《Copycat》 (Prologue: Spinning Out)/(Chapter One: A car in a tree) Kyle Montegomery was on his way to his parents'' for Christmas. It was dark and late, but he only had a couple hours of driving before he reached his destination for the night. It was the middle of nowhere, one of those spots where the freeway runs along the edge of a cliff, and nothing but a frail fence and a poor decision stood between him and a nasty fall. Kyle chuckled a little at the thought. As if I would do that on purpose, he thought. He yawned, and reached over to the passenger seat to grab some trail mix from the bag there. Suddenly, a white deer bounded into his headlights. "Gah!" Kyle yelped, slamming the brakes and twisting the wheel as hard as it would go, entirely focused on not hitting the deer, and trying not to fall off the road as he did so. He failed. The car scraped against the fence for a moment, and then the fence broke, and Kyle careened off the edge. There was a bright flash of white light, and everything went dark. Unheard and missed were the words whispered to Kyle: "Congradulations! You have been selected for the Inaugural Contest of Champions! You are the champion of the God of Creativity. Good luck!" *** *** *** The ten major gods had gathered together for a game. This would be the first of many, they hoped. They each chose someone to act as their champion, and would give them a skill related either to the person or the domain of the god being championed. The air was filled with good natured ribbing and boasting as they all sat down for character selection and adjustment. "Remember that your blessing must remain within our balance guidelines," Arcana, the God of Magic, reminded everyone. He turned to Chronos. "That means you can''t just give them a blessing that rewinds time by a day or something whenever they die, unless it has a substantial recharge time." "I know, I know," Chronos, the God of Time, said as he rolled his eyes. "And Scholar has access to all of the character sheets anyway, so he would know if I did. And this is beyond the agreement that we have for each of us to see them anyway. Doing that would disqualify us, right?" "Yep." They chose their champions. Art, the God of Creativity, looked down at the options of blessings to give their champions, some that were available to all of them, like an increased stat growth, and some that were limited to himself, like that of simple blueprints related to a specific crafting skill every level. Suddenly, Dark, God of Death, spoke up. "Remember that anyone entering The Realm from an unSystemed world, as we are doing in this challenge, normally gets a skill based on who they are and their prior skills and actions, and that our blessing would be replacing that. None of us knew what it would be beforehand, and decided that they could keep it if we felt that it would be of greater benifit than that of one of our blessings. My blessings would all have been inferior to that of this person''s skill, so I will leave it. The skill is Reverse Engineer, and it allows my champion to create a blueprint of any item she dissassembles." The various gods gave an appreciative nod as Dark turned back to the sheet, generating their spawn area with the things his champion had on and around her when he chose her. Art turned back to his own champion and checked his personal skill. Then blinked, and checked it again. He definitely wasn''t removing that! Art moved on to the spawnpoint, and chose to use the car his champion had been driving as the saferoom. Art nodded, satisfied, and pressed submit. Chapter One Kyle opened his eyes to bright sunlight, a slight headache, and the view of a tree from his windshield. What? Kyle unbuckled his seatbelt, a mild oddity in and of itself, and looked around. His car was stuck in a tree, in the middle of a forest. There wasn''t much more to see than that, as the rearview window was covered in leaves. Kyle rolled down his window and gingerly stuck his head out, not wanting to upset whatever balancing act was keeping the car in the tree. As it turned out, he needn''t have worried. Several branches lay under the car, and more had pierced the nose and trunk. Kyle then looked to the ground. I don''t want to fall from this height, that''s for sure. Better to worry over nothing than be right and die, he thought.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. He then attempted to open the door. "Hmm." Kyle said, and tried again. It opened, but hit the tree''s trunk before it opened far enough that he could leave through it. Though his car had five seats, it only had two doors. It was smaller than most, and was fairly cheap when he got it. At the time, he didn''t even consider it as a problem. After all, he rarely gave anyone a ride. But now... Kyle growled a little, and clambered over to the passenger seat and tried to open the door. it didn''t budge. Kyle peeked through the window and found the the door was being held shut by some branches. Hold on, Kyle realized. The orientation of the car and branches don''t make sense at all. It''s almost as if the tree''s holding the car in place. Kyle took stock of his possessions. I have a lot of road snacks, my phone, some water, a gaming computer in the backseat, a backpack, and a gun under shotgun position. He turned on his phone, turned on data, and opened up google maps, and waited for the map to load. And waited. And waited. then checked how many bars- "Wait, no service!" Kyle said, dismayed. He plugged his phone into the car to charge and turned to the passenger door again. *Slam!* Kyle kicked the door, over and over until it was torn off the car. Then something weird happened. The door, rather than just falling down, gradually broke apart into transparent fragments and dissapeared. "What?" He turned back to the car, and actually looked at the dash. The buttons and words on it were totally different than he was used to.
Status Temperature Control Repair Reconfigure
Car Hot Car Normal
Party Member Cold Item Rest
Level Up (#) Party Member
Current Party: Kyle Montegomery (Lv. 0)
Mana 98/100
Kyle pressed the Party Member Status Icon, and the windshield lit up with a somewhat familiar screen, though entirely unexpected.
Name: Kyle Montegomery Level: 0
Strength 9 HP: 5/10
Dexterity 11 Mana: 12/12
Constitution 10 Stamina: 2/10
Speed 11 Skills
Intelligence 12 Anything you can do, I can do better (Unique)
Creativity 18 Titles
Charisma 10 Otherworlder; Champion of Creativity
"Uh, am I dreaming?" Kyle said. As he sat there, looking at it, his health and stamina increased by one. "...Well. I should probably see what I can find, huh?" Kyle said, and started gathering things into his backpack. Then, ignoring the missing door, he clambered out the window, grabbed the backpack, and began climbing down the tree. 2: A Quick Walk In The Woods Kyle clambered to the ground and looked nervously for the cliff he had fallen off of. As he''d thought, it wasn''t anywhere in view. He climbed back up to double check from a higher vantage point, and still couldn''t find it. There wasn''t even any damage to the trees from when the car would have landed. "Yep," Kyle said, returning to the ground. "This certainly implies I''m not where I should be." Kyle found a large stick and began dragging it, drawing a small line on the ground. Kyle nodded, chose a random direction, and started walking. Hopefully,with this line, he wouldn''t get lost. As he walked, Kyle noticed several things that were a bit odd about this forest. First, there wasn''t much underbrush. Sure, there was a bush bridging the gap between trees in irregular intervals, but they didn''t impede his progress. Second, despite every tree being decidious, there were pinecones all over the place. Kyle started absently kicking some along with him as he walked. Eventually, he saw some bushes that were significantly larger than the others in a ring around a group of trees. Kyle walked around the circle, inspecting it. As Kyle leaned in close to one of the bushes, trying to see what lay beyond, and suddenly a cougar leaped out at him. Kyle stumbled back, fumbling for his gun, and the cougar¡­ hit him? There was a soft sound of shattering glass, and Kyle flew back a bit. "Oof!" Kyle''s back hit a tree, knocking the wind out of him. He finally found his gun, and pulled it out as the cougar leaped at him again. Kyle brought the gun up and fired as quickly as he could. BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! The cougar fell to the ground, blood pooling out of a hole in its head.
