章 2: Spending Karma
"Welcome Durand." A robotic voice spoke.
Durand opened his eyes and looked around in confusion. Around him, a massive halo of golden tangible light bathed him in warmth. "Who's there?" he asked.
"I am the Afterlife Processing System or APS for short. You are in the afterlife. I will help you with your decisions regarding your next life before moving you to your next reincarnation."
"Isn't there supposed to be some sort of higher being that does this?" Durand asked. Durand hadn't been particularly religious but he had never denied the existence of a higher being that could be watching over humankind.
"The being you are referring to is called God. As the population grew larger, God's workload increased as the deaths proportionally grew with it. Two hundred and thirty four years ago, God created me to expedite the process so that he could focus on his other responsibilities such as granting inspiration, creating destined couples, and pranking mortals. Do you have any other questions before proceeding with the Afterlife Process?"
"Errr…. Not really" Durand said.
APS replied promptly, "Then we will move forward. Please say or think: Menu."
(Menu). A blue screen popped up in front of him.
[Status] [Store]
"Good. Recently, a large portion of souls arriving to the afterlife have assumed that these tabs will be available automatically when they move to their next life. This is not true and access each tab must be purchased from the Store with karma points. Please say or think: Status."
(Status) A new blue screen popped up.
[Status]
Name: Durand Emrys
Karma Points: 659,248,969,745
"You have 659,248,969,745 Karma Points available to spend. We will now move to the store to determine the aspects of your next life. Please say or think: Store."
(Store) The blue screen changed.
[World] [Circumstance] [Talents] [Skills] [Stats] [Items] [Other]
"The store tabs are organized in the afterlife process order. We will begin with World. Please say or think: World"
[World]
Magic – 1,000,000 KP: Through magical talent and incredibly strenuous education, some humans with magical talents are able gain access to mana and fuse it with their bodies. Classes are further split between mana-enhanced warriors and mages. A person's social standing depends heavily on whether they are able to use mana and on their family's strongest warrior/mage.
Cultivation – 900,000 KP: Through meditation and special resources, all humans are able to cultivate qi to gain super human strength and enhance their lifespans. A person's social standing depends heavily on their personal cultivation and on their family's strongest cultivator.
Technological – Starts at 0 KP: With hard work, any humans are able to increase their skills and gain success. Technological World KP costs increase with increased world technological levels. A person's social standing depends heavily on their monetary worth and/or job title. Note: You gained 12,000,000 KP because you contributed significantly to increasing your world's technological level.
Custom World – Starts at 1,000,000 KP: Create a world of your choosing.
"Please select a world you would like to live your next life in."
When Durand saw the last option, he got excited. When he retired from his position as dean of his private school, he had fallen in love with a novel called Douluo Dalu. He asked, "Can I use the Custom World option to create Douluo Dalu?"
"Searching for the world Douluo Dalu. Please be patient"
…
"Found. Douluo Dalu is a fictional world that is created by Tang Jia San Shao that features three main characters Tang San, Huo Yuhao, and Tang Wulin across three different time periods. This is a cultivation world and will cost 10,000,000 KP. Please be aware that using a complete copy of the Douluo Dalu means that characters from the novel will exist and any actions made by you will ultimately affect the outcomes beginning with your birth."
"DEAL!" Durand shouted with glee. "I want to be born at the same time as Tang San!" Though Durand loved the other two novels Unrivaled Tang Sect and Legend of the Dragon King, his favorite novel was the first book in the series.
"Please confirm. Your choice of world is Douluo Dalu and time of rebirth is when Tang San is born."
"Yes." Durand was extremely excited now. He could now join Tang San as a Shrek monster!
"Douluo Dalu world confirmed. 10,000,000 KP have been deducted. You have 659,238,969,745 Karma Points available to spend. Please say or think: Store, Circumstance."
(Store) (Circumstance) The blue screen returned to the Store menu and then to the Circumstance page.
[Circumstance]
Random – 1000 KP: Completely random martial spirit, social status, family, and location.
Poor Circumstances 1 – 100 KP: Trash martial spirit, innate soul power 1-2, no social standing, orphan, small village.
