Jodrak had arrived at the den of Demi-humans known as Roh-Levias. This was as close to a city as these ever-quarreling beings got. The massive maw of some long dead titan greeted him as its entrance. Walking at a quick pace, Jodrak was barely able to contain his excitement as he trotted through the cave's main gateway; it's two guards eyeing him questioningly.
The tangling network of caves that flowed before him after passing the gateway was often confusing. Still, Jodrak had been here many times and knew exactly where he was headed in this maze of tunnels, which housed many kinds of monstrous beings.
In a place such as this, the guardian and its minions kept the peace. The guardian is a mighty monster with intelligence that resides within the core of the den. Often these cities began as such a beings den, with demi human and intelligent monsters gathering for safety and offering tribute for it.
Now, as a city, which is traditionally named after its den master, that tribute is significantly increased. It must be paid to ensure the safety of all who congregate here (from the threats outside, as much as from the den master themselves) All paid tribute in the form of exorbitant taxes. However the Demi-humans and monsters were seen as evil, mostly because they were, but still they could not live in a human or other “civilized races” city without being chased off at the very least.
It wasn’t so bad though, the den master strictly enforced a policy of order employing some of the more powerful denizens to enforce it. It wasn’t out of kindness or wanting to help its people however, the den master was just lazy. Most of them were actually; these powerful monstrosities very much liked the lazy lifestyle of being a den master.
After a somewhat annoying amount of twists and turns through various tunnels' lengths. The den master was a very powerful tunnel wyrm, so its den was naturally a ton of tunnels. Jodrak finally arrived at his destination. A tavern looking structure was before him, half-built from scavenged materials, found around local towns and villages, half-carved into the side of the tunnel wall. The doors were large enough to accommodate various monster sizes.
The doors swung open as easily for a Ratkin like himself, through either design or magic, as it did a ten-foot-tall troll.
Entering the tavern, Jodrak knew precisely who he was looking for. Stelvia, a half-demoness information trader, who was adept at moving in the shadows and used this skill often to gather information.
Stelvia, with the use of her skills, successfully made a name for herself in the darker sides of the city as an information broker. She could sell you any information you needed if you just knew what to ask and, of course, had the coin for it.
Scanning the bar for a while, Jodrak finally found his target. The beautiful woman sat mostly cloaked in the bar's far corner, nearly blending with the shadows.
As he approached her, he was stopped by a large meaty hand. A deep raspy voice asked, "What business you have with da lady?"
Looking to the appendage owner barring him, Jodrak saw a somewhat large Orc, muscular, and battle scared, armed with two longswords and heavy chain armor.
Nearly skittering out the door right there, Jodrak barely fought his frightful nature, yet was unable to speak, only stood frozen.
“Oi, Lug, you’re scaring the poor little guy,” Chimed in the soft, sultry voice of a Drow ranger, perched on the rafters just above his head. Jodrak would have never seen her had she not spoken. In fact, several other surrounding patrons seemed surprised at her presence, as if she suddenly appeared.
Drow, one of the few races that looked entirely like the mortal races, save their ebony skin. They were touted as the only race to be able to exist among both mortals and monsters. Though in truth, their relationship with monsters gave them a hated stigma among the mortal races. They were rarely accepted there, seen to be monstrous or evil versions of the Elven race.
"Shut it, Davila, dis one come here on his own, should be ready to answer question," the Orc said, looking annoyed at Jodrak. "Spit it out, rat, what ya here for?”
Jodrak, still scared stiff, had settled that, at least they were not going to kill him right now. Mustering what little courage he had, he muttered, "I..I..I…wa-want to sell information.”
“Oooh, and what could little ol' you have that would interest my ears?" purring out the words, the beautiful demoness playfully chimed in. Stelvia sat forward, her long red tail began whipping around behind her, as she considered the new tasty information coming her way.
"P-Price first," Jodrak stuttered, "top quality, and fresh information, world-changing," he continued, gaining more composure.
"Well now, that is interesting indeed," Stelvia thought, her tail twitching in the excitement that betrayed her poker face. "Thad' be worth five hundred easy IF you can prove it that is."
Jodrak paled; could he prove it? Now he was worried, very worried. Stelvia was not one who liked to be messed with; he just had to hope the undead had not decided to move yet. "I think here it is crowded. This information is hazardous to one's health." He whimpered out, doubting his decision to change locations, but not wanting onlookers to get free information.
"Rat is right," said the Orc, and with that, Jodrak found himself suddenly unable to see. "Just a precaution, little one, we aren't going to hurt you," an unseen sultry voice chimed in. Jodrak felt himself being hoisted up and was now being carried off to an unknown location (this was a terrible idea!). He whimpered as quietly and stayed as motionless as he could.
After several minutes of travel, they arrived at the new location. Jodrak noted the musky smell and the feeling of dread welled up when he smelled hints of copper. Jodrak found himself being placed down on a chair. Shortly after, to his surprise, the blind cap was removed with no binds in place.
