“A month!?” Ross yelled.
Everest, pinching his temples, grunted in perturbance. “For the ninth goddamn time, yes. A month. Thirty days. 720 hours. I cannot break it down any further.”
“Why the hell-” Ross began.
“Not ‘what the heck’?” snorted Everest.
Ross gave him an weary, bitter look. “Why is it gonna take a full month!? Didn’t you get here in, what… Two and a half days or so?”
“Yes. Because my Dex score has five digits. Just like the rest of my scores.”
“So couldn’t you just carry me there?”
“Sure.”
“But you aren’t going to?”
“Bingo.”
Ross screamed in frustration.
“Why not!? We’re wasting time here, and there are a ton of monsters around! I had to fight off something that looked like a tardigrade and a badger had a lovechild the size of a small cottage!”
Everest froze in place, slowly turning to face Ross.
“You mean a kanpodomelis..?” He muttered quietly.
“Yeah, I think. It sounds right for what the system told me.” Ross said.
“You beat a fully-grown kanpodomelis.”
“Yeah, what of it?”
Everest looked at Ross in wide-eyed wonder.
“You’re level six.”
“Okay, and?”
“Did you even check the level of the thing before you killed it!?”
“No, I was kinda busy trying to not die.”
Everest rubbed his hands over his face in frustration.
“You really need to check shit more." He said, taking a deep breath.
"The adults are upwards of level sixty, kid.”
Ross was about to retort, but came to a gradual stop as the implication set in. Everest spoke slowly, voice excessively exasperated, which shouldn’t have stung as much as it did. “Yeah, kid. You beat something ten times your level. You should be dead right now.” He widened his eyes in mock empathy for the last portion.
Ross sat in place. His mind reeled from the revelation. “All I did was use these…” He paused, then activated his shields with the meager 12 AP he had remaining. The small burst of dull runic light hooked Everest’s attention.
“May I?” he asked. Ross agreed, passing them to the man.
“I got them from the advancement I got for creating a Trait, I think.”
Everest looked them over before seemingly opening his own interface, eyes widening. He whipped to face Ross once more, his jaw slack for a few moments as his mouth worked out the proper words.
“I’ve had some others whose traits were linked this closely to an item, but these are simply…” Everest trailed off. He simply shook his head in disbelief, staring at the item description.
Ross looked on in equal parts confusion and curiosity. He hadn’t had proper time to really consider the strength of those shields, but they were the only reason he survived what could have been the genuine end of him. Scratching his head, he scooted a bit closer to Everest. “Is there anything there I should be concerned about?
Everest shook his head. “You should be the opposite of concerned. It seems like the system isn’t suffering from your presence, but flourishing.”
He flipped the shields in his hands. “In fact, I’d venture to say showing these to an enchanter or smith could really boost their craft’s EXP.”
He handed the shields back to Ross, scratching his head. “Unfortunately, I can’t do much but answer questions until we get to a town. I don’t have any training gear on me.”
Ross opened his mouth to say something in response, but was cut off by a sharp “Ah, ah, ah!” from Everest.
“Don’t you dare ask me why I, a trainer, don’t carry training equipment. Your sorry ass got air-dropped into the woods and I had to come find you before you died.” He turned away. “Looks like you didn’t really need all that much aid, huh, kid?”
“I dunno, I am kind of new to all this. Pretty sure me living that was dumb luck.”
Everest snorted. “That ‘dumb luck’ is survival instinct. Means you understand what your gear does and how to use it in an emergency, which is a good thing. If it was actually dumb luck, the shields would have been useless and it would have been obliterated by a massive tree falling or getting spooked somehow.”
The duo was silent for a moment before Ross spoke again.
“You sure talk like someone from my world.”
“Well, yeah,” Everest explained, “because I need to do my research when you guys come over. Sure, other worlds have transfers and the like - and I will explain what I mean, calm down - but most of them are similar enough to this place that it’s like a mild walkthrough. With you, it’s a whole damned tutorial.”
