Bedora held up a hand as she listened at the door after everyone had put away their extra gear. She couldn’t hear any sound from within, and so with a shrug, grabbed the door handle. The moment she turned the handle, a bright green light bathed the room, and once his vision returned, Kahari found himself alone, in a room where the walls were made of some kind of polished black stone. The room was a simple box, maybe thirty feet by thirty feet, and on the far side of the room was a single door with a glowing green One emblazoned on it. Kahari adjusted his grip on Heartseeker, and took a step.
The moment he finished his first stride, the room echoed with a thunderous clap, and in a flash, now guarding the door, a twisted creature with pale flesh wrapped in kelp and dripping water stood before him. It’s eyes filled with malice, it lept towards him at speeds far faster than anything as gangly as it should be able to manage.
“Shit.”
Kahari managed as he rolled out of the way, letting it sail past him where it slammed into the black wall, cracking the stone. A Water Fiend? Here?! These things were notorious, a form of twisted fallen fae similar to Night Goblins, but solitary and far more powerful. They were the Fae-world cousins of trolls. Powerful, quick, and eternally hungry. They were more resistant to magic, but lacked the regeneration of their counterparts. They didn’t kill you, they ate you alive and made sure you stayed awake through every moment.
Kahari had no time to think as it used the wall to springboard back at him, forcing him to dodge to the side once more, claws resembling coral and dripping with poison narrowly missing his face as it landed behind him. Kahari whirled around and launched several Wind Blades at it as he tried to get some distance. It raised an arm to shield it’s face, shallow cuts oozing azure blood formed as it barrelled forward once more.
Kahari was going to have to play the long game, these things were tough, and a single hit could mean paralysis and death. This time he was ready though, and as he moved he brought the edge of Heartseeker around, slashing at the thing's legs, hoping to slow it down. His blade bit into the Fiend’s flesh, but it was again shallow. Despite it’s long, gangly appearance, it’s flesh was dense, and it felt more like he had tried to cut a tree than something with blood.
The Fiend whipped it’s arm backwards, catching Kahari with the back of his fist, sending him reeling back several feet, and he watched his health bar drop by almost a full third. He grunted in pain and adjusted his grip on Heartseeker before casting a new spell, opting for flare as the thing charged him again. The sudden bright light in the dimly lit room temporarily blinded them both, but Kahari had been ready. The creature rushed straight to where he had been, only for him to land on it’s shoulders and use it to jump forward, bringing Heartseeker around to slash into it’s shoulder. Still only a shallow cut, but wounds were wounds.
The creature screamed, and cursed in whatever foul language the Fiend spoke. It finally got through to the creature that just rushing forward blindly was getting it nowhere, so instead it raised it’s own hand, and the kelp clinging to it lashed out, wrapping around Kahariand dragging him towards it’s waiting maw. Kahari brought up his free hand, and used a wind blade to cut at the kelp, which made the Fiend yelp in pain, and azure blood flowed from the severed kelp as well, faster than the other wounds.
“What?!”
He managed as the Fiend finally spoke in a way he could understand.
“That hurt!”
And launched another piece at him, trying to tie up it’s prey. Kahari wasn’t going to just let it do so, and responded with a burst of icy blades, small and thin, in a stream. Each one was weak, but were dozens as he poured mana into maintaining the Icicle Stream, shredding through the kelp as fast as it came at him. He couldn’t keep this up for long as he watched his mana bar drain rapidly. He’d be out of mana before the Fiend, so he moved, charging the creature and ducking past the kelp as he finally dropped the spell. He brought up Heartseeker as the thing pounced, poisoned claws raking his chest, mostly stopped by his armor. The Fiend gasped as Heartseeker lived up to it’s name, planted firmly in the center of it’s chest.
He didn’t have the stamina or damage to wear it down, but very few living things could survive an impaled heart, and it’s own bloodthirst drove it onto the waiting blade. Kahari felt his limbs grow numb and heavy as the poison, if only a small amount, pumped through it’s veins. That was, until the Fiend finally burst into smoke, leaving behind a large crystal, two vials of amber liquid, and a key. When it vanished, he watched confused as his health, mana, and stamina.
“Idiot!”
Kahari yelled at himself, remembering only after the creature died about his skills. Stutter Step, Double Slash, Slam, all of those would have made this fight much easier. He gathered the items, and inspected the key, which held the same glowing One as the door. Grabbing his things, he used a bit of mana to repair his armor, which did not restore itself, and moved to the door. The key melted and vanished as soon as it touched the door. The surface of the door rippled, turning into a mirror, and staring back at Kahari was a face he had only seen once before.
“Hello Kahari. My name is Alyssa Grant.”
In the mirror, where he should be, was the oldest life he could remember, as vaguely as it was. The English Accountant, who…he couldn’t quite remember much beyond that.
“Stop worrying boy, I’m just here to help you remember what you once were.”
Her hand reached out of the mirror, and touched his head, before pulling him through, leaving him standing in a living room straight from the 70s, and the kindly old woman before him smiled.
“Normally this happens in your dreams, slowly integrating all your past lives after the initial burst, but his place blurs the line between life and death. Sit, have some tea.”
