《The Winter Wizard : Integration》 Chapter 1: The Integration begins! The last thing he saw was the screen of his smartphone, the image of a little girl on a warm summer day. The white summer dress that was far too long for her, the smile that shone brighter than the sun. Then the memories of finding her cold body at the bottom of the stairs. How the police asked him what happened with his little sister. The days that followed after the accident blurred into one big mess, he needed to arrange a funeral and inform the family members that don¡¯t even care, after all they abandoned him and his sister all those years ago. But that was no longer important, the bottle of sleeping pills slipped from his fingers and dropped to the floor, landing on the soft carpet next to his bed. A smile crept on to his lips, soon he will see his sister again. A bright light appeared in front of him but how could he even see it with his eyes closed? The light started to form words in his field of view. Welcome to the System! Your universe will become the 152nd addition to the multiversal System! Integration will commence shortly¡­. Did he take so many pills that even his mind was playing tricks on him now? He tried to move his hand but couldn¡¯t even twitch his muscles, panic started to set in. What was going on? The Integration is about to begin¡­we wish you the best of luck citizen! The text vanished and he felt like being dragged through the air by an invisible hand, everything around him blurred like his eyes couldn¡¯t keep up with the speed. Only to suddenly stop again and a new darkness surrounded him, but he wasn¡¯t in his bed anymore, he noticed the smell of old books and wax candles, he felt the hard uncomfortable chair under him and the table his hands rested on. The rough wood of the table rubs on his fingers while he moves them around nervously, looking for something to do with him when he hears someone clear his throat in front of him. ¡°Young man you can open your eyes now, it¡¯s time we begin with your preparations¡­¡± The man sounded old, the voice was deep and it felt like he commanded a lot of authority. Slowly he opened his eyes and blinked a few times, his eyes adjusting to the dim light around him. He noticed the bookshelves that surrounded him and the man, he spotted the candles, one on the table between them and on the side of the bookshelves. Then he focused on the man, he looked old, very old. His beard vanished under the table and he wore a red robe that covered his slender frame. His eyes had sunken deep into the sockets and he felt tired, exhausted. ¡°Can we begin now boy? Good, first let''s look at your status, shall we?¡± The man opened a massive book that suddenly appeared on the table. He leafed through the book and stopped somewhere in the middle, at that moment a window appeared in front of his face again. Name: Ethan Delaney Race: Human(?) Level: 1 Class: None Sub-Class: None Health Points (HP): 100/100 Mana Points (MP): 150/150 Stamina: 100/100 Stats Strength: 10 Dexterity: 10 Vitality: 10 Wisdom: 15 Intelligence: 15 Perception: 10 Willpower: 10 Free points: 0 General skills [System Language][Identify] Class skills Sub-Class skills ¡°Mhm, looks like I got someone interesting.¡± The man pointed at his wisdom and intelligence stat. ¡°Seems like you studied a lot in your life, it¡¯s not a big bonus but everything helps right? Now let''s discuss your class Ethan.¡± He flinched at the mention of his name, he hadn¡¯t heard it for a while now and it felt wrong to hear it from the man¡¯s mouth. Still, the man was right, Ethan had studied all his life, things like history interested him the most but he also read a lot of fiction and played games so he understood some thing the man talked about. Curiosity got the best of him. ¡°S-sir, what is up with those stats? Like I played games but we don¡¯T have things like that in the real world. Also, why does it have a question mark next to my race?¡± You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. The man listened and nodded, ¡°Well kid, because you¡¯re at the start of the integration, the system will make itself at home in your universe, about the question mark¡­-¡± he tilted his head and nodded a moment later. ¡°Ah sorry, I can¡¯t talk about that. Enough delays, it¡¯s time to pick your class.¡± The man snapped his fingers and three people appeared behind him. They looked more like mannequins, their features rough and sloppy. The one on the left wore light armor made from leather, a rusty sword in his hand and a shield on his back, the one in the middle had only some leather patches sewn onto his shirt and a bow in his hand. The one on the right wore a long black robe and an oversized hat, a wooden staff in one hand. Of the three figures the right one called to him the most, when he focused on it a new window appeared. [The Mage- A beginner class for those seeking to understand the arcane arts] The man cleared his throat again. ¡°Alright kid, pick your class then we need to talk about the advantage you want.¡± Ethan nodded. ¡°I pick the mage class¡­please?¡± he said, unsure how to ask the system but it worked either way *Update* Class updated - None -> Mage *Update* Skill acquired - Mana Bolt ¡°Good, you seem to manage better than most people but don¡¯t think it will be easy just because you picked a class. Now, at the start of every integration the new citizens get to pick one benefit. This could be a powerful weapon or piece of armor, a spell, food rations, water, a magical item, an increase to your stats. It could be anything but don¡¯t expect to be able to cheat just because you got a weapon, it will be powerful for someone at level 1, you understand?¡± Ethan was already thinking about what he wanted, should he go with a mighty staff? A powerful spell to kill his foes with one shot? Maybe a magical artifact but then he had a different idea, he needed something that could influence his path in a positive way from beginning to end. Thoughts about the cold he felt before his suicide, an attempt that felt a life time ago and he just remembered, the cold¡­the days he played outside with his sister, building a snowman, how the made snow angels and both of them on the couch with a hot chocolate reading a book while the snow drifted to the ground. ¡°I decided what I want¡­I want an..affinity, like elemental magic. Is that possible? Maybe a list I can pick from?¡± The man looked surprised and then smiled, it was a warm smile that was quickly followed by a laugh. ¡°Oh boy, you really are special huh? Good choice kid, not many think about the long-term in this situation.¡± He turned the book around and put it in front of Ethan. A long list greeted him Common: Water, Fire, Earth, Air, Light, Dark¡­ Uncommon: Ice, Lava, Nature, Poison, Holy, Electric¡­ It continued for a bit and he frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t understand, why are there common and uncommon affinities and I bet even higher grades?¡± He looked at the man and raised an eyebrow. The old man nodded. ¡°Yes, there are more. To explain it easily. If you look at Earth and Water, the focus on one element, if you could combine them they could form into a nature affinity as an example. Now for Ice and Lava, those are just advanced forms of their base elements Water and Fire. Of course you can succeed with all affinities but specialized ones are usually stronger but with a narrower scope. That is all I can say, which one will you pick¡­before you ask you can¡¯t look at higher grades.¡± Ethan rubbed his chin, the cold he felt before returning but this time more as a friend than impending doom. ¡°I will pick the ice affinity¡­¡± he nodded, the decision felt right. *Update* Gained - Affinity: Ice *Update* Race - Human(?) -> Human(Ice) *Update* Skill change - Mana Bolt -> Ice Bolt The old man nodded at him, a smile tugging on his lips that he tried to keep down. ¡°I wish you luck boy¡­you will need it. I will give you a small hint, in this world not only monsters and magic, but also gods and other beings you thought are fantasy¡­so be careful out there.¡± With a snap of the man¡¯s fingers his clothes changed to the robe, hat and staff and he vanished again. This time on his way to the tutorial, whatever that was. Transport in progress¡­.Good luck in the tutorial! 3¡­¡­ 2¡­. 1¡­ Transport completed! Chapter 2: The start of the tutorial The words vanished and the bright light receded until he could make out his surroundings. The first thing he noticed was the staff he firmly held in his hand, it was more an oversized stick than a properly made staff. The second thing he saw was the group of people that looked as confused as he felt. On his left he saw two teens not older than 16 years old, a boy and a girl. The boy looked at him and gave him a big smile, the word he had in his hand looked powerful. Seems like one already picked a powerful weapon, the girl next to him looked like she came straight from some old anime, with a pink fluffy dress, a small crown on her head and a wand in her hand that looked like a candy cane with a star on top. Rolling his eyes he looked at the other group of people and Ethan took a step back, because those people could best be described with the word horrifying. Muscular bodies, shaved heads, tattoos on their arms and face. That hungry look in their eyes when they spotted the magical girl. Those men looked like the game right from a prison and Ethan was sure his guess was right. They stared at him and the two teens and Ethan stared back, but before anyone could say a word a high pitched scream came from somewhere in front of them. Heads turned and all stared into the sickly looking forest that surrounded them. One of the prisoners, a bull of a man that had arms like logs and hands the size of vices. ¡°Come on boys, I think we heard our first prey.¡± The thick beard that covered most of his face jumped up and down while he laughed. The group started walking and Ethan exchanged a look with the teens, he nodded and tried to be the adult in this situation, with a smile on his face he approached them. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m Ethan, nice to meet you.¡± The boy kept his smile and offered a handshake. ¡°Hey! I¡¯m James and this is Marie.¡± he pointed to the girl, Marie smiled too and they shook hands. ¡°So¡­I guess we follow them? To be honest I don¡¯t wanna stay here alone.¡± Ethan nodded towards the group of men that already vanished in the trees. James and Marie nodded and the trio followed them into the forest. ¡°I see you decided to go with equipment, a sword and¡­?¡± he raised an eyebrow and looked at Marie.¡± I¡¯m a magical girl. The creepy old man asked me what I wanted so of course I picked this!¡± She gave both men a little spin and waved her wand. James looked at Ethan. ¡°Why did you go with mage? A knight is so much better! After all only the righteous can defend the people and what better than to be a knight or maybe even a paladin one day!¡± he nodded to himself and smiled. Ethan nodded, he already knew that nothing he said would be correct in the kid¡¯s eyes. So he just mumbled ¡°you¡¯re right¡± and continued on his way, always looking at the back of those prisoners. While he walked or rather stumbled his way forward through the forest floor that was covered in thick knotty roots he thought about his situation. While he played games in the past there should be no way for something like this to exist, floating screens filled with data and the ability to use magic and fight monsters. What surprised him the most was how well he took it. The whole thing should be terrifying and make every normal person black out from panic but here he was, two kids, a handful of prisoners and him. His best guess was that the system had something to do with giving people a chance to adjust and even survive the tutorial. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Before he could sink deeper into his own thoughts he heard the men up front laugh and the three of them quickened their steps and tried to see what was happening. The man with the beard held something in his hand, shaking it around like some toy. Ethan pushed his glasses up and tried to identify the green thing. His newest ability, Identify, gave him the answer [Goblin Child - Level 1] [Goblins are a humanoid race that live in large tribes and are extremely dangerous. They reproduce very quickly and are known for stealing women to ensure the population remains steady. Be cautious] That can¡¯t be right. Ethan thought and shook his hand. Goblins are low level creatures in every game he played and every book he read. Physically weak and also dumb they run off at the first opportunity to save themselves. The man holding the goblin child laughed and held it like a wet dog, his hands firmly placed on his neck. ¡°Ha, look here, some tiny little creature and I thought this is going to be hard.¡± he looked at the whimpering child and shook it a few times. ¡°Seems like I¡¯m getting first blood.¡± He pulled his hand back, aimed at the tree trunk and without hesitation, his hand shot forward and rammed the small creature against the tree. The child screamed and tried to attack for the first time, tiny vicious claws on his hand and feet tried to scratch the man but he just laughed. Again and again he hit the child against the tree, Ethan choked when he saw one of his yellow eyes explode, his nose was crushed flat against his face and he lost most of his teeth at this point. Blood dripped down its body and from the tree, pooling into a small puddle in front of the man. Then they all heard the cracking of his skull and it¡¯s body got limp. The man nodded, proud of himself and he gave his group a bloody thumbs up. A smile on his face that vanished the next second as a new feeling overtook him, pain. Behind the man stood a goblin but not a child like before. He was around 4 feet tall, his skin dark green, almost black. The long nose came to a point and was slightly curved down, reminding Ethan of a dagger. His mouth was filled with needle-like teeth, some of them missing, large black claws on each finger and toe made for natural weapons. His whole body was packed with muscles like you see on a runner, the only clothes he wore was a piece of fur to cover his modesty. He screamed at them, his claws hacking away at the stunned man, only when the smaller goblin pushed him to the ground did Ethan spot the dagger the goblin must have thrust into his back. His claws raked at the man¡¯s back, the flimsy of his armor offering little resistance. Shocked, they stood there like an audience watching a horror movie. One of the prisoners was quicker and he grabbed his sword and hit the goblin with it like it was a club. It looked awkward, the blade only hitting twice while he swung his blade like a club. Still he managed to kill the thing, breathing heavily he tried to get the sword out of the corpse, the blade managed to get stuck in the goblins shoulder. With a war cry he pulled the blade out, lifting it in the air, then they heard the telltale sign of a crossbow getting shot and the man was hit in the eye, the crude bolt exploded from back of his head and spraying two others with his blood and pieces of his brain, the gray matter hitting their armor. The next moment a horn sounded and they heard the screams, in front of them, behind them, to the right. So Ethan decided to act, something he almost never did in his whole life. He pushed the two teens away from the bloody scene. ¡°We need to run! Like, right now!¡± He gripped the staff in his hand so tightly that his knuckles turned white. Even the prisoners listened and followed the group of three into the forest. Behind them the constant screaming of goblins, their horns announcing the hunt was on. Chapter 3 Running through the forest was quickly proving to be difficult, his breathing was heavy, his arms and legs hurt and more than once he stumbled because of his long robe or because his staff got stuck in some long hanging branches. Still they never stopped, in the fleeting moments that he looked behind him he noticed the panicked expressions of James and Marie and the grim determination of the three remaining prisoners. In the distance the horns sounded, screams and the howling of wolves, the whole goblin tribe seemed to be behind them at this point so Ethan tried to think of a solution. His feet wouldn¡¯t carry him for long if he kept up this pace and Marie looked like would collapse every second. When he took a deep breath before saying something he gagged instead. A foul smell invaded his nose and he would puke if he could. Still this could be a chance, the smell would mask their scent, he didn¡¯t know how good goblins could smell but he was pretty sure he could trick a wolf. ¡°We need to find the source of that smell! Quickly!¡± He turned his head left and right, smelling the air and decided to turn left and right randomly in the hope to find the source. In the end it was James that found it by accident, the valiant knight moved to the right and suddenly fell, landing a few feet below in pit of mud, when he managed to stand up again he looked over a swamp, fog was hanging low over the water and he could see all kind of insects buzzing around. He called for them, a warning attached about the steep fall. Quickly the group followed him and made their way down the slope. One of the prisoners grabbed Ethan and shook him. ¡°So what now wizard boy? Gonna tell us your great plan?¡± he looked angry at him like it was his fault the tribe attacked. Ethan just pushed his glasses back up his nose and he nodded towards the brown, murky water that felt more like mud. ¡°We need to hide in there, the smell of the swamp can mask our scent.¡± the prisoners and James looked at him like he was a fucking idiot and Marie looked horrified with the thought to mess up her pink magical girl outfit with all that filth. Ethan furrowed his brows. ¡°It¡¯s not what I want to do but do you idiots have a better plan? We¡¯re in this situation because that caveman killed the goblin child!¡± The fist that hit him the next moment pushed all the air out of his body and he slumped to the ground, gasping for air. A kick followed and hit his shoulder, making him fall back into the thick sludge of the pit James landed in previously. ¡°Don¡¯t get cocky, you better watch out¡­ your stupid plan would kill all of us, I would rather run away.¡± he shook his head. ¡°Allow a child to do a man¡¯s job. Come on, leave him here. He can stall those creatures for us.¡± The group left him, James and Marie looked back at him, torn about what to do but a simple grunt from the man made them turn around and leave. Ethan groaned but he couldn¡¯t just lay here, he turned around, his cheek pressed firmly into the mud while he tried to get his hands under him, the thick sludge made every movement appear in slow motion, still he pushed himself up and crawled on hands and knees out of the pit and towards the swamp, the cold water embraced his body, pulling at the last of body heat he had left inside of him, there he sat, only his head poking from the water while he waited for the tribe to find him. It didn¡¯t take long for the hunting party to reach the swamp, in those five minutes Ethan pulled some plants towards him to cover himself even more, he could feel insects crawl around in his long black hair, he twitched when something bit into his exposed skin or crawled into his robe. He wanted to scream and jump from this swamp but if he did, death was the only outcome. He could hear them now, goblins snarling in their weird language with each other, the growling of the wolves they had with them. It sounded to him like they¡¯re arguing about something, maybe they lost the scent of the others too? A shimmer of hope formed in his chest, not for the prisoners but he hoped James and Marie were okay, they¡¯re only kids after all. But his hope got crushed quickly when he heard them laugh and scream, he risked it and took a look through his plan cover and spotted the twenty goblins and ten wolves running around the swamp, he guessed the direction the others took. