《Out of Sync (dropped)》 Chapter 1 Coal had just gone to bed after a long hot shower. Hair still wet he covered himself with his sheet and a throw blanket. He wrapped his arms around the two comforters he had rolled into a ball beside himself and slowly drifted off to sleep. Coal was a lonely teen, at eighteen he was already living on his own. He loved his family, but he knew they did not bring in the finances to feed an extra mouth. He tried to pay rent, but his prideful mother would have nothing of it, so he chose to live on his own. Growing up without an excess amout of basic needs He had at a young age learn to take care of himself. He learned the basics from his mother and late grandmother. they tought him things like sewing, and knitting. He would also do what he could to help with food, and from his stepdad learned to hunt and dress an animal. He knew that his family cared for him, but he felt that everything he could do for himself was something they would not halfto provide. He managed to get himself a near dilapidated rent to own house in the rural outskirts of Ohio and joined the local plumbing union as an apprentice. Coal was slowly working on rebuilding his house in his free time after work, and between apprenticeship classes. Tonight, he had finished redoing the block walls in his basement before bed, so he was both tired and sore. Sometime in the middle of the night Coal woke to pain. The sensation was like having all his veins pump rubbing alcohol through his body.He could feel his pulse pump the cold ice likesubstance from his chest to the tip of his finger and toes, ending with a burning numb tingle. Coal opened his eyes to the sight of darkness. It was a full moon outside, and the large bay window should have ben letting in plenty of light at this time but it was like the light was being absorbed,Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. A dark swirl of negative light swirled in a spiral directly above his body and he could see little flakes of snow slowly fall out of it to be sucked into his body. The flakes seaming to produce a light of their own that was unaffected by the swirling mass. Without knowing what this thing was above him, all he knew was he had to get away from it. It had to be what was causing him pain. Rolling off his bed, he opened the bottom drawer of his nightstand and pulled out the Torus Judge revolver he received as a going away present from his step dad. He then removed the trigger safety lock, so he had access to the trigger. Pulling the revolver up towards the growing pool he began to feel a pulling sensation draging his feet across the floor. Coal suddenly was being pulled towards it. It was as if the pool had its own gravity fighting for dominence with the earth. That struggle only seamed to involve him though as all the items in his room remained perfectly still. Grabbing at anything he could, he grabed the mattress, but it was soon pulled from his grip leaving him griping only a blanket, all he had on him was his revolver, and one of his throw blankets as he was pulled into the void. Upon entering the void, he was instantly assaulted by the feeling of vertigo and the pain in his veins skyrocketed as if foreign substances being merged into his body. His body was overwelmed with pain asall the extra fat and flesh stared to bubble as though in a deep fryer, and slowly begin to shrink. Every pop of the fat and skin could be felt as it was reabsorbed into himself. Hunger and numbness began to overtake his body as he used what strength he had to curl into a fetal position,pull the blanket around himselfand pass out. Chapter 2 Ch2 Body synchronization complete. Mind synchronization beginning¡­.0.1% complete, Coal began to wake to a strange screen blinking in his peripheral vision, only to have a spike of pain hit him between the eyes causing him to collapse again. Unable to handle the pain of having his mind assaulted he began to lose lucidity and fade back into the state of unconsciousness. Warning body must stay conscious during synchronization, adrenaline is being added to physical body. Warning body must stay conscious during synchronization, adrenaline is being added to physical body. Warning body must stay conscious during synchronization, adrenaline is being added to physical body. Warning body must stay conscious during synchronization, adrenaline is being added to physical body. Warning body overloaded with adrenaline, body shutting down¡­ Warning body must stay conscious during synchronization, adrenaline is being added to physical body. Warning body overloaded with adrenaline, body shutting down¡­ Warning body must stay conscious during synchronization, adrenaline is being added to physical body. Warning body overloaded with adrenaline, body shutting down¡­ Warning body must stay conscious during synchronization, adrenaline is being added to physical body. Warning body unable to produce adrenaline currently. Warning heart failure, initializing reconstruction of heart.
Congratulations by flooding you body with massive amounts of mana your body is now able to burn mana to heal itself. (warning burning mana is considered excruciatingly painful, and is far less efficient than conventional healing.
Warning veins are unable to handle excess energy. Initializing vein reconstruction. Warning Muscle unable to¡­ Warning bone unable¡­ Warning ligament¡­ Warning cardi¡­ Warning¡­ Warning¡­ Warning¡­ Full Body update initializing. Full Body 2 update initializing. Full Body 3 update initializing. Full Body 3 update initialized.
