When he woke up it was morning. The sun was streaming in from the window onto his face. He stretched his body, pleased to note that he had grown larger. So I've reached the one year mark. He rolled over, and slowly tried to stand up. He couldn't do it by himself, so he held onto the crib itself, and pulled himself up.
Once again he tried to speak, but still found himself to be unable to speak. While the sounds were more coherent, they were still not at the stage for proper speech. Drawn by his sounds, the Queen came into the room.
“Good morning sweetheart. You've grown so much bigger, haven't you?” After cooing over his growth, she put a bottle in his mouth, and began to feed him. “Once you've finished, I'll let you practise for your skills for two hours. Then I'll feed you, and we'll play together to get you some exercise.”
Wraith quickly finished drinking, and so they made their way to the library. It was a large place, with hundreds of thousands of books. She brought him into a small room at the end of the library. Inside were dozens of books scattered on the floor, with clothes piled up in one end. The left side of the room, where the clothes were, had books on tailoring. The right side had introductory books to alchemy, as well as empty glassware.
The Queen set him down, and had a seat on the chair next to the door, and pulled out a book of her own. “I'll be watching you, so you don't have to worry about anything, just feel free to do as you like.” With no further encouragement necessary, Wraith crawled over to the tailoring books and started reading, flipping the pages slowly with his stubby fingers
He started reading about the different materials that can be used, and how they can be categorized into light and medium armor. After this, he looked at the different seams and stitches, as well as the patterns to make basic types of clothing.
At the end of the two hours, he had read two books on the matter, and had pored over the design of a few of the clothing. After reading a book, and studying a piece of clothing, he received several system messages regarding his progress.
Tailoring Comprehension 5%
It was proving to be a long and slow process to obtain the skill. The Queen then went outside and brought in a box. “Now it's time for a break, lets get some exercise for a bit.” She took out a ball and rolled it towards him.
He just looked at it for a minute, unwilling to roll it back to her. She chuckled and said, “I know this wouldn't be your usual definition of fun, but right now you're a baby. Lifting weights is impossible, so you only have things like this in order to grow big and strong.”
With no other option available to him, he rolled it back to her. For two hours they alternated between the ball, wooden puzzles, and walking with her pulling him up. Once he was tired, they took a break, whereupon the Queen fed him again.
After a three hour nap, he started reading the tailoring texts and examined some of the leather armor. He studied for four hours this time. Perhaps because he was studying more advanced texts and clothing, his progress was much better.
Tailoring Comprehension 21%
After finishing his fifth book for the day, he went back to playing with the Queen. After an hour or so, they went back to his room. After being fed once again, she tucked him into bed. “We'll continue this in the morning. Good night.” She kissed him on the forehead again, and let him fall asleep.
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When he woke up again he found himself to be even bigger than he was the day before. This time when he tried speaking, he managed to get some words out. He had to work at shaping the sounds, and he couldn't speak in long sentences, but he could establish a basic communication.
When the Queen came in, she was pleased with his growth. They spent the day doing the same things they did the day before. He managed to read several more books, and was able to watch some basic clothing being produced by the Queen. By the end of the day, he had made great strides in understanding tailoring.
Tailoring Comprehension 43%
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On the fourth day, his physical body had developed to the point that he could make basic stitches and shoddy clothing. The toys and games he played with the Queen were also different. He was able to get some actual exercise like running and jumping around. They played some sports like soccer, and also walked around the temple and the park beside it.
With the ability to start stitching, his comprehension improved dramatically.
Tailoring Comprehension 65%
The best thing to happen to his, was that by this point he had grown sufficiently that the Queen had decided to trade his crib in for a proper bed.
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By day five, his fine motor skills had shown a marked improvement. At this point the clothing he had made had drastically improved in quality. The Queen had seen that at this point it was better to learn by doing than reading, so she called for a tailor to come and give him some direct teaching.
After making more advanced designs with the tailor's help, his skill had grown even further.
Tailoring Comprehension 89%
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On the sixth day, he had learned the basics of making leather armor. With his deft hands, he could skillfully weave different fabrics together and quickly create new clothing. After just a few hours he had a full comprehension of the skill.
Tailoring Comprehension 100%
Tailoring Comprehension mastered. Tailoring skill will be given after the growth period is complete.
It's only noon, but I've already gained one skill. Now onto alchemy. The alchemy skill would be considerably more difficult to obtain than the tailoring skill, simply due to the materials necessary.
The only thing he could do was read the books. After the first book, he had a better understanding about alchemy. While there is a magical component to it, the basis of alchemy lies in creating potions and tinctures by hand. Although theoretically it was possible for anyone to use the basic recipes, it would still be very difficult due to the scientific component behind it.
