Both parts of this chapter are going to be purely first person.
' ' denotes what the character said on their end, otherwise it's what they are thinking/actions they are taking.
Please read the authors note as well please.
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Chapter 4 (part 1) Dyno's First Day
Welcome to the Library of the Ancients
* You will not suffer a death penalty when you die here
* Food will be provided at the rest area of each floor and will re-spawn when you die. It can't be placed in your inventory.
* You will not gain experience while in the library
* You will have increased stat gains while in the library
* If you die you will re-spawn on the 100th floor (bottom floor)
* You will not be able to take enter the beta area until you reach the portal on floor 1
* Curse of Ancient Tongues: when you talk to someone on your friends list while in the library, you will be translated to the sarcastic knight speech type.
"What the heck is up with the curse on this place?"
I opened up the chat to Lilith.
Dyno: 'Hey Lilith, can you hear me and do you have a language curse on you?'
Lilith: "Ja this is Lilith and I do toooo, du sound funny toooo."
What I heard reminded me of an old movie scene with Jamie Lee Curtis on a train (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YASXnxeBsLE) from one of our favorite movies. Sometimes you just can't beat the classics.
(for the remainder of the alpha test arc, imagine Lilith's lines to be read with this stereotypical Swedish accent)
Dyno: 'Ok babe, how about we only talk when we need to. I will go to the Hub only when necessary since I'm strapped for time.'
Lilith: "Is your rucksack empty as well."
I called up my inventory finding it equally as empty.
Dyno: 'Yes it is, but let me know when you go back to the Hub so I can see you. Love you dear.'
Lilith: "I will, and I love you too my funny knight."
'I guess that last part was based off of what my messages were being translated to. Well time to get to work.'
I looked around at the room I had spawned in and saw a mysterious book sitting on a pedestal. Just beyond the book was what could only be described as an altar with a force-field that contained a black and crimson pair of combat gloves. (http://i00.i.aliimg.com/img/pb/456/775/380/380775456_496.jpg). I couldn't quit grinning as I saw the only weapon the Magic Fighter class wielded. As I went to grab them and hit the force-field I immediately regretted the decision. The moment I touched the blue bubble electricity went coursing through my body and I was unable to move and could only feel tremendous pain getting electrocuted causes. The only reason I know I died was when I got the same tunnel of light effect that occurred when I entered the game.
-Death Count: 1
As soon as I exit the tunnel the pain that I started to feel as I died hits me, runs me over, backs over me and runs me over again.
"Son of a biiiiitch!"
While I writhe in pain as the pain finally starts to dissipate and I regain the ability to form a thought, I think back to a prank I pulled on Shawn when we were kids. I had managed to bet him some money that he wasn't brave enough to pee on an electric fence. I thought it was $20 well up until just now. Of course Shawn would know that I wouldn't read the manual and go straight for the gloves since I freaking designed this class.
For enduring the pain that comes with getting electrocuted and not blacking before your death, or due to the phantom pain afterwards, you have gained the stat Endurance. Endurance can only be gained by mentally and physically resisting the effects that accompany near death amounts of pain.
For gaining the titles and achievements for "First Death", "Suicidal", "It's No Longer Alive", "Insta-Death" and "So bad your Grand-kids will feel It", they have been combined into the single title "Turned up to 11".
Turned up to 11Your nerves and sense of pain will be increased by 10% for having this title. If your pain percentage is greater than 100%, surviving hits that take 50% or more of your health in one shot, without blacking out or being temporarily ejected from the game, you will gain 1 Endurance. Current level of pain sensitivity: 110%
This made me curious about just how much more stuff would hurt and decided to pinch myself. The resulting pain from the pinch felt more like 200% rather than 110% since I also got the message:
You have inflicted -10 hp worth of damage to yourself
'Wonderful, just fucking wonderful. People who say pay-back is a bitch are dead wrong. It's a freaking whore wrapped in crazy bitch.'
This time I decided to look at the book I had dismissed earlier. The book was bound in worn brown leather with a faded golden spine. On the cover was an image depicting a fist that had six small circles in a hexagram formation. The way my last attempt to get the gloves had ended I decided to try reading the classes manual Shawn and my Dad had left for me.
