《Eater of Spirits》 1. Through a Magic Mirror Jarod heard a heavy footstep, and the chink of metal. It sounded as if it were just outside of his bedroom, but that didn¡¯t seem right, he would have heard the door open, and of course he lives alone. He pulled out his earbuds and paused his game, an RPG he was rather fond of. He stepped out into the living room kitchen dining room combo that was the second of two rooms in his apartment, and spoke. ¡°Hello? Anyone there?¡± And when he saw the intruder, his heart skipped a beat. Standing in his living room was some kind of medieval knight, with shining black armor and a heavy spiked mace at his side. He raised a finger to Jarod, and said something in a gutteral language. In his other hand was that vicious looking mace. Jarod noticed he was standing on a half empty pizza box, which was meant to be his dinner tonight. An odd thought to come up, given that he had more pressing concerns. ¡°Listen, I don¡¯t have anything worth stealing, my computer is like seven years old at this point and that pizza you¡¯re standing on is the product of the last of my bank account.¡± The man spoke again, in that strange language. Why did Jarod even try in english? It¡¯s not like this strange man could speak it. But suddenly, he started to understand the words he was saying. This new ability was accompanied by a sharp pain in the sides of his head. A splitting headache like nothing he¡¯s ever had before. ¡°-and your dungeon lair is pitiful. Give me your artifact and I will be on my way.¡± He demanded. His voice was incredibly deep, but he also was about seven feet tall. So not exactly the weirdest thing going on. ¡°My what?¡± And at that point, Jarod noticed that in the place of his door was a glowing mirrorlike surface, which rippled like the surface of water. ¡°Tell me, monster, why do you assume the form of a human? Reveal your true self.¡± ¡°What do you mean I¡¯m not human?¡± The knight took a step forward, and Jarod jumped in fear with a high pitched yelp. ¡°Hm, so you are.¡± He said as he continued his approach. Jarod backed into the corner of his living room, and cowered in fear. The stranger grabbed Jarod¡¯s shoulder hard. ¡°But it seems, you are something more. You are the artifact.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a what!?¡± The strange knight hoisted Jarod onto his shoulder, and Jarod only remained limp and confused as he turned around and crouched through the doorway to pull him through. The room was now very quiet. The portal in the doorway closed soundlessly to reveal an untouched door. A fly buzzed around for a moment, before it landed on the old pizza. Jarod was no longer in his apartment, of that he was sure. The room was dark, the walls looked like carved stone in a cave. Upon stepping through the doorway, the people of the room wore black cloaks, and chanted three times. ¡°He has returned, he has returned, he has returned.¡± His captor carried him through the halls, men in lighter armor and black robes moved out of the way for him. Jarod shifted his position for just a moment, and brushed his hand against the knight. A floating blue window appeared in front of Jarod as soon as he did so.
Class: Defiler Knight (tier 4) Stats:
  • Strength - 25
  • Endurance - 21
  • Agility - 14
  • Willpower - 20
He yelped, but nobody around him seemed to notice the screen. He tapped himself.
Class: None Stats:
  • Strength - 0
  • Endurance - 0
  • Agility - 0
  • Willpower - 0
Magic:
  • Analysis - skill: rank 0
  • Spirit harvest - spell: rank 0
Gear: Pajamas,Disposable ballpoint pen (43%)
Jarod thought that they were exercise clothes, being stained sweatpants and an offwhite undershirt. But he supposed bizarre magic would be entitled to whatever opinion he wished. He assumed the screen was this ¡®analysis¡¯ skill, but spirit harvest sounded¡­ ominous. The defiler knight stopped moving. They were at the end of the hall, in front of two heavy wooden doors, an image of a skull burned into them. The room had a thick wooden desk and an older robed man sitting at it. His hair was stark white, and slicked back. Papers were stacked neatly, and he looked up from scribbled notes. The defiler knight dropped Jarod onto the cold stone floor, then knelt to the man at the desk. ¡°I have returned with a bounty.¡± ¡°So soon?¡± The older man stood up, and looked at Jarod curled up, cold on the floor. ¡°Where is it?¡± The older man asked, as he looked up from Jarod, and to the knight. ¡°You¡¯re looking at it.¡± The knight did not look up from the floor. The old man¡¯s eyes widened with a confused, but hopeful surprise. ¡°Such an expensive ritual, for such a weak human.¡± ¡°But an artifact, as well.¡± The old man touched Jarod, and Jarod felt a cold presence, as if he were being read like a book. ¡°So he is, this is different. What is you name?¡± He gave Jarod a light kick. More of a tap to get his attention, really. ¡°Jarod.¡± He weakly squeaked. ¡°Jarod, tell me what land you¡¯re from.¡± ¡°Philadelphia.¡± He winced. That probably didn¡¯t mean anything to these random cultists from a magical portal. ¡°If I may, your grace, I found him in a strange room with unrecognizable architecture. Out of the windows I could see strange towers of steel in the distance. The portal has closed, but I am certain it was a massive realm that is completely foreign to us.¡± ¡°I see.¡± He paused. Jarod looked up at the man, and met his eyes for just a moment. His eyes were pure black, unsettling. The man broke eye contact and went to his desk to open a drawer. He pulled free a small bottle with a swirling red energy inside, as if there were a fire inside. He held the bottle to Jarod.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Consume it.¡± ¡°Your grace, are you sure?¡± The knight did not look up from the ground. The old man said nothing, and still held the bottle. Jarod didn¡¯t see much of a choice really. He felt awful, like he was being tossed around like a ragdoll and forced to dance on puppet strings. But still, when a man with evil eyes, and assumed magic powers tells you to drink some weird potion, you drink the damn potion. So he grabbed the bottle with a shaky hand, uncorked it, and tilted it back as if taking a shot. And oh did it burn when it went down, not quite a liquid, solid, or gas, it filled him as if he had swallowed fire. Pure energy dissipated into him. His heart burned, and he clutched it for pain that lasted for only a minute. Then, his mind left him. He found himself in a grey expanse. It didn¡¯t feel like being lost in a void, but he knew it was somehow in his mind. He was sitting cross legged, and in front of him sat a small creature, like a human, but only knee high, and it had a long lizard-like snout and blunt teeth. It chirped at him, its body was not solid, seemingly it was woven out of strands of fire and energy pulled from nothing. Jarod could feel its emotions. Fear, namely, but it wasn¡¯t afraid of him. He held his hand out to it, like he would offer to let a dog sniff it whenever he met a new one. And it crawled towards him on all fours. It nipped his hand, but it didn¡¯t hurt much at all. He flinched, but stayed calm. The creature in front of him crawled into his lap, and soon melted into him, a soothing warm feeling that washed away the pain. Then he returned to the moment, the exact moment where he had entered that strange ¡®spirit place.¡¯
Consumed:Salamander spirit Willpower increased to 1 New Magic! Spell learned - ember: rank 0
Jarod felt slightly more calm, as if he had more control of his mental faculties, more resistance to the intense fear and confusion. Only some, however. Again, the old man touched him, reading him like a book. This time, Jarod saw him as well. But if he noticed, he sure didn¡¯t show it.
Class: Dread Magi (tier 5) Stats:
  • Strength - 6
  • Endurance - 5
  • Agility - 10
  • Willpower - 40
¡°So, Jarod, it seems you are a curiosity. Both an artifact, and a human.¡± He paused, to think for a moment. ¡°Take him to the vault.¡± He added. ¡°Of course.¡± The knight stood up, and again slung Jarod over his shoulder. This time they went down a spiral staircase, until they reached a large lobby. A dark red carpet laid along the stone floor, again the entire room seemingly carved from a single stone. The bannister of the staircase was a smooth black marbled with grey, and large pillars held the undoubtedly heavy ceiling in place. The main hall had several armored guards with halberds, two massive stone doors stood proud, immovable even. Once they reached the ground floor, the knight turned to a new door. He unlocked it to reveal a staircase, with no light to see the descent. Before they took the first step, the great entrance doors shattered inward, a knight in silver and gold trimmed armor at the front, followed by a veritable army of soldiers in similar colors. ¡°Shit!¡± The defiler knight threw Jarod into the dark hall, then slammed the door as he turned to face the incursion. Jarod fell into the dark staircase, luckily he caught himself before he really started tumbling. It was pitch black in here, and he really wished for some light. In that moment, a small fire lit at the tip of his finger, like a burning match. It hovered above him, so it did not burn, but he instinctively knew that if he were to touch it, it would hurt the same as any other fire. Then it hit him. Magic. It was really that easy? He had just made fire! With his mind! If he weren¡¯t completely absorbed by fear, he would probably faint in shock at just that. He thought about heading back up to hide with those folks in the silver armor, but he could hear the screams of battle and couldn¡¯t guarantee they wouldn¡¯t mistake him for one of these cultists. He could stay in place, but that had the same problem. So he ran down the stairs, his adrenaline was pumping enough that he could keep from tripping. He wasn¡¯t exactly the most fit person around. In fact he was slightly chubby, if he had to admit it. At the bottom of the staircase was another door, he didn¡¯t hear anything but the sounds of battle from above, so he pushed the door open. The room was simple stone, with a wall made of some kind of metal that glowed with dark red runes. And in the center of the room was some kind of beast chained up. It looked like a wolf, but its eyes were glowing like hot coals, and its body blended into shadow. It was chained to a peg in the center of the room, but it raised its head to see Jarod enter, and it immediately stood up and growled at him. It was a deep growl that threatened Jarod to his very core. He was not going to hold his hand out to this beast, he had decided. However, it was chained up, and he was free to go back to the staircase. But he felt, deep within, that he had another option. He flicked his hand, and the fire at the end of his finger flew in a straight line towards the beast. It wasn¡¯t particularly large, in fact it was about the size of a golf ball. The beast jumped up and swallowed the fireball, like it was a treat. It stood suddenly at attention, as if waiting for Jarod¡¯s next move. No¡­ Jarod thought. It couldn¡¯t be that easy. He tossed another fireball, with an underhand to give it a gentle arc. The beast caught it again. Its tail rose and wagged. It was, in fact, that easy. Jarod, after tossing a few more of these fireballs, walked closer, and began to look around the room. Unfortunately, there wasn¡¯t anything but that large steel wall, with all the engravings. Jarod approached the beast, and held his hand out, it approached, and sniffed his hand, before bumping its nose into his hand.