He realized that he would have to obtain the herbology skill later on to complement his alchemy. He studied how to perform extractions and proper mixing techniques. After reading the introductory book, he moved on to more specialized books.
He started with the different types of reactions and potions that could be made, and then moved on to techniques for creating potions and elixirs.
After about four hours, he had gained a decent understanding of the skill.
Alchemy Comprehension 12%
It was advancing considerably slower than tailoring did, which was only to be expected, given the vast amount of knowledge required. After getting his daily physical exercise, he went back to studying. As he had grown so much, the Queen gave him more leeway. She still followed him around and kept an eye on him, but she gave him more space.
This didn't stop her from doting on him and mothering him. She still fed him, despite his protests that he could do it himself, and she would hug him every so often to show her affection. While these actions were terribly embarrassing, he had to admit, that she was quite knowledgeable.
While she wasn't too much help with tailoring, she was exceptionally talented in magic, and had a fair understanding of alchemy. She gave him valuable insights and provided any answers he needed. She also gave him the idea to try some simple alchemical recipes. She took him into the yard and helped him gather some of the plants that could be of use.
He brought three types of plants back with him. He boiled and collected the liquid of Ederworst to collect the active ingredient in Hp potions, dried out Amrythe to act as a magnifier for the effect, and ground up the other Stalroot to stabilize the mixture.
He had to perform it several times until he got a result he was satisfied with. He managed to make five good potions at the end of it. They would only be useful at very low levels for the very beginners. To make better potions, he would need troll blood, or another more effective plant.
Hp Potion
Restores 100 Hp on use.
The whole process took three hours, but as a reward for his efforts, there was a large jump in comprehension.
Alchemy Comprehension 31%
After a short break, he continued creating potions. This time he made Mana potions, with Wolfarst since they naturally restored mana. They were slightly more effective than the Hp potions, restoring 150 points. This was probably due to the increased knowledge and experience he had gained.
At the end of the day, he gained much more knowledge than expected, and made significant gains in Alchemy Comprehension.
Alchemy Comprehension 42%
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After the seventh day of continuing to make potions, he decided to increase the difficulty. He attempted potions that temporarily increased a stat. He started with strength, gathering oxheart for the job.
Since oxheart could be used to extract a compound that improved strength, he boiled it down, and mixed it with other liquids. Once he finished he had a marginally effective strength potion.
Strength Potion
Increases strength by 5 points for 10 minutes
It wasn't all that useful, given the materials he used. A master alchemist could make a potion that worked ten times better, and last six times longer. Even an ordinary one could make a much better potion.
After experimenting with different stat boosters, such as for agility and intelligence, he had gained an extraordinary amount of skill. As he didn't actually have the alchemy skill, he had to rely on his own ability.
Because of this, he would be much better off than other alchemists, who mostly just toss ingredients together and rely on the level of their skill to compensate.
After the breaks he took to get exercise, and further experimenting, he had increased his comprehension level.
Alchemy Comprehension 68%
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By the end of the eight day, he had almost gained all the comprehension required. Instead of solely sticking to basic potions, he went back to the books to learn more efficient methods to extract the necessary components, and also read up on the theory behind transmutation and 'Hard Alchemy.'
He found the difference between 'Hard' and 'Soft' Alchemy to be the use of magic. Hard Alchemy was the legendary transformations using a magical component. It was a source of knowledge that wasn't written down in books anywhere. It was knowledge that was kept closely guarded by all alchemists, who only passed their knowledge down to one apprentice. If he wanted to learn it, Wraith would have to go to a master alchemist.
Soft Alchemy was basically simple potion-brewing. It can be done by anyone, provided they have the required materials. It was the alchemy most practiced in Versailles. In comparison to the thousands of Soft Alchemists, there were very few Hard Alchemists. Since they kept to themselves and out of the eyes of the public, no one knew exactly how many there were in existence.
Alchemy Comprehension 87%
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
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On the ninth day, he had finished the Alchemy Comprehension.
Alchemy Comprehension 100%
Alchemy Comprehension mastered. Alchemy skill will be given after the growth period is complete.
With the two skills he planned to obtain mastered, he now had a little over nine and a half days to dedicate towards improving his stats and skills.
After he had finished studying alchemy, the Queen spoke up. “Now that you gained your skills, and you grew considerably, we can focus on your mental and physical growth.”
