Jean sat on the ground in his sky cell looking at the three awaking stones in front of him. He had awakening stones of peace, control, and gore. Each was looking detailed and distinctly magical. Now that Jean had a grasp on aura control he could sense power ebbing out of each. With a sign of resignation, Jean picked up the awakening stone of gore.
Would you like to absorb awakening stone of gore?
“You had better not twist me into something grotesque.” Then Jean consented.
The black and red cube melted into Jean’s hand. Instinctually, Jean tried to wave off the gluey muck that was crawling up his arm. A moment or two later, the glue was fully absorbed through Jean’s pores.
Cloud Essence ability awakened: Acid Cloud. This is conjuration ability. You may conjure a large field of lightly acid clouds obscuring your presence, causing minor acid damage and softening the flesh of all enemies in the cloud.
Ok, that’s not too bad I guess. I’m getting more area of effect abilities. This should have some synergies with my fields of discord ability. Let’s try out the next one.
Jean picked up the awakening stone of control that he grabbed from beside Fimoe the Antinium.
Would you like to absorb awakening stone of control?
“Yes,” Jean said with hopes of something that could help him with his self-control in saying no to his darker base desires.
Bone Essence ability awakened: Bone Collar. Bonded familiar ability. You may conjure one bone collar per rank. Put this collar on a subdued magical creature to force or to offer a familiar bond to initiate. You may only initiate bonds with creatures your rank or lower. Familiar bonds allow magical creatures to grow with their bonds. A soul bond occurs between bonds, changing the progression of abilities to synergize with their bond.
“Yes!” Jean shouted while jumping up. “I wasn’t expecting this, but this is perfect! I can get a dog or a squirrel… or a dragon! Maybe I could even get a pet cloud that flies me around.”
Still feeling a high from all the possibilities, Jean decided to sit down and absorb the last awakening stone of peace, the other one Jean grabbed from beside Fimoe.
Purity Essence ability awakened: Quiet Place. This is a recovery ability. You may meditate and create a zone around yourself. You and others inside that zone have increased health, mana, and stamina recovery. This zone is currently two feet in diameter.
Jean smiled, enjoying the sort of ability that didn’t have to do with stabbing or melting anyone. He moved his sitting position into a crosslegged meditative pose and started to try out his new abilities. After a moment of focus, he felt his Quiet Place ability come to life around him, rejuvenating himself. After ten or twenty minutes Jean let his Purity Wellspring aura wash around him filling the cell and spreading further. After a little more time he carefully conjured a mass of Acidic clouds around him and the cell. Then lastly, with great care for it to not spread out too far, he let out his Fields of Discord inside his cell. When he purposefully let out his Fields of Discord it was accompanied by a light humming sound which washed out all ambient noises.
Jean zoned out for a long time while letting the magic flow in and around him. Inside all of his area effects, he felt like he was in control, in his own peaceful space where no one could touch him.
_______
Gabe touched Jean on the shoulder.
In a wild panic, Jean’s heart nearly burst out of his chest as it angrily thumped against his ribcage.
“JEEZ! Don’t do that Gabe!” Jean hollered, holding his chest.
Gabe just shrugged and smiled with a triumphant grin, “You’ve grown in the last three days! Tigris must have spent a lot of time with you. And he gave you a couple of awakening stones?”
Jean’s heart was still pumping though now it was slowing. “Yeah, he worked me like a dog. And he brought me to the meditation hall. I liked that Fimoe Guy.”
Jean also realized while talking that he was interrupted out of his quiet place, and lost the regeneration. He retracted his Fields of Discord and dissipated the acid clouds. But he left his Wellspring of Purity active, figuring people wouldn’t mind the clean and warm sensation that it gave.
“Oh, you met Fimoe! He was one of my friends growing up, though he was a few generations from me. His focusing and reinforcing aura have helped a lot of people in the last twenty years. It feels like that ability is on the edge of diamond rank.” Gabe pondered. “So you got a recovery field and an acid area attack. It’s looking like you’re going to be great for a team that fights waves of enemies.”
Jean smiled at Gabe’s infectious optimism, “What’s better is that I got a familiar power!”
Gabe lit up, vibrating with excitement, “Sick, you baller you. What kind of familiar?”
Jean replied, “It’s a bonded familiar ability called Bone Collar!”
Gabe’s smile died and was replaced with a cynical laugh. Meanwhile, Jean’s heart dropped with the mood change.
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Gabe said with a dark chuckle, “You aren’t going to find a place on this planet where you can just belong, my friend.” Gabe looked at Jean with Pity, “With that ability, you’ll likely instantly be killed on Crest or Dragon’s home. I was thinking of starting you off on the North Tip of Dragon’s home.”
Jean asked, “wh…Why? Can’t I just avoid those places?”
Gabe chuckled, “No, you can’t avoid the world. There are only three viable continents: Crest, Dragon’s Home, and Tellen. Your bone essence will get you hunted down here on most of Tellen and your cloud essence will stop you from living here or the other cloud city, and your Bone Collar is unforgivable to use on Crest or Dragon’s Home. Those are dominantly controlled by magical beasts. Bonded familiars are widely accepted, but Bone Collar is a forced bond, and most people aren’t ok with slavery.”
“But the description of the ability says that I can make a bond by force or willingly! I would never force an intelligent creature around like a slave.” Jean said crestfallen.
“But how would everyone else know that it was a willing bond and not forced? Once a bond is started, the essence user is prized by the bond regardless.” Gabe paused for a second, “It might be best to not use the ability at all.”
Jean sat there, thinking for a second before he asked a question “What if I just bond a creature that everyone hates or one that isn’t intelligent?”
