“Let’s start by deciding on a soul item,” declared Gupa.
Without waiting for a response from Barry the demon bent down and placed both clawed hands onto the cold white floor. As Barry watched, he observed a faint light emanating out from Gupa before the light culminated and condensed around his hands. Suddenly, Barry sensed a strange vibration from under his feet, and he stepped backwards out of concern. As he did so, he watched in amazement as a three-metre-wide round stone object slowly rose from the ground, giving Barry his first ever taste of real magic. Barry watched on in awe as he realised the stone structure had taken on the shape of a round bench with a strange empty space in its centre. Once the strange bench had stopped moving Gupa stood up and made his way over towards Barry.
“You must place your hands on the structure and your options will become available to you,” Gupa said.
Barry gulped as he met the black, beady eyes of the demon. With a nod, he made his way over to the table, took a deep breath and placed his hands onto the stone. The moment his hands touched the structure Barry felt a strange, invisible rush of energy shoot up through his arms, down to his feet, back up to his head, before pausing and swirling around the centre of his abdomen. It prickled and stung, but not in a painful way. It was hard for Barry to describe or comprehend. He glanced over at Gupa with concern, but the demon didn’t look bothered at all.
“Relax, the energy is accumulating around your soul to determine your individual attributes, it will be over soon,” Gupa assured.
Barry turned his focus back to the bench, and a moment later he felt the weird energy shoot back out of his body and into the stone. As it did so the stone began to rumble, and Barry quickly lifted his hands off in surprise. Suddenly, Barry saw four unique objects impossibly emerge directly out of the stone until they rested on the top of the bench at even intervals around the central hole. Barry narrowed his vision and smiled as he realised these were the soul items he’d been promised. The four magical soul items were a little underwhelming compared to what Barry had been picturing in his mind. He’d imagined swords, bows, staves and other cool weapons. Instead, he could see a dagger, a pickaxe, a whip and a shovel.
“I think there’s been some kind of mistake,” Barry frowned, “Surely a shovel can’t be a soul item.”
“The gods do not make mistakes, these are the items with which they have deemed you to have the greatest potential,” Gupa retorted matter of factly, “And I believe it is a spade, not a shovel.”
“Great, I’ve been transported into a magical world just to become a gardener,” Barry joked to himself.
“Try using your identify skill,” encouraged Gupa in an attempt to lift Barry’s spirits, “Focus your mind and feel the magic circulating within you, use this to identify the tool you want to know more about.”
Barry followed the demon’s advice and he found it surprisingly easy and natural to activate, like it was something he had done a million times before. As he eyed the dagger he was flooded with information in his mind.
Inspection:
Item: Soul dagger – A small but sharp blade built for swift, close-range attacks. Can be used as a projectile.
Barry frowned and was briefly taken aback by the weird way the information rushed across his mind. However, his frown was quickly replaced with a grin as he started to appreciate the usefulness of the skill and he decided to continue using it to examine the other soul items.
Inspection:
Item: Soul spade - A sturdy spade that can be used as a versatile tool or an alternative weapon.
Inspection:
Item: Soul pickaxe – An axe useful for digging through tough stone that can double as a weapon.
Inspection:
Item: Soul whip – A quick striking weapon that can also be useful when taming and controlling beasts.
“Anything tickle your fancy?” jested Gupa.
“In a word, no,” Barry replied honestly. “Maybe the dagger a bit, striking swiftly from the shadows like an assassin seems pretty cool I suppose. But I’m not sure it’s really me,” Barry replied. “I’m certainly not picking a spade that’s for sure,” he added grumpily.
“There is always the fifth option,” reminded Gupa.
“That’s right, how does that work again?” Barry asked as some spark returned to his eyes.
Gupa grinned, “As I mentioned earlier, the fifth option is a mystery until chosen. If you decide to take the risk with the fifth item simply place your hand into the space at the centre of the stone structure. However, be warned that once you make this decision you cannot reverse it. You will be stuck with that soul item for now regardless of whether you have little or great potential with it, and irrespective of how happy or disappointed you are.”
Barry brought his hand to his chin in thought, “Can you give me an example of some items other have obtained in the past?” he asked.
“That I can, for soul items can be anything that is considered a tool or a weapon, from swords, brass knuckles, axes and batons to wands, hammers, spoons, umbrellas, shields and more. As well as many items you will not be familiar with,” Gupa explained.
