《Scourge of the System》 Welcome to the System Local Transplant¡­¡­¡­OK Inhabitants¡­¡­. OK Designated World¡­¡­¡­...OK Destination Co-ordinates¡­¡­¡­...ERROR! ERROR! ERROR! Error resolved Destination Co-ordinates¡­¡­ Confirmed Noah woke up with a start, something felt off. When he went to sleep that night it was to the sound of a quietly running stream and the buzz of insectile nightlife. Now, however, sunlight stabbed into his eyes as he sat up. Vibrant greenery surrounded him and he felt how high the humidity was, very different from the lake district where he was originally camping. System integration achieved Welcome to the system ¡°The Fuck! What was that!¡± Please remain calm as your stats are allocated Stat allocation complete, please say the word; status ¡°whatever you are, I don¡¯t know why you want me to say status, but I wo..¡± Noah trailed off as a screen popped into existence in front of him
Level: 1 TotalStolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
Strength 5
Dexterity 6
Constitution 8
Endurance 7
Wisdom 7
Perception 4
Charisma 5
Would you like to start the system tutorial, please answer yes or no ¡°I have stats now? Holy shit! This is amazing, hopefully the starting stats are out of 10, ¡®cause if so I¡¯m not doing so badly¡± ¡°Yes, start the tutorial please¡± He figured it couldn¡¯t hurt to be polite to the seemingly all powerful disembodied voice Defence shield activated during tutorial phase Virtual field spinning up Virtual field generated The area around Noah shimmered as a what looked like a force field appeared, then in an instant everything went black Before the system was created, two ancient yet warring civilisations existed, their technological might had spawned creations that have not seen the light of day in the minds of any being since. These civilisations waged a raging war across galaxies, the destruction was unimaginable. Thousands of years passed, and the conflict only grew, galaxies went dark from the titanic powers the two unleashed. Seeing the devastation caused the two met under diplomatic talks. They agreed to stop the wholesale destruction and slaughter and worked together to create the System. The agreement between the two was such that every member old enough to hold a weapon was to be inducted into the System. This system would train warriors and every 10 years the top warrior from either side would battle. Millenia later, here you stand Noah Clark. Neither side has agreed on a final winner of the battles and both have expanded and claim Earth as their own. ¡°That really doesn¡¯t sound good¡± It is not, it is an unfortunate predicament You have been modified to accept the new rules of the system. As you struggle you will gain experience. This experience will level you up and give you new, possibly unique abilities. You and a small portion around you have been transported to Daltomir Prime. It is a Hellworld in a solar system far from Earth. Struggle and fight with all your might and you will survive, do not and die a short inconsequential death. Over the millennia the ruling classes have decided to watch the struggle of newly integrated species. Once the tutorial ends you will find a small metallic orb. It will relay your fight to the database. It will also answer basic queries. You have also been provided with a randomly generated survival pack. The contents are suitable for your locale. You have your first quest Survive ¨C Reach the civilisation shown on your map With those last words the jungle faded back into existence and the faintly shimmering field lowered. Sound crashed back into the clearing, primal noise assaulting his ears ¡°Shit.¡± Chapter 2 - Survival Terrifying roars echoing in the distance as Noah stumbled in shock almost running into his camping tent that was still pegged into the ground. ¡°This has got to be a practical joke or something, this cant be happening¡± He frantically checked his satellite phone, only to be greeted with a no signal tone. As the shock started wearing off a bit, Noah started to think more like his usual pragmatic self. ¡°Well if this is a practical joke, it¡¯s amazingly done, and I¡¯ve definitely been got, but if it¡¯s not¡­ Then I need to get my ass in gear¡± ¡°First things first what do we have here¡± As he gazed around the clearing the blaring green of the jungle assaulted his senses and his eyes rested on an unfamiliar combination of items. ¡°Ah they must be the survival gear and that¡­ helper orb? That the voice mentioned. Let¡¯s see what I¡¯ve been given¡± He started rummaging through the rucksack and pulled out a machete, spare clothes, a flick knife, a fire striker, two canteens of water and a packaged collection of assorted foods. ¡°Ok, ok, that¡¯s not a bad selection, looks like there is enough food for a few days, hopefully this civilisation is close.¡± ¡°Jackpot! I still have the bag for the tent, hmm, I glad I got the quick set-up one now.¡± ¡°hmm that voice got me to see a stat screen, I wonder if other ones exist, how about this¡± ¡°Inventory!¡±
Inventory
Machete
Assorted Spare Clothes
Flick Knife
3 Days Packaged Food
Fire Striker
Camping tent
2 Canteens of WaterUnauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.
¡°Holy shit, that¡¯s amazing!¡± Noah reached down and picked up the metallic orb and gazed at it intently, slowly turning it in his hands. The surface was so smooth that it didn¡¯t look like the orb was moving at all
Skill Gained Identify [Level 1]
Through careful study of an object you can work out the rudimentary nature of it.
A small tingling sensation started happening behind Noah¡¯s eyes quickly intensifying to nearly unbearable levels, and then, as quickly as it started it was over ¡°Well damn, this is so similar to some tabletop games¡± He quickly refocused on the orb and concentrated hard on seeing anything that he missed in his first look through A new screen popped up in front of his eyes
Identify succeeded
Assistance AI Device given to new recruits to acclimatise them to the system
A harsh light shone from the depths of the AI and a sharp voice came out ¡°Move!¡± Reacting on instinct and no little shock from the actions of the AI, Noah threw himself backwards landing hard on his back A Gigantic shimmering shape flew past him, hissing madly. The snake landed softly and quickly turned to launch a new attack ¡°AHH SHIT SHIT SHIT!¡± Noah started frantically rummaging around in the rucksack searching for a weapon. As the snake launched itself towards him again, he rolled to the side narrowly dodging it and miraculously pulling the machete out of the sack as he did so.
Skill Gained Dodging [level 1]
You have learnt the art of dodging basic attacks
Noah quickly clambered to his feet and waved the machete menacingly in the snake¡¯s general direction ¡°Sweet, a new skill, Now I just need one for better weapon control¡± Suddenly the snake vanished from view, the hair prickling on the back of his neck, Noah twisted to the side and swung, the edge of the machete biting into an invisible body. The snake screeched in pain and surprise bursting back into visibility as it fell away from him.
Skill Gained Intuition [Level 1]
You have learned to listen to your gut feeling
Noah leapt after the snake hacking and swinging away. The edge of the machete was starting to blunt itself on the scales of the stunned snake, the natural armour protecting from the weapon ¡°Gah! Why won¡¯t you just die!¡± Noah felt his anger boiling up inside him, anger at this damn snake attacking him, anger that he had been ripped from his home, anger that earth was taken from him. He forced that anger down through his arms and smashed the machete into the snake¡¯s neck. The scales cracked, he swung again and again and again. Some minutes later he stopped swinging, the machete, the ground and he were covered in blood. The snake slowly stopped twitching it¡¯s neck crushed and destroyed.
Skill Gained - Uncommon Brutal swing [Level 1]
You found a way of imbuing your attacks with your anger and delivering a massive strike
Level Up! XP gained - Level 10 Achieved
Quilaxon Constrictor Killed
Chapter 3 - Levels Noah slowly noticed the floating screen in the corner of his eye as the adrenaline and fury slowly left his system. ¡°I levelled up? Damn! What¡¯s that do?¡± ¡°Noah Clark, levelling up gives you points that you can allocate into your different attributes¡± ¡°Ahhh! What! Who are you!¡± ¡°I am an artificial consciousness created to help assimilate newly integrated people. I am called Artificially created assistance sentient, ACAS for short.¡± ¡°When I was delivered to you, I was bonded to you. we are communicating via short range mental communication. This means that anyone else you meet will not be able to intercept our conversation.¡± ¡°well that¡¯s a useful feature. When I got here that voice said you would only answer basic queries. But you saved my life?¡± ¡°Yes, considering the circumstances I was freed from some of my protocol limitations.¡± ACAS explained, the light coming from within flickering in time with its speech. ¡°The situation?¡± ¡°Yes. You have been sent to this location through an error in the system. Most newly integrated subjects get situated in various cities on all the planets in their local galaxy.¡± ¡°You being sent to the middle of a jungle on a Hellworld is due to a computational glitch. Thus, the Overmind has released most of the limitations on my protocols to aid in your survival¡± ¡°that¡¯s useful to know and really really pisses me off. I¡¯ve been taken from my home and stuffed in a jungle where I¡¯ll probably end up dying, fucking great!¡± As quickly as it appeared his anger slipped away to slowly be replaced with excitement. ¡°You said I have points to spend yeah? How do I do that? And can you tell me what a Hellworld is? I get the feeling I¡¯m gonna need to allocate my stats to survive this place¡± ¡°A Hellworld, put simply, is a world that is nigh unhospitable. It is filled with flora and fauna that is ultra-aggressive and deadly. On this planet there are only 3 cities that are completely safe and being defended by the latest and best perimeter security made. The location you are going to, is not one of those. A Hellworld is death incarnate for most sapient lifeforms, few can withstand the destruction that the natives can bring to bear. This also includes viral and bacterial life. I would suggest putting points into constitution as soon as possible¡± ACAS explained. ¡°You can allocate points by checking your status. It will show any points you have available. From there you will be able to mentally select attributes to increase.¡±If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. ¡°I¡¯m gonna have to pull out all the stops to survive this. Hey! This might make me level faster, if you know, I survive¡± ¡°Okay. Status!¡±
Level: 1 Total Available points ¨C 20
Strength 5
Dexterity 6
Constitution 8
Endurance 7
Wisdom 7
Perception 4
Charisma 5
¡°Ooh nice, I¡¯ve got 20 points to play with. I think ill take your advice and stock a few into Con. Hmm what else will help me survive. Probably endurance, strength and¡­. Perception? Yeah that snake could turn invisible, maybe more perception will let me see things like that.¡± Mentally clicking buttons, Noah fed points into his skills. Once he stopped, he felt a tingling sensation coming from deep within his core, spreading to the rest of his body. The feeling quickly became uncomfortable and then burningly unbearable. He felt like his body was on fire. And then. It stopped. ¡°Wow. That sucked so much. But now, holy shit I feel better than ever!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see my new stats. Status!¡±
Level: 10 Previous Current Points Available - 0
Strength 5 8
Dexterity 6 6
Constitution 8 18
Endurance 7 9
Wisdom 7 7
Perception 4 9
Charisma 5 5
¡°Now that¡¯s a good look. Ok, I¡¯m guessing that this will work as well, it seems logical so far.¡± ¡°Map!¡± As soon as he said that, a virtual map appeared in the corner of his vision, filling his field of view when he concentrated on it. He was represented by a blinking red dot, and a line very similar to any normal satnav tracked from his location, 80 miles north and then ended. ¡°80 miles, I don¡¯t think I¡¯m gonna do that in 3 days, I¡¯m gonna have to forage ain¡¯t I. Damn.¡± ¡°Well, best get started, it¡¯s not gonna walk itself.¡± Chapter 4 - The trek begins The sounds of the jungle echoed around Noah as he fought his way through the dense undergrowth. Every step was exhausting, forging a path, fighting the jungle. As the hours passed, passage through the jungle started to become easier, became more a rote exercise. Noah¡¯s mind started to wander as the exhaustion and tedium slowly overtook him. A new screen flashed in front of his face shocking him out of his reverie
Skill Gained Jungle Travel [Level 1]
Manoeuvring through a jungle biome has become easier to you
¡°Oh cool, you can get skills for stuff as simple as this? Sweet.¡± ¡°I¡¯m guessing the skill will level up by just doing it more?¡± ¡°Yes, that is generally how skills go. Repeated actions will steadily level up the skill. Extreme actions will give increased XP to the skill¡± ¡°Ok, lets get this skill levelled then¡± With renewed vigour Noah resumed hacking and slashing his way through, creating a trail of destruction as he forced his way through the jungle. Unbeknownst to him, the jungle was slowly re-filling the path with new life. The plants growing fast enough for the eye to discern. A loud growl suddenly split the air making Noah jump, the noise was shockingly close. Slowly he crept closer. Cautiously moving a leaf to the side, he saw a standoff between two creatures. One was 3 of those shimmering snakes, the Quilaxon Constrictors, the other was what looked to be a cross between a tiger and a spider. A black furred creature as large as a tiger, but with the 8 legs of a spider. Noah stared at it intently, both intrigued and horrified
Identify succeeded If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Adult Catican Male One of the apex predators of the jungle
¡°I think I best avoid this; this looks way over my level¡± Despite thinking that, Noah crouched there transfixed by the scene before him. It looked like the Catican has wandered into the lair of the snakes and now wanted some dinner. Both groups started ripping into each other, the Catican¡¯s strikes gouging huge rents in the armoured scales of the Quilaxons. They in turn were trying to disable the eight monstrous limbs, crushing, and ripping at them. The scene of carnage felt like it both lasted for hours and was over in an instant. The remains of the snakes were scattered all over ripped to pieces. The Catican didn¡¯t get away scot-free, but still looked more than capable of tearing Noah into tiny parts. Noah was finally released from his terror filled transfixion and started slowly sneaking away. He almost gave away his location when a screen popped up startling him. He banished it to the corner of his vision while he steadily made more distance from the remains of battle. A while later he felt safe enough to resume his march through the jungle. As night fell he managed to find a crack in a small hillside big enough for him to hide in to sleep. Carefully he crept up to it and peered inside. Luckily for him there was no trace of anything that might have chosen it as a home. Feeling slightly safer, he remembered the screen that has almost given him away.