Monster:Hell hound Stats:
  • Strength - 8
  • Endurance - 7
  • Agility - 9
  • Willpower - 3
This didn¡¯t make more sense, but at least it didn¡¯t try to kill him. Jarod wondered if his abilities would work on non-living things. He figured it was worth a try. He walked up to the ominous wall, and placed his hand against it.
Enchantment: Arcane vault - Rank 20 This vault is powered by the soul of a demon.
He was certain when whatever fugue state he was in wore off, he would snap for good. Demons? Real demons? Well, it could be worse. Though, he was always too curious for his own good. ¡°Spirit harvest¡± he whispered, and his hand that touched the wall began to glow. Again, he was in that grey void, this time instead of a small implike creature was a massive formless swirl of black and red energy. He was about to speak, when a booming voice dominated the area. ¡°Who do we have here?¡± There were crackles of lightning within the cloud as it spoke. ¡°My name is Jarod, and who are you?¡± ¡°A demon does not share its name, child. Tell me, why are you attempting to pull me from this enchantment?¡± ¡°Well, because I can, I think.¡± The demon laughed. ¡°Not every day does a meal walk into your mouth.¡± The cloud approached Jarod, and it swirled around him for but a moment, and then all at once it closed in on him. He began choking on the black smoke, and it began to hurt. A pain so sharp, so fierce that he could barely believe it was happening. He writhed in pain, spasming on the floor. Was it a floor? Within his own mind? He could not ask these questions, for the raw pain eclipsed them. He began to subconsciously search for anything within him to help, anything to set him apart, or give him an advantage against this oppressive energy. It was too much, and suddenly he couldn¡¯t remember his parent¡¯s faces, or his those of his childhood friends. It was stealing his sense of self. He tried to focus on his name, but it became hard to remember. Jarod. Jarod. His name is Jarod. He forced himself to remember. Names, it said something about names. He focused on his analysis skill, put all of his energy into touching this entity and discovering something, anything new. And he touched it.
Skill up! Analysis rank increased to 1
Alazitosaz, guardian of halls Monster: Greater Demon
  • Strength - //
  • Endurance - //
  • Agility - //
  • Willpower - 37
¡°Alazitosaz, guardian of halls! Let me go!¡± He shouted. Immediately, the tendrils of smoke released from him, and cowered back as if touching him stung. ¡°How!?¡± It said, pained. ¡°Alazitosaz, guardian of halls, be harvested.¡± And Jarod found himself standing in front of the metal wall, the glow had left the engravings. The hellhound sat by his side panting happily. In his hand was a small glass bottle, a swirling cloud of black smoke crackled with lightning within. At about that point, Jarod fainted. 2. Welcome to the Citadel Jarod woke in a jail cell, with a bandage wrapped around his head. The light was mercifully low, given that he probably had a concussion. Last he remembered he had a fight with a demon. He fought a demon. Jarod fought a demon and he was not quite at terms with that. Panic had dug its vile fingers into his hair and was about to start wracking him when a clear voice called out to him. ¡°Awake, I see.¡± A woman in silver and gold armor sat on the other side of the jail cell, her hair vibrant red. She leaned forward in her sturdy wooden chair. She had a handful of highly visible scars across her mouth and cheek. ¡°Um, morning?¡± ¡°It¡¯s evening, actually. You¡¯ve been out for a day, give or take.¡± Jarod cursed himself, his rent was due in a week and he really had to get to work today. He then thought it was silly he was worried about work when he was in a magical world. ¡°Well, uh, good evening?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to cut straight to the chase. We found you unconscious at the bottom of a black-keep with a greater demon spirit drawn into a bottle. To do that, you would need either incredible power, or a legendary artifact. You have no artifact on you, but it is also obvious you are no powerful spellcaster.¡± ¡°And what makes you say that?¡± Jarod felt insulted. ¡°You¡¯re dressed like a prisoner.¡± This woman was incredibly matter of fact. Jarod looked down at his clothes, which were still the stained exercise-wear. He would rather she said pajamas. ¡°I don¡¯t know where you¡¯re going with this, to be honest.¡± Jarod said. He found it a bit hard to breathe here, the air was thin and the room stuffy. ¡°I believe you are a common thief who has managed to get way in over his head. On one hand, stealing from the cult of the Defiler isn¡¯t frowned upon, but a thief isn¡¯t exactly someone we want to run free without supervision. Do you see my predicament?¡± ¡°Well I can¡¯t really say how much you¡¯d value my word, but those cultists told me I was an artifact. Whatever that means.¡± As the words left Jarod¡¯s lips, the woman in armor furrowed her brow, and she looked incredibly concerned, surprised, and slightly scared. ¡°Er, is it something I said?¡± Jarod asked. She sat still for a moment longer, to gather her thoughts. She then leaned back and pointed to the door leading out of this interrogation room. ¡°Behind that door is a truth priest, if you tried to lie we would all know. Tell me, who said that you were an artifact?¡± ¡°First, there was this massive man in black armor, the one with the mace. He¡¯s the one that kidnapped me. Then, there was an older man with black eyes and white hair, and he confirmed I was an artifact. I was being brought to somewhere they called ¡®the vault¡¯ when you guys showed up.¡± Hearing that, the woman stood up and put her hands to the bars. ¡°Are you telling me Jez Kai El was not only in that black-keep, but thought you were valuable enough of an artifact to keep in his personal stash!? And how do you understand black speech!? It takes years of study! He spoke to you? You speak Caldish so naturally!¡± She shouted. It sounded more like a list of rhetorical questions, but Jarod didn¡¯t know anything but to respond. ¡°Yes?¡± She sat down. Almost exhausted by just the surprise. ¡°So tell me, how did you find a demon soul?¡± And so, Jarod introduced himself, and explained the events to the best of his ability. From being taken from his home, to the strangers, to somehow understanding their language and hers, to the vault where he passed out. She nodded along thoughtfully. ¡°Well Jarod, you¡¯re remarkably calm for what¡¯s happened.¡± ¡°As I said, that demon was eating my memories, it¡¯s been a day and I only have parts of my old life left. From what I can remember¡­ It wasn¡¯t great. Yeah, my entire worldview is shattered, but I can at least remember that I¡¯ve always been good at keeping my wits about me.¡± His mother was a bit of a hippie, always teaching him her newest meditation technique that was going to change everything for her. And yet, he couldn¡¯t remember her face, and was struggling with her name. He thinks it was a flower, red, thorny¡­ Rose! He remembered she taught him grounding exercises. So he had made his parent¡¯s names his grounding, even if he couldn¡¯t remember their faces, or even had that great of a relationship with them in the first place. ¡°Right. I think our first step is going to be rather sudden. I¡¯m going to need you to make a choice, and I expect to hear your answer tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°Well, what¡¯s the choice?¡± ¡°As it stands, you are a tool.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not very nice.¡± Jarod said. The woman didn¡¯t seem to get the joke. ¡°-A blunt sword that needs to be sharpened, to point at our enemies. You will have to train briefly under us, to make sure your morals aren¡¯t aligned with the forces of evil. Then your choice will come to light. Become part of our order, or set off alone.¡± ¡°If I¡¯m going to be trained either way, why not let me wait until the time of?¡±Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Because this needs to be a choice of conviction. Anyone who does not purely agree with our order cannot be part of it. Of course, I will elaborate on who we are, and what we do.¡± ¡°Sounds a bit fascist if you ask me.¡± ¡°Sounds what?¡± ¡°Nevermind, can you please explain your order?¡± ¡°Well, I should properly introduce myself. My name is Kala, I am a paladin of the order of the silver sunset. Always fighting at the edge of darkness, our forces are the first line of defense against the forces of darkness. All paladins are equal rank, only below the oracle herself. Below us are priests, who are trained separately, but are a rank higher than our knights, who are above their squires, and them above the men at arms. It is our duty to fight the scourge of evil, such as the cult of the Defiler that stole you, among many others. It is not an easy life, but we seek to protect all who fall under the sun¡¯s light.¡± ¡°Sounds, religious, do you worship a god, a member of a pantheon?¡± ¡°Aurella, the twilight lady. Goddess of protection and justice. Do you have such gods in your world?¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡­ complicated. And I¡¯d rather leave it at that.¡± ¡°I expect your answer by tomorrow, of course.¡± ¡°No need, I already know my answer.¡± ¡°Ah, good conviction!¡± ¡°Well, after the training I would rather head out on my own, believe it or not. I have problems with authority.¡± Jarod sheepishly admitted. It¡¯s not like it was worth trying to lie. ¡°Well, I appreciate your candor.¡± Kala didn¡¯t seem upset. In fact, she seemed much more relaxed now. ¡°Can I ask a few questions?¡± ¡°Of course. I imagine you have a few.¡± ¡°Do the words ¡®stats¡¯ and ¡®class¡¯ mean anything to you?¡± Jarod asked. Kala chuckled. ¡°Of course, as much as I know day and night.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have these in my world, could you give me a brief rundown?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s quite simple. Our stats are a measure of four rather self explanatory attributes. Strength, endurance, agility, and willpower. You can increase them by training them.¡± ¡°What about eating spirits?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of it until you, to be honest. You see, artifacts gain power from spirits that they absorb.¡± ¡°Well, can I eat that demon spirit then? I figure it could make me pretty strong.¡± ¡°I would never let you do that. Artifacts are modified by the spirits they devour, and more powerful spirits modify the artifact more drastically. That spirit you ate earlier was weak, but anything stronger might permanently change you for the worst. That demon might completely consume your identity, even with knowing its name.