A magic circle? But there is no luster of mana fluctuation. I feel nothing. And these symbols... This is not the language that I know. A random drawing? A random drawing in a mostly empty ancient book, in a golden chest inlaid with countless precious stones, in a peculiar granite cavern infested by clergy of giant earthworms...Well, now that's as odd as it could ever get. It sounds so fantastic that it doesn't even fit this world's sword and magic setting!
Not recognizing some symbols was expected. He was still barely adept at magic. But to be unable to comprehend a single one could only mean two things. First, these were random squiggles. They meant nothing. A badly crafted joke. And second...
A different language... One that is so ancient that it has been long since lost in the annals of this world's history. I bet this book is precious from an archeological perspective. It is a great discovery. But what does this have to do with me? I don't even need it. It only makes me a huechero! A looter of archeological objects. A target for the jail. Fuck! These tiny symbols look so creepy...
Like a swarm of countless ants, each symbol had a particular position. Yet, perhaps only the swarm's queen could understand and comprehend the hidden meaning. The ink was black and thick. It gave the scent of blood and even now felt somewhat fresh. As if the mark was left a second prior and the parchment struggled to absorb it. It was bizarre and funny horrifying. It made Midnight squeeze his eyes and tilt his head as he glared at the page.
Suddenly a squiggle moved. Before he could react, like tidal waves, the symbols meshed together and jumped beyond the parchment.
Damn it!
He threw the book away and stumbled to his feet but it was late. In just a second, the letter traveled through his fingers, and crawled above his shoulder, beyond his collarbone and neck. They bypassed his jawline, climbed his cheeks, and drilled inside his eyes.
"Argh..."
When the ink penetrated through his pupils, he felt a burning pain. The 'liquid' swirled in his eyeballs and he lost his vision. Crying out in pain, he staggered, tripped, and stumbled to the ground.
Wh..what is going on? A curse? Am I that unlucky? Wasn't I immune to-
Bang
"Arghh arh ah argh..."
The ink burned through his retinas and infused his optic nerves. He groaned and struggled rolling on the ground. The sensation of the symbols creeping upward was excruciating. It was as if melted lava had entered his eyes. It made him twitch and curl up into a fetal pose.
The symbols traveled to his brain and lodged themselves inside. However, there was no place for them. They began to trash between his neurons. Attempting to forcefully create the space.
His head swelled. He felt a headache he had never felt before. Writhing on the ground in agony, he couldn't even think. His mouth hung open and he gasped for breath. Saliva, snot, and tears involuntarily burst out and flowed down his pale face. They dripped toward the ground and mixed with the muddy hay.
"Argh ag atgh ahw ww..."
He fell into a shock. His body spasmed, convulsed, and twitched unstoppable. It was too painful. So painful that he couldn't breathe.
He lost his senses. He saw darkness. He couldn't smell the moldy hay. He lost the pitter-patter of the rain. He couldn't hear his own ear-piercing grones and screeches. He couldn't feel the sweat dripping down his body. He couldn't feel the prickly ground. He didn't know his mouth was open, full of mud and liquids. He couldn't hear the system's voice, nor see the flashing windows.
On Earth, his game pod shone. His vitals jumped beyond the normal levels and entered in the red zone. His heartbeat sped up and became erratic. Copious amounts of blood traversed his arteries and veins as they popped up visible beneath his skin. His blood pressure rose above two hundred. His eyes moved frantically beneath their eyelids. His muscles spasmed and his face distorted in a grimace.
Something was changing. The symbols shook. They broke parts of his neuronal connections and began to forge a different path. They expanded and contracted in an attempt to wreak havoc inside his head.
Bang
He fainted
|System Alert:
Your psyche is experiencing an anomaly. Your body is affected. Your vitals are heavily disturbed. A log-out is recommended.|
When he came to his senses he wasn't in the shack. The room was endless, white, and peaceful.
"Wh..What..happened? Ugh..."
He felt a headache and nearly vomited. His thoughts were scattered and confused. He wasn't a stranger to these feelings. Whenever he experienced a bout of his disorder and fell asleep, he woke up feeling similar. With great proficiency, he began to sort the fragments of his memory.
Still dazed he looked around and found himself sitting on a chair. It was a magnificent chair at the edge of a rectangular table. It was a seat of honor that he quickly recognized. He had seen it once before.
"The Primordial Space... Why am I even here? I...I was assaulted... Yes, the strange symbols. Something happened and they entered in my head. The fuck was that..."
|System Alert:
Your psyche is experiencing an anomaly. Your body is affected. Your vitals are heavily disturbed. A log-out is recommended.|
He noticed the translucent window and the final bits and pieces of the puzzle found their place.
