《A Titan's Crusade》 Chapter 1: And So, It Begins Chapter 1: And So, It Begins Erik blinked as the world seemed to blur around him, the fabric of reality warping and twisting until suddenly it stopped, and he found himself somewhere entirely different than before. For a moment, his mind was frozen by the shock of it, briefly unable to process such a sudden and complete change in his surroundings. Gone were the familiar surroundings of his local gym, replaced by a large grassy field which formed a riotous green carpet underneath his feet. In the distance, Erik noted the edges of what appeared to be a vast forest, but he was unable to make out much detail due to a deep veil of fog. But what truly captured Erik¡¯s attention and which reinforced the strangeness of his surroundings, was what his eyes fell upon once he¡¯d turned his gaze from the surrounding area to the field in which they stood. The field itself was relatively flat and devoid of anything save thick green stalks of grass but at the center of the field, a wide set of stairs had been carved from a boulder, forming an oddly uniform platform which surrounded the base of what appeared to be some sort of massive monolith. The dark stone length of the monolith entwined with the warped and twisted trunk of a massive tree that rose into the sky alongside it. The stone obelisk came to a point roughly fifteen feet up, but the warped tree stretched higher, its branches and boughs spreading out into a glorious green crown that towered above the field and the stone spire entwined with its trunk. The highest reaches of the tree¡¯s branches were shrouded in mist which clung to the air high above Erik¡¯s head. Looking away from the tree but keeping his gaze to the sky, Erik frowned as he tried to look through the thick veil of mist which seemed to maintain a constant distance from the ground, a white and wispy shroud drawn over the sky to conceal it from prying eyes. Turning his attention back to the monolith, Erik examined it once again. As he did, he witnessed a brief flicker of light as sigils carved into its surface suddenly burned with an eerie blue-white light. These sigils swirled and moved, their forms wavering and flickering across the surface of the stone, seeming to bend and warp into different shapes the longer Erik payed attention to them. It wasn¡¯t until he heard a gasp as someone else noticed the same thing he had that he realized, wherever he was, he wasn¡¯t alone. Soon following that, Erik heard the mutter of conversations occurring all around him. Now that it had caught his attention, Erik took note that there were quite a few people in the clearing with him, many of them clothed in work clothing of various kinds or simple every-day attire as they puzzled over their surroundings. Sweeping his gaze across the crowd, Erik estimated there were probably over a hundred people present, of all shapes and sizes and varying age ranges. Many of them had clustered together in groups, gesturing wildly as they frantically tried to ask others around them if they knew what was going on. Erik had to stifle a chuckle as he watched one obviously well-endowed blonde-haired woman wave around a frying pan¡ªwith eggs still in it, no less¡ªwhile she clutched the opening to her bath robe. For a moment, he was given the impression some sort of blonde angel had somehow gotten caught up in this mess, for her face seemed almost inhumanly austere and beautiful. The notion was immediately shattered moments later as the woman turned and slammed the frying pan into a man¡¯s face when she caught him leering at her. ¡°More a Valkyrie than an angel, then,¡± Erik chuckled to himself as he observed a substantial portion of the men gawking at her become suddenly and intensely interested in looking anywhere but at her. Still laughing, Erik watched as she seemed to snarl something at the man she¡¯d struck, who was now on the ground clutching his face, and stalk furiously away. Erik¡¯s laughter was cut short as he realized the woman was heading right for him, the crowd of people between himself and her stepping out of her way as she hurriedly moved forward, muttering angrily to herself. She stopped when she realized that there was a decent amount of space between her and the rest of the crowds of people and then seemed to freeze when she spotted Erik, who stood there gaping. It occurred to Erik in that moment that if everyone had been brought here wearing the exact same clothing they¡¯d been wearing beforehand, he was now standing in front of the woman in his gym attire which consisted of a workout shirt with the sleeves ripped off, a pair of basketball shorts, both of which reeked of sweat, and an over-size pair of beat-up sneakers. It had been hard to overcome the sense of humiliation conditioned into him by all the body-shaming he¡¯d had to endure throughout the years due to his obesity¡ªamong other things¡ªbut once he¡¯d started to push himself to get in shape and realized his weight and size could be an asset rather than a burden, he¡¯d begun to feel more comfortable with himself. Realizing the nature of his eating disorder meant he couldn¡¯t fix his weight problem had been the most important part of that process. Instead, he focused on shaping the massive excess of fat which had led to his ridicule in the first place into brawn instead. And it had worked. Erik had gone from being repulsively obese to broad and imposing, though he still found it difficult not to criticize his self-image due to the years of body-shaming he¡¯d endured. His eating disorder had even become an asset to his exercising, supplying his body with much-needed calories. He wasn¡¯t entirely satisfied with himself yet, not by a long-shot, but he had at least started to feel like he could accept the rest of the bad cards life had dealt him now that he¡¯d well and truly overcome his obesity. But now, in the midst of wherever the hell they were and with his mind still trying to process all that had happened so far, Erik felt the familiar heavy weight of ignominy settle onto his shoulders once more. His face burned red as he thought of the blonde-haired woman throwing disgusted looks at his body, laughing at him, and engaging in any number of other cruel activities that he¡¯d once been victim to. Erik was thankful a considerable portion of his face was hidden by his thick and glorious beard, one part of himself he actually took pride in. Rooted to the spot, Erik found himself unable to move as his mirth shriveled up and died a sudden death, mortification sweeping through him. What truly alarmed him though, was what stirred alongside those feelings. He watched with intense trepidation as the woman¡¯s ice-blue eyes raked over him and she blinked in surprise. Erik waited for the anticipated response of disdain, the disgust at his overly hairy arms and legs or the thick tufts of hair peaking out of the collar of his sweat-stained workout shirt, the revulsion at the evident expanse of his gut, or the repugnance at the brutish, almost savage cast of his features. But it never came. Instead the woman quirked a single white-blonde brow at him. ¡°I¡¯m not going to have to whack you like the last idiot, am I?¡± She inquired, brandishing her frying pan. Avoiding her gaze, Erik shook his head. ¡°No,¡± He said, the low bass of his voice almost surprising him as he responded. It was a wonder he¡¯d been able to bring himself to respond at all. Usually when talking to people, particularly those who were clearly exemplary standards of more classical beauty and physical appeal, such as this woman clearly was, words seemed to flee his mind¡¯s grasp and he quickly and awkwardly aborted the conversation out of embarrassment. But the word had sprung from his lips almost unbidden, like it had a will of its own. A lifetime of torment at the hands of pretty faces like the one this woman wore had taught Erik to be wary, and yet he found himself far less reticent about talking to her than he might have otherwise. He still felt awkward and unsure, of course, but it was nowhere near the usual debilitating intensity. And even more oddly, it seemed the darker currents beneath his shame and humiliation which were normally what drove his intense, driving need to avoid interaction with people, had vanished, like waves fading away on the surface of a suddenly still pond. The woman¡¯s lips quirked, and she brushed the long wave of her blonde hair out of her face, making Erik realize she was even more alluring up-close. ¡°Good, because I¡¯m not sure it would do more than piss you off and I¡¯ve had about all the stupid I can handle for the day.¡± She tucked her frying pan under one arm, extending the other out in front of her. ¡°My name is Helena, but my friends call me Lena,¡± Helena said. Carefully, Erik reached out and shook her hand, his massive paw easily swallowing her more petite hand. ¡°I-I¡¯m Erik.¡± He replied, feeling another flush of embarrassment as he cleared his throat to cover up his stutter. Nonetheless, he steeled his courage and pushed on, deciding to ask the question at the forefront of his mind. I can¡¯t let my old insecurities stop me from moving on, Erik chided himself before speaking. I need to push myself if I¡¯m ever going to learn how to actually interact with people. Things are different¡ªespecially now¡ªand I need to remember that. ¡°Aren¡¯t you¡ªumm¡ªI mean, don¡¯t I make you feel¡­uncomfortable?¡± Erik finished awkwardly, not meeting her eyes as he scratched the back of his head nervously. He¡¯d almost used the word revolted but he¡¯d refrained. There was no need to plant ideas in her head if they weren¡¯t already growing there, after all. After asking his question, Erik only became more aware of the size disparity which had become evident after they¡¯d shaken hands. Erik was over half a foot taller than her and probably outweighed her more than thrice over. And yet she didn¡¯t seem fazed in the least. Helena frowned. ¡°Not really. I won¡¯t lie and say you aren¡¯t at least a little imposing but out of every other guy here, you¡¯re the only one who hasn¡¯t eyed me up like a starving wolf seeing a piece of juicy steak. That gets you a hell of a lot of points in my book. Besides,¡± She shrugged, her expression becoming light and playful. ¡°Some people happen to like the hairy gorilla look.¡± Though he normally might have felt a flush of shame at being referred to as a ¡®hairy gorilla¡¯, Erik could tell she hadn¡¯t meant it to sound mean or cruel, and he felt too embarrassed and distracted to allow his mind to jump to its usual conclusions. Flabbergasted and struggling to force words to his lips to talk to this woman who seemed entirely unintimidated or phased by his appearance in any way, Erik felt his embarrassment settle slightly and opened his mouth to try to respond only to have his voice cut off when a thunderclap of noise shattered the air in the field they stood. The words dying in his throat, Erik turned his head to what he believed to be the source of the noise and saw with shock that there was now a figure standing on the platform by the monolith. ¡°Did you see that?¡± Erik heard someone nearby whisper, their voice carrying over the unexpected hush of the crowd. ¡°Lightning struck that weird-looking pillar and then that guy just appeared out of nowhere!¡± Someone else whispered back. ¡°No way, you¡¯re out of your fucking mind. That¡¯s¡ª¡± A third person furiously replied, their voice rising in shock and denial only to be hurriedly shushed by a fourth person. Looking back at the platform, Erik saw the figure patiently awaiting the attention of the crowd. Inspecting it, Erik note that the figure on the platform seemed unusually tall and was wearing a set of flowing robes that almost subtly concealed some form of armor, the metal of which was a dull black. When Erik tried to find more details to latch onto, it seemed like the figure¡¯s form blurred, becoming indistinct, and Erik¡¯s attention slid off of it and away, unable to fully focus on it. He couldn¡¯t see the newcomer¡¯s face since it was hidden by a deep cowl which seemed to be part of the robes they were wearing but for a moment, Erik felt its eyes lock with his, as if they knew Erik was eyeing their attire curiously and trying to figure out how to describe it in his memory.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. The force of that gaze fell upon him like the weight of ages, holding him immobile. In that gaze, Erik glimpsed a mere reflection of the infinite array of possibility exposed to the man¡¯s vision, the awareness and indescribable anticipation of knowing the precise and certain outcome of millions of strings of fate connecting others with an endless multitude of decisions made and choices yet to come. That mere glimpse was enough to terrify Erik and he felt his mind try to flinch from the attempt at comprehending it, knowing that only sheer and utter insanity lay down that road. In that solitary moment, in which he gazed out into the Abyss and the gaping maw of madness that was the Abyss in turn gazed back at him, he did not allow himself to look away. He would not accept this madness as truth, for he knew the lie it tried to conceal. Erik had once believed that his misery was an inescapable and cruel twist of Fate and it had taken him far too long to realize that allowing himself to wallow in such a fatalistic view was only perpetuating his own anguish. He couldn¡¯t change who and what he was, so rather than wallowing in despair, he instead chose to use the tools he¡¯d been given and deal with the lot he¡¯d been dealt as ably as he could. That conviction had kept him going when others had disparaged him, when despair had clawed at his heart and told him his dreams were an unattainable delusion. It had awoken something in him, a determination to cast off the misery and self-loathing that others had conditioned into him. A multitude of cruel people had attempted to convince him that his wretched existence was all that was left to him, but he had cast their aspersions aside and discovered the truth. ¡°My Fate is what I make of it, and I will not let someone else take that from me.¡± Erik filled the words with more iron and conviction than he¡¯d ever done, feeling the veracious steel cloaked in the words as he spoke them, and the figure looked away, releasing them both from the spell they¡¯d been caught in. ¡°Are you alright? You zoned out there for a minute,¡± Helena asked. Erik glanced at her momentarily before turning his attention back to the man standing on the stone platform. She seemed concerned but not alarmed so she likely hadn¡¯t felt anything amiss other than the prolonged staring contest. It felt like an eternity, but it must have only been a few seconds or else she might look more disturbed, Erik thought before replying. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± He answered, his voice slightly hesitant as his mind was still trying to process¡­whatever it was that had happened. ¡°I think we¡¯re about to get an explanation for why we were all dragged here.¡± Out of the corner of his eye, Erik noted Helena¡¯s frown as she seemed to mull over questioning his curt response and obvious deflection. Before she could, however, the man on the platform began speaking, projecting his voice above the low murmuring of the crowd. ¡°All of you are probably wondering why you were brought here,¡± The figure spoke and paused, his voice quiet and measured but unmistakably male, easily heard by everyone in the crowd. ¡°My name is Janus, and I brought you here to this place¡ªknown as the Proving Grounds¡ªbecause my world needs your help. This world, this entire universe, is vastly different from the one you knew. It¡¯s universal laws and the fundaments of its reality are rooted in what most of you would probably consider a game and are guided by specific, unchangeable rules dictated by what we call the System. An ¡®RPG¡¯, as it were,¡± Janus paused once more, his eyes scouring the crowd. Erik expected there to be some outcry, denial of the words, or a refusal to believe that this was anything more than a complex hallucination for a dream. But Erik felt it and could see it in the faces of his fellow abductees, just as Janus could¡ªtheir attention was rapt, focused on the being who claimed to have deliberately brought them here, and they all somehow knew he spoke true. There were too many small details and intricacies for this to be a dream or a wild hallucination. A part of them wanted to deny it all but each of them pushed it down. A larger part of them had always wanted to believe that there was something more, something else beyond the veil of reality, a deeper world they might eventually become a part of. This was merely a dream coming true and they had no desire to wake up and return to the nightmare of their old world, the so-called reality. ¡°But that is not why you were brought here. My brethren and I, like all life in this universe, came to be because the System willed it so. From the moment of our creation, we were commanded to watch over this world, known to us as Terra. We soon discovered that we could influence the people of this world, many of whom we shaped into our own likeness,¡± Janus crossed his arms behind his back and began pacing back and forth across the platform. His voice continued to wash over them, and Erik could feel the pride and contentment remembering these events evoked in Janus. ¡°They worshipped us as gods and called us the Titans, for though we were limited by the System, our powers were beyond mortal ken and we were larger than life. As time passed, our worshippers spread, creating new kingdoms and conquering new lands and we granted them all that was within our power. When there was suffering, we brought succor. When Chaos grew stronger, spawning monsters and driving the creatures of the land mad with rage, we empowered our worshippers and sent them to smite the threat. We healed the sick and fed the starved and poor,¡± Here Janus paused once more, and when he began speaking again, the warmth in his words had faded and been replaced by a cold weariness. ¡°But there came a time when my brothers realized that we, powerful though we were, were alone in this world. Forbidden by the System to walk among the lands of men, we were forced to watch them from afar and they hungered for the companionship our followers had in abundance. And so, they sought to end our solitude, and in doing so committed a terrible mistake,¡± He waved his hands and bands of mist hanging high in the air above the crowd twisted, shadows and light warping and twisting together with them until a life-like illustration of Janus¡¯s words came into fruition, shifting and twisting as the story unfolded before them. The crowd watched as several massive figures, sitting in thrones carved from the heavens themselves, gazed down upon a world that stretched endlessly beneath them. Grim solitude etched across their faces and resolve firmed their features. As one, they began to glow. ¡°I warned them against it, for many times had I seen the consequences of what they would do spread like a plague across the world, but they did not listen to my counsel and by the very nature of my own power, I was not able to act to stop them. They split a great portion of their power from themselves and molded it into beings that they likened as their own children. They were smaller in stature, but they carried the same power within themselves and they soon proved their equals in many respects. They joined my brothers and became known as the Gods, collecting worshippers of their own and urging them to spread across the lands,¡± The colossal entities above the crowd¡¯s heads suddenly stopped glowing, only now before each of them crouched a much smaller being. These beings stood and turned their eyes to the world below. Scenes flashed by as they gathered followers, built temples, and garnered influence among the world. The proud parents stood watching, their faces alight with pride while a lone figure lurked in the background, sorrow cast upon its face. ¡°Time passed, and they felt content, for all seemed to be going well. Perhaps they did not want to believe or were simply too blinded by their desire for fellowship, but the rest of my kin did not heed my warnings and came to believe that I had cast doubts upon their dreams out of jealousy, for I was not able to sunder a piece of myself to create a child of my own as they had. All came to pass, of course, just as I had known it would, and soon they came to realize the same terrible truth I had foreseen,¡± Janus made a sharp gesture and Erik and the rest of the crowd watched as bits of shadow and darkness seemed to eat through the light of the smaller Gods, spreading throughout them like a plague. Whereas before they had seemed to stand aside the Titans as equals, solemn and content, now their eyes jealously followed their creators, an unsettling hunger burning in them. ¡°You see, these children, these Gods birthed by my Titan brothers and sisters, were not immune to the corruption of Chaos as we were. We, the System¡¯s crowned embodiments of Order, were the sole beings in existence that were fundamentally immune to the corrupting touch of Chaos. My brethren¡¯s creations, though they each carried a half of my brethren¡¯s power, were not. They became twisted and hungered for the power their creators possessed, believing it to be their birthright. When they discovered they could not steal that power, they instead sought to destroy it and so they waged a war to exterminate us. In the heavens, they fought my brothers to a stand-still as below, their agents sowed strife and instigated war on a scale never seen before,¡± Janus intoned gravely. The image above Erik¡¯s head shifted once more, showing armies marching forth and burning glorious stone temples, brutally cutting down anyone who stood in their way. A montage of bloodshed and death played out before the eyes of Erik and his fellows, an endless march of doom as figures clashed in the skies above the world, lightning and divine power creating a heavenly cataclysm. ¡°Evenly matched, my brethren could not defeat what they had created, and neither could their creations defeat them, in turn. But it mattered little, for while they fought, months passed below, and their people died in droves. In desperation, my brothers turned at last to me. They knew that they could not call upon my aid to save them without a cost, so they sacrificed a portion of their power to me, which in turn gave the upper hand to their creations. In that moment, they managed to wound and weaken my brethren where they had utterly failed before. But in that same moment, my own power fell upon them and they were no more.¡± The being waiting in the shadows, ever watching as the conflict waged on, suddenly crooked his hand. The Gods froze in the wake of attacking the felled Titans, and when the waiting figure clenched his fist, they cried out in torment before they shattered like glass, disappearing from existence itself. The mist, light and shadow composing the image above the heads of the crowd seemed to implode upon itself immediately after and they all turned their full attention back to Janus once more. ¡°Their defeat, however, was not without further consequence. The War of Immortals, as it came to be known, had sundered the land and its people, and new kingdoms arose from the ashes of what they had once been. My brothers were forced to slumber to regain their power and have yet to awaken. In their absence, and in the wake of what the Gods wrought, Chaos has become stronger than ever. The people are at each other¡¯s throats, consumed by their hatred of one another and there are no longer any Titans to help them beat back the forces rising against them or halt the corruption keeping them divided. Monsters plague the land, beasts are becoming more aggressive and running rampant, and there is worse yet to come. I brought you here to stop the coming storm, to restore the Balance and unite the people.¡± Janus stopped his pacing, turning and facing the crowd once more, his demeanor grave and serious. ¡°I cannot use my own power to intervene directly, and until my fellow Titans fell into slumber, I was forbidden to acquire followers and recruit champions. Without any means of finding what I needed in this universe, I sought help from beyond it. I have chosen you to be my instruments to restore the Balance upset by the absence of the Titans. The road will be fraught with danger and death but here, you have a chance to be something more than you were before. Terra and its people call upon you to be their saviors, to bring Balance back to the world, and heal the land.¡± In that moment, Erik heard the muttering of the crowd start up again, but he wasn¡¯t paying attention to them. No, he kept his focus on Janus, because Erik could have sworn he¡¯d felt the man¡¯s¡ªthe Titan¡¯s¡ªgaze on him when he¡¯d spoken those last words. ¡°Those of you willing to undertake this quest, long and arduous as it might be, need only accept the System¡¯s invitation. Anyone who refuses will be returned to your home, with no memory this ever occurred.¡± As he spoke, Janus laid his hand upon the obelisk on the raised platform upon which he stood and once more, eerie blue light flickered across its surface. Only, this time, it steadily grew brighter and brighter until a blinding flash erupted. Erik closed his eyes and moments later, felt a wash of energy crackle across his skin. Then, it appeared, visible even behind his eyelids, etched out on an opaque screen in grey-scale and as vivid as anything he¡¯d ever seen.