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. He decided to wait and he could feel his arms and legs getting numb, his eyelids got heavy and Ethan could just drift into an endless, dreamless sleep. But he wanted to fight, wanted to live, if it was not for himself then just to keep the memory of his sister alive. The thought about her made him wide awake once again, like some animal did he claw his way back to shore, all the pain forgotten for those few minutes it took him to escape the deadly embrace of the swamp. Breathing heavily he rested on hands and knees for a while, happy he managed to evade the goblins, he crawled to the pit he was in previously and grabbed his mud covered staff and used it to pull himself back up on his feet. A sigh escaped his lips and his gaze wandered to the sky, the dim sun was already approaching the horizon and it wouldn¡¯t be long before the night would rule this cursed tutorial. Ethan thought about following the goblins and finding the others but what could he do about a group of twenty goblins? Literally nothing, the best course of action would be to find some other creatures he could kill, like in all the RPGs he played that was the first step, maybe he could find a group of boars. The plan set he climbed back up to the sickly looking forest, his hand grabbed a root to pull himself up, he turned his gaze upwards and stared into the yellow eyes of a goblin. For a moment both of them stared at each other, disbelief on their faces. But the goblin had the better instincts and with a scream he threw himself on Ethan, pushing him for the third time back into that mud pit at the edge of the swamp, he managed to get his staff between him and the green pest while it tried to dig his needle-like teeth into his neck. Ethan pushed with all his might against him, both turning and tossing around in the mud like children fighting over a toy, but the crazed look in the goblins eyes and the saliva dripping from his chapped lips told Ethan what would happen if he lost. Their struggle continued, the goblin having a clear advantage with his natural weapons, Ethan felt the sweat run down his forehead, leaving small lines in the otherwise dirt covered face. Then he finally remembered something and he would kick himself if he could. With a cry he yelled. ¡°Ice Bolt!¡± he didn¡¯t know if he needed to point his staff somewhere or use some kind of connection to his energy but in the next moment a tiny spell circle appeared in front of his nose and a pointy ice shard shot from it and pierced straight through the goblins face, showering him in blood and gore. While everything seemed to be in slow motions for Ethan. He could see the ice pierce its green skin, how it dug into his flesh and pushed against the skull only to push through it with such ease like it was covered in oil. The goblin collapsed on him and blood continued to drip from the fist size hole in the goblins head. Then a notification appeared [You killed Goblin - Level 1 | You gained experience!] Well that was anticlimactic ,Ethan thought with a small laugh. Then more notifications appeared. *Update* [First Blood - Be the first person to kill someone in the tutorial. Bonus experience earned] *Update* Level 1 -> 3 *Update* Stats gained, free points gained. Name: Ethan Delaney Race: Human(?) Level: 3 Class: None Sub-Class: None Health Points (HP): 80/120 Mana Points (MP): 130/190 Stamina: 100/100 Stats Strength: 10 Dexterity: 10 Vitality: 12 Wisdom: 19 Intelligence: 19 Perception: 10 Willpower: 10 Free points: 4 A simple thought was enough to call his status. He let out a sigh and looked over his stats, it seems each point increased his resources by 10, he didn¡¯t even notice the loss in health but the long time he sat in the swamp and the scratches from the goblin must have taken a good chunk of his meager health pool. Looking over his mana it seems one ice bolt cost twenty to cast, something he needed to look out for, without mana he was as good as dead. Ethan pushed himself to his feet¡­again and crawled out of the pit¡­again and made his way through the forest, it was time to take his fate in his own hands. Chapter 4 The dried mud cracked with every step he took, the last hour was spent walking through the forest as far away as possible from the swamp and the goblin camp. He needed to think and make a plan. He wasn¡¯t strong enough even with the experience he got from killing that goblin, Ethan knew he should concentrate on his surroundings but like in his life before the tutorial he started to blend everything out and just focused on his thoughts. Thinking in terms of a game could be the end of him, this was no game but his new reality, his and that of the whole universe. So when this was the new status quo he needed to adjust. An athlete can improve speed and endurance. A bodybuilder can raise his strength and maximize his muscles. So for him it should be possible to improve his magic beyond the limits of skills and abilities. A grin crept onto his face while he thought about the potential he could unlock when studying the arcane arts. With a rough plan in mind he quickened his steps and even when he stumbled, Ethan never stopped. His arms and legs are burning from the ordeal of the day. While looking for shelter he tripped over a root and landed on his face, with a groan he tried to push himself upwards but the ground under him slid down an arm''s length and stopped again. ¡°Okay¡­slow an- ¡° he couldn¡¯t finish the sentence when the ground suddenly slid away again and his own weight pulled him into the darkness, the tunnel he was in was covered in roots, rocks and alot of insects. He closed his eyes and mouth, covering his face with his arms while he slid down the tunnel. The hard packed dirt vanished and was replaced with rough stone, but instead of stopping he glides downwards even quicker, a thick slime covered the walls, ground and ceiling. A scream escaped his lips and as unexpected as the journey started it also ended. He was dropped through a hole and fell into a pond, this one crystal clear water, not a pit of mud again. He climbed from the pond and spat out the water that had entered his lungs. Ethan just rolled on to his back and looked at the ceiling, tiny white crystals covered in the ceiling and walls, their dim light lit the cube shaped room. Without another option he walked over to the wall opposite the hole he was shot from. On the wall he spotted letters that glowed like crystals. I am a symbol, ancient and wise, A creature of cycles in both dark and light skies. I eat my own tail, forever I twine, A sign of eternity, where beginnings align. What am I? Ethan rubbed his chin while looking at the text for some time. He tried to think of different things he read in his life but he couldn¡¯t find an answer. He felt like he had the knowledge but it was blocked behind something, like he needed to go another step or something. Of course he still tried to just push against the wall but even if he was tall, his skinny body had no strength. Sliding down the wall he crossed his legs and closed his eyes. He wanted to text his theory, so he pointed his staff at the pond and activated his [Ice Bolt] spell. Like expected the small spell circled was at the tip of his staff, when he opened his eyes but instead of shooting off against a wall it just stayed there. So he activated his spell again and a second circle appeared. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. It took longer this time and it drained more mana from his pathetic pool. His stat screen was now open now while he tried to conjure another spell into existence, but the moment it appeared a sharp pain traveled through his body like a lighting bolt and made the three spell circles vanish. Ethan cursed and rubbed his forehead, the pain still lingered and he noticed some health points were gone. So he started to test things, again and again he conjured spell circles, making it to three before the pain started again. When his mana was emptied out he thought about that riddle he found on the wall. The hours vanished while he experimented, he tried to use the spell in different ways with some minor success. He managed to make it appear where he looked, even had it follow his movements and the rotation of his head but after a few seconds the pain returned when he tried that. In the end he understood even less but was excited about the possibilities. He smiled while an ice bolt appeared in the pond and shot towards the ceiling, a trail of water behind it. Leaning back he sighed, why couldn¡¯t he summon more than three ice bolts and why did he feel pain when he summoned the third one. He spinned his staff in his hand and never even thought about using [Identify] on it. Maybe that was the answer! Excited, he used his ability and read the short messages that appeared. [Wanderers Staff - A staff made from simple wood that used to be companion of a normal wanderer] ¡°Wow¡­thanks¡­system.¡± he mumbles and points the staff towards the pond. Ice bolts appeared, they even hovered from the spell circle now without delay and were ready to use instantly. He moved the twin ice bolts around before snapping his fingers to make them shoot into the pond. Of course the snap was just for show but he got bored after a while. Ethan stood up and he looked at the riddle again, looking at each word, reading it backwards and even switching words around. He did it a lot of times now but the answer wouldn¡¯t reveal himself to it. He thought about the words and it was obvious it had something to do with an animal, about circles and eternity. So he listed some animals he knew from mythology like, J?rmungandr, Medusa, Quetzalcoatl and finally¡­¡±Are you¡­Ouroboros?¡± it fit quite well so he hoped he got it right. **** The harpy laughed as she looked at the human listing gods and legendary monsters like it was a shopping list. ¡°He will never get it right.