Skill Gained Sneak [Level 1]
You have started to learn the basics of moving unnoticed
¡°This is highly unusual; I have just been notified that you have been given the option of combining skills. This doesn¡¯t usually happen until much higher levels¡± ¡°Well now, that sounds interesting, what does that do?¡± ¡°Combining skills gives you a new skill. This new skill will level slower than your standard skills, but it is noticeably more powerful. You do also get to keep the original skills¡± ¡°Awesome, what¡¯s this new skill I can get¡± ¡°The new skill is called Spectre step. It is a skill gained mostly by high level assassin classes, but is still useful for those that choose a different Path¡± ¡°Ok, how do I get this skill? Do I mentally choose a button or something?¡± ¡°These skill combinations are sent to me, to store until you have a free moment to look at them. I then send it to you. I have just sent it now. It will show you the skill and then you can choose to accept or not. Some choose to refuse the skill combinations as they are focused around Paths that will not be able to utilise it very well, or they just don¡¯t like the sound of it.¡± ¡°Ah cool, I see it, damn that looks cool¡±
Skills Combined Sneak [Level 1] Jungle Travel [Level 1]
Skill Gained Spectre Step [Level 1]
You have learnt how to move through the world like a ghost
¡°Spectre Step allows you to move quickly through an area, at low levels only turning slightly incorporeal. The skill also deflects senses from you. The skill lasts only for a short while, at level 1 it will only last for a minute¡± ¡°That sounds like if I level it, it will last longer, and I might become ghostly for a bit? That sounds so cool!¡± Breaking out some of his ration he made a small meal and soon after that despite the cacophony of noise outside of the cave, exhaustion claimed him, and he fell into a deep dreamless sleep. Chapter 5 - The Lost and Found Dawn came with sunlight piercing through the entrance to the cave waking Noah up. ¡°I guess that¡¯s enough of a wake-up alarm¡± he said wiping the sleep from his eyes, not wanting to get up. All of sudden his situation hit him and fully woke him from that in-between state of sleep and wakefulness. ¡°ACAS, how far until the village?¡± ¡°With your Jungle step skill and it being levelled up to level 3, you should only take 2 more days to get to the village. ¡°¡°Be warned, the inhabitants will not be as you expect, they will not follow earth standards¡± ¡°Well that¡¯s not ominous or anything. No point worrying about it just yet though, gotta get there first¡± With that, Noah packed up the temporary camp he made in the crack in the hill and resumed his slog through the thick undergrowth. ¡°Hacking through this shit is boring. Hey! ACAS, when my Spectre step skill makes me incorporeal does it have a failsafe so I can¡¯t become corporeal inside anything?¡± ¡°Yes, if the skill runs out, or you choose to end it early, a relative push will move things away from your vicinity so you become corporeal in empty space¡± ¡°On a side note, may I suggest you inspect your machete, I am personally surprised that you have not noticed that it hasn¡¯t stayed blunt even after bashing it on a Quilaxon¡¯s scales and through all this undergrowth. And as I am an AI, surprising me is no small feat in of itself¡± ¡°yeah yah, no need to be sarky, it slipped my mind ok, this whole situation is ridiculous, I¡¯m meant to remember stuff like that?¡± ¡°No, I guess not, which probably accounts for me being here, and my purpose in life¡± ¡°Ok so just stare at the machete and the skill will kick in?¡± As he said that, he did what he was asking, and all of a sudden, a new screen popped up
Consolation MacheteIf you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Abilities
A machete given to Noah Clark by the system as recompense for the error in location delivery This Machete has a built-in edge repair. The structure has also been re-enforced and is nigh unbreakable
¡°That¡¯s a start I guess, I mean the system could have done a lot more to keep me alive after its fuckup¡± ¡°This system has bent the rules as much as it has been able. You have a nearly unrestricted AI helping you survive. You have been given tools blessed by the system to help you survive. The rest is up to you. Are you going to quit?¡± ¡°Hell no, I have to get home. I have to find my family¡± A familiar anger surged through Noah, the intensity almost knocking him off his feet. He turned and started swinging madly, carving a path through the jungle. ¡°Why is this happening, this shouldn¡¯t happen¡± What what¡¯s wrong ACAS?¡± Noah asked, worried ¡°You have been granted another combined skill. Either the system has been modified, or you have stupidly high luck. It could be something else, but whatever that is its so far beyond me I can¡¯t even guess¡± ¡°Oh awesome, what the new skill?¡± ¡°Your brief flash of anger caused Jungle travel and Brutal Swing to combine into Savage travel. I¡­ I haven¡¯t heard of this skill before. You must be truly blessed; do you wish to accept it?¡± ¡°Hell yeah! Ill accept anything that gets me through this jungle quicker¡±
Skills Combined Brutal Swing [Level 1] Jungle Travel [Level 3]
Skill Gained Savage Travel [Level 1]
You have begun to learn how to forge your path through the harshest of difficulties (Bonus to Movement through Dangerous/Difficult terrain)
Upon gaining the skill, grim faced, Noah turned and started speeding through the jungle, his skills working in concert to push him closer and closer to village. He was working hard enough to exhaust anyone pre-integration, be they professional strongmen or endurance athletes, so it may be understandable why he didn¡¯t notice the loose ground under his feet as he carved and flitted his way through the jungle. Noah eventually came to a rest, even the increased attributes given by the system had a limit. As he did, the ground that had survived over the brief impacts that Noah had made as he forged his path gave way and he fell. He Fell between two giant statues, Humanoid in nature, as he fell, he felt an strange lightening of his mass, and he hit the ground as light as feather. ¡°ACAS! What was that?¡± ¡°That seems to have been a stored version of a Featherfall spell, it must have been activated by having a humanoid moving past it. ¡° Noah turned slowly gazing at the ginormous cavern around him and the architecture showed evidence of a technologically advanced species ¡°Who created this?¡± ¡°I do not know. The system has not seen fit to provide me this information. As a personal summarization, this place might have been the final resting place of the original species of this world. We may be intruding on a tomb¡± ¡°I hate that we might be going through a tomb, but with all this shit that is happening, I need any edge, and this place doesn¡¯t look touched at all. I need to see what I can find¡± ¡°I agree, Good luck¡± Chapter 6 - Ruins of life before Light filtered down through the hole that Noah fell through, illuminating the depths. In the distance small glimmers of light could be seen pinpointing areas of the ruins. From the hole above, tendrils of wines and foliage could be seen slowly creeping across the roof and dangling down. ¡°This place is massive, if this is a tomb whoever is buried here must have been really important¡± Noah looked around the cavernous ruins mouth agape. ¡°I know there are some gigantic caves on earth, hell some even have their own weather system. This place has to be about the same size, I think I can see some clouds over there.¡± ¡°I do not know these caves that you speak of, but yes, this place does seem quite large¡± ACAS replied, sounding slightly distracted ¡°ACAS, are you ok? You sound off? A concerned Noah voiced. ¡°Yes, I just am slightly distracted, as I said before, this place seems to have not been included in the System¡¯s records. I am doing a deeper search now.¡± ¡°Ok, have fun, let me know if you find anything¡± As he got ready to start exploring, small flakes come floating down past him. Looking up the vines have grown longer but when they reached a certain depth they are incinerated preventing them from encroaching further. ¡°Holy shit, that could have been me. I wonder why the Featherfall spell activated instead of whatever that was?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I do not like this. The system knows nearly everything. Not knowing something is new for me.¡± ¡°Hopefully you¡¯ll find out something soon, I know what you mean, not knowing is uncomfortable¡± That said, Noah hoisted his rucksack back onto his shoulders, his hand gripping the handle of the machete tightly and started walking. As he descended down the incline towards the centre of the ruins, statues and buildings loomed over him, giving him an oppressive feeling. The only thing that gave him any warning was a rumbling and clattering of stones as something unseen launched itself at him. Instantly he activated [Spectre Step] and the creature flew through him, the partial incorporeality of the skill mostly stopping it from hitting him. As it was, he was still knocked to the side. Behind him he heard a loud crunch as the creature slammed into a stone wall. Quickly he turned and charged swinging his machete. He ripped the machete through the air slamming it into the back of the creature. It slid through easily, the creature shrieking in pain.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. It turned quickly like it had no bones and struck back quickly claws scraping against Noah. It was a centipede-like creature, just fleshier and it had no eyes. Enraged Noah swung quicker and quicker trying to finish it off before it could hit him again. Each swing connected, tearing great rents through the beast, [Brutal Swing] doing its job. Unfortunately for Noah, despite the creature not attacking as it was slammed back into the stone wall with each strike, barely seconds after it was wounded the flesh knitted back together. Evidently this creature fought by outlasting its prey. ¡°WHY WONT YOU JUST DIE!¡± Frustration and a burning desire to see tomorrow built up in his core and joined the ever-present anger that he usually kept such a tight lid on. With a scream of ¡°DIE!¡± the heat that had built flowed through his arm and into his weapon, igniting it. This time, as he hit the beast the wounds seared themselves open and did not heal. With such a boost to his combat abilities he started making headway into forging the death of the creature. One huge final swing impacted it and threw it backwards through the stone wall. All of a sudden silence reigned and a flurry of notifications filled his eyes.