Greetings, Erik Thayne. You have been invited to join the System. Do you Accept? Yes ¨C No
Chapter 2: Do You Want to Play the Game? Chapter 2: Do You Want to Play the Game? Erik felt a smile of wonder stretch across his face at this sudden confirmation of all that Janus had told them. It might not be entirely what he imagined, but it was an opportunity for a second start in a different world¡ªsomething he had longed for every day he¡¯d been forced to endure the petty torment and malice of his peers. ¡°So, you see it too?¡± Erik heard the same wonder echoed in Helena¡¯s face as she posed her question, her eyes on a blue screen of her own that was not visible to Erik¡¯s eyes. ¡°Yeah, I do.¡± Erik responded. Helena glanced at him. ¡°Do you think we should accept? I mean, from what Janus told us, we would be fools to think this is going to be simple.¡± Erik took a breath and let it out before responding. ¡°Yeah, I can¡¯t really argue with that. But think about it, what are we really going back to, if we refuse? A world full of assholes constantly judging each other based on superficial looks and appearances? Endless insults, snide remarks, sneering looks, false assumptions and petty hatred? Not really much to miss, in my experience,¡± He said bitterly, taking a breath and pushing away his anger as he looked at their surroundings, his eyes taking in the details but not really perceiving them. ¡°As far as I¡¯m concerned, this is just a well-timed opportunity to start over again in a place where people haven¡¯t tormented me my whole life because I have an eating disorder and my abnormal appearance,¡± Erik muttered darkly, his tone becoming more gruff as he remembered all the things about their home that had angered him and made him feel powerless over the years. Though he was typically a quiet and solemn person, it was usually because he¡¯d lived in constant fear of being judged by others. Interacting with Helena felt a lot more¡­natural than anyone else he¡¯d ever met, and he felt more at ease in believing she wasn¡¯t constantly judging him and holding her tongue regarding his appearance to keep from offending him. When Erik looked back and met Helena¡¯s gaze, he saw a similar anger and resentment of their old world there in her eyes. Maybe she spent a lot of her life being judged by the way she looks, just like I did, Erik contemplated silently. ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± Helena nodded. ¡°There isn¡¯t much worth going back to on Earth and this place, this world,¡± she said, gesturing to their surroundings, ¡°Is a promise of another start, one leading to greater things than the misery and pointlessness of our previous lives,¡± Her eyes briefly flicked to the man she¡¯d clobbered with her frying pan, who was rubbing the knot on his head and glaring in their direction as he talked with a small group of people around him. ¡°We might not be able to get away from all of them, but we¡¯ll at least be getting another chance in a world that will be treating them just as harshly as I imagine it will us,¡± Helena said. Once more, Erik wondered what Helena, who clearly wasn¡¯t lacking in the looks department, had endured to make her feel just as strongly about this decision as he did, but he quickly dismissed that line of questioning, knowing it would likely be an awkward and unpleasant conversation for them both. Instead, he attempted to touch the yes option on the window that had appeared before him. When his hand passed through it with no apparent effect, Erik¡¯s brow furrowed in confusion. Glancing to the side, he saw that Helena seemed to be having similar troubles. ¡°Hmmm¡­. maybe it responds to thought?¡± Erik thought aloud as he idly scratched his bearded face. Not really seeing any other option, Erik focused on his intent to say yes and tried to direct it at the message hovering in his vision. A moment later, the message disappeared and was replaced by another.
Initiating System Integration and Status Assessment¡­
Erik felt an uncomfortable sensation, like ants were crawling all over his skin and insides and he shuddered. Shortly after it began, it disappeared along with the window in front of him. Now, at the very corner of his vision, he saw a trio of bars hanging just far enough out of the way they didn¡¯t crowd his field of view. After examining them for a moment, he realized that as he focused on each one a descriptor and a number indicating the bar¡¯s capacity appeared. The red bar marked Health showed 236/236. The bar below it, slightly smaller, was marked Stamina with 300/300. The last bar, colored a light blue, was labeled Mana and was by far the smallest of the three, 138/138. Turning his attention away from them, the three bars faded into the corners of his vision, becoming nearly unnoticeable but leaving behind a strange awareness of the resources they¡¯d denoted. Erik would have sworn he could tell someone the exact status of his Health, Mana, or Stamina by feel alone now but he dismissed the notion for contemplation later as he noticed other things begin to populate in the System¡¯s version of what was apparently a personalized UI integrated directly into his senses. Similar to the set of bars at the top left corner of his vision, there were another three set at the bottom left corner of his vision, positioned just above a long, filigreed bar that stretched across the bottom of his visual perception. Inspecting them, Erik found that they weren¡¯t labeled as his main resources had been but nonetheless his mind was instantly made aware of what they were. The first was Fatigue, the second was Satiety, and the third was Thirst. Also, unlike his main bars, these three faded entirely from his view and he knew they would only reappear if he willed it. The final bar stretching across the bottom of his vision held a small ¡®XP¡¯ symbol inside it, making it rather self-explanatory so Erik continued his examination of his UI. The next thing to catch his attention were the four tabs evenly spaced apart in a small cluster on the opposite side from his resources, each of which was currently grayed out. One was marked with a symbol resembling a map, another was an empty outline of a man, the third was an open book, and the fourth resembled a traveler¡¯s pack. Since he didn¡¯t have access to them, Erik could only guess but he felt they were likely to be a map, a character sheet, some sort of journal or quest tracker, and an inventory. Those were what he felt to be the most probable based on the symbols and what he remembered from RPGs. A few moments after he¡¯d finished his inspection, another window popped up in front of Erik.
Integration complete, Status assessment complete. Displaying Status¡­
Almost immediately after he¡¯d finished reading this new message, it faded and was replaced by another, larger panel.
Name: Erik Thayne Health: 236/236 Stamina: 300/300 Mana: 138/138 Level: 1 Health Regen: 2.36/Min Stamina Regen: 3.00/Min Mana Regen: 1.38/Min Experience: 0/100 Renown: 0 Class: N/A ?Titles: None Strength ¨C 14 Constitution ¨C 12 Dexterity ¨C 6 Endurance - 15 Intelligence ¨C 5 Wisdom ¨C 8 Willpower ¨C 9 Charisma - 3 Traits: Blood of Fenris (Rare Hyborean Bloodline)
Erik noted there were several similarities to some RPGs he¡¯d once played in his spare time, with a few notable differences like the list of Traits. The rest of it he felt was rather self-explanatory, but he still focused his intent on what he wanted to know, hoping this ¡®System¡¯ would produce some tool-tips to tell him what he wished to know much as it had when he¡¯d focused on his resource pools and what apparently was his experience bar. Thankfully, it seemed the System was more than willing to comply. As soon as the thought crossed his mind, a cascade of windows popped up with an explanation breaking down the rudiments of each stat.
Strength Strength is a measure of the physical power of your body. This stat determines how much you can lift and how hard you can hit. It is a secondary modifier in determining your total Stamina and also governs your ability to ably wield melee weapons in combat Human Average: 8
Constitution Constitution is a measure of your body¡¯s resilience to harm and its ability to recover from injury and illness. It is the primary stat governing Health and also acts as a secondary modifier for passive resistances. Increasing this stat will give you more vitality, allowing you to withstand more damage before dying, and slightly raises your resistance to poisons and disease Human Average: 8
Endurance Endurance is a measure of your body¡¯s vigor and ability to endure both long and short-term physical strain. Increasing this stat will allow you to fight and run for longer periods of time and enhance your ability to withstand damage in combat. It serves as the primary modifier in determining your Stamina and acts as a secondary modifier in determining your Health Human Average: 8
Dexterity Dexterity governs the body¡¯s reaction speed, coordination, and agility. This stat is a secondary modifier in determining your overall Stamina and affects your ability to move quickly and with precision. Higher dexterity will allow you to more capably and accurately wield ranged weaponry and will also affect your control and finesse in melee. Human Average: 8
Intelligence Intelligence is your mind¡¯s capacity for memory and short-term recall and governs its innate ability to accumulate and hold magic. It functions as the primary stat in determining your overall Mana pool and allows for more efficient spell-casting, decreasing the cost of spells by increasing the level of control over one¡¯s Mana. Human Average: 10
Wisdom Wisdom determines the mind¡¯s ability to apply what it knows in abstract ways, solve puzzles, long-term recall and its ability to channel Mana quickly when casting spells. It is a secondary modifier in determining your overall Mana pool and may grant you greater insight in your surroundings and other matters Human Average: 5
Willpower Willpower is the strength of your mind, the force of your personality, and the ability to focus despite all distraction. It functions as a secondary modifier in determining your total Mana pool and governs both the potency of your spells and your ability to resist magic effects targeting your mind and body Human Average: 7
Charisma Charisma is your talent with influencing people with word and body. It affects all social interactions to a varying degree and determines your ability to empathize and understand interpersonal reactions and emotions. Higher Charisma can allow you to get better deals in shops, makes others react more favorably to you in social settings, and can increase your ability to detect lies and deception in a social setting. Charisma also modifies your ability to resist Charisma-based spells and skills Human Average: 10
As Erik read the description for each stat, he experienced an odd revelation, almost like the System was projecting the deeper, hidden meaning of each stat directly into his mind. More than simply reading the words, it felt like he was being given a glimmer of the true foundation each concept was rooted in. It was a mechanic that surprised him, and it helped emphasize that this wasn¡¯t merely some game he was playing; the System could affect his senses and his mind, gifting him with knowledge and understanding he wouldn¡¯t otherwise be able to achieve. Reviewing his stats, Erik was mildly surprised to find that his Strength, Constitution, Endurance, Wisdom and Willpower were all above what the System reported as being average for his species. He understood his deficit of Charisma¡ªhe¡¯d been reaping the consequences of all that he understood that stat to represent for most of his life¡ªand his lower-than-average Dexterity made sense, considering his clumsiness coupled with his large size. But he didn¡¯t think his Wisdom would be three points higher than the average human or that his Willpower would exceed the average by two points. Thinking it through, Erik decided the relatively low Wisdom score for the human average was probably reflective of their ability to make deadly, uninformed, life-altering decisions and completely fail to understand their surroundings based on stubborn idiocy alone, though he supposed he was a little biased, considering his past. His Intelligence score was less of a mystery to him¡ªhe¡¯d always considered himself more introspective than intelligent, and he believed himself to be slightly more self-aware than the average person due to his¡­colorful past. He was by no means stupid, but he¡¯d shown himself repeatedly to be a slow learner. As for his Willpower, Erik thought that was likely the result of the inroads he¡¯d made in controlling his hunger. His Strength and Endurance, in comparison to his other stats, weren¡¯t outside his expectations. Erik had just never taken the time to step back and objectively compare his size and strength to other people. Having thrown himself into powerlifting in his ardent quest to alter his self-image into something more positive, Strength and Endurance were something he¡¯d forged in spades through hours of dedicated lifting. Though he¡¯d never felt a need to record any numbers from his lifts, Erik knew from having seen the stats of competition-level power-lifters like Kirill Sarychev or Eddie Hall, that he was of a similar size and mass as they typically were when competing. It was therefore unsurprising that Strength and Endurance were his highest stats.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. However, looking back and forth between the average scores for humans, it still seemed that his scores were a point or so higher than he himself would have judged them to be. Maybe there are some modifiers at work here that I don¡¯t know about yet, Erik mused to himself. It seemed a likely possibility, considering it would mirror some of the mechanics he remembered from the days when he used to spend his time playing RPGs and the System so far seemed to be strongly rooted in similar elements. Feeling more intrigued, knowing it was probably best to get the cascade of other messages sure to follow out of the way as well as wanting to satisfy his own curiosity, Erik mentally dismissed the tool-tip the system had spawned¡ªand the sensations they had evoked¡ªand focused his attention next on the section listed Traits, thinking it likely they might better explain any bonuses or deficits the System had tacked on to his Status. He was immediately bombarded by a series of messages, each of which overlaid itself on top of the other before it. Each message brought an odd awareness of himself with it, as if by reading each one he was engaging in understanding the depths of what made him tick.
Blood of Fenris (Rare Hyborean Bloodline Trait) Like all those descended from the original inhabitants of Hyborea, your ancestors were shaped by the will of the Titans, who wished to bless their most faithful followers with a small fraction of their strength, leaving them larger and stronger than normal humans. Your ancestors were among those few Hyboreans blessed with power by Fenris, the Lord of Wolves, who gifted his followers with savage ferocity as well as strength. You might look like the obese bastard son of a gorilla and an ox, but the power of the Titans flows through your veins and the strength of the wolf lurks in your shadow. -2 Charisma +2 Strength per level +1 Endurance per level You have inherited the unique Traits Sasquatch, Ravenous Glutton, and Goliath ¡°I¡¯d rather fight the sons of Fenris than get eaten alive by monsters but from what I¡¯ve heard there isn¡¯t much of a difference between the two.¡±
As Erik read through the first message, a chill traveled up his spine. The sensation this message evoked from the dark depths of his mind was not one he had ever wanted to dwell on for any length of time, yet the System forced it screaming into the light and there was no denying its existence. Erik had learned the necessity of accepting the darker and unwanted parts of himself the hard way¡ªdoing so had proven the only way to even begin to control the gnawing hunger of his eating disorder¡ªbut this was something he was loathe to even acknowledge. The very thought of doing so terrified him. Frantically, he shoved the sensations from the forefront of his mind and continued through the messages, needing a distraction. Fortunately, that was a request the System seemed more than willing to grant.
Ravenous Glutton (Unique Trait) Your body is driven by an endless yearning for something it cannot name. Your hunger is insatiable, and you devour every scrap of food set before you. Even when you have consumed all your body can handle, you cannot help but continue eating. Grants the ability Ravenous Appetite You are afflicted the secondary physical Trait Glutton¡¯s Gut ¡°My hunger cannot be tamed. I ate the first dozen who tried.¡±
Erik clenched his teeth, feeling the old shame claw at him along with the deep and gnawing hunger the System instilled in him, as if to remind him of the bottomless, aching hunger that never really went away. It was something he had learned to tolerate but had never been able to control. His problem would never fade or go away, but he had made himself able to live with it. Still, having the System shove its existence in his face didn¡¯t exactly do wonders for Erik¡¯s state of mind. He felt a deep anger churn in his gut like acid, clawing at his insides. ¡°Like I need another fucking reminder. None of the assholes I grew up with ever let me forget it,¡± Erik muttered darkly through clenched teeth. Knowing the futility of it, Erik refused to allow his anger any further foothold. He¡¯d spent his entire lifetime allowing himself to be controlled by his fear and he was only now learning not to let it hold him back. His anger was deeply connected to some of his oldest and most intense fears and he was just as opposed to letting it control him as he was allowing his fear to do so. Steeling his resolve, Erik moved on to the next Trait.
Glutton¡¯s Gut (Secondary Physical Trait) Constantly consuming mass-quantities of food in extreme excess can make you fat. Who knew? No matter what you do, this gut will never quite go away so long as your hunger rules you. Exercise has made it more solid and slightly less unwieldy, but it still makes you look fat. -2 Dexterity +3 Constitution ¡°Remember David and Goliath? Well, I¡¯m pretty sure you ate David.¡±
This time, rather than inspiring a newfound mental introspection, it was as if Erik was suddenly and unerringly aware of the layer of fat that still clung to his mid-section. For a moment the old humility and shame warred with his elation at his accomplishments, fed by the anger beginning to stir in him, but his pride won out by a short margin and Erik snorted, patting the girth of his mid-section, his previous displeasure muted. Whatever the System said, more than three years of near-obsessive dedication to lifting and other exercises had crafted the previously horrendous and unsightly mass of flesh and fat into a solid wall of muscle, even if it was still covered by a concealing layer of fat. He¡¯d tried¡ªand failed¡ªto cut down the excess weight he was still carrying around his mid-section but his struggle with his eating disorder had made it a hopeless battle, so he¡¯d given in and settled for just making it as solid as he could. If the System wanted to be petty and make fun of the gut he still had despite all his effort, then he would resign himself to it. Turning his attention to the next message, Erik resumed his review of the messages.
Goliath (Unique Trait) Like most of the favored of the Titans, your ancestors were blessed with size and strength beyond mortal means. You seem to have been skipped over for most of that, but you¡¯re still built like an ox. A fat and stupid ox, but an ox nonetheless +2 Strength +2 Endurance -3 Intelligence ¡°Huh, I thought you¡¯d be taller.¡±
Erik blinked. That message seemed almost¡­conciliatory, even if it was still a bit mocking. It brought with it an abiding and total awareness of his physical size and emphasized once more how he towered over the comparatively diminutive Helena, Erik being more imposing both in stature as well as sheer mass. Oddly, the sensation didn¡¯t inspire any feeling of degradation but rather made Erik feel almost powerful, like he could accomplish anything. It was exhilarating. Erik knew he was of above average height at six-foot-four, but before he¡¯d lost weight, it hadn¡¯t mattered; he¡¯d just been a rather large target for the ire of his tormentors. Now, reading that message, the feeling it inspired in him made him almost uncomfortably aware of precisely how ¡®above average¡¯ he was in size and for once, it didn¡¯t feel like an entirely negative thing to Erik. ¡°Huh, maybe the System isn¡¯t going to be a complete dick about this,¡± Erik said hopefully. The messages that followed immediately proved him wrong.
