《A Whale of a Time!》 Prologue - What is to come. "Mmm, this is good Pizza." A person was sitting in a restaurant, eating pizza, their face consisted of a small button nose, sharp tourmaline blue eyes and thin blue lips. However, no one saw those features or was capable of perceiving them. This was because they were wearing a white full face mask. On said mask was a black circle in the middle and a spiral of ocean blue around it. The person seemed to twitch uncomfortably at the stares once in a while. Nevertheless, they kept eating and ignored the gazes, glances and glares. As to how they ate with a full face mask? Unknown. The restaurant seemed to be a high-class one as there were hundreds of tables with gourmet food lining each of them. The only one without gourmet food was the person in the mask. Their table had three different boxes of Pizza of the same type - just cheese and tomato sauce. None dared to break the silence, the reason being that the person was on the same floor as them, indicating they had some, if not equal influence in the city. Or perhaps, the world. An hour went by with no-one talking to the masked person and them staying silent. The pizzas were all gone in a matter of minutes and the person stood up, the tension slowly increasing as if something was going to go down. Surprisingly, nothing happened and they left the restaurant after paying. The person walked through the streets, looking around the city and smiling as they saw different things. They witnessed a scammer getting scammed by a customer. A man running around, giving people newspapers for a few bronze coins who also ran up to the person with one outstretched. They were given a silver coin. The man immediately pocketed the coin, gave a word of thanks, a bow and the newspaper they carried. On the newspaper was a title that captured the person''s attention instantly. {The Third of the Five Guardian Anima, the Peregrine Flame Falcon, has been located! The raid will begin in three weeks, the Coalition is hiring!} A smirk appeared on the person''s face. ''As if they could take down that damned Falcon. We''ve tied in a fight every time, you expect your coalition to be able to beat him?'' Then the being turned solemn as they thought. ''Though... there might actually be someone strong, I wouldn''t put it past the Humanoid Generals to go incognito to get rid of one of us, I''d better go along with them to keep the damned Falcon safe.'' They began the 5 hour walk that it would take for them to get to the sign-up area. 3 Hours into the walk, they saw a homeless man sitting by the side of the road, the person seemed to recognize the homeless man. They decided to go ask if they had seen them before when someone walked past them. "Hmm?" The person let out a questioning hum at a man who dropped a black coin in the homeless man''s hat. They frowned and walked over as people began to crowd the homeless man as well as a member of each of the four professions. The Tech Practitioner was a female lion demi-human with a skin-tight black suit with red lining it, it highlighted her curves well. She had equally red eyes with long golden hair and a same color tail with a brown tuft at the end, typical of lion demi-humans. The Esper was a male human that had tons of silver knives attached to a black cloak on his back. He wore a simple green t-shirt and tan cargo pants. He probably had Telekinesis, Electrokinesis or Magnetism Control. It was doubtful he had Gyrokinesis (control of gravity) or Psychokinesis. The Mage was another male human, this time in an attire consisting of a single black suit with a visible white undershirt and a green bowtie complementing his emerald eyes and brown hair. He had a staff made of willow with a green crystal the size of a child''s pinky finger embedded in it. The Cultivator of the elf race was a woman bearing the stereotypical green eyes and gold-blond hair while wearing a robe with a gold swan on it. They had a sword strapped to their waist. The conflict and shouting was slowly escalating even as the person walked over there. "I told you, no! This is the Entirica Kingdom of the-" The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The Tech Practitioner was interrupted by the cultivator. "WE DON''T CARE! Strength determines who gets the coin! What kingdom has ever cared about small fights like this!?" "YOU!" The Practitioner trembled in rage as she and the cultivator prepped battle stances. At this time, as the Mage and the Esper also got ready to fight, the person arrived by the homeless man. They sat down and put down a basket that appeared out of nowhere and a key on top of it. The others noticed them and were in shock. No one saw the person appear. However, they weren''t in shock because of that, they thought the person was going to take the black coin from under their noses. They didn''t realize that the ability to go there unnoticed by them was, in itself, a showing of the difference between them. The homeless man''s eyes lit up at the person''s arrival. "Hello GM, how are you?." The person smiled amicably as he said it. The person, GM, then spoke. "Here is the trade, a small house in the suburbs along with a basket filled with supplies to fish in the river just outside the place as well as a few things to maintain the tools. There is also spare silver so you can buy bait and other amenities. You''ll have to save up for the furniture." Before the homeless man could reply, the Tech Practitioner shouted. "WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!?" GM smiled and said. "I see you are following the stereotype of being rash, hopefully I''ll meet a reasonable Tech Practitioner one day." The practitioner lunged at them, claws lighting up in gold and red lines. An electrical sound radiating off it. GM then sighed before standing. "I guess today isn''t that day." In the next instant, the practitioner was embedded into the ground with an indent showing where they landed. A shockwave went out, rustling clothes and hair and blowing wigs off heads. The practitioner was unconscious, if not dead. The other three said nothing as the person picked up the black coin and a small USB in the hat before thanking the homeless man and leaving with people moving away from their path. The person eventually arrived at the sign-up location an hour later and signed up, only to see other names they recognized. They then mumbled. "So the Summoned will meet the Guardians?" They chuckled as they left and set up a soundproof tent. Inside said tent they laughed out loud, almost maniacally so, as they looked up while pondering. "This''ll be so much fun. More fun than I''ve had in all the years I''ve been on this world." =---{A Month Later}---= ''We''ve arrived.'' Was the thought of many. The march had taken only a week. In front of a giant caldera with eight giant rib-bone like structures surrounding it, was an army 100,000 strong. But of that, only a small fraction mattered. The Four Generals of the Four Kingdoms. The Twelve Summoned ''Heroes''. And the other Four Guardian Anima, in human form. As soon as they arrived, they saw the target of the raid in the center. Its feathers were a gold with red flaming tips to them. Its wings were humongous, reaching a wingspan of four kilometers. The beak of the Anima was made of black-gold coloring that complemented its deep, abyss-black irises with red flames surrounding them. It had golden legs with black claws that looked like they could tear through even space. The surroundings of the Falcon seemed to be melting. One would mistake it for a High Phoenix had it not been for the metal aspect on the beak and claws alongside its mechanical eyes. The Pinnacle Flame Peregrine, High Tier 5 Anima. Guardian of the Flames. The Falcon seemed to smile as it suddenly stretched its wings and flew to the top of one of the bone-like structures before looking down at the army and the warriors that had slowly circled their target, who were now nearing the center of the crater, on the generals'' command. They began to prepare spells, tech and more to summon chains to capture it. Yet, the moment they were cast, a breeze had cancelled them. That''s right, a breeze. The whole army was stunned for a scant few seconds. Enough to notice four new people were on a different bone structure each. They began talking loudly, most likely intending for everyone to hear them. "Well, well, well, who''d have thought this''d work?" - The Falcon. "Wait, Astora, so your one brain cell actually came up with this to get us here?" The being who said this transformed before speaking. They were a deer. With glowing golden hooves and white fur going up to their thighs where they meet with a dark green that covers their underbelly and the rest of their limbs. Their back was completely brown with brown eyes to match. They had crystal, see-through antlers with glowing black flowers budding on them. Their very presence made one feel as though they were in front of nature. The Earthen Deer, Mid Tier 5 Anima, Guardian of the Earth. "Jeez, Meratas. You don''t need to make the imbecile feel dumber than they already are." The being who said this was a Rabbit. They were big for a normal rabbit but insanely small compared to the others. They had white fur mainly with a black fur coloring the back and some of the front of their body like a coat. Along the body of the Rabbit were pulsing red lines that glowed with each pulse, simulating a heartbeat. Their blood-red eyes caused a menacing effect that made the weaker soldiers cower and the stronger people feel slightly unnerved. The Vampiric Rabbit, Mid Tier 5 Anima, Guardian of Blood. "Blanc, Meratas, both of you need to stop. We''ve already scared them enough, weren''t we aiming for a negotiation?" The one who spoke was a large humanoid of 13 meters tall with a black, gold and tan colored Jackal mask. He had yet to transform. Mid Tier 5 Anima, Guardian of ???. "All of you shut up, Sjakal is right. We came here for negotiations, not war." GM spoke. They didn''t transform either. "Sciath, why won''t you or Sjakal transform?" "Meratas, do you really think I''ll fit here?" "Why not use Size Manipulation?" "I don''t have it you fool." "Do it anyway." GM, Sciath, sighed. "No." "Tsk." High Tier 5 Anima, Sciath, Guardian of ???. The person, Sciath, looked down and looked at the most powerful individuals. Each of them more powerful than the last. "I see you brought all the Summoned Heroes here. I''ll assume it was for experience in fighting the beings they have to kill but it doesn''t matter in the end." They smiled under the mask. "This''ll be a fun ''talk''." 