¡± she cackled and viewed something else. The large bear next to him opened his eyes and grumbled. ¡°I told you to keep quiet, stupid bird.¡± he closed his eyes again but only before looking at the floating screen in front of him where he saw the human in front of the riddle. His head turned to the corner. ¡°I think you need to prepare, I think he will get it.¡± He snuggled himself into the soft bed again and snored a moment later. ¡°This could be interesting, I didn¡¯t think someone would even know about us.¡± a giant black snake laid coiled up in the corner, its big head was formed like a triangle, the big red eyes burned with internal fire. ¡°He could use the help if he manages to survive.¡± his voice was like honey, flowing from his mouth that shouldn¡¯t even be able to produce normal words. His eyes fixed on the screen he finally heard his answer and the snake vanished. The big round bear grumbled something. ¡°Finally some silence.¡± **** ¡°Are you Ouroboros?¡± The moment he spoke those words the world around him vanished and he appeared on a field of knee height grass, water swirled around his feet and reached up to his ankles. His robe was gone and exchanged for a shirt and some loose pants, only the staff was still there. He looked around and only then he noticed the man standing in front of him, around ten meters separated from them. He could feel that the man was old even if he looked like an example of physical fitness. On his shoulder rested a simple wooden staff and the smile he was on his lips made Ethan shudder. ¡°W-who are you?¡± he asked, his voice sounding subdued by his presence. The man twirled his staff in his hands. ¡°I¡¯m Ouroboros and you¡¯re Ethan¡­I hope you¡¯re ready.¡± he stopped the staff and let it rest comfortably in a two handed grip. ¡°Because I¡¯m gonna beat you up kid.¡± Intermission - Other tutorials Sophie watched as the two goblins stabbed each other with their rusty knives, the green creatures giggled while doing so even if tears streamed down their faces. Still under the purple of her glowing eyes they killed each other, once they finally died and she got the notification from the system she continued on her path towards the goblin den. She knew everybody was stupid, playing by the system''s rules instead of thinking for themselves. So she just asked for a ridiculous benefit to begin her tutorial with and even got what she wanted. Name: Sophie Richards Race: Human Level: 5 Class: Mind Mage She pushed a copper colored strand of hair out of her face and waved the two wolves towards her. She would put them to good use in no time, after all the goblin cave would offer a good place to farm experience
Emily sighed, she felt terrible. Since the start of this ridiculous dream she just wanted to wake up, she pinched herself so many times she was worried it would leave bruises on her caramel colored skin, The bow she had in her hand was used to kill another goblin while a group of boys defended her, each of them trying to protect her the most. Another sigh escaped her lips, it was hard to be so desired by everybody. Still those monkeys are useful, she gave them a warm smile. ¡°Should we continue boys?¡± She tried to make her voice especially seductive for them and walked between them towards the swamp, it was time to kill the fishmen the boys talked about. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. One last look on her status made her grin, she could work with this Name: Emily Stewart Race: Human Level: 4 Class: Archer
Jeremy threw the bow over his shoulder, it was broken anyway so why bother with it. After he blocked a goblin with it the wood broke after one last arrow. But he didn¡¯t mind it that much, ranged combat was not his strength anyway, bending down he picked the two daggers up that the goblins dropped after their death. Name: Jeremy Race: Human Level: 6 Class: Rogue He twirled them around with ease, years of practice made it his second nature. His class change was unexpected but welcome. If he managed to keep his current path he would become stronger than everybody! He pulled the hood over his head and followed the footpath with silent steps, the goblins would be in for a surprise. His white teeth were the only thing visible in the darkness as he smiled. He would win this tutorial and claim every bonus he could to become the best assassins! Chapter 5: Training with a god ¡°Wha-¡± was the only response Ethan managed before the man appeared in front of him like he just teleported, he suddenly was in the air, his body spinning around while he got thrown away, only then did his body even realize the hit from the man¡¯s staff. He felt pain like never before, the left side of his head was burning, like someone drove a hot glowing nail into his temple, he was hot and cold at the same time and moments just vanished when he got unconscious. ¡°Pathetic.¡± The man practically spat out the word as he looked down to Ethan¡¯s twisted body, but even when he should be dead his health points stayed the same. ¡°I hoped you would fight me Hatchling.¡± he grabbed Ethan¡¯s arm and pulled him back to his feet, his vise-like grip nearly crushing his bone into a fine powder. ¡°What do you even want from me?¡± Ethan whined but didn¡¯t dare to look into the man¡¯s eyes. The confidence he built since killing that goblin vanished in mere seconds, but even if he wanted to quit, there was no way he could defeat the man. A staff got pushed back into his hand. The man taking his stance, one foot pushed back and his knees bent slightly, the staff back into his two handed grip. ¡°Now, defend yourself!¡± Again he swung his staff into an overhead swing to hit Ethan on the head. Ethan didn¡¯t know if it was instinct or his fear or a combination of both but he raised his staff and tried to block the strike aimed for his head. The sound of wood hitting wood could be heard and his hands turned numb from the vibration and strength of the hit. But he managed to block this time. ¡°Good, again!¡± A swing from the left side, that he managed to block again, his left hand moving down, the right moved up to hold his staff vertically. Again the wooden staff hit each other. The man thrust his staff like a spear, Ethan gasped as it hit his sternum and pushed him back a few metres. His vision turned black for a moment when he nearly died again only for something to interrupt it. Another swing from the right, he managed to move his staff but his hands were in the wrong spot and his right hand was nearly crushed by the hit of the staff, his skin exploded in a cloud of blood when his knuckles cracked like popcorn, Ethan screamed and dropped the staff to press his hand against his chest. ¡°Never drop your weapon hatchling!¡± a foot landed in his belly, making him fly a few meters again, he landed on his side and rolled for a while longer. His clothes were already covered in mud, blood and soaked through. ¡°In a fight you need to be able to defend yourself.¡± He appeared in front of Ethan again and again he was pulled to his feet, the staff in his hands he defended himself again.
Hours vanished under the brutal tutoring of the man, Ethan cried, screamed and begged for it to stop but the man just continued like it was some sick game to him. What Ethan didn¡¯t notice was his improvement, sometimes he managed to block strike after strike, evaded thrusts and even countered but he never managed to hit the man. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Despair turned into determination and then into anger. He hated every second of it as it made him feel like the young boy again that got pushed around by the older kids back in his school days. He gritted his teeth and grabbed the staff so tight his knuckles turned white. He wanted to hurt this man, hit him over and over again while he screamed his whole pain out, the pain of being bullied, the pain of losing his parents and his sister. The man just blocked him, not even using two hands anymore to hold his staff. ¡°Maybe your sister died because you aren¡¯t strong enough¡­hatchling.¡± the man didn¡¯t mock him, his red eyes just stared right into Ethan¡¯s. He got kicked again, the heel of the man¡¯s boot hit his knee, making it snap like some dry twig. ¡°You¡¯re not strong enough, not for your sister and not even for yourself.¡± he pulled Ethan back up again, the knee healed again. Without him even noticing. ¡°The system gives you power but you just press a button instead of using it.¡± He defended himself again from Ethan¡¯s swings. ¡°You are pathetic if you keep seeing this as a game.¡± The man slapped him, which caused his head to turn almost 180 degrees, only to snap back in place the next second. Ethan didn¡¯t even notice the pain at this point, he just wants the man gone. Without a thought he activated his magical energy, opening the floodgates while something changed inside of him. Magical energy, mana, streamed from his heart to every part of his body, pressing against his skin while it looked for a way to escape, his own skin felt too tight for him and Ethan offered the energy a way. Mist started to leak from his pores, streamed from his body and gathered in a cloud around him. Everything it touched started to freeze over, the torn up grass, the mud and water under his feet. Like a cocoon the freezing cold air surrounded him, more and more gathered until it stopped one arm length away from his body all around. He noticed an update from the system but he didn¡¯t care, he just needed to hit the man, if he managed one hit he could count it as a victory. Ethan grabbed his staff that started to freeze from his touch. He summoned ice spikes, one, two, three, four¡­five of them hovered over his shoulders with the fifth over his head. He attacked again. The frozen staff in his hand felt better, powerful and more like an extension of himself, permeated by his energy. The fight continued for the last time, Ethan never stopped attacking, thrusting his staff towards the man, spinning around himself to deliver a powerful hit, a thrust turned into a swing as he brought the end of the staff around to hit the man¡¯s shoulder.
