Chapter 5
I open my eyes and see a library. As I look around to try and figure out what just happen, I realize that this isn’t just a library, it is MY library. As a virtual being I can basically create my dream home by simply buying programs and software that allow me to design any living space as I wish, kind of like using a simulation program, but more advanced and I can live in it. My favorite place in my home is my library. It is a huge space, with 4 floors, and tons of books. It has these floor to ceiling windows on every floor that look out onto different environments that I set, right now it looks like an endless sea of grass outside. In the center of the first floor is a circle of black stone with faint blue light swimming in it, with an identical circle on the ceiling. Each level has large bookshelves all along the walls, with the floor space having more bookshelves and tables, chairs and couches scattered about. One of the things that makes this library special, aside from the calm and quiet atmosphere, is that all the books are either books I have read, or about my life. I used an A.I. creation program to create someone I named Chronicler, who automatically logs anything I read and the story of my adventures as books. So not only is there a huge wealth of practical knowledge, but tons of stories and novels that I read, in addition to the books on my adventures. My library has always held a special place in my heart, and for some reason it is here. Did I get logged out? How would that even be possible? I’ve only been playing for 2 days, it should be impossible to log out.
???: So this is your soul home. I wasn’t expecting such a place.
As I hear this voice, I rapidly spin towards it. That voice was definitely not Chronicler’s. Sitting at one of the reading tables scattered across the first floor is a fox kin woman. She was wearing a white kimono, with a pattern made red, gold, and orange falling leaves that covered an athletic form. Her eyes were orange and her hair was a mixture of red, orange, and gold.
Me: Well, I wasn’t expecting to be seeing this place again so soon. Would I be correct in assuming that you are the soul bound to the Autumn’s Song?
???: Indeed, but bound no longer. Do you understand what you are attempting?
Me: In regards to the rebinding? Not particularly, but it was the safer of the two options presented to me so I chose it.
???: Hmm, normally I would say that is true, but your soul is much stronger than I thought it would be. Additionally, the rebinding attempts to rebind a soul in the same manner it was originally bound. In my case, through a bargain.
Uh oh. This could be bad. If I have to bargain with a powerful soul I may have to give up a lot in order to simply keep my soul intact.
???: I see this troubles you. I don’t intend to make this difficult, as I am grateful for you freeing me from that sword. I simply wish for my original bargain to be fulfilled.
Phew, dodged that bullet. Although now there is another one.
Me: What was your original bargain? And what is your name? I am Tobias.
???: Hmmm, Tobias…that is a good name. My name is Autumn. When I was alive, I was a weapon master in the service of the Saul Empire as the First Blade. In that empire, the First Blade was not only the final line of defense, but also the teacher of weapons, for the royal family. I knew no equals in prowess or skill, and protected them for many years, eventually falling in love with the family as a whole. They were all kind and good people, and the Emperor ruled the land with a strong, but gentle, hand. As time passed, I grew older and older, and although my skills only sharpened, my body grew weak. It came to a point where although I was considered the best teacher of weapons in the entire empire, I could not safely say that I would be able to protect the royal family. In the end, I began looking for a successor, such that while I would live and protect the emperor until his death, my successor would protect the heirs, teaching them. However, before I could find a suitable candidate, I fell ill, and with my fragile body, I could not fight it off. As I lay on my death bed, the Empire’s best artificer came to me and offered a bargain. He would grant my wish, of being able to protect and guide those I held dear, and in exchange I would lose my body, and become bound to my sword. I accepted, and was bound to my sword with the other enchantments that would allow me to fulfill my purpose. For three generations, I fulfilled my purpose and duty, protecting and guiding the leaders of the Saul Empire, but it all ended in a night of fire and blood. A rebellion rose up, swarming through the palace, while I was training the youngest heir, no more than a child. He was isolated so that I could not help the others, and he was to weak and young to use me with any skill. He, along with the rest of the family I had so deeply devoted myself to, had died. The rebels then threw me into a great river, and I was lost for many years, eventually to be found by a merchant. I have been traded through many hands until now, and I thank you for freeing what had become my prison.
Half way through her story, tears begin to roll down her face while she struggles to maintain her calm façade. When she finishes, she drops her face into her hands and cries in earnest. In some worlds, I have been a heartless monster, while in others a paragon of righteousness, but in all the lives I have lived, one thing stayed true. I would have a circle of close friends, my kith, and I would do anything for them. I’ve always been a bit of a softie, and I can’t help but sympathize with her. I pull up a chair next to her and put my hand on her shoulder.
Me: So what bargain did you want to make?
