Luke found himself against a cave wall, pinned down by two goblins.
His only comfort was his fearless crow-pal, Sooty, trying to distract the things as best she could. There was only so much a regular crow could do in this situation.
Unfortunately for Luke, all he had at hand was some modern clothes and his fists. No weapons or people were around. Who plops a person in front of two furious monsters anyway?
Luke tried to avoid two rough swings from the goblins. Sooty pecked one in the eye at the last second, making its swing miss. The other, however, caught him directly in the stomach. He knew skipping those days at the gym would come back to bite him. Luke didn't think it would be like this.
That strike brought him to his knees. But the adrenaline was finally kicking in. Forcing down the pain, Luke looked at the two creatures, green, ugly as sin and about the size of a large child.
Luke's dormant survival instincts resurfaced in the heat of the moment. Seizing the opportunity, he threw a swift punch to the nearest goblin. Too busy gloating to itself about its previous hit on Luke, the goblin let its guard down, not defending against his quick counterattack. Capitalizing on the goblin's disorientation and the other goblin trying its hardest to strike Sooty, Luke swiftly rolled away to reposition himself.
With his heart roaring furiously, Luke yelled, "Let's go, Sooty!"
Caw!
Sooty flew back to Luke, who staggered as he got up. He took off, running in the direction of the cave with light. He took some turns, not noting where he ended up. A few minutes later, the roars of the goblins grew quiet. Luke had lost them and wasn't being followed any longer.
But he had no idea where he was.
"Better than being clubbed to death. How did I end up in a cave with monsters?" Luke whispered to himself and Sooty.
Something had been flashing in the corner of his vision for a while now, but he had no time for that earlier. Angry goblins and all, you know? Catching his breath, Luke focused on a flashing silver circle icon. A few silver screens began popping up.
[Welcome, last transfer of Earth.]
[Searching for compatible classes.]
[Available Classes: Herbalist, Beggar, ???]
"What sort of choices are these? And why are there screens in my vision? Is that normal?" Luke grumbled.
It was simple enough: choose a class. The issue is Luke figured neither the Herbalist nor Beggar class would help him get out of this place. Even if he was lucky and found a way out without any other overly angry creatures trying to kill him, what if the next area was no better?
Luke was stuck between the two, not liking either choice much. As for the last option, "???" he couldn't bring himself to risk it all on something with no information. Then again, being a Herbalist sounded pretty good. It couldn't be any worse than Beggar, could it? Luke chose Herbalist. With a spark of nostalgia, he remembered black lotus from a game he played as a small child. The herb was too rare in that time-suck of a game. So why not pick Herbalist and grow a black lotus now? Luke always enjoyed gardening either way.
As his finger was about to select Herbalist, Sooty thought they were about to play and pecked his finger, causing him to pick "???".
"Ah, Sooty! No!" Luke became distressed.
["???" has been chosen. Loading Interface]
[Class Interface]
Class: Essence Reaver
Tier: 0
Level: 1
HP: 0
Stats: Agility: 0 Strength: 0 Intellect: 0
Special Stats: None
Active Skills (1/5): Infusion
Passive Skills 0/3: None
Resource: 100 Essence 10/s Regen
[Equipment]
[Inventory]
"Son of a…"
Luke couldn't help but glare for a second at his feathered friend, but on second thought, it was for the best. A herbalist would have a hard time down in caves either way. Still…
Zero? On EVERYTHING? How does someone even have zero HP? How in the world did he survive that strike from the goblin, then? Even though Luke wasn't an expert, he knew he was off to a rough start. And that was being optimistic. He had to keep back some four-letter words from slipping out. Remain in control, that’s how you survive, at least, according to the army.
"Calm down, calm down," Luke said as a mantra to himself.
His situation had too many unknowns. And part of him was still in shock from the rapid change in circumstances. What did he know for sure? His only friend in the past year, Sooty, was in this strange cave with him, and an Interface was now part of him.
Luke chose to learn more. He re-examined his Interface. First, he picked Inventory. A few slots came up, showing ten squares. There was a bar for money at the bottom, with zeros next to three symbols of coins. Luke touched Sooty and tried to see if he could put her in a slot. There was a feeling of rejection, and one annoyed crow was pecking at his fingers.
Next, he took a small rock and tried to put it in. The rock went in, showing a stone icon with an x1 on it. He took another rock and repeated the action; the number increased to two. Then, he focused on the rock icon, and a tooltip emerged.
