A little while later, Sera came back downstairs in a pair of Kyle’s sweatpants and a thick sweater. “I’m ready, as soon as I toss my shoes on, and they’re at the door,” she cheerfully informed him.
“Then you finish drying and putting everything up, while I go toss on a thicker pair of pants. We might be going jogging, but it’s still the middle of February out there,” Kyle griped as he tossed the wash towel over to Sera to catch. “It’s a shame you’ve never pestered your parents to buy a treadmill or something. Then we wouldn’t have to go out in the cold like this.”
“Well, I could get a couple easily enough,” Sera volunteered as began dying and stacking the plates.
“Don’t you dare,” Kyle warned, giving her a slight slap across the cheek of her butt as he walked on past and started out of the kitchen. “Mom would kill you and me both for cluttering up the house – especially when warm weather got here and it wasn’t used anymore. We’ll just trudge through a few more months, and then the weather will be improving quickly enough.”
“At least it’s warm in Winter’s Tale,” Sera laughed. “Otherwise, things would be quite a pickle with the gear we’ve all been wearing.” If Kyle heard her, he didn’t answer. He was already heading up the steps to change.
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Meanwhile, not very far away, there was a swirling ball of light floating in front of a forest glade, with a tranquil pool and waterfall nearby. Floating above the ball was the words, “SEX: Male, Female, None, Hermaphroditic.”
“I’m a god damned man!” A gruff masculine voice echoed throughout the glade, causing birds to scatter and the forest to go silent. The ball of gas altered slightly and took on a basic outline of a male’s form, and a popup for races appeared. “Human, Elf, Fairy, Dwar…”
“I’m a god damned man!” The voice yelled and boomed again, and outline changed to become slightly taller and wider looking, with the bare look of a bald human male. The text floating above the image now read, “Sub-Race: Common, Ocean, Mountain, Tribal, Bar…”
“I’m a god damned man, you stupid assed thing! Look at me! Dammit! I’m a god damnable man! Just a man! Nothing but a man! I don’t want to be anything beside a damn man! I’m a M… A… N!”
Seeming to finally understand what he wanted, the text disappeared and the figure altered slightly to take on a reddish tint to the skin and had black painted fingernails and toenails. The ears were slightly pointed, and the head was still bald.
The text changed to now read, “Customize Appearance?”
“No. Don’t give a damn,” was the gruff and firm response. The text disappeared and a screen popped up which had a set of stats and numbers on it.
“Points Available: 100”
“STRENGTH : 10
“AGILITY : 10
“ENDURANCE : 20
“MYSTICISM : 10
“SPIRITUALISM : -10
“KNOWLEDGE : 10
“WILL : 10
“PRESENCE : 20
“LUCK : 10”
“Don’t give a damn,” was the gruff and firm response again. The text shimmered and then reappeared.
“Points Available: 100”
“STRENGTH : 10
“AGILITY : 10
“ENDURANCE : 20
“MYSTICISM : 10
“SPIRITUALISM : -10
“KNOWLEDGE : 10
“WILL : 10
“PRESENCE : 20
“LUCK : 10”
“I’ve done said I don’t care! Like I know what the hell those damn things are. Skip it! I don’t need ‘em!” The gruff voice thundered about the forest, scaring everything back to silence.
The window flickered and a screen popped up with an option to choose skills or spells. “Don’t need ‘em. Don’t want em! Let me play already, dammit!”
A confirmation box appeared, asking to choose a name before entering the game. “Franklin! Just Franklin! Now let’s go!”
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The forest scene faded out, and a red skinned male with black nails and a bald head appeared, standing at a cliff overlooking the ocean. He was wearing old, worn leathers and carrying an obsidian spear. Looking around, there was a small status window floating off to the side that caught his attention
Name: Franklin JusfranklinClass: NoneLevel: 0Race: Human (Hellspawn)Experience: 0 / 1000Title: Child of DamnationStatus: Hunted, God-CursedCP: 0
HP: 40 / 40MP: 10 / 10SP: 0 / -10PD: 0 (10)DR: 0MD: 0
STR: 10KNO: 10WIL: 10AGI: 10MYS: 10PRE: 20END: 20SPI: -10LUC: 10
TALENTS
Diabolical Bloodline – Unknown advantage which will grow and evolve over time.
SPELLS
SKILLS
“Don’t know what the hell all that means,” Franklin muttered to himself, as he hefted and felt the weight of his spear. “Don’t matter none neither. I’m off to gp kill something and cook it! Maybe I can find me a dragon to cook. Always kinda wondered what they tasted like.”
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At the same time, there was a female’s voice singing and yelling at the ball of light that hovered in front of a small waterfall glade, deep in the forest. “Nope nope nope nope nope! Jump a rope! Jump a rope! Jump a rope! I’m a ghost! Ghost! Ghost!”
BZZZT! “You have insufficient points to choose ‘Ghost’ as your starting race. Choose Another.”
“I’m a ghost!”
BZZZT! “You have insufficient points to choose ‘Ghost’ as your starting race. Choose Another.”
“I’m a ghost!”
BZZZT! “You have insufficient points to choose ‘Ghost’ as your starting race. Choose Another.”
“I’m a ghost!”
BZZZT! “You have insufficient points to choose ‘Ghost’ as your starting race. Choose Another.”
“I’m a ghost!”
BZZZT! “You have insufficient points to choose ‘Ghost’ as your starting race. Choose Another. Would you like to contact customer service?”
“I’m a ghost!”
BZZZT! “You have insufficient points to choose ‘Ghost’ as your starting race. Choose Another. Would you like to contact customer service?”
“I’m a ghost!”
BZZZT! “You have insufficient points to choose ‘Ghost’ as your starting race. Choose Another. Would you like to contact customer service?”
“I’m a ghost!”
BZZZT! “You have insufficient points to choose ‘Ghost’ as your starting race. Choose Another. A customer service reprehensive will be with you shortly.”
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Fanny wasn’t even in game yet, and she was already having the time of her life – and already causing problems for the poor game administrators who didn't realize yet what evil was about to be unleashed upon their creation.