Archie stared at the ceiling of his cave, just waking up from atop the impossibly soft bed he ‘rightfully earned’ from the Profession dungeon.
Opening his status page, he read:
Archie Gracefield
Race: Human F-Grade Lv 46
Class: Warrior Lv 49 [Evolution Pending]
Profession: Shaman Lv 39
Health: 2068/2068
Mana: 650/650
Stamina: 1228/1228
Stats:
Vitality: 197(206)
Strength: 197(216)
Endurance: 117(122)
Agility: 157(164)
Intelligence: 157
Wisdom: 65
Willpower: 65
Perception: 140
Free Points: 15
Skills:
Basic One-Handed Weapon Mastery (Uncommon)
Basic Light-Shield Mastery (Common)
Identify (Initiate)
Savage Charge (Rare)
Adrenaline Rush (Epic)
Warrior's Resilience (Rare)
Nature's Meditation (Epic)
Mana Manipulation (Uncommon)
Spirit Link (Epic)
Effigy-Carving (Common)
Material Insight (Uncommon)
Retaliation (Uncommon)
Hex of Enfeeblement (Uncommon)
Unstable Consecutive Strikes (Rare)
Taunt (Uncommon)
Shatter Spirit (Common)
Basic Martial Combat Mastery (Uncommon)
Thorns (Uncommon)
Bloodline:
Adrenaline Junkie (Unique) [+5% to Strength and +5% to Willpower]
Affinity:
Greater Nature Affinity (Epic)
Blessing:
Blessing of the Forgefather (Moderate) [+5% to Strength and +5% to Endurance]
Titles Collected:
Bloodline Progenitor [+10 Vitality and +5% Vitality]
Tutorial Points:
10,684
Getting up from the bed, Archie stored it away in his spatial ring and made his way outside the cave and out into the Highlands Forest.
After clearing another section of the forest, Archie got to work on making more effigies.
“I should get rid of all the Initiate rarity effigies and replace them all with Common ones. Definitely should make more health effigies, instantaneous health would be great when I find that tortoise.” Archie reasoned to himself while grabbing a log and taking out his carving knife.
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Archie dumped the Initiate quality effigies that remained in his spatial ring to his left side and filled the spatial ring back up with the pile of Common rarity effigies on his right.
Now his spatial ring was filled with: 10x Effigy of Health (Uncommon), 10x Effigy of Healing (Common), 8x Effigy of Wrath (Uncommon), 5x Effigy of Endurance (Common), 3x Effigy of Stealth (Common), 1x Effigy of Harm (Common), 1x Voodoo Doll of Harm (Uncommon) – Filled, 1x Imbued Twig Doll (Common) – Filled, 1x Effigy of Mana Regeneration (Initiate), 1x Effigy of Magic Power (Common), 1x Dagger, 1x Iron Broadsword & sheathe (Common), 1x Staff of Nature (Epic), 1x Broken Plated Chain-mail Chest Piece (Common), 1x Silver Carving Knife (Uncommon), 1x Sigil Ridden Desk (Common), 1x Sigil Ridden Chair (Common), 1x Sigil Ridden Bed (Uncommon), 1x Soul Crystal (Epic) – Empty, 2x Sigil Ridden Book (Rare), 9x Empty Potion Bottles and 10x Ice Hooves.
Needless to say, the spatial ring was full.
Looking at the system notifications he ignored, he saw:
*Your Profession has reached Lv 40 – Points allocated, +1 Free Point*
***
*Your Profession has reached Lv 45 – Points allocated, +1 Free Point*
*Your Race has reached Lv 47 – Points allocated, +1 Free Point*
*Your Race has reached Lv 48 – Points allocated, +1 Free Point*
*Shaman profession skills available. Choose one of the options*
[Hex of Weakness (Common)]: The shaman calls upon the spirits to drain an enemy’s strength, weakening their attack. The weakening of the attack is proportional to the mana you use when casting the hex.
[Hum of the Wild (Common)]: By attuning their senses to the rhythms of nature, the shaman becomes aware of nearby fauna. This awareness allows them to better understand the habits of creatures in their surroundings. Maximum distance: Per/2.
[Connection with Fauna (Common)]: The shaman’s bond with wildlife allows them to soothe animals, making them easier to handle and more responsive.
