After the initial shock of loot being a thing, Ethan stood there looking around. Confused.
“Soooo is there like a chest or something? I don’t see a pop-up notification. What gives?”
“A chest spawns under the body of slain monsters. It was why I suggested you apply your [Missing Link] to your Domain. Unless of course you want to go digging around the corpses of your kills.” Joe said, matter-of-factly.
Ethan had already assigned his Domain to to his Talents, now he just had to figure out how to apply his [Missing Link] skill to his Domain. Which ended up being easier than he thought. His first experiment was to just activate his Skill, and push out. Which didn’t work. But when he tried that, he noticed that the Skill didn’t activate because there was a sort of cross roads in his body now.
Previously when he activated [Missing Link] he felt the Skill travel from his Internal Well, through his body, and activate in his hands. This time though, it had traveled from his Internal Well, through his body, then stop almost immediately. It filled up his body, waiting…
It took him a moment to realize the Skill was primed. It was ready, just waiting to be told what to do. That was when he discovered he had a new sensation. He felt a connection run from his Soul to the outside world. 360 degrees around him, in a sphere he could sense the world. Not enhanced, or even more clear. Just there, like his mind had been made aware for the first time that he was surrounded by the world.
He felt he should direct the Skill to either his hands, or this new connection. He chose the new connection. Instantly the wood and earth closest to him was consumed. It was odd seeing the bits of dirty, and sand dematerialize, then a steady stream of matter flow around him, finally entering his chest dead center. Instantly he felt two new spheres form in his Internal Well. One of earth, and one of wood. The wooden one was solid, no space in-between the layers forming like growth rings of a tree. The earth sphere was a little more interesting as it had sections and whole layers of like material. He remembered dirt was made up of things like silica, silt, organic and inorganic material. So that made sense.
He slowly walked forward consuming more and more of the Alpha’s body. Instinctively he focused on the wood, keeping his Skill’s draw to a minimum. He didn’t want to dig an entire pit where he stood.
“This is awesome! It like those lame mobile game ads you watch sometimes, where the guy or whatever has a vacuum gun. But a vacuum ball.” Ethan chuckled, not sure how much of Earth Culture Joe had learned before his fall from grace. Or rather, his being pulled from grace?
Consuming the Alpha didn’t take as long as Ethan had feared since most of its leg, and one of its antlers lay in a path of destruction leading to the main body 100 meters long. With the body consumed, Ethan checked his Internal Well and noticed the wood he had just consumed didn’t even equal half of the darkness infused swamp water he had consumed killing the monster. A thought occurred to him.
“Joe, is it possible to separate the elements of the stuff I consume?”
“Of course. But doing so might disable the benefits of the resources, some benefits are only available for fused materials. Like the earth you just absorb. I would suggest leaving as is, as it separated will only lead to barely enough resources to activate any benefits.”
Okay, that makes sense. I really should have taken more time to learn this stuff earlier. I really jumped the gun on this one, and it almost cost me. Luck isn’t going to hold out for ever.
Checking his Status again, he thought it might be easier to have a separate window with the resource bonuses by themselves. With a bit of effort he managed to get them by themselves, independent of the Skill. As well as change the text, no more System Windows yelling at him. Ethan was pretty proud of how versed he was getting with the System interface.
[System Created Alabaster (Distributed)]:
+10 Constitution
[Swamp Mucus (Non-Distributable)]: Water Element, Dark Element
1. A small amount of healing over time
2. Harder to detect in low light
[Soil of the Endless Plains]:
+1 Earth Affinity
[Wood of the Endless Plains]:
+Growth of Passive Skills
Wood was the most interesting by far. He had no idea something like that was possible. But it made sense in weird way when he thought of trees. Lucky for him there was a clearing not far with an entire dead monster herd waiting to be consumed. After asking Joe about the bonus, he found out it wasn't necessarily a flat number bonus, and more of a percentage reduction in needed experience to level the skill. It made it easier to learn, in that it helped you grow, increasing your personal growth. He made it a point to get as much wood in his Internal Well as possible.
Done with the Alpha’s corpse, he stood there looking around. He hadn’t seen anything that looked like loot to him.
“What gives? I thought you sa-” Cutting himself off, Ethan saw… it?
It was weird. The best way Ethan could describe it, was a one dimensional round hole in space. He hadn’t noticed at first because he was looking at it from the side. It was only when he had taken a step to the side had he seen anything at all. Roughly oval in shape, it gave off no sensation, temperature or otherwise. The only sense that registered anything at all was his sight.
