Granite City

5:57 pm

Granite City

What is it? Kyle asked his guide mentally, pulling the smooth orb from his inventory. Kyle knew he had asked a stupid question, but it was too late. His guide's chat window popped to the front of his vision almost instantly.

Let's see. If the twenty sided polyhedron was the Mana Stone from your quest...that would make this one the...

The Skill Orb... Kyle wasn't sure if one could think flatly, but he tried his best. That doesn't help me understand what that means. What does a Skill Orb do? And what does the system mean by "Skill"

Kyle waited a long moment for his guide to respond. Just when he thought they wouldn't, the words appeared.

You're right. Your knowledge of the Manaverse is as insignificant as the length of my consciousness. I will endeavor to remember that going forward.

Lore Found: Skill.

"Skills aid Ascendant Beings in their growth."

I can tell there is a lot more Lore here, but it's locked.

Kyle wasn't sure if he should be offended or thankful. Instead, he expressed thoughts of curiosity. He wanted to know what Lore was and how it was locked, but the item took his focus. How do I use it? I doubt I could eat it or break it.

Inquiry: How to use a Skill Orb: Lore Locked.

If I had to guess, I would say use your will to activate it. Much like concentrating on your Interface Icons to interact with them.

When Kyle focused on the orb, nothing happened. He tried multiple times, and each time, his reflection blinked back at him from the smooth surface.

For about a full minute, Kyle stared at the Skill Orb. He never took the time to look at it too closely before. As big as his fist, the surface layer was translucent. The center of the Orb looked like pictures of outer space, with swirls of dark blues and blacks speckled with pricks of white. It was very pretty to look at.

It was while studying the center of the orb when Kyle had an idea. Before, he was trying to activate the orb by imagining the orb opening up. Maybe he needed to consume the center stuff, whatever it was. So, he concentrated on absorbing or ingesting the orb. His will was recognized by the system and a window popped up that was more like the generic ones from before.

Do you wish to use [Normal Ranked] [Skill Orb]?

Yes No

Kyle accepted. A warm sensation flooded from Kyle's center and into the orb. The orb then became warm and began melting. The Orb turned red and bled onto his hand. He was thankful the liquid didn't hurt. He only felt a slight sensation pass through him and into his head. Before he could react, the orb was gone, pulled inside him with the strange sensation. A notification appeared in response.

Congratulations!

You have learned a [Skill].

Skill Monster Harvest Type Ritual Cost Very Low Mana Cast Time Variable Cool Down None Duration Instant Range Touch Effect You may use the [Monster Harvest Ritual] with no materials other than your own mana.

[Monster Harvest Ritual] Effect: Gather harvestable materials from monsters you have slain. The higher the Monster's Rank, the better materials or items you may find. If the Monster's Rank is higher than your own, this effect may fail.

After he dismissed the notification, nothing happened.

"That was kind of creepy" Brick said, looking at Kyle's outstretched, empty hand. Despite his words, Brick was already holding his own orb and looking at it. Others around them did the same.

Kyle noticed that the orbs were all identical in size and color. He could also see the severity of different aptitudes when it came to activating the orbs. Some people had no issue at all, instantly absorbing their orb, while others took up to longer than ten minutes to do so. Kyle wondered why that was. Maybe some people were less accepting of this insane new world than others? Maybe it was about someone's ability to imagine what they want to happen?

"What skill did you get?" Kyle asked Brick, once the orb finally disappeared from the soldier's hand.

"Power Strike. It makes my next attack deal a small amount of extra damage based on my strength stat and count as a "Special Attack". Brick answered, sounding a bit confused.

Kyle sure was. "Why does it being special matter? Does it say?"

Brick shook his head. "No idea. But, I'll give it a shot when we're attacked again. What did you get?"

"Monster Harvest." Kyle then explained what the prompt said about the skill.

"Now we won't have to wait after each battle. Nice," Brick said excitedly. "That's awesome. I wonder if you'll get better stuff or just the usual chips?"

The military got everyone moving again not long after that. Kyle continued speaking mentally with his Guide while he and Brick carefully scanned the streets and debris for monsters.

So, now what? I learned a skill.

