“Kieran! You're gonna be late fella!” Came a call from nearby. The familiar deep yell pulled his attention away from whatever it was he'd been doing, he couldn't remember.
Hearing his uncle's voice for the first time in years filled him with confusing emotions as he wandered through the upstairs hallway of his old home.
He hadn't been back to visit since he first quit university and had to move back Into a cramped childhood room that he'd long since outgrown.
The walls still pasted an ugly forest green, just as he remembered them. Decorative white netting that hadn't been fashionable since the nineties covered the windows, where beams of rainbow light crept through.
Weird sunrise? he thought, watching the different coloured rays shining in through the gaps.
“Kieran! You listening little man? I'm leaving in five!” his uncle bellowed up the stairs, just loud enough to rattle the thin drywall that composed the old house's interior.
“I'm coming, one sec!” He barked in reply, scrambling to collect his backpack and dark grey school blazer.
As he rushed to leave the bedroom he turned back, realising he'd forgotten something important.
He picked up four small plain black rings that he'd left laying on his desk, throwing them into his bag with haste before running downstairs.
There he saw his uncle as clear as day. The man's tall muscular figure looked as intimidating as ever. Baggy jeans, a red flannel shirt, and shades as black as night adorning his bald head, his go to lumberjack attire, just like usual.
“You ready little man? You've got quite the journey ahead of you today” his uncle grinned knowingly down at him with dark eyes. They were the kind that seemed to always know what Kieran was thinking.
“It's just school Dave” he groaned in reply. “don't be so dramatic.”
His uncle only chuckled in response, then reached to tussle his hair playfully but stopped with a face of confusion.
“What's this? We've got the same cool haircut now?” Then his mouth split into a mischievous smirk.
“Does that make you my Mini Me?”
Kieran frowned, not quite getting the joke until he reached up and felt his bristly head of stubble.
Wait what, that's not possible! His face crumpled at the awful realisation.
Even as a newborn baby Kieran had always donned a head of wavy black hair that neither of his parents had given to him.
His weird uncle used to joke that a trickster had snuck into the hospital and painted it black the day he was born, much to his parents' supposed protestations.
“Don't stress fella, it suits you proper.” Uncle Dave tried to convince him with an almost straight face that Kieran had long since learned to never trust.
“Anyway. You all ready? Les go” the towering man snatched up his car keys and opened the heavy white front door to leave.
Kieran made to follow but froze in place.
Instead of the small urbanised excuse for a front garden he was used to, all that lay beyond the threshold was a tunnel of pure darkness that stretched as far as he could see.
“Come on then, haven't got all day. After you!” his uncle insisted, holding the door wide open with a hand.
This isn't right…
Kieran immediately knew something was amiss here, but the sincere gesture from the usually grumpy man meant he couldn't be rude and linger.
“Erm, yeah, thanks.” He mumbled, eyes not leaving the unending black beyond the doorway as he slowly skirted forwards.
Standing upon the precipice of that endless darkness, Kieran hesitated. His body refused to move forward no matter how much he wanted it to, and despite his uncle's insistent urging.
A strange keening noise from his stomach drew his attention away from the unknown to look downward. There he found his entire lower torso positively glowing with a mesmerising kaleidoscope of lights that gradually illuminated everything in the downstairs landing.
When the light shone upon the darkness ahead, however, countless white dots began to shine back from the depths.
Kieran leant in closer to get a better look.
How strange, they're moving in pairs?
It was only as he took a curious step forward past the doorway that he realised what he was looking at.
The horde of pale empty eyes drifted closer to him before he could even draw his foot back.
Long thick tendrils of obsidian sprung from the darkness and clutched ahold of his outstretched leg. There was so much pain, and he couldn't pull back even an inch.
“Don't worry little man, you'll do just fine” his uncle all but laughed at his terror. Then with a casual shove on the back, sent him reeling down into the darkness.
Kieran awoke with a gasp.
The soft luscious grass against his back reassured him he hadn't been falling at all. Yet his heart still pounded like a drum as he clutched at the ground for comfort.
“Fuck these dreams man. Why do they always grab my bloody legs” he groaned, lifting his head to examine the limb that still ached with a phantom pain.
He had to squint just to see through the daggers of light that bombarded his eyes, but his limb felt fine to him.
Wait, I'm out? He realised with a smile, eyes taking in the blindingly bright sun hanging high above him. The sky was so perfectly clear and blue that it more resembled a professional painting than any memory of the typical British weather he knew.
His eyes drifted back to the grass beneath him and he stroked it curiously.
