A short gasp escaped him as his eyes shot open. He flinched in bed before he remembered where he was. Right. He was in his room at “The Crossway Inn”. He was in the bed he had rented. He looked around, seeing the table, the chair and the shelf with the hooks by the door. Zoomi was curled up in a ball at the end of the bed, fast asleep. The single window confirmed that it was still dark out, but Krys turned and sat up, his feet against the warm wooden floor and he pulled back the curtain to gaze out. The stars were losing their intensity and a single line was appearing on the horizon, an indicator that morning would take over before you knew it.
He stood up, looking down at his chiseled form for the first time since yesterday. His body really was dramatically different. Lean yet toned… as far as he could see there wasn’t an ounce of unnecessary body fat anywhere… all lean muscle. As he watched, just simply curious with the different changes he noticed that faint glow from what seemed to be deep within his skin begin to manifest some. Eerie yet… fascinating and exciting to some degree as well. He wasn’t the same. This thought brought him back to the strange dream he had just had, between the past image of the defeated serpent, the moment that never happened with Zoomi and then the mumbling Gerdt and the strange cave with… “Logan?” He whispered in the last few moments of the night. *Is he here, in this strange world, with me?* No matter, there wasn’t really anything he could do about it right now. Maybe he could keep his eyes and ears open and meet up with him… but thinking about it made him uncomfortable for multiple reasons. For starters, he barely knew him. They had had a weird first meeting and secondly… in the dream, if that was real, Logan was giving off some… darker vibes.
Yeah, distractions needed. Krys decided to get a better look at his abilities for now, pulling up his status screen and the abilities he had started with.
[Flora Manipulation: Allows the user to control and manipulate plant life, enabling them to grow, shape, and command various plants to their will; requires some form of natural light, mana or Faith.]
[Illuminated Mending: Allows the user to heal wounds and mend objects with a celestial light, replenishing vitality and restoring structural integrity; requires some form of natural light, mana or Faith.]
[Wings of Light: Allows the user to summon ethereal wings made of pure light, granting them the ability to fly and enhanced mobility; requires substantial amount of natural light, mana or Faith.]
[Starlit Winds: Allows the user to control and manipulate the currents and direction of wind, harnessing the power of the stars to create powerful gusts; can be used via mana instead.]
Hmm. Well that was all rather interesting. Seemed that he was able to use Flora Manipulation and Illuminated Mending yesterday due to the sun rays. Though the second one had sort of happened automatically… like a form of regeneration. He was beginning to wonder if others were able to use magical abilities without utilizing mana or… “Faith”. That word brought up a lot of feelings, especially the fact that it was spelled with a capital “F”. He had a hunch there was something significant about that. Alright, moving on from his abilities he decided to look over some of the perks he had, both the racial and class ones.
[Human Adaptability: Your racial perk allows you to quickly learn and adapt to new skills and abilities.]
[Logical Mind: Your racial perk grants you a heightened capacity for logical reasoning, allowing you to assess situations and make rational decisions with ease.]
[Sense of Direction: Your racial perk enhances your sense of direction, making you virtually unlosable.]
[Natural Charisma: Your racial perk grants you a natural charm and ability to persuade others with ease.]
[Rune Sense: Your class perk grants you the ability to sense and understand the ancient runes that hold powerful magic within them.]
[Sanctity: Your class perk grants you the power to channel divine energy and purify dark forces. This also acts as an aura around your person that is detectable to others. It has the effect of making you appear more radiant and pure.]
Whoa. The racial perks seemed rather expected. Most video games describe Humans as very adaptable, charismatic (compared to other races), they were “jack-of-all-trades” and capable of being good in many fields and if Earth was any indication, there were a whole lot of people spread across all types of careers. He took a deep breath and exhaled. The class perks were far more… intense. Ancient runes with powerful magic? Channel divine energy and purify dark forces? If there was something he needed to learn and understand about himself… his new self that is, then those two perks seemed like they should be put at the top of the list. Come to think of it, the day before, Gerdt had asked what an Angel was, like she had never seen or heard of such a thing, ever before. The concept of an angel might not be a thing in this world. Hm… he wondered if there was a description of the world like his abilities and perks.