Yes. And now, some of the Lore for Skills was unlocked. Do you want to see it?

Yes, but a few questions first. Where did the Lore come from? And what is Lore?

Lore is Knowledge. It is that simple. Anything you know about anything is considered Lore. The Lore Book....

As the words appeared in the chat bubble, the Gear Icon flashed once before his menu opened automatically. It now had a third entry.

Character Sheet Lore Book Skills

The Lore Book flashed and opened. The window that appeared had a border that made it look like an open tome. The pages were blank except for the word Subject followed by a blinking cursor.

Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

Just search for Skill.

Kyle did what his guide instructed by imagining the word appearing where the cursor was. His desired text appeared and text began to fill the first page. It was reminiscent of what his Guide had said before when it recited Lore. Kyle let himself focus on the text.

Lore Found:

[Skills] help the [Ascendant Being] by allowing them to easily process and expend [Manaether]. This results in effects in the world around them.

[Normal Ranked] beings can only equip one [Skill]. Once equipped, a [Skill] cannot be unequipped.

Equipped [Skills] are lost if a new skill is equipped.

[Skills] aid in [Ascendant Beings'] growth.

His guide's chat box moved forward.

The System has granted you basic Lore to assist you in the transition of Earth. Since you have a Lore Book, you can visually access the Lore you gather. You will need to encounter the subject of the Lore you wish to unlock, however.

I see. But how do I know what subjects I need to explore to unlock this basic Lore?

Insufficient Lore.

Of course. Kyle sighed and closed the Lore Book. It figured. The System was willing to give them a leg up but not hold their hands. He guessed it made sense if the System truly wanted to help them instead of control them. Kyle was still a bit leery about the situation, so he left room for doubt on that.

Kyle was tired of exploring screens, so he didn't open anything else. Instead, he wanted to keep conversing with his Guide. His next question elicited a strange response.

What should I call you?

Three epilepsia blinked in the chat back, as if his guide was thinking. It was a long moment before words finally appeared.

Do I need a name?

Kyle chuckled aloud. Of course you need a name. I can't just think of you as Guide all the time.

Again there was a pause with more blinking dots.

Unlike other Spirit Guides, I will not be placed into the queue to be a Guide again. When you die or choose to not pay my ascension cost, I will cease to exist. I do not see the point in having a formal designation...

Kyle felt something inside him nearly break when he read that. This being, who seemed to have feelings and unique thoughts was tied to him? Didn't the windows imply the Guide would disappear if he didn't pay? He resolved then and there to not let that happen if he could avoid it.

Shaking off the dower thoughts, Kyle pushed forward. That's even more reason to have a name, not less. With less time, means every experience should be felt. That includes having an identity.

He had to wait for the longest time yet to get a response, but one did come. The rate at which the letters appeared made Kyle feel like there was hesitation behind it.

What...what would a good name for one like me be?

Kyle didn't know, but had an idea. Why not search my Lore for what I know about names? I enjoyed learning the meaning behind some when I was younger. I'm sure you can find something. I'll let you take your time and pick. Your name should reflect you.

Thank you...

Kyle only had a moment to read the words before his interface faded away due to his attention being drawn elsewhere. A bestial scream erupted from ahead of the group.

The crowd there started to mill about, but Kyle couldn't see anything past that. Without thinking, Kyle pulled his bat from his pouch and pushed his way forward. Brick did the same, his hand on his knife's hip sheath.

A group of house pet monsters had jumped out from behind a building and rushed a spot with less soldiers. Kyle didn't stop to dwell on what that said about the monsters. Instead, he swung his bat, connecting with the head of a huge dog monster who was trying to bite a man's throat.

The force of the hit was enough to turn the dogs head but that was all. So, Kyle followed the blow with kick to the dog's ribs. As the monster was bigger than his male Rottweiler, the kick didn't do much, but the monster did step off the man who scrambled away quickly. As Kyle was about to swing his bat again, a weight slammed into him from the side.

Kyle stumbled but managed to keep his balance. A shooting pain made him look at his arm. Another dog had latched onto the arm he was holding his bat with and was attempting to pull him over.

