The Manaverse

Location: Unknown

Ophelia, the Goddess of Life, Creation and Order's eyes widened in surprise. "What?"

Jut tipped his head and asked his question again. "Would you want to be my friend?"

"I'm not saying no, but why?" She asked, closing one eye and looking at him questioningly.

"That's almost as rude as saying no." Jut mumbled. Then he spoke louder. "Why do I want to be your friend?" He thought about his answer for only a moment. "I could say it's because having a Goddess as a friend would be beneficial in the long run. I could say that I wanted to catch you off guard." He was asking himself why he picked that question specifically. He stopped and looked at her again, grinning. "Really, though? By telling me about Kit, you have given me more than I can ever repay. You went out of your way to not only stop me from wasting my questions, but you also expanded the answers for the same reason. I appreciate that. Not to mention, you look so cool. Was your skin always that color of blue?"

Ophelia smiled, shaking her head. "I will answer that question later. Maybe. Let's move on to the next stage of the selection process, shall we?"

Jut kind of felt cheated, but that's the least he deserved for asking such a silly question. "Sure. What's next?"

Ophelia harrumphed. "Normally, I would pit the candidates against each other in combat until only one was left standing. Those who "died" during the battles would be returned to their Ascension process with no memory of anything that happened here except for their answered questions. Now, however.." She said, gesturing around them again. "You win by default, so we move on to the discussion portion where I tell you my expectations and the benefits you receive from being my Champion. That is...if you do, in fact, want to be my Champion."

"Am I allowed to hear the pros and cons before making a decision?" Jut asked, assuming the answer was no.

Ophelia nodded. "Of course. Being a Deity's Champion isn't like being a "chosen one". I think it is more like being conscripted into an army, one that you have no idea if you have the same principles, morals, or goals as. Even before I was elevated to a Prime, I always believed Champions should know what they are signing up for. However, not all Deities feel the same." She gave him a knowing look, her smile shrinking only slightly.

"I see. So..." Jut said, gesturing for her to continue.

Ophelia huffed and rolled her eyes. "You are very lucky I'm not the "holier than thou" type of Goddess. Either of the other Primes would have their other Champions kill you just for thinking its okay to hurry them along."

"So, they can't kill me outright. You're saying that interference is limited to quests then." Jut said. His words were a statement.

Ophelia gave him a long, hard stare. "I'm not answering more questions for you by confirming or denying things you say. If you wanted to know, you should have asked when you had the chance."

Jut snorted. "That's totally a yes." He smirked and Ophelia smiled at him.

"Enough." Ophelia's voice had a tinge of a chuckle. "Before you fish for more information, let's move on." The Goddess cleared her throat delicately. "My expectations of you are simple. You'll get quests and you do them or not."

Jut scowled. "Or not? So, I don't have to do the quests you give me? How...why not?...I don't get it."

Ophelia giggled. "I know, right? No, you do not. You can choose to do what you want. You won't lose the appointment of Champion and nothing bad will come of it. At least, I won't influence anything to befall you."

"Then what's the point of making anyone your Champion?" Jut asked, still confused. "What's the catch?"

"All I can do is lead you to possibilities. Whether or not you make something of them is up to you." Ophelia said. "I want the survivors of the human race on Earth to flourish under the System. My quests will lead in that direction."

Jut could get behind that idea. There was already too much loss as it was. "Okay. Then what are the benefits of taking the job?" He asked. He sounded skeptical, even to himself. If he wasn't required to do anything, the rewards couldn't be that amazing.

"That depends on if you complete the quests or not, and how well you do when completing them." Ophelia said with glint in her eyes. Then her expression changed to one of excitement and curiosity. "Are you hungry? I'm kind of hungry. My need to eat is reinstated when I'm filtering down to Stone Rank." She said. She stood and walked off into the white. It nearly gave Jut whiplash at her sudden change of topic.

Jut scoffed and followed after her. "I see what you did there. It's a carrot on a string. How do I know the "prize" won't lead me off a cliff?"

Ophelia giggled again and stopped walking. As she answered him, shapes began to appear around her. They would start as a pencil sketch in the air that would start to gain texture and shading followed by color. Then they shapes would gain substance, becoming real and solid. It was all food related. There was a diner booth, a rack of steaming hot food, and plenty of drinks.

"You don't. That's part of it, isn't it? You either trust me, or you don't. I either trust that you will be a worthy Champion, or I don't." Ophelia gestured to the stacks of meats, pastas and many other foods Jut hadn't seen in a while. "As only your mind is here, this food won't keep you alive, but where I come from, food is meant to be enjoyed together. Please sit. Let's eat. These should all be foods you are used to, as they came from your memory."

Jut hesitantly did as Ophelia directed. "Thanks. It smells good." He was still confused, but he did feel a bit hungry.

Ophelia loaded her own plate full of some fried chicken, barbecue ribs and tons of other meats. She sat at the table and dug in, making delighted sounds.

Jut sat across from her and took a bite of his own food. It tasted like the best chicken in Granite City did before the integration. The seasoning was on point and the soda pop was carbonated.

"The best part of this job is the different foods your worlds have to offer. Especially Earth. The last planet I was a Deity for didn't have anywhere near as good eats as your planet does." Ophelia said, moving from the ribs to a burger.

