When Leone opened his eyes, he found himself on an unfamiliar bed, staring at a wooden ceiling.
"Where….Am I?" he murmured, groggy and not recognizing where he was as he regained consciousness. As if to answer him, a screen appeared before his eyes
Welcome to Ascension of Souls Online.
You have now entered the World of Melodia.
You are currently in the Beginner Village (Beastkin).
Please Confirm your Status and set your Character Name.
To check your Status, Please say [Status]
Please Note. Due to the nature of a Previous reward currently modifying your body, you are unable to log out for 168 hours.
Remaining Time: 163 hours, 14 minutes, 57 seconds
Leone eyes widened at the message. Did that mean he was trapped here for a week?! Wouldn't he die of starvation or dehydration during that time?!
"Hey! Stupid game! ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?!" He shouted into the air, panicking as he looked for a method to log out but unable to figure it out.
[Calm down Child. Your body in the other world will remain safe. We guarantee it] A sudden voice rang inside of Leones mind.
Looking around for the source of the voice, Leone noticed that he was alone in what looked to be an abandoned cabin. His hair standing on end, the young man shouted: "Who's there?! Show yourself!",
[Child, we are on your wrist. You chose us to be your Partner did you not?] The voice said softly as if to console him. Looking down, Leone saw the rusty bracelets on his wrist. Instinctively, he reached for them trying to pull them off but despite his best efforts, they didnt even budge.
[Child you are now Partners with us. We are with you for Life. You can think of it as long as you provide us with Sustenance and Entertainment, we shall give you Power and Life.]. The contents of the voice seemed a bit sinister but Leone remembered that strange quest that the Quest previously said that some of the weapons had Egos. 'This had to be one of those ego weapons.' Leone thought and was about to give up and move on when the voice spoke again seemingly annoyed
[How Dare you compare us to that Trash that was kept in that Room! We are far superior! Those toys are mere trinkets before our power at our most glorious peak!] it growled. It was then that Leone realized if these bracelets could speak inside his mind, that means it could probably read his thoughts too!.
[There is no need to fret Child, As you grow stronger, we too will regain our strength and can support you further. We will admit that you are unable to 'Log Out' because of us but we have a good reason. If not for us, you would have already died. We are modifying your body so that you may continue to live and grow… We can't have our Partner be a corpse after so many years of being alone]. The voice explained, shocking Leone into silence. He knew that even if this was just a setting within a game, there was nothing he could do to change it so the only thing he could do was continue on the path laid before him.
"[Status]"
Character Status
Name: [Not Set]
Race: Adaptive Beastfolk
Title: N/A
Class: N/A
Age: 18
Level: 1 (0/100exp)
Status: Sickly (Body Upgrade in Progress)
Health: 70/70
Mana: 30/30
Strength: 4
Endurance: 2
Agility: 10
Dexterity: 9
Intelligence: 7
Wisdom: 3
Charisma: 10
Luck: 10
Free Points: 0
Skills: Chimerafication (Innate Racial), Invocation of Evolution (Sealed), Bond of the Zodiac (Sealed), Appraisal (Innate), Battle Sense (Innate)
Equipment: Star Bracelets (N)
[Oh? For a child who has stood on the doorstep of death for so long, your status is quite impressive…Wait what? Why is our grade Normal?! Quickly [Appraise] us Child!] The voice urged, seemingly unnerved by the N next to its name which meant its grade was Normal. With the nagging of the voice, Leone tried to inspect the bracelets on his wrist
"[Appraisal]"
Star Bracelet (N)
A pair of bracelets that have a trace connection to the stars. Potential for Growth
Innate Skills: Invocation of Evolution (Sealed), Bond of the Zodiac (Sealed),???,???,???,???,
Stat Bonuses:
N/A
Uprade Status: 0%
[... We are going to go cry now. Don't bother us] the voice said, despair tinging its soft voice.
Leone was somewhat bemused by the bracelets, but not wanting to spend his time in another world confined to another bed, he stood up and headed towards the door, intent on exploring the Beginner Village.
When his hand touched the door, the young man took a deep breath and said "From now until I am gone, my name here will be [Leo]."