Barry coughed in surprise at the comments, “A spoon? An umbrella? How on earth are they considered useful soul items?” he asked, now reconsidering the usefulness of a spade in comparison to these rubbish items mentioned.
Gupa simply tilted his head to the side and answered, “All soul items can be useful and become powerful when in the right hands.”
Pausing again to ponder his options Barry couldn’t help but be a little drawn to the dagger. Additionally, the more he thought about the uniqueness and quirkiness of the spade, the more appealing it seemed, especially after Gupa’s comments. In the end however, the mystery of the fifth option was just too intriguing. Plus, he figured his luck in life prior to this event was pretty abysmal, so surely this second time around things would be different. Risk taking was never an option for him previously, and there was no way he wanted to start things out with more regrets and thoughts of what could have been.
“Fortune favours the brave,” Barry thought to himself. “What the hell, I’ll go the lucky dip,” he finally declared, as Gupa grinned in anticipation.
Without a second thought Barry jumped up onto the stone platform, impressed that he could manage such a movement given how long it had been since he could walk previously. Enthusiastically he reached his hand into the darkness in the central hole. A small puff of black mist swirled around his arm as he pushed his hand in further. He felt around for a moment before finally his hand touched something solid. As soon as he grasped the mystery object all four of the other items vanished into thin air. Barry heaved his arm out of the darkness, bringing his new soul item with him. It took a moment for the mist to fade before he could see what it was he was holding. Dangling from his hand was a long, strikingly dark, metal chain that swayed mesmerizingly as he held it aloft. Each link in the chain was as thick as his index finger and a couple of inches long, with the entire thing being around a metre and a half in length. It felt surprisingly light, but reliably sturdy all at the same time. Already he could feel a strange, indescribable connection with the chain, almost as if it was more an extension of himself rather than a simple tool. Barry couldn’t help but laugh as he thought of the irony of the situation. His whole life he’d felt held back, restrained and chained by his condition, incapable of reaching his true potential. And now it was a chain that would be the catalyst to his growth, the symbol of change in his new life.
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“Perhaps the gods have a sense of humour,” Barry thought as a wide smile spread across his face and he jumped back down to the floor.
“A chain wielder!” Gupa screeched in surprise, “That’s a new one to me! I’ve never even heard of that before. Have you inspected it? What is its description?”
Barry raised his eyebrows for a moment before he realised what the demon meant. It had only been a few minutes and he’d already forgotten about the inspection skill he had access to. Clearly too distracted by the impressive sight of the chain and performing strikes in the air at imaginary enemies. He stopped, looked down at his chain and focussed his mind, identifying the item.
Inspection:
Item: Soul aura chain - A lightweight, flexible, and sturdy chain useful for striking and binding. The chain passively extends the range of magical attacks when wielded.
“So, what does the description say?” an impatient Gupa demanded.
“Can’t you just come and touch it to identify it yourself?” Barry asked.
“Soul items are the one thing that cannot be identified,” Gupa frowned, as he started to twitch with irritation.
Barry smirked, somewhat enjoying watching the demon squirm.
“What’s in it for me if I tell you? Shouldn’t I be keeping my cards close to my chest?” Barry quipped, sensing the subtle shift in the power dynamic between himself and the demon.
“Well, yes normally, I suppose that is a fair strategy. But I am your guide, your secret is safe with me,” Gupa pleaded.
Barry let out a sarcastic sigh, and turned away, leaving the demon sweating. Just before he turned back around to put Gupa out of his misery and describe his soul item he heard the demon stammer, “I will give you some information on the next phase.”
“Deal,” grinned Barry, surprised Gupa had given in so easily.
Gupa sniggered joyfully at Barry’s comment, and when Barry spun to face him, he was met with two wide black eyes rife with anticipation.
“It’s called an aura chain,” Barry explained, “And it has an effect that passively extends the range of magical attack.”
“Amazing!” Gupa exclaimed nearly shaking with excitement, “A named item, and one with an effect right from the start too, that is extremely rare! You have truly been blessed by the gods.”
Gupa proceeded to perform a few minutes of weird celebratory dancing which involved lots of arm waving, knee lifts, and jaw chattering. Barry found the entire thing quite unsettling, once again backing away slightly from the demon and his erratic movements. Eventually, Gupa settled and placed his palms onto the ground once more, causing a familiar glow to spread out from his hands. At the same time the stone bench began to sink back into the ground until there was no sign of it ever existing. A moment later a new structure grew upwards starting as a pointed tip before forming a towering ten-metre-tall spire in front of him. It was covered in strange shining symbols of all colours and Barry found the sight quite spectacular. His eyes glistened as they reflected the glorious colours of the spire.