Ouroboros smiled, the hatchling turned out to be worth his time. He managed multiple things since their fight began. He stopped dropping his staff and he stopped being controlled by pain for the most part. But what made him smile was the ability he displayed right now, the boy unlocked an aura ability out of pure anger, he even managed to infuse his staff with energy. It looks like it got me a prodigy, he blocked another wild swing from Ethan and watched his energy move around him, the aura expanded when he attacked and contracted when he defended. It was interesting to see, the ice affinity being a rare thing in the multiverse, most people just throw fireballs or shoot lightning. Time to finish this, Ouroboros thought and with three quick thrusts he first knocked Ethan back, with the second he disarmed him and the third pinned him to the ground. ¡°You fought well boy, but I won this fight.¡± he smiled, but when he saw the smile on Ethan¡¯s face he raised an eyebrow. ¡°What¡¯s so funny hatchling?¡± An ice spike shot from the ground and hit the man on his thigh, it didn¡¯t leave a mark or any damage at all but Ethan''s smile grew, his words only a whisper. ¡°I won¡­¡± he said before passing out. Chapter 6 When Ethan woke up again he felt like days have passed since his battle with the weird man. The moment he opened his eyes a groan escaped his lips, the light was too bright for him after spending such a long time in the dim forest and cave. He blinked the tears away and rubbed his eyes. When his eyes adjusted he could see his surroundings. He was sitting in a garden, the grass was cut short and had the same height, it looked almost like a solid piece of green, only the gentle breeze that was present in the garden broke the illusion. The edge of the small garden was adorned by flower beds, the flowers that grew there looked perfectly aligned, each of them the same length apart and of uniform height. The petals were of various shades of blue and white, the center of each flower was adorned with a blue jewel that shone in the gentle warm light of the sun. Ethan turned his head further and spotted the man sitting a few meters away from him, he sat on some white outdoor furniture you would expect in a garden of a suburban home. When Ethan looked at him the man smiled and beckoned him to take a seat. Wary of the man he hesitated but what chances did he have? There was no visible way out of the garden and the man was faster than a bullet. He pushed himself to his feet and sighed before walking over to the man, he sat down and the next moment a cup of tea and a plate with biscuits was standing on the table. ¡°You did well hatchling, better than I expected. I knew my little riddle was placed in the current integration but I didn¡¯t expect anybody to find it. But I guess you had some help from Ar¡¯kzul, don¡¯t bother I won¡¯t explain.¡± he said and smiled. ¡°Ethan, right? Well you fought well for a human on your level, of course I helped you out a bit with all those injuries but you withstand pain quite well, after the first few hits. Of course it would be better to not be hit in the first place. Still I decided to offer you some help. First you should check your status before asking any questions.¡± The man took a sip of his tea and leaned back in his chair, smiling, amusement clearly visible on his face. Ethan sighed and just admitted defeat and checked his system.
*Update* Aura(Special) unlocked - Winter¡¯s Domain - Everything within the radius of your aura is slowed down minimally, when exposed for some time,the creature or objects starts to freeze. When frozen, when exposed for a long time movement is heavily reduced. *Update* Elemental Infusion(Basic) unlocked - Allows the caster to infuse his elemental mana into an object, can grant buffs or debuffs depending on the object and desired result of the caster *Update* Staff Mastery(Basic) unlocked - You don¡¯t need a sword and shield, even an ordinary stick can become a weapon in the hands of an expert¡­you¡¯re far away from being one but at least you know how to hit things. *Update* [For unlocking your aura ability before reaching level 10 you gain bonus experience] *Update* You reached Level 4! Stats gained! Free points gained! Name: Ethan Delaney Race: Human(?) Level: 3 Class: None Sub-Class: None Health Points (HP): 130/130 Mana Points (MP): 210/210 Stamina: 100/100 Stats Strength: 10 Dexterity: 10 Vitality: 13 Wisdom: 21 Intelligence: 21 Perception: 10 Willpower: 10 Free points: 2 Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
¡°By the look on your face I know you saw all the changes. I must admit I¡¯m rather impressed hatchling. You managed to earn yourself a head start in this little competition, but we¡¯re not finished. I offer you my help but, remember if you change your mind it will damage your path more than mine so if you have questions, ask them now but remember. I can¡¯t answer a lot of topics.¡± Ethan furrowed his brow and grabbed the cup of tea while he was in thought, his mind was spinning. The fight fresh in his mind, the abilities he unlocked, the offer he got. The integration, the tutorial and his fight so far. He didn¡¯t know if he even wanted answers. But then he decided on a few questions. ¡°Why are we here in this tutorial? Are all the tutorials this hard? Do we win at some point or does it keep going until one is still alive? Why couldn¡¯t I use the magic the way I wanted before but it suddenly worked in our fight?¡± The man took another sip and nodded along to Ethan¡¯s questions. ¡°I can answer some questions¡­why you¡¯re in the tutorial, simply to help you adjust and yes all tutorials are like this but the environment could be different. It ends at some point but that is all I can say. Your question about magic¡­¡± He ate a cookie and emptied his cup before looking at Ethan. ¡°Try to imagine what I say. The amount of magic can be compared to a gentle flowing creek in your case. As long as the water that comes from the spring stays the same nothing happens, even when the spring has a lot more water to give. But now you force more and more water from the spring and your small creek transforms into a river. Can you follow?¡± Ethan nodded and looked at the man, his mind working. Before he said something. ¡°So what you say is even if I have a lot of mana I can¡¯t use all of it because it damages my own body, because I try to channel too much power through myself.¡± The man smiled and nodded. ¡° That¡¯s right, it¡¯s like forcing too much blood through a blood vessel, it can work but it will end in pain and it can rupture and you start to bleed. The same goes for a mana. But there are two ways to transform your little creek into a river. The first way is simple, you just need to level, with time your body will improve in many ways and bring the mess of blood, bones and organs you currently have into harmonie. Organs will vanish, your bones will grow stronger and your blood will work more as a conduit for power than keeping you alive. The second way is to go beyond your limits, it sounds brutal but if you force your body to adapt it will happen, it¡¯s painful but with enough time your body will move mana a lot better.¡± Ethan was still confused but he accepted the answer. The pain was bad, like someone was injecting molten metal into your bloodstream but maybe he should keep it up, he wanted a new life after all, nobody said it would be painless to exist in this new magical universe. The man helped him a lot and even answered his questions. If Ethan was honest with himself, he would have died without so much luck up to this point. He nodded and looked at the man, his blue eyes now speckled with white spots. ¡°I accept your help..¡± he shook hands with the man¡­no, not man, Ouroboros. The god smiled and nodded. ¡°I believe you made the right decision, now for my gifts.¡± His hand glowed white and Ethan could feel something moving up his arm and settling in his chest, some kind of power connected him to the god and he could feel the deity in front of him, connected through his magic. Ouroboros let go of his hand and smiled, then he pulled a small egg from somewhere, Ethan again didn¡¯t manage to spot it. The god put the egg into Ethan¡¯ still glowing hand and closed his fingers around it, his movements gentle and careful. ¡°What I gave you is a blessing and¡­one of my children, this egg will hatch the moment you¡¯re back in the tutorial. I know she will be a good companion to you and grow with you. She will influence you and you will influence her. I say this so you¡¯re prepared, it will be subtle at first but keep it in mind.¡± He stood up and helped Ethan to his feet while a door appeared next to them. ¡°Go now and don¡¯t disappoint me hatchling, I expect great things from you¡­the next time we talk it will be when you select your sub-class. I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± Ouroboros gave Ethan a gentle push towards the door, the ice mage turned around and nodded. ¡°Thanks for the help.¡± the egg held against his chest he stepped through the door. The god chuckled. ¡°I wasn¡¯t that excited in eons.¡± he waited for the door to close before he and the garden disappeared. Chapter 7 When he appeared again it wasn¡¯t in the forest but instead down in the cube shaped room he spent the last hours playing around with magic. His eyes drifted to the small opening that served as his slide before. ¡°Wait¡­how do I get back up¡­?¡± He hoped for some divine guidance but there was only silence. ¡°Fucking great¡­¡± he sighed and succumbed to his fate.
