Blaze woke up feeling dizzy. He stood up to see he was surrounded by boxes. He climbed over the boxes and looked around. He was on a carriage pulling luggage on a flat road.
“What happened?” He muttered to himself. Had the fight been a dream? Had the gem been a dream? He checked his star power list. No, they were still there.
“Oh, you’re awake. Good.” Tom’s voice called out. Blaze looked around. He didn’t see Tom. “Over here!” Tom’s voice called again. This time, a hand showed up from under the boxes. Blaze climbed off the boxes to see a gap between the boxes and there Tom was, sitting there.
“Great, now you’re awake, let’s talk.” Blaze blinked, then nodded and sat down, rubbing his head.
“What happened?”
“You passed out. Blood loss, I guess. You were just laying there, that one guard was alive, but didn’t want to get near you. Called you a demon.” Blaze glanced at Tom. Now that Blaze was awake, he finally felt the cold. Blaze shivered and Tom threw him a thin jacket. Blaze nodded in gratitude.
“Demon’s don’t exist, don’t they?”
“Of course they exist. Where do you think your star gem came from?”
Blaze blinked.
“They exist?”
“Of course! Angels and dragons too. Beasts are most common though. Give body enhancement star gems.” Blaze blinked, then snorted. That wouldn’t be the craziest thing he had ever heard. Just then, something hit him on the head, followed by another.
“Ow!” Blaze winced and stared at the items on the ground. The first one had been a scabbard, the second a sword. “How did we even get here?” Blaze asked while picking up the two items.
Silver Dust Belt (Tier 2)
Uncommon Accessory
Belt
A belt out of leather and silver dust. Repairs any item attached to it slowly. Higher tier items repair slower.
Imperial Steel Knife (Tier 1)
Common Weapon
Tool
A knife made out of Imperial Steel. Can cut through metal.
Blaze inspected the two items, confused.
“Where did these come from?”
“My quest. It drops items in front of me until I get a storage power or storage band. I carried you through the forest until I found this carriage. Paid with copper coins from the quest. It will get us to the nearest town.” Tom answered calmly. Blaze nodded and stared at the cold forest.
“Can I have these?” Blaze asked. “I need some equipment.” Tom nodded.
“Surprising. Do you think your quest power just gave you items you needed?” Tom bobbed his head from left to right.
“Hmm, I don’t know. Most quest powers just give coins anyway. But mine is quite special. Giving me a quest for gathering food is just… weird.” Blaze nodded again, then opened his User Tab.
Blaze Hiro Draconis
Rank: Common
Race: Human
Star Race: Demon/Dragon
Spark Power:
1.Pride of Warnell
Sets: 1/3
Fallen Demon: 2/6
1.Sanguine Strike
2.Sanguine Impact
The old messages about race traits were also still there.
“Should I use any race traits? Maybe I should hide that I have legendary powers?” Tom snorted.
“You wouldn’t be able to hide it for long. The strength of a legendary Set…” Tom trailed off for a moment, then continued.
“The strength would be obvious, you have like no muscles. Anyway, your powers start at common.”
“Heyyyy…”
Tom shrugged.
“It’s true.” Blaze rolled his eyes.
“Why are my powers common? Isn’t my set legendary? What’s a set anyway?”
“A set is a combination of powers you can unlock. They unlock by special events or when you have a star gem that unlocks a specific ability from your specific set. Everyone’s power starts in common. The more you use them, the stronger it gets. If all your abilities reach their max potential, the rank goes up once. Everyone can have three sets.” Blaze nodded slowly, then went to accept his race traits.
“I’m gonna activate the traits.” Blaze said.
“Wait!” Tom stopped Blaze.
“What?”
“A person usually can't have multiple kinds of races.”
“What do you mean?”
Tom sighed.
“You really are a rookie aren’t you?”
“Enlighten me.”
Tom snorted a laugh and shook his head.
“There are five types of races. Human, Angel, Demon, Dragon and Beast. Any human can use a human gem. Demons are hostile monsters that look like humans with weird skin and other stuff. There are many types of demons like vamplings or gourglers. Angels are passive and give us quests for money and angel star gems. Dragons are neutral and harness elemental magic. Like Blood, Fire and Ice. Stuff like that. And finally beasts are just beasts that are infused with star powers. All of these races have tiers from 1 to 5.”
Tom took a breath after speaking so much, then continued.