¡± ¡°Good to know¡­¡± ¡°As for classes, after progressing your stats above the base level zero, you can choose your first class from three, fighter, rogue, and acolyte. Then as your class abilities advance, you can advance your class along the lines of your abilities. Of course, it becomes exponentially harder every time. I am the paladin class, a tier 4 class.¡± ¡°I think I kind of get it.¡± ¡°During your training, we¡¯ll advance you to your first class. I can help you get your footing, as our creed is to help the weak, but ultimately we cannot hold your hand forever.¡± ¡°To be honest, your offer awfully generous already. Despite the jail cell.¡± Jarod motioned around him. ¡°You¡¯re a special case, that¡¯s why. Normally we would turn away anyone not committed to the order, but it is in our best interests to keep you from falling into the wrong hands.¡± ¡°Fair." He really didn''t know whether he thought it was fair, but he desperately needed some direction right now. Kala unlocked the door to the cell and Jarod stepped out. All in all, far from the worst case scenario. His head still hurts like a hurricane, but he would manage. After feeling his soul being devoured, other pains didn''t seem so bad. She led him out of the cell past a man in white robes and a guard, then up two floors to a small lobby that led to the courtyard. As they went outdoors, the air bit him with cold. The white stone spires of this castle broke the nearby cloudline. This fortress was atop a mountain, which explained the thin air. "Welcome, to the sunset citadel." Kala said with pride. The cold didn''t seem to bother her, but Jarod was already shivering. "Cold." "We are in the far North, atop mount Hatask where it is always sunset. This is where we train, and where we base our operations. You are lucky we were so near, but it is worrying a black-keep had formed only a days march away." "You keep mentioning something called a black-keep, what''s so special about them?" "The defiler himself can sculpt one in but a day, and maintains the power to do so about once a year. The cultists can travel freely between any black-keep, and to destroy one is the only way to prevent the cult from taking hold." "What do they do?" Jarod asked. The question caught Kala off guard. "What do they do?" Kala asked, as if to make sure she heard it right. "Are you fighting them just because they worship the wrong god? All I saw of them was them kidnapping me, which isn''t great, but then defending themselves." "If you are worried about the moral ambiguity of it, have no fear. They practice human sacrifice, cannibalism, and provide their bodies as hosts for demons. To fight the defiler cult is one of our greatest duties." "Ah." Good to know, Jarod thought. "I bring you out here so that you can see our citadel, to see our might. We train to become as our citadel. Bright, immoveable, pure." She stood for a moment longer. "Your training will have two parts, mental, and physical. You will learn our tenets, even if you do not wish to follow them. You will also train as our initiates do." She pointed towards a distant group in the courtyard, practicing some kind of sword drills. "Are they¡­" "Yes, they are in their underwear. It hones their endurance as well as their willpower, so suffer in the cold as they do." Kala stated, matter of fact. Jarod started to have second thoughts, but he doubted he could survive a trek down this mountain, even if he had gear. Fire spell be damned. "Now come, I will show you to your lodging. You will be placed in the barracks with the other initiates. They will be briefed on your situation, but they will be in the same training regimen as you." "Won''t I be behind?" "Only a week, this group has just arrived. Our training is intensive, so you will have your class by the end of next month, unless you¡¯re a total failure, of course." Jarod was about to object that yes, he was in fact a failure. He was lazy, and didn''t want to do this. And the thought of two and a half months really set the gravity of the situation. He wasn''t going to get back home, or at least he wasn''t getting home easily. Did he even want to? 3. Training Begins Jarod woke up, his bed straw and his blanket threadbare. Somehow, the prison cell was more comfortable. He didn''t remember drifting off to sleep, but it must have been before the initiates returned. They however, were all still asleep. He didn''t know what time it was, since it was always sunset in this place, but felt it was about morning. At the foot of his bed was a neatly folded white robe, and what appeared to be linen underwear. He remembered he wasn''t wearing underwear with his exercise clothes, and he was starting to smell a bit if he had to be honest. So he leaned up to grab the clothing, and wriggled them under the covers. Then he started the arduous but well practiced process of squeezing into clothes while under covers. Once he had finished, the robes were surprisingly warm and comfortable. They felt soft as wool, but far less scratchy. It was when he popped out of the covers he noticed the man in the bunk next to him was staring right at him. They made eye contact. "What the hell was that?" He whispered "I''m putting on my clothes¡­" Jarod responded. "Why didn''t you just get up to do it? That would have been less weird." "I didn''t think it was weird." Jarod''s bed was at the end of the row, a total of ten beds in these barracks. On the other side of the judgemental man, the covers started shifting. A blonde man stuck his foot out of the covers and grabbed his robes with his toe, then pulled them under his covers and similarly put them on as Jarod did. "Aha! I''m not the only one!" "Traitor!" The judgemental man was still quiet, but was caught off guard and sat up. He threw his covers off, revealing he was stark naked. He proudly stood up and slipped on his clothes. He then turned to the two and bent over with a judgemental slant. ¡°That¡¯s how one should get dressed in the morning.¡± ¡°Can you guys shut the fuck up?¡± A deep voice came from the next bed over. A dark skinned man with curly black hair, he pulled the covers over his face. ¡°I¡¯m trying to get some sleep.¡± He finished his statement. ¡°Aye.¡± Said an even deeper, rougher voice, from further down the room. Jarod curled into his place in bed. The clothes were warm enough to make him want to stay in bed. Though, it was not meant to be, a horn sounded from the distance, and everyone in the room scrambled out of their beds and put on robes. The judgemental man was the only one who went commando, it seemed. Jarod crawled out of bed, motivated by the other''s sudden vigor. They filed In a line of nine people including Jarod, and they went to a small meal hall. A similar line of women entered at the same time, eight of them. At the center of the room was an old man wearing priest¡¯s robes. ¡°Good morning, priest Pardim. Normally we don¡¯t see you until lectures, what brings you here?¡± The judgemental man said. Overly polite. ¡°Well, as you all know we have a new initiate. Jarod will be treated as one of you, I¡¯d suggest introducing yourselves at your own leisure.¡± He hopped up with plenty of energy, and strolled out of the room. Straight and to the point. Now, Jarod noticed behind where he stood was a table with a heated pot, bowls, and spoons. It seems it is warm soup for breakfast. The judgemental man was first to the table, took a bowl of soup and sat at a meal table. He was joined by a handful of others, and Jarod was soon after taking his own bowl of soup and claiming his own table. Five others sat with him, and all leaned forwards with inquisitive eyes. ¡°The name is Ramek.¡± The dark skinned man held a hand out, the one who told everyone to shut up this morning. Jarod shook it. At least handshakes were the same.
Ramek Lost-son Class: None Stats:
  • Strength - 0
  • Endurance - 0
  • Agility - 1
  • Willpower - 1
Ah, Jarod had almost forgotten about analysis. Though, Ramek Lost-son was an interesting name. Though so far he hasn¡¯t heard a single name that sounded like it was from Earth. ¡°I¡¯m going to cut straight to the point, us five have a betting pool as to what your situation is. We were only told that you were rescued from the defilers, and that you were special. My guess is that you¡¯re a homunculus. Crafted to be a servant and that you might have our secrets. It¡¯s perfect because us initiates don¡¯t really learn much new, aside from training practices.¡± He had piercing hazel eyes, and a proud demeanor. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to say, nope. I was taken from another dimension, I¡¯m pretty sure.¡± The group turned to eachother, then four of them passed a few bronze coins to a woman, who looked incredibly smug with herself. Each person introduced themselves, the pale man with blonde hair from this morning is Chen. A ruddy skinned, scruffy man with a thick black beard was next, who introduced himself as Agden. Then, the woman who won the bet had dark skin and curly hair, she is Jiina. Lastly, a pale quiet girl with pale orange hair named Tin. They spoke about the training, and Jarod listened. Mostly it was complaints about the difficulty of the training. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°Now tell me, who is that judgemental guy from this morning?¡± Jarod finally asked. ¡°Ah, Steel.¡± Ramek sighed. ¡°His name is Steel?¡± ¡°We¡¯re both from the iron hills, a region built off of our metals industry. Most of us are named after metals.¡± Tin said. ¡°Fair.¡± Jarod responded. ¡°Anyway, he leads a clique we¡¯ve taken to calling the zealots. They¡¯re not bad, they¡¯re just dedicated.¡± Ramek said. He didn¡¯t seem to have any ill will. ¡°Total asshole, in my opinion.¡± Jiina said. Chen snorted with a laugh. ¡°Aye.¡± Said Agden. The issue dropped, and they talked of meaningless things. That in itself, helped Jarod far more than any lecture or inspirational speech. Everybody here was in their late teens and early twenties, save for Agden who¡¯s almost forty. He had all his stats above zero, save for agility. Interesting how no matter how high your stats get, if they all aren¡¯t above zero you can¡¯t progress. It¡¯s odd thinking about people¡¯s stats. Very odd.
After eating, they entered a room like a classroom. But it was a large circular table with a raised platform in the center where the lecturer would speak, but Pardim waited just inside the door, and gave a gentle handshake and a pat on the shoulder to everyone who entered. When he greeted Jarod, his stats were revealed.
