Second Chances: Atlantis 342 Book 1 Chapter 3 (Patreon)

The searing pain finally ending was the only warning Asteria had that she wasn’t in System space anymore.  She certainly wasn’t in Kansas, either.  She was standing next to a fountain, grass, and flowers flowing beneath her feet until it reached the border of cement and brick. The buildings were an eclectic mix of old-world charm and new-world chrome and glass. 

She had barely registered that she had survived her race and class makeover before her new senses inundated her. She was used to sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch, but there was so much more for her to process now. 

She was Psi Seelie, and that meant that there was a world beneath the surface that she could now access. Thoughts of the different people began to beat against the barely created defenses of her mind. Emotions accompanied by the sound of laughter, and anger slipped past those defenses without hindrance.

The currents of Psi and mana were on a visual display, eddies of power that flowed and pooled without rhyme or reason. Or none that she could figure out with her mind fighting to defend herself against the intrusion of so many thoughts. Aside from the visual, there was an overwhelming pressure that pressed against her mind, demanding her attention.

“Girl?”

“Asteria Teigh?” A voice said louder when Asteria had failed to reply.

“Yes,” she answered, her attention claimed by a ‘man’. A person standing on the brick sidewalk that surrounded the fountain. The person standing before her was a creature out of myth. Which myth Asteria wasn’t certain, but he stood barely two feet tall. 

He didn’t resemble any of the gnomes, goblins, or dwarfs she might recognize from her planet’s fantasy, and she’d never encountered his kind in her past life. Aside from his height, it was his tri-color eyes that were shimmering with shades of gray that stood out. 

That she was able to notice that much with her the assault on her senses spoke of how startling his appearance was to her.

“I have constructed a Psi barrier to protect you,” he informed her. “That barrier allows me to filter about ninety percent of the information your mind is trying to process. You will need to wear a Nano-filigree device that will serve the same purpose as the Psi barrier I have formed- one that allows you to control how much information you process.

The device he handed me didn’t look like much. Two tiny buttons, barely the size of an aspirin. “You need to place one in each ear,” he advised her, “the area of your ear that comes to a point.”

Asteria paused a moment before accepting his suggestion. She was familiar with the baser urges of civilization, so she was leering to trusting anyone. But the two small objects seemed innocuous enough. The fact that size and appearance could be deceiving was centermost in her mind as she applied each device.

[Psi Nano-assist Device detected.

[Do you wish to bind this device to your Psi network?

Asteria let out a sigh of relief when she saw the System notifications. She had been ready to escape, to run and hide if needed. Even now, her body was still flooded with adrenaline. She selected yes after reading the System messages a final time.

[Nano-Assist installed.

[Shield Settings - 90% Beginner

[Psi Pool - 5mu

“Welcome to New Earth,” the small creatures said, seeing I was done, “I am Adviser Jorn. I agreed to immigrate from another world to help those just entering the System. I can offer advice and suggestions to get you started, but it is up to you to decide to use the services I offer.

“You have been assigned to this town and to me because of your race. We are both members of the Tuatha de Danann. We are Sidhe, Seelie and Unseelie. And I am a Knocker. The town is one of a few scattered across the world where Sidhe, Atlantians, Elves, and Dwarves can live and work together.”

Asteria knew what an Elf and Dwarf were. Those who had enslaved her before did not discriminate over who to make a slave. Elves and Dwarves found themselves suffering at the hands of the same taskmaster as she had. Sidhe was something new. She knew almost nothing about the Sidhe other than she had chosen a hybrid race that shared that bloodline. 

She had been given a boon as a descendant of Teigh, a bone for both sides of her hybrid nature. Teigh was a god for both races, but what that meant and what being gifted with his bloodline as a descendant meant was something she had yet to figure out. It meant almost nothing at the moment.

“The Psi Nano-Assist device you activated is a Tier-F artificial intelligence. You can use it to connect with any psi or nano-devices you own, drones, comms, and even the nano-weave in the skin suit you are wearing can be monitored and controlled.

“Every AI can be upgraded, but before you do, you need to know that your Psionic energies are what power the device. That means you can never upgrade to a tier higher than your own.”

His mention of my rank, with the nano-shield I’d activated helping to filter the stimuli her brain was processing, cleared some of the confusion Asteria had been experiencing. It also reminded her to look at her status and see what changes had been made.

Name Asteria Teigh

Level 1

Class [F- Novice] Psi Seelie

Race [E] Atlantian/Seelie Hybrid - Sea Hag variant

Profession [ ]

Alignment [Atlantis/Seelie]

Titles [Regressor][Progenitor Bloodline]

Core [F] Mind

Strength 29

Agility 31

Endurance 29

Vitality 29

Intelligence 22

Wisdom 46 

Charm 23 

Nanotech 21

Free Points 0

Coins [Copper] 0- [Silver] 10- [Gold] 0

Her status screen wasn't much different than it had been in her past life, at least when it came to form and function. The beginning attributes assigned were much higher, but that was to be expected. The Charm and Nanotech attributes were new, as well as the titles. 

Asteria focused on each:

***Regressor: You retain the memories of your past life. The experience of that life is not just about the memories. Actions have consequences, and your tireless efforts at surviving have migrated into this life.  Strength +9. Agility +11. Endurance +9. Vitality +9. Wisdom +26.

***Progenitor Bloodline: You have embraced your Atlantian and Sidhe heritage. You are the first of Teigh, God of Illusion and Glamour, bloodline to accept that heritage. Race has advanced from [F] to [E].

The numbers from her Regressor title and a bit of quick math allowed Asteria to figure out that her stats all started at base 20. She wasn’t sure how that compared as a baseline across every race, but she had to assume that 20 was average for an Atlantian/Sidhe hybrid.

She wasn’t certain how she should feel about gaining so many attribute points because of her past life. On one hand, she was happy to have every advantage she could gain. On the other, those increased points were a physical reminder of what she had to suffer to gain them.

For now, all she could do was accept them as the reality, and in this System integrated world, her past experience provided her with a few benefits. Benefits that might give this life an easier start.