Lv. 8 Pouncing Cougar Defeated!
Experience Awarded!
Level Ups Available
Skill Requirements Met!
Aiming Available
Kyle blinked. "Wait, what? Like a video game?" Kyle shook his head. "I guess I should figure these things out. It might help me survive or find civilization." Kyle followed his trail back slowly, the thin line in the dirt not very distinct.
Skill Requirements Met!
Tracking Available
Kyle blinked at the box that popped into his vision again just as he reached the tree which held his car. Kyle climbed up and back in, then pressed the Level Up button. The unfamiliar character sheet popped back up on the windshield.
Name: Kyle Montegomery Level: 2
Strength 9 HP: 0/12
Dexterity 11 Mana: 14/14
Constitution 10 Stamina: 8/12
Speed 11
IntelligenceIf you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. 12 Titles:
Creatively 18 Otherworlder
Charisma 10 Champion of Creativity
Available Stat points: 2 Available Skill Slots: 2 Available Classes: 0
"Well," Kyle said. "I may as well treat it as real, even if it isn''t. First things first, stat points. I''ll put one in strength, as it''s the only stat below 10, and I''ll put one in constitution, to test the way hit points and stuff are calculated." Kyle tapped on the windshield, pretending it was a touchscreen, and added the points. The sheet updated accordingly.
Name: Kyle Montegomery Level: 2
Strength 10 HP: 13/13
Dexterity 11 Mana: 14/14
Constitution 11 Stamina: 13/13
Speed 11
Intelligence 12 Titles:
Creatively 18 Otherworlder
Charisma 10 Champion of Creativity
Available Stat points: 0 Available Skill Slots: 2 Available Classes: 0
"So, stamina and hit points are CON plus level, and mana is INT plus level? Seems like somewhat low growth, but maybe most things have a higher stat value, or higher level. I haven''t seen many things in the forest, so it''s possible that the cougar was merely low leveled..." Kyle mused. "What''s this about skill slots?" Kyle idly swiped to the side and a second page popped up.
Skills Available Skills
Anything you can do, I can do better (Unique) Aiming
[Empty] Tracking
[Empty]
"Tracking seems useful, but I don''t think I need ''aiming'' for now." Kyle said, dragging tracking into one of the empty slots. "Wonder how you get more slots." Kyle looked over his sheet again, checking to see if he''d gotten everything he wanted. "Seems good," He said, nodding to himself. He pressed the Level Up button on the console again, and a box popped up on the windshield.
Are you sure you want these changes?
Yes No
Kyle rolled his eyes and hit yes. A new box appeared on the windshield while another appeared right in his face.
Congratulations! Achievement (Level Up!) Earned
You have leveled up! A great achievement for your God! Reward: XP, 1 VP
Quest: Tutorial
You have been taken here as a player in the first Contest of Champions! Leveling up has granted you access to the Quests. This is the Tutorial Quest. To complete this quest, read the explanation of the game below, accept the Quest, and reach Lv. 5. The Contest of Champions is being played between 10 Champions, of which you are one. The one who collects the most Victory Points (VP) will win. The prizes are as follows: 1st: A return trip home, and you get to keep everything you gained while here. 2nd: A return trip home, and you get to keep the stats you gained while here. 3rd: A return trip home, and you get to keep half the stats you gained while here. 4th and 5th: A return trip home, if desired. 6th or less: You lost. You get to keep the abilities you''ve earned, but you won''t get to return home. Ways to earn VP: Every 10 levels will award you a VP Clearing a dungeon with a party awards you a VP (1/dungeon) Clearing a dungeon by yourself awards you 5 VP if you''ve never cleared the dungeon before, and 2 VP if you have (1/dungeon) Quests will award VP Gaining 5 or more levels in a single fight will award N*N VP (N is the number of levels gained divided by five, rounded down) Rewards: 10 VP
Yes No
Kyle reached over to the windshield, and pressed Yes. 3: Not Out Of The Woods Yet A second popup appeared on the windshield as soon as he pressed yes.
Quest: Civilization!
You have been taken to a very boring forest as a starting location. There are barely any animals at all! You''ve already killed the low-level peak predator of the area, go somewhere exciting! To complete this quest, find a house, an friendly intelligent, and a map. Offered by: Knife Rewards: +1 lv., 5 VP
Yes No
"I was planning on doing that anyway..." Kyle scratched his head and shrugged, tapping yes again. He looked out the window and realized that the sun was begining to set. When did I get here? Kyle wondered. He shrugged, and started getting things together for dinner. The door was still missing, but on a hunch, he pressed the car button under repair. The mana counter began dropping quickly and the door slowly began to grow from the edges inward. The mana counter hit zero, and the lights in the car went out. The door was only half repaired, and Kyle scowled at it. "How does this thing recharge, anyway?" he asked. There was silence. He sighed. "I guess it recharges on its own over time? Probably? It doesn''t do me any good to think about it now, I guess. I should get some sleep, tomorrow''s going to be a long day." Kyle ate some of his road snacks, then lay his seat back and tried to sleep.
Kyle wasn''t sure how long it took for him to sleep, but he must have at some point, as he was waking up now. It was a bit chilly, as the door still had a bit of a whole in it, but it wasn''t terrible. Well, according to my quest, I need to find a friendly intelligent, a house, and make some kind of map, he thought. As for how to find that... Kyle climbed out on top of the car, idly noticing that the lights were back on, and looked around. "That''s a lot of trees." Kyle tried to find a spot with fewer trees, and finally found a spot where there might have been a break in the trees. Or possibly not. He grabbed his backpack and climbed down, dragging his stick behind him as he walked in the direction of what hopefully would be civilization. The quest was right, Kyle thought after a couple of hours of walking. This forest is really boring. He was snacking on a meat stick in one hand, more of his road snacks, and dragging the stick behind him with the other, trying to keep it as straight as possible, to avoid getting turned around. He turned his head again, checking to make sure he was still going in a straight line. And surprisingly barren. I wonder why that is. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Finally, Kyle stumbled into a compact dirt path. Finally. He looked both directions, then just shrugged, picked one, and started walking. Eventually, the trees began to thin out a bit, and the underbrush started to recover. "Maybe the trees are poisonous?" Kyle muttered. "Excuse me sir," said a voice from behind Kyle, as several people in black cloaks began to melt out of the bushes. "You''re going to stop right where you are and give us all of your money." Kyle dropped the stick and pulled out his gun as he turned around. Why was I still holding that? He shook his head. "I didn''t bring it with me, I left it in my car." The voice stood behind him, in a similarly obscuring black cloak, and he held a sword loosely in one hand. "I guess we''ll have to get it from your corpse, then." And he ran at Kyle. Kyle brought the gun up, aimed, and shot the man in the head. Or, he thought he did. The man didn''t slow down at all. Kyle frowned, stepped back, and shot him twice more before a knife hit him in the arm. Ah, right. the bane of all fights, being ganged up on. The knife must have been very blunt, as it didn''t really hurt. Kyle stepped back again, then brought the gun up to the one with a knife''s head and fired. And fired. And shot again before the bandit actually died.