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
She said, gesturing at a hideous flower patterned chair, and a cup sitting next to it. So he did, and upon taking a sip, was pulled from his body inside of the mirror, and…crying, light, and a doctor looking down at him. After that he was crying and watching as London burned, and fire erupted in the air. Alyssa stood over the rubble, crying at the still form of her mother and sister. Image after image flowed through his mind, no longer just flashes but the memories of his life. Love, loss, holding his first child.
Alyssa left her job at this point, to raise her children. He watched as they grew, and grieved as one died far before his time. He watched them try and fail, he watched them turn into fine young men and women. Once the youngest was in college, Alyssa returned to working, to save for her retirement. He felt her nearly break when her husband died in a train accident. After that, for several years, everything was muffled and muddled, barely remembered through grief and despair.
Eventually she left her job again, and with more time on her hands, got to know her grandchildren well. She helped them just as she helped her own children. Stern but fair, always watchful and trying to make them better without hurting them. He watched her struggle at first when one of her kids revealed he was Gay, something viewed as wrong when she was growing up. He watched her grow to accept it, and fight for her son to be happy. Eventually, he watched her cry as her son married, and she embraced her new son-in-law, just happy to see her son beaming with joy thanks to him.
After what felt like an eternity, he came to the end. A kindly old woman, skating with her grandkids before the sound of cracking ice filled the air. She fell through the ice, dragged beneath by the shock, and never found her way back up. Freezing water filled her lungs, hands pounded feebly at the ice.
For the second time in his life, he felt what it was like to die as Alyssa’s vision faded into darkness, the distant screaming of her grandchildren filling his ears. Then he was back in the chair, an empty cup in his hands, the room now covered in frost, Alyssa smiling from the couch.
“I’m so sorry for what happened to you.”
He managed as she waved her hand.
“No no dear boy, worry not. I had a long life. The end was tragic, and not all of it was so good. The Blitz left me with an eternal fear of the night sky, but overall, it was a happy life. Besides, I’ve been four more people before I became you, I’ve had many chances to come to terms with it. Just not usually so directly. Enjoy your rest Kahari, room two is not nearly so pleasant. And…a final gift, that book beside you is your status. Strange world you’ve been born in.”
Kahari blinked, and looked over, before grabbing the book.
Personal name - Kahari
Family Name - Miraki
Class - Artificer (Association, Locked)
Race - Human (Continental)
Level - 11*
Height - 5’9” (176cm)
Weight - 156lbs (70kg)
Age - 19
Status - No Active Effects
Literate - Advanced*
Strength - 7 (Level 7)
Vitality - 12 (Level 6)
Dexterity - 8 (Level 8)
Magic - 15 (Level 7)
Wisdom - 7 (Level 5)
Perception - 2 (Level 4)
Skills - Jack-of-all-Trades (Reincarnation), Smithing 22 (Level 6), 1H Hammers 7 (Level 2), Foraging 7 (Level 4), Stealth 2 (Level 4), First Aid 9 (Level 3), Spears 5 (Level 4), Shields 33 (Level 6), Light armor 17 (Level 8), Woodcutting 16 (Level 3), 1H Double Edge Swords 2 (Level 6), Daggers 3 (Level 3), Air Magic 20 (Level 9), Holy Magic 2 (Level 5), Cooking 9 (Level 3), Enchanting 6 (Level 2), Basic Alchemy 2 (Level 2), Polearms 26 (Level 11), Charm 11 (Level 3), Ice Magic 11* (Level 4), Water Magic 5* (Level 5), Advanced Mathematics 3* (Level 5), Finances* 1 (Level 20), Weaving* 12 (Level 9), Sewing 45 (Level 16), Tailoring* 20 (Level 11), Pilot Automobile* 3 (Level 4)
Techniques - Piercing Thrust 55 (Level 9), Haft Slam 19 (Level 5), Shield Bash 5 (Level 4), Slam 20 (Level 9), Chop 11 (Level 10), Double Slash 16 (Level 5), Stutter Step 7 (Level 7), Target Vitals 11 (Level 1), Mend Object 12 (Level 3, Artificer Class Technique), Arcane Threads 11 (Level 2), Cat’s Eye 9 (Level 1) Discipline 33 (Level 7), Sass* 33 (Level 7)
Spells - Wind Blade 12 (Level 6), Air Piercer 9 (Level 5), Mend Wound 24 (Level 4), Flare 12 (Level 3), Icicle* 33 (Level 7), Ice Blade* 33 (Level 7), Frost Ball* 33 (Level 7), Hailstorm* 33 (Level 7), Freeze* 33 (Level 7), Water Whip* 33 (Level 7), Rain* 33 (Level 7), Soothe* 33 (Level 7), Mist* 33 (Level 7), Purify Water* 33 (Level 7)
Natural Statuses - Cold Resistance* 25%, Basic Amphibian*, Remembrance** 1
* Abnormal Entry, system error.
** Hidden Status Revealed, system error.
“System error?!”
Was all Kahari could manage before he was standing in a room identical to the first, except the walls were polished gray instead of black. The door glowed with a green Two, and was wrapped in iron and oozed blood. Kahari froze, once he took a step the next fight would begin, so instead he focused back on his updated sheet. He had a number of skills, techniques, and spells he shouldn’t have, and his level was higher than it should be. He could use them, but what did it mean for his future?