Pardim Colshotte Class: Sun Priest (tier 3) Stats:
  • Strength - 2
  • Endurance - 3
  • Agility - 3
  • Willpower - 27
Jarod really needed to learn how to control this better. But the fact that this man was somewhat advanced in his class, but only had one good stat was interesting. The rules for this world seem so arbitrary. He sat down at the round table, following the other¡¯s example. ¡°It is good to see you all today! Last week we talked about the founding and structure of our order. I expect Jarod will have help catching up.¡± Pardim nodded to Jarod for a moment, but then turned back to speaking to the full room. ¡°Today, we will talk about our position on dungeon seeds, the enigmatic portals to dangerous realms. The seeds themselves aren¡¯t inherently evil, and oftentimes are simply violently defensive. The thesis of our position, is that they are tools to be used. You may only use the soul of a non-sentient being to generate them, but if you do, there is no restriction to taking the artifact held within. In fact, it is encouraged, even, to use the seeds to make yourself stronger. The artifacts you find might even allow you to progress to rare and exciting classes, which in turn would allow you to serve Aurella better. Now, to speak of our history with dungeons and important artifacts retrieved from them¡­¡± He began to dryly list names of artifacts, without really elaborating on what they do, just names of who owned them. Jarod leaned to Ramek next to him. ¡°Can you explain these dungeon seeds? Do these portals looks like silvery mirrors?¡± He asked. Ramek leaned to Jarod in response. ¡°They do. Is that how you came here?¡± ¡°It is. Would it be possible to take the same route back?¡± ¡°Unlikely, seeds disintegrate once their artifact is taken, and I assume whatever artifact you were with is in defiler hands.¡± Ramek stated. ¡°Ah, well I am the artifact, actually.¡± Ramek raised his eyebrows at that. ¡°Interesting, I¡¯ll say, I¡¯ve never heard of dungeons actually going to different worlds, they tend to create them. So this might have been a special seed that stayed intact?¡± Ramek guessed. Jarod was thankful for the attempt at giving him hope, but didn¡¯t believe it. ¡°So what are they?¡± ¡°They¡¯re magical orbs, they show up in places of nature where people are scarce. You can feed them a spirit to create a dungeon. The dungeon will be the strength of the seed you find, and the soul you put in it. Inside will be traps and monsters, ultimately with an artifact at the end that you can feed spirits to to increase its power and give it abilities. I suppose that means you can do that too, huh?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been meaning to ask, how does one normally get spirits?¡± ¡°Well, usually lengthy rituals, and they can be found after a dungeon monster is slain. But that¡¯s only a rare occurrence. Some spells can harvest them, but those are usually restricted to tier 4, specialized classes.¡± That surprised Jarod. He could do it instinctually. ¡°Well, what has a spirit?¡± ¡°Pretty much everything alive. Every mouse, spider, tree, and human has one.¡± Jarod nodded, then turned back to Pardim. This was valuable information. Incredibly valuable information, actually. He was starting to understand why the sunset order wanted him on their side.
Jarod stood atop a tree stump, one leg in the air and the other one cramping from keeping balance. He was frigid, and in his underwear. He held his arms straight out, to hold a heavy wooden training sword. Every time his leg came down, the harsh instructor Kalem smacked him on the back with a quarterstaff. He barely had the energy to keep standing by the time they were allowed off. Then, of course, the combat drills started. They were to practice a single strike of the sword. If their form was but an inch out of place, they would be smacked by Kalem¡¯s righteous fury. Jarod couldn¡¯t lift his arms anymore by the time training was only halfway over. It didn¡¯t help that he was embarrassed of his body, soft and pudgy, while everyone else here was well defined and strong, likely training before they ever got here. Ramek had a strength of 0, and he appeared so much stronger than Jarod already, how long would it take for Jarod to reach someone else¡¯s zero? He didn¡¯t have much time to think about it, as he kept getting smacked by the quarterstaff. And training continued this way. Breakfast, lectures, lunch, physical training, dinner, sleep. Every day he woke, his muscles sore and mind raw. But there was some magic here, for he woke only with the pain, and not the exhaustion. He read that not resting your muscles would cause damage, back when he had spent a week trying to get in shape a year ago. He started his rest period, and never really picked back up. But now his muscles weren¡¯t getting hurt, and he could keep pushing himself. Then, after two weeks, an opportunity came up. 4. Small Journeys It was after dinner, and though the light was always the same here, Jarod was getting used to it. He thought of it as evening, but for all he knew it could be one in the afternoon. Either way, he was taking the opportunity to view the valley from the top of one of the spires. There aren¡¯t many clouds in the sky today, so he had a good view, all things considered. There was a single road spiraling down the mountainside that disappeared into the jagged outcroppings of rock. There wasn¡¯t a tree in sight, but this spire was tall enough to see past the mountains and into the plains beyond, a vast expanse of nothing but grass. He thought he could see some specks moving on the horizon, maybe some animals, but he couldn¡¯t be sure. He really didn¡¯t like how unsure he was at everything here, but he was for all intents and purposes in another world. ¡°Great view, hm?¡± Ramek was walking from the stairway to the ledge where Jarod was leaning. ¡°It is.¡± ¡°I noticed you walked off, and I am unfortunately deathly curious as to your abilities.¡± ¡°Tell you what, I know nothing about you, but you guys are learning more and more from me as time goes on.¡± Ramek laughed. ¡°Barely, we¡¯re often too focused on eating to ask each other about our backstories.¡± He said with a smile. ¡°Well, you ask me a question, then I ask you one, sound fair?¡± ¡°Fair as can be. May I ask first?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Jarod said. It¡¯s not like he knew much. ¡°What can you do? You said you¡¯re an artifact, but we haven¡¯t heard much of it.¡± ¡°Well, I suppose there are three things I can do. I can look at other people¡¯s stats if I touch them, I can harvest spirits, and I can eat spirits to gain strength.¡± Jarod didn¡¯t see a point in hiding it. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ a bit terrifying to be honest, do you know the limits of these?¡± Ramek was deeply interested in his powers. ¡°Hold your horses, but now I get to ask you a question!¡± ¡°But of course.¡± ¡°Where are you from?¡± ¡°I¡¯m from the great southern plains. From here you can see the northern ones. These aren¡¯t really inhabited all that much, but in the south we have some of the largest cities in the world, and our landscape is covered with castles and fortresses. It¡¯s never been the most peaceful, but about thirty years ago they were finally unified. Though, there are plenty who aren¡¯t happy about that.¡± ¡°Sounds like you¡¯re one of them.¡± ¡°I am. But now you tell me, what are the limits of your powers?¡± ¡°To be honest I haven¡¯t really tested them. But as for analysis, I can view the name, class, and stats of anything I touch. Spirit harvest and spirit eating are still mostly a mystery. Though.¡± ¡°Hm, so you can analyse me then?¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ve already done it, accidentally of course. It¡¯s hard to control.¡± ¡°And what does it say about me?¡± ¡°Well, if you don¡¯t mind I can analyse you now.¡± Ramek thought for a moment, then held out his hand. Jarod tapped it, and willed himself to analyze him.
Ramek Lost-son Class: None Stats:
  • Strength - 1
  • Endurance - 0
  • Agility - 1
  • Willpower - 1
¡°It says you are Ramek Lost-son, you have no class, and all of your stats are one, save for endurance.¡± The color drained from Ramek¡¯s face. That was unexpected. ¡°Now tell me, why does that info bother you so much?¡± Jarod continued. ¡°I forget you don¡¯t know what that last name means. Please, keep this hidden, but I am the bastard of a powerful noble. I want nothing to do with that life, which is why I am here.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not an asshole Ramek, I won¡¯t attack your reputation just because I can.¡±Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. ¡°Then you¡¯re better than most.¡± They stood in silence for a time. The endless sunset cast long shadows on their faces. Ramek¡¯s stony features pronounced even more. ¡°Do you want to experiment? See if we can¡¯t test some abilities of your magic?¡± ¡°What do you have in mind?¡± ¡°There are hundreds of caves in these mountains, most have a few rare flowers. I figure we can test out just about all of your abilities on it.¡± Huh. Jarod was so concerned about this training he was pulled into that he hadn¡¯t had time to think about what this world¡¯s rules really were. ¡°Let¡¯s get the others then.¡± Jarod said. ¡°Of course.¡± Ramek said, smiling wide.
They arrived at a cave a half hour¡¯s walk from the citadel. Inside was dark, but the others brought torches. Jarod held his hand out and created an ember to light the area. ¡°Since when can you cast spells!?¡± Chen asked. ¡°Well, since I learned about my spirit eating. Again, I said before we got here that I could gain power from it.¡± ¡°Right, but you never told us you can make fire!¡± Chen was excited. ¡°Well, we¡¯re about to see more, isn¡¯t that right?¡± Ramek said. Jarod nodded. He crouched next to a cave flower. It had a soft blue color with dozens of pointed petals wrapped around each other like a basket. It glowed softly as he touched it. Willing his analysis to tell him what it was.
Roel¡¯s guardian flower Used as an ingredient in painkillers.
¡°Is it called Roel¡¯s guardian?¡± Jarod said. ¡°Yes.¡± Tin responded. ¡°Used to soothe pain?¡± ¡°Correct again. Are you sure he isn¡¯t messing with us?¡± She turned to Jiina with that second question. ¡°One way to find out. Can you try to harvest it?¡± Jiina said, her arms crossed and her steely gaze waiting for Jarod to respond. Jarod placed his hand to the flower and willed ¡®spirit harvest.¡¯ And nothing happened. The group waited in silence for a moment. ¡°So¡­¡± Chen broke the silence. ¡°Maybe it has to be defeated?¡± Ramek asked. ¡°Maybe?¡± Jarod guessed. He plucked the flower, then willed his spell again. The flower¡¯s spirit felt so weak that he simply ripped it from the body. It turned grey and wilted immediately, and with a blink he held a small bottle with the tiniest green bolt of energy within. ¡°I¡¯ll be damned.¡± Jiina said. ¡°Eat it.¡± Tin said, waiting to see what happened next. Jarod figured that a flower wouldn¡¯t dominate him, so he downed the bottle. It was a bitter feeling, and his chest felt slightly tight for a moment.