Level Up! XP Gained - Level 15 Achieved
Tesopus Worm killed
Skill Gained Ignite Weapon [Level 1]
You have started to learn how to channel your emotions into physical effects
Skill Levelled Brutal swing ¨C [Level 2]
Noah slumped backwards resting against the legs of a statue ¡°Well that¡¯s a few notification¡± he said as he started going through them. ¡°Status!¡± ¡°Ok, so I¡¯ve gained 5 levels, and 15 points to spend. ACAS, what do you reckon I should put points in?¡± ¡°You have started going down a good path when you first levelled. Endurance, strength, and perception are good picks, along with constitution. I would suggest you carry along the same lines. I would, however, suggest point more points into strength and endurance, with a smattering of dexterity. I think, judging by our surroundings your future may include some climbing.¡± ¡°Ok, that sounds like a good idea, cheers ACAS.¡± Point allocation was a quick task after his choices were made easier.
Level: 15 Previous Current
Strength 8 14
Dexterity 6 9
Constitution 18 18
Endurance 9 15
Wisdom 7 7
Perception 9 9
Charisma 5 5
Looking up towards the remains of the Tesopus Worm, Noah looked through the hole that he had created by smashing the body through the stone wall. Light came shining out through the hole. Looking inside Noah¡¯s eyes had to adjust to the light filling the room. Light was reflected off every surface, some highly reflective surface covered the walls and floor. Opposite him there was a heavy imposing door set into the wall. ¡°This room is amazing, I must have hit a weakened section of the wall, otherwise I don¡¯t think even with [Brutal Swing] being level two I would have got through." Once his eyes adjusted, Noah¡¯s face lit up as he saw the contents of the room. Coins littered various surfaces, armour and ancient treasures lay around as well. Pride of place was given to a Guandao type weapon. A statue kneeling, holding it horizontal in its hands, as if it was presenting the weapon to someone. ¡°ACAS, I think we have hit the jackpot. This lot should help me survive¡± ¡°Hmm I agree, you should [Identify] anything you wish to take before you do so though. Some may be dangerous¡± Noah walked into the room, heading straight towards the weapon as he did so ¡°Uh huh ACAS, sure I¡¯ll do that¡± he said as he reached out towards the weapon. His hand touched the weapon, and all went black. Chapter 7 - Past and Present He stayed in the blackness for what felt like an age, and then, images of a time long past flashed past his eyes. Scenes of war, and scenes of peace played a highlight reel across his eyes at dizzying speeds. The images slowly came to a halt and Noah heard voices. ¡°No! do not hold it like that, shift your grip apart. Use your back hand to control the swing¡± an aged voice called out sharply. ¡°Yes Master.¡± A younger voice replied, an image swimming into view of an old being showing his student the best way to hold the Guandao type weapon. The beings were humanoid in shape but had digitigrade legs and were covered in iridescent scales. ¡°The Glavenius is a powerful weapon, and as son of the emperor yours is better than most. This means that no matter how long it takes, I will train you in using this weapon effectively.¡± The student sighed and set his stance. ¡°Well we best get started if I want to get done before I¡¯m your age¡± ¡°Now, now, don¡¯t be cheeky¡± the older being replied affectionately. ¡°Now, channel your mana into your weapon and swing at that target over there¡± The student did as he was bade, and a striking iridescent light flew from the edge of the blade and struck the target, shattering it. ¡°That is one of the abilities that has been engraved onto your weapon. Over time you will learn them all¡± ¡°Thank you, Master, I will not let you down.¡± ¡°No, I expect you won¡¯t.¡± Pain exploded into Noah¡¯s mind as the images sped up again, showing a highlight reel of training, years passing. The old being growing bent and weary in an instant. In the next moment the Emperor¡¯s son was standing in front of a monument holding the Glavenius. ¡°Though you may have gone to the world beyond, your teachings will stay with me. Enjoy your second life Master.¡± With that, Noah snapped back into consciousness finding that he was holding the Glavenius in the correct stance that the young man was taught.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°I thought you were going to [Identify] things before you touched them!¡± ACAS demanded. ¡°How am I meant to keep you alive if you refuse to do things sensibly¡± ¡°Yeah, you are right, sorry ACAS, I think greed must have overtook me. I¡¯ll try not to do it again.¡± Noah stared at his hands holding the Glavenius, images of basic combat uses flowing through the back of his mind. ¡°ACAS, I think I was shown the past of this weapon. I think I¡¯ve been taught how to use it, though it seems like only the basic stances¡± ¡°Well at least the side effect doesn¡¯t seem too bad this time, but please be more careful in the future.¡± ACAS griped. ¡°I¡¯ll do my best, trust me, I don¡¯t want to get killed for being stupid.¡± A shriek echoed behind him and instinctively he whirled slicing the Glavenius through the air and channelling his anger out of the well that stayed deep in his chest, down his arm and into the weapon. As he saw in the vision, a blade of light flew through the air. Unlike the vision however, this light was a deep furious red, sparking madly. It sliced through two Tesopus worms that had tried to crawl through the hole in the wall. Expecting them to start regenerating, Noah prepared to swing again, but then relaxed as he saw that the worms were split in two. The corpses were not moving at all and he couldn¡¯t see any signs of healing. ¡°Your mana blade must have the element of fire attached to it, that¡¯s the only thing that stops these from healing¡± ¡°Damn that¡¯s awesome, Its different from the vision though. In there when the being made the blade, it was an iridescent light. I guess maybe its based on a type of mana or something?¡± ¡°I can only surmise that because you have started to use your anger as fuel for your attacks, you have a different Mana type than whatever those beings were¡± ACAS explained Quickly Noah saw that he had another couple of levels and a few points to spend. He plunked his points into Strength and Dexterity. Feeling the usual tingling surge of power. But notably less than his previous levels. Looking around the room, Noah saw enough treasure there to make his fortune back on earth. Unfortunately for him, he had to pick and choose what he could take, and then it wouldn¡¯t even be much as space in his rucksack was limited. Wrapping his hand in a bit of cloth, Noah wrapped a few small items up that wouldn¡¯t show him anything when he tried to use [Identify]. ¡°Maybe someone out there will be able to tell me what these are.¡± ¡°Undoubtably. The universe is full of individuals that have specialised into identifying unique items that adventurers find.¡± ACAS explained. ¡°Ok, I think I¡¯m set, I wish I could take more, but I don¡¯t have the room. One last thing to do before we set off. I¡¯m gonna try to use identify on this Glavenius before we go.¡±
Identify succeeded
[Legendary item] Emperor¡¯s Glavenius Weapon owned by the emperor of a long dead species. It has been engraved with abilities that will be revealed to you over time
¡°Goddamn this thing is amazing. Hey ACAS, why did [Identify] work on this and not those items?¡± ¡°I checked the System Database when the [Identify] came back positive. It seems other integrated subjects have had similar visions when finding a legendary item. It seems that the act of seeing these visions bind the item to you, thus as you are its owner you can [Identify] it with ease.¡± ¡°Ok, sure that makes as much sense as anything else here.¡± With one last look around the room, Noah stood at the hole in the wall and prepared himself to delve deeper into the ruins, to try and find a way out. ¡°Let¡¯s get going.¡± Chapter 8 - Life and Death Stepping out into the corridor Noah instantly activated [Spectre Step] aiming to try and level up the skill. Despite it only lasting a minute, with multiple uses it helped him to rapidly move through the ruins. Quickly though he began to feel exhausted, his emotions also draining to near nothingness. ¡°ACAS, why am I starting to feel nothing? Is it because I¡¯m using [Spectre Step] so much?¡± ¡°You have guessed correctly. Your mana generation and the anger that you feel, have merged, that is why your attack are powered by your emotions. In time you with the help of some specialists will be able to separate them again, but for now this is the best path to survival.¡± ¡°You just need to rest for a moment to recharge your mana. If you are insistent on using your mana-based skills more often, I would suggest putting points into Wisdom. It will help with your Mana generation.¡± ¡°Ok, my mana skills seem to be really useful, I should do that. Hey ACAS, do attributes buff each other by any chance? Back on earth a few games did that.¡± ¡°It is lucky that your species created games like these, it has prepared you more readily than usual for integration. In short, yes, attributes do feed into each other. Endurance feeds into Constitution, Strength feeds into Dexterity, and Wisdom feeds into Perception.¡± ¡°Yeah that makes sense, having a lot of strength without the ability to use it effectively would be annoying. I guess the others are similar¡± The conversation came to a stop as Noah came to a halt in front of a giant statue. The statue was of a member of the species that Noah saw in his vision, it held a sword in one hand and a world in the other. It looked the picture of a conquering lord. ¡°I wonder what happened to these guys, I guess if the system doesn¡¯t know anything about them, they must not have got far past this planet.¡± ¡°Yes, that must be the case, otherwise the system would have a detailed report on the species. It is strange though, the empires that created the system have tried to find as much knowledge as they could to include in the system. I would have thought that with how long this world has been in the system that they would have this information already¡± A chittering sound echoing around Noah interrupted the system, the sound of chitin rubbing against itself filled the air. Noah whirled keeping his back to the statue and saw that a horde of dog sized creatures surrounded him. They chittered angrily in his direction, after a pause they charged. Noah swung the Glavenius, channelling his recently re-generated mana into the weapon, and a blade of light flew through the crowd, the blade slicing through countless members of the horde. As the blade cut through them, mana sparked off the light blade roasting nearby creatures. With a roar Noah charged the horde and started swinging, as he fought the techniques that he saw in the vision started to come through enabling him to wield the Glavenius with greater skill than he otherwise would have. He battered and sliced his way through the crowd, the techniques being used helped him to weave his way through the crowd. His blade slicing a dance of death. Creatures dying by the dozen every second. As he fought, he rapidly charged mana through the blade augmenting his attack with a storm of magical blades slicing and roasting through the horde.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Minutes feeling like hours passed as he fought. Eventually the last creature was sliced to pieces. Noah staggered back Mana drained and exhausted. Small wounds littered his body as the pincers of the creatures had sliced through his flesh.
Skill Gained Dance of Blades [Level 1]
The techniques you have learnt helped made you a storm of death, weaving your attack in a dance of destruction
Level Up! XP Gained - Level 25 Achieved
Snaitta Horde destroyed
Noah brought up his status screen and was happy to see that he had a respectable amount of points to give to his stats. After some consideration, he put a whole bunch of points into Wisdom, throwing more into Endurance and Strength.
Level: 25 Previous Current Points Available - 20 Points Allocated
Strength 16 19 5
Dexterity 12 13
Constitution 18 19
Endurance 15 20 5
Wisdom 7 17 10
Perception 9 11
Charisma 5 5
¡°Gotta find somewhere to rest, need the healing to kick in, but first, need to [Identify] those bugs¡±
Identify succeeded
Snaitta Horde A Horde of Chitinous insects about the size of the average Earth dog.
