I must forever be on guard

Against the doubts that skulk along;

I get ahead by fighting hard,

But fighting keeps my spirit strong.

'The Fighter' Samuel Ellsworth Kiser

 *****

Ding

Primary evaluation complete. Initial Nature settings adjusted. Natal birth attained.

The Beast is born. May your journeys and growth be worthwhile.

This popup message was the greeting Nero received upon his appearance once more in Gods' Nature.

He had logged off after his shift last night because it had been time for his second daily check-up. Though he had spent a day and a half in the game world, only about seven hours had passed in real life.

The concept of time usage had been on his mind when he logged back into the lobby of the game. Augustus had done some mental math to try and wrap his head around the time dilation effect.

If you took into account the fact that Augustus lay paralyzed on a hospital bed and feeding by IV drip, it is no wonder that he because he had no other obligations, he could spend so long in the game.

Though he did not have the standard game capsule, his helmet was still equipped with the function that allowed the game to be played during sleep. This would only help with physical fatigue, but mental fatigue could be stopped by sleeping inside the game world.

A standard day had twenty-four hours, but with the time dilation of five in-game, that meant that twenty-four hours became a hundred and twenty hours. In one day, Augustus had two check-ups with the nurses, each lasted between twenty and thirty minutes. All together this could mean between three and five hours of game time lost.

Let's say that in one day cycle, Augustus became mentally tired three times. If he slept for around eight hours, then the total sleep time would be twenty-four hours, an entire day. This meant that out of the initial period of a hundred and twenty hours available in a day, subtracting the three to five for check-ups and the twenty-four for sleep, Nero could play the game between ninety-one and ninety-three hours.

This was an estimate at best because Nero did not know if he would need more sleep or if other things would interrupt gameplay like a visit from his doctor or his siblings.

Augustus had spent some time in the lobby thinking on this subject, he had also done some small investigation online about whether this difference in time perspectives would have effects on a person's psychology.

Unfortunately, the technology was still too new, only a few years old. So no long-term research had been done with regards to it. Nero was willing to bet money that there were teams out there dedicated to figuring out the specifics.

Because of the time spent looking up the subject, the initial time outside the game had turned from twenty minutes to two hours. Once Augustus had finally entered the game, it was already late morning.

And he was greeted with this notification.

He blinked a bit, unsure what was going on.

Shrugging his shoulders a bit he closed the popup and opened up his status page to see if there had been a change. There had been.

Name Nrvn Qsr Level 3 (10 Points Unallocated) Nature The Beast (Natal) {?} Alignment Neutral HP 100 MP 100 STR. 10 DEX. 10 Spirit 10 Knowledge 6 {?}

Skills- The Nest (1) {?} Assimilation (1) {?}

The screen showed some differences. Thankfully each change was accompanied by a small question mark icon that would hopefully explain things.

Deciding to start from the top, Nero clicked on the mark next to The Beast.

Natures (Natal) As you progress through the game, your Nature develops with you and you with it. Natures have no levels, but it can change on a qualitative level. The first form (Natal) is given to all players after enough time is spent on the game and enough actions are taken to determine the path of growth. Natures provide benefits depending on their form of skills, quests or stats. Higher Nature attunement provided more significant gains.

That was interesting. From what Nero understood, it basically meant that the higher the 'Nature,' the stronger, or more beneficial, the gains were. This said likely was the reasons for the changes on the screen, he had spent enough time in the game for it to finalize his Nature. It did not mention how to improve Nature, but Nero could look that up later. He moved on to knowledge.

Knowledge This stat is generated by the careful gathering of information. It represents the total accumulated knowledge of the player. The knowledge stat provides benefits by bringing up facts known to the player in crucial situations. The player is unable to allocate points to this stat.

This was likely generated because of the hours he had spent in the library. What it meant by 'bringing up facts known to the player in crucial situations' Kaesar would have to discover later. Next were the skills.

