“Why did my hand? What?”
“Just a magical manifestation.”
It didn’t seem like he was going to get a more detailed answer.
Jem looked up. He stood in an alcove, attached to a cylindrical room. More alcoves stood equidistant to each other, barring one exception where a large pair of fortified double doors stood. Above each alcove there was a large but simple engraved symbol. Jem had the hunch that if he were to look at the symbol above his alcove, it would be the flower he had seen on the floor of the office. Unless that’s the symbol for wherever we are?
On the ceiling, there was a large autumnal mural. Throughout he could see stylised versions of the alcove symbols.
“Welcome to the heart.”
Jem jumped at her voice. His eyes were glued to the ceiling and he hadn’t noticed the priest step up next to him. Which was quite the feat given that she was so much taller than him.
“It’s quite the sight isn’t it.”
Jem nodded.
“This room is magic. More so than just teleportation gates. A touch of paint, of the fae and of the divine. It shifts with the season and sometimes it shows small glimpses of the future. That's partially why I found you so quickly.”
“What do you mean?” Jem asked.
“We saw the signs of your dimensional mark. Look there,” The priest pointed to an impenetrable black spot. It was at the heart of each and every flower. “It was an opportunity we couldn’t afford to pass up. After all, Kol, and therefore the system, flocks to dimensional travel like a curious child to a pile of candies.”
Jem’s mind swirled with the information. He at least had a name for the black spot. A dimensional mark. But he had so many questions.
“So wha–”
“No time for questions now, come with me. You don’t want to pass up an opportunity like this and neither do we.”
The priest sped up further forcing Jem from his awkward half walk half jog into a proper run. “As for why I said partially. It’s because a child found you first. It was screaming about a hornless demon. I decided to stay by my scrying ritual until I was certain, but some of the villagers went out to check.”
Jem felt it was deeply unfair that she could keep walking, although at a quick pace, while he had to run. Having short legs was no fun. He decided not to talk. Maybe he had to do more cardio.
*Ding* You have unlocked the general skill Running (E) Lvl 0.
“I. Just. Unlocked. A skill.” Jem wheased out, between heavy breaths. I definitely need to do more cardio.
“Yes, the Kol’s still interested in you. Gaining skills is much easier for you right now, even people around you are going to have an easier time of it. One of my skills just levelled up. You’re going to want to take advantage of this situation as best you can.”
“How do I do that?”
"While the high priestess and the empress work on their ritual I'll help you with your options," she said. Then under her breath, she muttered. "And I am going to get so many skill levels."
Jem fought against a burgeoning sense of unease that was nestling itself into his chest. She was just going to help him get started. There was nothing wrong with that. Nothing was going to go wrong. It's going to be fine. She meant helpful skills, surely.
Jem and the priest walked into a large hall to find 4 people squaring off against each other. Jem couldn’t understand the words, but the ability to identify an argument transcends language barriers. The priest coughed loudly but none of them paid her any attention
A burning aura flared up around one of the four and this time the priest did more than cough. A fireball sailed over the group's heads. “If you keep squabbling you’ll waste this opportunity.” Jem wondered just who the priest was. Didn't she say something about an empress.
The four of them froze like children caught elbow-deep in the biscuit barrel just before teatime. Then their heads swivelled and 8 eyes locked onto Jem.
The man with the burning aura and the woman next to him stepped back. He was adorned in heavy robes and gold threads glimmered in the light of his own making. She wore a belt of knives at her waist one of which she idly palmed. The two said something in unison and walked towards Jem.
Of the other two, one drew out a stylus like the one the priest had used. Maybe that’s the priestess then. A constipated expression appeared on the other woman’s face and a needlessly ornate chest appeared on the ground beside her. Wow, teleportation magic. The first Jem had actually seen though not the first he’d experienced.
“What’s going on?” Said Jem.
The priest turned to look at him, a worried expression flitted across her face before the manic gleam appeared again.
“The first thing we’re going to do is unlock you a quest. Do you know any words in languages other than the one you’re speaking right now?
“A few?”
