There was a flash of light that blinded Dante for a moment.
Several notices flashed across his vision.
Congratulations! You have passed the first Trial, the Trial of Choice!...
You have Earned the title, Risk Taker, (Hell Difficulty)...
Risk Taker, (Hell Difficulty)- For the strength to keep your loved ones safe you have chosen the road least traveled. The hardest road lays before you! +5 to all stats!...
The Risk Taker I Road has opened to you...
He felt a mix of sensations roll across his body as his stats all increased by 5.
His eyes quickly adjusted, though he feared what he might see. Before him he could see he was in a large open space. The ground beneath his feet was lush green grass and soft dark brown earth. Above him he saw a blue sky and a sun, though it didn't look quite right.
Scanning the horizon he found rolling plains of shin deep green grass, with occasional smattering of other plant life scattered through out.
Off to his left about a few dozen feet away was a sizable lake, ringed by dozens of large trees. Oddly, yet unsurprisingly he supposed, he couldn't tell what kind of trees they were.
Though they reminded him of pine tree's, they most certainly were not.
Their bark was white though occasionally there were different colors mixed in. The needles of the tree were yellow, almost golden in the way the needles reflected light.
They were the color of sunshine.
It was then that he noticed someone standing beneath one of those trees, his mother.
Dante was wildly confused. Dante rubbed his eyes and blinked a few times. After a few seconds his eye's readjusted, but his expression became one of even greater confusion and disbelief. There standing less than 2 dozen feet from him looking just as shocked as him, was his dad.
"Dad?" he called out.
"Dante?" Frank responded, whirling around to see his son standing not so far away. In that time his mother had spotted them and jogged the hundred or so feet to them.
Dante called out, "System Guide!"
That feeling returned, the feeling of something stirring within him, and then the feeling of something flowing out and away from him. However, this time the feeling was a bit more substantial. What came forth was the shining, golden, androgynous figure that he had seen on the Tv only about 3 minutes ago.
"Please state the nature of your inquiry, Dante." the shining figure said, surprising him.
Shaking off the shock after a moment Dante looked to his left and right to see his parents, he then faced forward and addressed the Guide he had summoned.
"Why the fuck are we all in the same place? We all chose different difficulties." Dante asked, his voice tinged with confusion and a bit of anger.
"All participants begin in the Normal tutorial zones. As your notifications indicated the choice is a test to see how high you are willing to reach in those first moments." Spoke the guide.
Dante held his mother as he took deep breaths considering the guide's words. He turned and embraced his father as well.
"So what's the next step?" Dante asked his guide.
Step 3
"Roads"
Dante embraced his parents before they broke away from one another. He showed his parents the blue box and then he spoke.
"Roads."
Roads, Rp: 6
Beginners Magic I, 1/10
Road of Beginnings, 0/5
Road of the Downtrodden I, 0/10
Road of New Beginnings, 0/20
Risk Taker I, (0/250)
Dante looked over the roads that he had only glanced at a few moments prior.
"Holy shit we're definitely going to leave that one alone for a very long time." Dante mumbled to himself as he saw the number of points needed for the Risk Taker road.
The Beginners Magic I road definitely sounded like it’d give him his start in magic. But he didn’t know what magic would look like under this system. Would it be a chain and tool like being under The Script? Would it be bound by ancient law to ban the higher reaches of spellcasting like in D&D?
Dante shook his head, he was getting distracted already.
The Road of Beginnings… this one might just be a road everyone gets when they start using the system but that doesn’t mean it won’t have something good at its end.
The Road of New Beginnings seems more to be aimed towards people that lived lives before the system was around… But Dante felt a different kind of idea creep into him as he looked over that road. He’d been going to college before today, he didn’t even know what he wanted to do with his life yet. He was just doing his general classes hoping that he’d figure something out before he needed to actually decide on majors and minors. Would it even matter when he got out of the Tutorial? Hell he wasn’t even sure his college would still be standing by the time he managed to get back to it.
So closes one chapter for Humanity and thus begins another…
He could probably take that as a very pointed sign that his life was going to change from what he’d expected it to be.
It was also something to note that New Beginnings took 4 times as many points to complete. Perhaps it’s simply harder to start anew rather than starting from scratch.
Then there was… that one. The Road of the Downtrodden. Did the system really know his past? Or was it something else?
Not wanting to get sucked into trying to figure out if and/or why it knew of those dark moments in his life he glanced up at the Rp.
"Why do I have..." but before he could finish that question the answer came to him.
You're awarded 5 Rp by the system towards the completion of your first Road...
He smiled at the kind gesture of the system, though he suspected it gave this to everyone.
Looking at his guide who simply smiled back at him, he then turned back to the screens in front of him. Glancing over to his parents as they were inspecting their own blue boxes.
“Five points to Gryffindor..." Not really, there’s only one road that needs five points, let’s go with that one.
After a moment of thought he tapped the small plus sign for the Road of Beginnings.
The hardest step is often the first, +1 Strength...
For a second he felt an alien twitch in his muscles that was gone as suddenly as it had come. Another point.
The second step brings you farther from where you started, or is it closer?, +1 Dexterity...
He felt his join loosen and shift, giving off a soft pop as he felt a small hit of euphoria.
"Oh yeah I can see people being addicted to this." He spoke as another point went into the road.