“Is that my loot? Or..” Ethan asked as he walked around the hole in reality. It was clearly only one way, as when he walked around the back of the hole, it was completely gone. That caused a moment of tiny panic until he came around the other side and saw it hadn’t changed. It was just waiting, unnoticed, and unchanging.
Inside he could only see darkness. The edge of the hole glowed a soft golden color that faded as it radiated outward.
“You reach in, and take your loot. As soon as you do, the portal will disappear. It is only visible to you, and those in your party. Everyone gets loot from kills where a portal appears, and will stay open as long as there is loot inside. If someone dies while the portal is open, their loot will disappear, becoming unavailable to everyone else.”
“How is loot rolled? Is it random? Oh man, what if I get like a rangers bow or whatever?” Suddenly worrying he might get some gear he could never use or sell, due to the lack of stores in the Endless Plains.
“Loot is tailored to the one reaching into the portal. To a small degree, your wishes are taken into account. Intentions matter more than wants or desires. You can desire an insanely strong sword all you want, but need, and lacking play a bigger part. For instant, if you were to say… be standing naked in a field in front of your first loot portal, you wouldn’t get a sword. Mostly because you have no sword skills. But also because… you know, naked.” Joe said, without a hint of humor.
“Right, so I can wish for whatever I want, and I might get it, if I had pants… Even then I might not get it if I need something else. So does that mean I am destined to get underwear? Kind of lame, for my first ever loot portal after killing a field boss, if you ask me.”
“You don’t need underwear, so I doubt that, there have been plenty of subjects, human or otherwise that did not wear clothes.”
“Good point.” Ethan said as he prepared to reach in.
What came next was even weirder. He felt nothing. Not just like nothing was there, he felt nothing, as in his arm felt as if it wasn’t there anymore. It was unnerving, he was tempted to pull his arm out as fast as he could. But he wasn’t sure how long the whole process took.
Finally he pulled his arm out, several seconds later, as his mind was screaming at him to save his arm. His hand was wrapped around the neck of a leather pouch. There was a simple leather strap tying the whole thing closed.
“Oh. My. God. Is this what I think it is? PleasePleasePlease.” Ethan could barely contain his excitement.
Every game he had ever played, every fantasy novel he had ever read, every game of DnD had had one thing in common. Ethan vibrated with excitement. It was finally his time to get the Legendary Spatial Bag of Magical Holding! Quickly using [Identify] he was…
Disappointed.
[Unique][Bag of Not Holding - Gear Bag]
Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.
While this bag holds more on the inside than it would without Magic,
once all the contents are emptied it will return to being a normal leather pouch.
Great for holding all the knickknacks needed for your hoarding needs.
This bag has been specifically curated for those [SUBJECTS] who were foolish enough to enter dangerous areas naked.
“What the fuck man? I thought it was a Spatial Item, what a fucking tease.” Ethan said annoyed.
“Why would you want a physical item that you can lose or be stolen? Why not just learn the skill?”, Joe said completely missing the point of Ethan’s statement.
“That’s not the point man, it was just… nevermind, it would have just been cool to get a Spatial Bag, cause in all the stories there are Spatial Items. I was kinda getting my hopes up.” Ethan said, then paused, “Wait, you can just learn the skill?”
“You get it as a reward for reaching level 10. It isn’t something you need right now. I didn’t think you would be so… passionate about storage so I hadn’t said anything.”
Ethan let the whole topic drop, and opened the pouch. Inside was a bunch of things he needed, which wasn’t too bad, even if he had a sour taste in his mouth. There was a bunch of gear he wasn’t sure what he would do with, but a few items he appreciated. Laying out all the stuff he looked it over. He felt all in all, it wasn’t a bad haul. Until he used [Identify]...
[Legendary][Tunica]
Worn by civilizations of Old Earth, this Tunica is rewarded for kill the [Roaming Boss, Alpha Cervine].
Light weight, and durable. Made of fabric, imbued with magic to allow for Self-Repair.
Stats:
+10 Strength
+10 Constitution
Effects:
While worn movement skills are easier to learn, and master.
[Mythical][Bracers of the God Killer]
[Soul Bound]
Bracers forged on the Mount of Old Gods, on Old Earth.
Forged of GodSteel, weight depends on the Mana injected into the bracers, the bracers will increase the Gravity around the wearers fists.
Stats:
+15 Strength
+10 Dexterity
Effects:
This item is a growth item, once equipped it will bind itself to your soul. You will die with these bracers by your side. If you live long enough your Fists, and Gravity will be your weapons as you kill the gods of old. No other weapon can be equipped while wearing these Bracers.
