Arn
Rather than sit around in stunned silence, Arn got up, brushed himself off, and walked into the nearby field.
“And where do you expect to go?” Called out Death.
“Look, if you're not going to take this seriously, then I'm just gonna leave. I’ve got kobolds to kill and magic to learn.” Arn called over his shoulder, not slowing down.
With a sweep of Death’s hand, the ground below shifted and pulled towards him. Arn found himself walking nowhere, every step he took simply negated by an equal move of the ground. “You can either drop the idiot act, or I can strip your soul bare and remove your wife’s meddling.”
That stopped him dead in his tracks. Fear gripped his heart as he took in the suggestion that Death had so casually thrown out. “The system said we had free will. Why are you forcing me into your service, what the hell did I do to you?”
“Ah, now we’re getting somewhere. I did not force you into anything, by the way. The offer of being my vassal was meant for another, one more suited to an affinity of death. But as so often happens, the meddling of my siblings has thrown a wrench into my plans.”
“If you don’t need me, then please, let me go. I just want to move on with my life.”
The first sign of genuine emotion crossed Death’s face. A brief frown and the creasing of eyebrows signify a look of sympathy. “I am sorry my child, but I cannot do that. I created the quest, yes, but the system must see it to completion. You may choose to deny entry into my ranks at the end of your mission, not before. Sadly, I was not aware of your existence until you left that torturous pit.”
Now would have been the appropriate time for collapsing into despair, and normally, that’s what Arn would have done. Instead, he took a seat at the edge of Death’s bed and stared into his palms. Tears pooled into his eyes as he asked his next question, “So I’m just a pawn in some prank between gods? My suffering was just one big cosmic joke?”
“You have my sympathies child. However, your quest is not arbitrary, I still require you to complete it. I don’t have the time to explain it all, but I can provide you with two gifts. Normally, your first gift would be my boon of resurrection, allowing you to rise after every death. However, with Anna’s interference, that boon was tarnished, and your next time you die, will unfortunately be your last.
“What I’ll offer you instead is the other gift all of my vassals obtain, what is yours by right, should you accept it. I can provide you mentorship. I know you’ll choose not to be in my service, therefore, I’ll find you a teacher outside of my domain, a friend, but a neutral party. There is enough of my boon to achieve that.”
Arn wrapped his arms around his knees and contemplated the first gift. In the long run, someone to teach me the basics would be great, but that’s too far in the future to matter. Also, how can I trust anything he says? Do gods even have friends?
Putting that aside for now, he asked, “And the second thing?”
With a smile, the god placed a hand on Arn’s face and pulled on his cheek. With a squishy plop, Lucius was pulled out. The owl was unconscious. “Do not worry,” Death began before Arn’s panic set in, “Your friend is a spiritual creature, and most of his kind cannot stand to be in a god’s presence without massively expanding and then blowing up due to the pressure. Instead, your owl has put himself to sleep as a defense mechanism. He will be back to normal once you enter integration.
“Your wife has truly outdone herself, and that was while taking random stabs in the dark.” Death looked Arn in the eyes before he continued. Staring back at him, Arn saw the same irises he was used to, but a ring of blood was slowly seeping into the whites and he saw as the tissue slowly stretched. Like a pimple ready to pop, except instead of puss, blood and gore were ready to ooze.
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“What I will do is return something lost. The system promised your wife a one time pass to speak with you. I will make it permanent. The connection to your wife already exists, the evidence to that is this sweet creature,” Death said pointing at Lou. “That link can be made better. First, it will strengthen the connection between you and Lucius. If he were to perish in battle, you can simply recall him as you meditate, he will also be able to act as spiritual storage.
“Secondly, and I think you will truly love me for this, is that he can act as a relay for communication between you and your spouse. While you meditate, call to her, and if she enters meditation as well, you will be able to speak to one another, but it will be draining for the owl. He’ll need to be stronger to carry a lengthy conversation.”
“I accept.” Arn blurted out before thinking it through. His loneliness ran much deeper than he realized. Also, any chance that Lou wouldn’t end up dead because of his failure to protect him was worth whatever schemes Death had.
“My time with you has come to an end, good luck with your quest Arn.”
“Any tips?”
“None.” With a final word, Death gave Arn a gentle push, as he fell, he again lost consciousness.
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“Welcome Mr. Pand!” The system clone awoke Arn with a jolt. They were standing in a recreation of the same cave he was constantly resurrected in. “Don’t worry, I only look like you in order to facilitate a quicker learning experience. It helps put a candidate at ease to see themselves reflected by me.”
Oh fuck me, its a canned explanation. “I skip! I don’t want the full explanation! Let’s get on with my class!” He yelled, hoping to spare himself a now redundant exposition as he had Anna’s memory to draw from.
After an awkward pause, the system acquiesced, “Very well! Due to the nature of your quest, I am unable to provide time to familiarize yourself with your abilities. After you have selected your class, you will be transported back to the dungeon.”
“Oh fuck you. Get it over with then.”
Rather than summoning a well for Arn to submerge himself in, dark tendrils shot out of the ground. Several gripped his arms and legs, dragging him to his knees. Each one burned a deep gash into his body, making him yell out in pain. Then, two additional tendrils wrapped around his mouth and neck, silencing him in his misery. He was dragged to the ground and began sinking. The system looked on, indifferent to his suffering.
Before he completely sank, he was given one final warning from his clone, “Because you are leaving early, you will be returned to your body before it has been fully integrated. Unfortunately, the pain of integration is quite severe. I know you will do great! Good luck!”
Now completely in the dark, the tendrils burrowed into his skin. It occurred to him that each one held the same aura, death.
System Alert:
New class options are available.
Please select one of the following:
Battle Ogre: Novice Class
The ogre is a fool and knows it, however, intelligence doesn’t ensure victory. Success is best measured in violence. Use brute strength to crush your enemies, as you have no other options.
Battlephant: Novice Class
An elephant protects its herd, a battlephant protects its allies. Strength and resilience are the cornerstone of your combat prowess, but just as the elephant, your intelligence is your greatest asset. Charge in, take the lead, and crush any that are foolish enough to stand in your path.
Death Squire: Novice Class
A squire does their master’s bidding, and learns from the best. What better instructor is there than Death itself? Whether they are living or dead, all under your dominion will learn to fear you.
Note: You may choose to decline all three classes. In such a case, the classes provided will be lost forever, and three new options will become available.
The first option was a non-starter. Of course, brute strength had its uses, but who the hell would forgo everything else in their arsenal? Also, violence was never Arn’s first choice so selecting a class that thrived on it seemed counterproductive.
The third class, Death Squire seemed like a pretty decent choice, except there was no way it didn’t come with some oath to forever serve Death. If it were up to Arn, he’d want nothing to do with the system, gods, or whatever other powers existed in his new universe.
Battlephant was the perfect class for him. Resilience was probably his biggest priority, and any class that took advantage of that was already going to be a good pick. Throw in some sort of intelligence aspect, and he was pretty sure the class was related to some magic wielding tank.
Selecting the second option, Arn was swept away into darkness a third and final time.