When I woke up the next day, I saw that the noise trap I built had been ripped completely to shreds. There we’re a few strange tracks around the base that I didn’t necessarily recognize as being from an animal I was familiar with either. It bothered me that I somehow hadn’t heard a thing last night despite the sorry state of the trap. I can’t believe I slept through so much noise… I knew I was exhausted, but boy I must have been really out of it.
I cleaned up the trap and collected my tools, placing them back into my inventory for later. After I finished, I quickly did inventory to make sure I had everything. Wait a minute… my pick-axe, Rock-bane, is missing. I quickly checked the camp grounds again but the tool had somehow vanished. That’s odd…where could the pick-axe have gone?
Perplexed, I decided that I had other more immediate problems to worry about, like breakfast. I hustled over to the river and grabbed another few Garpin, then threw them on the fire once I had it going strong again. With breakfast now going, I decided to try some more of my magic with the time I had. I walked over to a nearby tree and carved an ‘X’ into the trunk as a practice target using Ol’ Reliable. I then made sure I was about fifteen feet away from the target before I tried casting anything. “Earth Magic: Mud Shot!” A ball of mud magically flew out of my hand and struck the tree with a resounding thud.
The results were pretty pathetic, but using the spell was surprisingly more fun than I had anticipated. Over the next ten minutes, I pelted the tree with Mud Shot as frequently as I could until I noticed that I had almost accidentally ran out of mana. A bird flew above me while I practiced, and I began to wonder if I would be able to hit a moving target with the spell. You know what, let’s see if I can do this.
I stood still and waited patiently for the bird to pass by overhead once more. Eventually, the bird circled back around and took a line that seemed like it went directly over top of me.
“Earth Magic: Mud Shot!” The ball of dirt flew from my hand into the air like a rocket, but I had definitely missed my target. I watched as the mud zoomed a few feet past the bird until it eventually ran out of momentum. The mud slowly stopped and the laws of gravity kicked in, making the ball of mud come tumbling back down towards the ground just as fast as it had ascended. Realizing my error, I tried to get out of the way, but the clump of wet ground seemed to track me through the air like a heat-seeking missile. The mud ball slammed down into my head and covered me from head to toe in wet dirt, knocking me to the ground half-unconscious.
Did that actually just happen? Well, that was f*cking stupid. Shit, look at the mess I made… my clothes and hair are a complete mess. I guess I’m jumping in the river after this...
Looking at my leftover mana, I did some mental math quickly and discovered that I only had enough left for one more additional cast of mud shot. Perfect. There’s one last thing I need to test out. For my last experiment, I walked much further away from my tree target until I was about fifty feet from the trunk. “Earth Magic: Mud Shot!” The ball flew towards the target, but suddenly fell to the ground with about ten feet still left to go. So the casting range for this spell is roughly about forty feet, huh? I’ll have to remember that.
As I ate my breakfast, I opened my terminal to see if anything changed.
Your Skill(s) Have Leveled Up!
Cooking: LVL 2
Crafting: LVL 2
Earth Magic: LVL 2
Mud Shot: LVL 2
Naming: LVL 2
Outdoor Survival: LVL 2
Nice! It seems like using these skill ten times each made their levels improve by one… I dismissed the information prompt and another immediately popped up in its place right after.
New Skill(s) Acquired!
Earth Golem: LVL 1
Mineral Radar: LVL 1
Additional Cooking and Crafting Recipe(s) Unlocked!
Hmm… How did I get these? I mean, I’ll take whatever help I can get, obviously. For now, I’m just going to have to assume that I’ll keep unlocking new abilities as I level up my skills. Still, it won’t be too useful if I can’t level up my class. More than half of my abilities are completely unfeasible with the amount of mana I can store. As an example, Earth Golem costs 1000 mana, but I only have 500 mana total. So I guess I’m putting that spell away for a while.
I wanted to jot down all my thoughts in case they we’re important later, so I whipped up the Journal App and took a few minutes to record them. While I was there, I noticed a sub-heading entitled ‘Back Story” so I read over it quickly. It was something I needed to memorize or risk seeing the repercussions of ruining the narrative that The House had spoken of. Just like he had told me, I was apparently the child of some famous adventurers who lived on the North Continent until a powerful demon lord attacked our little home in the middle of nowhere, leaving me with this scar on my face. Not wanting to have me caught up in the battle any further, my mother (who was a spatial mage) teleported me as far away as possible from the fight while my parents tried to engage the monster in battle, which was how I was supposed to have arrived where I was currently. I finished the passage and closed the terminal.
