Johann stepped through the arch and into woodlands, a trail stretching out before him. Some time later he stepped through another arch and entered a clearing. The clearing was small, barely fifteen meters across and surrounded by meter thick trees that stretched higher than Johann could see.
Johann looked around, awed. The clearing didn’t look special but there was an aura of pure nature that overpowered Johann’s senses. It was as if everything was more alive and more real than anything he had ever seen before. Breathing in the air Johann felt both energized and relaxed at the same time, as if could do anything but not needing to.
Then Johann turned around and looked at the archway in shock. “Wait, what just happened?”
“The short answer is that you traveled through my [Natures Trail] spell. It’s basically a druid version of a portal spell.” Sergei said.
Johann turned and looked at his mentor, finding the large man seated on a large tree that had molded itself into the shape of a large seat. In his surprise Johann hadn’t even realized the man was there, which was quite the feat. Every rookie had long since developed a habit of always checking for a Sergei surprise.
Sergei chuckled. “Judging by your confused look I’m guessing you’ve got a couple hundred questions or so. Relax, take a seat.” He waved a hand and another tree seat grew out of the ground in front of him in a matter of seconds. “I figured you’d have a lot of questions so I’ve set aside today to answer them.”
“Anyways, the long answer to your question is that [Natures Trail] is a unique and extremely powerful druidic spell that creates a trail through the Nature Realm that is under the complete control of the druid that casts it, and when I say complete I mean complete. In this case I removed your awareness of pretty much everything so that you wouldn’t lose your mind from direct contact with the Nature Realm. A hostile druid could have killed you or warped your soul or turned you into a female goat and impregnated you. Rule #8; Never enter a druids portal unless you trust them completely.”
Johann looked at Sergei, eyes wide. “Uh, okay, sure. Female goat? Really?”
“Seen it happen. Trust me, you don’t want that to happen. Now, before you ask this place, as you should have guessed by now, is my grove. A Druids Grove is a sub-dimensional space infused with the power of nature, essentially a pocket dimension created by channeling the pure power of Nature through a ritual that is so advanced there isn’t currently a single person on this planet capable of recreating it.”
“Druid Groves are usually assigned by the system once a person gains a Tier 4 Druidic Class. Each Grove is unique and offers unique advantages. Mine for instance, is the Iron Bough Grove, which both gives me the ability to grow Iron Bough trees without needing seeds as well as making my body as tough as an Iron Bough tree.”
Johann sat there, stunned. His Trait had stated he had access to the Grove of the Arch Druid and until now he’d had no idea what that meant.
“How do you get to your grove, is it only through the [Natures Trail] spell?” Johann asked.
Sergei shook his head. “Don’t worry about it, you’ll only get a grove when you reach Tier 4, by which point you’ll have had plenty of time to sort it out.”
“Yeah, but why not tell me now?” Johann asked, trying not to seem desperate.
Sergei raised an eyebrow. “Why should I? More to the point, why do you want to know? The information would be useless to you for years to come.”
Johann shrugged, acting nonchalant. “Just curious. Besides, there’s no such thing as being too prepared, right?”
Sergei stared at him, his eyes squinting as if trying to see into Johanns head, before he nodded. “True, true. Still, there will be more than enough time to learn that when you get to tier 3.”
“Oh come on, why won’t you tell me now?” Johann asked, a bit of desperation creeping into his voice.
“Why don’t you tell me why you want to know, the real reason.” Sergei looked at him with a serious expression.
Johann hesitated, his desire to know warring with his desire for his secrets to remain secret. “I, uh, I can’t tell you sir. It’s Trait related.”
Sergei’s serious expression lifted and a smile returned to his face. “Well then I think it’s time for the mentors oath.”
Sergei paused for a moment. Johann was about to ask what the oath was when Sergei began to emit massive amounts of mana. At the same time he spoke, his voice resonating with the mana around him.
“I, Sergei Zhestokiy, hereby swear to work towards the best interests of my student, Johann Alltud, until the end of his tutelage and I swear to keep all his secrets unless he goes against the Adventurers Guild or doing so would directly result in the death of another.”
As soon as he finished speaking the mana briefly intensified before disappearing from Johann’s senses. Sergei slumped back into his seat, exhausted, and began rubbing his forehead with both hands.
“Crap.” Sergei said. “I hate that. Bloody oaths taking all my mana and giving me a bloody headache.” Sergei sighed and looked at Johann. “Alright kid, you should have gotten a notification about the oath.”
“Uh, no idea. The arm bands are still on.” Johann said.
