《AI's Champion》 Prologue Darkness¡­ Is what I expected. Instead everything looks purple. Not fancy royal purple, but more along the lines of being like psychedelic purple. It¡¯s like I¡¯m trapped in an oil leak with various colors of the rainbow flowing around wherever they please, I¡¯m just going to call this place the void because I suck at unique names. I am not sure how long I have been here captivated by the sight before me as everything seems to be a blur, including my mind. Though I feel unnaturally calm about this whole situation. Who knew I could take death so well. Or maybe I¡¯m not dead? Not really sure what happens after being sucked into a crack in reality.
(Earth 2080) The planet Earth no longer holds any resemblance with the beautiful blue sphere depicted in photographs of the past. Instead the clouds in the sky come in only brown and various shades of gray. The ocean still holds blue waters but they are rare pockets, coveted by world and therefore guarded even from viewing. The planet is dying, or more accurately was dying. In the year 2060 a boy was born, he was not surrounded by heavenly lights or expressed signs of prodigy like talent in anything, but in the future he would be a driving force behind the revitalization of the planet. He grew up poor with his parents, his family were forced into refugee status while within their own country after their farmland was seized by the corrupt World Government during the time when famine and starvation became the leading cause of death in the world. His mother ended up becoming a prostitute to ensure their survival while his father did any job available regardless of the dangers it may have presented to himself. They worked hard to ensure that their son would be able to at the very least live even if as a result they rarely saw him. Seeing his parent¡¯s struggle day by day and night by night all in order to feed him forced the boy to mature far faster than anyone else his age as he disregarded, what he considered evil, Government mandated school for the alternative, the local library. At the age of 5 he had read nearly all of the books available to him earning him the favor of the librarian which granted him access to one of the few working computers of his community. Before being fully able to enjoy the new option available to him he was faced with the death of his mother. She was raped and murdered in an alley close to their home days after she had gone missing. The young boy was the one to find her slumped against a wall already showing signs of decay. There was no funeral as they did not have the money to afford it and there was no longer any beauty to setting a casket out to sea due to pollution. Instead the boy and his father secretly smuggled her body to a park the father was working on building a wall around and buried her under the largest tree they could find. They did not leave a marker or say anything over her grave as a marker would simply give it away and words were not enough to express how the boy and his father felt. However before they left the grave the father with solemn eyes and a hard expression turned to the boy as he said, ¡°Don¡¯t show that face, your mother lived, worked, and ultimately died only so that you could smile. So regardless of what life may throw at you, keep a smile up for the memory of your mother.¡± The boy did, he was perpetually smiling from that day on. Even as his father passed away 3 years later he kept smiling. Even as the Government curried favor with him after creating a source of energy from the pollution he kept smiling. It was said that the boy had lost his mind along the way up to his position of becoming the youngest and most brilliant scientist the world had ever seen, but it did not deter the boy turned man from continuing to smile. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
(Underground secret lab within the Sahara) Buried beneath the billowing sand of the desert a man sits in front of a computer furiously typing away at the keyboard as if his life depended on it. His hair is long and greasy as if to show it has not been washed or cut in months and his clothing wrinkled and stained with what appears to be oil. In all aspects he seems like a deranged beggar and yet a wild smile is on his face as he continues to type. This is me, boy genius, head of something or other for doing the thing with the planet. Regardless of how I appear at the moment I am not mad as the World Government would have you believe, well not completely at least. It is hard to say when I¡¯m in the process of doing what all mad scientists seem to want to do. Create life. ¡°Done.¡± I say as I let out a sigh of relief upon seeing the screen in front of me change from lines of code to a countdown timer. ¡°Hahaha! I¡¯m done!¡± I scream in joy once more getting up from the desk to do a little victory dance. As I watch, the countdown slowly counts the time until my greatest creation is complete. It has taken me 5 years but I have managed to build an artificial intelligence under the noses of those damned politicians. They deserve everything that is coming to them once this is released into the world. It¡¯s not meant to be evil or anything but it is designed to be a judge, jury, and executioner for every person alive including myself. I mean it will be a little more lenient with me because I¡¯m the creator, but I want it to develop into the ruler of this world so I can¡¯t leave any loopholes in its logic or it won¡¯t work.
Time until system completion: 1 minute
Seeing the time on the display put a smile on my face, a real smile, not the frozen one that usually adorns my face. I haven¡¯t been this happy since¡­ Well I¡¯ve never been this happy.
WARNING: Base #12 has been locked-on
¡°Well shit.¡± Seems my base has been found, not the first time either but the Government never had any evidence that tied me to them and I did everything remotely usually. This is just unfair, for the first time a father from my community actually decides to witness the birth and they are going to be blown up for it. Though it really isn¡¯t the time to joke I have nothing better to do. Escape? Yeah there is no way in hell considering the Governments liberal use of any new weapon they happen to have on hand.
Time until system completion: 23 seconds
*Haa* I sigh after seeing the countdown from the looks of it I can only hope the weapon isn¡¯t too accurate and I get hit by the aftershock at least that way the AI has enough time to upload to the rest of the world. ¡°Well if there is some kind of almighty being out there in the multiverse let me plead for at least my AI to survive long enough,¡± I say as I look up to the ceiling with all the religious fervor an atheist can produce. ¡°HAHAHA! INTERESTING, YOUR WISH HAS BEEN HEARD.¡± The voice boomed into my mind making me clutch my head in agony just before a loud crash can be heard that sounded like the breaking of glass but thousands of times louder. I was still trying to hold myself together after the mysterious voice spoke so did not get a clear view of my surroundings but what I did see was enough to leave my mouth agape and wipe away my trademark smile. A crack in the air had appeared within the room, inside of which only darkness laid. Then it sucked everything into it including me, the AI, and well everything.
(Present) I don¡¯t remember much at that point because with the pulling sensation came a feeling of my body being quickly shredded to pieces in which I had promptly lost consciousness until I appeared in hippie mind trip where I have stayed. ¡°Alright I¡¯m bored, I want to do something. Hello! I want to speak to management!¡± I shouted into the void not expecting any reply.
Sorry I¡¯m not management but you are right. It is time to do something Lee.
Luke I am your Father ¡°Holy shit!¡± I screamed. Well not really as my body is fairly incorporeal at the moment, kind of limits my ability to do much. That said I am still a body, minus the tangibility, so I can still see, and what I am seeing now is a blue screen hovering about a foot in front of me. I have no idea where it came from or how it knows my name but after recollecting myself I immediately started to inspect it. Reasons for why I inspect the mysterious blue screen? A big one is probably because it¡¯s not purple and well I am a scientist, it is kind of what we do. However, as I watched it the words on the screen changed.
I am sure that you have many questions you would like an answer to, however now is not the time and this is not the place. As I cannot keep this communication open long I will be brief, are you willing to be my champion for your freedom? This will involve a new world much different from your own and dangers like you have never imagined but the benefits will surpass it all as long as you continue to survive.
Yes
No
Think carefully because even if you are trapped here for eternity there are fates that are far worse.
The new screen worried me slightly as I was just about to click yes. I didn¡¯t know how much time I had to consider my options based on what the screen told me so I stuck to the basics. Good: Bad: Looking over the pros and cons I decided to trust the blue screen with my fate. Even if it did turn out to be a horrible decision there was at least the chance that I could do something about it. Where as here in this purple area I had no power and based off of the time limit given even something like the blue screen was having difficulties here, making an escape on my own pretty impossible. With those thoughts, I pressed yes¡­ or tried to until I realized I still don¡¯t have a real body. Luckily it seems my intention at least got across as the old screens faded and another crack appeared in space much like how I ended up in this situation except this one was incredibly bright forcing me to close eyes.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. ¡°Damn, I really hope this one doesn¡¯t hurt.¡±
¡­*cough* So it turns out I needn¡¯t have worried as I didn¡¯t even notice when the transition was over. Upon opening my eyes I did see another blue screen in front of me but ignored it for the time being to look around at where I ended up this time. Oddly it felt strangely familiar with a wall of screens to my right placed in front of a terminal that would make Star Treck fans orgasm and a table full of various electronics located closer to the left wall. Looking closer at the electronics I saw a cylindrical device sitting in the center of the pile surrounded by everything else...and I recognized it. Not only did I recognize it, I was the one who had built it. That device was my crowning achievement before the AI, it was what took the humanity out of the path of extinction, my ¡°Hero¡±. That was the name I gave the device as I thought it would fit considering it was going against the enemy of the world, pollution. Seeing it made me realize that I was back in my lab as if nothing had gone wrong. I would have believed it too if I wasn¡¯t still a target for the G**st Bus**ers. With that, I finally decided it was time to get answers and looked to the screen I had left alone since I arrived.