I need to force myself to remember the proper names and important details in case they come up later. Judging from ominous tones of whoever wrote my backstory, it didn’t seem like my parents made it out of that fight with the demon lord. I somehow finished eating while my mind was occupied by the story I read and the feelings of dread that accompanied it. Noticing the time, I mentally tried to shake it off then went out to the forest to cut down some more trees and gathered what resources I could. I ended my morning by taking a small rest in the shelter in an effort to restore some of my missing mana. When I get up, I need to make a bow or some other way to hunt ASAP. I’m getting pretty f*cking sick of having fish for every meal.
¤ ¤ ¤
A few hours later, a sudden splash interrupted my work. Startled, I looked over in the direction of the river and nearly jumped out of my skin. A very large bird with brown and black feathers was sitting on a perch of a tree by the fishing pond I built, just happily going to town on the trapped fish within the enclosure. Judging from the bird’s speed gathering the fish, if I didn’t do something about it quickly my food supply was in major danger of being completely wiped out. Horrified by the prospect of that outcome, I carefully crept up to the edge of the water, careful not to alert the creature too soon before I was ready. Once I finally got in range and saw the bird turn away once more, I cast appraisal on it.
Name: (Blank) LVL: 3 Sex: Male
Race: Targe Mountain Falcon
STR: 2.5 AGI: 3 INT: 2
CON: 2 DEX: 1 CHR: 1
LUK: 1 WIS: 1
Health: 250 HP Mana: 200 MP
Stamina: 30 SP
{Birds-Eye: LVL 1} {Dive: LVL 1} {Flight: LVL 1} {Glide: LVL 1} {Predator Vision: LVL 1} {Talon Strike: LVL 1}
Are you kidding me?! If that’s a falcon, I’m a monkey’s uncle! That thing’s bigger than an American bald eagle! As I was looking at the stats displayed on my screen, I failed to notice that the falcon had shifted its attention towards something else. Any guesses as to what folks? No? Well in case you haven’t figured it out yet, that something else was me.
“CAWWW!” The falcon dove and just missed me with its talons before turning back around to return to its perch. “CAWWW!” The falcon screeched at me once more but didn’t attack again, instead watching me extremely carefully for any signs of movement. I instinctively swallowed, and bravely took another small step forward. “CAWWW!” The falcon was clearly pissed with my attempted approach and the bird suddenly stretched its wings, showing off a wingspan of about four feet. The falcon flew towards me once more as fast as it could. As the bird got closer, I tried to prepare myself mentally. It took every nerve I had to not panic and hightail it out of there, but I somehow held my ground until the very last moment possible.
When that moment came, I dove into the tall grass without hesitation, the falcon’s talons missing the top of my head by a space no larger than a few inches. Seeing the talons up close, I couldn’t help but notice how sharp and long they were. Whoa, those look like small knives…if they hit me, I definitely won’t be walking away from this unscathed. Something tells me I don’t want to know how much damage an attack from the falcon can do. The bird circled me in the air for a few minutes until it was sure it was currently out of danger, then descended back to the pond enclosure to keep eating, making me wonder if the creature even perceived me as a threat in the first place or was just trying to chase me off. It doesn’t seem that wild of an animal, I wonder if I can tame it. He must be hungry. Maybe I can get the falcon to approach me with some bait? I quietly snuck off to gather what I needed.
I approached the falcon again, but this time I let it know I was coming as casually as possible. Once I saw the bird was watching me intently again and carefully scrutinizing my movements, I slowly pulled out the leftover fish I had in my pocket. The smell of the burnt fish wafted through the air and the falcon’s entire focus suddenly snapped in my direction. I stood there trying not to flinch as the bird eyed the fish and myself carefully, de wanted to do. Our little standoff continued for a few minutes. Just when I was about to give up, the falcon took a small step forward. Then another. And another. The falcon slowly sauntered up to the cooked fish and gave me one more anxiety-filled look. It must have decided that everything was fine, because the falcon carefully pecked at the fish before grabbing the entire Garpin with its mouth and taking off back to its little perch on the same tree nearby. It happily chirped away while it consumed the fish, completely focused on its new meal. The falcon finished off the fish rather quickly, then flew back to a rock a few feet away from me. I slowly pulled out my last fish and knelt down with my hand out, waiting for my chance. “Taming Magic: Tame Creature!” Whoa! A golden light had suddenly enveloped the falcon who had just finally approached me again. Did it work? Well, there’s only one way to find out… I opened my terminal and was greeted by the prompt I was hoping to see.