“So, we can take race types from other monsters. But only one type. For example, I have an Angel Telekinesis power. It’s called ‘Hand of Mind’.” Blaze’s eyebrows shot up.
Hand of Mind
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Ultra Mind
Angel
This ability lets the user move any object of Ultra rank or less with gestures. Add additional mana to add spiritual damage to controlled items. This star power uses mana.
Spiritual Damage
Common - Legendary Damage
Angel
Lowers mind defense for every hit. Can hit incorporeal entities. If the user has no mind defense, deal blunt damage.
“Weird name.”
“Because I can only control things with hand gestures. And that’s not the point. So, since I have an angel star power, I can only use human and angel star gems.”
“Then, why do I have three… four types?”
“That’s the interesting thing. That’s not even supposed to be possible. I heard myths, but…” Tom trailed off again, seemingly thinking.
“I don’t know how, or why, that’s possible but for now you should hide it. Choose only one race.”
Blaze checked the messages again, then closed his eyes in thought. He remembered the guard. Tom had said they had called him a demon. Blaze nodded to himself and unlocked a new trait.
You have activated the Demon trait: Demon horns (Tier 5) You have received increased Power and Mana. Power increases over time. User start at Tier 1. You unlocked the passive skill:
Martial Artist (Tier 5)
A tingling sensation spread on his forehead and Blaze reached up to touch his head. He felt a tiny horn on the right side of his forehead. Tom flinched when he saw the horn.
“You took the demon path?”
“Is that a problem?” Blaze asked.
“It isn’t exactly popular.”
“Why? Is there some kind of mental backlash?”
“No, but… there are some people who… don’t like demons. So much so, they formed a group to exterminate all demons, even demon star gems.”
“So, they will be after me?”
“Probably.”
Blaze sighed and leaned back. He was starting to regret the horns. Then, a question came to him.
“Hey Tom, why don’t you have any race traits?”
Tom suddenly went rigid and didn’t meet Blaze’s eyes.
“Are… Are you okay? Was the question personal?” Blaze asked, feeling guilty for invading his friend's private space.
“No, no. It’s just, my halo never showed up on my head.”
“What?, how is that possible?”
“I… apparently took my first star set too soon. My halo… it’s corrupted.”
Then, Tom rolled up his left sleeve and aimed it at Blaze. On his shoulder, was a glowing crack.
“Whoa! Are you sure you’re okay?” Blaze asked and grabbed Tom’s arm. He inspected the crack.
“It’s nothing. In fact, it’s even better. I have got more mana than usual for a rare star gem.” Tom sighed wistfully.
“Not that a halo would have fit me anyway. I’m too…”
He didn’t finish the sentence.
Blaze grinned. “Say it.”
Tom glared at him and punched Blaze’s shoulder.
“Ow.” Blaze murmured, even though it barely hurt.
Tom snorted, then stood up and climbed over the boxes.
“We will reach the next city soon. I’ll get your stuff.”
Blaze watched Tom disappear behind the boxes, then sighed. This was going to be a crazy life. He just knew it.
****
“Whaaaat?!” Blaze stared in disbelief. They had reached the town and Blaze had been flabbergasted by how big it was. Tom chuckled at his reaction and started walking down a street.
“Come on, pick your jaw up from the floor. We gotta get going.” Tom called back.
Shaking his head, Blaze hurriedly followed Tom. They were in the left district of the city and it was massive. There were so many people walking down the streets, minding their own business, huge buildings and so, so many shops. Blaze had always imagined a life in a town, but had never expected this. Tom stopped at an intersection.
“We should split up.”
“Why?”
Blaze asked, stopping next to Tom.
“First, you find a tool kit. Then, find a place for storage bands.”
“What are…?” Before Blaze could finish his question, Tom had already sped off.
“Are you kidding me?” Blaze muttered under his breath. While Blaze thought of Tom as his best and only friend, he could get really annoying. Blaze sighed and turned in the opposite direction as Tom and ran off. First, a belt. He needed to find a shop and buy one. With money. With money he didn’t have. Blaze halted abruptly. He turned to stare back at Tom. He had already disappeared. Blaze let out a frustrated groan and kept jogging. Where could he get money? Working wouldn’t work. Didn’t people get paid monthly? Or yearly? He didn’t have years. He stopped a man that was entering a café.
“Could you tell me where I could get money?”
The man raised an eyebrow, then saw Blaze’s knife.