The priest made a go-on gesture with her hands.
““Shalom.”
“Yo.”
“Uhh, nǐ hǎo.” As Jem said it he knew he butchered the tones.
*Ding* You have gained the achievement pathetic polyglot. You’ve spoken multiple languages and you suck at all of them.
Reward: Help, maybe? Local quest issued. Let’s hope the neighbours are friendly.
*Ding* Local quest: Someone here just said hello in five languages, and not one of them is spoken here. Help them communicate with others. Time 45 minutes. Distance 0.00km. You will feel a slight tug towards the location until the quest is completed or the time elapses. Reward proportional to help given.
Apparently, Jem had said enough languages for the priest's plans. “Okay, it's done.”
“You must have spoken in some other languages before you got here?
“Um yep, so you said the quest was the first thing?”
“I’m going to talk to you about options, the emperor and Florence are going to join you for some training and the high priestess and the empress are going to cast Tongue and Tooth of Faith and Fae. It’s ritual magic, absurdly expensive to cast, and doubly rewarding in a situation like this. That quest of yours is going to push both of them past a few thresholds, it's truly absurd. Actually, they’d probably best start..”
The priest turned. ”Well hurry up, chop chop.”
The empress and the priestess clearly felt pressured for time as the priestess scrawled faster and the empress surged for the chest. unlatching it in one frantic motion. That or they didn’t want to get on the priest’s bad side. Which felt like it should make no sense?
“We’re not in as much of a rush, but we don’t know how much and for how long the Kol’s attention will be drawn to you.. A ritual like that will probably reel more of it in but if we want as much out of it as we can, and we do, we should start now. So what do you want to do?”
Jem spent a moment frozen like a deer in headlights. How the fuck am I supposed to know that?
“I don’t know?”
“Well, what skills do you have?”
Jem thought about university first. He was on his third year of studying chemistry and had been just about to suggest topics for his dissertation. He had the impression that in a world of magic, chemical reactions might be different, even if the scientific method had value. Maybe a researcher, a magic researcher. He thought it through and it did sound a little boring. Why study magic when you could cast it? Images of fireballs and tempests flooded his mind. He definitely wanted to use magic. That wasn’t exactly a skill he had though.
Skills. Skills. He liked playing music. Do violins even exist here? He had to admit he also liked tai chi. His mum always forced him to join her in her morning meditations, and it had grown on him like a limpet. When he went to university he'd joined a martial arts club and practiced tai chi there too. But how useful would it be in a world with magic? He wasn’t sure. He also liked dancing, and thought he was probably okay at it.
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“Some definitely. Can I do magic? That sounds the most fun. Also what’s the deal with monsters. You said the kid thought I was a demon?”
A hand landed on his shoulder and he felt a warm feeling flow into him. The hand left as quickly as it came, but the warm feeling remained. It must have been Florence, but he didn’t see her move.
The priest chuckled. “Ordinarily I wouldn’t be sure, but at level 0 you travelled through dimensions and then teleported. And now you’re about to undergo a ritual involving fae and divine magic. I’m certain you’ll have the option. Probably even for your starter class.”
One moment he was listening to the priest and the next a flame burned on his left arm. The emperor was grinning a manic gleam in his eyes. Searing pain froze Jem in place. He could smell roasting pork. Delirious from the sudden pain, far more painful than anything he had endured before a thought rose unbidden to his mind. That’s not pork.
He’d broken bones before. Rubbed his eyes after using capsaicin extract. Stubbed his toe. Those pains held no candle to the flame that was his burning arm. At the same time the warm glowing feeling pulsed through his burning flesh, renewing it before the flame scoured it away once more.
*Ding* You have unlocked the general skill Pain Reduction (E) Lvl 0
*Ding* You have unlocked the general skill Flame Retardant (passive)(C) Lvl 0
Jem heard a series of further chimes as his new skills quickly levelled up. The pain still existed and the fires still burned, but it was dampened somewhat. More like the hellfire of menthol gum and spicy food at the same time.