Poor Circumstances 3 – 300 KP: Trash martial spirit, peasant farmer, single parent, small village.
…
Average Circumstances – 10,000KP: Decent martial spirit, innate soul power 3-5, blacksmith family, two parents and one older sibling, small town.
…
Good Circumstances – 10,000,000 KP: Strong martial spirit, innate soul power 7-9, spirit master parents with ranks at 30-80, 1-2 older siblings at ranks 20-60, large city.
…
Best Circumstances – 10 billion KP: Extremely strong twin martial spirits, innate soul power 10, spirit master parents at ranks 80-99, 2-3 older siblings at ranks 30-70, capital city.
Custom Circumstances – begins at 0 KP: Custom martial spirit, custom innate soul power (0-10), custom family social standing and spirit master ranks, custom location.
"Please select the circumstances that you will be reborn with in Douluo Dalu."
Durand fell into deep thought. He wanted to fight alongside Tang San and the other Shrek Devils. It would be best if he grew up with Tang San so that they could form a tight bond. He had grown up fine without a true family and he didn't see the need for one in his next life. In order to mesh well with the Shrek Devils, he would need spirits that complemented their needs. (Hmmmm) Durand thought. (They already have three assault system, one control system, one agility system, and two auxiliary system members. They don't have a defense system, a ranged assault system, or a healing system spirit master. It'd be a complete waste to not have a healing system spirit because of my background in medicine. It makes more sense to have a defense system spirit than another assault system spirit since the Shrek Devils already have three.)
Durand suddenly felt unsure of himself. Though he had maintained a healthy lifestyle, he knew nothing about combat. So, unless Tang San was willing to train him early on, he would be at a significant disadvantage in the battle arena tournaments without taking dangerous risks to improve his combat experience. He remembered that he and his school had been at the forefront of space exploration because they had discovered how to rip small holes in the space-time fabric and teleport to their desired location. He wondered, (Perhaps I could get a spirit like that? I'd probably be able to get something similar to Xu Sanshi's spatial displacement skill in the second Douluo Dalu novel. I wouldn't want to use it like him though, putting myself directly in danger. Could the system help me choose a suitable one?)
"I choose custom circumstances. I want to be born with innate soul power at 10. I don't need a family but I must live in the same village as Tang San, the Holy Spirit Village. I want twin martial spirits but I'm not sure exactly what I want. Can you help me with choosing my martial spirits?" asked Durand.
"As the Afterlife Process System, I am capable of helping with any task regarding Store purchases. Please describe the first spirit you would like to have," said ASP.
"I want to have an extremely strong healing spirit."
"There are three available options: Nine Heart Flowering Apple, Yearning Heartbroken Red Flower, and Tree of Life. The first option will forcibly change your family and location circumstances. The second option requires a complete devotion to a lover before soul rings may be added to the spirit. The third option has no such restrictions. You may, of course, make cosmetic appearance changes to your spirit at an additional Karma Point fee."
"Of course I'll pick the third option. I can't grow up next to Tang San with the first option and I will have to wait at least 15 years before I can grow close enough to someone even if I'm lucky like Tang San and Xiao Wu!" exclaimed Durand.
He added, "Can you make the leaves a glowing blue?"
"First martial soul has been confirmed. Cosmetic changes accepted. Please describe the second spirit you would like to have," responded ASP.
Moving on, Durand requested, "Is it possible to create a spirit that has mainly defensive attributes but doesn't require being directly in the middle of chaotic battles?"