Lv. 20 Bandit Defeated!
Experience Awarded!
Level Ups Available
"Gah!" Kyle exclaimed as the box popped into his vision. It didn''t really hinder his vision, it was just a very distracting transparent overlay to his sight, but it did startle him enough that he missed the sword coming down on his arm. Is every weapon this blunt? Kyle wondered as he shot the swordsman again. This time, there was an indication that he hit him. Kyle shot again, this time in a lethal location.
Lv. 27 Bandit Leader Defeated!
Experience Awarded!
Level Ups Available
There was a hit from behind and Kyle spun around to find two more people with knives. "Y-you monster! You killed them!" One of them shouted as they charged Kyle. "I have one thing to say to you," Kyle said as he shot at them. "Don''t bring a knife to a gunfight." He fired several times more to kill them, but they both fell quickly. The last one actually had a sharp weapon, when they cut at him they actually drew blood.
Lv. 20 Bandit Defeated!
Experience Awarded!
Lv. 20 Bandit Defeated!
Experience Awarded!
Level Ups Available
Skill Requirements Met!
Battle Focus Available
Kyle sat down, breathing heavily. I, I just killed some people. His gun clattered to the ground. It wasn''t an animal, they were people. "They tried to kill you," he told himself. "They even told you as much." They didn''t do a very good job though. Only one sharp weapon amongst them? "It was self defense," Kyle whispered. "Self defense." It didn''t make him feel any better. 4: Prisoner Kyle finally calmed down, and began looting the bodies. Kyle didn''t know where he was (though he ws starting to think that maybe this wasn''t Earth, which was a problem) but he was at least pragmatic. They certainly weren''t going to be using their stuff anymore, unless there was a respawn mechanic or easy ressurection. Which I guess I can''t completely rule out... He found that their weapons were actually all sharp, which confused him. Were they not trying to kill him? Hadn''t they hit him with these weapons? He kept the sword and a knife, after all, he''d gone through a lot of bullets in this encounter, and the gun wouldn''t last forever. Heh, that would be a curveball if it did, Kyle thought. It didn''t even work right. Every bandit took multiple shots to bring down. Even the one that I essentially held a gun to his head took three shots to kill, Kyle pondered, trying to make sense of it. I know I don''t miss that much. I''m a pretty good shot. Kyle shrugged. After checking the pockets that weren''t bloodsoaked for valuables he walked over to the places they came out of and pulled his gun back out. Tracking, Kyle thought, and started to look for tracks and traces that they''d passed this way. Oddly, some of the bent branches and things glowed slightly, and it was extremely disconcerting. But it made things a little easier, so he didn''t question it too much and just kept walking. Not long after, he found a clearing with a firepit in front of a cave. The bandit''s camp, he thought, sneaking around the clearing. He tried to see if there were any bandits left in camp as he circled it. He didn''t see any, but he heard some soft weeping from the cave. Kyle slowly crept along the edge of the clearing to the cave, and peeked in. It was dark. He crouched and went in, trying to find a big rock to hide behind while his vision adjusted. "H-hello?" a feminine voice sniffled. "Who''s there?" Kyle finally started to be able to see in the cave, and crept towards the voice. The cave ended in a metal door that was locked on the outside, though a key lay on an outcropping next to it, tucked just out of sight from it''s barred window. "Hello?" the voice tried again, and when Kyle didn''t answer, it shouted. "Let me out, you bastards! You can''t keep me here forever! Whether for ransom or slavery, you have to let me see the sun again at some point!" A clinking sound followed, the sound of chains piling on top of each other. "Please," she whimpered. "Please just let me see the sun again, just once." Kyle froze, pressing against the wall, waiting for a response from bandits whose compatriates he had slain. There was nothing. after several tense minutes of waiting, the voice sighed. "I guess it was just an animal," she said. "My captors must not be back yet." Kyle walked up to the door, and peeked in. Inside the cell sat a young woman, chained to the wall. She may have been tall, but she sat with her knees tucked up against her chest, shaking slightly. She wore a faded yellow shirt and simple brown pants, and her hair was an unkempt mid back length mess of blonde.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
Skill Requirements Met!
Sneaking Available
Kyle nearly jumped as a blue box popped into his vision again. He backed away from the door, but she evidently heard his muffled suprise and looked up at him. Her eyes were a bit bloodshot and despondent, but they locked onto his, and she sneered at him. Kyle frowned. Why was she- Oh. She thought he was one of the bandits. "If I let you out, do you promise not to attack me?" Kyle asked the girl. The girl started, as though she''d never been asked before. Then she frowned, evidently considering it. Then she nodded. "I won''t attack you if you let me out," the girl said in a resigned tone. Kyle walked over to the key, grabbed it, and turned the lock, opening the door. He went into the room, and the girl started again. "You aren''t one of the bandits," she said with surprise. "No," Kyle said. "And if I''m lucky, we can be out before any of them get back or whatever. How many of them were there?" "I think there were five of them?" the girl said. "They might have had some more men in the past, but they''ve fallen on hard times recently. Thus, kidnapping me." She scowled. "Just because I''m a low-level elf. They could sell me for a fair bit on the slave market. We''d been heading in the direction of Dewdrop, I think." Kyle paused in unlocking her manacles. "Five of them? You''re sure?" "I know it''s a lot, but don''t just stop! If they come, they''ll murder you! A mere Lv 2 like yourself couldn''t possibly stand against two of them, let alone all five!" the girl panicked. "There were just the five of them." Kyle repeated. "Yes!" the girl shouted. "That''s what I said!" Kyle laughed a little, and went back to unlocking the manacles. "I guess we can stay here tonight then," he said. "I doubt they''ll be bothering us." Kyle frowned, and looked up at the elf. "How did you know what level I was?" "Uh, I identified you?" the girl said. "Don''t you have Identify?" "Not yet," Kyle admitted. "What''s your name? I''m Kyle." "I''m Millie," the elf said. "You really don''t have Identify? That''s such an easy spell to get, too. Super inexpensive." "Nope," Kyle said. "I''m honestly surprised you speak English. I can only imagine what it would be like for someone who got here from Japan." He stood up, unlocking the last manacle. "And by the way, the bandits are dead." "WHAT!?" Millie yelled. "H-how? When?" "I did it, and I cheated. There''s a reason gun control laws exist." Kyle said. "I just happen to be a licensed carrier." "You killed them? At level 2?" Millie said in disbelief. "Are you some kind of Champion?" "No! Of course no-" Kyle cut himself off as he remembered his title. Champion of Creativity. "Uh, I guess just a little?" "Can you get me home?" Millie asked warily. "I think so, but I''d like to do so tomorrow, if possible. I also want to stop by the car and level up before we leave the immediate vicinity." "OK!"
