The message goes black once again, before reappearing. This time, Solace seems to have grown considerably, appearing to be around the age of fifteen or sixteen.
I watch as he trains silently, alone in the woods, much like I used to do.
While practicing, a familiar but changed voice shouts out.
“Solace! Solace where are you!”
“Right here mother.” Solace says stoically.
A slightly older version of Solace’s mother trots through the brush.
“Solace, please stop this nonsense! We haven’t seen you in weeks! Your father and I miss you, not to mention your little brothers.”
“I’m busy…”
“When are you going to let it go Solace! Please! There’s nothing we can do to bring her back Solace! All we can do is move on! When are you going to stop this nonsense and be a part of out family again!” His mother shouts with tears filling her eyes.
“So what?! I should just forget she ever existed! Just act like the people here didn’t murder her!”
“No Solace! No. We should cherish what we have now, together! You have a beautiful family waiting for at home! Getting stronger won’t bring her back Solace!”
“But it’ll stop me from losing any more of you! I’m doing this for you, Mom! For Dad! For my two baby brothers!”
She bites her lip, and turns around, running away as a trail of tear follow in her wake.
Solace stand there and grips his sword tight, before swinging it at a nearby butterfly, slicing it half.
“I’ll get strong enough that no man, machine, or beast shall dare take what’s dear to me!”
The message then cuts multiple times to Solace adventuring throughout his planet and gaining his strength. Going in dungeons, killing bandits, he even manages to assassinate a king. Years pass as Solace continues his quest for strength.
Finally at the peak of the first realm, tier 9, he travels back to his small, isolated village for his revenge against its people.
When he finally reaches it, there’s nothing but rubble where the village once was. The once large and towering gates are far gone.
I watch as he shakily runs through the ruins, searching for any sign of life in the small village. Finally he reaches the familiar small house he use to know, but it is now destroyed and crumbling.
He tears through the rubble gently, searching for anything, something to tell him his family is still out there.
After a few minutes of searching, he finds the very thing he dreaded to see, four skeletons huddled up together in their last moments.
Solace screams out in disbelief, falling to the ground, covering his face with his hands.
Then he screams out again, but this time in anger, and brings his sword to bear against anything in his sight. Trees, rocks, plants, animals, nothing is safe from the devastation he brings in his wake.
I watch on as the man I’d come to know as relaxed and unserious, demolishes miles and miles of forest in his rage.
His rampage continues, until finally, he stops and falls to the ground once more.
“What has this all been for?! WHAT THE FUCK WAS THE POINT!” He shouts out bitterly.
Everything goes black and instead of cutting to another part of Solace’s life, I wake up, back in the real world.
My eyes are wide in shock at what I had just witnessed.
‘Was… was that really Solace?’ I think to myself while comparing the person I had just saw with the person I had spent ninety-nine hours with.
‘I guess Solace showed me that at a cautionary tale of sort, of what happens when you get blinded by the pursuit of power or revenge…’
I allow my thoughts to stir for a few more minutes, until my contemplation gets interrupted by a firm hand on my back.
“Rowan my boy! How was it? Useful I hope?”
I turn and see the familiar man smiling widely.
I nod in response.
This causes him to tilt his head in confusion.
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
“You okay kid? You look… I don’t know, shaken up? What happened in there?”
“Well, a lot of things, but I just got a glimpse at the creator of my class’s past, and it was… interesting to say the least. I’m fine though really.”
“If you say so kid…” He says skeptically as he turns and walks towards Gael.
‘Alright I can think about that later, I’ve got things to do and notifications to go through!’ I think excitedly.
I go through the first couple of notifications.
‘Those must be from the first exercise Solace had me doing. Five mastery level in less than one real time hour is absurd though, and that was only the first thing I did!’
‘Well, I got the mastery Solace wanted me to get, but I’m still not exactly sure what this does for me. I mean sure I know my sword’s weight and dimensions better, but there’s got to be something more that he’s leading me towards…’
‘Woah! What the hell? This is a crazy upgrade! Add a new attribute or upgrade my race? That’s only something people get as some sort of special reward for doing some amazing, or as a trial planet reward! This is incredible!’
As I revel in my amazing new feat, I come to a daunting realization.
‘Oh no, that’s means I have to make another hard choice! Damnit why can’t it just give me one thing! There’s always so many options!’ I bemoan to myself.
‘Whatever, let’s look through the rest of my notifications first. That’s a future me type of problem.’
‘Holy shit! This one is great too! Although I’m not exactly sure what constitutes as ‘perfect concentration’. I’ll have to find a way to practice my concentration somehow…’
I decide to look at my upgraded status.
Name
Rowan Attain
Level
10
Class
Legacy: Skill-less Swordsman
Race
Human/Janin
Attributes
Strength – 18 (+2)
Agility – 32 (+2)(+3)
Dexterity(+) – 48 (+2)(+2)(+4)
Endurance – 11 (+2)
Perception – 30 (+2)
Intelligence – 22 (+2)
Willpower – 43 (+2)
Masteries
Swords – 21
Temperance – 17
Stealth – 12
Sprinting – 9
Exercise – 7
Thievery – 3
Deception – 4
Killing – 4
Blending In – 1
Misdirection – 7
Monster Hunting – 10
Spirit Control – 5
Item Understanding - 3
Skills
Feats
Early Killer - Very slight increased progression towards your Killing Mastery.
Swords Prodigy - Slight increased progression towards your Swords Mastery. +1 to all Stats.
Temperance Prodigy - Slight increased progression towards your Temperance Mastery. +1 to all Stats.
Early Enlightenment - One trait can be chosen related to your core.
Reversal – One trait can be chosen related to your recent ambush.
Punching Up – +1 to all stats.
Starter’s Blade – +3 AP, +3 to dexterity.
Smart Spender – Save all of your SP until level 10. +1 to all stats.
Novice Spirit Controller – Very slight increased progression towards your Spirit Control mastery. Any cultivation abilities are slightly enhanced. +5 willpower and +5 intelligence.
Connected Mind – You may upgrade your race or add a new attribute to your status. +5 intelligence and + 5 perception.
Core
Sword – Your sword resonates with omnipresence.
Traits
Indomitable Swordsman - Receive a slight boost to perception when in a tough situation. Scales based on willpower.
Meager Swordsman - Increased progression towards your Swords Mastery while living humbly.
Sword of Silence - Harder for enemies to detect your sword coming. Very slight increased progression towards Stealth.
Dedication to the Sword – +2 to all stats when holding a sword, -2 to all stats when not. Increased progression towards Swords Mastery, decreased progression towards all other weapon and combat masteries.
Willful Gains – Permanently gain 5% of your willpower in any stat. Affect continues to scale with willpower. (+2 Dexterity)
Skill-less – All SP gained up to this point and onwards will be transferred into 2 AP each. Unable to acquire skills through any means. Bonus (2 * Tier) AP gained per level.
Sword of Will – Gain 10% of your willpower in any other stat. Can be changed once a year. (+4 Dexterity)
State of Concentration - When you achieve perfect concentration under stressful circumstances, increase your agility and perception by 1.5 times. Duration is based on willpower.
Items
Solace’s Soul Shard (Two uses left)
‘Hmm, I like what I see so far, but I still have one tough decision to make.’ I think while looking at my new Connected Mind feat.