Chapter 1 - Throat Punch Goblins

I woke up drowning, face-down on a concrete floor. The rancid puddle that had been my pillow up until now, shallow enough for sleeping but just deep enough to be inhaled, rushed into my mouth and nose. Traces of copper, rust and something… chunky were in the mix, but my barely functioning consciousness didn’t register the idea of rolling over to spit the stuff out until it was too late.

I aspirated it all before I was fully cognizant and found myself coughing violently as I flopped limply onto my back, vaguely registering the harsh sound of metal scraping against stone. I was much too busy trying to expel the nasty water from my lungs to pay much attention to a little detail like that, though.

My body felt alien, like my bones and organs had all been scrambled around in my sleep, and they hadn’t bothered filing for a change of address.

The long, warbling cackle of some kind of bird is what made my brain finally sit up and take notice.

I was familiar with birds, at least in an academic sense. Terrabiology was one of those subjects only referred to second hand these days, mostly when somebody came across some unknown species of flesh-ripping lizard or sentient goo, and said somebody needed to compare it to something in the scientific record. I’d never actually heard a bird call in person, but there it was, clear as day.

Much too quickly, I raised my head to listen, immediately regretting all of my life choices, especially this one. A wave of dizziness threatened to overpower my stomach, and the world waved and wobbled in my vision.

I blinked. I was in what remained of an office, or at least that was my guess. The elements had their way with this place sometime before my arrival, wearing things down to a nearly unrecognizable ruin. The walls were made of cracked, moldy concrete with flaking paint flapping in the sluggish breeze that whistled through the building. Piles of rotted wood and rusted metal sat against either wall, except where the entirety of the floor had broken and fallen away, leaving a gaping chasm that swallowed most of the room. The wall opposite me, far out of reach, still maintained a tenuous grip on its part of the floor, so the remaining slab formed a sagging concrete ramp down into the lower levels that disappeared out of sight.

Empty window frames lined the wall to my left, beyond which the world was a kaleidoscope of swaying greenery. Mossy carpets grew on the sills and draped down to puddle on the floor, flourishing by following the natural flow of precipitation. What used to be a sheet metal ceiling had long since rusted away, leaving only brown scraps, but, high above, spiderwebbing tree branches, fat with teal and brown leaves, grew over the building like a natural roof, blocking the sky completely. What sunlight there was, filtered in through the canopy, bathing everything in a greenish shadow that wobbled like I was below the waves of an ocean.

The wind was slow and quiet. That felt strange to me, though I couldn’t put my finger on why.

A chipper, female voice shattered the moment. “Greetings, Chosen!”

“Gah!” I shouted, half in fear, half as a warcry. I shot to my feet, or I tried to, at least pulling off a moderate stagger followed by a near case of nausea. Whirling on the voice, I got my hands up and ready, the act of which felt significant.

The translucent figure of a woman stood in the corner of my room, a polite smile on her face. She was short and stocky with a strong jaw but inarguably feminine in shape with generous curves her work uniform and leather apron could not entirely hide.

“I apologize for frightening you, Ch- Chosen,” she said with a hitch, raising her hands and showing me her empty palms. “Integration always causes some mind- mild- -disorientation.”

She froze, not like she was waiting for a response from me. More that it was like she was on a video feed from a distant satellite, and the signal had been interrupted. “…and I’ve always found it best to get the initial greeting out of the way and get d-down to it.” Her harsh consonants and awkward, drawn out vowels sounded old Earth to me, but I wasn’t entirely sure.

Integration. That tickled something at the back of my mind. There was something there, something important, but my thoughts were seeds on the wind, so fast and fragile I couldn’t hold onto one without damaging it beyond recognition.

I shook my head uselessly. I was having a hard time stringing thoughts together.

How, exactly, did I get here?

She seemed to take my confused silence as her cue to go on. “I’m sure you have many questions, but if you allow me, I think this tutorial can establish a b- bas base level of understanding so that your questions are more productive. What say you to that, Chosen?”

Chosen. That felt like a proper noun. What’s more it was tied to something I knew.

Images flashed in my mind.

A burning circle. A faceless man. Breaking bones. Cold metal through my chest.

My heart hummed into overdrive.

Wait.

“Wh-” I began, but as I lowered my head to look myself over all rational thoughts fizzled and died. I was wearing plain white clothes, a shirt and belted pants along with some black boots, all pristine except for what’d I’d done to it by laying in a puddle. All of it looked strange, like it was a cut and style I’d never encountered in my life, but that’s not what short circuited my brain.

