“How exactly are you going to help me?” asked Alice.
“Well, there are rules and limitations of course, I can’t just snap my fingers and give you unlimited power, but I can start by giving you a boon,” replied Joe.
Alice knew what boons were from her time at the library. Boons were a sort of blessing the lesser and greater gods gave out to mortals. Boons mainly affected your stats, but they could also affect the types of skills and spells you could acquire from leveling up.
Joe did a quick gesture and a notification appeared in front of Alice:
You have acquired a new Boon: Death’s Boon
Death’s Boon: This is a boon from a greater god. All Stats +10%. You are now able to use and obtain skills and spells with death-affinity. You are now immune to spells and skills with death-affinity.
Alice felt her stats increase and said, “Woah, thank you!”
“No problem. This should help you power level for a few grades before things get interesting. There is one more thing I can give you.” Joe snapped his fingers, and a miniature version of what Alice could only describe as a grim reaper appeared above Joe’s right shoulder. “This is Grimaldi, he will be your familiar from now on.”
“Cute!” Alice screamed as she rushed towards Grimaldi.
Grimaldi, taken by surprise, was not able to dodge Alice’s quick hands, and ended up being wrapped by Alice in a tight hug.
“Lord Death, are you sure about this, I’m sure there are better ways that I can serve you,” said Grimaldi, gasping for air as Alice’s arms kept squeezing.
“Alice, please don’t crush your familiar.”
“But he is so cute!” replied Alice as she slowly let Grimaldi go.
“Ahem,” said Grimaldi, clearing his voice. “Lord Death, do you really want me to be this mortal’s familiar?”
“Grimaldi, take a closer look at Alice.”
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Grimaldi took a closer inspection at Alice and said, “My apologies, chosen of Lord Death, I did not notice that you had my Lord’s boon.”
“Grimaldi, I need you to assist Alice in her travels from now on. We are going to help her reach S-grade.”
“As you command, Lord Death,” said Grimaldi, bowing towards Joe.
“Hey Joe, so what can Grimaldi do and how will he help me?” asked Alice curiously.
“Ms. Alice, if I may,” intervened Grimaldi, “while I cannot directly assist you in battles, I consider myself an expert when it comes to anything related to Sfiraz. Not only that, but I am also highly skilled at strategizing, and I will assist you on choosing the best path to help you reach S-grade.”
“As Grimaldi said,” Joe added, “he is a wealth of information and will be of immense help on your travels. He possesses the highest level of identify, and since you have not unlocked that skill yet, he will be even more useful early on your path.”
“Thank you, Lord Death, I am not worthy of your praise,” replied Grimaldi.
“Wow, you sound amazing, Grimmy. Can I call you Grimmy?” asked Alice.
“Lord Death’s chosen can call me whatever she pleases.”
“Alright, now that introductions are over, here is what I need you to do, Alice,” said Joe. “First, we need to get you to E-grade. Grimmy here,” said Joe in a mocking tone, “will help you get there as fast as possible. Once you are E-grade, I want you to come back here, and I will give you another surprise that will help you reach D-grade in no time.”
“It will be done, Lord Death,” said Grimmy, bowing.
“Alright, sounds like a plan,” agreed Alice.
“Good. You should start by completing that quest of yours. Grimmy, please show her the way to the surface. I have matters to attend to.” Joe vanished.
“This way, Ms. Alice.” Grimmy pointed to the door Alice had spotted when she first entered the room.
The way to the surface was nothing short of a maze. Alice was sure that she would have gotten lost if it were not for Grimmy. Alice and Grimmy encountered a few monsters here and there, netting Alice some experience, but she was not able to level up. Grimmy took the opportunity to study Alice and took notes on how better she could use her abilities for future training. Towards the end of the cavern Alice was able to level two skills:
Hike has reached Lvl 2
Surgical Strike has reached Lvl 2
Once they finally made it to the surface, Grimmy turned to Alice and said, “Okay Ms. Alice. First things first. Let us take a look at what we are working with.”
“Just call me Alice, Grimmy. No need for formalities,” said Alice.
“I cannot do that, Ms. Alice. I need to show proper respect to the Lord Death’s chosen.” Grimmy argued.
“Are you going against the Lord Death’s chosen’s wishes?” replied Alice.
“No… Alice… no I am not.”
“Thank you, Grimmy, so first things first…”
“Right… Let us see.” Grimmy took a good look at Alice’s equipment, and properly identified it for the first time.
Healer’s Dress – Dress made of soft fabric. Does not provide any physical resistance but it does provide light magical resistance. Dress slightly improves potency of healing spells.
Healer’s Cloak – Cloak made of soft fabric. Does not provide any physical resistance but it does provide light magical resistance. Cloak slightly improves potency of healing spells.
Leather Boots – Boots made of brown leather. No enchantments.
Leather Satchel – Satchel made of brown leather. No enchantments.
“Your equipment is decent enough for your level, but we will need to get an upgrade soon. You will need something that favors death affinity.” Then, Grimmy looked at her character sheet.
Name: Alice Raven
Race: Alterterrestial
Level: 4
Class: Combat Medic
Health Points (HP): 220/220
Mana Points (MP): 270/270
Stamina: 230/230
Stats:
Strength: 11 + 10% = 12
Intelligence: 25 + 10% = 27
Dexterity: 21 + 10% = 23
Wisdom: 7 + 10% = 8
Charisma: 10 + 10% = 11
Vitality: 20 + 10% = 22
Skills:
Acrobatics - Lvl 2
Tend Wounds - Lvl 1
Hike - Lvl 2
Light Weapons - Lvl 2
Hand-to-hand Combat - Lvl 1
Surgical Strike - Lvl 2
Spells:
Transfusion - Lvl 2
Heal - Lvl 2
Cure Sickness - Lvl 1
Boons:
Death’s Boon