The third step, you are halfway there. +1 Intellect...
This time it felt almost like static dancing across the surface of his head. Another point.
The fourth step, you are almost there. You can see the end of this road and the branching of many roads before you. +1 Perception...
Involuntarily he blinked, as he opened his eyes the world looked just a touch clearer, the sounds just a bit clearer. Rubbing his fingers together he could almost swear he felt the individual lines of his finger prints. One more point.
The fifth step. You have chosen to tread forth. Both for yourself and those you love. +1 Endurance...
Congratulations! You have completed the Road of Beginnings! You are awarded 1 random common skill...
Rolling the dice...
He could almost swear he heard actual dice being rolled.
Congratulations! You are awarded the Common, active skill, Reading Lvl. 1...
Reading- Slight increase to reading speed, comprehension, and retention per skill level...
Your first road of, hopefully, many has been completed. There shall always be a road for you and should one not be open you may tread forth into the unknown and carve out your own. +1 Int, Wis per skill level...
Dante felt his feet moving though he remained standing still. With each step, each point, he felt something stretch out before him. It was the feeling you got when you played a grand and expansive game. It reminded him of good times with his friends. "My friends..." Dante turned to his guide and stopped himself.
"Can I share these with my parents?" He asked his guide.
"Please elaborate, there are a few ways I could answer the question as is, and some are contradictory." The guide said in his usual androgynous voice,
"Can I give them copies of these notices for them to read?" Dante asked with more specific wording.
A small smile crossed the figure's golden face, "Yes you can. Simply think about the boxes multiplying to the number you need, then hand the extras to those you wish to share them with."
'Seems simple enough.' Dante thought, and each blue box became 2 and then 3.
+1 Wis...
He smiled at the notice as he mentally moved the extras into groups, grabbing them and handing each to one of his parents.
"I see you are a perceptive and wise individual. Those are good qualities that will surely help you in the times to come." The guide stated with the same smile. Pausing for a moment, Dante then asked his first of several questions.
"Guide, why are we all together in the same place?" He asked the guide.
"You are together due to the fact that you are a family. Individuals in relative proximity to one another are kept together during the tutorial as to avoid certain issues from arising." The guide stated in a reassuring manner. Pausing for a moment to await any possible questions, it continued when none came.
"Those that select the higher difficulties like you and your father..." It said whilst placing his hand upon Dante's back pushing him closer to his parents. "The purpose of the tutorial is not to be a cruel death trap where you are thrown into the thick of it immediately. As those like you and your father advance through and complete the normal tutorial zone the road to the next will open to you. If you choose to walk it. The tutorials are meant to give you all at least a chance against what is to come."
Dante pondered those words for a moment, before his father chimed in. "What exactly is coming?"
The guide's smile faded and became grim, he turned to Dante, "May I access your mana pool?"
Dante was thrown, "Sure?" he responded hesitantly. It felt like his stomach had dropped, he felt almost hollow and his mind became fuzzy. He was surprised when the notices popped up.
Your summoned guide has been granted access to your mana pool.
You have lost more than half your mana pool in a single second!
Your skill, "Summon Guide", has grown stronger...
New possibilities have become accessible...
You are suffering from mana exhaustion, level 1. -10% to mana regeneration for 1 hour...
You have leveled up!...
You are [Rank 1] Lvl. 2...
+1 to all stats...
The air shimmered forming a moderately sized greyish translucent dome around them.
"What's... happening?" Dante asked as he sat down on the grass, the guide sitting down in front of him. "I'm sorry for how you are feeling right now. Mana exhaustion is never fun. But please know this was necessary, so please bear with it."
He grimaced in annoyance and exhaustion as he turned his head to the left and right to see his mom and dad each holding onto one of his shoulders.
Dante felt none too well, alongside the sweat that was starting to accumulate on his skin.
"Before we get started can I call you something other than a guide?" he questioned the guide.
To a small degree the golden figure's warm smile returned, "I would be grateful for such an honor."
Dante smiled through the pain, because he knew the perfect name, "I’ll call you Virgil, may you guide the way."
The guide now known as Virgil smiled ever brighter, "My name is Virgil." Spoke the guide, something was different in his voice.
Something was greater than it had been before.
A notice.
You have chosen a kind name by which to address your guide.
Your influence with the system has increased somewhat.
Your skill, Summon Guide, has begun to evolve. Will you allow it?
Before he could respond the air seemed to shift. Many could sense something was happening but no one knew quite what it was.
Then Dante's father spoke, "Virgil it is then? You best take care of my son. I'll raise hell if you don't!" he said whilst raising his index finger and pointing it to the sky.
"Oh Frank calm down. You don't have to be so mean to him..." Dante's mother said and then turned to Virgil and asked, "Please take care of us."
After a few seconds of silence Laura elbowed Frank and begrudgingly he said, "Please take care of us."
Virgil looked wide eyed at the people before him and then he smiled as what you could almost call tears gathered in his eyes.
He turned to Dante and asked, "Will you allow these things to come to pass?"
"Yes." Dante confirmed much to Virgil's joy. Dante was greeted by another notice.
Your skill, Summon Guide, has become, Virgil [Rank 2] Uncommon.
"Virgil"
Much like the story of your name sake...
You invoke the name of a poet long dead...