The Nest (1) "To grow strong does not mean to grow solitary." Allows for the recruitment of NPCs into The Nest. NPCs in the Nest receive stat boosts while fighting with other nestmates. Upon death, NPCs will revive around the player. NPCs disappear upon logging off and reappear upon login. Synergistic skills can only be used with other nestmates. Current Number of Nestmates Allowed: 1 Current Number of Nestmates: 1 Nestmates: 'Jorry' (Gardner Snake) Stat boost to Nestmates: 0.01%

Assimilation (1) "I see the best in you and imitate it." The power of The Nest is your power. By assimilating various traits, physiologies, and skills of your nestmates, you gain their characteristics. As you learn experience with their features, they become your own. Through this, you grow. Only one trait may be assimilated at a time. Just small changes are possible at this level.

So these were skills. It was Nero's understanding that these could be anything from passive abilities, like doing more damage with a weapon, to active ones, like launching a ball of fire. One of the things he had heard in passing from his sisters was the sheer variety of skill in Gods' Nature compared to other games.

He could finally see why these two skills alone were probably not uniques in gaming history, but they were undoubtedly eclectic.

Speaking of Jorry, Nero noticed the little snake was still wrapped around his arm when he had logged in. To tell the truth, when he had logged out he hadn't given much thought to his tiny companion. It was good to know that it would be with him for a while.

Nero still had a few questions and so decided to call the person most likely able to answer them in his concise list of contacts.

While he waited for the call to be answered, Nero took another look at his skills. The Nest was self-explanatory, more of a storage or organization tool than anything else. It likely was to be used in conjunction with other abilities like Assimilation down the line. Its exact limits would be revealed as he played.

Speaking of Assimilation, that was the one that Nero wanted to play around with. What were its limits? Could he transform into a snake entirely or was there limits? Did it mean copying stats, like dexterity or was it limited to physical things like scales? How did he activate it in the first place?

The last question was probably the best place to start. Did he just say the name of the skill he wanted to activate?

"Assimilation."

Please select the NPC whose trait you want to assimilate: -Jorry

Not much choice but at least he got the skill to activate.

"Jorry."

What trait would you like to assimilate?

Best to start with something a bit abstract to see the effects.

"Jorry's flexibility."

Trait description is unspecific. Please provide a narrower description or chose another trait.

Kaesar hadn't really expected it work that quickly, so he wasn't put off.

"Jorry's muscle control."

Unable to assimilate trait at this level. Please choose another feature.

So it did not mean it was impossible, merely that the skill was too low level to be used for that trait.

Nero was interrupted in his tests by a voice.

"Hello? Gus?"

His call had gone through. Though based on the time it had taken, and the fact that there was no image displayed it likely meant she was outside the game at the moment.

"Hey, Sophia. I'm not disturbing you at anything am I?" He asked. It took about fifteen seconds for her to answer from his perspective.

"Not really, I'm just waiting for the water to boil before making dinner. You need something?"

"I just had some questions about the game, I can call you back later if you want?" Kaesar finally understood why his sisters complained about talking to somebody outside of the game, the time difference was annoying.

"No, it's fine. What did you want to know?" Because the player wouldn't be able to understand the other person if they were talking too slow, the game recorded the dialogue and played it back to the player once finished.

"I was wondering if you knew anything about this Natal thing? I just got an update saying that I have attained 'Natal birth' or something like that?" It took over a minute before the return message was transmitted to Nero.

"Natures are a brainchild of my uncle, and he doesn't tell me anything in specific, so I only know a bit more than average. Based on what others have discovered so far about the game, Natures are like character abilities that are with you from the start. Everybody begins with their Natures at the natal level after a few days. At the begging things can vary wildly based on natures. Some people get stat increases, usually in percentages form, depending on their Natures.

One of the more common Natures, Warrior, gets a fifty percent buff for strength and ten percent to dexterity from the beginning. Of course, this is only if they used the standard Warrior description. If they used a unique one, then it would vary. Every single Nature gets at least one skill once they reach the Natal state. These skills are where things get interesting.

Some people get incredibly unique skills. One of the more famous ones allows for the player to form a face on the back of their head. These skills are essential because, if they are unique enough, it is almost impossible for others to learn them. Who is going to teach others how to grow a second face? This is a sort of reward for people who create their own Natures instead of using default ones."

"What about the other levels of Natures? What comes after Natal? Do people get skills then too? How do people increase their Natures?"

"From what players have discovered so far, there are two ways to increase Natures. Upon reaching level 100 Natures automatically evolve to their second form, if it hasn't been reached yet. It was found recently that the same thing happens at level 200. Whether this continues in the later levels is unknown.