Meanwhile in a different part of the same tutorial James and Marie followed the three rough looking men through the forest. They couldn¡¯t even feel their legs anymore from walking and running through the night. Something they noticed was the amount of stamina they had, their strength in general was a lot more than someone would expect from a teenager, they suspected the system but there was no way to say for sure. During their escape from the goblin hunting team they thought about Ethan, how they left him lying in the dirt. James felt terrible because of it and didn¡¯t manage to accept that he was responsible, even if only partially for someone''s death. Marie on the other hand just kept going like nothing happened, she was more concerned with dirt hitting her pink dress or that her wand could be scratched or break during their escape. It was a side of her he didn¡¯t know in his former life. While they managed to escape the three men looked at them a few times before they approached each other and put their heads together, whispering about something. James knew something was about to happen but the fear of being left alone or running away was consuming him. Living a sheltered life didn¡¯t prepare him for the normal world, this new magical one was so terrifying it scared him almost to death. When the night came they sat down at the roots of one of the trees and stayed silent. No one wanted to talk about their escape from the goblins or their next step. They all stayed at level 1 so far, nothing they could hunt presented themselves. So they just waited for the night to end. James watched the moon slowly move over the horizon, everything looked so real, so familiar like this world was created from his memories. He looked at Marie and saw her frown, annoyed when she noticed that one of her nails had broken off. The crush he had on her a while ago vanished when the whole world was turned upside down. He smiled, such thoughts occupied his mind during something that could be called an apocalypse. He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the rough bark of the tree, maybe he could get some sleep in during the night¡­ Something woke him from his uneasy sleep. How much time he spent there, lying against the tree James didn¡¯t know, but the rustling of leaves made him nearly jump, not because of the sound but rather because there was a sound there at all. Since their start in the tutorial there was no animal, no other humans or even wind that could make such a loud noise. James slowly closed his fingers around the hilt of his blade, he scanned his surroundings. Looked for movement or another indicator that something living was there. But there was only¡­silence, a kind of silence that feels unnatural. A cold shiver ran down his spine. Then he saw it, a knife thrown from some trees to his right, the blade spinning through the air, even rusty like it was the moonshine still reflected from it, making it shimmer. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Opening his mouth to a scream but no sound came out when he tried to warn the others. The blade hit one of the prisoners into the forehead, everything happened in silence. James jumped up and hit Marie on the shoulder to wake her up, she wanted to say something but her voice was also gone. He didn¡¯t wait and jumped from the root to the two prisoners, shaking them awake. Before they could hit him or worse he jumped back and tried to gesture with hands and feet what was going on, pointing into the forest. That was the moment the goblins jumped from the shadows, running at us with their rusty daggers, cracked clubs and spears that looked more like badly carved sticks. Still they outnumbered us, ten goblins against us five and who knew how many still waited in the shadows. James pulled his sword and jumped in front of Marie, determined to protect her. Crossing blades with the first goblin he managed to defend himself but without proper technique he would soon be overpowered by their numbers. Through sheer luck he managed to hit one goblin on the hip but nothing else. The two prisoners had an easier time, their lives filled with violence they started to hack and slash the green monstrosities with their crude weapons. They even started to laugh at some point, drunk from the lust of battle. But James knew they couldn¡¯t keep this up, in the few precious seconds he wasn¡¯t attacked he spotted more goblins and even some wolves lurking behind the trees. But he just needed to keep trying. At some point, he didn¡¯t know how long he was already fighting; he noticed the lack of magic from their side. Marie wasn¡¯t casting anything, when he turned around to look at her a delicate boot kicked him in the chest and made him stumble back, the roots to his feet made him fall on to the ground. The last thing he saw was the club wielding goblin hitting his forehead. During his fall Marie already jumped from the roots and jogged into the forest, she wouldn¡¯t die today even if she needed some sacrifices on her way. She was, after all, a magical girl and the protagonist of this story. Smiling like a little kid she skipped through the sickly looking woods and hummed a little tune, the magic had vanished when she was far enough away. Even with her plan she couldn¡¯t plan for everything, so when the wolf rider found her he didn¡¯t hesitate and threw his spear at her, while he tried to hit her back the spear was to unbalance and instead pierce her thigh and made her fall to the ground screaming in pain. The goblin screamed in triumph, the wolf under him howled. His shout quickly pulled the other guards to his location and they approached the girl. The goblin jumped from his wolf and approached the human, feeling unkillable because of his impressive feat. He laughed with his raspy voice and searched the human for something valuable. When he finally noticed that she was a woman he screamed in delight, he managed to catch a woman for the tribe.
When Ethan finally crawled from the dirt shaft he looked like a zombie rising from his grave, his body covered in mud, the clothes dirty and damaged. But he managed to crawl his back up. A smile crept on to his face and he stumbled his way to the small creek. His thoughts returned to what Ouroboros told him about the creek and magic. He washed his hands and face before sitting down, exploring the growth he experienced, due to his new level and the small breakthrough he had during their fight. He could now summon five ice spikes before the pain returned. Satisfied he looked at the egg and turned it between his fingers. It was a simple egg, white with a blue streak on its hard shell. He wanted to put it away but then it began to shake, the first crack forming on its exterior. Chapter 8 The moment the egg began to shake and break Ethan began to panic, Ouroboros told him about the egg, well at least a bit. But he needed to trust his new patron, so he took the step and couldn¡¯t change it anymore. Another sigh escaped his lips, something that seems to happen the more he spends in this damn tutorial. The first piece of the egg flew away and revealed a piercing blue eye, reminding him of his own, minus the slit pupil of course. While he watched the little something break it¡¯s way out of the egg he felt something reach out to him, it was like a fly buzzing around you but inside of his head. He tried to get rid of it but then it was like a nail rammed it¡¯s way into his mind and a voice spoke to him You better stop ignoring me or I''ll bite you the moment I¡¯m free of this shell, a definitely female voice said to him in his mind. Ethan nearly dropped the egg but managed to hold onto it. He looked down to the little head that pushed itself from the egg. Seems like you understand me based on that look. The snake slithered up his arm and wrapped around his biceps before turning its head back to him. It seems we¡¯re partners now, she moved her head around a bit and nodded, it looked kind of funny seeing a snake behave that way. ¡°Seems like that, I guess you don¡¯t know that much being born just now. You need a name right?¡± Ethan stood up and grabbed his staff, he decided to live and for that he needed to become stronger. So he picked a direction and made his way through the undergrowth. While walking he thought about a name. ¡°What about Nora? I think it sounds good.¡± The snake looked at him for a moment, the lidless eyes just staring. I¡¯m fine with Nora and you¡¯re¡­Ethan, alright Ethan wanna tell me a bit about what¡¯s going on? He started with his story, how the tutorial started, what class and benefit he picked and what happens after that. The goblin attack, the incident in the swamp, how he killed the first goblin. His escape and involuntary visit with Ouroboros and how he fought him with his staff. How he got the egg and blessing from the god. Nora just listened, keeping an eye on their surroundings. During their talk both decided to only talk through telepathy so Ethan doesn¡¯t attract enemies with his voice. And that¡¯s all so far, I know I didn¡¯t manage a lot during my time but to be fair it¡¯s only the second..or third day. He climbed over a fallen tree and nearly ripped his robe apart on some of the branches. While he walked Nora guided him, her sense of smell and the sensitivity with which she could register heat was outstanding. So she found some prey for him and for her. Before he stepped onto a small clearing she stopped him. Just in front of us, a boar and her young. If you time it right you could get them all. Ethan nodded and grabbed his staff, this would be his first real use of magic, everything he did so far was based on instinct and he needed to be better. Holding his staff he called on his magic and ice spikes appeared over his head. He practiced moving them around, even during flight. As slowly as possible he moved behind a tree and looked at the clearing, the large boar and her four young just ate some mushrooms and two of them played together. He swallowed the lump in his throat and guided the magic, the ice spike shot silently into the clearing like the bolt of a crossbow, As long as his arm and thick as his fist the spikes dug deep into the boars body, he watched as their bodies got pushed back, the blood shooting out of them from the other side as the spikes pushed their way through to the other side. All of the small ones died instantly but the mother, who took two spikes, was still