And he was now in his mindscape. An ethereal flower sat in front of him, a wisp of green energy with a glowing blue bulb. Tiny threads of energy bobbed and weaved throughout it. He brushed his fingers against it, and it blew away, the energy that scattered reformed and dashed into him.
Consumed: Roel¡¯s Guardian spirit Spirit too weak, no new abilities.
¡°Well, it seems it was a bit too weak.¡± Jarod said. It wasn¡¯t the most fruitful expedition, but he learned a bit about his powers. And that in itself was worth it. ¡°I say we go, not much else here.¡± Jarod said, he shrugged and stood up from where he was crouched. The others nodded, but as they turned, Steel stood at the entrance of the cave. ¡°Well well, hiding in a cave during the night? How nefarious.¡± He said, his hands on his hips and a smug air about him. ¡°First of all, it¡¯s literally never night here.¡± Jiina said. ¡°And isn¡¯t it sketchier to follow people?¡± Tin followed. Steel grunted. ¡°Well that doesn¡¯t matter, we¡¯re all here in good fun after all. After all, not every day you find a dungeon seed.¡± He smiled. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Jarod asked. ¡°Oh don¡¯t lie to me, it¡¯s practically impossible to miss the things.¡± He pointed deeper in the cave, and Jarod couldn¡¯t see a damn thing he was pointing at. ¡°Oh, I forgot, you guys don¡¯t have golden sight.¡± He smiled again. Jarod couldn¡¯t really tell, but his eyes were distinctly not golden. ¡°What the heck is golden sight?¡± Jarod mumbled.
Golden sight A hidden ability that allows the user to see the unseen
Well. Could be more detailed, but better than nothing. He was surprised the window came up at all, really. Steel walked into the cave and picked up a small, blackish shiny orb. ¡°Tell you what, I think we can make a deal here. You seem to be able to harvest spirits, and for a common, weak looking core like this I¡¯m certain a spirit like the flower could make a weak dungeon. We do that, and maybe we can learn a little more about your powers hmm?¡± Steel was so smug Jarod could punch him. Though, what really bothered him was that the idea was interesting. He did want to learn more about his powers, and if that spirit was anything to go by, this dungeon wouldn¡¯t be that bad. ¡°Are dungeon seeds really that common?¡± Jarod asked ¡°Well, a bit tricky to find, but yes.¡± Ramek answered for Steel. ¡°Alright.¡± Jarod said. ¡°You can do that, but I¡¯ll have no part in it.¡± Ramek said. Agden, Jiina, and Tin agreed. ¡°I¡¯m willing to go with you.¡± Chen said with a grin. He pulled his robe¡¯s belt and wrapped it around his hands. ¡°I worked in my father¡¯s tavern, so I¡¯ve gotten into a few fights before.¡± He said with a smile. ¡°Very well, shall we go?¡± Steel said. Jarod just noticed he had a short sword on his hip. Was he planning this? Jarod plucked a flower, and quickly harvested it¡¯s spirit. A weak green dot. Steel took it and poured it over the seed. It dropped to the ground, and a silver line appeared on the floor. It dragged straight up, like curtains raising to reveal a silvery mirror door that sat in empty space. ¡°After you.¡± Steel said. And so, Jarod stepped in. 5. A Weak Dungeon Jarod was in a stony atrium, thick green vines hugged the walls and the distant drip of water was his only company. Steel came in next, his palm rested on top of his sword''s hilt. "Hm, more damp than I thought." He mused. Chen came into the room last, his fists were raised in a brawler''s stance. "Alright, let''s get this over with." Chen said. Steel, without really listening to him, walked to the rickety wooden door at the edge of the room. He placed his hand on the door, thick vines weaved through the planks. He grabbed the handle and gave it a yank, causing dirt caked around the edges of the door to fall as it swung open. "Well, are you coming or what?" He looked over his shoulder. Jarod was still wondering, it didn''t make sense for this magic item to just be waiting in the cave for them. Didn''t make sense at all. He snapped out of his confusion. Best keep safe, he thought. He walked up to steel. "Can you help me get a board out of this door? It''s a better weapon than my fists." Steel shrugged at that, and unsheathed his sword. It was beautiful in its simplicity, a dark grey, smooth, and light piece of metal. With a flick of the wrist he cut some vines from the door. He seemed skilled enough, and Jarod was curious. So while trying to pry a board loose, he tapped Steel.
SteelGreentoe Class: None Stats:
  • Strength - 3
  • Endurance - 2
  • Agility - 3
  • Willpower - 0
Hm, that low willpower might come in handy later. Just then, the board popped loose. It was a bit longer than the practice wooden swords they used in the academy, but would work just fine. The three of them entered the next room, lit by an unseen light source, there was a knot of vines in the center of the room, with roots that spread like a thin net up to the walls. Chen was about to take another step forward when Steel put his hand out to stop him. "Even weak dungeons can be dangerous, this is either a trap or a monster and I don''t want to find out the hard way." Steel said. "Then why not find out the easy way?" Jarod said. Steel immediately realized what Jarod was thinking. He smiled, then nodded. Jarod crouched down and tapped the edge of the roots ever so slightly. At a touch, they curled up and whipped about in place, Jarod jerked his hand back. Dangerous, but he got his analysis.
?Trap: Whip vines
"It''s a trap, whip vines. I can''t tell much else about it." "No soul then. You have fire, right?" Steel said. Jarod did indeed have fire. In response, he created a small fireball and tossed it at the knot of vines. They caught fire unnaturally quickly and the entire net burned up in a puff of smoke that seemed to dissipate quickly. Jarod didn''t even smell it. As soon as the entered the next room, the three were met by a shrill battlecry. Three creatures sprunk at them. They looked like acorns that had sprouted arms and legs, with unmoving smiley faces that looked like they were carved by preschoolers. Each was about knee high. Steel sprung forward and deflected one''s attack with a primitive hatchet made from stone and stick. Chen ran up and grabbed one''s spear before he punted it across the room. That left Jarod, and one with a small spear. It was at that moment that Jarod realized he didn''t know how to block. He hopped back and forth, just to dodge the thing, and he couldn''t think about attacking. Only keeping himself alive. It was then that Jarod tripped over a root. The thing hopped onto his chest and rose its spear for a killing, or at least incredibly painful blow. Then a sword poked through from its face. Steel stood behind it, his sword pierced through its back. He scowled as he pulled the corpse off, then wiped the sap from his sword on Jarod''s robe. "Thanks..." Jarod said as he stood up. No matter if he didn''t like him, Steel had just saved his life. "It''s what we destined for the order do. I don''t respect you, Jarod, but I understand that you can be a useful tool for good." He turned back and walked to the wall and crossed his arms as he leaned against it. What a strange man, Jarod thought. He looked to Chen, who was sitting on the ground catching his breath. Next to him was one of the monsters, with its face caved in. He shrugged at Jarod. Jarod leaned forward and touched the corpse. "Spirit harvest."
He was in the mindscape, as he had taken to calling it. A swirling ball of green energy was bolting around, up, down, left and right it couldn''t stay still. Accompanying it was a mad jibbering, like it was angrily speaking as fast as an auctioneer. Jarod approached, and the green energy lashed out at him, a small tendril whipped him across his face.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. "I''m not here to hurt you, at least I think." Smooth, Jarod. Smooth. He felt like an idiot. The green bolt shook in place for a moment, then crashed into Jarod like a tackle.
Jarod woke up, no spirit in hand, but the monster''s body wilted away. "It didn''t work..." Jarod hadn''t thought that something that dumb seeming could fight back, but he really didn''t know how the ability worked anyway. The other two people watched him intently. Jarod walked to the next one, and again touched it. "Spirit harvest."
Another angry bolt of green energy shook around. "Hello! Hi! I''m here to harvest you I think!" And again, it tackled him.
Jarod was on his ass again, no spirit. "What''s the problem, outsider?" Steel asked. "I don''t know what to do! They fight back and I just don''t know how to respond to them." Jarod was frustrated. Here, he had magical freakin powers and still was a loser. "Be more assertive, you look pitiful right now and I bet you aren''t asserting enough willpower." Steel said. Real rich coming from someone with 0 willpower, Jarod thought. Though, strangely enough, he felt like Steel had a much more forceful will than he did. None of this made sense, and these stats were feeling more and more like nonsense. "Fine!" Jarod said, fed up. He stomped over to the last monster, its face caved in by Chen''s fists. Chen pat Jarod on the shoulder. "You can do it. Just gotta let that funky acorn man know who''s boss." He said with a smile. Jarod tapped the monster. "Spirit harvest."
"You!" Jarod exclaimed, the bolt of green energy stopped jibbering for a moment, and it floated in one place, but it was still jittery. "I have come to harvest your soul! You are mine!" Jarod shouted. The spirit stopped jittering, then hesitantly bobbed towards Jarod. He reached out to grab it.
Jarod held a small glass bottle with a floating green light within it. "Aha!" He jumped for joy a little. "I bet if you eat that one, you''ll get something out of it!" Chen was excited at Jarod''s success. Steel smiled like it was him that overcamethe problem. Jarod popped the cork off, then ate the spirit.