When his name was set, the door swung open slowly, revealing a beautiful scenic village with the sun shining down. Taking a step out into the light, Leo was marvelling at the realism. He could feel the heat of the sun on his skin and could smell the fragrance of flowers on the wind from a nearby garden.
"Welcome Young lad to our humble village. I am a guide to help you acclimate to thisssss world." An elderly man with a long grey beard called out while standing hunched over in the centre village where a small fountain was set using a cane to support his body. When Leo got closer, he noticed that the elders skin was covered in small scales, indicating he was a reptile of some kind.
"Oh my, A youngling like yourssself is quite rare around here. I can ssssee a bright future ahead of you. Feel free to explore the village and complete the villagers requests and receive rewards in exchange. When you are ready to journey out into the world, please consider helping ussss reduce the goblin population on the outskirtsssss before you go. Its been so long ssssince we have had an adventurer here. The goblin horde has gone untouched for too long. If nobody takesss care of them, we may be overrun!"
The village elder looks at Leo, anxious about the potential dangers that surrounded the peaceful village he called home.
Leo, seeing this couldnt but help but feel motivated as he growled "Leave it to me! I will wipe them out for you!" Before charging towards the nearby forest.
The elder was stunned by the bravado of the lvl 1 Leo. However by the time the man yelled "W-wait! I dont think you are ready yet!" it was already too late as Leo disappeared into the foilage with a rustle.
"The child doesn't even have a weapon. Oh Goddess, please let that child survived" the elder mumbled, clearly shaken by the young boys' unfounded confidence.
"Hahaha! This feels so nice~!" Leo shouted as he ran, loving everything about this in the moment . He felt so free, the soil beneath his feet, the sun upon his skin, the scent of fresh plants and the wind rushing past him were nostalgic feelings that he had almost forgotten after being confined to a hospital bed for so long.
"KIIIIIEEEEEK"
Leo entered a small clearing but came to a stop when a small green humanoid leapt out from behind a tree. Startled slightly about the monster in front of him, He couldn't help but look at the monster a bit more closely. It was the size of a small child, sickly pale green skin with a head that was far too big for its body and wearing nothing but a dirty loincloth. Its head was misshapen with pointy ears and with its mouth open, Leo could see that its teeth were jagged, its tongue hanging out a bit as it drooled. But when the catboy looks in the monsters beady little eyes, confusion quickly turning to horror and disgust as the young man recognized the goblin was staring at him lustfully!
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
"OH HELL NO!" he shouted, recoiling from the deviant beast in front of him. He hated to admit it but his slender arms and legs, his demure height, somewhat long hair and cute tail made him look like a cute little tail made him seem like an adorable little girl.
The monster lunged forward with a feral intensity, acting as if the person before it was merely easy prey it could pin down. With that and his own masculinity being questioned by a mere monster, Leo felt something in his mind snap.
Like lightning, Leo sidestepped the goblin as it charged last him, spinning in a tight circle, using his own arm as a whip to lash out at his attacker. Leo felt the claws at the tip of his fingers catch on something for a brief moment before it gave way.
[Critical Strike]
[-60!]
Two notifications popped over the goblins head as it stopped to hold its throat. Blood began to bubble from its throat and it collapsed to its knees. It tried to speak but no words came out. It reached out for Leo with one hand but collapsed forwards and became motionless
[Level 1 Goblin Defeated]
[+20exp]
Despite his anger, Leo felt like he was going to throw up as the realistic nature of the game made it feel like he had just committed murder. It was a slight relief to him when the body disappeared into particles of light, leaving a single copper coin on the forest floor.
He was also surprised that his body had reacted the way it did, he had never been in a fight before but that had felt all too easy to the point of being scary. Leo took a moment to catch his breath when he heard a rustling of leaves. Turning his head, he saw 3 more goblins enter the small clearing, coming to a stop about 20 feet away from him. Unlike the previous one, these 3 were equipped with weapons, albeit crude ones in the form of clubs
"KIEK!KIEK!"
"KRAAAIIE!"
"SKREE!"