Virgil acts to help guide you along your journey. Variable mana cost / duration
+12 Spirit from skill, Virgil...
Notices appeared in Dante's vision as Virgil's golden visage began to shift. Dante's mana bottomed out and held there. Whatever was happening it needed mana.
You are suffering from Mana exhaustion, level 7! Please stop what you are doing and rest....
You mana regeneration has been reduced to a quarter of its max until your mana pool regenerates...
For pushing well beyond your magical limits, +4 Rp to the Beginner's magic I road...
Many seek out magic to gain power over others. You seek magic for you love it and it loves you. +2 Int, Wis...
You tread this path in search of things already known to you. +2 Wisdom, +1 Intellect...
Error!...
Reca...
Er...
The notices blared in his head as he felt something powerful wash over him, nearly causing him to pass out. HIs head began to pound as he felt the grips of his parents grow tighter on his shoulders.
Skill, Virgil, has become a shared skill!...
Congratulations! You're the first people of your world to obtain a shared skill!...
+1,000 exp to you and each other who has shared in this feat!...
You have leveled up!...
You have leveled up!...
Virgil, has ranked up...
Skill, Virgil, has its rarity increased to Rare...
You have leveled up!...
You are [Rank 1] Lvl. 6!...
Recalculating...
Congratulations! You are the first person on the earth, since the system's arrival, to increase a skill's rank from common to rare!...
You have accomplished this feat in under 5 minutes from obtaining the initial skill, experience will be added...
Congratulations you have earned 1,200 exp for your accomplishments!...
You have earned the title "Overachiever!"
+5% modifier to Exp total...
As much as he wished to crack a joke about being a main protagonist, he was still holding his pounding head.
As the notices blared in the heads of Dante and his parents Virgil was changing.
---------------------
The newly named Virgil found himself in a beautiful place.
Everything about this place was...perfect.
From the grass to the sky everything was just...perfect.
Virgil felt a hand upon his shoulder and upon turning around he saw that he and a man were standing in the shade of a large Olive tree.
The moment he laid eyes upon him he knew who this man was.
"Who might you be dear friend? Are you lost?" Spoke the young man with lightly tanned skin.
The guide spoke in a halting cracking voice. "Y...You...ha..have...been...called." Slowly the guides voice changed as it spoke becoming something else.
"Who might you be? And whom calls me?" Asked Virgil the poet.
"I...am...Virgil. You are... Virgil, the poet? You are called...to return...to earth. Whom calls you, is... Dante Alighieri Stone." he spoke, eliciting a smile and a laugh from the man. His own voice growing slowly more in line with that of the original Virgil.
Slowly the guides form was dimming, his features becoming more defined. His form slowly taking on the image of the man for whom he was named.
"I am, and Hades personally came here and told me that you're very important for what's to come. He told me that I may return to this place when I am done above. I have heard from others what has become of the world but I shall gladly go and see for myself." Virgil the poet spoke as once more the man reached out and placed his hand upon the shining Virgil's shoulder. This time he accepted the gesture.
Virgil smiled as he spoke.
"Let's work together..." The Virgil's spoke in unison as they embraced, and there was light.
Two became one and in a flash of light they were gone.
---------
Beneath another Olive tree less than 20 feet away a group of Philosophers sat on stone benches having watched the encounter unfold.
"Bah, I thought they would never leave!" Spoke Diogenes the Cynic.
"Don't be such an ass Diogenes or you will grow an asses ears like poor Midas." Spoke Socrates, before his attention turned elsewhere and he smiled.
"He is the one always going on about seeing how the world has changed but never leaving Elysium." Complained Diogenes.
"Diogenes you have a guest here to see you." Plato spoke stifling a chuckle.
"Who in the name of gods is...Gods damn it!" Diogenes swore as he turned to see another golden figure holding out a hand towards him.
----------------------
Congratulations! Your mana has surpassed 1000!...
You will be awarded a random common mana related skill...
Congratulations you have been awarded the common passive skill, Student of Magic, Lvl. 1...
Student of Magic- As one learning the arcane arts you have begun to learn new ways in which to use both spells and skills that rely upon magic. Slight increase to experience gain for learning related skills. Slightly increases the probability to realize or discover methods, not previously known to you while working with magic. Effects slightly increase per level of the skill. +1 to End, Dex, Will, Int, Wis, Per, Spirit per level of the skill...
Skill, Reading, has become a sub skill of, Student of Magic...
Dante ignored the blaring notifications going off in his head but did spare a glance towards his parents to see the vacant look they had going on to show they were getting them to. Virgil, even without anyone's real notice, was changing.
Back in the normal tutorial zone Virgil blinked as he felt this vessel of his changing, as he felt himself changing.
His visage became more defined. His appearance was definitely male now. The glow of his body faded somewhat to reveal someone who appeared to be in his mid to late 20’s.
“Ah! Thank the gods above! It is good to see the...world?” Virgil exclaimed his voice dying down as he noticed the strangeness of his surroundings.
Upon his head he now had raven black hair that dropped past his shoulders. He was cloaked now in what seemed to be a mix of fine black cloth and beautiful gold embroidery.
He was more attractive now than he had been a moment prior.
He was simply more now than he had been a moment prior.
Dante's mana finally began to regenerate no longer being pulled away from him as soon as it regenerated.
