* You have died.
Congratulations! For being the 64,812th person to complete the tutorial, you have earned 100 silver marks.
Calculating…
Calculating…
Calculating…
Calculations Complete! Starting character creation cutscene…
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The man had an air of surety about him. A strong sense of self acknowledgement, one which those around him could feel. He strode the ramparts like a lion amongst men, head held high and straight. Standing over seven feet tall he had dark gold skin, long black hair cascading down his shoulders to his lower back. His arms were long and spindly, criss crossed with scars and knicks from previous battles. Fingers long broken and healed stretched down to the tips of his knees. His thighs were as thick as anvils, matched only by the broad shoulders and deep back of this thick frame. Resting upon the crest of his back was a long quarterstaff made of pure amethyst, runes of power inscribed upon the weapon. A single line of flowery script ran across the weapon repeatedly.
‘To Seek, To Burn, To Fight.’
In a casual motion he pulled the staff from its sheath, the leather cinches giving way from the force of his pull. A small indent was created when the tip of the quarterstaff grazed the ground, chunks of stone splattering against the nearby guards.
“Sir Kaldavari, if you could please join the vanguard as the spearhead. We have a have horse and squire prepared for you.” Captain of the guard Johnathan Vortiger, renowned for his years of service as a guard, bowed humbly before the man of gold. Although gazers rarely showed subservience to those not of the race, he did not hesitate to bow. For all his years of fighting, he did not dare raise his head to the man before him. Though the natures of the Kaldavari varied greatly amongst them, a general trait of pridefulness was very common amongst them. Rarely did they concern themselves with worldly matters, but the pride they felt towards the pursuit of their craft was a dangerous thing to antagonize. No one wanted a repeat of the ThroneStealer.
No one.
When the man spoke it was with a voice of honey and gravel, soft and sweet yet rough and powerful. “Tell them to pull back. I alone shall deal with this.”
In a single leap he bounded from the ramparts, sailing over the army below and towards the vanguard. He landed without noise, the dirt below him barely disturbed from his descent.
“And thus I strive. Ever onwards in my pursuit. To Seek, To Burn, and To Fight.” The man started with a slow, steady gait, a slight jog that covered few paces. The opposing army was vast, and he would need to conserve his stamina for his Conviction. Five battalions of knights, protected by three companies of mages and seven squads of rangers. They were arranged in an irregular circle formation, placed amongst each other to protect their flanks and weaknesses.
It would not work against him.
His gait increased as the knights noticed his presence, barely paying him any attention and they shuffled into a defensive posture slowly.
They would pay for that slight with their lives.
‘Vicious Flare’
A powerful pulse of conviction eradicated the knight battalion closest to him, the mage company besides them barely managing to muster their Convictions to protect themselves. The army was suddenly abuzz with unified Conviction, the images of each battalion swelling and displacing the air. So much conviction in the air caused his image to flicker mighty before stabilizing.
‘Solar Flare’ Another pulse, this time deflected as another wave of heat smashed against the Conviction of a sturdy oak shield. Another battalion, this one with the Conviction of a massive obsidian blade, suddenly slammed forward, cleaving the sky itself with the force of its passage. The air and clouds split as the blade descended, the strength gained through linked Conviction temporarily olberating his own image.
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‘Rising Dawn’ The moment the Kaldavari’s Conviction disappeared it reappeared with a stoic vengeance, releasing another wave of heat as the small sun began to levitate into the sky. The area around the man began to melt and warp as the temperature grew rapidly. Small pustules of heat began to form around the edges of his Conviction, exploding at an irregular pace.
“Shields, Armor, to the front! Mages, archers, concentrate full force around them. Kaldavari incoming!!” Immediately the battalions began to arrange themselves with a practiced speed, flawlessly flowing around their own formations so that the two sturdiest Convictions would take the brunt of his heat.
‘Smelt’
Contrary to their belief, however, the fully defensive images began to melt at a horrifying pace, the feedback damage causing immense pain and killing men outright. Even realizing how outmatched they were the knights were unable to pull back due to the further damage and disorder it would cause. They could only bear the damage in pain as they waited for the Mage and Archer Convictions to reach their allotted spot in the formation.
They were too slow.