The path of the Magic FighterThe warriors of ancient times who were versed in almost all forms of combat and masters of tactics and out-thinking their opponents, which was sometimes armies of hundreds strong against a single magic fighter. They were skilled with using 6 different magical elements, stealth, ranged attacks and close combat fighting to destroy almost anyone who opposed these good and noble fighters. To become a magic fighter was no easy feat and has no one has been able to become one in the last 1000 years. To become a Magic Fighter, one would first have to enter the Library of the Ancients, a magical place that supposedly existed in another dimension. The Library was cursed with unbreakable enchantment that not only causes the Magic Brawlers who die in it to be brought back to life on the lowest floor, but steal all the memories and training of their time in the library should they give up on the challenge of becoming a Magic Fighter. Any Brawlers who had telepathic abilities would also notice that others who heard their thoughts outside the library heard differently then what was said to keep the secrets of the Library to only those a Magic Fighter might choose to share them with. The Library use these memories as projections to help train future brawlers who challenge the Library in an attempt to help them overcome it.The most basic skill for Magic Fighters is the manipulation and combination of their mana and inner fighting spirit to form the unique energy called Aura. Aura can be also be formed into the 6 element types to perform the unique attacks and abilities each Magic Fighter creates. They first sense their own inner power and must picture it enveloping their hands as the ability known as Aura Manipulation which can increase the force and defense of any area enveloped by the Fighters non-elemental aura.
After reading the book and looking at the many blank pages it also contains I close it to go look at the altar that has the gloves held hostage in the bubble of death. As I inspect the alter I suddenly feel a little extra weight on my belt and looked down to see that the book had become a kind of small manual and was also in a pouch that hadn't been there before. Guessing I was going to need it later on and thinking about Aura Manipulation, I saw a place on the altar that someone could put their hand. Realizing I needed to figure out the Aura Manipulation skill, I sat down in a meditation pose and began to visualize the fighting spirit and mana within me. This was a lot easier than it’s described in book, or because I was in a video game, but the 2 week of creating things in the hub without the menus allowed me to quickly create a glowing blue aura around my hand and placed it into the indentation.
You've learned the skill Aura Manipulation (basic)
I quickly cleared the window as the bubble of hateful revenge dissipated leaving me to collect the gloves until yet another window popped up. As I looked at it I couldn't help but get a big grin on my face.
Would you like to start the trail to becoming a Magic Fighter by becoming the Magic Brawler class?YesNo
I quickly click yes as I became the in-training class for the first ever RPG class I had ever created.
You have gained the Magic Brawler class
* You stats page will now no longer show your Hp, Mana, satiety, stamina and basic stats. You must now guess your Hp based off your current level of pain and the effects of blood loss that might affect you, just like in real life. Mana is represented as mental fatigue and tiredness.
* All stat points from leveling up is distributed automatically and your stat page will only show humorous lines to describe your current level.
* You will only be able to see your name, class, title, fame, and stats you can't put stat points in.
* System assist is now permanently turned off and you will not get notifications about stat gains unless you get a new stat
* The 7 skills can be shown are the aura skills that can be learned in the Library. Skills will also not show levels or stat bonuses they give but just what level of mastery they are at.
* The only gear you can equip is the default armor and the Magic Combat Gloves and all of your equipment is bound and will not drop on death. It is also unbreakable.
* You can't leave the Library as a Magic Brawler.
* You have gained some unlisted bonus to your hidden stats.
Well some of those were unexpected, guess they meant for the Magic Fighter and Brawler class to almost treat this game like real life, since I can't see your stats in real life but just by noticing that you can do more than you could before if your stats go up.
I looked on the altar and picked up the Magic Combat Gloves and saw what appeared to be a slot for the class manual since it had the symbol that appeared on the cover of the book. I placed the book into the slot while I manually equipped the gloves and saw a magic glow envelope the book. The light quickly subsided and as I reached to pick up the book I noticed that one of the 6 circles now had a rune in it that was faintly glowing with a magical light. I decided to check my gloves before looking in the book to see if there was anything different.
