I whisper, “I don’t know how to Covargh.”
Ugh, that voice grates. I hope others hear it differently.
Close your eyes, Forrest.
Breathe. Inhale. Hold it. Hold it. Don’t focus. Exist. Hold it. Exhale.
Again.
Okay, You have a grip. Open your eyes. It is nice here. The forest sounds and smells relax me, aiding the breathing exercise.
He didn’t have to disappear like that. Why not, “Forrest, we’ve got 10 more minutes to discuss things. Then you will be on your own.”
”You could have done that, asshole!”
Heh, That is the first thing he ever said to me, that he is an asshole. “You have to be right about everything, don’t you?” I see you smiling, don’t say you’re not. I feel better, with a mental image of Interface the Blue Window smiling. In Comic Sans.
He is listening! The blue window popped back up. He didn’t put up a smiley face, though. Terse.
Learned skill: Meditation, F
I’ve got my first learned skill. That was easy. I was not one to meditate regularly, but when stressed it was a useful tool. At the station they would hold “Life Skills” seminars quarterly. One I took early on included stress management and it featured the breathing exercise I adopted. It is surprising Interface would consider it a nascent skill; it wasn’t like I meditated regularly. Maybe he offered it up so quickly as an assurance of his continued presence.
Even Terse Interface uses Comic Sans. System used it also. Maybe that’s the only font they have? Nah, they are messing with me. I am sure they know I always hated that font, and thought that people who used it were amateurs. Maybe I can ask them to change it.
No, that’s them. I do not want them to change it. If infinitely awesome amateurs want to use Comic Sans, fine.
Woah, The thought of System brought back all memory of it. All. It did grant me that “permanent-eidetic” memory of our interaction. Why do that? Was there important information or clues that will be useful 42 lives from now? That list of immortal archetypes, where I chose “tuesday’s wildcard” … Will I ever get to make that choice again, or a similar one? Only three of the eleven options were chosen specifically for me. It told me, “The other eight were chosen randomly from the over 100 archetypes available.”
I was offered “alley cat”, “ghost”, “mime”, “monkey’s clawed”, and seven others. The ones System expected I might choose were “past legend”, “mysterious stranger”, and “tuesday’s wildcard’. I realize something more now. All eleven sort of embodied a gist of loneliness. Like the words themselves were only part of a name’s significance. That sort of makes sense for an immortal. How could loneliness not end up a factor?
I’ll think about my time with System later. Lots of laters, with this eidetic memory dump. What about now? Sixteen year old wolfman-man alone in the woods. I am not lost. Forrest is in a forest near the village of Cottages on the world Heere. Expect nearby roads too. (Yep, they’re messing with me. I don’t mind it though. If you’re going to be around forever, you need humor.)
I’m not sleepy, hungry, or thirsty. I don’t need to go. All are as promised for each new day, each new tuesday. My first tuesday. What should I do? Number one priority: don’t die. Interface would be pissed, after the processing that went into getting me pretty much exactly what I asked for. On an immediate re-roll, I’d probably ask to roll a “talented dwarf cleric who fights well” just to mollify him. Damn, dying now would be embarrassing. It is weird to realize my fear of death is gone. It was mostly gone anyway when I was begging it to take me. But now, just, “wow”.
“Don’t die” is a good start, but not particularly forward looking. I should look around this area first. There might be a nearby stream that I could follow to that village. Or a road. I hope that Interface was right about there not being much danger near here. Damn the forest smells good. The warm temperature, the light breeze, the soft grass. I am not in a meadow, but just a small glade. “Eden”. That would have been a better name than “Heere”.
If I do come across something dangerous on my way to Cottages what do I do? “Run!” isn’t always the best option. Play it by ear. I could always handle myself in a fight, but I wasn’t in that many. Occasionally while I was in the Navy someone would get drunk and belligerent at a bar. If needed, I was able to introduce them to the floor. So …
Wait, dammit, how could I forget? I have skills now. I have not checked them out. Interface said I could query. Okay. I don’t know exactly how to do that yet, but sticking with the words it used seems like a good start.
I think, “Query Skills”.
HP Regen, D
SP Regen, D
Ki Regen, D
Ki Punch, E
Dodge, E
Heal Other, E
Meditation, F
Maybe I can also select? I put my finger on the “Ki Punch” line. Cool, a second window partially overlays the first.