"So what's coming and why was this..." He paused, motioning to the dome that surrounded them, "...necessary?" Dante asked as he tried to get his mind straight. Not yet truly aware something fundamental had changed with his guide.
Virgil's head snapped to Dante as he heard the question. His eyes flashed dimly gold around his now green iris'. He received the information required to answer the young man's question and so he spoke.
Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.
"It was necessary to help prevent mass panic.” Came the almost automatic reply. After a pause he continued.
“For you see, monsters are coming, sooner or later. Those beings deemed too evil in nature for the gods or this “System” to accept into the standard “player system” were deemed to be monsters. They were instead placed into a system created for those like them. The monster system." Virgil spoke, noticing that even his voice had changed. So many of these words felt foreign to him and yet they were the words some piece of the current him mandated as the words to use.
'Who am I? Am I the man born of flesh or the thing of light and wonder made by a greater force than even the gods? Or am I neither anymore??' Virgil thought to himself while awaiting Dante's questions or responses.
"When the System arrived, there was a notice that said something about preparing for what’s to come. What's to come is monsters?" Dante asked as he rubbed his eyes and yawned.
"Yes, but only in part. Monsters will beginning to spawn upon your world due to the presence of mana, though they will be weak at first. Within several days on Earth, the lowest rank of gates both to dungeons and to other worlds will begin to appear. Some of the places they will connect to, will be worlds overrun by monsters. Under certain conditions mana will flood across the connection helping to increase the ambient mana on Earth." Virgil spoke almost automatically even as his mind raced though the mountain of information at his disposal.
Dante’s mind was clouded with so many thoughts fighting for his attention, but he’d started to put them aside for now.
"So what, is there going to be a monster in my parent’s house when we get back?" His voice tinged with agitation.
"Doubtful but not impossible. Allow me to correct a possible misunderstanding. Most monsters do not come from mana alone. Certainly very few in a world so new to the system. Though with your population..." Virgil paused for a moment, placing a hand upon his chin as information about the current state of the world poured into him, only to be somewhat sad not to find any facial hair to stroke while he mused. Could he grow it out in this body?
"...Most monsters you will encounter were once animals that have become monsters in the presence of mana." Virgil quickly spoke after a moment of thought.
Dante thought about that prospect for a moment, "Does that mean people's pets will be monsterizing?"
"It is a sad thing to know that the gifts the gods saw fit to bestow upon us in the form of companion animals can be so contaminated as to become a monster, but that is an unlikely outcome. One's pets often accompany them into these tutorials from the records I am able to look upon in this new state I find myself in."
"Why is it not likely?" he asked Virgil.
"Monsterization requires more than just mana in most cases. Usually it is animals that tend towards aggression that monsterize first. Predator beasts in other words. Animals that have tendencies to protect and the like are far less likely to monsterize on their own." Virgil said.
As he finished speaking the dome around them began to dissipate. His father touched him on his shoulder before he pointed into the distance.
"Look at that..." Frank said.
Dante followed where he was pointing and in the distance he saw what appeared to be a large stone wall, with small figures upon them that he assumed were the men manning it.
Dante nodded to his father.
Virgil clapped his hands together and smiled. "Now let me explain to you the system store..." He paused briefly interrupted by a flash in front of them.
A few seconds of blinking revealed a man standing there where none had been before.
Dante looked around.
How had he not noticed it until now.
Looking to his left and right, in front and behind them he saw hundreds, thousands of other people around them, many walking towards those walls. Another notice appeared.
Normal tutorial zone #A7550B has reached its capacity of 10,000 participants.
This tutorial zone will now close to new arrivals from Earth.
Time dilation Initiating. Time ratio has been set to 1000:1
Initiating!
Dante felt as the world seemed to shift. A wave unseen but still felt washed over him. A little door in the back of his mind he had never felt before opened and light poured through.
In a moment he felt a wash of information as he began to experience a new sense. 'Is this mana?' he thought.
Congratulations! You have acquired the Uncommon, Passive skill, Mana Sense Lvl. 1...
Mana Sense- You sense the mana within you and in the environment that surrounds you. +2 Int, Wis per skill level, +3 Per per skill level...
For a moment he embraced the feeling before something else took its place. An even greater light poured forth from the doors.
'Is this another skill? It seems more intense that the last one.' He thought as he felt the pieces click into place and then everything began going down hill, quickly.
Congratulations! You have acquired the Rare, Passive skill, Time Sense Lvl. 1...
Time...
ERROR!...
ZONE NOTICE! Temporal anomaly detected...
The world divided and suddenly he was two people, no he was...himself and himself? He saw the world from two points of view.
One stood closer to the tree, looking towards the lake, he still saw where he stood. Both of them stood with their parents, still there was Virgil.
Again the world split, now he saw four of himself. The new perspectives stood in a desert, and a jungle.
Again it...
Dante's eyes clouded over with blood as crimson tears rolled down his cheeks. He screamed and held his palms to his eyes, the pain hitting him suddenly.
It didn't stop him from seeing the alternate perspectives though.
He saw a woman wearing a multicolored robe. The king in Yellow. Horrors beyond his worst nightmares.
And then there was him.
Sometimes he looked like a corpse, other times he wore faces, no, bodies not his own. But still he knew him each time he saw him.