Congratulation you have obtained Full Body
Congratulation you have obtained Full Body II
Congratulation you have obtained Full Body III
Mind synchronization updating.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Synchronization complete. Update complete. All body systems updated. All systems properly functioning. System Adrenaline processing capacity increased to 400% System synchronizing now beginning. 1% complete. Estimated synchronization time 38 minutes. Waking up to a long list in front of him Coal slowlyread his way through them before he sat up. He was assaulted by a brief sense of vertigo as an excess amount of information hit his system all at once. Coal could see everything more sharply, sounds were louder, touch more sensual, sharp, and painful all at the same time. Smells were overwhelming. Everything was too much to bear at once. ¡°One thing at a time¡± he thought to himself. Closing his eyes, he started to take deep long breaths. Slowly he was able to relax himself and make sense of his surroundings. First was the smell of the water. Fresh and clean with a small scent of minerals. He could smell brief traces of sodium and iron. in the pack of his throught he could almost tast traces of copper. It was like fresh water out of an old well. Breath in. Breath out. He could hear the echo of the water drops as they traveled throughout the open cavern and travel down the path that led out of it. He could hear the scurrying of insects along the cave floor, and the ocasional patter of slightly larger feet. Breath in. Breath out. Opening his eyes, he began to study what was around him. Looking around he could see he was in a large cavern. There was a small pool of water Illuminated by flakes of lightlike what formed around the void he was sucked through. This time the light seamed non-invasive and almost helpful in the way it provided an ambiance to his immediate suroundings. Laying on the ground to his right was his revolver, andhis blanket. Feeling a chill air Coal grabbedthe blanket and used it to cover his naked frame. Tying the corners of the blanket around his shoulders he was able to make himself a makeshift cloak. Grabbing the revolver and standing up he was surprised at how light his body felt. Moving up and down, Left and right, everything felt a little faster, and a lot less stressful. Even though he was only 18 he already worked a full time, and often labor-intensive job. He was also one to try to show off in front of girls and usually ended up doing something either stupid or embarrassing. This left him with an although young, still mistreated body. Now he had a body most athletes would be jealous of. As soon as Coal saw his reflection in the pool he was immediately surprised by what looked back at him. Gone was the extra layers of fat and stretch marksfrom fast food on the way home after work. No more were any of the small scars on his hands, knees, and arms. Coals body was looking lean and a little malnourished. His skin also looked like a newborns as if has never ben touched by the sun with its pail milky white luster. He could hardly recognize himself.When he lookedcloser he began to see a slight glow form around the edge of his body. then after a few seconds.
System Synchronization complete
Name Coal Eldrake Level 0 Experience 0/250
Alias None Race Human Gender Male
Height 5''8" Weight 180 lb Ability points 0
Money 0p, 0g, s, 0c, From lowest to highest coins are copper, silver, gold, platinum.
Hp (Hit Points) 180 Hp Regain 0.01 per second
Mana 270 Mana Regain 0.1 per second
Strength 18 Endurance 12
Dexterity 15 Intelligence 19
Speed 14 Willpower 16
Constitution 12 Charisma 14
Trait Function Description
Mana Burn Burn mana in body to self-heal, heal rate 2-mana = 1-hp Warning mana burn is a last resort ability and will cause loss of consciousness until both mana and hp are at full capacity. (Full capacity is considered the entire amount body is able to receive at this time and is not affected by status ailments which prevent body from obtaining max hp such as wither.) This ability initiates automatically if hp is below 5%
Full Body +1 to all stats, +2 ability points per lvl Your body was pushed beyond its natural limits and survived.
Full Body II +2 to all stats, +3 ability points per lvl Your body was pushed beyond its natural limits and survived.
Full Body III +4 to all stats, +5 ability points per lvl Your body was pushed beyond its natural limits and survived.