Sasquatch (Unique Trait) Your hands and feet are disproportionately large, and you have enough body hair that you scare people when shirtless. Need I say anymore? Grants the secondary physical Trait Hirsute Bonus to successful intimidation when shirtless ¡°I swear to all the gods if you ate the last of the jerky I¡¯ll tear your arms off and eat them instead.¡±
Hirsute (Secondary Physical Trait) You are one hairy bastard. Haven¡¯t you ever heard of manscaping? -1 Charisma
A vein throbbed in Erik¡¯s head, but he refrained from venting his frustration. Just like before, rather than a distinct feeling or impression, the messages imposed a sharp awareness of a particular facet of his body. This one was much easier to brush off than the others, since it was one that he could do little to mitigate despite the discomfort it caused him. Others might have argued otherwise but there was no changing the awkward size of his hands and feet and anything less than a full-body wax wouldn¡¯t have made much of a dent in the other part of that problem¡ªan inconvenience he found unworthy of the time and discomfort it brought with it. Like so many other things, he¡¯d decided to live with it and manage it as best he could. The System apparently thought that his admittedly meager efforts weren¡¯t worth anything other than petty mockery. Knowing he needed to stay focused, Erik pushed his feelings down into the depths of his mind, burying them in the darkness. Much as he hated to admit it, the System wasn¡¯t noting anything he hadn¡¯t already been aware of¡ªalthough it seemed it had used his more distinguishing characteristics as not only an excuse to poke fun at him but also to give him some positive and negative characteristics. It might not have weighed in his favor as much as he¡¯d have liked, but the fact alone that the System had obviously looked for ways to counteract his bonuses to Strength and Constitution was telling. First, the System seemed to exaggerate and leverage the distinguishing qualities and characteristics of a person to justify granting them appropriate bonuses and disadvantages. Erik would have had to ask around about the other¡¯s Traits to be sure, but the fact that all his Unique Traits were ¡®inherited¡¯ from his Blood of Fenris was interesting, especially considering the interesting¡­feelings it had awoken in him. Second, the System was obviously trying very hard to maintain the idea of balance among his characteristics. If the world they were in truly resembled an RPG as much as Janus had implied and the System had indicated thus far, then from those details alone Erik could make several assumptions about the mechanics of the universe and how it operated. ¡°Hmm¡­if it needs to maintain balance and uses our own physical features to justify giving us increases to stats while decreasing others, then I suppose it wouldn¡¯t be too much of a stretch to say that it made up a lineage for me in this world based upon attributes I already possess, which would provide a perfectly plausible explanation for all my physical Traits, while also serving to be it¡¯s justification for their existence in the first place,¡± Erik shook his head, feeling a minor headache coming on from his deliberation on that particular logic-loop. It was a large leap to make but it was one he had a hunch was relatively accurate, based upon what he¡¯d seen so far. Shaking his head, Erik dismissed his thoughts and returned his focus to this new and strange reality he¡¯d found himself in. Now that he¡¯d sorted through all the information from his status page he was capable of understanding, Erik found his attention drawn once more to the platform where Janus stood next to the obelisk. The crowd¡¯s attention was entirely focused on the Titan again, a feat which seemed to be some sort of mystical accomplishment¡ªwhen he attempted to turn his attention elsewhere, Erik found his body unresponsive and his attention unable to focus on anything other than Janus. It would appear that he¡¯s ensuring we all pay attention, somehow. I¡¯m not sure why he chose to do this now instead of earlier when he was telling his story, but he must have something important to tell us and knew we¡¯d be utterly distracted by the wonder of this ¡®System¡¯, Erik contemplated silently. ¡°As anticipated, very few of you chose to decline my offer and return to your world, and for that I am glad. Much as I would like to explain the mechanics of this world to you, there is little time to do so. Suffice it to say, the System is logical, if not rational. Now, on to the things you must know right now. First, in the System you cannot die permanently,¡± Janus paused here, apparently taking some small measure of amusement at the sudden shock garnered in the crowd from the news they were basically immortal before he continued orating. ¡°However, that doesn¡¯t mean you can be reckless. Dying is excruciatingly painful and the disorientation of having your soul repeatedly ripped out and shoved back into a perfect replica of your body can and will erode your sanity. If that wasn¡¯t enough, every time you die, you expose your mind to the corrupting touch of Chaos, and it slowly poisons your psyche. To ensure the Balance, the System prevents you from coming back if you die and your mind has passed a certain threshold of corruption. Die too many times and there will come a point where your mind is simply gone, and you cease to exist. Ill-advised actions and stupidity can and will destroy any hope you have of survival,¡± Janus continued grimly. I suppose that makes sense, Erik thought. Keep recycling the mind and eventually it just falls apart. This ¡®Chaos¡¯ Janus keeps mentioning must be some force or concept the System invented to drive conflict in this world. Logical but not rational, indeed. ¡°Second, some of you may recall that I called this place the Proving Grounds earlier,¡± Janus said, gesturing to their surroundings. ¡°Those who wish to join the System and gain access to its benefits must prove they are ready to face its perils. To leave this place and enter the world of Terra, you must overcome a basic test of your mettle. Normally, you would need to know the basics of a combat Proficiency before undergoing the Proving but as Travelers, the System will allow you to choose two abilities to help you in combat as well as a basic combat proficiency and one non-combat skill. The world of Terra has always been a place of strife and conflict, but it is doubly so now that the Balance has been disrupted and Chaos runs rampant," "Choose carefully, for it may determine whether you live through your Proving or not, and until you have succeeded in your Proving, the System will give you no second chances. Many of you may die, but that was a risk you accepted when you agreed to join the System,¡± Janus paused momentarily, once more allowing the crowd to process what he¡¯d said before he spoke again. There was a murmuring at this grim realization and nervous chatter as some people were filled with dread and apprehension by Janus¡¯s words, but no one dared raise their voice in outrage. None of them understood what it meant when Janus called himself a Titan but, standing in his presence, listening to him speak, the air of unquestionable power he emanated was evident to even the least observant of those present in the gathered crowd. Some of them might have wanted to complain about Janus withholding that information from them, but the rest knew what he¡¯d said was true; they¡¯d made their choices, and now they had to stand by them. Of course, none of that meant the crowd was pleased with the news. From where Erik stood, it seemed a few had even broken down into near-hysterics, only being calmed and quieted by the groups of people around them, who seemed only mildly less shaken. As for himself, Erik had been waiting for that hammer to drop¡ªhowever much he might have leapt at the chance for a better future than the one waiting for him back on Earth, he knew there had to be a greater risk than they were being told about. Still, it didn¡¯t matter. He¡¯d made his choice, and now he and everyone else who¡¯d made the same decision would have to live or die by it alongside him. Erik glanced at Helena, but she seemed unmoved by this news, her face impassive. ¡°Finally, once each of you pass the Proving, you will receive a boon of power from me to help you on your journey. You will appear, alone, at a random location in the land of Eralia, the largest continent on Terra. I advise you to seek out your fellows or other people and try to make as many allies as you can. However, no matter what you do, you will make enemies, such is the design of the System and its Balance. Some of these enemies will be easily dissuaded, but others¡­they will only stop when you force them to stop. You must be prepared not merely to fight but to kill, to survive in this world. Of course, not all enemies will be as they appear in Terra, and many of the most vicious cruelties you suffer will come from those monstrous in mind and not merely monstrous in flesh. Do not hesitate when you face them and do not show mercy, for they will show you none. Now, there is no more time to waste,¡± Janus said as he gestured to the wide set of steps leading up the platform he stood upon. ¡°Each of you must simply approach and lay your hand upon the obelisk. Once you do, you will be sent to an isolated pocket dimension inside of the one the Proving Grounds exists in, where each of you will undergo your Proving.¡± Erik looked around and saw that maybe a fifth of their number had chosen not to accept the System¡¯s offer, and the remainder were nervously whispering to each other, hesitating to be the first to approach and deliberating over the exceedingly grim tone of Janus¡¯s final remark, the first nail in the coffin of their wonder at this new world. Just as it seemed no one would take those first steps, several people stepped from the crowd and approached the obelisk. One by one, they placed their hands upon the stone monolith and disappeared in azure flashes of light followed by the punishing sound of rolling thunder. Soon, more and more joined them and eventually a line formed. Erik found himself behind Helena, steadily advancing toward the obelisk now that no one was hesitating to begin the ¡®Proving¡¯ Janus had mentioned. When it finally came to be Helena¡¯s turn, Erik touched her shoulder, prompting her to turn. ¡°Good luck, Lena. I¡¯m not sure if we¡¯ll see each other again any time soon but it¡ªit was nice meeting you.¡± Erik said, reddening as he stuttered a bit. Helena threw a smile at him before turning and reaching out to place her hand upon the obelisk. ¡°Likewise. See you on the other side,¡± She finished just as she disappeared. Knowing that if he hesitated he would be holding up the line of people that remained waiting in fretful anticipation behind him, Erik hurriedly stepped forward and placed his hand upon the obelisk. Chapter 3: Arm Yourself Chapter 3: Arm Yourself Much like his arrival, the world around him seemed to blur and lose definition, twisting and warping until suddenly it unfolded once more, completely changed. This time, the change to his surroundings was even more profound. Gone were the obelisk and towering tree surrounded by a massive flat sea of green grassy field, and in their place were the shear stone walls and floor of a large square room. Eerily lit by the blue-white light of several torches, which hung from sconces on the walls, the room appeared to be a cross between a library and an armory. On the far-left wall, ancient oaken shelves packed with books stretched from the floor to the ceiling. Spread across the middle of the room, rows of wooden mannequins and long racks proudly displayed pieces of armor in varying styles and forms, all of which seemed rather threadbare to Erik, providing only rudimentary protection. On the wall opposite the shelves of books, on Erik¡¯s right, more wooden racks stretched across the room, each one holding a multitude of varying weapons. Just from his quick glance alone, Erik recognized a few things like spears, various swords ranging from hand-and-half European-style blades to scimitars and more outlandish blades unfamiliar to him, maces, bows, staves, and several different kinds of daggers and knives. Most of the rest of the weapons were either ones he was unable to recognize or unidentifiable solely from the quick glance he¡¯d given them. The last wall of the room, directly opposite Erik, was mostly taken up by a massive set of wooden doors, banded in iron and firmly closed. ¡°I guess that¡¯s likely to be where I undergo the Proving,¡± Erik thought aloud, looking at the doors, ¡°And this room is probably where I¡¯m supposed to pick how and what I want to fight with. If only I knew how to go about that,¡± he finished with a mutter as he turned his attention back to the racks arrayed around him and the shelves against the walls. Before he could do anything else though, another window popped up, almost as if in response to his comment.
Quest Alert: The Proving The Proving is upon you! To face your Proving, you will require a combat Proficiency. Normally, you would acquire a Proficiency based on your training and knowledge of fighting but as a Traveler, you instead are given the opportunity to choose. Your Proficiency will grant you the rudimentary knowledge and skills necessary to face an opponent in combat with the skill-set you have chosen. Once you have chosen your Proficiency, you may then select any two skills or abilities from those provided to complement it. Choose wisely, for this choice will decide your success or failure in facing the foes ahead of you. Reward: Full Traveler status in the System, Experience. Failure: Certain death P.S. ¨C Try not to die too quickly, I do hope for some form of amusement from you.
Erik merely sighed as he finished reading the message. ¡°I suppose I shouldn¡¯t really have expected anything different. The System might play at being impartial but clearly it makes no bones about finding its cheap amusements where it can.¡± Moments later, the message faded and was replaced by a much shorter one.
Combat Proficiencies Melee ¨C Ranged ¨C Magic
Erik blinked. ¡°Huh, I expected the list to be longer,¡± He said, glancing at the multitude of weapons lining the wall to his left. Maybe the System is narrowing down my options since there seem to be so many. I would love to be a mage, but my stats are skewed strongly against it. If I want to succeed in this world, I need to play to my strengths and since that seems mostly to be strength and endurance, I should go with Melee. Besides, I can probably learn magic later anyway, Erik considered thoughtfully. Focusing on his intent rather than vocalizing it, Erik attempted to give his answer by thought alone. A moment, later the window disappeared, and another appeared, this time with a more specific, but still rather short, list.
Combat Proficiencies (Melee) Blades ¨C Polearms ¨C Unarmed ¨C Staves ¨C Axes ¨C Bludgeons ¨C Other
¡°Ok so I should probably eliminate anything under the ¡®Blades¡¯ category, never really been a fan of swords anyway,¡± Erik thought aloud as he absently stroked his hand through his beard. ¡°No idea what ¡®Other¡¯ could be either, so that¡¯s out. I don¡¯t think I really want to use something like a spear or a poleax, though the reach would be nice. Axes are a possibility. Staves¡­pretty much the same thing as a polearm and my dexterity probably isn¡¯t up to handling one like it should be.¡± Erik looked over his remaining options; ignoring the one¡¯s he¡¯d definitively eliminated, he was left with Unarmed, Axes, and Bludgeons. Looking between the three, Erik wanted to discount Unarmed entirely but was hesitant to do so for one significant reason. Since it was included as an over-arching category of ¡®Melee Proficiencies¡¯, it was very likely selecting it would allow him to pick from several different styles or schools of unarmed combat. Choosing Unarmed would likely mean his character would be some manner of monk-like character, and the idea very much appealed to Erik. Seeing the amazing martial prowess and skill attributed to monks in RPGs and films, Erik had admired their near-supernatural prowess and abilities. The only thing stopping Erik from selecting it immediately was that he couldn¡¯t be sure his hypothesis was mirrored in the reality of this world and, since this selection would be so critical to his time in the world of Terra, he wasn¡¯t about to let himself make any rash decisions. As he was deliberating, Erik¡¯s mind shifted to the caution Janus had advised in this choice, alluding that it would be critical to their success and survival to make the right one. And yet, Erik kept slipping back to the moment when he¡¯d looked into Janus¡¯s eyes, and refused to flinch. Caution or not, this choice was his and his alone to make. For once, it would not be a quirk of genetics and the cruelty of others urging him along, but his own desires. ¡°My Fate is what I make of it,¡± Erik said to himself quietly, the words firming his resolve. Without reservation, Erik projected his desire to the screen and, once more, it shifted to reflect his choice.
Combat Proficiencies (Unarmed) Many styles of Unarmed combat have been born in Terra, though most of them were used by orders or people who no longer exist. However, few of these styles are suited for a clumsy oaf like you. These four styles represent different focuses determined suitable for you. Choose wisely. The Thirteen Mercies ¨C Fast and brutally efficient, this style was created for speed, precision, and lethality. Once masters of this style are finished with them, killing their victims truly is mercy. The Sundering Blow ¨C Made for power, this style focuses on patience and dealing a single, lethal blow to an enemy. Well known for its ability to destroy any defense. The masters of this style were said to be able to shatter stone with a single punch. The Dance of the Forsaken ¨C Having made a study of the movements of the body when fighting, practitioners of this style know perfectly well how to turn an opponent¡¯s momentum against them. A master of this style can turn your attacks to their advantage and snap your neck without ever landing a blow against you. The Witch¡¯s Hammer ¨C Originally developed by war mages, this style focuses on a balance between attack and defense, specializing in turning a spellcaster¡¯s magic against them. Versatile and adaptable, masters of this style are experts at hunting down and executing their enemies, with or without magic.
Despite it once more insulting him, Erik found himself thankful the System had actually simplified his choices even further. Especially since it seemed all his options were good ones. The descriptions weren¡¯t necessarily an accurate judge of the styles themselves. However, the System had found a way around that. When Erik focused on each individual description, the words seemed to fade away and left behind the barest impression of the true principles emphasized by each style. Rather than merely reading about what the style was intended for, he felt it, down to his bones, much like he had when it had presented him with the definition of each stat. ¡°Each of these seems like a good option, for different reasons. If we¡¯re going by what would probably suit me best, I¡¯d probably have to go with the Sundering Blow. But¡­¡± Erik hesitated, his eyes moving between his choices and their descriptions and remembering the feeling each of them had instilled in him. All the choices presented to him seemed like a good option. It was clear each of them suited a different approach to combat but only one of them really felt like the right choice. If only all my decisions were so easy to make, Erik thought silently as he made his selection.
The Witch¡¯s Hammer Unarmed Combat Proficiency Level - 1 Rank: Novice Originally developed by war mages, this style focuses on a balance between attack and defense, specializing in turning a spellcaster¡¯s magic against them. Versatile and adaptable, masters of this style are experts at hunting down and executing their enemies, with or without magic Grants fundamental knowledge of techniques used and taught to novices of The Witch¡¯s Hammer -15% Stamina / Mana cost for techniques used in this style -10% damage received from blocked spells and other magic +10% resistance to all types of magic Passively increases the impact of your strikes and reduces the impact of weapons when blocking Leveling this skill will unlock more advanced techniques and increase your aptitude and understanding of this combat style. Unlocked Techniques: Executioner¡¯s Mercy ¨C Stamina cost: 45
Erik grimaced in pain as a spike of pain lanced through his skull. As the throbbing lance of pain faded, it left in its wake a new knowledge. With startling and glaring clarity, the novice teachings of the Witch¡¯s Hammer filled his mind, granting him the experience and memory of its most basic fundamental techniques and martial knowledge. The shadows of memories and techniques he had yet to learn filled his mind as well, leaving him distantly aware of precisely how much there was for him to discover still. Searching this newfound martial awareness, Erik found that the basics of unarmed fighting seemed to come easy to him¡ªthe necessary movements, stance, and footwork, as well as some of the basic theory for the more unique techniques utilized by the Witch¡¯s Hammer style, all of it felt as if it was merely waiting for him to use it¡ªbut only one named technique was currently available to him, referred to as the Executioner¡¯s Mercy. Thanks to his Proficiency, Erik knew this move used considerably more Stamina than regular fighting would in combat but also dealt more damage. It was also meant only for use on weaker opponents or as a finisher. Regardless, not knowing what he would face in his Proving, Erik was grateful there was at least one powerful move he could use. Confidence in his choice reaffirmed by how it just felt like the right decision to make, Erik turned his attention to the shelves of books, deciding to peruse the selection since the knowledge of his Proficiency had all but ensured that his choice of armor and weapons were decided already. Stopping in front of the multitude of books, Erik looked at the multitude of titles etched into their spines. Scanning through them, he saw that though there were many and varied different choices, all of them seemed relatively basic. ¡°Well, if these are the System¡¯s version of skill and ability books, then I suppose it makes sense that they¡¯re basic to prevent one of us from getting something that would be completely overpowered later on,¡± Erik mumbled as he continued to look through the massive collection. Thinking for a moment, Erik realized there was probably a mechanism made by the System to help him sort through the books. And since everything thus far had reacted to his desire and intent, it should only require him to broadcast that desire strongly enough to get the System to respond. A few moments after focusing on that desire, Erik had his answer.
Ability Selection You may select any two abilities from this list, which has been shortened based on your preference for passive defensive and physical enhancements Force of Mind ¨C You can empower your physical attacks with magical force by imbuing them with the power of your will, increasing damage dealt at the cost of mana Mountain¡¯s Breath ¨C Your body is imbued with the endless endurance of the earth, slightly increasing your Stamina and physical resilience to harm Nimble Tread ¨C You possess the finesse and light steps of one touched by the spirits of Air. Increases your physical agility ad allows you to move both more quickly and more quietly over the groundThis tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Winter¡¯s Blessing ¨C Marked by the favor of Winter, you are resistant to cold and all status effects related to cold. Death may find your enemies in the night. Iron Will ¨C Your will is a thing of iron and thorns. With sheer force of mind, you can more easily shrug of mental and physical status effects Mark of the Bear ¨C Increases your physical strength and increases your ability to resist Slow and Fear status effects Savage Grace ¨C You possess the savage instincts and heart of a killer, allowing you to move with the fluid and lethal grace of a predator. You utilize Stamina more effectively in combat and your reflexes are heightened, allowing you to react more quickly to threats Stoneskin ¨C Much like trolls, your skin is thicker and tougher than normal, increasing your physical defense against piercing and slashing damage. You also passively recover from Bleed effects slightly faster.
Erik looked back and forth between multitude of books stretching from one wall to another and the screen in front of him. Regardless of the asshole attitude, I¡¯m glad the System saved me the trouble of looking through that mess. I might find some more creative options if I did but why waste the time when all the options it did give me seem like exactly what I need, Erik thought. ¡°Fortunately,¡± Erik continued aloud, ¡°this choice is a lot easier than the others.¡± Knowing he would need something to help bridge the gap made by his lack of dexterity to properly utilize his Proficiency, Erik knew he would have to take either Nimble Tread or Savage Grace so that left him with only one other choice to make. Deciding to go by process of elimination, Erik weighed the pros and cons of going with a more offensive choice and decided, knowing he wouldn¡¯t be wearing much armor due to the necessity of maintaining a high degree of mobility for his Proficiency, that he needed a more defensive option. And besides that, the only offensive choice would use more of his limited supply of mana which he would need to keep in reserve to use some of the techniques from his Proficiency, which served the same end and were likely more effective. Having eliminated the only offensive option, that left the more defensive options. Much as he would have liked to pick Mountain¡¯s Breath for its increase to both overall Stamina and physical resilience, Stoneskin felt like the better choice for defense. More importantly, at higher levels, it might possibly make his lack of armor meaningless. Iron Will and Winter¡¯s Blessing were discarded for the same reason¡ªthey were good defensive utility options he would have loved to pick but he needed Stoneskin more. Choosing between Nimble Tread and Savage Grace was a more difficult decision but, glancing back and forth between the two, Erik knew which of them appealed to him more. Nimble Tread seemed more like a stealthy option while Savage Grace seemed tailored to his needs for combat. He hesitated though, because something told him this was a decision which might have grave consequences he might not be able to deal with. He¡¯d spent a long time ignoring conflict and outright avoiding social interactions because he was afraid of not only how people might react but also what their reactions might awaken in him. He didn¡¯t want to believe himself capable of such darkness, didn¡¯t want to believe it was a part of who he was. And yet¡­it was. It was no less a part of who he was than his bottomless hunger and that part of him had never diminished, it had simply become easier to deal with once he¡¯d embraced it as a part of himself. Maybe, Erik pondered darkly. It¡¯s time I embraced it like I embraced the hunger. Janus alluded that this world is just as dark and vicious as our home world. If I can channel that part of myself in combat, it might give me the edge I need to survive and thrive. I need to learn to embrace ALL that I am, not just specific parts of me. Knowing he was right but still feeling the fear, Erik pushed his emotions aside and closed his eyes as he broadcasted his intended selections to the System. As he did, a new window appeared, asking him to confirm his choice.
Do you wish to take the abilities Savage Grace and Stoneskin? Yes ¨C No Warning: One or both abilities you have selected may cause physical alterations to your body. Not that anything could make you look any uglier but the warning stands.
