I woke up to a fire in front of my eyes. Its warmth made me feel comforted and at home. I was laying on top of some kind of cushion. I saw Maladrain sharpening a silver dagger on the other side of the fire. I slowly got up from my sleep, then yawned. Ahh, it felt so good after that hectic hour.
“So you’re finally awake. You slept so restfully that I was nearly infected by your cute little sleepy-smile.” Maldrain said, in what I suppose was an attempt to pick on me.
I blinked a few times, then looked at my cushion. It was just a lime green outline no matter where or how I looked at it and was perfectly transparent. The strange visage of it made it difficult to believe that the cushion actually existed.
I was in the treasure room, a massive pile of cobalt nearby. The [drake] was sleeping uncomfortably close to the fire, gnawing on a chunk of cobalt with its molars. I sat against the wall and my cushion suddenly teleported behind me, turning into a body-length pillow for me to rest against. It was so comfortable, like a pillow built of angel feathers. I don’t emote much, but the wonderful feeling it gave me made me give a hearty ‘mmmm’. I opened my menu log, now suitably awake and comfortable.
Ally killed [cobold]!
You gained 26 Exp!
Ally killed [cobold]!
You gained 26 Exp!
You killed [cobold]!
You gained 28 Exp! You leveled up!
Stat up: Str: +1 Dex: +0 Con: +0 Wiz: +1 Int: +1 Cha: +1
In combat. . .
You won!
You gained 29 Exp!
The enemy was two classes above you! You gained 29 extra Exp!
New bonus: [Greater slayer]- +5% Str growth rate(for killing a creature two classes above myself)
New skill: [back to back] [swordsmanship tier 2]
[back to back] when within 10 feet of a single ally, you gain 3 Con
You may contribute Exp to your [class progress]
I shook my head
You have 161 stored Exp!
You may increase a growth rate by 5%!
I wrote in the air {dex}, my dex is lower than it should be for a [swordsman] classman, so it would be best if I gave it a chance to improve.
Done!
Saya: Age: 13
Chaotic Good
Patron: Seraph
Class: [apprentice]
Race: [human]
Level: 8
Exp: 61
Base Stats: Str: 13 Dex: 11 Con: 9 Wis: 17 Int: 17 Cha: 12
Stat Growths: Str: 45% Dex: 20% Con: 20% Wis: 40% Int: 35% Cha: 30%
Inherent skills: [mute] [seraph’s wisdom] [fast learner]
Trained skills: [storytelling tier 3] [hope] [scribing tier 2] [magic tier 1] [print communication tier 2][monster hunter tier 1] [poison resistance tier 1] [swordsmanship tier 2] [dead as nightfall] [ruthless striker tier 1]
Inactive skills: [back to back]
Equipment: robes, rope, backpack, sword, 2 weeks of food, robes of the Seraph, intermediate boots, [life wing]/[soul cushion], empty vial
Magics: [flame manipulation tier 2] [water creation tier 1]
Things were looking really up for me. All my stat growths were getting fairly impressive, my newest level up was really big, I’ve got a...cushion? I have a huge Con increase in a party of two...wait no, I’ve got too many skills so I gotta choose one I don’t want that’s fine, I didn’t need poison resistance anyways. Oh, and I had got better swordsmanship. It was annoying I didn’t get anywhere near level 10 from that encounter, but that’s just how the system works. [soul cushion], I wondered what it did.
[soul cushion]: A Mythical artifact granted to the most tenacious of worshippers by Seraph. Those who rest upon the [soul cushion] heal their body and soul, are always perfectly rested after eight hours of sleep, and wake up exactly when rested the correct amount.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Seraph! You really didn’t have to, you wonderful patron, you! I mean, I don’t really worship you much, but I appreciate the gift...or wait, I did pray to her during the fight, so maybe that counts as a technicality?
Maladrain picked up a large sheet of some slightly shiny metal, about half an inch thick, and two by one feet large, then handed it to me, “I couldn’t find anything to replace your slate, but I thought this would be a passable substitute.”
I grabbed it and looked at it. I began writing on it with some chalk. The result was pretty bad-looking writing, but passable, sure enough. {Thanks! Where did you get this?} Man, I was in such a good mood! Five level-ups in two days, hoards of skills, really good stat-ups(most of em’ were good, at least), a [cobalt] colony that had supposedly killed my way older half-brother quite a long time ago, was killed by me(I guess I forgot to mention that last part, but it didn’t really matter), I had the best nap of my life, and I even got two scars to remember the occasion by(not necessarily good, but I’ll take it like a warrior and brag about it). Overall, you could say I got my fun in.
“That pedestal at the beginning of the cave is super old and made of cobalt. I just picked up a chunk of the metal that was broken off, then chiseled it a bit.” he held up the chisel I had been stabbed by earlier. Good times.