At that, a man walked through the door. He was tall with tanned, light brown skin. His head was framed by short locks of inky-black hair, which surrounded widely-spaced, glowing green eyes. They were perched above an aquiline nose and thin lips. His musculature suggested that he was a warrior. The Queen introduced him. “This is Calder, he's the best warrior we have. I brought him here to teach you our ways of fighting.”
The man stepped forward. His manner of walking, silent and purposeful, held an leonine grace. One glance could tell Wraith how skilled he was. “I'm pleased to meet you Wraith, The Queen has told me that you have some skill of your own.” He paused at this, looking up and down at him. He quickly looked back at him and resumed speaking. “Sorry, I just haven't wrapped my head around this yet. Even though I know about the ritual, it's just hard to believe that you're really an eighteen year old boy.”
Wraith was a bit irritated by this, “well, you're not the only one that's questioning that.” It was an enormous adjustment he was forced to make. Besides accepting it mentally, he was always disoriented when he returned to his normal body in the real world.
Instead of being cross at his barbed tone of voice, Calder laughed good-naturedly. “Alright then, I'll try to treat you as an adult. Since your body is still too small for intense training, we'll work on the basic forms and stances. In a few days we can begin some light sparring, and have actual bouts after that.”
After saying that, he took Wraith into the yard to practice with. As he promised he showed Wraith some of the basics. Surprisingly they were quite similar to what he was already familiar with. The elbow and knee attacks were ones he knew quite well. The difference came in the strikes he used with his fists. Wraith asked him, “why haven't we been practicing different punches?”
Calder laughed and said, “with our style of fighting, punches aren't as effective, in-fact they may even harm us when we use them.”
This confused Wraith, since punches were considered to be one of the basic forms of attack. They were fast, powerful, and easy to use. Calder continued talking, “if you're really curious, then look at this.” Calder lifted his hand before Wraith's face and shouted out a skill. “Claws of the Beast, release.” Immediately, the tips of his fingers were transformed into large, two-inch long claws.
“As you can see, making a fist would be quite painful. It's why we tend to stick to striking with the palm or the blade of the palm. The claws are something you'll learn to use afterwards.”
Wraith was surprised at the sight of the claws, realizing that he'll have to train hard to use them properly without breaking his fingers.
After a few hours of training with Calder, he had already absorbed many techniques. After the training, he spent time with the Queen, who taught him about the history of his new-found people, as well as the abilities he will soon receive, courtesy of his new race.
She taught him magic as well. He couldn't put it into practice, since he didn't have the skill as of yet, but he did learn the theory behind it.
“Although I did say we can wield magic, you need to know the limitations of that ability. My class gives me the ability to cast several spells, but they are somewhat limited. What we can do is manipulate the elements. This gives us a wider range of abilities, but that versatility makes us sacrifice power instead.”
“I may be able to cast fire against the enemy, but an elven or human mage can just as easily cast a fireball with twice the power of mine. Since you'll go down the path of the warrior, much of this won't apply to you, but you will have the ability to enhance your normal attacks.”
For the next eight days, his life followed the same routine. He would wake up, study for a bit with the Queen, have increasingly longer and more strenuous training with Calder, and then study some more with the Queen. Besides eating and sleeping, he had no time at all to spare.
As he grew bigger, he was able to have full matches with Calder. Since Calder was so much stronger and faster than him, he could easily kill him with one well-placed strike. For this reason, Calder mainly just defended against Wraith's attacks. Instead of a fight determined by speed and power, it was one of technique, meant to make his strikes cleaner and more precise.
On the eighteenth day, he woke up and went to go study with the Queen. This time, she taught him a ritual instead.
“Now, since it's your last day, you'll be choosing your class. Unlike other races, our class is chosen a bit differently. We call it the divine revelation. When we come of age, we meditate for hours, until we speak to Loki, our father. From his wisdom, we receive a suitable class.”
Calder came in at this moment. “Don't worry, I have no doubt you'll become a warrior like me, you've got the aptitude for it.”
The Queen continued, “like he said, it's based on your desires, though there is an element of personal choice involved as well. However, my suggestion is to go with what's suggested.”
“Since you have to do the ritual, we won't be training today. Tomorrow we can start a more formal sort of training. Just ask Fenella where to go.”
“Fenella?” Wraith asked confusedly.
Calder laughed, “that's the name of your mother. Since you can't call her highness or your majesty anymore, you should get used to it.”
Wraith blushed, embarrassed at not knowing this.
“Calder, he won't be calling me Fenella,” she said scowling at him. “What kind of son calls his mother by her first name? No, you can call me mother instead.”
“Can we please hold off on deciding that till after the ritual?” Wraith asked weakly.
