Chapter 2 - The System
The ground shakes as the beast rushes towards me, its weight even more evident with only three limbs holding up its muscular body. I slowly shuffle back, trying to get in the beast’s blind side, the wound above its right eye covering its vision in a bloody red and hopefully allowing me to evade any attack. As the beast is almost upon me, it pushes off the ground with its hind legs, more than a quarter ton of muscle and bone flying towards me and I throw myself back. My plan more or less works, the beast flying above me, only just scraping past my body, its trajectory aimed at my midriff when standing, not when laying in the soft snow.
Still, I scream out as its hindlegs touch down, the right leg clipping my shoulder, a loud crack and pop reverberating through the clearing as the bones in my shoulder splinter apart. The rush of pain sends desperation through my body, the energy of life or death fueling muscles pushed beyond what they should bear. With a shout, droning out some of the blinding pain, I push off the snow, my arm reaching back and landing a long cut in the animal’s hindquarters as it comes to a stop, halting its momentum. With blood trickling down on me from the dagger, the blade having scored a hit, I scramble to get up, aborting the weapon to get my one working leg under me.
I look at the beast, the animal slowly turning around, stumbling, and straining to hold its body aloft. Streaks of red cross its frame, small yet numerous streams of blood staining its fur red. Its face is a mess, one eye shut by a crimson river, its mouth pulled up in an eternal snarl as a leaf is puncturing the soft skin. Its left arm is completely out of the fight, a thick rod of wood sticking out of its shoulder. Most significant though is a large cut along the bottom of its body, my blade, held out as the beast rushed past me scoring a vicious cut, almost disemboweling the monstrosity.
Eyes red with hatred and fervor stare back at me, the fight, not anymore one of predator and prey but rather one of life and death, the animal desperate beyond any reasoning. Its gaze meets mine and with the last of its power, it pushes off the soft ground, a cut along its hindquarter further limiting its movement. Blood spurts from countless wounds, the beast seemingly intent on taking me with it across the Styx, no care left for its own body. Knowing that another engagement with the beast would leave me beyond recovery I quickly fumble for the dagger lying in the snow. I pick the curved hilt at its lowest point, reach back behind my head, and with a desperate shout the makeshift boomerang leaves my grip.
It circles through the air, the blade cutting through the unrelenting icy wind and in the last second, as the weapon seems to fly over the beast's head, a strong gust of wind changes its course. The sharp end of the boomerang smashes directly into the beast’s throat, cutting a large wound into its flexible neck, blood spurting forth generously. A warm pulse comes from my right shoulder, and I throw myself out of the way of the beast, sacking down violently, the remaining momentum pressing it into the pale forest floor. The beast looks at me, eyes desperate for life searching for help even in its foe, rivers of live-giving liquid spilling forth from its body. Too weak to even stand up and acknowledge its end, the beast sacks down, muscles relaxing as the blood paints the snow a deep crimson.
A small icicle smashes into the beast’s side out of nowhere, a pained grunt coming from the tortured animal. I throw my head towards the projectile’s origin, a second shard flying and smashing into its body, the damage too much as the beast breathes its last breath and a notification appears before me. I ignore the window hovering in front of me and look at the woman attempting to stay hidden in the tree line of the clearing. The wind picks up, seemingly rushing towards her, the frozen leaves clinking and creating a magical chime in the macabre scenery. The snowflakes caught in the gust swirl around each other and with a last chime of the frozen leaves, the snow coalesces into a shape, floating in the still air all by itself.
My leg gives out under me then, the situation simply too much for me and my body smashes to the ground, the adrenaline fueling me running dry. My lids close over my eyes as the blood loss rears its head, my mind going woozy, my vision clouded, only short-lived moments of consciousness giving me a glimpse at what is happening.
A voice, not that of the woman, sounds in my ears, a shiver running down my back as somehow the sound itself is cold.
Next, the beautiful black mane of the woman falls in my face as she drags my body out of the freezing winds.
I feel a hard surface against my back, my body propped up against the trunk of a large tree.
My body sinks into the snow, the cold powder melting in the heat coming off my body, a warm feeling rising within me, hypothermia most likely claiming my senses. The woman, Ellaina, is crouched before me, one handheld above my leg, the other digging into the snow beside her. A screen is hovering before me, taking my attention as a soothing warmth flows up my body, originating from the wound in my leg.