She looks at me with her tear streaked face.
Autumn: I…I just, I just wanted to protect them. To teach them, help them grow up strong, and keep them safe from the demons of the world. I just wanted to protect them…
She starts to fall back into her despair.
Me: Then will you protect me?
She looks at me startled.
Autumn: You?
Me: In this world, I was born two days ago. I am a soul from another world, pulled from the afterlife and put into a crafted body. I know nothing of this world, and the fighting style I gained from my world is pretty sloppy. I would be honored, and grateful, if you could help me on my path.
She stopped crying, and looked at me, considering my words. Minutes passed, and I let them, knowing that this was a decision that would bind her to me for my life time, which with my body is forever.
Autumn: I will do this. I will help you.
She had a determined look in her eyes as she said this. When she agreed, a sound like a gong rang out, and a circle of glowing runes appeared around her, before closing in around her and sinking into her skin.
Autumn: I submit to your binding. Thank you.
She gives me a beautiful smile before the world fades to black.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
When I open my eyes, I see Albert above me with a concerned look on his face. When he sees me awake, he lets out a relieved sigh.
Albert: Don’t scare me like that boy. When you absorbed the sword you just fell unconscious and dropped to the floor.
Looking around, I can see that we are still in the dining room.
Me: How long was I out?
Albert: About a minute or so. I had thought that maybe the sword had hurt you somehow.
As he says this I hear another voice.
I must have looked shocked, because Albert suddenly looks worried.
Albert: What happened? You are alright, right? Did it hurt you?
Me: No, it is just…the soul. Hold on a moment while I check something.
As I turn my focus back to Albert, it looks like only a moment has passed while I was talking with Autumn. So now I have a hot fox girl warrior in my head, bound to my soul. This will be interesting. I hear Autumn giggle. Apparently she heard that. Right, back to Albert, he is a safe conversation.
Me: Yeah, I’m fine. I had to rebind the soul that was originally bound to the sword.
Albert: You rebound it?! I thought that when you absorbed the enchantment binding it that it would be released to the afterlife. Is it going to cause a problem?
Me: She, and no, I don’t think so. We came to an agreement, so she will help me out.
Albert: Well, I suppose that is the best outcome then. Back on task though, those were all the enchantments I had for you. Now, it is time for you to try them all out, and make sure you are familiar with not only how to activate and change your enchantments, but also with how those enchantments work with your body. Take the sword, and head outside. While you are practicing, I will make lunch. It is also probably a good idea to begin to get used to not needing to eat food. In the future you will either need to earn, find, or buy enchanted items, and any money you save can help since enchantments are rather expensive. Take the rest of today to train, and tomorrow I will tell you about the world.
Me: Alright. Oh, and Albert, have you ever heard of the Saul Empire?
I can feel Autumn’s attention sharpen.
Albert: Hmm? Saul Empire? Is that where the soul is from? Well, the Saul Empire was a powerful and prosperous empire, led by a family that surprisingly maintained their virtues and ideals through the generations, avoiding the corruption that typically comes with power. I believe they fell to a rebellion about 500 some odd years ago, and the empire fell apart shortly after. I will show you a map tomorrow and point out their land for you. A lot of their territory was either taken by other kingdoms or became new provinces.
Me: Ah, thank you. I’ll get practicing then.
I head outside to find a spot to practice.
I can feel her sadness through the bond, and I knew that she would be depressed over the subject. I wanted to make sure that we confronted the subject so that I could help her through it in a mostly controlled environment. Through Autumn’s sadness I can feel a twinge of humor, and a lot of gratitude.
Ahhh, I guess she picked up on my hidden reason. I will have to work on that. I sent back the mental equivalent of a hug, and opened the enchantment manager.
Active Enchantments1/10EnchantmentModifierAffinityStrength Increase10%1%Speed Increase7%1%Night Vision*0%1%Damage Increase (Fire)10%1%Health Regeneration18%1%Dimensional Pocket*0%1%Mind Bond*0%1%Variable Weight*0%1%
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So the main enchantments I am going to focus on right now are the speed, strength, and damage ones. Night vision I will practice tonight, and the dimensional pocket requires me to have some items to put in it. I have the sword but it is a little too valuable to be using as a test object. The mind bond needs to be active all the time anyways, so I’m not going to worry about testing with it off. When I get to the variable weight, I use additional information to see what it does.
Variable WeightModifies the weight of an object within a range dependent on the strength of the enchantment. Can increase or decrease weight.
