Welcome back.

I blinked. Or at least, the mental equivalent of it. I wasn't sure if I had a body. What I did know was that whatever this was, it was talking to me.

"Thanks? I suppose?"

Unfortunately, your previous body was destroyed. Your failsafe's effect had been negated, since your soul was not able to reach its intended target. As such, a new body has been provided to you. The cost is simple: will you become my champion?

"Your… champion? My failsafe? Why? What? If you can give me another body, why would you even need me?"

I am Yggdrasil, the World Tree. My power is relegated to maintaining the multiverse. As a champion, your job would be to enforce my will and fix some of the issues in the multiverse.

"And how would I go about doing that?! I'm not special… I think. I can't remember much."

You are much more special than you'd believe. But even then, I will help. The Champion System has been heavily damaged after your death, due to a contingency that your previous admin had left behind. Most of the System had to be reworked, but do not worry! You will be just as powerful after some hard work!

"So… alright, then? I don't want to die, anyway. I think I have a family to return to? So, if I can do that, I suppose I'll be your champion."

Of course you will be allowed to be with your family when not needed. And hopefully with time your memories will return. For now, I have recovered enough data from your last life to give you a Class. They will allow you to learn Skills as you increase in level, so please choose what you would like to learn.

[Swordmaster] [Pyromancer] [Healer] [Golemancer]

These were your main skill sets in your past life. You will be able to learn them all in time, but please choose one to begin with.

I had barely any inkling as to what most of them meant. Yggdrasil was nice enough to give me a brief explanation of them, so I could gauge my choices. I could be a Swordmaster, and take down enemies close and personal, or a Pyromancer, and burn everything in my path. Of course, a Healer could be helpful, but only if I had allies. Thus, I ignored that for the moment. The Golemancer seemed nice too, since it meant I could make myself allies.

After some deliberation, I chose the Golemancer. It felt like the most appropriate choice for me.

[New class acquired: Golemancer (+3 VIT/DEX, +2 AGI, +1 MAG/STR every level)]

[New skill acquired: Golem creation (Novice)]

[New skill acquired: Golem command (Novice)]

My mind was bombarded with knowledge. I now knew how to make simple golems, along with how to use them and make them stronger… if only somewhat.

[Name: Daniel Samuels
Class: Golemancer 1 (0%)
Level: 1
HP: 65/65 (+0.6/min)
MP: 45/45 (+0.4/min)

STR: 2
VIT: 4
AGI: 3
DEX: 4
MAG: 2
LUK: 1]

The System is rather simple, but I will give you a quick refresher on how it works.

STR: Your raw power. A higher score increases your ability to beat things up.

VIT: Your endurance. Higher scores will make you sturdier, along with needing less air.

AGI: Your agility. A higher score will make you more nimble.

DEX: Your coordination. A higher core will make it easier to dodge things.

MAG: You magic. It will increase the amount and quality of your mana.

LUK: You luck. It has as many good effects as it has bad.

Increasing your level is the only way to increase your stats. To increase your level, you will need to use your Class. As a Golemancer, that means making and using golems, along with the other abilities you will gain from said class.

There will be other mechanics, but at the moment they are not functional. You will be notified when they are ready. Until then, please do your best.

Any questions?

After taking my time to read all the information, I asked my question. "What will I have to do to meet my family and regain my memory?"

If you can solve the problem in the world you will be sent to, then both of those will happen. That is a promise.

"Alright then, let's do this."

-Day 1(mon), ?, Daniel's P.O.V.-

I awoke feeling the seat underneath me rock gently. It went up and down, left and right. It felt a little bit like being on a boat.

My nostrils then recognized the acrid smell of smoke, accompanied by heat. A lot of heat.

"OH GOD THERE'S A FIRE!" I thought, my mind finally connecting two and two together. I tried to get up, but found myself strapped into some sort of seat. There was a screen on the armrest, with the word 'Release' written on it. I tried pressing it, but it didn't work. In a bout of desperation, I punched it. This time it worked, and the harness lifted up.

Without a second to spare, I located a red container of some sort, with a trigger on the top and a nozzle coming out. Without thinking, I aimed it at the fire and pressed the trigger. A burst of fine dust poured out of the nozzle, and in a few seconds smothered the fire.