Chapter 3 ¡°What the!¡± ¡°Status screens?¡± Having read multiple books on the idea of being a summoned hero or trapped in a game he immediately knew the implications and tried to put his knowledge to use. ¡°I wonder how my points were distributed. I received 7-point bonus in each stat for the full body traits, It looks like my average is 8-points all around.¡± ¡°I see that all my physical work over the years seams to have gained me an extra point in strength. I¡¯ve always ben slow on my feet and I have terrible reflexes, so my Dex and speed are not the least bit surprising. My Constitution and Endurance would explain my poor health over the years, I¡¯ve missed more school and work than I would like to admit from being sick all the time.¡± ¡°I wonder how my hit points are calculated?¡± Hit Points are calculated as 10% of previous level increase upon gaining a level. (Hit points are only added after ability point total after each lvl up) Hit points added is additive, and not multiplicative. Increasing Constitution or Endurance at level 5 will only increase the total hit points for that fifth level and not the four previous levels. Endurance, adds 10 points to health per point. Endurance is the stat for longevity alowing an indivigual to last longer before tiring. Prime health stat for fighters due to limited stack ability of resistance with most armors. Constitution, adds 5 points to health per point. though it gives less hitpoints that endurance it makes up for it in natural resistances. A person with high resistance takes less damage from physical attacke. at high levels will also provide elemental resistance. (warning max elemental resistance 90% except where specified by race.) ¡°huh? I guess the system will answer basic questions for me then.¡± ¡°System how do you calculate mana.¡± Mana total is gained from Intelligence and willpower. Intelligence, adds 10 points to mana per point. Inteligence is the prime stat for spellcasters alowing them to better remember the patterns which the spells are to be wove. Higher inteligence alows for more acurate and faster weave in spells alowing for more utility. Willpower, adds 5 points to mana per point. Willpower is the force of the spell. Not to be confused with the power. Willpower is the bridge between what a spellcaster has the inteligence to cast, and what they are physically capable. Willpower alows the spellcaster to bridg the gap between knowlage by flooding it with brute force. Spells cast through willpower will have similar results to one cast from inteligence but with a much higher mana cost. Spells are much easier to cast through willpower. Willpower will also allow an individual to overcharge a spell by forcing more mana into the spell than it is structured to handle. (This is both dangerous, and impractical.) "lets chech the other stats" Strength, the power on ones blows. Governing atribute in amount an individual is capable of carrying as well as the force used on an object when in physical contact. Dexterity, the ability to control ones movements. allows increased flexibility and better controll of fine motor skills. Speed, the ability to increase movement rate without loss of control. higher speeds alow faster movement, and decreased time taken on completion of physical tasks. Charisma, Also associated with beauty and charm. Increases apeal to others through actions. Increases the ability to persuade an individual to relate to ones circumstances making an indivigual apear more trustworthy and appealing. ¡± Huh I guess my low charisma explains why I have a hard time getting a date.¡± ¡°Wait a minute. If my average ability was 8-points and I¡¯ve increased all abilities by 7, then I have almost doubled everything I was capable of." "I wonder what the average strength for this world is at.¡± ¡°I need to get out of these caves." Already carrying the only 2 possessions he had Coalwalked down into the dark cave leaving the lights for the darkness. Keeping his one hand on the wall, and the other holding his revolver he slowly shuffled his bare feet over the rocks, testing each step before committing his weight. With no way to tell howlong he traveled, or where he was going, all he could do was step, listen, and feel the area around him. He searched for any change. All he could hear was the dripping behind him and the pattering small feet in the distance.There was no light to see by not even an ilumination from the ocasional patch of cave moss. All he could smell was the wet decayingground. He had other things to worry about at this time. Touch, he could feel the sharp stones against his feet, and the smooth uneven surface on the wall. Continuing on along the wall he walks until interupted by a low hanging ledge hitting him in the face. ¡°Fuck¡± No longer paying attention to all his senses Coal was knocked down. ¡°Dammit ifI had a way to take some of the light fromaround the pool where I arrived I would have. Look at me now, I could be right next to almost anything and not know it.¡± Thinking back to his status screen Coal remembered that it said he had mana. He decided tofocus and seeif he could do anything with it. Coal sat down and tried to focus only on himself. He began trying to ¡°feel¡± everything about him and all his memories of people doing just this. Sitting cross legged hebegan remembering all the books he read when he was younger.He thought of some of the old wiccan books he read. Coal always believed in the wiccan beliefs throughout his short life. He believed in the idea that if you did enough good for others then it would return to you in some form. He would help when he could and treated everyone fairly. The only reason he was not a practicing wiccan was that there were no local covens in his area, and he had no experience to start his own. But it was still a sound belief system that helped him out many times.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Remembering what he read Coal pictured a tree form around himself. The tree was massive with branches reaching into the sky above it reached through the cave celing to touch the heavens. It had roots that reached down and embraced the core of the world. Slowly he began to focus onthe cycles around him. Heat from deep below, and from the sky above. The ground was everywhere. Water seeping through thesoil around him and Wind onthe leaves slowly caressing his face. He could feel the world around him through the tree, but because of the sheer size of it the cave system felt like trying to navigate an ants colony. Coal opened hit eyes to see the aura of a tree in front of him. the aura was but a fraction of the trees true size condencing itself to fit into the room of the cavern he was curently in. He could still feel every bit of the energy surounding the original tree though. The tree looked like it was made from tiny glowing webs, and strings. as he watched it he could see the roots through the ground pulse and glow an orange red before moving up to the top as if through a vein. The sight of thevein brought him images and thoughts of fire. Memories of sitting around a bonfire with his close friends sharing some beers stolen from their parents house, Memories of reaching in a hot oven to pull out a fresh baked cake. Memory after memory pased through him. As he focused he was able to pick out images and memories associated with all the elements in the threads making up the tree. The more he looked the more he realised the danger of grabing directly from the tree. Looking in on himself he could seeevery pulse of the tree consumen a small amount of his mana. Once each pulse of his mana would spread itself throughout the tree it would release a small cascade of the threads making up its leaves alowing them to float down to within coals reach Now knowing what the mana felt like he focused more on that sensation. Threads of it were everywhere. More than he could ever count. More colors than he could name. More feelings than he could describe. There were as many colors as stars in the sky, and he was trying to grab the right one. Focusing on what he could, Coal slowly reached out and tried to grab whatever he could. Closing his hand around the threads he squeezed and tried to press his own mana into. Congratulations you have learned Mana Manipulation.
