He woke up to Failsafe buzzing in his head. He yawned, which came out as a chitter and a tongue flare. The movement seemed rather natural. That led him to think maybe he was a chimera of some kind. Maybe he was someone's science project to combine a snake and a drake. His thoughts were interrupted by the continuous buzzing in his head, so he decided to turn his attention to Failsafe.
“I have completed your analysis,” Failsafe said, his voice full of pride. “Until we know what you are and what you are capable of some places are blank, buuut,” he held the last word for a while and paused for suspense. “Ta-daa, look at this.”
A square menu appeared in the lizard's vision, causing him to jolt awake. It was magic. Somehow he recognized the sensation and understood that only he would be able to see this. It was a mental projection, but he didn’t know how he knew that. He wanted to understand how it worked and how Failsafe managed to do this without it taking what little mana he had. He was so intrigued it took nearly five minutes before he even looked at the words.
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Name: ???
Species: Unknown
Level: 0.01
Vitality: 1
Restoration:1
Constitution: 1
Strength: 1
Dexterity: 1
Stamina: 1
Magic: 1
Magic Regeneration: 2
Page 1 of 2
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“Well, good job but what is that level?” the lizard asked.
“Ah, so while I don’t know much about who you were, I have a good feeling about how powerful you were,” Failsafe said cheerily. “So I divided that hypothetical magical strength into 500 milestones. I didn’t like how milestone sounded, so I called them levels instead.” He started to sound less confident. “You know, it is like you’re… I don’t know, rising up. You know, leveling up… on a new level of power.” He paused. “I mean it sounded better in my head but now that I am saying it out loud…” He coughed nervously. “I can change it, it-its not set in stone or anything.”
“No, that’s not what I meant, it’s fine,” the lizard assured him. “I just didn’t know what the term meant in this context. So essentially according to your gut feeling, which is all I have to go on, I am about, hmmm, lets see… 0.002 percent as powerful as I was when I died. Huh.”
“W-well, yeah but I was trying to make it sound nicer,” Failsafe said. “Did you take a look at the second page yet?”
“No, I was getting to it. First, why out of five hundred instead of one hundred?”
“Well by my calculation, at each level you should gain enough magical energy for me to access more of your locked memories. So, each level requires twice the power of the previous to unlock. It doesn’t mean you would be twice as strong though. The unlocking of the memories is the main reason for the number of levels.”
“Are the other statistics like magic and vitality based off of the 500 rule?” the lizard asked.
“No, those don’t technically have a limit, just kind of a general observation,” Failsafe said. “Ignore them for now. I need more observation data and something to compare you to. But you know what I don't need more data for? Page two. You should look at it.”
“Okay-okay.”
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Skills Analysis
Reincarnation Failsafe
An incomplete reincarnation magic construct and your best friend that has your back no matter what!
Venomous Bite
Magic Cost: 0
You have a neurotoxic venom which can be injected through a bite with your fangs.
Poison Puff
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
Magic Cost: 1
You can mix your venom into the air using magic, creating a small area of poisonous gas. This gas will reduce the health of those inside the area. The wider the area of effect, the less effective the poison.
Poison Scratch
Magic Cost: 1
You can infuse your claws with neurotoxic venom, making even small scratches fatal overtime.
Mysterious Magic Connection
Magic Cost: -1?
You are connected to an outside entity which is feeding you power. More study needed.
Page 2 of 2
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“Skills, does that mean what I think it does?” the lizard asked.
Failsafe said with pride, “Yep, in fact...”
Failsafe was cut off by the sound of someone entering the room. Everything seemed to stop for a moment as what sounded like two girls chatting in an unfamiliar language drew closer. Then without warning a high pitched squeal rang out. If it was of excitement or terror, the lizard did not know. He peeked his head from the now sizable hole in his egg. Staring back at him were two faces, both flush with excitement. They spoke with one another, still staring at him, until one quickly dashed out of the room.
Something about the girl that stayed resonated with the lizard. It was something the lizard could not quite place. An aura, an attraction… no, it was more like an arcane compulsion. Something about the girl's presence felt right. It was like he was supposed to be near her, protect her, befriend her, even raise her as his own daughter.
It was odd to feel such a strong paternal instinct towards a stranger. For some reason in her presence he felt stronger and less tired. He had so much renewed energy that he uncurled from his hiding spot in the egg and started to emerge. The girl held out her hand, a smile stretched across her face.
The girl seemed to only grow more excited as the lizard drew closer, stumbling over himself a few times as his muscles adjusted to carrying his weight. He didn’t notice before, but he didn’t know what the girl’s race was. She looked humanoid, sure, but not quite human. She had a human face; young with brown unblemished skin and large circular glasses. Her hair was raven black. Most striking were her antlers, a feature humans most certainly did not share. They were small and barely peeked out of her hair, but something told the lizard they were going to grow as she aged.
“Bjorn,” the girl said as if calling him by name. “Bjorn.”
Somehow the lizard knew that this was his new name. As he reached the girl he stretched out his paw. The girl took his paw, then suddenly wrapped herself around him in an embrace, tears rolling down her face. She did this while saying something in the language he did not understand.
“Soooo, don’t want to interrupt, but I think I know what that Mysterious Magic Connection is now,” Failsafe said in Bjorn’s mind. “It would appear you are a familiar and you just received a name, so, congratulations? Bjorn?”
“We will go with that name for now. It’s not like I can remember my actual name. Can you understand them?” Bjorn asked mentally.
“I will after I hear them talk for maybe an hour or two,” Failsafe said. “I got a few words down so far but not enough to translate anything meaningful. Good news though, the magic connection between you two seems to be rejuvenating you at an accelerated rate. The familiar contract you are under is symbiotic.”
“What do you mean?” Bjorn asked.
“You two are connected through a magical link,” Failsafe stated, obviously proud of his deduction skills. “That link shares magic between you. Her magic is stabilized and amplified by being around you, while at the same time you get a steady supply of that new excess mana.”
The girl finally stopped crying and picked Bjorn up by the armpits. She held him in the air for a moment, spinning around before placing him back on the ground and sitting down beside him. Now that Bjorn had a human-ish girl to compare to, he was about the height of a medium sized dog, but a lot longer because of his serpent neck and prehensile tail. Bjorn took the opportunity to look around and get used to his new legs, now that he was strong enough to walk thanks to the girl. Walking on all fours felt right but at the same time different. Every few seconds he flicked his tongue, which he realized was automatic. He noticed that he could literally taste the world around him, including magic. Now that was unexpected.
It didn’t take long before the first girl returned with a plate of meat cut into small chunks and a young man that looked to be about the same age as the girls. Probably around sixteen or seventeen. Most interestingly, the two newcomers were human, fully human. The boy's blue eyes were striking, as if he could see into the soul, and the girl had a mane of red locks with tribal beads and feathers. They stopped at the doorway when they saw Bjorn walking about. While Bjorn could not understand them, he could literally taste their concern.
As the group conversed, he noticed they didn’t walk any closer. The girl he was bonded to was called Freja by the human girl, who in turn was called Julie. The boy was called Mat. It appeared Freja had to demonstrate that Bjorn wasn’t going to bite them by picking him up again, which he offered no resistance to. She placed him back on the platform near his egg. It wasn’t until Bjorn tried to step off the platform that the runes and symbols carved on it started to glow. A barrier of light prevented him from stepping off without Freja’s assistance. Mat and Julie finally entered, and Julie presented the grilled meat for Bjorn to eat.