Thirty minutes later, a copper tub came, hauled by several strapping young lads. They set it in the center of his room, along with a couple of towels. Justin wondered just how they managed to lug such a heavy item all the way into his room without so much as a spill.
As soon as they were gone, he locked the door and sunk into the deliciously warm water, filled to the brim with lavender-scented bubbles. The warmth soothed his aching muscles, and he lowered himself into the water with a sigh of relief. The bubbles tickled his skin as he closed his eyes and leaned back against the tub. The stress of the day slipped away with each passing moment. He stayed in the tub until the water cooled, feeling renewed and refreshed by the experience.
He would have fallen asleep had it not been for the knock at the door. They were probably coming to take the tub back.
“Just a moment.”
He got up and, to his surprise, found a pair of basic clothes waiting for him on his bed that he’d missed before: tan breeches, a white shirt, socks, and boots. All seemed close to his size, which must have been rather difficult to procure. Justin assumed it was from Alistair. The man was truly too kind.
He got dressed and unlocked the door, and as he suspected, it was the boys coming to take the tub. Justin was grateful they didn’t comment on the filthiness of the water. They also brought him some food; nothing fancy, just a slab of cold roast beef, cheese, bread, and watered wine.
As soon as they were gone, he scarfed down his food, never tasting anything so delicious, despite the simplicity of the fare.
After setting his plate in the hallway outside, he returned to the room’s tiny bed and lay down. Such were the events of the day that he was instantly asleep.
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Justin blinked awake only to find himself in a room that wasn’t his. He had a moment of panic before he remembered everything that had happened. A groan escaped his lips and he hid himself under the sheets. And he would have stayed there, had a voice not entered his mind.
You have reached Level 1, just one small step on a very long and winding road. You see mountains in the distance, but you also feel determined to begin your journey.
Much to Justin’s surprise, he felt a sense of accomplishment and purpose. Something that seemed to come from outside himself. And he realized he hadn’t leveled up yesterday because it was waiting for him to sleep. Some RPGs were like that.
As a Level 1 Socialite, you have unlocked your second class skill and you have one attribute point to distribute.
Justin opened his character sheet and saw that he could place the point into any of his six Core Attributes. It was tempting to put it in power or endurance, as that might help his survivability.
But he knew he could not do so. He was a Socialite, and his strength was charisma. All of his skills would surely benefit from it, and in fact, he could not level up unless he used charisma-based skills, at least as far as what Alistair told him.
He sighed, letting go of the dream that he could be a mighty warrior or mage, or a Paladin like Alistair. He locked the point into charisma and confirmed.
Almost instantly, he felt his thoughts become clearer, and he sat up straighter. He wasn’t sure if it was an effect of the stat increase, or something else.
He looked into a mirror on the wall, and was surprised to see his cheeks were a little less pudgy and his eyes less red. The fresh air and exercise had done wonders for his complexion. He wasn’t good looking by any stretch. Not even average. But he looked better than he did on his best days, of which admittedly, there weren’t many.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
Was it exercise, or something else entirely?
Whatever it was, it was a step in the right direction.
Please select your Level 1 class skill. Choose wisely. There is no going back!
Justin looked through both of the skills presented to him.
Tantalizing Miasma: Once a day, you may create an indelible aroma that makes others treat you as if you have +5 charisma for five minutes.
Justin thought about the implications. The “tantalizing aroma” giving him a +5 boost to charisma could be huge in the right situations. He would be five levels higher in that stat, at least temporarily. Enough to sway an important social situation in his favor, which could be powerful since his level was so low. It could give him access to resources early on he might not otherwise get or allow him to gain experience more easily.
He examined the other skill.
Poison Barb: Your Epic Barb becomes even more powerful. You know precisely what to say to cause emotional damage to someone, stunning them temporarily. If your barb renders them speechless for at least three seconds, the cooldown immediately refreshes, allowing you to do it again.
Justin thought the skill over. Clearly, there were two paths he could take. One seemed to be more passive, and the other more active. Which was better simply depended on his aspired playstyle.
It would be nice to have his Epic Barb become even more powerful. This would be useful in situations where Justin needed to defend himself or manipulate others, but it also required Justin to engage in conversation and potentially offend or upset people. The Epic Barb immediately going off cooldown was extremely useful, but it only worked if the Poison Barb rendered a foe speechless for more than three seconds. That was not a guarantee.
Tantalizing Miasma provided a more passive benefit and would be generally useful. It would help him make a good first impression or persuade others, something he sorely needed to do, being alone in this strange new world. The downside was it could only be done once per day; Poison Barb, in theory, could be used infinitely in ideal conditions.
Justin could see the merits of both. If he expected frequent social interactions where he needed to manipulate or defend himself, then Poison Barb was the better choice. However, if he expected to encounter situations where he needed to make a strong first impression or persuade others, then Tantalizing Miasma was more useful.
There was another consideration, too. If Epic Barb became Poison Barb, there might be other skills later in his progression that enhanced it even further. This seemed like an important choice, and he didn’t want to bungle it.
Assuming he actually survived this game long enough to get to a high level, eventually the +5 bonus to charisma for five minutes probably wouldn’t be all that useful unless he had a bunch of other percentage modifiers stacking on top of it. He’d played many games where the game mechanics became truly ridiculous because the developers had added too many stacking percentages. Of course, in situations like that, every increase in your base stats just made those bonuses even more ridiculous.
He wasn’t sure that would be the case here or not. He already knew there was one such modifier with Alistair’s Divine Aura, a passive boon that had given him 5% to his Power stat.
The truth was, he didn’t know what the right choice was.
So, he chose the one that was far more interesting at the moment: Poison Barb.
Congratulations! You have unlocked: Poison Barb.
As Justin felt the knowledge of the skill enter him, he felt good about the decision, although he was curious what the “indelible aroma” was he was missing out on.
He went back out into the hallway, just in time to see Alistair leaving his room, all decked out in his Paladin gear.
“I got to Level 1!” Justin exclaimed.
“Well done, lad! You’re on the right track. You’ll always remember your first level up.”
“Heading out?”
Alistair nodded. “Yes. Zombies to slay and all that.”
“Need help?”
Alistair chuckled. “I’ll be fine on my own. I’m afraid I must beg my leave. But before I do, a parting gift...”
He reached into his coin purse and gave Justin five silver coins.
“Alistair, you don’t have to.”
“I know I don’t. But something’s different about you, that much I can see. Not every day you meet a Level 0 Socialite!”
“How do levels work here, anyway? When do people get to pick a class? Does it happen from birth?”
Alistair looked at him, marveling. “You really don’t know any of this stuff, do you?”
Justin hung his head.
“Hey, it’s all right. Well, it’s influenced by a variety of factors. From birth, the Gods know your strength, your purpose. It’s up to you to build it. You’ve handled yourself well so far. Who knows how far you can go if you try?”
Alistair gave another shrug and walked past Justin, heading down the stairs.
Alistair has left the party.
Justin felt a certain warmth leave him. At first, he thought it was a sense of sadness that he was on his own again, but he also remembered that it might have been Alistair’s Divine Aura dissipating.
Whatever the case, he was on his own again. Level 1, in a new world, with no proper goals or motivations.
One thing was obvious, though. He had to learn more.
He headed downstairs, and could only wonder what the day could bring.