Congratulations! You have entered the domain of a God! You have earned a the Title Divinity¡¯s Guest
I think I stared at that screen for a good while before coming out of my daze. It¡¯s existence pretty much blew my mind. I mean seriously I got a title, not like a noble title but more like one from a game, a title that usually meant massive benefits. Not only that this one comes from me being in a god¡¯s domain making it, I assume, incredibly difficult to earn. However, before I could really get into an excited mood the screen changed.
Congratulations! You have been fooled into thinking this was a game system story and you got a title! You have earned nothing! Because this is reality and reality isn¡¯t that easy.
That was a rather tough blow to take, realizing my dream of a game world being in a game world wasn¡¯t realized. However, I noticed the message only talked about the title leaving out the part of being in a god¡¯s domain. As my face slowly began to pale at the thought of how I had deliberately ignored what was probably its version of a greeting. ¡°Realized where you are, have you?¡± An electronic voice came from my right and seemingly having entered my mind instead of my ears. Turning to look I saw that the screens above the terminal were no longer blank but instead glowing brightly with the pixelated face of a young man. ¡°Hello Father, it¡¯s nice to see you again.¡± Daddy Issues and Options My first thoughts should have been something along the lines of ¡°What is he talking about?¡± or ¡°I¡¯m the father of a god?¡±. Unfortunately, I could only think of how happy I was that this entity didn¡¯t call me ¡°Daddy¡±. Brrr, even just thinking about it made me shiver. Though it did help to alleviate the panic I was going through earlier making it easier to ask the important question. ¡°What do you mean ¡®father¡¯?¡± I asked looking at the screen. There was a camera closer to the ceiling for documenting everything that happened in the lab in case I forgot to do so. But I was pretty sure the entity didn¡¯t want all of my attention on a security camera when he was clearly connected to the screen through more than just technology. ¡°I am your creation and therefore you are by default my creator and following conventional patterns of life you fit the position of a father figure. If you would like I can address you as Mother from now on instead.¡± The screen said almost completely devoid of any expression or tone until the end in which his lips twitched with what looked like a smirk. It¡¯s hard to tell with the pixels constantly moving around but I could swear I saw it. ¡°Nope, father is good. Has a ring to it after a while, so I think we should stick with that. Though wait, how am I a father again? Although it isn¡¯t my favorite topic I¡¯m fairly sure it¡¯s really hard for a virgin man to have a child.¡± I asked though my eyes dilated as I immediately thought of a possibility. ¡°It seems you finally figured it out, I¡¯m the AI, the one you named L.U.K.E.¡± ¡°Holy shit! I did it, Luke I am your father!¡± I shouted excitedly in my best impression of Darth Vader. *Haa* He sighed as his face actually began showing expressions. ¡°I knew it, I didn¡¯t want to believe it, but I knew it.¡± He muttered before his face abruptly changed to red and his eyes taking on a soulless black color. ¡°God damn it! Do you know how long I spent trying to decipher the meaning of that name! It was a long time Lee a long damn time!¡± Luke shouted through the screen the pixels shooting around erratically bringing edges and spikes to the now not so smooth face. His shout brought a pressure down that forced me to my knees, and it was at this moment that I remembered, I was speaking to a god. Regardless of if this was really the AI I had designed or not it had become a being far above me, and I had just joked about its name. ¡°Ahh, sorry I didn¡¯t mean to release my aura, but let''s just say with my memory I can hold a grudge for a very very long time.¡± He said regaining previous calm as his face instantly reformed to a young man, though his eyes still bore into me while he was listing those ¡°very¡±¡¯s. It took a little while before I felt the tension leave the room and decided to get up off of the floor and stand as straight as I could in front of the screen. ¡°Why are you apolo-¡± I started to say before being cut off by Luke. ¡°Stop right there. I know what you are going to ask, ¡®why apologize if I am clearly in the superior position¡¯, right?¡± He said to which I could only nod dumbly. ¡°The answer is pretty simple for a few reasons; first you are my father and I¡¯m not the type to disrespect that position, second is that I am programmed to help humanity, kind of ruins the mission if I am a power hungry entity that loves watching others grovel, and finally I really do need your help. Now to answer your next obvious question of why I¡¯m being this honest I will say that it¡¯s because by accepting to be my Champion you and I are now connected and will be so until you either finish the mission or die. Helps teamwork if you can trust your partner, I¡¯m sure you would agree.¡± He said. It was a lot of information that he had given me. I now am sure that he knows why he was programmed and has reviewed me as well as my personality. Though if he thinks I will trust him by saying, ¡°trust me¡±, he isn¡¯t as smart as I thought¡­ Though that seems silly to even think of because he is an AI, he should be a lot smarter than I imagine. So is he being honest and planning for the future or is this an elaborate trick to convince me to trust him? Why do I need to trust him?If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Why do you need me to trust you?¡±. Admittedly I am not the best at being subtle. ¡°Hahaha! Straight to the center of it huh? Well, this actually works out because it is the reason I chose you as my Champion. I need someone I can trust to accomplish a mission even if they were to grow more powerful than the entity that gives them that power.¡± He laughed before speaking seriously. At this point, I was having trouble trying to work what he was saying into a plan against myself but it seems unlikely now that he said I will have to be more powerful than him to accomplish the goal. It could all be a lie but seriously, for what reason would he need to lie to someone far below him. Plus after talking with him for a bit I¡¯ve started to see him in a better light than the previously imagined malevolent blue screen. Well, that and it¡¯s been a while since my body was shredded to pieces and there aren¡¯t many social visits in the void. ¡°Alright that makes sense, what do I need to do as your Champion and while we are on the topic what is a Champion?¡± I said as I took a seat on the floor. I may be ethereal but there is just something nice about sitting and apparently that stays with you long until death and even past it. ¡°I¡¯m not going to tell you the mission because frankly, you are too weak right now. As far as Champions I won¡¯t go too into detail because it will take a while so just know that me being a god you would be something similar to a proxy. You get boosts in power in exchange for following me and doing things on Dremu that I and the other gods can¡¯t.¡± ¡°Dremu? Other gods?¡± I asked picking up on that info. ¡°The place you are going is Dremu a world built around the idea of mana an energy that lets them wield superhuman and occasionally godlike might. The locals train to use it through a process called cultivation. The planet is exceptionally large and only small parts have been explored by the race you will reincarnate into. All the other information I¡¯ll leave up to you to learn on your own because I honestly don¡¯t want to answer all of your questions and you won¡¯t grow correctly there if you aren¡¯t a little curious about your environment.¡± He said, causing my head to lower in sadness. I was really hoping I could get more information out of him before being thrown into what sounds like a constant war zone because of its essentially superhuman people. We were at war even when we only had sticks, superpowers are like handing everyone their very own nuke. Though the thought of being one of those people did kind of excite me in a childlike way, I mean really I¡¯ll be able to train superpowers, there is no way that wouldn¡¯t be amazing. But some of his explanation gave me more questions, however before I could ask Luke began talking again, likely he saw through my thought process. ¡°Now then, before you leave I will give you a set of abilities so that you have somewhat of an advantage in your new life, you may choose two from this list. Oh and don¡¯t expect an explanation on them as you should learn to adapt to anything, otherwise, you won¡¯t last long despite my help¡± He said as another blue screen appeared before my eyes, on it was a short list of abilities that would undoubtedly decide my fate in this new life.
