“Wait!”
I instinctively blocked a strike that never came. The last thing I’d seen was Dogtooth charging a magical punch, and now I found myself guarding against it behind a thick tree in the middle of a lush forest.
Relief washed through me as I looked at my arms. No scales this time, but skin. I patted myself down and couldn’t help but laugh as I realized that I was normal again. I was even wearing the same outfit I’d been wearing in Mephistos, and on Earth by extension. I had no clue how species and class were chosen in this world, but I thanked the heavens that they didn’t make me a dragon again.
A bell icon shook beneath the minimap in the corner of my vision, I mentally tapped on it.
You have spawned in SATYRSONG. Ahhh, that’s better.
Your Starter Pack is now available in your ACHIEVEMENTS folder. It is highly recommended you open it in a safe, indoor space.
I clicked on Satyrsong. As much as I wanted to look at that Starter Pack, I didn’t want to attract any unwanted attention right now. The minimap was empty, but it’d been empty in Mephistos before everything kicked off.
Satyrsong, Serenth Sector. This is a Low-Tier Planet. 1+ Stars Recommended.
WARNING: You currently have 0 Stars.
Did you know this place is considered the most boring by Satyrsonian Natives? It’s probably because they have nothing to take pride in. Okay, that’s harsh. Let me explain. You know how some places have local fairs and seasonal events that bring the community together? Well, Satyrsong doesn’t get any of that. Nope, all they have are Territory Quests. You’ll learn what those are in a second. Anyway, that’s great news for people like you and shopkeepers who want harder-to-obtain materials, but for the average Joe? It’s the worst!
That's enough of that. It’s time for you to look at your SPECIES & CLASS sheet! You already know what your STATS are, but I guess you can look at them anyway.
If things were the same as they were in Mephistos, then my stats were ones across the board. There was no point wasting my time on that. I clicked on Species and Class.
Felzian Matador
Why… won’t… you… stand… still! These guys have excellent stamina, but they have lacking strength. I’m sure your SKILLS can make up for that, though.
Oh, right!
I’d totally forgotten about the Skills menu. I got Essence of Aura at Level 1, which meant I had a brand new skill since I spawned in Satyrsong. I crossed my fingers and hoped for something good.
Satyrsong Skill List
Carryover - Essence of Aura: Shrouds the caster’s body in a thin misty aura. This technique strengthens all physical-based moves based on the caster’s Intelligence.
Level 1 - Taunt: Encourages enemies to target you. Successfully taunted enemies lose stamina at a faster rate.
Level 20 - LOCKED
Level 40 - LOCKED
Level 60 - LOCKED
Level 80 - LOCKED
Level 99 - LOCKED
The fact that I still had my Essence of Aura skill did enough to make up for my disappointment with this Taunt ability. Maybe if I were already strong, it’d be worthwhile, but as a Level 1 this did nothing but encourage me to put a target on my… back.
I paused as two yellow dots appeared on my minimap. They were close. Close enough that I could see them when I peeked my head from behind the tree, but not close enough that I could analyze them with the System. Both of them appeared to be around my age. They walked side by side and had clearly just gotten away from some sort of fight given the amount of blood and dirt on them.
On the left side was a brown-skinned woman with curly hair down to her shoulders and two fuzzy antennae jutting out from the top of her head. On the right was a man with short pink hair and pointy elf ears. They were both dressed in overalls and tank tops, though the woman’s outfit was black and yellow while the man’s was brown and green.
I stayed behind the tree for now. As much as I wanted to be more social, getting killed twice in a row after meeting strangers had a profound effect on my social battery.
“That was a boring quest, Angel Boy,” The woman groused. I couldn’t see her, but her tone was almost comically gaudy. “Those Spotted Deer hardly put up a fight!”
“I know it sucked, but we need to work our way up.” The man’s voice was firm but soft. He was either soft-spoken or profoundly annoyed. “These missions give decent experience, and the loot we earn can be sold for better gear in the Mid Tier Zone.”
“Poppycock. Achievement gear is better and you know it. As the strongest member of our Alliance, I have decided that we will hunt achievements for good gear!”
“And if we do that, we won’t earn Battle Points. By participating in Quests, we get both Battle Points and gear. This method kills two birds in one stone. Plus, worst comes to worst, we can just hunt down whoever comes up with the Heavenly Gem and take it from them before they leave Satyrsong.”
“So underhanded…!”
“What do you want then, Cerus? What should we do if this goes south?”
“I am unsure. I believe we should consult our new friend! Perhaps they will have an answer?”