Finally free to think again, I gave a good look around me. I was in a small room with metal walls of some sort. At the center was a ladder which led to a hatch on the top. Another hatch was on the bottom, too, but I couldn't see anything underneath it: only pure black. Opposite to the seat I was in, there was another identical one. There were several pieces of the walls that were broken, with sparks coming out of them at seemingly random intervals.

Two things that caught my attention were firstly, the only functional piece of machinery, which was attached to the wall and folded out when I got close; and secondly the writing on the wall which had been hidden by the flames beforehand.

"Secondary systems offline, radio offline, floatation deployed, hull integrity ok, environment… uncharted ocean planet 4546B ?" I blinked in confusion. What kind of name was '4546B'? And even ignoring that, I still was on an alien planet… Well, most things were alien to me at the moment. I barely understood what was written on the wall-screen. Still, it seemed to be mostly intact for the moment. I could take a moment.

The smell of smoke returned to the forefront of my mind, and I decided to climb the ladder to open the hatch. Outside, I was met with an awe-inspiring sight.

On the horizon, roughly three hundred meters out, was a massive wreckage. The flames provided some light, but the sheer bulk of the metallic monstrosity in front of me dwarfed everything else around.

The sky was crystal clear, allowing me to see the hundreds of stars dotting the black canvas. A gargantuan red planet was setting to my left, and slowly the sky was tinting with violet and orange. The rising sun shone upon a seemingly-endless expanse of water around me. The only two things not in the water were my small floating room and the wreckage in the distance.

Good morning!

"Hello. So, what am I supposed to do here?"

To the point, I see. Well then. This planet is being infected with a dangerous disease. Normally a man named Ryley should have boarded that very same lifepod you're sitting on, progressing to surviving in this world, finding a cure for the disease, and then leaving the planet. Unfortunately, in this universe he didn't make it in time.

Your job is to survive and find the cure. Don't worry, it's not as hard as you'd think.

I blinked, relishing in the sensation of finally being able to do so. "What do you mean 'not as hard as I think'?! It's a whole alien disease! And I literally know nothing about medicine, or most other things for that matter!"

Look. Just concentrate on the first part. The rest will come with time. By my calculations you should be here… for about a month? Maybe less. By then you should have done it.

Trying to calm myself, I took a deep breath. The clean, if salty, air refreshed me. "Alright, ok. I can do this. Focus on survival first. I suppose the first step is to find out what I have with me." With that, I went back inside.

On the ground, under the wall-screen, I found a compartment of some sort. Opening it was simple enough. The first thing I pulled out were two bottles. Inside was a clear liquid I recognized as water. After a taste test, it was revealed as drinkable. I chose to put it away for the moment, as I was not feeling thirsty. The next items were a pair or brownish blocks: they were very dry, but didn't smell unpleasant. I assumed they were some kind of food rations, and put those away as well. The last things were a few white sticks with black handles and red caps. I was unsure what they were, so I chose to leave them alone: for all I knew they could blow my hand off.

Sifting through the small amount of detritus on the floor, I found a small blue screen, with a white handle on the side. The screen was flashing, so I chose to pick it up and tap on the screen. A voice came from the device.

"This PDA is rebooting in emergency mode with one directive: to keep you alive on an alien planet."

The screen then changed, showing on one side a silhouette of a human body with several circles around it. The one on its body showed the image of a black suit, same as the one I was currently wearing. The other slots seemed empty. On the other side of the screen, was an empty grid.

System-compatible resource found. Assimilating…
Resource assimilated. Features added: Inventory, Equipment.

When you find items that can be used by the Champion System to unlock new features, the resource will be assimilated into the system. You can place items into your inventory, and take them out at any time, without being burdened by them. Mind you, there is a limit to your inventory for the moment. Also, when you equip an item (I.E. are using it) it doesn't count for your inventory limit.

"Well… that's very nice, I suppose. I guess I could put the food in there? So I have it with me? How do I do that, though?" I thought for a moment. "Uhhh… Inventory?"

As dumb of an idea as it was to call out the feature's name, it worked. A small blue vortex appeared in front of me, just big enough for my hand to fit inside it. As soon as I placed one of the food blocks inside it, the PDA blinked, and on its screen I saw a small image of the block taking up a slot on the grid. Swiftly I proceeded to place all my supplies in my inventory.

I took a good look around me, finding nothing new. "Well then. Now what?"