You have killed a ‘Jangsanbeom - Lvl. 2’
Congratulations, you have leveled up twice to Level 2.
My mind, slowly coming back under my control, tries to decipher the meaning behind the two sentences before me, trying to work its way around the strange system. Then, like a rock gaining moment as it topples over the ledge, a dozen connections are made within a second, the energy flowing into my body enough to fuel my thoughts. Levels? Isn’t that like the games my sister is always playing, she has always wanted me to join her. RFG, was it? no… RPG, right yeah RPG games and their mechanics, Levels, Skills, Abilities, what more did she always mumble about? I wreck my brain for answers, trying desperately to get some sense of control back into my life, my mind reeling for an explanation, though only finding the how not the why.
A voice breaks through my concentration, Ellaina moving on from my foot and onto my shoulder.
“Hellooooooo, you there? Did they forget to take your soul with you? Hellooooo?”
The voice is cold, in a way that is hard to describe, no breath cooling my body but rather the tone itself causing the hair all across my body to stand up in goosebumps, warding off the freezing temperatures. Desperate for an explanation of what is going on I look for the origin of the cold voice, finding only the woman crouched before me and some snow drifting by on a gust of wind. My eyes meet the snow, the collection of snowflakes seemingly not drifting past on an idle breeze but simply hovering directly in front of me, attempting to get my attention.
“Hello? I know u can hear me, I’m not stupid you little human. Oiii, why the fuck did I even sign up for this?”
I open my mouth, intent to answer the rude collection of snowflakes, my lips cracking apart, my mouth dry like kindling, only a cough spilling forth. The woman hovers above me, for all her unwillingness to help during the fight, taking good care of me and patching me up after. Some moisture returns to my lips as she holds a water skin to my lips, the icy liquid rushing down my parched throat, greedy gulps emptying the whole bottle. The woman continues taking care of my shoulder, spikes of pain smashing into my head with every little movement. Not able to do anything else and with my mouth finally back in working order I answer the snow spirit hovering before me.
“Yes, I’m here. Do you know what is going on?”
“Finally.”, it answers exasperatedly, “Started to think you were for the birds.”
“Well, now that you are back amongst the conscious, I think it's time to get our shit together. Cursed Payload over there fucked up the whole trial, forcing me under her control with that Skill. !”§%§/)$§!§#< didn’t think a lot about that one.”
More and more questions pop up in my mind, though luckily for me, my exhaustion gives the spirit time to answer them itself, before my curiosity can rear its head.
“So, first things first. The System should have explained most of it, but here it is again. Protocols and all that.”, it starts, mumbling the last part to itself,
“Hello Frontrunner. Welcome to the System! You have been chosen to become the vanguard of your species, venturing forth and testing the trials prepared for your kind. Blah, Blah, Blah… Blah, Blah, I hope you have chosen wisely the gifts of your Lords, to tackle the Trial first of many.”
…
“So, that's that. Any questions?”
It tries to catch up to the truly bizarre creature, not only its form beyond anything rational but its handling of the situation similarly so. Before I can answer the spirit, the woman moves away from me, no more pain coming from my foot or my shoulder, only exhaustion weighing down my body. She reaches her hand out towards me and tries her best to pull me up, her small frame working against my weight. In the end, I am able to get up, holding onto the warm trunk of a tree, getting my spinning mind back under control.
“Everything ok? Does anything hurt still?”, she asks carefully, her hand on my shoulder, warmth steadily flowing through my body from her touch.
I look around us, the leaves reflecting less and less of the light coming from above, as darkness settles in. A circle around the two of us is muddy with molten snow, the ground beneath covered in hardy blades of grass.
“Yes, I’m alright, just really exhausted. Are you Ellaina?”
The woman opens her eyes wide at being recognized, quickly shooting a question at me, asking me how I knew of her.
“I am tasked to protect you.”, I answer quickly, hoping for some more information to spill from the woman's lips.
“Oh, OK!”, she simply replies, opening oven more questions in my mind, and then begins to make her way further into the forest, her every step melting the snow underneath her. I follow after her, desperate for any guidance in this alien environment, my mouth opening to ask a question when the cold voice interrupts me.
“Oii, don’t just ignore me!”
“Do you have any questions or not? Just one or two, I literally have to answer them, come on!”.