Mana Manipulation Allows the manipulation of mana threads By reaching into the beyond and grasping what you could, you not only avoided death but also managed to manipulate the threads of the universe. Every time you reach into the beyond you seed a little more knowledge into yourself and will be better able to grasp what is around you. (understanding is gained from intelligence and study)
¡°Oh shit.¡± Coal was almost immediately blinded by the flash of light that appeared to burn in front of him and released his hold on the strands and the mana. ¡°190 mana already.¡± Relaxing for a minute he thought of the cave system around him, and what he was able to make out. The room he was in was no more than fifteen feet wide and just as tall ot the highest visible point. It sharply got narrower twords the end he was on where it turned into a two foot bytwo foot hole. ¡°Let¡¯s try this again.¡± Grabbing at the threads again he tried to trickle his mana into it this time. Again the light flaired up only to go back out as he tried to reduce the amount of mana he put into it. ¡°And I¡¯m almost out of mana again.¡± ¡°looks like I can only use the spell for short bursts¡± Feeling exhausted he took another short break beforecontinuing his crawl into the smaller cave system. After crawling for around a hundred and fifty yards Coal thought he heard something. ¡°Yargrahl talt more...¡± Hearing what sounded like strange speech Coal didn¡¯t know weather to be excited or fearful. Flaring his light another time he saw that the tunnel he was in came to an opening around twenty feet ahead, so he slowly made his way forward. The tunnel ended on a ledge twenty feet in the air overlooking a massive cavern close to two-hundred yards wide with ledges peaking through the walls all along its distance. All this was cast in the poor illumination left by what apears to have once ben a large fire. Now mostly embers casting an etheral glow and the occasional flair of light that alowed you to see when some of the remnents were able to catch flame. Coal saw what apeared to be an upright walking shadow pass infront of the fire. From his vantage the creature looked massive compared to any human he ever seen before. Coal began to back peddle back into the hole and plan out his meating with this creature, or better yet his avoidance. Only the easy path was not ment to be as he began to feel the rocks under him give way. He rolled down the ledgeshielding his face and other exposed bits to the best of his ability loosing his makeshift cloakas it was pinned under the majority the ledge that fell with him.He finally landed on the bottom. Loosing nearly 40% oh his hp from the fallhe immediately found himself in a difficult position. He could see the shadow of the creature in the cave rushing twords him. Flaring his mana with the only ability he knew, he was met by what he would describe as a huge humanoid creature standing over eleven feet tall, and easily over a thousand pounds. It was charging at him with what appeared to be an old uprooted tree held above its head. Snarling with mucus and the rotting remnants of its last meal hanging from its mouth it was getting closer. ¡°ARRRGGGgggg!¡± the creature ragedas it charged at him. Fear and loathing took controll of Coals emotions as he raised the revolver in his shaking arms and took aim. When the creature was within thirty feet of him he pulled the trigger. Three shots center mass and the creature stoped its charge. He watched as the holes began to close themselves back up right infront of him. It raised its club again and began to resume its charge. Taking a breath Coal lined up his next shot before pulling the trigger. He watched dumbfounded as the creature shook its head back and forth stoped in its tracks. The .45 caliber rounds were unable to pierce its scull. Now shaking with terror he tookthis moment since the creaturewas stoped and lined up his last shot. He pulled the trigger ans watched as the bullet took it in the eye spraying grey matter out infront of it. He watched as it fell to the ground five feet infront of him before he started to shake and vomit on the ground infront of him. It took nearly a minute before he noticed the slow rise and fall on the creatures chest. ¡°Fuck this thing is still alive.¡± Coal carefully got up and on his unsteady feet and hobbled over towards the light he saw the creature come over from. In the middle of the room was the fire pit giving off a faint glow of light. Looking around Coal spotted a few branches and twigs piled next toit and threw some in to get better light. With the room lit up he was able tomake out what was around him. Hanging from the walls were rotting unidentifiable carcasses speared to the stone with hooks. Over on the side of the cave there was a small pile of tattered armor and weapons. Picking up the largest axe he could find,he quickly went back to the creature. ¡°I can¡¯t have you waking back up on me.¡± Closing his eyes, he says a brief prayer. ¡°Thank you for the experience you have provided me this night. I''m sorry for the need to have this soul part from life. May its next life be more.