"The extreme pain knocked me out unconscious. Precautions of the system? When you can't bear the mental shock you are moved inside this space?"
He looked around the room and shivered. Even with his fragmented memory, the experience was awful. He didn't even want to think about it. It couldn't be compared to the injuries he had endured before. And now was the time to mention that he had his fair share of hardships in the past two weeks. No, even earlier, before Euclex began.
His hand hovered in the air and he parted lips to speak but shut them close. He couldn't choose to log out before he understood what happened.
The AI must be 'looking'. I have the right to know.
With a thought, he glared in the air and spoke through gritted teeth, "What is going on? I know that you can hear me. I demand an explanation."
Ping
|You tried to learn a special skill.|
Unsurprisingly a window popped up. The message was emotionless and short.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
"Bullshit! As if the initiative was mine. That thing assaulted me! Anyway, this is not an answer. What exactly is that skill? I need to know the name and grade at least."
|Akashic Forge. The Grade is eX.|
"Akashic Forge... Akashic Forge..." Mumbling softly, his eyes lit up.
The AI didn't elaborate on the effects, but the name alone meant something. Wasn't this the perfect skill for him? A skill that was hand-made for an aspiring young craftsman.
Akashic Forge. The word Forge has different meanings. One is to create a metal object, using a furnace and a hammer. The other is the blacksmith's workshop. Well, it can also substitute for the furnace itself, and it has the negative meaning of creating a fraudulent object. Anyway, three out of four are crafts-related. If it is the former, it will boost my crafting skills. The latter will solve my problem of renting out a smithy. I can save on coins!
He felt excited and quickly verified the most important question.
"Did I get the skill?"
|No.|
"..."
The answer came too quickly and was ruthless. It left him speechless for a moment. The fact that the AI didn't say another word only made it much more difficult to stomach. He hadn't suffered all that pain to simply give up. Thus, he asked again, "Why? Because I lost consciousness too early?"
|Yes.|
"Then, tell me how to get the skill!"
|Decline the log-out and persist until the end.|
"What will happen if I log out now? Can I try again?"
|No. The book will be lost forever. Irredeemably.|
It will be lost forever... Irredeemably...
He pursed his lips exasperated. If that were to happen then what about all his hurdles up till now? His exploration, his experience inside the narrow tunnel, being chased by Gnolls, the pain he bore through despite losing consciousness somewhere in the middle. Everything would come to waste. It was absolutely unacceptable!
He thought for a second and decided to confirm a thing. It wasn't every day when the AI personally came to answer questions.
"What is eX Grade? I can't remember hearing of this before..."
|A grade above the current system. Something of the distant past.|
Another vague explanation. Whatever. It is very high. I doubt a random common skill can cause such heavy side effects. Besides, this is a really special skill. Normal skill books need to be slowly read and comprehended. They don't jump inside your brain and disappear if you fail to understand them...
"Fine. Then, I decline to log off. Send me back."
This time the AI took its time. Only after five full seconds, a window flashed again.
|This choice is not advisable. I suggest a logout.|
"Oh, so you know how to give advice and be considerate. Tell me why?"
He felt amused and somehow happy. He felt like a parent seeing their child grow. For the first time, the nasty AI spoke with personal involvement other than a quirky mean remark. If he was in a better mood and the time and place were different, he would have considered pulling a random local aunty to gossip with and brag that his kid had used the pronoun 'I'.
|Your vitals are unstable. Returning now is dangerous. It may lead to Death.|
Ok, now that's a rather scary side effect. To think that learning random skills in games can end up killing you for real. I can only think of a single word. Disturbing! No, let's add another one. Creepy! It is hella creepy. It's like buying lunch from a famous restaurant only to end up with a poisonous mushroom in your food. No normal person would consider gambling with their life...
"What will happen if I back up now? Will I only lose the skill?"
|No. The initial changes have begun. Your assembly with the skill is ongoing. In case of failure, your character will be deleted. You can only start again from the beginning.|
Reading through the answer, Midnight rubbed his aching temples. This meant that he would waste two weeks.
Well, not exactly. The time I spent on cramming magic can't be lost. I already have some understanding of the language and the structures. The problem is that I will lose my epic toolkit, the materials I worked so hard to get, and every single coin on my persona. With the starting coppers, I can't even buy a hammer. Who knows how long it will take for me to craft an item? And I was finally so close...
Yes, no normal person would consider gambling with their life. Even if they choose to give up they can start again. They can even curse and entirely forgo the game. They have their lives on Earth. But I am different. I have nothing. I am just a leech living in a tiny narrow cage; a constant source of worry for my family. Heh, how much have they spent on me by now? Psychology counseling for years. Operations, medications, and even the console. How much more do they have to spend? Perhaps... Perhaps, if I end up dying, it can't be seen as the worst possible outcome...