Opting to go for the person that seems more eager to fill the holes in my knowledge I shoot a line of questions at the flying collection of snow. The spirit flies back as if hit physically by the query, for all I know that could really be it, and then answers me rapid-fire.
“We are in the Glaring Forest, an icy woodland created for this Trial.”
“It's a law of Nature, it rules all. The Trials are simply a test for you Forerunners to see how the rest of your species would handle the System’s influence.
“I am your guide for the Tutorial Trial, here to explain how all of this works. Though your simple-minded Payload seems to have bonded to my body, thus that unplanned situation of you fighting against the starting monster without any System Support. Hats off by the way for that take-down.”
“Let me see a second… Ok, yeah, those messages hovering before you are your Level-up notification and a simple notice that you killed that beast.”
I try my best to work through the fast answers that spill forth from the guide, scrambling after it as it continues its explanation.
“So now, before you shower me with more questions, I have something to do. So, ah, yeah, here you go.”
A window jumps up before me, almost ending with me casting for a part in a nail performance once again, before I shuffle to the side, evading the tree.
The System has blessed you with its touch, choose of its Aspects:
- (Skill Aspect)
- Attribute Aspect
- Class Aspect
- Profession Aspect
- Race Aspect
Before I can quickly shoot my question at the spirit guide, he predicts my query, cutting in as I open my mouth.
“Good choice with your Wishes, that's the Skill Aspect already. Next, you can just choose between the others. Normally I’d recommend the Skill Aspect to you, but since you already have that the only good pick you have left are Attributes.”
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I wait a second for more information to follow, though the guide seems to expect me to make my choice without any further information. Not in my world. Trying to solve the dilemma by myself does nothing except form a headache as I try to think back on the memories of me playing the games with my sister. Instead, I shoot my guide a question.
“Could you please explain what they are?”
“Oh, stupid of me, of course, you wouldn’t really know that. Well so, first off, Aspects are parts of the System you can unlock, they extend the functions of the system you can use. Class and Profession are pretty simple, they are like a job you can do, one is focused on fighting the other on crafting. But I wouldn’t recommend them now, no way to get anything good and without the Attribute Aspect you won’t get any stats. Same problem with Race, though you will have already unlocked that, since you can’t just be Nothing, you just won’t be able to level it.”
“Best choice simply is the Attribute Aspect, best bang for the buck after Skills. Some points here some points there and the next time some beast shows up you’ll play ragdoll with it, not it with you.”
I let the guide’s recommendations flow through me, my mind working hard to parse apart his simplistic explanations. Curiosity fueling my task I think about the choices he gave me, quickly coming to a similar solution, though a persistent nudge doesn’t want to leave me alone. Like an instinct warning me of danger a feeling deep inside me tells me that a profession or class too should be a viable choice, though no further instincts let me know why. The thoughts quickly leave my mind and instead, I decide to follow the guide’s recommendation, pressing the Attribute Aspect, the window vanishing immediately after. The spirit dictates my next actions, another window replacing the last, showing my status, a function which I should have already had access to before the fight against the Jangsangbeom.
Personal Status
Name: Paul Fordstein
Age: 23
Level (Exp.): 2 - (04%)
Attributes: (45 Points to Distribute) 8 Unused Attribute Points
- Stability: (8)
- Activity: (9)
- Mentality: (13)
- Spirituality: (11)
Skills: (2 Choices)
- Forerunner’s Foreknowledge - Lvl. 1
My eyes wander over the screen, some of the mechanics feeling somewhat familiar from my sister’s love for RPG-Games which she just had to share with the rest of the family. Eyebrows threaten to reach past my forehead, and my body stops dead. How have I not yet thought about my family, what are they going to… Huh, what was I thinking about? Right, Attributes, got to ask what these 45 Points to Distribute mean. A shiver runs down my back, most likely from one of the omnipresent gusts of freezing air. For all that the spirit floating beside me is crude and quite honestly somewhat rude, he does give me the information I need, explaining the Status to me.
Leaving out the obvious functions of my Name and Age, the guide explains my General Level, all experience I would gain funneling into this Statistic.