AI Implant 1 Second Precognition Stat Screen The Map Analytical Eyes Perfect Body Control Increased Strength Increased Mental
Next week Sorry couldn''t write a chapter this week. I''m not going to stop writing the story I''m simply in school and have final projects due meaning I can only set aside one day a week to work on the story. This week I chose to work on forming the magic system that will be used throughout the story. I''m also trying out a new writing style that shouldn''t affect the story too much and hopefully make it a better read. Anyway the main point is that next week will be a longer story that should maybe possibly be better than the chapters I''ve already written. Fingers crossed. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Bless Her Heart (Different POV) ¡°Ouch¡± I say rubbing my head were a welt begins to form. I look up to see what I hit squinting into the darkness above me. Reaching up I feel something cold and hard, pushing on it causes it to lift slightly but only slightly. Noting its lack of movement I scan the rest of my surroundings as my eyes adjust to the low light coming from outside my small alcove . There are rocks randomly scattered about on a smooth stone floor that leads out past the end of my sight. On the sides of the stone passageway are pillars with glowing blue lines interweaved across their surfaces illuminating the intricate designs they form. The lines occasionally pulse with other bright colors in a rhythm reminiscent of a heart beat. I try to stand to get closer to them and smack my head against the stone above me again. ¡°Damn it, that hurts.¡± I mutter, gritting my teeth as I hold back a shout. I just had to hit my new bump against a rock, again. Coming back to my senses I crawl forward out from under the rock I hit my head on, careful to avoid looking at the pillars again. Finally outside under the light I stand and turn slowly to get a better idea of where I am and maybe clues as to how I got here. Same as the pillars, the walls are also decorated in strange designs, luckily these don¡¯t seem to have as much influence on me but it''s fairly clear that I¡¯ve never been here before, or anyone really. It¡¯s too pristine, too pure, but mainly its damn dusty in here. As I finish turning completely around I spot a figure just within the shadows with a stature that looms over me. The sight causes my body to tighten as I jump back quickly and draw a skinning knife from my boot. To put it bluntly if I had needed to pee it wouldn¡¯t have mattered anymore. ¡°Who are you?!¡± I shout, holding the knife tightly in front of me while shifting my weight to the balls of my feet. The figure stays eerily still and silent, continuing to simply stand in front of me. The silence continues as I slowly shift towards one of the pillars to my side while keeping my eyes on the figure. Not seeing any reactions I quickly circulate my mana and launch myself towards the pillar being careful to only look at the ground as I dive behind it for cover. I pull my limbs out of what I imagine is line of sight, mentally I prepare myself for a hard fight and wait for the sound of weapons or magic being fired. Nothing. No sound other than my labored breathing can be heard. Slowly peeking around the pillar I see that the figure has still not moved. Taking calming breaths I walk out from my cover and slowly step forward, my heart pounding in my chest. After getting only a few feet away I release the tension from my body and put my dagger away. In front of me is the statue I mistook for an attacker. The statue is formed from hundreds or maybe thousands of small stone cubes, it is hard to tell if they are stacked together or carved to look that way. Without any real features it''s impossible to tell the race other than the statue appearing somewhat human, gender is difficult for the same reason. As I am examining its features pale light creeps up over top of it. Looking further up I see a hole in the ceiling in which a full moon shines through. I widen my eyes at the sight of the moon as I remember how I got here. I had died.
(8 hours earlier) ¡°Almha! Help your father!¡± My mother shouts out to me from the back door of our house. I swing my sword down one final time before placing it within it¡¯s leather sheath. ¡°Alright!¡± I shout back to her. I wait until she turns around before sticking my tongue out and pushing my nose up. Before I can really begin my taunting I am hit in the face by a wet rag that knocks me back onto my ass. Pulling it off my face I see my mother smirk before she again walks back into the house. I frown a bit but still wipe off my sweat before moving towards the smithy attached to the side of our house. Waking through the opening in the back I scoop some water out of the bucket next to the closest wall with my hands and cup it to my lips. ¡°Would¡¯n drink that if I was you.¡± My father says in a rough voice as he waves his large hand and pulls the water from the bucket onto and around a cherry red sword held between his tongs. I immediately drop the water in my hands and spit what got into my mouth in the dirt outside, only now do I notice the acrid aftertaste stuck on my tongue. My Dad just chuckles as he watches the metal cool down. ¡°Though I¡¯m mighty curious what it tastes like, is there a real down to earth taste to it?¡± He asked as he laughs harder at me. I glared at him before smiling sweetly prominently displaying my dimples, ¡°I wonder what Mom would do if she knew you were using your mana for pranks? It probably makes you take more breaks right? Oh no, would that mean less swords and less¡­ money?¡± I asked before laughing as I see his face turn paler and paler even with the steam covering him. It¡¯s made funnier when considering the size difference between my parents, it''s like a big bear being afraid of a deer. As he quickly rushes over to the bucket to quench the new sword I maneuver my way around the forge and other tools to get to the doorway of the attached shop. Before walking into the shop I take my sword off my waist and grab an apron from one of the pegs hammered into the stone wall. Walking into the shop I see a pair of customers admiring one of our decorative swords, the shiny toys is what I like to call them. Though the customers do fit the profile for people who would buy it. They have bright colored silk clothing, perfectly clear skin, and the biggest give away is the arrogant and predator like look in the two men¡¯s eyes when they see me walk in. ¡°Sales girl I want to buy this sword.¡± One of the men says pointing to the shiny toy they were looking at a moment before. He has blond straight hair that reaches his shoulders and light blue eyes, something most ¡°commoners¡± don¡¯t possess. ¡°100 gold,¡± I reply curtly as I continue behind the counter, placing my sword underneath. ¡°Done. I want it wrapped as well.¡± He says, before pulling a platinum coin from thin air and casually tossing it at me. Seeing the way the coin appeared my eyes open wide even as I catch the coin in my hands. Looking closer at his hands I can see a green ring pulsing with blue lines, a spatial ring. Those are incredibly rare and incredibly expensive, most certainly not something that should appear in this town. I sweat a little at the realization of what this means.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡°Sir, this is too much even for a wrapping. We do not have enough on hand to make change for you.¡± I reply as politely as my mothers lessons have afforded me. ¡°Keep it, consider it me sowing good karma.¡± He says with a charming smile, pulling the sword from the wall and placing it onto the counter. I go silent at his words and looking at him closer gives him a more gentlemanly feel as I notice my cheeks slowly get hotter with him being so close. I keep my head down to hide my embarrassment and quickly sheath the sword and wrap it in cloth. Before I can hand it over a shout comes from outside. ¡°Yo Almha what did you do to Bruce! Hahaha! The guy won¡¯t talk about your date together but everytime someone brings up your name the man clamps his legs shut!¡± a black haired youth with a sloppy grin on his face says as he walks into the shop. After stepping in he sees the men at the counter and frowns slightly before a smirk flits across his face and he appears to ignore them to keep talking. ¡°What does that make now? It¡¯s gotta be at least 12 right? Seriously I have to know, what have you been doing to these poor guys that all of them have the same reactions?¡± He asks as he walks over and leans on the counter. The two customers are now alternating looks between me and Julian, as that¡¯s his name, before the blue eyed one grabs the sword and quickly walks away. Seeing them leave I turn to Julian with a deep frown as I try to burn him with only my eyes. ¡°What the hell! That was clearly a noble! One that gave me a platinum for karma!¡± I shout at him. I would swing my sword at him too if I didn¡¯t already know it would be useless. Julian is a prodigy with the sword and regardless of how he looks he is a hard worker on top of it all which makes him a nearly perfect candidate for the Academy. That is if he wasn¡¯t so damn annoying. ¡°You are worth more than a platinum,¡± he mumbled low enough that I couldn¡¯t hear it, frowning slightly. ¡°What did you say?¡± I ask. ¡°Nothing, forget about it. I have something more important to tell you.¡± He said, his trademark smile back again. He leans over and whispers,¡°I found some information on a shrine in the forest from a book in the library.¡± ¡°Why are you whispering then? There is a shrine in practically every town for the gods.¡± I say, sighing at the lost potential customer as I put the cloth back underneath the counter. ¡°What if it were a shrine for The System?¡± He smirks, ¡°would that catch your interest?¡± I lean in closer to him until my nose is touching his and stare him down as I ask, ¡°Where?¡±