The second method is the harder of the two, players have started to call it 'attunement.' Some roleplayers found out that if they perform actions that are 'attuned' to the description of their natures then can improve ahead of time. Each increase in Nature provides at least one skill, though it depends on the actions of the person before they reach the next Nature level. Somebody who fights a lot will probably get a skill related to combat.

So far only four levels of Nature have been discovered. Natal will turn into Applied, then comes Realization. Just two months ago somebody finally publicly announced they had passed Realization and reached a new level. It is called Mortal if I remember correctly. Other people might have achieved that level before, but that was the first time somebody was open about it.

What about you, what did you get?"

"I got two skills. They seem interesting, but I will play with them a bit before I get back to you. I also got a new kind of stat. What do you know about Knowledge?"

"A lot more than you since I used to teach you." They both chuckled at the joke. " The Knowledge stat is generated once a player learns enough about the world that it can provide beneficially. The easiest way to get it is by reading a lot of books or getting some good advice from a trainer. Combat professions usually get the stat once they have fought enough enemies till they are familiar with it.

If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

It is actually pretty rare for none magic players to get that stat right from the start, you must have read quite a few books in a short period of time. What it does is it provides little popup screens that give information on what the player is doing. If somebody has read about plants, it will tell you which are edible or not. It is not right to trust it completely, it can only serve as a source of knowledge that you already know. So if you learn something false, it will provide that as accurate information.

It is actually my highest stat. My Nature, Sage, gets a buff from it, unlike most other magic users who receive one from spirit. Unfortunately, you cannot add stat points to it, the only way to increase it is by good old fashioned learning. You know me, always looking to learn more."

"Thank you for that. I guess the more things change, the more they stay the same. Do you mind if I call you again if I have any more questions?"

"Go right ahead. This feels nostalgic, I can't remember the last time I got to teach you anything. I better go now anyway, the water is boiling, and your sisters will be here any minute."

"You're having dinner with my sisters? Why?" The three hardly got along when he wasn't around.

"They called me earlier to apologize, so I decided to invite them over to bury the hatchet. You cool with that? I know you worry about those two without you, but they have been doing really well on their own since the accident."

"It is no problem. In fact, this is good news. I really wish you girls wouldn't fight. I'll have to trouble you to look after them for the next few years. Just keep them out of trouble in school, and I would really appreciate it."

"No problem. That is them right now, I'll talk to you later. Bye."

"Bye." She hung up the phone.

Nero stood there for a moment before shaking off the odd idea of Nico, Sophia, and Maude all getting along. He would have to see it with his own eyes before he believed it.

Nero decided to test out an idea he had when Sophia had made a comment about the guy with two faces.

"Assimilation; Jorry's mouth."

Change is too significant for this skill level. Please be more specific.

That was too broad huh? One of the defining characteristics of snakes was their mouths. Everything from their forked tongue to their poisonous fangs to their ability to swallow large creatures whole. Since that wasn't going to work, then it was probably better to take one small trait at a time to form a more substantial change later.

"Jorry's taste buds."

Assimilation is possible. Assimilate {Gardner snake's Taste Buds}?

Nothing ventured nothing gained. "Yes."

Assimilating. Assimilating. Assimilation complete.

Nero had no chance to rejoice before he was assaulted by the most potent taste he had ever felt before. It wasn't so far a bad taste, though it definitely wasn't nice, as it was pervasive. It was like every part of his mouth had been doused in a thick liquid, only the drink was pungent and bland at the same time.

It took a moment for Nero to realize that what he was tasting was only the inside of his mouth. If he opened his mouth right now, he would probably throw up if he was assaulted by the day to day tastes of the rest of the world.

This would definitely take some getting used to.

****

Perhaps Nero had been a bit hasty with the use of Assimilation.

In his defense though, there had been no other characteristics of snakes that he could think of. Many snakes were poisonous or had fangs, but a Gardner snake was not. He had tried to assimilate the muscle control or flexibility of the serpent. That would have been a godsend, snakes were almost pure muscle after all. Unfortunately, it had not worked.

He was left floundering for a moment before he thought of one the most distinctive traits of the snake family, something that anybody would think of when they heard 'serpent.' The famous 'forked tongue.'