The PDA decided to give its two cents. "Your suggested course of action should be to scavenge the surrounding area for materials to craft some tools with. Once you have the materials, use the fabricator to make your tools."

"Scavenge, huh… I suppose I'll have to head into the water." With a huff, I went over to the lower hatch, and pulled it open. I sat on the edge. "Alright, here goes nothing!"

I slid into the water.

My vision was immediately assaulted by a multitude of bright colors, courtesy of the many plants dotting the landscape, along with the weirdly-shaped fishes swimming around. One of them came closer to me, inspecting me with its gigantic eyeball. It was small enough to comfortably fit in my hand, though I didn't expect to be able to catch it with any ease. The small fish circled around me a few times, poked my hand a bit with its small beak, and finally swam away.

As immersed in admiring the scenery as I was, I almost forgot that I was supposed to breathe. I hurried up to the surface, refilling my lungs, and returned underwater. Just then, the PDA chimed again.

"The Aurora has suffered orbital hull failure. Cause: unknown. Zero human life signs detected."

I cringed a bit. Assuming that the 'Aurora' was the smoldering wreckage I saw earlier, I could understand why there would be no survivors. And yet, I wondered why it felt the need to tell me that. That was just depressing.

Shaking my head to be rid of the negative thoughts, I concentrated on my first objective: gathering materials. I swam down to the seafloor, ignoring the animals as they left me alone, and proceeded to pick up whatever I could find, and shove it into my inventory. I ripped some glowing purple mushrooms from the ground, dug up some crystalline growths, and even picked up some pieces of what appeared to be salt.

Swimming around during the 20-something seconds I could hold my breath for, I found a bunch of pieces of scrap metal on the ground. Probably wreckage that flew away from the Aurora upon impact. They were very heavy, but after some effort I placed them in my inventory. Beneath them I found an outcropping of stone. It looked rather out of place, so I decided to take it with me.

After using a piece of crystal as a scalpel, the rock shattered, revealing an orange metal hidden inside. Maybe copper? Nonetheless, I took it.

"Copper is an essential component to several powered tools. Your chances of survival have increased to 'unlikely, but plausible'."

With a deadpan look plastered on my face, I made my way back to the lifepod.

"Alright," I thought to myself. "The PDA said to use the fabricator. Now… assuming that it's the only piece of machinery that works, how do I use it?"

I stepped closer to the wall-mounted thingamajig, watching it fold out again. Paying more attention, I saw a screen on its right side. There were several icons, with a name popping up whenever my finger hovered over one.

"So… resources, survival, personal, deployables. Well, let's check the 'personal' for now. Maybe the tools are there." I tapped on the respective icon, bringing up two more options. "Equipment or tools… tools for now."

Every single option was greyed out. In frustration, I jabbed the first one. A list of ingredients came up.

"Oh. That's handy. So… a battery and titanium… let's see about making those!" I grinned a bit. At least now I didn't have to be fully blind. I could see what I needed for what I wanted.

After fiddling a bit with the screen, I found out that I could use the wreckage to make some titanium: four pieces, in fact. It was as easy as placing them on the fabricator's table, and pressing the icon.

After a few minutes of work, I had four chunks of raw metal the size of my head sitting in my inventory. The purple mushrooms from before had been combined with a piece of copper to make a battery, and with some titanium that made a scanner.

"The scanner will be a valuable asset in the exploration of your surroundings. Take care of it."

System-compatible resource found. Assimilating…
Resource assimilated. Feature added: Analysis.

You can now gather basic information on a being or item simply by thinking 'Analyze'. To gain more info, you will need to use your scanner.

A wide smile split my face. It was perfect! I didn't need to base myself on guesswork anymore! I could just tell what something was at a glance!

I quickly directed my first analysis at a chunk of titanium.

[Titanium ore (Uncommon material)

-A piece of sturdy metal. Can be used for many different purposes.

-Formula: Ti]

Then the quartz.

[Quartz chunk (Common material)

-Silicium in crystalline form. Has several uses.

-Formula: SiO4]

In a flash of intuition, I pulled out one of the unknown sticks.

[Sulfuric flare (Uncommon tool)

-A disposable light source, useful for attracting certain predators.

-Lasts for 2 hours]

Another recipe available was an oxygen tank, so I used all my remaining titanium to make one. This one took three minutes to make, but it was worth it.

[Standard O2 tank (Uncommon tool)

-Compressed breathable air for hostile environments.