Current Maximum Change: 10 pounds
Neat, that could be useful in some situations. If I amp it up I could potentially make myself weightless and do the whole “Leap over buildings in a single bound,” thing. Something to keep in mind for the future. Now how to test all of this? Speed is easy, so I will do that one first.
I start running around, swapping the enchantment on and off as I run so I can get a feel for the effect. 7% speed increase is nice to say, but it is hard to tell how much that is without playing with it. After about 10 minutes I feel comfortable with both speeds, although at this point the increase is only noticeable because I’m looking for it. Now for strength, I suppose I can just find a big rock and pick it up over and over again. As I do that, I alternate having the strength boost and not every other time I pick up the rock, and again the difference is noticeable only because I’m looking for it. Maybe my stats are low? I did just start after all. On to Damage! How am I going to test this? Might as well activate it and see what happens first.
When I activate it, I am suddenly covered in a thin layer of flames. Oh shit, I just set myself on fire! AHHH…wait, it doesn’t hurt. I am an idiot. I hear Autumn giggle in the background.
She is now seriously laughing.
Yeah, yeah, stand-up comedian here. Well, now that I am on fire, why isn’t it hot? It is almost like an illusion, it looks like fire but there is no heat coming from it and it doesn’t burn. Weird. How does this increase damage?
That…is an excellent idea. I go find a tree and punch it. When I pull back my hand, I can see a scorch mark on the bark, but it still doesn’t look like it did a lot of damage. Probably low stats giving a helping hand again. I need to figure out a way to boost my damage, so I can increase the value of the damage increase enchantment, because at this point all it really does is add the fire element to my punch.
Another excellent idea, I send Autumn my thanks before I try it. I’m glad I bonded her; she is turning out to be very helpful. If this works then I can just boost my stats up like crazy for only the cost of mana and items. I hold the sword in my hands, since it is the only weapon I have available, and pull up the idea of the enchantment. Once I feel that I have it firmly ordered, I try to mentally push it at the sword. The sword is covered in fire at the same time I get a new message.
Racial Ability UnlockedEnchantment Infusion
Awesome! It worked! I can enchant now and feed myself enchants! I use additional information to figure out the specifics of the ability.
Enchantment InfusionYou are able to infuse enchantments you have absorbed into other objects. Infusing an enchantment grants the object the effects of that enchantment. Number of enchantments on object can hold is dependent on the quality of the item. Enchanted items cannot have enchantments infused into them.
Infused enchantments count in regards to your active enchantments. An enchantment can be active and infused simultaneously, but both instances are counted as separate active enchantments. Infused Enchantments cannot be absorbed. Infused enchantments can be deactivated, removing the effect from the item while leaving the item intact. You may infuse multiple objects simultaneously, but all instances of infused enchantments apply to your active enhantments limit.
Aww, it didn’t work. No endless enchantment farming cycle yet I guess. Still, this is a really cool ability and allows me to use those awkward enchants that are more useful on an item, like the variable weight enchantment. Well, now that I got all that working I should practice them. Maybe I should also make an enchantment set or two so I can switch between them quickly. Wait, I wonder…
System Help
Query: Infuse Enchantment Sets
In order to create an infusion set, focus on all the enchantments desired in the set, then use the command "Create Infusion Set: [Name]". In order to use an infusion set, use the command "Infuse Set: [Name]".
Score! I make an infusion set with the damage increase (fire) and variable weight enchantments and name it “Flame Gram.” I then make an enchantment set with the strength, speed, and health regeneration increases, the mind bond, and the dimensional pocket, naming it “Battle.” Then I make a neutral set with the mind bond, dimensional pocket, and health regeneration increases and name it “Neutral.”
Once I make the sets, I begin to practice. As the sun is about to set, I finally feel comfortable with not only switching sets at will, but with how those sets affect me or my weapon while active. This is going to be a pain if I have to re-familiarize myself with my enchantments every time they change, but for the benefit of what is looking more and more like unlimited growth and infinite versatility, I think I can handle the drawbacks. I start to smell food, so I head back inside. I am going to keep adapting to not needing food, but I need to talk to Albert about some of the questions I have been putting off in favor of my ability. When I get to the kitchen, it looks like he is done cooking and preparing to eat.
Me: I’m back, Albert.
Albert: How was practice?
Me: I feel a lot more comfortable with the enchantments now, thanks for allowing me the time for it.
Albert: Of course. Now have a sit, you look like you have some questions.
Me: Am I that readable?
Albert: No, it is just what I would do in your situation, and you seem like a fairly intelligent person.
I mentally chuckle at Autumn and take my seat as Albert starts plating his food.