Inside my shirt, where I expected to find the left side of my chest I saw black, segmented metal. It rose and fell in time with my breathing, the folded joints clicking and adjusting quietly to give me full range of motion as my lungs expanded and contracted. In a panic I reached up with my hand and ripped my shirt down the middle, my eyes bulging wide and blood rushing through my ears.

Half of my upper torso, from my pectoral to my shoulder to my… to my arm. All metal, black as Proxis’ night.

My arm. I have…

“Chosen? Are you alright?” The glowing woman asked. She’d taken a tentative step closer, but didn’t seem to know whether to reach out or keep away from me.

My voice came out in a trembling whisper. “Uh. I have a metal arm,” I said, not able to look away. I blinked moisture out of my eyes.

The hologram raised her eyebrows and adopted that long suffering tone one might use when speaking with a child. “Yes. Yes, you do.”

“Why?” I couldn’t think of what else to ask.

“What do you mean, Chosen?”

“I mean why is it here… on me?” I asked.

“It is your arm,” she replied, slowly like I was simple.

I rotated the offending appendage back and forth to give us both a really good look. The fully articulated wrist and fingers made little clicking noises as they responded to my will. The motion was so smooth, unlike any prosthetic I’d ever heard of. “No, it’s really not.” I declared with confidence.

“A-are you sure?” She asked, incredulous.

“Yes!” My voice was high now, bordering on a shriek. “Who forgets they have a metal arm?”

“How am I supposed to know?”

“You said to ask questions.”

“It would be more productive if you asked questions relevant to the tutorial,” she admonished but bent forward to examine the alien metal to humor me, going so far as to sniff it, which struck me as odd and pointless. “D-Did you not have it before?”

“No! I mean. Maybe not?” Oh, God, she was breaking me down. I wasn’ sure about anything. “I don’t think so, at least.”

“Quite the mystery,” she declared, flashing white, then she was upright again, her eyes brightening with something akin to glee. “Also a p-perfect segue into the tutorial.”

I narrowed my eyes at her. I may have hit my head, but a smooth segue that was not. Still, the lady loved her tutorial. Her expression was expectant, as if my willingness to go along with her tutorial would make her day.

I stood there, flexing my hands, first the fleshy one then the metal one. I felt them both but differently. Things seemed more muted in the sensory department on the metal side, but there was something else there too, something different, like a tickle that ran deep through the core of it.

The hologram cleared her throat, apparently deciding that my silence was a tacit invitation to begin her tutorial. “Ahem. As I was saying earlier: Welcome, Chosen, to the Animator Class tutorial. I am Nali, the administrator of this tutorial since the Class’ inception. I am a System created, satellite intelligence, whose sole purpose is to get you ready for your new life as an ascended member of humanity. Here, you will be taught how to interface with the System, use your Class’ unique abilities, and grow in power. Any disorientation you might feel right now is a normal part of your Integration and should pass with time. Any questions so far?”

I had so many. Everything she was saying felt right or at least familiar, but I couldn’t seem to connect them with the appropriate parts of my memory.

So, I settled for the basics. “Where are we? How did I get here?”

“You are on Ralqir, on the outer edge of the Bera maelstrom. The System created a temporary insertion point for you to come here and will return you to your point of Integration upon completion of this tutorial. Insertion points take a great deal of energy and can only be done on an event of great significance. In this case, that was your Integration.”

“I’ve never heard of the uh… Bera maelstrom.”

“It is not a phenomenon possible in your own universe. Ralqir was chosen long ago for its potential in training new Animators like you, and I think you will find the environment quite advantageous for your training.”

“So, I’m an Animator, and this is not my universe.” It sounded so stupid when I said it like that. Shouldn’t I know? Should I be freaking out at least a little?

“Yes, of course. Please, keep up. Pull up your status screen and focus on your class. Merely think about what you want to happen. Even though the System gifted you with it, this status screen is yours, and it will always respond to your will. It is a part of you now, and as you grow, so will your understanding of it and yourself. You will find this true with many parts of your new life.”

Before I could do as she asked, a brightly outlined box appeared in my vision, green text on a black background.

New Quest: Tutorial

Tutorial: Learn of your new capabilities

Accept? Y/N

It was a simple message, short and easy to understand, but something inside of me lit up upon reading it, a giddy sort of joy as if I’d been waiting for this moment for my entire life.

I chose ‘Y.’

Ryan Kotes - Level 0 Animator

Type: Artificer (Common)

Class: Animator (Uncommon)

Core: Engine (Unique)

HP: 25/25

MP: 30/30

Body: 10

Mind: 12

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Spirit: 9

Abilities:

Shape

Consume

Skills:

Affinities:

Seeing my name in print like that was nice at least. Everything in my head was a chaotic mess right now, but having something concrete right there telling me who I was felt comforting.