1. What do you mean I鈥檓 not an Orca?! I woke up hearing something strange, a sound similar to machinery. No longer did I feel the comfort of my bed, but a mechanical cold that seeped into my bones. I smelled a faint scent of oil and blood in place of the chocolate cookies I was baking and the lavender flowers I took care of. I couldn''t see anything. I couldn''t taste anything, not even air. Then I felt something. I felt pain and itchiness. It felt like someone was stabbing me with a pin and needle on the nape of my neck. I struggled, trying to shake, move, do something. Something moved. A leg. Two arms. I swung them again in protest of the pain that continued. I kept shaking and flailing until, it disappeared. The pain and discomfort vanished as if it was never there... A mechanical voice sounded. It was sudden, cold and calculating but had some distinct tone to it. I didn''t realize it at the beginning but later realized it was curiosity. [How Interesting...] ''Who''s there!'' I tried to shout but something else came out. Some kind of... wind blowing? It sounded like... a whistle? ''AM I AN ORCA!?'' My thoughts immediately went to my location following what I was. ''Where the hell am I? I doubt I''m dead, I was just baking cookies at home...'' I began to panic more. [Calm down little one, worrying will get you nowhere.] I froze. I had forgot about the voice. ''Where am I?'' I tried to ask but whistles and clicks came out again. Nonetheless, the voice seemed to have understood. [You''re on what we call ''The Dormant Crossroads''. It''s a dormant volcano with a desert, an ocean and a forest in it, in the past, the volcano erupted and destroyed so much, people called it the end of the area. When it was healed it was named because of the multiple biomes. As for the planet we''re on, it''s called Stor. We call it that because we haven''t even explored 20% of it and that''s just the landmasses, don''t even try to count the oceans.] I didn''t know why but my multiple languages auto-linked me to the Danish word Stor for ''Large''. I wondered why they named it that but I quickly understood that I wasn''t on earth. So I began having what most would. A panic attack. I felt light-headed as I somehow hyperventilated. I lost consciousness half way through my next breath before waking up an unknown amount of time later. [You''re finally awake. Good. I can finally explain things to you, let''s put you down while we wait for the others to wake up.] ''The Others?'' I whistled questioningly. I suddenly felt like I was falling, or rather, I was going downwards. It felt like when you go down a rollercoaster but not that fast, the feeling continued for some time. A light snapped on like a mom turning on your room light to wake you up. I was blinded temporarily. I felt myself being submerged and started throwing myself around, slightly panicked as the notion of drowning so soon was scary. Soon, however, I realized what I was in was water, it didn''t help me at the start since the possibility of drowning was higher. I myself didn''t know how I knew so I chalked it up to the instincts of my new form. I tried to open my eyes repeatedly, in which I succeeded after the fourteenth or something time doing so. It was completely different to my previous life. I had two different ''eyes'' of more or less 540¡ã vision. I also found it weird that while I was ''breathing'' under water, I had felt like there would be a limit, as if I, rather than water breathing, could hold my breath for extremely long periods of time like an Orca. The next was that it was stiff, my neck was SO STIFF! It was so annoying! ''ARGH! This feels, just wrong!'' I looked around before realizing something. I could see my tail fin. My first thought was ''Huh?'' as I pondered, simply floating and staring at it. I could only barely see it and had to move quite a few times to get a good view of it. The tail fin wasn''t mainly white nor did it have any trace of black at all so I couldn''t be an orca. It was a light oceanic blue that covered most of it with small white specks covering a few small metallic blue sections, it was almost weirdly metallic to me. Not more so than my dorsal fin which was literally a black metal with grey spots and visible metal spread at the base. I then thought of something else. ''What creature is the voice I heard?'' I, with absolutely no clue how I did so, swam up to the surface and looked up with my stiff neck. In doing so, I saw something breath-taking. In the sky was an orb that I''d like to think was the size of the moon. Grey, Silver, Gold, White, Black. It looked like all of these colors were thrown onto it in a mishmash of presentation but it just looked... right. It was so strange, normally I''d find it an eyesore because of the fact the colors were obviously haphazardly thrown into places... but it was just, nice to look at. Appealing even. Still, the fact that something the moon''s size can fit really speaks volumes about the world I''m on... maybe they aren''t the size of Earth''s moon though? I don''t know enough yet. I was shaken from my stupor when the orb suddenly descended, opening a small section and dropping four bodies onto the land near us. Now that I had payed attention to the land, I was inwardly shocked. The land was split into four, as the voice had said, consisting of an ocean segment, I was in there, a forest segment and a desert segment. The confusing part was that the voice didn''t mention the grassland segment at the center of the three biomes. ''If I recall correctly, they said it was a volcano. Why is it like this?'' Before I got lost in my musings, the voice spoke once more and this time, to all five of us. [First of all, I''ll say welcome to you, even though I don''t know how you came to be, I''ll still take care of you like I would any other of my children.] It was at this point that my confusion intensified. The Jackal was different to me in that they voiced their confusion. "Children? We are?" It was a growl, yet I understood it somehow. It was like we were all speaking different languages but they were so similar that we understood the gist of what each other was saying. [Indeed. Just check your status.] We all froze. ''Status? The stuff in games and LitRPGs?'' The thought was unanimous. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Two screens popped up, one of a metallic grey colour border with black words lining it and a white background behind them, it hurt my eyes for a while. The second screen had a bronze border with dark red words and a pearl-white background filling the borders. The content itself was simple.
Please Select a Profession
Mage
Spirit Mage
Esper
Tech Practitioner
Cultivator
The first screen, surprisingly, was the same with two differences. The wording. It said, ''Please choose your way to evolve''. The other was that there was no ''Spirit Mage'' option. [...this is unprecedented. Is it because... no, it has to be.] The Jackal from before spoke once more after it. "What are you talking about?" [You all moved your soul into your current bodies before I put a fragment of mine in your vessel to bring the body to life as I usually would, this means that you are technically of the Anima race... and your previous race.] I smirked and stared at the screen while the doe/deer, (wasn''t sure what gender they were, still not sure) spoke excitedly. "Does that mean we get two professions!?" [Simply put... Yes.] ''Oh hell yes!'' Was my first thought. It was definitely worth it in the end but definitely annoying. So after the giant Orb spoke, we all went silent to decide our profession and way of evolution. ¡ºWould you like to choose: [Spirit Mage], as your profession?¡» ¡ºWould you like to choose: [ESP User], as your evolution path?¡» ¡º [Yes] / [No] ¡» ''To both, YES!'' My choices were simple. If I got something like Cryokinesis and an Ice Spirit the synergy between our abilities would be better. It''d be the same with Pyrokinesis and a Fire Spirit and so on. ¡ºPaths Chosen, Systems Launching.¡» ¡ºHephaestus'' System Displaying in []:¡» [Profession: Spirit Mage, Name: Sciath Race: Anima (Infant Whale) Tier - 0 (0%) Level - 1 (0%) Spirit - None Elemental - None Demon - None Angel - None Sky Beast Soul - None Land Beast Soul - None Ocean Beast Soul - None Space Beast Soul - None] ¡ºAnima System Displaying in {}:¡» {Evolutionary Path - ESP User Name - Sciath Anima Variant: (Infant Whale) Affinities: D Rank - Gravity B Rank - Ice, Astral, Star A Rank - Water STR / AGI / DEX / END / MED / MER / CS / A -3- / -10- / -5- / -10- / -6- / -8- / -4- / -10- Constitution - None Unique Ability - None} ''EW. What is that format? Please... just change it...'' ¡º...¡» ¡ºAnima System Displaying in {}:¡» {Evolutionary Path - ESP User Name - Sciath Race: Infant Whale (Anima Variant) Tier - 0 (0%) Level - 1 (0%) ME-P: 100/100 Affinities: D Rank - Gravity B Rank - Ice, Astral, Star A Rank - Water STR = 3 AGI = 10 DEX = 5 END = 10 MED = 6 MER = 8 CS = 4 A = 10 Constitution - None Unique Ability - None ESP Ability - Not Yet Awakened} ''Thank you... though...'' ¡ºWhat now?¡» ''Isn''t this what readers call an ''Info Dump''?'' ¡ºYou''re imagining it.¡» ''O-oh...'' ¡º[Entity: Hephaestus] Has noticed you and your brethren, they smile at the uniqueness of the [Entity: Origin Anima]''s invention. [Entity: Hephaestus] has decided to merge your systems for improved convenience.¡» ''That''s... nice... of them?'' [Hephaestus is one of the ''Gods'' in this universe, he particularly likes this world as he can simply dump his inventions here for different races to try to use, including ours of course. This is probably one of many ''ideas'' he thought of and made in the moment, as for how I''ve learned this, well you''ll learn later.] ¡ºSystem Updated - Anima-Soulborn System Displaying:¡»
Name: Sciath
Race: Anima (Infant Colossal Whale) (Common)
Path(s): Spirits / ESP
Class: None
(Overall) Tier: 0 (0%)
(Overall) Level: 0 (0%)
Affinities (Level/Rank): Gravity (1/D+), Astral (2/B+), Star (3/B+), Ice (4/B), Water (5/A+)
Stats:
Strength 3
Agility 10
Dexterity 5
Endurance 10
Energy Density 6
Energy Reservoir 8
Cognitive Speed 4
Aura 10
Bonded Beings (Elementals/Demons/Angels/Spirits) None
Bonded Souls (Skyborn/Terrestrial/Oceanic/Spatial) None
ESP Ability [None]
Constitution None
Unique Ability None
"Well, that''s certainly convenient." I said. "What''s next then? How do we level up and what do the stats do?" The Jackal spoke again. [Ideally you''d be able to kill some of the other intelligent races right away but that''s not possible right now. So for now, you''ll train your abilities, which also gives you exp. Although... it''ll be a really small amount of exp...] "..." Needless to say, we were all shell-shocked that the ''ideal'' would be killing the races that we were once a part of. We stayed like that with our brains attempting to load and process the words spoken to us. It took a while. Maybe four to five hours, I never tracked how long passed. Eventually though, the Falcon asked. "Do we have to kill them?" Even though the Falcon said that, I could feel an almost tangible excitement in their unintelligible squawks. [Yes.] A silence developed as we thought but we all came to terms with it surprisingly quickly. I later learned that it was because of an instinctual anger. An anger towards the races that used the creations of our ''mother'', our own siblings, as food... as livestock. After feeling we calmed down enough, our ''mother'' spoke once more. [For now, you simply need to level up by practicing with your abilities. Although negligible at higher Tiers and Levels, it should be sufficient for you all, who''ve just started your journey.] "How do we do that?" - Deer. [It depends on your profession and evolution paths. They differ from mine but I should still be able to give you a little advice... I''ve uploaded the information into your systems.] ¡ºInformation Received, Displaying Data in {}:¡» {In order to level up the following is required for the different professions: Mages - Increased Mastery of a Spell or Magic Type. Tech Practitioner - Advancements in Technology you''ve made. ESP User - Increased Mastery of your Ability. Cultivators - Increasing your level of proficiency with skills or just cultivating.} ''That doesn''t really work with my profession now does it?'' ¡º[Entity: Hephaestus] Has sent a message, displaying in ():¡» (You and the others are the first of all the beings in this world to have the necessary aptitude to become Spirit Mages, which is a profession in other worlds. You, of all of them, have the second highest aptitude ever recorded, while the Jackal has the highest aptitude ever recorded.) ''I see... maybe? Then-'' (Now then, you might be wondering, ''How do I train it?'' or something along those lines. Well, the immediate answer is that you don''t. You''ll learn why later but for now you just need to go with the flow and you''ll realize questions like how and why later. It took quite a lot to talk to you and the others so I''ll be off now. I''ll talk to you lot another time.) I was puzzled why Hephaestus was talking to us in the first place but I simply glazed over it as I usually do for things I don''t understand. I then went on to look back at my status puzzlingly before I mull over things. ''I... don''t have an ability. Or any of the beings or souls listed by my Spirit Mage profession.'' ... ''THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO DO!'' I inwardly screamed, unsure of what was next. Then I looked over at the others to ask but see them staring at me weirdly. "Why are you staring?" I asked. Straightforwardness was the fastest way to my answer. Surprisingly, the Original Anima, our ''mother'', answered. [You shouted... quite loudly at that too.] "Oh... wait. I, I said that out loud?" They all nodded, with the exception of ''mother'', and I felt unbelievably embarrassed. I wish I had a hole to hide in back then, the best I could do is go underwater and stay there for a few hours... maybe days, I don''t remember. 2. Cancermancer...? ''Status.''
