Once again, Zane woke up in darkness. But this time he kept any observations about the world or his dreams to himself. He sat and listened for a while, making sure he was alone before trying to sit up.
The last thing Zane remembered was being skewered like a kebab by an angry lizard man. He had played enough video games to recognize a kobold when he saw one. But that didn't answer his question as to why he was in a cave with them in the first place.
He knew he wasn't dreaming. Being stabbed with a spear and the resulting pain had made it abundantly clear that he wasn't asleep, or in a coma.
A long forgotten meme surfaced in Zane's mind and he scowled in the darkness. Truck-Kun, you sneaky bastard.
He didn't know if it was the truck’s fault or this was what normally happened when people died. But Zane decided to destroy the next Isuzu cargo hauler he saw, just to be safe.
Zane decided that his first order of business was to get out of the warren and survey his surroundings. Apparently there was some kind of respawn mechanic. But dying still hurt, so he decided to try and do as little of it as possible.
Slowly he got up and crept forward until he felt a wall. Zane's fingers brushed against the stone and he frowned. There were large foot high symbols carved into it. Strangely enough, he could read them.
According to his fingertips, this was “Awakening Room One”. Zane pondered what that meant as he continued to walk along the wall until he discovered an exit. He figured they might be like respawn points. Though why he was appearing in a kobold warren instead of some random human village was a mystery.
Eventually Zane came across a dimly lit room with a familiar kobold sitting cross-legged on the floor by the entrance. He was wearing a loose fitting red robe and muttering something to himself. In his right hand was a long black string of prayer beads.
Kiel cracked one eye open, revealing an evil yellow iris with a slitted black pupil. “Well, well well. If it isn't the human.”
“Are you going to stab me again?” Zane asked, acutely aware that he was both naked and unarmed. Though, strangely enough, he wasn't particularly afraid. Dying three times in a row had done wonders for his self confidence. “Because, I'm pretty sure I'll just come back. Apparently that's how things work here.”
The kobold stood up and shook his legs to get the feeling back in them. Kiel was pretty sure he knew what was going on, even if he wasn't completely sure he believed it. “Sorry about that, I was just a little surprised to respawn next to a human. Dying always makes me edgy, that's why I'm in here meditating. The body heals, but the mind isn't always so lucky.”
“I feel that,” Zane replied, “So, are you going to tell me where I am?”
“In a moment. First, I thought we could do some introductions. Hi, I'm Kiel. I am a sorcerer, and fire is kind of my thing.” The kobold gave a short formal bow. “Now, it's your turn.”
“My name is Zane. I'm human, and I don't know what any of that means, because I'm not from here.” he said, returning the bow. The whole exchange felt like a surreal version of an aikido class.
“Ah, you're whatchamacallit… an outsider.” Kiel nodded. “I figured as much. The legends tell of a white chariot that brings you people to our world. So, I gotta ask. Are the legends true?”
“Unfortunately, yes. One second I was back home, the next I was in some weird casino with a lady in a fox mask. I think she said she was a goddess, but that could have all been an act.” Zane shrugged. “I spun a wheel, ate some vitamins, drank some soda, and now I'm here.”
Kiel’s eyes lit up. “You met a goddess? Which one?”
“Lady Foxglove.”
“Oh, wow. And how many of those 'vitamins' did you take?”
“There was a red one and a blue one. I think the soda was special too, but it wasn't very good.” Zane looked around, “Where is everyone?”
“Yeah, we'll get to that in a minute.” Kiel held up his hands. “But first, do me one little tiny favor. Actually, it's more of a favor to yourself than it is to me.”
“Sure, what kind of favor?” Zane asked.
The kobold walked up to him. “Never, and I mean never, tell anyone that you consumed three sacred blessings. Actually, you should probably leave the whole part out about meeting the goddess too.”
“Oh, why?”
Kiel leaned in close. “Because, if you do, someone's going to try and cut you open to get them back.”
“Gotcha.” Zane nodded. “My lips are sealed.”
“Good. Good.” The kobold bobbed his head agreeably. “Now, let's get you some clothes and then we can talk a little bit about your situation.”
“My situation?” Zane cocked an eyebrow. “What exactly is my situation?”
Kiel shifted awkwardly. “It might be best if you see for yourself.”
***
Zane sat awkwardly on the ground with the largest blanket they could find wrapped around him like a robe.
“Ok, kiddo. Now, I want you to take a few deep breaths and try to access the Mesh. It isn't easy the first time. But once you learn how, it becomes a lot quicker. You start by looking inside yourself and finding a point of energy, it should be right between your eyes. That's your spiritual core. Your spiritual core is what connects you to the Mesh. You have two other cores, but they aren't important right now.”
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Zane figured the Mesh was a kind of interface from how Kiel had described it. He had gained the vaguest idea of what was going on from his time spent with books and video games. The fear and uncertainty of being magically transported to a new world was tempered by the fact that Zane had finally managed to escape his student loan debt. The young man counted that as a win.
Unfortunately, sitting still for long periods of time wasn't exactly Zane's thing. His mind kept wandering. The young man had so many questions, like why did he have three cores instead of one? Did this place run on magic or did they call it something else? And most importantly, would there be snacks?
“Is there a quicker way to do this?” Zane asked, “I keep getting bored and thinking about food. I could really go for some fried rice right now.”
The kobold shook his head. “Zane, you've been sitting for less than five minutes.”
