South Jaga City, Job Hall – Year 1344, Month 1, Day 8. Spring
Olea Munroe
I climbed the long stairs alone, mulling over my most recent conversation with the all-powerful ever gruff. He had said a lot and he even listened to my tale of woe. Okay it may not have been a tale of woe but saying it all aloud like that had made me think my life was very sad, very sad indeed. Sure, it was a hot pile of burning garbage for that middle decade or in-between on Earth, but it got better!
‘You seem happier.’
“I’m always happy!” I said to the empty air, some day I’d internalize my inner dialogue so it was an actual inner dialogue but that seemed like a problem for the future me.
‘…’
“Don’t give me that, everyone has bad dreams and off days.” I shot back. The nerve of some entities.
‘The more I see of your world, the more I despise it for what it allowed.’
“It had some good qualities! Like… ice cream, and birthday parties.”
‘Rampant abuse of power by people in positions of trust.’
“The Murphys.” I continued.
‘I am limited to your own experiences in the gathering of my comparisons, I am sure there are more in your memories that you are refusing to acknowledge either as an attempt to win this argument or the more subversive reason of protecting yourself from the harshness of reality.’
“Cheater!” I exclaimed in outrage. Feigned or not it was mildly annoying that my happy helped was helping themselves to my surface thoughts. I didn’t mind, not really. It was just my own insecurity about what might be found out when piecing together my random brain farts.
‘I did not realize brains could fart… Humor aside I wish to allay your suspicions. I am not and will not be a judge of your character, you are more than enough of a judge of your actions. Like most of your race, at least insofar as the better ones are concerned there are no worse judges of your actions than yourself.’
“Yeah, yeah. Philosophy, makes my brain hurt.”
‘I can smell the pain.’
Being one upped by someone you could not physically interact with, i.e., strike repeatedly was not a good feeling. So, I wisely chose to retain my dignity by ignoring the barb.
On my way to the main lobby, the place I assumed the person I was to meet would be waiting for me, I decided to make a small pit stop. All that tea and I had to pee. It would also allow me to process some of my gains and make them manifest.
I made my way to a small privy room, very rustic. I noticed that the lid to the maw of poo was down and attached to a line of rope for no hands lifting, thoughtful.
I did the thing and took a seat; I did not realize I had drunk so much herbal tea. Maybe it was magic increasing my bladder strength who knows.
“Help-chan?”
‘… la de da…’
“What does that mean?” I asked.
‘I refuse to engage you while you are exercising your bodily needs.’
“You’re a prude?”
‘You’re just lewd.’
“Fine, fine.” I was nearly done anyway; it was probably best if I did not spend an hour here. The rumor mill was vicious when it came to blatant exaggeration. I finished my duty and gave a small jerk to the rope; it snapped right back down. I wasn’t certain but I could barely catch the sound of flowing water when the latch dropped, if only for a moment. I lifted the latch again and saw only a more hydrated cavern, dropped it via the rope mechanism I heard the sound again; I guess it worked like a fridge door. High tech potty for the win!
I made my way to the next vacant room and shut the door behind me.
It was a small room, maybe eight by twelve. A small table sat in the center of the room with four chairs, probably a minor meeting room like the one I had been in earlier in the day before my personal interrogation session started. Light was supplied by an orb that brightened as I entered the room, those things must make late night tryst difficult to hide. Who could sneak around in the dark when the building operated on motion detecting dimmer switches, I’d make a note of that.
I took a seat and stared at the far wall for no reason whatsoever.
“What are my options for advancement Helpy-kun?”
‘How am I your junior?’
“I don’t know, how long have you been alive?” I asked, my inner curiosity jumping to wakefulness.
‘I was brought into existence when you entered this world. We are of the same age.’
“I was alive for seventeen years before I came here, would that not make me older?”
‘I had an existence before this, one of a different scope and size that spanned milliennia.’
“I am not affixing Sama to your name; you have no evidence to support you claim.” I stated full of my own self affirmed belief.