New Pet Acquired!
Targe Mountain Falcon
Lvl. 3
It looks like I can use the falcon’s bird eye and predator vision skill to scout targets from the sky. Just for fun, I commanded the bird to fly and tried out Predator Vision. The sight of the falcon overlapped my own, causing a strange sensation that made my head fuzzy. The falcon looked towards the forest and I could make out different clumps of red light moving through the trees. Wait…is this like thermal vision? That would mean these clumps of moving light are giant wild animals right? Woah, One of the clumps down in that valley is twice the size of any of the others… I should probably keep an eye on it, just to be safe. Satisfied that things had gone as planned and the bird would come in handy, I named the falcon before returning to the hut to finish the rest of the tasks I devised for myself that day.
¤ ¤ ¤
Meanwhile, a group of people sat in a room filled with crystal monitors, watching the proceedings of the first few days of the competition across the continent from a meeting hall hidden deep within the heart of the Kiachi Jungle.
“Do you really think this will work? The candidates selected for this divine intervention trouble me, to say the least.” A bald old man with a massive beard dressed in the robes of a monk casually said during a lull in the footage they all had just finished watching.
“Plip-plip-plip-plipplip-plip.” A man in the back said rather sadly. Or rather; he would have, if he wasn't a giant gold-fish that swam back in forth in a glass fishbowl attached to a body made of plastic, so all anyone actually heard was the sound of bubbles being blown underwater instead.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
“Leave it to the god of bitter loneliness to point that out but yes, I was just thinking the same thing.” The muscular man sarcastically replied.
“PliPlip-plip!”
“Oh, hit a sore spot there did I?”
“Plip-plip-plipplipplop-plipplip!!!”
“I’d like to see you try scale-head.”
“C’mon, Gill. You know he’s just trying to make you agitated, right? Don’t let him push your buttons, Okay?” A green-haired pixie with a bob cut in to the conversation.
“That’s rich, especially coming from the most agitating person in the room.” The old man muttered sarcastically.
“Why’d you always got to be such a wise-guy Aedalwin? Does being the world’s largest kill-joy bring you immense pleasure or something? It's not like your monks would know a thing or two about fun.” The pixie shot back without any hesitation.
“Plip-pli-plip!” The fish-person added rather emotionally as he shook his finger at the old man to show he agreed with the pixie.
“Thank you, Gill.” The pixie said with a small smile and a smoldering look as she rested her tiny hand on the arm of the fishbowl person. The glass from his aquarium head suddenly starting to fog over with a rosy tint as he turned to look away from her. The romantic tension was making things awkward, so another one of the gods cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention once more.
“I hate to interrupt you lovebirds, but shall I remind everyone why we’ve assembled here? We need to determine what we are going to do about our different problems, and quickly.”
“You’re just jealous.”
“Please. We have serious issues that we’re facing that need discussion, like this contestant problem the arbitrator dropped on us. Even I don’t understand why that ass of a mediator decided to leave us with a bunch of weak-minded simpletons and arrogant blowhards, but unfortunately, we’re stuck with them.”
“There not all that bad, are they?”
“Some of them seem useful, seem being the key word here.”
“Still even with a few good eggs, the people he picked aren’t exactly the kind we desired when we initially accepted his proposal for aide.” A boy in his mid-teens with mirrored spectacles responded rather dismissively. He made a point of emphasizing his statement by pushing up his glasses rather arrogantly while he spoke.
“Callous is correct, I’m worried as well. In all seriousness, these reincarnated are more likely to get us all killed then save Azealia from biting the proverbial bullet.” A plump man with spiky blonde hair who was so large his suspenders could barely contain his girth added to the conversation as he stroked his mustache in reflection.