Consumed: Acornitespirit Endurance increased to 1 Knowledge Obtained! You now know how to craft primitive weaponry from natural materials
"It worked!" Jarod didn''t really feel more durable, but he took the info box''s word for it. "Alright, now that you''re done celebrating we''re probably at the last room. Since this dungeon is so weak its going to be short, and the boss should be weak but still might be dangerous." Steel said. It''s as if he had done this before. "Boss?" Jarod asked. "All dungeons have a boss. Once you kill them, they drop the dungeon''s artifact. Now come on, we''ve got a fight to get over with." Steel said. He pushed the door open and stepped forward. Jarod and Chen followed to find themselves in an empty room, a dead end. They all paused for a moment. Steel stepped forward, swinging his blade at the air as if to fight an invisible enemy. After some time, he sheathed his sword and scratched his head. "When I saw nothing, I thought it was invisible. There should be a boss here..." He seemed confused, and defeated. "I''m sure there''s more to dungeons than we understand Steel. Hell, I''m technically from one." Jarod said. Steel sighed. "Well, no point in staying here then. And at least someone got something out of this. What a waste of a good seed." "Waste of a good seed?" Jarod asked. Steel sighed. "I didn''t find it, if it wasn''t obvious enough. I heard about your powers and wanted to see it for myself, so I asked for a seed to be sent from home. Here I am." Steel grinned. So he planned to put us in danger. That''s shitty of him. The three walked out in silence, each stepped through the door one by one. When Jarod stepped through it, it felt different from when he was pulled into this world. When he entered, it felt as though liquid metal was clinging to his skin before he broke through a membrane. This felt like he was walking through nothing. When they all got through, the door faded slowly. Different again from when he entered. On the other side, there was nobody waiting in the cave. "I guess the others left to go to bed, huh?" Chen said "I guess so." Steel shrugged. The three walked back to the citadel in silence. It''s tall spires watching over them with harsh judgement. But when they arrived they heard the telltale sounds of Kalem''s drills. "Crap! We''re late!" Chen shouted. Crap indeed, Jarod thought, as the three of them ran to the courtyard and saw the others standing on their logs, swinging their blades. Instructor Kalem was waiting, his arms crossed. Everyone on the stumps turned to face them. Each had a mild scowl. "We, uh, well we were-" Chen tried to come up with an excuse on the spot. Jarod could feel his heart in his chest. Kalem would have their heads. "We were in a dungeon. Lost track of time." Steel said. He kept a stiff upper lip, and as Kalem approached, all three of them cringed for blows. "I must be honest." Steel mumbled. Jarod closed his eyes, waiting for a blow that didn''t come. "It shows initiative! If you all are tired, you can rest." He said. Jarod had never heard him be so nice. By the way his fellow dungeon delvers reacted, neither had they. He patted Steel on the back and led the three of them to their quarters, where there were freshly laundered robes on their beds. Jarod was still expecting this to be some sort of test by the time he left, that he was still waiting to get hit long after Kalem left. "Something isn''t right. We were late, that shows we didn''t follow procedure. We should be punished." Steel was in disbelief. "I don''t feel right either." Jarod said. Chen was already laying on his bed, snoozing. Jarod and Steel stared at eachother for a moment. "I''m going back to practice." They said in unison. Both were surprised. In fact, for the same reason. Neither expected Jarod to want to go back to practice. They walked through the halls together, ready to see Kalem again. When they entered the courtyard, the other students turned to look at them. Normally Kalem would whack them for turning their attention away, but he seemed to be in a good mood. He approached the two. "I thought I told you two to rest!" "We want to keep training, sir." Steel said, then made a half bow. Jarod followed in turn. Kalem put his hand on both of their shoulders, and pulled them up to standing. "Don''t worry about that right now, go rest." Kalem said. Steel looked mildly uncomfortable, but Jarod could feel his heart stop all of a sudden. He felt cold and clammy all of a sudden. He sweat in fear, because a text box had just appeared.
Monster:Minor Shapechanger Stats:
  • Strength - 8
  • Endurance - 3
  • Agility - 9
  • Willpower - 2
Special: This monster can take any form, though its base stats remain the same. This is a minion monster! Minions will continuously spawn until their boss monster is slain!
They were still in the dungeon. 6. A Not So Weak Dungeon Jarod glanced at Steel, who was only uncomfortable. "Alright, we''ll go back to our rooms." Jarod said, he could barely hide his fear now, and his voice quivered when he spoke. Steel turned to him, and was about to speak up against the idea. "Please, trust me Steel. It''s for the best." Jarod stared into Steel''s eyes with an intensity he wasn''t aware he had. Steel stopepd his sentence before it started. He paused to think, then continued. "Alright instructor Kalem, you know best." He maintained his manners while Jarod was sweating in place, despite the frigid cold. The two turned away and walked into the citadel halls, the thick stone ageless in appearance. Jarod turned over his shoulder every few moments until he was sure they were alone. "I am taking a leap of faith here, why are you so scared right now?" Steel asked. "We''re still in the dungeon." Jarod said. He still was hesitant to say it, as if it would turn the place hostile against him. In response, Steel tensed up and grabbed Jarod''s arm. "What proof, other than how strange the others are acting?" "That isn''t Kalem. It''s a minor shapechanger, a boss minion. Meaning, the boss has to be around somewhere." "Damn. I knew we should have found a boss, there''s no such thing as a dungeon without a boss." Steel said. Jarod didn''t want to correct him that the ''dungeon'' he had come from had no boss, only him. Then, Jarod realized a problem. "We need to get to Chen, he''s asleep right now! He''s in danger!" At that, neither waited for a cue to run. They both sprinted up the stairs and to the dormitory. Jarod found himself less out of breath than he would be. Could it be the training? Or the endurance he absorbed from that acornite? When they got to the room, Chen sitting up in bed. "Hey guys, what''s the hurry about?" "Chen! We''re-" Steel clapped a hand on Jarod''s mouth. Jarod turned to see that Steel''s eyes were glowing a soft gold that faded after a moment. "Tell me Chen, how was your rest?" Steel said, he glanced at Jarod as if something was wrong. Jarod realized that Steel was right. How could he be sure that this was Chen? "It was fine, I''m pretty much ready to go. Hey, I heard that Old Caraya wanted us in the kitchen. I was about to head over!" "Let''s help you up, it was a rough time in that dungeon, after all." Steel said, he dragged Jarod along. But Jarod knew what he was doing. Jarod went alongside Chen and grabbed his arm, mimicking as if he were going to pull him from bed.
Monster: Minor Shapechanger Stats:
  • Strength - 8
  • Endurance - 3
  • Agility - 9
  • Willpower - 2
Special: This monster can take any form, though its base stats remain the same. This is a minion monster! Minions will continuously spawn until their boss monster is slain!
Jarod jammed his elbow into the back of this fake Chen''s head, and before it could react Steel drew his shortsword and thrust it through the monster''s guts. The fake Chen''s skin immediately shifted to a pale grey, his head changed from a regular human head to something monstrous. It was grey and clammy, with around seven bulbous bug eyes of different sizes. Its arms were long and lanky, with three fingers at the end. It gurgled softly before it collapsed in its place in bed. "Nice catch, but we have to find Chen." Jarod said. He was breathing heavily, despite not being the one to do the stabbing. "I used my golden sight, and noticed some bloodstains that were cleaned up. Chen might be dead." He gulped. "But we have to try." Jarod knew in his heart he had to try. He couldn''t have another''s life on his hands. "Couldn''t have said it better myself. Come on, my guess is they have a trap in the kitchen. We can take the secondary passage by the pantry, if they''ve accurately replicated the citadel." "Any chance they''d have weapons around?" "Do you really want to take that risk? You can throw fireballs. That should be enough." Jarod didn''t want to admit it, but fireballs were in fact probably enough. The two snuck through the hallways. Along the way they saw a patrol of men at arms moving through the hall. Luckily, a small alcove could fit the two. As they strayed from the path that the dungeon seemed to want them to walk, the walls became less accurate to the citadel. At points large bricks blurred together, the walls became damp and warmer, and the stone took on a darker color. By the time they had wrapped around to the pantry behind the kitchen, they had spent probably an hour sneaking about. They pushed the door open slowly to enter the pantry. A room the dungeon never intended them to go. And so it was dark, and empty. They could hear a voice on the other side of the door. "Please! I''m really not tasty! I''m certain I''m all tough and chewey!" It was Chen. "Quiet meat thing! The others are near! I sense them." "I''ll give you a stomach ache..." Chen quietly sobbed. Jarod conjured up a small fireball, still not the greatest size, but he could throw it somewhat accurately. He couldn''t remember where he had thrown a ball this size in life outside of here, the demon took that. But he remembered that he had. Steel kicked the door open. On the other side were a handful of shapechangers all huddled around the other entrance, ready to pounce. In the center of the room there was what looked like Old Caraya, the cook here. Chen was against the wall on the other side of the room, tied up with a shapechanger standing over him. Almost immediately, Caraya turned into one of these beasts. But it was bigger, its muscles more gnarled like they were tree roots rather than arms and legs. A few flowers haphazardly sprouted from its side. It had no set number of eyes, sometimes they would pop back into its skull and two more would come out in a different spot to replace it. Before it could shout some command, Jarod pelted the boss with a fireball in the jaw, and Steel rushed up to slash at its ankle. It dropped to one knee, allowing Steel to jab a few times in the center of its chest. Jarod saw the others springing from the door, but more pressing was the one standing over Chen, as if waiting for an order. "We have a hostage!" The large one shrieked, immediately to see a fireball pelt the one standing over Chen. Right in its cluster of eyes, it stumbled away batting at the fire on its head. Steel stabbed his sword through the distracted monster''s face, its limbs dropped limp and it fell to the side. Just in time, as the other monsters stormed him. Jarod threw fireballs as fast as he could, but he wasn''t quick enough. Steel was about to be overwhelmed before Chen grabbed one from behind, locking his hands behind its head. He wasn''t done, as he transitioned to grabbing its hands, then kicking it to the ground. He pulled and pulled until its arms popped straight from its body. Black blood sprayed everywhere, coating the walls and all of the combatants. Jarod wondered, these things have a strength of 8, how come Chen with a strength of 1 could pull its arms off so easily? He needed to ask about how stats really worked when they got out of here.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. The three of them mopped up the leftovers soon enough, none alive in the room but the three young men. "So, where''s that artifact?" Jarod jokingly said through heated breath. He hadn''t made that many fireballs before, and man was he exhausted. It felt like his head was fuzzy, and his thoughts unclear. "Should have spawned in my hand as soon as I landed the killing blow." Steel said. He looked concerned, his brow furrowed. "Shit. I don''t trust this place to be done until we get that artifact." Jarod said. "Thanks for getting me." Chen grunted as he tried to wipe the black blood from his arms, and the tears from his face. "Before we get anywhere, I have to ask." Jarod said. If he didn''t understand stats, then his chances were incredibly slim. And he didn''t think he could cast more fireballs. "Ask away." Steel said, panting. "What do stats represent?" "Easy question, they represent our ability to harness our natural attributes." Chen said. "Yeah, but what does that mean? Don''t you get stronger by increasing your stats?" "Yes, you''ve got part of the right idea. A stat''s number represents how well you can harness the power innately in you, so no matter how high your strength stat is, if you''re a scrawny punk, then you can never be as strong as someone with a lower score, but who''s naturally more built." Chen continued. "So why not just train yourself without worrying about stats?" "The higher your stat is, the easier it is to harness, and therefore increase your natural abilities. That ''scrawny punk'' with a high strength stat will have a far easier time increasing his natural abilities than a similarly built person but with a lower strength score. Your natural uncategorized abilities work in a symbiotic relationship with your statistics. They can grow without the other, but to truly become powerful you need both. That''s why we train so hard in the citadel, so that we can become more naturally strong, as well as increase our stats." Steel said. He seemed to know a decent amount about this. But everyone did, compared to Jarod. "Last question, how do you increase your stats?" "By pushing yourself past your limit. No matter how consistent your training is, if you don''t push yourself past the limit of what you previously thought possible by yourself, then your stats wont increase." Steel said. "Ah, so that would explain why your willpower is still zero." Jarod regretted saying that immediately. Steel grinded his teeth. "Yes, it''s because I haven''t found anything that has challenged my willpower enough that I could increase my willpower stat from it. But once I do increase it, I will have a far more powerful willpower than someone like you, who cowers at everything." Well shit. Steel was still pretty condescending, even making his shortcomings something to gloat over. "Not to be rude, but something is coming." Chen said, he struck a fighting pose by the entrance. There was an odd shuffling sound by the door. "Shit! I gotta check something first." Jarod ran to the big dead monster, and analysed it.