Jem ground out through gritted teeth. “Why didn’t you warn me this was going to happen?”
“It would have been a waste if you rejected it. You get skills, the emperor gets skills and I get skills for teaching you as we go. Now if you’re done moping lets talk about magic.”
She didn't answer my question about monsters. Does that mean they are real?
Jem heard another pinging noise and checked the notification.
*Ding* Flame Retardant (C) has reached Lvl 1
I’ll show you moping. But later. Moping is hard while on fire. Wait am I alright in the head right now? I should be freaking out right now. Right? What’s up with that?
*Ding* You have unlocked the general skill Self Aware (D) Lvl 0
Jem activated [Self Aware] as he did he felt a little energy sap out of him. That must be Kol. And information flooded into his mind. You are on fire, you are under the effect of a healing spell, you are under the effect of a mental skill, your dimensional mark is 0.005% charged. A small part of Jem felt like something was wrong with what he’d just read, like some part of him wanted to object but it was fine right? The spells were helping him. Actually what’s the difference between a spell and a skill? Charged?
I wonder what self-aware will do when it levels up. I hope it doesn’t tell me everything about myself. You are under the effect of alcohol, the toenail on your leftmost toe is 1.13 mm longer than it should be for optimal comfort. Jem shuddered. Ugh. I hope not.
Then he remembered. Time was a bit hazy under the onslaught. “Magic.”
“The first thing you need to know is that there are multiple types of magic. I don’t just mean divine and fae magic. But the way you bring it into existence and the sorts of effects it has. The next thing you need to know is that everything is as a result of Kol. Your stats? Kol. You get a punching skill? It uses Kol. The system? Kol. It all exists as a result of Kol. Even the world you came from had Kol. Actually, maybe not? By the looks of things you're from a dead world.” Said the priest.
“Dead world?” The words stuck out like a sore thumb.
“You have almost no presence. I’m guessing that on your world there was no magic? That or very few people were able to wield it. In some places people believe magic doesn’t exist, and so it doesn’t. Or that only the special can wield it. Or that only those of a certain lineage. The weight of belief and will defines what Kol can do. If you live on a world where no one believes magic exists, it can’t happen. You'd need thousands to even light a candle. A world without belief is a dead world. The longer it stays like that the more stuck it becomes and if that lasts long enough the Kol can decay and at that point it becomes repellent. It's supposed to suffuse everything but its hard to reverse death.
“Sometimes Kol takes on a life of its own, that tends to happen to a limited extent here, mostly thanks to the gods. We can grow in personal power but it requires effort. The more we train, the better we are at communicating with the Kol and the more it listens. In some worlds its much easier to communicate with than it is here. Where a toddler might be able to light a candle.” The priest winced.
Jem wondered if there was a story there. He didn’t ask. Candles aren’t the only things that are flammable.
“Back on topic. This is to say that you can create your own magic. Bend reality in small ways, by channelling your will and belief.
My [Teaching] skill just levelled up twice. This is so disgusting.
"Anyway the other way to use magic is through the system or other established frameworks. That is things like the runic sigils I and the priestess use. Or through Kol manipulation and runes that way. There are further things like enchanting and rituals. But they aren't very flashy. I assume you're not interested in those?
Jem shook his head. He wasn’t interested in ritual magic. Jem glanced over to the empress. She was laying a line of shimmering powder on the floor. Yeah, that looks... Boring.
“Kol manipulation sounds useful? And willing reality to change sounds… amazing? And I assume the system is important. How do I get good at those things?”
The priest snorted. “I assume the system is important.”
Then she wiped a tear from her eye.
“It wasn’t that funny.”
“Yes, it was. The system is important. We need to get you some skills. The first one we need to get you is [Meditation] it’s a must have for anyone, but especially for casting magic. We also want to get you [Clear of Mind] and [Mind over Matter]. Those three can merge into a higher tier skill. Fortunately we can get you all of those at the same time. In the long term you’ll want [Think Fast] and probably more mental enhancement skills. But those will be impossible to get without a class.”
The priest turned to the emperor. “Swap to lightning.”