With every break he saw more, he knew more. This was not the gentle light he had experienced a moment again, this was agony.
His head was pounding. With every split he gained ever greater perspective, saw ever more versions of his own life.
One became two, two became four, four became eight, eight became 16, and it did not slow.
Ever life he saw, every glimpse he saw he just knew those moments as if they were his own life. They whispered secrets too him, and his head burned!
He couldn't hear anything around him, his ears were filled with blood. Everything was pain, something was leaving him he felt and then the system told him.
Warning Health has fallen below....
32 became 64 and that did him in. His health went directly from 25% to 0 and kept going.
You have Died...
Soul damage detected...
Fault detected!
Triggering Failsafe!
Temporal inversion, setting time ratio from 1000: 1 to 1:1000...
Notifying Zone guardians...
---------------------------
5 beings stood as they received the notice. Each quickly making their way in a seemingly frozen world.
They raced through empty streets and across open rooftops. A pillar of light plastered across their HUDs to give them direction.
They reached the walls and leapt over them.
These walls were never meant to protect from people or monsters of their level.
They hit the ground rolled and were instantly back on their feet running.
In 10 second they had reached the base of the pillar of light that blinked out all at once.
"*%(&^*%**^& why are we here? Do you think that anomaly triggered the failsafe?" Asked the dwarven man toward the man wearing gleaming full plate.
"&%(*^&)(*^) I believe that he is our trouble maker." Spoke the Knight as he raised his sword to the chin of the frozen boy, still held in the arms of his terrified parents.
"Aye that doesn't look good. But gods damn what did he do to trigger this?!" The dwarf spoke motioning to the frozen world around them.
Then stepped forward a man in robes, a spellcaster it would seem.
"Let's check the log and see if we can gleam some insight." Spoke the robed mage. Reaching out a hand magic flashed and the boys status appeared as well as his system log.
"Let's see...He made some decent feats on his own, interesting variation of the base guide skill. Acquired mana sense when the zone accelerated. Gained...Time Sense? Lucky little shit gained Time Sense when the zone accelerated..."The caster paused as the dwarf yelled.
"Get on with it, Headmaster!" exclaimed the dwarf.
"...For some reason the skill..." He paused again knitting his brow as he read and reread the log entries.
Before the dwarf could shout again, a hand slapped him in the back of the head. Looking up and to his left he saw the familiar four armed ebony skinned shopkeeper whom stood nearly 3 times his height. The dwarf thought of giving him a hit in kind but a single glare from the man dissuaded him of that notion. Now wasn't the time.
A few seconds later the spellcaster moved backwards. As he did a blue box appeared.
"Something went wrong when he acquired the Time sense skill, watch this." He said as the single box began to replay what Dante had seen. Each watched as his perspective fractured, it did not take them long to decipher the answer.
...
"So what do we do with him. We haven't been told to kill him. If we were suppose to kill him the failsafe wouldn't have triggered." Spoke the Dwarven man who stroked his beard in irritation.
"The boy has done nothing wrong... yet. As much as it pains me to say, we cannot hold him accountable to the actions of his other selves..." Spoke the Elven women in fine dress, she seemed to be priestess of some kind.
"An elf not murdering a..."The dwarf started only for he himself to be interrupted this time.
The human man in Full plate stepped forward exclaiming, "Quiet ^*(^&(*^&*(! We have clearly been tasked with deciding the best way to handle the situation. That being said, I will abdicate my vote to %$&*(^&(***^& as he seems to be the one closest to the boy in several of these timelines. I think if any of us should make the decision it should be him." He spoke motioning to the shop keeper.
The dwarf begrudgingly seconded the motion, though his didn't seem pleased with himself.
Hate flowed of the shop keeper as he stepped forward to stand before the boy, his fury not aimed at him but several of the figures playing out on these alternate timelines. Finally he spoke.
"As we appear to be stuck in a major time loop culminating in the &^%* of ^&%&*&%, and as the boy seems to be one of its lynch pins we must ensure his survival. Therefore we shall force his skill to downgrade its rank and put a block so that it cannot increase its rank. That should render it incapable of this repeating this situation till such time as we can get in contact with an administrator for further instructions. Any objections?" He asked leaving room for others to speak to which the Dwarf chimed in.
"That's good and all but what then. The boy is still...dead." Before he had even finished the sentence a notice appeared.
His 1 respawn will not be used as this is an aberrant situation. $*^&^*(*&^ will use her divine abilities to restore the boy's body and soul. Several divines are watching this boy and have a vested interest in seeing him survive...
"Motion carries. Now Headmaster, $*^&^*(*&^ if you will?" The shop keep spoke motioning towards the boy.
---------------------------
Dante dreamed a dreamless sleep.
When he awoke the first thing he found were several notices greeting him.
You have leveled up!...
You are [Rank 1] Lvl. 7...
Skill, Time Sense, Rare, has been force downgraded...
Experience has been lost...
Skill, Time Sense, Rare, has become the Uncommon passive skill, Internal clock, Lvl. 1...
Internal clock- A clock set to local measurements of time has been added to your Hud. Helps you maintain awareness of time. You may set timers and alarms reminders with this skill...
He awoke to find he was in a comfortable bed, in a very outdated looking and yet lovely, single person room.