He made up his mind and parted lips to say, "Bring it on. I decline the logout."
I don't plan to die so simply. I have struggled and clawed my way for years. As if a tiny little skill can crush me.
Ding
The white room flashed, the chair and the table crumbled, and he fell back down.
The moment his consciousness returned, his muscles tensed and arched his body in the wrong direction. His spine threateningly creaked and he bit his tongue. Blood mixed with the saliva, but he hardly was aware. His head was pierced by the pain again.
"Argh ah ah atghj..."
He screamed and seized, pink foam bubbling from his hanging jaws.
The ink inside his brain disintegrated more connections. It infused more neurons, substituted more transmitters, and made a space for a bizarre new core. Extending from this core it branded countless ant-like symbols and continued to form unseen before connections.
The pain intensified and he felt his head adrift. He was engulfed by darkness. Then, he woke up in the white room.
|System Alert:
Your psyche is experiencing an anomaly. Your body is affected. Your vitals are heavily disturbed. A log-out is recommended.
If you log out now, you will lose Akashic Forge.|
"I decline."
The room was swapped away and his consciousness returned.
He screamed inaudible because his teeth were tightly clenched. His body heated up.
On Earth, his console flickered darker red and rang alarms. A tiny needle broke out of its metallic body, pierced his wrist, and injected tranquilants and antipyretic medication.
In Euclex, he dug his fingers into the ground and dreamed of red. His capillaries ruptured and just like inside his feverish dreamscape, blood flowed down his every orifice. Eyes, ears, nose. Not a single 'hole' was spared.
Bang
He blacked out once again and vomited in the white room.
|System Alert:
Your psyche is experiencing an anomaly. Your spirit and willpower are undergoing a tremendous task. Your body is affected. Your will is fortifying your condition. Your vitals are heavily disturbed. A log-out is Strongly recommended.
If you log out now, you will lose most of the Akashic Forge.|
There were some changes to the message, but the meaning was the same. He felt too sick and couldn't mind the details.
"I...decline..."
The room broke down.
His joints creaked, pulled by the chaotic muscle spasms. A moment later, some of them couldn't bear the strain and snapped. His fingers fractured. He choked on his saliva and began to cough. Then, he lost consciousness again.
|System Alert:
Your psyche is experiencing an anomaly. Your spirit and willpower are undergoing a tremendous task. Your body is affected. Your will is fortifying your condition. Your body is undergoing tempering. Your vitals are heavily disturbed. A log-out is Extremely recommended. Your condition is life-threatening.
If you log out now, you will lose parts of the Akashic Forge.|
His mind felt heavy and his thoughts grew sluggish. He couldn't balance on the chair and crumbled to the floor. The vast white flooring felt surreal. His vision blurred and he couldn't read the text.
"Dec...line..."
He snapped awake. The ink inside his brain seeped inside his neurons. As if it wasn't satisfied with pushing them aside, it passed the membranes and began to change the inner components and structures. The pain was already unspeakable. Even if he could think properly, he lacked the vocabulary to express the unpleasantness of this bizarre sensation.
On Earth, his body shook and his bloodshot eyes opened for a second before they closed again. Despite the medication, his temperature increased slightly beyond 41C degrees. His breathing grew chaotic, then turned shallow. His heart accelerated even further and then stopped.
The console flashed violet and several metallic objects protruded from its body. Some pressed on top of his chest and discharged electric shock to stimulate his heart. Some pierced in his veins ingesting copious amounts of adrenaline and other medicine. A mask moved to cover his opened mouth and nostrils, pumping oxygen to substitute his breathing.
His heart began to beat again, but in Euclex he blacked out.
|System Alert:
Your psyche is experiencing an anomaly. Your spirit and willpower are undergoing a tremendous task. Your body is affected greatly. Your will is fortifying your condition. Your condition is fortifying your will. Your body is undergoing tempering. Your vitals are heavily disturbed. A log-out is Extremely recommended. Your condition is life-threatening.
If you log out now you will gain a downgraded version of the skill.|
"No...go...back..."
It was unknown how many times he found himself inside that room. After a while, he couldn't even distinguish between reality and dream. He was confused. He forgot what he was trying to achieve. He forgot...
Ding.
|World Announcement:
Congratulations. Player X successfully learned the first-ever eX Grade skill inside Euclex! He excavated a part of ancient history and brought it back into this world!|
|World Announcement:
Congratulations. Player X received the Title of Inheritor. He is now the first player in Euclex to derive the long-forgotten knowledge of an Ancient Existence.|