"Searching…"
"No spirit found that meets all requirements. Searching possible spirit mutations, possible soul ring combinations, and possible Store purchases…"
After a long time past, ASP finally said, "Three solutions found. Option 1: tool martial spirit – Moonlit Jade. Without mutation, optimal soul skill path is auxiliary system. Mutate by absorbing first soul ring from 600+ year old soft bone rabbit. Mutation of martial spirit results in first soul ring ability that teleports only energy attacks and releases them at enemies within 100 meters. Resulting martial spirit: Moonlit Jade Rabbit. Success Rate: 75%"
"Option 2: beast martial spirit – Soft Bone Rabbit. Without mutation, optimal soul skill path is assault system. Mutate by absorbing soul ring from 600+ year old Fifteen Ton Ant while eating a Moonlit Jade stone. Mutation of marital spirit results in soul ring ability that summons flexible armor for an ally with the strength of a Fifteen Ton Ant within 100 meters. Resulting martial spirit – Moonlit Bone Ant. Success Rate: 10%"
"Option 3: beast martial spirit – Fifteen Ton Ant Emperor. Without mutation, optimal soul skill path is either pure strength system or defense system. Mutate by eating one moonlit jade every day for two years before spirit awakening and absorbing a soul ring from a 600+ year old defensive oriented soul beast. Mutation of marital spirit results in soul ring ability that summons a small shield with the strength of a Fifteen Ton Ant and defensive soul beast combined within 100 meters. Resulting martial spirit: Jade **** Emperor (Depends on soul beast). Success Rate: 75%.
"Suggested purchase for all above options are: Increased Soul Skill Range S talent and Increased Soul Ring Age Absorption S talent. Purchasing these two talents increase success rates by 20%."
Durand sighed, "There really isn't much of a choice here. Option 1 is out simply because of the soul beast I would have to kill. I want to join the Shrek Devils not offend one of them. Option 2's success rate is just too low. Moreover, the defense is lacking compared to option 3. System, I pick option 3."
"Second martial soul confirmed. Generating total Karma Point costs. No family and abandoned at the Holy Spirit village orphanage. 100 KP. No information of existing orphanage. Generating new orphanage ran by village chief. 10,000 KP. Innate soul power of 10 added. 15 billion KP. Tree of Life martial spirit copied from Elder Zhuang of Shrek Academy. 75 billion KP. Adding cosmetic changes to the Tree of Life. 10 billion KP. Fifteen Ton Ant Emperor martial spirit selected. 65 billion KP. Purchasing 730 space attributed Moonlit Jade. 35 billion KP. Total cost: 200,000,110,100 KP. Please confirm: you have chosen to be born as an orphan living next to Tang San. You will have the twin spirits: Glowing Tree of Life and with innate soul power of 10."
"Confirm!" Durand was squealing with delight. With the martial spirits that he had, he could be a monster compared even to Tang San. Instantly, he could feel two spirits appear into his body. One was extremely light and looked like a powdery substance. It was his nanomedicine machines. The other was extremely heavy and he could feel that if he summoned the spirit, no one would be able to see it as light would be absorbed by it.
"Circumstances confirmed. 200,000,110,100 Karma Points deducted. You have 459,238,859,645 Karma Points to spend. Please say or think: Store, Talents."
(Store) (Talents)
[Talents]
Increased Soul Skill range F-S – 100-100,000,000 KP
Increased Soul Power meditation effects F-S – 10,000-10,000,000,000 KP
…
Hundreds of talents were listed on the Talents page. Durand noticed the F-S on some of the talents and asked, "System, what does the F-S on each talent mean?"
"Each talent is rated a grade F, E, D, C, B, A, and S from worst to best. The better the grade, the stronger the talent. Each increase in talent grade increases the cost by a product of 10. However, the effects are usually only about five times more. For example, if you choose the increased soul skill range talent, the F grade version increases your soul skill range by 10 meters. However the B grade version increases your soul skill range by 10*5*5*5 = 1250 meters."
"Thank you" Durand responded. (Wow that means the S grade version increases the range to 31,250 meters. I could become a spirit master sniper!) After going through all the talents, Durand finally selected six talents that he felt would benefit him the most.
Increased Soul Skill Range S – 100,000,000 KP
Increased Detection Range S – 500,000,000 KP
Triple Soul Skill Effects (Varied Outcomes) – 25 billion KP
Increased Soul Ring Age Absorption S – 250 billion KP
Decreased Reaction Time S – 75,000,000 KP
Increased Martial Spirit Control S – 12.5 billion KP
The first two would completely remove his worry about enemies being out of his range. Moreover, the control over his martial spirit would prevent him from committing friendly fire as well as help him control both his martial spirits and soul skills at the same time. The decreased reaction time was to help him adapt to the combat oriented environment of Douluo Dalu and finally the increased soul ring age absorption talent which was the most expensive was to help him get stronger soul rings. Even though the talent had very small effect, increasing the first ring age by only 200, this would allow him to get a 1000 year ring for his second soul ring and just barely a 10,000 soul ring for his fourth soul ring.