Before panic could set in, Kyle pulled one of his kitchen knives from his pouch and began stabbing the dog, who let go of him almost instantly. He followed the monster with his bat, crushing it's skull in with a few loud thuds.

Kyle would have been tackled by the first dog before he could have finished off the biter if it wasn't for Brick and Kyle's pets. All three of them had intercepted and took down the beast. Every couple of stabs Brick made, his knife would glow faintly. Kyle saw it happen once and felt it was more than just the light. It was power emanating from the weapon.

Several dog monsters lay slain in the street and, surprisingly, Kyle's arm was the worst injury. It stung and was bleeding, but was far from lethal or debilitating.

The mass of people kept moving, catching up with the front of the march who had not stopped. People passing by usually had the same reactions when they saw the dead monsters, fear, disgust, or sympathy.

Kyle understood. They looked like their pets. Yet, wanting to rip a persons throat out showed that they weren't their loving pets any longer.

"Ouch man, you should get that cleaned up." Brick said, examining Kyle's arm.

"It's fine. The bleeding is already stopping." Kyle waved the other man away. "Besides, I have a skill to try. I saw your blade glowing. Was that your skill? How did you do it?"

Kyle hunched over the corpse that he had made, listening to Brick's explanation.

"Oh yeah! That was it. It made the knife penetrate easier than when I didn't use it, but I couldn't see a difference past that. I just thought about activating the skill and it happened."

Kyle laid his hand on the corpse and imagined he was activating a skill for one of his Prime characters, concentrating on the name Monster Harvest in his mind. The skill must have done the rest, because he felt a familiar warmth spread from his center and move down his arm and into his hand. That feeling left his hand and went into the monster.

Just as when they waited, the monster began to dissipate. In almost an instant, there was nothing left except a large fang and a four mana chips. Kyle picked them all up.

"I wonder what this is?" He said aloud, holding the fang.

He wanted to smack his forehead when both Brick and his Guide answered him.

"Looks like a Monster Fang, bro"

A Monster Fang....

Trying his best to keep his annoyance out his tone, Kyle elaborated. "I meant, is it only a monster fang? Or is it a "Monster's Fang", you know? Like for crafting or whatever."

They even answered back the same again.

"Oh,"

Oh...

His guided added more.

Insufficient Lore

Kyle rolled his eyes after he turned to another corpse. It turned out, if he didn't kill the monster, he couldn't use Monster Harvest on it. But, if the person who killed it said he could, then the skill would activate. He could also use the skill on monsters killed by either of his pets.

Kyle couldn't ask everyone who fought permission to use his skill because most of them had kept marching after the fight. Very few people seemed to want the mana chips they left behind though.

He wouldn't have been able to use Monster Harvest on all the corpses anyway. After his fourth successful use of the skill, he became light headed. Not focusing on anything made his interface visible and there was a message from his guide.

Why are you not using your Interface?

Kyle put his hand to his head because the lightheaded feeling had turned into an ache. He even fell backwards. Thankfully he was crouched so the drop wasn't too far.

What do you mean?

Look at your Mana Bar...

Kyle blinked and moved his eyes to the bars in his vision. He hadn't even glanced at them since he first noticed them. He didn't need the lecture his guide gave him either. He could see the problem already.

If you run out of Mana, you'll have a Mind crash and pass out!

If you run out of Stamina, you'll have a Body crash and pass out!

If you run out of HP, you will DIE! Even if you don't have any wounds!

Kyle had to blink and dispel his Interface multiple times to make sure he wasn't imagining it.

All three of his bars were nearly empty. All of them. The red and green bars sat at about twenty-five percent. The blue was barely a sliver.

If Kyle wasn't careful, he would pass out and die, or just straight up die. It took a few long deep breaths for him to calm down. He watched the bars closely for a long minute and only his stamina bar refilled noticeably. The blue sliver was a little fatter but not by much. The red bar hadn't moved at all.

"What's wrong?" Brick asked him, seeing his expression.

Kyle only shook his head. "Used too much mana. Don't do that. It's not fun."

"Good lookin' out. Here. It's water." Brick handed Kyle a flask. "It'll be a few minutes before these bodies disappear. Let's rest a bit."

Kyle only nodded and sipped on the water for a while, watching his stamina refill.