Monster: Greater Shapechanger Stats:
  • Strength - 13
  • Endurance - 4
  • Agility - 5
  • Willpower - 3
Special: This monster can take any form, though its base stats remain the same. This is a lieutenant! Some boss monsters will have one or more to guard them.
Shit shit shit. "We''ve got the real boss incoming." Jarod grabbed a cleaver from the kitchen shelf nearby, only to discover it was blunt, and made of stone that looked almost identical to metal with a wooden handle. This magic was rude. He instead grabbed a few of the stone knives around. They weren''t perfect, but would hurt if they were thrown at you. They were still sharp, after all. Around the hall and through the door burst a massive bloblike creature. It was as if the greater shapechanger was inflated like a balloon, then melted like a chocolate bar. Massive tentacles made of roots and odd little flowers and vines sprouted from this horrid mass. Jarod tried to conjure a fireball with his ember spell, but only managed a bare spark. He must be out of this world''s mana, whatever they called it. Steel took a step back in shock, as did Chen. Steel then charged, he swung his sword wildly at the beast but it batted him away, shrieking like a deflating balloon. The sword bounced along the floor. Black blood sprayed from its fresh wounds. Chen tried punching it, an attack so futile it was practically pointless. It batted him to the side as well. Jarod threw his stone knives with a frantic, fearful energy. A few sunk in, but it wasn''t particularly phased by it. It came up upon Jarod, who backed up to the wall as it approached. His foot bumped into the sword that was knocked away from Steel, who was knocked out agains the wall. Jarod picked it up. He tried to remember his training, but that was only really two or three basic strikes. The beast reared up, about to kill Jarod by simply falling on him, and crushing him with its weight. Then, a stone chair shattered against its side. Chen had swung the thing like a massive club, and shards of stone stuck out of the beast''s body. It shrieked in anger again, causing Jarod''s ears to ring. It lashed out a massive armlike root to knock Jarod to the floor, then picked up Chen. It grabbed him with several more as it wrapped slowly around his right arm. Suddenly it snapped, as if there were a second elbow. Chen screamed in pain before a horrid ripping sound signalled his arm being ripped out of its socket. A knob of bone from a shattered shoulder stuck out, and bright red blood sprayed against the wall. Jarod couldn''t stand this monster killing his friend. Jarod stood up, holding the sword limply. He tightened his grip and charged at the boss. He hacked into its side, it barely noticed as it squeezed Chen more. Chen screamed as there was the pop of a few of his ribs breaking. Jarod couldn''t let this happen. He thought of anything he could do, and in his fury, he raised the sword for an overhead strike. It glowed red with heat, and a thin trail of fire followed behind it as he cut straight down, the slash passing far further than the blade could reach. The arc of red energy lit up the room. A trail of sparks like an angle grinder''s unleashed as his blade slid through the monster''s flesh like butter. The monster was cut in two as sparks flew into the air, the room glowed orange with light for a few moments, as the embers from the slash drifted downwards.
You used a skill from an advanced class! You cannot learn this skill until you are the appropriate class. You are in danger of mana starvation, and if you are not replenished within the next hour you will die!
Jarod didn''t think about taking souls right now. He barely noticed the delicate silver bracelet engraved with flowers around his wrist. What he did notice, is that he and Chen will die very quickly if they don''t get help. Steel limped up to Jarod, holding his side. Likely a few cracked ribs of his own. He looked at the monster''s corpse for a moment, then at Chen, then at Jarod. "I think you should keep the artifact. I''ll try to stabilize Chen, You look like you''re about to faint." Steel limped forward, he took off his long belt sash and began to use it like a tourniquet. Though, the wound was a bit too far up the body to truly tie it off, but it would stop the bleeding for now. He pulled Chen onto his back, then the three of them wordlessly stumbled as fast as they could to the dungeon entrance. The silver door was there again. They passed through it, Jarod felt that familiar clinging sensation as he was suddenly in the cave. In front of the door were three paladins, including paladin Kaya who brought him in. His friends were there, waiting. Kaya looked as if she were about to charge in, then like she was about to scold them, then like she was in shock at their condition. She immediately turned to a fully armored giant of a man. "Paladin Ramos! Healing magic!Now!" The giant man stepped forward without a second thought and grabbed Chen from Steel, he placed his glowing hand over the incredible amount of wounds. The other paladin ran up to Jarod and grabbed him, he pulled a vial of blue liquid and tilted it back into Jarod''s mouth. He was too weak to consider anything else, and his eyes were almost drifting to sleep. Jarod began to black out, and he looked up at Kaya, who didn''t know whether to be concerned, or angry. 7. Punishment Jarod woke up in a pool of warm water, it bubbled from the very stones beneath him. His headache was gone, as were most of his aches. He was just getting comfortable when he remembered the monster mutilating Chen. "Chen!" He jumped up from the water. It was reflex and surprise, maybe even a twinge of a nightmare he didn''t remember. He was full on naked, and was about to thank god, or as he was realizing, the gods, that nobody was there to see him when he heard a voice chime in behind him. "Glad to see you''re awake." He turned around and an old man he didn''t recognize in a white robe. Jarod nervously covered his bits and sunk back into the water. "Is he-" "Chen is alive. Though he will be leaving the academy at the end of the week." "What!? He''s being kicked out!?" "Yes." The old man grunted and leaned back in his chair. His back audibly clicked and he made a satisfied expression. "He didn''t do anything wrong!" Jarod felt guilty, beyond guilty even. If he hadn''t helped with making that dungeon, Chen would still be okay. Unharmed. "How can you train a one armed soldier? If it makes you feel any better, Steel is leaving as well." The old man was almost dismissive. How could he care so little? Jarod didn''t like Steel, but the order was his life. "You haven''t said me yet." "You''re a special case. You-" "Bullshit! You just want my powers!" Jarod stood up again, pointing an accusatory finger at the man. The old man sighed. "I''ll get paladin Kaya." He stood up and left the room. Jarod was frozen in his accusatory pose before he realized he needed pants. He looked around and only saw a few towels hanging on the wall, so he ran to one and slung it around his waist. When he sat down he started to examine the room more. There were stone walls and several pools like the one he was resting in. The room was steamy, and his head was surprisingly clear. Incredibly so. He could tell why some people swore by saunas. Kaya entered the room, still wearing her plate armor. Jarod wondered if she even had other clothing. He was so relaxed in here he almost forgot he was angry. "So I see you scared our medic away." "Was it that bad?" "Several cracked ribs. Something you all shared, actually. Plus, you were at negative mana, which I didn''t even know was possible. I''ve seen mana droughts, and mana fevers, but not like that."This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. "I take it that''s why I''m here?" "It''s why we built the citadel here. Some of the strongest mana wells in the world. They''re of the fire aspect, so they heat the stone. We carved the baths and added water." "I enjoy the lore, but why do I stay while Chen and Steel are kicked out?" "You''re an asset Jarod. We need you as a force against evil, whether or not you stand with us. We kick out recruits every year, whether its due to poor performance or injury." "It''s not fair." Jarod said. "Life isn''t fair. You should be healed by now. Your training resumes tomorrow." "No." "What do you mean no?" "I stay if they stay." Jarod placed his ultimatum without really thinking. Kaya''s eye twitched. "So you''re saying you''ll leave if they do?" She said through gritted teeth. "I am." Jarod said. Guess you don''t like people denying your orders, huh? Jarod thought. "Fine." Was she was calling his bluff? Jarod was honestly terrified of this outside world. "Fine?" "I would say pack your things, but that would require you to have possessions. To make a compromise of your situation, we''ll tell you three the hidden tenets." Jarod remembered Priest Pardim talking about the hidden tenets. The order had a handful of rules they always follow, but keep secret from most non-members. They''re more of a traditional secret than a really dangerous one, but it''s a show of trust to teach them to three expelled initiates. "You''ll learn them tomorrow. For now, rest." She stood up and left the room. Her armor still gleaming and perfect.