“This is very troubling. What do you think, Delios?”
“…….” The man in the back who was wearing a fedora and an onyx black duster muttered something under his breath but didn't add anything more.
“Yikes, that bad eh? Thing’s just ain’t looking good for us, folks. It might be time to get our final affairs in order.” The pixie added with a rather depressing chuckle.
“What?! So you all are just giving up then?” A muscular man with an army crew-cut angrily shouted back at the fairy.
“Are you an idiot? Can’t you see that the board’s been completely stacked against us Harga?”
“Why does that matter? Maybe, you’re just a giant chicken? It would make sense, with those little wings of yours.”
“Don’t you go talking about my wings, asshole!”
“Would you two stop acting like spoiled children?”
“He started it.”
“Oh my god, shut up! Harga, can you not see the writing on the wall? It’s too late for us to try something now.”
“Plip-Plip-plop?”
“Right-o, Gill. We’re the last group to make their move and haven’t been adequately prepared from the beginning. Anyone can see that our actions will be forced responses based on the already determined decisions of our enemies. The worst part about this is none of us have the divine energy required to stop this from happening, and that’s including my calculations for combining the divine energy stockpiles we all have left. Unfortunately, we just can’t avoid the inevitable anymore.”
“So?”
“Are you stupid? What I’m saying is: its game over. Azealia’s fucked. S-O-L, Shit outta luck. Food for the crows. There goes the neighbourhood. Et cetera, Et cetera. Do you get it now? Or is this too big a concept for you to grasp, muscle-head?”
“That’s it! I guess you really want to die today, don’t you pipsqueak?!!” Harga rose out of his seat as fast as lightning, causing the wooden throne he had been on to tumble backwards and slam against the marble floor as he made his way over to the pixie.
“Plip-plip!” The fish-person defiantly snapped back as he stood up and got in the muscular man’s way. The two gods stood nose to…fishbowl growling at each other until the pixie flew her tiny body in between them to break up the fight.
“Enough. You’ve both made your points.” Aedalwin cut in before things got violent, letting his dangerous aura leak out slightly for the rest of them to feel. They all knew it wasn’t a smart idea to pick a fight with him. Reluctantly, the three gods who had been bickering returned to their spots, but not without a few last barbs.
“Let me spell out for the dummies present the point so we can move on.”
“Careful Syvelle, or I’ll crush you like the little bug you are.”
“Oh, I’m so scared. What’s the point in you working out all the time if you’re just going to neglect your brain muscles, dummy? You might be lacking in intelligence, but you should be intuitive enough to recognize what we’re trying to tell you. It’s too late. Besides, based on the way things have gone so far for us and what we’re eventually going to be planning, killing me might as well be a mercy and isn’t much of a threat at all. Seriously, you might as well put me out of my misery. Go ahead. I’m waiting.”
Harga looked like he was going to take the pixie up on her offer for a moment, but decided against it when he Aedalwin shifted his gaze upon him with a scowl. He scoffed at the fish-person and returned to his seat with his own scowl on his face, righting the chair before he slammed his heavy body down into it once more.
“That’s what I thought. Now sit there and behave yourself like a good boy. The adults are talking.”
“Plip-plip-plop!” Gill added before he started laughing with his whole body, or tried to, but all he actually managed was to create a large stream of bubbles that shot out of his mouth while he mimed out laughing hysterically.
“Quit antagonizing him, or I just might let him squish you.”
“Fine, I’ll watch my tongue. And by the way Gill; did I ask you for help? I can stand up for myself, thank you very much.”
“Plip-pli-plip!”
“I get that, and I know you meant well.”
“Plip-Plip...”
“Right. Now what I was trying to say before I was so rudely interrupted was this; what’s the point in any of us risking our lives when we get stuck with players who can’t tell their asses from their elbows? It’s not like we’ll be able to drastically help or change any of them. You can polish a turd and make it shine like a diamond, but in the end, it’s still just a turd.”
“That’s probably why The Collector picked them specifically. If we can’t find a worthy candidate, we’d be much more likely to not try and interfere with his plans at all, right?”
“…..”
“Quit being cowards damn it!! Are we supposed to just roll over and watch while our world is completely ripped apart by a madman?! We have to do something!!!” The muscleman yelled angrily as he slammed his fist down on the table.