"The costs of these six talents are 288,175,000,000 Karma Points. Confirm Purchase?" asked ASP.
Durand nodded to confirm his purchases.
"288,175,000,000 Karma Points have been deducted. You have 171,063,859,645 Karma Points left to spend. Please say or think: Store, Skills"
(Store) (Skills) The Talent page closed and a new Skills paged opened in from of him.
[Skills]
Blacksmithing – Amateur-Divine: 100 KP – 100,000,000,000 KP
Swords Combat Skills – Amateur-Divine: 1000KP – 1,000,000,000,000 KP
Spear Combat Skills – Amateur-Divine: 1000KP – 1,000,000,000,000 KP
…
Durand asked the System, "Will I keep my medical knowledge and skill once I am reborn?"
"All previous life skills, knowledge and memories will be lost unless purchased at a discounted price from the store. You may choose to retain your master medical skills for a karma point cost of 10 billion."
Durand frowned. He had not expected to lose all memory of his past life. He asked quickly, "How much would it cost to keep my personality as well as memories regarding these transactions, Douluo Dalu, and my medical skills?"
"The requested memories will cost you 75 billion Karma Points. Do you wish to purchase them?"
Relieved that he could still afford his memories, Durand responded, "Yes, please."
"Transaction confirmed. 75 billion Karma Points deducted. You have 96,063,859,645 Karma Points left to spend. Do you have any other skills you wish to purchase?"
Durand quickly browsed the list and picked the Unarmed Combat Skill Intermediate Level for 1,000,000 KP. He knew that he would be at a disadvantage without proper combat education compared to the other spirit masters with backgrounds that allowed them to train as a child.
"1,000,000 KP deducted. You have 96,062,859,645 Karma Points left to spend. Please say or think: Store, Stats"
(Store) (Stats) The blue screen changed again. This time it was a much shorter list though.
[Stats]
Strength: Starts at 1000 KP per point. Every 10 points in Strength increases cost by 100 times.
Agility: Starts at 1000 KP per point. Every 10 points in Agility increases cost by 100 times.
Endurance: Starts at 1000 KP per point. Every 10 points in Endurance increases cost by 100 times.
Intelligence: Starts at 1000 KP per point. Every 10 points in Intelligence increases cost by 100 times.
ASP added, "It might be prudent to know that the average human adult has 10 points in each stat. Moreover, purchased stats will be immediately granted at birth and stats will continue to grow as a person ages and develops their body."
(Well at least this is straightforward. There isn't really a need to be a monstrously strong child. Having some intelligence is probably needed in order to retain my memories though.) Durand thought. "System, I would like to buy 2 points in the first three stats and 20 points in Intelligence."
"The total cost will be 1,016,000 Karma Points. Please confirm." Said ASP. Durand confirmed his purchase by nodding.
"1,016,000 Karma Points deducted. You have 96,061,843,645 Karma Points left to spend. Please say or think: Store, Items."
(Store) (Items) The blue screen disappeared.
"System, what happened? Where are the items?" Durand asked. He wondered if the system had malfunctioned and was worried if he would need to compensate God since it broke down while he was using it.
"Listing the infinite amount of items and their customizations available in the system is not possible. As such, God has decided that souls in the afterlife should simply name the item they wish to purchase as well as any customization and the Afterlife Processing System will create the item for you."
Relieved that the system had not broken down, Durand began to think about what he may need when he arrived to Douluo Dalu. (A storage ring is an absolute necessity. How can I be a cultivator without one? It'd be good to have a bunch of food and water in case of emergencies. Some camping supplies would go a long way when I need to get a soul ring too.) Durand spoke quickly, "Okay, I'd like to have a tent like the one in Harry Potter and about 30 years' worth of food and water inside of the largest storage ring that the rest of my Karma Points can afford."