Level: 1
[Legendary][Sandals of the Swift Dead God]
Sandals by civilizations of Old Earth, these Sandals once represented followers of a fast god of Old Earth. Rewarded for kill the [Roaming Boss, Alpha Cervine].
Light weight, and durable. Made of fabric, imbued with magic to allow for Self-Repair.
Stats:
+17 Dexterity
+5 Perception
Effects:
While on uneven ground, balance and grip are increased. Restores Stamina over long distances.
"Holy shiiiit. Two Legendaries, and a Mythical! I thought it was just a bunch of Roman themed clothes." Ethan said as he put on the Tunica, it was an odd garment, it took him longer than he wanted to admit to get it on and comfortable.
Once it was on, he felt stupid with how long it took to get it right. He had seen them before in old movies about Ancient Rome. It was a pure white tunic, that ended above his knees. It was basically a half meter wide, by 1.5 meter strip of cloth that ran over his shoulder, tied with a wide belt. It was comfortable, as soon as he put it on, he felt the increase in stats. Ethan also felt that his movements got smoother, less restricted. It was odd, and addicting. But he knew if things kept going the way they were, 10 Strength was going to be nothing soon enough.
The Sandals were of a similar design, more Ancient Rome motif. These were just flat hard leather, with leather straps that wrapped up around the calves, to just below the back of the knees. As open as they were, they were comfortable. Better than being shoeless at least. The stats were lower than the Tunica, but the Dexterity was the most noticeable. He fell more nimble, flexible and his nerves itched to react. He couldn't test the effect as he was already standing on flat ground. He thought he could use [Missing Link] to dig a hole real quick, but his domain was a sphere, and didn't think that was a good enough test.
"Umm, Joe... These Bracers are saying I am going to die with the Bracers at my side. Honestly, the flavor text is worrisome. Should I equip them?"
"The System will never give you anything that will outright kill you. From what I can see, there is no downside to using them. They aren't a cursed item, and work well with your Affinities. Plus, if you use them correctly you could use them to increase your Strength Stat."
"Huh, how so? Like weights at a gym? I didn't think that'd work anymore since, you System and Levels."
"Nope, your base stats can always go up. You would have noticed that had you not had a body of stone in the last fight. I say use them, as you are behind in stats... Well, not as far as you could have been."
Ethan wasn't fully convinced, but thought Joe knew what he was talking about. He didn't want to kill any gods or Gods anytime soon, but he did need a weapon, and the only ones he had at the moment were his hands. Equipping the bracers was by far the most noticeable change. They were made of a smooth light gray metal, with intricate runes, and a thin gold band around the wrists. As soon as the clasps on the inside of the Bracers were closed, the seems fussed. The Bracers appeared to be one continuous piece of metal. Soon after the metal faded away leaving what Ethan could only describe as wires of soft blue light, where ever there was a sharp edge, or line carved into them.
Once the metal faded, he felt the Bracers invade his body. Thin tendrils of magic wove their way up his arms, through his chest and down into his soul. He could feel the stats inject themselves into his soul. Ethan focused on the feeling, trying to learn how it was done, but gleamed nothing from it other than the warmth he got from the magic invading his soul.
Balling his fist he felt the power they offered up, he could feel his hands grow tougher, denser, harder. It felt good. But most of all it felt like he could fight with just his fists. He felt confident, enough that he thought he'd never need another weapon. But he wasn't foolish enough to give that thought much time. He knew there was going to come a time when he'd need to handle an obstacle that couldn't be fixed with fists. But he soaked up the feeling for now.
"How do I activate the effect of these Bracers?" Ethan asked wanting to see how far this feeling could take him.
"Inject Mana into them."
One problem. Ethan had no idea how to do that. The only 'Magic' he had ever used was his Skill, and that was activated with a thought. But he had felt the skill activate, and figured he just had to replicate that feeling. Reaching within, he pulled something from deep with in himself. Ran it along his arms, and down into his forearms. It sat there for a moment, before being drank up greedily by the bracers. The next second his hands increased in weight tenfold, then a hundredfold, then two hundredfold, three hundredfold. Yanking Ethan face first down to the ground faster than he could stop himself. Luckily his Mana ran out before his arms ripped off, cancelling the magic in the Bracers.
Ethan, laying face first in the dirt, smelt blood and wet earth. "Fucking hell."
