Hora had always been addicted to character customisation menus.
Every game he played, he would spend hours crafting the most detailed character he possibly could.
Handsome men with blonde hair. Hideous-looking brutes with bald heads. Wherever there was a customisation menu, he would express his creativity.
After all, it was the only place in the world where he felt like he could. His parents had always told him to give up on the creative arts and instead pursue a more stable career, like engineering or medicine.
In fact, they hated it when he spent time gaming too. What benefit was there to playing games!? They would ask him.
No matter how many times he explained that gaming was the only creative outlet he had, they would never understand. To them, it was just pointless pixels on the screen that did nothing to help build his character.
So eventually, they even banned him from gaming, forcing him to focus on his studies.
That left the sixteen-year-old Hora depressed.
As he lay in his bed one day, face in his pillow, he cursed the gods.
Why make me fall in love with creativity if you weren't going to give me any way to express it!?
That night, he fell asleep with an angry heart.
He never expected that by the time he woke up, nothing would be as it once was...
---
"Rrghh."
Hora woke up with back pains. He knew that his bed wasn't the most comfortable, but now it felt like he had slept on bricks!
As he opened his eyes and rubbed the sleep away from them, he realised that the reason for his back pains was nothing to do with his bed. It was the grass that he found himself sleeping on instead.
He looked around. The grass field was beautiful, covered with an array of flowers and wildlife. However, before he could take it all in, a screen suddenly appeared in his vision.
Immediately, Hora thought it held similarities to a menu screen of a video game. This was enough to strike him with disbelief; however, he was more interested in what the screen was showing.
[Create Your Race]
[Design a new Sentient Race. Your choices will permanently affect the world of Ilona]
Hora's heart leapt.
Have my prayers been answered?
After reading the words, they swiftly switched to a new screen.
[Step 1: Choose a name for your Race.]
[...]
Hora was uncertain of whether he was in a dream or reality. But at that moment, he didn't care.
A race creation screen was something he was incredibly interested in. Most games usually only allow the player to select from a variety of optional races.
But to create your own race from scratch? This concept was one of his favourites.
Immediately, he found himself not caring about the prospect of leaving his previous world behind. All he wanted to do was explore this new reality that seemed impossible.
Let's see... Assuming that all of the most common races already exist in this new world, I should make something that stands out... But not too much.
Eventually, he settled on the name Ashfallen. This suited his plans for what he wanted to create. A race that he had already crafted within his mind.
After choosing this name, the screen changed once again.
[Step 2: Physical Form.]
[Select a Base Body Type]
[Humanoid]
[Beastkin]
[Insectoid]
[Draconic]
[Amorphous]
[Hybrid]
As Hora scanned over the various options, he saw only one that made sense to him.
The Hybrid.
If he could experience the benefits of more than two races, why would he limit himself to one?
He was certain that this choice would come with drawbacks, but he didn't care. He wanted to make the most out of his creation.
So he selected the Hybrid Option, and was then asked to choose two races to form a hybrid from.
After careful thought, Hora chose a Humanoid base, and an Amorphous Sub-Race.
Again, there was a reason behind this choice. As long as he was granted further customisation options later down his creation process, he was sure he would create something truly unique.
Next, the screen changed again.
[Step 3: Select a Body Type]
[Small]
[Medium]
[Large]
This question threw him off.
If this world of Ilona followed the normal laws of Earth, the Small could mean simply shorter than average, whilst large would mean taller than average.
However, in a fantasy world, Small could mean the size of a Fairy, whilst Large could mean a towering giant.
To be safe, Hora chose the Medium option.
[Step 4: Choose your race's average Life-Span]
[Short-Lived]
[Human- equivalent]
[Long-Lived]
[Near-Immortal]
Human equivalent... So that means they do exist in this world.
Why couldn't they tell me that when asking me to select a body size?!
Hora didn't blink before choosing the Near-Immortal option. The system didn't tell him exactly what that meant, but he still wanted the best chances at survival.
[Step 5: Sex & Reproduction]
This screen showed an array of complicated information, linked to sex and gender.
Hora chose what he was most used to, which was a similar process to what humans had.
However, this was where he faced his first dilemmas. Due to previous options, certain choices were now locked for him.
For example, due to being hybrid and part Amorphous, the Ashfallen were unable to reproduce with others outside of their race.
This doesn't stop them from being able to fall in love or become sexually attracted to other races, which means that some of the Ashfallen people would feel unfulfilled in their desires.
Hora didn't mind. It was a cost he was willing to pay.
[Step 6: Select your race's appearance traits]
This was another screen filled with even more information than the others. It allowed Hora to completely customise the appearance traits that his people could be born with.
He had already decided this when choosing the name Ashfallen. His people would only be able to have Black hair, and their eyeballs would be completely whitened out, giving them a frightening look.
Their hair grew long and fast, and their facial structure was well defined, making them incredibly handsome. Their skins would also be ghastly pale, as though they had never seen the sun, making them look like ghosts. Almost see-through.
After choosing these features, and a few more, the screen changed again to what might have been the most important screen so far.
[Step 7: Select your Racial Traits.]
Suddenly, a large list of positive and negative traits appeared before him, asking him to choose an equal amount of both to create balance in his race.
The lists contained hundreds of options. Hora felt his mouth watering at the variety.
I'll need to select these options carefully; otherwise, I could ruin everything.