Melinda.
Evidently, she must have done something right, or a close enough approximation, as, when she finally came down from her brief delve into introspection, the window had changed again, this time replaced with an all-too-familiar screen she'd seen devised in countless iterations.
Though she ultimately frowned as she stared at the hovering window, blinking at the almost developer-esque nature of its appearance.
It was as if she'd accidentally activated some sort of 'debugging mode' and been given access to all the parameters and descriptions she could collectively imagine.
Every definition, every number, and explanation, all were available for her to edit and alter, and all at her convenience.
"Though, that isn't entirely true, is it…" She mused, catching a glimpse of the remaining time on her looming countdown, which had elapsed to the thirty-minute mark.
Had she really spent so much time already?
Surely her thoughts couldn't have deviated from her task, so… oh hell, who was she kidding? Melinda had a hard enough time remembering to close kitchen drawers while cooking! Let alone trying to focus on something so potentially unimportant as her own dying fantasy…
Oh well, she'd redouble her efforts, if nothing else, to make the timer. A stable enough desire in the interim to let her wandering mind fixate on her situation.
Moving right along toward her newfound purpose, Melinda chose to confront the first and most important aspect of what she was tentatively calling 'her' system, the big seven, her ability scores.
Presently, there weren't any numbers per se… again, it was as though she was more about the process of building something than playing with the finished product.
She gave the usual suspects a cursory once-over, seeing all the typical players: Strength, Endurance, Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma, and Luck.
Each offered a somewhat familiar explanation of the specific aspects they governed and, in turn, caused Melinda's expression to set deeper toward annoyance.
Objectively, there was nothing exactly wrong with what she was seeing.
Put points in Strength, get stronger; in Dex? Get faster.
Yet, the flavor of a few examples didn't quite fit with her own opinions toward how she'd, if ever designing a game, implement the choices.
"First of all, dexterity was always a dumb one…" She murmured, quickly selecting the ability and making her changes. "Finesse is a better fit… and we'll change the whole rogue stat archetype, focus it on hand-eye coordination, balance, and, well, everything revolving around being more physically graceful. Tactile responses, anything to do with expertise, acrobatics, and subtlety.
"Great…
"Then next would be… Endurance? No, gotta change that as well, something more along the lines of the body's natural capabilities… call it—Physique? T-though we won't mush it together with Strength for 'special' reasons…
"Balance is important—I'm sure…
"It can control, mhmmmm, eyesight, hearing, bodily health, speed, and stamina. Also, how toned someone actually looks, let's just tug good looks from Charisma, a dumb place for it anyway, and flip that right over to Physique as well…
"I mean, how many actors have I said over the years that I'd totally bang but looked like Lurch or the Grinch? A pretty face is separate from sexy! A dude can be hot but completely unattractive if he's a dickhead…
"No, let Charisma be what it's meant to be, the force of personality, a panty dropper, even if your face resembles gravel, that's what light switches are for."
She grinned at that, remembering a junior she'd taken to bed who'd earned his way into her pants through no greater effort than making her snort milk through her nose with laughter.
He hadn't been the coolest guy, or even the best looking, but, god damn, good comedy was a total aphrodisiac for her… And, as a bonus, he had tried oh so very hard compared to most guys once he'd finally, well, gotten in there.
Good times, good times…
Melinda let Physique drop by the wayside once she'd tweaked it to her satisfaction, moving right along to the oh-so-problematic 'Intelligence' stat.
It wasn't like it was bad or anything, but she'd always sort of griped at the notion that somebody would just magically get smarter and suddenly understand the secrets of the universe by pumping it.
That was silly.
As silly as tossing a point into Strength and getting rippling biceps?
Maybe… but at least muscles wouldn't let you become akin to some Cthulhu-like elder god overnight…
"Reasoning, problem-solving, and memory," she stated, making the changes quickly enough with a phantasmal nod. "You get smarter by learning things, reading, and questioning the world around you, 'Intelligence' makes that easier."