Eyes narrowing at the end of the message, Erik growled out a ¡°Fuck you,¡± as he selected yes and finalized his choice. Having braced himself for a sudden rush of knowledge like had come with his combat skill, Erik was entirely unprepared when nothing occurred. After a moment, he allowed himself to relax. The moment he did, a sharp pain lanced through Erik¡¯s jaw and it felt as if someone had driven a burning needle into each of his eyes. Clenching his head with his hands, Erik fell to his knees as the pain seemed to spread like napalm in his veins and throughout the rest of his body. He fought not to scream, every muscle of his body clenching from the burning torment searing his body from the inside out. Though it felt like an eternity, the fiery agony only lasted for a few more moments before it faded. Gasping for air as he kneeled on the ground, Erik finally took his hands from his head and inhaled sharply as he realized the skin of his hands was thicker and now seemed to possess a light gray undertone. Rather than looking like actual stone, as he¡¯d first thought would happen, it seemed his lightly-tanned skin had taken on a darker, gray-toned olive coloration. It looked mildly unusual, but not entirely strange, oddly enough, though it did make an odd contrast with the copper-red coloration of his hair. Wondering what else had changed, Erik attempted to perform a personal inspection to see if he could identify any specific changes. Finding nothing of note, Erik impulsively ran his tongue over his teeth and froze. Most of his teeth felt slightly sharper, but it was readily obvious his canines were considerably longer than they should have been. Closing his eyes briefly, Erik breathed in and slowly exhaled, pushing his alarm aside. Without a mirror, it would be hard to identify precisely how extensive the changes the System had warned him about really were and it didn¡¯t matter anyway. The choices he¡¯d made, regardless of the consequences, were his own and he¡¯d learn to grudgingly accept the¡­quirks¡­that came with those choices just as he had the ones he¡¯d been born with. Thankfully, despite his fears, the abilities he¡¯d taken didn¡¯t seem to be affecting his thinking as he¡¯d believed they might. Still, Erik resolved himself to be wary for any possible changes which might not have made themselves known yet, physical or otherwise. A slight golden glow in the corner of his vision brought his attention to the nearly-invisible UI wired into his senses and, upon glancing to the side, the three tabs became visible, the one with an un-filled outline of a man being illuminated by the golden glow. Deciding to ignore it until after he¡¯d selected his non-combat skill, Erik turned his attention back to the matter at hand and stood. Contemplating what kind of non-combat skill, he would prefer, Erik remembered what Janus had said about their appearing alone in a random location. If that was the case, and considering this world was likely to possess far more untamed wilderness, it would probably be a good idea to take a skill focused on survival or forestry. Thankfully, when the next window popped up, the System had made his choice significantly simpler.
Non-Combat Skill Selection Based on your desired preference for ¡®survival¡¯ skills, the following skill is recommended: Survival ¨C Teaches basic wilderness survival knowledge, including hunting, foraging, finding and establishing shelter, navigation, basic geography, and basic first-aid
Considering it was not just his best option but his only option, Erik didn¡¯t hesitate to select it and then confirm his choice, eager to find out what awaited him in his Proving. A brief ache took up residence behind his eyes as knowledge provided by the skill flooded his mind, but it soon faded to the edges of his awareness as his brain assimilated the font of new information. Erik could still feel that knowledge and was aware of it, but it felt like it had stepped into the background until he needed to consciously call upon it. Feeling satisfied by his choices thus far despite the lingering trepidation inspired by whatever physical changes his abilities had wrought upon him, Erik turned his attention to finishing up his tasks in this room, so he could face whatever trial his Proving entailed. The only thing left to do was select the armor he was going to wear. He knew from the knowledge granted to him by his Proficiency that there was only one weapon he¡¯d be using though they usually came in varying forms designed for specific bare-handed styles. Deciding to keep the choice for armor until last, Erik moved to the weapon racks and began searching the multitude of weapons present for the ones he needed. Fortunately for his sanity, despite the overwhelming plethora of sharp and deadly instruments it was rather simple to find what he was looking for. Sitting in a neat row on a rack next to spears of varying lengths and designs, Erik found a row of gauntlets crafted from worn leather and reinforced with strips of what appeared to be iron. Running his gaze over them, Erik reached out and removed the pair he felt would suit his purpose best from the racks. Like all the rest of their brethren and the other weapons, the gauntlets were battle-worn and very basic pieces of equipment, but they looked sturdy and in decent repair. With the ease of long familiarity from his Proficiency, Erik slid the gauntlets over his arms and tightened the straps to keep them in place. Turning his hands over, Erik inspected the gauntlets and how they felt as he flexed his forearms and slowly clenched his hands, forming a fist. The gauntlets fit incredibly well, which Erik found surprising due to the unusual size of his hands and the thickness of his forearms. They covered nearly the entirety of his forearms, a long swathe of leather covered in numerous nicks and small gashes from what Erik assumed to be countless battles, with vertical strips of similarly scratched and worn iron adding an extra layer of protection. Where the armor ended, it joined to a glove of worn leather with the fingertips ending at the second knuckle. Each finger was covered by a strip of metal that thickened at the first knuckle, forming a spiked ridge and then thinned until it reached the second knuckle, where it thickened once more and formed a similar ridge. When Erik formed a fist, the strips of metal ensured the first knuckles of his hand were made into prominent, pointed edges. When he folded his fingers at the second knuckle instead, they made a similar ridge, though it was less prominent and more rounded. Feeling satisfied at their functionality, Erik absently dismissed the pair of notifications that popped up after he¡¯d finished his inspection.
You have acquired the skill Inspect! Inspect Level ¨C 1 Rank: Novice Allows for the identification of objects, creatures and other things of interest. The higher the level of this skill, the more information it will provide
Weapon Selection Battered Simple Leather War Gauntlets Quality: Worn Defense: 2 Rarity: Uncommon Durability: 15/15
Crafted for use by the novices of the Witch¡¯s Hammer style of unarmed fighting, these gauntlets are designed to allow efficient strike power while also providing minor defense against blades striking the forearms. Though they were once finely made, these gauntlets have been worn down through years of use in combat. The careful maintenance of the previous owner has kept them functional, if a bit ragged Turning his attention to the task of selecting his armor, Erik again fell back on the knowledge granted to him by his Proficiency as he attempted to search the racks and stands of armor for a set that would suit his need for mobility. He found exactly what he was looking for on a mannequin stand between a set of armor which seemed vaguely akin to a bastard child of a Roman legionnaire¡¯s armor and something which might have been worn by a Viking raider. The set did not include a helm or boots¡ªthe latter, which might have otherwise been a problem, Erik believed would be rendered moot by his Stoneskin ability¡ªand was composed of three main pieces. The first part was a sleeveless waist-length leather gambeson, ribbed strategically with wide strips of iron which were contoured to vaguely align with the wearer¡¯s rib-cage. The second piece looked to Erik like an odd compromise between the kilts his Scottish father had been enamored with and some sort of barbarian loincloth. The garment was composed of an outer layer of furs and tough leather hide as a protective cover with a second layer of cloth underneath, all of it held up by a thick belt of studded leather. The final piece to the set was a short pair of leather thigh-guards meant to protect the arteries in his upper legs and little else. It was obvious this set of armor was meant to help protect from glancing blows and some slashing attacks because Erik doubted it would stand up well against something meant for thrusting like a spear. Much as I¡¯d prefer something offering a little more protection, the whole purpose of taking Stoneskin in the first place was because I knew this was coming. I can¡¯t afford to impede or limit my mobility and range of motion any more than they already will be by my size and lack of dexterity. Deciding to try out his newly earned skill, Erik thought, Inspect, as he focused on the armor.
Worn Armor of the Wild Inquisition Quality: Worn Defense: 10 Durability: 15/15 This armor was worn into battle by novice Inquisitors of the Vrael Wildlands, who eschewed the heavier armor worn by their brethren outside their homeland in favor of the greater mobility and speed allowed by lighter armor. Intended to provide a bare minimum of protection, this armor covers most of the vital areas and is reinforced with strips of iron to protect against slashing attacks. Their lack of armor often led the rogue mages these ¡®Wild Inquisitors¡¯ hunted to underestimate them, sealing their fate. This particular set has seen extensive use but is still in decent repair. Set: Worn Gambeson of the Wild Inquisition Worn War-Kilt of the Wild Inquisition Worn Leather Thigh-Guards of the Wild Inquisition
Dismissing the window, Erik looked down at his sweaty gym clothing and then back at the set of armor. It was probably best to get rid of anything like clothing which would readily identify him as someone not native to Terra. Nervous at the prospect of disrobing, Erik checked the room he was in reflexively for any sign that someone else might have arrived after him or if he had simply missed their presence. Closing his eyes, Erik inhaled deeply and decided he needed to just get it over with instead of continuing to put it off due to his nerves. Completely disrobing, Erik quickly pulled the armor off the wooden mannequin. Thankfully, it seemed his Proficiency carried over to this task as well as Erik¡¯s hands seemed to move on instinct alone as they found the necessary straps and buckles to loosen the armor. When Erik began donning the armor himself, he was pleasantly surprised to find the insides of each individual piece lined with a soft, short layer of fur to prevent chafing. Perhaps the most pleasant discovery he made though was when he belted the ¡®war-kilt¡¯ around his hips. Rather than leaving all his bits to swing in the wind, something he imagined would be particularly uncomfortable in the midst of combat, the wrappings of the kilt included an underlayer he hadn¡¯t noticed which resembled a very shot pair of braies. ¡°Well, at least I won¡¯t be randomly flashing anyone during a fight,¡± Erik said dryly. Once he¡¯d finished putting the thigh-guards and kilt on, Erik slipped the gambeson over his head and tightened the straps. Frankly, he was surprised it fit so well. It was a bit tight at the waist, of course, but otherwise fit perfectly. Normally it was a struggle for Erik to find something that was large enough to fit his broad frame that wasn¡¯t tight across the shoulders and didn¡¯t hang like a tent on him, but the gambeson seemed almost as if it had been tailored to him. It was also lighter than he¡¯d expected. It still had some weight to it of course, since it was thicker than normal clothing and strategically reinforced with iron, but not nearly as much as he¡¯d been expecting from armor. The knowledge and memory gifted to him by his Proficiency told him this was the reason most unarmed fighters forsook heavier armor in the first place¡ªit was more effective to forgo almost all armor altogether when your style of fighting required a full and unrestricted range of movement. Not to mention their lack of armor allowed them to dance circles around more heavily armored foes, allowing them to strike faster and waste less stamina in combat. Checking his armor over once more to make sure it was all properly secured and tightened, Erik checked his gauntlets over as well before finally turning his attention to the doors on the far side of the room. ¡°Time to get on with it,¡± Erik exhaled nervously. As Erik strode up to the iron-bound doors, a final message appeared in his vision.
Quest Update: The Proving You have made your choices, now it is time to test them. The Proving lies beyond these doors. Prepare to face your demons or be consumed by them¡­
A Glimpse of Eralia For anyone who wants a better idea of what the continent Erik will be on looks like. Not all towns and locations are present, just major locations to display the general layout. Mapping in the world of Terra has to be done by person and detailed by hand, so getting one person to go around doing this was exorbitantly expensive. Even more so because cartographers are virtually useless in combat against the creatures and monsters of the wilderness so mercenaries needed to be paid to escort them. Thus, only the most critical locations are displayed. I''m thinking about doing a couple patrons-only posts to help you guys with the lore since the image I used from my map-maker (Inkarnate, check it out, its pretty useful) doesn''t include the ability to look at the personal notes I made for each location. If this is something you would find interesting, let me know. Also, my naming sense was mostly derived from the idea that location names in medieval fantasy setting would be based upon details from their locale. So some of the names are a lot more literal than you might think, though not necessarily in the way you might imagine. For example, the Sea of Glass is a desert and the Burning Lake is not actually on fire. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Chapter 4: Face Your Demons Chapter 4: Face Your Demons Dismissing the window and its decidedly ominous message, Erik strode forward without hesitation and placed his palms on the doors. The muscles in his shoulders bunched as he pushed, and the doors swung open on well-oiled hinges. As they did, the eerie blue light of torches blazing to life on the walls illuminated the center of the next room, casting the edges of and far side of the room in a thick darkness. Trying to peer into those shadows, Erik found the darkness too deep for his eyes to penetrate. This new room was every bit as large as the one he¡¯d just come from, but it was entirely empty as far as he could tell, save for the torches lighting the walls. Feeling wary but knowing he needed to succeed here, Erik slowly stepped into the room. Slowly panning his vision from one side of the room to the other, always keeping an eye on the deep patches of darkness at the edges of the room, Erik carefully edged closer to the center of the room. Attempting to keep his breathing steady and bracing for an attack, Erik nearly jumped out of his skin when the doors he¡¯d come through abruptly slammed closed with a bang. The sound of their closing echoed in the room, followed a moment later by a loud click like the turning of tumblers in a lock. It seems the System wants to make it obvious I¡¯m not leaving this room until I¡¯m done with the proving, Erik thought to himself as he slowly turned, trying to keep his attention on the shadows at the edge of the room while his heart started to pound in his chest. A moment later, Erik jerked his head to the left as his eyes caught movement at the edges of his vision. When he turned to inspect the area he thought the movement had come from though, he found nothing. Erik wanted to ignore the panic creeping into his mind, tell himself that there was nothing waiting in the dark to tear into him when his back was turned, but his mind kept going back to the final words of the message he¡¯d received before entering this room. ¡°¡¯Prepare to face your demons, or be consumed by them¡­¡¯,¡± Erik said aloud. ¡°There has to be something in here with me.¡± As if in answer to his question, a sibilant and sinister laugh echoed through the room, seeming to emanate from the shadows at its edges. Erik jerked, trying to pinpoint the origin of the sound in the darkness but it seemed to come from multiple places at once. Trying to keep his breathing steady, Erik raised his hands in a ready stance as fear stiffened his spine and made his eyes go wide. I need to stay calm, I need to stay calm, I need to stay calm, Erik chanted in his head as he tried to push down the fear, his eyes flicking back and forth. ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Erik?¡± Fear blossomed into terror and sunk its fangs into his mind as the voice spoke from the dark, its words seeming to lash the air with malicious and wicked intent. The voice was every bit as sinister as its laugh and it was darkly familiar, though Erik could not recall from where as he tried to fight off his panic. ¡°Are you scared, Jabba?¡± Erik spun toward the new voice, which had come from another side of the room. Its sibilant words stoked his fear further, caressing his spine with talons of ire. Disturbingly, this new voice seemed just as familiar as the first, yet it was clearly distinct from it, though its tone was just as sinister. ¡°We¡¯ve been waiting for you, Sasquatch,¡± A third voice hissed with a dark cackle. In the midst of the pall of his fear, Erik¡¯s eyes widened as the familiarity of the voices finally clicked in his head. ¡°It can¡¯t be. You¡­you aren¡¯t real! You¡¯re just some twisted memory this System has conjured from my mind,¡± Erik yelled at the darkness. ¡°Oh, I assure you, we are very real,¡± A final voice spoke, the sheer hostility in its words making Erik shudder. Turning towards this new speaker, Erik watched in horror as a figure slowly emerged from the all-consuming gloom. Upon initial inspection, it looked much like a corpse risen from the dead. It wore tattered leather armor, torn and stained black with blood. The portions of its body left uncovered by the rents in its armor revealed bits of gleaming bone and exposed muscle, and parts of its flesh that looked like they¡¯d been savagely torn from its body had been replaced by patches of shadow. Blood dripped from all its wounds in a thick, steady stream as it shambled forward, a blade of rusted steel and shadow in its hand. The thing¡¯s face was composed of damaged flesh and exposed bone just like the rest of its body but was still readily recognizable to Erik. Green-black eyes shone with their own eldritch iridescence from the face of Derek Gaunt, who by all appearances looked like his soul had fought through the gates of hell to haunt him once more. ¡°Long time no see you fat fuck, though I really wish it had been longer. I¡¯d count myself lucky if I never had to see that fugly Cro-Magnon mug of yours again, but I guess I just couldn¡¯t resist the opportunity to put you out of my misery,¡± The thing with Derek¡¯s face grinned maliciously, its hand flexing on the blade it carried as it stepped into the circle of light formed by the torches on the walls. Erik hurriedly backed away from the creature of shadow and bloody flesh as it advanced on him, stumbling over his own feet and falling on his back as he did so. Feeling terror begin to rake its claws along his mind, Erik scrambled away as the creature inexorably strode toward him. ¡°I¡¯d offer you a hand up you clumsy slob, but I¡¯m afraid you¡¯d try to eat it. Now, do stop your pathetic attempts to escape. I want to watch the light leave your eyes when I gut you like the fat pig you are,¡± The shadowy creature sneered viciously, its terrifyingly familiar face twisting into a rictus of rage and hatred as it raised its blade above its head. As the blade swung down, time seemed to slow around him, reality suspended in a single eternal instant. Amidst the gibbering fear and foreign terror trying to swallow his mind, dark things rose from the depths of his consciousness, rattling the chains he¡¯d cast them in. The frigid, howling fire of unbridled fury suddenly roared through his mind, fed by the deep and voracious hunger he¡¯d long ago learned to embrace. These shadows of his psyche met the lethal instincts imbedded in his mind by Savage Grace and merged into something infinitely darker and more terrible. This new creature, this Beast, was a personification of its constituent parts, and its creation felt like a part of Erik¡¯s mind had assumed its own secondary persona outside of his own. Even with the terror driving all sense from him, Erik heard the shattering of chains in his mind and a part of him felt fear that was truly his own for a moment before it was torn apart by the monster that stalked forth from the depths of his sub-conscious. Drowning in his terror, Erik desperately reached out to this new darkness within himself, clinging to it as a dying man clings to the last vestige of his life, and the world around him exploded into razor-sharp clarity. This new thing beneath his skin felt the fear storming through his mind and knew it for the falsity it was. Overwhelmed by the cloying dread ravaging his mind, it was only thanks to this new animal clarity that he realized only a small portion of this paralyzing horror was truly his own. The rest felt foreign, like a parasite that had rooted itself in his psyche. Armed with this knowledge and the ferocity of this newly forged part of himself, Erik attacked this parasitic fear stifling his mind and body with an effort of will. For a moment, Erik felt resistance as the fear tried to maintain its hold on his mind. That resistance shattered beneath the force of his dark resolve and Erik felt a visceral relief as the terror trying to push into his mind lost its hold on him completely. Now free to focus entirely on this threat to himself wearing the face of a hated enemy, Erik reacted almost immediately, turning his palms towards himself and tensing his forearms as he raised his gauntleted arms defensively to catch the creature¡¯s blade.