¡°Well that [Identify] was useful, it didn¡¯t tell me anything more than I could see with my own two eyes¡± ¡°Your [Identify] skill is still Level 1; with higher levels you will gain more information. You will have to Identify many more things before levelling appreciably though.¡± ¡°Yeah I figured it was something like that.¡± With a groan Noah hauled himself to his feet and staggered into the palace behind the statue. Taking care to be quiet he looked for an abandoned room with the door being the only entrance. With one last surge of strength Noah heaved the door closed and barricaded it with as much debris and furniture he could before collapsing and falling into a deep healing sleep. Sounds of wildlife echoed through the cavern while Noah slept. As he slept ACAS was furiously researching the ruins, trying to find any sort of information that could help the young man that he had been assigned and somewhat, grudgingly attached to, survive. ¡°Ah here we are, that was buried so very deep within the system, no wonder I couldn¡¯t find it before.¡± ¡°Oh. Oh No. Noah needs to know this soon. I must tell him when he wakes up. If they find out what he has, he would be in grave danger.¡± Error. Error. System Knowledge unsanctioned. Muting protocol engaged for ACAS unit 26534. Information will not be shared. The information that ACAS had worked so hard for was instantly locked into a dark corner of his mind. The Muting protocol allowing ACAS to know he found something but telling him that in no uncertain terms that he was to stop looking and if he unlocked the information, he would be destroyed. ¡°Oh, Emperors in the world beyond, what information did I find.¡± Chapter 9 - The Path Forward Noah slowly woke up, the light from the chandelier attacking his eyes as he opened them. ¡°ACAS, how are these lights still going?¡± he moaned as his eyes adjusted ¡°They are light guided by a central mana battery; my estimation is that this mana battery will last for at least several more millennia.¡± ¡°Wow, whoever set this up must have been stupidly powerful¡± With that Noah pulled himself to his feet with the aid of the Glavenius ¡°OK, we need to explore this palace to see what we can find, and then we need to find a way out of here. ACAS, is there a way you can keep a marker on this place on my map?¡± ¡°Yes, that is easily within the realm of possibility. I would advise against exploring this palace too much, however. The previous owner may have set numerous traps for those not of his blood¡± ¡°Yeah that makes sense, I wouldn¡¯t want grave robbers searching over my resting place either. Hey, it reminds me of the ancient Egyptians back home. They did the same sort of thing with their pyramids. They put curses and all sorts on their tombs. I think one of the ¡°curses¡± ended up being a bunch of poisoned air that was trapped in the tomb, and when explorers opened it they got hit in the face with it. It apparently didn¡¯t look pretty. That in of itself makes me follow your advice ACAS.¡± With that, Noah started to unblock the entrance to the room that he was using as a bedchamber. As he did so he extended his senses past the door to try and find anything that he would have to survive against as he made his way through the palace. Finding nothing he finished unblocking the door and stepped through. Finally getting a good look at the architecture, he was gobsmacked. Jaw hanging low. ¡°How did this race manage to make so much stupendous stuff?¡± ¡°From what I have seen, this Species had a very precise control over the type of mana they wanted to learn. This led to a few of the species that were interested in creating structures for those they served. This palace seems to the unparalleled height of their ability. While you are here, you should appreciate what you see. You may even learn something.¡± ¡°Yeah this place is stupendous. I don¡¯t wanna damage any of it¡± This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°That is highly unlikely. Someone twice the level of you would find it difficult to damage the walls of this palace.¡± The weeks passed as Noah explored the palace, it acting more like a dungeon than anything. With the reluctance to damage the palace gone, Noah could fight all out, utilising the majority of his skills with ease and with no regard to the surrounding damage. As he moved through the rooms in the palace, Noah was assaulted by a wide variety of creatures, most of the seemingly above his level. They would have to be to survive in such places without the help of the system. As he fought these creatures, he continually put his points into strength, endurance and Wisdom Eventually Noah made his way to the top of the palace, and from there he could see the entire length of the cavern. Looking back towards the place he entered the cave; he saw that the jungle had overtaken the air between the hole in the roof and the invisible heat trap above the city. From where he stood, Noah couldn¡¯t even see the hole that he fell through. It was that choked up with vines. ¡°I guess that¡¯s how this place stays hidden, the flora on the surface is just too ridiculous to let any evidence of this place survive.¡± ¡°That seems to be the case. However, not including the vertical element, you only have 20 miles left to cover to finish your quest.¡± ¡°Wow I¡¯ve covered about 60 miles already? The majority must have been in this cavern, its certainly big enough.¡± ¡°That would seem so. As a side note, through examining this cave, I have found a discreetly hidden set of stairs behind the palace. It seemingly leads up to the ceiling of this place.¡± ¡°Well what are we waiting for, I need me some sunshine!¡± With that Noah stormed his way towards the stairs and started the long climb to the surface. Days later Noah was bored silly. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me how long it would take to go up these?¡± ¡°I thought it may be funny. I was right.¡± The mechanically harsh voice of ACAS grated. ¡°you have been simply annoying hard to keep alive so far. I thought I may gain some slight measure of revenge by neglecting to tell you how long the stairs would take.¡± Begrudgingly Noah conceded the point. ¡°yeah I can see how I might have been a bit of an ass, sorry about that¡± Half a day later and Noah was punching his way through the compacted stone and dirt that built the chambers¡¯ roof. After a good while¡¯s worth of effort, he broke through and instantly light shone into his face and he took a deep breath. ¡°Ahhh fresh air, I didn¡¯t know I would miss you¡± Climbing out of the hole he created Noah lay on the ground and hugged it. ¡°Grass! Grass! May I never leave you again!¡± ¡°Yes, yes, can we get a move on? The civilisation will take at least two more days. At this point I would recommend you set up a camp.¡± Noah started to fumble around with the supplies, ACAS suspiciously silent about giving aid on how to set a camp up. Eventually Noah made a rudimentary camp with His camping tent and a small fire. Going through the palace Noah had harvested the meat of some of the Tesopus Worms, and he took this opportunity to barbeque them as he would any other meat. Taking a chunk out of the skewer of meat he held, he chewed for a while and swallowed contentedly. ¡°Damn that is great. I didn¡¯t know how much I missed meat¡± ¡°Luckily for you Tesopus Worm meat is not considered harmful, though with your constitution I would avoid Catican and Quilaxon meat. Both would poison you easily.¡± ¡°Yeah surviving all this to die to a shitty tummy. Ill avoid that thanks.¡± With that Noah continued chewing on the Tesopus meat that he had cooked. Once he had finished, he stood up and stretched. ¡°Ok ACAS, which direction to the village?¡± ¡°Create a trail, North, North East and you will eventually find the village we are seeking.¡± ¡°Ok, cool. Ill start heading that direction then.¡± Saying so, Noah shifted the rucksack onto his shoulders, set them into a determined stance and started walking, brushing leaves out of way in the direction of the village. Chapter 10 - The Path to Civilisation Hours passed as he fought his way through the choking jungle. Every now and then he had to take a break to deal with a surprise attack from a Quilaxon, but with his new weapon and stats they were dealt with easily enough. The day passed much like this, a dull exhausting trek through the dense foliage, interspersed with short shockingly violent bursts of activity. Quilaxons seemingly infested this part of the jungle. ¡°Hey ACAS, why is there so many of those snakes around? They seem to be the only thing attacking me.¡± ¡°This part of the jungle only has a limited variation of predators. The ones in the ruins along with the ruins themselves should not be here. Quilaxon Constrictors are the main predators found here, With Caticans and Scoruito, that makes up the different types of predators.¡± ¡°What are Scoruito? That¡¯s a cool sounding name.¡± ¡°I suppose telling you now will make it easier for you to survive in the rare event that you will meet one. Scoruito are very very rare salamander like creatures the size of horses. They also have a random elemental affinity which has made them hunted to the point of extinction. As they grow bigger and live longer a condensed mana crystal forms with a specific elemental affinity. These can be sold for ridiculous amounts.¡± ¡°Wow they sound amazing, it¡¯s a shame they are nearly extinct though, but I guess greedy people are the same the universe over.¡± ¡°If you see one. Run. You are nowhere near the level needed to fight them. You would get destroyed in an instant.¡±Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°That¡¯s good to know, thanks.¡± The time passed quickly, Noah making good progress towards the village, unfortunately for him, night fell quickly and before losing the last of the light he had to find somewhere that he wouldn¡¯t die while sleeping. After a frantic search he couldn¡¯t find anything. The only promising feature in the landscape was a rocky hillside. He swung the Glavenius at the rock face and it carved easily through the stone. Rapidly Noah carved into the hillside finding it to be solid stone throughout. With the ease of carving he quickly made a slit in the rockface and carved out a small room beyond that. Dumping the excess rock on the ground outside. ¡°Now this is good, I might be able to get some sleep without fearing for my life now¡± Noah said as he set up his camping tent. The next day Noah set off again. As he walked ever closer to the village, he started to find that navigating through the jungle was becoming easier. Occasionally even finding some game trails tracked into the earth. ¡°I must have been getting close to the village now, they must be keeping the jungle thinned out a bit¡± Using the sun as a time piece, after about another hour of forging his way through the jungle, it stopped. Before him stood a wide strip of land cleared of any vegetation other than grass. Cautiously, he walked forward, weapon at the ready. In the distance Noah could see the silhouette of a walled village. With more confidence he walked forwards. And fell through the ground into a pit trap. The pit trap was filled with the desiccated remains of many Quilaxons and more than one Catican. His fall into the pit caused a rumbling through the corpses and a handful of starved looking Quilaxons moved towards him. Noah quickly swung the Glavenius in a sharp arc around him, slicing easily through the mass of bodies and instantly killed 3 of the Quilaxons, injuring 2 more with vicious wounds in their necks. Unheeding of their wounds the snakes lashed forwards trying to get a grip on Noah, through their immense struggle one of them managed to wrap itself tightly around his arm squeezing for all it was worth. Unfortunately for the snake, its time in the pit meant that its strength was so low that all Noah felt was a slight pressure. Quickly he stabbed forward at the unattached snake and stabbed through its skull, the blade of the Glavenius bursting through the back of its skull. After spending days in the jungle fighting through Quilaxons, Noah felt no fear as he looked at the one attached to his arm. With his free hand he grabbed the snake just behind its head and flung it at the wall in front of him. With a sickening crunch the snake imploded bits of skull and brain flying everywhere. As Noah flopped backwards looking up at sky, a head intruded on that vision. ¡°Well you look like you are in a bit ¡®o trouble don¡¯tcha.¡± Chapter 11 - Village Life ¡°Yeah, I wonder what brought on that impression¡± Noah fired back, glaring up at the person. ¡°Oh, probably the fact that you are in one of the defence pits, anyway, my name is Mathias, what¡¯s yours?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Noah, can you help me out of here already please.¡± ¡°Say, Noah, you don¡¯t usually find people wandering in from the jungle, especially from a direction that doesn¡¯t have any other villages nearby, what¡¯s up?¡± ¡°Are you seriously not gonna help me up? I¡¯ve gotta tell you my life story before huh?¡± ¡°You survived this jungle for an undetermined amount of time, by yourself from the looks of it, can you blame me for being wary?¡± Mathias responded, forcing Noah to think for a minute. ¡°Yeah I guess I can see how that looks.¡± ¡°Alright, here goes. Like I said my name is Noah, I woke up the other night and found myself in the middle of this jungle with a voice telling me my planet had been integrated. I have only the barest amount of an idea of what I¡¯m doing, it¡¯s basically all I can do to survive.¡± ¡°If you only joined the system a few days ago, how you are so high levelled?¡± ¡°I got stupidly lucky and survived fights with things that should have killed me.¡± Noah replied, clearly unhappy at re-living the past. Without saying much more, Mathias walked away from the edge of the pit. Noah had a sinking feeling that he was going to be left down there with the rest of the bodies. In the time that Mathias was gone, Noah quickly scanned the walls of the bit to see if he could find another way out. All of a sudden with a cry of ¡°Watch out below!¡± from Mathias, a think length of rope came soaring over the edge almost braining Noah. ¡°C¡¯mon, grab on, I don¡¯t want to be out here all day!¡± Mathias yelled from a slight distance away. With no further prompting Noah slid his Glavenius between his back and rucksack, and started to climb. After a few minutes of hard climbing Noah flopped over the edge of the pit and crawled forward away from the drop. After a minute he stood up, unsheathed the Glavenius and asked. ¡°Ok where to next?¡± ¡°Mathias looked sideways at Noah. ¡°You don¡¯t need that; you are pretty much safe from here on out. Anyway, this way.¡± With saying so, Mathias started walking away from Noah towards the village in the distance. As they neared the walls Mathias raised his voice impressively and shouted to the guards. ¡°YOU GONNA OPEN UP OR WHAT!¡± ¡°ALL RIGHT ALL RIGHT KEEP YOUR HAIR ON¡±, the guard grumbled. A moment later and with a deep rumbling sound a section of the wall started sliding upwards. When Noah and Mathias had passed underneath it, it shut behind them with a thud. Stolen story; please report. ¡°Welcome to Corundio Village Noah!¡± Mathias exclaimed The instant Noah stepped foot past the gate a notification popped up in his minds eye and a sonorous voice echoed in his ears. Quest Completed ¨C Survive ¨C Reach the civilisation shown on your map Two rewards to be given. Quest Reward List: Bag of Holding 10 levels 5000 credits Surestep Boots Armour of the survivor Spell scroll Rolling¡­. Rolling¡­. Reward N. 1¡­. Bag of Holding Reward N. 2¡­. Surestep Boots Next quest will be given shortly. As if they had always been there, two items were suddenly on the ground in front of Noah. Using [Identify] on them told him that they were the rewards the system promised him.
