My hands touched my forehead, my eyes looking to the floor as the realisation had just hit me. I picked a crafters bloodline on accident. I fucked myself over.
I groaned, and didn’t move for a good while, contemplating over my stupid mistake. Why wasn’t there a goddamn conformation display? As if on queue another display appeared…
Enabling confirmation displays
Gee, thanks, this system was messing with me. I slapped myself on the head and sighed. I might aswell make the best out of the situation.
“Skill list”
Skill Name
Skill description
Skill Level
Experience to next level
Artificer’s Identify
Allows identification of objects, descriptions of objects vary with level.
Beginner level 1
0%
Augment
Allows manipulation of an object’s fundamental properties. Extent of manipulation varies with level.
Beginner level 1
0%
I picked up one of the rocks around the cave and looked at it.
“Identify”
Rock
… I don’t know what I was expecting to be honest. I threw the rock into the waterfall, its shape taken by the force of the water.
I went to pick up another rock, and held it in my palm.
“Augment”
…nothing happened… saying the name worked last time, why wouldn't it not work this time? I looked back at the skills description, fundamental properties? The hell's a property of a rock? Hard? let's go with that. Rocks are known for being hard so that should be a fundamental property right... right?
“Augment, Harden”
The veins along my hand suddenly started to enlarge, a blue liquid moved along my arms towards the rock. It felt akin to holding weights while maintaining a start form. The blue liquid poured out of my palm injecting itself into the rock. It took thirty seconds before the sensation of weights disappeared. I gasped, it felt like something was sucking away at my energy. I looked at the rock, now covered in blue engravings that were similar to veins but a straighter formation.
“Identify”
Rock
This item has been augmented to be harder. Compression strength is increased.
I made the rock harder? How is that even possible, pretty sure that's impossible. Although I’m pretty sure orcs don’t exist aswell so i’ll take it I guess. From what I can feel, it seems that using this skill takes some sort of energy out of me, kinda like mana? There must be a way I can view my mana.
As if the thought triggered it, a display appeared.
Status
Name
Grey Patterson
Race
Human
Evolution Stage
1 (6%)
Bloodline
Materialiser
Health
99/100
Health Regen
0.004 / sec
Mana
97/100
Mana Regen
0.01 / sec
Attributes
Strength
9
Agility
8
Vitality
10
Intelligence
15
It cost 3 mana to make a rock harder? It doesn’t sound that much if you consider it only takes 5 minutes to get that back. It also shows my attributes, they seem about average, wait, I don't even know what average is. At least I Know how to check my mana now.
“Skills”
Skill Name
Skill description
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Skill Level
Experience to next level
Artificer’s Identify
Allows identification of objects, descriptions of objects vary with level.
Beginner level 1
2%
Augment
Allows manipulation of an object’s fundamental properties. Extent of manipulation varies with level.
Beginner level 1
5%
I thought so, just like an mmo, using the skill gives experience. I would have to identify one hundred rocks before it would increase a level, geez, this games almost as grindy as a korean mmo. Five percent for a rock augmentation seems reasonable to me. So, sixty mana and twenty rocks later it would increase a level.
I started to grin. I don’t have anything better to do so I might as well…
10 minutes passed.
I was on the floor my legs stretched out and my arms supporting me behind me, I was breathing heavily. Who thought that hardening rocks would be such a challenge. Around me lay twenty rocks, all with a slight blue glow.
Augement has increased, beginner 2 reached
Effects of augmentation have increased.
Ability to combine augmented items together.
Evolution level has reached 2, attributes have been changed accordingly.
I smiled, looks like my hard work has paid off. I reluctantly pulled myself up and walked over to the left side of the cave. I could reach my hand out so that I could touch the waterfall. I refreshed myself and sat back down.
I check my status and skills once more.
Status
Name
Grey Patterson
Race
Human
Evolution Stage
2 (6%)
Bloodline
Materialiser
Health
100/100
Health Regen
0.005 / sec
Mana
40/100
Mana Regen
0.03 / sec
Attributes
Strength
10
Agility
8
Vitality
10
Intelligence
17
Skill Name
Skill description
Skill Level
Experience to next level
Artificer’s Identify
Allows identification of objects, descriptions of objects vary with level.
Beginner level 1
2%
Augment
Allows manipulation of an object’s fundamental properties. Extent of manipulation varies with level. Ability to combine augmented objects together.
Beginner level 2
5%
Nice.
I walked over to the side of the cave that I climbed up from and looked out towards the trees. I could just barely look over the tops of the tree so I didn't see anything but mountains in the distance. The sun was in the middle of the sky, so it's around mid-day?
I wonder how the other students are doing, with the speed that those orcs were running at, It's safe to assume that not many of them made it out. When the invigilator was killed everyone either darted out or stood there too scared to move. It was every man for himself.