They cry out almost immediately after noticing Leo whose own rage was reigniting once again as he noticed the same lustful gleam in their eyes. The goblins were smarter this time as they looked around, trying to see if their prey was alone.
"You lil shits!" Leo shouts as he takes the initiative to attack first, rushing at them and launching himself into the air so he could use his knee to strike the goblin in the leads face
[-25]
The monster let out a startled cry as its head snapped back, blood gushing from its broken nose, its two companions letting out their own confused shrieks before raising their clubs and swinging at Leo. In response, Leo flipped his body over the bleeding goblin, grabbing its head and using his own momentum to flip the monster over him afterwards, using the goblin as a makeshift weapon to use against one of the other goblins causing them to collapse .
[-35]
[-40]
[Level 1 Goblin Defeated]
[+20exp]
The 2 goblins screeched in pain, the 3rd goblin became stunned from the shock of violence Leo initiated. In the pile, the goblin on tops neck was twisted in am unnatural way, its dull eyes betraying its fate while the other was stunned. Before it could pull itself out from beneath its kindreds corpse, Leo was already by its side, his leg coming down like an axe, his heel digging into the goblins skull with an audible crunch.
[-40]
[-10]
[Level 1 Goblin Defeated]
[+20exp]
Leo winced from the pain shooting up his leg, his heel injured from breaking the goblins skull. The remaining goblin took a step back, intimidated by the ferocity the small boy had displayed. However, instead of fleeing, the goblin raised its club and charged with a snarl. With his foot damaged, Leo was unable to dodge this time so he raised his arms in an attempt to block the blow. The goblin swung the club and unfortunately for Leo, it struck one of his elbows.
[-27]
Leo inadvertently let out a scream.as one of his arms fell to his side listlessly at an odd angle, clearly broken. With a damaged leg and arm, the boy was getting desperate. Without thinking, Leo instinctively used his remaining arm to grab the Goblins wrist, pulling it towards him before it could swing again. Off Balanced, the Goblin stumbled forwards and Leo crouched before launching himself forward, tackling it to the ground.
[-5]
Scrambling to a kneeling position after knocking it down, Leo was able to mount the goblin but with no immediate means to kill it, he used the only weapon that he had left.
Using his one good hand, he pushed the goblins head to the side before lunging in and biting down on the goblins neck before fiercely pulling away, tearing out its throat.
[-71!]
[Critical Strike]
[Level 1 Goblin Defeated]
[+20exp]
Leo felt the taste of iron on his tongue as the goblin underwent its final death spasms beneath him, blood oozing uncontrollably from the wound and covering the young boy in it.
Unable to bring himself to stand up, Leo continued to kneel in place, trying to catch his breath and allow his mind to comprehend what he had just done.
[Child, I don't know if I should call you brave or foolish. You killed 4 beasts with your bare hands. That alone is worthy of praise. As expected of someone we chose to be our partner].
The voice of the bracelets was heard once again, complimenting Leo but still finding some way to praise itself in the process.
"What the hell did you do to be so great?!" he snapped back, visibly annoyed with his useless partner as he kept spitting, trying to get rid of the nasty taste of goblin flesh from his mouth. "I had no help here! Also why is this so hard? How the hell are people supposed to clear this?!"
[.....]
The voice was silent for a moment before saying
[You entered the forest alone with no equipment or armor. If you had listened to that old elder, you probably could have grown stronger before your first fight….].
Each point made Leos ears twitch as he realized that every single thing that was said was indeed factual and a result of his own impulsive behaviour.
"I get it… its my fault this time" he admitted, lowering his head, noticing the bodies of the goblins disappearing, leaving more than just a coin this time.
On the ground were 2 wooden plank shields, a bottle with faint pink liquid inside and 4 copper coins, hard earned loot from his first life threatening fight.
[Oh? We could make use of those. Shall I teach you how to make us stronger? That wooden trash shall be the start of our rise! HAHA!]
The bracelets let out a boisterous laugh, not bothering to enlighten Leo what the hell it was talking about.
"What?....I am starting to believe that I might just be going insane…" Leo murmured, questioning his own sanity.