Name: Sciath
Race: Anima (Infant Colossal Whale) (Common)
Path(s): Spirits / ESP
Class: None
(Overall) Tier: 0 (0%)
(Overall) Level: 0 (0%)
Affinities (Level/Rank): Gravity (1/D+), Astral (2/B+), Star (3/B+), Ice (4/B), Water (5/A+)
Stats:
Strength 3
Agility 10
Dexterity 5
Endurance 10
Energy Density 6
Energy Reservoir 8
Cognitive Speed 4
Aura 10
Bonded Beings (Elementals/Demons/Angels/Spirits) None
Bonded Souls (Skyborn/Terrestrial/Oceanic/Spatial) None
ESP Ability [None]
Constitution None
Unique Ability None
¡ºESP Ability Gacha Available¡» ¡ºContract Gacha Available¡» While checking my status, I was floating mindlessly underwater. The lake itself was huge, at least 7 times my length in diameter with a single opening far away. There was something about it that seemed weirdly familiar. I looked away from that and willed ''Gachas''. ¡ºContract/ ESP Ability¡» ''ESP Ability.'' ¡ºOpening Gacha¡» There were 10 die. Since there were 10 die, you could choose between 1 - 10 die to roll. Depending on how many you use, there would be a better chance of getting stronger abilities. It also showed a list with a range of numbers from 1 all the way to 60 and different ability names attached to each of them. The ones I took notice of were the generic ones and ones I had never even heard of. { - Pyrokinesis = 1 - } { - Cryokinesis = 20- } { - Split = 27 - } { - EM Control = 32 - } { - Barrier = 40 - } { - Psychokinesis = 56- } { - Gravikinesis = 59 - } { - Teleportation = 60 - } ''Hmm... Pyro, Cryo and Psychokinesis are obvious, EM Control is probably Electromagnetism Control while Split is probably a type of cloning ability but... What in the world is Barrier? It''s so vague. Does it have something to do with physical barriers, magical barriers? Does it encompass all of that? What''s the deal with this. Gravikinesis... Don''t I have a Gravity Affinity? I can just do something with that. Then there''s... what? I can, what? TELEPORTATION!? I want this.'' I thought about it for a long while but in the end, I still decided to use all 10 die to try for Teleportation. I ''grabbed'' them with my non-existent hands and rolled them. I began praying with my whale fins trying to reach each other to resemble it even slightly. The die began to slow down. The first two were 6s, the third was 4, the next three were 1... then the next three were 5. I had 34 as of this moment. The last dice was slowing down. I looked over at the board of numbers, 35 - 40 and saw the possible things I''d get. 35 - Enhanced Mental Prowess, ''Useless. I''m already smart enough as a former humanoid with a whale-sized brain.'' 36 - Shapeshift, ''Ooh! I can get a humanoid form if I train it right, right!? The versatility will be off the charts! Huh, what if I made my skin scales or something?'' 37 - Gravity Enhancement, ''I can do that without this later can''t I? This is pretty lackluster compared to Shapeshifting. Though maybe it''s more powerful?'' 38 - Synthesize, ''The heck is this? I don''t want something I won''t be able to understand. Too annoying.'' 39 - Light Control, ''Ooh, if I use my Star affinity and make starlight could I use that? I could also reflect light with ice as well. The possibilities are endless!'' 40 - Barrier, ''This is still as useless as before since I don''t know what it can do, unknowns are dangerous...'' The dice was about to stop as I prayed even more. I lamented what I got at the time but who knew it''d become my second most used power. ''Please be a 5 or a 2! Please!'' It was not. ''WHY 6!? DO YOU HATE ME WORLD! DO YOU!?'' ¡º Barrier (F Rank) Obtained ¡» ''...maybe it can grow? I hope so... Contract Gacha Open.'' ¡ºOpening Contract Gacha¡» ¡ºCurrent Tier: 0¡» ¡ºOpening Low-Level Minor Spirit Gacha¡» ''Low-Level... Minor...? Isn''t that just of fancy way of saying they''re weak!? ARGH. As far as I know, I won''t be able to do anything with my affinities if I don''t get a good spirit! Fine. Let''s just look.'' I had started talking to myself at that point. ¡ºPlease Choose:¡» ¡ºWheel / Dice Roll / Tri-Roulette¡» ''The hell is a Tri-Roulette?'' ¡ºYou spin three times and then spin once more between those three choices¡» ''I''ll take that, that sounds fun.'' So I spun it. The first was a Low-Minor Astral Spirit. ''FINALLY! I still have some luck! I''ll have a... wait. I chose Tri-Roulette... DAMN IT!!!'' In the midst of me regretting my decisions, the roulette had spun twice and got Low-Minor Water Spirit and a Low-Minor Wood Spirit. ''Come on, come on, give me the Astral Spirit!'' It spun and spun, until... it landed on the Wood Spirit. ''...'' ¡ºYou have obtained Low-Minor Wood Spirit¡» ''...'' I was about to curse everything when I heard someone screaming like such a maniac that even under the water I heard them. "Wahoo! I can use Magic! I can finally become the Cancermancer!!!" I blanked. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. I surfaced and looked at the Deer that was jumping around again and again, running and shouting about being a Cancermancer. I saw the Rabbit near the shore staring at the Deer weirdly so I went up to them and asked. "The hell is a Cancermancer?" The Rabbit jumped higher than my length. Which I approximated to be 20 or so meters. Shocking when you realize I was still a ''Infant'' whale, though I''m not really a whale... I was more surprised about the Rabbit''s jumping capability though. The Rabbit took a few seconds to land, during which the Deer went creepily silent, but they eventually answered me. "I don''t know. Probably a mage capable of causing cancer of some sort to form whenever and wherever they wish." "..." I was stunned silent. Never had I thought about such a possibility. I realized at that moment, the Deer would be a threat to all living races... forever. "Welp. I guess one of us will need to keep an eye on them." The Rabbit tilted its head and stared at me for a while before inquiring. "What do you mean?" "Think about it. If the Deer can make cancer appear and maybe even cause its growth to accelerate, what do you think will happen when they get stronger?" "...?" I sighed at the innocent Rabbit. "They''ll be able to kill someone without them being able to heal themselves or protect themselves from it." "Isn''t that good though? Considering we''re at war with the humanoid races and all?" It was at this moment that I thought. ''It''s entirely possible all of us are psychopaths...'' After a while of us doing our own thing, all of us were on the beachy section of the area and looking at the giant orb as we waited patiently. It was time for some explanations. Well, I wasn''t ON the beach but in the water near it. I didn''t want to become a beached whale so soon after being reincarnated after all. Anyways, we all went silent as we waited for the Original to speak. Eventually, after 10 or so minutes, they began speaking. [First off, I''ll explain the history of this world. Starting with the Era. There are currently 8 Eras in the history of this world. We''re in the eighth Era, Year 450. The first Era was called the Pre-Profession Era. It lasted an unknown amount of time. Not even the oldest of us know how long it lasted. The second was named the Electric Era. It lasted 500 Years. Followed by the third, the Tech Era, the Era in which the Tech practitioners revealed themselves. It lasted 350 Years. Total 850 Years we know of. The fourth was the Era in which Ability Users were revealed, the Era of Instability. Yes, I know the irony of it but to be honest, it was extremely chaotic then. I don''t know which idiot named the era. It lasted 200 Years. Total of 1050 years. The fifth was the introduction of Mages, the Supernatural Era. Which is what they should''ve named the last Era. It lasted 700 Years. Total of 1750 years. The Sixth was named the Chaos Era, in which the three professions fought each other for 1,200 years. Total of 2950 years. The Seventh was called the Era of Union, it lasted 175 years. It started when I was made and ended when I began the war. A total of 3125 years. The eighth, the one we''re in, is the Era of the Great War. It''s been going on for 450 years now. It''s been a total of 3575 years since the Pre-profession Era. Any questions before I continue?] "One." It was me that spoke. [Go on.] "It''s completely unrelated to this, is that alright?" [Hmm, sure.] "What did you mean when you said you were our ''Mother''?" [Ah, good question, I''ll explain how I work.] "Huh?" [I''m first and foremost, an Artefact after all. I work by using the four professions. An ESP Ability called Cell Conversion, which allows me to convert different materials into stem cells was given to me via a different ESP Ability, Transfer. You can kind of understand what it does with the context. As for the Technology part, I am built of nanobots that can simulate all types of cells and a power generator that converts Mana to usable Energy. The Cultivator Profession part of me is used to strengthen my powers and support the places in which I don''t have enough energy. Now then, what did I say my purpose was.] I realized it near instantly. ''To create animals and to create scouts. But...'' "Which are we?" The falcon was ahead of me, having spoken already, an unbridled curiosity in their tone. [Neither. You all were born from War-born Anima races I''ve modelled after creatures with the highest compatibility with element affinities. It cost me more than you can currently understand to have given all of you a D-Rank Level 1 Affinity. The System Hephaestus made probably hinted to what I call you. You all, are Soul-Born Anima. I doubt you''ll be the last as well. But, you are the first. So, I''ll give you all titles, you''ll have respect amongst Anima and they''ll listen to you even if they''re a higher tier this way. But only if you make sense, they won''t listen to you if you tell them to kill themselves unless it makes sense.] ''Well, that''s useful.'' My thoughts, and indubitably the others as well, began to run rampant with possible names for titles. [I have already chosen.] Our ears perked up, though we all had different ears, and we all listened in. [The Deer, Meratas. I give you the title of {Naturis, Guardian of the Earth.} The Falcon, Astora. I give you the title of {Infernis, Guardian of the Flames.} The Rabbit, Blanc. I give you the title of {Vampiris, Guardian of Blood.} The Jackal, Sjakal. I give you the title of {Von Anubis, Guardian of Death.} And the Whale, Sciath. I give you the title of {Gravitas, Guardian of the Stars.}] Honestly, we all freaked for a while before calming down. It was an exciting thing, the beginning of our journey. [Now then.] We all stopped talking, focusing on mother. Yeah, we all started calling her mother. It was almost natural, she gave us these opportunities and we were technically her children. [There are four things you must know before you go travel. One. Because of the War lasting as long as it has, I have no doubt that each of the professions have been doing something to turn the tides. The worst that could happen is that the Mages find a way to Summon ''Heroes''. Two. We Anima are enemies of the following races: Humans, Demons, Asura, Beast-kin, Dragon-kin. Three. We are on neutral terms with the following races: Elves, Dwarves, Spirit Beasts, Demon Beasts, Dragons. Only those. Our only allies are normal animals. Four. Arguably the most important, is that unless you have a reason to get stronger, you will not grow as fast as your potential allows.] We went silent as we pondered these four things. Eventually, I decided I was done pondering. I turned, and under the watchful eyes of the others, I left through the opening in the lake. When doing so, I noticed a giant squid-like being guarding it. I stared at it as I watched it move out of the way for me. I did the best whale nod I could do before swimming off into the distance, looking for my first prey. As I swam, the scenery changed again and again. From a surrounding filled with deep abyss-like underwater cliffs, to a strange reef. My body moved subconsciously as my thoughts diverged towards the fourth thing. ''My reason to get stronger...'' A fish suddenly appeared. It was a small one, it looked like a clownfish but was green and blue instead of the familiar black and orange, or maybe it was a different type of fish. I looked at my status. ¡ºAnima-Soulborn System Displaying in ??:¡»
