"Whoa!" I exclaimed as I bolted upright.
I blinked my eyes repeatedly and looked around to try and get my bearings. I sat there for about 30 seconds trying to sort out what was going on.
I must have taken a really long nap or hit my head on something because I couldn't exactly remember why I was here. Something about a mission?
I looked around to see where I was at. I seemed to have been napping near the top of a grassy hill. In the distance I could see small patches of forest and even mountains in the distance. I turned around and walked up the hill to get a better view of the surrounding area. As I reached the crest of the hill I stopped in my tracks.
In the near distance I saw a huge city with a small mountain sticking up in the middle of it. I could see large towers and various manors dotting the landscape. Warehouses and lower class housing were everywhere, as well as many other buildings.
What was this place? I sat on the ground at the top of the hill to clear my head. I couldn't remember much about traveling to this point, but I do remember some of my childhood. My parents had died several years back to due an illness and I was an only child. I was raised by my friend's parents and recently left to strike out on my own. I wanted to grow and become stronger, but I couldn't remember why I wanted to in the first place. I grabbed my pack, which looked exquisite, and decided to see if it contained any clues as to why I came here. I opened the pack and carefully dumped everything out. It didn't look like I had a lot, but a few of my things looked just as nice as my pack. When I focused intently on my daggers that spilled out, I was surprised to see a few things pop up in my vision.
Congratulations! You have learned your first ability. Abilities will help you grow and become better. Abilities scale with levels and can morph into other abilities.
New Ability: Analyze Analyze allows one to identify items, people, and other objects. It also allows you to identify hidden traits of items. Some item traits won't activate until they have been identified via analyze.
I was stunned. I received my first ability! I had heard about them previously, but I thought that they were really rare. I was really lucky to get one. I realized that I still had one more blurb to read.
New Item Identified: Blessed Daggers of Growth Daggers blessed by the gods with limitless potential. As the user grows in power, so do the daggers.
Other Perks:
??? - Level Insufficient
??? - Level Insufficient
Wow, these daggers are incredible! Limitless potential? It sounds like I won't ever need another weapon. I was intrigued by the other perks. It appears that I had to have a higher level if I wanted to identify what they were, let alone use them.
Another thing that caught my attention was this idea of levels. I don't recall ever hearing about them. I was just familiar with the concept of growing. Maybe growing and leveling were the same thing? I decided to try and analyze myself to see what would happen. I was hoping I would be able to see my level.
Name: Jalen Elendor HP 68 Level: 1 MP 0 Experience: 0/10000 Know Thyself 2/1000 Stats: Strength: 14 Intelligence 22 Agiligy: 28 Spirit 19 Endurance: 20 Luck: 3 Abilities: Analyze ??? - Level Insufficient ??? - Level Insufficient ??? - Level Insufficient
Well, that was interesting. I was learning things about myself that I previously never knew in life. I had a lot of questions after looking at my character sheet. Why was my MP zero? How do I get luck? What were all of those abilities that I couldn't identify? And most interesting of all, what was that "Know Thyself" progress bar? I wasn't sure what I had done to fill it, but I thought it should be fuller. I think I would know myself a little better at this point in life. I decided to look through the rest of my pack and see what else I had.
It turns out I didn't have a lot, but what I did have with me was awesome. There were some necessities such has undergarments, clothes, some sleeping and cooking materials, etc. I also found an identification card and a small bag of coins. The coins weren't much, but the identification card was interesting. It said my name was Jalen Elendor, I was 19 years old, height and weight, more random information, and that I was from the city of Treytu, which was in the country of Moroni. It didn't state the population, but from what I remember it was a decent sized city. I learned quite a lot about all sorts of subjects while attending school. I practiced fighting a lot with my classmates and the soldiers in training. I felt like I had really excelled in life before I got to this point.
I was pleasantly surprised when I analyzed my pack and my boots.
New Item Identified: Blessed Pack of Keeping An exquisitely made pack blessed by the gods. Items placed inside feel lighter when carried.
Other Perks:
??? - Level Insufficient
??? - Level Insufficient
New Item Identified: Blessed Boots of Movement These boots blessed by the gods offer increased movement speed while in combat.