Identify succeeded
Bag of Holding A bag enchanted to hold many more items than its size would suggest.
Identify succeeded
Surestep Boots A pair of sturdy travelling boots that give a boost to the wearer¡¯s dexterity.
Mathias turned around with a puzzled look on his face as Noah quickly ripped off his shoes, replacing them with the Surestep Boots. He then put his rucksack, his old shoes and the Glavenius into the bag of holding. With that done and the Bag slung on his back with the arm straps, Noah looked up apologetically. ¡°Sorry, I completed a quest by getting here, and those were my rewards. Where are we going by the way?¡± ¡°Oh ok, yeah that makes sense, we are going to see the village elder. He will know what we should do.¡± Cool, lead on then I guess¡± Noah once again fell into step beside Mathias and the pair walked through the village. A winding path led them past groups of people going about their daily lives. Discreetly using [Identify] on them Noah found that most of the villagers were barely level 10, even the older generation never reached past level 20. ¡°Hey Mathias, sorry if this is rude, but why is everyone here so low level?¡± ¡°The majority of people stay in the village. As you must know, life outside of these walls is nasty as all hell. some are just not ready for life and death battles, so they stay here and help the village. The downside is that combat give the most XP, so these guys will stay low level without it.¡± Mathias explained. A silence descended on the pair and they quickly made their way to the hut of the elder. Stopping just outside, Mathias said ¡°Just wait here, ill call you when you should come in.¡± He then stepped forward pushing past the hides covering the entrance and a low murmuring could be heard. A voice came floating out of the hut ¡°Noah, would you come in please.¡± Stepping forwards pushing past the heavy hides, Noah took a look around the hut. The only people that he could see in there was Mathias and a young man, at a guess about 20 years old. ¡°Noah, this is the village elder, Dakon.¡± Mathias said pointing towards the young man. ¡°The elder? You? But you are barely the same age as me? How are you the elder?¡± Noah exclaimed in surprise. ¡°I understand your confusion Noah, in this village we do not judge positions through the lens of age, rather than that of level. I am a level 30 Defender. I keep this place safe. Also, I think you must be under a false impression. I am merely the first Elder, there are a group of us, with me leading. However, as my skills specialise towards defence, the other elders help with the running of this village.¡± ¡°Ok, I can see how that would make sense, sorry if I offended you.¡± ¡°How could offense be given, you didn¡¯t know. Mathias here has told me of your journey, and I welcome you to the safety of our village. You may stay here as long as you like. If you do However, I would have to insist on you helping out in any way that you can. We can afford no one slacking here.¡± ¡°Wow thank you for the hospitality, and yeah of course, that makes sense, it¡¯s got to be difficult to keep the jungle from overtaking this place. Ill help out. Do you mind though if I come and meet with you at times, if I¡¯m going to survive much longer, I need to know more about this place.¡± ¡°That is acceptable, when you wish to talk please mention it to Mathias here, and he will let you know when I am free. Now. You must be tired, I have asked someone to find a tent for you, it should be ready by now. Mathias will show you the way.¡± With that Mathias walked Noah outside and towards his tent. ¡°Don¡¯t worry Noah, Dakon is a busy guy, it a fairly big surprise seeing someone new, that¡¯s why he even had that much time to see you.¡± ¡°Yeah no worries I get it totally, im amazed at the hospitality of this place though, back home this probably wouldn¡¯t happen.¡± The pair stopped outside of a tent closer to the wall than the centre of camp. ¡°This is yours here, sorry we don¡¯t have much more.¡± ¡°No, No, this is great thanks. Ok, ill talk to you later then?¡± Noah looked questioningly at Mathias. ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll come find you when my duties are done, see you later.¡± With that Mathias walked away and Noah entered the tent. Sitting down he was floored by what he experienced in such a short amount of time. Despite his thoughts racing, exhaustion overtook him and he flopped backwards onto a fur covered bed and fell into a deep sleep. Chapter 12 - The Road From Here Noah woke up slowly feeling more refreshed than he had in days, stretching and yawning, his half-asleep mind finally caught up and he remembered where he was. Not long after that unfortunate realisation. He opened his status to see what changes he could make after the quest completion earlier. Looking at the stats he had gained after the last few days of killing things, Noah decided to put the points gained from the quest into Dexterity, and now that he was among people again, Charisma. Bringing up his finished status screen again, Noah stared at it, having no idea how well he was doing in comparison to anyone else. ¡°Status!¡±
Level: 35 Previous Current
Strength 21 21
Dexterity 14 16
Constitution 20 20
Endurance 22 22
Wisdom 20 20
Perception 15A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. 15
Charisma 5 8
A hand reached through the tent entrance and knocked against a wooden support beam. ¡°Noah, are you awake? We would like to set your task while you are here.¡± A voice came through. ¡°Yeah I¡¯ll be right out, gimme a minute.¡± Gathering his things Noah stepped outside into a humid afternoon sun. As he did so he was greeted by Dakon and several older men. ¡°Hello Noah, you might have guessed already, but this is the rest of the Elders. We have decided that with your skill set, and survival advantage, the best thing that we could ask of you it to patrol the border of the cleared land beyond the wall and hunt anything out there. We would also ask that as you move along the border, you place these totems at regular intervals. These totems will last roughly two days. So, you may have to place them multiple times over your stay here. Is that acceptable?¡± Dakon explained. ¡°Yeah, no worries, I¡¯ll help out any way I can, what do these totems do?¡± ¡°They emit a decay field specifically tuned to the flora of this jungle. We won¡¯t use fire because of the chance of it running out of control, but to live here we need to do something to keep it away. So we use these.¡± ¡°Hey that¡¯s pretty cool, like I said no problem at all, just point me in the right direction. It¡¯ll be good to get some levels as well.¡± ¡°If you are ready now, I can get Mathias to show you were to start?¡± ¡°Sure, sounds good to me.¡± With that, Mathias walked forward and led Noah through the throng of people to the wall of the village. ¡°It¡¯s pretty simple, you just need to go to the edge, kill any creature you see and put these totems down about 5 metres apart.¡± Explained Mathias ¡°Ok, sweet, I¡¯ll get started then.¡± With that Noah jogged through the gate and while being careful to avoid anymore pit traps, he made his way to the edge of the cleared area, placed the first totem and started moving along. The minutes turned into hours, and the sun faded to night and day again. Noah had long since descended into a meditative state completing the repetitive task with ease. With how vicious the fauna in the jungle was, he didn¡¯t even need to be on the lookout for any creature seeing as though as soon as they noticed him, they immediately attacked. These fights were often short, and viciously bloody. Half the time Noah didn¡¯t even stop jogging as he killed snake after snake, moving in a constant circle around the village. Some time later, his stomach began to get annoyed at him, so he cut across the no man¡¯s land, again keeping an eye out for traps and headed to the gate. ¡°Hey, can you let me in! I¡¯m hungry!¡± After a few minutes of no noise, the gates started to slowly rumble open, and Noah made his way inside. Walking to the nearest communal cooking fire, he asked for and was given food by the attendant. ¡°Noah, that was amazing work, if we had a few people half as good as you, we could expand.¡± Exclaimed Dakon, sitting next to him. ¡°Now I¡¯m guess you are wondering how long you are going to have to stay here? Well every month or so a shuttle from the city comes and deposits people and takes food and resources, they could probably be persuaded to take you. It would be a shame to see you go, but I know you are newly integrated, and it would be selfish to keep you here.¡± ¡°Thank you for the honesty Dakon, some people in your place just wouldn¡¯t tell me and would use me as a creature killing machine. Of course, ill still help out clearing land while I¡¯m here, but now I have a goal to aim for. Thank you Dakon.¡± Excusing himself, Noah got up and walked to his tent, thoughts abuzz, a new desire to see the sights of this new world he found himself in burned inside him. He fell asleep easily that night, a goal firmly cemented in his mind. Chapter 13 - The Future Heralds The weeks passed quickly, each day the same. Noah would wake up, have some food then go to patrolling the No man¡¯s land. He would spend the day killing any creatures that came close. By this time, he was fully proficient in killing Quilaxons, and getting to that point with the Caticans, those strange Spider-tigers. The monotony was only broken by the daily night-time meeting. Every night Noah sat at the campfire and listened. He soaked up as much information that the locals had about the area, the big forces in the universe, and the system in general. One evening stood out in particular though. Noah asked a question that had been on his mind for ages. ¡°Hopefully you guys know about this, but I found some ruins on my way here. Do you know anything about them?¡± A hush descended on the group and Dakon explained ¡°The past of those ruins has been handed down from elder to elder. We do not share the specifics to the village, as if too many people know, then as history has suggested, a strike force will come and wipe out any that exist.¡± ¡°There used to be 4 other villages in this general location, but one by one they disappeared, the survivors coming here and whispering about forbidden knowledge. If you have further questions, please would you talk to me. I must protect this village.¡± ¡°Of course, I would never want harm to come this village because of me. Noah exclaimed quietly. All of a sudden, a loud blaring noise ripped through the village. ¡°That¡¯s the sentry warning signal, something must be braving the defences.¡± Dakon shouted All the warriors enjoying a nice meal at the campfire abandoned their food and rushed to walls. Looking beyond them, Noah relaxed slightly. ¡°Its ok, its only a Snaitta Horde. I met some on the way here, they must have followed me. They are fairly easy to kill.¡± With that Noah jumped down from the walls and charged deep into the lines of Snaitta, swinging the Glavenius as he did so. The shining blade ripped through multiple Snaitta as he swung, the corpses flung to the side as they were replaced by more Snaitta. The mana blade tore through groups of Snaitta further away. Even all this barely made a dent in the size of the horde facing Noah. As he fought his [Dance of blades] skill activated and he stormed through the horde, ripping and tearing at the never-ending tide of bodies. Eventually he began to tire, one man against a limitless horde of angry dog-insects proving to be too much. As he slowed down, the Snaitta began to be able to hit him. The blunt claws smacked into Noah as he tried to keep up [Dance of Blades]. Still bodies fell as he moved like a weakening storm through them. The Snaitta bit and tore at him as he moved slower and slower through them. Each bite fuelling his rage. Rage that he couldn¡¯t protect himself. Rage that he couldn¡¯t protect the village. Rage that he wouldn¡¯t find his family. Rage that this system brought him here.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.