standing. Her level was 3 so he knew she would be tough, another five spikes appeared and shot towards her, the boar tried to evade them but with a simple nudge from his magic the hit their target, three of them digging itself into her soft belly, one piercing it¡¯s ribs while the last dug straight into her eyes If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. A cold expression overtook his face as he watched the system notice [You killed Boar - Level 3 | You gained experience!] [You killed Boar - Level 1 | You gained experience!] [You killed Boar - Level 1 | You gained experience!] [You killed Boar - Level 1 | You gained experience!] [You killed Boar - Level 1 | You gained experience!] *Update* You reached Level 5! Stats gained! Free points gained! *Update* Skill Change - Ice Bolt - Basic -> Advanced Without much joy he invested his six free points, two in perception, two in willpower and two into dexterity. He felt weird about killing animals, with goblins you know they want to attack you but those boars didn¡¯t do anything to him. Still he needed to survive and Ethan would always pick himself over some animal. While he was thinking about his decision he didn¡¯t even notice when Nora slithered his way over to one of the boars and crawled into its mouth, he could feel some of her emotions, especially hunger after being only born for around an hour. He turned away and looked over his whole status after all this time. Name: Ethan Delaney Race: Human(Ice) Level: 5 Patron: Ouroboros, the Eternal Serpent Class: Mage Sub-Class: None Health Points (HP): 150/150 Mana Points (MP): 110/250 Stamina: 80/120 Stats Strength: 10 Dexterity: 12 Vitality: 15 Wisdom: 25 Intelligence: 25 Perception: 12 Willpower: 12 Free points: 0 General skills [System Language][Identify][Staff Mastery(Basic)] Class skills [Aura - Winter¡¯s Domain(Special)][Ice Bolt(Advanced)][Elemental Infusion(Basic)]Sub-Class skills *Ability available* It looked so much bigger even if not much changed, still he was kind of happy, seeing numbers go up was always a delight when playing video games. He noticed the ability available text under his class and focused on it. *Update* Ability available - please choose one: Ice Shield(Basic) - A shield made from ice mana that protects the caster¡¯s front, can withstand two weak hits Glacial Trap(Basic) - Leave a trap behind that freezes a creature to the ground when stepped on Frost Poison(Basic) - Inflicted wounds will be infected with frost poison, Frost poisoning will very slowly drain stamina and then health from an enemy. Creatures of a higher level can you can resist the poison It was rather basic in terms of abilities, a defensive skill, an attack skill and to his surprise a passive skill. While he could use a shield and even an extra attack if he managed to utilize the frost poison it could make him stronger the longer a fight continues. He thought about it before picking Frost Poison and nodded. He turned around the moment Nora slithered from the boar, her white scales covered in viscera and blood but she was courteous enough to rub most of it off in the grass. I noticed a change in our bond, you picked a new skill right? I felt it change myself too, she wrapped around his leg and made her way back over his hand before taking her former place around his biceps. ¡°I had an idea and I hope to make it possible¡­hear me out.¡± While walking he explained his plan about the poison, Nora helped him make some adjustments but it seems he had a safe plan to attack the goblins. He just needed to find them, that was all. On his way through the woods he experimented with his ice bolt skill, trying to shrink and expand the spike and compress it even more. Only time will tell if he can improve enough to use his plan. The smile on his lips never wavered, he was born for this kind of thing, magic in general fascinated him all his life and now he will try to make his own. Chapter 9 Magic, Ethan noticed, wasn¡¯t set in stone, it was malleable and with the right knowledge, could be formed like wet clay but it can also easily break apart. Then it will shower you with the remains of your work and so Ethan got hit in the face by the first snowball of the tutorial, his own spell backfired and hit him on the cheek. But despite this obvious failure, his plan was one step closer, the fact that he managed to create snow in the first place was a step in the right direction. During his journey he experimented, Nora helped him avoid the bigger creatures and guided him towards smaller prey, but all of them below his level and not worth much experience it seems because level 6 was still out of reach. But he didn¡¯t mind the speed of his progression, in his mind developing a small core set of skills seems better in the long run. Having skills from the start and using them all the way could make them evolve in different ways, it also seems more manageable to have a few powerful skills than hoarding basic skills. With his new ability to create snow he managed to form it, from a ball to a cube and from a cube into more complex things like rings or pyramids. But that wasn¡¯t his goal at all, he planned to hurt as many goblins as possible in a short amount of time and his new ability gave him an idea. What if he could, instead of shooting ice spikes, make traps that damage multiple goblins at once. So he formed something like a caltrop. The concentration needed to keep the shape out of snow made him nearly pass out, the pain he felt when overextending his mana slowly came back, the feeling of molten metal in his veins. But he powered through and with a silent scream and a loud grunt the snow turned to ice, leaving a single caltrop on his palm shining in a brilliant white of frozen snow. One look on his mana told him he fucked up¡­ Mana Points (MP): 40/250 ¡­but he knew from his fight with Ouroboros that you can learn skills if you just work on them enough and understand them. So he waited and continued his training. During this Nora became his lookout, she kept watch and made sure he was safe and in exchange he hunted small animals for her to feed on. They only knew each other for half a day at this point but their bond was strong, strangers still but it seems that his patron was right, he could grow with her and become a team. When evening approached again he looked over the forest, the dim light of this artificial world would soon become total darkness once more so he picked a tree and with Nora¡¯s guidance he managed to climb it to the top without breaking his neck. Sitting there he practiced a bit before drifting into a dreamless sleep, memories tried to surface but something was suppressing them. When he woke up he felt refreshed but sitting on a tree branch wasn¡¯t something he enjoyed, his back and legs feeling sore but Nora told him they would soon reach the goblin camp. It turned out that Ethan almost walked a whole round in the inner circle of the tutorial, why did he know that? Because Ouroboros cheated and he gave Nora some knowledge about the tutorial, only the basics but even those would help him in the long run. In the center was the goblin camp, surrounding it was the swamp and undead, Ethan was glad he didn¡¯t encounter those. In the third circle the beast king ruled with an ironfist and in the last circle¡­there Nora¡¯s memories didn¡¯t mention an enemy but if his guess was correct it would take a long time to reach the last circle. Stolen novel; please report. When his feet touched the ground again he stretched his sore body and took a deep breath of the stale air, he hoped his plan would work. So the duo continued on their way and Ethan made caltrop after caltrop, each of them looking better, precise, deadly. Until finally his system responded *Update* Ice Caltrop(Basic) gained - Form your ice into a caltrop, can serve as a deadly trap if used correctly. Slowly enemies down, bleeding chance, will inflict frost poison if not resisted. Ethan grinned like a child on its birthday and he would have yelled but he could restrain himself. Again he formed a caltrop but with the new ability it worked a lot better and quicker, still he noticed the improvements he made himself due to his understanding of the ability he created on his own. He continued to generate caltrops, his hands overflowing with them while they slowly drained his mana, ten caltrops only taking six mana from him. While he played around Nora interrupted him. I know you enjoy it Ethan but we¡¯re getting close to the goblin camp. I feel a large amount of heat signatures up ahead so you better conserve your mana and wipe that stupid grin off your face, she looked at him. Even without the ability to move her face she looked at him accusingly. I know, sorry, I¡¯m just excited that¡¯s all. I promise I concentrate, he stopped playing with magic and followed the guidance of Nora towards the camp. It wasn¡¯t a long way but he quickly noticed the presence of goblins in this area. Footsteps left paths in the ground, crude warnings made from animal skulls and fur hung in the trees and the smell of feces and rotting flesh filled the air. Ethan tried not to choke or cough during his approach, he snuck up the hill the cave was located in and only his eyes looked over the hilltop and inspected the goblin camp. Down below he spotted around fifty of the dark green creatures and again half of that in wolves. The camp was bustling with activity, some goblins repaired weapons, other cooked meals made from very human looking arms and legs. Some fed the wolves or inspected their rubbish equipment. In the end Ethan was rather interested to see the chief of this camp, everything looked well organized, of course his gaming time could influence them but he didn¡¯t think goblins are this meticulous with their equipment. But in the end he didn¡¯t really care, after all he just needed to kill them and move on, if he managed to get the chief? Even better. So he waited, the day was just beginning but he needed to know everything, when a patrol moved out, how big it was and when it returned. He looked out for crafters and warriors, making sure to count properly. In the end he learned a lot, his focus never wavering. When the day finally ended he noticed the activity dying down slowly, until only the night watch was still awake. Nora and Ethan discussed what to do and she suggested breaking the goblins spirit, so that¡¯s what he did. Like a madman he threw the caltrops into the camp, but instead of slamming into the packed earth they floated like snow through the whole camp and only when in contact with the ground did they turn to ice and gained some weight. Ethan smiled, the ocean of shiny caltrops and the shining stars in the sky made it look almost magical. ¡°Let¡¯s hope you sleep well tonight goblins, tomorrow you will be in a world of pain.