“My name is Ryan, by the way,” I said. “Says here on my sheet.”

“It is not unheard of to forget one’s own name upon Integration, but it is unusual,” Nali replied.

“Not sure if forgot is the right word,” I mumbled defensively. “I needed reminding is all.”

I focused on the Class like Nali had asked me to.

Class: Animator: Craftsmen, builders, and engineers, Animators shape the future. Where typical Artificers cut and hammer material into shape, Animators infuse their mana into material and make it temporarily a part of themselves, giving the Animator a perfect awareness of its dimensions and capabilities. Powerful Animators are at home in workshops and laboratories, advancing Human quality of life or forging terrifying weapons of war.

“It says I’m some kind of crafter,” I stated. Complicated feelings swirled around inside of me when I said it aloud. I was, at once, sad, afraid, and giddy. I wasn’t sure where it was all coming from.

“Not just any kind of craftsman, Chosen. The best kind.” Nali declared with a proudly raised chin.

“In your unbiased opinion,” I said.

“Absolutely.”

I glanced at the screen again. “It says it’s only uncommon.”

“Vanishingly uncommon, I would say,” she opined with a scoff. “According to my internal clock. I haven’t been activated in many years, so many I thought the Class might have been phased out.”

“Is that why the place is so…”

“It does appear that things are not where the last Animator left them, it is true,” Nali observed, looking around and shaking her head. “but we cannot let that get in the way of your tutorial can we? Let’s move on to your Abilities. These a-are the bread and butter of your Class, and you wouldn’t be a full Chosen without them. The first thing we need to do is find something to Shape. Normally, I would have something laid out here for you, but my house is in somewhat of a state of disarray-ay. Let’s head downstairs and find some malleable materials. Metal is the easiest to start with.”

I nodded, ready to do as she asked, but there were problems with that plan.

The room had two doors, both feeding directly into the big hole in the floor, and the crumbling concrete in both doorways looked like it was just barely holding on. Rusted brown rebar jutted out from the edges, twisted and sharp from being stretched and eventually snapped by the stress. I was tucked into the far corner of the room on an isolated platform with nothing but air between me and the exits. Just looking at the exposed rebar jutting out of the walls and the floor made me feel all tetanus-y.

“Getting downstairs might be a challenge,” I said. “Your place looks how my brain feels.”

“Again, I apologize for the s-state of things,” Nali said, flashing forward to examine me carefully. My skin tingled as she traced my body with her eyes, ending her scan at my face. “You are more affected by the Integration than my previous students, and I have made a note of it. If I were to speculate, I would say you were in a bad way before you were inserted into Ralqir.”

I shrugged. “Yeah. Maybe so.”

“Concerning. Everyone starts their tutorial healthy and alert as a rule. The energy required to heal you once was already budgeted for this quest when it was initiated, but that energy is expended now if you weren’t in good health before. Be careful from here on out. You are more durable than you were prior to Integration, but you are not immortal.”

Quest Update: Tutorial

Tutorial: Find material.

The quest box was back.

“Are you doing that?” I asked.

“Doing what, Ryan?”

“Just got an update on my quest. It says to find material.”

“No. It’s not me. The S-System is in charge of quests and rewards. I am just a teacher. We should do as it asks if we hope to finish your tutorial and get you home.”

I didn’t like my chances jumping from where I was to one of the doors. I felt heavy and not just because I was tired. I was pretty sure I was literally heavier than I used to be. Having a significant part of your body replaced with metal did that.

I got on my stomach and crawled to the lip of my little platform. Down below, it was dark, made darker by the contrast between my windowed room up here and whatever conditions there were down there. Water dripped and splashed somewhere in the ruins, echoing harshly off of the hard surfaces and confusing my mental picture of the place.

“How far is it to the next floor?” I asked, craning my neck to be able to see my glowing tour guide.

“Approximately twenty feet.”

“Wonderful,” I groaned. No way was I jumping down there. I would need to monkey over to one of the doorways using the tetanus sticks.

An idea flashed through my mind. “You wanted metal, right? To get me to use my abilities.”

“Yes, it is generally the easiest material for new Animators to shape, and most Animators have at least one Affinity for a type of metal.” Nali replied with a raised brow.

“How easy is it?”

She considered a brief moment before answering. “It depends on the student. Some have a higher affinity for the material than others.”

I narrowed my eyes. My status screen had an Affinities section, but it was empty.

“What about that?” I asked, pointing at the rebar.