Name: Sciath Gravitas
Title: (Tentative) Guardian of the Stars
Race: Anima (Infant Colossal Whale) (Common)
Path(s): Spirits / ESP
Class: None
(Overall) Tier: 0 (0%)
(Overall) Level: 0 (0%)
Affinities (Level/Rank): Gravity (1/D+), Astral (2/B+), Star (3/B+), Ice (4/B), Water (5/A+)
Stats:
Strength 3
Agility 10
Dexterity 5
Endurance 10
Energy Density 6
Energy Reservoir 8
Cognitive Speed 4
Aura 10
Bonded Beings (Elementals/Demons/Angels/Spirits) Low-Minor Wood Spirit (Ash)
Bonded Souls (Skyborn/Terrestrial/Oceanic/Spatial) None
ESP Ability [Barrier] - F Rank
Constitution Star''s Path
Unique Ability Celestial Flight
''I should probably look into how the stats affect me. But still... that''s for later. Wait. I have a Constitution now? And a unique ability... is that to do with my Title? I''ll look at that later.'' I stared at a passing fish before lunging for it. I opened my mouth and ate the fish whole. ¡ºOverall Level: 0 (0 --> 0.1%)¡» My thoughts went back to the four things. "A reason to get stronger... do I need one?" I surfaced and stared at the sky. "For now... I''ll get stronger, simply because I want to be stronger." I chuckled, causing water to rise into small waves. "Who knows, maybe I''ll find something fun to do." 3. Summoning. "Tend to him damnit! If the Grand Mage dies we can''t send them back!" My surroundings had shifted, one moment I was in a caf¨¦ with my friends, the second, I was amongst other people in a giant hall with the smell of something burning. I spun my head slightly as I looked around. The first to catch my eyes were two people wearing what looked like camouflage and tending to a person lying on the floor. A person who, at second glance, had smoke coming off them. ''I guess that''s where the burning smell is coming from...'' My macabre sense of humour tuned in as I tried to make light of the panic-inducing situation. When I examined the room further, I noticed our entire friend group was there along with 8 others in our immediate vicinity. It was strange and rather disorienting, but none of us were outwardly panicking. Perhaps it was my visible confusion or the fact that all of us looked confused, but a person in full plate armour spoke up. "I apologise on behalf of our Mages but they have cast a calming field here. It''s not effective with severe pain but does help with mild panic. I personally do not like my mind being messed with, pleasant or not. Please forgive us." They then bowed at the waist. "You shouldn''t be bowing, Captain." I turned my attention to a man I could only describe as a professor. He wore a lab coat that almost touched the floor along with some goggles resting on his forehead. It was so jarring that I was able to feel the calming field''s effect on my mind when it calmed my heart rate and a cooling feeling caressed my body and mind. "Isn''t this ''calming field'' more of a body-wide thing than just a mind thing?" My gaze switched to the new speaker, a tall man amongst our group of 12, Blond hair, eyes like lightning and shirtless. Before I could ask why, his question was answered by the man in a coat. "Why are you... no, doesn''t matter. Yes, the calming field does have an effect on the body but mostly on the mind due to that being where, to our knowledge, panic begins." "I see. It makes sense, our world doesn''t have much Biological knowledge due to the heavy focus on Magic and Cultivation. Being Summoned was certainly a... disorienting experience, but I wish to learn more while I am here." That made me raise an eyebrow. "While you are here?" "Yes, even if this world cannot send me back to my home world, I do not doubt my world''s experts will find me one day. Summons happen to our world rather easily due to the spacetime being more fractured than others'' spacetime." "How intriguing, I do believe it will take them much longer than that but the reason why will come with the package of information we will be giving you." "But-" "Your Majesty, I believe we should allow them a moment in their rooms with the information packages. It will allow them to adjust a little so our conversations will go better." A person I didn''t even notice speaks from behind me. "Yes, perhaps that will be for the best." My dormant instincts awoke and SCREAMED at me. I had spun so fast that I almost got whiplash. The man that came into my view had an aged crown on his head that made my mind hurt just looking at it. His robes were made of the best silk I had ever seen but that was not the scariest of it. No. It was the way he looked disinterested and aloof as if nothing could harm him. He scared me in other ways I could not describe easily as well. He looked lazy with his one leg on the other, chin supported by his hand, but nothing about him screamed lazy or lackadaisical. "Go ahead and remove the field, we''ll let them go to their assign-" "YOU WILL NOT DO SUCH A THI-" The sudden shout was interrupted by a cough and the sound of blood splattering on the ground. Our attention was dragged to the man that was being treated since the moment we arrived. It took a few minutes for him to settle and recover from the intense shout but when he did he continued. "Your Majesty and Mr Sternstine, please remember what the Aspects told us during the Cataclysm." If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. "What the Aspects told us? Ah yes, about the Gravity Value increasing by an unliveable number was it?" "Yes, your Majesty, yes." He then took another moment to sit up before continuing once more. "If I may, could I ask for the Gravity Value of your worlds?" Here, I and my friend group were confused. I had a hunch the man meant the Gravity of Earth, which was 9.81m/s or something. "27", "32", "56", "I believe it was 49 the last I heard." The four who were standing by themselves gave their answers before the other group of four spoke. "81" A whistle came from the shirtless man. "Wow. Isn''t that on the higher end of, wait, what Tier is the world you come from." "Still One. We haven''t been introduced to the Universe as a whole much. The barrier only dropped two or three Millenia ago." "Woah, One? I thought it''d be Two... you learn something new every day. Anyways, that''s really high for a Tier 1 World isn''t it? 81... dang." I turned towards Mr Sternstine to see his reaction only to see him smirking slightly. He turned towards me and spoke. "And what of your world?" I scratched the back of my neck and looked at the others. Their hesitance made me speak up for us. "Well... we don''t know. It sounds like this, barrier, hasn''t dropped yet. We haven''t met any aliens... other races other than our own and the Animals on our planet." Mr Sternstine, the King, and literally everyone else stared at us as if we were the most amazing specimen they had ever seen. It made me uncomfortable and the person that they called Your Majesty coughed to grab everyone''s attention. "Do not worry then, it simply means you will need to get a much larger data package. As for Gravity Value, it is based off the field of gravity inherent to every planet. We have specific methods to check it before sending people from a similar Gravity Value planet down to the surface." Kayode, our group''s resident physicist and weeb of the group spoke up. "Do higher Gravity Value planet natives have their own gravitational field on lower planets? Or is it just a matter of difference in density?" "It is a mix of both. The bodies of races from planets with a higher Gravity Value are much, much more dense. Same with the materials on said planet and the plant life and so on. But I digress, you''ll learn all this in the information package. Let us begin by giving you those packages and start the physical conditioning so you can survive here." He gestured with his hand and some of the armored people left to, presumably, go grab the information packages. "Anyway, we can use this same machine to check on a person''s Gravity Value." Out of the corner of my eye I saw the Grand Mage waved someone over before speaking in a low tone. That woman then came over and made a triangle with her hands before she started chanting in a low, rhythmic tone. This continued for a while before smoke began to rise from her hands and form a number. "9.81 Huh. Not bad for an Unawakened world. So, Phobos, how long will they all need to adapt?" The Grand Mage, Phobos, then sat there for a while before speaking. "Around 5 to 6 years if we are lax. At the earliest we could have them adapted by 7 to 9 months if we were extremely harsh. Blessings could also shorten the time drastically so we should probably tell the representatives to return and tell the other Kings." "What about asking the Aspects?" "We could, but we do not have any suitable offerings after summoning them. We could market it as an experiment, perhaps Hephaestus would-" "Impossible." The doors opened to a man walking in with the same armored people who left the room. "Hephaestus is a mad genius. If we were to ask for his blessing in specific, we could get anything from ''Heightened Fertility'', to something like ''Perfect Eyes''. The Aspect of Curiosity or, even better, The Aspect of Efficiency would be a better option." ''Too many people, too many names, too many terms. Fuck, my brain is going to short-circuit.'' I tuned out the conversation for a while, I needed a break so I simply shut down my hearing and closed my eyes. It was too much, too soon.