“Oh, you’re a monster hunter. New on the job, I guess?”
“What?” Blaze asked. He had no idea what a monster hunter was, but if it could get him money, it should be fine.
“Well, if you want to hunt, then go to Eldritch forest.”
“Thank you!”
Blaze thanked and kept on running. If he understood right, there was a job available at the forest. He sped up.
“Damn knife.” Blaze growled as it poked Blaze’s pants. He ran past buildings and shops but the town never seemed to end. By the time he reached the forest, he was exhausted. Dropping his sword, he crouched down to catch his breath.
“I need more stamina.”
He groaned, then stood up, picked up his sword and kept on running. He ran through the forest, searching for anyone in need of help. The trees were thick and barely any light shone through the trees. He mostly used his hearing to navigate.
“It’s so peaceful. Where’s the job?” Then, Blaze snorted.
“Imagine wanting to work.” Then, he heard a thump. Blaze twisted around and started heading to the sound. The sound was familiar. It was the sound of an axe. He unsheathed his knife and ran towards the sound. He rammed past a bush to find… nothing. Well, nothing dangerous. There was a man, dressed in simple clothing and chopping wood. Blaze lowered his knife, confused. Was he in the wrong place?
“Uh, hello?” Blaze greeted the man. The man stopped chopping, straightened himself and slowly turned towards him.
“Hello, how are you? What is such a young boy doing in a forest?” Blaze’s eyes twitched.
“I’m not young…” Blaze was saying when the man cut him off.
“Oh, that’s fine. I’m always right.”
This man was crazy. Annoyingly crazy. Blaze rolled his eyes and was about to go when suddenly he felt a strange feeling. Blaze jumped to the side and where he had just been standing, a human shaped creature smashed into the ground, blowing snow everywhere. Blaze stepped back a few steps and raised his knife. Where he had just been standing, stood a human. Only, he wasn’t. His flesh seemed rotten, eyes slitted and had long, sharp claws. “A demon”, Blaze realized.
New Quest obtained: Unknown
Objective: Defeat Ghoul (Tier 1).
Reward: 10 Bronze coins, Common Demon Gem Piece.
“What the…? Quests are not mine!”
The demon started growling and it started to become white.
“What’s it doing?” The Lumberjack stepped back, in shock and astonishment. Blaze just shrugged, concentrating. Then, the demon exploded. A cloud of mist sprayed out of the demon and obscured Blaze’s vision. Blaze couldn’t see the demon, the man or the forest. He was standing in a cloud of smoke. Blaze turned, trying to find the demon. He didn’t feel the aura quick enough. He felt a kick on his torso and he flew back. He bounced off a tree and heard a loud crack. He landed on the cold snow, groaning. He stood up, stumbling. His back screamed in pain. Blaze coughed, spitting out blood.
Congratulations! Martial Artist (Tier 5) has reached Level 2.
Blaze didn't have time to think about the notification. He dismissed the message and this time he felt the aura closing in on him. Blaze jumped, higher than he thought possible with his legs, and sailed in the air. Pain shot through Blaze. The demon smashed came shooting from the mist and punched the tree. The tree cracked.
Blaze was above the demon now. Blaze’s fist erupted into flames. Blaze landed on the ground and had to dodge immediately as the demon struck again. Blaze launched toward and punched the demon. It did absolutely nothing except burning the demon. Blaze winced at what he had to do next.
“Ooo, this is going to be bad.” He grimaced, “Boiling Blood.”
Veins spread through his body, while strength poured through his body, and his vision cleared. He saw the demon through the smoke. His fist shot like a rocket and sent the demon flying. How strong was this strength boost? He surged off the ground and dashed towards the demon. The demon roared and dashed to slash its claws into Blaze. Blaze crouched to the ground, sliding, and sliced the demon’s feet with his knife in his left hand. He slashed true. Blood sprayed out of the demon’s legs and covered the ground. The demon fell to its knees, roaring in agony. Blaze got up and slashed, scarlet, black flames erupting out of his fist, flying towards the demon in a cone of flame. He had added extra mana. The demon turned to stare daggers at Blaze before the flames engulfed it. Blaze stumbled, veins already retracting. His back burned and he spat out more blood. So much that he was practically vomiting blood. Notifications popped up, but his brain was too messed up to read. The last thing he felt before everything went black was 10 coins popping up in his pocket.