Having reached a full gait the Kaldavari leapt into the air, a warbled scream erupting as he sailed over the entire defense battalion of knights, ripping through their weakened Convictions with contemptuous ease. Transitioning his fall into a roll he slammed his quarterstaff down with both hands, shattering the hard packed dirt all around him and flaring his Conviction. Two companies of mages simply disintegrated from the surprise attack, the loss of footing combined with the sudden leap surprising them. He sprinted at the nearest group of Mages and began to systematically destroy them, bringing the full might of his Conviction to bear as he raced between groups. Their commanders could only watch in horror as this lone warrior obliterated their entire army.
‘Cruel Sun’ It was time to end this. Having reached its apex his Conviction suddenly tripled in strength, the already blistering heat suddenly maximizing. Everything within a quarter mile simply turned to ash as the power slammed through them.
“This is why the Kaldavari must become allies.” The Captain of the Guard spoke. The men around him were too terrified to respond. The absolute brutalization of their enemies left a terrifying mental scar in their minds.
“For while any man can reach those heights, It is the Kaldavari alone who so doggedly pursue a single minded devotion to their craft. And with it, they become Gods amongst men.”
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The cutscene ended with a fading picture, the last vestiges of the Captain of the Guard fading as another light took its place. I was back in the very same void of darkness I had visited when I first arrived. In front of me, however, was a slew of notifications.
* Congratulations! For spending 1 hour inside the [Test Server] you have gained 100 silver marks
Congratulations! For spending 2 hours inside the [Test Server] you have gained 200 silver marks
Congratulations! For spending 3 hours inside the [Test Server] you have gained 300 silver marks
Congratulations! For spending 4 hours inside the [Test Server] you have gained 100 gold marks *
‘Due to your single minded pursuit to use [Conviction] you have unlocked the race of Keldavari. Would you like to view their information?’
I clicked yes.
Immediately, a holographic construction of a Kaldavari began to build itself from the ground up. It was finished in a matter of moments. Shocking details began to emerge as I saw the creature in an entirely new light from the cutscene. It was, in a manner of speaking, the literal definition of ‘all limbs’. Its torso was freakily short for a creature of its size, measuring at maybe 56cm in height while looking feline in nature. The arms and legs more than made up for it, however. It was easily over 7 feet tall with arms that nearly reached its knees. The feet both held two more ‘pinky toe’ digits while its hands held two more fingers each. Its face was almost a flat oval of features, holding two large, owl-like eyes that currently ran black in color. The nose was short and stout, fat like a pig but more angular.
‘Looks more like a karagors nose than anything’ I mused. The ears were tapered to a point, short and elvish like that of a dwarf. A flat, lipless mouth sat a few centimeters below the nose, a chaotic assortment of molars and fangs aligning inside.
All in all, the beast was absolutely fucking terrifying.
The overall facial structure and build were modified to fit my current body, my human features blending oddly well into the alien structure. My long curly hair was transformed into a short set of dreadlocks, however, and my honey brown eyes instead became a sky blue color. It was a rather neat combination considering the golden skin. Below the 3D display a line of text appeared.
The Kaldavari. A tragic race born from the machinations of a madman and a dreamspeaker. Through a foul attempt to create a sentient Conviction these creatures were born with the single minded purpose their creators imposed on them: Perfection. Their single minded drive for whatever manages to catch their attention has been almost exclusively focused towards the ever brewing war across the continents. Though they are few in number they are one of the strongest races in contention for the throne. Due to their mercenary-like behavior, however, they feel no need to seek it and instead pursue the ever elusive pinnacle of Conviction; whatever it may be. They are the only in-game race to start as fully neutral towards all parties. No bonuses for race selection.
Though originally I was psyched to be one of the first people to discover a new alliance to join, my excitement faded rather quickly. Honestly speaking, the race was pretty shit.
“No racial bonuses and completely neutral towards everybody? That's basically saying your race isn’t worthy of attention and just do what you want. Who cares if I can choose my allies? If the goal of the game is to sit on the throne and conqueror each floor I would have to become allies with my allies allies else I would lose their alliance. Seems pretty redundant. Not to mention the no racial bonuses. What a great way of saying we don’t care about this race.” I snorted and scrolled through the information once more, trying to see if there was any sort of hidden gain towards this race. I even rewatched the cutscene once more, seeing if anything popped out on a rewatch. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I bit my lip and thought for a moment.
“Well… this race is pretty trash. No good gamer in their right mind would choose them in a competitive game like this. But a streamer? One lacking in views and cash? They are a different breed of beast. One whose survival depends on performance for the crowd. And if I must hold a single minded drive to improve… then it will before glory and the fame that accompanies it.”
I clicked yes and my world changed forever.