“Which, quite frankly, is probably a record. The teachers at school used to throw chalk at me for talking too much.”
“Did it help?” Kiel asked, searching around for a rock. It wasn't a very orthodox method, but he was willing to try.
“No, I just got distracted and started drawing on the walls.” Zane took a deep breath. “Alright, attempt number nine hundred and seventeen.”
The kobold rolled his eyes. He was pretty sure Zane had something incredibly wrong with his brain. Or maybe that was just how young humans acted. Either way, it was annoying.
Zane continued trying to access the Mesh. When he talked, Kiel threw rocks at him until he stopped. What felt like hours later, he got his first glimpses of the Mesh.
It appeared to him as a series of pie charts. Everything was neatly labeled, but he had no idea what most of it meant. He could guess what essence was, since the shimmering green circle was completely full. Experience was self explanatory, and frustratingly empty. A white circle, marked Purity, was at exactly the halfway mark. And the last one, Divinity, was completely empty.
Below the charts he saw some text.
> Name: Zane
>
> Level: 0
>
> Tier: 0
>
> Race: Kobold
>
> Class: Chef
>
> Abilities: None
>
> Divine Blessings: Dragon’s Courage, Cat’s Confidence, Fox’s Charm
None of the blessings had any text to explain what they were or how they worked. But Zane had a much more pressing question.
“Kiel, why does the Mesh say I'm a kobold?”
“I have absolutely no idea. But it would explain why you were able to respawn in our warren. Humans usually don't do that, you know.”
Zane blinked away the Mesh. “Wait, what?”
“Yeah, we don't tell people about it. But when some kobolds die, they return to their warren to be reborn. It doesn't work that way for everyone, most kobolds are as mortal as everyone else. We call them ‘the dragon’s chosen’.” Kiel explained.
“Why do some kobolds get to respawn when nobody else does?” Zane asked.
“Nobody knows, kiddo. Legend has it there was a kobold that asked a favor from the great Red Celestial Dragon. But that could just be made up.” Kiel shrugged. “It is what it is, but I'm certainly not complaining. Come on, get up.”
Zane did as he was told. “Alright, what now?”
The kobold grabbed two spears from the wall. He tossed the bigger one to Zane. “Now, we fight until you level up.”
“Shouldn't we be using practice weapons?” Zane asked.
Kiel looked at him with confusion. “Why? Are you afraid of dying or something?”
***
Three deaths later Zane finally heard the chime that meant he had managed to level up. But Kiel wasn't satisfied.
The kobold kept putting him through the paces. “Your form is sloppy. It's a spear, not a club.”
“And I'm a chef, not a soldier.” Zane clapped back.
“What does that have to do with anything?” Kiel asked as he attacked Zane's ankles. He liked going for the ankles.
Zane brought the tip of his own spear down to block. “I don't think I get any support from the Mesh when I fight with a spear.”
“Neither do I. And yet, despite your size and reach advantage, I'm still winning.” Kiel brought the point home by stabbing his spear up into his opponent’s chin. He followed through and went for the kill, knowing that Zane would respawn the next morning.
As the young man’s body faded away, Kiel let out a sigh of frustration. Before they rejoined the rest of the warren, Zane needed to be able to defend himself. The God Hand mountains were cruel to idiots.
Zane also needed to level up high enough that when he next used the Mesh, the essence he had collected wouldn't go to waste. Kiel had avoided telling his student about leveling up because he knew Zane wouldn't be able to help himself.
As soon as the human learned that essence could be exchanged for abilities, he would blow it all on the first upgrade he saw. And just like that, with nothing else to spend it on, the remaining essence would be wasted.
That was the problem with essence. Once you tapped into your reserves it started dissipating. That was why it needed to be saved up and spent all at once. Usually that wasn't a problem, most people leveled up long before they filled their essence meter. But Zane's stunt at the Divine Palace meant he currently had an overabundance of essence to play with.
Kiel sat down to meditate. He hadn't eaten since he respawned and only his magical techniques were keeping him from wasting away. The kobold reached for his prayer beads. If the kid didn't improve soon, he was going to ditch the spear and start using his teeth.
***
The next morning, Zane wasn't alone in the Awakening Room. Someone was moving around in the dark. “Good morning,” he said.
“And a good morning to you too!” Replied an oddly cheerful kobold. “Golly, I just can't wait to get back out there. I'll bet the sun is shining and the birds are singing. Just another beautiful day in the most beautiful place in the universe.”
Zane took that all in for a moment. “Wow, you really have a sunny outlook on life.”
“I sure do, friend.” The mysterious stranger let out a happy sigh. “Just think about how lucky we are, to do the things we do, and live where we do. Doesn't it make you feel fortunate?”
“I suppose?” The young man wasn't sure, he hadn't been outside yet.
“Well, it's been really nice chatting with you. But, I've got a mountain to climb and humans to kill. Ta ta for now.” Then there was the sound of feet on stone as the kobold left, followed shortly after by the sound of a face hitting a wooden door and the door losing.
Once Zane was completely sure the happy human murdering kobold had left, he crept up to where Kiel was meditating. There were wood splinters everywhere from where happy killmore had destroyed a second door.
“Psst! Is he gone?” Zane called out.
Kiel nodded and stood up. “Yes, he has already left.”
“Good!” Zane walked over to the wall and grabbed a spear. “Now, let's train. Because if there are more of whatever that was, I need all the help I can get!”