¡± He activated his poison before finally going to sleep for tonight. When the first scream echoed over the camp Ethan opened his eyes and smiled, a big happy smile. The brutality of the goblins last time seemed excessive and he enjoyed the idea of killing those that tried to hunt him down for sport. ¡°I think it¡¯s time to take a look, right Nora?¡± The snake was still sleeping so he decided to take a peek after all, hoping his plan worked as intended. Chapter 10: The goblin camp The cold detachment he felt to this whole situation had Ethan a bit worried, he felt so distant to it all and the smile on his face only grew when he heard the goblins scream. A stray thought made his way to the front of his mind, asking if it was the tutorial or the blessing of his new patron that kept him away from a mental breakdown. But as fast as it came the thought also vanished again. He crawled to the hilltop and looked over the edge, curious how much chaos he managed to inflict so far. He emptied his mana pool multiple times over the night to cover the camp in caltrops, even then it only covered half of it at best. He focused on the camp and grinned. In the camp itself chaos was spreading like a wildfire, the guards that relieved the night shift were the first to encounter Ethan¡¯s little surprise. Stepping from their makeshift tents they grabbed their crude weapons and still half asleep they stumbled to each of the camp. Some got lucky and didn¡¯t even step on one caltrop but most of them stepped hard on those small spiky traps. The feeling of ice cold spikes piercing the soft skin on their bare feet made them scream loud enough to wake the whole camp, falling to the ground and holding their feet. The goblins that tried to get to them stepped in caltrops themselves and soon the whole camp was in turmoil, guards ran around looking for attackers that weren¡¯t there and still nobody decided to check the ground for trouble, only those already wounded picked up caltrops and inspected them, grunting and snarling in their language with each other. Ethan nearly giggled when some inflicted wounds on each other when fighting over a caltrop to look at it themselves. I know they¡¯re stupid but this¡­? He looked at Nora and smiled. The white snake watched with him and scoffed. I¡¯m glad that I was born a snake and not as one of those creatures, are you ready for part two? Ethan nodded and closed his eyes, he tried to concentrate, what he tried now was hard but not as hard as creating the caltrops, but without system assistance it drained a lot of his energy. Pointing his palm to the sky he focused his energy on it and willed his energy to become reality. The feeling of molten metal returned but he gritted his teeth and continued, veins pulsed on his neck and temples but then a long sigh escaped him. It¡¯s done, let''s hope that works, with anticipation he looked to the sky and saw the clouds growing darker by the second. While waiting Nora had a devious idea, with the middle of the camp covered in caltrops his damage was focused there, but what else would it do? Attracting the other goblins to his trapped area of course, the guards followed the screams, to his surprise even the crafters got called to remove the caltrops from the goblins and to bandage them with dirty rags. The clouds now gathered above the goblin camp. Like huge dark structures full of magic they prepared themselves and suddenly it started to snow, gently at first but it soon increased in intensity. The snowflakes transformed, becoming toothpick size spikes that shot straight down to the ground and inflict minor wounds on the goblins, even killing some of them when they looked straight up and the ice needles pierce their eyes, making them rupture and drip from their sockets while they lodged themselves in their brains. Ethan shivered, I¡¯m glad you¡¯re on my side Nora¡­I didn¡¯t think that would even work. He looked at her for a moment before watching the camp again. At this point goblins are running around, screaming and shouting. Small fights broke out that only helped with Ethan¡¯s plans. The ice rain continued for a while longer before it petered out. Watching his plan and feeling the amount of notifications waiting for him he could only smile, his plan worked better than expected but only some level 1 goblins died so far. The guards were too tough to be killed by the ice needles, still he felt his poison in almost all of them. How long would it take to kill them? He didn¡¯t know but after an hour he noticed something, even a goblin should be able to cleanse this basic poison but it just continued. Curious, he asked Nora about it. You have an intelligent head on your shoulders but you really ask me why your poison is still active? You remember the patron you accepted, right? Ethan looked at his stats his eyes looked on the new line on his status The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Patron: Ouroboros, the Eternal Serpent The concept of eternity influenced his ability, he groaned internally, why didn¡¯t he even think about asking his patron about the blessing? He looked at his snake companion and never thought a reptile could look this disappointed. I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t think about that, so it just keeps going forever? He asked Nora and looked back at the camp. I think that would be a bit much for someone on your level but maybe one day with enough time? When you reach godhood maybe but that is far, far away. For now I would say it keeps up for a few hours, maybe half a day in the weaker ones. Nora¡¯s long tongue tasted the air and wrapped around his arm and dozed off into sleep. Ethan kept watch, feeling his poison working on the goblins stamina, over the day some of them collapsed and got carried away, still alive but drained of stamina they couldn¡¯t move a muscles, in the afternoon the first of them died, a small goblin that looked like he already had injuries before. Ethan felt the experience settle into his body and he tried to hold this feeling, the poison draining the last bit of health and reaping a life. It felt wrong but right at the same time, it was exhilarating but left a bad taste in his mouth. With nothing else to do he worked on his ice spikes, summoning them, compressing them, expanding them and transforming them into snow. The flow of magic felt smoother now than before, his increase in level and his training showed it¡¯s worth already. While doing that his aura was activated at the same time, the ground around him was frozen when the night finally came again. The first thing he noticed was the sudden increase in guards, the goblins posted twice the amount than before, making sure nothing could get into their camp. He was curious why nobody was posted on the hill he was so casually sitting on but why should he complain, maybe they thought patrols are enough to keep it safe or they¡¯re just stupid, Ethan believed it was the latter of the two. So he repeated his strategy, throwing caltrops into the camp like it was handing out candy on halloween, watching them drift to the ground as snow and transform into ice again. The kind of assistance was very welcome to increase his range. Even with all the crazy things going on he still thanked the system in silence and waited. The next day was mostly the same, the first few goblins still stepped into the caltrops like idiots but most of them avoided them all. During the evening and night more goblins died from his frost poison, but even then the camp was still mostly intact. He needed something else, a plan to bring them down. Again Nora came to the rescue, the sadistic snake knowing more ways to harm them. When her tail pointed to their water barrels and food supplies she sent a simple thought towards him. Drop some ice spikes into it and wait. That¡¯s what he did, with some concentration and he pain he managed to lodge multiple ice spikes into the water barrels, stuck between the walls they didn¡¯t float up and the clear ice wasn¡¯t visible in the water. Ethan didn¡¯t know if it would even work because he hadn¡¯t inflicted a wound with it but maybe the poison in his ice could be consumed like that.
A few hours later one of the cooks collapsed, coughing up blood before dying right there in the field kitchen. Nora, looking all smug, just nodded her head. Told you it would work. Ethan rolled his eyes and watched the camp, it was kind of funny. He felt like a conductor that fabricated his own concert only with his screams and curses instead of instruments and singing. When night once again claimed the tutorial Nora vanished, saying she needed to do something. What she had in mind Ethan didn¡¯t know, only when he saw the first lamp at the edge of the camp drop did he realize it. Nora was killing the guards, his poison also working with her fangs. But even then she didn¡¯t need it, her ambushes aiming for their necks with ruthless efficiency. Only on the next day did he notice his mistake. I think we have gone too far Nora, those aren¡¯t goblins¡­, he looked at the brown mountains of muscles and fat that came from the cave in the hill. They sat down in the middle of the camp and started snacking on goblins like they¡¯re roasted chicken. While crawling back he identified them. [Ogre - Level 7] [Ogres are large hulking beings, those brutish creatures are blessed with strength and armor like skin. They have exceptional regenerative abilities and can withstand most attacks. Ogres eat everything to satisfy their enormous hunger] I think we¡¯re kind of fucked here right? He sent it to Nora but before she could answer one of the three ogres lifted his head and sniffed around, his eyes locking onto Ethan¡¯s position. The things screamed, pieces of goblins and saliva flying from his mouth as he stood up and lumbered with heavy steps towards the hill, the others following him after they smelled Ethan. Oh we¡¯re so dead right now¡­That was the last thought he had before running down that hill, how could he have known that the goblins had ogres?!