Sergei stared at him for a second before he swore. “Shit, knew there was something I forgot.” He began poking at his armband before he froze and swore again. “Oh, for the love of my balls! I can’t activate the return function without mana and I just used it all on the bloody motherfucking oath!”
Sergei slumped further in his seat. “Alright kid, it’s gonna be a while before I can recall the arm bands and judging by how cagey you were I’m guessing you won’t believe me about the oath until you get System confirmation, which means we have some time to kill. You got any of those questions left?”
Johann took a moment to think things over. It should be fine to tell Sergei the secrets of his trait. After all, if this was a trap then it was too elaborate, but that didn’t help Johann. His hesitation wasn’t so much based on logic as it was emotion.
Still, there was no reason not to wait and one very good reason to spend time asking questions; Johann had a new and very interesting topic to ask about.
“Endspiel.” Johann stated He didn’t have to ask any specific questions, Sergei knew what he wanted to know.
Sergei sighed. “Kid, you really have a knack for asking questions you don’t need the answers for. Alright, I’ll tell you what I know, but you have to promise to answer my questions about your trait later on, ‘kay?”
“As long as the oath is confirmed.” Johann said, nodding.
Sergei gave a small smile. “Good. Stay cautious, any defeat you can walk away from is a victory in the making, Sergei rule #12. Now, Endspiel. As far as we are aware the continent used to be ours, before the Systems integration, but it’s arrival brought with it a horde of monsters. The System brought with it a large amount of mana, most of which it used to make various changes like altering the landscape and creating the Dungeons, but enough of it was left over to create a large amount of manifestations.”
“The monsters, along with the general chaos that came with the systems arrival, meant that most people round that time were just struggling to survive. The dungeons were largely left alone, few people willing to risk entering their depths. We found out the hard way what happens to dungeons when they aren’t cleared. Endspiel had it the worst, the mana concentration over there is much higher than here so the dungeons are higher in levels and number.”
“Humanity barely survived on Anlasser but Endspiel became a land of death and monsters. It wasn’t until after the Babel event that we were able to return to the continent. When people got the option to change their race many in the guild chose races that would enhance their abilities, allowing them to specialize further. It was actually what led to creation of the five roles as we know them today. Teams with that configuration were the first to not only survive but actually return from Endspiel.”
“From that moment the adventurers began to really thrive, the resources we were bringing back from Endspiel boosted our capabilities to higher and higher heights. Eventually we managed to create a permanent beachhead in the fringes; the town of Hoffnung.”
“Everything in Hoffnung, and therefore all of Endspiel, works different to here. In Hoffnung everything costs Endspiel Points, or EP. You want food? EP. Equipment repairs? EP. A place to lay your weary head? EP. Points are earned from pretty much just one thing; killing. Every monster killed earns you an EP and if you’re ever good or lucky enough to actually clear a dungeon then you’ll be considered a rich man in Hoffnung.”
“You might be wondering; why bother going to Endspiel if I’m just going to work for a living like in Anlasser? It’s simple; the opportunities. Endspiel offers the kinds of services and rewards that you can’t even dream of.”
“In the brief time I was over there I managed to find three different upgrades for my Grove that you simply can’t find in Anlasser. For instance, the ability to bring you in here. Grove’s are usually only meant for the one who owns them but thanks to the upgrade I can bring in as many people as can fit.”
Sergei paused. “Alright kid, enough of that. I’ve got the mana, let’s get these bands recalled.” Sergei tapped on his arm band and before Johann even realized his own arm band was gone. “Alright kid, check your Status. You should have a few notifications waiting for you.”
Johann did so. There was a large amount of attribute increase notifications which he ignored but there were two that stood out.
Condition gained: Partial Tempering
Partial Tempering: Your Mana Channels have been partially tempered, gaining enhanced recovery from negative effects.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
Sergei Zhestokiy has made a binding oath to work towards your best interests until the end of his tutelage and to keep all your secrets unless you go against the Adventurers Guild or doing so would directly result in the death of another. Breaking this oath will result in Sergei Zhestokiy’s immediate death.
The two notifications were certainly interesting but nothing that Johann hadn’t already guessed. It was still nice to get confirmation, but the rest of his Status was far more interesting.