[The World of Ulom: One world among many belonging to the Senior System known simply as the “Archway System”. It is often referred to as a more peaceful world, small and somewhat isolated in its own corner of the universe. It is a magical world filled with lush forests, sparkling lakes, and towering mountains. There are a variety of sapient races as well as the Divinities that watch over them.]
Okay… not too many specifics but something was better than diddly-squat. Before he could ponder more questions though the light of the morning sun was blinding him. He let go of the curtain and stood up, squinting and blinking several times. Zoomi lifted his head and then was suddenly up, jumping up and down happily, much like in the dream he had. Krys knew he should have been a bit unnerved, but the playful creature was too darn cute. He started laughing instead. “Let’s go see what’s for breakfast, shall we?” He made sure to put his moccasins and the vest back on before he headed down to the first floor.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
There was a joyful hustle and bustle as he came off the final step. Tables were full in every direction. *Seems people like to come here for chow even if they aren’t staying in one of the rooms.* He saw mostly humans but there were a few other races and he couldn’t help but let his eyes linger on them. One person seemed shorter than a human but otherwise could pass as one, except for the short white fur on his… or her, ears. He couldn’t discern the gender from this distance but they seemed to have a slender, more petite frame. They had white hair on their head but appeared to be quite youthful and there was a large ball of white fur on their lower back. Everyone was wearing what appeared to Krys was, more old-fashioned clothes. Things that could be hand-made like silk, though the majority of outfits here seemed to be made of felt or wool.
“G’mornin’ stranger. Ready for yer breakfast then?” A sweet voice asked. It was the same young woman from the evening before. She was watching Krys almost coyly. He kept his reaction cool whilst his heart started hammering inside his chest. “Oh, yes!” He hoped his voice hadn’t went too high. She nodded and turned around into the kitchen, returning a moment later with a large plate of food for Krys and smaller one with some pieces of fruit and nuts for Zoomi. That was nice. He thanked her and then went looking for a place to sit. Moving all around the room, it seemed there weren’t any available places to sit and eat until he followed the natural curve of the room which lead out to the back, there he found a small patio area with a few more quaint tables and chairs. He took one of the vacant ones. Looking up he noticed they were underneath a balcony of the upper floor, it was better protection from rainy days than an awning, most likely. Still it allowed him fresher air and access to the morning sun light. It felt great. The food was delicious too, increasing his mood even further. If he were only on vacation, right here right now this would have been perfect.
He watched as horses pulled fancy looking coaches and carriages down the cobblestone streets… the further from the center of the city though the streets turned into hard packed dirt so that by the time you reached the gates you were definitely “roughing it”. He marveled at some of the nearby buildings. He could see small chimneys with white smoke rising into the air… no maybe it was steam not smoke… It didn’t smell like soot was in the air at all. Just then a young man stepped out onto the patio, he was much younger than the barmaid that he had seen at the counter inside, though he wore a similar looking outfit he had overalls on instead of a skirt. He also replaced the bonnet with a simple brown cap. “Mornin’ fellow, sir. Are ye done with yer meal?” He asked. Krys blinked and looked down, sure enough between himself and Zoomi, there was nothing left. The boy looked like he couldn’t have been older than 12 but he confidently stepped up and took both plates, stacking the smaller one on top of the larger before bowing his head and turning around back inside. The boy had only taken a few steps out of sight when there was a sudden grunt and then the crash of ceramic. “Oh, watch where you are a’goin’ boy!” Someone said rather harshly, the voice had been male, deep and ragged and brutal. Before he knew it, Krys was standing up at the doorway, looking down where the young boy was on his butt, both arms behind him, braced against the floor as he stared up at the hulking man in front of him. Actually, Krys wasn’t sure what he was looking at. He was tall, his skin was an incredibly dark bluish-green, he stood on two legs but there was a thick tail behind him, he had the face of what appeared to be a crocodile. More teeth and a thinner snout than an alligator, if Krys remembered correctly.