This is some fresh grass, damn. Kieran had little experience with landscaping or gardening, much to his Uncle's complaints, but despite having spent a lot of time in the Kentish countryside, he'd never seen grass as vibrantly green and soft as this. It was as if someone had taken normal grass and scaled up its size and softness simultaneously.
Still squinting, he looked all around him hoping to spot some sign of civilisation; maybe an electrical pylon or distant skyscraper. Unfortunately, it seemed as though he was at the bottom of a deep valley. One entirely covered in the beautiful grass, and with unnaturally green hills as tall as mountains spanning all around him.
His eyes adjusted slowly to the light, but he began to pick out more details from the wide, flat clearing he'd awoken in. Long dark lines ran up and down the base of the hills around him in every direction, so blurry at this distance that he thought them shadows.
Then as his vision regained its full clarity, his mouth gaped open wide enough to fit a truck inside.
Not mountains?
He gulped down a ball of fear in disbelief. “Trees..” He whispered.
Those humongous woodlands in the Pacific Northwest that had been around for thousands of years held the largest trees Kieran had ever seen.
Yet if those trees could talk, he knew they would surely feel embarrassed and ashamed if they saw the glorious towering behemoths whose root systems alone probably threatened to overshadow them.
The alien display of gigantic forestry filled Kieran with awe. A part of him suddenly wondered what sort of animals and insects would even live in such a place.
But when his mind summoned the imagery of a ten feet tall spider nesting in the high branches, he decided it was better to not know, and hopefully never find out.
He wiped a piece of loose grass from his shoulder, freezing when he saw a smooth black metal band neatly adorning his wrist.
“Oh come on!” he slapped the ground in frustration.
The band felt completely inert from what he could tell. There wasn’t even a whisper of mana coming from it. Nor from the rest that he now noticed likewise wrapped around his other wrist and ankles.
At least I'm not chained down to something this time. Silver lining, I guess…
Rocking up onto his knees with ease, Kieran knelt there for a minute, just taking in the fresh air and scent of woodlands that filled his lungs. It felt so good to be back outside again. He couldn't even remember the last time he’d enjoyed the soft caress of the wind against his skin. Well, except for when he'd used Illya's wind-based sword skill.
The rays of the bright sun warmed his skin just enough for the breeze to bring cool relief.
He would be content if he never came across another magical dungeon or spatial realm ever again in his life. Considering the warnings his mentor gave him though, he doubted he'd be so fortunate.
The only magic he wanted to experience right now was his own. Getting used to the changes of his new body as well as understanding the essence of his strange yet domineering cultivation method would take a lot of time and experimentation.
Kieran knew he'd need to familiarise himself with his capabilities before he felt truly comfortable fighting anything again. That, and he desperately needed a proper weapon.
Swords were the weapon he had the most experience with, so he was somewhat emotionally attached to the idea of wielding a well-made blade. After the handful of weaponry classes he and Nathan attended, though, he was far more informed about the advantageous capabilities of weapons his anime-addled brain had once considered barbaric.
Those hatchets were pretty effective. Just, lacking in finesse…
He considered his potential options briefly, before reasoning himself back to sticking with finding a good sword as soon as he could.
The warm grass against his bare shins felt oddly comforting whilst he took longer than planned to simply breathe. Slowly, he began to recount the wild events that led him to this peaceful meadow amongst endless overgrown woodlands.
It was only when he tried to process the conflicting emotions of joy and sadness left from his short time spent with Regus that he felt his new semblance of peace begin to collapse. He hadn’t forgotten that promise he made on his knees, nor the debt he owed to that kind old man.
A fresh pang of regret gnawed at his gut. He’d completely forgotten to tell Regus about his innate skill, and in doing so missed out on any insight his mentor could have provided about the obscure yet empowering ability.
“Pneuma” he muttered to himself. Confused as to why the hell some great cosmos-spanning system of magic would be using Latin words that were barely a few thousand years old to name a skill.
Unless? he considered if this system’s translation potential had far more depth to it than Kieran had initially given it credit for.
Thinking back to his conversations with Neaila and Illya, it occurred to him that all the words they exchanged with each other were completely coherent, apart from unique names and abstract colloquialisms. Illya had been adamant that Kieran was speaking in their native Elnari tongue, but that wouldn’t explain how he could express himself clearly and yet fluently enough for them to grasp without effort.
Man, I really hope I get to meet them two again...
Kieran felt the loss of those budding friendships even more now that he was free of the dungeon, like them, and he couldn't guess where they’d been sent to.