I saw Dwight close his eyes and recognise it as him shutting down, he never did handle too much information well. I didn''t think he''d last this long, maybe interest in the topic has something to do with it? A thought for another time. I turned my gaze back towards the newcomer and the Knight lookalikes. "I understand the Aspect of Efficiency but why the Aspect of Curiosity?" The King spoke and I hear his peculiar voice again. It sounded like he''s tired yet energetic at the same time, it confused me to no end. The newcomer answers in his strangely peaceful yet violent voice. "As far as we know, Aspects cannot access Worlds hidden by the Barriers no? I have no doubt that while the Aspect of Curiosity has at least seen a World barrier drop, a grand event that must be. Seeing the residents of a World before the barrier drops, however, should be rare enough to intrigue them no?" "A valid point. Make preparations, we''ll see if we can convince them both." The newcomer left without us ever getting his name. Some of the knight lookalikes followed him after they put down the boxes they were carrying. The next to speak was Phobos, the Grand Mage. His voice is what you''d expect an old veteran to have, aged but cautious. "Captain, if you could set up the information packets along the edge for them, they can get started on reading them." I then decided to speak up. "If I may, Your Majesty, I have a few questions." The King turned to me with narrowed eyes before relaxing them and nodding. "The first question is more of a fact check, am I right in assuming that the reason we need to adapt is because we''ll be crushed to death in an instant if we attempt to leave this?" He nods. "The second, why would it take 5 to 6 years for us to adapt?" "Because of how high our gravity value is. What''s the next question?" "What will we do to adapt to said gravity value?" "We''ll lighten the effect of this barrier and let you adapt to the new weight before lightening it again, we''ll do this until you''ve adapted. Any more questions?" "One more, if I may." He nodded once more. "How high is the gravity value exactly?" He moved his hand to his chin and looked up, most likely in recollection. "The recorded value after the first Evolution was Vo. 600,000 G." Jaws dropped. A man with what looked like lightning under his skin spoke up from a meter or so behind me. "600,000? On the first Evolution? May I be rude and ask you swear on the Aspects?" "I swear on the Aspects that the Value of Gravity was 600,000 after our World''s first Evolution. You might not believe me even if I swear on the Aspects after I tell you the second though." "By the Aspects... what value could shake me after hearing a 1st Stage World could have a 600,000 Gravity Value?" The King smirked. A smug face like none I had ever seen before. A proud smile that spoke volumes. His next words made Dwight, who had started to listen again, pass out cold. "100 Trillion." 4. The City of Quadra Maximus. The adapting was a weird experience. Really, really weird. Probably because of those beings they called Aspects. Their blessing and a ritual they did allowed us to awaken our soul''s potential. Souls. That was another thing. ''Souls are real.'' "Earth would be turned upside down." "Most Worlds are when the barrier drops." I turned towards the man next to me. We had been put into pairs and told to explore the city after being fed common sense and information until our minds hurt. We were also given common clothes and some money. I had been put with one of the people who appeared by themselves. Torsenilius Et Orion. He said just to call him Senet since, in his words, his longer name being said reminded him of his mother calling him when he fucked up. I could relate. ''Anytime my middle name was said I knew I was in deep trouble.'' My head shook as I tossed those thoughts away and focused on the task and the choice I had to make. ''We can be sent back. It''s just time to choose whether we want to go back or not. And, whether we will fight the Anima like we were summoned to do.'' The basic information we learned was on our continent''s basic geography as well as some history whereas the quote unquote, advanced, information was on the Statuses and Races alongside the four Professions. "Are there only four?" "Professions?" Senet seemed confused. Though perhaps growing up in a world with this, barrier, gone meant that all of this was common sense. ''Still, do they even question any of this? It makes sense if they wouldn''t if they''ve lived with it all their life.'' "It''d be best if you didn''t say that in front of any scholars." "What?" "Even if you don''t say it, you were underestimating a ton of races just now. All beings from new worlds are inherently arrogant because they don''t have all of the universe''s history or understand the lengths or depths some races went to uncover knowledge. No, there aren''t four but there are only four on this planet because it can''t take the weight of more of them. I can''t explain in depth because I''m not a scholar but I do know enough history to say you shouldn''t underestimate the curiosity for knowledge or the insanity some races went to just to learn. Just look for it in the right places and you''ll understand things." I was speechless. "What, didn''t expect me to know so much? Because I look like a brute? I try my best to keep that fa?ade. It makes it easier for me to kill those off-guard when I figure out their class or gimmick." "...well, dang. I''m sufficiently impressed. I do apologise though because I don''t internalize these kind of things easily, I might be rude without knowing again later." "It''ll take time or someone to tell you in depth but I can understand that. I still haven''t understood some things despite knowing them. I likely never will. So worry not Dwight, things like that take time." "Thank you." "No problem."
"-lith, a sub-species of giant that covers or turns themselves into pillars when they reach the end of their lifespan so they can help keep their future buildings stable. These pillars are us-" "You''re rambling again." "Huh?" I shook my head. ''These humans that come from a barrier world are interesting, though their attention span and focus could use some work.'' My wing pain flared again, it disturbed my focus long enough for the human to have somehow gotten some sort of skewer from somewhere. They noticed my confusion. "Want some? It''s pretty good, I was told it was made from a Thith. Whatever that is." "A bird-type monster if I remember correctly. It''s raised and culled since it gives a decent amount of experience to those below Tier 3 and it is a reasonably tasty monster." "Interesting. It tastes much better than anything on Earth." "Of course it does. Any possible food you made on your planet is sorely lacking compared to our universe''s food." "Well, yeah, the wider universe has most likely billions of years of history with a lot of ideas developed throughout many years. I''ll be surprised for a long time by a bunch of things you might find normal." "It is like that for all newly opened planets. The curiosity and hunger for knowledge even rivals a tenth of the Elder Fae." I noticed the rambling begin again, triggered by my mentioning of the Elder Fae. "Elder Fae, or Elder Fairies, masters of illusion and the closest to their ancestral race, their curiosity is second only to their ancestors and their hunger for knowledge is arguably even greater. They are greatly ang-" "Stop." "Huh?" A Fae floated by us in the next second. Tier 0 or 1 at most by their energy level. Probably a librarian class of some sorts since they were absorbed in a book. We watched the Fae go by as I felt the side of my clothes tugged on. His voice shook a little. "Why are Fae angered by their size being mentioned?" I hesitate. "It is not my story to tell." "But aren''t you part Fae?" I froze. I turned toward him to see his eyes glowing slightly. My soul vision activated subconsciously and my eyes threatened to pop out of their sockets. His soul had a string connected to his eyes. ''He has Soul Vision... not only that but... it''s damaged. His entire soul is damaged.'' I stayed stock still for a while before he seemed to get nervous and let go of my clothes to scratch the back of his head. "S-sorry, I probably brought up bad memories. Forget I mentioned it." If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. He walked forward, his focus changed towards the surroundings, once again marvelling at most things. ''His soul... why is it so damaged, he should be in excruciating pain yet appears to feel nothing. Ah, this isn''t good. My curiosity is flaring again.'' My metaphysical wings twitched once more.
I walked slowly but surely, my destination was the Mercenary guild I was informed of. Earth never had anything like it on the scale it is. My partner, one of the SS, Solo Summoned, was coming with me since we both wanted to see this guild. Kayode, Dwight and Enitori were all looking at different things like we planned and I, the great Kacey Myl, was in charge of finding out about the Mercenary Guild before we reconvened. I pulled up my status screen for the 18th time, still partially unbelieving.
Name: Kacey Myl
Title: (No Title)
Race: Human
Racial Skill(s): Socialite
Path: Magic
Class: None
Tier: 0
Level: 0
Affinities (Level/Rank): Fire (5/A-), Metal (4/C+)
Stats:
Strength 2
Agility 7
Dexterity 10
Endurance 4
Energy Density 1
Energy Reservoir 1
Cognitive Speed 10
Aura 1
General Skills None
Class Spells None
Ability Spells None
Constitution None
Unique Ability None
Of the four Professions, I had to pick Magic. It wasn''t even a question. Using Magic was the dream of many on Earth and I''d be among the few who would have it. The others definitely sounded interesting but not interesting enough for me to pick them. ''No bonus stats or anything which sucked. Not to mention the stats. Why is it 36 for humans and higher or lower for others? Is it a difference in size or is there a-'' "We''re here." My thoughts were cut off as my SS pair informed me that we arrived. Now, before we came here, I was told it was organized and grand. I can say that I underestimated it quite a bit despite being informed of that. To start with, the very first room, the reception area and door was at least 10 times my height -I was 1.72 meters tall- probably taller, and most likely designed for the bigger races and beings. Then there were the other noticeable things, stairs on either side of the inside entrance leading up to a kind of first and a half floor with stairs to the second. Everything was made of this weird, brick-like wood. Sounded like wood, felt like wood, smelled like wood, looked like brick. The inside was beautiful and well-lit with what I can only assume are strategically placed Chandeliers on the ceiling. There were 5 reception desks. One for those the size of a human, One for those the size of a Bear standing, and one I can only assume is for those the size of a Giraffe. The other two seemed to be for different things given they had larger desk space, perhaps selling resources and something else. My and my partner lined up at the human-sized desk queue. It took a few minutes, the receptionists were insane at their job. Person after person was handled and whatever they came for was done within seconds of informing the receptionist. Anything I read told me not to underestimate receptionists and this just enhanced that belief. But we got there at last. The receptionist was an Oni, a race famed for their traditions and honour. ''Treat them like a normal person, respect them, don''t take up time.'' "Hello, is there a guide or ruleset we can look at on how the mercenary guild works?" "Yellow door down at the end of the hall to your left, the lecture will start in," they glanced at something, a clock I presume. "7 minutes. Follow the basic common sense, have patience and most of your questions will be answered in there. You''re rather lucky, the Guild Master will be lecturing today." "Thank you." We went to the left and found said yellow door after a bunch of others. This place was massive, each door was at least 30 meters apart with the actual hall probably being somewhere in the 300s. We entered, finding ourself in what I could only describe as a College lecture room, complete with desks and stairs to higher desks. There was no ceiling and the larger desks were at the back of the hall, presumably for larger races. Most desks had already been taken, people looked visibly excited and there were even some people who looked like veterans excited too. Me and the man I came with, Spiros Insin, sat near the front at one of the empty desks. On each desk was a notebook and a brochure, along with a what looked like a pen and two pots of ink. After taking stock of what I had, I looked to the front, at the lectern and lecturer. ''The receptionist said that the Guild Master is lecturing today, so that''s the Guild Master?'' At the lectern was a tall and lean person with a rather ambiguous body, they could be a woman or a man. Their facial features were covered by a white full face mask with a black whirlpool on it, their hair was noticeably ocean blue and even tied into a right-shoulder hanging braid reached their chest. There was a kind of aura they gave off, I felt it even when 15 meters away. The wait was not long after as the Guild Master checked a watch of sorts then spoke with a voice as ambiguous as their body, neither male nor female. "Right then, I will begin the lecture. I haven''t done one of these in a while so bear with me. You''re all mostly Greenhorns so I''ll start with the basics and answer questions about those before I do in-depth questions from our Starred Veterans. Understood?" "Yes Sir!" I jumped in my seat a little as tons of people said it almost at the same time. ''Refer to them as Sir, got it.'' "Now then, I''ll start with the boring history first and then we can get into the workings. The Mercenary Guild was made by me and was simply another organisation for quite a while, I recruited archivists and explorers and was mainly an exploration guild at the start. It branched out as we started taking requests for other things for a while before I laid the foundation to become a multi-faceted organisation. Covering almost everything from Exploration and Instruction to Combat and Alchemy. It was around 20-ish years after I branched out that the Cataclysm happened and I decided to take matters into my own hands. I formed a contract and alliance with the Four Kings of the city we are in, Quadra Maximus, QM as most call it. They then funded the Mercenary Guild in exchange for things I won''t mention or bother getting into. With that, this became the home base and headquarters and branched out into other cities and even some villages as everyone recovered from the cataclysm and its effect on our world. Our world become much, much larger than it was before and tons of mutations, resources and new beasts popped up. I can proudly say we archived 33% of information on Fauna and Flora in Variega. Now then, that''s really all you need to know on the basic history of the Guild, if you want to learn more, go to the Library or ask a Yellowhorn." ''Well damn. All four kings? We only met one and were terrified. This dude spoke in front of all four and made it out alive and with benefits? No wonder they''re respected... or is it for another reason?'' I noted down all I could remember and prepared for the explanation that was to follow. 