Ross blinked. “Are there any-” he cut himself off. He nearly facepalmed, remembering the explanation his mentor had just given him. Of course others from his world were here.
Everest grinned.
“Careful. It’s learning.”
Ross snorted aloud at that, which caused Everest’s face to soften ever so slightly. Ross took a deep breath before continuing.
“So you take in people from Earth-”
“Backwash.”
“I… honestly cannot argue with that description, despite desperately wanting to.” Ross shrugged.
“So you take people from Backwash and show them the ropes, then..?”
“Then I cut ‘em loose on the world and tell them to try not to die.”
It was Everest’s turn to shrug. “Very few are able to follow that advice, though I can’t help but notice how your powers make you especially difficult to kill. You might survive for a while, assuming you can figure out your class.”
“And that’s something you’ll be helping with, right?”
Everest snorted a couple of times, trying and eventually failing to hold back the cavalcade of laughter. “Dear gods, no, kid! You’re on your own there! How can I help you figure out your class when I don’t even know what it’s meant to do!?”
He laughed some more, which made Ross’s face sag in irritation. His trainer’s laughter turned into a short-lived coughing fit before he took a deep breath. “No, kid, you gotta figure out the class stuff yourself. Think of me more like a quick reference guide without the ‘quick’. As we come across stuff that’s different in this world compared to your own, I’ll walk you through it. Once you have all the differences you’ll need to function in society, I’ll take off. Contract is done after that point.”
“Speaking of,” Ross piped up, “you did a total 180 on me. You told me right out you wouldn’t train me, and then you told me you had to? Not because I was from Earth, but because of my weird Trait?”
Everest nodded. “Backwash, and it’s weird, I know.”
He went to turn away, and his body physically strained but didn’t move. His face immediately fell from upbeat to infuriated. “Oh, come on, you saggy sack of skunk shit! I have to explain that now, too!?”
He froze in place after a moment, hands out in front of him and eyes closed. He took a long, deep breath before continuing.
“Look, kid. I made some fucked up choices way back when. I had to wind up negotiating with a god here in Terraegnus - Otectvurce, the guy who runs and kinda is the system - for my life. Because the choices wound up relating to Backwash residents and tons of knowledge about this world, the fucker saw it fit to grant me immortality - the stuck in your age at that moment and living forever unless directly killed kind - and every drop of knowledge about Backwash and the system of his at any given time. Not what’s in the system in regards to actual people and personal stats and info, but how the system itself functions and the like. Kinda linked to it now.”
He pinched his brow. “Of course, that means I was then the perfect candidate to become a Simulacrum for Otectvurce.”
Everest rolled his eyes at Ross’s blatant confusion. “A Simulacrum is a tutorial teacher designated to a specific realm of existence. I got shoved at Backwash.” He sighed heavily. “At least I learned about yoga pants and could afford to have them commissioned.”
He stretched his odd-looking pants with a smirk, before letting them go with a slight snap. “Damn glad I learned about ‘em.”
“So you’re pinned down by a god to be a tutorial person, but you outright refused me at first? How’s that work?” Ross muttered.
At this, Everest grinned wildly. “Otectvurce got sick of my shit after awhile, what with slacking in my duties and all. So many Backwash transfers were being pushed through and I cared so little after seeing so many die within hours that he had to sit down and iron out a full contract with me. Long and short of it is, I need to determine for myself how well the individual would function here based on the knowledge and mental state they brought with them. If they have a normal Trait, it’s an automatic deal; pass Go, collect a hundred kinda deal. If they’re ignorant, blatantly rude or outright violent, I can refuse my training and they’ll be on their own unless I deem them at a later point reigned in and no longer overwhelming to work with.” He nodded to Ross, smile fading.