Well, it did also increase one's mana pool, but she supposed she'd take that little quandary for what it was. Not like it seemed that great an idea to just—axe that part of the whole thing…
"Now that that's out of the way, next is… Wisdom?" Melinda eyed the explanation presented, mulling it over in her head as she pondered if there was anything she actually wanted to change.
"Insight and perception seem good enough… I mean, the latter's sort of iffy but believable from a certain standpoint. Yet it does seem a little—mhhm, lackluster… Maybe if I add in intuition? The higher the Wisdom, the more you get something like a spidey sense for the world around you? Fuck it, good enough!"
Grinning, her gaze fell upon the final two statistics, happy with Charisma where it stood—nobody wanted 'gay-bod' Hitler running around, after all.
After, she quickly eyed Luck for a span before editing its entry to read, "Luck: the ability to bend one's fate and probability itself in the bearer's favor."
Taking a step back, Melinda beamed at her newly revised window, pleased with herself in a way she hadn't expected to experience.
Fulfillment?
Excitement for what was to come?
She couldn't quite say. However, when she shifted gears and moved tabs to view the rest of her supposed power, the young woman was left with a sense of uncertainty.
For the most part, the whole interface looked as though it had been ripped straight from her memories, the vast majority of it already complete and, more or less, ready to roll without her direct need for further input.
The only real deviation from her somewhat monotonous slog through all the explanations and flavor text came by way of the abilities tab.
There, instead of noting the, at this point, expected on-the-nose and utilitarian notations of what each section was responsible for, Melinda found that she had several traits that were already 'unlocked', their descriptions sparse and appearing to be cemented as law.
She frowned at the entries, taking a moment to realize that the timer had elapsed and, now, the window she was staring at had taken on a more—solidified state.
Panicking, Melinda scrolled back through to her character sheet, staring at its transformation, which had deviated into something approaching personal.
Name: Melinda.
Race: extraplanar, unreformed deity.
Subrace: unavailable.
Reputation: malignant.
Statistics: unavailable.
Skills, feats, and gifts:
Skill; Bestow boon—locked.
Bestow boon: A preferred method used by many deities to empower those who worship them. Requires direct touch through a relic, totem, or artifact. Requires nature; neutrally aligned or better. Or. Requires: class unlock, avatar.
Warning: one or more requirements cannot be met at this time. Talent set to 'locked'.
Skill; Bless—locked.
Bless: A preferred method used by many deities of a positively aligned nature to empower those who revere them. Requires an indirect link, such as a devotee's presence near your place of power. Requires nature; positively aligned or better. Requires recipient state; purified.
Warning: one or more requirements cannot be met at this time. Talent set to 'locked'.
Skill; Corrupt.
Corrupt: A preferred method used by entities of great might to enslave, empower, and defile the very souls of beings and lands existing within the Great Lacunae. Your powers distort the sanctity of life itself, twisting the fabric of existence to meet your needs and designs. Requires direct touch or a sufficiently degraded environment. Requires nature; evil or worse. Grants ability; Defiler's tendrils. Grants ability; Corrupting domain.
Skill; Initialize system interface.
Initialize system interface: Activate your unique power within the soul of a chosen mortal. The ability 'system interface' is considered a deific gift for the purposes of continuity. Cost; unavailable.
Skill; Defiler's tendrils.
Defiler's tendrils: Manifest your will in the form of corrupting appendages that can be used to directly spread your taint and force your corruption onto living creatures or lands. Cost: ten percent of current maximum devotion. Free if used within the confines of your influence.
Skill; Corrupting domain.
Corrupting domain: Your existence is a blight upon the natural order. The more active you become within an area, the more your influence over the lands themselves can be leveraged, altered, or twisted.
"What the actual fuck…" Was all that the young woman could whisper, her eyes slipping away from the page in growing horror.