Despite having two nostrils, snakes did not really have a significant sense of smell. Over time they had evolved so that their taste buds on their tongue were merged with their sense of smell to form one of the most potent chemosensory devices in the animal kingdom. By flickering their tongue in and out, the 'taste' and 'smell' the particles in the air.

Nero had been leery about actual physical changes, one of the reasons he had not tried to assimilate Jorry's eyes, also because most snake's sights were not really well developed. In spite of that, he had decided to change his entire mouth at once in the hopes that it would provide a certain degree of control over the resulting sense. When that proved unavailable, he was left with no choice but to take things one step at a time.

He could have started with the tongue itself, but without the sense of taste it would be useless, and if he added the sense of taste later he would be exposed to the rest of the world from the get-go, making him even harder to adapt.

Nero could have also chosen another sense theoretically. But as mentioned before, the sight was not well developed with snakes, baring a few. The smell was part of taste so that one was out. Naturally, for an animal which spends its life on its belly, its sense of touch was well developed as well. The problem would be that there is no way to control contact and any feeling would be heightened.

Sankes had no actual ears, instead possessing small holes in their heads that were used to pick up vibrations in the air. Hearing was one of their more acute senses, but that had mostly to do with the quadrate bone in their lower jaw. And Kaesar had no desire to go adding bones to his body right from the get-go.

Kaesar could also have tried to assimilate the 'sixth sense.' Serpents possed a form of heat sensitivity, allowing them to feel when other living beings were near. But a new sense, with no real, experience, would be disorienting in the extream.

Thus based on the various senses, taste was the best choice at the moment. In particular was the fact that Nero could just close his mouth to lower the new sensations.

Of course, Nero could have chosen something nonsensory to assimilate. Snake's scales, for example, would be a good form of defense, better than the thin skin humans possess. Unfortunately, they would probably cover the whole body, making the change too substantial for the skill at this level.

All these thoughts were valid reasons why Nero would choose to change his taste buds first.

It was a shame that they only passed his mind as he was bitterly trying to keep his lunch in.

Nero could only imagine the misery he would feel if he threw up with his new sense of taste. He did not want to experience that.

All the reasoning in the world did not prepare him for real life. It was situations like this why Augustus disliked following his gut instinct. Later logic would prove that it was the right thing to do, but it would still leave him unprepared for what came after.

It took him over ten minutes to recover, valiantly able to keep from hurling.

When he rose to from his knees finally, it was to find Jorry, having fallen from his perch on Nero's shoulder, staring at the player. Its small head tilted to the side slightly and its tongue flickering in and out. Kaesar could almost hear the 'what is wrong with this guy' in his head.

"Ya ya, laugh it u-" Nero tried to say and immediately regretted it. While nowhere near as high as the first time, he was assaulted by a confusing concoction of various tastes.

It was a mixture of sweat from his episode, dirt from the street, old wood from the nearby houses and a few other tastes he could not identify.

"This is going to be tough." He was able to talk at least, though the tastes did not disappear.

"Assimilation."

Currently Assimilating: 'Jorry's taste buds.' Progress: 2% No other assimilation possible until the previous one is complete. Deactivate?

Nero scratched his head a little, he thought that the assimilation was complete? Maybe it was only getting used to, and using. his new senses that would complete the prosses?

Either way, it was something he would deal with later. For now, his priority was getting used to the taste buds. That and getting away from here, he had attracted many odd looks from his fit.

Looking up into the sky, it looked like it was still before noon, Nero had time before he had to go to the training hall. Deciding to go back to the bookstore from before and get some more knowledge about the world of Gods' Nature, he picked up Jorry and headed off.

****

"You ever been in a fight, boy?"

"No, sir."

"Not even once? A bar fight? A childhood scuffle?"

"No, sir."

"Do you do any kind of exercise?"

"No sir." Not entirely accurate, one of the jobs he had before getting injured had been in construction and that had involved a lot of heavy lifting and hard labor. This wasn't his real body. However, Nero was using a helmet to play the game rather than the standard capsule. This meant that his avatar was not his actual body, only his head and height being the same but his muscles were not.

"All right, I guess. Something to be said about a blank slate." The instructor was apparently trying to comfort himself, unused to the situation at hand. In a medieval world, one without the niceties of modern life it was rare for people not to be involved in some sort of fight.