“No invasive ears here, trust me on that,” Stelvia said with a grin that sent a chill down Jodrak’s back. There were no ears to listen in here, he was sure of it, and sure she had tested that extensively. "Now, bout' that information," she said, tail wagging again, "what's so good, that it could be called "world changin’ ”?”
Jodrak swallowed hard. He began to ponder his predicament (he was not brave why was he doing this, to start with? Where even the shiniest of shinnies worth all this stress?) Thinking for a bit longer on the subject (of course they were, all hail the shinnies!) he concluded, pumping his imaginary fist in the air.
Struggling to find the words in front of the hungry staring eyes of Stelvia, Jodrak was only able to say a few words, but it was enough, “U-Undead, outside of a dungeon.”
“WA-What! Wha’d you just say? Undead, undead! Oh fuck, dungeonless undead are bad news, real bad news! Where was it, what type? Not zombie right, oh please not zombie…or banshee, fuck those things.” Stelvia shouted, barely breathing as the barrage of questions escaped her lips, eyes wide as saucers.
"N-No not zombie, was skeleton, at the old ruins in the north, just stood there, swaying back n forth, donno if it still there, fled fast after seeing it,” Jodrak said, answering what he could of her barrage.
“Only a skeleton? Just stood there? Was it not awake or somethin'?" Stelvia thought. (This could be a clue, Ive been catching some real weird stuff in my net lately, some disturbing stuff, maybe it’s the undeads part of it.) "Take me to where you saw it, and IF proof is found, ill double your payment."
Jodrak jumped at the sound of this, for one thousand shinnies, he could be brave once more.
***
I sat there, overwhelmed by all the information I had just received, I was not in as much of a funk as before though, bonus there. It was a lot to process, I had no real understanding of most of it but I’d just have to make do with what I did know and figure it out along the way I guessed.
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A voice sounded, suddenly awaking me from my daze. It was Claire asking me what I would like to do next. I didn't know; I did not know how to train or get stronger, Clarion had mentioned that I would need to do that, I think. It was all kind of a daze now, like a dream half remembered.
"Claire, how do I get stronger, how do I get more skills or magic?" I asked. Still sitting with my back resting on the piece of rubble, I hadn’t really moved to much since my initial excitement.
"Skills and magic are learned through the AP or ability point acquisition system mainly. There are some instances where they can be acquired outside of this system, but such happenings are rare," she explained.
I responded, “How do I go about getting this AP? Do I have to train or practice a skill for it?”
Claire giggled, "In a way yes, but not the way you are thinking. With the Dark Champion system, AP will be acquired automatically on each level up."
"Huh? What's a level up?" I questioned. I had been taking in so much information, I was sure I had forgotten some of it, and missed a ton more. But I was pretty sure this was the first time I had heard of this “level up”.
"You don't even know this?" Clare responded, seeming generally surprised "normally Clarions chosen have at least basic knowledge of games." She went silent for a while before speaking again. "Right, I will consider you a newbie and explain all points as such, leveling up is how you get stronger. Clarion currently has no cap on levels, only your form does. When you reach a level to strong for your current form, evolution will be required to continue."
Claire was in full explanation mode now as she continued, "Levels are gained through experience points, and these, in turn, are gained from defeating foes and completing objectives. Skills and magic also have levels and gain experience as they are used. They will level up, and when maxed in level, some abilities can evolve into stronger forms while others cannot. Those that cannot will be marked as MAX. So basically only learning the initial ability costs AP, its strength will be determined by how much it is used."
I groaned, as all this information was now starting to give him a headache. "Ok then, best to learn by doing than talking. Where should we go, Claire?" he said, standing up and getting ready to go.
“I would suggest we look over there for some weak mobs to grind,” she said, “that is if you intend to get stronger.”
"Yea…don't know what that means, but if it means I'll get stronger, lead on," I said, now trotting in the direction Claire was suggesting they look.
***
Stelvia, Jodrak, and their group made their way to the ruins mentioned in the Ratkin's story. They were an odd party, a Demoness wielding dual daggers, an Orc with two longswords, both strapped to the left side of his body. Trailing behind them was a Ratkin, scurrying fearfully, holding a small dagger. Finally, moving from cover to cover further behind was a dark skinned ranger, barely noticeable due to her ability to move swiftly and blend in with her surroundings.
It did not take long before they arrived at the said location, only to find it empty. Jodrak, visibly nervous, stuttered, "I sw-swear it was right here!”
Lug, obviously angry, feeling his time was being wasted, began to draw one of his blades as he sauntered toward the cowering Ratkin. "I no appreciate my time, or ma friends time, being wasted," he said, eyes glowing with fury.
As Lug raised his sword to deal with this pest before him, a voice called out. "Stay your hand, Lug, he ain’t lyin’, I sense a ton of magic residue here, I mean its freakin' everywhere." Stelvia chimed in, glancing around the ruined chamber in awe.