Ki Punch is a free form concussive attack which may be used either closed- or open-fisted. You can also invest Ki into a slap. Investing Ki is to will more power than your muscles themselves provide. Ki adds a penetrative effect. Rank E values:
Base damage: 2-4
Ki used: 0-6
SP used: 5
Recharge: 4 sec
That sounds pretty useful. I wonder how it would have been at Rank F? “Penetrative effect” probably means some of it will be felt through armor. With no armor, it might be felt deeper into a foe’s body than a normal punch would. As it is, damage can be 2-10 total. If I put 6 Ki into each strike, then it is 8-10. One punch won’t be deadly, but I might be able to break a nose, especially once I begin training it. With my max ki at 152, that should let me sustain for over 25 strikes, more considering Ki regeneration during that period. These windows even have the X in the upper right. Let’s dismiss Ki Punch and try:
Ki Regen is the rate at which ki regenerates. Rank D provides 126 ki/hour. When below 40% max ki, its regeneration is reduced by 40%.
That sounds adequate, I guess. It is over 2.5 ki/min. Extended fights where I use ki a lot will be problematic, though. I’ll need some non-ki fighting skills too. Its controlling attribute is wisdom, so boosting that will help. It is one of the strident attributes, so trainable outside of the level system, but tough to do.
SP Regen is the rate at which stamina regenerates. Rank D provides 304 SP/hour. When below 40% max SP, its regeneration is reduced by 40%.
Barely over 6 SP/min. Better to know my limitations now, though. At least this one’s controlling attribute, endurance, is practical, thus routinely trained outside of level bumps.
HP Regen is the rate at which health regenerates. Rank D provides 11.3 HP/hour. When below 40% max HP, its regeneration is reduced by 40%.
Crap. Wolverine you ain’t. That’s 0.226 HP/min, or not even 1 HP every 4 minutes. Yikes, vitality is a native attribute, not trainable on its own. I’ll get 3 vitality per level though, so that’s something. Got to always remember Rule 1: Don’t die.
Rethinking it, I’m suffering from unrealistic expectations caused by comic books, superhero movies, and OP characters in anime. Thinking positively, Forrest can heal his broken bones within a scale of hours, not weeks. That is huge compared to Earth reality. Still, avoid getting badly hurt!
Interface said at rank F, the regens were penalized 50% beginning at 50% max. Rank D is two steps up, so it looks like those 50% penalties lessened 5% per rank.
These might not yet be quick during a fight, but it sure is a lot better than no regens at all. Let’s check out Dodge.
Dodge is the ability to quickly avoid a blow of any sort, except area of effect. Your battle awareness grows by level, and eventually you will be able to avoid even unseen blows. Level, rank, perception, agility, and training all contribute to Dodge effectiveness. Level 1, Rank E values:
This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
Ki used: 11
SP used: 9
Duration: 5 sec
Recharge: 3 sec
“of any sort”. Apparently it is useful in avoiding single-target magic too. Nice. It can be on for 5 of every 8 seconds, or up to a 62.5% utilization factor until ki runs out. I hope that improves with rank, but it should prove tremendously useful even now. What is the difference between improvements from level or rank? The other skills seem to be primarily improved by rank. Odd.
Just two left:
Heal Other offers localized healing of another being in a region around your hand. The affected area and maximum healing both grow with level. It only restores HP. It cannot cure poison, disease, or eliminate status effects or curses. It can be used, however, to restore HP being lost to such conditions. Your ki is used to significantly raise the other’s native HP regen, so extended contact may be required. Rank E values:
Ki rate: 8/sec
Efficiency: -50%
Recharge: none
So 8 K/sec heals at 4 HP/sec. The seconds here are almost twice as long as Earth ones, so the effect will be slower than it looks in the text. I’m sure it’s not the best heal in the galaxy, but it sure beats just letting someone die. I need to retrain the first aid I had before, which should add a lot of flexibility. I know there are alchemists, so there will likely be cure potions and such. I need to prepare myself for future fights and adventures. I cannot heal myself, and my self-healing is just 1 HP every 4 minutes. Let’s plan to pack healing potions too. Maybe the potions can top off my health immediately.
I particularly like that I can heal “beings”. So I should be able to heal animals. Friendly monsters too, if there are any. Heck, even lower level antagonistic monsters. In games I would sometimes train moves and spells while repeatedly fighting the same monster, healing it as necessary. That would be tricky to do here because of my touch-heal over time methodology.
And finally:
Meditation is a skill used to accelerate all of your regeneration types at once. It will also help calm a panicked mind. Until reaching Rank D, it only offers benefits while active. Distractions will deactivate the skill. Rank F values:
HP regen: +10%
SP regen: +10%
Ki regen: +15%
It is not a whole lot at rank F, but I’ll sure as hell take it. I hope I’ll be talented enough to use it even when highly agitated. Maybe wisdom helps. I’m glad it will eventually offer passive benefits, like when I am running or fighting.