Right now Nero was at Ground Sheer, the training hall, talking to the instructor with the cane. Rob if he remembered correctly. Ken had been busy with paperwork, and the other instructor, whose name Kaesar had forgotten was drilling the other students. Rob had brought Nero to a corner of the yard to teach him some basics.

"You have any weapon in specific you want to learn?"

"No sir."

"We got to start somewhere. Try and hit me."

"What?" Nero asked, nonplussed.

"I said I want you to try and punch me. Don't worry, I'll be fine." Nero shrugged, he wasn't so naive to think somebody with a cane helpless. Besides, Rob was an instructor in a training hall, he was bound to have plenty of experience in fights.

Nero Took the few steps separating them and tried to throw a straight punch at the instructor's face.

Unsurprisingly, it was caught.

"You really weren't lying, you've never fought a day in your life have you?" Rob released his hand, and Nero stepped back once more.

"No sir."

"At least you are polite." He rubbed his chin in thought for a moment before continuing. "First things first. When punching you do not want to extend your arm completely, this locks the joint and makes getting injured easier. You also want to hit with your whole body, not just your arms and shoulders. Your thighs and legs are integral in controlling the amount of force you generate.

Never lean too far forward when punching, this unbalances you, and a counter attack can land you on your ass. Always think about the next move. It is not enough to be able to hit hard once, you must be ready to follow up on the attack or dodge. You got all that?"

"Yes, sir."

"You probably don't. It is one thing to hear a bunch of theories and another thing completely to have real experience. But that is why you are here, to learn. Follow me." Rob took Nero along the wall of the yard to the other side where some posts were set up.

"You see these logs?" They were wider than Nero's torso and a head taller than he was. "I want you to keep punching that log at the end until I tell you to stop. Fair warning, it is going to hurt like a bitch soon but if you want to learn you are going to have to deal with it."

Shrugging slightly, Nero put Jorry on top of the adjacent post before standing in front of his own. Rob did not even blink at the oddness of carrying a snake, he had seen too much in his life to be surprised by something like this. Instead, he instructed Nero.

"Get closer," Nero did so, "and keep your feet further apart, if they are too close together, you are unbalanced."

Kaesar threw his first punch.

Bonk.

"Hit harder."

Bonk.

"Harder."

Bonk.

"Harder."

To be fair to Nero, very few people would be able to hit their hardest when they knew their target was firm and dense. Imagine trying to punch steel with your full force, that was a great way to break your bones in your hand. But under Rob's nagging, Nero eventually got fed up and did just that.

Thunk.

"Good, now you just need to throw the punch correctly, keep your arm from going straight."

Thunk.

"Better, but your joint is still locked." Despite the encouragement, Nero wasn't feeling too happy. Rob had been right, though Nero wasn't prone to swearing he had to admit, it hurt like a bitch. His knuckles were already scrapped from a few hits, and each subsequent one made it worse.

"Try and hit with your whole body. Tilt your back and center."

Thunk.

"Not that much, you are overextending."

Thunk.

"Again."

Thunk.

"Again."

And so it went. Rob kept correcting the mistakes he saw, and Nero kept hitting the log. The early parts were the hardest. Kaesar's knuckles started bleeding, but the instructor paid no attention to that and told him to continue. It did not take long for his shoulder and arms to start to feel sore and start to lose strength. Rob just yelled for him to pick up the pace.

Nero's new sense of taste actually proved to be of slight help. He had tried to keep his mouth closed as much as possible, only talking when necessary. But the pungent odors of the training field helped with distracting him from the pain of this body. Sweat and dirt were the most obvious, as two dozen people were physically active nearby. Underlying that was a coppery taste that even Nero could identify as blood. Cleary injuries were not foreign to this place.

As time progressed, things got more comfortable, however. Likely due to feeling only ten percent of the sensation in real life, Nero was able to fall into a trance-like state. He punched the log, corrected his mistakes as instructed, and repeated. His knuckles were covered in his own blood by the time Rob called it quits.

"Alright, you can stop for now." No sooner had he finished talking that Nero collapsed on the ground like a starfish. His arms and hands refusing to move. "Come on, get up and follow me."

