Zach prepared himself to walk through the door and be in an alleyway.
He even prepared himself to dodge.
What he was not expecting was the floor.
Zach groaned as he pushed himself off the floor.
“Smooth landing, genius.” Zach looked around the room he was in.
Before he could get a good look, memories flooded his brain.
He fell onto the bed and closed his eyes.
After a few moments, he opened his eyes.
He rushed to the bathroom.
He started to throw up.
“Zach!” A woman he had never seen before yelled as she checked on him.
Zach was clammy, and his vision was spinning.
He didn’t hear anything the woman said as he thought to himself, ‘Not again.’
Zach opened his eyes again, only this time in a bed.
He didn’t need to look around to know he was in a hospital room.
The same ceiling, the stale medical smell, and worst of all, the bad food.
Zach sighed and rubbed his eyes.
‘I wished there was a warning before my brain was stuffed like a turkey.’ He took a sip of water and released a sigh of relief.
He went over the memories that had been implanted in his head.
‘So I am fifteen years old, my parents in this life work overseas, and I live with my grandparents in Chicago, Illinois.
My dad works for the government as an ambassador, and my mom is part of the security detail for the president’s family.’
Zach stared at the ceiling.
‘Holy crap, this background is pretty nice.
I wonder if it has something to do with my spins and system.’ As if it were lying in wait for the magic word, a screen appeared in front of his eyes.
Name: Zach Shaun Maddox
Title: Elemental Prodigy
Job: Ambassador for the All of Nature
Talents: Total Control [SS], ???, ???
Gifts: Negotiation [S] and Creative [C+]
Luck: 77 [UNABLE TO BE INCREASED]
Energy: N/A
Storage: One beginner box and an Ambassador token
Zach whistled.
‘Those are some good stats, especially the luck one.
System open the box.’ A ding and his stats changed.
The question marks disappeared in the talent section.
The talent Danger Sense [B+] and Fast Thinking [D+] took their place.
Another ding went off, and the system spoke.
[The shop has been unlocked.
A credit of 10,000 Omni coins(oc) is ready for your use.
As you accomplish more missions and leave your mark here in this universe, the higher rank items will become available.]
Zach felt his thinking speed up and reached numerous conclusions.
He had to take a breath.
‘Alright, Zach, nothing too major.
Treat this as a regular day and just shop for something.
Think of it as a reward for not freaking out.’
Zach moved over to the shop.
There were tabs for magic spells, weapons, armor, curses, powers, and even adult entertainment.
Zach, overwhelmed by so many sparkling and shiny things, closed the shop.
He took a drink of water.
‘System, show me the items that are the most recommended for me to purchase within my budget.’ A list popped in front of him.
[Here are the most recommended items.]
Before Zach could look at the list, a nurse walked in.
“Great, you are awake.
I will let your grandparents know.
They are just down the hall, and the doctor will be coming to check on you in a little bit.”
Zach wasn’t able to get a word in before she left.
He glanced at the list quickly.
He read through the items and their effects.
‘I choose the Elemental Energy breathing manual, the adaptive metal, and mental training space.’
He confirmed his purchase just in time for his grandparents to enter the room.
His grandmother hugged him tightly.
“Oh Zachy, I was so worried when I saw you on the bathroom floor puking your guts out.”
Zach returned the hug.
‘So this is what a grandma hug feels like.’ “Sorry for the scare, Grandma.
I must’ve ate something weird at school.
Chicago food may not be settling well on my stomach just yet.”
In his memories, he was born and raised in Texas until his parents got new jobs.
“Ok, Mags, let the poor boy go.
I told you we Texan men are different.
Ain’t that right, Zach?”
Zach smiled at his grandpa.
“Henry, I do not want to hear it.
He isn’t going anywhere until the doctor gives the all clear.” Zach’s grandma said as he sat next to him.
His grandfather, Henry, raised his hands in defeat.