Other Perks:
??? - Level Insufficient
??? - Level Insufficient
??? - Level Insufficient
These things were amazing. I was slightly confused by what the whole blessed by the gods concept was, but I did recall visiting a temple somewhere and being blessed. I thought it was just a normal ritual, but it looks like the priest there must have had some amazing power. I was ecstatic to have received such powerful blessings. I was curious why none of my light armor was blessed, but I guess I couldn't complain. I propped up my arms on my knees and rested my head on my hands as I thought about all I had learned the last few minutes. As I sat there pondering about my present and future, I noticed something slightly cold touching my chin. I looked down at my hand and saw I had a beautiful gold and blue ring. I attempted to analyze it.
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
New Item Identified: Unknown Ring A mysterious ring of unknown power.
Other Perks:
??? - Level Insufficient
??? - Level Insufficient
??? - Know Thyself Insufficient
Wow, this ring must be something special if I don't even get a description of the ring. Unfortunately it was kind of useless at the moment. The blessed items I identified at least had some immediate benefits to them; the ring was just a decoration. It sure looked pretty though. It was made of this blue stone with a golden weave in it. Maybe I could get it and my other items appraised somewhere.
That brought my attention back to the city in front of me. As I looked on, I realized that the city probably offered me everything I was looking for. I guess I had come here on a mission. I didn't know what the mission was, but becoming better in all aspects of my life was a good mission to pursue. The mountain in the middle of the city was probably a dungeon. That would provide me an opportunity to become physically stronger. I would be surprised if they didn't have a library as well, which would allow me to continue my studies. As for how I'd make money...that was a good question.
The dungeon should have things inside of it that were of value. Maybe collecting materials and selling them would be profitable? Another option was to work for someone on the side. Maybe there was an association or guild that was looking to hire an apprentice or something. I didn't necessarily fancy that idea because I felt I was rather well educated to start at the bottom of the ladder. Maybe after becoming familiar with the dungeon I could become a guide? Whatever I was to do, it could be decided after I got my bearings in the city. Heading there and figuring things out would be the first step.
I picked up the things I had dumped out and put them into my pack, with exception of the daggers. I found some wrist holsters in my pack that I put the daggers in. It allowed me to have instant access to them while being able to hide them in my sleeves. The material my blessed items were made of could bring unwanted trouble if I wasn't careful. I put my pack on and I strolled down the hill into the small forest, amazed how how light the pack felt. I figured I could skip the road almost entirely if I made a beeline for the city gate through the forest.
As I ducked and weaved through the foliage I considered whether I should stay at an inn tonight or a less accommodating place, such as an abandoned warehouse or outside the city gates. It was still early morning so I had plenty of time to figure things out. I had sleeping and cooking gear so I could easily rough it for a few days if need be.
The leaves crackling to my left was the only warning I had before something jumped out to attack me.
I flattened myself to the ground just as an animal sailed over me and hit a tree to my right. The animal was momentarily stunned which gave me the time to scramble to my feet. As I faced the animal I finally saw that it was rather large wolf with unpleasantly sharp teeth. We faced each other for a moment before the wolf tensed again to lunge at me. As I thought of using analyze a box popped up in the corner of my vision
Name Large Wolf Level 1 Highest Stat Agility HP 30
I triggered my daggers out from their holsters and set my feet, ready to dodge the wolf's attack. I met the wolf's eyes for a moment and saw nothing but a feral ferocity. As the wolf lunged straight at me, I sidestepped to the left and thrust my right dagger into the wolf's forehead as it passed.
The dagger was ripped from my hand as the wolf's momentum carried it past me, causing me to twist and almost fall. I whirled back to face the wolf and readied myself for its next move. The wolf had collapsed upon landing and was struggling to its paws. It started to turn its body towards me before collapsing again. I stayed where I was for another thirty seconds, not wanting to get too close in case it lashed out at me in its death throes.
As the wolf finally stopped moving, I slowly approached its front. I picked up a rock nearby and threw it at the wolf's head, just in case it was faking its death. The wolf didn't respond. Wow, I took out its thirty health points in one blow. I suppose it was in a vital area, but that concerned me knowing I only had thirty six health points.
