I lounged across a plush chair, waiting for the delivery to arrive. It had been just over a week since I defeated the dungeon and things were progressing smoothly. I had even mostly gotten over the loss of my looting power once I remembered that it was only myself who had lost the skill.
Once I had some humans around to loot for me, things became easier.
Actually, not being able to loot was a bit of a sticking point in convincing people that I wasn’t a dungeon monster but both of the other dungeon rewards helped soothe the cracks there, too. Dungeon monsters couldn’t bind to an Aspect, and wielders could feel each other when close, so more levelheaded individuals had been able to vouch for me.
My dapper suit sealed the deal.
Item - Memoryweave Curiass (Tier 0)
The fine piece of armour was crafted painstakingly by a set of master craftsman. It carries the skills of each, forced into the armour through their rivalry.
Effect: Armour has three states, decided by the user’s whim at a cost of mana
The cost to make the mediaeval fantasy chestwear into a flowing coat, complete with shirt and tie, was simply my own rechargeable mana. Like the body had stamina, and the mind had willpower, the soul had mana. The capacity and recharge rate was different across individuals even in the System with standardised attributes. For myself? The cost was minute. I looked at my new and, I would argue, improved character page.
Name - Isaac/Izaark Race - Gem Kobold () Tier - F
Title - Outsider
Fortitude - ??? Speed - ??? Mental - ??? Will - Antiquity
The dungeon’s theme of memory and time was not lost on me. I’d be lying to myself if I didn’t think it was at least a little poignant. Using the Aspect was simple, like popping a water balloon. Its power had bound to my Will, though it came with an overall boost in strength aside from the more pronounced effect it had upon my mind. Like the Guidance Stone I had found, the Aspect I was given as a System reward was Antiquity.
This meant more than just a boost in power, which I did receive. My magic itself took on a more unique feeling, which others described as feeling “ancient” or “nostalgic.” Absorbing the Guidance Stone had been as easy as the Aspect, with the small gem crumbling to dust upon use. In using the two magical stones, I had learned a lot.
Every moment of my time in Gaia came flooding back, with a clarity that overwhelmed me. For an hour after using the Aspect, I had been lost, wandering blindly through the tunnels I had called home for a time. Once the haze cleared, I was struck again by the loss of my old life. It hadn’t been much, but it had potential. Now all which remained of the vibrant world I had seen but a fraction of were my memories of it.
Remembrance became a goal of mine, and I used the final dungeon reward to make it a reality. A slightly out-of-breath worker came to my penthouse carrying the steaming plate and I thanked him before taking the meal to devour. Looking out of the newly installed window, I looked out over the once-forgotten city and sighed. It was a start.
“Can you turn me a little?” I cocked an eyebrow and with an evil impulse, flipped the skull completely upside down. After a few seconds of squawked protests, I aimed Ledge in a more appropriate direction. When the dungeon had said it would bring the city and its occupants with it, I had been worried, but apparently only the legatus themself had counted for some reason.
Why Ledge you ask? Well, it was a legatus for one. Its life was a thing of legend. Most importantly, Ledge sat on my windowsill. Hence, Ledge.
“You’re a real piece of work, Lord Izaark,” Ledge said casually, as though they were commenting on the breeze. I chuckled, there was no lie and I wasn’t upset.
“Yeah, I’m a right little shit,” I agreed through mouthfuls of pulled pork. A city appearing on the edge of the Sahara desert was not the ideal starting point, but apparently there were many in the area just looking for a place with some infrastructure and safety. Part of the System reward had been a renewal of the city back to a state of general opulence. None of the items created had been magical, but the quality was evident all over.
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So within the week, my little city had grown from a completely barren place to only somewhat of a wasteland. The first explorers to visit the city had been met with the best terms, and promise of reward if they brought more people here. Looking out at what could arguably be described as bustle, I could only be surprised at the speed by which everything had fallen into place.
The System made things much easier in regards to day-to-day life.
People could carry food and drink with them, both heat and freshness maintained by the tiniest drain on their mana regeneration it didn’t matter. Furniture, materials and resources which would have taken thousands of hours of lugging just a month before was now as simple as sending one person. Once. So, the speed wasn’t too surprising, I reasoned. Still.
Faction Page Members: 7,921 Buildings: 4,768
I closed the page before I could get sucked into the numbers. The faction page had many features which were almost entirely useless to me, especially once I became able to delegate some of the tasks to Ledge. Making sure that people were fed, that the meagre taxes I asked for were paid and that the city would grow were all things which could be left to Ledge. They were happy because it gave them something to do, and apparently would work like levelling after a while.