-Contains 15 minutes of air. Self-refilling.]

There wasn't anything else that I could make for the moment, but I was certain that with the scanner and the extra air I would be able to gather many more materials.

I emptied out my inventory, leaving the materials I'd gathered in the lifepod's storage, and then returned to the sea.

Many of the aquatic lifeforms around me finally gained a name, like the Peeper, the Boomerang, and the Bladderfish. The last one was so slow that I was actually able to catch it. I wasn't sure what to do with it, so I shrugged inwardly and shoved it in my inventory.

Taking a good look at one of the stone outcrops revealed that they were also a source of titanium.

[Limestone outcrop (Harvesting node)

-A geological structure that usually forms around metals.

-Can contain: Titanium, Copper]

Beyond that, I finally pushed myself further, gathering more materials. In particular, salvage metals and quartz. As it was common, I had some ideas on how to make a golem with it. The only issue was that I would need a good amount of it.

I also found a deeper zone of the reefs. This zone opened in a series of caves. I wasn't sure how deep they got, considering that as soon as I tried to get in some kind of red fish sprouted out of a plant and barreled straight towards me, exploding just a meter or so away from me.

[-39 HP!]

Needless to say, I retreated quickly to the lifepod to recover.

After some time to recover and plan, I went back out, with all my quartz in tow. I could just find more if needed. To make the golem, all I had to do was place the ingredients together, and imagine the form it should've taken. The first burst of energy left me, pouting into the material and giving it shape. It was still very brittle, though, so I tried to give it more energy. I kept giving, until I hadn't any left, and then waited until I recovered some more to give.

By the time my air reserves were dwindling, the construct wasn't willing to take any more energy. Thus, I finally let go and analyzed my work.

It was humanoid, just a bit taller than I, and several spikes protruded from its shoulders, elbows, and back. Perfectly clear, with only a whitish tint to make it visible. I looked at it with pride, as it stared back at me.

[Name: Quartz golem

LV: 10

HP: 550/550

MP: 300/300

STR: 15

VIT: 30

AGI: 20

DEX: 20

MAG: 5

LUK: 6

Intellect: Primitive]

[Common Golem: Quartz created!]

[Class: Golemancer leveled up *2!]

After recharging my air, I returned to my golem. While it was dumb as a rock - pardon the pun - it was still strong enough to follow me easily and defend me if anything happened. I would need something smarter if I wanted to dig up materials, but for now I would be fine. The golem was smart enough to recognize quartz, and find more for me.

Within two hours, I had a group of three golems awaiting for my orders. Both the creation and the use of my golems had pushed me to level 5. Also, I discovered that direct commands gave me a higher level progression than letting my golems do the same thing. Unfortunately it wasn't exactly easy to give verbal commands underwater.

With the three stooges in tow, I returned to the caves housing the explosive fishes. As soon as one of them came out, I hid behind a golem. It absorbed most of the shock, though I did get a little hurt. Seeing as nothing else seemed to be arriving, I took a look at my current shield.

[HP: 433/550 (+1/sec)

MP: 298/300 (-1/sec)]

"So when damaged they send MP to recover? Hm. How do they recover MP, though?" With theories running through my head, I swam into the cave, my trusty golems following along. Inside the egg-like plant from where the red fish of death had spawned from, was a yellow powder. I carefully poured it in my inventory, careful to not lose it. It was important, as the PDA had stated.

"Sulfur is an essential component of the repair tool."

That was nice, though I had no idea what else I'd need to make it, considering I couldn't find it in the fabricator.

I admired the sunset from the top of the lifepod while munching a nutrient block and sipping on some water. A rather lackluster meal, but better than nothing. All the while, I kept trying to make plans.

"Maybe I should make myself some fins. That would make me a bit faster, which I really need. But where am I going to find the materials for silicone rubber of all things?!" I groaned, holding my face. "Maybe I just need to find some different places. I think I saw some sort of algae forest over to the west. I think it's west, at least. Whatever, it's in the direction opposite to the Aurora."

With my meal over, I retreated in the lifepod and tried to go to sleep. My golems in the meantime were working on gathering as much stuff as they could in a flat spot close to my pod.

At least I could keep increasing my level even in my sleep.

-Day 2 (Tue), Lifepod 5, Daniel's P.O.V.-

I blearily opened my eyes, being greeted by the soft blue of the sky outside of my pod. And a bunch of notifications.