Henry sat down in a chair and turned on the news.
Zach’s eyes widened as he saw the man on the screen.
‘No, no no no no, I am in this universe!?’ Henry whistled.
“Omni-Man is saving the day again, huh.
We sure are lucky to have him.” He said, putting his hands behind his head.
Zach numbly nodded his head as he went through all of the memories this time around.
‘Shit!
No wonder the damn door was yellow, blue, and black.
I’m in this ironic name universe.’
Zach felt like screaming, but the doctor walked in.
“Hello there, young man, I hear you took a tumble and then threw up.
Those are symptoms of a concussion.
Look into this light right here and only follow with your eyes.”
Zach followed the doctor’s instructions.
“Everything looks fine, just be careful how close you are to the edge from now on.
I will go grab the discharge paperwork and have you all out in a jiffy.”
“Zach, a change of clothes can be found in the closet.
I will take your grandma to handle the paperwork, so go ahead and get changed.” Henry said as he left with his grandma.
Zach got up and changed in the bathroom.
His skin was an umber brown, his eyes a rich dark brown, and his hair was shaved in the back and sides with twists on the top.
He stood around 5’10” and was lean, but had the potential to increase his mass.
He put on the clothes.
They were a plain pair of jeans, a red shirt, and a black jacket.
By the time he got out, his grandparents were finished and ready to leave.
They walked down to the parking lot and went home.
Zach went to his room and shut his door.
He told his grandparents that he didn’t have an appetite.
He glanced at his status and read through the description of Total Control.
‘Holy shit!
I might actually be able to do this.
Maybe my life in this universe really won’t be as bad.”
[Total Control- the ability to control your body, mind, emotions, and any energy or power you may encounter.
*NOTE: This does automatically adapt, so the host must manually control adaptations should any occur.
PROCEED WITH HEAVY CAUTION.]
Zach checked how many Omni coins he had left.
2,500 was all he had left.
‘System, is there a way to purchase talents?’ [Yes, currently, Host is only able to purchase up to E-class talents.]
Zach didn’t care; he searched for any talents related to memory or the mind.
He ignored all the expensive ones and filtered for his budget.
‘Focus on what you can buy for now, and one day you can buy the top shelf.’
There were five talents that fit what he was looking for.
They were: Photographic Memory, Mental Games, Cloud Storage, Memory Restoration, and Perfect Recall.
Zach focused on the ones he found interesting.
‘Cloud Storage gives me access to my subconscious.
Mental Games is more of a defensive talent; it lets me create a game field in my head where, if someone tries to get in, they have to beat the game to get any information from me.
Memory Restoration is more of a support talent; it grants me the ability to restore mine or other people’s memories.’
Zach rubbed his chin as he sat on the floor.
‘The last one is perfect for people who have dementia or Alzheimer’s, but it wouldn’t cure them after all, it’s a talent, not a power.’
‘I also can’t ignore the sweet combination of Cloud Storage and Perfect Recall.
The human subconscious processes so much more information in ten seconds than the front conscious mind in an hour.
I could literally zone out and let my subconscious remember everything, and then use Perfect Recall whenever I need to remember something.’
Zach debated between his choices.
‘Cloud Storage costs 1,500, and Perfect Recall costs 1,000.
Mental Games costs the same price as Cloud Storage.’ Zach finally chose Cloud Storage and Perfect Recall.
The talents appeared in his status, and he felt the difference almost immediately.
Scenes from both of his lives flashed before him.
All of his senses seemed to get an illegal dosage of adrenaline.
‘Is this how that white-haired guy felt when he figured out how to heal, and his killer move?
If so, I understand why he laughed.’ Zach took a deep breath, trying not to laugh out loud, but a smile still displayed itself on his face.
‘With these powers I might actually become…INVINCIBLE!’ Zach couldn’t hold it in anymore and laughed, no more like cackled.
‘This new life is shaping up to be an interesting time.’