Quest Requirements Met! - Meet a friendly intelligent
New Quest Available
Kyle grinned. "Don''t worry, I''m sure we''ll get you back home in no time." 5: Tutorial They scoured the camp for edibles. It was starting to get dark, so they started a fire, and began to cook dinner. "So, what kinds of things live around here? Is there anything that we should worry about?" Kyle asked, turning over a foil-wrapped potato. "Um," Millie started. "I don''t really know for sure, but I think there are some jackrabbits that live around here? Um, maybe some owls and wolves? The wolves probably won''t bother us, they don''t enter caves. Besides, you''d wake up immediately if you lost some HP." Kyle nodded, then froze as he heard the last part. "HP? How does that work, anyway?" "Wait, you don''t know?" Millie asked. "How do you not know about HP shields? What else don''t you know about?" "I only got here yesterday," Kyle said irritably. "And the first people I met tried to kill me. It took far too much to kill them, too." "Um," Millie said, shrinking back a bit. "What do you mean, got here yesterday? From where?" "From Earth. I think I was shifted universes," Kyle began. "I and my car ended up stuck in a tree not too far from here, like three quarters of a days walk from here or something. The place I come from has no system, no stats, and no levels. We don''t have an ''HP shield,'' whatever that is. We solve our problems with technology. No magic, either." Millie stared, shocked. "Y-you didn''t have an HP shield? Didn''t you get hurt a lot, then? How would you avoid injury when cooking or something?" "You learn what hurts you. We used hot pads and oven mitts to grab things that were hot, had good knife control, things like that." Kyle explained. "Can we get back to what a HP shield is? I feel like that might be important. ''Shield'' has some connotations that makes it important in combat. I can''t imagine, in a world that has levels, that I''m done fighting things." "Oh! Right," Millie said, embarrassed. "Um, so you havue a pool of HP, right? The normal stat and level multiplier thing. Anyway, you are completely protected from injury while you have some HP. Even 1 HP will shield you from an attack. After your shield is broken, until your HP recovers in full, you can be hurt. Um, I think that''s everything about it?" "OK," Kyle said. "That explains it. So an HP shield is why my gun has been significantly less useful. I was a pretty good shot on Earth, but it seems to matter less here." He thought a bit more. "Oh, that''s why I thought their weaponry was dulled. My HP shield kept me from taking too much damage." "Um, is the food done yet?" Millie interupted him. "Gah!" Kyle quickly pulled the food out of the fire. "Yeah, they should be done. Some of them are probably burned, I''m sorry," Kyle said with a grimace. They ate their meals in silence, and stared at the fire as it slowly burned down to coals. "So," Kyle said, when the silence got too much for him. "Where do you live? What''s it like there?" "I come from a fairly small village, we are barely large enough for a Safe Zone and an Interface. The Interface is nice, but it doesn''t get used a whole lot. Farmers don''t often see events that cause them to level up, and so outside of grinding a dungeon to get to level 20, teenagers are the only ones who use it." "Hold on, an interface?" Kyle interjected. "What''s that?" "You''ve leveled up, you must have used one. You mentioned stopping by your ''car'' to do so, perhaps you have one there?" Millie asked, looking extremely confused. "Oh, so my car is an interface now, I guess," Kyle said. Millie nodded, looking much relieved. "So, we''re mostly farmers, with a couple of guards to take care of monsters that get too close. I-I was tracking a monster to see if it would be close enough to cause trouble when I got kidnapped." She was starting to cry again. "I-I hope that th-they''re alright," Millie sniffled. "It''s okay, we''ll run to the car tomorrow morning, and then we''ll head off to your hometown. Don''t worry to much about it, let''s just avoid running into trouble before then, I think I''m starting to run low on ammo, and my swordsmanship likely leaves much to be desired," Kyle said, then yawned. "We should get some sleep." Kyle grabbed a bedroll from within a tent, then headed into the cave to settle in for the night.
The next morning, they got up, grabbed some trail rations they''d found from their sweep of the camp the night before, then set off towards the car. Kyle asked Millie to take the lead tracking to get them back to the spot that Kyle had fought the bandits, as he expected it would be faster. Once they got there, Kyle was much relieved that not only was his stick still there, but the line he had drawn had yet to vanish. After grabbing a knife and mostly clean cloak for Millie, they made good time as they followed the line in the dirt. A couple of hours later, much faster than heading out had been, they stood below the car. "You could come up too, if you want," Kyle offered as he climbed. "I could use your advice." "N-no!" Millie said, appalled. "I would never dream of spying on a Champion''s character sheet, let alone advising them on their build!" "OK," Kyle sighed. "I just know I''m going to make some terrible mistakes." He clambered in through the window. Perhaps for the last time, Kyle thought, and pressed the level up button.
Name: Kyle Montegomery Level: 8
Strength 10 HP: 19/19
Dexterity 11This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Mana: 21/21
Constitution 11 Stamina: 19/19
Speed 11 VP: 2
Intelligence 12 Titles:
Creatively 18 Otherworlder
Charisma 10 Champion of Creativity
Available Stat points: 6 Available Skill Slots: 7 Available Classes: 1
Kyle loooked over it, then added two points to creativity, just to bring it up to an even 20, and then dumped the rest into constitution. If he was going to get in more fights, and without a gun, he was going to need that HP shield.
Name: Kyle Montegomery Level: 8
Strength 10 HP: 27/27
Dexterity 11 Mana: 21/21
Constitution 15 Stamina: 27/27
Speed 11 VP: 2
Intelligence 12 Titles:
Creatively 20 Otherworlder
Charisma 10 Champion of Creativity
Available Stat points: 0 Available Skill Slots: 7 Available Classes: 1
Kyle frowned. Those numbers for his HP, they were much higher than he thought they should be. He poked his head out the window and shouted to Millie. "What is the rule for HP?" "Constitution plus level times constitution divided by 10!" Millie shouted back. "Thanks!" Kyle ducked back in. So that was it. He siped over to skills.
Skills Available Skills
Anything you can do, I can do better (Unique) Aiming
Tracking Tracking
[Empty] Battle Focus
[Empty] Sneaking
[Empty] Cooking
[Empty]
[Empty]
[Empty]
[Empty]
Kyle added Battle Focus and Sneaking, then closed everything.
Are you sure you want these changes?
Yes No
Kyle pressed yes, and another box appeared.
Congratulations!