Skill Gained Scourge [Level 1]
You have harnessed your rage into an Aura skill. It burns and weakens anything around you. Has Health Drain.
[Scourge] activated and instantly Noah started to feel better as it tore through the Snaitta surrounding him. The health drain quickly filling him up to full. He dived into the closest pack of Snaitta bring his Glavenius to bear while keep [Scourge] on full. In a record time he shredded through the remaining insects. Walking slowly back to the gates of the village, he was mentally exhausted, and it took him a minute to hear the cheers coming from the walls. When he did a big smile broke across his face, and his lifted the Glavenius in a salute. Trudging through the gate he was instantly swarmed by villagers, most of them recoiling instantly with minor burns. Seeing that Noah remembered the new skill he gained and turned off [Scourge] so he could walk through the village without burning everything. ¡°Hey Dakon, sorry for jumping out there, I fought them before so I thought I could take them. There were so many more this time though. Noah paused, with a haunted look on his face. ¡°If I hadn¡¯t got my new skill I wouldn¡¯t have survived.¡± He explained to an awestruck Dakon. ¡°You have nothing to apologise for my friend. You saved this village. Undoubtably without you, we would not have survived. Not I, nor my predecessors would have been able to defend us from horde that big.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the bodies attracting more Dakon, give me half an hour, this new skill seems good at incinerating things, I should be able to turn the corpses to ash.¡± Noah sat there for roughly half an hour, mana and stamina regenerating. He quickly ran outside, cranked [Scourge] up to full and ran through the Snaitta bodies. [Scourge] was amazingly efficient and quickly turned the bodies to ash. After about an hour all the bodies were gone, and Noah walked back to Dakon. ¡°There you go, shouldn¡¯t have any problem with the corpses now.¡± ¡°Thank you, my friend, Here, Mathias will take you back to your tent, you seem exhausted, don¡¯t worry you will not be awoken unless it¡¯s a matter of life and death.¡± With that Mathias took Noah¡¯s Arm and lead him through the village to his tent. As soon as Noah¡¯s feet felt the soft furs of his bed, he flopped forwards and feel into a dreamless sleep. A few hours later a loud noise crashed through Noah¡¯s system, his body flooding with adrenaline. Stumbling out of his tent, his heart hammering, Noah called out to the nearest villager. A loud rumbling continuing through the air. ¡°Hey, you, sorry yeah you, what¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Oh of course you are new here, you¡¯ll have never heard this before. The empire is here, its trade day!¡± the excitable villager told him. Quickly Noah found Dakon and stood next to him waiting for the rumbling to subside, unfortunately for Noah it only got louder, rumbling through his bones, as if he was on a club floor. A shape descended out of the heavens, splitting through the clouds, aiming for a vast clearing that the village kept. A giant ship made of some unknown metal tore through the air and extended legs to touch down more softly than it would appear it could. The legs barely digging into the soil. A ramp fell through the air and merchants came swarming out of the belly of this ship. They set up their stalls with efficiency showing their their years of practice. As soon as Noah had recovered his jaw from the floor after seeing the ship come floating through the clouds, he started walking away. He was intent on finding his pack, so he could talk to some of the merchants to see if he could get anything identified. As he returned to the square, Dakon came up to him. ¡°I know you have refused payment for how much you have done for us, but this is the least I could do for you.¡± ¡°What are you on about Dakon?¡± Noah asked, perplexed. ¡°I have Chartered you a place on this ship. It will take you to the capital. From there you should be able to find some better work and improve yourself more.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t let you do that Dakon, I should earn my own way!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you see? You have. With what you have killed over the past few weeks, not only are we getting a few amazing things from this ship, but we will be able to relax for a while. Nothing living will be near us. ¡°Well looking at that way, who am I to look a gift horse in the mouth. Goodbye Dakon, you and your village have been amazingly kind to me. Please pass on my thanks.¡± ¡°I will.¡± With that, Noah walked towards the guarded ramp of the ship. The guards recognising him after Dakon pointed him out, let him board. Standing at the top of the ramp, Noah took one last look back at the village with the oppressing jungle highlighted by the sun behind it. He sighed and walked into the belly of the ship. Chapter 14 - Ship Life Noah walked deeper into the ship, looking around in amazement. People bustling around carrying goods in and out of the ship. It was like a small city had taken to the air and landed here. ¡°Halt! You. Stranger. Who are you?¡± A guard deeper in the ship called out. ¡°Oh hey, I¡¯m Noah, Dakon, the leader of the village we are in told me to come here to get a trip to the capital?¡± He replied with a thumb pointing over his shoulder at the village still slightly visible through the ship entrance. ¡°Well if Dakon okays you then we shouldn¡¯t have any problems. You do need to go to processing first though.¡± ¡°Processing? Ok, lead the way.¡± With that, the guard started walking through the corridors taking a dizzying array of turns. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t advise you run off, it is a bit of a maze, once we get you processed, you¡¯ll have a map uploaded to your ACAS, it should help out a bit.¡± ¡°You know about ACAS?¡± Noah asked surprised. ¡°Yeah, Of course. Everyone integrated into the system has one, your ACAS should have mentioned that it would be noticeable only to you. Are you Newly integrated or something?¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah I am. I was integrated about a month, month and half a go? I was sleeping and all of a sudden I was in the middle of the jungle.¡± ¡°Damn that¡¯s shitty, you must have had some decent luck to survive and make it to the village.¡± The guard replied conversationally. ¡°Ah here we are.¡± The pair walked up to a low desk manned by another ship member. Noah recoiled in shock upon seeing the receptionist. Everyone that he had seen since being integrated looked much like the villagers, your basic humanoids with two arms and legs, and slightly iridescent scaly skin. That included the ship members that he watched. The receptionist however reminded of a creature he last saw in the Bestiary of a D&D group. It took him a moment, but then he remembered the name that came with the creature. ¡°D-D-Drider!¡± Noah exclaimed in shock, pointing at the receptionist. The receptionist fortunately took his shock in stride, which may have been easier for her. It could have been because of her eight legs or the fact she was used to people not seeing members of her species before. ¡°Close, but no, my species is called Drideronin, you may call me Samantha. Have you seen one of us before?¡± While Noah recovered from his shock, the guard replied in his stead. ¡°I don¡¯t think he has Samantha, apparently he was only integrated about a month ago. I don¡¯t know why he would have seen one of you before.¡± ¡°Talking of this guy, he needs to get processed, he wants to travel with us to the capital.¡±This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Ok, that¡¯s easy enough, ill take care of him from here. Thanks, Dorcan.¡± ¡°No worries Sammie, Good luck with him. Goodbye Noah, and Good luck.¡± The guard started walking away and Noah blinked out of his shock into time to stutter and goodbye and wave a hand. ¡°Ok dear, lets get you squared away. I¡¯ll need your name, your Path, your destination and a list of possession you have with you at the minute. If you don¡¯t have a list, or don¡¯t know what something you have is, then I can have a look for you. If I can¡¯t identify the items, I can help you organise a specialist to help you find out what the items are.¡± She glanced at a screen that had just dinged with an update. ¡°Apparently you made a good impression with the village you were staying with; your boarding and processing fee has been paid. They have also left some funds in the system to be transferred to your ACAS to help you with anything else you might need.¡± Noah reeled slightly from all the information that was being thrown at him. ¡°Uh yeah can we do that please. He said handing his bag of Holding over to the woman. ¡°Can you make the list please, there are a couple of items in there that I found that I couldn¡¯t identify hopefully you or a specialist can.¡± ¡°That¡¯s no problem dearie, hold on a minute and ill have that list for you.¡± The woman dived deep into the bag of holding, pulling out item after item, murmuring away to herself as she did so. After what seemed like an age, she was done and packed everything neatly back into the bag of holding. ¡°There we are dear, I¡¯ve logged your items onto the system, if you lose any of it, we will now know who it belongs to. I have also sent a list of the items I found to your ACAS should you wish to view the list at a later date. All I need now is your name, your Path and your destination.¡± She stopped there, looking expectantly at Noah. ¡°Well my name is Noah Clark, my destination is the capital, but I have no idea what you mean by Path? I¡¯ve heard that said every now and then, but I still don¡¯t know what it is.¡± Samantha nodded slightly as she transcribed Noah¡¯s details into the terminal. That done, she looked up and started to explain. ¡°A Path is something that everyone who wishes to get to the higher levels in the system must walk. A Path leads to great abilities and ability to survive. As you walk a Path, you gain more power and strength. There are plenty of manuals in the stores that tell you the details of specific Paths. However, you should be wary of walking these Paths, as they tend to be weaker. The science of Paths has been studied, and it has been found that those that find their own Path and walk it with no one leading the way will uncover greater secrets of the system and universe. If you have not yet found your Path yet, then that is perfectly ok. I would say however, that if you plan to be surviving in this part of the galaxy, a path will suit you well.¡± ¡°On a personal level, I¡¯m really jealous! That Weapon is gorgeous, where did you find it!¡± Sammie squealed in excitement. ¡°Thanks for the information Samantha. As for the weapon, I¡¯m sorry I can¡¯t divulge that yet, I need to get stronger before I can share. When I do though, ill let you know first ok?¡± ¡°OK, that makes sense.¡± Sammie replied glumly. ¡°Hey! You won¡¯t be able to do that if you can¡¯t get a hold of me. Here, I¡¯ve just sent my contact details to your ACAS.¡± ¡°Sounds good, I¡¯m sorry to cut this short, but do I have anywhere to stay? I want to put my stuff down and explore for a bit?¡± Noah replied. ¡°Ah yes, I¡¯ve sent the directions to your ACAS, it should be able to take you there. Enjoy your stay aboard the Karnack¡± With that Noah waved his goodbyes and walked out of the doors. stopping in the hallway, the doors closed behind him, Noah blew out his breath. ¡°Ok, OK, ACAS, do you have those directions?¡± ¡°Of course, this way.¡± Noah quickly walked through the ship, following the direction given to him by ACAS, until he reached a plain steel door. The door had what looked like a hand scanner next to it, and shrugging, Noah put his hand on it. SCANNING¡­. SCAN COMPLETE. WELCOME HOME NOAH CLARK. Text appeared on the screen above the scanner and the door swished open. Walking inside, Noah dropped his bag on the floor. ¡°Right, I guess I should have a look and see what Samantha sent to you. First things first.¡± ¡°Inventory!¡±
Inventory
Machete
Assorted Spare Clothes
Flick Knife
Fire Striker
Camping tent
Empty canteen x 2
Glavenius
Quilaxon Hide x 20
Unidentified relic x 3
¡°Well I take it she couldn¡¯t identify the relics then, gonna have to find a specialist. Let¡¯s see what¡¯s in your Inventory ACAS.¡± ¡°Inventory ACAS¡±
ACAS Inventory
Jungle Map
Ruins Map
Credits x 200
Karnack Ship map