“Experience is as broad as the word itself, it is everything that you experience, though more significantly everything new that you experience, it is what you remember. For example, you will get experience from simply waking up in the morning and hopping out of bed, though this is nothing compared to say, fighting the Jangsanbeom. The System further boosts your experience in such high-intensity situations, though they don’t all have to be life and death, furthermore, stealing and producing experience is also possible.”
I try to catch up to the rapid-fire information, the guide relentlessly continuing its lesson. It then continues explaining Attributes: Stability for how well put together my body and spirit are, Activity for how strong and fast I am and how I can continue exhausting myself. Mentality is the gathering of knowledge and understanding it and lastly, Spirituality is an amalgamation of my luck, how I seem to others, and some other minor things. Following that the spirit urges me to redistribute my Attribute points, unlocking the Aspect in the Tutorial Trial apparently allowing me some more experimentation, my total number of Attributes, rounded up, free for me to put wherever I would need them most.
I take a look at just my Attributes, my previous build focusing on Mentality, the guide remarking that I had an above average amount in that Attribute. With not much more information spilling forth from the spirit I decide to start, the additional 4 points per level giving me a chance to specialize differently later on. First, I put a significant 15 points into the Mentality Attribute, deciding to go with what I know, boosting my brain and its senses. Reflecting on the previous fight I quickly put 13 points into Activity, the additional speed and strength hopefully giving me a fighting chance against the next beast inhabiting this strange forest.
Speaking of which, as I follow Ellaina it quickly becomes obvious that the woman is retracing my flight from the Jangsanbeom, returning to the trunk she previously hid within. With nothing interesting jumping up on the way I continue distributing my Attribute Points, 17 points remaining, 10 of which are quickly put into Spirituality, the luck aspect of the Statistic saving my life in the last fight. The rest of the points I put into Stability, my payload, for all the bother that she is, luckily having some kind of healing ability to bring me back to full fighting prowess. The remaining 8 points from the two level-ups I split between Mentality, bumping it up to 20 and the last 3 go into Agility.
Attributes: 0 Unused Attribute Points
- Stability: 7
- Activity: 16
- Mentality: 20
- Spirituality: 10
With all the points invested, I test their effect, jumping up gingerly, my feet pushing off the soft snow and flying into the air, almost twice as high as before. A quick guess puts the jumped height at about 1,95 meters with my feet tucked in, my mind making rapid calculations, eyes flitting from object to object. I feel as if I had the best sleep in ages, the increased strength and speed threatening to throw me off balance, but at the same time, the statistic is working for itself, balancing me out perfectly. An impatient harrumph stops my experimentation, the spirit simply continuing its explanation without waiting for me, my mind though fast enough to immediately catch up. Unfortunately, though even 20 points in Mentality can do little when the guide decides to stop doing its job.
“Skills, they are actions the system recognizes you can do and thus empowers them or on the other hand they are actions you are unable to perform which the system grants you the ability to do so. For example, shooting with your Slingshot for stuff you can already do or Fireball, for stuff you can’t but could with the system’s assistance. The rest you can find out by yourself, I’m off, bye.”
The guide simply flits over to Ellaina and then falls apart in a small shower of snow, the flakes flowing into the middle-aged woman. I simply stand there for some seconds, flabbergasted at the guide’s rude dismissal, countless unanswered questions floating around in my mind. A quick dash, boosted by the new and improved Activity catches up to the woman in the span of a second and with no other solution, I simply open up the Skill Menu, deciding to do the stuff by myself.
Skills: (2 Choices)
- Forerunner’s Foreknowledge - Lvl. 1
Skill Choice: 2 Picks
- Dashing
- Aim, Shoot, Hit
- Mirror, Mirror in the Snow
- Fiery ball
- Knifes
- Glaring Shield
I take some time going through the different choices presented to me, desperately wanting some explanation, though my only source of knowledge seemingly abandoning its task. With no other way left, I start to open my mouth, intending to simply ask Ellaina, for all that her behavior hints less at a wise and knowledgeable woman but rather a naive adventurer when a window jumps up.
Dashing
You dash through the world, while at the same time being dashing, all sneaking a look at your lustrous hair and sparkling eyes, stopping for a moment to appreciate the sight of you running around.
I wince slightly at the description, the skill in and of itself sounds great, though the part of everyone looking at me while doing so is not really my forte. Dismissing the skill quickly and hoping for options more aligned to myself I browse through the rest of the skills, windows jumping up before me and a notification breaking through my inspections.