Magic Combat GlovesType:Weapon/Hand ArmorDurability:UnbreakableQuality:One-of-a-KindThe only weapon a Magic Fighter or Brawler will ever need. They are magically bound to the first person who puts them on and can never be lost. They give a bonus to manipulating Aura around the users body making it slightly easier to manipulate with the mind. The damage of the gloves scale to your stats and will increase based off of the amount and element of the aura currently being channeled to the user's hands.
Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
I opened the manual and noticed that there was a new section in the book that was written in glowing text. As I started to read the text the memory of one of the previous brawlers first using the aura was being played with me as a passenger in his body.
The first and most important element that all Magic Brawlers learn is the element of Darkness. The Aura of Darkness is used to manifest objects to help support the user and also to help them stay in charge of the battlefield and play mind games with the opponent. The Aura of Darkness embodies stealth and creation of illusions of shadow made real with darkness.It emphasizes the use of the mind and tactical ability based off how the Aura manifestations are used and not what is manifested.
As the memory that came with reading the new text in the book finished, I imagined Aura surrounding me like a cloak of darkness that would hide me with a similar feeling of the memory of the failed brawler. I opened my eyes to see a hooded cloak composed of shadows and darkness covering me and making it impossible to actually see the form underneath the full body cloak. I dispelled the cloak by willing it away like I had in the Hub to take off clothes.
You have gained the skill Aura of Darkness. This skill relates to your mastery to using Aura infused with the Darkness element and how well you can create and manipulate your manifestations of Darkness.
For utilizing your skills in different ways to make the best of the situation you have gained the stat "Improvisation". This stat can only be increased by not using system assist to fight in an unpredictable fighting style. This stat will give a bonus to other stats in situations in which you are hopelessly outnumbered and outgunned by system assisted opponents. Will also give a very slight bonus to stats when facing other Travelers (players) not using system assist.
Wow Shawn and Dad really did work on this class a lot to make it even more overpowered than it was before. I decided to finally check my stats to see what it looked like before I continued with challenging the Library.
"Status"
Status WindowNameDynoClassMagic BrawlerLevelWeak as hellTitleTurned up to 11StatsEndurance1Improvisation1Skills
* Aura Manipulation (basic)
* Aura of Darkness (basic)
Well that was helpful. I then start heading toward the only door in the room. I first stop at the table with food on it and eat some since I feel a little hungry. I notice another one of the hand indentation on the wall next to the stone doors that have a vertical line separating them and look similar to elevator doors. I surround my hand with aura like I had to get to my new gloves only to get no response from the doors. I change the aura on my hand to the dark element and the 2 doors start to go in opposite directions as the path forward opens.
Behind the doors is a room much wider than the rather large entrance to it. Straight ahead is a doorway through which a set of stairs can be seen. As I enter the room the doors behind me close to force me to go forward. I look around the room to see a suspicious line on the floor along with a strange 6 foot stone idol head above the way forward. The walls also have what looks like carvings of massive hands that are taller than I am. Thinking I might have to get through quickly I dash toward the doorway. After I pass about 3 steps pass the line one of the hands come out of the wall revealing that it was at least 2 feet thick. Of course I could only tell that because it came out so fast I had only made 2 more steps before it slapped me like I was some sort of bug, launching me back against the closed doors I had just come through. As I peeled off of the wall and fell forward onto my knees I would have screamed in agony had all of my ribs been broken and pushed through my lungs and other organs. After about 10 seconds of feeling myself bleed to death internally I entered the tunnel of light that meant I was re-spawning to try again.
-Death count: 2, Endurance: 2
After I could see that I was back in the starting room I quickly headed over to the food table and ate some bread to calm me down since unlike my first death I didn't feel pain after I re-spawned, and to make sure there weren't any holes left. After not feeling any pain from eating or breathing I went to try to get to the next floor again.
As the doors shut behind me I looked at the idol head that was now obvious in what its purpose was. I then used my dark aura to make the full body cloak to try and sneak my way past the idol I decided the name the "Gatekeeper'. Hoping that it wouldn't be able to tell I was there, I started walking past the line. Once again after about 5 steps I was once more subjected to a death similar to that of a mosquito. Which hurts ungodly bad by the way.
