33rd of Octavius, 500AC. That AC? After cataclysm. That was the date when Cal suddenly spawned into his new world, lost and with no knowledge of where he was.
Cal stood, stranded in the middle of a gravel-paved street that twisted and turned as it made its way throughout what appeared to be a castle. It was midnight, and Cal knew the danger posed by thieves, thugs and other trouble-makers at this time was nothing to scoff at. Certainly, enough for a lone man to be afraid of. Hurridly Cal scanned his environment. Through the pitch-black night, he could only just make out the outline of large cobblestone buildings adjacent to the path he was standing on. One building, however, stood out. Light poured from its window, illuminating a large wooden door and above it, a modest sign that hung on a metal chain from the roof. Cal could only barely make out the words
'Dragonheart Tavern'
'The best poly-race tavern in Sarat!'
Seeking an escape from the cold night, Cal strode toward the large wooden door. He grasped the handle and tugged; inch by inch the weighty door gave way. Sound instantly bombarded his ears as he took his first steps into what he hoped would be a safe refuge.
The room he entered was quite large and was comfortably bright throughout.
With adequate light, the first thing Cal noticed was his change of clothes that seemed to match the fashion of the citizens that poured past him. His simple set of clothes consisted of brown leather boots, plain black pants and a loose-fitting brown woollen tunic.
At one end of the room was a small bar, to the right of which was an ominously glowing hallway. Through this walkway which Cal could just make out what looked to be a fighting arena, and based off the faint noises coming from that direction, Cal assumed he was correct. Not one with the stomach for violence, he quickly passed returned his gaze to study the rest of the tavern.
Seated around the bar was a smattering of people, each greatly varying in size and with an array of different bodily features. Not all were human. Small wooden tables lay scattered around the bar which seated an even larger arrangement of people.
Cal proceeded to an empty corner of the bar. Engrossed in conversation, food, or drink, no one noticed Cal moving into a secluded seat. That was fine by him.
Exhausted from the sudden and unpredictable events of the day, Cal sat down and was preparing to order food when he remembered that in previous games he had played the character always had a sheet that described their various attributes.
Thinking about his character sheet opened it up for the first time. Instantly Cal was surprised by the amount of information he saw, though he suspected it was due to it being his first time to open the menu.
Name: Cal
Age: 17
Race: Human
Sex: Male
Level: 1
Leveling up will grant you points to assign to your attributes
Experience: 0%
Attributes:
A 10 point attribute is considered the human average of your old world. A 20 point attribute is considered double that and so on.
Strength
A measure of physical strength; how much force you can exert over an object.
Affects attack power.
12
Constitution
A measure of physical health and wellbeing
Affects your maximum health
11
Agility
How easily and how quickly you can move.
12
Dexterity
A measure of ‘nimbleness.’
Affects reflexes and fine motor skills
13
Intelligence
A measure of knowledge, memory, and deductive reasoning
Affects maximum mana
10
Wisdom
A measure of self-awareness, common sense, perception and insight
Affects mana recovery rate
10
Charisma
A measure of likeability and potential to be seen in a preferred manner by sentient species.
7
Luck
Can beneficially affect probability related events.
8
Abilities:
* Undefined
* Telepathy
There were a few things about his attributes that he didn’t like and some bits that confused him, but he resolved that in time he would come to a greater understanding of, and learn the nuances of each individual attribute.
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Cal knew if he wanted to survive for much longer, he needed much higher attributes. Hell, he could barely even open the door to the tavern. The standards of this world were far superior to his old.
Done with the character sheet and remembering the other boon he had been granted, he thought ‘Inventory’.
A small grid of 3 boxes filled his vision. Two of these boxes were empty. The other, however, contained a shining scroll. Misty tendrils extended from the edges of the scroll and dissipated into the corners of the box it was contained in.
Name: Summon Soul Familiar
Rank: Hidden
Activation of this scroll will break open a gateway across space and time to summon a familiar that may offer great utility or fighting prowess to compliment you. The familiar's soul will therein be linked with yours. The full implications of this may only be known in time.
Other information on this scroll is hidden at this time.
Not one to rely on luck when it came to his safety, he retrieved this item from his inventory immediately and opened it. At first, nothing happened. Then he felt a warm tingling coming from his hands where the scroll was. Slowly, this warmth enveloped his whole body. The scroll slowly rose into the air and burst into flames. Promptly the warmth that had spread all throughout Cal’s body spiked into inferno temperatures. Skin sizzled. Blood boiled. Cal screamed as his vocal cords were torn. His body felt like it was swimming in the deepest depths of a volcano. His health bar shon into existence and began to drain at an alarmingly fast rate. An eternity later, the blazing heat finally relented, and he managed to open his eyes. He found himself sprawled along the floor; a dozen unfamiliar faces crowded around his spasming body. There was, however, one face that felt as familiar as his own. It wasn’t the face of anyone from his world. It wasn’t even human.
Summoning Successful
Innately strong in a random branch or branches of magic, yet physically weak. This weakness is thought to have brought them to extinction millions of years ago. The last members of this species supposedly evolved their previously fragile bodies to near godly standards, yet were too few to repopulate.