¡± Takingthe stance he used for splitting wood at home Coal places one hand at the head of the handle, and the other on the end. Raising the axe above his head heslides his handdown the shaft to meet the other while swinging it down with all the force he couldinto the back of the creature¡¯s neck. ¡°Roooohrrr!¡± everything he had was only brought the axe to around three inches into its foot-thick neck. This made it through its spine but left it very much still alive as it continued to scream. Upon looking down Coal could see the wound on the back of its neck slowly start to close back op, and small movements and twitches began to affect its body. Panicking he brought the axe back up and swung again. And again. And again. He continued swinging until the head was disconnected from the body completely. Congratulations, you have defeated a Cave Troll. Exp gained 110. Chapter 4 Coal eventualy calmed back down enough to think clearly again, and proceded to go over the posible supplies from within the cavern. In the pile he found the axe in there was also a small assortment of daggers and some knives. There was also a couple small hatchets along with the axe he used. All leather items looked to be gone, and Coal assumed they were eaten. In the scraps of cloth that looks like it was used as bedding he found an old lice ridden gambeson and some soiled cotton trouseres. He was also able to find an old traveler pack that looked like it had all the leather straps torn from it. Looking around the cave he was able to see a large caldron by the fire, and there appeared to be a small stream in the back of the room. Rolling the caldron to the stream he used some of the old cloth scraps to clean the inside of it as thoroughly as he could before rolling it back and placing it on the fire. After building the fire up with some of the remaining wood he found a couple old metal flasks in the pile and used them to courier water to the large caldron. Once full Coal left the pot to boil before going to the stream and washing himself. As soon as the caldron was boiling he took the gambeson, trousers, and emptied traveler pack and through them into the water. Then just to be safe he took any decent scraps he could find and through them in as well. He let them boil as he went through what was in the sack. Before him he had a small piece of flint. A small tin that appeared to have some old charcloth in it. ¡°I need to take some of this cloth and replenish some of this, I can see it coming in handy¡± A small sewing kit with bone needles. Two metal flasks. A damaged cooking pot. An odd looking set of tongs. About 20 yards of cord And a small copper coin about 2 inches wide, and nearly an eighth inch thick. Looking closer to the coin Coal began to se the light aura form around it like he had when he saw his own status.
Coin Copper piece value 10c Coins are known to form inside creatures upon death.
None know where the firstcoin came from, nor how they are made. They are made from an unknown metal that is incapable of causing or receiving direct damage. They can be carried freely but no known ability has ben able to damage them. All damage automatically phases through coins, thus the use ofcoins in armor or weapons have been unsuccessful.
¡°Form inside of creatures upon death?¡± Using one of the logs Coal moved the caldron out of the heat to cool down, he then took one of the hatchets and started to cut into the troll. The first piece he found was a smallsilver coindirectly behind the nasal cavity. After some searching he found another in the spinal column and a third in the heart. He now knew what the odd set of tongs were for since he doubted he could get the piece out of the spine without them. Since receiving the message about the coin, he tried to do the same to the other items around him with very limited success. He was able to come up with the name of the items, but that was it. His large wood axe was a simple axe, and the hatchets were hatchets. Looking at the gambeson armor though he was able to obtain a little more information.
Putrid Gambeson This armor was once made to where under other heavier armors, but now the only thing it is protecting is the insects living inside of it. May induce sickness if worn.
After removing the corpses from the hooks, he quickly went back and sent them down the stream. He then washed himself off again. Stringing the cord across one of the hooks in the wall and down to a bolder by the stream he made a makeshift cloths line to dry everything he had in the caldron. After emptying the caldron and refilling it he began to sanitize the flasks, and the pot he found. Using the sewing kit and some of the scraps of cloth that were already dry he fashioned himself some makeshift mid-calf foot wraps. He then took some of the heavier cloth and began to replace all the lost straps on the traveler¡¯s pack. After a short rest on the cold ground by the fire he collected all the items he scavenged and packed what he could. Just to be on the safe side he took the money he found and sewed them into a pouch on the inside of his gambeson. He then set out again to leave the cave. Using some of the branches, and some of the less usable cloth scraps he managed to make some poor quality make-shift torches. Looking down at his armor now that he had boiled it he had a new message.