On each side of his bed next to the wall he saw a night stand. Upon both of them were identical lamps. They both looked very much like oil lamps. Except instead of a flame there were thumb sized pieces of yellowish crystal. Other than that they gave off a similar amount of light to a normal oil lamp.
There was a similar item embedded into the ceiling with two yellow pieces of crystal pointing in opposite directions. However, they were dull, seemingly inactive.
It looked like the room of an Inn you might visit if you and your friends were playing DND. Which is to say, it looked like it was from the middle ages. Aside from the magic stuff of course.
Slowly Dante sat up, stretched, and gave himself a once over.
He felt fine, that was always good.
He wasn't covered in blood, double good. He tried to remember what had happened just before he woke up.
He had gained a skill, and something went wrong. It kept dividing...he didn't quite remember, only having vague bits and pieces.
He did remember he had been bleeding though, and that didn't sit right with him.
He would have to find his parents and ask them what had happened.
Dante sighed and noticed he was not wearing any shoes or socks.
"That's right, I wasn't wearing any when I got brought in here." Dante said as he clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth in frustration. He moved and placed his feet onto the floor expecting it to be cold. He was pleasantly surprised to find it was actually warm.
"Heated flooring, nice." Dante's face took an expression of admiration for a moment before becoming one of pondering.
Dante thought about it for a moment. He remembered that a system store had been mentioned at some point.
"System...Store?"
A large window popped up before him. It was much like one of the stores you would find in a MMO game.
'Cool.' He thought as a smile formed on his face.
He examined the store page for a moment. At the top of the page he found a symbol of a magnifying glass, 'There is the search function.' Beneath it there were tabs. Seven tabs, bordered by arrows on either side. Out of curiosity he pressed the arrow leading right, causing the seven tabs to zoom off to the left, only to be replaced by seven new tabs.
He saw a prominent listing for a "Notebook of Experience" but when he clicked on it, he was informed that the limited supply had been exhausted already.
'Well shit... Ok, so there are electronic items, magical items, books, abilities? Skills, information, and medicine." Dante pondered each of them carefully, "How do you have this?” He asked aloud not expecting a reply.
Upon integration of a sufficiently technologically advanced race all media is assimilated to better aid the race and the system…
“Good to see the system listening to my questions. Let’s try a few things… Search: The lost episodes of Doctor Who…”
Searching…
Information found! 97 episodes found.
Would you like to purchase these episodes?
“No, just curious. How about… Search: The Devil’s Bible”
Searching…
Error…
Recalcu…
Unknown divine influence detected, quarantining.
These items are temporarily unavailable...
Please do not attempt this search again...
“Ok…looks like he really did write that one.”
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In Stockholm, for but a moment, under glass and alarm a massive tome glowed and illuminated its prison. Its pages and spine mended under the glow that came from within it. On a wall, out from around a corner that had been cast into shadow, a shadow stood upon the wall and seemed to look at the book unconcerned by the light that shone out from it. The Devil smiled for a moment before something strangled the light into nothingness and the room was once more dark. A final laugh echoed out.
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Dante took a moment to think, he had tried two things that were vague and that he wasn’t sure the System would be able to interpret. But he did remember Wikipedia had an article about the lost episodes. Was it scraping the info off his mind or the internet?
“Huh, I wonder if it knows the name of that one video I watched on Por…” He paused as a notice appeared.
Searching…
“Cancel request!” He exclaimed, not truly having meant to make that request.
Search request canceled...
“...That’s a definite maybe…” He said breathing a small sigh of relief.
“Time to go deep. Search: The Tor Network.”
Calculating…
Connection established!...
Would you like to purchase the Tor system application?...
“Why do I need to buy Tor? It’s supposed to be free.” He asked, his brows furrowing together.
With the purchase of this application you also are granted one year of system internet, (only available on your local planet)…
“...Damn you microtransactions! How much does it cost in any case? Are there levels of service?”
Service currently unavailable, apologies for the inconvenience...
Dante frowned as he read that notice a bit irritated.
Dante took a breath and steadied himself before he began rubbing his hands together.
“Ok! We'll check back in on that later. So... Status!" Dante exclaimed in excitement after a second of thought.
Why had he not thought of this sooner? 'Probably had something to due with mana exhaustion and passing out.' Dante thought for a moment.
Dante A. Stone [Rank 1]
Race: Human
Class: N/A
Lvl. 7
EXP:923/1500
Currency: 1 small platinum
Strength
27
Resources
Total
Regen.
Constitution/Vitality
26
Health
730
(40.2/min)
Endurance
30
Mana
1220
(47.5/min)
Dexterity
30
Stamina
655
(59/min)
Willpower
26
Road Points
10
Intellect
35
Stat Points
10
Wisdom
31
Charisma
26
Luck
20
Perception
31
Spirit
31
Soul capacity 22/31
Stat total
313
Skill Lvl total 5
"Skills."
Skills
Reading (C) Lvl. 1
Mana Sense (Unc) Lvl. 1
Virgil [Rank 3]
Internal Clock (Unc) Lvl. 1
Student of Magic (Unc) Lvl. 1
"Hey Virgil?" Dante asked aloud evoking the skill.
Once more he felt something stir within him and leave him.
This time however he knew it was mana.
He could vaguely sense his mana being shaped by the skill, as it came together and formed the robed body of Virgil.