You have completed the Quest: Tutorial Reward: 10 VP
Quest: Building a Party (I)
You have befriended a friendly intelligent, and have participated in combat against intelligent adversaries. The power of group tactics has been impressed upon you by force. Recruit your friend and increase their prowess! To complete this quest, add Millie to your party. Offered by: Arcana Rewards: 15 VP
Yes No
Quest: Safe and Sound
You have befriended a friendly intelligent by freeing them from bondage. I request that you take my follower back to her village, so she may once again enjoy peace. To complete this quest, return Millie to her village safely. Offered by: Light Rewards: Identify, 5 VP
Yes No
Kyle smiled, pressed yes twice, and climbed down. "Alright," he said as he passed Millie. "Lets go to your town." 6: Information Exchange "So, if we were to be attacked, how well would you be able to defend yourself?" Kyle asked Millie as they walked down the road. "N-not well," Millie said nervously. "Do you think we''re going to be attacked?" Kyle sighed. "It was a hypothetical. Based on my extremely limited experience of this world thus far, I''d guess that we will be attacked, but if you''ve not been attacked on this road before, we should be fine." "So you think we''re going to be attacked!" Millie cried. "No, not really," Kyle said, trying to calm Millie down a little. "I just want to be aware of our resources and chances if we are." "O-ok. Status: Skills," Millie said. "I have the Standard Array of skills, plus Tracking, Archery, Planting, Animal Care, and two low-level damage spells," she listed. "So, in other words, if we get attacked by something smart enough to not go after us one at a time, we''re screwed," Kyle summarized. "Should we get ganged up on, I don''t think we could win." "B-but you took down the bandits easily enough, right?" Millie asked. "I cheated," Kyle put bluntly. "And they were stupid. Almost every one of them came at me by themselves, and gave me time to kill the others before they actually did much. If they had all charged at once, I wouldn''t have had a chance. The other part of it is that I have a gun, which is extremely dangerous. Unfortunately, I think I''m running low on bullets, so using that to win is no longer something I want to do unless death is the other option." He''d grabbed his spare clip, but until he either got home or found a replacement, he didn''t want to use it any more than he needed. "What''s a gun?" Millie asked curiously. "Why is it so dangerous?" "This is a gun," Kyle said, pulling it out to show her, then putting it back. "It is essentially a high-power crossbow. What''s the standard array of skills? Are there any combat related skills in there?" "I think Identify is the only skill that is combat related in the standard array," Millie said. "The Standard Array is the combination of Identify, Status, Mana Sight, Mana Manipulation, Inventory, and List Inventory. It''s a set of quality of life skills and a way to help you learn skills better." "How do they help you learn skills better?" Kyle asked. "Um, so several skills use mana to power them, and so Mana Sight lets you see what they''re doing, and if you can copy it successfully a couple of times then The System rewards you with the skill. Mana Manipulation makes it easier to do that, but everyone just buys that skill. People buy Mana Sight fairly often too, but people also learn it naturally by using a pair of Mana Sight goggles," Millie explained. "Can Identify work on skills?" Kyle asked. "Is there some way to get a description of skills?"This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. "Yes, but most Interfaces nowadays have the Identify (System) built into them. It''s a separate skill from the regular Identify," Millie said. "Identify shows a person''s Level, Race, Class, HP and Mana. I''ve heard there''s an advanced version that can show you people''s skills, but I''ve never seen it." Kyle nodded, looking thoughtful. "Are you going for a Mage, or a Ranger? Is the Archery something you want to have as a primary method of attack, or would you rather do spellcasting?" "Um, t-that''s a rather personal question, isn''t it?" Millie said "I only told you my skills because you said that it was for if we got attacked, so you would know how to best help. It''s rather rude to ask people about their stats and skills." Oh, it is?" Kyle said, surprised. "I didn''t know that. I''m sorry, in my world, we don''t have a system, but we do have games that have very similar mechanics. We didn''t find it rude, but we would sometimes undersell ourselves to surprise either our friends or enemies. It was fun to surprise my friends with a powerful skill that I kept hidden until we were close to losing." He grinned. "They took to asking if I had any surprises for them when we were getting into bad situations in boss fights." "Do you have any surprises here?" Millie asked. "I don''t think so. Would you like to know my current skills?" Kyle offered. "It''s only fair, since I know yours." "Yes, please!" Millie squeaked excitedly. "I''ve never gotten to hear a Champion''s skills before!" "Whelp, I also have Tracking, I got a little bit lucky there. My other skills are Sneaking and Battle Focus," Kyle said. "I am a pretty good shot with a gun, but that isn''t a System skill, and if you show me what to do, than I can usually do it." "And you''re a human, right?" Millie asked. "Yes, last I checked," Kyle confirmed. "So your racial skill should be Fast Learning," Millie said, nodding. "It allows you to learn a skill after only preforming it once." "Racial skill?" Kyle said, confused. "Does each race have a racial skill?" "Yes," Millie said. "Each race gets a zeroth level skill. Elves get Mana Manipulation, humans get Fast Learning, halflings get Inventory, and so forth. Several of the skills in the Standard Array come from the racial skills." "Huh, that would explain why I got the skills I have so easily," Kyle said. "Thanks." "You''re welcome?" Millie responded, confused. They walked in silence for some time, following the road. As they did, Kyle contemplated his two quests regarding Millie. I''ve already told her a lot about my position, and she''s helped me a lot in return. It sounds like she''s currently sitting in a ranger playstyle, which fits her background. Hunting in the woods as an elf is pretty much exactly what I would expect for the background of a ranger. All she would need to complete the set is an animal companion. Regardless of whether she goes full spellcaster or ranger, she would likely be useful if she can get over her shyness. Kyle nodded. "Would you like to join my party?" He asked her. "W-wait, what?" Millie stammered, eyes wide. "I-I don''t have any useful abilities! I can''t fight! I''m not any good at anything!" "From what you''ve told me, you currently sit in the ranger archetype," Kyle explained. "That''s basically a hunter with a couple of spells. You can track, I can get you Sneaking, you have Archery, and that''s just filling in the blanks of what you can do right now. If you wanted to go for a dedicated spellcaster, then you just have to learn some more and higher damage spells. I don''t currently have anyone in my party at the moment, and so I can fill in the blanks around whatever you decided on. I''m still only level 8, so I''m not even that good at things myself." "B-but-" "If you don''t want to, that''s fine. We''re going to your village either way. I should probably also warn you a little about what I''ve experienced so far," Kyle said, then gave a quick explanation of the contest and the quests. "Again," he said as he finished. "If you don''t want to join me, that''s fine. I''ll still see you through to your village safely. So, do you want to join me?" "C-can I wait until after we get to the village to decide?" Millie asked. "Of course," Kyle agreed. "We wouldn''t want you rushing in without careful consideration." As they crested a hill, Kyle saw the top of a wall over the next hill. "Is that it?" he asked. "Yes!" Millie said, excited, and began to run towards it. Kyle chuckled, and jogged after her. 7: Village Kyle looked around as he approached the village walls, noticing that for what Kyle had thought was a farming village, there was a conspicuous lack of fields. He reached the gates, and noticed that Millie seemed to have already gone inside. "Halt! Who goes there?" a voice called from the top of the wall. Kyle craned his neck, but couldn''t make out the speaker. "Just a displaced locksmith, I hope you''ll