The flame faded and lightning replaced it. It was much more engaging than the flames. When each bolt hit, his entire body seized. “Now, focus on your breath and nothing but your breath. Florence, disable the mental skill. You need to clear your mind of distractions and stop thinking.”
Jem took a breath in but his thoughts came flooding back. She used a mental skill, on me, without consent. That’s awful. I wonder if a mental resis–
Zap.
Another bolt slammed into him and his whole body spasmed. Jem internally wailed. I take it back, bring back the mental numbness.
“I said focus on your breathing. You look like you’re plotting a murder.” Ouch. I was focusing.
“Meditate.”
“Fine.”
Jem closed his eyes shut and focused on his breath.
Zap.
He breathed in slo–
Zap.
Continued breath—
Zap.
It took what felt like years but he finally breathed in without the jolt of electricity breaking him out of it. Maybe I got lightning resistance. No. Focus.
Jem settled back into his breathing and pushed away distractions. When a thought pushed into his mind he acknowledged it. Listened to it and exhaled it out on his next breath. He continued like that for an unknown length of time. Until a hand roughly shook him and he opened his eyes.
“Come on check if you got the skills,”
*Ding* you have unlocked the general skill Lighting Resistance (C) Lvl 0
*Ding* you have unlocked the general skill Calming Breaths (F) Lvl 0
*Ding* you have unlocked the general skill Mind over Matter (D) Lvl 0
*Ding* you have unlocked the general skill Meditation (D) Lvl 0
*Ding* you have unlocked the general skill Clear of Mind (D) Lvl 0
*Ding* you have unlocked the general skill Unflinching (D) Lvl 0
What does [Clear of Mind] do? Maybe it helps me enter meditation? Or maybe it helps me focus? Oh and [Unflinching] I didn’t even expect that. Maybe it makes me less likely to flinch?
*Ding* you have unlocked the general skill [Analyse Skill] (D) Lvl 0
General skill slots exceeded. You will automatically gain further slots when you reach Lvl 20 in your starter class.
Is that why I couldn't go for the other mental skills?
Would you like to replace a general skill with [Analyse Skill] (D)? Y/N
Jem mentally selected yes.
Select a general skill to replace. If you do not choose, one will be selected at random.
His skill list flashed up before him.
General Skills.
Identify (E) Lvl 0
Altered Presence (passive) (B) Lvl 1
Running (E) Lvl 1
Pain Reduction (passive) (E) Lvl 3
Self Aware (D) Lvl 0
Flame Retardant (passive) (C) Lvl 3
Lighting Resistance (passive) (C) Lvl 2
Calming Breaths (F) Lvl 2
Mind over Matter (D) Lvl 2
Meditation (D) Lvl 2
Clear of Mind (D) Lvl 2
Unflinching (D) Lvl 1
[Calming Breaths] was his lowest rank skill as an F rank. He wasn’t sure about the value of [Altered presence] but it was apparently his best skill.
Select a skill to replace. 7.97 seconds remaining.
Jem didn’t hesitate longer. He mentally selected [Calming Breaths]. The skill disappeared from the list and [Analyse Skill] took its place.
Jem pulled up his status.
Name: James Baker
True Name:
Age: 20
Classes
Starting Class: Unselected
Further Information Locked
Stats:
Vitality: 8
Wisdom: 9
Toughness: 6
Intelligence: 9
Strength: 7
Dexterity: 11
Achievements: Hidden
Notification Log: Hidden
General Skills:
Identify (E) Lvl 0
Altered Presence (passive) (B) Lvl 1
Running (E) Lvl 1
Pain Reduction (passive) (E) Lvl 3
Self Aware (D) Lvl 0
Flame Retardant (passive) (C) Lvl 3
Lighting Resistance (passive) (C) Lvl 2
Mind over Matter (D) Lvl 2
Meditation (D) Lvl 2
Clear of Mind (D) Lvl 2
Unflinching (D) Lvl 1
Analyse Skill (D) Lvl 0
– – – – – –
System Presence: 9126