They’re talking about someone else. Surely they’re talking about someone else.
“You know, I was thinking the same thing!”
The woman laughed. “Catboy behind the tree, did you forget that we all have minimaps? At any rate, I must thank you for holding on to those Battle Points for me!”
”Hey, wait!” I found myself shouting, revealing myself from my hiding spot. “I’m not–”
The woman shot an ice bomb at me before I could even finish my statement. I ducked behind the tree, using it as a shield. It exploded with the impact, a flurry of frozen shrapnel shooting in every direction. Just like that, my health was at 50%.
Goddamn it, not again!
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
The man and woman stood in front of me before I could run. I didn’t have time to analyze them. I needed to get out of this.
“False alarm. He’s a Level 1.” The man looked me up and down. “Sorry, Grim Hearts. Guess you’re new here. My name’s Opix, and my friend here is Cerus.”
“It is a pleasure for you to meet me, Grim Hearts!”
I tried to speak, but words couldn’t come out. If I had to guess why, I’d say my adrenaline rush that started back on Earth had finally run its course. My chest tightened, my breaths quickened, and my legs were giving out. The man, Opix, led me to a tree to sit down. Once I was down, he sat to my left and gave me a water bottle he pulled from thin air. Despite my skepticism, I drank it down like a thirsty man in a desert. Life literally filled me with each sip as I noticed my health bar filling back up. To my right, Cerus sat stone-still and stared straight at me.
“Thanks,” I finally said.
“It’s the least I could do,” Opix said. “I’m sorry about earlier. There’s a Territory Quest going on and we don’t really have a choice but to fight other people to win it. When we saw you pop in on the minimap we assumed you were trying to kill us and well… you saw how that went.”
I focused on him as he spoke.
Opix Gale - Elven Trumpeter
1-Star Native
Level 21
Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! He looks so cute! Pinch his wittle cheeks! Do it! Do it! Do it!
Okay?
Anyway, he didn’t seem like an untrustworthy guy. Sure, this kind of meeting didn’t exactly inspire confidence, but he didn’t need to give me that healing water stuff. I wasn’t sure how exactly to respond, but I knew what I wanted to be. Who I wanted to be. I decided to respond how I imagined he would.
“Don’t worry about it, I would’ve done the same thing,” I laughed and dapped him up. “You’ve gotta tell me about this Territory Quest shi–”
“You are not out of the demon’s lair, Grim Hearts.” Cerus interrupted. She tilted her head. “What gives you the confidence to sit with us when you are at our mercy?”
I turned to focus on her.
Cerus Rose - Apizian Black Rider
1-Star Reincarnator
Level 29
Spring Break!
I wasn’t sure what to say to her. Cerus’ tone indicated curiosity rather than challenge. If I challenged her like I did the Bargainer Wolf, I’d surely die given our strength gaps. If I was too passive, she might see that as a ticket to kill me. I decided to continue relying on my persona.
“Kill me, then.” I ended up saying. “Dogtooth sent me here to get stronger, so you’ll have to explain to him what happened to me.”
“Dogtooth?!” Opix yelped. “How the hell did you meet Dogtooth?”
Cerus’ eyes narrowed. “That did not answer my question, Grim Hearts. Please answer it. If you refuse me again, I will kill you. Be honest with me, more honest than you have been up to this point.”
“Are we going to ignore that he might’ve met the God of Bargaining?!”
“I… well... Y-You guys could’ve killed me earlier. Once you saw my level, you stopped. I’m not strong enough for you to need to scheme against me, so if you guys wanted me dead you would’ve done it. Plus, I really don’t feel like fighting right now. I need to sit for a while. It’s been a long day.”
Cerus stared deep into my eyes, leaning a bit too close as she analyzed me. After what felt like an eternity, she leaned back into the tree and nodded.
“Acceptable. I will not draw and quarter you; on the condition you become my thrall.” In a lightning-fast blur, she mumbled, “You have one second to reject it okay that second has passed you are my thrall now the contract has been signed thank you.”
“What the hell was that about?” I tried.
“She wants everyone to be her ‘thrall’. Ignore her.” Opix leaned closer. “You said you met Dogtooth, right? Are you his student?”
Cerus shot up and pointed at Opix. “I am not to be ignored! Grim Hearts is my thrall and I demand he tell us of this meeting with Dogtooth!”