[Rock]
It's a rock. What else did you expect?
Moving on, Luke looked at his surroundings. A faint glow came from the top of the cave; blue roots were spiraling everywhere he could see. At least, he could be grateful for that. Even if his eyes had difficulty adjusting, the light was enough to see a few feet in front of him. The cave around him was a dead end behind him and only had two connecting caves in front. He was half sure he came from the one to his right.
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Luke glanced over at Equipment next. Another panel, with him at the center, showed a dirty-faced young man with black hair and blue eyes in a t-shirt, jeans, and gym shoes. The panel brought up had three slots filled, each being an icon of the clothes he had on. Taking his attention to each one, there was a small description.
[Old Gym Shoes]
Armor: 0
Stats: 0
Sturdy enough to protect your feet from the bare floor.
Luke had his eyebrows twitch a bit in annoyance. He looked over at the other two filled slots, but the situation for both was roughly the same. The Inventory was valuable, with its free storage. Equipment only helped him a little for now. The last hope for him was under abilities. Luke inspected Infusion, his only skill.
[Infusion]
Infuse Reaver essence onto yourself, an ally, or your weapon. Increases damage and speed by 10% for the next strike. Has a 3% chance of permanently stealing one stat point from an enemy once struck. Non-stackable. Cost: 20 Essence
Cooldown: 15 Seconds.
This was like a light at the end of the tunnel for Luke. Or, in this case, cave. Finally, something that could help. It wasn't much, but it was far from useless. Immediately, Luke got to work, testing out the ability.
There was a minor drain on his energy, and a dim silver glow emanated from his hands. The feeling of extra strength, a small siphon effect, was on his fists. Seeing if there was anything around, Luke swung at the stone wall and immediately regretted it. His fist pulsed with pain, but not as much as you'd think for smashing your fist against the cave wall.
Sooty gave a suppressed rattle, watching Luke; the two had been together long enough for him to know Sooty had laughed at him. Luke couldn't help but smile. Admittedly, to use his fist against stone was a stupid idea.
But it was worthwhile.
First, the energy gave a slight boost to power. When applied to Luke's fist, it had some siphoning feeling and a blunting effect. A slight defensive increase could be key in the future. Waiting a few more seconds, Luke used Infusion again, but this time, he had his palm on a rock he took out of the Inventory. With a bit of concentration, the silver glow went onto the stone. Not daring to make so much noise continually, Luke decided to wait again for Infusion's cooldown. Testing one last thing, he put Infusion on Sooty. Unlike the previous two times, the crow didn't seem any different. Still, Luke could feel that energy from within him transferring over.
"That seems to work."
Resting until that energy felt recovered, Luke decided to move from where he was, taking a direction away from the goblins. The roots with blue light, unfortunately, became fewer this way. He'd have to deal with it for now. Using the limited visibility, Luke made his way further into the cave, or hopefully further out of the cave. He had no idea, after all. A few minutes after a tense walk, Luke came upon an underground pond while using non-existent sneaking skills. The roots were more condensed here, with some creeping into the water.
"Sooty, what do you think? Safe to drink?" Luke asked his bird friend.
The crow peered over at the water, jumped off Luke's shoulder, and landed. A few cautious hops later, the crow took some sips of water. A rush of water soon came after, and a fish with sharp teeth popped out, trying to take a bite out of Sooty. Sooty flapped her wings a few times and managed to fly above the fish, avoiding becoming dinner on her first day in this new place. Luke jolted into action, taking out the earlier stone and throwing it at the fish. The rock smashed into the fish from the side, getting it out of the range of the water, causing the fish to flop around.
Suppressing the shock of a sudden fight, Luke took out the other rock, used Infusion, and had the rock smash into the fish again. The second rock took the fish even further from the pond's water. Sooty pecked over at the injured scales of the fish, getting it to bleed a moderate amount. Luke was already alone enough as it was and wouldn't let a damn fish take Sooty from him. He ran up and, with no better solution, kicked the fish away from the water.
Sooty was about to continue over, but Luke got in front of her. "Let it flop around, Sooty. I can't risk you again, pal."
Thinking it was stupid to let Sooty over to the pond herself, he began to scold his decision. Why didn't he throw one of the rocks into the water first? Speaking of rocks, Luke glanced at the floor. A few loose stones were around. He gathered what he could and took ten or so. They showed up in a stack of ten in his Inventory. The flops of the fish were getting slower. Taking one of the rocks he gathered, Luke threw it as hard as possible. Luckily, the rock landed near where his second rock struck and where Sooty had pecked at.