allow me to come inside?" "We don''t need a locksmith!" scoffed the voice. "Go back to where you came from!" "I would love to, but I don''t actually know where I am. I would just like to come in and find a map, make sure that Millie got back safely, and then I''ll be on my way," He paused. "I heard there''s an Interface in town, I might use it before leaving." "Millie is fine. She came in talking about how some Champion had saved her or some such nonsense, and said that they''d be following her. I don''t know, but you don''t really look much like a Champion. Is there a Champion following you?" the voice chuckled. "As if." "No, or, at least, I hope that there isn''t a Champion following me. That would probably be bad for me, I think we might be in a competition against each other." Kyle said. "Hah! A locksmith, in competition with a Champion? Is locksmithing their hobby or something? I can''t imagine that a Champion would be unable to beat you," the voice said. "Who are you shouting at?" Millie asked. Kyle almost couldn''t hear her. "Just some low-level Classless human locksmith," the voice growled. "Not worth letting in, after the human bandits that have been roaming around for a while, stirring up trouble." "May I see? It might be Kyle, though I don''t remember him saying anything about being a locksmith," Millie said. A head peeked over the wall, then quickly ducked back. "It''s him!" "Who?" the voice asked. "Wait, don''t open it, that''s my job!" "Kyle, the Champion who rescued me. He killed the bandits at level two!" Millie said. "He what! Quick, open it! I don''t want him to be mad at me!" the voice said. "I thought that you wanted to do it yourself," Millie said in a slight sing-song tone. "Just shut up and help!" The gate made a slight grinding sound as it opened, and Kyle walked through. "Thanks Millie!" he said, looking up. "And, whatever your name is, guard, you might want to think about-" "I''m sorry, I''m sorry! Please forgive me Champion Kyle, I''ll do whatever you ask!" the guard exclaimed. "I was just trying to say the gate might need to be oiled," Kyle said, taken aback. "That grinding sound doesn''t seem like it''s something you would want from a gate." "Of course, Champion, I''ll go get some right away!" A door opened atop the wall and a guard stepped out, heading for the stairs. "You might wait until the gate is closed first!" Kyle yelled. "Safety first, people!" The guard jumped, stumbled, and caught themselves before heading back to the gatehouse. The gates began to swing closed once again. Millie ran out of the guardhouse and down the stairs to Kyle as quickly as she could, grinning and a little out of breath. "Sorry about that," She said as they started walking into town.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. "Don''t worry about it," Kyle said. "If the bandits have been as bad as it sounds, it was a reasonable precaution. Why are the fields on the inside of the walls?" "Oh, it''s to keep the monsters from ruining the crops," Millie said. "Do you not do that where you''re from? How do you protect your fields from monsters trying to get at you, then?" "We don''t have monsters where I come from. At least, not the non-human variety," Kyle responded. "The human variety of monster isn''t likely to ruin crops, nor to try and kill people as indiscriminately. Why don''t we go let people know you''re safe?" "Oh, right." By the time they got to Millie''s parent''s house, Kyle had gotten a lot of weird looks. As the only human in the elven village, it was kind of inevitable. Millie knocked on the door, and gave her parents a big hug when they opened the door. Kyle smiled at the sight. They waved him in, and they entered.
Congratulations!
You have completed the Quest: Safe and Sound Reward: Identify, 5 VP
Kyle grinned. Step One complete. Now I just need to recruit her and I''ll get even more victory points for things I would have pretty much done anyway. "We can''t thank you enough," Millie''s mom said. "Let us know if there''s anything we can do for you." "I need someone to teach me the Standard Array, a map, and to use the Interface afterwards. Do you think you can help me with that?" Kyle asked. "Of course!" Millie''s dad said, getting up. "I think we have a map somewhere, let me go get it." "Would you be willing to stay for dinner?" "Probably healthier than my car snacks," Kyle said, and grimaced jokingly. Millie''s mom snorted, and stood up and went to set an extra place at the table. *** *** *** Kyle woke up and found the map by his bed. He picked it up and studied it for bit, then stuck it in his pocket.
Congratulations!
You have completed the Quest: Civilization Reward: +1 level, 5 VP
Level Up Available!
Kyle blinked it away. "Kind of forgot about the level up..." He walked out, and waved to Millie''s parents. "Is there anything I can do to help this morning? I''d like to get the Standard Array as quickly as possible, and helping you is the best way to do that." "Ah, yes," Millie''s dad said. "We have some goats that need to be milked, and an extra pail, can you help with that?" "Of course! Just show me what to do."
Skill Requirements Met!
Milking Available!
Kyle followed Millie''s dad to the skill shop. Apparently, you could buy skills. Some mage discovered how to encapsulate knowledge in a scroll some time ago, but it was only cheap for the simpler skills, and so Mana Sight and Mana Manipulation, along with ones that simply pinged the system for info, were there, but the other skills were prohibitively expensive. "Mana Sight and Mana Manipulation please." Millie''s dad said to the cashier. "Mana Manipulation? Why do you need-" "It''s for the Champion here. He''s new." Millie''s dad interrupted. "Ah. I only have the one Mana Manipulation, because everyone here is an elf. But If you can pay for it..." the cashier said. "But of course." Millie''s dad said, handing over several coins in exchange for the two scrolls. "Thank you very much." They went to the Interface, and Millie''s dad handed Kyle the scrolls. "How do I use these? Just read them?" Kyle asked. "Oh. Yeah, that''s how it works. Just read it and you''ll absorb it, making the skill available." Millie''s dad confirmed. Kyle sat down and read the scrolls.
Skill Requirements Met!
Mana Sight Available!
Skill Requirements Met!
Mana Manipulation Available!
Kyle stood up and walked over to the Interface. 8: Interface The Interface was a pedestal with a pink crystal surface. It glowed a little, reminding "Just place your hand on the crystal, and your options will appear in the air in front of you. Just tap what you want to use. Its really quite intuitive," Millie''s dad told Kyle. Kyle nodded, then placed his hand on the crystal. There was a hum, and a light screen appeared in the air in front of him.
Name: Kyle Montegomery Level: 9 Identify (System)
Level Up Skills Classes
He tapped skills.
Skills Available Skills
Anything you can do, I can do better (Unique) Aiming
Tracking Tracking
Battle Focus Battle Focus
Sneaking Sneaking
[Empty] Cooking
[Empty] Mana Sight
[Empty] Mana Manipulation
[Empty] Milking
[Empty] Identify
[Empty]
Kyle selected Mana Manipulation, Identify, and Mana Sight, then confirm. A box that he''d never seen before popped up after the confirmation notice.
Attention! Unique Skill Anything you can do, I can do better incomplete. Merge with Mana Sight and Mana Manipulation?
Yes No
"What are the differences?" Kyle said, mostly rhetorical.
Attention! Unique Skill Anything you can do, I can do better incomplete. Merging will complete the skill, but other skills will be lost and changed. Merge with Mana Sight and Mana Manipulation?
Yes No
With a bit of trepidation, Kyle pressed yes. There was a flash, and the Interface went dark for a second, then the slight glow gradually returned. Kyle set his hand on the Interface again, and selected Identify.
Name: Kyle Montegomery Level: 9
Strength 10 HP: 28/28
Dexterity 11 Mana: 22/22
Constitution 15 Stamina: 28/28
Speed 11 VP: 22
Intelligence 12 Titles:
Creatively 20 Otherworlder
Charisma 10 Champion of Creativity
Available Stat points: 1A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Available Skill Slots: 6 Available Classes: 1
Kyle pressed Skills, and the Skill screen came up.
Skills Available Skills
Anything you can do, I can do better (Unique) (Complete) Aiming
Tracking Tracking
Battle Focus Battle Focus
Sneaking Sneaking
Identify Cooking
[Empty] Milking
[Empty] Identify
[Empty]
[Empty]
[Empty]
Pressing on his unique skill, Kyle finally got a description of what it did.