I didn’t have the energy to argue. Instead, I decided to focus on the story of my meeting with Dogtooth. While I did tell them the truth, I admittedly embellished a bit of it. I mean, I did get into a death match with a Bargainer Wolf inside of its den and I did exchange blows with Dogtooth. They didn’t need to know I was outclassed in both of those fights. Opix was eating the story up, but Cerus was entirely unconvinced. Once I’d shown off Essense of Aura, though, she came around.
Eventually, the conversation shifted to something Opix had said earlier. According to him, Dogtooth was the “God of Bargaining”. I asked him for clarification.
“They call him the God of Bargaining, but he isn’t officially a god by Ellalaran standards. People say it’s because he’s already strong enough to match Ellalaran gods without being one of them.” Opix said.
“That makes sense. After our fight, he killed me before I even saw him strike.” I sighed. “If I were stronger, it would’ve gone differently.”
Cerus turned to me, leaning uncomfortably close once again. “You told me you struggled against him, but by the System’s estimations, you fought Dogtooth… You lost miserably and embarrassingly, but you fought him!” She gave me her approximation of a warm smile. It was a weird mix of creepy and wholesome. “I believe you should open your achievements, Grim Hearts. Be sure to show me every single item you have obtained, okay? You can trust me, thrall.”
Opix tilted his head. “I’m not sure Dogtooth would appreciate it if someone took an item he personally gifted someone else. Those Mephistian Defaulters didn’t seem like they were having a good time.”
Cerus smiled wider. “Ah. Right. I agree! I was thinking the same thing!” She placed a hand on my shoulder. “Do not feel inclined to–”
New Territory Quest: Battle Network
WARNING: THIS IS A TERRITORY QUEST. ACCEPTANCE IS MANDATORY. TRANSPORTATION BETWEEN WORLDS IS LOCKED UNTIL QUEST COMPLETION OR FAILURE.
Remember when I said Satyrsong is known for Territory Quests and little else? Welp, here it is. Baby’s first Territory Quest! This is one of the easy ones. In your interface is a new tab called the Battle Network. What is the Battle Network, you ask? Easy! It’s a marketplace! You can’t buy anything in it, though. It’s like those Toys R Us magazines Earth used to have. If you see something you like? You have to go to the store and buy it! You can’t use gold in that shop, though. You need Battle Points! There are only two ways to get Battle Points. There’s the safe, boring way of completing Quests. Then, there’s the fun way of fighting other members of the Battle Network! If you get into a fight and win, you’ll take all their points! Be careful, though. Once you pass 200 Battle Points, you’ll end up on the Battle Board. Once there, the face of your Alliance’s party leader alongside their level and the Zone they’re hiding in will be visible at all times to all members of the Battle Network! There are some invaluable items up for sale, so it’d be in your best interest to take this one seriously. Have fun!
“Are you stricken by my beauty, Grim Hearts? Understandable.”
“I got this popup notification about a Territory Quest. I’m in the Battle Network?”
”Ah,” Opix said. “I’m surprised it took this long for you. Yup, welcome to the Battle Network. If you have questions, I’ll try to answer.”
“It says transportation between planets is locked, but that fighting is part of the game. Does that mean when someone dies they’re dead dead? How does that even work, anyway?”
“When someone dies in the Ellalara Belt, their bodies turn to mist and they respawn on a different planet. If someone dies in the middle of a Territory Quest, they wake up in the Beyondverse. It’s the waiting room of the Ellalara Belt. I’ve never been, but it’s supposed to be entertaining.”
“We can discuss this later,” Cerus said, a faint smile tugging at her lips. “For now, we must add Grim Hearts to the Galerose Alliance! I have a plan for us three to win it all!”
“I… am surprised and scared that you want Grim on the team. I don’t mind, but I thought I’d have to convince you.”
Cerus didn’t answer. She just smiled wickedly as she awaited my response.
I felt myself getting a bit embarrassed. Before I died, I had dreams of being social. Of having friends, among other things. That bowling trip was probably never going to happen here, but what else was possible in the Ellalara Belt? I told myself that I’d make Mrs. Gertrude proud. Would she be happy to know that I was making friends? Hell… were they my friends? For all I knew this could be some elaborate trap, but I was unsurprised to find myself hoping it wasn’t despite how we met. I spoke up, cringing at how shaky my voice was.
“Before I accept anything, I have to come clean. I analyzed both of you with my System, but it didn’t give very good descriptions of either of you.”
I stood and Opix joined me. We were all about the same height, though Cerus’ hair and antennae made her appear slightly… nevermind. She was tiptoeing and looking down on us both.
“I want to get to know you two before I join any sort of alliance.”