the first to snap, and before Xenos could answer, his mother 'snapped' too:
"Language, young lady!"
Though for an entirely different reason.
"I've taught you better than to utter such a word in vain."
After her... stern reprimand, she turned back to Xenos, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"And you—can you stop being weird for one day? I get that you're... lacking... but can you at least try to be more like your older brother?"
Xenos glanced left, where his "older brother" sat, Draven, puffing out his chest like he was the Gods' gift to humanity, or perhaps a rooster ready to fight.
"Hm."
He tilted his head.
"I'd rather die than be that."
"Huh?!"
Draven shot up, slamming his fists into the table hard enough to rattle the dishes.
"Say that shit again, you waste of Divinity!"
Xenos's smile didn't stutter, eyes returning to his mother.
"Don't ignore me, XENOS!"
"Ah... right."
He fully turned to him, seemingly coming to another realization.
"Not used to being called that yet."
His head nodded a few times, as if he was coming to some sort of Divine understanding.
"Also, brother, what do you think of my name?"
Draven, becoming as confused as the rest, began to calm, sitting back down.
"...T-Think what?"
"It is Greek, right?"
"Greek?"
Ignoring his confused question, Xenos continued:
"It means 'Stranger,' so I feel like it's Fate, what do you think?"
"..."
Even though he wasn't given an answer, he still damned continued:
"Hey brother, you know how the popular Greek Gods aren't around? I mean, sure, I know that they're here and there, but it's mostly less heard of Gods… Hm. Maybe the studio didn't have the licensing or something. Was there even licensing for Greek stuff?"
Xenos didn't know, so of course, he asked:
"Hey, do you think it's because of the licensing?"
Now, more frustrated than confused, Draven clutched his fists.
"Fuckin—The what?!"
"The licensing."
"And I'm asking you, what is it?!"
Xenos shook his head.
"Ah, what an idiot."
Draven snapped back up, enraged.
And Xenos smiled widened…
'Rage baiting, is this what my niece called it?'
He just turned to his father, expecting the classic:
"Enough."
And sure 'enough—'
"ENOUGH!"
Veynar barked, voice booming through the hall.
It was quite a bit more dramatic than he had expected, but that was "fun" in its own way.
Xenos watched as his father's gaze pinned his older brother back into his seat.
Such a sight made him feel a way more satisfaction than he expected.
Though that didn't last long, as he soon met those green eyes himself.
"Boy... I've decided. You're a lost cause."
"Honey—"
His mother started.
"No."
He snapped, joining the trend.
"Are you guys crabs pretending to be hu—"
"He needs to learn consequences."
Xenos tried to joke, and his father cut him off.
Lyssandra went quiet as well, wringing her hands.
"If we discover your talent to be worthless, you will be severely punished."
"...Hm."
Xenos nodded once, twice, then a third time, just because he could.
After that, he finished his food slowly, savoring each bite while staring into his mother's worried but also speechless eyes, clearly expecting and waiting for a proper reaction out of him.
A reaction that he wasn't about to give.
He looked like he was enjoying this, and he certainly was.
Again, these people weren't family, not really.
His mother only pitied him and tried to cover it up with fake kindness.
His father saw him as a liability, some tool to be bartered away.
His brother needed someone to kick down to feel important.
And his sister... she wanted to help, maybe.
But not if it meant ruining her pretty little perfect image.
It was a farce, a bad one.
Swallowing his last bite of sausage, he looked at his father calmly.
"Are any of you coming with me to the Hall of Ascension?"
Everyone kept their stares trained on him for a few moments and then looked away.
That was answer enough; it also revealed how they believed that he had gone insane with stress, something quite common in children before their Ascension into Runebearers.
Veynar didn't do as they did however, caring not for his current state.
"No, you'll go alone. We won't have you ruin our reputation amongst our people."
Xenos chuckled a second time.
"I understand... It should be starting in a little while, right?"
Veynar nodded slowly, surprised by how calmly his son was taking this.
"Alright. I'll go let you down proudly~."
Xenos stood up, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and left the hall without another word, not bothering to look back.
This was a big deal. Usually, families, and especially Noble Houses like theirs, celebrated their child's Bestowal Day, but his family didn't seem to give less of a shit about his, labeling him as the most lovely word, 'TRASH.'
So, unlike many who came with entire cohorts of people, Xenos went alone, exiting their manor, after nearly getting lost a few times, still not used to his new memories, and walking down the hill, nearing the massive city below.
On the way, he saw carriages rumbling along old stone streets, people walking about in cloaks and tunics, some of them weren't even people, at least not any in the way that he knew them.
There were cat-eared girls selling bread, a lizard-headed dude arguing with a midget sized blacksmith, and even what looked like a walking ball of fur with legs, something he'd kill to pet.
His eyes were pretty good to see from that distance, but he didn't bother to think about why that was, rather focusing on what stole his attention next.
The Divine Stairs.
Not far from the manor was a gargantuan tree-like structure that pierced their very sky.