Anything you can do, I can do better (Unique)
This skill is unique to the otherworlder. Unique skills come to otherworlders when they come to this world, a skill that mirrors their personality, drive, or desires. This skill allows the user to learn a skill after using it just once successfully. It also allows one to learn a skill merely by watching someone else do it. This was initially restricted to physical skills only, but has since been merged with Mana Sight and Mana Manipulation, completing the skill and allowing it to copy both physical and magical abilities. If mana is pushed into the skill, Mana Sight is active beyond seeing skills. Seeing skills with Mana Sight is always on. (Skills must still be slotted in to be used.)
Kyle stared at the message. He read it again and again. "That can''t be right." He turned to Millie''s dad. "Can I see you use Inventory?" "I guess?" Millie''s dad reached out, a cloud of purple gathering around his hand, from which he pulled a sword.
Skill Requirements Met!
Inventory Available
"That is utterly ridiculous," Kyle said. "I can apparently learn skills by watching people do them." "Wait, what?" Millie''s dad said. "What about this one?" He snapped his fingers, creating a small flame spontaneously.
Skill Requirements Met!
Spark Available
"Spark? I presume that it starts fires..." Kyle said. "You''re right, that''s ridiculous," Millie''s dad said. "Here, I''ll show you the rest of the Standard Array."
Skill Requirements Met!
Status Available
List Inventory Available
Mana Sight Available
Mana Manipulation Available
Kyle went back to the Interface and pulled up Skills, slotting in the whole Standard Array except Mana Sight. Mana Manipulation would allow him to do skills without needing to use a skill slot, but Mana Sight was literally built into his skill now. Nothing else he had available felt useful. He confirmed, then went to level up. He could have done classes, but Kyle really didn''t want to deal with an extra level of craziness right now. Plus, with only one option, he wanted to find some additional options to provide a backdrop of possibilities. Kyle nodded, then placed his point in intelligence. He felt like it was fairly likely that he was going to be using mana a lot in the future.
Name: Kyle Montegomery Level: 9
Strength 10 HP: 28/28
Dexterity 11 Mana: 22/22
Constitution 15 Stamina: 28/28
Speed 11 VP: 22
Intelligence 12 Titles:
Creatively 20 Otherworlder
Charisma 10 Champion of Creativity
Available Stat points: 0 Available Skill Slots: 1 Available Classes: 1
Now, what are these Titles? Kyle thought.
Otherworlder
This title is exclusive to otherworlders. Provides translation to the native language of the otherworlder, and translates their speech to the language of the ones they are speaking to. Provides a unique skill to the otherworlder when they come to this world, that mirrors their personality, drive, or desires. This skill supplants their innate racial skill.
Champion of Creativity
This title marks you as a champion for the God of Creativity. Benefit: maximum natural value for personal best stat increased from 20 to 25. (stat: Creativity) Also grants access to the victory point quest system if the title Otherworlder is possessed. This is only with regards to natural stat value, and the maximum it can reach through training. Stats gained through levels are unaffected. When chosen as Champion, the god may replace the racial or unique skill of the champion. Original skill: N/A
"Champion of Creativity seems rather useless," Kyle said, thinking aloud. "All it really does is give me access to the game I didn''t ask to play." He checked out the rest of his skills, and learned that Tracking was both a passive and active skill, if he pushed mana into it, then the tracks and trail of a quarry would glow. Battle Focus was strictly passive, it would help focus his mind on the fight when in one, and Sneaking was similar to Tracking. If he pushed mana into Sneaking, he and his gear would shift colors towards that of the background. The remainder of the skills did exactly what they sounded like, the Standard Array being a simple group of skills. Kyle closed the Interface windows, and walked back over to Millie''s dad. "Thank you for helping me," Kyle said. "Where to next?" 9: Adventurers Guild
New Quests Available!
Really? Kyle thought. After I did all the Interface stuff, now is the time that you give me that notification? I''ll deal with it before I leave, but I''m not going back immediately. "Was there anything else that you needed to do?" asked Millie''s dad. "Not that I can think of. Is there anything that I can do to help the town in general, or to earn some coin?" Kyle asked. "I only recently arrived, and so I don''t have any locally accepted currency." "You could try the Adventurer''s Guild," Millie''s dad suggested. "They usually have some jobs available for people who can fight or hunt. I''ll show you the way." With that, they headed out. The Adventurer''s Guild building was ostentatious, at least in comparison to the rest of the town. It had pillars in front with gold leafing near the top, a large set of double doors in the center, and white marble steps leading up to it. Kyle hated the incongruity instantly. He walked up to the door, noting the crest carved into the middle of the doors, a ring radiating like a sun, with a sword in the center. Taking a deep breath, Kyle walked inside. "Welcome!" a woman called from behind a very large counter in the entrance hall. A streak of dark blue shot from her eyes, bounced off of Kyle and back to her before settling into a transparent, flat surface in front of the elf''s eyes. "You must be new here. What can I do for you?" Hmm, Kyle thought, considering what had just happened. Identify, maybe? "Did you just Identify me?" Kyle asked. "Y-yes. It''s just so hard to remember peoples names!" the woman said. "It also helps me figure out when someone is coming in to sign up or something." She looked a little embarrassed and perhaps a shade scared. "Ok. I wondered what the skill you had just used was, since it had to be one I already had access to," Kyle responded. "Based on what I could see, it was most likely Identify." Everyone stared. "What? You must have seen it too, you both have Mana Sight, right?" "Mana Sight requires it''s user to push mana through the skill to be activated," Millie''s dad said. "And while that mana pattern is rather distinct..." "That you had Mana Sight on is surprising," the elf at the front desk finished. "And borderline paranoid." "Oh," Kyle said. "Well, as you said, I''m new to the area, and I don''t have any currency to spend. I''m looking for a job to earn some with. Do you have anything fairly easy that I might be able to do?"Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. "Um, let''s see," she opened a drawer of some kind and began riffling through papers. "How good are you at defending yourself?" "Fairly good?" Kyle responded. "I think that my definition is likely to be a fair bit different than yours. Why?" "Most of the ongoing easy stuff, or just easy requests, are in the forest," the receptionist responded. "Sometimes there are dangerous animals that attack people." "Ah," Kyle said, considering. "I think I can handle a couple of wild animals." She continued looking through papers, then growled. "Sort!" The papers were struck by a cloud of white, and the papers were lifted, and spread themselves across the desk in orderly piles.
Skill Requirements Met!