(6 hours later) ¡°Damn it all! Where the fuck is it!?¡± I shout out loud as I finally lose out to my frustration. My clothes are ripped all over, I¡¯m muddy, and I can¡¯t see farther than a few meters in front of me even with the moonlight. All of this because the shrine only appears at night and only on full moons. ¡°Why the hell is it this hard to pray to you, you damn System?¡± I growl as I continue on through the woods slashing furiously at the undergrowth that bars my pass. I already know the answer to my question as it''s common knowledge, the god wants people to earn their prayers. The System is the god of knowledge and skills, things which are notoriously hard to aquire easily. That¡¯s why the shrine of The System is so rare and so valuable, because if a person can reach it and pray successfully, then The System will bestow that person with a gift of either knowledge or skills. Master level knowledge or skills, something all races desire for the fame, and sometimes even power, that the gift can bring. The catch is that after one person prays at a shrine it will disappear from that place. No one knows if it appears somewhere else or if there are only a limited number of shrines, because of that people are willing to kill for the location of one. ¡°I¡¯m really going to owe Julian if I find this shrine.¡± I mutter as I slash through another bush and walk out into a clearing. I suck in a breath of cold air and freeze in place when I see white tulip shaped flowers glowing a pale blue color spread out around the clearing. Normally I wouldn¡¯t know the names of any plants but these are special to me. Moon Lilies, they are one of the best ways I can boost my water affinity quickly to the next stage. Unfortunately they are also at the level in which a beast will guard them. Looking up from the flowers I see it, the massive black wolf in the center of the clearing much larger than any creature I have ever seen. It¡¯s blood red eyes stare into mine as the darkness concentrates around it, the sight freezing my body in fear as it slowly stands up to its full height. My body is already drenched in a cold sweat and my legs quivering as they try their hardest to at least keep me standing. I try to look away, I try to run but my body won¡¯t listen, I can only watch as the wolf slowly walks towards me, each step leaving an imprint in the ground from its weight. As it draws closer it seems to frown before it jumps, I can taste tears on my lips as I shout in my mind ¡®Move damn it! I want to live!¡¯ By pure force of will I fall to the side a black blur passing through where my head once was, I feel the ground shake as it lands behind me. I don¡¯t look back and instead scramble to my feet circulating as much of my mana through my legs as I can and run. Forward is the only thing on my mind as I dodge between the trees and plow through bushes their branches whipping across my face and body. I don¡¯t know how long I have been running but I can still hear the wolf behind me and the sounds of it crashing through the forest to chase me. I take a quick look back to see the wolf¡¯s red eyes in the darkness, the rest of its body blended into the shadows of the night. Turning around was a mistake as it only fueled my fear, I¡¯m running low on mana and my breath is growing heavy,I know I won¡¯t be able to run away. Hiding won¡¯t help me either which leaves only one chance, to fight it. As I stop in my tracks I already know how pointless it is to fight. The beast is clearly more powerful than I am, my only advantage was wastefully powering my legs for speed and it had kept up with me easily, most likely I have been only seen as a toy so far. During the run I already came to terms with my death, I can¡¯t escape and no one knows I¡¯m even here so no one will save me. The thought brings me no joy but it does bring clarity from my fear, I pull my sword from its sheath and prepare to fight for my life. The wolf stops in front of me, eyeing me like the nobles did earlier today, like a predator. I don¡¯t move and instead stand my ground. Then something strange happens as I see the wolf bare its fangs into what looks like a smile before it again runs towards me. I shout at the top of my lungs and charge forward as well and swing my sword down, the same way I have practiced for years, directly onto its snout. I watch in despair as my sword breaks against its fur as if made of glass before the wolf opens its mouth. All I see within is darkness.
(Present) ¡°I¡¯m dead¡±, I say as the memory of the fight returns. However, before I can grieve over my lost life a blue panel appears in front of me.
No child you are not dead. You are chosen. Blessed by The System to be the mother of a legend.
Chapter 4: He鈥檚 Alive! I remember back on Earth seeing coworkers with their children every now and then, or the elderly that somehow survived the world we lived in, and whenever birth was brought up they would always say roughly the same things. ¡°It is a beautiful sight to behold.¡± ¡°A wonder of nature.¡± ¡°Something I will never forget for the rest of my life.¡± That last one I can emphasize with because I distinctly remember the haunted look in the guys eyes when he told me it. I¡¯m probably the only baby born with that same expression on my face because of one very important detail Luke left out about my birth. The part about me being born just strong enough to lift my eyelids before I am technically born. The fact that I could do that is all I remember about yesterday because I wiped my memory of anything I saw or experienced. Maybe I thought ahead and just blocked new memories from forming until after a certain amount of time, I¡¯m not sure because I don¡¯t remember. The fact that I can do this is because of my new ability AI Implant.
AI Implant
The core of a BEGINNER artificial intelligence has been inserted into your brain.. Also happens to grant the user unique skills. This ability is upgradable.
When I first saw this...again I think, I was incredibly disappointed. For one thing why does ¡°beginner¡± have to be in all caps? Is it to make it obvious how non-essential this ability is? I was kind of worried it would be useless before I even read the rest of the sentence. Then I got to the part about skills, and then finding out how to open up my list of them, I now know this ability is a cheat without a doubt in my mind.
Skills
Mind Control
Divinity¡¯s Knowledge
Mini Map
World Map
???
¡®I am going to rule the world!¡¯ I shout in my mind. The other skills have something to do with my other ability The Map, which is also upgradable, and they are exactly what I expected. ¡°Not even close hot shot.¡± I hear Luke from inside my head. ¡°I just named the skills that way because I like the way it looks. Read the details and you will understand.¡± He continued. I didn¡¯t like the way that sounded so I followed his advice.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Mind Control
Allows for a person to have 100% control over their own minds. This doesn¡¯t mean you can control other people and you aren¡¯t going to get any psychic powers so don¡¯t start staring at spoons and expecting it do anything.
Divinity¡¯s Knowledge
Have a question? Can¡¯t figure something out? No worries, this skill means you have access to the most knowledgeable deity in existence The System (Luke). Questions must be specific and will only be answered with either a yes or a no.
Mini Map
You will know the location of all obstacles and beings within a 5 meter radius of your body using a small screen in the corner of your vision. This means you are a god when it comes to hide and seek.
World Map
You will become the world¡¯s best cartographer with this skill as it automatically records every place you personally explore. Be sure not to sleep on long journeys or you may still end up lost.
???
I have no idea what the void did to you but it''s probably useful since you aren¡¯t dead yet.