The boy had broken ceramic pieces all around him, and the crocodile man was wiping off his grayish-red robes. He was scowling down at the poor kid with alien vibrant blue eyes in the shape that one would expect from an alligator or crocodile. “S-s-so-orry, sir.” The boy sounded miserable, stuttering from shock or maybe fear. The croc-man just made a growling noise and stalked down a side passage, disappearing behind a door.
Krystofer walked down to the boy, calmly and stood over him with a smile while offering a hand. “Here, let me help you.” He said. The boy seemed surprised as first, obviously not expecting any one else to make an appearance but after a moment he smiled as well and looked very grateful, his eyes got watery but he steeled himself enough to avoid bursting into tears. Back on his feet he looked down at his hands where there were a few minor cuts. “Grump Threx.” The boy mumbled under his breath. Pursing his lips, Krys knelt down. “Oh, well I think I can help with this as well. In fact…” he looked around at the broken dishes before bringing his gaze back to the small cuts. Then he activated his Illuminated Mending skill and watched as the nearest sun rays seemed to bend from the doorway near the patio towards himself and then a glow of light shot down making the cuts disappear, but that wasn’t all, each and every single piece of the broken plates began to glow, levitate off the ground and slowly but surely reform as if they had never been broken. They sparkled in fact, as if freshly washed. “Oh yes, that seemed to work well” he said, grinning, “how does it feel?” The boy gawked, looking from his own arms to the fixed plates and then up at Krys with an expression of pure wonder and awe. He didn’t say anything for a few heartbeats and then he lunged forward and hugged Krys, wrapping his arms around his neck. “Thank ya mister!”
Touched, Krys offered a one-armed hug back and had to hold back his own tears, the moment was awkward yet emotional. “Don’t think anything of it.” He answered, clearing his throat and ending the embrace as he stood up. “I’ll nev’ forget yer kindness, I gotta tell sis.” The boy scooped up the plates and rushed off.
# Believer Gained; +1 Faith Acquired
[Laine Girdheart: Laine has seen some of the truth of you and is grateful for your kindness and care. +2 Faith will be acquired daily for as long as he remains a believer.]
“What th—” just then there was a noise down the hallway. Krys turned his attention to look and saw the croc-man emerge from behind the door he had entered earlier. *Must be a restroom.* The intimidating individual walked towards him and looked where the broken pieces had been and then muttered, “wasteful” before walking out towards the patio outside. Krys wanted to say something but decided to shrug it off. There might be some cultural traditions or customs that he wasn’t aware of. Though he doubted that. Instead he thought back to his recent notification. “Come on, Zoomi. I think we should go pay Gerdt another visit.”
Heading back into the common room there was a commotion. People were crowding around near to the notice board and someone was raising their voice. “Two murders! Here in the City of Roads! Dun let yer kiddies out too late. In fact, dun none of you’s be walkin’ about under the stars, fer now! Two murders and no culprit found! Be warned ya lot of good fer nothin’s!” He nailed a paper to the board, probably something repeating what he had just shouted before he headed for the door, a stack of the same papers under an arm.
Krys paused turning to look at Zoomi questioningly who for his part simply shrugged. “Clee?” With a pat to the head Krys looked around, gauging the reaction and from what he could see, cold-blooded murder was not a common thing in this region.
# Quest: Night Stalker
:: Mysterious murders in the City of Roads has everyone on edge. The culprit hasn’t been caught which means everyone could be in potential danger. Would you investigate this dark scenario and help shed some light on the scene? [Rewards: 1.0 EXP, +3 Faith, other(s) depending on results] ::
“Whaaat?”