[Floral Extraction (Initiate)]: When imbuing a plant with nature-attuned mana, the shaman can collect components of said plant without causing harm to the plant. This method both preserves the health and fosters future growth of the plant. Grants insight of plants around you.
[Imbue Soil (Common)]: When imbuing soil with an infusion of both spirits and nature-attuned mana, the shaman increases the quantity and quality of the plants raised in that particular area. This enhances growth and also increases the quality of the crops.
“Let's see... I can ignore Imbue Soil, Connection with Fauna, and Hex of Weakness due to them being useless to me at the moment. Thus, leaving me with Flora Extraction and Hum of the Wild… Both are very useful, one for gathering materials and the other for detecting animals around me.” Archie spoke while analyzing his options.
Clicking his tongue, Archie took out his dagger and tossed it high into the air.
If it lands on its tip I take Flora Extraction, else I take Hum of the Wild. Archie thought as the dagger reached its apex. Was a bit more in favor of Hum of the Wild? Most definitely, but Archie didn't really know a better way to see which was better as his throwing skills had much to be desired.
A few seconds later the dagger dug into the ground, the blade of the dagger facing the sky.
Picking up his dagger and placing it in his spatial ring, Archie selected Hum of the Wild.
“Only four levels until I max out my profession and one level until I max out my race,” Archie smiled.
“I guess if I try to make a few effigies of mana regeneration, I should be able to quickly gain those levels.” Archie reasoned to himself while taking out both the Effigy of Mana Regeneration and his silver carving knife from his spatial ring.
After carving out a Moonglow miniature, Archie then activated Nature's Meditation, concentrating on the feeling he felt when his mana pools regenerated.
While meditating, Archie felt both his stamina and mana reserves begin to fill. At the same time, he focused on the sensation of his mana regenerating, concentrating on how the ambient mana around him flowed through him.
Archie felt ambient mana start to enter his body through his pores, circulate within his body, and flow into his core. But when circulating the mana within his body, he felt something he hadn’t felt before.
Hmm… What’s this? Archie questioned.
Upon prodding it with a string of mana, he felt something akin to a muscle twitching on the back of his head.
Archie prodded it again, but nothing else happened other than the back of his head twitching.
Archie exited Nature’s Meditation and muttered, “What the hell was that?” Confusion was evident on his face. He'd never felt that before in his body whenever he circulated mana throughout his body when using Nature's Meditation.
Getting an idea, Archie activated Spirit Link, now able to see both the lesser nature and elemental spirits around him.
But he also noticed something else: in the center of his chest, there was an orb the size of his fist. This orb itself is composed of two colors: molten red and vibrant green. The two colors swirled and shifted within the orb like oil and water, never merging but instead maintaining their respective colors.
Archie decided to tug at it, the same way he manipulated the spirits around him.
At the same moment, he tugged at the core, the world around him dissolved into nothingness—every color drained in an instant.
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At the same moment, he tugged at the core, the world around him dissolved into nothingness—every color drained in an instant.
Then, just as swiftly as the emptiness swallowed him, vibrant hues burst back into existence. Archie blinked, disoriented, now sitting on the forest floor. But this wasn’t the Hoarfrost Highland’s snowy forest or the dungeon oak forest, it was something else entirely.
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The trees looked like normal oak trees, with brown logs, and green leaves, yet an unsettling sensation clung to them. Even the grass around him felt…off.
Archie touched a blade of grass, but it felt the same as what a normal blade of grass felt like. I can’t place my finger on it, but something feels off about this forest, Archie thought as he got up from the ground.
He then started to walk through the forest, intent on trying to find out where he was. He knew how he got here; he tried manipulating the orb in his chest with Soul Link.
Suddenly Archie stopped and said, “Did I accidentally try to manipulate my soul and die?”
Archie then started to pinch his stomach, which caused him some pain. “Okay, I still feel pain, so I guess I’m still alive.” He analyzed
“What are you doing here?” A loud voice boomed behind him, causing Archie to flinch and goosebumps to flare across his body.
Quickly turning around, Archie saw a large, masculine-shaped being towering over him. The being looked to be a fusion of both wood and fire. Its body was made out of dark, gnarled wood, cracked and seeping with glowing veins that pulsed like embers beneath charred bark. Thick patches of moss clung to its limbs, and tufts of grass sprouted from its shoulders, as though the forest had grown into and become one with it.