Illya was so cool and noble, just like a main fucking protagonist. Well, except for the fact he was really nice, and not a raging racist like Elves are meant to be.
A slight blush crept into Kieran’s cheeks as he thought about Neaila too. My god, that smile was something else.
With an embarrassing amount of effort, he shoved aside the deeply imprinted memory of her ocean-blue eyes. Eyes that glistened so majestically under the torchlight as she stared back at him.
“Nope!” he barked suddenly before muttering “Not your mate's sister, for fuck sake Kieran.”
Bro-code was everything among friends. And he couldn't believe it took reminding himself again before putting the matter to rest.
The breeze picked up then, and waves of air brushed against his skin with a cool pressure, reminding him just how ridiculously exposed he was.
There's me thinking about bloody swords and princesses. He grinned to himself. What I really want is some goddamn fresh clothes.
The idea of returning to civilisation in his current minimalist attire filled him with preemptive embarrassment. His desire to find somewhere safe to rest for a while was all he would need to drive himself onward.
“Right!” Kieran slapped his knees dramatically and then sprung to his feet. “Let's keep moving.”
Examining the horizon in every direction provided Kieran with no explanation as to where he could be or what direction he should explore. In typical fashion, he facepalmed and groaned at his crappy memory as a thought occurred to him.
In an embarrassed tone, he carefully asked “Hey System? Any chance of a map please?” Then waited in tense silence.
The blue window appeared in front of him as he'd hoped, but the message was unhelpful to say the least.
System Error
??????????
“Well, fuck…What now?”
Kieran considered other potential commands that might work before finally remembering his long-since failed class quest with an awkward grimace.
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
“System? it's me again!”
“Erm, open class quest map?” he tried, holding his breath in hope.
System Error
Class quest unavailable
“Okay crap” he muttered. “This can't be goo–”
Another window immediately replaced the error message.
System Initialisation Error Detected
Attempting to reconnect…
Kieran waited patiently as the last message blinked in and out of existence directly in front of his face. Over and over, bright blue flashes lit his eyes, and Kieran was glad he didn't have any photosensitive neurological disorders.
“System, how long is this gonna take? I've got places to be ya know? I didn't get all dressed up for you to keep teasing m–”
A new window cut off his banter.
System Reinitialising
Calculating Potentia…
Oooh finally! We're getting somewhere. Kieran cooed internally. He hoped the system couldn't read his mind or detect the derision he felt for these janky error messages.
Seconds ticked by into minutes, yet still the screen continued to blink before him. Kieran considered calling out to the system for further clarification on what the hell was happening to him, but a sudden sensation of danger clenched his heart.
From his toes to the smooth crown of his head, the entirety of Kieran’s body seized under a paralysing pressure.
His skin tingled as an overwhelming torrent of mana pushed against him from every direction. The air around him felt dense, then became as thick as water, threatening to crush him under its depths.
The veritable tsunami of energy forced its way into every cell in his body. Strands of energy wormed their way into the imperceptible gaps between the very fabric of his being and he could feel it begin to scrutinise every molecule and atom that made up his existence.
For the first time in his life, Kieran could sense a connection to someone or something far larger than himself. His soul felt bare and exposed under the grand gaze of a presence he could only describe as cosmological in scale. As though the eye of a god leant in close to examine a strange insect found crawling around in the mud, he did his best to not squirm and panic as he remained stiff as a board. Inside, he prayed it would not effortlessly stomp him out of existence.
Pain filled his skull as a dense cluster of mana scanned through his brain, overloading his mental faculties one by one until it thankfully moved on and he regained some clarity of mind. Then he felt every moment drag out indefinitely as it scoured his body from the top down.
Whatever this strange presence was, it only paused briefly to observe his upper core and dantian for a few extra moments before hurriedly moving down the rest of his body.
All at once, the inexplicable hold placed on Kieran’s existence disappeared as if it had never been, and a bright blue window far larger than any before exploded into view before his eyes.
Kieran gasped audibly then exhaled a long-winded “Hoooooly Sheeeet” as his eyes scanned the familiar yet unexpectedly long status window.
Kieran Grey – Level 1
Race - Human (Tier 0)
Class - Pending
Faction - None
Physique – Tier 0 (Peak Stage)
Vitality - 8
Strength - 9
Versatility - 8
Mind – Tier 0 (Middle Stage)
Intellect - 6
Mana - 12
Willpower - 7
Soul – Tier 0 (Middle Stage)
Vigor - 9
Unity - 7
Perception - 7
Affinity ‐ Elemental Tier 1
Authority – 0/10
The familiar sight of a character sheet with roleplaying game attributes was initially quite refreshing and exciting. But he quickly found himself missing his overpowered computer as he felt the need to Google each attribute for more information.