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Erik met the lambent gaze of the thing with Derek¡¯s face with his own and he saw the flicker of surprise in its eyes, at his action in defense of himself as well as his breaking of its hold on his mind. Simultaneously turning his body and thrusting his hands to the side, the sudden lack of direct resistance against the blade and the creature¡¯s surprise allowed Erik to guide its blade to strike the ground next to him. With both palms now on the ground, Erik raised his leg as he thrust the mass of his upper body off the ground and drove his foot directly into the humanoid creature¡¯s liver with all the force he could muster. Despite his lack of leverage, the kick Erik landed was solid enough that the creature stumbled back. Quickly, Erik drew his legs to his chest and thrust them upwards, pulling his torso up and pushing off the floor with his shoulders and neck. As his legs swung back down, he hooked them underneath himself, managing to land on his feet in a crouch. All of it had felt effortless, like his body had known to perform the actions almost without thought or direction. Gone was the large and clumsy man cowering from everyone around him. A predator had taken his place, and its movements, smooth and effortless with an inhuman and lethal grace, gave lie to the humanity of the face it wore. He needed the brutality, the feral strength it brought, if he wanted to survive the coming fight. Briefly, the part of Erik that was still separate from the Beast, hesitated at the prospect of hurting these creatures. He knew they weren¡¯t his old tormentors even if these things wore their faces, but then Janus¡¯s words flashed through his mind. ¡®Do not hesitate when you face them and do not show mercy, for they will show you none¡¯, Erik repeated to himself silently. They might only be wearing the faces of those assholes, but that¡¯s not going to stop me from tearing them apart. This is life or death. There is no room for mercy or hesitation here and I¡¯m not about to stand here and let someone kill me. Galvanized by the words, Erik set aside his resistance and allowed the awareness of the Beast to rise up and envelop his mind and senses. Erik rose from his crouch with deliberate, sinuous motions, and stretched his limbs, raising his arms and setting his feet in a stance that felt fluid and natural. His hesitation silenced beneath the burgeoning weight of animosity he and the Beast felt for this creature and the face it wore, Erik advanced a step toward the thing that had tried to worm its way into his mind. ¡°You may wear Derek¡¯s face, but you understand my fears even less than he did,¡± Erik said with a calm he didn¡¯t feel. A deep and abiding desire to break this creature for what it had attempted to do to him flooded through his mind, a pitch-dark tide of teeth and claws driven forth by the deadly persona that had awakened in his mind, and he gave himself over to the Beast¡¯s primal fury. ¡°I might have felt fear when Derek and the cruel bastards that followed him tormented me endlessly. But it was not because I was afraid of what they would do to me. Deep down in the depths of my mind, hidden beneath all the things I never wanted to face about myself, I was afraid because of what I wanted to do to them. And unfortunately for you, my fears were right. I hope you can feel pain because otherwise beating you to death with my bare hands just won¡¯t be as satisfying,¡± Erik snarled, peeling back his lips to bare his too-sharp teeth at the creature savagely. Coldly assessing its stance and the way it moved, Erik decided his best course of action was likely to close the distance, block its first blow, and then kill it by using Executioner¡¯s Mercy. Much as this new part of himself would have liked to take the time to enjoy beating the shit out of the worst of his childhood tormentors, he also knew he¡¯d need to finish the creature quickly if he wanted to avoid being surrounded when its friends realized one of their own was dying. Feeling a feral anticipation shudder through him, Erik threw himself into the fight. Erik tensed the muscles in his thighs and shifted his weight forward before he launched himself toward his opponent with an unnatural burst of speed. In the back of his mind, he felt a slight surge of fatigue as a chunk of his Stamina disappeared, likely at the triggering of an ability or skill of some sort. A soft flickering glow seemed to emanate from what looked like an exclamation point in the edge of his vision, as if confirming his thought, but Erik dismissed it from his mind and focused his attention on his opponent, trying to anticipate its movements while also remaining aware in case its friends decided to join the fight. He crossed the intervening space between him and the creature in seconds, his form blurring slightly. When Erik was within striking distance, the creature let out a howl and struck at him wildly with its blade. Erik planted his feet and blocked its manic strike with his right gauntlet, swinging his tensed forearm into the arc of the blade. The impact jarred his arm, but the blade was stopped cold, lacking the driving force of a more coordinated swing. When he moved to attack, Erik felt as if his movements were guided by another¡¯s hand, and he knew with perfect certainty where to place his feet, how to contort and position his body properly, and exactly where and when to strike his opponent. Performing the Executioner¡¯s Mercy felt instinctual and automatic, like something he¡¯d done a thousand times before, and Erik fell into the smooth, practiced motions of it effortlessly. With the sword¡¯s blow halted, Erik stepped forward and twisted his upper body, putting his full weight into his swing as he folded his fingers at the second knuckle and drove the blunted metal ridge they formed directly into the creature¡¯s right kidney. Whatever the creature really was, hitting it felt no different than hitting any man, though the blood coating its body made an odd squelching sound when his fist impacted places where the crimson liquid clung to its mutilated flesh. Though he would¡¯ve liked to, he knew he couldn¡¯t afford to revel in the solid contact of his fist on its flesh and Erik instead turned his attention to the next part of the dance of fist and blade with his opponent. Having successfully landed the first blow, Erik threw a wide right hook at its head. Barely avoiding the blow, the creature jerked its head and shoulders backwards and out of the path of Erik¡¯s fist. Unfortunately, its wild movement had left it off-balance and so it was unable to avoid Erik¡¯s follow up blow as he reversed the arc of his swing and drove the edge of his elbow sharply into its right temple. Disoriented from the blow, the creature stumbled back, and Erik followed it, delivering a brutal palm-strike with his left hand by driving the heel of his palm into the underside of its jaw. As its head snapped back from the force of the hit, Erik took a half-step back, twisted, and drove the heel of his foot into its diaphragm. The move felt almost awkward thanks to his low dexterity, but the creature¡¯s disorientation had slowed it enough that the kick landed solidly. The creature bent over, dropping its sword to the floor as the breath was forced from its lungs. Erik stepped in close, standing behind its shoulder as he wrapped his arm around its head. ¡°I want to draw this out,¡± Erik said through gritted teeth. The muscles in his arm and forearm bulged as he tightened his hold when the creature began to struggle, trying to pry his arm off of its head. ¡°Out of everyone who tormented me, you deserve a quick death the least, but I don¡¯t have the time to give you the kind of death you really deserve. Needs must when the devil drives, I suppose.¡± Gripping the creature¡¯s head with both hands, Erik twisted sharply down and to the side. The soft crack of bone breaking echoed in the silence of the room as he snapped its neck and the creature¡¯s struggles suddenly ceased. When he released his hold, the limp corpse dropped to the floor. Erik¡¯s heart pounded in his chest as he looked down at the still face of Derek Gaunt, the light having left its eyes, and he felt a dark satisfaction at his victory muted by a sense of disappointment. Of all his tormentors, Derek had been the cruelest. He enjoyed causing people pain, physical or otherwise, and took great pleasure in manipulating others into doing the same. Without him, the humiliation, abuse, and vile ridicule Erik had suffered would have been far less severe. Derek had been the one to unify and organize the rest of his tormentors, turning them from an inconsistent and occasionally vicious disparate group into a well-oiled machine built to perpetuate hatred and malicious intent. Erik had hated them all, but Derek especially. Having to deny himself the pleasure of taking his time with Derek¡¯s death only stoked the Beast¡¯s anger and resentment, and he was more than prepared to tear into the rest of the group. After all, if Derek had been the first to step from the darkness, the others wouldn¡¯t be too far behind him. Chapter 5: A Man Becomes A Monster Chapter 5: A Man Becomes A Monster For a moment longer, Erik allowed himself to dwell on the fight. The battle had been different from what he¡¯d expected. The creature had been far more unskilled than he¡¯d thought it would be¡ªbut then Derek¡¯s cruelty in itself had always been unrefined, lacking the edge needed to turn it into true evil, so Erik supposed he shouldn¡¯t have expected the thing portraying itself as a caricature of his nemesis to be skilled in violence any more than Derek himself had been outside his natural propensity for it¡ªand he¡¯d seen no indication of a health bar or anything remotely resembling damage indicators. The System might have adopted a lot of mechanics from RPGs and games like them, but this is still very real. Hmmm¡­though perhaps the reason there weren¡¯t any health bars is because I didn¡¯t think to use Inspect on the creature in the heat of the moment, Erik reflected, making an effort to keep his breathing even and controlled after his exertion. He quickly dismissed these idle thoughts, once more sinking back into the predatory focus and instincts of Savage Grace. It wasn¡¯t until he felt the razor-sharp clarity return to his mind and senses that he realized he¡¯d allowed the ability to fade into the background. Reactivating it only took a thought and felt as natural as moving a limb and he felt grateful for the focus it seemed to give him. Focusing on the pervading darkness at the edge of the eerily-lit room, Erik scanned the shadows for any sign of movement. He made sure to pay more attention to his peripheral vision and his instincts however because he was relatively sure their first strike would not be a direct one. ¡°I¡¯ve already laid to rest one of my fears. Why don¡¯t the rest of you miserable bastards stop hiding so I can beat the shit out of the rest of you,¡± Erik called out tauntingly. Erik didn¡¯t see any movement in the darkness, but he felt a wave of fear emanate from it, trying to smother his will and force him back into the unthinking terror from before. Baring his teeth, he repelled it with an effort of will, but the sudden distraction left him open and the things still hiding in the shadows took the opportunity to strike. Sensing movement at the edge of his vision Erik reacted on instinct, dodging to the side, but he still felt the edge of the creature¡¯s blade draw a searing line of pain across the side of his torso, in a spot where there was only leather to stop a blade. The pain was oddly muted¡ªit was no sharper than he¡¯d have imagined getting cut would feel, but somehow it seemed as if the sensation was being dulled to a manageable level. It faded after a moment, leaving him very aware that he had been injured but not incapacitated by the pain. The wound throbbed like it was echoing its creation, shallow but still significant, as Erik held his hands up, and settled into a defensive stance. It appeared his Stoneskin was already proving its worth, protecting him from taking deeper wounds, and there was likely some System mechanic in place to dull the pain of his wounds until they were ever-present but still manageable. ¡°If you really want to die so badly you cock-sucking tub of lard,¡± the darkling shadow of Viktor Lagunov said as it stepped from the shadows, clutching a crude wooden shield in one hand and a long sword in the other. Its broad-shouldered form was of a comparable size to Erik¡¯s own stature, though like the real Viktor, this one appeared to be an inch taller than him and more than a hundred pounds lighter. It had been some time since he¡¯d thought to compare himself to anyone, physically or otherwise, and it was only as he was staring down this thing that so resembled his chief tormentor¡¯s personal thug and bully that Erik truly realized how far he¡¯d come. Before, Erik had been morbidly obese. He¡¯d not carried any of his four hundred and fifty-three pounds gracefully, and through all the humiliation he¡¯d suffered, his anger had always been stifled by the literal weight of his own impotency in the face of that knowledge. Viktor came from a Russian family and he had always been a large, brutish person. When he¡¯d gotten into high school, he¡¯d been snapped up by the football team as a Linebacker, and they¡¯d further honed his bulk and aggression. Once, Erik had found him intimidating. But now, he realized the breadth of his own shoulders dwarfed Viktor¡¯s and it made the newly awoken Beast beneath his skin writhe in satisfaction at their physical superiority. Keeping part of his attention on this new threat, Erik patiently awaited the appearance of the rest of his old tormentors, knowing with the confirmation provided by the appearance of Viktor the rest of them wouldn¡¯t be far behind. ¡°Then we¡¯d be happy to oblige you,¡± the shade of Selena Carlisle continued as it emerged from the darkness on Erik¡¯s right, holding a pitted dagger in each hand, one of which was stained red by Erik¡¯s blood. Half its face was torn away, turning Selena¡¯s usual stunning beauty into a sharp contrast between clean, unbroken skin and bloody, glistening bone. Her once-voluptuous body was desiccated, the flesh mottled with grievous rents and patches of shadow, a poisonous beauty turned to a venomous horror. There was a time when Erik had believed physical beauty to mean perfection and kindness, as so many naively percieved it to be. Selena had been the first to disabuse him of that notion and taught Erik that beauty was all too often an insidious poison¡ªdrink in too much, and it would choke the kindness from those who possessed it just as it choked the sense from those who beheld it. ¡°After all, what kind of monsters would we be if we left our old friend alone in the dark,¡± the final creature said as it stepped from the shadows. It wore the face of James Bannister and wielded a crude wooden staff. Unlike its companions, this creature wore a black robe with the hood down and its face appeared to be the most intact of the three. It smirked at him from where it stood at the edge of the light, positioned between and slightly behind its fellows. The positioning starkly reminded Erik of the real James, who had stood behind the likes of Selena and Viktor as they had tormented him, providing them with the details necessary to make their cruelties truly hurt Erik. Erik had believed James and himself to be good friends. Truth be told, James had been his only friend, or so Erik had naively thought. Desperate to connect with someone, he¡¯d revealed things of himself that he¡¯d never told anyone, not even his father. After that grave mistake, James had shown his true colors and shared Erik¡¯s most closely-kept secrets with his tormentors, giving them new ammunition to assault him with. The stark reminders of the people these creatures were pretending to be was enough to make Erik¡¯s blood boil and he felt some of the predatory calm of Savage Grace fall away, replaced in part by a savage and seething rage. Erik had always been terrified of losing control of himself, of letting his hunger or his anger get the best of him, but he was sorely tempted to give in to the Beast and let its rage rule his actions. The only thing holding him back was the knowledge that a single mistake against these creatures could cost him his life. The idea of dying at the hands of anything wearing the faces of Selena, Viktor, or James revolted him enough that he shoved the anger away, once more taking up the full murderous calm of his ability and the Beast. ¡°I spent most of my life being tormented by the people whose faces you wear,¡± Erik said, gesturing at them and the corpse of their comrade. ¡°Derek took perverse pleasure in tormenting others. It was his cruelty that started it all, of course, but you fell in line like dogs at his beck and call. None of you are innocent.¡± Erik¡¯s eyes moved to the bloody and gruesome but unmistakably voluptuous figure mirroring Selena¡¯s form. ¡°You tormented me endlessly about my appearance and weight. You may not have acted on your cruelty in the same way Derek did, but you used your words to prod and provoke both him and his minions. The insults and vile rumors you circulated about me ensured that anyone who might have been willing to look past my appearance avoided me like the plague for fear of you deciding to make their lives hell too.¡± Erik gestured to Viktor¡¯s broad figure next, once more recounting its crimes against him. ¡°You were Derek¡¯s right hand, his personal thug, constantly belittling or humiliating me, shoving or tripping me, stealing my things. When Derek wasn¡¯t there to torment me himself, you made sure to give me a beating to remind me that no matter what I did, I would always be a weak, fat target for your animosity,¡± Erik seethed, clenching his fists. Erik turned to the figure hiding behind all the rest, the one wearing the face of James. ¡°And you¡­you pretended to be my friend and then stabbed me in the back, selling me out to Derek and Selena. After you told them about me, my life became a living hell. I¡¯m going to enjoy killing you most of all, though I suppose I should thank you,¡± Erik said bitterly. ¡°It was the anger and humiliation brought on by your betrayal that gave me the will I needed to change myself. Without you, I¡¯d still be that useless tub of lard, cowering in fear from his own shadow.¡± Showing the creatures his teeth, Erik leaned forward. ¡°Funny enough, but I haven¡¯t actually lost a single pound. Turns out my eating disorder is just as effective for helping me maintain all the muscle I managed to put on when I took up powerlifting to get in shape. Now I get to put it to good use taking you assholes apart. Piece. By. Bloody. Piece,¡± Erik grit out between his clenched teeth, practically snarling the words. Without further warning, Erik recalled the same feeling from before when he¡¯d fought Derek and propelled himself forward in a burst of unnatural speed, triggering his skill. Using the full force of his charge, Erik twisted his torso and shoulder-checked the creature wearing Viktor Lagunov¡¯s face. It managed to take the brunt of the blow on its shield, but the impact made it stumble back, off-balance. Capitalizing on this, Erik stepped forward and hammered his fist into its face, pouring every ounce of his animosity for Viktor into the blow. The creature reeled from the solid blow, its face now even more of a bloody mess thanks to its broken nose, but Erik was unable to pursue it and continue his assault¡ªthe creature that looked like Selena was faster than the others and had already closed the distance between them. Erik knew he couldn¡¯t allow them to flank him and it was unlikely that he¡¯d be able to finish off the one he¡¯d struck before the other bled him out. As it tried to recover and reposition its shield, the creature he¡¯d attacked made a wild retaliatory swing which he back-stepped, yielding ground instead of pressing his attack. Flicking his eyes to the one wielding the staff that he suspected was a mage of some sort, Erik¡¯s eyes widened as he saw a blue arc of electricity arc across its fingers, which were pointed in his direction. Acting without conscious thought and solely based on the shadows of knowledge imprinted into his mind by his Proficiency, Erik raised his arms in a cross-guard in front of him. As if he¡¯d done it a thousand times before, Erik cast his will from him like a physical force, projecting it through his body and into the air barely an inch away from his crossed forearms. In the same unconscious way, Erik reached out to what his Proficiency¡¯s teachings called his ¡®Mantle¡¯. Like a metaphysical cloak, this Mantle¡ªshort for Mantle of Power¡ªwas an aura of mana his subconscious mind held in his proximity and it was the sum of all the mana available to him to use magic. His intelligence not only determined his level of control in drawing mana from his Mantle, it also increased his mind¡¯s ability to hold mana in it, thereby increasing the capacity of his Mana pool. Acting purely on wrote knowledge, Erik reached out to his Mantle and tried to feed its power into the shape of his will. Despite his mind¡¯s clumsy grasp, his instinctive reaction seemed strong enough to force the Mana into the shape he¡¯d carved from memory into the air before him, giving it palpable form and substance. The air in front of his arms seemed to shimmer, churning and twisting as it thickened into a barrier, the edges lit by the almost-transparent light of Erik¡¯s Mana. A moment later, there was a small flash of light as a bolt of electricity arced off the mage¡¯s outstretched hand and struck the barrier in front of Erik. Most of the bolt dissipated on the barrier but the rest of it phased through, and Erik grit his teeth in pain as the electricity arced through him in a single searing jolt. Retreating another few steps, Erik took the time to glance at his health bar in the periphery of his vision, quickly gauging how much damage he¡¯d taken in relation to the loss of vitality he felt. He didn¡¯t know how much damage the slash had done or how much he¡¯d taken from the spell, but his health had been depleted by slightly less than a fifth of its total, reading 197/236. As he watched, it ticked lower by one point, likely a result of the mild bleeding from the wound in his side. His Stamina, however, had taken a much greater hit. He¡¯d already known using Executioner¡¯s Mercy would cost him a chunk of Stamina, but he had to have been using another ability of some sort because his Stamina had declined by 97 points, leaving him at 203. Blocking the mage¡¯s spell had cost him a fourth of his mana pool as well, so he would only be able to block another three times before its spells were hitting him full-force. Assessing his level of physical exhaustion and the rate of his breathing, Erik judged that he should be more than capable of finishing off his opponents, but he would need to attack carefully to prevent them from taking advantage of any openings. This was real and if he died, he wouldn¡¯t be coming back, so he couldn¡¯t allow himself to give in to his darker urges and prolong this fight. He needed to kill them, and quickly. Turning his full attention back to the fight, Erik was just in time to see the creature wielding the daggers come at him in a blur, swinging its knives at his mid-section in a wide, scything horizontal cut. Erik threw his arms up and to the side, trying to deflect the blades, but he was too slow. The creature twisted, its joints like quick-silver, and pulled its blades in close to its body for a moment before lunging at him with both blades extended like a spider¡¯s fangs. Knowing he wouldn¡¯t be able to block, with cold clarity Erik considered his next actions. He was confident in his ability to handle the mage and the creature armed with sword and shield but this one was considerably faster than him, even with his reactions being boosted by Savage Grace. As he¡¯d just seen, she could easily duck and weave past his defense and he had no real way to counter her speed, so his only choice was to get in close and grapple with her, using his superior weight and strength to take her out of the fight before she could become a serious problem. With the Beast riding in the fore of his mind and guiding his actions, Erik felt a visceral wave of violent hunger shiver through him as he realized the creature had already made the mistake of closing the distance between them. He would need to let it stab him with no resistance or attempt to dodge in order to do it, but the creature already presented the perfect opportunity for him to finish it. Not allowing himself to dwell on the fierce and wild joy that the thought of killing the creature evoked in him, Erik braced to receive the blow, grunting in pain as it plunged both daggers into his abdomen. He felt the daggers penetrate his skin just above his navel, but fortunately the creature wasn¡¯t able to drive more than three-quarters of the blades¡¯ lengths into his body. The creature struggled for a moment, trying to push its weapons deeper into Erik¡¯s body, but its strength was insufficient to overcome the resistance granted to his flesh by his Stoneskin ability. Baring his teeth at the pain, Erik seized the opportunity and locked his hands on the creature¡¯s slim shoulders, digging his fingers into its ravaged flesh. Selena¡¯s face twisted from its snarling rictus, rapidly slipping into shock as Erik suddenly dropped straight back, using his grip on the creature and the momentum of his own fall to drag it with him. Ignoring the spike of pain as the daggers still embedded in his flesh shifted, Erik planted the heel of his right foot in the center of the creature¡¯s lower mid-section. As his back met the ground, the entirety of the creature¡¯s weight was held up in the air by his bent leg, and he continued with the motion of his fall, arching his lower half off the floor and converting his fall into a backwards roll. As his legs arched up over his body, he thrust his right leg out in a full extension, throwing the body of the creature up and over his own head. As its body impacted the floor a scant distance away from him, Erik finished his roll, stopping with his body perfectly perched atop the creature¡¯s torso. Using his knees to pin the creature¡¯s arms to the ground, Erik then hammered his fists into its face multiple times in rapid succession, smoothly transitioning from left to right handed strikes and placing the full force of his weight behind each blow. After the fourth blow, Erik felt the bone of the creature¡¯s face give slightly beneath his fist and he realized both his hands were dripping blood, but he didn¡¯t stop, unleashing his fury on the creature until his presence of mind forced his attention back to the creature¡¯s fellows, realizing either of them could be closing the distance to finish him while he was distracted.