He seems fine...wait, did the health potion heal his concussion? Those things don’t go away in an instant. I concentrated for a moment and held my hands out, then [soul cussion] turned into a lime green line, and moved from behind me, filing up the empty space above my hands with...whatever the heck it was. I placed it beside Maladrain...his real name was Juiviv, right? {Maladrain, please lay on my cushion}
“Uhh, sure...what even is this thing anywa-” he laid his head on the cushion, and it suddenly morphed into a perfectly fitting set of sheets and a matress. His eyes grew wide, utterly stunned by the comfort, “-YYYYY. OoOOOooooOOooooOOhhh by the godssssss this is a true giiiiiffftttt....” I couldn’t help but give a hoarse chuckle at his reaction. He slowly closed his eyes, comfortable to the greatest degree. I took my slate and sat next to Maladrain-He began snoring. Wow, quick. I was going to see if he was still concussed, but [soul cushion] put him to sleep in an instant. Is it a weapon?
How about the baby [drake]. I tried to open the observation menu for it:
(unnamed): Age: 1 month
Neutral
Patron: Drakonis, Maophas
Class: [none]
Race: [Drake]
Level: 0
Exp: 7
Base Stats: Str: 5 Dex: 5 Con: 5 Wis: 5 Int: 5 Cha: 5
Stat Growths: Str: 0% Dex: 0% Con: 0% Wis: 0% Int: 0% Cha: 0%
Inherent skills: [blessed of maophas] [minevore] [draconic leniage] [drake lineage] [draconis’s fate] [deaf]
Trained skills: [none]
Equipment: cobalt ore, [natural armor tier 1] [death wing]
Magics: [fire breath tier 0]
What an enigma! I could see its whole menu because it’s level 0? So that was a level 0?! 5 in every stat?! I’ve never seen a creature with less than a 7 in any given stat. 0% growth rates? That’s just so weird to look at. It’s 3 Exp from a class-up. But that’s just the beginning! I’ve never even heard of a creature having two patrons! It’s got [blessed of maophas] and [drconis’s fate]? Both of those are blessings, and ones I had never heard of. It’s even [deaf]?!
And as for its equipment...What? I was going to comment on its [natural armor], but [death wing]?! is that what I think it is?! If my [life wing] is a blessing gifted to me by Seraph, goddess of life, dreams, heaven, and various other things people like, then I figure a [death wing] would be a gift from her archnemesis, Maophas.
Maophas is the god of death and hell. That’s all I knew about the guy. The [drake] was deaf, had [blessed of maophas], and [death wing]. Oh, Seraph. That can only mean one thing,
The drake was my antithesis.
I paused for a second. It was like a little puppy, chewing on a chunk of cobalt. How could it be a blessed creature anyway? It wasn’t even sentient. Maybe [drake]s are just naturally deaf? If it really was what I thought it was, then it would see my [life wing].
My wing opened spontaneously, bursting to be directly in front of the [drake]. It suddenly lost its balance and rolled over clumsily in surprise. Just then, it saw [life wing]. That was proof. It was a Chosen of Maophas, just as I was a Chosen of Seraph. Do I need to kill it? Do I need to raise it to be a good little follower of Seraph or something? There was only one way to truly learn the answer.
I retracted [soul cushion], then sat on it like a pillow and began meditating. I let myself ignore Maladrain’s pleas of annoyance over being woken up, and began mouthing a draconic chant.
(Seraph, keeper of the heavens, silent maiden of prosperity and bringer of warm winds, she who smites the blight, and god of life. Hear my prayer, and answer in accord with the triumvirate’s mandate.)
Suddenly, a strange, inhuman voice reverberated across the room.
“Keolon, bring truth to our statements!
Kukaltl, give me no missed word!
Kvet, gift me a single question!
I wish to know my duty, as your chosen and receiver, should I smite my antithesis without regret, or keep peace and life in accordance with your contracts? Please, my patron, guide, and benefactor, answer my question!”
Indeed, I spoke, but not with my voice. Kukaltl gave me a voice of sorts, temporarily, in order to speak the words. I simply mouthed what I was supposed to say. Were my question not approved by the triumvirate of gods directly, I would have simply mouthed an entire incantation to no avail. The fact that Kukaltl spoke for me meant that my question was directly approved by the triumvirate, and sent to Seraph. That meant I had asked an extremely important question, one that Seraph had to answer, truthfully and certainly.
Menu popped up.
Your prayers have been answered by the triumvirate of the gods!
You gained 50 Exp for achieving a great feat!
You gained 1 Exp for speaking directly with your patron!
Your deeds, past, present, and future will be judged
.
.
.
You have been deemed worthy of temporarily ascending!
“What the hell?! Saya, what’s happening!?” Maladrain was wide-eyed again, this time
he looked terrified. So was I. I had practiced the chant in case I ever needed to speak with Seraph-I have a very close connection to her, after all, but I didn’t think anything like this could happen!
I heard an irritating static coming from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. The sound grew louder and louder, then the world froze, and it started breaking. Slowly, everything around me disintegrated before my very eyes, like dust in the wind. Once the last remnant of reality left, I was in a black void. Grey bricks formed beneath me. Then, they climbed upwards, making stairs and turning the platform I stood on into a square of grey brick. I would have said something like ‘oh Seraph’ but I didn’t think that was the appropriate reaction right then, right there.
I was in a godly realm.