Timeless Odyssey: Eternal Requiem Prologue
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” chanted a voice full of gleeful gratitude. A relatively short figure darted around a spherical capsule in disbelief while two more voices laughed cheerfully in the background. Dark brown, basically black, eyes stared in awe at the limited edition Timeless Odyssey capsule. The rounded, smooth surface was covered with full color digital art including savage Orcs hunting down prey, graceful Elves communing with nature, grim Dwarves smithing rigid ore, courageous Humans forming legions to fight with each other, and there were many more, but the races were only silhouettes. The young man turned between his smiling parents and fully operational system begging to hurry and start playing.
“Go ahead, Set.” His father, nodding his head towards his presents. Set rushed his parents with hug.
“Thank you!” Set exclaimed once more. The teenager rushed to climb into his new capsule, but carefully aligned his spine against the curvature of the seat. Then he placed the VR goggles over his eyes before resting his head against the headrest of the seat. The personal AI of the capsule activated once his vitals synced up with its system. A screen soon popped up over his eyes, and a grin complete with dimples lit his face.
[My scan of your iris indicates you have no accounts. Create an account?]
“Yes!”
[One moment please.]
Immediately Set’s vision went completely dark, and the latent connection to his physical body disconnected. Panic started to seize his mind. Wild fears of becoming an invalid filled his mind, before a new scene started to grow in his vision. An endless plain full of lush, rippling grass extended around him. Cool breezes ran across his skin, and Set was slightly embarrassed to notice he was completely naked.
[Welcome to Character Creation. Please select you race.]
“Um…what are the options?” He assumed the four filled in races were the only ones available, but it never hurts to make sure.
[Currently there are four unlocked races: Orcs, Elves, Dwarves, and Humans. All other races are locked until specific quests are completed.]
“Alright then… I would like to choose Human.”
[Understood. Which gender would you like to play as?]
“Male.” Set held no desire to play as a woman, and made a mental note to be even more careful around female characters.
[Understood. Do you wish to alter your appearance or height?]
“No thank you.” Even though he stood only five foot five, about one hundred sixty-five centimeters to his nitpicky friends, Set didn’t see the purpose of making himself taller. It would only throw off his coordination. Plus his face wasn’t terrible. Nose may be a bit big, but everything else was alright. Maybe if this game was out when he was younger, he might have changed his skin color. Now he didn’t have a problem being black.
[Understood. Please name your character.]
“…Muse.”
[Understood. As a human, the starting cities are all in the kingdom of Ivalia. Strall in the northern mountains, the desert region of Agril, the high plains of Brill, and the coast city of Crail. Where would you like to start?]
“High plains of Brill please.”
[Understood. Please enjoy your time playing.]
Set let out a noise of glee as he mentally transitioned to Muse, the level one adventurer of Timeless Odyssey. Muse’s surroundings rapidly changed as larges sects of the plain were cleared and replaced by a bustling town.
Ting!
Welcome traveler to the plains city of Brill! As a highly valued guest, we would like to honor you with the title Valued Traveler, a special set of starting gear, and ten bonus SP! Please enjoy your stay here in Brill.
New Title! Valued Traveler.] As an owner of the limited edition capsule, an equally limited title was given! Active effects N/A Passive Effects +100 influence with all human NPC’s (automatically on friendly terms).
NPC’s that would normally be hostile on sight are set to neutral (does not affect Law Enforcement if you acquire a high bounty).
10% increase to the rate influence increase.
+100 Fame.
Silver Circlet Durability 100/100 A shining silver circlet for a special traveler. Effects +10 Intelligence.
+10 Wisdom.
Silk Shirt Durability 100/100 A special, light, and airy shirt for a special traveler. Effects +10 Vitality.
+10 Might.
Silk Pants Durability 100/100 A pair of pants for a special traveler. Effects +10 Vitality.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
Custom Boots Durability 100/100 A pair of boots for a special traveler. Effects +10 Agility.
Status Window Name Muse Primary Class N/A Health 300 Mana 200 Level 1 Health Regen/Sec 1.0 Mana Regen/Sec 1.0 Might 20 Agility 20 Wisdom 20 Intelligence 20 Stamina 200 Vitality 30 Dexterity 10 Luck 5 Unspent SP 10 Fame 100 Titles Valued Traveler
Muse’s eyes blinked rapidly from the sudden influx of screens. Then they widened upon seeing the status window. Timeless Odyssey followed the general rule of starting players with ten in almost all stats, luck being halved, and fame starting at zero. Leveling up provided five stat points, going solely by stats he was the equivalent of a player about eleven levels above him. Plus the fame and influence passive effects…tears stung his eyes. Thank you parents, he thought. Muse cheerfully wiped his eyes before whirling around. His wild, black hair whipped around with him. The new player analyzed his surroundings, mentally debating where to start. I already agreed to be the money maker and supplier…but which profession to start first? Muse continued turning around while thinking. Chival is our tank, he’s the only one who’d really benefit from blacksmithing…both Ars and Shin are mage types so they’d benefit more from leatherworking and woodworking…cooking, alchemy, enchanting would all be useful for now, but I don’t want to start those yet…ugh I don’t feel like thinking. He suddenly stopped whirling around, stumbling a bit as extreme dizziness washed over him.
Ting!
New Status! Dizziness Due to spinning around, you’re now dizzy! -50% coordination.
Duration: 5 minutes.
Great! The first thing he discovered was a debuff. He groaned and stumbled around helplessly. “Son, are you alright?” an elderly voice roamed into his ears. Muse turned around with bleary eyes. A slowly shifting and turning figure of an old couple filled his vision. The traveler squinted before responding.
“Not at all..” It took all his control not to vomit. The man shook his head, silvery gray shaking with the motion. He looked over at who Muse assumed was his wife.
“Do you have Silax’s powder on you?” The old woman smiled, accentuation the laugh lines and wrinkles on her pale face.
“Of course dear.” The woman slipped her hand from her husband’s. Next she reached into the folds of her coat and retrieved a small green pouch. “This might itch a little, young man.” Muse didn’t have time to ponder on what she meant until a faceful of green powder flew into his face. His face turned almost immediately heated up and felt itchy. The cloud irritated his eyes, and tears once more sprang up.
Ting!
Status Cured!
“How are you feeling now, sonny?” The old man spoke again.
“I..I’m better. What was that stuff?” Next the old woman spoke up.
“Just a little something my husband and I created.” Muse’s eyes sparkled.
“Are you two alchemists?” His voice was full of awe and admiration. The elderly couple were a little taken back by his exuberance.
“Well..something like that,” the woman leaned forward and started to whisper conspiratorially, “Ever heard of taming?” Muse blinked a few times.
“I believe so..like animal tamers and stuff?” The woman nodded.
“What most people don’t know is that taming applies to more than just animals, anything with sentience can be tamed! Provided your will and skill proves great enough.” Muse adopted a genuine face of reverence.
“Wow, that sounds amazing,” The traveler hesitated a bit, “Can it be taught?” The husband eyed him.
“It can be…to those who are worthy. Would you like to learn?”
Ting!
New Quest! Prove You Are Worthy To Be A Tamer. The elderly couple has seen your desire and wants to test your chances of becoming a tamer! Requirements: Be seventeen years of age.
Be on friendly terms with the elderly couple.
Acquire a negative status effect around the elderly couple.
Express genuine interest in taming.
“…Of course I would love to!”