It had been the worst night so far. Adam had wonderful memories of a seaside holiday with his friends a few years ago; the calm sound of the ocean had lulled him to sleep every night. Without the safety of knowing you were in a holiday cottage the sound was nowhere near as comforting. He passed out due to lack of stamina in the end; glad that he wouldn't be tormented by broken dreams of drowning or eaten by sea monsters all night long. It was also the first time he didn't feel refreshed on waking. A glance at his watch showed 6:42 rather than the normal schedule of 6:00 exactly. Sensing something different about his status he checked through the numbers. Health = 100/100; Stamina = 11/140; Mana 23/23. Why was his stamina so low, normally it was full when he woke.
Adam delved into the log the system made about him and found the normal drop to negative figures but not the restoration to full on waking at 6am that had occurred every morning so far. Stamina regen popped back up to 14/hour at 6:00 which accounted for the 11 stamina he now had. He came to the conclusion that a bed didn't guarantee rest and there must be something special about his camp. Nothing he could do about it now; he just added low on stamina to the list of hungry, thirsty and stuck on a ship in shark infested waters. Adam ignored Person rolling their eyes and lifting two fingers. Yes, two sharks counts as an infestation.
Having levelled Discern, there was now additional information about the sharks that were lazily patrolling nearby. As well as the simple statement before the description now said: Be careful not to enter water nearby with any cuts as blood attracts these creatures. Adam was pretty sure he knew that from a nature documentary but was sure to check himself over for any cuts and thankfully seemed injury free. The crisp morning air was cooler than in camp making Adam grateful for the spare clothes that he could add as an extra layer against the cold. Glaring at the water and willing it to drop had little discernable effect so Adam spent some time using level 3 Inspect to explore the system for more details. There had been something pulling at his attention in the back of his head, like an itch he needed to scratch. His quest page flagged the levelling quest and gained him another 20 experience; but that wasn't it. The itch was still there. It wasn't until he reached his Class page that he worked out what it was.
Class Description Skills God - level 3 (hidden) You are a God. Inspect (level 3); Discern (level 3) Gain five levels in current skills to unlock next skill. [Transfer]
Had he 'gained' five levels? Inspect and Discern both started at level one so he wasn't sure. There was an easy way to find out though. He checked his skills page. There it was [Transfer], locked. Cost 10 experience. He used Inspect to learn more.
Skill List Level Level up (exp) Cost Description Transfer locked 10 (to unlock) 2 GP Allows conversion of one [intelligent] being into a [follower].
He quickly concentrated to work out what all this meant. Apparently Discern could now tell him if a creature was intelligent and this was the threshold for them being eligible for this skill. It seemed that a follower was just that, someone to follow him. Adam hadn't been taking the God part of his experience seriously yet. This skill used the God Power he had yet to unlock. The power to convert people into followers. Now he knew there were people around somewhere as well. The choice was simple. For the cost of 10 experience he went ahead and unlocked the skill.
Several changes took place all at once. Adam felt buoyed up with a pool of power inside him suddenly available. It was similar to when he realised where his mana was coming from but stronger and different at the same time. The best way he could describe it was like his centre was a swirl of white paint and his mana was a swirl of blue running through it; brighter or darker depending on it's level relative to full. This new power was a swirl of golden yellow added in as another swirl in the mix. He therefore knew without checking that he had now unlocked God Power. The question was; how much did he have?
Adam God Class (hidden) - Level 3 Attribute Value Regen Health 100/100 5/hr Stamina 26/140 14/hr Mana 10.1/23 2.8/hr Skill Points 10/10 1/hr God Power 3/3 1/f/d
Three God Power; that didn't sound like much. Nowhere near his 140 stamina cap. However it was God Power, that definitely sounded stronger. 1/f/d - what did that mean? Adam concentrated to expand the information out with Inspect. One per follower per day. Great, each follower would then allow him to generate more God Power and then he could create more followers. The skill said it would only work on intelligent beings but what classified as intelligent? With only one target to check Adam directed his attention back to the sharks. He was rewarded with the extra information: These creatures are intelligent.
Adam activated Transfer while concentrating on one of the sharks. A weird sensation of awareness over one of the sharks hit him causing him to fall to the deck. He simultaneously could tell he was lying on the ship but felt as though he was swimming around it at the same time. This feeling slowly faded leaving Adam a little lightheaded but otherwise fine. He could feel a link to the shark that he could sense things through and instinctively was aware he could share information and thoughts along it too. The skill had worked, he had his first follower.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Testing the link Adam suggested the shark swim away from the ship. With an awareness of things the shark could sense, after about fifty metres the familiar sensation of a higher level area started to develop. He could tell the shark was aware of the increasing danger too. While it was continuing to follow his command there was now a resistance against it at the same time. Not wanting to lose his only follower Adam told the shark to return to the ship. Expanding out to see what else the shark could share with him Adam gained a vague impression of the seabed beneath and the fish around the hull of the ship that had attracted the sharks in the first place. Looking around wider he also learnt that there were more than two sharks in the water around the ship. There were actually five.