Gabe looked up and tilted his head to the side. “This is why I like you, kid. You’re fresh. Maybe a lesser magical creature would be fine. The main worry is just if you run into a dragon and they see you using a bone collar on a creature they value, they’d kill you. But if it's a lesser magical creature that they would normally step on without a second thought, they might not kill you.”
Jean’s eyebrow raised, “Are ash squirrels lesser magical creatures?”
“Yeah, but they won’t really benefit you. They are only not extinct because they avoid high magic entities but live in high magic zones. I’ve never heard of someone bonding with one, but I mean… I doubt anyone would care if you did?” Gabe rose his hands in a weighing motion, “I was thinking you might be better with a giant flesh worn.”
“No! I do not want a giant flesh worm. Absolutely not. I want a friend that I can play with and have as a real companion. Like, something that can hang out on my shoulder. Not something that will help me with eating my enemies!” Jean fumed.
“Right right, no worries. But then there’s another issue. I don’t know how to find an ash squirrel.” Gabe said.
“No worries,” Jean said, “I know where they live. They were my first friends in this world. But if you are right about what you said earlier, you would never be able to find them. Given that you are a high magic entity.”
“Hmm, good point.” Gabe said, “So then, this is what we’ve got to do before we go: I’ve got to give you the rest of your presents, and we need to get your squirrel, and then I’ll drop you off at North Tips.”
“Cool. I’m still not sure where that’s at or why you are just dropping me off, but I like presents!” Jean said happily.
Gabe gleefully swung his bag around in front of himself and started to pull out items, mostly awakening stones.
“First, I got you a fire amulet. I know, I know, I’m a big deal.” Gabe said and stared at Jean.
“Thanks?”
“You are very welcome, please don’t die and lose it. It was very expensive, even for an almost-gold ranker like myself. It’s a legendary iron rank item that only drops from extremely rare monsters in South Tips, and can only be gotten through looting abilities. Basically, while wearing it you won’t freeze to death, or even get too cold. It’s also a necessity to do the Continental Trek,” Gabe explained.
“Why is it so essential, and what is the Continental Trek?” Jean said with more than a bit of confusion.
“Simple, the Continental Trek is the right of passage for anyone to become a respected adult. You start at the North Tips where it’s negative two-hundred degrees with a low magical density and make your way to the equator where there’s high magical density. It’ll take about ten years for most, but that’s what we’ve been prepping you for.”
Jean choked from breathing in his spit. After a moment of collecting himself and coughing, Jean asked, “You are sending me on a ten-year don’t-die quest?”
“Of course, it’s the only way to get strong enough to not die,” Gabe said plainly.
“What if I want to just stay here and grow old?” Jean begged with his eyes.
“Nope.”
“That’s it, Nope?”
“Yup, Nope. It’s the only way. If you were a woman you could choose to go to a population center, but most women don’t even do that.” Gabe said.
Jean buried his face in his hands, rubbing away his dismay. “shmo ibve gochta djoo dis?”
“Yup, you’ve got to do this,” Gabe said. “But now for the rest of your presents!”
Gabe pulled out five awakening stones avatar, sky, rain, mist, and form.
Jean peaked at the stones through his fingers. “You’re giving me these and everyone is helping me because this Continental Trek kills people, doesn’t it?”
Gabe nodded, “Yup, most people. Only ten to twenty percent of people survive. But everyone that makes it will be mid-silver rank at the least. So, everyone is willing to risk it. When you are at silver rank under thirty years old, you can easily expect to live to two hundred fifty years old and five hundred years old if you make it to gold rank.”
Jean staggered at that. “A question, how old is Mykyo?”
Gabe answered, “Which one? The younger one at the shop is about my age.”
“And, uh, how old are you? Thirty?” Jean said while thinking he looked twenty-four.
“I’m fifty-five,” Gabe said.
“Oh wow, you’re old.”
“Thanks!” Gabe said with a smile. “I did my trek in eight years, then I spent a decade in South Tips working on the amulet of fire and my surfing skills. But I did the Tellen Trek, which is a bit easier. At least that’s what they say. Anyhoo, eat those Awakening stones!”
“I don’t eat them, gross, I just absorb them,” Jean responded.
“That seems worse to me,” Gabe said.
_______
The next two hours were consumed with Jean absorbing the five remaining awakening stones.
Avatar awakening stone absorbed. Discord Essence ability awakened: Screech Eco. This is a familiar ability. Summon a Screech Eco from the deep astral to become your familiar. Screech Eco can rest in your aura giving your physical attacks minor resonating force damage. Summoning cost: 200 Iron rank dimension quintessence, 300 Iron rank discord quintessence, 100 Iron rank harmony quintessence, and 4,000 Iron Rank spirit coins.
Sky awakening stone absorbed. Discord Essence ability awakened: Skyfall. Extreme mana cost. This is a teleportation ability. Create a portal on the ground that teleports anyone who falls into the portal upward 20 feet in the air. Causes minor resonating force damage when passing through the portal. Higher rank creatures will resist and calapse portal
Rain awakening stone absorbed. Cloud Essence ability awakened: Rain. This is a passive conjuration ability. Conjurations may dissipate with object permanence. Conjured clouds can dissipate into rain. Conjured acid clouds can dissipate into rain. Conjured bones can dissipate into rain.
Mist awakening stone absorbed. Purity Essence ability awakened: Sanctifying mist. Extreme Mana Cost. Conjure a cloud that deals transcendent damage on contact. Mist slowly moves toward the nearest enemy.
Form awakening stone absorbed. Cloud Essence ability awakened: Creator. This is a passive conjuration ability. Conjurations can be made with object permanence for an additional mana cost or turned into permanent objects after conjuration for an additional cost. Conjured items can take on limited effects and appearances of various objects.