"Might I suggest, not filling your entire arms with Mana, then charging said Mana before releasing that Mana into Bracers designed to cast Gravity Spells..." Joe said, late, on purpose.
"You don't say..."
Pushing himself back up, Ethan wiped the blood from his face, realizing the blood had already stopped flowing he gathered up the rest of the stuff, putting it back in the pouch. He had no idea what half of it was, but he had other things to focus on for now. Ethan made his way to the clearing and quickly consumed the dead Cervine, increasing his internal Wood by almost half of what it was before. Still far from the maximum if the swamp water was anything to go off of. He stood there, and realized this was the perfect place to train, and figure out his limits. The first thing he did was open his Status Window, and inspected the changes the gear had brought.
Name: Ethan Soxe
Age: 34
Race: Human (Sub Variant - Earth)
Level: 6
Soul: [Unique] Reforged Blasphemer
Body: [Unique] Missing Link - One Body, two Souls
Stats
Strength: 45(+25)
Constitution: 54(+20)
Dexterity: 34(+27)
Intelligence: 29
Wisdom: 29
Perception: 28(+5)
Control: 47
Charisma: 29
Magic: 10
Soul Arts: 50
Title: Master of My Own Making
Achievements: [Soul Rebirth][...]
Skills: [Myriad Tongues][Identify][Soul Connection]
[Missing Link][Climbing]
Talents: [Domain]
[REDACTED]
Lineage: [Locked due to title proximity limits]
"Joe, what are the average stats for a level 10?"
"By Level 10, you should aim to have 100 in at least your main stats. You get 10 total from levels, with an average of 5 starting out, that leaves 85 from struggling, and fighting."
"Doesn't that seem a bit... too much?"
"The [Endless Plains] is designed to eliminate 99.85% of Subjects in the first year. If you can't keep up, you die."
"Ok, then it is training montage time. I need you to teach me how to do a movement skill. Preferably an omnidirectional instant movement skill, with zero cool down. Then, I need to get used to these bracers. After that I need to know how to raise individual stats. Strength, I get. Once the Bracers are mastered, I can work on Strength. But everything else, please." Ethan wasn't entirely sure hist request could be fulfilled, he wasn't even sure if cool downs were a thing. He just knew it was time to get things moving. He was tired of feeling stupid, tired of fucking things up. Tired everything really.
"I am sure you are aware of the skill already, [Blink]. It is recorded in your literature." Joe was in full Guide mode now. He went on to explain that Joe had to shift his Soul from one position in space to another. It was a pretty standard skill as it had no stat requirements and was non-affinity specific.
As for Stat increases, that is where things got complicated. Strength was increased how you would guess. Working out, exerting yourself, pushing your limits. But that was the truth for ever stat as well. Constitution, was pushed by acquiring resistances. The more pain, and damage you took, the higher it would go. Dexterity, was the hardest to raise naturally as it required you to run, move, and contort your body past your limits. Intelligence was the easiest of the stats as it could go up just by gaining more information, or knowledge. Wisdom was hard, but not impossible. New ideas, and figuring out how to se them was the best way to raise that stat. Ethan could accomplish this without a library if he found new ways to use his abilities. Luckily he had Joe there to help him, if he wasn't seeing new avenues to venture down, in regards to his skills.
Perception was on the harder side. He had to learn to see further, hear more feel more, than he currently code. Skills that allowed for vision in low light could also help, but with a high enough Perception stat, those Skills were pointless, and Joe didn't recommend them for Ethan. So instead Joe taught Ethan how to fee, hear and see through his Domain by attaching his sense to his Domain. Control proved to be the hardest for Ethan. His Control was abnormally high when he had arrived in the [Endless Plains], but that was because of his past, he had spent so many years trying to keep his demons at bay. It was like how the Alpha Cervine had pumped all his stats into Intelligence, and none into Wisdom. Usually when figuring out how good someone's control was, you could divide the number in 2, and you would get an estimate of internal and external control. Ethan was why you would say 'Usually'. His External Control was 40. Internally, it was only 7. And that was AFTER he had gotten his [Skilled Skiller'er] Achievement. It made his Control actually worse being out of balance. Joe made him practice [Meditation] everyday, it became part of his daily routine.
"How long do I have to Meditate everyday for?"
"Until you die." Joe said, as Ethan quickly discovered he was in-fact not joking, "Your external control is exceptional. Which will help you in controlling your abilities, and your body. But your emotional state, if you will allow me to use your worlds terminology is... Shit."
And that is how Ethan trained for the first week, before a new breed of monster tried to move into the Cervine territory.