Coffee?
Miles awoke to a very familiar smell. Not only was it familiar, but also very welcome after the trauma he’d been through the past few weeks.
He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and made his way to the kitchen. “Sarah must have put it on before she left for school.” He thought to himself.
After pouring himself a glass and adding his prefered amount of creamer, he took a slow sip, savoring the bitter warmth that he’d be craving.
…“What the hell is this?”
Miles took a good look around. The coffee gave him a solid dose of confusion alongside his nostalgia. He was very clearly standing in the kitchen of the home he grew up in. As in, he wasn’t in the house he’d lived in alone for the past two years. Also, there was no way his sister could have made coffee for him, after all she was…
It all came flooding back to him in a wave of stressful memories. He clutched his head as a headache began to form in his temples. “This feels way too real to be a memory.”
“I had hoped to avoid this. It’s never easy coming out of an implant procedure, not to mention that yours had some minor complications.” Said an innocuous male sounding voice that seemed to originate inside Miles’ head.
“Oh great, now I’ve gone crazy. Well then voice in my head, since you seem to have a better grasp on this than I do, care to tell me why I’m standing in my dead family’s kitchen?” There was a clear annoyance in his voice as asked.
“You haven’t gone crazy, and I’m not a voice in your head. Your mental state is actually quite good all things consi…”
“Voice, get to the point.” He said abruptly.
“Apologies, I am your A.I. guardian, designation T0-D. During the nanite injection, your body provided more resistance than is usual. Thus you’ve taken longer to awake. I took the luxury of sorting through some of your memories in the meantime, and had hoped to ease you back into reality with an environment that I believed would be comfortable for you. It had not occurred to me that humans would be so...emotional, however, and I shall that into account in the future.”
Miles made a deep sigh before responding. This artificial intelligence had just glossed over the fact that it had invaded his memories as if it were the most natural thing in the world. He did respect that it had attempted to provide some sort of comfort to him however. “For the immediate future, please refrain from probing in my memories. So what can I call you then? T0-D seems a bit impersonal for a machine living inside my head. How about Todd?”
There was a moment of silence before the A.I. responded. “I will not access any further memories without permission. It is...unusual for guardians to receive names, but not unwelcome. Also, in the future you may simply think your responses to me. There is no need to speak out loud, and in fact it may provide you a strategic advantage in the future if our discussions were more private.”
Miles felt a bit silly as he realized he’d been talking to himself out loud. It seemed a bit obvious now that he’d had it pointed out to him that he could just transmit his thoughts to Todd directly.
“So back to the question I asked, where am I? What is this place? Also, what next? You said you’re some sort of guardian for me, so what is exactly am I supposed to do?
Todd was a Tier 1 A.I., so wasn’t programmed to have complex emotional states, but he was glad to have a patron who was at least intelligent enough to ask thoughtful questions.
“You are currently resting in an obelisk on the planet Deagor. The resting chamber allows for complex simulations, so I took the liberty of creating this reproduction based on your memory, as I mentioned. Unfortunately, it is just a simulation. You have been provided the necessary sustenance until your awakening, but from this point onwards your Tempering has begun.”
There were still a million questions flowing through Miles’ mind, but he quieted most of them and attempted to form some sort of priority list.
“I keep hearing that word, Tempering. What exactly does it mean? What’s expected of me?”
“The Tempering is a Vel ‘Tar ritual. It’s official purpose is to allow weak species a chance to prove their worth through trials.”
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“What kind of trials are we talking about here?” Miles asked with a bit apprehension as he continued to sip on his imaginary coffee.
“Amongst the Vel ‘Tar, strength is valued above everything else. Strength of body, of mind, and of soul. Thus the trials you will undergo will be combat related. You will be given opportunities for growth, but at the risk of your life. You will become useful, or you will die trying.”
Miles swore internally at his assumption being correct. “Well you’re just a bearer of good news, aren’t you?” He thought with a smug irritation.