“When I first laid eyes on you, my first thought was troublemaker due to the whole firbolg thing. I was more than ready to use the loophole I usually do - if I don’t see or know about your Trait, I don’t need to train you. Otectvurce despises that, but hey; he made me an indentured teacher with minimum wage, so he can deal with my bullshit while I’m in servitude.” He shrugged. “Turns out, you’re just an unlucky fucker who was killed in the wrong place, at the wrong time, in the wrong ways and was shoved head-first into a cacophony of shit you didn’t understand.” He grimaced. “That meant, in that instant, I was contractually obligated to train you.”
Ross nodded, trying not to be visibly hurt. “That… makes sense, I suppose.” He scratched the back of his head. “How many people have you-”
“Too. Many.” Everest shot back, then bit his tongue.
“Too many...”
He tossed Ross’s shields back to him, and Ross barely managed to fumble the discs before they landed on the ground with a soft thump.
After a few moments of silence, an alert popped up in Ross’s vision. Unlike the normal navy blue and dull silver colors he was used to, the window was a vibrant crimson color. The border around it almost looked to be a flood of blood, glimmering like sunlight hitting a pool’s surface. The window itself was quite small, and the golden cursive lettering on the pop-up window was barely visible due to its size. The window, however, didn’t have an option to close it. Additionally, no matter how hard Ross tried, he couldn’t resize it or minimize it. The only option he seemed to have in regards to the message was to move it about his vision. He heaved a sigh before peering at it through squinted eyes.
[You’ve tread somewhere you’re not supposed to be with access to fallbacks you shouldn’t have. You might have been brought here to help, but I refuse to sit by as my domain is thrashed about like a child in the jaws of a hellhound. I will be an obstacle in every sense of the word, and we’ll be meeting face-to-face when you least expect it. Talk to your little mentor about me if you wish. I may not be allowed to kill you myself, but I will get as close as possible before I leave you alone. You’ve enraged me, Ross Olsen.
Regards from Siohothochtur.]
“What’s a… ‘see-oh-thock-tour’, Everest?” Ross asked, shifting uncomfortably. Everest sat rigidly upright, staring at Ross. “Siohothochtur is the realm of the gods, kid. How would you…” Everest trailed off, face growing serious.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
“You got a message mentioning it.”
“Yeah, but it doesn’t say from who. I do have two more alerts right now, though…”
“Open. Them. Now.” Everest barked, snapping each word off at the end. Ross swallowed hard, opening the first one.
[Congratulations! You have been recognized by a God of Terraegnus and/or a resident of Siohothochtur! This can mean great things for you if you please them, or terrible consequences for upsetting them. Be sure to keep up your best behavior!]
“The system is sentient. It has to be sentient, because it sure as hell feels like it’s taunting me.” Ross huffed indignantly at the alert.
“I pissed off some god by doing nothing and the system tells me making them happy will be a good thing to do? Only way they’ll be happy is if I leave, which I don’t think I’m able to do at this moment in time.” He paused, looking up at Everest with the faintest spark of hope. “Can I..?”
“Sorry, kid, but no.” Everest grumbled, running his hands through his hair. “We would both be happier then. Just… open your other alert. Probably another achievement alert, and if it’s the one I’m thinking of, it’ll be best to get it out of the way now.”
Ross nodded dejectedly before opening the second alert which was, in fact, about achievements. After opening it, his Achievement tab began flashing once more, so he went to it immediately after.
[Gaining the attention of a God has unlocked the Siohothochtur achievements! Your Achievements tab has been updated to include all Siohothochtur Achievements.]
[Achievements: 39/11,091 - Please speak the name of the Achievement for more details and to claim rewards for gaining that Achievement!
Realm of the Gods
Acquisition: Make a connection to a God of Terraegnus and/or a denizen of Siohothochtur
Reward: +1 Electrum Coin, +5 to each Stat
Meiyojov
Acquisition: Interact directly with Meiyojov, the God of Glory, Honor and Duels
Reward: Blessed Legendary-Grade Armor
Heretic I
Acquisition: Enrage one or more Gods of any realm
Reward: Heretic I title ]
“What do titles do, Everest?” Ross muttered. His mentor just shook his head, rubbing his eyes wearily.