Boiled Gambeson Under armor for other armors. Though considered an under armor it is still quite protective. Though bulkier it is comparable to leather armor when used in enough layers. This armor however has ben infested with lice, then boiled in water greatly reducing its protective qualities. It is now capable of protecting modesty and providing some semblance of warmth.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
Makeshift mid-calf foot wraps Congratulations you have prevented your feet from meeting the ground. Your movement speed will increase by 25% for having less stress on your feet. (this does not affect the speed attribute)
Congratulations you have learned the Identify ability
Identify Useful for learning basic information about an item. Higher levels will reveal more information.
After checking over his other items again he had only one item left of note
Taurus Judge Revolver Like a blunderbuss in function this revolver is capable firing 5 consecutive shots of alchemically propelled metal accurately for a large distance. Speed 5 (15) Damage 75-120 hp (damage not increased by ability points.) for solid shot. Damage 25-50 for 5¡¯ spread when using shot. (shot damage drastically decreases after 20 yards)
Compared to the axe.
Wood Axe. Axe for chopping wood, can chop other things if they are slow enough. Speed 2 Damage 65-85+str (2 handed items receive strength x 1.5 when used with both hands to determine damage)
¡°So, my max damage with the revolver is 120 and non-scalable, but the axe can already do 109 damage, and that will go up with strength. Though it looks like I can get off all 5 shots in the time it takes me to swing the axe twice.¡± ¡°I¡¯m shure the speed on the revolver would be much faster if it held more than 5 shots.¡± Setting off again he was feeling more complacent with his situation and was doing what he could to get by. Occasionally able to find small grubs, and insects to eat he was able to stave off complete starvation. Since he was currently walking up stream he also had ready access to water.
Congratulations you have learned tracking.
Tracking lvl1 The ability to follow a path left by others. Higher levels will allow more detailed information about subject being followed.
Congratulations you have learned Foraging
foraging lvl1 the ability to find food in your surroundings One of the most important traits for anybody. Allows an individual to find food where it is not readily available. higher levels will allow individual to find food and resources in larger quantities. Chance to find rare resource also increases.
¡°Regardless of the reality of the survival shows I\he use to watch, the informationwas still helpful.¡± One step at a time Coal trudged along, stopping every chance he could to forage for food. He couldn¡¯t remember ever being this skinny. Seeing his ribs stick out of his chest, and the almost overwhelming hunger making him dizzy. Coal was beginning to succumb to both malnourishment and starvation. How the troll was able to get his lair all the way down there Coal had no idea. Having burnt the last of his torches days ago he was back to flaring his mana. Flaring his mana. This is what he would call it. It wasn¡¯t a spell. It was the same as lighting a torch in a firework factory and calling it the grand finale. It was crude, and exhausting. But he had not the time or the energy to work on understanding it better. To think all the years dreaming to have magic. The amazing things he would be able to do with it. Only to realize that even with it he was nothing, without the knowledge to control it.
Warning health at 10% due to starvation. All regenerations reduced to 10% until renourished.
¡°Not again. It¡¯s faster this time. At least it will give me a brief respite from the hunger when i wake.¡± ¡°What is it at now? 1% helth loss every 15 minutes? I¡¯ll be out again in a little over an hour.¡± ¡°13 hours for full recovery this time. So 20 hours up for 13 down. If I don¡¯t eat soon I¡¯ll be unconscious more than awake.¡± ¡° At least the intelligence boost makes figuring this out much easier.¡± ¡°It would be nice if I was still by the stream¡± Coal had found the entrance to the stream nearly a week prior, and discovered it was formed by multiple smaller streams tying together. All he could do was move on after refilling his flasks. One step at a time. Until the burn happens again. Trudge till he drops again. Fire! Fire in his veins! Waking up to the sound of his own screaming Coal was once more rejuvenated by his Mana Burn trait. Not sure weather it was a gift or a curse all he could do was except it and move on. ¡°. . ¡­ .ere ..at?¡± ¡° ¡­ . .ne .s there¡± Hearing something but unable to make it out Coal tried to shout. ¡°I. aehhh ehhhh¡± Spitting up blood coal was unable to shout through his dry cracked throat while not under the rejuvenating effects of his mana burn. Grabbing the pot, and one of the hatchets out of his pack he began to bang them together. ¡°There it is.