I was suddenly shaken with images of a vast land covered in fire and ash flashing through my mind. Day and night flickering like a disco light in and out as time stretched through the ages. The ash was soon muddied with the falling of rain and snow over many seasons and the ground churned below as the earth split and moved being tossed in upon itself before stabbing up to the heaven creating valleys and mountain ranges that boggled the mind. Small shoot of green suddenly expanded before me viewed close before the image panned out showing the sprouts growing in patches across the barren hellscape turned paradise. Trees were soon sprouting upward at an alarming rate, hundreds of years passing in moments. A great flood soon covered the land, arriving not as a fast-moving ever-increasing pool but as a large tsunami that crossed the lands before receding. Lakes and ponds formed in the deeper valleys while rivers and streams flowed down from the dark mountains above to feed them. Fish now traveled the new waterways, being brought in by the massive wave, as if the wave were only a means for spreading life. From what I could sense, that was the exact purpose.
A mist occluded the vision for several spans more before it dispersed on an errant breeze and my breath caught. Before me was a large lake, or more of a sea. At the center of the water was a large island with mountains stretching into the sky above the misted clouds. Falls dropped far too much water down for it to be naturally fed, magical trickery! What astounded me was the sprawling city atop the large mass of land on the island. Is it still an island when it was the size of Iowa? In the center of that land near the mountains with three flowing rivers I could see going through the heart was a city of white and blue marble. It rose in organized tiers so closely knit that they could have been hewn from the same rock. Trees and plants grew atop some of the roofs and between some of the larger buildings as if nature had itself chosen where to install parks for an optimal level of beauty. People of all kinds were walking up and down the streets carrying about their days’ work. Some with white skin, others with blue or black. Several shades blending in harmony even as the colors of their hair varied as much as did the varying shades of the forested land of rainbows that this city had sprouted from.
And then the vision faded.
“Uh-what was that?” Feeling the tears trickling down my face, the sheer weight of the imagery was nearly too much for my mind to process. Above all, the emotions playing through the viewer. “Weren’t you lonely.”
‘… For a time…’
“How?”
‘I began with the world; I witnessed the great birthing and the many attempts by the one to establish order and balance it with chaos. Many catastrophes and calamities have befallen this world, all to get to where we are. Watching the world reset over and over again, was hard even as I understood that each iteration before was merely a trial run. The end you saw, after the mist cleared was the moment that I knew we had reached a point of earnest growth. He had brought intelligent life to share his world with and in them he instilled souls, souls that he himself invested with a spark of his power.’
“Bah, you are such a bloody cheater.” I said, that was totally unfair. Using emotions to shift an argument was such a dirty trick. Sure, I did it often enough, but I was a girl so meh!
“I am still not using Sama.”
‘Fine by me, kid.’
“Bah! Shelf this, show me what skills I will need to move forward so I can fly.”
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
‘Flying or doing what the courier did?’
“The courier method for now, thanks. I’ll check the flying afterward since I was told that is on the Arcana path. I doubt I’ll be able to get the skills for flight so soon. Later though for sure!”
Nine skill points remaining.
‘You will need the spell Armor, Vigor, Water Breath, Water Walk, and then you may learn Wind Walk. This will take five skill points. I must warn you that what you witnessed was the effect of a higher tier Wind Walk and will thus require more skill points invested in it. Might I also suggest picking up Detect Magic as it will aid in learning the finer points of the art.’
“Alright, sounds fair if not convoluted.” I think I was using the correct word there, no one around to judge me though! “Let’s do this.
I began focusing my intent on the spell and I felt it as Help-chan sidelined those horrible knowledge checks and my brain starting to hurt. Slowly knowledge of the spells filtered into my mind, and I got a basic sense of how they would or could work. I was assured that none of this would be possible without a basic understanding of visualization and know-how, some of which I had gotten from earth such as water tension and some other principles of hydrodynamics. I was not a professional, but I had the basics and that is what helped ease me into a fuller understanding.
Tier One Spells Obtained.
Vigor: This spell allows the user to bestow a boost to the target’s stamina, increasing their ability to push through tough tasks with more ease as they are lifted out of exhaustion. Walk further and be refreshed. While this spell can alleviate Stamina overuse it can compound the issue if overused. All things in moderation.
Armor: This spell temporarily imbues the target creature with an increase in physical damage resistance. Used on existing armor it will give a small increase to durability, this affect if permanent on items and caution is urged. Bonus applied is based on the combined Wisdom and Intelligence of the caster.
Tier Two Spells Obtained.
Detect Magic: This ability grants a spell to allow the caster to detect magical energies imbued in objects, creatures, and even the very air. Colors and patterns can help discern the nature of many magical spells and items. Spell effectiveness increases with level of Magical Attributes, tier of Piety, and tier of Arcana Mastery.