“Heavily oxidized but still iron. An imperfect medium for your tutorial, but if you insist.”

I did insist. I edged forward, toward the crumbling edge of my floor. Little bits of loose rocks and dust tumbled down into the hole as I crawled as far as I dared and within reach of one of the longer, duller bars of iron.

Nali lapsed back into tutorial mode as I got close enough to touch the metal. “Reach over and place your hand on the metal. Good. Look at your character sheet now. Under Abilities what do you see?”

“First one on the list is Shape.”

“Very good. Focus on activating that Ability. Will it to happen and pay attention to how it feels.”

I wrapped my fingers around the rusted metal bar, gritty and brittle to the touch. Flakes of rust came off in my hand and dripped down through my fingers, but I did as Nali instructed. I willed the ability to activate. It didn’t take much. Soon, I felt a trickle of something icy like snow melt travel from the center of my body, under the flesh and muscle of my arm, and out through my palm only to stop, momentarily, as it hit the outside of the rebar. The cold liquid pooled and coalesced until I felt it wrap around the bits of the metal I was currently touching, pressing in. Then, like a barrier had broken, the icy stream flowed through, mapping the entirety of the iron bar, inside and out…

…and I knew. I knew where the imperfections were. I knew where the rust had almost eaten through. I knew how far under me the bar went. Where the mold that originally made this bar has a chip in it. I knew it all.

“Got it. I’m- I don’t know. I’m inside of it?”

“Good. Good. This state is called saturation. Notice how doing so cost you MP. Certain materials are more able to accept mana. Some are more mana hungry. Others are resistant.”

She was right about the MP thing. I was down a few points, and I felt taxed mentally, like I just finished doing several complex math equations simultaneously in my head while reading philosophy textbooks aloud.

“What do I do now?” I asked, my voice straining slightly. My mind felt like it was being stretched between two very distant points, and my bandwidth for everything else suffered.

“Now that you have the material saturated it should respond to your will. What purpose would you have it fulfill?”

The goal here was to get out of the room, so I guessed my purpose was pretty simple. “To not slice my hand open when I grab it, for starters.”

“In that case, focus on reshaping it to fit that purpose.”

At first I tried to do it with my hand, squeezing the metal and bending it up until it looked like the end of a candy cane.

That didn’t work at all.

The rebar bent slowly and not in the ways that I wanted, and it had the unfortunate habit of returning back to its original shape.

With physical might not getting me anywhere, I tried a full mental approach, just lightly touching the iron and sort of bending my mental picture of it, taking what I knew and making it into what I wanted. No force. Just will.

Slowly, little by little, I flexed my new iron stick.

No. This metal was me now. *I* bent.

I bent the bar up, curled the end, and blunted the sharp edges to the point where I was pretty sure they wouldn’t cut. The end result was like a toddler-sized, metal tube sock, but it was my toddler-sized metal tube sock.

You have created: Crude Knob

You have been awarded 5 experience points. [10 base, -5 quality]

When I let go and sat up, I was sweating, yet the chill of the air left goose pimples on my flesh.

MP: 20/30

Ability: Shape is now level 1.

Quest Advanced: Tutorial

Tutorial: Learn of your new capabilities (continued).

Nali was right there, looking over my work with a discerning eye. “Very good, Ryan,” she said, a pained, sympathetic smile on her face. “It is not how I pictured your first time, but I guess it could not be helped. I imagine your Affinity for iron is quite low, considering the amount of time you took. Take note of how much MP this cost you. Certain materials are easier to work with than others depending on its purity and your affinity for said material. We will go over your Affinities and find suitable material for practice later. For now, remember that MP regenerates slowly, depending on your mental state and an assortment of other factors. You may want to rest- “

“Oh no! Look out!” she shouted, not so much in fear or concern. This was more indignant like someone just tracked mud in on the carpet or left the door to the hab open all night.

I, on the other hand, felt the danger acutely. On instinct, I tucked my knees up to my chest, brought up my shoulders, and raised my arms up to protect my head, just before something slammed into me from behind. Sharp talons dug into the flesh of my back, followed by something warm, wet, and sharp clamping down on my shoulder, the fleshy one.

Unknown attacks you for 5 damage.

Status gained: Bleeding (0.3 HP/sec)

“Gaaah!” I screamed in an octave I didn’t realize I could hit anymore. Stabbing pain erupted from the flesh of my back, drowning out most rational thought.

Like you do when something is chowing down on your back, I immediately entered panic mode. I got to my feet and flailed my arms, hoping the motion would fling the thing off. I spun in a circle, arched my back, and flexed to try and land a blow on whatever was raking me, but I couldn’t get at it.