When Jarod saw Chen in a new audience chamber the next day, he couldn''t help but feel guilt again for his missing arm. Jarod almost believed they could use magic to give him a new one. He was still wrapped in bandages, but was magically healed and quite alive. His eyes though, were sunken, and he stared off distantly. He was still Chen, but he was distant now. Saddened by his loss that Jarod couldn''t understand. The chamber was deep within the citadel, with a raised stone platform in the center. A beautiful woman was waiting in a throne on top of the platform, wearing modest white robes that matched the color of her white hair. Steel came in last, more sullen than even Chen. "Hello, young ones." She spoke in a singsong voice. Steel immediately kneeled. He glanced at Chen and Jarod. Chen kneeled next, and Jarod didn''t want to feel like the odd one out so he kneeled as well. This must be the Oracle they talked about so much. "Our hidden tenets are only two. Passed down for their necessity." She spoke in a pausing manner, letting every word take some weight. Though, Jarod found it annoying, almost like William Shatner''s overacting. "One: to fight darkness and evil wherever we can, to exterminate the sources where we do not wish to see them." That one was pretty obvious. Not really hidden in Jarod''s opinion. "Two: To never eradicate darkness. We could eliminate the dark cults of the world with our strength, but we do not. For every scale needs a balance, and without evil our order would cease, and without our order evil will come back stronger than ever." Now that one, Jarod found ridiculously self serving. But he kept his mouth shut. The Oracle smiled warmly, then waved the young men away. Men at arms awaited them outside the chamber, and escorted them to the citadel''s exit. Jarod wasn''t even allowed to say goodbye to his friends. Steel and Chen were quiet when they stepped onto the rickety wagon that went into town for supplies every week. It was held a day so that they could ride down. Jarod put his head in his hands. He didn''t even have a class. He was stuck with two broken men, and didn''t know what to do when he got into town. Maybe he could convince the others to talk to him over the long journey down the mountain. 8. A Plan on the Road The first hour of travel was silent, aside from the wagon''s rumble on the stone path leading down the mountain. The second, third and fourth were the same. Jarod didn''t really know what to say. His head was swimming with questions, and the others he was with weren''t the talkative type. The wagon driver was old, like half the people around here. He was swaddled in a fur cloak and about as talkative as the two donkeys drawing the wagon. Steel sat with his arms wrapped around his knees, quiet. Chen stared into the distance and was rubbing his right shoulder with his remaining hand. Both had been sitting like that for a long time, and Jarod needed to do something, but he just didn''t know anything. So, he had to yet again ask questions. "Is there any magical way to fix this?" Jarod asked. Chen didn''t acknowledge him. "To replace your arm, I mean." Jarod said. Chen turned to Jarod now, and finally spoke. "No." His voice was hoarse and scratchy. "Bullshit." Jarod couldn''t believe that. "What?" "I said, bullshit. I can throw fireballs and there''s magical portals that make shapeshifting monsters. You''re telling me that there''s nobody out there that can regrow your arm? Or make a magical replacement? Nothing?" Jarod leaned forward and pointed his finger at Chen, almost accusingly. Chen had some light in his eyes for the first time since the dungeon, even if it were just surprise. "I''ve never heard of anything like that, and what could we even do? We don''t even have classes yet!" "I have." Steel said. Both Jarod and Chen turned to him, and waited for him to continue. "The town of Steepwatch, in the iron hills where I''m from. I''ve never been there, but there''s an enchanter who''s said to be able to create working body parts. They''re crude, for miners that get into accidents." "And why do you care all of a sudden? Are you finally feeling guilty? Or just upset that we were kicked out!" Chen said, accusing Steel. "Yes dammit! I feel guilty! I thought the dungeon would be easy! I was told it was the weakest type of dungeon seed!" Steel had been holding back, but at this point needed to let it loose. "What do you mean you were told?" Jarod asked, but the two ignored him to shout at eachother more. "Easy!? Easy! Look at my arm!" "I''m trying to give you a solution!" "A solution!? How could we even afford to travel to the Iron hills!?" "I''m trying to do the right thing!" "It''s your fault I''m a cripple! You think that telling me about a rumor is gonna clear your conscience!?" "My conscience is just fine you idiot! It''s the right thing to do!" "How the fuck do you know the right thing without a conscience!?" "I don''t know!" Steel bent forward and grabbed his hair, and tears spilled. Then, Steel jumped with renewed energy. He glowed slightly, and in but a moment it was gone. Then he looked at his hands in shock, and Chen was taken back in surprise. "Oh shit, shit shit shit! Dammit I didn''t mean to- Dammit fuck fuck shit!" Steel started cursing and kicking around in the wagon, throwing a fit at some sudden revelation that was lost on them. Unless... Jarod subtly tapped Steel.
Steel Greentoe Class: Rogue (Tier 1) Stats:Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.
  • Strength - 3
  • Endurance - 2
  • Agility - 3
  • Willpower - 1
"Ah." Jarod involuntarily said. He saw the problem. Steel had gained a willpower point. "What?" Chen looked to Jarod, but Steel answered. "I accidentally made myself a rogue! I was too busy self pitying and I chose the wrong gods-damned class! This is a disaster! This is a damn tragedy!" "You''ve certainly got the mouth for it." Chen mumbled, under his breath. Jarod agreed, the cursing was a bit excessive. "I''ve got an idea." Jarod said. The others continued to ignore him. "What was that you brute?" "I said you''ve got the mouth of a rogue." "I''ll make you eat those words!" "I''ve got an idea!" Jarod shouted, finally getting the other''s attention. They looked at him expectantly, and after a moment, he cleared his throat and began. "We can''t afford to travel yet, but there''s work for adventurers, isn''t there? We''re practically already there." "Well, yes." Steel said. "But only those with class levels really can get any attention. And so far only one of us has a class." He motioned at Steel, and stuck his tongue out to quickly mock him. "I can''t indenture myself to you two just because I''ve trained harder!" Steel said. "I''m saying we already know how to increase our stats, and all we have to do is level ourselves as well. Once we have our classes, we can get work and get ourselves to Steepwatch." Jarod said. "And once I help you get your arm back, then I can leave and find something to do with myself." Steel frowned. "Fine, when we get to that village at the mountain''s bottom, we train as we did up here." Jarod said, glad he had found some purpose for now at least. He still wanted to know what Steel meant by ''had been told'' but this wasn''t really the time to ask.
The next day, approximately, for it was still sunset at the bottom of this mountain, and a few weeks of travel would be needed to get reasonable length days again. The three found a space near the mountain to set up a camp. Luckily, Chen knew some of the edible plants in the area and Steel knew how to hunt. Jarod used his toolmaking ability to make a small campsite, and soon enough they were able to survive at the mountain''s base. For the next two weeks, they trained in the quiet, the emotional stress of their situation far more a motivator than the cold weather and thin air of the mountaintop. Early on, Chen had tried for charity in the nearby village as he was the most pitiful of the lot, but unfortunately the village had little to give. It was so small in fact, it didn''t even have a name. It was just known as the village at the bottom of the citadel, and only really existed to act as a waypoint for people bringing supplies up to the citadel. They no longer left the campsite, except for foraging and hunting. Their training largely consisted of lifting the biggest logs they could find, and dragging them as far as they could. Steel spent most of his time training as well, since they needed to. Jarod, who was usually lazy, found survival to be a fantastic motivator. And Jarod for the first time felt his stat increase naturally. First, strength, then endurance to reach 1 in every stat. Unlocking his first class level.
You have reached at least 1 in every stat! You may now choose a class! > The fighter, a physical warrior with limitless potential > The rogue, an agile specialist who can manipulate both the physical and mental >The acolyte, a novice in magic who can unlock the mysteries of the world
While he was thinking over his options, he recalled what Kaya had told him about classes. Advanced classes are based off of decisions and learned skills, so there can be interesting and powerful fusions. Classes gave skills, and some nebulous increase in power that he didn''t really understand. While he was thinking it over, Chen came up to him and put his hand on Jarod''s shoulder. "I''m going to need to choose acolyte." Chen said. "I suppose you''re right." Jarod replied. Even if he''ll be getting a replacement arm, it wont be high quality, and a melee fighter with only one arm isn''t effective. Funny, given that Chen was the most suited to being a fighter of the three of them. Steel the second most suited. Then of course, Jarod slowly started to realize that he would have to be fighter, not out of choice, (because acolyte sounded cool to him.) but necessity. They need a tank, and he would unfortunately need to take the brunt of the damage here. "Then I suppose I''m a fighter."
You have chosen the class fighter! New Skill! Skill learned - Power slash : rank 0
Jarod suddenly felt stronger, like he could cut a tree in half. He wasn''t about to try, but he felt confident. He had already made a few spears for when they get into battle, and a few stone knives as well. And he hadn''t forgotten about his artifact. However, whenever he tried to analyse it, he would get this message.
Your Willpower is too low to use this artifact! This artifact needs more spirits to function!
He figured he needed to give the thing spirits in order to give it abilities, or augment it. But he didn''t want to mess with it when he still couldn''t use the base thing. Heck, these are valuable. He even considered trading it for passage, it would probably be worth the distance and more. But when he talked about this idea the other two were wholly against it. It seemed artifacts were too valuable to just trade for travel. The next day, Chen gained his first class level, and became an acolyte. With that, they were set to go into the village and try their hands at their first quest.