Name: ?
Age: 128
Different races age differently. Some, in relation to a factor other than time. The age of this being is considered a baby by its species
Race: Great Terrestrial Turtle
Type: Energy
Bloodline: Great Terrestrial Turtle (locked)
Sex: Female
Level: 1
Rank: Epic (growth)
Growth type ranks have the ability to progress in the ranking system through unknown prerequisites
Attributes:
Strength
17
Constitution
17
Agility
2
Dexterity
2
Intelligence
5
Wisdom
20
Charisma
10
Luck
8
Abilities:
Energy Affinity
The exalted power of energy is excessively difficult to master. This ability grants assistance to the user in the learning and leveling of energy-related skills.
Rank: Epic
Level: //
This ability is not levelable.
Through using the summon scroll incorrectly, you subjected your body to needless tempering. Fortune favours the bold...or stupid.
Attribute gain:
Unfaltering Will
1
You are less likely to be influenced by your emotions.
At first, Cal was disappointed by the result of his summoning. For someone who had a vast knowledge of different mythological beasts, a turtle was understandably dissatisfying. The more he progressed through the content of the blue box, however; the more his amazement grew. His soul familiar sounded like the type of being who had immense potential. Similar to Cal, because of his undefined ability, the other half of his soul would not be restricted like other individuals would.
Cal didn’t even want to think about what was implied in the last box he received.
At this point, the barkeep rushed over, interrupting him from his thoughts. Cal belatedly realised that the faces surrounding him were those of concern and more than a little fear. All except one. Looking down, at the end of his feet was a half-meter-wide beast, sharp claws gleamed in the light of the tavern and small spikes stood stark upon a smooth shell that was faintly engraved with seemingly random patterns. Eyes sparkling with intelligence met Cal’s gaze. Instantly, an archaic bond, more powerful than any Cal could form, was solidified between the two beings very soul.
Before Cal could process anything else, the dwarven barkeep cleared his throat and exclaimed with an accent more pronounced through his anger, “Yae be outa yer mind! We be unda’ enouf scrutiny as is ta be doin’ ya funny magic business here!”
Cal was beginning to stutter an apology when someone from the crowd around his body burst out to address the barkeep. “Calm down Greyson, the boy obviously didn’t know what he was doing. He was just convulsing on the floor for heaven sake!”
Greyson eyed up the other man for a moment before he took a deep breath and exhaled, clearly trying to rein in his frustration. “Yer be right o’ course. Ye know it jus’ be stressful times for us folk”. Receiving only a “hmmf” from the voice of the stranger the barkeep turned to address Cal once again.
“I dunno how a stone-head like ye’ self got ye hands on a scroll that powerful an’ I don’t wanna know. Just get ye’ self and ya strange beastie outa’ here for t’ night. I don’t wanna be seein’ ya till tha morn. Ye can stay upstairs for t’ night, and then we be havin’ a good ol’ chat in tha morn”. Without a word from Cal, the barkeep turned on his heels and stormed off.
Cal was watching him move back to behind the bar when a hand shot out to him. “The names Bryce.”
Realising the stranger had the same voice as the one who had just spoken up for him; he took the offered hand and was hefted up off the floor. Bryce stood straight, with black army-style hair and a rather strong jawline that gave off a commanding presence that was hard to ignore.
“Cal” he responded, committing to memory the name of a potential and seemingly powerful ally.
Nodding, Bryce continued “That was quite an introduction, though let me assure you, you do not want to get on Greyson’s bad side. Or mine for that matter. Things could get rather...ugly” he trailed off.
Swallowing past the lump in his throat, he assured Bryce that what he had done was unintentional. Cal knew he was at the mercy of this authoritarian figure and that his little performance could attract the eyes of many. Why the tavern was afraid of that though was a mystery.
Bryce clapped Cal on the back, not bothering to reply, and wordlessly escorted him to the hallway he had spotted earlier. His so-far nameless familiar followed closely behind.
Now that he was closer, he noticed a set of stairs branching off the walkway, leading into what he surmised were a collection of rooms.
“You’ll find the third one on the left to be empty,” Bryce said, handing him a key.
With a nod, Cal took the key. “And I forgot to thank you for saving me back there. I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t stepped in.”
“We have a policy here, I was just making sure that policy was upheld. Though I also realise you can’t be totally to blame. It is likely whoever you stole that scroll from didn’t know what would happen upon its use either. I just hope that piece of magic wasn’t noticed by anyone in the upper echelons or our whole society here could be in danger.”
Deciding it would be better to let his new acquaintance think he stole the scroll than risk exposing the truth he ignored the casual accusation. “What society is that if I may ask? And why would it be in danger?”
“Hopefully for you, you’ll find that out tomorrow morning- otherwise, well...” As if he didn’t realise he had just made a death threat, Bryce continued “Anyway, best you get into that room for tonight. I can’t imagine Grayson will react well if he sees you again tonight. It is well known around these parts that a dwarves tolerance is only as large as they are tall.”
With what Cal thought might have been a joke, the serene man turned and stalked off further down the hallway to the fighting arena where he vanished into the dim lighting.