"This is an affinity detection spire," declared Gupa, "It's colours represent the myriad of natural affinities an individual can possess. This spire will glow the colour of one's primary affinity when touched.”
Barry stared mesmerised at the impressive tower before Gupa startled him.
"Well, are you going to keep me waiting all day” quipped Gupa sarcastically.
With that, Barry walked forward and placed both his hands onto the spire. It was surprisingly warm to touch, and as soon as he made contact with the monolith, he saw its glowing colours brighten further. He kept watching as the strange symbols began to move around the structure creating new, spectacular patterns. He frowned however, as he noticed that the previously vibrant rainbow of swirling colours were beginning to dim, as if the structure was being drained of life. Before long the entire construct faded away entirely, turning invisible to the naked eye. If it wasn’t for the fact that he could still feel it with his hands, he would have thought the spire ceased to be. Barry turned his head and met the gaze of the demon.
"So, what does this mean?" he asked.
"You are quite unusual human. A chain wielder with an affinity for illusions, very peculiar," stated Gupa.
Barry just smiled, “Illusion, that sounds kind of badass,” he thought.
Before long Gupa had dispelled the spire in the same way as he had done with the bench prior.
"Our time together is soon coming to a close," Gup declared, “Now would be the time to distribute your available stat points.”
Barry had forgotten about this task and enthusiastically moved to open up his status screen again to ponder his options. Reflecting on the descriptions Gupa had provided him earlier Barry instantly threw five points into vitality. He’d spent his whole life in a weak, deteriorating body, so now that he had the opportunity to form a resilient physique, he was going to take it. Next, he added one point to stamina, dexterity, mana, perception and willpower. He knew this was all a bit of a boring and defensive way of dispersing his points, but he didn't care. He figured it mattered not how strong or powerful he was if he was dead, so he wanted to make sure he was sufficiently robust and evasive, both physically and mentally.
Barry closed the stats screen and turned back towards the demon.
“So is that it?” he asked.
“Just one last thing. Your first magical ability,” Gupa declared.
This really caught Barry’s attention, this was what he had been waiting for, actually using magic.
“Now that we have discovered your affinity, I can help you activate and learn a basic illusionary ability,” he explained.
The demon reached back and pulled an item from out of nowhere, which Barry just hoped was a magical trick. Furrowing his brow Barry looked down at the demons open palm. There was nothing on it. Or was there? As he kept looking at the little hand, he thought he could see a subtle shimmer in the air. And as he focussed further, he started to see something. Like the spire, this object was almost invisible to the naked eye, like trying to spot glass when underwater.
“This is an illusion stone,” Gupa explained, “It will help you activate your first magical ability.”
“What do I do?” Barry asked. “Simply grasp the stone and your mind will know what to do next. Your natural affinity to illusions will lead you to your skill options,” he answered.
Before he did so, Barry identified the see through object.
Inspection:
Item: Illusion stone - Provides a basic illusionary ability when activated by a being with an affinity to illusions.
Afterwards he reached forward and grasped the invisible stone. As he did so a message appeared in his mind.
Illusion stone:
Ability 1: Item duplication – creates an illusionary replica of the item wielded by the user.
“Wait what’s the deal, there’s only one option?” asked Barry after analysing the message.
“Unusual,” Gupa answered, “Illusion is quite a rare affinity, perhaps the first step is not one you may choose.”
“I shouldn’t complain I guess,” thought Barry, as he mentally accepted the ability available to him.
He sensed a rush of information enter his mind, as if he had always known how to activate the skill. Drawing on this knowledge, Barry focussed and suddenly a long chain, identical to the one in his right arm, began to form from his left palm. As soon as it revealed itself Barry began swinging both the aura chain and the new illusionary replica around in the air.
“I’m a wizard!” Barry exclaimed proudly before refocusing as he met the unimpressed eyes of Gupa.