Let’s make those windows go away and command, “Query Inventory”.
Loincloth
No surprise there. Can I learn more? Let’s try selecting it, with my mind this time.
A simple leather garment routinely worn by the Covargh in moderate to hot temperatures. Good quality, no wear, no enchantments.
That is enough queries for now. Let’s go see if I can begin having friendly encounters. And not have any unfriendly encounters! This is probably the continent where Covargh and humans predominate. They can and do interbreed, so I am literally a “wolfman-man”, half of each. The Covargh have no problem with that. As far as they are concerned, I’m just another Covargh. However, a lot of humans would consider me a “half breed” and be less than friendly. Stupid humans!
Various sapient elementals may be about too, earth, air, fire, and water. They understand the Covargh language, which is native to both Covargh and the Humans here. The earth and air ones tend to be “live and let live” types, but the fire and water ones, less so. Those two aren’t generally evil per se, but they are generally territorial. A wide variety of foes can be found in a dungeon, so your martial skills can be put to good use. I’m not going to do that on Day 1, though. I can see the headline: “Dumbass enters dungeon with his loincloth and nothing else”. Nope.
So, what should I do?
1. Don’t die
2. Meet people
3. Find a way to earn money
4. Practice the skills I have
5. Regain my first aid skill
6. Learn bo and bow
To Do List instantiated
Handy! Those are a lot more items than I’ll get done on tuesday one, but it seems like a good direction to take. My friends Hal and Becky used to bow hunt. Survivalists. Damn, I wish I would have learned the bow and gone hunting with them. Then at least I’d know how to handle being in the woods. I barely remember anything from Boy Scouts. I may not be a woodsman, but should anyone need to put out a fire or have a hut or outhouse built, I’m their wolfman-man!
----------------------------------------
I just remembered something useful from Boy Scouts. There was a thing about looking at the moss on trees to keep going the same direction. It was supposed to help like a compass. I wonder if moss and trees act the same here? I’ll investigate some trees and check it out. …
Good. Most trees do tend to have moss on the same side. Let’s follow the moss. I still do not know what direction I’ll be going, but it won’t be in circles. (Please tell me there is no village named “Circles”.)
While I’m walking, I should prepare a cover story to tell folks. Why is this 16 year-old guy traveling by himself without a backpack or money? Interface said to tell people I’m on a walkabout, but to say little and listen a lot. I’ll say my bag disappeared while I was bathing in a stream. I’ll let them guess as to if it was bandits, animals, or UFO aliens. What should I say when they ask where I’m from?
…
No. No. You are not going to say that.
…
Dammit, yes I am. It was fated the moment the thought hit me. “I grew up in a small village named Circles on the other side of the continent.”
If they ask more, play dumb as possible. Still I probably should have a reason ready for my ignorance. Maybe … My mother was human and I grew up with my Covargh father absent. I was the only Covargh who lived in her village. That sounds like it might be reasonable, and not too detailed.
Why did Jacques not spend more time outdoors? This is really nice. The pads of my feet are calloused enough that walking around here is no problem. I’d still like some shoes or sandals or something in case I step on a sharp rock or stick or something. Or something that doesn’t smell good. I believe my sense of smell is better as a Covargh than a Human. Well, Earth Human, anyways. Maybe the Humans here have a fantastic sense of smell. My hearing may also be better than it was. I think I hear flowing water. What is it called? “Burbling.” That is a word I have not used in forever. No, not “forever”. That word means something entirely different now that I’m immortal. I can’t trivialize it like we used to back home.
Stop. Center. This is home. That is a memory.
Stupid branch! Almost walked into it. Watch where you are going. Also watch where your feet are going to land.
There it is! A small stream. It is moving at a good pace. The water is sparkling blue and looks very clean. I think this home might be the better one.
Be careful of predators, though. They need to drink, just like me. It should be okay. Covargh, wolfmen, are predators too, and Interface said this region was fairly safe. Let me cup some water up with my hand and take a drink. I’m not thirsty yet, but it looks so good I want to taste it. Cool and tastes like that expensive, bottled spring water back on Earth, but without the hint of plastic. I’m sure there are deeper sections where I could have taken that bath.
Let’s follow the stream now. Which way? Well, the moss was sending me basically in the downstream direction. Continue that way. Oh, there is a deer. Or in English I would have thought of it as a deer-thing. It wasn’t actually a deer, but the Covarghic equivalent must be close enough for the word to work.