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Looking down at the creature he¡¯d brutalized one last time, Erik saw that nothing remained of Selena Carlisle¡¯s visage. He had shattered the creature¡¯s dark rendition of her poisonous beauty, leaving nothing remaining of its face except bloodied shards of bone and glistening, bloody meat. His breath heaved in his chest and he could hear his heart pounding in his chest as he rose from her corpse, his gaze fixed on the two creatures remaining. They both stood stock still, staring at him, their eyes glowing sinisterly back at him. Neither of them had taken the opportunity to prepare to attack him and for a moment Erik wondered why. But then something clicked in his mind, and he saw it. The tension of their bodies, the flickering glances they exchanged, the way they stared at him¡­Erik realized they were afraid of him, and though part of him felt horrified at the realization of his own darkest fears, another part of him felt a deep exultation. This is what he¡¯d been terrified of his entire life and yet it felt so right, like a grand dream finally realized. He¡¯d spent years being tormented by the people whose faces these creatures wore and finally having the power to fight back, to show them the depths of the rage and misery they¡¯d driven him into, it was exhilarating. Finally, he was in a position to make them reap the consequences of what they¡¯d sown, just as he¡¯d imagined doing through all the years of abject cruelty, pointed barbs, vile ¡®pranks¡¯, and horrendous rumors. Pushing down the part of himself that cried out that what he was doing was wrong, that what he felt made him no different than the people who¡¯d tormented him, Erik stepped away from the creature¡¯s corpse. ¡°Tell me, are you scared?¡± Erik mocked, his expression cold. The creatures¡¯ forms seemed to shiver at his words and Erik heard sinister words whispered in the darkness but never saw their lips move to form those words. Killer, Derek¡¯s corpse seemed to whisper. Erik¡¯s gaze flickered to his corpse, reaffirming in the still blankness of the creature¡¯s features that it was truly dead. Erik felt their tendrils of fear try to anchor themselves in his mind a final time, trying to capitalize on the realization of his true fear, but with the Beast flooding his mind with its savage desires, brushing those tendrils away took no effort. Erik advanced on the creatures, his motions sinuous and his eyes alight with predatory hostility. ¡°No. You can¡¯t make me afraid anymore.¡± Butcher, Selene¡¯s voice echoed from the other creature¡¯s ravaged corpse. Its face seemed to call out to the guilt still residing in the depths of his mind, trying to sink its claws into him. ¡°I am what you have made me, and I refuse to keep hiding from that. I¡¯ve run from it for so long, but I¡¯ve learned that the only way to control it is to embrace it.¡± Erik growled, ignoring the cackling of the voices. The guilt and misgivings he had about surrendering to the desires of his id tried to pull his focus away, to overpower the merciless wrath and unforgiving hunger which composed the Beast, but he refused to allow it. He¡¯d spent a lifetime allowing those fears to rule him and it had brought him nothing but misery. He was done running from the darkness hiding beneath his skin. Now, its fangs and claws would become his own, and his enemies would learn that there was only death awaiting them in the cold darkness of his wrath. You murdered us, Erik, Viktor¡¯s disembodied voice joined in, his thuggish-face staring back at him silently from one of the remaining creatures. ¡°Murdered you? No, I gave you what you deserved,¡± Erik snarled, his steps not faltering, his gaze focusing once more on his next victims. You¡¯re just like us now¡­a monster, James¡¯ Bannister¡¯s voice hissed from the darkness. Erik laughed, his elongated canines catching the light as he threw back his head. ¡°You think that frightens me? I spent years being tortured by you pricks because I was too weak to fight back but now¡­now I have the power and strength necessary to make sure people like you can never hurt anyone again. If that costs me my humanity, then so be it. It¡¯s a price I¡¯m more than willing to pay.¡± Gripping the handles of the daggers still lodged in his flesh, Erik¡¯s face twisted into a snarl from the burning pain as he pulled them out. Blood spurted from the wounds as he did, and Erik felt an accompanying tick of his Health disappear. After a moment, the gut-twisting spikes of agony seemed to dim just like his other wound, sinking to the level of background noise. Panting, he held the two pitted blades up to the light for a moment, his blood on the blades glistening a red-black in the eerie blue light of the torches illuminating the room. Finally fighting past its fear, the creature with the staff pointed it at Erik and began muttering a spell, a ripple of energy surrounding its staff. Erik knew he could simply block the spell, but he had another solution, one literally at hand. Hefting one of the knives, he inexpertly threw it at the mage, not expecting it to do any real harm but hoping it would be enough to distract it from the spell it was attempting to cast. The knife spun end-over-end and hit the creature hilt-first in the chest. Though it didn¡¯t penetrate, Erik was mildly surprised that he¡¯d managed to hit his target at all and he was even more thankful as the mage seemed to stumble over one of the words of its spell, causing the spell to fail. There was a crackle and a small flash as the energy around the mage¡¯s staff as the spell rebounded, causing the caster to clutch its head in pain. With the caster temporarily distracted and out of the way, Erik focused his attention on the other creature. Knowing he would need to get around its shield in order to kill it, Erik charged at the creature. Probably assuming he was going to shoulder-check it with his greater mass like last time, it hunkered down behind its shield and set its feet to brace itself. At the last moment before impact, Erik triggered his unknown skill and accelerated forward in a blur. However, rather than charging directly at the creature, he twisted and juked past its side. The creature¡¯s surprise slowed its reaction and it began to turn but it was already too late. Erik planted his foot, turning and then thrusting the dagger still clutched in his hand directly into the creature¡¯s thigh while it was still attempting to turn its shield to face him. Erik jerked away, back-stepping to dodge the retaliatory horizontal slash of its sword. The creature followed him, shuffling forward and delivering an over-head slash. Taking a half-step forward into the swing of the blade, Erik raised his hands up and caught the blade on his gauntlets. The clumsy, unskilled way the creature held its shield proved to be a liability as when it swung its sword the second time, its guard move and left its body undefended, so Erik took advantage of the opening and delivered a front-kick to the creature¡¯s torso at the same time he blocked its sword. The creature stumbled back, managing to keep its feet and recover but when it attempted to take a step towards Erik, the leg he¡¯d managed to land the dagger in gave out, causing the creature to fall to its knees. Like a predator smelling blood, Erik rushed in and drilled a punch into the creature¡¯s face. When its head rocked back from the blow, Erik grabbed the creature¡¯s shield in both hands and tore it out of the creature¡¯s grip. Tossing it away, Erik was forced to step aside as the creature wildly swung its blade at him, all coordination gone in the wake of its injury. When he moved to dodge the second swing, Erik twisted his body to the side, out of the path of the blade, and stepped in closer. As the creature¡¯s sword arced past harmlessly, Erik grabbed the wrist of the arm holding the sword and pulled the creature¡¯s arm out to full extension. With his other hand, he delivered a powerful palm-strike to the creature¡¯s elbow joint. Timing it almost perfectly, the moment his palm impacted the creature¡¯s elbow, Erik applied as much pressure as he could against the elbow joint by violently pulling the creature¡¯s arm toward him with the hand gripping its wrist. With the force exerted on the arm bringing its elbow joint to the point of over-extension, Erik¡¯s blow forced the fulcrum of the creature¡¯s elbow to bend in the opposite direction. With a sickening snap, the creature¡¯s elbow broke, and it screamed in pain. Until now, Erik had been given little to no verification that these creatures truly felt pain. The creature¡¯s scream of agony was like a balm applied directly to his brain, soothing the vicious hunger and merciless wrath crashing through his mind. ¡°Like music to my fucking ears,¡± Erik grinned. Not allowing himself the satisfaction of savoring the sound, Erik stepped in close and grabbed the creature¡¯s head with one hand. Before it could overcome the shock of its pain, he arched its head back to expose its throat and then delivered a punishing blow to its trachea, the pointed ridge of his gauntlets collapsing its airway. Clawing at its own throat in panic with its one good arm, the creature slowly asphyxiated, unable to draw so much as a single breath into its starving lungs. The light in the creature¡¯s eyes eventually went out, its face going slack as it slumped to the floor, dead at last. Erik pictured the moment in his head, but he had already turned his attention away, focusing on the final target of his life-long ire. As he turned, he raised his arms and once more thrust his will forth from his mind to form a shield to block the spell. His will responded readily enough, but his Mana, the energy turning his will from a mere construct into a reality, was not nearly as responsive. When he¡¯d blocked the first spell, it had been an act of instinct, an awakening of ingrained memory separate from his conscious mind. Now that he was attempting to do the same thing, but with conscious effort, his lack of control became more evident, his mind¡¯s grasp on his Mana clumsy and slow. However, Erik knew he needed to overcome that lack if he was going to succeed here. With a surge of desperation and will driven by the predatory clarity of Savage Grace, Erik dragged out a draught of power from his Mantle, forcing it to fill the shape of his will. Unfortunately, he wasn¡¯t able to finish conjuring the barrier into existence before the mage launched its spell at him. A fireball burst from the tip of the mage¡¯s staff, streaking through the short distance between them with unerring accuracy and then exploding in a blazing bloom of red-orange flame against his partially-formed shield. A sharp pain spiked through Erik¡¯s brain as the power of the explosion shattered his shoddy shield, forcing him to stumble back. Despite the shield breaking and not having been fully formed, it still blocked a significant amount of damage from the spell and Erik had still suffered only a fraction of the damage he might otherwise, leaving him with moderate burns over a good portion of his arms and legs but still alive. Like the sharp line of pain drawn across the side of his torso, the aching spikes impressed into his abdomen, and the lingering discomfort and tension from the electrical discharge, the charred and seared flesh left behind a throbbing echo. However, now his wounds had begun to pile-up and Erik knew he couldn¡¯t afford to take another hit like that. Rather giving in to the distraction of checking his numbers, Erik gauged his remaining health and guessed he was probably somewhere in the range of 100 to 110 Health left. The wound to his abdomen, the bleeding it caused, and the damage of the fireball he¡¯d only partially blocked had definitely done a number on his health. His Stamina, likewise, felt more diminished than his last check¡ªhe¡¯d used his as-yet unnamed ability once more, and finishing the other two had cost him a good bit of Stamina. His breathing was harsher, and he could feel his heart beating faster from the exertion, the edges of exhaustion beginning to set in. By feel, he had a little over a third of his total Stamina left. As for his Mana¡­the backlash of having his not-fully-formed shield broken had cost him in addition to the initial cost of using it in the first place. He now had enough left to block one more spell but likely not enough to block a second. Despite his condition, Erik felt confident he would be walking out of this room alive. The cold, predatory certainty coursing through his mind knew that the last creature was easy prey, and it urged him to finish the creature, to bring his vengeance full-circle. Erik felt a profound satisfaction at the thought and he met the creature¡¯s luminescent orbs with his own. Erik knew what the creature probably saw when it looked in his eyes¡ªhatred, rage, a dark and bloodthirsty hunger, all coalescing into a terrible and ivory-fanged Beast that looked out through Erik¡¯s eyes¡ªand in turn, he saw the fear in the creature¡¯s eyes deepen as it realized the extent of what drove him. For a moment, Erik thought it might give up and let him simply kill it. But that was not a part of the creature¡¯s nature. Its motions were sharp and touched by its terror, but it began making the necessary gestures and incanting the words to cast a spell. Feeling a surge of exhaustion as more of his Stamina was drained out of him to power his skill, Erik once more charged forth with a burst of predatory speed, closing the scant distance between them in seconds. Eyes widening in panic at how quickly Erik crossed the intervening space, the creature made a sharp motion, arcs of lightning flickering across its hand before leaping at Erik. Having expected this, Erik reached out to his Mantle with a mental hand, feeling its phantom fingers struggle to grip the twisting, intangible power that composed his magical aura. Keeping his Mana from slipping from his control with an effort of will, Erik grasped as much of his remaining Mana as he could and shoved the mass of energy from his body, holding it with the iron fist of his focus and simultaneously molding it into the shape of a barrier. He felt a moment of resistance as the power tried to escape his grasp, but Erik pressed back against the resistance with all the ferocity of the Beast in his mind, driving it into the shape he desired like a man pounding stubborn nails into wood. It was do or die here, and he refused to allow something as trivial as a lack of control of his Mana be what did him in. The barrier snapped into place, faster than it had been even the first time he¡¯d done it, and Erik once more felt the majority of the shock dissipate on his shield before the rest of its diminished energy passed through and impacted him. Having successfully mitigated the damage from the spell and gotten in close enough that the mage couldn¡¯t get off another one without being disrupted, it clumsily swung its staff at him, its motions awkward and stilted by panic. Erik simply leaned out of the way of the clumsy swing and then caught the staff with one hand, halting its movement. In its desperation, the mage refused to let go of the weapon and began pulling on it, trying to pry it from Erik¡¯s grip. It wasn¡¯t nearly strong enough to overpower Erik¡¯s grasp on it, however, and he easily held on to its staff with one hand. With a sharp tug, Erik jerked the staff forwards. Caught in its own fear, the creature didn¡¯t have the presence of mind to simply let go of its staff and was pulled sharply forward by the motion directly into the kick Erik planted in its mid-section. It lost its grip on the staff as it fell backwards, off balance and unable to recover before its back impacted the ground. Looking down at the vulnerable mage, Erik felt a sadistic smile spread across his lips, his elongated canines catching the low light of the room as he bent the wood of the staff back and forth, testing its strength. Keeping his eyes locked on the mage, Erik slowly began applying pressure to the ends of the staff. The muscles in his forearms, biceps, and shoulders bulged as he exerted his strength on the wood but none of the strain reached his face. With an almost contemptuous ease and a sharp, dry crack, Erik snapped the staff in half and then examined the fractured ends. The break had not been clean, leaving both ends splintered into jagged, spear-like points. Nodding in satisfaction, Erik turned back to the creature. Eyes widening in terrified realization, the creature began trying to scramble away. ¡°You don¡¯t¡ªdon¡¯t have to do-do this, Erik. You-you don¡¯t really w-want to become this, this k-killer, do you?¡± The creature stammered, scrambling away from him as he approached. In a flash of rage, Erik lunged forward, driving one of the jagged ends of the broken staff into the creature¡¯s gut. The creature screamed as the make-shift spear pierced its flesh and Erik applied all his weight to it, meeting the creature¡¯s agonized gaze as he drove the splintered weapon deeper into its body until he felt the point begin to press into the stone beneath the creature¡¯s body. ¡°I used to think it was you and the others that made me like this, but that¡¯s just an excuse I told myself,¡± Erik said. ¡°There was always a monster lurking in me. I spent my entire life hiding from it, hoping I didn¡¯t wind up becoming just like you, Derek, Selena, and Viktor. I was terrified that I would become the kind of disgusting victimizers that preyed on other people like you four did to me. But I know better, now. I¡¯m not becoming like you, James. I¡¯ll never be as much of a traitorous worm as you or as much of a sadistic fuck as the rest of them were. No, I¡¯m a different kind of monster entirely,¡± Erik finished with a sharp flash of teeth. He leaned in closer to the creature that so resembled the bastard who¡¯d betrayed his trust, his voice a harsh and rasping whisper. ¡°I¡¯m the monster that comes to kill the other monsters, James. And I¡¯ve been waiting a long time to take my pound of flesh from you.¡± With a quick rotation of his hand, Erik twisted the splintered staff in the creature¡¯s guts, eliciting another tormented scream from it. The creature began to writhe, trying to squirm away from him in its mortal terror. Erik knelt down and used the weight of his body to pin the creature to the floor, halting its pitiful attempt at escape. Releasing his grip on the shaft of wood piercing the creature, Erik gripped the other splintered end in both hands, raising it above his head. The creature began screaming in earnest, pleading for its life, begging for mercy, but its pleas fell on deaf ears and its begging only enraged the Beast in Erik¡¯s mind even further. ¡°Scream a little louder, James. No one is coming to save you!¡± Erik roared, his eyes alight with a terrible fervor. Driving the final piece of the splintered staff downward with all the force he could muster, Erik slammed the point into the creature¡¯s chest in the area over its heart and twisted, eviscerating the vital organ. Black blood seeped from the wound, distinctly different from the crimson fluid coating the rest of the creature¡¯s ravaged flesh, and after a long moment, its screams ceased, and its body took on the unnatural stillness of death. Looking at its face, Erik saw that, like all the other creatures, the lambent light in its eyes had fled with its death, leaving the orbs glassy and dull in their lifelessness. Chapter 6: Death Becomes Him Chapter 6: Death Becomes Him He stood up, the pain of his wounds a sharp twinge lingering in the back of his mind and the weariness from exerting himself in combat finally beginning to settle into his flesh. A low throbbing in his head accompanied the mental fatigue brought on by the depletion of his Mana, but nonetheless, Erik could not help but feel a deep satisfaction. It was finally over. He had won. He¡¯d slain his worst enemies and faced some of his deepest fears, learning the truth of himself he¡¯d long used them to hide. In the absence of any other threats, he allowed the cold and predatory mindset induced by Savage Grace to slip away, fading back into his mind along with the Beast, until it was called upon again. Now that he was no longer using his ability, Erik felt the weight of his injuries and exhaustion fall upon his shoulders like a ton of bricks. Breathing fast but even, he looked down at his hands. His knuckles and forearms were splashed with the dark blood of the creatures, a macabre paint staining his hands with the brutal aftermath of what he¡¯d done. At that moment, the words of the creatures came back to him, like an echoing whisper of his own fears. Murderer. Butcher. Monster. Erik wanted to feel the trembling shock travel through his mind at the realization of what he¡¯d done, flashes of the slack, bloodied, and brutalized faces of his tormentors illustrating his undeniable guilt. He wanted to feel the burning of tears in his eyes, leaving thin shame-filled trails down his face. He wanted the chilling horror, the petrifying trauma of killing to rage through his mind, wracking his body with uncontrollable tremors. He wanted to feel remorse, some small sliver of humanity. But instead, he felt nothing at all. His mind was numb to it all, and the only horror Erik could muster was at his own apathy. His hands were steady, unshaken, and his mind was calm and placid. There were no tears waiting to fall, no faces haunting him. He was cold and unfeeling, untouched by any of the emotions others might have experienced in the wake of their first kill. This apathy was precisely what he¡¯d feared for so long. More than the fear of others hurting him, worse than the fear of hurting others and taking pleasure in it, had been the utter terror inspired by the thought of not feeling anything at all. The Beast was a personification of his wrath and the ever-present bottomless hunger he¡¯d warred with all his life, and the morass of emotion that comprised it was things Erik had always felt strongly. Now, the feelings it represented felt distant from the rest of his mind, like they had been excised and then distilled into something more primal. The darkest parts of himself had merged and become the literal monster inside his head, distant and yet irrevocably joined to him. The things that he thought he should have felt, however, simply weren¡¯t there. Remorse, regret, compunction? He scoured the darkest depths of himself and the Beast and he could not find any of it, not so much as a single iota. The words he¡¯d spoken to James¡¯s doppelganger before he¡¯d killed it had been the blind truth. He was not like them and he would never be. He was a different sort of monster altogether, one that saw only grim necessity in the killing. There was no true satisfaction in it, and he did not feel a desire to seek others out and harm them. In the heat of the conflict, having given himself over to the Beast, he¡¯d found himself reveling in the combat, the vicious dance of tooth and claw, the grim game of survival. But once he¡¯d allowed the Beast to fall away, nothing of that revelry remained. His pleasure was hollow, and any hint of shame at what he¡¯d done found no root in the barren tundra of his mind. In facing his own fears, Erik had, at last, become them, and it was the cold and utter indifference that frightened him now, not the idea of finding enjoyment in terrible and cruel acts. Clenching his fists, Erik resolved to himself that he would not shy from what he was now that he¡¯d realized precisely how broken he truly was. No, he would instead live up to the words he¡¯d spoken to James¡¯s double, and become a monster that other monsters feared beyond all else. Standing straight and relaxed, Erik checked over his own wounds, making sure that he wasn¡¯t in danger of dying from them. Seeing that the bleeding of his major wounds had mostly stopped, he let out a low grunt in simple satisfaction before turning his attention once more to his surroundings. When he did so, another screen appeared before him once more, this one a welcome distraction from the thoughts creeping through his mind. Quest Completed! The Proving You have overcome some of your worst fears and brutally murdered your inner demons. Once you are ready, simply step back through the doors you entered from and let your journey begin! You have been named a full Traveler by the System and now have access to its Obelisks and resurrection +15 Experience All around him, the creatures he¡¯d slain began to disintegrate into pools of shadow and ectoplasm, their bodies crumbling into nothing. Quickly, Erik focused on one of the corpses and then used Inspect, feeling a small burst of information fill his head before he pushed it to the back of his mind. When the bodies of the creatures finished dissolving and the pools of inky darkness and ethereal matter that remained evaporated, they left behind a small globe of white-golden light and a few objects