Mana sense has leveled up! Lvl. 2...
"It's good to see you're awake Dante." Virgil said with a wary but warm smile. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm feeling fine. What happened to me, Virgil?" Dante asked his guide.
"You don't remember? Perhaps that is for the best. I will say this, a skill you acquired acted in a way far outside what is considered normal for its level. The issue was resolved due to swift action by the system and..." Virgil paused, seeming to debate with himself on how much more to say.
"...that is all you need to know for. If and when your memories of the incident return we may revisit the matter." He said waiting for the inevitable questions.
"Hey Virgil, you are a good friend to have." Dante said genuinely.
Virgil's expression dulled somewhat. Dante felt that perhaps he had overstepped, but that feeling was quickly alleviated when Virgil's smile returned brighter than previously.
"Friend, I like that word. So few have called me such. I will gladly be your friend." Dante smiled, truly happy that he had not negatively impacted his relationship with Virgil.
'Back on task.' Dante thought, "Virgil, can you help me find some shoes and socks in the store and then explain some more of the system to me?" He asked Virgil.
"Certainly, a moment please. I must say I am glad you seem to be feeling fine. I wasn't sure how long you would be out." Virgil said, wincing as the words left his lips.
"How long was I out?"
"About 6 days..." Virgil said nonchalantly as he moved his hands in the air upon blue boxes that flashed rapidly in and out of existence.
"SIX DAYS!" Dante exclaimed his eyes wide with shock.
"Relax Dante I'm...what's the term...fucking with you..." Virgil said with an expression of, 'Oh shit'.
Dante took a deep breath and shut his eyes for a moment, then reopened them.
"Ok... sorry I yelled. I just wasn't expecting that. How long was I out for real?" He asked calmly.
"About 3 hours."
"Ok then...Where am I?" Dante asked, motioning to the nice room around him. A look of mild annoyance on his face.
"This is your room in an Inn that the system assigned to you. Every participant in the tutorial is given one week of 3 free meals per day, breakfast, lunch, dinner, and board at an Inn within the city walls. Your parents are down stairs eating some lunch so you know. Also there is a small bit of information that hasn't come up yet but would benefit you to see it now." Virgil said as he flicked his hand upward causing a large blue box to appear in front of Dante.
Stat Information
Strength
The measure of your carrying weight, and capability for physical power exertion.
Endurance
The measure of how long you can perform actions before becoming physically exhausted.
Constitution
The measure of your health, resistance to harm, disease, poisons, and other like things.
Dexterity
Measures ease of movement, flexibility, hand eye coordination, and reflexes.
Willpower
Measures internal motivation, mental resistance, and the force of your will.
Intellect
The measure of your memory, mental capacity, comprehension, known knowledge, and total mana pool.
Wisdom
The measure of your critical thinking abilities, and application of knowledge.
Charisma
The measure of your likeability, persuasion, and ability to haggle.
Luck
The measure of how fortunate you are, money found, odds in your favor, and chance of rare events.
Perception
The measure of your senses, awareness, and ability to detect information.
Spirit
The measure of the capabilities of one's soul condensed into numerical form. Measures number of attunable items, soul space size, conductivity to mana, capacity for skills, and the capacity of some forms of system inventory.
It's advised that you not invest too heavily into any one stat, with possible exceptions being Charisma and Luck. When the difference between almost any two given stats grows too large negative side effects can and will emerge. These side effects can wildly vary in severity. From mild fatigue to bursting into magical flame.
"Good to know." Dante said as he put his 10 points into Luck.
After a moment Virgil grasped the screen he had been working on and held it out for Dante, "Tell me what you think of these. I think they will suit you very well." He said whilst holding his other hand behind his back.
Dante reached out grasping the next blue box while dismissing the old one, and then proceeded to examine the displayed item.
The item displayed was a comically large set of ruby red clown shoes with rainbow striped socks.
Dante looked down whilst restraining a small laugh. "I think the shoe's are a bit too big but I like the socks." Dante said before finally looking back up toward Virgil with a smile.
Virgil removed his other hand from behind his back revealing another blue box. Once more the smiling Virgil reached out, but this time he tapped the screen he held against the one held by Dante.
The clown shoe's flicked down and were replaced by a sturdy looking pair of brown work boots. Like something a person in the military might wear.
"I recommend these. They are the most well suited to your current needs and are well within your current price range." Dante nodded a small smile still lingering upon his face.
"Very well I would like to purchase these boots along with the socks." A smaller screen appeared before him stating the price of the selected items, 15 small gold. The boots being 10 and the socks 5.
Dante weighed that price in his mind for a moment bringing up the blue boxes from earlier only then did he realize how expensive the items were.
"1,500 dollars?! Why is this stuff so expensive?" Dante asked, confused. He almost wanted to say the system was trying to rip him off.
"It's is understandable that you would be confused allow me to explain the price. The boot's are 10 small gold as they have minor enchantments for increased durability and comfort. I recommended it as I knew you could readily afford it. As for the socks, they are woven from mana thread. This grants several small advantages, and one major that is conferred to the user, over the kind of socks you're used to. Would you like to hear a few?" Virgil asked like a true showman displaying his wear.
"Let's start with the major benefit please Virgil." Stated Dante still sitting comfy on the side of the bed.