5. The Mercenary Guild We had almost missed the lecture but we made it in time, I noticed Kacey and his partner was here too. After the history explanation we were given a minute to prepare for the explanation on the rest of the workings of the guild or write anything we needed to. I couldn''t see Dwight or Kayode so they probably didn''t come here yet. I had noted nothing in the notebook yet, I simply listened. Just before I was about to daydream, the Guild Master began speaking again. "Now then, how the Mercenary Guild works. You all might wonder why we have a lecture to explain this, well, the Receptionists said it was tedious explaining it to all the newcomers whenever they came in. So the idea of a lecture was proposed to me by a Yellowhorn and since then it has been this way. Now then, when you join you are assigned the rank of Greenhorn, from there, you have to complete 3 different types of missions and 10 missions total. From there, you will choose a specialization and advance via Stars. 1 Star is 11 to 25 Missions completed. 2 Star, 26 to 100. 3, 101 to 200. 4 Star is 251 to 500 and 5 Stars have 501+ Completed missions under their achievements. The specializations are as follows: Redhorns are Medicine and Tracking. Bluehorns, Merchantry and Negotiation. Yellowhorns, Knowledge and Most Instruction. Whitehorns do the Combat and Survival Instruction. Blackhorns for Combat and Battles. Greyhorns work on Enchanting and Metallurgy. Finally, Brownhorns are our resident Alchemists and Herbologists. Now then, before I continue on to the way Contracts, Missions and all that works. No matter which specialization you choose, you are required to be taught the basics of said specialization by a 2 Star of that branch before doing a mission. And remember, don''t underestimate any of the branches. They were all made after years of refining which branch should cover what. Right, missions. Missions are divided into Stars as well, with the 0 Star missions being the only ones Greenhorns can do without someone to watch over them. Missions cover a wide variety of things and it''s gotten to a point where I don''t remember all of them off the top of my head. The main ones, however, are Combat, Collection, Care. Combat missions are anything from assisting someone fight monsters in a village to fighting in a large war. Collection range from herb or mineral gathering to information gathering. Care refers to bodyguarding, teaching or healing. The rewards for each mission vary of course and there are limits on the reward to each mission as well as a lower limit for higher Star missions. Failure to complete a mission means nothing in terms of your Rank progression but will be a black dot on your Mercenary ID. If you have too many failed missions, it will show and the person who requested the mission is allowed to say no to you doing the mission if it exceeds 20. It might sound unreasonable since they won''t know what kind of mission you failed at but what matters to them is reputation and consistent results. Not that you only fail at collection missions because you can''t tell a Forest Rabbit from a Flora Hare." A few people snickered as the inside joke went over my head. "Now then, it hasn''t happened yet but if the black dots ever get to a point where your Mercenary ID is covered in them, you will have to take a few tests to make sure you know what your job is and to make sure you aren''t a disaster waiting to spring itself on an unsuspecting city or intentionally failing missions. Upon reaching each Star, you receive more benefits. At the 4th Star, for example, you get a title, not a System Title, but a Mercenary title. Said title is a badge of honour. You might receive it earlier depending on your achievements but in any case, that is what you will be called when at a Mercenary establishment. Keep in mind, we will make sure your title isn''t offensive to other races or so stupid you don''t want it. So don''t worry about that. Last thing before questions, you may join or make a Mercenary group of up to 50 Beings. And now, questions. Raise a limb and I''ll point to you and you can ask your question." I understood why they said raise a limb when I see paws, hands, tails, claws all raised and waiting. The guild master pointed to a being near the back, they looked like what I''d imagine a Phoenix to look like. A giant bird with red, orange and yellow feathers that shimmered and waved slightly. Their voice, melodic and reminiscent of bird-song but only in feeling. We could all understand them still. "What about if we want to specify in one specific part of the branch?" ''Ooh, I didn''t think of that, yeah are we able to do only Medicine or only Tracking and so on?'' Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. I turned my gaze to the Guild Master who was silent for a few moments. "Well, I''ll be honest, I didn''t think of something like that. The fact that I''ve been gone on my own mission probably doesn''t help. There''s most likely a ton of executive decisions I need to make, aren''t there." Complete silence. I heard a pen drop, the tink of it hitting the floor was unmistakable. ''I don''t think anyone expected that.'' "Alright then, if it is one of the many decisions I''m going to need to make then I''ll clarify here, I''ll most likely make it so that once you''ve got the basics and gotten to your second star, you can specialize further into one as long as you pass an additional test. You''ll be 2 Star overall but a 3 Star in one side of the branch for example. We''ll need to change the Mercenary ID again and will have to call people in... I''m not looking forward to the rest of the documents I''m going to have to deal with. Anyways, next question." A human man was chosen this time. "Since it is possible for Greenhorns to do higher Star missions with someone to watch over them, is it possible for the higher Stars to do the same?" "I''d say yes for 1 and 2 Stars, but not for 3 or higher. The 4 Star missions get out of hand most of the time and we aim to minimize deaths, not encourage them. Any more questions?" Most limbs were down, with only three up. One was a harpy, one was a minotaur. The last, a dragon. The Guild Master pointed at the dragon. "Go on, if I don''t pick you, your pride will flare up." "I don''t see the reason why you''re the Guild Master, please enlighten me." I couldn''t read faces well but the look the dragon gave was of a disdain no one could get wrong. The atmosphere became tense and near cuttable. No one spoke, no one even breathed. Then we all collectively breathed out five seconds later. "Is that enough? Or do I need to show you more." The dragon was visibly shaking. "N-no. S-sir." They nodded and pointed to the minotaur. "Can Racial skills be faulty?" I thought it a difficult question even with the smorgasbord of knowledge crammed into us about all types of skills by the King of Magic. Yet the Guild Master answered the very next second. "You are a minotaur, so it would disturb you yes. But it simply means you doubt even your very nature. It is a good thing to do, it lets you see through illusions and introspect more. But it is a knife with no handle, slip once and it''ll stab you instead. For your question, no. Racial skills themselves cannot be faulty. It is either your trait or you have a damaged soul. I recommend you see a Phoenix or Soul-Weaver later." The minotaur nodded. "And you?" The harpy began shaking her head. Seemingly satisfied. "Well then, time for the veteran''s questions. Though this will only confuse most of you. So, new Greenhorns, go get your ID and start working."
"Thank you, your Mercenary ID will be made and you will be called to come imprint it. Don''t worry about not hearing it, we have some very loud people." "Thank you too, have a good day." I waved to the receptionist before I walked over to where Enitori, Teo Edur (Enitori''s pair) and Spiros were. They all submitted their applications first. ''Glad we asked before about being able to become a Mercenary. It does make sense that we are neutral in affiliation, we''re outsiders. Hired mercenaries.'' "You done Kacey?" "Yeah. Damn, didn''t expect the Guild Master to be so..." "Down to earth?" "Yeah." Then Spiros spoke. "You two need to train your energy perception. By the Aspects I didn''t even think it was possible for someone to hold that much energy besides a King or Tier 6. They had more energy than the King of Magic that summoned us..." We looked at each other. "Really?" Both Spiros and Teo nodded. "Is that why everyone was so quiet at the start?" They nodded again. My face was in my hands after the confirmation. Eventually Teo was called to get his ID and he got up and went. Two minutes later, Enitori and Spiros were called. Not even 20 seconds later, while I could still see Spiros, I was called. It was the same hallway but a door on the left. A grey door. I entered and found the surroundings blurry. I could see what looked like metal desks and forges but it was like I was staring at a mirage. Below me were arrows that were clear so I followed them. They led to a desk with all the new IDs. I walked up, was given one from a person as blurry as the surroundings, and walked out. We all met up a minute later in the same seats as before. Teo spoke first. "What do we do then, take a mission or go back and make the decision?" Silence. I looked at Enitori, he nodded. I looked at Spiros, he also nodded. We all looked at Teo and said synchronised. ""We forgot."" He facepalmed.
Myself and the other Acolytes of the Fang had been waiting for hours after looking around the city and gathering information. We had decided to stay and would wait until the four from Earth and the four from other worlds came back. It took less time than I thought. They arrived in two groups of two of the pairs each. As they walked in, they sat down next to us and we all waited for the Grand Magician and King of Magic. That took longer than I thought, a messenger arrived to tell us we should go back to our rooms for the day as there was a meeting between the Four Kings today. So we did. As dictated by the Fang''s scriptures, sleep is mandatory as rest will allow your Fangs to regain their durability and allow them to be honed once more. Our rest was fruitful and come morning, we were all gathered in the same room again, this time, the Grand Magician and King of Magic were there first. We all settled on chairs set out. The tension wasn''t high but it was there and it definitely affected the humans from the barrier world. They fidgeted constantly, waiting for someone to break both the tension and the silence. Only three minutes later, people came in with boxes of materials. It took another 20 minutes to set up a Tier 3 Magic Circle. I only knew it because I had read the catalogues given to the acolytes when we first join. A circle of lesser world-travel. Made accessible by many scholars over time. ''Unless they have an Amplifying material or a... on Driloth''s Fangs, what is that.'' Before them, the assistants unloaded gems from the boxes they brought with them. Mana gems the size of heads and with a purity at least 200 times the best ever seen by any of us. The Grand Magician spoke. "Let''s keep this short. Who here will stay, who here will go." I raised my hand. He nodded. "Us four will stay and assist you." He nodded again and turned his gaze to the others. One by one, those summoned solo each replied they would stay. When it came to those from the Barrier world, their spokesperson, Dwight, spoke up. "We''ll stay." The Grand Magician motioned to the assistants and everything was packed away. He turned to the King. "Well then, let''s talk business." 6. How to Progress As we watched the whale, Sciath, leave for some reason, Mother spoke up. [Well, I''ll tell the eldest when they come back but I also need to tell you about your siblings.] "About us five?" The jackal, Sjakal, asked. I had the same question. [No, your younger siblings.] ''Our younger siblings?'' My confusion was evident as I spoke aloud. "We have younger siblings?" [Yes, they''re more like your children though. They are modelled after the each of you individually.] I blanked. The Deer, Meratas, was the first one to speak. "We have, what?" [Children.] The silence was almost suffocating. [It''ll take a few weeks but they should be made by the time you all get to Tier 1, Level 7 at the very least, though Sciath might take longer to get there because of those troublesome Stars.] "How do we get to Tier 1? Is there a Tier 2 and 3? What''s the highest Tier? Is there a limit to what Tier we can be?" My questions flowed out, one after another. This was a chance to get away from that topic and to get information, to learn about the world. But more than any of that, it was a chance to learn how I could grow stronger. [Tiers are also referred to as Life Stages. As you get to higher and higher Tiers, you become much more dangerous whether you are a combatant or non-combatant. This world we live on can support at most, 10 Tier 8 Beings by my calculations. Maybe one Tier 9 but that''s probably stretching it. As for a limit... I know of none, although the highest that has been seen and recorded is apparently Tier 11. They are not on this world luckily or I might''ve ended up dead in the first minute of my escape.] ''Tier 11... how much time will it take to get there?'' I looked at my Status screen.