perched atop a small scrap of cloth. When Erik stepped closer, the globes of light suddenly rose into the air and sped towards him. Before he could do more than tense up defensively, they crashed into his body and briefly suffused it with a dim glow of the same color before fading. In the corner of his eye, Erik noticed the flash of the gold exclamation point once more resume its urgent signaling for his attention, but he ignored it momentarily. Moving over to the objects left behind in the wake of the vanishing corpses, Erik picked up a large stoppered glass vial. Examining it carefully, he saw it was filled with a viscous, translucent green substance. Triggering Inspect didn¡¯t provide much more information, though it did confirm his suspicions that it was actual ectoplasm. Ectoplasm A translucent green goo With a thought, Erik opened his inventory, briefly noting the window with a five by five layout of boxes that appeared and the one box that was already occupied by a small crate marked ¡®basic supplies¡¯ before he focused on attempting to store his loot. ¡°If I only have twenty-five spaces, I hope all this shit stacks,¡± Erik grumbled. Thankfully, it seemed all that was required to store the objects in his inventory was to touch the object in question and focus his intent on storing it in one of the slots. And the items did indeed stack. He wasn¡¯t sure about keeping them as loot otherwise since he didn¡¯t know their value. He was hoping the ectoplasm would eventually prove useful or that he could find someone to sell it to, but until he ran out of space or found something of better value, he was keeping it. Turning his attention to the rest of the items the creatures had dropped, Erik picked up the last vial resting atop the cloth in one hand and then picked up the cloth itself in the other. With them in his grasp, he used Inspect on them both. ???? An unknown substance The ¡®unknown substance¡¯ in question was in a similarly stoppered vial as the ectoplasm but instead of the translucent green goo, it held an inky stygian-black substance. The pitch-dark substance seemed to swallow the light that touched it, and Erik thought this particular item was probably of some actual value. Unfortunately, it looked like only two of the creatures he¡¯d fought had dropped a vial of it. The cloth, in contrast, was obviously of little to no monetary value but was more immediately useful. It was a ragged and torn strip of rough, dark fabric, a description that was reflected by the System. Ragged Cloth A simple strip of torn cloth of low quality. Not of much value, but could be used as a makeshift bandage of sorts Stowing both in his inventory, Erik moved to each of the other corpses and collected the loot from them as well. Overall, he looted one more vial of the unknown substance, another six strips of ragged cloth, and another four vials of ectoplasm. When he¡¯d finished collecting his spoils and storing them in his inventory, he flicked his attention to the lingering symbols at the edge of his perception. Once he focused on them, they enlarged and came more thoroughly into his field of vision. Mentally selecting the flashing exclamation point, he was greeted by a cascade of messages You have gained an Ability from one of your Traits Ravenous Appetite Your body hungers endlessly for something it cannot name, its insatiable appetence and need constantly pushing at the limits of your self-control. This ravenous, gnawing craving knows no mercy and sees neither friends nor innocents. All is food before the yawning pit of its appetite. +25% Stamina regeneration for 3 hours after consuming a sufficient quantity of food You suffer no negative effects from over-consumption of food Satiety decreases significantly faster +200% to maximum Satiety Do to possessing two or more Abilities typically belonging to monsters and having at least two Traits attributed to monsters, you have acquired the unique Trait, Monstrous Monstrous You might be human, for the most part, but there lurks a darkness in you. It speaks to others¡¯ sub-conscious minds through your eyes, it flashes its teeth with your every step, and it snarls when you smile. Others can sense this darkness, and when they look upon you, they do not see a fellow human. They might tolerate your presence, but they will always look upon you with fear and deep-seated unease, for they know you are not truly one of them. People will sense your underlying nature and experience general unease in your presence, more likely to react negatively in dealings with you ¡°They always say dogs have a better sense of people. Well, the dogs might like him, but I don''t think it''s because he''s harmless. It''s because they know he''s more wolf than man, more beast than human, and the old part of themselves that remembers hunting prey under the light of the moon recognizes a brother in arms.¡± You have learned the ability, Feral RushThis narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Feral Rush Level: 1 You surge forward with a savage and feral intent, closing the distance between you and your prey nearly instantaneously with a burst of supernatural speed. Range: 5 m Stamina Cost: 25 You have unlocked a new Technique from your Combat Proficiency Inquisitor¡¯s Aegis Through a combination of magical theory and application of martial skill, the creators of the Witch¡¯s Hammer fighting style designed this technique to allow less-skilled novices to block damage from spells and enhance their defensive prowess against non-bladed weaponry. -60% Damage from blocked spells and other weapons Cost: 35 Mana You have learned the skill, Throwing! Throwing Level: 1 This skill defines your ability to apply precision and power into hurling objects over a distance. If you put your mind to it, anything can become a weapon. Stamina cost of this skill is dependent upon the item being thrown and the distance necessary to hit the target You have performed extraordinary feats both mental and physical in combat, overcoming your own limitations to decimate your enemies. +1 Willpower for facing your fears and not allowing yourself to be controlled by them +1 Dexterity for performing a feat of agility beyond your ability successfully in combat +1 Strength for physically overpowering multiple foes in hand-to-hand combat +1 Wisdom for gaining insight into your own nature and acknowledging your own fears +1 Constitution for deliberately allowing an enemy to injure you to defeat her Lesser Nightmares Lesser Nightmares are a lower caste of fear demons. Though physically weaker than the average human, they possess the ability to take on the form of their foe¡¯s fears and induce terror in them. While their victims are caught in the throes of their mindless dread, they are easy prey and quickly dispatched by the Lesser Nightmares. They are a very literal personification of the phrase ¡®face your fears¡¯. Face them with caution, for if your will is not greater than theirs, they will break you. Information added to the Bestiary You killed a Lesser Nightmare x 4 +30 Experience Your Combat Proficiency has increased in level! The Witch¡¯s Hammer: Level 1 --> Level 2 Your skill has increased in level! Feral Rush: Level 1 --> Level 2 Your ability has increased in level! Savage Grace: Level 1 --> Level 2 Erik frowned after finishing the messages, pleased at his gains and discovering the creatures he¡¯d fought had been called lesser nightmares. The new Trait he¡¯d gained seemed like bad news considering the negative effect his abysmal charisma was already bound to have on his interactions with other people but protesting it wouldn¡¯t do him any good. And the so-called ability wasn¡¯t really much of a surprise. He remembered reading something about it in the description of one of his Traits, but he hadn¡¯t paid much attention to it otherwise. The description applied to the deep-seated and eternally unsatisfied hunger at the root of his eating disorder was an uncomfortably dark and accurate one, that he had already been well aware of. The System acknowledging it seemed like overkill now, after having lived with it for so long while it remained nameless as no doctor had been able to figure out the cause of his problem. So, he chose to ignore it, in favor of focusing on things of more immediate importance. What he really needed, that he might actually be able to accomplish, was some way to make the System¡¯s messages a little more¡­concise. He wanted to know what kind of progress he¡¯d made in combat and out of it, of course, but some of the messages, like the ones showing him how many enemies he¡¯d killed, seemed superfluous. Almost as if in response to his thoughts, Erik felt a prickling sensation wash through his senses. Erik blinked and suddenly the messages were just as he¡¯d wished. The increases in level for his skills and abilities were shortened greatly, leaving them only displaying the ability or skill with its new corresponding level. The message about the number of creatures he¡¯d killed disappeared entirely. Nodding in satisfaction, Erik dismissed the windows. When he returned his attention to his surroundings, Erik was startled to realize someone else was in the room with him. He almost instinctively slipped back into the cold focus of Savage Grace, but this figure was different from the creatures, the lesser nightmares, he¡¯d faced. Its eyes glowed with a shifting kaleidoscope of light and not green fire, for one, but its presence also carried with it an unmistakable weight, as if the power and age of its existence weighed upon reality like the mass of some colossal giant. Its intricate night-black armor was partially hidden beneath a winding swathe of cloth that wound around the figure¡¯s body like something halfway between a ceremonial robe and a Roman toga. The cloth seemed to be made of some ethereal substance, for it looked oddly insubstantial, and it wound about the figure¡¯s body like a pall of smoke, its indistinct and blurred fabric shifting oddly, as if it were held in place by the presence and will of the figure who wore it and nothing else. When the figure moved, the night-black armor seemed to ripple, glowing lines of pure white crawling across its surface before it was covered once more by the phantom shadow of the creature¡¯s robe. Though his appearance had been heavily shrouded before, the towering figure was unmistakably the same one that had greeted Erik and his fellows on the Proving Grounds. ¡°Janus,¡± Erik acknowledged curtly. He thought about continuing to speak, but Erik decided that it was probably better he converse only when necessary and let others lead conversations for the most part, at least until he was more confident in his interactions with others. His low charisma score was almost certainly a reflection of his lack of social skills, and years of being a socially awkward and paranoid introvert had left their mark on him. Now that he was being forced to step outside those bounds, he needed to learn how to interact with others, but he still needed to be cautious about it. A part of him was tempted to just let his old reticence and social ineptitude take over but he decided against it. That anxiety and awkwardness had been a part of his old self, a crutch of old fears, and he wasn¡¯t about to take any steps back on the journey he¡¯d made in embracing his true self. Of course, that didn¡¯t mean he was about to abandon any of the lessons he¡¯d learned from it. For instance, the drawn-out bumbling conversations and tongue-tying anxiety had taught him the value of patience in conversation, in letting others try to fill the nervous silence. He was also trying to be considerate of Janus¡¯s status. Whether or not he was what he claimed to be, one only had to stand in his presence to know he held a great deal of power. Titan or no, Erik wasn¡¯t willing to take a chance on saying something that might have been considered impertinent. So, for a long moment, they both stood there in utter silence, Janus¡¯s incandescent gaze falling down upon him from two feet or more above his own height. Erik waited patiently until, finally, Janus broke the silence. ¡°Congratulations on defeating your Proving. Not many could have faced the darkest part of themselves and come out victorious as you have.¡± Janus stopped as if waiting for a response from him, and Erik waited a long moment before responding. ¡°I don¡¯t know if it can be called that¡ªa victory. I¡¯d expect you to be disappointed with finding one of your vaunted heroes covered in blood.¡± Janus¡¯s eyes met Erik¡¯s and seemed to peel back Erik¡¯s skin and sear into his soul, but unlike when he¡¯d met Janus¡¯s gaze before, there was no drowning in the infinity of Fate reflected in Janus¡¯s eyes and no struggle to free himself from it. ¡°When I called you and the others to this world, I knew that I would be summoning more than just those of a more¡­heroic¡­persuasion. There would be some among you who served a different, and yet no less necessary, function in restoring the Balance.¡± His stare shifted away as if looking at a distant and far-away future. ¡°I did not bring you here to inspire the people, unite the kingdoms, or resolve conflicts. There will be enough heroes among your fellows, Erik. What this world and its people need from you, what I need from you, is to be the monster you were always meant to be.¡± Janus waited a moment for his words to truly sink in before continuing. ¡°I believe your people have a saying, ¡®Fight fire with fire¡¯, do they not? There will be some things that your fellows will not be willing to do, enemies they will not have the ruthlessness to deal with, creatures they will not be able to overcome for fear of doing what¡¯s necessary to kill them in the first place. You are my answer to that problem, Erik. You will not hesitate to kill, to do what you believe to be necessary to stop your enemies, accomplish your goals, and protect what you care about. If you stay true to who you are meant to be, you will be a monster like no other. One that walks among the light but does not fear the dark or the shadows cast from it.¡± He gestured to the iron-bound wooden doors Erik had walked through to enter the room. ¡°Remember that as you venture out in the world, Erik. Now, hold out your right arm. I promised you a gift to help you when succeeded in your Proving and you shall have it.¡± Hesitating for only a moment, Erik held out his arm and Janus turned it over, so the underside of his forearm was exposed. The shifting glow of power in Janus¡¯s eyes brightened as he placed two fingers against Erik¡¯s forearm. Erik almost attempted to jerk his arm from the Titan¡¯s grasp when he felt the flesh of his arm ignite in a fiery agony, but Janus tightened his grasp ever so slightly on his arm and he knew it would probably be futile to try. Gritting his teeth, Erik watched as glowing lines etched themselves into his flesh. The light on his forearm bent and curved, as it carved out a large glyph in a looping, spidery scrawl that bizarrely resembled a cross between some sort of arcane calligraphy and the tribal knotwork style he¡¯d seen in some tattoos on earth. The pain intensified as several lines appeared around the central glyph, forming the twisting and intertwined bounds of a knotted circle. Once the circle was formed, it branched out suddenly in eight directions. The branches positioned at the cardinal points stretched longer than the others, twisting and curling until they eventually formed barbed arrow-heads. Equidistant between each of the cardinal branches, a shorter branch formed, mirroring the position of the intermediate directions on a compass. The ends of these smaller branches formed into arrows as well, and for a moment, Erik thought Janus¡¯s gift was complete. Then the light flared, and Erik released a guttural scream as the searing pain erupted into utter agony, spiking through his mind. A moment later, the pain vanished, and Janus released his arm. Looking down at the finished product, Erik saw that the light had added several, much smaller glyphs at the ends of each point. For a moment, the lines continued to glow with power but slowly, it faded, leaving behind the matte-black lines of a tattoo. After a moment, those too faded back into his skin, leaving the tan-grey flesh unblemished. After finishing the inspection of his arm, Erik leveled a glare at Janus¡¯s towering form. ¡°You couldn¡¯t have warned me that it was going to feel like pouring fucking acid onto my skin?¡± Erik snarled. Though his features were concealed by the deep shadows of his hooded robes, Erik could have sworn he caught the edge of Janus¡¯s lips quirking into a smirk before he replied. ¡°I could have, but better to let you learn the lesson on your own. Trust no one, especially those offering you power or gifts. Everything in Terra comes at a price, and its usually not one you¡¯re going to be happy about paying,¡± Erik nodded grudgingly, acknowledging Janus¡¯s point. ¡°As to my mark and what it does¡­well, I wanted to aid you in the best way possible, but it would seem the abilities and Proficiency you chose are quite complimentary in combat. Rather than simply grant you a blessing of power as I did for many of your fellow Travelers, I had something different in mind. Instead, I decided to give you a bit of guidance. I cannot tell you much more than that its use and purpose is quite literal to its name. Heed its warnings well, Erik, and be true to who you are. That is all I ask,¡± Janus finished, his final words echoing in the stone room. It took a moment for Erik¡¯s mind to process the fact that Janus was no longer present¡ªhe had vanished as if he¡¯d never been present at all. If it weren¡¯t for the message that suddenly popped up and the throbbing pain in his arm where the mark had faded, he would have thought he¡¯d just had a very real break with sanity and hallucinated the whole thing. You have been granted a Mark of Power! Fate¡¯s Compass Gifted to you by the Titan, Janus, the precise purpose of this mark is unknown. In time, its powers may become known, but for now, its usefulness is both unclear and questionable. Dismissing the window with a sharp gesture, Erik turned and strode to the doors leaving the room. He had some idea of what the Compass might do after Janus¡¯s ¡®hint¡¯, but the general idea was nebulous. If Erik¡¯s mind were given over to being more blithe, he would have thought that the name ¡®Fate¡¯s Compass¡¯ could also have been ascribed to a watch. But if its name was as literal as Janus claimed, then it was more likely the Compass was meant to give him a general direction for where he needed to go to accomplish whatever it was he needed to do to help restore the Balance. I suppose I¡¯ll found out if I¡¯m right soon enough, Erik thought to himself briefly. When Erik pushed on the iron-bound doors, they swung easily in the opposite direction, just as they had when he¡¯d entered the room to face his Proving. What he found on the other side, was not the room he had come from. Instead, it had been replaced by a massive blank expanse of formless white light. Remembering the message from before and hoping to hell he wasn¡¯t about to kill himself, Erik scowled before taking a breath and stepping forward into the endless expanse. Chapter 7: Into the Wild Chapter 7: Into the Wild There was a disorienting rush as if he had just fallen from a great and towering height before the details of his new surroundings snapped into existence. Like when he¡¯d been transported to the Proving Grounds and taken to the room to prepare for his Proving, between one moment and the next, his surroundings blurred and twisted, snapping into a new reality. Looking around, Erik tried to take in the details of his new surroundings, overwhelmed at the sudden wealth of sensory input. To the north, colossal trees rose into the sky around him, their majestic and aged trunks towering over his head. Many of these trees were truly ancient, their trunks several times thicker than any tree Erik had ever seen. Their height and enormous size brought to mind the giant sequoia and redwood trees from earth and Erik could not help but stare in awe. The massive trees were spaced apart a good distance, allowing sunlight to bathe the ground around them as it pierced through their enormous canopies. This light nourished a healthy carpet of wild grass, a thick tangle of shrubbery, and other vegetation that was scattered around the forest floor amidst some larger rocks and boulders. Much smaller and younger trees, more in line with the size of trees from Earth, flourished in the large open spaces made by the breaks in their towering brethren¡¯s sprawling canopies. These younger trees were clearly of different species but most among them closely resembled pines, firs, and oak trees. The scents of fresh earth and fertile soil floated through the air, accompanied by the wild and untouched scents of a forest bereft of the slow, poisonous touch of civilization. The twittering song of birds calling out to their fellows reached his ears, and Erik briefly caught the victorious scream of a bird of prey as well as several other sounds he did not recognize. A crisp breeze blew in from the north, bringing with it a light chill, and Erik found himself relieved the region he was in was colder than he was used to; back on Earth, Florida had always been a personal hell to him, and he¡¯d always wanted to move to someplace that wasn¡¯t locked into a near-perpetual summer heat-wave. Turning his gaze to the area behind him, to what his skill told him was roughly south, revealed a long stretch of imposing mountains, their peaks reaching into unnaturally darkened skies like the black fangs of some great beast. They were close enough to give Erik a hint of their massive size but still quite a way in the distance. Squinting, Erik thought he spied a deep red glow through the black haze hanging in the sky around the mountains. Since he had no intention of traveling in that direction¡ªwhich he strongly suspected was the Ashen Waste, as what he¡¯d glimpsed of the mountains in the distance matched the basic description in his head¡ªErik turned back to the forest spread before him. Looking up through the canopy, Erik saw something that resembled the sky he knew from Earth but was subtly different. Looking between the pieces of sky he could see through the vast canopies of the trees, and the wealth of plant-life around him, Erik realized what his mind had been telling him all along. The colors were deeper, with a depth and richness, just slightly off from those he would have expected from nature on earth, giving his surroundings a surreal quality while also emphasizing their magnificence. There were undertones and shades in the colors of the vegetation, trees, and sky that made them more vivid and yet also somehow alien to him. Realizing this truly hammered home that he was on a different planet entirely and the full wonder of it struck Erik, leaving him feeling pleasantly awed by his surroundings. Although it was tinged with a faint sense of curiosity at the fact that his surroundings seemed like an alien analog to much of the vegetation in forests on Earth. Using Inspect on the giant trees revealed that they were something called a ¡®goliath pine¡¯, though the system didn¡¯t give any more information than the colossal tree¡¯s name. The System also confirmed Erik¡¯s thought that the smaller trees were mostly derived from firs and pines, though what he¡¯d at first glance thought were oaks were actually something called a ¡®crimson maple¡¯, the dark brown, near-black color of its bark of which was highlighted with subtle striations of a deep, bloody red. Interestingly, the System also gave Erik slightly more detail than it had with any of the other trees. Crimson Maple This tree is named for the rich crimson streaks in its bark and the blood-colored sap it produces. Its sap is well-sought after for its nutritional and medicinal properties. Finishing the cursory inspection of his literally otherworldly yet oddly reminiscent surroundings, Erik then turned his attention to the next matter at hand¡ªsurvival. His cursory examination and the knowledge implanted by his Survival skill gave him enough information to conclude a rough approximation of his location. The basic geography of the continent he was on¡ªEralia, one of several large landmasses covering the vast surface of Terra, though he had no information at all on any of the other continents¡ªfloated to the surface of his mind at his call. Sorting through the knowledge in his head, Erik recalled that there were only three major forested areas on Eralia: the Ironwood Grove, located in the southern half of the continent, the Wildwood, which was a part of the Vrael Wildlands, closer to the northern half of the continent, and the Forest of Teeth, located on the far northern edge of the continent. Looking around