¡± ¡°Were close to it¡± Said someone in the distance In a close branch of the cave were a group of four adventurers who were sent to investigate the mana disturbance from a couple months ago. ¡°Its on the other side of the wall¡± Came a soft voice. ¡°Stand back¡± Came one that sounded like it was eating gravel while talking. ¡°Thump¡± ¡°Thump¡± Coal could feel a tremor in the wall as something was slammed against it. Not knowing what to do he flared his mana to get a brief glimpse of his surroundings. Now knowing he was able to step back he did so. Just as the head of a pick began to break through. Since exhausting his mana the area went dark again, only to soon have light again coming through the small hole the pick had made. ¡°Hold it¡± stated a raspy sure voice. A voice that you immediately feel like following sounding both old and wise. ¡°Something is disrupting the mana in the other room.¡± ¡°Let the disruption dissipate before we continue through.¡± Not knowing what was going on, and anxious to see another being again he took his hatchet out, and started to hit the wall to try to get to them. ¡°Whap¡± ¡°Whap¡± ¡°Whap¡± ¡°Thunk¡± Not being made for hitting stone, the head of the axe soon broke sending shrapnel into Coals shoulder, and the majority into his face knocking him out. ¡°Stonebro did you see what happen?¡± ¡°Yah Tash this bastard just knocked himself out.¡± ¡°Its Tashia you rock romancing half human¡± ¡°I aint got no human in me, so you can take that back right now¡± ¡°Both of you cut it, and Stonebro get that wall down.¡± ¡°Yes sir.¡± ¡°Yes Rendrake.¡± The two replied in unison. ¡°Bartram do you have enough mana left to heal this one?¡± The forth of the group only shrugs his shoulders. Not one to talk much he knew the question to be rhetorical. If he did, then he did, if not then he would eventually. After a few more swings Stonebro was able to make it through the wall. ¡°And that is why you use the right tool for the job.¡± ¡°And to thing Tash you told me I would have no need for my pick.¡± ¡°I told you It¡¯s Tashia!¡± ¡°Enough you two. Stock dicking around and bind him.¡± ¡°Bind him? I thought we were trying to save him.¡± ¡°Yes Tashia but did you not see the way he attacked the wall? If he is the one that came through from the Ley Line shift than he has ben here for nearly two months on his own in a known troll cave without light or food.¡± ¡°As you should have learned from your studies the Ley Line shifts create plainer ruptures in parallel realms that grow until o suitable host in pulled through.¡± ¡°Most these hosts come from un cultured, and uncivilized worlds, and need time to incorporate themselves into our system.¡± ¡°Everything will probably be new for him.¡° ¡°Imagine what would happen if you were ripped away from all you knew, and cast into a dark hole for nearly two months only to wake to Stonebro¡¯s face?¡± ¡°Oh Gods¡± ¡°I see your point, lets bind him.¡± ¡°Wait a minute now, My wife has no problem waking up to my face.¡± ¡°Stonebro your wife is a stone golem and doesn¡¯t sleep.¡± Chapter 5 Slowly waking to the sweet bitter taste sliding down the back of his throat Coal tried to sit up, only to feel something digging into his wrists. Strugling to get himself free he started to choke on the tube pushing liquid down his throat. ¡°You¡¯re not even level one yet, so I highly doubt you will be able to break the bindings.¡± Finally opening his eyes, he was assaulted by a bright light. After taking a couple minutes to adjust he was eventually able to make out four individuals sitting on the ground around a glowing stone. They were eating what looked like two-foot-long grasshopper legs. This only partially surprised him as he began to observe those around him. Sitting in front of him was what he would call either a halfling, or a gnome female with short black hair, full leather armor, and a crossbow across her back. After her was a broad-shouldered humanoid with a thick fir hooded-cloak obscuring his face. He appeared to have a Warhammer on his side and protrusions that looked to be other weapons at his waist. Next was what had to be a dwarf. Standing at around four and a half feet tall with a large bushy beard, he had on a half plate chest piece and carried a grasshopper leg in one hand, and a pick in the other. He was still chewing away at the leg and had not even looked up yet. The last one was the one who talked. He was a tall man, who looked to be in his late sixties. Salt and pepper hair with a military cut. He was wearing what looked like gambeson armor with a leather drover hanging open over it. On his belt you could see various pouches an arming sword, and a small dagger. In his hand he was holding plain looking staff of around six feet putting it equal to him in height. ¡°Level One?¡± Coal asked still in a daze from before. ¡°Yes, Level one. Once you get to level one things will start to become easier for you, but until then you are stuck with the abilities the gods, and your own perseverance have given you.¡± ¡°By the look on your face you probably came from some backwater without system access. Must be a new world.¡± ¡°By the items you have it appears industrially advanced, so I¡¯ll put it at around seven millenneia give or take for inteligent races. Also given that there are no runes on this weapon of yours it is also either a world without mana, or one that doesn¡¯t understand it yet.¡± Seeing the surprised look on Coals face Rendrake knew he was at least close in his assumptions. ¡°Well, Welcome to the world of Sync. Sync is thus named because it is a world that naturally synchronizes itself to those around it.