Name: Astora Infernis
Title: (Tentative) Guardian of the Flames
Race: Anima (Infant Ember Falcon)
Path(s): Magic (Class) / Technology (Evolution)
Class: None
(Overall) Tier: 0 (0%)
(Overall) Level: 0 (0%)
Affinities (Level/Rank): Time (5/D), Yang (4/B), Light (3/B), Sound (2/B), Fire (1/A+)
Stats:
Strength 15
Agility 12
Dexterity 6
Endurance 10
Energy Density 4
Energy Reservoir 3
Cognitive Speed 3
Aura 3
General Skills None
Ability Techniques None
Class Spells None
Constitution Flames of the Hearth
Unique Ability Nurture Flame
''How many battles will it take for me to become that strong...'' I flapped my wings slowly, attempting to take to the skies for the first time. My body lifted off the ground as I felt... at home. My wingbeats became more powerful, more confident. I flew up, a cloud of dust left behind me. The Dormant Crossroad''s Volcano was the shell around us. It was massive, made of rock that seemed almost pitch black. I mistook it for the night sky at first. Mother took up a third or so of the area above the ground. A massive amount of space. Beyond her and the shell of the volcano that once was, there was a massive tapestry of dark blues, black and specks of white. The sight was unlike anything I had ever seen on my planet. I loved it. The wind in my wings, the sky above me and the ground far below, the feeling of being unbound that I got flying, all of it. I was happy again. Eventually, landing was inevitable. I needed to rest and the Whale got back. They were massive to be honest. At least three or more times my wingspan. I had maybe 10 or 15 meters worth of wingspan as an Infant Ember Falcon, insane to think I was an infant with that wingspan. So whatever race the Whale was, would be gigantic as an adult. It''d be a sight to see if they grow big enough.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. A metallic hum sounded throughout the area. Then Mother repeated what she said to us, to the Whale, in some frequency I didn''t understand yet still understood. The Whale visibly shook. "We have, what?" "That''s what I said!" I looked over at the Deer. Their head awkwardly nodding with their entire neck. Mother stayed by the Whale and talked to them for a little longer before she directed her attention to me. [Starting is the most difficult part without instruction. The populaces of many planets still have difficulties due to lack of information sharing. You all will not have that issue. Enough of my ranting though, what paths have you chosen, child.] "Magic and Technology." [A fine choice, Magic and Technology both come with the capability of either extreme versatility or extreme power. They seem to blend together well most of the time as well so I am curious as to how you''ll progress. Ah, can''t let myself ramble on. Technology and Magic both require a Core, I have implanted a dormant Tech Core into all of you, I''ll take it out of those who haven''t chosen the path. For Magic, the bigger the Core, the better. I recommend putting it inside or around your Heart, as that is where you generate Mana. If you can cover your Heart with its size, I believe that''s a good start relative to the humanoids who are more aware than others. Now then, good luck.] Her focus left me and I began thinking. ''How small and how large should I make each... no should I begin with meditation? Yeah I should, finding this Dantian is more important. I can''t make a core there if I don''t know where it is... oh right! My heart should be in a different place too! I have to find both I guess.'' Yet just as I was about to begin, Mother spoke once more. To all of us. [Ah, I forgot. None of you have levelled. Well, the surroundings should have enough reasonable level monsters you can kill.] ... ''That seems like something you should''ve mentioned earlier... speaking of.'' "What about how we leave the volcano?" [...I''ll have one of your siblings make an exit for most of you. Astora and Sciath, I believe both of you can leave already.] ''What does she... ah, my wings, and an underwater tunnel? Maybe? Eh, who cares, time to FLY!'' And fly I did. I sprinted forwards before leaping off the ground and spreading my wings, flapping them immediately. They beat the wind and propelled my body upwards as I smiled. The feeling of movement in the sky, of movement in general will never get old. ''From the burn of my muscles to the creaking I hear in my apparently half-machine body, I love it all.'' As I flew higher, towards the gaping maw of sky, surrounded by spikes of earth, my excitement rose. I was about to see the world I was in from a bird''s eye view on a trip to level up. It all felt like a dream. But no dream could prepare me for what I saw. As I flew out, the first thing that greeted me was the suns. There were two suns, one an incandescent blue, the other a white that drowned out the blue light''s effect on the colorful world. The world I saw was beautiful. Split in half, one side of the volcano covered by ocean, farther than my new eyes could see. The other? A bizarre yet spectacular mix between desert and forest. The trees were not the green and brown in the volcano, no, these were red giants bearing golden leaves. And the desert sand that I expected to be yellow-gold was an ashen grey that flowed in-between massive roots, twining and twisting. Moving as wind shook the trees, rustled their places. Yet I felt none of that wind. Above the maw of the volcano, there were calm, tame winds that kept me afloat with a warmth I hadn''t felt before. I don''t know how long I stayed there but the suns moved enough for me to be able to tell they moved. As I gazed upon the land below, I was able to spot some of my siblings, a small sense of familiarity rising whenever I saw one. However, it didn''t take long before I spotted a creature not part of my family. ''How should I do this? Should I dive down and use my talons? I should right... it''s the only method that makes sense with my current abilities. But... what''ll happen if I go into these winds.'' The winds surrounding the volcano were an almost visible green, teetering on and off at the edges of my vision. Although afraid, I decided to go. I flapped my wings and pushed myself into a glide towards one of volcano''s spikes. I intended on using them for cover against some of the wind. I was so wrong in thinking that. The moment I passed the barrier of warm wind, my body was hit with intense omnidirectional winds. Metal splitting and flesh tearing, my body immediately crying out in pain. I tried to angle myself back towards the volcano''s warm breeze but the tempest wouldn''t let me. I was dragged through the air, towards the forest in a stream of wind that made me bleed constantly. Disoriented, confused and still new to flying, I knew my time left wasn''t long if I didn''t get a hold of myself. A particular wind hit me in the side, near my right wing''s shoulder and made me screech. I closed my eyes certain of my demise, both anger and regret in my soul. Yet the next moment, the wind calmed. My eyes opened seconds after in shock the moment. I was in a bubble made of shadows and a black wind, my confusion increased until I looked up. The sense of familiarity hit me and this single sibling of mine just showed me, what the heights our family have already reached are... besides Mother. A massive Wyvern like being, with claws attached to part of his wings. Black and silver and green, an incredibly powerful aura seemed to twist the winds away from him, it was even calming them around me. He looked down at me for a second and I heard a voice in my head, like how Mother spoke to us. "You are a reckless one aren''t you. You should be careful young Guardian." Quicker than my meager perception allowed, we were amongst the giant trees and the ashen sand. "Take note child, don''t fly higher than those tree''s canopies until at least Tier 3. Guardian you may be, but that''ll be in the future when you''re strong enough to actually guard us." "Yes... is it rude to ask what Tier you are?" "Both the short and long answers are yes. But I personally don''t mind. I''m Tier 4, close to Tier 5. I''ll be going now, I''m the scout on patrol today so I can''t stay long." I nodded and watched as my massive Wyvern-like brother flapped his wings once, propelling him into the sky. I watched for a little longer before I heard a twig snap. My head whipped right, letting me see behind me. There sat a small pangolin-like monster. We watched each other''s movements as I realized something, its eyes were a sickly green that looked like it yearned for my death. A faint feeling of hunger and rage emanated from it, surrounding my body slowly. I turned, making my profile face the pangolin before remembering I was now a Falcon. I stopped and focused on the pangolin''s movements. It was slow but felt sure of itself, keeping its sickly green eyes on me as we circled each other. ''If I remember correctly, pangolins are all rounders. Their scales and claws both keratin and exceptionally hard to break while also being sharp. This''ll be a challenge.'' I decided. This would be my first hunt. My first kill. My body began to heat as my mind changed. I began to think of this pangolin as both threat and prey and a hunger began to rise in me. I opened my wings and charged as it did too. We sprinted at each other. I flapped just before impact, leaving the ground slightly, aiming my talons at its eyes. The pangolin closed them and made a claw swipe near its own eyes to catch my talons. It landed, my left leg was bleeding. But I had hit the pangolin''s eyes as well. It cried out, not expecting my talons to be sharp enough. ''I wonder if it didn''t know it doesn''t have scales on its eyes.'' I watched as the pangolin groaned and moved around blind. Swiping now and then to try and hit something. When I saw a gap, I took it. I jumped at it as quietly as I could and aimed for its underbelly. I paid for it. My left wing was ripped open by a claw aiming for me as my talons dug in to its underbelly. We rolled across leaves, dirt and sand alike as our blood seeped out and I left my attacks to instinct. Talons reaching out, my beak charging in to hit. The pangolin also got me multiple times with a claw or bite, sometimes a stray whack from its tail. We separated after a while, both of us bleeding and ragged. I threw myself at it, aiming to pierce its eyes and hit its brain. A second before I reached it, it leaped up. A mistake. I followed, pushing myself further. I stabbed the underside of its head and heard a notification. ¡ºOverall Level: 0 (0 --> 10%)¡» The Pangolin''s body went limp as mine let the exhaustion and pain take over. Air rushing around me. The first thing I did when I realised I won? I smiled. Then all went dark. 7. A Silly Rabbit My eyes shot open awake and semi-aware of my surroundings, I attempted to get up. Pain wracked my body, a weight upon me that I couldn''t move. Adrenaline rushed through my veins as my mind cleared of the haze that came with unconsciousness. I calmed down slowly and took stock of my surroundings. The red trees and the golden leaves still there, yet life besides such was absent. I glanced at the body of the being I had killed, sitting on top of me. Its eyes, once sickly green, were a dull red. ''What? Its eyes... why are they red now? Is it some kind of magic that made them look green? Like enhancement magic? Weird.'' The information was slotted in the back of my head as I moved my right wing towards its eyes. And I closed them. ''May you rest, may you live and succeed, in the next.'' My body refused to move for as long as my mind grappled with the kill. Once settled, I moved. I slid the body off of me and took a deep breath. I had only gained 10% of the energy needed for my level up, and my evolution. ''9 more of the Pangolin''s level of strength... I can do it.'' My next prey wasn''t far, roughly 10 minutes of flight away from the Pangolin. It was a small Deer, similar in musculature to my sibling, with sickly green eyes as well. My eyes sharpened as I flew up higher, circling the Deer. ''I fought up close with the Pangolin, that was a mistake. I''m a falcon. I should fight like one. Gather information first, then exploit that information with my manoeuvrability.'' Its body was wider than my talons could grab. It''s legs were thin despite their length, a usable weakness. The Deer only examined its immediate surroundings, not even looking upwards, another usable weakness. My decision was made, this deer would die. I dived when I was about to pass over its head, the wind passing my body felt nice as my eyes fixated on its neck. It moved slightly, looking around as if sensing something. It looked up, its sickly green eyes meeting mine, but it was too late. My extended talons grasped its neck just as its leg muscles tensed. I pulled up. It shook itself, struggling to get out of my grip but I clenched my talons, hard. I pierced its skin and the war of attrition began. I wasn''t confident in keeping sight of it if it ran, so I had to hold it in the sky as it bled out. Gruelling minutes passed as the deer struggled harder and harder, blood falling, creating a small puddle. My wings hit the air quicker but weaker, my fatigue building. It was cruel, messy and miserable. I beat my wings for what felt like hours. My mind hurting yet set on this kill. ¡ºOverall Level: 0 (10 --> 20%)¡» I let it drop. Its body collapsed like a ragdoll, its strength gone. I landed on it. I looked at its eyes and the same phenomenon had happened. No longer were they sickly green, but a dull yellow. I closed them all the same. ''A third time and I ask Mother.'' I rested until I felt like I could fight another. Then I rested some more. I debated resting further before I protested doing so. I wasn''t about to let my past laziness influence my present. ''This gift must go unmarred by my past self''s lazy ass habits.'' Wings folded in, I rolled onto my talons and stretched them once more, flapping to catch the forest''s whispering winds. I angled my wings as I ascended and changed direction, aiming to go away from both kills equidistantly. My search was longer than the previous two, the suns had gone down a decent amount. Roughly 2 hours worth. It was hard to determine. ''Another...'' The same sickly green as the others... except it wasn''t just the eyes. What looked like a dark brown buffalo with a disgustingly colored front up to its front legs. I thought about it. For 10 slow circles, I thought about it. Then I left. ''Something tells me that thing is way too tough to be pierced by my talons.'' I opened my status.