I scanned the treeline until something caught my eye, I could make out two people heading in my direction. One of them was limping while the other one supported them, I didn’t recognise them. The supporting had long black hair and was female, while the other had short blonde hair and male. Both had jaguar high hoodies and jeans.
They reached the bank of the river and the girl placed the guy near the shore, she slowly started rising out the wound cupping the water. It was more of a nasty gnash along their thigh, probably tripped on a root by the looks of it. The guy winced as the cold water poured over the cuts. His clothes mixed with his blood, causing it to spread along his jeans.
“You’ll be fine James just relax” Black hair had a centralised accent despite looking asian. James on the other hand had quite the american accent. She tried to sooth him, James kept wincing in pain.
“I gotta thank ya Erica, you really saved my ass back there.”
I was thinking. Should I call them over? I wasn’t sure if it was the best course of action right now. The last thing I needed on my hands was an injured guy. On the other hand, having people with me will really help me in the case that an orc comes looking for me.
I decided that it would be best if I helped them out, the benefits of having someone to watch my back was too good to pass. I started climbing down the cave making sure not to slip against the mossy stone. They hadn’t noticed me as their attention was on the wounds. It’s probably best if I didn’t scare them.
“Hello!” I called out, trying to sound as friendly as possible, although I think it might've been too friendly considering our circumstances.
They both turned around with frightened faces at first, probably thought I was an orc. Their faces calmed as they realised that I wasn’t an ugly green beast that murdered for no reason.
I walked over.
“You guys okay? Pretty nasty gnash you got there, was it the orcs or did you fall?”
The guy looked at me with a confused expression.
“Orcs?” He replied in a question tone, he looked at me like I was crazy.
“Yeah, orcs. Y’know like uh, lord of the rings or wow.” I quickly replied.
“I know what orcs are, you think they were orcs?” James retorted, his eeyes seemed to scan me.
“Pretty sure, they fit all the criteria, big, green and ugly. I could be wrong though… I’m Grey by the way nice to meet you.” I'm really just the best at greeting aren't I so smooth.
“James”
“Erica”
They both responded somewhat coldly, I don't blame them though. What we went through proabably still has them in shock.
“Great! I recommend that we move over to a cave I found, it's a little climb but I think you’ll be fine, it's better to get off the ground in case the orcs come looking for us.” I advised them, this was for one of two reasons one, its better to get the injured guy off the ground and to a safer location and two, I have a feeling that the orcs have a good sense of smell judging by our first encounter, having a bleeding leg out in the open like this didn't phase me as the smartest idea. The water fall seemed to push air into the cave so it should work as a sort of wind barrier of sorts.
They both look at each other momentarily, and James nods his head.
“Lead the way” Erica says lifting James up.
I point them towards the cave and they start walking over, I tell them to go ahead because I wanted to collect a few things first. Moving towards the trees I spot a few sticks off the ground. I make sure to find ones that are at least a meter long with some good width. Sticks in hand I head back to the cave.
James and Erica seem to have already climbed up to the cave. I slowly climb my way up. James leans against the back wall while Erica seems to be staring at my rocks, she crouches down to pick one up in her palm. She turns to me and holds the rock out.
“You know what these are?” Her eyes narrowed at me
“Their rocks I augmented to make them harder” I say placing the sticks down beside the pile of rocks.
“I got the Materialiser Bloodline… Have you guys not chosen a bloodline?” I reply causally. They didn't seem like bad people, and telling them my class willl get them to trust me.
“That blue evolution thingy?” James says from the floor. He seems to be in better condition already.
I explain to them how it works, the three different bloodlines and how you are given a random Sub-Bloodline once you pick on based on your attributes.
Erica hand hovers in the air, staying still for a few seconds before poking forwards. After a few seconds her eyes adjust to air.
“So, what’d you get?” I ask her, hopefully it doesn't come off as instrusive.
“Kensai, of the warriors Bloodline”
Kensai? I vaguely remember what it means, something about them being one with their sword. Last time I heard that though was when I playing an Eastern mmo.
“Do you do any forms of martial art?” I ask, if she did then it would makes sense that she would get one, but it'd also confuse me as to why I got materialiser.
“I practiced kendo while I was younger… and a few others” She said in a vague voice.
“I guess that makes sense then” I tell her about the status and skill screen and move over to James.
He seems to be reading his display although I can’t tell.
“Did you pick a class yet?”
“I’m a gunslinger even though I picked the warriors bloodline”
“The system probably classes ranged classes under the same tree, i’ll assume that you have training in some form of range weapon? Like how Erica did martial arts”
“I shoot guns every once in while with my paa, didn’t think that it would be enough to give me a ranged class though. Don’t think that we'd find any firearms 'round here though” He says in an almost sad tone.
I give him the same information that I gave Erica, and leave them to learn their skills. I walk over to my pile of sticks and stones. There's something that I wanted to test out.
I select the worse of the sticks I picked up and proced to harden the thing.