Sometime later, the fish stopped moving.
"Who would've thought fighting a fish could be this stressful?"
Infusion did have a clear improvement when he would use the ability on an attack, but there hadn't been any gain of stats so far. The tooltip wasn't lying when it said a 3% chance. Luke walked up to the fish and touched it. A golden glow burst through as he did, and he looted two items. The first was simply the fish, and the second was more unexpected, a compass called Wayfinder.
[Wayfinder]
Level: 1
Quality: Artifact
Stats: None
Devil's Needle: Guides user to what they seek. Sometimes.
Cooldown: 7 Days
A sentient compass awakened from its centuries-long fish nap.
Luke didn't like what the flavor text implied but brought the compass out anyway. The compass vibrated, and a voice, full of accent, emanated out.
"Finally, let me out, did you? How long were you planning to gawk at me like I'm some pretty lass? First, you snatch me away from me fishy matey, then you dump me in your Inventory. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to befriend a fish when you can not so much as twitch?"
Luke didn't talk to anything other than Sooty, especially something not human. It had been a year since his dad also vanished, with him being the last person he spoke to.
He froze momentarily and replied, "Sorry, I could let you go?"
"Let me go where? No chance, pal. It's you, me, and that feathered clatter trap over there, wandering in this godforsaken hole. I'm Wayfinder, the numbered artifact. Listen, lad, you better start shifting to somewhere else. Sitting about in this place is asking for trouble."
Confusion from finding a sentient compass made Luke shrink back. He was only trying to help Sooty. How was he going to know a talking item was with that fish?
"I don't even know where we are," Luke countered.
"Lost, are you? What're you holding me for then, a paperweight? For both our sakes, trigger me ability and get going. This loch's a magnet for all sorts of beasties. It's a blinking miracle there ain't one gnawing at us right this second."
Speaking with a compass was a new experience for Luke; if what it said was true, then leaving the pond was a priority. Luke went over to the pond and scooped up some water to drink. He was the type to prepare where possible.
Wherever this compass took him, he'd need to know the way back to this pond. Sooty landed on Luke's shoulder and let out a loud caw. Luke took it as her being proud of taking down the fish. The next moment, he activated Wayfinder's ability, and the compass needle spun erratically before settling in a specific direction.
"Alrighty, me new lost friend, follow where I'm pointing. I wouldn't want us ending up in the stomach of some other beastie," Wayfinder said.
Using his hands, Luke scooped up the water a few times, having it enter his Inventory. The lost young man followed the compass, weaving through a set of tunnels. As he wondered if Wayfinder had led him to nowhere, the compass needle jittered and abruptly stopped.
"Here we are, lad. The moment of truth."
Before Luke stood a massive, sealed stone door covered in ancient runes. "What is this place?" Luke mumbled, amazed yet apprehensive.
"It's a quest you're after, is it? This monstrosity before us is no less than a Door of Trials. Aye, it'll swing wide for anyone keen on meeting their maker," Wayfinder said.
Luke didn't remember wanting a quest at all. He didn't even know you could get a quest. He became confused, but this talking compass sure was convincing. Then he thought again.
"I wanted out of this cave, not some quest or door that hides god knows what," Luke whispered to the compass.
"Don't you get it? Going up is like asking for a beastie to gobble you whole. Your only shot is down, so quit your belly achin'." Wayfinder opened his clasp, "You'll have to trust me, lad. This cave is dangerous for the likes of you. The only path to staying alive is through this door."
Feeling like he might regret this, Luke gave it a shot. He had no chance against those two goblins he ran from the other way; this couldn't be a worse choice in that case. Luke examined the door, spotting a hand-shaped indentation. "My hand goes here then?"
"Aye, if you've got the guts and the will," Wayfinder responded.
Taking a deep breath, Luke placed his hand into the indentation. Suddenly, the runes lit up, and the door slowly creaked open. An intense, cold wind gushed out from beyond the entrance, carrying the scent of ancient decay.
Luke felt his interface ping a new quest: [Explore the Reavers Tomb: ???/???, Reward: ???]
"Looks like you've got your hands full now," Wayfinder said. "Best prepare yourself, for whatever's in there won't be greeting us with tea and biscuits."