“Don’t jump to conclusions, Harga. She never said we’re just going to sit back and watch, but you need to consider what you’re asking all of us to do for a moment. You might be willing to gamble with what little divine energy you’ve got left, but frankly, we’re not. Even if I was on board, I honestly can’t say that this plan will lead to the best outcome for any of us anyway.” The old man said with a painful sigh.
“Plip-plip-plop-plipplip?”
“And? I obviously understand that there’s a reason we’re in this position, but there’s only one way we can still get involved after we relinquished control of the situation to The Collector. This is the only way we’ll be able to effect the final outcome and save our home ourselves. Seriously, what’s there to even discuss? I can’t believe you’re all such wimps!!!” Harga shouted at the rest of the group.
“Even if that was true, there’s no evidence to suggest that you’re correct or that this will work Harga. Do you forget what happened to the gods of Gilead? Remember, they also tried to pull a fast one on The Collector. We’ve seen what he’s willing to do to anyone who tries to interfere with his process.” Callous rebuked.
“What’s that stupid expression he always says? The show must go on, right?”
“That bastard. The destruction of millions of innocent lives is just a game to him.” The old man responded.
“That still doesn’t change the fact that we only have one move to make!” Harga grunted, but sat back down finally once he read the rest of the room.
“Besides; even if we do decide to actually go through with this, we still haven’t decided which one of these lousy players we’re going to give our support.” The teenage boy spat out with a grimace.
“Callous makes a good point. I can’t seem to pick a firm winner out of the bunch for us to throw our hats behind either.” Said Aedalwin in agreement as he scratched his head while they all proceeded to look over the list once again.
“Not to mention, this last idiot. What was his name again? Sake or some shit right? (No pun intended).”
“What a drama queen.” Harga added.
And that’s coming from our resident drama king!” Aedalwin said with a laugh.
“I’ll admit that watching him hit himself with the mud-shot spell was pretty hilarious. What did he think was going to happen anyway? He clearly doesn’t think things out with logic.” Callous said with a smile.
“I’ve been meaning to ask you about that. That was you, am I right Syvelle?”
“Maybe… I kinda thought it be funny.”
“Well it made me laugh, that’s for sure!”
“Plip-plip-plip-pliplip!”
“Ha-ha-ha-ha, totally. That kid’s got to be the worst idiot we’ve seen jump between worlds in a while, right? I mean what an absolute clown. Did you see him fall flat on his butt? That was hilarious. Still; when I saw that fish pond he built, I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. Unfortunately, he’s a dummy just like the rest of them.”
“…..”
“Exactly…and his class restrictions are some of the worst I’ve ever seen. He can’t even level up like a normal person for crying out loud! He’s definitely going to die an excruciatingly painful death. I honestly can’t wait to see it.” The plump man said with a wicked smile.
“Well, good entertainment is pretty hard to find these days…”
“Next time I’ll bring some popcorn.” Callous said and the whole room laughed.
“All jokes aside, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was the first to die. Seriously, we might want to put a bet down before it’s too late.” The muscleman added.
“Safest bet you could make.” Aedalwin muttered and everyone nodded. As the laughter from the group slowly subsided, the last woman in the room who hadn’t spoken yet started laughing even harder for some reason. The woman was absolutely stunning. Her long blonde hair went down to her waist and matched her crisp white tunic that emphasized her curves in quite the alluring way. Her laughter was strikingly sweet, but caused the general atmosphere of the entire room to change and seemed to strike a nerve with everyone present.
“You’ve been pretty quiet this entire time, Aliyah?” The old man said as he scrunched his face in anger at her.
“True, you’re even quieter than Delios for some reason. That’s not like you at all.” Callous snidely remarked.
“Yeah, Aedalwin and Callous are right! What are you hiding from us, Blondie?” The pixie flew up to Aliyah and pretended to tap her foot in mid-air with her hands on her hips to emphasize her point.
“My, my Aliyah…are you not taking this seriously? Considering the fact that you were the one who called this meeting, maybe you should explain what you think is so funny to the rest of the group before I have my dear Harga here snap you like a twig?” The large man added with a look filled with murderous intent. Harga awkwardly shifted in his seat but didn’t dispute the portly man’s threat.