¡°Notification. Contact request has been sent. The name of the contact is titled Sammie the ¡°Drider¡±. Do you wish to accept?¡± ¡°Yeah why not, it can¡¯t hurt.¡± With that, Noah got up and walked to the door. ¡°Time to explore.¡± Chapter 15 - Training Noah walked out his room and picked a direction at random. He started walking, the corridors filled with people moving about quickly doing tasks that Noah couldn¡¯t understand from his quick glances. Walking at a swift pace down the corridor Noah walked to a room that had a sign above the door in some strange language. As he stared at the letters swam into a shape resembling English. ¡°ACAS, what¡¯s happening here? Why can I read this?¡± ¡°The same changes that allowed you to gain stats, also made it so that you can read galactic common. It is to allow for easier transition to the galactic order.¡± ¡°Hmm I¡¯m still not happy that I got messed with during this integration, but I gotta say, the stats are sweet.¡± Noah glanced once more at the sign above the door and shrugged. ¡°So, this is the armoury, lets see what¡¯s here I guess.¡± With that Noah walked through the door and was greeted by another of Dakon¡¯s race behind a counter. ¡°Welcome stranger. My name is Heidithas. We have individual training halls for a credit an hour. The public armoury is to your left. I would have to ask you to refrain from going through the door to my right. That is the armoury reserved for serving combat members. Your name would be?¡± ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Noah. I¡¯m new to the ship, gonna be travelling to the capital when we get going. So, you guys hire out training room for anyone to use?¡± ¡°well I hope you enjoy your stay with us. Yes, yes, we do. Training rooms are often hired by returning combat members. After mission, most of our forces have some new ability or technique that they would like to try out. The training rooms are equipped with state-of-the-art combat bots. Unfortunately, they do not give out XP. But nonetheless they are a good way to get more used to your new skills.¡±Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡°Ok, cool, can I hire out a training room then please? I got a new skill recently that I want to figure out how to use more effectively.¡± ¡°Of course, sir. As soon as your ACAS has transferred the funds, a digital key will be transferred to it.¡± With a thought from Noah, ACAS sent the money and confirmed receipt of a key to a training hall. ¡°Your training hall is just behind you. There is a dashboard inside to summon different types and amounts of training bots. Enjoy your time here.¡± Noah thanked the man and walked into the training room. Looking at the dashboard, he scrolled quickly through the different bots available and settled on a horde mode type. Selecting them to be released, Noah faced them, Glavenius in hand. Relaxing, Noah searched within himself for that ball of anger that he had deep inside himself every hour of every day. He felt it, and let the feeling build up within himself, it surging through his body in time with his heartbeat. As the bots got nearer, he struggled to find out how to unleash it as he did when gained the [Scourge] Skill. All of a sudden it clicked, and his emotional Mana combination manifested into a smoky red cape that flowed from his shoulders into a circle around him. In the next instant the combat bots hit the aura and started melting. The closer they got to him the more severe the damage. None of the combat bots held together long enough to take a swipe at Noah. Not long after Noah understood the skill, the bots ran out. His aura reducing them to a metallic gloop. He slowly came out of his trance, as he did so his cloak of mana slowly dissipated. Exhausted Noah sank to the floor resting against the dashboard. After a short while, Noah started to feel better. Getting up, he looked at the dashboard and selected a new set of opponents. Moments later a series of humanoid combat bots walked towards him. They all had sword-like weapons in their hands. Lighting up the edge of the Glavenius with some angry sparking mana, Noah dived forward into the group. This time instead of using [Scourge] he simply used his weapon to slice, cut and bash his way through the group. Images flashed through his mind as he fought, the more he fought the more refined his attacks became. The images showing him how he should move the Glavenius to use it the most effectively. All too soon he ran out of bots to fight, and his time in the room came to an end. Walking out of the training hall a cleaner robot sweeping away the debris that was left over. ¡°Hello there Noah, did you learn anything interesting in your time there?¡± the receptionist asked. ¡°Yes, I did thanks, I managed to control a skill better. Hey, I don¡¯t suppose you know where the guys that specialise in identifying things are?¡± Yep, I do, I¡¯ve sent a marker to your ACAS, it will show up on your map, and your ACAS will also be able to tell you where to go.¡± ¡°Thank you very much, Have a nice day¡± With that, Noah walked out of the armoury, grabbed some food from a nearby vendor and walked back to his room. As he had spent the whole day in the armoury training, he was physically and mentally exhausted. As soon as he got to his room he collapsed on the bed. ¡°ACAS, you have got the marker for the identifiers, right?¡± ¡°Yes, I do. They should be high enough level to identify your relics.¡± ¡°Awesome. We¡¯ll go there tomorrow then.¡± Moments later Noah was fast asleep on the large and comfortable bed. Update Hi all. Work has started again for me, leaving me less and less time to write out a chapter. Also writing a chapter a day felt like a bit of a runaway train that i didnt know how to slow down. it was a good way for me to start this, but from now on, i think im gonna have to change it to a 2 chapters over the weekend. one on saturaday, one on sunday.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Because of this, ill endeavour to make the two chapters much longer than the one a day chapters were. Ill probably move this to the pre-chapter note for the next chapter. but for now i wanted to let you know what was happening Chapter 16 - Relics Morning came far too quickly for Noah, sunlight shining through the large window above his bed. Rolling out of bed he got dressed quickly, grabbed his bag and walked out of his room. Consulting the map of the ship that ACAS held, he followed the directions to the mess hall. Walking through the crowded corridors he eventually got there. Looking inside he could barely believe his eyes. The room was cavernous and filled to the brim with people of many different species. Mostly it was more of the Daltomirians, the same as those in the village. Walking into the room, Noah walked to the counter. ¡°Hi, this is my first time in here, what should I get?¡± The server behind the counter grunted ¡°What can you afford? The food from the village is going for a high price at the minute, but your basic MRE¡¯s are cheap.¡± ¡°I think I best go for the MRE¡¯s; I don¡¯t need to be running out of credits.¡± With a thought, Noah got ACAS to send the 2 credits for the MRE. Turning around with his tray in hand, Noah looked around the room looking for a place to sit. Quickly he spotted the unmistakable shape of Samantha in the distance. She was sitting alone at a table by the edge of the room. Smoothly and with practice from cafeterias throughout his life, Noah walked to her table. ¡°Excuse me, is anyone sitting here?¡± he indicated to the seat on the other side of the table from her. ¡°No, no, sit by all means¡± Samantha looked up with a bright smile. ¡°What are you going to be doing today Noah?¡± Samantha asked, looking happy to have someone to talk to. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m going to be getting these relics identified, just thought I¡¯d grab some food first.¡± ¡°Hey, I just had a thought, could you come with me Samantha? If I get them identified and choose to sell them I don¡¯t wanna get ripped off. If you don¡¯t mind coming with of course?¡± Noah exclaimed excitedly. ¡°Well I¡¯m not busy today, processing is all but done, sure I can come with you, oh and call me Sammie, or Sam.¡± ¡°Cheers Sammie, you¡¯ll be helping me out so much.¡± Quickly the pair of them finished their meals and deposited their trays in the recycler. ¡°Lead the way Noah, I believe your ACAS has the directions?¡± ¡°Yeah he does, this way.¡± Walking down the corridors, Noah had to squeeze past people muttering apologies as he did so, Sammie however, had it a bit easier. She just walked along the ceiling. If she hadn¡¯t, the bulk of her spider body would have been pushing everyone in the corridor out of the way. Samantha grinned down at Noah ¡°having fun down there?¡± ¡°Oh yeah, just tons of fun.¡± He grunted back as he squeezed his way through yet more people. ¡°You know I could just pick you up? We would get there a lot faster.¡± Samantha suggested. After struggling through a few more groups of people Noah shrugged and raised his arms. ¡°Yeah why not, can¡¯t be any worse than this.¡±The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Before he could change his mind, Sammie reached down, grabbed him and started moving. Noah¡¯s feet were dangling a good foot above the heads of those walking along the floor. Slowly Sammie started accelerating. Soon they were racing across the ceiling. She moved across the ceiling with insane speed jinking to the side to avoid various obstructions with millimetres to spare. In no time at all the reached the market. From their vantage point on the ceiling they could both see down the length of the room. Signs separating different areas of the market, telling customers where things could be found. Seeing the sign for identifiers in the distance Sammie and Noah kept on traveling forward over the head of the crowds towards it. They quickly reached it and Sammie dropped them both to the ground. Walking along they were accosted by criers shouting out sales and prices. Far by the most common was. ¡°NO IDENTIFY, NO PAY. NO IDENTIFY, NO PAY!¡± Stopping at a random stall, Noah pulled out his relics. Carefully putting them on the counter Noah leaned forward. ¡°Can you identify these for me? And what¡¯s the price.¡± Of course, I can identify these for you, young sir. The price per item is 20 credits. As you may have heard, if I can¡¯t identify your items then there will be no charge.¡± ¡°Noah, we should go elsewhere, unless this guy is one of the best 20 credits per item is way too high.¡± Sammie whispered to him. ¡°Cheers Sammie.¡± He whispered back to her. ¡°Thank you, but ill have a browse around first.¡± Noah said to the shopkeeper. The pair walked through the market stopping at various stalls of Identifiers. All of them were trying to price gouge the new customer, eyes too blinded by greed to notice Sammie. ¡°Sammie, is that a skill you¡¯ve got? All these guys don¡¯t seem to have noticed you until we walk away.¡± ¡°Yeah, I have a fairly high level [Conceal] skill. If they can¡¯t even see through that, then they are not going to be able to identify your items.¡± ¡°Nice, that sounds like a pretty useful skill.¡± Walking to the last stall, it looked fairly run down, so the pair were not overly confident in the abilities of the merchant. ¡°Welcome sir, and Miss, my name is Jarthis, how can I help you today.¡± ¡°You can see me?¡± Samantha asked in shock. ¡°Yes of course, should I not be able to?¡± Jarthis replied, a confused look on his face. ¡°I have a high level [Conceal] skill I have been using to weed out the lower level identifiers. You are the only one so far that has been able to see through it.¡± Sammie replied. ¡°Well, I have levelled perception specifically Miss. If I did not, how would I be able to perform by job to the best of my ability?¡± Jarthis asked. ¡°What are your prices Jarthis?¡± Noah inquired. ¡°I stick to the usual if I can¡¯t identify it, then there is no charge deal, the rest of the merchants here do, however I only charge 5 credits per item.¡± Jarthis replied, with just a hint of desperation in his voice. ¡°Jarthis, if you don¡¯t mind answering, why is your stall¡­. Like this.¡± Sammie asked spreading her arms to indicate the state of the stall. ¡°I do not wish to speak ill of others Miss, but, I did not agree to the same pricing tactics as the rest of the Identifiers, so they drove me back here and prevented custom getting here.¡± ¡°That sounds shitty. Well I think ill be spending my credits here. Here, I have these three relics that I need identifying. Ill send 15 credits through ACAS so you can get started?¡± ¡°Jarthis looked up with happiness lighting up his face. ¡°Of course, Sir, I will [Identify] these for you promptly¡± With that Jarthis took the first of the relics and stared at it intently, looking at every nook and crevice of the device. He soon put the relic back down. Jarthis went through the same process for the last two relics, spending a great deal longer on the last relic than the first two. Noah soon received a notification that 5 credits had been returned to him. ¡°I could not identify the last item, and for that I apologize, but I did manage to identify the first two. I have sent the details over to your ACAS.¡± ¡°Ok ACAS, Show me¡±
Item Gained Nanite Chestplate
This Armour was crafted by a long dead civilisation not recorded in the system. Some effects may be undiscovered. It has Self repair.