Basically, Ledge was my skeleton butler. It was a great additional reward once I got them to shut up about the lost history of the place. At least, for the most part. “Oh, those brutes just knocked down another four buildings to make one of those wide monstrosities again.”
“Yeah, turns out using lots of space means you can do more in those spaces. There might be more than a single reason your people faded into obscurity, Ledge.” I ignored the skeleton’s wailing and howling at my insult and slipped out of the window, making sure to tilt the skull just a few degrees to piss them off. Laughing, I tumbled to the ground and landed softly.
I took a step and flinched as the ground where I had just landed exploded with force. After a few seconds, my mind caught up with what happened and I chuckled. “Oops,” I grimaced as the mana drain which came with the ability slowed me down for a second. Antiquity wasn’t just a word anymore, it was a deeper part of my existence. I was still working out the kinks, but the effects of binding to the Aspect were powerful. Not least of all because of the skills it had given me, ones I was still getting used to.
Aspect - Antiquity (Legendary)
Aspects are formed when ambient mana in an area becomes charged with a specific type of energy. If you have unbound attributes, you may permanently bind an Aspect to an unbound attribute.
Skill - Divergent Strike
Possibilities are endless, but you are inevitable. Any strike which lands on an enemy has a chance to deal maximum damage possible.
I had no control over Divergent Strike yet, which made me quite the dangerous person to be around. A tap on the back could be registered as an attack, and that same tap would then hit with the force of my strongest punch. Not great for saying hello to pets, as that poor cat found out. Poor kid who was watching too, but ah well, at least they weren’t following me around the city now. Until I got a handle on the skill, I couldn’t trust myself around others.
I had also used the Guidance Stone I had been locked out of before, not least of all because Antiquity and Archaism seemed absolutely perfect for each other. Doing so had given me another skill. The arrival of both had allowed me to get a firmer understanding on the feel of my new magic and its effects on my body. Yet, it wasn’t quite enough, so I was heading out.
Raffa was a local who had first decided I was “good”. The man was old, but the arrival of the System had staved off a death which was probably just around the corner. I had been tempted to argue against the label, but instead had smiled at the man and asked how he knew. He didn’t have an Aspect unlike some others. He had just stroked his long, wiry beard and chuckled. “I know what I know, and I know a good person when I see one.”
He was also the one who told me about a dungeon some of the warriors from his nearby village had gone into was still open. No one had come out, so people were starting to fear going inside. Sensible, as it wasn’t likely they had found a never-ending hot tub party. Not that I wasn’t going to hold out hope until I got there.
The old man decided to travel with me, even though his village itself had been left deserted when my city had sprung into being nearby. “It would not do to abandon the lessons of the past,” the old man had said with a knowing tone in his voice. I pulled a face and stuck my tongue out at him.
I’ve gotta get this old guy some Aspects. Or at least to the next tier.
Raffa was a rare human, to say the least. In the short time I had known him, I had seen him grow from a level three nobody to a peak simply by existing. When he asked if I would escort him to his old home, I had to avoid actually jumping at the chance. While Raffa wasn’t an Outsider like myself, he was clearly cultivating in a different way to pretty much everyone else around. I needed to know how it worked.
Magic had come to Earth, and with it, more drastic changes than any would have thought. For myself, the politics of the old world meant little, but as countries continued to struggle against the rising tide, a vacuum was going to form. The world would need leaders who could wrap their mind around the System and the sweeping changes it brings.
Having more knowledge than the next person was the key to success. We talked as the two of us made our way across the golden sands on foot. Even domesticated animals had become dangerous to be around these days and the taming of the beasts was yet another way to progress through the System’s levels. While the all-powerful System definitely encouraged violence, it appeared that almost any action would be rewarded in some way or other.
Crafting, exploring, even things like storytelling could result in level gains and the associated boons which came with them. In my one single personal touch upon the city which sprouted in the desert, I smashed a wide area apart to become an amphitheatre. It was already in constant use as the new citizens debated philosophy of all kinds, held small shows using their new magic powers and more.
“Do you have a story to share, young dragon?” Raffa asked, not for the first time. He was just as interested in me as I was in him. I sized the man up, wondering if there was an ulterior motive. If there was, did it matter? No, more than that, I firmly believed Raffa was fundamentally apart from most other members of his species. A “normal” human might betray me, but Raffa was without subterfuge.
“It’s quite a long tale,” I replied, smacking the sand with my prehensile appendage. The joke must have translated through the new System common which was enforced because Raffa giggled like a much younger man at the silly pun. I shrugged. It’s not like my past was a secret for any reason. “Well, the first thing you’ll need to wrap your head around is that this isn’t my first go around with the System.”