The two ate together, and somewhere along the line, Ophelia started speaking. Jut would respond and a conversation began. It was mainly about Jut's world and how it was before the System. Ophelia would describe very similar situations from her own world before its integration. For the first time in a few days, Jut felt content. Sitting with Ophelia just felt comfortable.

Eventually, the topic landed on the benefits of being a deity's champion and Jut listened keenly.

"Being my Champion won't make you any stronger than others, per se. It's more like the possibilities my quests lead to will present you with opportunities. You'll have to see them and seize them." Ophelia said, pushing a plate littered with cake crumbs away from herself.

Jut, who was on his third ice cream, shrugged. "The only benefit I want is the capability to make food appear at will like this and not gain any weight after cramming it all down."

"That's a perk of Divinity Rank, sure. But it's only a small one compared to the hassle the rank brings too. Not to mention, it's superfluous most of the time." Ophelia said.

"So, let me make sure I understood you. The real job of a Champion is to do their Deity's bitch work, and maybe, just maybe, they might find a possible benefit from it if they pay close enough attention?" Jut asked, beginning to stack the dishes they had just blown through.

"I'm the host here. I'll handle it." Ophelia said, waving her hand. All of the dishes disappeared, fading back into the pencil sketch they were before vanishing completely. "And while crude, your summary is an accurate one. Yes."

"Okay then. I guess I'll take the job. It's not like I have anything better to do." Jut said, leaning back into his chair. He figured he might regret accepting the position later, but he would worry about it then. What better way to keep busy than to work on few quests? "You said you can't answer questions I wouldn't have access to the Lore for, right? So, for instance, the bonus race options available to me. Would you be able to answer questions regarding which I should choose, now that you're my patron and all?"

Ophelia looked contemplative for a moment. "I guess if you were to put in the effort to discuss the race options with everyone who chooses one, you could compile Lore on each. Sure. I'll answer them. But only because we're friends." She finished with a wink and a teasing smile on her lips.

"So... Which race should I choose? What are their benefits?"

Ophelia's eyes went distant momentarily. It seemed anytime she needed to gain access to information, she had to use the System windows. Jut didn't ask about why she needed the windows at all because she wasn't likely to answer, and he wasn't sure if the question would be considered rude or not.

When Ophelia finally looked at him, she spoke.

"You have access to the four main Races and Lionoc and Drakkin. Well, the simplest option would be to choose human." Ophelia spread her arms and gestured to herself. "Clearly, being human isn't a negative choice because you can reach the top ranks as one. You can with all races. Humans, however, are the jack of all races. They don't excel anywhere specific, but can be amazing at anything."

"Elves are similar to your planet's mythology of them. You know, longer ears and a generally slender build. They do live a bit longer than humans but not as long as your mythology says they do, at least not at Stone Rank, and they do eat meat. They also have a higher affinity for the intelligence and agility characteristics."

"The Fae are similar to Elves, except instead of pointy ears, they have pointy teeth and sharp claws. They are heavily specialized in magic, unlike the Elves. Their lack of physical attributes makes them pretty easy to kill in close combat, but the trade-off is they have a more diverse evolution tree."

"The last of your common options is a Beastkin. Beastkin are human and animal hybrids. They are the most diverse Stone Rank species as they can have the features of almost any animal. Being the opposite of the Fae, they specialize in the physical side of the System. Whether that means they have more strength, agility, or constitution is dependent on what animal they are a hybrid of."

Ophelia's look turned contemplative again as her eyes glazed over once more, reading another window.

"I guess I can tell you about the other two, only because you are my Champion. Very few people in this Safe Zone have either, let alone both." She said, nodding to Jut.

"A Lionoc is a specialized Beastkin variant. They are part Lion, part Elf with characteristics of each. This gives them a decent spread of physical and magical attributes as well as some unique Skills and Spells."

"The Drakkin are the base form of Ascendant Dragons. They are not to be confused with the Magical Creatures, whose natural forms are those of winged reptiles. A Drakkin does develop the natural aspects of their Magical Creature counterparts, however, such as wings, claws, and the like. They specialize easily in whatever Attribute they increase, though, which is a double-edged sword."

"As far as what you should choose?" Ophelia shrugged. "All Title race options are stronger than the common choices. I would have to say either one. They receive higher characteristic growth overall and have better racial benefits from the beginning. I would say it comes down to whether you want fur or scales." She gave him a playful wink and a grin.

Jut grimaced. "That's great. I wasn't looking to pick something weird." He still wanted to remain human, but if the bonus options were better and could make him stronger faster, he knew he would choose one. He looked to his patron. "Is there anything else we should discuss? I'm kind of eager to get back and finish ascending." He said with a sheepish grin.

Ophelia put her hands on her hips and scowled at him. "Milk me for information and food then you're ready to ditch me just like that, huh?" She started smiling right after she spoke, easing the bite of her words. "I get it. Go. We covered everything. I'm sorry you didn't get to experience the real Champion Selection process."

Jut frowned. "Me too." He would have traded winning automatically for her other candidates to not be dead in a heartbeat.

Ophelia waved at him and the divine realm of hers faded away. "Please, relax over the next two weeks. You will need it. I won't be able to speak to you again until you reach Copper Rank."

Jut pondered her warning as the last of the white turned black in his vision and his patron disappeared from view.