It was an odd sensation, forming his magical chain. Barry knew the item his left hand wasn’t real, but it still held weight like the real thing. It still moved like the real thing. For nearly all intents and purposes it was the real thing. He tested the illusionary chain out further, gently swinging it down at his opposite forearm. To his surprise it passed harmlessly through his flesh before continuing its trajectory. There was no feeling in his forearm as the chain passed through it. It was simply there, and then within a moment it was on the other side. Barry tested it out on the floor, and sure enough the illusionary chain simply flowed straight through the solid ground with no resistance at all. Quickly Barry was able to build upon his understanding of the skill as he swung it around freely.
Barry decided to make a sudden move towards Gupa and flung the illusionary chain forward at him in a horizontal strike. The little demon flinched in surprise before reflexively raising a small stony wall from the ground to block the swing of the chain. However, there was nothing to block as the chain slid straight through both the wall and Gupa. Barry smiled, satisfied with the outcome of his little test. Gupa poked his head out from behind the wall.
“Very funny human. I suggest you don’t pull any more of those stunts,” Gupa grumbled in annoyance.
Shortly afterwards the chain in Barry’s hand flickered briefly before it vanished all together.
“What just happened?” Barry quizzed. “Most likely you have run out of mana,” Gupa informed as he dismissed the stone barrier.
“Already? But it’s barely been thirty seconds!” Barry exclaimed.
“That may well be true human, but you are a baby in the world of magic and your mana pool is dismal to say the least. You can’t expect to be able to form unlimited magical abilities right off the bat!” Gupa explained.
“I suppose that makes sense,” mumbled a disappointed Barry before he opened his status screen again to check on his mana. Sure enough, the blue bar was completely empty, and he was developing a headache to match.
“That is the end of our time together initiate,” declared Gupa. “You will have to learn the rest on your own. I wish you luck moving forward.”
“Whoa, not so fast. What about our deal? You promised to give me some information on what’s coming next,” said a smug Barry with folded arms.
“Oh yes, how could I forget,” replied Gupa, looking even redder than normal due to embarrassment. “Just so you know we are really not supposed to reveal details like that, I could lose my job,” he stated.
“Seems like you shouldn’t be making deals like you did then,” said Barry.
“Yes, you are probably right,” Gupa sighed. “Very well, I will give you some details that may help you moving forward but please keep them to yourself. You will shortly be transported to a space known as the training grounds. This is an isolated area, outside of your home galaxy. The training grounds will run for up to one hundred days depending on the talent of this year’s initiates, of which there are billions. Your training grounds will take place in a large, diverse forest filled to the brim with dangerous beasts, other initiates, challenging dungeons, and valuable loot. There are three ways of escaping the training grounds. Firstly, by being one of the first one hundred initiates to reach the centre of the forest. Secondly, by surviving until one hundred of your peers have reached the centre of the space. Thirdly, if at the conclusion of the one hundredth day less than one hundred initiates have reached the centre of the forest, then all surviving initiates at that point will automatically pass. Although survival should be your main focus, it’s important to know that there are great rewards for being one of the first to reach the forests centre if you are up to the challenge. You needn’t worry about getting lost, the centre of the forest is not hidden, you simply need to follow the light.”
Barry mentally filed the information the demon provided before he was brought out of his thoughts by Gupa's words.
“That’s all you are getting from me human. It is time for you to go.”
“Wait, what happens after the training grounds? Barry asked.
“You can worry about that once you’ve made it through,” Gupa grinned.
Dissatisfied, but not wanting to push his luck Barry finally said, “Ok, thank you for all you’ve done for me, and I appreciate the additional information, I’ll be sure to keep it to myself. Will I see you again?”
“If you survive, then I will see you again at the end of the training grounds. Good luck!” Gupa answered.
With that Gupa let out a final toothy smirk before placing his hands on the floor once more. Suddenly four walls of stone rose up, surrounding Barry. Just as the walls began to curve over at the top, blocking out the remaining light by forming a ceiling of sorts he heard the voice of Gupa echo out one final time.
“Try not to die!”
A moment later Barry was fully enclosed within the stony space, and he felt a tinge of fear and claustrophobia enter his mind due to the dark confines. However, as quickly as the darkness had taken over, he was startled by a beam of light falling from above. The ceiling of his stone room had receded, revealing blue sky above, and was quickly followed by the sinking of all fours stone walls back down into the earth. It took a moment for Barry’s eyes to adjust to the light, but once they did, he grinned as he looked around. Barry found himself standing alone, dwarfed in the undergrowth by a collection of massive green trees that surrounded him.
“So, the demon wasn’t lying after all. Maybe this really is happening,” Barry thought as he gazed around in awe.