Whatever it was, it felt small, bigger than a house cat but smaller than the bigger breeds of dog, and it was stuck in, its claws dug way down into my flesh. Meanwhile, its jaws sawed back and forth on my shoulder, tearing at the muscle and scraping bone. Blood ran freely down my chest and my arm.

You take 1 bleeding damage.

The thing on my back burbled happily, reveling in the pain it was causing, or at least, that’s what it sounded like to me.

“Nali, what is it?!” I screamed.

She sighed, the picture of matronly disappointment, hands folded in front of her, frowning at her unruly children. “One of the locals. You’ll need to get it off your back soon, or the blood loss will kill you. This is going to put us further behind schedule.” She reached up to rub one of her temples.

“Thank you! So helpful!”

I had no weapons. All I had was my size. My attacker felt small. I was big. I needed to use that.

Bending my legs, I jumped as high as I could, into the air, doing a sort of abortive backflip that would bring me down on my neck. Every instinct I had told me not to do this very thing, but I ignored them. My upper back and neck muscles tensed for the landing.

Contact with the ground came with a hollow *thud.* A pathetic sounding one, if I’m being honest. I’d landed how I wanted to, but the creature shifted its weight at the last instant, angling the impact with the concrete floor and rolling us to the side.

You take 1 impact damage. (-1 mitigated)

Unknown takes 3 impact damage.

Unknown is stunned.

Skill unlocked: Unarmed Combat.

Your current skill level is 1.

The move still had its intended effect. The thing’s claws retracted, and its jaws seemed to relax slightly. I heard a muffled gurgle accompanied by a long hot exhalation of breath on my back. I scrambled to disentangle myself from the little monster and get some distance.

You take 1 bleeding damage.

The front of my body was covered in blood, and I had to assume the back wasn’t much better. Sticky redness dripped from my shoulder and ran down my elbow. Desperate not to let the thing get on my back again, I spun around, getting my feet under me afterward.

That’s when I got my first good look at my opponent. Its back was to me, but I took in a few things.

My size estimate was correct. The creature was about the size of a small child of five, but that’s where the comparison ended. It had midnight black, oily skin, at least on the parts that weren’t covered in dried leathers and jangling bits of bone and teeth. The arms were long and spindly ending in elongated hands with hooked claws that drug along the ground. Jangling hoops of metal clinked together on its thin, protruding ears as the creature shook its oversized head.

You take 1 bleeding damage.

Scourge Touched Goblin is no longer stunned.

When the ‘goblin’ shook off my stun, its head spun around to look directly at me, so fast I didn’t even see it move. The motion turned it almost 180 degrees around like an owl. It crouched low on thick, overdeveloped legs that bent in too many places, coiling to...

Then it was airborne, claws out, teeth bared on a collision course with my face. The goblin’s gaping jaw nearly split its already comically large head in half with how wide it was, showing off little shark teeth that had already done a number on my shoulder.

I threw myself to the side, almost catching an outstretched claw as I did, but the goblin only came away with a piece of my shirt. It hit the wall, face first with a wet little slap, but apparently that was part of its diabolical plan. It clung there on pitted concrete like the feat was nothing. Again, its head turned fully around, locking onto me with tiny, black eyes. It yowled, and flicked its tongue in my direction just before it launched itself at my face yet again.

You take 1 bleeding damage.

This time I had no room to dodge, not that I didn’t try. I stumbled backward, my arms windmilling in front of me, but somewhere in the quarter second it took for the goblin to angle itself and get airborne, I got a bead on its trajectory.

*THONK*

Critical hit!

Scourge Touched Goblin takes 6 bludgeoning damage. (Base 3 + Bonus 3)

By chance or through some innate combat reflex I hadn’t realized I had, my enemy’s face collided squarely with my new prosthetic. The move wasn’t a proper jab, since my feet weren’t set, but no one would complain about the results. The goblin’s inertia carried it into the blow. My fist crashed through the monster’s teeth, through its enormous mouth and down the back of its throat until I’d fed the goblin my entire metal forearm.

The monster’s beady little eyes widened slightly with panic, and its jaws furiously worked back and forth on my arm trying to tear, trying to bleed. Its claws raked over my shoulder, but, again… that part of me was no longer made of meat. It never even occurred to the creature to stop trying to kill me. It just bit and bit and clawed until it died, probably of asphyxiation or some internal bleeding.

It took a disturbingly long time.

Scourge Touched Goblin defeated.

You have been awarded 6 experience points. [10 base (+2 level, +2 nemesis, -8 non-combat class)]

You take 1 bleeding damage.