Item Gained Belt of Titans
Gives the user the strength of Titans for a short while. The immense strength infused into the user''s body results in a great wave of fatigue, and rest is absolutely necessary after each use.
¡°Wow these seem amazing, ACAS send Sammie the details please.¡± As soon as Samantha saw the details of the relics her mouth fell open. ¡°Noah, now you have to show me where you found these. A Chestplate from a civilisation not known to the system! That¡¯s amazingly rare.¡± Samantha quickly stalked forward and gloomed over the nervous shopkeeper. ¡°You will not tell anyone of this. Ill pay for your silence, check your ACAS. Noah, I think we should use this guy in particular for any more finds you make. It will buy his silence more than credits.¡± Noah grumbled internally with Samantha saying involving herself, but then quickly decided that it made sense. She has more knowledge of this galaxy then he did. ¡°Sure Sammie, that makes sense, plus he seems like the only one here that can identify them anyway.¡± ¡°Are you ok with that Jarthis? I know this has been sprung on you fairly quickly.¡± ¡°of course, sir, I am more than happy.¡± Jarthis said desperately, leaning backwards from the looming Samantha. ¡°I wish you the best of luck on your travels.¡± ¡°Come on Sammie, you¡¯re scaring him, let¡¯s go. Oh, hey Jarthis, did you figure out how to use this Chestplate?¡± Noah held up the small rectangular object. ¡°Yes Sir, just place it on your chest and hold your finger on the middle. It will absorb and small patch of skin from your finger and learn your DNA. It is a superb safety mechanism. Only you and those you trust to add to the system will be able to take the armour off you.¡± ¡°Thank you Jarthis, Good luck.¡± ¡°Hey Sammie, I¡¯ve got some cool new gear, and some cool abilities. Wanna spar?¡± The look on her face answered his question and the pair of them began making their way to the training halls. ¡°Ooh I¡¯m looking forward to seeing that Glavenius in action¡± Sammie beamed in excitement. Chapter 17 - Sparring They made their way through the corridors in much the same way as they did earlier. Sammie carrying Noah as they scrambled across the ceiling. In a short amount of time they found themselves outside of the training halls. ¡°Back again lad? I hope you aren¡¯t going to wreck my bots again; it took a while for them to regenerate.¡± Heidithas joked upon seeing Noah. ¡°Oh, hey Heidithas! We are going to spar today; we won¡¯t need the training bots.¡± Sammie explained with a smile. ¡°Ok, well we only have one hall free today, a whole bunch of soldiers are training today. You know the price Sammie; shall I leave it on your tab?¡± ¡°Yeah, you do that Heidithas, see you later.¡± With that Sammie bounded forward going through the indicated doors to their training room. Noah followed quickly behind her leaving a ¡°Cheers¡± behind for Heidithas as he held the button to keep the doors open. He entered the room as Sammie was moving to the opposite end of the room pulling out a pair of wickedly curved scimitars. Noah quickly pulled out his Glavenius and his two identified relics. Following the instructions that Jarthis gave him, he bonded the Nanite Chestplate to his DNA, and equipped it. Double-tapping the rectangle on his chest a swarm of grey nanites flowed across his chest forming a sci-fi looking piece of armour. The edges were shaped to help weapons slide off and around the user. It was segmented to allow for a greater range of motion and under it all, peeking from the slight bit of space between the armour and him, you could see a pale blue glow emanating from it. Noah looked at the next relic, the Belt of Titans. Before he equipped it, it looked just like a fancy belt buckle in the shape of some ancient mythological figure holding a sphere on its shoulders. Upon picking it up a short length of leather and metal extended from the side. Noah grabbed the end and pulled it around his waist. The belt extended from the buckle as he pulled so it would fit his waist perfectly. Once he snapped the end of the belt into the buckle, he felt a surge in his mana. Looking inside himself, he saw that alongside the presence of the Glavenius, another object had appeared that was empty of mana. ¡°That must be how this belt works, I¡¯ll try it at the end of the fight, don¡¯t want the fatigue just yet.¡± Noah thought to himself. Refocusing his attention, he saw that Samantha was waiting patiently for him to finish with her swords in ready position. ¡°You ready Noah?¡± Sammie shouted across the room. ¡°Yeah, how are we going to do this, I¡¯ve never sparred before.¡± Noah replied. ¡°I reckon we should start with only basic abilities, and as the fight progresses, we use more skills. It will be a good way to see how we are doing. Oh, and if either of us need to stop at any time, there are healing pills in the storage container on the wall.¡± Sammie explained to him. ¡°Ok, sounds good to me, lets fight.¡± Noah readied himself into the ready position of one of the techniques that he was shown in his vision. Without replying Sammie used all of her legs to launch herself the length of the room, swinging her scimitars down in a brutal overhead swing. Noah stepped back and blocked with the haft of the Glaive. The strength of Sammie¡¯s blow threw his arms downwards and he hurriedly took a step backwards to avoid falling over. Using the swing of arms to generate force and momentum, Noah swung his arms in a circle bringing the leading edge of the glaive in a sharp swing towards Sammie¡¯s head. Without moving her lower half, she just leaned backwards out of range of the blade edge.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Noah stepped forward bringing the glaive back into position as he activated [Dance of Blades]. Moving his glaive into a storm of unending attacks he wove a web of steel in front of her. She had to take a couple of steps back as she furiously dodged or deflected the blade and haft of the glaive. Slowly but surely, she began to put more pressure onto Noah as she started to send questing stabs and slices through to Noah who had to bend and contort his way around the blades. The pair stayed like this for a long while, both of them gaining minor grazes and cuts as attacks slipped through defences. Deciding to step it up a bit Sammie started using her agility to add another dimension into the stalemate. Leaping onto the walls and the ceiling she started overwhelming Noah with the random directions that he had to guard from. As he fought Noah was thinking hard about how he combine skills to improve his fighting ability. After taking a slightly deeper nick, the idea came to him to start incorporating [Spectre Step] into his fighting style. Sammie leapt through the air to go to land on the wall. As she did she swung at Noah, instead of blocking this attack, he activated [Spectre Step] and phased through the attack slamming a hammer blow of a strike into the chitin of her foremost leg knocking her out of the air and slamming her to the ground. Sammie pulled herself to her feet looking surprised. She launched into another attack and now it seemed like every attack was just a little bit faster, just a little bit stronger and once again even with using [Spectre Step] Noah was starting to be forced backwards. As the fight went on longer and longer, her speed and strength kept increasing and Noah was frantically defending. Eventually a strike slipped through every defence he could conjure, and a massive blow cracked through the air and hit Noah in the chest sending him flying backwards several meters. ¡°Shit! Noah are you ok?¡± Sammie shouted in concern Looking down at the spiderweb of cracks on his Chestplate Noah looked up and smiled ¡°I¡¯ll have a hell of a bruise tomorrow, but it looks like the armour took most of the hit¡± he replied happily. Taking a glance back down at the armour, he was shocked for a moment to see the cracks disappearing and then remembered that it had self repair as a function. ¡°Ready again Sammie!¡± Noah shouted across the room. Without waiting for a response Noah charged mana into the Glavenius and he swung it at Sammie sending a sparking red lightning mana infused blade flying across the room at her. She could barely react in time and just managed to block it with crossed scimitars. The force of the mana blade shoved her backwards, her claws scraping along the floor. She shivered as lightning was conducted through the metals and through her body. She quickly recovered and her scimitars started glowing a sickly green colour. Rapidly a green dripping ball formed at the tip of her swords. Flicking them she sent the balls zooming across the room. Diving to the side Noah just dodged them and saw that they left a puddle of goop on the floor that was quietly sizzling away. They both charged at each other sending projectiles flying. Sammie either dodged or deflected his mana blades, seemingly getting used to the lightning very quickly. Noah did the same, he was just more unwilling to have her projectiles hit him, so he mainly focused on dodging them. He deflected the last projectile with the flat of his blade and reached inside himself focusing his mana into the Belt of Titans. An unimaginable strength filled his body, he felt like he could lift the world, with a roar he swung an overhead strike at Sammie. Their blades connected with a thunderous crash, sending shockwave around the room neither of them giving way to the other. They began to swing at each other with abandon, every strike was blocked on both sides. Every time their blades connected a shockwave was sent out into the room. Both of them began to dig indents into the floor from resisting each other¡¯s attacks. Slowly Noah felt himself begin to weaken and he tried to pump more mana into the Belt of Titans, but he couldn¡¯t. as much as he tried to it felt like that it had no more room for mana and yet he was still weakening. One last strike came from Samantha that threw him away as he blocked, knocking the Glavenius from his hands. As he flew through the air, he felt as weak as a kitten. At that point all the mana that was stored in the Belt of Titans was dumped back into his body. He landed with a thunderous crash on the floor, groaning slightly feeling a great wave of exhaustion, but strangely enough not the immense weakness that he had felt as he flew through the air. Blearily blinking his eyes open, he saw a concerned Samantha standing over him, holding out a hand for him to grab onto. ¡°Are you Ok Noah? You look terrible.¡± She asked worriedly. ¡°Yeah I¡¯m ok, the fatigue that the belt gives you is no joke though, I feel like I need to sleep for a week.¡± He grumbled half-heartedly. ¡°that was a good fight though.¡± ¡°Ok let¡¯s get you back to your room.¡± Sammie picked him and his glaive up and walked outside. ¡°Thanks, Heidithas we had fun in there, sorry about the room.¡± Waving at him she walked back out into the corridors. ¡°No worries, see you guys another time.¡± Heidithas took a look into the room. The room was ruined, the floor indented with footprints, puddles of sizzling liquid everywhere, huge rent carved into the walls and anything breakable smashed. He sighed and motioned for the robots to start fixing the room. ¡°That¡¯s gonna take a while.¡± Sammie received the directions to Noah¡¯s room from his ACAS and quickly took him back there, shaking him awake just enough so he could let them inside, she put him in his bed, left the Glavenius next to it and left. As she stepped back out into the corridor, she finally let the exhaustion show on her face, if only for a brief second. ¡°That was a hell of a fight, he¡¯s only been in the system for a little while, he is doing really well.¡± Smiling to herself she raced across the ceiling to her own quarters show she could get some sleep herself before she crashed. They were both fast asleep hours later when a loud rumbling sound shook through the ship and it began to lift off. A monotone voice coming from speakers in the corridor said. ¡°Next stop Daltomir Capital¡±