This structure, as the name made obvious, held stairs that allowed one to climb up its height.
And yes, 'climb up,' for this world had layers, each accessible only by such Divine Stairs.
The fact that one was so close to their home spoke of just how important their House was.
At least in this Stratum, because, well, the Second and First Strata were leagues above them both in strength and influence.
That was only natural, after all, when the Runes fell from the Elysium far above, home of Gods, the First Stratum met them, then the Second, and only then did the Runes trickle down to the Third, their home.
So the Runes at the bottom were the weakest of the bunch, as anything remotely noteworthy was picked up long before then, of course some outliers made it through, but that was rare and often extremly fought over, making it so that if any House or Runebearer wanted to be of more importance or simply become stronger, they had to climb the stairs and reach the top; those at the bottom would forever fight for scraps.
Consequently, that made the Runebearers Day of Ascension even more important.
If the Rune they were bestowed wasn't suitable with their Stratum, what Xenos's father called 'talent,' they'd be thrown aside, after all, Runes required synergy, and if one had a rare Rune, it'd be hard or just impossible to continue ascending, requiring them to walk an entirely new path.
Because yes, there were preestablished paths called Runic Paths, where Runebearers would chase after the same Runes as the God they followed, as it saved them from the risk of death with each Ascention, something which Xenos didn't care for.
'I've got ideas, but I need to see my options first.'
With that thought, he finally reached the Hall of Ascension.
Squeezing through the gathering crowd, he made it in, passing mural after mural of their Gods.
His arrival brought a few stares, but mostly everyone kept their eyes on the dais up front.
There, a new adult could be seen kneeling before a white robbed man, Divinity thumping around them.
"...The Fire Element!"
Just as those words left his lips, most of the crowd began cheering.
"Another Primary Element?!"
"This might be the best Ascension Day we've had in years!"
"Glory to the Gods!"
Though they went wild, Xenos kept still, staring at this Runebearer before him.
His gray eyes were peering into him, scanning him from top to bottom.
He could feel his… Aura, change.
Or rather, the presence of his body's Will imposed onto the world.
It made Xenos feel excited for what was to come.
"The Sound Element!"
Immediately after, the scene flipped, as the others turned into murmurs and silence while his grey eyes burned with interest, finding Sound to be quite good, at least better than the once rare but now not so rare Elements of Space, Time, and Shadow.
"...Damn, an Ethereal Element?"
"Poor guy, he has no future."
"I don't think we've discovered a single Sound Runes in the last ten years."
If it wasn't obvious enough by now, a Runebearer would begin his journey on his Runic Path with only one Rune, a Root Rune, and again, most were looked over if the first Rune was barely able to synergize with anything early on.
Yes, those who had 'late-game' Runes were ostracized, as most preferred the Primary Elements, like Fire, Water, Earth, or Wind. And though that made the competition for those Runes tougher, they were the only Runes they could get anyway, so it wasn't like they had a choice.
Of course, and again, Xenos didn't care for that.
'I'll build my own path just like in the game~.'
And speaking of...
"Xenos of House Kharon, son of Veynar!"
With his name being called, he stepped through the crowd, up the stairs, and kneeled before the old man.
"I, a Shepard of House Kharon, deem you to be a child no longer; may the Gods bestow upon you a Rune."
Xenos lowered his head as his body was flooded with Divinity.
Thump!
Before he could even realize what happened, his world turned black.
No longer kneeling, he felt as if he were in some sort of endless void, floating in its embrace.
Yet he wasn't alone; three Runes sat before him, somehow lighting up the void.
They were large, colorful things, all glowing a bright white.
[ᚬᛃᚱᚾᚻ]
He read the first.
It was brown with solid lines.
'Earth.'
[ᛂᛈᛊᚬ]
He read the second.
It was blue with sharp edges.
'Ice.'
[ᛑᚴᛈᛊ]
The third made him pause.
It held the image of a weighing scale.
Surrounding it in a circle was Arcane.
Letters that spoke of one element.
'Luck.'
Not even a Derived Element, it was a damned Ethereal one.
If he picked this, he'd be considered the trashiest of trash like that Sound Runebearer of earlier.
And yet…
'I choose you.'
He reached out to it...
'Don't let me down.'
And the black world broke apart.
Thump!
Xenos stood up under the disappointed gaze of the Shepard.
"The Luck Element!"
Almost instantly, everyone in the hall began to murmur.
"I knew it!"
"Hah! You owe me five drachma!"
"Luck? What in Tartoros is that going to do?"
They seemed to think themselves validated.
Yes, they thought right, Xenos was useless.
At least for now, he accepted that.
So he said nothing.
Ding!
Instead, his smile widened even further...
{Ethereal Element 'Luck' Is Found!}
Calling it unnatural was the least of it.
{Prequisite Condition Met!}
But he didn't seem to care...
{Game System Activated!}
For his system had arrived.
{Welcome, Gamer!}
'They' hadn't lied.