Physique makes sense, and so do the ones under Mind. But soul?
Assuming he was slightly above average in most categories due his dungeon diving adventure, Kieran supposed most people should average around the five or six mark for most things. He would definitely have to ask around once he met up with other people again.
Seeing mana as the only attribute over ten gave him pause, until he remembered the manabody advancement he'd gone through, what felt like weeks ago. Not to mention his innate skill felt easier every time he used it, and he wondered just how much he'd progressed the attribute due to this.
Authority? “No clue.” He decided.
“But why am I still level one if I killed all those orcs?” Surely the system would have granted him a significant amount of experience towards these video game-like levels.
Maybe the system errors had something to do with that? He decided it must have been due to the system being buggy and agreed that even God's would make shitty game devs.
Video games were, of course, no substitute for real life. Thanks to Nathan's consistent nagging, Kieran knew this very well, even before the assimilation. Now though, even a short lifetime in a world full of magic and monsters held more potential for truly living than an eternity of recreational gaming and consuming could.
“System” Kieran called out with growing familiarity, as though talking to a new friend.
“If the issue with those errors was all on your end, maybe I could get some small form of compensation? You know, for missing my class quest and ending up in some crappy old dungeon with no loot.”
He attempted to appear haggard and pitiful as he spoke, hoping the system was susceptible to emotional blackmail to some degree.
System Notice
Calculating remuneration request…
Oh damn, it worked? Kieran chirped internally, keeping his face a mask of pathetic sadness. Mere seconds later a larger blue window appeared, bringing with it a choice he wasn't mentally prepared for.
System Notice
Due to an oversight that directly affected your Initialisation into the system's domain, you may select one of three items to serve as compensation.
Ring of Beginnings (Unique)
Cloak of Beginnings (Unique)
Bow of Beginnings (Unique)
All choices are final.
“Well, at least this system recognises its mistakes” Kieran thought aloud before clearing his throat and adding a quick “thank you buddy”.
Rubbing his stubbly chin, he considered his options and weighed them against his current considerable needs.
A bow would be great. Shit, any weapon would, but It doesn't specify that the bow comes with arrows…
“Hmmm” Kieran mumbled thoughtfully as he looked over his bare chest and ragged burnt-off jeans. Immediately he knew that the cloak was the only real choice to maka at the moment. Who knows when he'd come across a clothing store or somewhere he could scavenge some new threads from.
“I'll take the cloak please” he said, then frowned when nothing happened.
“Oh right” He realised his mistake. Quickly tapping on option two, he felt the dense surface of mana buzz at his finger's contact.
The mana itself appeared to solidify beneath his fingertips, sparks of light gave way to solid black until he felt a smooth fabric protruding from the window.
Kieran gripped and pulled, quickly revealing a metre long black cloak that hummed into existence through the powers of the system.
The material felt warm in his hands and appeared more than substantial enough to cover his bare upper body until he found something more suitable.
Scrutinising the pristine threading around the hood caused a tingling sensation in his eyes that he couldn't place. A small window suddenly popped into existence directly above the midnight black cloak.
Cloak of Beginnings (Soulbound)
Rarity – Unique (growth)
Description – A medium length cloak forged directly by The System. Offers basic physical and elemental protection to the wearer and obfuscates one's silhouette in low-light environments.
–Grants 10% Increase To All Attributes whilst worn.
–Grants Lesser Night Stealth.
Kieran let out a long whistle as he read the cloaks information.
“System, have I ever told you I love you?” He chimed sweetly.
“I'll never badmouth you again, you sexy devil. I mean you're basically my new intergalactic sugar daddy now anyway, so…” he trailed off as he held the cloak out before him to get a proper look.
The cloak was like something plucked right from a movie set. Elegant black threading bordered the base of the equally dark hood and flowed down the shoulders in intricate weaving patterns. The uneven edges at the bottom of the cloth seemed to fold and overlap into one another as though formed from shadow itself.
Would you like to equip this item?
Yes / No
Warning! Soulbound items cannot be removed or used by others once bound, this is irreversible.
“Ooh sweet!” a childish grin split his uncertain expression.
“Yes please, equip it.” He requested politely, then bit back his annoyance when he had to manually press the screen to confirm. He sassily added “I hope you got my size right though?” just as the cloak silently popped into existence around him. The fabric softly draped over his shoulders and gently hugged itself around his torso.