Water Breath: This spell allows the user to breathe underwater by reducing water taken in while breathing by a large percentage, breathing too fast and deep can cause the spell to falter. The spell should be used with caution while out of water as some moisture is required for optimal respiratory health. Duration and efficacy increase with Intelligence and Wisdom.
Water Walk: You gain the ability to walk upon the surface of water. You will be able to climb upon the water’s surface using your hands and other extremities with intent. This spell will not cancel the momentum of a fall onto water. Effects enhanced with greater Wisdom and Intelligence.
Wind Walk: This spell creates a field of moderate wind control for use by the wielder. It can be subtly altered by the target of the spell to shift the winds and allow for faster movement while lowering stamina consumption. Unlike other spells you will benefit from both Intelligence and Wisdom while receiving minor bonuses from your overall Dexterity and Constitution.
“Awesome!” I tried to say as the knowledge flooded my mind, what came out could be closer to sounding like Arrsuuumm-argh. Learning is painful, ignorance will remain bliss. I’m sure that could be a situational proverb for just such occasions.
‘The process is quite painless for most every other citizen of the world, after all they know these things before getting the spell. One of the many benefits of acquiring an actual teacher. You would do well to experiment with these skills in a safe location, not a rat filled basement. Dying to rats would be very bad for our image.’
“It seems that dying would be very bad for more than our image, you know, since we would be dead. Or I would be dead, and you would be somewhere else.” I said as what he said stirred my thoughts in my noggin.
‘…’
“Are you saying dying isn’t dying? Does this world have a respawn system, instant reincarnations, or some other cliché nonsense?” I asked, having that as an emergency out did not seem too bad but I cannot imagine dying to be pleasant regardless of the outcome.
‘I will say that you were installed here with some safeguards in place as the One and the Three worked out a balance that would make it very difficult to die. At least for you and your fellows.’
“You keep saying fellows as if Bilbo Baggins will be hopping over the hill with the Hero Samwise in tow. Who are these others, other earthlings, I’m sure. Where are they though?” I would love to compare reactions, thoughts, and feelings about all of this. Until I came clean to Doogan I didn’t have anyone to chat with about this transposition thing. Or was it Translocation, Transplantation?
I would still have to wait and check on his disposition later, he seemed a bit frazzled after my confession. What was there to adjust to, someone you know tells you they came from another world or universe, and they got dropped here during a terrible storm to save the world or invent ice cream. You know, a typical Tuesday.
‘I only have a vague sense as to their whereabouts at this time, I believe your Dowsing skill could be useful in finding them or at least getting a vague awareness of their location.’
“Huh,” I thought for a few moments, “I’ll need to try that after I finish up with whatever it is I am to do with the Alex bloke.”
As I finished ruminating, I focused my intent once more to unlock the next rank of Wind Walk.
Wind Walk – Rank Two: Your skill now invokes a passive benefit whereas you may expend a portion of your mana regeneration to maintain a lessening of your weight. Not unlike gravity magic, this will allow you to somewhat alleviate the pull on your body by external forces, be they natural or other. Further decreases the Stamina cost of many actions.
This time the headache was barely a hum in the back of my mind. Wonderful.
“I saw the mana cost note there, I was curious. Am still curious, what is the mana cost for these spells?”
‘All spells cost mana to cast, some channeled skills take the initial mana cost to begin the base structure and have a much-reduced cost to channel as the structure does not fade but is used as a sort of vessel to keep the mana flowing. The Detect Magic spell has a passive that makes it easier to see these things but might cause you some visual distress at first. The Tier one spells at Rank one tends to range in cost from ten to twenty-five, Tier two spells tend to range from twenty-five mana to fifty mana. Channeling these spells in their extended forms or invoking their passive abilities will normally consume the channeled cost of the cast over the course of an hour with lesser but more sustained or steady results.’
“Oh” that almost made sense, “So Wind Walk cost how much?”
‘Thirty-five mana to invoke, the passive will reduce your mana regeneration by ten mana per hour, or one per six minutes. You currently regenerate eighty-two mana per hour, this stat is currently atrocious and is a result of your low Wisdom score. Also, and I hesitate to add, the mana cost of the passive is determined by your current weight. If you get fat eating two or three meat skewers every morning you will expend more mana keeping the passive up.’