The Queen acquiesced to this, and started teaching him what to do and say. Calder had left at this point, promising to teach him properly tomorrow. Although it took several hours, he had grasped the essentials of the ritual. Since the ritual needed to be done at night he practiced the ritual, over and over again.
When the time came for the actual ritual, the Queen, or Fenella, brought him a robe and a knife. “Well, that's all I can give you, the rest is up to you. Good luck son, make me proud.”
After a quick hug, he went alone into the main temple. He stood before the altar, like he did eighteen days ago. He knelt before the same circle that was once filled with his own blood, now clean and pristine. Inside the circle, he drew the symbols he had memorized earlier.
He may not have known what the symbols meant exactly, but he managed to write them out as he was taught. For this particular ritual, he had to cut his finger and write the symbols out in his own blood. Fortunately that was the only injury he had to inflict on himself, incomparable to being stabbed in the chest.
He sat in the middle of the circle, crossed his legs, and closed his eyes. Then he chanted,
“Almighty father, your loving child stands before you
Awaiting to be graced with your wisdom
Eager to be shown the path I must tread
I ask that you bestow upon me your power”
After he finished chanting, he closed his eyes and breathed deeply, waiting for the ritual to show its effects. Just then, he saw a faint light through his closed eyelids. When he opened them, he saw that the entire room had darkened, the only source of light was a swirling mass of orbs, that came together and formed a figure. He soon saw that it was in the shape of a man.
He was chained up, with the chains running across his body, shackling his arms and legs. The only part of him that didn't form properly was his face, still a hazy mass of light covering his features.
A voice boomed around him, “So, you are the one that called me.” Though the voice was deep and powerful, it didn't induce any fear in Wraith.
“Um,” Wraith stopped because he didn't know how to address him.
As though he sensed this, the god told him, “call me Loki. After all it is my name.” Though he was chained up, he still had a sense of humor.
“Loki, I have called for you so that you may guide me along the proper path.”
For a while Loki didn't say anything, but Wraith got the distinct impression that he was observing him, analyzing his traits and judging his abilities.
“You are a special one among my people, due to the circumstances of your birth. Inside you lies something long since forgotten. A predator's instinct. You come from a race that has culled itself of this innate knowledge. Unlike others of your kind, you are a hunter, and a killer. You are no mere warrior, in you lies the potential for so much more. But first I must ask you, what do you seek out strength for? Glory or survival?”
“I want to become strong enough to sweep away my enemies and crush them where they stand. At that point, them knowing or not knowing my name becomes irrelevant.”
Loki chuckled, “good answer. The path you take will be one that sets you apart from those you called your people. Even though everyone will turn on you with fear and hate, will you still choose such a path?”
Wraith paused a minute before answering. “If that's the price I must pay, then so be it.”
“There are several classes I can give you that you would be suitable for you. They are ones that can give safety and stability, that can guarantee a certain level of strength. Or, should you be more bold, there is one other class you can choose. It can make you stronger than any other, but only if you unlock its many secrets. You may end up as the strongest being to roam this world, or you may remain with only a fraction of your potential strength as part of the crowd. In the end, it all depends on you.”
Should I take the sure thing like a warrior's class or take the gamble? Since everything up to this point has been a gamble, might as well continue. “I'll take a chance and gamble on myself.”
“Very well. You will be the first one to receive this class in over a thousand years. Since you are currently the only one with this class, there will be no aid or guidance for you. Will you still choose it, not knowing what it may entail?”
Hidden Class!If you accept it, you can use exclusive skills related to the nature of the class. Do you want to convert now?
“Yes, that's my decision.”
Right then he was surrounded by light, although he couldn't feel any changes to his body. Loki then spoke to him one last time. “By the next rising of the sun, the changes will have taken place. It is my fondest desire to see what will follow in your wake. The road may be hard and unforgiving, but no matter what you must keep walking. To help you with that, I will give you an additional gift.” Once again his avatar was surrounded by light. “Do well my son.”
With his final words still lingering in the air, his body broke apart and the darkness was lifted. He made his way to his room and collapsed on the bed, exhausted by the ritual. “Stat window,” he called out.
[tr][td100]Stats and skills being tabulated, changes will occur in 9:13:03.
Status WindowNameWraithAlignmentNeutralLevel0Class-TitleNoneReputation0Health50Mana30Strength0.25Agility0.25Stamina1Wisdom1Intellect1Luck0Leadership0Attack0Defence0Magic ResistanceFire0%Water0%Earth0%Black Magic0%
As Loki said , he couldn't see the changes just yet, but tomorrow he'll see what his decision and the past eighteen days brought him. He dozed off with those expectations in mind, eager to find out what lay in store for him.
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