Lyra looked up at the Goddess, then glanced towards her classmates, who all seemed more than eager to start their new lives as the summoned heroes. It suited them, but not her. Lyra returned her gaze towards the Goddess, and began her plea:
"Goddess, would it be possible to send them ahead of me? I need a bit more time still." she said, trying to not sound nervous. The Goddess Hylia in turn regarded the young woman, before she inclined her head. She turned to the rest of the class, all 19 of them, and wished them all the happiness and success in the world, before they were enveloped in a blue light, not to be seen again. And so, silence once again fell over the ethereal halls. Lyra was now alone in the presence of the Goddess, and it was ever bit as nerve-racking as one might expect. But, it was now or never, Lyra had to shoot her shot.
"Is it... possible to get a unique skill? The one I would like does not exist in your list." she asked timidly.
"It is certainly possible, yet it may come with some drawbacks, based on your wishes. What do you wish for, child?" the Goddess answer, her voice fair and melodious.
"I'd like a skill which lets me create my own spells, regardless of my job. Naturally, the stronger the spell the more mana it would consume." Lyra answered, truthfully.
The Goddess was silent for a moment, before she nodded. "I can grant you such a skill, but it is very powerful. You would have to give up half of your available attribute points in return. Is that acceptable?"
Lyra thought for a moment. The others had been give 20 points to distribute, meaning she'd only have 10. But that was alright, she did not mind. After just a few seconds of consideration, she knew her answer.
"Yes, that is fine." she said, smiling.
"Then, consider it done. Now is that all you would have me do?" the Goddess responded almost knowingly, which caught Lyra slightly off-guard. Then again, she was dealing with an actual Goddess, so she shouldn't be surprised the divine creature had a means to know what was going on inside her head. So, she responded simply with a question:
"Must I remain a human?"
"No, child. But if you wish to be considered a summoned hero, and enjoy the perks that comes with it, then you must remain as you are just now." came the answer from the Goddess.
It was a lot to give up. Half the amount of exp required to level up, and double the reward from level up. But at the same time, she hated who she was now. Sure, her body would likely become healthy, but it retained all those negative memories from her past life. She hated how she looked, who she was. She wanted a real fresh start, and more than anything, she wanted freedom. Freedom from obligation, and freedom from time. She did not want to feel as if she had to rush anything.
"Could you make me into an elf?" she asked rather innocently.
"It is possible, but you were meant to be a summoned hero. The Kingdom of Demuria specifically called for twenty heroes. To break that pact and only give them 19 is a bad look on my part. As a penalty, I'd have to take the remaining 10 attribute points from you. Is thatalright?" The Goddess responded.
"I accept." Lyra said. She had already given up ten, so what was another ten in the end?
"Very well. However, because you are willing to give up your status as a summoned hero, and all the perks, I will permit you to choose what sort of elf to become. Choose wisely." the Goddess said, and soon after, Lyra found herself with three windows in front of her.
Wood Elf:Your standard elf, born and raised communally within one of the two great forests. High affinity for nature magic and archery, has a lifespan of around 3000 years. If you pick this option you will start your new life as a Wood Elf within one of these elven nations.
Dark Elf:A sub-race of the Wood Elf, Dark Elves are dark-skinned elves who made their home within the subterranean forest of Nav'ilya. High Affinity for shadow-magic and stealth, has a lifespan of around 3000 years. If you pick this option you will start your new life as a Dark Elf within Nav'ilya.
High Elf:Born from spirits, the High-Elf is the ruling class of the elves. High Affinity with all magics, and a lifespan of around 10,000 years. If you pick this option you will start your new life as a High Elf within a new spirit sanctuary.
"So, if I pick Wood Elf or Dark Elf, I will start off as part of their society, correct? But what is a... spirit sanctuary?" Lyra asked, seemingly leaning towards the High Elf option.
"A spirit sanctuary is an area of land which is formed when a new High Elf is born naturally. It is a piece of land which eternally enjoys the blessings of the spirits. The lands will be forever lush and fertile, the climate gentle, and evil will naturally know to stay clear of the blessed lands. The current 3 elven nations all hold their own spirit sanctuaries, from which their rulers rule. Elves are naturally drawn to spirit sanctuaries like these." The Goddess responded.
"I see. Does that mean if I pick the High Elf option, I'd eventually have to become some elven regent of my own elven nation?" Lyra asked, sounding a bit disappointed, since that was the opposite of what she wanted. The Goddess however only chuckled, and shook her head, before answering:
"Not at all, child. There exist at least seven of these spirit sanctuaries on the Atlas continent at this given time. At one point, there were twelve. Not all High Elves who appear hold any interest in the mortal world. Some have left their place of birth behind and journeyed across the then primordial lands, while others remained in their sanctuary until life eventually left them and they became spirits themselves. Currently, there are three elven kingdoms. Two in the overworld, ruled over by the descendants of the High Elves who made their respective spirit sanctuary, and one in the subterrean forest of Nav'ilya, which was discovered by a group of adventuring elves who later came to settle there, becoming the Dark Elves of today. The High Elf who made the spirit sanctuary there was long gone by the time the Dark Elves settled there."
"Okay, so no pressure on me to rule anything. Just... a nice little starter area, safe and fertile, right?" Lyra asked, just to make sure.
"You can think of it like that, indeed, child." The Goddess responded, clearly entertained.
"Okay, then I go with option number three, High Elf, please." Lyra said, nodding firmly.
"Then all that is left is choosing your job." The Goddess said in turn.
"Ah right... uhm... what are my options?" Lyra asked bashfully.
"More or less all of them, except the ones who are race-locked or only available to the summoned heroes. Given your skill, I would go for a job which lowers the mana-cost of spells and which makes spellcasting easier. And since you are a High-Elf, the "Mage" route has a few interesting promotions later down the line." The Goddess responded.
"Alright, lets do that then. Put me down as Mage... oh and, if you can convert as many of my attributes into Intellect as possible, that would be great!" Lyra expressed loudly.
"Alright, it is done. If you'd open your status window now." The Goddess said.
Lyra was more than happy to comply, and just by thinking about it, the status window opened up in front of her. It looked vastly different from that of her former classmates.
Name: Lyra [Surname pending]
Level: 1
Race: High Elf
Age: 17
Job: Mage (Apprentice and Novice level spells costs 50% less mana to cast.)
Skill: Magic Creation (SSS) (The User may create spells with their own unique effects, the manacost is proportionate to the effect of the spell)
HP: 30
MP: 300
AP: 55
SP: 150
Stamina: 3
Strength: 3
Agility: 5
Spirit: 5
Intellect: 30
"Oh, that is a lot of mana. And... surname pending? Oh, because I am no longer going to be a human, I guess, right?" Lyra asked the Goddess.
"That's right. A high elf has higher base-stats than a human, but since you wanted as much as possible put into mana, I only did what you asked of me. And yes, I would advise you to pick a new elven-sounding surname." The Goddess said wryly.
"Then... Lunarsong. It's the name I always used for my elves in all the MMO's I played..." Lyra said, without a moments hesitation. As soon as she said it, she felt herself starting to levitate, as a blue light enveloped her.
"Then, Lyra Lunarsong, may you find the new life you so desperately craved. Good luck, my child." The Goddess said, leaning forward to place a faint kiss upon Lyra's forehead. And then, in a flash of blue Light, Lyra was gone...