“Titles are shown off as soon as you get one, and can only be hidden by learning a special skill I can’t teach you. They can be swapped out, of course, but some will leave a permanent mark on your Title indicators. I assume you got some level of Heretic achievement?”
After Ross nodded, Everest grumbled again. “The Heretic titles make it so you gain a symbol that looks like a solar eclipse next to your titles. It starts out with the eclipse just beginning, and at the final level of Heretic, that eclipse is in full blast. Once that happens, you won’t be able to obtain the skill to hide your title. Make sure you play nice with the whims of the deities until you get that ability, pretentious assholes though they are.”
Everest looked up to the sky, noting the sun drifting ever closer to the horizon.
“Alright, kid. You’re gonna get a metric shit ton of Achievements soon. I’ll start setting up a camp perimeter while you sit tight and inspect any items you haven’t yet.” Everest immediately knelt down next to the nearest tree and pulled out a pocket knife, carving an odd symbol into it. Ross observed curiously for a bit before speaking up.
“I didn’t do this on purpose. Any of it. I’m sorry if-”
He was interrupted by an aquamarine finger held to his face. Everest muttered a single word in a language Ross couldn’t begin to explain, the breath used in it turning a dazzling shade of lime green and pouring into the marking slowly. After thirty seconds or so, the symbol glowed a vibrant green - darker than the breath had become - and the tree was surrounded by a faint aura of lime light.
“I know. Neither of us wanted this, and nobody was prepared for it. It was one huge freak accident. The reason I’m so apprehensive about this all is because you clearly weren’t ready, I’m quite literally forced by oath to teach you the ins and outs like I’ve done literally hundreds of times before, and I just want to relax for longer than a few weeks before being forced into another session of teaching against my will. I’m gonna try to be amicable, but I make no promises. It’s nothing against you, but I couldn’t care less about you if I tried. I just wanna get this done and out of my life so I can try to relax for a little while longer.”
Everest finally looked up, meeting Ross’s gaze, and the latter saw so much exhaustion in the former’s eyes that he had to choke back a gasp.
“I’m tired, kid.”
With that, Everest went back to engraving the surrounding trees, and Ross swallowed hard, returning to the center of the small clearing and hugging his knees. He opened his inventory to do as he was told, inspecting first the new Blessed Legendary armor, then the Protism necklace.
[Blessed Legendary Armor: Cape of True Reversal
Defense, Offense, Growth, Cursed
When collecting AP, subtract your current Health from your maximum Health and add that much AP to your AP Pool. When your AP reaches 0, you may pay any amount of HP. Add that much AP to your AP Pool.
CURSED: Should you ever lose more than 90% of your AP at once, you will experience crippling pain until it raises once again by 100 or more points. Should you use all of your AP at once, you will gain one level of Exhaustion. If you gain three or more levels of Exhaustion at once, you will die. This item is equipped upon inspection and cannot be removed. This Curse cannot be removed, negated or otherwise ignored.
GROWTH: This item will grow with you, and gain benefits upon Milestone Levels. These Milestone Levels are levels 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 99 and 100 in your First Class. The benefits of each Milestone Level will be listed below upon reaching said Milestone Level.
10: -
20: -
30: -
40: -
50: -
60: -
70: -
80: -
90: -
99: -
100: -
Unique Mythic Gear: Protism, Amulet of the Unyielding Savior
Defense, Offense, Growth
This item is unusable and not inspect-able until you reach Level 20 and Advancement 3 in {Full_Counter_Error}. ]
Ross blanched at the cape he had held in his hands not a moment ago. He was suddenly and astutely aware of its presence around his neck. The fabric was mildly warm and comfortable, but the fact that he currently had absolutely no AP left him concerned about the effects he might encounter soon. After about five minutes of nothing happening, no alert or pain in the slightest, Ross relaxed a bit. He’d ask why a blessed item had a curse later; he had a feeling Everest wasn’t too receptive to questions just yet. He held up the amulet, observing the trinket closely.
