Glade momentarily closed his notifications and sighed as he placed the last beetle steak onto the pile of cooked meat. He had a choice to make. However, the practical side of his brain still doubted their current situation was real. Of course, the dysfunctional part of his brain pointed out that his practical side had gone insane after seeing the Magma Beetles eat his night vision goggles. Add to the fact that Kedryn was using magical fire to cook their food wasn’t helping.
Standing up, Glade stretched the muscles in his back. Not that it was really that sore. Whatever the adjudicators had done to him made his aches and pains simply go away.
After a couple of minutes of internal debate, he chose to push his decision till later. Afterall, nothing said he choose now.
“Your turn to do the dishes Kid,” Glade said, sitting back down.
“My turn?” Kedryn asked with a raised brow.
“Yup. Standard rules. The new guy is always placed at the top of the chores list, and that includes washing that makeshift pan. If you doubt me, you can always ask Mother when we see him next.”
“Uh huh. Is this one of those hazing things you guys do to the lowest ranked person?” Kedryn asked skeptically.
“Nope,” Glade responded with a smile. “Well, get to it. The creepy metal carapace isn’t going to wash itself.”
Kedryn stared at him until Glade arched a brow. That was all it took for the young Corporal to walk to the water’s edge and begin scrubbing out the ‘pan’ with loose gravel.
Movement from the corner of the room made Glade turn his head. Riya was upright and fully awake, her eyes darting between him and Kedryn. There was a brief look of confusion before her eyes fell on the pile of freshly cooked food.
Without a word, Glade speared a piece with his knife and handed it to her. It took some coaxing, but after a few awkward moments of miming that it was ok for her to eat, Riya warily took the offered meal and quickly retreated to her corner of the room.
Judging by the look on her face, Glade surmised the food was terrible. Nothing new as far as he was concerned. Cooking had never been his strong suit. Still, food was food, and they were in no position to be picky.
After waiting for Kedryn to return, Glade handed him a piece of meat and then grabbed one for himself.
Both took a large bite.
“Once you get past the gag reflex, it's not that bad,” Glade said, forcing himself to swallow what tasted like a mouth full of rubber soaked in dish water.
Kedryn set his back on the pile after one bite, his face turning a unique shade of green.
Chuckling, Glade grabbed another piece and resumed going through his notifications. He lliked the idea of waiting to choose a spell. Better to get a full grasp of the lunacy he found himself in before confronting the fact he was now some sort of magician. The aura sense was also something he would ask Kedryn about.
Once he worked up the patience to engage him again, that is.
Warning! Why even bother to provide a warning? It's not like you read them… Designation Glade is trying to force the development of learning the skill Telepathy… again. Will you please stop already!? Please note, that skills cannot be learned or utilized prior to placement on Veil.
Calculating…
We stand corrected. Authorization to use remaining minor boon to prevent corporeal degradation and cognitive failure of Designation Glade authorized. Apparently we are going to ignore the previous rule.
Congratulations! You have learned the skill Telepathy! Communication is the bane and success of all civilizations, now you have another means to further muddy the waters. You may now use limited telepathic communication. At the Amateur level you may communicate telepathically with 1 target. Current Radius: 10 feet per skill level. Cost: 10 mana + 5 stamina per 10 seconds of active use after connecting to target.
Note: The attention of the remaining Adjudicators has been drawn to Designation Glade. If you do not die and finally get around to reading this notification, know this is your own fault.
That raised Glade’s eyebrows. He vividly remembered the moment his mind had connected to Kedryn’s while suspended amongst the clouds. It had been a long shot to say the least, but he had only tried it because of his earlier experience with the fragments in his mindscape.
It also looked like he was getting underneath the adjudicator's skins. Good.
Either way, using the skill could wait until later. After all, he had used it before.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
Warning! Actions have consequences. Ingesting large amounts of concentrated mana from the Eighth Plane has forever changed you. The full implications of this change may never be fully known, but the following has taken place: Your race has been adjusted from an Evolved Human to an Enlightened Human. Attuning to any sphere of magic is 10% more effective. Life expectancy is unknown. Enlightened Humans gain a total of 5 attribute points per level that can be allocated as they see fit, and an extra point per level which is automatically allocated to their most used stat. Other abilities or limitations may be discovered with time and experimentation.