Davila sitting at the entrance said in her typical appearing out of nowhere way. "Gives me the chills, I can't see it like Stelvia, but I can sure as hell feel it, whatever kind of magic was used here, it was not something just anyone could cast."
"I'll say, judging by the residue still here, and after the amount of time that has passed. "World changin’” seems to be a very fittin’ word,” Stelvia said, as her eyes began to focus on one spot in the room. “It centers here, is this where you saw the undead?”
Jodrak, still cowering, as the orc had yet to sheathe his sword, was very distracted at this point. He was more focused on tiring to figure out an escape glancing left and right for opportunities. A gruff voice above his brought him back to the conversation, and now had his full attention with the blade lowering closer to his neck, "She asks you a question, rat."
Jodrak regained his senses, knowing there was no escape now, not with the ever-watchful orc hovering just above him. He glanced to where she was gesturing and said, "Y-yes, that's w-where it was, just stood there, even after I threw a rock at a wall."
"Is this thing really just a dungeonless undead?A vessel maybe? Some kind of half revival?" she questioned, "Either way, it is occupied and movin' now." Stelvia, seemingly thinking aloud now, stood there a moment longer before turning and saying. "Stayin’ here’s gonna do us no good, let's scour the area and see what we find, you Ratkin, you're coming too, unless you don't want to be paid, that is." She said, glaring at the little creature.
Jodrak was very tempted to just say no thanks and run away, but greed, and the fear that the orc would kill him if he refused, stopped him. Thus the three continued to scour the ruins, dragging along their unwilling Ratkin party member.
***
Not too far from my would be pursuers, I slowly worked my way through the ruins, blissfully unaware. So far on my journey, I has found very little of note, only an old piece of fabric and the odd shaped stone or two. I fashioned the cloth it into a makeshift robe and equipped it with the interface with Claire's help. From my effort, I had acquired the basic tailoring skill, but it was greyed out. Claire informed me that I now knew of the craft but didn’t know jack shit about it. I could however now experiment and practice it to unlock it. (not without considerable effort and materials, it seemed) or I could just use AP on my next level to open it, even to me this didn’t seem like a wise choice.
"We are close to a group of lesser enemies, Alex. I recommend you prepare for combat," Claire said, and as I was about to panic, I noticed several small red dots to my left on the mini-map. Seeing they were not moving, I calmed down, but only a little.
"I've never been in combat, and I don't have any weapons," I said, whispering. I did not want to draw the attention of whatever Claire had designated as enemies. We wont mention that it was pointless to whisper because our communication was entirely telepathic.
"You have one attack spell, and just about anything can be a weapon," she directed his eyes to look to his right, there sat a small branch, thick and long enough to be used as a crude club. "Take that branch and use it as a melee weapon. For now, it should suffice until you can find better."
I reached down and picked up the crude weapon. Receiving a notification, I was surprised that the branch was considered an item.
Item Information
Item Name: Oak Branch
Type: Club
Classification: Melee Weapon
DMG: 1-5
DMG Type: Physical/ Blunt
Durability: 50/100
Seeing this, I remembered my spell. I hadn't checked it out yet, so I mentally called for its information to appear as I dismissed the page for the club. (hey, I'm getting pretty used to using this thing!) I thought. The commands were becoming more accessible to me now, more intuitive and easier to use. Then the desired commanded screen appeared, and my excitement only grew.
Magic Information
Magic Name: Dark Bolt
Level: 1/100
Cast Time: 1 second
Range: 65 Ft.
Classification: Attack Magic
Mana Cost: 10
Special Ability: 10% chance to blind enemy for 3 seconds
Description: Launch a bolt of dark magic that cannot miss the target, unless the target becomes obscured by an object.
I stared at the screen, taking in all its info, somewhat happy and astounded at how much of it I understood. (Claire's teaching was working after all,) I mused. I did wonder what the blind of his spell would entail. I also liked that it seemed I couldn't miss with my spell, I really didn’t have any confidence in my aim.
Satisfied that I was sufficiently prepared to try my hand at combat and well not get completely obliterated. I gave his now equipped oak branch a few test swings before mentally affirming to Claire that I was ready.
Current Status
Name: Alex Samoson
Title: None
Level: 1
Class: Basic Skeleton
HP: 20/20
MP: 20/20
EN: 20/20
Unassigned Status Points: 0
STR: 10
VIT: 10
DEX: 10
INT: 10
WIS: 10
LUK: 4
ATK: 10 DEF: 10
SPELL: 10 SPELL DEF: 10
CRIT: 3% CRIT DEF: 2%
MP5M: 5
EXP: 0/1000
Magic Menu
Magic Name Level
*Dark Bolt 1/100
*Raise Minion 1/100
Skills Menu
Skill Name Level
*Baking 3/10
Passive Skills Menu
Skill Name Level
*Undead Resilience Max
*Consumption Immunity Max
*Of light, Dark and Gold Max