It had a thick leather band instead of a simple string, and the clip for the necklace was on the back of the prominent hunk of gold on the front of its centerpiece. The gold was held in place by what appeared to be two blocks of what Ross could only describe as amethyst-infused steel, and the whole item felt… right. Not warm or comforting, but familiar. Something that would make him whole, if not more so than he has been. Ross sighed, putting the amulet back in his bag just in time for a barrage of alerts to accompany the setting sun. He began with the achievements.
[Achievements: 39/11,091 - Please speak the name of the Achievement for more details and to claim rewards for gaining that Achievement!
Before the Storm I
Acquisition: Defeat 1 or more Localized Bosses
Reward: 10 Gold Coins, 1 Rare Boss Core ]
Despite his better judgement, Ross felt slightly betrayed that he’d only managed one other achievement at the end of the day. He’d been through an emotional roller coaster, and all he got was a single core - whatever that was - and a handful of coins. He whined indignantly as he opened the next notification, and his mind reeled from the massive influx of information.
[You have killed (14) animals, and have gained EXP for each due to surviving until nighttime!
Weasel Lv. 4 (14) 910 EXP (65 EXP Per)
Total Animal EXP Gained: 910
EXP Until Hunter Specialization Lv. 7: 580
You have killed (9) Monsters, and have gained EXP for each due to surviving until nighttime!
Kanpodomelis Cub Lv. 7 (7) 5,250 EXP (750 EXP Per)
Formidable Gerbil Lv. 5 (1) 500 EXP (500 EXP Per)
Dasru, Kanpodomelis Alpha Lv. 63 (1) 76,250 EXP (47,250 EXP Per + 29,000 EXP Per - Underleveled Bonus)
Total Monster EXP Gained: 82,000
Adventurer Specialization: Level Up! Level 6
Adventurer Specialization: Level Up! Level 7
Adventurer Specialization: Level Up! Level 8
Adventurer Specialization: Level Up! Level 9
Adventurer Specialization: Level Up! Level 10
New Specialization Trait Unlocked: Apprentice
Adventurer Specialization: Level Up! Level 11
Adventurer Specialization: Level Up! Level 12
Adventurer Specialization: Level Up! Level 13
Adventurer Specialization: Level Up! Level 14
EXP Until Adventurer Specialization Lv. 15: 10,790
You have defeated not only a Localized Boss, but your first Localized Boss! You have gained a bonus 10,000 EXP to Adventuring!
EXP Until Adventurer Specialization Lv. 15: 790
You have gained 1,090 Mining EXP!
Mining Specialization: Level Up! Level 2
EXP to Mining Specialization Level 3: 1,410
You have gained 2,930 Improvised Weapon Fighting EXP!
Improvised Weapon Fighting Specialization: Level Up! Level 3
EXP to Improvised Weapon Fighting Specialization Lv. 4: 1060
You have gained 230 Cook Specialization EXP!
EXP to Cook Specialization Lv 2: 760
Overall EXP Gained for the Day: 97,160
Level Up! You have increased your {Full_Counter_ERROR} level from (6) to (13)! You have gained (80) unused Stat Points! Open your Character Sheet to assign the stat points!
You have gained (2) new Subclass Trait Evolutions!
* Advanced Unheeding Strikes I
* Advanced Overwhelming Reversal I
You have gained (1) new Class Trait Evolution!
* True Protector I
EXP Points needed to Level Up {Full_Counter_Error} to Lv. 14: 21,760
You have reached a Milestone Level! Cape of True Reversal has gained an effect! Check your inventory to see what the growth item is now capable of.
You have unlocked another Advancement in your {Shock_Absorber} Trait!
Advancement: You have unlocked the Give and Take Trait.
Take and Give: Effects using your Absorption Points will have double the effect when used on the most recent enemy to damage you.