Name: Astora Infernis
Title: (Tentative) Guardian of the Flames
Race: Anima (Infant Ember Falcon)
Path(s): Magic (Class) / Technology (Evolution)
Class: None
(Overall) Tier: 0 (0%)
(Overall) Level: 0 (20%)
Affinities (Level/Rank): Time (5/D), Yang (4/B), Light (3/B), Sound (2/B), Fire (1/A+)
Stats:
Strength 22
Agility 12
Dexterity 6
Endurance 3
Energy Density 4
Energy Reservoir 3
Cognitive Speed 3
Aura 3
General Skills None
Techniques None
Class Spells None
Constitution Flames of the Hearth
Unique Ability Nurture Flame
''I wonder if my Time affinity helps me keep the time. If it doesn''t that''d be hilarious.'' If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. A glint of something caught my eyes, I turned my head left and saw something weave between trees. I chased it. Weaving in between the trees and praying it''d be weak enough to kill but strong enough to pose a challenge. I caught myself, stuttering a little mid-flight. ''pose a challenge? Why am I- oh shit.'' It sped up. So did I. All it took was 3 minutes to find a clearing and for the thing to turn around and leap at me. "Holy sh-" I got kicked, hard, ramming into a tree as my assailant dropped down. "Wait. Birdie?" I crash landed upside down and stared as the Rabbit hopped over to me. "Sorry, sorry, I thought something else was chasing me." "Fair enough, I thought you were something else too." "I mean, I''m pretty noticeable." "Not when you go as fast as you went. You were little more than a blur, even with my dynamic vision." "Huh. How far have you gotten?" "Uhh," I looked back at my status, "20% so far." "After 10 hours?" "Say what?" "10 hours." "...note to self, don''t trust my timekeeping skills." "I''ll remember it too if that helps." "...thanks. So how far are you then?" "I''m at 50%, but it is easier for me because I''m fast." She turned her nose up and looked very proud about that. "I''d bet you are. Far as I know, normal Rabbits can reach speeds of 48? kilometers per hour." "Really? How''d you know that? I didn''t even know what a Rabbit was before this happened!" "How, no. Well, uh, want me to tell you about Rabbits?" A nod. "So Rabbits are herbivores, you know what that is?" Another nod. "And they are mammals, they''re known for being lucky and also known for being really good at evading predators." "What else!" I could swear her eyes were shining. "Uh, the only other actual knowledge I have is from Movies or fantasy books and." "What are those?" I stopped. I stared at her eyes, confused. Completely and innocently curious. The next 3 hours were spent with us going from one topic to the next. From things on my home of Earth, to why Penguins and Chickens were called flightless birds. It was refreshing. "Oh by the way Birdie-" "Astora." "Huh?" "My name is Astora, silly girl." "Ohh, mine is Blanc! I forgot to say that." "Right, so?" "So?" She did a head-tilt. "What did you want to ask me." "OH! Right, did you check what your Constitution is yet? Mama said we all got one!" "Mama? No, no I didn''t check yet. Is it instinctual or do I look really hard at it on the Status Page?" "Yup! Mama is Mama. Uhh, I looked really hard. Not sure what instinctual means." "You... okay, I''ll start teaching you stuff when we take breaks from getting stronger." "Yay! So, what do you have?" After concentrating on ''Flames of the Hearth'', a new pop-up appeared.
Constitution Flames of the Hearth: The Hearth has chosen you to be its Fireplace. Prove your worth and become its Bearer. Grants: Hearth Flame, one of the 12 Higher Flames Reduces Energy Reservoir Gain by 500%
I repeat the explanation to Blanc who then parrots her own.
Constitution Royal Blood: The King of Blood has found you adequate. Prove your resolve. Grants: Blood Affinity +2 Major Ranks. Decreases Aura Gain and Effect by 500%
"Who''s the King of Blood?" She shrugged. "I dunno. What are those ''Flames of the Hearth'', how are they different from normal fire or flames?" I shrugged too. Some part of my mind brought to attention how weird it must be for an outsider to see a Rabbit and Falcon shrug while making noises they probably don''t understand. Another brought to attention the fact that an unwelcome guest was here. In the form of a sickly-green eyed and mossy furred Wolf. ''Has anyone ever mentioned that I am large? Because this Wolf is the same height as me and nearly the same height as Blanc. Wait.'' I look at Blanc, then back at the Wolf. ''She''s taller than a Wolf... Wait, was that Deer I killed even a Deer? It was massive now that I have perspective. Assuming this Wolf is the size of a Wolf back on Earth.'' "Do you want to see what''ll happen if we both kill it together?" "Sure!" The Wolf growled and began circling us. "Assume it can understand us." "Why?" "Wolves are pack hunters," We kept our eyes on the Wolf, slowly circling it as well, "which means they''re intelligent. Even if this is a lone Wolf, they''re dangerous." "Then can it be reasoned with?" I glanced at Blanc, she was looking at the Wolf still. I focused back on the wolf, looking directly into its eyes. Once again, I felt it. The hunger. I pushed it away. "No." I leapt into the air and beat my wings, charging at it. Trusting that Blanc was close behind. It charged at me too. A collision was imminent. It swiped at my wings with its right claw, I tucked in my wings and went under its opening jaw, as I began to skid across the floor under it, my beak went up, ripping out a piece of its underbelly before rolling away from its tail. I leapt once more to dodge its tail''s swipe at me. My wings snapped open, keeping me afloat as I watched it turn towards me. A fatal mistake. Blanc jumped onto its back and bit, no. Ripped an ear off before hopping off to the left. Yet despite that, the Wolf''s gaze remained on me. ''Why, oh no.'' "BLANC THERE MIGHT BE ANOTHER, BE CAREFUL!" I shouted and immediately charged the Wolf I saw head-on. I needed to occupy it if there was another. One vs two won''t end well without experience and we have very little. It opened its mouth wide and aimed for my left wing, while swiping at my right wing. I ignored it. I shifted myself back, stretched out my talons and caught both its claw and jaw. A stalemate. I beat my wings and clenched my talons to throw it off balance while it used its other paw to swipe at me at times. Neither of us did any real damage to the other. A yelp sounded, a Wolf''s cry for help. It hesitated. I lunged with my beak and plucked out its eye. I dropped it and flew up. Below me was the one-eyed, one-eared wolf. Not far from it was Blanc standing on top of another Wolf. That one lacked ears as well as any mossy coloring. Its eyes were a dull gold. The One-Eyed Wolf glared at Blanc. Then it stared at me. I saw something... different, from the usual hunger. Something more, something primal. Rage. The Wolf disappeared. Its form wavy like a mirage then gone like the wind. I surveyed the area, inspecting the ground for any sign of tracks or something else. Nothing. It ran. I landed next to Blanc and looked at her. Her white fur had splotches of blood across her front and her mouth. "That was boring. Why do you think it ran?" ''Boring... heh. Not really.'' "It wanted to live. I can''t see any other reason." "Oh right, we were supposed to test what happens when we kill one together... uh, do you think it''s too late now?" I looked up at the sky, finding the white sun slowly falling and the blue sun to be painting the sky a darker hue. "Probably. We should head back just in case Mother has anything else to teach us. Besides, she said it''d take a few weeks for us to get to Tier 1 Level 7, I think our progress was decent, don''t you?" Blanc tilted her head. "Hmm, yeah. Okay, let''s head back! You can come through the entrance with us and meet the Big Brother me and the others met!" "Sure, let''s go."