at his surroundings once more, trying to use all his senses to feel out the location, Erik decided it was likely this place was somewhere in the Wildwood. He could have been wrong of course, but there was an undercurrent beneath the natural calm of the forest. Beneath that calm, the air was charged with a predatory anticipation. On the surface, the forest seemed peaceful, but it felt to Erik almost as if the forest was watching and waiting for him to drop his guard before it went for his throat. Something, some deeper nuance of the knowledge his skill had ingrained into his mind, told him that the Ironwood Grove was a calmer, quieter place. Here, it was as if the land itself was waiting for a chance to eat you alive. The Forest of Teeth he dismissed out of hand. Though he knew little else besides the rough geographical positioning of particular regions on the continent, he did know that the Forest of Teeth was in the true north, on the other side of the Frostfang Mountains, and the region was far colder than the more temperate chill he felt here. With what he was confident was the Ashen Waste at his back, the Wildwood was really the only location he could have been. Knowing that the first thing he needed to do was find a source of water and then set up a shelter, Erik took a moment to check his resource bars. His Health, Stamina, and Mana had all already begun to recover, though from what he remembered from his Status screen, most of his pools would need the better part of an hour or more to fully recover from combat. Thinking over the fight, Erik was enormously glad he¡¯d managed to learn the Aegis technique from his Proficiency, else he¡¯d have likely died in that fight. Even blocking the fireball with a sixty percent reduction to its damage, it had still done a fair bit of harm. If he hadn¡¯t blocked both lightning spells and the fireball, it would have been child¡¯s play for the other nightmares to finish him off. In contrast to his resource bars, his Thirst, Satiety, and Fatigue were slightly more urgent. Though he didn¡¯t feel any major drop in Fatigue after the fight, his Satiety bar was down to a quarter of its length and his Thirst bar was at about the halfway mark. Until that moment, Erik hadn¡¯t even realized how hungry and thirsty he was. He didn¡¯t know how long he¡¯d already been away from Earth for, but considering he normally waited to eat until after exercising and he¡¯d been right at the end of a trip to the gym before Janus had pulled them to the Proving Grounds, Erik wasn¡¯t really surprised he¡¯d worked up quite the appetite between that and being forced to fight for his life. It was a struggle to suppress the sudden disgruntled roar of his hunger but with ease of long practice, he forced it down, knowing he couldn¡¯t allow himself to be distracted by it in a potentially dangerous and unknown location. Shaking his head and making a mental note to kill the mages first in any future encounters, Erik remembered the crate he¡¯d found in his inventory directly after the Proving and hoped it had some food in it to sate his hunger until he could find a more substantial food source. Thankfully, his luck held. When he touched the crate in his inventory window, it burst open and released its contents into his inventory. Scanning through them, Erik noted that it had contained a basic knife, a tinderbox, a small canteen, a crude needle with a spool of rough thread, and six bundles of something called ¡®traveler¡¯s rations¡¯. The canteen proved to be a small sack of animal hide, sewn shut and treated with some sort of waxen substance. A simple cap held it shut. Thankfully, when Erik opened it, it was already full of fresh water. Taking a careful swig, Erik eyed his Thirst meter briefly and watched it tick up, judging how much he would need to drink to fill it. Normally, he¡¯d have just drunk until his thirst disappeared, but he figured if he used the thirst meter as a more accurate gauge than going by feel, it would allow for a higher rate of efficiency and might even save him some of his precious supply of water. He wound up drinking slightly under half of the canteen¡¯s contents before his Thirst meter was entirely filled again and then proceeded to remove one of the traveler¡¯s rations from his inventory after stowing the canteen away once more. What the System called a ¡®traveler¡¯s ration¡¯ turned out to be a small bundle of thick strips of dried meat which resembled beef jerky, wrapped in cloth. Eyeing the dried meat with displeasure, Erik recalled the quote¡ªwherever it had originated from¡ªthat the System had included on his Trait, Sasquatch. Erik was aware of the reference being implied there and it made him want to grind his teeth that the System once more seemed to be having a laugh at his expense. Grumbling but knowing he couldn¡¯t afford to throw away good food, Erik bit into one of the strips of meat and tried not to enjoy the smoky flavor touched with spices. The strips of meat were surprisingly filling and Erik felt his hunger calm down considerably. Have to remember not to suppress the hunger for long periods of time or it could hit me at the worst possible moment, Erik admonished himself. After polishing off all the strips, Erik saw that his Satiety meter had only crept up to half and broke out another of the rations, quickly wolfing it down. Releasing a light belch, Erik patted his stomach in satisfaction and turned his attention back to his surroundings. Glancing up at the sky and orienting himself in the direction he thought was north, Erik set off into the forest, his senses alert for danger. He did his best to move quietly but quickly, hoping he wouldn¡¯t draw the attention of anything that might want to snack on him, and trying to ignore the lingering shadow of pain that flared up from his wounds when he moved. He made sure to move with Savage Grace active, utilizing the extra fluidity it provided his movements to improve his control of his body. Surprisingly, he didn¡¯t feel any discomfort from walking through the detritus of sticks and other debris on the forest floor. The soles of his feet were tough enough thanks to his Stoneskin that he only felt mild discomfort when he was walking over sharp stones and sticks, and even that faded quickly. His bare feet made less sound and allowed for more precise placement of his feet and toes when he was moving, though the enormous size of his feet worked against him until he got more used to it. He¡¯d worn a size eighteen shoe back on Earth and the widest pair of shoes he¡¯d ever found was almost too snug for him to wear. Erik¡¯s extremely large hands and feet had been something inherited from his father, and even when they caused him trouble¡ªlike now, when he was consciously attempting to move without just stomping around everywhere like a clumsy elephant¡ªhe¡¯d never felt ashamed of that link to his father, a man he had loved and respected more than anyone else. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. His father had been there for him through everything and had never treated his son like the leper everyone else treated him as. Erik felt a pang of sorrow tremble through his mind as memories of his father played through his head, but he set them and the emotions they brought on aside. There was time to reminisce and remember later when he wasn¡¯t in danger of being eaten by something in a strange, unfamiliar forest. After a while of attempting to move quietly, he felt something click in his brain and suddenly, he knew where and how to move and place his feet to reduce the sound of his movement and profile far more effectively than the previous clumsy bumbling he¡¯d been doing. It was a relatively slight but noticeable improvement and he was able to move more quickly as a result with less concern of alerting the denizens of the Wildwood. The notification that accompanied this new knowledge was an unsurprising one he dismissed moments after reading it, focusing on moving as quietly as possible while maintaining his speed. You have learned a new skill! Stealth Level 1 You know how to move quietly and quickly without being seen so that your enemies cannot detect your presence Reduces the chance of detection based on skill level After dismissing the notification, Erik turned his focus back to his journey through the forest. He stopped and rested briefly over the next several hours and for the first three, he was extremely grateful at the bonus his ability had provided to his Stamina regeneration from eating. It seemed just moving through the forest, even using Stealth, didn¡¯t cost nearly as much Stamina as combat¡ªthough he suspected using Savage Grace the entire time helped reduce the strain on his Stamina¡ªand he knew he would be able to maintain his starting speed for nearly the entire day if he paced himself properly. However, Erik needed to find shelter before dark, so he had increased his pace after the first hour of travel, trying to find a better balance between stealth and speed. Several hours after that, he was dearly wishing he had taken Nimble Tread instead of Savage Grace, as it would likely have made what he was trying to accomplish significantly easier. Of course, Erik thought as he tried to keep his breathing even. If I had taken Nimble Tread instead, I probably wouldn¡¯t be alive, so I guess the point is moot. As he moved through the forest, Erik saw a wide area of vegetation, though not any new kinds of trees, and he tried to use Inspect on anything that his Survival skill seemed to point put to him. Thanks to this, he learned of several potential plants he could use to treat his wounds. His Health had stopped recovering after it had reached a certain point and since neither the burns nor the wounds in his stomach or on his side had closed and healed by themselves, Erik figured he would need to treat his wounds in order for his Health to recover to its maximum. Remembering what the System had told him about the sap from the crimson maple, Erik decided to see if he could harvest some from the next crimson maple he saw¡ªthey seemed to be a lot more scarce than the other trees, as he¡¯d only seen one more in hours of travel. About the time he was due for another short break, he got lucky and spotted the blood-red leaves of a crimson maple in the distance, past some large boulders that obscured his view. Deciding it was worthwhile to collect a potentially useful and valuable curative while he was resting, he made his way in that direction. Upon rounding the side of the boulders, Erik let out a satisfied grunt at his good fortune. The crimson maple he¡¯d spotted stood in a clearing formed by several large boulders, which stood as proud stone sentries around a small spring of water that flowed out into a creek between two of the boulders and out of the clearing. Carefully inspecting the ground for tracks, Erik felt the tension leave his shoulders. There were no prints from any animals at all, and though that would have normally sent alarm bells off in his head, he could sense that something about the clearing he was in was different from the rest of the forest. It felt¡­quieter here and the wary and patient predatory air of the rest of the forest was simply gone. Whatever this place was, it felt like a haven to Erik¡¯s senses and he decided he was going to take the chance that the forest wasn¡¯t trying to lure him into some kind of trap and make camp in this clearing. For all that the Wildwood seemed like a living, breathing beast, it didn¡¯t come across to Erik as evil, just...predatory. More like something untamed, waiting for him to make a miss-step before it brought down all the force and fury of nature on his head. This clearing was like an oasis, and he didn¡¯t know why but he was convinced nothing would harm him here, so long as he didn¡¯t disturb the natural peace it seemed to engender. Once he was certain nothing else was in the clearing¡ª the air of serenity be damned, he was not going to get his face torn off by some hostile critter because he was too stupid to display a little caution in a forest that literally felt like it wanted to murder him¡ªErik advanced into the clearing. His first action to head straight for the crimson maple. Unlike the other two of its kind he¡¯d seen, this one seemed to be leaking its precious sap in thick rivulets, making it appear as though the tree itself was bleeding. Erik was happy that he wouldn¡¯t have to cut the tree to get at its sap; he had a feeling that would end quite badly for him. Since he needed a container to store the sap in, Erik emptied a vial of ectoplasm from his inventory and proceeded to collect as much sap in the glass vial as he could. Thankfully, his attempts were made easier by the fact that the sap seemed to be less viscous than regular tree sap, though it was just as sticky. When the vial was full, he replaced its stopper and stored it back in his inventory. Seeing there was still a wealth of sap left leaking from the tree, Erik decided to gamble on the sap being more useful than the ectoplasm and emptied the other five vials in his inventory, filling each one with as much sap as he could just as he had the first vial. When he was done collecting sap, Erik held one of the vials up and used Inspect on it. Crimson Maple Tears Collected from a crimson maple during its flowering cycle, where it weeps sap from its bark like tears of blood, this sap is more potent than usual, and its natural properties are enhanced. Satisfied, Erik then searched his surroundings for any of the basic herbs his Survival skill told him would help with burns or bleeding. Not seeing anything resembling the basic description of the few herbs he knew to look for, he gave up the search and decided to see if he could find some outside the clearing once he¡¯d established a camp and replenished his supply of water. Looking at the spring, Erik debated for a moment the pros and cons of drinking potentially contaminated water. The information in his head seemed to think the water would be fine, however, and he saw little other choice. There was no telling how long it would be until he found another reliable source of water and Erik intended to stay in the clearing at least as long as necessary to find enough food that he wouldn¡¯t starve immediately. Moving further down and away from the source of the water¡ªhe didn¡¯t want to clean off in the source of his drinking water, after all¡ªErik crouched down and splashed water on his hands and arms, cleaning off the darkly colored blood that had dried on his arms and gauntlets. The creek was actually about three feet deep and four or five feet across, but its water was ice-cold and while it might have been quicker to simply leap in, Erik had no desire to freeze his bits off. Once he¡¯d finished cleaning off his arms, gauntlets, and hands, he turned his attention to his wounds. Carefully, Erik removed his gambeson and gently wiped away the blood on his side and abdomen. Thankfully, it seemed his Stoneskin ability¡¯s side-effect had at least allowed the wounds to clot, preventing them from continually re-opening and bleeding as he moved through the forest. Splashing water on his wounds, Erik gently wiped away the blood and other debris from the wound. Distracted by the brisk temperature of the water on his skin, he didn¡¯t notice the brief and slight sensation of warmth when the water met his wounds. When he had finished cleaning himself up a bit, Erik moved slightly further upstream and cupped his hands in the water, raising what he¡¯d captured to his lips and greedily slurping it down. The cool sensation of the crisp water sliding down his throat was refreshing and accompanied also by a slight warmth that suffused his flesh, sinking into muscle and bone. Startled by the odd sensation, Erik waited for a moment, trying to sense by feel if his health was going to suddenly decline as if he¡¯d been poisoned by the water. However, the only thing Erik felt was the fading sensation of the odd warmth. About to shrug it off as an odd but non-lethal side-effect of the spring, Erik went to stand up. As he did, he noticed a small icon flash briefly beneath the trio of his resource bars. Directing his attention to it brought it sharply into focus and Erik saw that the icon was edged in gold with what appeared to be a symbol of a cup overflowing with water stamped on it. Looking next to it, Erik saw two other icons he had failed to notice before which resembled it, but these were etched in black. After a brief moment of concentration, the System provided him with details on what they were. Font of Regeneration You have consumed water saturated with the sap of a crimson maple. Your passive recovery from persistent wounds is increased Minor Burns You have sustained minor burns on your arms and legs. Your Health will not fully regenerate until these wounds are healed or treated Gut Wound and Laceration You have suffered a piercing wound to your abdomen and a minor wound to your side. Your Health will not fully regenerate until these wounds are healed or treated There was what looked like a timer beneath each symbol and Erik guessed that these were how long the effects would last or take to negate. Thankfully, it seemed both his ¡®debuffs¡¯ would be fixed by his passive healing in five days, possibly less with the Font of Regeneration counteracting them. Unfortunately, Erik didn¡¯t think he could afford to wait that long in a forest full of potentially deadly threats. He might have been safe at the spring, but he knew he¡¯d have to leave the area to hunt and he might need every drop of health he had to survive. Which means I need to find something to use to heal my wounds, Erik thought to himself. He decided to do another search of his surroundings for any potentially useful herbs, his inspection focused by urgency. After considering for a moment, Erik turned and surveyed the ground near the spring and the crimson maple. The System message he¡¯d seen for the water had said prolonged exposure to the sap of the tree had enhanced it, so maybe the tree¡¯s sap had affected one of the plants near it? Erik¡¯s hunch paid off. Near where the tree perched at the edge of the spring, there was a grouping of small rocks covered with a carpet of crimson-tinged moss partially hidden behind a larger boulder, so Erik hadn¡¯t seen it at first. After using Inspect on the moss, Erik knew he¡¯d found precisely what he was looking for. Blood Moss A type of moss that feeds on the sap of crimson maples. It is a sought-after ingredient by healers for its healing properties and usefulness in enhancing the healing properties of other herbs Smiling, Erik dismissed the message along with the notification that his Inspect skill had increased to level two. Consulting the basic first-aid knowledge implanted by his Survival skill, Erik took out the ragged cloth from his inventory. Taking a bit of the blood moss in one hand, Erik moved to the crimson maple and coated the moss in its sap. When the moss was saturated and sticky, Erik carefully peeled apart the edges of the wound on his side and packed the moss into the torn flesh. Grimacing slightly from the pain and the odd, slimy sensation of packing the sap-coated moss into his wound, Erik grabbed another clump of moss and did the same with both the wounds on his abdomen. The wounds left by the daggers hurt far more than the wound on his side and Erik grit his teeth as he fought to ignore it. When he was done packing his wounds, Erik paused for a moment and rubbed some sap into one piece of ragged cloth before he proceeded to wrap it around his torso. Thankfully, the cloth was wide and long enough that he was actually able to wrap it around the thick trunk of his torso, though the ends just barely met. Grimacing at the sensation of the sap adhering the make-shift bandage to his skin and sticking in the thick pelt of hair on his chest and abdomen, Erik proceeded to treat his burned flesh. Despite his discomfort, he wasn¡¯t about to leave his wounds untreated, not when it could mean the difference between life and death in a strange, hostile environment. Much like the wounds to his torso, Erik soaked some blood moss in sap, slapped it on the area of each burn, then wrapped it in more sap-coated cloth as a bandage. When he was finished bandaging all his wounds, Erik pulled his armor back on, ignoring the odd sensation of it pressing down on his make-shift bandages, and pulled his canteen from his inventory, emptied it and filled it with water from the spring. As he stood up from where he was crouched, the hairs on the back of his neck raised and a shiver of sudden intuition ran up his spine. Tossing his canteen back in his inventory, Erik spun, training his attention on the far side of the clearing from himself. For a long moment, Erik couldn¡¯t identify what had set his instincts on high alert, but then he realized the normal sounds of the forest had fallen silent and there was an underlying tension to the previous peace of the clearing. In the distance, he heard the crashing of the brush as something moved recklessly through the forest, followed by an odd high-pitched screeching that almost sounded like some particularly psychotic child¡¯s laughter. The sounds gradually got louder, and Erik realized whatever was coming was heading straight for him and clearing he was in. Moving to the middle of the small clearing, Erik activated Savage Grace. The Beast rose up from the depths of his mind, looking out through his eyes once again. Its eager anticipation for the potential fight approaching them both bled over into his awareness and Erik felt his heart-rate speed up in response, his breathing intense and controlled. Settling into a loose guard stance and keeping his senses alert for any other trouble he might have missed in the cacophony, Erik waited for the approaching enemy. Not A Chapter, Important. NOT DROPPED. Ok, so, first, sorry from my major absence from the site. My life for the past few months has been and still is rather hectic, so I''ve had practically no time to write. That being said, I AM still writing this story, or attempting to, and am currently somewhere in the midst of writing Chapter 13. Since I also tend to go back and edit as much as three or four chapter before that for consistency, I have decided that I needed to get significantly closer to finishing the first book before continuing to post on RoyalRoad. In hindsight, posting chapters of the story here before I got to half-way finished with it was an entirely unreasonable expectation for myself, considering my slow writing process. I don''t know how some authors manage to crank out 5000+ words in a day, I can usually barely manage 2000 ( though, admittedly, I do a lot of re-writing to get that far). That being said, if the story thus far interests you, please feel free to leave a follow. I will try to resume posting chapters but it might be a while. In fact, I''ve thought about waiting until the book was about 3/4 finished and just posting a chapter a week, which would give me plenty of time to finish it. We''ll see. I''m sorry for leaving all the people that liked the story thus far hanging, but work kind of has me over a barrel at the moment. For anyone interested, I''m a Registered Pharmacy Technician with the state of Florida, and I currently work for Walgreens'' CPO, which is basically data-entry for scripts. I got the job in the first place because I spent four years working two jobs in customer service and hated it, and this meant not interacting with customers (plus better pay), only now they''re converting my position over to PCC so we all have to be cross-trained. PCC is who you get transferred to when you call Walgreens pharmacy about refills and other things. They answer phones...and talk to people. Which I am enormously bad at. SO....currently looking for a new job. The past few months my focus has been trying to get my national certification and become a CPhT so I can get employed in a hospital, but I''ve been procrastinating (I''m pretty terrible about it too) so I haven''t even started studying for it yet. Now though, with their mandatory initiative for PCC cross-training, I''m going to have to get my ass in gear and get it done, so the likelihood of me having writing time before mid-march just went into the shitter. Again, sorry, I know this probably feels like whining to some readers, but unfortunately writing is not something I can live off of at the moment and I have student loans and bills to pay so -_-Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Thank you for your patience, and I dearly hope I''ll be able to return to writing this amazing story soon. I still have a lot of cool new things to show you guys, and a metric fuck-ton of meta-game lore to introduce into the story and no idea how I''m going to cram all of the insanity of my imaginings into a word processor coherently.