Status
Name: Johann Alltud
Age: 18
Race: Mixed (Elf/Elemental)
Class: Druid lvl 6
Title: None
Health: 260
Mana: 360
Stamina: 180
Attributes:
Strength: 18
Agility: 18
Vitality: 26
Dexterity: 17
Perception: 21
Control: 27
Power: 36
Skills
General:
-Animal Taming lvl 1
-Mana Barrier lvl 7
-Empty
Class:
-Grasping Roots lvl 9
-Weather Attunement lvl 8
-Animal Attunement lvl 4
Mastered:
Plant Attunement
Basic Mana Manipulation
Basic Mana Bolt
Traits:
Elemental Mana Pool
Calling of the Arch Druid
Conditions:
Partial Tempering
Johann was shocked at the increase to his attributes. Every attribute had increased by several points but it was his physical attributes that had skyrocketed. His Vitality almost tripling was both amazing and worrying. He looked up at Sergei, the question plain on his face.
Sergei chuckled. “By the look on your face I’m guessing you’ve had a look at your attributes.”
Johann nodded.
“How do you think the bands kept your stats low?” Sergei asked. “They constantly released energy that damaged your muscles, skin and bones while also disrupting your mana. Hel, if it weren’t for the pain dampeners you’d be in screaming pain. The constant cycle of damaging and then healing your body helped raise your vitality and performing the various exercises and all the fights while under these conditions helped raise the rest.”
“Damn, that’s crazy. Why doesn’t everyone train using bands like this?” Johann asked.
Sergei raised an eyebrow. “Kid, do you have any idea just how much one of those bands cost? We’re talking ‘money can’t buy’ kind of expensive. Besides, they only work for those with low stats, the higher your vitality the harder it is for the bands to work and eventually they simply can’t keep up with the body’s natural healing factor.”
“But enough about the bands. Now that you’ve got your status back I assume you got the notification about the oath, right?” Johann nodded. “Good. Now could you please tell me why you want to know about Groves?”
Johann told him.
Sergei didn’t believe him.
Johann shared his Status.
Sergei sat and stared for a full minute.
“Well, shit. Explains a few things. Your spells were always a bit too strong for the mana you used. Figured it was Trait related but, well, shit.” Sergei suddenly looked Johann in the eye and opened his mouth to say something but Johann interrupted him.
“Before you say it, My parents already gave me the ‘Don’t Tell Anyone’ lecture. I wouldn’t have told you if not for the oath and us being in your grove.” Johann said.
“Your parents know? Anyone else?” Sergei asked.
“Torin and Gloria, but don’t worry. My parents made all of use sign system backed contracts not to say anything.” Johann said.
Sergei breathed a sigh of relief. Oh, thank the gods. Smart parents you got there, contracts are about as good as a person can get outside of Oaths and Geas’.” Johann raised an eyebrow at the unfamiliar word but Sergei waved him down. “Nope, not getting into that right now. Neither are we going to get into Groves, not just yet. I’ll tell you at the end of the year but I don’t want you getting distracted just yet. Right now we have a lot of work to do. Your class skills need some serious work and you should probably get a few general skills to shore up weaknesses.”
Sergei looked at Johann, his eyes shining. “Kid, I don’t know how or why you have that trait and quite frankly I don’t want to know, too much trouble for my tastes, but since you have it we are going to make damn sure you make the best of it. I’m going to make you the most powerful adventurer this world’s ever seen.”
“As much as badass Johann sounds like a wonderful idea shouldn’t we be going low-key?” Johann asked. “If my trait is ever found out I’ll never have another peaceful moment. Even the good people will try and grab me.”
“You’re both very right and woefully wrong.” Sergei said. “Yes, if the details of your trait were ever to be discovered then you’d either die a gruesome death at the hands of a trait-hunter or spend the rest of your days having endless amounts of sex in the hopes of producing a kid with the same trait.” Sergei paused. “Okay, that last part didn’t sound that bad, but the likelyhood of that happening, and the sex being good, is very small.”
“But that doesn’t matter, because you’re also wrong about being low-key. Think about it, what are the most powerful parts of the Trait? The free progression and the Grove access. Two things which are very difficult to uncover even with investigative Skills. The boost in skill strength and experience is strong, but it’s not Terra-shattering like the other two and it can be easily explained by talent or item boosting.”
“A person with talent like that would never stay low-key so the obvious plan is to get you as strong as quickly as possible. The obvious advantage of being strong enough to beat everyone in your way aside, the more talented you appear the more the guild will favor you, making you a costly target for kidnapping. Few idiots would mess with a guild favorite.”
“So, let’s get you trained. First things first, let’s get those attunements mastered. After we get them sorted we can figure out what kind of build you want to go for.”
“Build?” Johann asked.