The being’s head was crowned with twisted, root-like horns, burning with fiery fissures running along their length. A wild, flowing beard of silver cascaded down to its chest, shifting gently like an ancient river of hair. In its eye sockets were two glowing orbs that burned like lit coals, flickering with deep reds and oranges.
Identifying the being, Archie was met with a similar response when he tried to Identify Thalindra.
[?]
Gathering his wits, Archie said, “I don’t know. I just randomly got sent here when I tested something.” Before asking, “Who are you?”
“I am Bralmir. I will ask again; how did you get inside my domain?” Bralmir both responded and asked, his voice resounding throughout the forest.
“You’re that guy who gave me a blessing!” Archie shouted, and in response, he got a nod from Bralmir as well as an expression that said, ‘and?’
“When I activated my Soul Link skill, I saw this red and green orb in the middle of my chest for the first time and tugged at it. Then, I found myself here in this place.” Archie continued
“Hmm…not once did you think, ‘Would it be a good idea to manipulate something that shined within your body when activating Soul Link?’” Bralmir said with a condescending tone.
Behind the mask, Archie’s face gained an embarrassed expression. Scratching the back of his head he said, “I…uh…forgot about that. It’s just that, I hadn’t seen it before the past few times, I used Soul Link so I got curious.”
“So, what now?” Archie questioned.
“You, leave now,” Bralmir responded with annoyance lacing his tone
“How?” Archie asked confusedly
Bralmir’s brows furrowed as a sudden flash of red filled Archie’s vision, causing him to close his eyes due to the brightness of the color.
After a few seconds, Archie opened his eyes to see nothing changed, he was still stuck in the weird forest with a giant talking tree god...person.
“Hmm…I am not sure. I personally cannot send you away…the system forbids it.” Bralmir spoke while rubbing his chin, just as confused as Archie. "I assume until Soul Link ends, you are stuck here."
After what felt like an eternity of uncomfortable silence, Archie tried to break the ice by saying, “So, I guess I’m stuck here with you then. You’re a smith, right? Got anything cool?”
Bralmir released a tuft of smoke from his mouth before shrugging, and turning around, “Follow me.”
Archie followed Bralmir deep into the forest, along the path Archie found many empty glass bottles sprawled around the forest, and not the potion kind. “So, what’s the deal with this forest? Why does it feel so weird?” Archie asked, hoping to start a new… non-awkward conversation.
“Hmm? You could sense that? It seems that you told Thanlindra the truth,” Bralmir commented while turning back to look at Archie. “I assumed you had lied about your Affinity, but I was wrong it seems.”
“Why would I lie? My affinity says, ‘Greater Nature Affinity (Epic)’.” Archie stated, confused as to why Bralmir assumed he was lying. After hearing Archie’s answer, Bralmir paused momentarily, releasing yet another tuft of smoke from his mouth.
“...Right. I keep forgetting you are a newly initiated human. You don’t know the dos and don’ts of the multiverse yet.” Bralmir answered as though that should have answered Archie’s question. As though he could see through Archie’s mask, he exhaled and said, “You should never tell anyone you don’t trust fully with either your stats, affinity, or blessing. It’s a private matter.”
“Oh. So, I guess skills, bloodline, and title are fine then?” Archie asked, trying to gather more information about the multiverse from him.
Suddenly Bralmir stopped, he then turned around to face Archie and stared at him intensely. “You have a bloodline?” he asked Archie
“Yeah, doesn’t everyone? I assume everyone gets one when they find something to trigger it.” Archie answered. “But, looking at your expression, I assume not.”
“You are correct. Most denizens of the multiverse do not have a bloodline, only one in a hundred trillion do. The bloodline section of your status page only appears when you unlock yours.” Bralmir answered then added, “Never tell anyone about it, unless you trust them with your life. It matters not if it only provides bonuses, cosmetic effects, or even a curse, bad things happen to those with a bloodline and no strength to protect themselves. I tell you this as both a bloodline holder and as your now patron.”
Turning back around and continuing to walk deeper into the forest, Bralmir then said, “Titles and skills are fine to tell in a sense, but I assume you know to keep the private ones private.”
Nodding, Archie then asked once more, “So why does the forest feel off?” as he looked around the forest, intent on finding out what caused it to feel off.
“I created this forest from metal and imbued it with nature spirits granting life to everything,” Bralmir said nonchalantly while looking around the forest.
