I awake some hours later; with my face stuck to the ground beneath my desk. Something hard and sharp jabbed into my cheek, as I peeled my face away from the dirty, dusty ground. Oh man, what a dream. Perhaps I had drank a little too much tonight. There was a bit of pressure and warmth on the back of my legs, nestled within the crooks of my knees.
“Clio, get up.” I reach back and tap the small dog on her shoulder.
The short-haired terrier mix grumbled and groaned as she dug itself further in.
“Clio. Move.” I give her a slightly harder shove, and she groans a bit louder before hopping off and jumping up to the mattress laid out on the floor to bury herself beneath the comforter once more.
I push myself away from the ground and reach for my glasses that had fallen on the ground. A small crack ran through one of the lenses, and I cursed my luck. I had a bit of money left over — about 200 dollars, from some crypto trades before the market crashed so I’ll order a new pair today. When my eyes found the ability to focus, I noticed a few small shards of glass on the floor. Did I break a plate? I picked up one of the shards and noticed two long roots coming off of the white shard. No…, no this was one of my good ones. Instinctively, I run my tongue through my mouth and find...nothing wrong with it. No gaps between teeth. No sharp shards poking at the intrusive muscle. Nothing. All of my teeth were there.
The memories of the night before flooded my mind. Was that all real? Was there really an invasion coming to Earth tonight at midnight? I push myself up off the ground and fall back into my chair. Did I really waste a wish on invincible teeth? I could have wished for anything: functional immortality, to be in better shape...for all of my flaws to be fixed, but I just had to wish for teeth?
“Ah, dammit.” I slammed the palm of my hand into my forehead; before another realization settled in.
“I’m a mage.” I muttered as I fell forward in my chair; the springs squealing in defiance to the shifting weight, “I’m…” I look up from the floor and to my computer desk and pull myself forward to the desk.
Sitting on top of the keyboard were two items: one a twig with half of it wrapped in rough cloth, and the other a strange cellphone-shaped stone, that glimmered a multitude of colors. I set the twig aside and picked up the strange device. The way the colors shone changed with the movements; moving from a primarily bright red to a deeper crimson as it moved into my shadow. The thing is hard, yet pliable; as if it were in a state of superposition between solid and liquid. As I looked into this dazzling array, a message came from the light that shimmered on the screen.
Hello, Lawrence Able.
“What is this?”
As if to answer my questions, the light-borne letters shifted into a new sentence.
This is a shard of Biifrost. The Rainbow Bridge, which had at one point joined your world with the worlds of Myth.
“Like from Thor?”
Yes. Like from Norse Mythology.
“Who are you?”
I, am your Patron: the spirit that saw potential in you and decided to initiate you into this coming war.
“My Patron?”
Yes. Think of me as such. I will be using the power of my very existence to morph you into a being capable of fighting against the oncoming invasion. If you put in the work.
“Are you a god?” I asked.
No. I’m what is known as a Folk Spirit; a spirit that has gained its existence through the tales told about it. Alas, I only had enough, ‘existence,’ to choose one person, and I chose you, Lawrence.
“Why me?” I asked, “Look at me. I’m in no shape for a war.”
No. You’re not. I expected you to use your miracle smartly, but..
“I wished for teeth…”
You wished for teeth. Why did you do that?
“I didn’t really believe any of what was being said.”
Regardless. My choice is made. I suppose. I will help you so we don’t die.
“We?”
Yes. Like I said, my very existence is wrapped up in you, so if you die, I will also die. So don’t.
“I’ll try not to,” I told the strange thing. “Some information about what will be happening would be nice, though.”
At midnight tonight, countless doors will open around the world that will connect the world of Efra to Earth.
“Efra? The world that...what his name is from?”
Roki. Yes. Once these doors appear, the power of our strongest gods — those that head pantheons, and the god of Israel, will hold them closed for as long as they can; we estimate that, at the very most, there will be 2 years before even they fail.
“So you want me to clear all of the doors in that time?”
Not just you. 100 million people across the world have been chosen so far, and in the future, more will be called.
“100….million, isn’t that a bit too excessive?”
No. Unfortunately, it may be too little. Efra seems to be many times larger than Earth. We estimate the number of doors that will appear to number about 1.5 trillion.
“That’s...it’ll be impossible to close them all in time.”
We are aware. Most of the chosen that have been picked are near important resource centers; agricultural hubs, river basins, and the like. If we could at least save these, then the chance of winning the war in the long run will increase.
“We have to tell the people of the world. They have to start preparing…”
We will tell them when it is time, but if we do so now it will illicit nothing but panic. Mass looting. Rioting. The upending of all social order. It will hamper your ability to work. Our thoughts are to have you who are chosen to slowly trickle out the truth. We are also sending messengers to your governments
What this spirit said was probably true. There would be panic. There would be violence if the truth was not slowly trickled out.