Congratulations, you have leveled-up the Skill ‘Forerunner’s Foreknowledge’ to Level 2.
A small smile splits my mouth, the progress feeling nice and finally knowing from where these sudden descriptions are coming from soothing my paranoid mind. I continue searching for my two final choices, taking a closer look at the most interesting skill of the bunch, its name much longer than all others.
Mirror, Mirror in the Snow
Mirror the effect of the cold around you, a little study of the ice and snow quickly copying any of its effects directly into the powder with some clever swirls and patterns.
I work my way through the description a second time, the skill truly unique when compared to the rest. The only other skill that comes close to its uniqueness is Glaring Shield, the skill summoning a plate of mirror-smooth ice blocking and reflecting any attack thrown at it while getting stronger the longer it is active. I wreck my mind trying to work through the Mirror, Mirror Skill, my improved Mentality coming up with a satisfactory explanation, the skill most likely something akin to small rituals. Like a witch brewing a concoction the skill would allow me to, for example, turn the floor to smooth ice by simply forming some patterns into the snow, less actual science behind the action, belief fueling the ritual instead.
I take one last look through the rest of the skills, my choice close to finished though another look at the other skills not hurting anyone. Aim, Shoot, Hit is a simple improvement of all three aspects mentioned in its names, better accuracy, a faster shot, and a more damaging hit. Definitely a great add to my arsenal, empowering my slingshot, but in the end simply an improvement of something I can already do, not something new to add to my repertoire. I completely block out the Dashing Skill, continuing to the next, Fiery ball, a weak, like weak weak form of the fireball mentioned by my reluctant mentor. While most likely still impressive, a fireball just isn’t built for the environment I am in right now, the constant gusts of freezing air quickly snuffing out any weak flames.
The next skill I take a closer look at with the instincts from Forerunner’s Foreknowledge is Knives, similar to Aim, Shoot, Hit, the Skill improves what I already can. Though its wording is much different, seemingly even more passive than the already passive Aim, Shoot, Hit Skill. Weird wording, but still, a skill that boosts what I already can could also just be learned by myself. I continue onto the last skill, Glaring Shield, the title an intelligent wordplay, glaring ice, so smooth it acts like a mirror and the word glaring itself, the shield’s effectiveness rising the longer it is looked at, the longer it glares at its opponent.
My mind wars for some time as I follow behind Ellaina, the internal discussion lasting until we finally arrive at our destination, the tracks already covered by the constant snowfall. Close to our position, I pick up my backpack from where I dropped it off, throwing it over my shoulder and continuing my musing. The first and most crucial thought in picking my skill is what tool I need right now, namely my task of protecting Ellaina. This brings me to my first skill choice, Glaring Shield an almost immediate pick, not only empowered in the cold environment but also perfect for defending the woman, a weak gust of wind most likely picking up the frail explorer. My second choice is much more difficult, and I come to my decision by slowly cutting down my options. Fiery ball is out immediately, for previously mentioned reasons, Dashing closely after, the skill simply not fitting with me. Next is Knives, the skill too simple and not having enough of an immediate effect evident in its description, thus I am put before a difficult choice, Aim, Shoot, Hit or Mirror, Mirror in the Snow.
On one hand, the first skill improves a tool I already have, immediately making my slingshot significantly more powerful. On the other hand, with Mirror, Mirror in the Snow I would have a skill that would quickly grow in power as I get to know and witness the different effects of the cold all around me, giving me a quite adaptable tool for any and all situations. In the end, Mirror, Mirror in the Snow wins out simply due to its interesting mechanics, drawing patterns, and symbols in the snow to call forth various effects casting a big shadow on the boring improvement of my aim and damage of Aim, Shoot, Hit. Thus, as we arrive at our destination, the sun casting a long shadow over the small clearing, its last rays reflected a million times by the canopy of ice I take a look at the spoils of my first day in this strange world.
Personal Status
Name: Paul Fordstein
Age: 23
Level (Exp.): 2 (04%)
Attributes: 0 Unused Attribute Points
- Stability: 7
- Activity: 16
- Mentality: 20
- Spirituality: 10
Skills:
- Forerunner’s Foreknowledge - lvl. 2
- Glaring Shield - lvl. 1
- Mirror, Mirror in the Snow - lvl. 1