It took quite a bit of effort, mainly using his lower body as much as possible, so he did not have to move his arms, but Nero managed to follow the instructor. Rob led him to a bench on the side of the hall, a water barrel next to.

"Sit down." It was with great relief that Kaesar did so. Rob took a tin cup and filled it with water from the barrel. "Wash the blood off your hands and put some of this on." He handed Nero a small container that held some sort of cream.

Doing as he was told, though his hands shook from the effort, Nero managed to get his hands clean. Taking the cream, he spread some on his red fingers and knuckles. As soon as the ointment touched the exposed area, a cooling sensation flowed from over his hands. Kaesar was barely able to hold a moan of contentment.

After his hands were covered in the stuff, Nero turned his attention back to the instructor. Rob was watching the other students square off against each other. Most had formed a circle, and two others were in the center with the instructor. One of them had a wooden sword and the other a wooden spear. They both had shields.

As Kaesar watched, the one with a spear jabbed at his opponent who caught it on his round shield and charged towards his foe. Despite the swordsman getting closer and trying to hit him, the spearman used his own protection to block the attack while stepping to the side and allowing the swordsman to run passed. He then used his weapon as a polearm and smacked the back of his foe, sending him to the floor.

"Cleep, what have I told you about rushing in? If you raise your shield so high, it blocks your view. And Tony why did you aim for his torso, Cleep stopped it easily. Aim at his legs next time, there is no need to play nice in a fight." The instructor, who Nero finally remembered was called Dode, yelled at the students.

Seeing the bout was done, Rob turned back towards his current pupil.

"Good, you are all healed." Sure enough, once Nero looked down at his hands once more he realized that the wounds had closed and slight callouses had formed. There had to be something magic in that ointment to allow it to heal so fast. "We'll get started on weapon training. Usually, students have a preference, but since you don't, we'll try a bit of everything until we find you something you like."

Rob walked to a nearby barrel and drew out two wooden swords, one of which he threw to Nero.

"Same thing as before, try and hit me."

Having learned from last time, Nero did not hold back and hit at the instructor as hard as he could with an overhead chop. As expected, using one hand while the other was on the cane, he was blocked by the other's sword. What he did not expect was the reverberation from the hit shaking the sword so much that he dropped it with an 'Ouch.'

"Lesson one with weapons, grip. If you don't hold them tightly, they vibrate too much. If you hold them too tightly, they can get knocked out of your had easily." The trainer picked up the weapon and threw it back to the student, who barely caught it because he was shaking his hand to get rid of the shock.

"Again."

Nero struck once more, though this time his grip was tighter. He managed to keep hold of it when it was blocked, but when the instructor retaliated and hit the sword, he dropped it once more.

"Too tight. Pick it up. Again." Nero did so, trying to find a middle ground. The next time he was blocked he kept hold and managed to continue to do so after the next hit as well.

"Good. Try and use your whole body like when you were punching." Nero tried and when he was blocked this time the instructor hit him in the arm before he could defend himself.

"You overextended," was the answer he got when Nero looked at the instructor quizzically while rubbing his now bruised arm. "Again."

The rest of the night followed that pattern. Nero would try to hit the instructor with the weapon of choice and either be blocked and sometimes hit back when he made a mistake.

The two cycled through various weapons. They stared with swords, one handed or two. Then spears and staffs, following that was a mace than a warhammer which Nero had trouble lifting, let alone swinging around. Sometimes shields were used and sometimes they weren't. Even some rather odd weapons were tried, like a whip or a sickle on a chain.

Nero discovered that Rod did not need his cane if he did not need to move. Which was fine since Nero never forced him to even take a step. By the end of the night, Rob was fresh as a daisy while Nero was laid out on the ground, panting for breath. He was going to be black and blue in the morning.

"That is enough for tonight. You did alright. I'm sure if you keep at it you'll become an outstanding fighter." Nero would have taken some comfort in that if it weren't for the fact that Rob was speaking in a conciliatory tone like he was talking to a child.

Kaesar did not even have the strength to roll his eyes.

****

I hear the croakings of Despair,

The dark predictions of the weak;

I find myself pursued by Care,

No matter what the end I seek;

My victories are small and few,

It matters not how hard I strive;

Each day the fight begins anew,

But fighting keeps my hopes alive.

'The Fighter' Samuel Ellsworth Kiser