“I … vow to be with … forever. May we be together even after death.” The strange voice from Alden’s dream last night echoed in his mind. Ever since his 16th birthday, Alden had been plagued with recurring dreams of another world, filled with locations and technology that seemed otherworldly. It had been eight years since the dreams began, and the most recent one ended with a couple breathing their last.
“Aldennnnn, time to get up! You can’t stay in bed all day. The Lord is coming by for an inspection of the fields today.” A voice called from downstairs. It was Alden’s father, the head farmer of their small village.
Getting out of bed, Alden made his way down the stairs and sat at the table, which was laid out with some basic meals. His family wasn’t poor, but they were also not extremely rich. Their service to the lord of the lands ensured they had the necessities to survive, but fancy goods such as expensive magic tools were beyond their means, especially since they lived in a small village far from the capital.
“Good, you finally got up. The sun came up a while ago. If we hadn’t completed the harvest yesterday, I’d have made you run laps around the field as punishment,” Alden’s father said, chewing on a piece of bread. He was a tall man, standing at about 1.83 meters, with hardened muscles that showed his hard work in the fields. His hair was a deep chestnut brown, and his eyes matched. Considered handsome when he was young, age had given him a tired and worn-out look in his eyes.
“Jacob, leave the boy alone. He’s still young and was out all night. Who knows, we might be getting a daughter-in-law soon,” his mother, Marie, giggled as she came out of the kitchen. Marie was on the shorter side, reaching only chest height to her husband, but what she lacked in height, she made up for in beauty. With long black hair and vibrant blue eyes, she was the talk of her hometown. Alden still struggled to understand how his father had managed to woo her, but the fact remained that he did, and Alden was the result.
She had been pushing Alden to find a good wife for a while now. At almost 25 years old, most men his age were already wedded or at least interested in the opposite sex, but Alden had shown no interest in the women of the village. Whenever he talked to them, it felt like something was missing, like they were on different pages, leading to a disconnect in feelings and intentions. By now, the women in the village knew not to waste their time on romantic pursuits with Alden, likening it to teaching pigs how to fly.
Alden himself stood at 1.72 meters, his striking white hair and red eyes setting him apart from his parents. Unlike them, his unusual appearance was a manifestation of his curse—the inability to harness magic. In this world, magic power was the core of society; people with high magical aptitude were treated like nobles, while those with low aptitude were looked down upon as commoners. Alden, with his complete lack of magical ability, would have been treated worse than dog food in the wider world. However, in his small village, he never experienced any discrimination. Everyone treated one another like family, and while some were skeptical of Alden as he grew up, most realized he was just another boy.
Finishing their breakfast quickly, Jacob and Alden prepared themselves to go finish up any last-minute touches that the fields would need.
“Let’s go Alden, the lord will be here soon, and if he is unhappy with our progress, who knows what he might do.” Jacob led the way to the main building in the village. As they approached, they saw some of the other villagers already there and talking amongst themselves.
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“Morin’ Jacob, Alden, I see y’all finally arrived. We’ve be waiting for ya.” An aged man called out to them. He was the village chief, Marcus, and he had been overseeing this town for as long as Alden could remember. Due to Marcus’ slightly higher magical aptitude, he was voted into this leadership position. Whether or not he wanted to be leader, no one knows for sure, they just pushed it to him because no one else wants to deal with having to maintain order in the town.
“Alright, everyone has gathered, so I’ll be layin out the tasks for everyone today. Jeremy and ya son Alex, go around the fields and use your earth magic to make sure there are no uneven spots or hidden animals. Last thing we need is for the Lord’s men to fall and hurt themselves. Beren, go around the fence and make sure there are no broken links. If there are, ya know what to do. ….” Marcus and Jacob’s voice called out, they were the main ones responsible for the field, and if anything were to go wrong then they would be the first to be punished.
ENOUGH ENERGY HAS BEEN GATHERED. ACTIVATING THE PINNACLE SYSTEM
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“Huh, what was that noise? Pinnacle System, what is that?” Alden blinked, staring at the glowing blue box that had suddenly appeared in front of him. It floated in the air, filled with strange symbols and text in a language he somehow understood instinctively, despite never having seen it before.
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Stats
Full Name – Alden Morrow
Age – 24
Strength – 10
Intelligence – 10
Dexterity – 7
Magic -
Charisma – 8
Luck – 9
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“Alden, Are you okay? You’re looking a little dazed.” A voice broke through his thoughts, snapping him back to reality. He realized he had been staring blankly at the air, the blue box visible only to him. Alden looked around and saw that Alex, his best friend since birth, was staring at him. He and Alex were born around the same time, and since they lived so close together, it was only natural for them to become fast friends as they grew up together. Alex’s family specialized in Earth magic, so as they got older, Alex started to spend more and more time in the field helping whenever he could. Alden on the other hand was often regulated to doing more basic tasks such as herding the animals and carrying farming equipment. Despite the recent lack of time together, Alden still considered him to be his best friend.
“Huh, oh uh yeah, I just go lost in my thoughts for a second.” Alex chuckled when he heard that,
“For a person that can’t use magic, you sure do like to hang out in your head all day. What were you thinking about? The best place to hide and take a nap”. Alden grinned. Over the years, he managed to grow a reputation. Whenever work in the fields would get slow, he would sneak away and take a nap somewhere. Other than a few jokes about the situation and a stern talk to from his parents, no one really minded. They understood that Alden was limited in what he could accomplish in the fields, so they all kept an open mind about it. Plus, they would eventually get payback by making him work in some of the other areas.
“Haha, very funny, don’t you have a field to go tend to. Should worry about rats attacking you from their burrows while you’re out there. Wouldn’t want the ladies to see you get bit, they would be laughing for weeks” Alden joked back. Walking past Alex, he started to think about what that weird blue box was. From the weird words, it seemed like it was some type of information box about him. It had his name and some other weird information on it.
“Maybe I should go find somewhere secluded and see if I can find any more information about it.” Looking around to make sure he wasn’t being watched, he ducked behind a couple of trees that were on the taller side and headed out to a small clearing. This was his favorite spot to hide and relax. The clearing was empty except for a tall tree in the middle of the area. Alden took a seat and leaned against the tree. Thinking of the box earlier, a bright blue box appeared.