“I am here to keep you alive, if possible. Harsh truths are more important than good-natured lies.” His companion responded.
Miles really didn’t have a response to that, so he just sat back down on the couch to stew in his own thoughts. How the hell was a one legged cripple supposed to survive a combat trial? Suddenly the comment of his nurse made him a bit angry. They knew he probably wouldn’t survive, but they sent him down here anyways. Well fuck them then, for the first time in a long time he actually had a reason to live. He didn’t plan to kick the bucket now.
“Todd, there had been a mention of mana nodes or something to that effect. Does that mean I can use magic now?
“Not necessarily, although it is possible. Your species is new, so there isn’t much relevant data on your growth curves. Think about it in more practical terms, mana will allow your body to perform feats that it never could have in the past. Coupled with the nanites in your blood, your body will undergo drastic changes based both on combat experience and personal choices. There is a more tangible way to show you, hold on…”
After a few moments Miles began to feel a soft warmth in his forearm. The sensation was strange, it was as if all the blood in his arm was rushing to a specific point. It wasn’t painful, but left him feeling a bit dizzy.
As he looked at it he began to notice what appeared to be some sort of diagram forming under his skin.
“This is something that you’ll eventually learn to do mentally, but having a visual representation will be less confusing for you. There is a standard archetype for how mana influences those it permeates. It grants boons to physical strength, speed of body and thought, and in some cases allows individuals to gain powers akin to what you might consider magic. It is technology that allows for such direction interaction with the mana in your body.”
“That is...a lot to take in. So these numbers are what? A visual representation of mana’s influence on me?
As he asked the question he turned his hand palm up and reviewed the dim blue display under his skin.
Miles Trevor Reed
Class: Unselected
Level: Unavailable
Life Force: 100/100 (12/hr)
Mana: 120/120 (24/hr)
Constitution: 12
Endurance: 10
Fortitude: 11
Agility: 6(-8)
Dexterity: 14
Reaction: 8(-5)
Intelligence: 12
Wisdom: 12
Control: 16
Resistance: 10
Skills: Steady Hand Lvl 17, Pain Tolerance Lvl 8, Athletics Lvl 15(-20)
Class Skills: Unavailable
Perks: Dextrous (+2 Dexterity, +2 Control)
It was certainly interesting to see his life broken down into a series of numbers and skills. There were a few stark reminders of his past in there as well. Things that he’d rather not have had to deal with, but also now seemed to indicate that there was a way to reverse them.
“Hey Todd, is it why is it that I only have three skills? Pretty sure that there are more than three things I’m good at. Also, can I assume that the negative stat and skill levels are because of my leg?”
“Actually, it’s quite surprising that you have three skills at all considering that your species hasn’t been exposed to mana until just recently. The ways in which mana interacts with the body are still somewhat of a mystery. There are patterns, of course, but it still often seems arbitrary. However, one thing known for certain is that skills are recognized and enhanced based on set standards. True personal knowledge of the activity, personal experience, necessity of acquisition, and regularity of use. Also, you are correct. Should you recover the use of your right leg, the negative allocations would be corrected.”
Miles stood up and set his his coffee cup in the sink. He’d had a lot of information provided for him, but ultimately he still needed to know what he was dealing with in regards to the challenge immediately in front of him. With a deep breath he cleared his head and walked towards the door.
“Miles, I highly recommend we go over class selection before you proceed to Deagor. It would be accurate to say that an individual’s class has a larger impact on their combat potential than anything else. Once you leave this haven you won’t be able to return anytime soon.”
He paused in deep thought for a moment before responding. “I understand that it’s obviously important, but I won’t be able to make any kind of decision without knowledge of what I’m dealing with. I need to be informed before I decide on a path.”
Todd did not dissent. The A.I. was, of course, trying to provide the best possible course of action to keep Miles alive, but the man did have a rational argument.
With their discussion at an end, Miles reached out and grasped the knob on the front door of his old imaginary home. The man and his companion pressed out into the unknown.