“So I have…” I turned on my computer and looked at the time: 10:58 it read. “Just over 13 hours to get things ready?”
Yes.
That’s more than enough time. I’ll take the car to Walmart and grab a couple of things.
“So is this just a communication device?” I shook the Shard.
No. It’s much more. With this, you will get stronger.
“How?’
This is linked to your very being. It can show you information about yourself, and change them. This Shard of Biifrost is tapped into an endless fount of mana and magic that flows from the roots of Yggdrasil and will help reshape your body in response to your actions.
“Mana? It exists?”
Yes. It is a force that binds all of creation; something that connects you to everything around you.
“I...I don’t get it.”
Not very many people do. Understanding that is what separates the Everyman from the Atman.
“I...still don’t get it.”
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
You will, eventually.
“How exactly will this make me stronger?”
It will track your accomplishments in this war, and reward you accordingly...it’s better if I just show you.
The screen morphed again until a table appeared:
Name
Lawrence Able
Occupation
Novice Elementalist
Level (XP)
1 (0/100)
Strength
10
Endurance
10(-6)
Speed
10(-7)
Reflexes
8
Perception
5
Charm
4
Intelligence
12
Creativity
15
Magic
2
I spent a couple moments analyzing the table.
“It’s like a game.”
The table faded as words wrote themselves out on the prismatic screen.
Yes, we used that as inspiration. It’s a system that can be picked up by almost anyone really quickly. And that’s an important aspect of this war.
“Why is there a negative number on some of my stats?”
Because of your weight. Once you lose it, those negative modifiers will go away.
I sighed as I slapped my stomach with the flat of my hand. Time to get rid of you, bud.
“So there are levels?”
Yes. Every time you level you will be granted 3 stat points, every third level you will be granted the ability to learn a new skill.
“Why are there levels? Why not just make everyone like, level 1000 right off that bat?”
Your weak, mortal bodies would explode if that amount of power was shoved into you all at once. It would be like shoving a literal ton of gunpowder into an eggshell and expecting it to do anything but explode.
Point taken.
“How do you level up, then?”
Killing servants of Roki and closing the doorways into Earth. Once an enemy is killed in your presence, the Shard will take the energy expelled from their bodies at death, and convert it to mana, which will be added to the Fount. Likewise, once the doorways are closed, the residual mana that connects Efra to Earth will be absorbed. The Fount will continue to be siphoned off to the Gods keeping the doors closed, mostly, but at a certain point you will be rewarded with the ability to tap into it.
“So after I level up, or get the ability to tap into the Fount’s power or whatever?”
You will be granted 3 points to allocate into any stat of your choosing. After three levels, you will be able to learn any skill you wish.
“So is leveling up the only way to increase these stats, and to get new skills?”
I lean back in the chair, holding the Shard near my face so I could read it better.
No. There will be rewards for completing certain milestones or, ‘achievements,’ if we’re using game terms. These will always award relevant stat points, and will sometimes even come with a skill. The more diverse set of skills you have, the more, ‘achievements,’ become available to you. Let me show you what you have available.
The screen changed once more as a list of tasks opened up.
{ Traveler I
[Walk 10,000 steps in a single day]
+2 Endurance, +2 Speed, +1 Strength
Novice Mage
[Cast 100 Spells: 0/100]
+10 Magic, +10 Magic Affinity
Battlemage I
[Kill 100 Enemies of Earth with Magic: 0/100]
+5 Magic, +2 Endurance
Warrior I
[Kill 100 Enemies of Earth through martial means: 0/100]
+5 Strength, +2 Reflexes, +2 Endurance
Risk Averse I
[Dodge or parry 100 attacks: 0/100]
+5 Reflex, +2 Endurance, +2 Speed
Grit
[Take 100 attacks and live: 0/100]
+5 Endurance, +5 Strength
Delver I
[Close 10 doors: 0/10]
+2 To Every Stat
Looter I
[Bring 100 items from Efra back to Earth 0/100]
+5 Perception, +1 Strength
Merchant of Death I
[Sell 100 items taken from Efra: 0/100]
+5 Charm, +5 Intelligence }
I read through them for a couple of minutes. Isn’t Looter kind of easy to manipulate? I could just bring back extremely mundane items. Otherwise, Merchant of Death? How will I sell them? And what is this Magic Affinity? I pulled the Shard away from my face and rubbed my eyes.
“So what do these numbers actually mean?”