I stooped to pull out my dagger from its head and wiped it on leaves and the ground until it was clean. After putting my daggers back into their sheaths, I stared at the wolf's corpse and realized that I had no idea what to do with it. I had never went hunting for animals growing up so I had no idea how to properly separate the meat and hide from its body. I looked up and calculated that I was probably ten minutes away from the city gate. I could drag the body to the city gate and hope that the guard could point me in the direction of a tanner and butcher.
I found some vines nearby and tied the wolf's hind paws together so it would be easier to drag. I looked around to make sure I didn't drop anything and set off, dragging the wolf behind. I paused a few times before getting there to catch my breath, but I eventually made it to the edge of the forest without further incident.
I blended into the tree line for a moment as I looked up and down the road. There were a few wagons and people walking on it, but nobody that looked threatening. I walked inside the tree line, dragging the wolf behind me until I was about fifty yards from the gate. It looked like the city had cut the trees down in a fifty yard perimeter around the whole city.
I casually walked behind a wagon passing by, dragging the wolf as quickly as I could. From what I could see before leaving the tree line, the guards did a perfunctory check of the goods and people passing by, which caused a small line to form. I was hoping that I would escape notice by following the wagon in.
Unfortunately I took too long dragging the wolf, and by the time I made it to the end of the line, I noticed the guards had taken notice of me. They didn't approach me yet, but I got the feeling that they would as I got closer. I decided to analyze one of them and see what came up.
Name Jared Stoffer Level 3 Highest Stat Strength HP 60
He appeared to be a bit stronger than me. I wonder how he developed his strength? I wouldn't be surprised if some of the city guards were early retirees from the dungeon. Analyze was a useful ability. Maybe I could use it to make money somehow.
I hadn't noticed it before, but there was a small crowd of people to the side of the line that didn't appear to be trying to gain entry to the city. As I got closer to the front of the line, I realized that the people were beggars. They would attempt to solicit donations from the people near the front of the line. The guards didn't drive them off, but did keep a wary eye on them. There were a lot of women and children among the group, with a disproportionate amount of men among them. They all had dirty and ripped clothing, with exception to one family. By my guess, they must have recently become beggars.
When there were only a few people and the wagon in front of me, one of the little boys came up to me.
"Please sir, would you spare a poor boy a copper?" the little boy asked.
"Sorry, but I don't have much to give," I said.
"Please, anything you might have to give would do."
"I'm sorry, but no. Good luck."
The boy hung his head as he walked towards the people behind me. After giving his spiel a second time, They quickly shut him down as well.Seeing this pained my heart slightly. What could I do to help?
I had an idea.
"Hey boy!" I yelled to get his attention. "Come here for a second."
The boy turned around and quickly walked back towards me.
"I don't have much money to give, but if you promise to share it with everyone in your group, then you can have my wolf kill."
The little boy's eyes grew wide.
"All of it sir?"
"Yes, but you have to share with everyone in your group," I said loudly, so some of the other beggars would hear and help keep the boy accountable.
"Of course sir! Let me go get help to bring it over." He said ecstatically.
I saw him run off towards the group of beggars and talk to another little boy. As they came back, I noticed the boy's mother follow them over.
"I've brought help sir! May we?" he inquired, pointing at the wolf.
I motioned for them to take it and moved out of the way. The little boys ran up and each of them grabbed a hind leg and started to drag the wolf away.
"Thank you so much sir, the wolf will provide food and shoes for many of us," the boy's mother said.
"Your welcome. Good luck," I said as I stepped forward in line.
During my interaction with the beggars, I had moved up to second in line behind the wagon. One of the guards approached me, taking a glance at my pack and boots.
"Purpose and duration of stay?" he asked with a slow drawl.
"I'm hoping to make a home here, permanently. Exploring the dungeon and trade will be my main activities." I replied.
"Proceed," he said and motioned me forward.
I thanked the guard and walked forward into my new home. After taking a few steps I turned around.
"By the way, what's the name of this city? I asked.
"The guard looked at me with a look of surprise.
"It's called Bountiful, in reference to the abundance of wealth that can be found," he replied.
I turned around and walked on through the gates, wishing myself a very bountiful day.