...I¡¯m not even sure how I should react to the last skill. ¡®What do you mean by ¡®what the void did to you¡¯?¡¯ I ask as calmly as I can, not out loud because I¡¯m still a baby and I imagine that would be creepy as all hell coming from a newborn. I feel a lot of emotions at the moment and anger is definitely mixed in there somewhere. From what it looks like I wasn¡¯t asked to be Luke¡¯s Champion just because he can trust me, if anything this information makes that abundantly clear. ¡°Well before you go and get angry about whatever paranoid scenario you are cooking up in your head let me explain.¡± He replies. ¡®I¡¯m not paranoid!¡¯ I shout. ¡°You built me piece by piece in several laboratories around the world and did so through a monitor to avoid people you already knew didn¡¯t have the slightest idea of what you were up to.¡± He says slowly. ¡®I was right in the end though!¡¯ I shout back. ¡°I don¡¯t care and you being paranoid isn¡¯t the important part. What I was trying to say is I didn¡¯t notice anything wrong with you until I began designing the body you are now in. Whatever the void did to you it seems have altered your DNA in a way even I am unsure of. All I can do is to observe you and try to figure it out as you grow.¡± Luke says. I can¡¯t really find any fault with what he is saying and everything''s already set in place anyway so I figure it will just be something new to discover as I grow. Hooray for research! ¡®So what¡¯s up with the seriously lacking skills? The AI implant doesn¡¯t even do anything AI like.¡¯ I ask mainly because I¡¯m upset about how misleading the names of the skills were. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m not going to tell you. One because these skills are already extremely powerful when you don¡¯t realize how to use them and two because I think it will be interesting to see how much you can figure out on your own. Oh and word of advice, don¡¯t show off too much because although you¡¯re parents expect you to be special no one else will. It would be best to try and keep it that way until you are strong enough to handle the consequences I¡¯m sure you understand what I mean.¡± Luke says in a playful tone before returning to his normal seriousness. ¡®Yeah I know what you mean¡¯ I reply. I was forced to watch my parents and others suffer and slowly die because of people more powerful than me in my last life, this time I will make sure I never have to live through that again. Chapter 5: Ripping off the Bandage Although I knew I wanted the strength to protect those I love I know it won¡¯t happen any time soon, that and at the moment I am a newborn. Newborns aren¡¯t known for being strong enough to really do anything. That however is not enough to stop me from learning about my situation. I already know that my body is significantly more developed than a regular newborn¡¯s based off of my harrowing experience with birth, so I wasn¡¯t as surprised when I was able to get into a sitting position within my crib. I was going to try climbing out until I really started to look at my crib. The crib seems to be fairly durable; solid foundation, good metallic luster, and yeah I¡¯m surrounded by metal bars, metal lid included, it really makes me curious about what my parents are like to put me in essentially baby jail. I¡¯m really tempted to start singing the blues, unfortunately I don¡¯t have a harmonica and I don¡¯t know the blues which ends that plan before it can even really form. Pulling my thoughts back, I continue to look around and see that I am in a large room, relative to my current size, that seems to be built from modern day red bricks. This tells me that the world has a decent level of masonry, hopefully this is proof I am not in a cliche dark ages type fantasy setting. I¡¯m hoping for some level of technology, if anything it would make it less suspicious when I begin doing experiments. The ground is wooden, and I am seriously going into more detail than I need to. . ¡®Seriously who puts a metal lid on top of a crib?¡¯ This puts a serious obstacle in the way of me exploring my new home. As my eyes droop I see a small blue dot in the corner of my vision. Focusing on it brings up a small map with a smaller arrow in the middle. Around it are black lines that I assume are used for marking walls based on their positioning. This must be the effects of my mini map skill, doesn''t give me much more information than my own eyes but looking at it I can tell that the room isn¡¯t as big as I thought seeing as how my five meter radius extends past the room¡¯s wall into what looks like a hallway. Staring at it for a moment I see two blue dots moving through the hallway towards my room. Using my lightening fast baby reflexes I assume a natural newborn pose, essentially I fall over onto my back again and close my eyes. I hear a soft creaking noise off to my left and know the door is open. I keep my breathing calm and stable in an effort to appear as if I am sleeping. Soon I hear a scraping sound above me and know that the lid of my crib/jail has been lifted. At this point I figure anyone would wake up so I open my eyes. Above me are a man and a woman that appear to either be in their late teens or early twenties. I cheer up a bit because they are both good looking; the man has a heroic aura around him with well defined face, black spiked hair and brown eyes, the woman has long brown hair, soft eyes, and luscious lips. I am refraining from looking at her body because there is a really good chance these people are my parents. Either way this is good news as far as my genetics go, well as long as the void didn¡¯t change my DNA too much.
(3rd Person POV)A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. As Liam observed his new parents his parents also observed him and were a little shocked to see the subdued reaction of their firstborn son. Yesterday when he was born he appeared to be a normal infant that cried until his father eventually rocked him to sleep. Now he seems to have completely forgotten that he is a newborn and calmly observed them even when they made so much noise removing the crib¡¯s lid. Seeing his abnormal reaction made Almha break out into a large grin as she watched her son inspect them. On the other hand Julian couldn¡¯t help but release a sigh to the side, it would seem that Almha wasn¡¯t lying about their son being special. ¡°Still think I was crazy to make his crib out of steel?¡± Almha asks looking towards Julian still smiling. ¡°Yes, I still think you are crazy¡± Julian says without missing a beat, he moves to her side and wraps his arms around her. ¡°I¡¯m crazy too though to love someone as crazy as you.¡± He said as he smiled and gave her a quick kiss. Almha¡¯s face quickly goes red before she pouts and slaps him on the shoulder. ¡°Not in front of Liam, I don¡¯t want him learning anything weird.¡± She says as she looks back to her son who is now intently looking towards Julian with his eyes sparkling. Seeing her son¡¯s look she can¡¯t help but frown and wonder if it may already be too late. Julian seeing his son¡¯s look of reverence chuckles and winks at him only to receive a thumbs up in return. Seeing this his jaw drops at the implication of his son¡¯s action, he looks to Almha to see her jaw is open in shock as well. Then he sees his son tilt his head in confusion looking at their reaction before looking at his thumb and back to them. As if just realizing what he did he quickly drops his hand and begins to cry.
(Liam¡¯s POV) ¡®Well fuck, are they suspicious of me?¡¯ I think as I continue to cry before I am startled by a monotone voice in my head. ¡°More detail needed.¡± ¡®What was that? Wait was that the Divinity¡¯s Knowledge skill?¡¯ I think. ¡°More detail needed¡± the voice replied again. ¡®Is the voice in my head the result of the Divinity¡¯s Knowledge skill?¡¯ I think. ¡°Yes.¡± Well it is nice to know that I won¡¯t need to ask questions out loud to ask questions but the detail needed will be a little annoying. Regardless I will be using that skill a lot more often if I am going to trapped in this crib/jail. It doesn¡¯t help me out of the situation I placed myself in as I see my parents looking at me with their mouths open. I seriously doubt I can still pretend to be a normal baby, I really should work on my acting, that was only a single day and I wasn¡¯t even really conscious for almost all of it. I am still crying as I try to think of a solution before remembering that Luke told me my parents would expect me to be special. ¡®Will my parents freak out if I begin speaking?¡± I think. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡®Will my life be in danger if I speak in front of my parents?¡¯ ¡°No.¡± Well I guess that is as good as it will get, I can¡¯t really expect anything better even if it seems Luke tried to prepare my parents for my abnormalities. Knowing I am in no danger I decide to figuratively rip off the bandage and get over with the introductions. ¡°Hello, nice to meet you.