For all stats aside from Magic, ten is completely average. For example, if you get to 20 in Strength you will be competing with Olympic weightlifters. 30 you will be competing for the title of World’s Strongest, and at 40 you would be considered superhuman. Extrapolate that to the others.
“What’s the average for, ‘magic,’ then?”
In your world 0 is average.
“So if I raise my perception to 10 I won’t need these anymore?” I tapped my glasses.
Exactly.
Well. I’m going to do just that, then. I hate wearing these things.
“Is leveling up and completing these the only way to increase stats?”
No. They will increase naturally with what actions you take. Using magic will eventually raise your magic stat. Creating things will grant you Creativity. Selling things and simply talking with people will increase your Charm, fighting without magic will increase your Strength, etc. There will also be other ways to gain stats, but I’ll tell you all about that come midnight.
“Another thing, why is, ‘Charm,’ important? I can be completely unlikable and still fight.”
Specifically for you, since it seems like you’re going to be focusing on becoming an Elementalist it will allow you to call upon higher tiers of Elemental. It will also increase the likelihood that you won’t be smote down when calling upon a god if you ever need to do that in the future.
I guess I should also look into selling the things as well.
“What is, ‘magic affinity.’”
Magic Affinity is a skill you received for choosing, ‘magic,’ during the ceremony.
Ceremony? Is that what they’re calling that computer program?
“Can I see my skills?”
The screen changed once more.
Skills:
Magic (Active)
Ember 0/999
Rock Throw 0/999
Repel 0/999
Magic (Passive)
Magic Affinity 0/999
Wands 0/999
Melee
Brawling 10/999
Brawling, huh? My friends and I used to fight with one another for fun all of the time, and I did a bit of MMA when I was younger, perhaps that’s why they gave me that skill.
“Is leveling up the only way to get skills?”
No. You can learn through books or through actions as well. Use a weapon to kill 10 things, and you will be automatically rewarded with the skill, for example.
My eyes lingered on, ‘wands,’ I reached over to the twig sitting on my desk. I set the Shard down on my lap and brought the tool closer to my face until it came into focus. Words that seem to be written in Latin, various shapes like triangles right side up, upside down, some with a line going through their apex point, pentagrams, eight and six-pointed stars, and are burned into the pale wood down its length: starting at the tip, and coming down on either side. A band of interlocked hexagrams connects both sets of runes and words right above the bit of cloth used as a grip and encircles the circumference like a band.
“So is this a wand?”
Correct. This is a wand carved out of driftwood. Similar wands were passed out to the chosen Heroic Spirits, and Folk Spirits who also chose Magic. The chosen of Gods were gifted with higher-quality weapons.
Strange. I could read the Shard even from this distance when it should be blurry.
“I need it to use magic?”
Not necessarily, but I wouldn’t recommend using magic without some sort of medium. It could turn very, very painful.
It shook in my grasp. Magic.
“How do I use magic?” I demanded from the Shard.
You already know the incantation. It was implemented into your mind.
I think for a moment, and I do. I set the Shard down on the desk and hurried out of the door as quickly and quietly as I could. The stink of vodka hung in the air, as drained bottles sat on the coffee table in the middle of the room next to ashtrays by the dirty, dingy couch. Looking at the state of the house, a flash of embarrassment rushed through me. Trash sat piled on counters, where old vegetables and fruits rotted. Dishes sat unwashed on every surface, and cobwebs hung down from the ceiling. The tiled floor was scuffed and dirty. Now that I know that gods and spirits were watching over me…I’ll get to it later. For now, I had magic to do.
I pulled open the stained glass sliding door and stepped out into the late chilly morning. I step onto the wildly unkempt lawn; last night’s rain had turned to frost that still stuck to the blades of grass. Once away from the canopy that covered the cement patio, I raised my wand to the sky. The proper incantation comes to my mind.
“I allow the blood of the salamanders to flow through me.”
A strange rush of wind assailed me as if I had breathed in a dry, hot air. The hot air rushed through my body, and up my arm until it reached the wand. One of the runes — an upward triangle, glowed a slight orange, as two pieces of smoldering ash fell from the tip. I watched the glowing embers slowly drift down, and watched as the glow left them long before they reached the cold grass.
“That’s it?”
How about the others?
“Gnomes, servants of Gob the Magnanimous, I beseech thee to bombard my enemies.”
My bare feet buzzed as a rush of energy shot up my legs, circles through the wand, and rushed back out into the ground. Another of the runes; an upside-down stone that could fit in the palm of my hand, rose up from one of the many laid about on the ground and flew forward a foot or so as if a small child was lobbing it, before rolling to a stop on the cement. After it stopped moving, a great headache assailed me, and I hurried back inside to take a drink of the water that sat in my cup on my desk with an ibuprofen.
Scammed. I was scammed.