Sort Available
Kyle rolled his eyes. Not a skill I think I would use often. Well, actually... "Does that work on like, ingredients or weapons?" The receptionist started. "I don''t know. I''ve never tried it on those. I don''t see why it wouldn''t, it might even work on mixed ingredients... Thank you!" "...You''re welcome? For what?" "If this works, then I don''t have to worry the next time I miscount my dry ingredients!" the elf said. "That will save so many meals, you have no idea." "Miscount salt a lot or something?" "You literally couldn''t mess up more than I do," the woman agreed, looking at the piles. "Aha!" she picked up one pile of papers and handed it to Kyle. "This pile should be stuff you''ll be able to do and be interested in." "Identify works on plants, right?" Kyle asked. "Of course!" "Thank you. What''s your name?" "Lisa," the receptionist said. "Yours?" "I''m Kyle," He said, taking the pile and began looking through it. "I''ll see you later?" "Looking forward to it," Lisa smirked. "Wait, do I need to register or something?" Kyle asked. "Wait, you don''t have an ID from another branch or something?" Lisa said, shocked. "Then of course you need to register!" She opened other drawers and began pulling out more papers. "Here. Please fill out these forms, and then we can officially register you as an adventurer." "Inventory," Kyle said, putting the initial stack into his new extra-dimensional space. "Um, do you have a pen, or something?" "Oh, of course." Lisa opened another drawer, then handed Kyle a quill and filled inkwell with a cork in it. "Here you go." It took a while for Kyle to get the hang of writing with a feather instead of a pen, and it kept running out of ink and dripping onto the papers when he dipped the quill in the inkwell. He got it done though, and was soon a member of the guild, and could get paid for the requests he had been given.
Skill Requirements Met!
Scribe Available
Another useless skill. Unless it is essentially printing, but I probably still won''t use it. Kyle thought. "Thank you very much, Lisa," Kyle said. "I''ll get this application processed while you''re out." Lisa looked a little embarrassed from the gratitude. Kyle waved to Lisa and Millie''s dad and headed out of the building- -just to run into a messenger running the other way. Kyle held the door open for the out of breath person, and followed him back in. This could be interesting. "Oh good," gasped the messenger. "It''s you, *gasp* Lisa. Gather the *gasp* adventurers, there''s a *gasp* monster approaching *gasp* the gates." 10: Monster "Of course, right away," Lisa said immediately, no nonsense whatsoever in her voice. "Sort." The papers on her desk piled themselves on a corner of the desk, and she put her hand on a runic circle burned into the desk. "Mana Manipulation." A warping of the air around Lisa''s arm was pushed into the circle and the entire building began to glow red. Lisa spoke, and the building boomed with her voice. "Adventurers. There is a monster approaching the gates." "Level is 35, its some multi-headed green snake with legs," The guard said, looking slightly better. At least he isn''t panting anymore, Kyle thought. That was a quick recovery on that wise, although panting was always the easy thing to get rid of. A couple of seconds to breathe and focus and you go back to normal breathing. Level of the monster is 35, monster is unknown, description is that of a multi-headed green snake with legs. All adventurers present, please group up in the reception area with your party if you have one, Those without a party, find a party you can work with. we head out in three minutes." Lisa removed her hand from the circle and stopped channeling mana as people began clattering into the room, carrying or in the process of equipping various weapons, armor, and shields. "How much mana does it take to power that?" Kyle asked Lisa. "A fair amount. The paths for the mana to go through are pretty efficient, but the enchantment still takes a good 10 mana per second to maintain, and 20 mana just to start it," Lisa replied in an exhausted voice. "Fortunately, my creativity is high enough that I can regenerate my mana pretty quickly." So Creativity corresponds with Wisdom in most games, dictating mana recovery. "What stat dictates stamina recovery?" Kyle asked, ignoring the expressions of shock on all the people close enough to hear him. "People have wondered if there is a hidden stat that decides that, but most people think that it is just the Constitution stat, which neatly explains why it always takes the same amount of time for stamina to recover in full," Lisa said. "Now, I believe that I have a adventurers to lead, so either come along or stop distracting me." Kyle nodded, and turned to Millie''s dad. "Will you be helping them as well?" "Oh no, I''d only get in the way," Millie''s dad exclaimed. "My build is pretty well optimized for farming and the occasional wilderness survival trip." Kyle followed Lisa as she walked over to help someone get their armor together. "Could you do Sort, and hold it just before release? I think helping some of these people by sorting their armor could be useful, but I don''t have time to go add it right now. I think I can copy it with Mana Manipulation." "I guess," Lisa said. "Sort! Mana Manipulation!" A small web of white mist snapped into being in front of her hand, pointing at a suit of armor piled on the ground in front of a large elf with an even larger sword. "Mana Manipulation," Kyle said. On a hunch, he pulled on feelings of order and created an Identical web of white mist, and tied it off. "Thanks. You can let it resolve now, I built my own template." Lisa shrugged and the web flew at the pile and laid it out on the floor, looking a little like someone had decided to take a nap there. Kyle walked around, finding the worst piles of armor that people had and building a second copy of the spell to release at it. On his fifth copy, though, he felt completely drained. somehow. Kyle found one last catastrophe, released his prototype, and went back to Lisa, just in time for her to say that they were leaving. Kyle followed the throng of adventurers out and over to the gate with a little apprehension, jogging to the beat of his heartbeat and a booming knock that gradually got louder as they approached.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Some groups got together as they arrived at the gate, and their leaders said something that created a blue web of connections that connected each person with the other members of their team.
Skill Requirements Met!
Create Party Available
That seems useful, Kyle thought. I wonder if it''s an experience share or a chat function. I suppose it could be both. They moved towards the stairs of the wall, and the gate splintered inward, revealing a very large monster. Kyle was mildly impressed by his reaction time as he nearly instantly raised his pistol and fired into the monster. Unfortunately, the next sound he heard was of an empty click as Kyle realized the massive snake-lizard had just tanked the last bullet of this clip. Great. That''s the last thing I needed, Kyle thought. then the other adventurers attacked.
Skill Requirements Met!
Icicle Blast Available
Scorching Ray Available
Frozen Shackles Available
Windslice Available
Kyle turned away from the sudden strobe of headache inducing lights and mist that flew at the beast, focusing on reloading his gun with his backup clip. The only one left. I have to make these count. 18 shots. He turned back to the monster, which was snapping at the adventurers around it, who were smacking it with swords.
Skill Requirements Met!
Swordplay Available
Suddenly, one of the hits drew blood. "Alright everyone, go for the kill!" shouted Lisa. Many incoherent shouts followed, and the adventurers'' weapons shone as they struck at the beast again.
Skill Requirements Met!
Vorpal Slice Available
Dance of the Flaming Edge Available
Extended Slash Available
Sever Available
The monster lost its heads and legs, crashing to the ground. Then, the necks and legs bulged, and the appendages multiplied.
Skill Requirements Met!
Multiplicative Regeneration Available
"Its a Hydra!" Kyle shouted, and pointed to the only stump of neck that hadn''t grown anything. "If you cauterize the wound after you make it, or probably even cause the wound with a fire skill, then it won''t be able to regenerate. Whoever used Dance of the Flaming Edge, keep doing so. Everyone else, focus on burning the wounds that are caused." One of the adventurers looked at Kyle with a startled expression, as the others stepped back to pull out torches or ready spells. The one who remained behind dodged a head and slashed it off, his sword bursting alight as he did so. Some of those with torches spoke with those without, and then stepped forward again, slashing at the hydra. A barrage of spells followed each time a head was severed. Kyle raised his pistol, taking a shuddering breath. In, and out. Can''t afford to hit anyone else. He aimed, taking another deep breath, and fired into the hydra''s eye.
Lv. 35 Hydra Defeated!
Experience Awarded!
Level Up Available