“Nothing really Festus, well, it’s probably nothing. I just found your conversation to be quite amusing, considering the circumstances.”
“Explain what you mean or I’ll snap you like a twig, seductress.”
“Well for starters, that Sake boy that you all seem so hard on is the candidate I’ve decided to select.”
“What?!” The rest of the gods screamed simultaneously.
“Are you crazy Aliyah? That kid couldn’t find his way outta a shoe box.”
“Plip-plip-plippliplip-plip!!!”
“You’ve gone mad! I will not leverage our entire future on an imbecile!”
“You all realize who you’re talking too, correct? Have I ever steered any of you wrong before? Well?” Aliyah calmly responded.
“Cut the crap, Aliyah. You forget that the two of us have known each other for the longest out of anybody here. You obviously wouldn’t have picked the child unless you we’re sure about something the rest of us aren’t aware of, correct? You’re not the type to do anything impulsively, even though you do have a tendency to waste everyone’s time with your frivolous bullshit.” The old man snarled.
“Oh my! I didn’t realize. Is that really how you all feel?” Aliyah coyly covered her mouth as she responded, making the old man even more pissed off but she moved on before he could respond. “Fine, but first I need Callous to help me with one of the issue’s you just mentioned. Can you use your powers to direct some patrons towards the boy?”
“Why? The last time I did use my powers you all yelled and screamed at me.”
“That’s because you’ve previously acted on your own again and again without the permission of any of us. This time I’m asking you. Pretty please? For me?” Aliyah playfully begged Callous as she sensually pressed her chest into his back, which caused the young man’s face to turn a bright shade of vermilion.
“Uh…w-well,” Callous stammered.
“Quit f*cking with him, Aliyah. As a young god, Callous isn’t use to your manipulative schemes and tactics. Using your ‘feminine charms’ to get your way with him is rather distasteful to the rest of us who are more accustomed to your particular brand of bad behaviour.”
“Even if I wanted to anyway, the kid’s useless. Also, you must be aware that using my powers will wipe me out for some time, correct? What if they decide to come after us while I’m recharging? Harga, Regis, Xanadu and I make up the entirety of our front-line. It’s too dangerous for me to be out of energy right now.” Callous stated as he crossed his arms.
“Speaking of Regis, where the f*ck is he?”
“Xanadu and Clef are missing as well.”
“Don’t forget Artemia and Yukki either.”
“Don’t worry about them, they’re looking into something for me. Well, minus Artemia and Yukki. I actually have no idea where they are currently.”
“That’s not surprising…” Festus said with a soft little chuckle.
“Probably on some stupid hunt or something again… I told them to be here for this meeting, those damned idiots.” Aedalwin muttered.
“Of course they are. Fine. I’ll use my power on the boy for you, but I expect you to explain why first.” Callous said to Aliyah, drawing everyone’s attention back to her as they waited for a response.
“Yes Aliyah, why don’t we quit beating around the bush and get to the good part, hmm?” Festus said while dramatically rolling his eyes.
“Yeah, just tell us already. This meeting has gone on long enough and talking to each of you is exhausting. No wonder we don’t get together as frequently as we used to anymore.”
“Well my friends,” Aliyah said with a rather wicked smile. “A little birdie told me a very special secret the other day and you’ll never believe it… the child you all seem to dislike so much happens to be the child from a particular little prophecy we’re all aware of.” Aliyah’s playful tone disappeared and was replaced by a more ominous one in a flash. “You know which one I’m talking about, right?
THUD!!! CRACK!!!
Aedalwin had slammed his fist down with such fury his hand went straight through the stone dais they had all been sitting around. He eventually regathered himself, but still shook with a visible anger that was hard for the others to ignore.
“Um, Aedalwin? You’re letting your aura leak out again.”
“Shit, sorry.” Aedalwin’s aura returned back within him and the pressure in the air subsided enough that the others could slowly breathe again. “Aliyah, you can’t mean the prophecy I think you do…”
“Unfortunately Aedalwin, you seem to already know I do. I’m talking of course, about the one foretold in the Ancient Glypherian text that we’ve been so afraid of for the past millennia. That boy, without a doubt, is definitely the King of Kings.”
¤ ¤ ¤