“It's perfect!” He exclaimed with a huge grin, already feeling much better about his clothing situation.
The lustrous material covered the entirety of his back and thankfully had enough width to wrap around his front for modesty and warmth too. The cloak bore no visible fastening on the cloth at the front of his neck, but when he tugged at it the material flowed apart like water to come undone.
Suffice it to say Kieran was positively chuffed with his new cloak, and he twirled it around himself like a caped crusader.
“I'm justice” he growled in an overly husky voice, pulling the cloak in front of his face in a dramatic swish of black.
The only laughter he heard was in his head, and he suddenly found himself missing other people to talk to.
Nathan would have loved that…
He allowed himself a moment to worry about his best friend before regaining his momentum once more.
“I'm very grateful, don't get me wrong System…” Kieran began cautiously, fingers fiddling with his soft hood. “But, I'm still not sure what to do about my class?”
The implied question wasn't enough to entice a response, however, so he tried beating the proverbial dead horse.
Full of anticipation, Kieran summoned the system map. Of course…No response.
Next, he quickly ran through a handful of plausible system commands and requests that likewise failed to elicit any response. Eventually even resorting to shameless begging for a class quest, yet still nothing provoked a system response.
A class would be awesome and exciting, and he couldn't wait to get his hands on some truly cool powers. His main drive right now, though, was to gain some sense of direction and eventually purpose in this isolated forestland.
Regretfully, The System remained as silent as the grave, despite him exhausting all possibilities he could think of.
Another minute silently dragged by, the gentle breeze his only companion, until Kieran begrudgingly had to admit that he was utterly alone here. Nothing and no one would save him, no matter how much he wished for it.
Only when his stomach raucously broke the silence with a growl did he begin to think about an actual goal, or even just a rough destination to start exploring.
“No more self-pity, Kieran” he chastised.
The burning white sun directly overhead gave him no indication of East or West.
Should I just pick a random direction?
He considered his scarce options as he took in the endless green sea of towering giants.
Their mountainous height surrounded the large meadow in a perfect ring that blocked all lines of sight.
Deciding to leave it up to chance, Kieran traipsed his way over to a section of treeline that looked a modicum more welcoming than the rest. The trees parted slightly more here than elsewhere, as if a small game trail was still in the process of forming.
Looking up at the overbearing bark skyscrapers filled him with a sense of insignificance that even the most architecturally impressive cities couldn't replicate. And that was only the trunks.
The shift from deep browns to startlingly vivid greens played tricks on his eyes, especially when the wind shifted and the floating green ocean drifted in cascading waves.
A twig snapped in the distance, its echo sending an eery shiver down his spine, and he pulled his cloak around him tighter for comfort.
Gazing into the depths of the forest only filled him with a deeper sense of impending danger. The vulnerability dug at his chest and no amount of deep breathing would make it budge, so Kieran decided to just try another area to explore in the hopes that it might be safer.
Abruptly turning on his worn-out heel, Kieran made to march back the way he came to assess the rest of the forest. Another twig broke with a resounding crack just as he lifted his foot, freezing him in place.
He could swear it sounded even closer than last time. Blood rushed to his head and he fought off the adrenaline-filled urge to run for dear life.
It's probably a fucking fox or something, just chill man! He shouted down his internal panic and forced out a long exhale until his tense muscles eased up.
“Okay” he sighed in relief. “See, just a fox or something”
The fearful ideas in his mind were always more paralysing than real life tended to be. Unfortunately, Kieran found that expecting the worst had eventually just become some automatic defence mechanism. He'd only been getting more and more susceptible to these ways of thinking, until The System came.
The changes this Divine System wrought on him had already changed his brain chemistry to some unknown degree. Kieran felt considerably calmer in both body and mind since then, and far less afraid of the countless unknowns thrown at him. Despite his awful track record with stressful and dangerous situations, the contrast with his current progress in such things outweighed his bad thoughts on the subject. On top of all this, he'd also started to develop the seedlings of an unshakeable hope for the future, one he refused to let go of just because of some fear.
Fear was nothing new to him, not as a child and not now. He took a breath and closed his eyes, looking inwards at his own heart, then he whispered resolutely.
"I must not fear" and he felt the heat inside him settle slightly.
“Fear is the mind kill–” A heavy crunch echoed from behind, the dying call of a thick branch. A high-pitched whistle rushed toward Kieran before he could glance back or even finish his thought that it was 'just a really big fox'.
Something rough and painful wrapped around his neck and the world blurred as it ripped him from his feet, dragging him into the unnatural darkness below an endless green ocean.