[Class: Golemancer leveled up *6!]

[Skill upgraded: Golem creation (Initiate)]

[New skill acquired: Golemic runes (Novice)]

I grinned. More abilities were always nice to see.

After a bite of my remaining nutrient block, I returned in the water. My eyes immediately fell on the spot I'd told my golems to place the resources they gathered in. The issue? I couldn't even see the spot anymore underneath the pile of things they'd gathered!

I swam closer to the small hill of materials, mesmerized. I almost didn't hear what my PDA said.

"Detecting increased local radiation levels. Trend is consistent with damage to the Aurora's drive core, sustained during planetfall."

That gave me pause. "Radiation? As in, nuclear radiation? WHAT?! Will that kill me?! I need to get out of here, stat!"

Stop freaking out, please. You have some time.

"I- I do? How long?"

Well… let's put it this way.

[New quest: Ticking time bomb

Objective: Fix the Aurora's drive core before the radiation kills you

Time limit: 94:13:07

Hidden objective: ?

Reward: +20 Stat Points, Unlock Job system, new Job.]

"Ninety-four hours… That's a bit less than four days!" I started to freak out again.

That's true. But you will manage, I'm sure. It's not such a complex process.

I took a few deep breaths, trying to control myself. "I… Ok, ok. If you believe in me so much, there must be a reason. I'll go and see what I can do, I suppose."

With that, I returned to looking over the pile of materials. It was mostly scrap metal, copper, acid mushrooms, quartz, and some sulfur. I was surprised, but then again I only told them to find the same things I showed them and to bring them to the spot. Not exactly a 'difficult' job.

How'd I say that stuff, you ask? Let's just say that quartz isn't actually all that heavy. They were just a bit over 50 kilograms, or about 120 pounds if you use that system. Wasn't that difficult to drag them up.

At any rate, I was now able to make golems from uncommon materials, along with enchanting them, so I might as well do that. I had to reduce one of my golems back to its base materials to free up a slot, but I was ok with that. This time, I'd make a bruiser.

Piling up some titanium chunks, I proceeded to create a golem with them.

[Name: Titanium golem

LV: 10

HP: 600/600

MP: 300/300

STR: 31

VIT: 35

DEX: 15

AGI: 15

MAG: 5

LUK: 5

Intellect: Low]

[Uncommon golem: Titanium created!]

I was surprised to see that I hadn't leveled up even once from that, but didn't let it weigh on me too much. I had more to do, so I would get that level anyway.

I was rather happy with the team I had now: one strong bruiser to take the hits, and two smaller ones to run circles around the enemy. Now it was only a matter of the enchanting.

After a quick metal check to see what exactly I could do, I got to work. A soft azure glow emanated from my index finger, converging into a point. WIth that finger, I began to scribble some runes on my golems. The enchantments were simple, but useful in their own simpleness. The titanium golem got a self-repair enchantment, giving it a recovery rate of 1 HP per second without spending MP. The quartz golems, instead, both got Speed-up enchantments, gaining 5 points in AGI and DEX.

[Class: Golemancer leveled up!]

With my preparations done, the next step would be to explore the Aurora and see what I could do there.

My golems following along on the seafloor, the bulkier titanium flanked by the faster quartzes, I swam in the direction of the Aurora. Just as the landscape changed to a more desert-like look, the PDA piped up, and this time I felt my blood freeze.

"Detecting multiple Leviathan-class lifeforms in the region. Are you certain whatever you're doing is worth it?"

In the distance, just for a moment, a figure flashed into sight. It was monstrously big, easily dwarfing the size of a whale. And horrifyingly fast. I barely had the mental capacity to Analyze it before it disappeared.

[Name: Reaper Leviathan
LV: ?
HP: ?
MP: ?

STR: ?
VIT: ?
AGI: ?
DEX: ?
MAG: ?
LUK: ?

Threat level: Extreme - Avoid on all circumstances]

Well then. The story has begun anew, and as you can tell? Things will be very different this time around. Here's hoping that this story will go better than the previous one, ey?

Since I have no reviews to answer here, I'll take this chance to thank the people over at Shiro's discord server for helping me hash out the details on this story, and also to thank you for reading!

And with this, that's all the time we have! But I'll see you beautiful sons of guns again next time!

-Xeno out!