"Of course. That benefit would be fall damage mitigation. Mana thread when it is flooded with mana acts as an excellent shock absorber to a certain extent. I would say with your current mana pool you could be unharmed from a fall of 50 to 75 feet. So long as you landed on your feet and spent sufficient mana. Though there is a limit to how much mana you can pump into them before they begin to degrade." Virgil paused awaiting feedback.
"Nice, so no free jumping off tall buildings just yet, that's alright." He stated, Virgil's smile became somewhat strained, "I am aware that is a joke. However, I still would not recommend that you attempt such actions." Virgil said in a worried tone.
"Duly noted Virgil. Now the minor benefits?" Dante asked with a small smile.
It was good to have someone to make jokes with.
"Aw yes. The socks are very breathable and help to keep you feeling cool or warm depending upon the situation. They are even magically reinforced to help them last. However all this comes with a small downside, as it imposes a slight penalty to your mana regen for these effects." Virgil said with a smile, a small golden glow emanating from him.
'Trying really hard to sell the socks.' Dante thought as he looked back over to his still open status. "How much is the penalty?" he asked, "Oh for someone of your size only 15 mana per minute." Said Virgil.
He thought for a moment before continuing, "I...I should be able to make up for that lost mana regeneration rather quickly so I will accept the purchase." No sooner had he said it did he see a single small platinum coin appear before him.
White lines traced themselves across the surface of the coin dividing it like a pizza into 10 sections. In a flash the platinum coin vanished and 10 much large gold coins appeared.
Then too did two of them began to glow as the platinum coin had. In a flash 20 small gold coins appeared. Another flash and the coins all vanished.
Then a notice popped up stating his items had been delivered to his inventory.
'Inventory' Dante thought. The familiar blue box appeared. He began positioning the screen between his legs and towards the floor to make it easier to equip his foot wear. He pulled on the socks one at a time feeling as they began warming his feet.
Turning to his status page, he watched as his mana regen ticked downward. He started testing out the socks by placing his feet on the heated flooring again. To his surprise the socks went from warming his feet to keeping them cool against the warm flooring. Dante nodded in approval and donned the army boots.
Dante smiled as Virgil continued, "Please note that these won't negate fall damage if you fall on something other than your feet. They also will allow you a small amount of propulsion per point of mana spent. Thus you can adjust your positioning even in mid air. This effect can be used regardless of if you are wearing shoes or not. You just have to wear the socks." Virgil concluded his more or less thorough explanation of the socks.
"Now that we have that out of the way, would you like to inspect your available Roads?" Virgil asked curious.
"Sure, Roads."
A small blue box appeared before him as he closed his inventory.
Roads, Rp:10
Beginners Magic I, 5/10
Road of Beginnings, 0/5
Road of the Downtrodden I, 0/10
Road of New Beginnings, 0/20
Risk Taker I, (0/250)
"So these roads reflect who I am or something like that?" He asked, curious as to the answer.
"Yes. In a manner of speaking at least. As you have a few points to spend I would suggest that you complete the Beginner's Magic I road." Virgil stated, and seeing not the need he did not argue. He inputted the 5 points and got a few notices, along with that feeling again.
Notices seemed to come every second point he put in.
You feel yourself growing closer to a breakthrough. +3 Intellect...
The words are coming to you but there are still pieces missing. +2 Wisdom...
The words are on the tip of your tongue. You already know your first spell. Speak it...
Once more felt his feet walking. A longer Road than the one before, stretching out before him. It wanted him to speak a spell? Dante looked at Virgil still smiling his warm smile.
It truly felt good to have friends. He thought of his college friends and D&D.
Dante thought of his parents. Of the love they had for each other as well as him. He remembered all they had given him. He was grateful, and with those pleasant memories, and joy in his heart.
It was then that he found, he did know the words.
"And on the first day, the lord saw fit to say, "Let there be LIGHT!" and there was light, he felt something turn its attention to him.
As Dante spoke he reached down to touch his new socks. This spells each gave him a different feeling than when he summoned Virgil. He knew why. Where summoning Virgil required his own mana, this was different. Light is a cantrip that requires no mana from the user. Instead it drew its mana from the environment.
You have recreated the arcane cantrip, Light...
Light-...
Error!...
You have obtained the Holy cantrip, Light...
Light-...
Error...
Seeking resolution...
Calculating...
While the holy was certainly a surprise it gave him a soft feeling of warmth as it was cast.
Congratulations! You have unlocked the Faith Seeker I road!...
Special action has been noted!
Dante watched as his socks seemed to soak in the light emanating from his hands. The socks began to glow, but oddly each strip of color on the socks glowed emanating a light of its own color. "Very interesting." He stated as he observed the effect for a moment. More notices came.
Congratulations! You have completed the Beginner's Magic I road!...
Congratulations! You are granted the Uncommon active skill, External Mana manipulation Lvl. 1...
External Mana manipulation- Manipulate the mana in the world around you. Slight increase to ease and precision of manipulation per level of the skill. +2 Dex, Wis, Will, per skill level...
"Fuck yeah, thank you very much." He said his smile fading somewhat as he felt that weight upon his shoulders increase once more if only a little.
"Hey Virgil can you lead me to my parents?" He asked curiously.
"Since the three of you share me as a skill, yes I can." Spoke Virgil, his own joy clear and abundant for all to see.
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