You have added over 100,000 Absorption Points to your AP Pool in a single fight. Advancements relating to your Absorption Points have been disabled for the next 168 Hours, and any Achievements under this category will be nullified upon receiving the ability to complete said Achievements again. As compensation, you have gained an additional 20,000 {Full_Counter} EXP.
EXP Points needed to Level Up {Full_Counter_Error} to Lv. 14: 1,760
Because you were unable to reasonably loot a Localized Boss, it has been automatically looted.
Dasru, Kanpodomelis Alpha has dropped the following items:
* Loot Bag (Rare) x3
* Loot Bag (Epic) x1
* Kanpodomelis Pelt x11
* Roasted Kanpodomelis x23
* Epic Core x1 ]
Ross blinked and rubbed his eyes thoroughly. He hadn’t seen so much information in one place. After a deep breath and a brief mental smack, he focused on each section separately. He’d gained well over a hundred thousand experience in one day, and he was now level 13 in his class. He had not only two more subclass trait evolutions, but a class trait evolution. He felt he should be more concerned than he was that his subclass’s schtick was being invasive to his class, but he figured the system would do its thing with or without his worry. He had yet to be shown if and/or how his unstable class would harm him, so he couldn’t bring much worry to the forefront of his mind anyways. Those eighty stat points, though… that would put him well on his way towards a proper balance again. He nearly went to allocate them when he froze, reprimanding himself silently. He’d screwed up royally the last time he tried this, so he figured he’d wait for Everest to guide him in that regard.
The fact that he had accidentally been locked out of achievements relating to his subclass almost relieved him. He didn’t want to know how many achievements he’d have to scroll through with the same damn title if he had kept those active during that boss fight. Then, the realization hit him that he had essentially cheesed a boss fight ten times his level. He blinked, then looked at his hands. Caked in dirt but otherwise untouched, he felt a tightness form in his chest. A tightness born from indignity. The message from Meiyojov kept replaying in his mind. He didn’t want to be dishonorable or cheap, and he didn’t want to barely skim through life by the skin of his teeth.
The usual crushing weight within his spirit rested atop him once again, dulling down the emotions at once. It didn’t matter if he skipped some important growth, as long as he lived, right? Regardless, he’d never been a main character, so there wasn’t a good reason to start now. He rubbed his eyes again, skimming over the new growth in his blursed cape.
[Blessed Legendary Armor: Cape of True Reversal
Defense, Offense, Growth, Cursed
When collecting AP, subtract your current Health from your maximum Health and add that much AP to your AP Pool. When your AP reaches 0, you may pay any amount of HP. Add that much AP to your AP Pool.
CURSED: Should you ever lose more than 90% of your AP at once, you will experience crippling pain until it raises once again by 100 or more points. Should you use all of your AP at once, you will gain one level of Exhaustion. If you gain three or more levels of Exhaustion at once, you will die. This item is equipped upon inspection and cannot be removed. This Curse cannot be removed, negated or otherwise ignored.
GROWTH: This item will grow with you, and gain benefits upon Milestone Levels. These Milestone Levels are levels 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 99 and 100 in your First Class. The benefits of each Milestone Level will be listed below upon reaching said Milestone Level.
10: You will not die upon reaching three levels of Exhaustion, but you will fall unconscious for a number of days equal to the number of Milestone Levels you’ve reached at the time of the third Exhaustion. Additionally, your maximum HP increases by 150.
20: -
30: -
40: -
50: -
60: -
70: -
80: -
90: -
99: -
100: - ]
Ross grinned despite himself. Sure, he might be down for the count for a little while, but it was far better than dying outright if he had to resort to using all his AP at once. Satisfied with the progress and distinct lack of alerts, Ross took a deep, calming breath before sitting back and watching Everest. He’d managed to secure a vast majority of the perimeter already, only having a tree or two remaining. It was around that time that an irresistible sleep took a mighty grasp on Ross’s mind, and he soon fell into a deep sleep.