Glade’s race had changed? He didn’t know the difference between evolved and enlightened Human’s, but it had to be important if the adjudicators made a point of notifying him.
Not knowing what else to do, he continued reading the remaining notifications. There were only a couple prompts left for his time in the Eights domain.
Warning! Designation Glade’s uncontrollable and unknown ability is currently assessed as a class IV risk. Further employment is considered likely. Intervention requires consensus of all Adjudicators.
Consensus achieved. Integration into dimension 008’s governing system commencing.
Calculating…
Integration complete. Ability potential restricted to being commensurate with level advancement.
Congratulations! You have been granted the ability Will. Through determination, faith, and sheer bullheadedness you can shape outcomes, change realities, and cast down angels and demons of the highest orders. The only limitation is yourself.
Note: You have been granted a new attribute: Willpower (number averaged from all other attributes). Attribute level equals number of points. Current points available – 11. Expend points with associated ability. 1 point is regenerated per day. Further exploration is recommended.
Warning! Please pay attention this time. The ability Will is untested and may have unknown requirements, or consequences, to successfully use. Be wary of wielding this ability unwisely.
Glade stopped chewing, the awful taste of his food all but forgotten. No other message he read previously screamed to take the information seriously like this one did. Willpower was not a new concept. He didn’t know of any special ability he had back on earth, but if he was reading this right, the adjudicators had somehow quantified and magicked the attribute. Shape realities? Fight angels or demons? He wasn’t sure what to make of it but could now understand why Kedryn had been curious about the additional attribute.
Out of curiosity, he pulled up his willpower menu and imagined creating a portal that would take him and his team home.
Attention! Dimensional travel from multiple points of unknown reference requires advanced skill sets, knowledge, attunements, and capacity to calculate willpower point usage. Willpower is not the same as wishful thinking.
Glade snorted at the response. He had approached the willpower attribute like making a wish, which appeared to be the wrong manner in how to use it. Of course, that would have been too easy. But the result from his brief experiment at least made sense. Having the knowledge was key. The question was, how much information did he need to make this work in his favor?
He cast a furtive glance toward Kedryn, who was engaging Riya in conversation again. He cringed to think about the future conversation he was going to have with the overeager Corporal.
Not knowing what else to do, Glade moved on.
Warning! Continued neglect of communication attempts has resulted in direct contact by a Fragment of the Eight Adjudicators. Ongoing cerebral contact without inhibitors in place will cause permanent cognitive failure.
That must have been when old fluff ball speared him in the head. Glade winced at the memory. That had been… unpleasant.
Congratulations! You have chosen to use your moderate boon to place yourself, and those you deem under your protection, in a place that will provide the best opportunity to advance.
Note: The Eight have acknowledged your choice to take responsibility for the Banished Elf, Da’Riya Ab’Loshere, and all that it entails.
Letting out an explosive breath, Glade leaned back against the wall, his mind reeling. That was the last of his notifications from his time with the adjudicators. To say it had been a long day was an understatement. In the last few hours, he had faced godlike cotton balls, monsters that could melt metal, and he could apparently cast magic, talk with his mind, and could focus his willpower to do… something. And this was only the beginning.
He quickly reviewed the last notification about Riya a second time. The statement ‘all that it entails’ didn’t instill him with the greatest of feelings.
No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than a prompt forced its way into his vision.
You have been granted a Quest: Bring her Home I.
Da’Riya Ab’Loshere has been separated from her people. Including her in your boon has significantly increased her odds of survival and enhanced the probability of being reunited with her people. As with all endeavors, a journey begins with the first step. Will you escort Da’Riya Ab’Loshere to the surface?
Reward: Increased regard from Da’Riya Ab’Loshere and House Loshere; 2,000 xp and a place of safety.
If you accept, Da’Riya Ab’Loshere must concur before the quest is issued. Quest may be shared with others, but only after concurrence has been granted.
Yes/No