"Since the tent you wish to purchase does not exist in Douluo Dalu, there will be an overcharge of 10 billion Karma Points. The total cost of the tent will be 30 billion points. 30 years' worth of food and water will cost 32,850,000 points. After deducting 30,032,850,000 points, you will have 66,028,993,645 Karma Points to spend. The largest storage ring available storage ring you can buy will have a storage room of 10km x 10km x 10km and costs 65 billion Karma Points. You have a total cost of 95,032,850,000 Karma Points. Please confirm your purchase."
"Confirm."
"Transaction confirmed. 95,032,850,000 Karma points have been deducted. You have 1,028,993,645 Karma points to spend. Please say or think: Store, Other"
(Store) (Other) Again no blue screen appeared before him.
"How does this section of the system store work?" asked Durand.
"The Other section is reserved for purchasing intangible products such as luck or access to the ASP tabs after reincarnating to your new world. This section of the store also allows you to customize your physical looks as well as ASP recommendations."
"Oh my god! I almost forgot that I needed to buy permission to use the Status tab! How much is it?" Durand became concerned. He had forgotten to purchase access to the Status tab at the beginning since he had been so excited about being able to go to Douluo Dalu.
"Access to the Status page costs 1 billion Karma Points. Would you like to customize your physical appearance?"
"I want to purchase the Status page access. I don't think I will need to change my physical appearance. I'm satisfied with how I look." Durand felt quite happy that he would have the Status page so that he could quantify his improvements.
"Really you don't want to change your appearance?" ASP asked. Somehow the robotic voice had a tone of disbelief to it. If Durand had a body, he would have started coughing in anger.
"What the hell?! I am happy with how I look." Durand lashed back. He felt like his subjective appearance had just been insulted by an objective machine.
"Are you sure?" ASP pestered.
"Yes," Durand growled.
"Very well. I would like to make some recommendations that you purchase with your remaining 28,993,645 Karma Points. Please consider increasing facial attractiveness by 10% for 20 million Karma Points or purchasing hidden stat Charisma for 15 million Karma Points."
"System, I thought we just went over this. I am satisfied with how I look." Durand was losing patience. Dejected, he wondered, (I'm not that ugly am I?)
Suddenly an old man fell from out of thin air onto the floor howling in laughter.
"I got you good! You really thought that a machine thought you were ugly!" He squeezed between his laughter.
"You must be the god that ASP told me about that liked pranking mortals," Durand said as his face deadpanned.
"Oh you're no fun," God pouted. "Hey what about a sex change? Or an incestuous sister? Or better yet, a sex change and an incestuous brother!" God gave Durand a joking smirk.
Durand wasn't going to have any of it. "I'd like to spend the rest of my points to increase my luck in finding the right soul beast for my desired soul ring."
"Man, you really aren't any fun at all. All business like," God sighed. "It's boring up here you know? Well that'll bring you down to 0 Karma Points left. Please have an enjoyable reincarnation on—"
The old man suddenly grabbed Durand and threw him into a rift in space. "—Douluo Dalu!!"
"You son of a —," screamed the thrown Durand. The rift closed and cut off the rest of the expletives Durand wanted to call God.
ORIGINAL AUTHOR NOTE:
Word Count: 3107 (New Word Count: 3891)
Should I have broken this chapter into multiple sections? Its more than three times longer than the first chapter. That said, the first one was really much more of a prologue than a chapter.
I would still be releasing all the sections in one week. This would just help readers pick up where they left off a little easier in case they can't sit down to read the whole chapter at once.
クリエイターの想い 
darkqi
darkqi Chapter Revised
Daoistxuanlong pointed out a plot hole for me and TigBitties made a good point that the martial spirits that I came up with didn't really mesh particularly well with Douluo Dalu.
Thank you to cursed_blood_sect for backing my original choice on Durand's spirits but I decided to make the spirits mesh with the original novel (and b/c Durand would have to explain multiple times what his two spirits are and then their resulting "shock" at his super unique spirits)
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