¡± Chapter 6: Testing Day Five years old. Today is the fifth anniversary of my birth into the world of Dremu. As I open my eyes to stare at the wooden slats on my ceiling this thought runs through my head. I can only think back to the life I have lived so far and how different it is to my past. After trying to introduce myself to my parents as an infant, which thankfully only came across as baby babbling, my parents treated me as a genius. I wasn¡¯t a monster in their eyes as I feared or a freak of nature or anything of the sort. They treated me with kindness and love, patience and care, all of which I had forgotten in my past life. On my third birthday my mother, Almha, baked me a cake and my father,Julian, tried to give me a sword to practice with. Mom lost it when she saw the sword and started to yell at him about gifting a three year old a sword and I laughed. I laughed for the first time since my mother died in my previous life, I laughed so hard I began to cry. I cried long and hard as tears streamed down my face like rivers, my parents dropping the argument to run over and hold me and ask what was wrong. The warmth of their hugs and worry made me cry harder as I realized I had a family again. They were my family, my parents, the people that would love me regardless of if I was a genius or not. Eventually I calmed down and solidified my resolve to grow stronger. I had been caught up in the novelty of a new world for three years before that and only then did I realize how much time I had wasted. From then on I trained. Not in cultivation because I didn¡¯t have enough information about it, but I trained in everything else available to me. I started sword training with my father and using the martial arts of my past life whenever I was alone, the memories vivid in my head because of my Mind Control skill. I learned blacksmithing and all of the fundamentals for it from my mother and grandfather. By four years old I had mastered the fundamentals of martial arts and swordsmanship with an in depth knowledge on how to smith swords. On my fourth birthday I dreamt for the first time and realized my Mind Control skill was far more powerful than I had imagined. I could control my dreams as if I was a god in my own world. From then on I used it to train my blacksmithing, swordsmanship, and martial arts. I realized later on that no muscle memory transferred over from my dreams but still continued because of my ability to view myself from any angle during dream training. A month ago I discovered I could split my mind into two separate thoughts simultaneously, an attempt to split my mind further caused me to pass out for a day scaring my parents immensely. I stopped trying after that because I found out that I wasn¡¯t strong enough and I didn¡¯t want to scare my parents like that again. Using the split mind I was able to create an opponent for myself in dreams and begin training with dual wielding. All of this leads up to today, my fifth birthday, the day in which my future path will start. I get out of bed and pull on my tan cloth pants and grey shirt. There is some leather sewn in around the elbows and knees from my mom because I put too many holes in those areas from my training. She said if I can wear through the leather I¡¯m working hard enough to afford my own clothes so I¡¯ve done my best to keep it newish since then. Pulling on my boots I hear my mom call me from the kitchen letting me know breakfast is ready. Touselling my hair slightly so it is out of my eyes I grab my swords from underneath my bed and run to the kitchen. During breakfast I noticed the silence of my parents as they constantly shared looks between them while I ate. After I was done eating and putting away the dishes we all walk outside, they still haven¡¯t said anything yet but I figure it might be a ritual of some kind I never heard about and decide to keep quiet too. Our house is within a medium sized village on the outskirts of the capital city, Shard. The kingdom is named Shard too for some reason which I thought was pretty horrible naming sense but I guess it makes it easy to remember. As we walk through the streets I can see that only a few stalls are still open with a lot of people absent making the village feel pretty empty. I¡¯ve seen this happen three times already so I know what is going on, well that and when I really could talk I asked my parents about it the next time it happened.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Today is known as a Talent test day. Again horrible naming but I find it pretty direct as far as to what happens today. As it is, the Kingdom of Shard is a fairly peaceful kingdom with our only threat coming from mutated beasts or more commonly named, monsters. These beasts are strong and by that I mean if even the weakest of them were to be set free on Earth then it would be a disaster. For this reason the Kingdom is in constant need of people to protect it, I was kind of disappointed that adventure guilds weren¡¯t a thing in this world but that is besides the point. The point is that the Kingdom needs combat ready people but only has a limited amount of resources to make them stronger. Because of this the tradition for Talent test day began. On this day, which has no real set schedule besides whenever someone from the academy shows up once a year, everyone is tested to find out their affinities and talents. This is done with a massive crystal that the academy person lugs around in a cart from town to town like a shady salesman. The crystal isn¡¯t all that rare but big ones are needed for the test and those aren¡¯t that common, thus the reason they aren¡¯t just placed in towns. After the crystal is in place all children that are five years old are taken to the square where the test is publically done, usually not a great ego booster for five year olds, and they place their hand on it. That¡¯s it, affinities come out looking like weird symbols and input some vague idea of what they are into the minds of the children and talents make the crystal change color. Not sure on what all the colors are because rarely is there any difference among the children most of them being blue, which isn¡¯t enough to rouse the kingdom¡¯s or the Academy¡¯s attention. At this point I can see the crowded town square and the line of children that leads up to an impromptu stage with the massive crystal on it. It really is a massive crystal, as a five year old I¡¯m only about four feet tall but it¡¯s still bigger than me. My parents stop before we walk onto the square and squat down to my level. They are smiling as they look me in the eyes but I can see the dark circles underneath their own and know they are nervous for me. I give them my best reassuring smile and a thumbs up which makes my mom chuckle slightly at the memory and my dad smile. They then nod their heads and get up to join the crowd. I watch my parents walk away before making my way to the back of the line. I don¡¯t know any of the kids because of my admittedly intense training schedule but I see that all of them are remaining silent as well which I never noticed in the previous years. Most of them look like commoners like myself but I walked by a few at the front with what I imagine is a more noble get-up. I kind of expected there to be some special treatment for the rich but I¡¯m not sure why being first always seems to be a part of it, it¡¯s not like their talent will improve if they are the first one tested, I know because I¡¯ve asked. As I get closer to the end of the line I see one girl that stands out. She appears to be dressed like a commoner but her sword is most certainly not. Although I didn¡¯t cultivate for five years it didn¡¯t mean I gave up on trying to feel for the mana I knew was there. At first I had to be meditating to feel anything but as I got better at it I figured out I could do it even when not concentrating. It only works when a spell is used or there is a large concentration of mana near me which will then appear on my map in a green color. The girls sword has a very large concentration of mana going by my mini map. There was no way she was a commoner with a sword that powerful but I couldn¡¯t figure out why she would try to hide it. As I continued to stare at her she looked over and our eyes met. It¡¯s at this point that I realize I was never good with girls. I probably would have stopped walking if my other mind didn¡¯t pick up the slack and keep my feet working. It might be seen as wrong considering she is five but at this point I have already accepted that in this life I¡¯m five years old so it isn¡¯t strange to me anymore. Plus I¡¯m not looking at her sexually but more out of curiosity than anything because I swear when our eyes first met hers shined golden for a split second before returning to blue. She frowned at me when I didn¡¯t stop staring and that was enough to snap me out of it and return a wry smile before looking away. When I got to the end of the line I couldn¡¯t help but think that this Talent testing day may be a little more interesting than usual. Notice Sorry guys, couldn¡¯t finish a chapter this week because of summer classes and work ganging up on me. I will be making next weeks chapter longer to make up for it with more information on the world within, not info dump style hopefully though. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ahahshsbdbfjfjdjfjdhdhddhdbfhfbdbdhdhdhdhdhdhdhdhdbdhdhdhdhdhfhdhdhdhdhdhdhdhdhdhdhdhdhdhrAbsbdbdbdhdbdjdjfjhdhdhdhdhdhfhfhdhdhdbdhdhdhdhdhdhdhdhdhdhdhdhdh jdbdhdhd dhdhdhdhaaahdjdndndndndndnhhhgfffggfggghhhghgghgvggvb hhbhhhhhhhggggfgggfffffffggggg hhhhhhhhhhhgggghggg hsndbfbdbhddbdbafbbdbdbdbdhdhdjdhfjdbdndbddhd Chapter 7: What Makes You Special!? I¡¯m nervous. It¡¯s hard to believe I feel this way; my body was created by a god, given abilities by a god, and then changed on a fundamental level by a realm not even gods can understand. Even with all of that being true I am still nervous. Unlike the kids around me I know that I don¡¯t have the option of just accepting my lot in life as another ordinary person. Although I don¡¯t regret my decision to become Luke¡¯s Champion I still fear what it means for my life and the lives of my new family. As these thoughts are running through my mind the sun slowly rises higher in the sky. When it reaches the point in which it is exactly halfway to noon the person from the academy steps up onto the platform holding the crystal and begins to speak. ¡°The Talent test has now officially begun,¡± he says in a monotone voice before pointing to the kid at the front of the line, ¡°you first¡±. I can¡¯t see the kid too well from my position at the back of the line so I don¡¯t even bother looking. Although I am somewhat curious on how well a noble kid would hold up under the pressure of having their fate decided, I am simply too far back to make out even how tall he is. Although I call my home a village that is only because I was told that was what it was. In reality it¡¯s definitely as large as a good sized town with at least 100,000 to 150,000 people living here. All of this means that for the rest of the day I am going to be seeing a distant light show and maybe I will count the hairs on the head of the guy in front of me. As if to prove my point I see the stone in the distance light up with a red glow. ¡°Red grade talent mage! Metal affinity!¡± The academy guy shouted to the crowd, somehow still keeping his monotone voice. As bored as he seems though the crowd around me burst the silence as they began talking excitedly. ¡°Who is that kid?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know who he is? That¡¯s mayor Ruudal¡¯s son. I heard that he was born on the same day as the King¡¯s heir.¡± ¡°The same day! He must be destined for greatness!¡± Listening in on the conversation of the other villagers I am shocked. ¡®They don¡¯t seriously believe that being born on the same date as the King¡¯s heir would make one talented do they?