Me: Ah. Well, I think I will start on what I am. What can you tell me about homunculus? I know that the system said that I am ageless, immune to most diseases and poisons, and don’t need food and water to survive, but it also mentioned that I can’t increase my physical attributes through training. Why is that?
Albert: Well, that is mainly because your body isn’t really a body, per se. It is more like a golem, or a construct, simply vastly more advanced and complex. As such, and forgive my bluntness, the body you have now is permanent, it can’t grow, change, or adapt naturally on its own. In regards to your physical attributes, since your body can’t grow, you can’t build muscle or tone it. There are a few methods that can help you get around it, but they are all either magical or alchemic. For the same reason, you won’t age if you don’t grow, and you are immune to diseases and poisons that target a normal body since yours is predominately made of things that aren’t natural in a human body. Additionally, your body won’t get tired like a normal body would. You don’t have stamina and instead simply fuel your body with mana, which you naturally absorb from your environment. This causes you to have both a larger mana pool and higher mana regeneration than normal, but it comes with the downside that if you run out of mana, you won’t be able to move since you have no energy to do so with. In such a situation your body systems may begin failing and you could die. So, keep that in mind when you are using magic or mana, and remember to always keep a reserve or minimum amount. In regards to sleep, that is something that is both a physical and mental need, so you won’t be able to avoid it, but you may be able to adapt yourself to less sleep with practice.
Me: Yeah, I am pretty averse to death, so I will take your advice to heart. But that leads to my next question, how does magic work in this world?
Albert: Well, that one is a tricky question, because the answer greatly depends on what you are trying to do with it, and how you want to do it. In general, magic is simply the manipulation of mana to achieve an effect. For example, one could draw mana from their mana pool, imprint it with the idea of light, and focus it into a sphere.
As he says this he hold up a hand and an orb of softly glowing light appears above it.
Albert: However, such a simple spell as an orb of light like this can be done in dozens of different ways. Instead of using your mana pool, you could draw the mana from the environment, from another pool of mana such as a crystal or font, from another person’s mana pool, from another spell, or even from the gods. And that is just the variation for one step of one of the simplest spells I know. The more complex spells can have a dozen steps themselves, each of which has multiple variations. So when you ask, how do magic work, the answer is really however you want to do it.
Me: So what about spells? Aren’t those specific?
Albert: Sort of, it is more of a methodology developed in order to train people to use magic, or as a method of standardizing how groups of magic users use magic. When I say “orb of light” spell, it is really more of naming a standard effect, then the method used, when communicating within the magical community. So a “spell” is really just a name for an effect caused through magic. There are also rituals, but those are based on the method used, in addition to the effect caused.
Me: So I can do magic however I want?
Albert: Yes and no. In order to use magic, you must, at the most basic level, manipulate mana. So you can just shout “Fireball!” and cast magic, but using words and chants can be used to help focus yourself on the desired effect, although I personally believe most magicians use it as a crutch for the lower level spells. So, step one for any magician, is sensing mana. Unfortunately, this part tends to take the longest for most aspiring magicians, as sensing something that no one can accurately describe to you besides “It feels like mana,” is understandably difficult. Meditation is considered to be one of the most effective methods to begin sensing mana. There are other methods but they are, well, let’s just say they are less than pleasant. So perhaps you can meditate for a portion of your normal sleep schedule, if you wish to be efficient with the time we have.
Me: Alright, I have two last questions tonight. Why do I look like your brother? And how long do we have before Lord Endos shows up again?
Albert: Hahaha, you could pass for my brother, couldn’t you! The reason is because I used myself for your template. While this makes you look like, albeit younger, it also makes you have a similar body to mine. You should naturally have higher physical attributes than me, but unfortunately as I am somewhat lacking in that area, higher than mediocre will still leave you with low attributes. Fortunately, your mental attributes are all based on you, and I think you are particularly gifted in that area based on what I have seen from you. As a gift for you, I am currently collating all of my research together, and I will give it to you when I am done, which should only be a few days. In there are some methods of creating alchemic solutions to enhance your physical body, along with other things that I wished I could have done for you but lacked the materials. Hopefully, you will be able to use some of them. As for Lord Endos, I am also expecting a visit from him in a few days. He or one of his minions typically come and check up on my work once a month. Hopefully it is one of his men this time around. It would give us some more time to prepare.
Me: Preparation time would definitely be nice, but I think I will go try meditating and hopefully be able to sense mana quickly. I think it would be good to have magic available when Lord Endos arrives.
Albert: I believe that is a wise choice. I will see you in the morning then.
I leave for my room to meditate, and perhaps prepare some plans for the future.