Well, there was a deer; it took off. Except for its dark orange stripes and thicker head, I think it is essentially the same as a deer. (My sister would have said “ochre stripes”.) It must have heard me or smelled me or something. That was my first exposure to sentient life here. Covargh probably hunt and eat them all the time. I, on the other hand, haven’t got a clue. Killing it I could probably do, especially with my ki punch skill available. I’d have to catch it first, though.
I’ve also got claws. They’re about as big as a big Earth dog would have, but sharper. Well, my exposure was to domesticated dogs. Big, wild dogs might have had sharp claws too. So, use your claws and ki punch to kill the deer. After that, my ignorance hits even harder. I know I’d have to skin it and butcher it and eventually tan the hide. But I don’t know how to do any of that. I’m not sure I could even kill and eat a rabbit, without it becoming a bloody, hairy mess. Some wolfman-man you are.
I know Covarghic homes have kitchens. So they would probably cook rabbits and deer before eating them, right? I hope so. Eating raw meat all the time does not sound appealing.
There is a nice still inlet just ahead. It is about 3 square feet in size, and the water in it appears very clean but stagnant. I wonder if I can see a reflection? It would be nice to know what my face looks like. Oh, beautiful. The forest on the other side of the stream is being reflected by the water. The quality of the reflection is really high. It is almost like a mirror, except with some pebbles beneath. I’ve just decided – mirrors should look like they have pebbles “on the other side”.
Now, let’s go up to the stream and take a look at me.
Oh. Not great.
6.5 charisma, check.
I know what Covargh are supposed to look like. My knowledge dump has a few images, including male and female adults. The male ones reminded me of the Lon Chaney, Jr. werewolf but with bigger ears and no underbite. They also had small snouts. That is not me. My human genes added a primitive, cave-manny aspect with a large almost hairless forehead. The snout is gone. I do not look unintelligent, though – just the opposite. I look like an ugly wolfman mated with an ugly neanderthal and had an ugly, goofy-looking, nerd kid. One with crooked teeth. Must be from my human side; I don’t think wolves can have crooked teeth, can they? On Earth I wasn’t exactly an underwear model, but I thought I looked a little better than normal. I was fine with normal.
I talk to myself aloud, “Well, dude, you ain’t getting laid anytime soon.”
Oh no, that voice. “Jerry Lewis’ nerd”, but an octave lower. That cannot be normal. Low charisma sucks! My low luck attribute will be just as detrimental in some way. When I level up, two of the free points are going to charisma, and one to luck. With the half-point gains from my healing skill, that should bring charisma to 8 and luck to 7.5. Interface said 10 in each attribute was normal for Level 0 immortals. I got the impression that 10 is above average, plus with my immediate level up to 1 most of my attributes are well ahead of the curve. I can go a couple of levels dedicating all the free points to charisma and luck. My level bonuses for race and class seem pretty high and balanced enough. At least get the low two to 9. That should put me in their normative range.
Let’s try this: “Add To Do item – raise charisma and luck to 9”.
7. Raise charisma and luck to 9
Either I have been really lucky in choosing commands, or Interface is being flexible and intelligent in accepting them. Very likely the latter. Thank you!
I take another close look at my reflection. To be fair, I cannot call this a complete disaster. My other attributes seem to be picking up some of the potential downsides. Perception, intelligence, and wisdom average to almost 13 and might be the source of my pleasant, alert eyes. 13 vitality has given me healthy skin and fur (still coarse, though). My agility and strength average to 13.5, and I have a lithe but well toned build. Well,critically it might be a little lanky, but that is nothing I can’t grow out of. Things could be a lot worse.
Let’s continue my downstream trek, hopefully traveling toward Cottages.
I could not really envision what I was asking for, but Interface definitely did well overall. He did warn me of the low two attributes if I chose this route. I hope other Covargh accept me. While I was healthy, at 57 I had been feeling signs of age. Pudginess was a constant even with my exercise and semi-healthy diet. (Hey, I liked to visit Five Guys a lot; their hamburgers, fries, and strawberry malts were unbeatable. Strawberries, that’s healthy, right?) I’d wake up with various pains and sometimes I would go to bed with different pains. My hair had gone grey. Covargh typically have a life expectancy of 66 years, but their year length is 11% longer. Converting that to the Human-year equivalent would be, what? x = 66 * 1.11.
x = 73.3
Who needs a smartphone? Nice. I think 73 is pretty much the life expectancy for “first-world” societies on Earth, So for all practical purposes, Jacques would have been 57 here, too. I’ll still consider myself 16, even in “Covargh-years”. Pretty coincidental, but go with it.
Woah! Someone is swearing in the distance.