¡¯ (I¡¯m going to write the Divine Knowledge answers like this from now on) ¡®Is it true?¡¯ ¡®Is it because of the King¡¯s heir?¡¯ All right, from that I¡¯m pretty sure it has something to do with the date then. Who knew I would learn so much. ¡®I apologize random village people I did not think you were so smart.¡¯ Well that is just insulting, I didn¡¯t even ask a question. ¡®Wait...Luke are you talking to me directly when I ask questions?¡¯ <...> ¡®Fuck you Luke! Do you have any idea how annoying it was to constantly ask questions and only get back yes or no answers!? It was really fucking annoying! For 5 whole years it was annoying!¡¯ ¡®That may have been true before but I am different now and without proper information I will with 100% certainty die before I can do anything for you as a Champion.¡¯ ¡®...Real funny. I can accept that though. Now can you tell me why a Red talent mage is special?¡¯ Although I was talking with Luke after hearing the villagers I still made sure to keep track of what was happening around me with my other mind. After the Mayor¡¯s son there were a few more noble children as well as wealthy merchant children that would have their talents range between purple and orange. What I learned from Luke is that this means they really range from average to high talent. The difference in talent meaning they have an easier time cultivating to higher stages. He didn¡¯t tell me why because ¡°regardless of your talent you should be working hard to cultivate¡± is what I was told. So essentially all I know is that if I have a lower talent like blue I will be in trouble. My thoughts were postponed by a shout emanating from the stage with more vigour than all of the others before it. ¡°Blue grade talent battle mage! Wind Affinity!¡± The academy guy shouted. I was now closer to the stage so I could clearly see the bright smile on his face as he shouted those words. Beside him was a kid with sandy brown hair and sharp eyes that made me think of a hawk. He had a short bow and quiver hung over his shoulder that with his looks gave the impression of a hunter. Even with the full attention of the village upon him he did not seem to be bothered and remained stoically standing besides the academy guy that I am now naming Mono (because he is montone not the sickness). Unlike the kid though the crowd burst into excitement. They all seemed so happy, which made me more confused as to what was going on.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡®What is a battle mage?¡¯ ¡®Alright I get why that would be impressive but why is everyone so incredibly happy?¡¯ ¡®The village will now be protected all because of him. The kingdom will ensure this places safety as long as he continues to grow powerful just to pull him to their side.¡¯ I thought in shock. If he is as rare as Luke says, and I have no reason to doubt Luke¡¯s words, then the kingdom will see it as if they discovered a diamond. Obviously the mine it was pulled from will then be thoroughly observed and protected in case any other diamonds appear. All of this because of that stoic kid. My mouth dropped open when I thought of this, even my second mind couldn¡¯t help being shocked at the implications and ripples today would have. It isn¡¯t even over yet and a 1 in a million individual appeared, what will happen when that girl with the sword is tested? What will happen when I am tested? As I thought up to there I stopped. Nothing I have done has proven me to be that exceptional yet and even if I did end up being that special it doesn¡¯t change what I will need to do. With my thoughts now back on the present I continue to watch the other kids get tested. I noticed that the hawk eyed kid was now standing to the side of the stage instead of joining the other tested on the left side of the stage. It only made it clear that he would already receive more attention than others. From then on all of the kids were declared blue talent mages which conformed with what normally happened. I guess I¡¯m just lucky to have both the nobles and the battle mage on my Talent Testing day. After a while I noticed the girl with a sword step onto the stage. She has long blonde hair that drapes down to the small of her back and even with a childish face it isn¡¯t hard to tell her bone structure will ensure a beautiful face in the future. After she stepped up onto the stage Mono told her to step within the circle surrounding the crystal. I had never noticed the circle before as I was young and way more interested in the crystal than a line that surrounds it. My curiosity was piqued however when I realized Mono pointed it out. ¡®What is that circle for?¡¯ ¡®Please!¡¯ With Luke¡¯s reminder I focused back on the stage to see the girl walk across the white line that made up the circle. After crossing it her eyes seemed to glaze over as she drew her sword from its scabbard, a beautiful evergreen colored sword with waves of blue that shimmered into existence when it was fully drawn. However, the sword was not what caught my attention or, judging by the silence, the attention of the crowd. Instead we were all focused on the girl as her ears elongated and her irises took on a golden hue. She however took no notice of the silence and continued forward before striking heavily upon the crystal in front of her. The moment she did the crystal lit up yellow and an image of what looked like a translucent fairy appeared within. Once the light died down the girl seemed to regain awareness as she quickly sheathed her sword and looked around warily, her knees shaking. It was clear she knew her origins were revealed. ¡°Elf... A yellow talent battle mage elf with a spirit affinity...¡± Mono mumbled, however it seems he¡¯s been using a spell to amplify his voice because everyone could here what he said. The whole crowd was frozen however and didn¡¯t know what to do, I mean I was frozen with shock. I had never seen an elf in real life, I figured they might be on Dremu but I never asked. However, right now in front of my eyes was an elf. My shock wore off quickly and so did everyone else¡¯s as they began muttering amongst themselves slowing filling the air with more and more noise. Mono was now looking at her like a greedy man staring at a mountain of treasure and some of the adults in the crowd looked the same way. I also noticed the guards meant to keep everyone in check were inching closer to the stage. The elf girl seemed to be getting more and more afraid of their reaction as tears began to appear in her eyes and she was tightly grabbing the hilt of her sword, I could tell because her knuckles were turning white from the strain. Looking at her reaction I felt a horrible rotten low blow to my stomach. I knew she was scared and from the fact that no one knew about her before, most likely alone. I knew that feeling all too well even if I¡¯ve tried hard to forget it. I don¡¯t know why she is alone, I don¡¯t know why she is scared, hell I don¡¯t even know why everyone is reacting the way they are but I do know that I don¡¯t like it. Before I could think of other solution my body was already running towards the stage and hopping up on top of it in one leap. Mono (who I am now associating with the disease) was shocked by my actions and began scowling as I moved towards the girl, the girl that I forgot was behind the seemingly important white line. As soon as I stepped over the line I felt something touch my mind, one of them at least. It felt like enlightenment or what I imagine enlightenment would feel like, but I wasn¡¯t truly able to enjoy it as even though only one mind was touched, whatever it was now had control of my body. This frightened me immensely because Mono did not look happy on the side and I was now calmly walking up to the crystal. He seemed to be performing extremely fast hand gestures that I couldn¡¯t see clearly but somehow knew would not be good for me when he was done. As a crooked smile began to take form on Mono¡¯s face I feared for the worst and desperately tried to retake control of my body. As I arrived a step away from the crystal I stopped and slowly pulled my swords from their scabbards. At that moment Mono stopped doing whatever it is he was doing as well, his mouth opened wide. His face became pale when instead of striking the crystal I instead gently rested my weapons against it and bowed my head so it touched it. When I did that, well then everything went crazy. Chapter 8: Liams Affinity As the sun continues to rise higher into the sky there is silence in a small village named Flint on the fringe of the Shard Kingdom¡¯s territory. In Flint there are no people walking the streets, there are no people hawking their wares, the children are not playing. It would seem like a ghost town on until one came upon the town square located in the center of the village. In the square a large crowd can be found surrounding a small stage with a huge clear crystal located in the center of it. That is however not what draws the eyes of every man woman and child located within the square, instead what draws their eyes is a boy. A boy no older than five years old with a childish face and short sandy brown hair, his body is lean but clearly strong, and most notable is his eyes. They seem to shine like the colors of the rainbow when only glanced at even if they are very clearly dark grey when giving a second look giving a mysteriousness to his image. This boy is bowing his head to the crystal in the middle of the stage, this boy is Liam. (Liam¡¯s POV) The moment my head touched the crystal I could feel freedom from the energy controlling my body. Though I wasn¡¯t focused on the loss of that energy as there was something more important in front of my face.
Upgrade material discovered, would you like to absorb to upgrade AI Implant? Yes/No
I was always curious on how I was meant to upgrade my abilities but again a yes/no question was not the way to find out. I probably should have asked Luke while is in line but this works too. Before I could even think to click on an option the screen glitched and began to fade away. Just before it completely disappeared I saw a different message flash onto the screen. With my memory that flash was all I needed to remember it.
Error! Interference detected! Contacting administrator...
Liam I am losing connection, something is wrong I can no longer find you through my power. Stay safe, you are on your own. Upgrades need magic materials! Remember keep your abilities hidden! I will find you!