“Adventurer lingo.” Sergei answered. “Essentially means what kind of style you want to fight in. When it comes to ranged attackers there are traditionally three main builds; Burst, DoT and Controller. Burst attackers focus on piling on as much damage as quickly as possible, firing off as much spells/skills in a short burst as possible, hence the name. DoT, which stands for damage over time, focus on creating long lasting continuous damage, usually through poisons or fire. As you can probably guess Controllers focus less on damage and more on controlling the battlefield. Your [Grasping Roots] spell is a prime example of a controlling spell.”
“Anyways, once we work out your build we can work towards it. In the meantime we can get your attunements mastered starting with Animal, my particular specialty. Now, I don’t know how you’ve been working on your attunements so far, but I find that the best way to master it is by truly understanding it and the best way to understand animals is to live with them.”
With that Sergei waved his hand and created another [Natures Trail]. Without a word he stood up and disappeared through the portal, moving faster than Johann’s eyes could track. Johann sat there for a moment, unsure if he was meant to follow, but before he could move Sergei was back, this time with a passenger under his arm.
“Malek!” Johann sprang up and was immediately bowled over by a bundle of fluff. It seemed that wherever they had been keeping Malek they had looked after him well, his fur had never felt fluffier to Johann.
Johann let Malek lick him for a few moments, letting the wolfhound tell Johann how much he had missed him, before he decided to get revenge for the slobber that now covered his face by licking Malek back. The taste was awful but it was worth it for the shocked look on Malek’s face.
“Hah! Now you know how it feels!” Johann exclaimed. “Now get off ya big lump of fur.”
In hindsight it was probably a bad idea to say that. With a look on his face that could only be described as mischievous Malek stood up, turned around and plopped his butt down directly on Johanns suddenly terrified face.
Sergei watched as Johann tried desperately to get out from under the wolfhound with a smile. It reminded him of his first companion, Ursa. Whenever the bear was annoyed with Sergei she would simply collapse on top of him, smothering him with several tons of Ursa. Sergei held that at least part of the reason for his high strength was the repeated struggle to get out from under the bear. Nothing like a fear of death to build up muscle.
“Alright, get up Malek, I still need the kid conscious.” Sergei said.
Malek stood up and moved off Johann and stood to the side, watching Sergei. The wolfhound could feel the power within the large man and he gave it the respect it deserved.
“Alright kid, you’ve had your reunion.” Sergei told a spluttering Johann. “Now it’s time for training. For the next month you’re going to live how it feels to be an animal with Malek as your trusty guide. This -” Sergei tossed Johann a collar. “- is a transmutation collar. Specifically, a wolfhound transmutation collar. Put it on.”
Johann looked between the collar and Sergei with some hesitation before he fastened it around his neck. Immediately pain flared through his body as he shifted. Bones cracked, breaking apart and reforming in a different shape. Muscles twisted and tore before rejoining in new patterns. His skin itched as hair grew in places that weren’t meant to have hair. The worst came form his head as his very skull seemed determined to crush his own brain, his brain transforming a moment later in order to fit his new body.
When his awareness finally settled Johann was overwhelmed once again by the new sensations coming from throughout his body. Everything felt off, like a clothes that were both too tight and too loose. Trying to get to his feet was a challenge, one that took Johann more than a few attempts to manage. It would have been difficult enough getting used to four legs but he found his center of balance completely different.
Sergei watched and waited patiently as Johann got acclimatized to the new form. He himself had gone through the process many times and it was always a challenge getting used to a new form, especially when you had no practice.
Once Johann seemed able to stand steadily Sergei spoke. “Alright, the first few days you’ll spend here, getting used to your new body. After that the two of you are going back to the island to spend the rest of the month in the wild. By the end of this I expect you to have mastered [Animal Attunement] so remember to use it as much as possible.”
“I’ll give you two pieces of advise. One, listen to your body’s instincts. You might not know how to move, but your body does. Second, use [Animal Attunement] as much as possible. The effects should be much stronger in an animals body so be careful, but the best way to acclimatize to an animal form is to use [Animal Attunement] while you do so.”
Sergei paused, realizing that Wolfhound Johann wasn’t even looking at him. “Oh for the love of the gods, are you even listening to me?”
Johann wasn’t. Well, he was and he wasn’t. Wolfhound ears are exceptionally sharp so right now Johann was listening to Everything. Sergei’s grove lacked much of the sounds that a normal forest might have, but there was still plenty to distract and overwhelm Johanns senses.
Sergei sighed. “This is going to take a while.”