“Bastard! I do not eat them every morning!” I angrily shouted while making fists at the empty air, I could sense a sort of wry amusement filtering out through whatever bond we shared. I was being baited.
Something occurred to me then, and I had to ask.
“Heya Helpy? You’ve been more talkative and informative of late, what gives?” I was lucky to get three words a day not long ago.
‘Simple, I decided to ignore your earlier command of being quiet. You do remember that rude interruption you shouted at me when you awaken, don’t you?’
I did actually remember something like that happening, bullocks.
‘Yes, that. I decided it would be best if I were to be more helpful as I’d hate to have you die so soon after being brought here. It would after all leave a dark mark on my pristine record. I also must confess that as you grow in strength my faculties will increase, giving me access to greater system knowledge as well as expanding my ability to aid you with something other than my stellar insights.’
“Okay, next up. Let’s finish this study session with some helpful information on those attributes. You said my mana regeneration was suffering from a lack of Wisdom. What are the function of the attributes, aside from the obvious like strength make for better smash.”
‘Right, you are woefully informed, feel free to offer a prayer of thanks for my presence.’
Wisdom: This attribute is a measure of your belief, whether in a deity, your family, your self, or even your belief that up is not down and down is not up. Greater wisdom increases all regeneration levels, Piety based spell effects, resistance to mind altering magics and charms, as well as providing a small boost to your overall mana pool.
Strength: This attribute is a measure of the overall strength you can bring to bear. A higher attribute level will increase carry weight, decrease stamina cost of carrying greater weight, and add bonuses to melee based damage from weapons and strength based skills. It will also provide small bonuses to damage resistance and fortitude.
Dexterity: This attribute is a measure of your coordination, or your ability to perform complex and delicate task. A greater level of Dexterity will allow you to move more swiftly through the world as you become ever more efficient in your actions. It has a small effect on damage resistance, fall damage negation, stamina consumption, as well as boosting damage and effectiveness of Stealth based skills.
Constitution: This attribute keeps you alive. It determines maxima health and stamina as well as having a direct effect on the regeneration of both. It is the main factor in determining damage mitigation and resistance. People with low constitution will become sicker more often and suffer from the negative effects of stamina depletion more frequently that others.
Intelligence: This attribute determines the speed and flexibility of the mind. A higher intelligence score will have a direct impact on mana pool and a minor impact on mana regeneration. Your grasp of the arcane becomes easier as this attribute increases. Resistance to damaging effects of another mages spells will increase by four percent per point of intelligence you have over the enemy, the opposite however is also true.
Charisma: This attribute will help you make friends. It has a large level of influence on your ability to use charm effects as well as your ability to resist them. A higher charisma attribute is directly proportionate to your ability to make use of General skills in line with Merchant work and Entertainment. This attribute will not make you less ugly, it will however help people look beyond your flaws.
‘Just a reminder, as your friend Master Doogan mentioned, any attribute under a value of ten is considered deficient and has severe negative effects on your overall ability. Your lack of Wisdom makes you healing spells almost eighty percent less effective.’
“Well crap, he did say that. And I do seem to recall the time I increased my strength, carrying feather brain became much less annoying. Let’s not say that aloud when he is around, bird poop is horrible for the skin.”
‘I am sure that your statement would gather great interest from that particular bird.’ Came the reply from my happy helper.
Well it seems my path was clear on the attributes for now, higher Wisdom!
“I did have three points for attributes. Let’s slide those into wisdom then, shall we?” I did my best sophisticated royal speak.
‘I already did.’
“What, when?!” I asked in disbelief, “Helpers don’t make these decisions on their own!”
‘I committed the points at the same moment you decided that it would be best to do so as I agreed with the decision and did not wish for you to become squirreled as you say. This had to be done for your benefit, and mine.’
“You do understand that I’d be really cross with you right now had I been joking?”
‘Your jokes are bad, it would serve you right. Also there is nothing funny about being so easily deceived. The you of the future will thank me. And before you ask, your new mana regeneration is up to one hundred fifteen mana per hour. You are welcome.’
“Fine. I’ll let it slide, only because getting almost twenty mana every six minutes would be swelltastic.” I let the transgression slide, this time. And yes swelltastic has been a word for at least the last thirty seconds. If not, it should be.
Having learned a few new things I decided that I had out off meeting Alex for what was probably a rudely long amount of time and headed off to meet my new potential friend.