“Y-You created life? You made normal metal alive?” Archie shouted with his eyes wide, and jaw dropped. “Do they transform or are they like normal trees?”
“Yes, they function and act as normal trees. It was a bit finicky, but they were interesting to forge in my youth.” Bralmir answered while rubbing the side of his head as though he was trying to soothe a headache.
Archie felt as though his brain did a factory reset and continued to walk beside Bralmir, when all of a sudden, the forest in front of him vanished, and he was greeted with what looked to be an impossibly large armory.
Along the walls were various weapons and armors that eclipsed every fantasy-esc design he had ever seen. The weapons ranged from daggers to hammers, and their sizes ranged from as small as a finger to as large as ten times his size. The various armors that filled the impossibly large armory were also in similar sizes and came in various shapes, not just the standard human physique; some were shaped for what he assumed to be giants while others looked to be for hounds and other four-legged beasts.
Archie went wide-eyed looking at them all, “Wow! This is just…wow!” was all Archie could mutter while trying to take them all in. He did not even attempt to Identify them; he instinctively knew that everything in the room was well above his own grade.
“Are you done looking around?” Bralmir asked, breaking Archie from his astonishment.
“You made all of these?” Archie asked, gesturing with his arms at the weapons and armors adorning the impossibly large room.
“Yes, I made them in my youth, before I became a god,” Bralmir answered while summoning a large sofa behind him and sitting in it. At the same time a bottle of what Archie assumed to be beer appeared in Bralmir’s hands.
“So, how does one become a god? What even is a god?” Archie asked while staring at the now-sitting Bralmir.
“A god is someone who surpasses S-Grade and gains immortality. Just keep leveling and doing what you have been doing so far and don’t stop. The Journey to godhood is like forging metal—rush it, and it becomes brittle; take too long, and it shatters. You are metal, go at your pace, think not of the pace of others.” Bralmir replied after taking a swig from his bottle.
“Is the Journey to godhood the same as what the system meant by Journey?” Archie questioned, still confused as to what the system aspect meant. “Or is the Journey something else?”
“Both,” Bralmir said before taking another swing from his bottle. “A being undergoes two journeys throughout their existence, the first of which is the journey to reach godhood and once they’ve reached godhood they begin the second journey. Right now, like every other mortal, you’re on your journey to reach godhood. Where everything you have done and everything you have accomplished paves the road that you walk on throughout your journey.”
“Looks like I have a long road to pave for myself.” Archie joked, getting a small smile from Bralmir, before asking another question; “Is giving a blessing an important thing for a god?”
Nonchalantly waving his hand, Bralmir said, “As a god, I can hand out thousands of blessings like nothing. However, when a god hands their blessings to a being and said being does something of recognition from the system, the god also benefits from said being’s achievement.”
“What prompted you to give me your blessing?” Archie asked, getting to his main question.
Exhaling from his nose, Bralmir patted the seat on the sofa next to him, inviting Archie to sit down. Taking the hint, Archie leaped onto the giant sofa and sat near its edge, beside Bralmir.
“The orb you shattered, while it gave me the information Thalindra had collected from within the dungeon, it allowed me to listen to my daughter's voice once more,” Bralmir answered, as a somber mood now filled the armory. "And I thank you for that blessing."
“I’m sorry for your loss,” Archie said as he tried to put his left hand on the side of Bralmir’s giant right arm, but an invisible force prevented him from patting his arm.
Bralmir turned to face Archie and said, “Thank you for your words… I apologize for acting standoffish, I haven’t spoken with others in a long time.” A soft expression painted his face.
“I won’t say I understand what you’re feeling, but I know how it feels to lose family. I lost my best friend… someone I thought of as my brother. I refused to speak to anyone other than family for years…I still think about him to this day.” Archie confided to Bralmir, who gained a look of understanding.
Glowing motes of light started to flake from Archie, causing him to say, “I guess, this is a sign of me going back.”
“So, it is… Archie, if you need anything, just mention my name and I’ll answer.” Bralmir said as he observed Archie start to turn into motes of light.
“A god thing I suppose?” Archie chuckled with a smile growing on his face, but an answer did not come due to his vanishing from Bralmir’s armory, leaving behind small golden motes in his place.
Looking at where Archie vanished, for the first time in many cycles, a smile grew on Bralmir’s face, “Yeah.”