Setting aside the crazy revelation that he had gained more powers and could convert creatures to do his bidding Adam decided to start with the basics - naming the shark. Since it didn't follow the concept of a name, and Adam liked to keep things simple, he decided on Sharky. Sharky the shark. Directing his attention at Sharky gave a bit more detail.
Followers Level Attributes Class Sharky 1 HP 150/150; Stamina 50/50; MP 0/0; SP 4/4 please allocate* *can only allocate secondary classes
Having no other options; Sharky became a Scout. A scout that couldn't use their only skill as they didn't have enough skill points. Now, how was Sharky the scout going to help Adam get off the ship? There was too much new information to try and process the actual idea of followers and God Power yet. Adam was still in survival mode, he needed to concentrate on getting off the ship. Sharky would make that easier not harder. Processing the information could wait until later. After getting back to shore.
To start with they were going to wait for low tide. By 12:00 Adam was pretty sure the water was not going to get any lower. Devoid of any useful signs like a tide mark he was stuck with watching the level against the side of the ship and rechecking every twenty minutes. On the positive side; the water level was lower than when he had ventured out to the ship. Adam estimated it was around waist height. The outlook on this depended, in Adam's opinion, on whether you were an optimist, pessimist or realist. Optimistically he had been fine when the water was higher, he now had a shark minion and therefore returning to shore was easy peasy. Pessimistically it had been a fluke and he was shark bait. Realistically you just didn't choose to get in the water when sharks were around unless you had no choice even if you could control one of them. Disregarding slowly starving to death on the ship as an option, Adam had no choice.
With a glance around the ship Adam took a moment before leaving. He stopped and considered as his gaze landed on the hatch. If the water was lower on the outside, then surely it was lower on the inside too. Heading back over to check he could see that this was the case. A ladder leading down into the hold area was now half visible. More light was streaming in through the hole that had caused the ship to wreck and he could make out the floor beneath. Little to lose, Adam lowered himself down for a look around. Wishing he had a flashlight Adam was astonished when his wish seemed to come true. Person was floating in his little dinghy again next to where Adam was stood knee high in water. At the front of his vessel there was a small light illuminating the area a foot or so around. With the improved logic of his increased Intellect it didn't take long to connect the dots. Since Person could illuminate themself then of course they could make a small light.
Adam was thinking it was a pity the light would not stretch further as Person pulled out an oar and began to row the dinghy in a circuit around the inside of the ship. The space was almost entirely empty which was definitely a disappointment. It was pure luck that meant he kicked into something as he moved to leave the hold. This reminded Adam that could be hidden objects under the water. Not wanting to leave empty handed he pleaded with Person who reluctantly donned a mini scuba outfit and repeated their circuit underwater with Adam walking alongside. They found three bottles that Inspect identified as containing rum; other than a few fish that swam away on seeing the light there was nothing else of value.
The water level hadn't changed since last looking; it was now or never. His pack was full with his finds and the spare blanket rolled up on top; staff in one hand; hatchet in the other. Adam gave Sharky instructions to distract the other shark and then eased himself down into the water. Adam was not sure if his ability to tell where the sharks were in the water was helping as he made his way across the rocks. Sharky was on the other side of the ship not just distracting but fighting with the other shark. All the commotion this was causing was then drawing in the other sharks. The splashing and movement Adam was making while moving to shallower water had drawn the attention of at least one of them.
He could sense its approach towards him once the water was down to his knee. Using the awareness of its position he prodded down his staff to block the way. This was surprisingly effective with the shark turning to swim away. It was not until it turned back that he realised the shark was just trying to find a better angle of attack. Adam tried to reposition the staff in the water but by doing this was unable to get nearer the shore at the same time. Each successful block was creating more splashes and noise that might attract more of the sharks. Adam gulped in fear with the arrival of a second fin above the water before sensing that it was Sharky to the rescue. With the shark distracted he could continue out the water and made it safely to shore.
Lying on the rocks, eating an apple left from the day before, Adam took a well deserved rest. He could sense that Sharky had returned to circling the ship in the distance. Concentrating on the link he became aware of some updates.
Sharky defeated Shark - level 1. Sharky gained 5exp; you gained 1exp
Sharky defeated Shark - level 1. Sharky gained 5exp; you gained 1exp
Sharky completed quest: Get off ship. Sharky gained 10exp; you gained 2exp
Sharky has increased stealth to level 2; Sharky is now level 2
The time showed as 14:00 on his watch. Plenty of time left today to relax and recover. Plenty of time to digest and absorb the impact of his new found power.