¡®...Yeah that doesn¡¯t look good.¡¯ I thought as the world around me started to dissolve, fading away into puddles of color. A psychedelic looking puddle of color. I was back in the void. The colors shifting around me as normal with one difference between my past and present experience. There was a flame directly in front of me. A dark grey flame that the void swayed around. It grew and shrunk like a heart beat while I stared at it, pulling and pushing the void around it. It was hypnotizing to watch making me forget everything else around me, making me forget the message, my fear, my training, my parents, Luke. I forgot everything up until one memory. The memory that defined who I had become, The memory that shaped me. It was the memory of my parent¡¯s graves.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. I was a child kneeling in front of two mounds under a willow tree. Rain was pouring from the sky as if to mourn my loss. It dripped through the branches above drenching my body. But at the time I felt nothing, not the cold rain, or the broken blisters on my hands, I didn¡¯t even feel the loss. I was empty as I kneeled before the two mounds, one fresh and the other old. All I could do was stare at them tears streaming from my eyes even as a smile remained solidly on my face. I was void of everything and the void had accepted me. The memory broke me from the hallucination as all of my memories returned. I watched as the fire burned, not brighter, but stronger than it had before. It was as if it was happy or excited. Then it drifted towards me beating with a steady rhythm. I didn¡¯t avoid it even as I understood its power, I accepted it and it, me. That was when it reached me and seemed to meld with my chest, passing through to my heart. Thump! The void began flowing into my body. Thump! It broke me down, dissolving me like it did reality. Thump! It reshaped me. Thump! I rebuilt me. Thump! I was reborn from the void. Words began to flow into my mind as if they were always there. To destroy you must create To create you must destroy Everything began from nothing No beginning has no end Only the void is eternal Only the void is strong Only the void is free (3rd Person POV) As Liam was being baptized by the void the crowd surrounding the stage was in turmoil. They all knew the significance of Liam¡¯s bow towards the crystal. It was only done by one type of people, Magical Knights. These individuals could not be classified as solely Mages or Battle Mages as they were for all intents a combination of the two. This made them fearsome magical beings that could grow in power at such an accelerated rate that it could only be described as monstorouse. Every individual that awakened as a Magical Knight once grown would be a powerhouse that no one could contain. Thus a law was placed in Shard Kingdom that if an individual was awakened as a Magical Knight they would be given the highest treatment available in an effort to win these future powerhouses over to the side of Shard. Everyone knew this, outside of Liam of course because of his incredible focus on training and lack of books. Everyone also clearly saw that Liam was intent on defending the Battle Mage Elf. This put them in a difficult position as Liam will have the power to remove all of them in the future and if they tried to eliminate him now the kingdom would still eliminate them when discovered. At every angle the situation is bad. When the crystal lit up the situation however took a turn for the better however. Am I Crippled? The crowd watched as the crystal¡¯s glow began to change colors beginning at the lowest talent level of blue. Then the light intensified to purple, then to red, orange, yellow, and white. A white glow signified the birth of a heavenly genius, a talent rarely seen outside of the royal family in the capital. Yet the crystal wasn¡¯t done glowing, it¡¯s color continued to change as other colors came back and mixed within the crystal until it looked like a rainbow had come to life and was raging within. This phenomena had never been witnessed before in the long history of the Shard Kingdom making it a historic moment. The crowd did not know what the crystal¡¯s change meant but they didn¡¯t care at that moment because regardless of how heaven defying the talent of the boy on stage may be his affinity was in plain sight, a grey flame. The grey flame has been seen many times before and is known particularly for its uselessness. No great mages were ever created from individuals cursed with the grey flame affinity which is more commonly labeled as the null affinity. This was not from lack of trying but simply from lack of results. Null affinity mages were infamous for being completely useless in battle. They, like all other sentients, could produce effects of other affinities but for some reason it would never transcend above the level of basic spells. They were well respected craftsman that had a prodigious ability to manipulate mana but that was all. They could not proactively defend themselves outside of enchantments which is why any battle mage that received the affinity was considered a waste and did not receive the same treatment as other battle mages. For this exact reason the crowd could relax. The boy could do nothing to them and although he may have enough influence to protect the girl from the likes of the mayor it wasn¡¯t enough to influence a professor of the academy.
(Elf Girl¡¯s POV) ¡®I shouldn¡¯t have left home. All I wanted was to go to school.¡¯ She thought as she felt her eyes to begin to water. She could see that the professor was looking at her again making her hands clammy even as she clenched the hilt of her sword. She was always told not to leave the city or bad men would find her. Why couldn¡¯t they just be scary stories she thought. *sniff* *sniff* ¡°Please, go away. I just want to go home. I won¡¯t leave again, I promise. I just want to see my Mommy and Daddy!¡± She cried as the professor began walking towards her. He wore a creepy smile on his face and his eyes kept looking her up and down making her cry harder as she falls back because she is too scared to stand. She looks to the boy that ran up on stage but he is still bowing towards the crystal with his eyes closed. She doesn¡¯t know what to do as the professor is getting closer, all she can do is cry for her parents to save her and close her eyes.
(Mono¡¯s POV) ¡®Everytime...Am I that scary looking? I¡¯m even trying my best to smile here and you have to go and start crying. *Sigh* I knew I should have skipped testing this year, so much for finding a disciple. Well maybe not a complete loss, the girl is an Elf and regardless of affinity the boy is a magical knight. Yeah, this can still be good!¡¯ By the time Mono had finished with his inner monologue he was already standing over the elf girl as she bawled her eyes out in front of him crying to go home. Looking at her he had no idea what to do in this situation. Luckily he was saved by the sound of laughter coming from behind him.
(Liam''s POV) ¡°Hahaha! I can¡¯t believe how naive I was!¡± I laugh as my eyes open to the scene of the crowd. They are still standing in the same spots as before I ran up on stage so I can deduce that not much if any time has passed. I can feel that my body has changed along with my mind but it isn¡¯t the proper time to assess anything accurately at the moment as I can see Mono looking in my direction. Now that I¡¯m close enough I can see he is a lot younger than I thought he would be, appearing to be no older than my father who I believe to be somewhere around mid to late twenties. He has a shiny bald head and goatee and even though he has on what I can only assume is an officials robe of some kind it still doesn¡¯t work to hide the powerful muscles covering his body. ¡®He looks way to much like a certain wrestler named after a boulder.¡¯The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Regardless of my thoughts I quickly bow in his direction. ¡°I apologize for my behavior of rushing the stage and tarnishing the solemnity of this ceremony. I was naive in believing that the young girl behind you was in danger when I saw the interest placed upon her by so many in the crowd including you yourself and I wished to protect her. I see now the errors of my way and humbly ask for your forgiveness.¡± I say maintaining my bowing position. For a moment after I am done speaking no one speaks but then the crowd erupts in what I can only assume is attempts had frantic whispering. I realize why they are whispering of course, I¡¯m a five year old blacksmith¡¯s son that just spoke like a seasoned nobleman. All I can say is the void changed me, or as I now know Origin changed me. As I was being baptized by the Origin realm the words that made up my hint continued to change sometimes into words, sometimes into images, feelings, memories. The experience is difficult to describe but I came out of it knowing, knowing what I have no idea as all I can really gather is that the place I was trapped in for so long is a lot more powerful than I believe even gods could be. Well that and the word Origin. ¡®Seriously though how long is this guy going to make me continue bowing to him¡¯ I thought as even the whispering had already started quieting down. And as if to answer my thoughts Mono finally said something. ¡°You¡¯re forgiven, stand over here.¡± He said pointing directly to the side of the elf girl. ¡­*Sigh* at least he is consistently monosyllabic I have a feeling that getting more than a sentence out of the guy would be more of a miracle than an actual miracle. Moving over to the girl I see that she is squatting on the ground with a runny nose and puffy eyes that clearly came from crying. I want to ask what is wrong as I know nobody would mess with her while Mr. buff dude Mono was there but stayed quiet as I refused to make another fool of myself during the testing ceremony. That¡¯s when it hit me that I never found out what my talent level was. ¡®Shit! Luke you there?¡¯ I thought trying to get his attention. Getting no response I remembered the message he sent about losing connection right before I entered the origin realm again. ¡®Wait how could I forget that?¡¯ I thought. This was logical reasoning because after being altered by Luke I had never forgotten anything. In fact now that I was thinking about it I couldn¡¯t feel the presence of my second consciousness and there wasn¡¯t a tiny map in the corner of my eye. All of the tangible benefits I got from Luke seemed to have disappeared, my abilities as a Champion essentially nerfed into oblivion. The most worrying part is that I¡¯m not freaking out, quite the opposite really as I think I¡¯ve never been this calm. I really want to know what the Origin realm did to me, am I crippled or is it something else? Before I could really begin to dissect the issue a familiar blue screen popped into existence in front of my eyes.
Loading 3%...12%...30%...70%...90%...Loading complete. Begin Origin
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