-Death count: 3 Endurance: 3
As I exited the familiar tunnel of light to the starting floor I sat down and started of another way to use my dark aura. The skill said I could create almost anything out of shadow and darkness. Wait a second, why does shadow sound familiar. Quickly face-palming after remembering Shawn's favorite ninja technique from another old anime we watched as kids. I quickly the Gatekeeper's room and closed my eyes to help me envision a new use for my darkness aura. I envisioned my aura traveling to my shadow and then raising out of it into a form similar to when I wore the darkness cloak. When I opened my eyes I was greeted by a figure that was the same shape as me, except that it was more like a human shaped blob of black darkness. If I could describe it accurately it was like looking at a human shaped black hole that wasn't trying to suck me in. I felt in my mind like I was controlling dark clone like it was a very maneuverable puppet
When a new window popped up.
You have gained 1 point in improvisation
Interesting. Well I decided to visualize my dark clone walking towards the doorway under the Gatekeeper. As i visualized it the clone did exactly like I was picturing until one of the hands hit the clone and made it dissipate on impact. I watched the hand stop at the line and then very slowly start to go back to its original position after a few seconds. Since I hadn't lived long enough to see that it gave me an idea on how to get through this room. I waited till the hand was back in place before I created 2 dark clones. I was starting to feel pretty tired so I must be starting to run low on the mana and stamina that made up my Aura. I sent the clones 1 at a time across the line causing the 2 hands to each decimate one of the clones. As soon as the second hand had stopped at the line I quickly ran past them towards the doorway hoping that I didn't have to worry about the face of the Gatekeeper either. Fortunately I got to the stair with no issue and was instead greeted with a window.
You have gained 1 point in improvisation
Realizing how annoying that was going to be if I tried a new use of aura during a fight I opened my options and turned off the stat notifications as I made my way to the 99th floor. When I enter the next room the doors once again closed behind me and I found myself in a room similar to the room I would continue to re-spawn in. The only difference was that there was no altar and the pedestal had a indention for the class manual indicated by the fist containing 6 elements. I set the book in the slot and the magic light show occurred again. During the addition of next part of the manual I sang 'halleujah' in my head to make the event feel a little humorous. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usfiAsWR4qU)
After the bright light and my mental chorus subsided I picked up the book to learn about what I was guessing was going to be the fire aura due to the new red rune next to the black one I got previously.
The next element that Brawlers must add to their auras is fire. Fire is represented by its explosive combustion and heat but not its ability to consume. Magic Fighter and Brawlers use their fire auras mainly to increase the force of their blows or heat things up, with some known to cook some foods using the aura. This aura will not start fires since it lacks fires desire to consume material to make it grow.
The memory of a brawler first utilizing the aura had also played so I tried mimicking the same type of feeling. I looked at my hand that was now covered in a flickering red aura that made it appear like it was on fire with dark red flames. I dispelled the aura and ate some of the conveniently place food before laying down on the equally convenient bedding materials since I was likely experiencing a shortage of mana as I felt like I was about to fall asleep any second. I closed my eyes and quickly went to sleep after seeing one final window.
You have learned Aura of Fire
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Author's notes: sorry it took so long to write this chapter. It took a while due to all the boxes and skills. If you’re wondering why I got rid of having to display and come up with most of the base stats because I’m lazy then you’re wrong (that's all i'm going to say for now about that).
On another note the second half of chapter 4 Lilith's first day will be a bit later due to having some writers block due to another FF brewing in my head will y'all can expect this week. Also since I don't want all the monsters and traps in the Library and the rest of Grand frontier to be the generic ones you normally see, I'm asking you the fans to come up and post both monsters and traps that might be in the world of Grand Frontier. If you are posting a monster then please give its name, possible level, possible skills and any elements associated with said skills or creature, its weakness(es), and a description. If I use your monster (or trap) in a future chapter I will cite and thank you in the author’s note of that chapter. So if you want to help be a designer of Grand Frontier comment and let your friends know too.