¡± Seeing the old man begin his speech Coal couldn¡¯t help but see the smile, and energy begin to emanate off the individual signifying that he was in his element, and somehow making everything he said easier to understand. Listening in rapt attention Coal tried to absorb everything he could while this man spoke. He quickly learning that while his predicament was not common, it was also not unusual. He also learned that he would need to learn to read and write in the local Common tongue. Either that or save up an entire gold piece to obtain a universal translator like everybody here had. Upon asking about it he was informed that this was out-side of any of their price range, and they all owed theirs to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild that gives them out to adventurers on a lease to own basis. He also was notified that an extra enchantment on them would teleport it to the nearest guild in case of the owner¡¯s demise. These functioned as their guild badges and displayed their basic information. Their name, current preferred vocation, and guild rank. Coal decided that he would prefer to learn the language for now, and work on obtaining a badge later. That way he could learn to read and write the language as well. If there was one thing Coal loved, it was books, and he was not about to let something as basic as language get in his way. Caught up listening Coal was lost in thought until the scent of one of the still roasting legs brushed his nose. ¡°Ggrrrrrrr¡± At the sound of his stomach growling everybody seamed to stop and look at him for a second before they began to laugh. ¡°Here, we made a basic stew for you to eat until you can handle solid. By the state of your body you are at complete starvation and I¡¯m afraid solid food will just make you sick until your body is back to normal.¡± Reaching behind Coal he quickly undid the bindings. ¡°On the bright side though, since you came from a non-system world before the time it takes for your body to recoup itself is probably much faster than you are used to.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry for binding you, we didn¡¯t know what state of mind you would be in when you woke. You were not exactly making rash decisions when you knocked yourself out.¡± ¡°I think you will be eating solid foods again within a day or two at the latest.¡± Looking at all the food they had available to them, Coal couldn¡¯t help but wonder how they were able to carry all of it, and if they didn¡¯t carry it, then they must have caught it while they were here. ¡°How did you get all the food down here?¡±The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°That would be Tashia here. She studies the arts of forestry, and long-range combat in hopes to be recognized as a ranger one day. She has what is called a Lure Cantrip that draws game animals towards it, then all she has to do is wait for it, or in this case set a trap.¡± ¡°She sounds handy to have around¡± After receiving the bowl it took everything Coal had to not drink it all down at once, and he did what he could to pace himself, so he wouldn¡¯t make himself sick. Tashia sat in the other corner with a grin on her face. ¡°I¡¯m keeping him. He just got here, and he already knows who is important around here. Not to mention even starved he has better manners that Rocky here.¡± ¡°It¡¯s Stonebro, Rocky was my cousin and he left for survivalist training thirty years ago.¡± Interrupting their banter which was proving to be a constant thing between them Coal asked ¡°By the way how did you know my name and level? Can you see my stats as well?¡± The idea that a person could tell so much about you just by looking was both frustrating and horrifying to him. With all his information available everyone could see all the important details about him and make him that much easier to take advantage of. ¡°Don¡¯t worry the only way I knew was because I used a Scrying crystal on you while you were out. The most information identify will give is your name, and if there are any outstanding achievements you have done. The scrying crystal on the other hand needs to contact an individual to work, and it will tell you someone¡¯s name, age, level, health in percentage, and if there are any unknown ailments.¡± ¡°As far as stats or Ability Points go, they are something to be kept to yourself and your loved-ones for personal safety.¡± ¡°Your Skills on the other hand will need to be shown to others from time to time. Especially if you ever become an adventurer. After all it does no one any good if you say you can track, and what you mean is you can walk down a pre-established trail.¡± ¡°Hey, I told you before all my tracking was done in caves and tunnels. It aint my fault them critters didn¡¯t stay on the path¡± ¡°Ok then now that you¡¯ve eaten let us do introductions. I go by Rendrake, the loud dwarf over there is Stonebro¡± the dwarf raises what is left of the leg and waves it at Coal flinging the juices across the room they are in. The small woman jumps back to avoid getting any on her. ¡°Watch it numb nuts.¡± Continuing as though nothing has happened Rendrake continued his interdiction. ¡°The high-strung lass here is Tashia, and finally the silent one is Bartram¡± ¡°Tashia as you know is going for the ranger vocation. Bartram is something like a druid he has same healing spells and can purify and control limited amounts of plant life. I am a swordsman who is also learning the vocation of body magics I am knew to the arcane end and am still unable to channel through metals such as my sword, so I have a staff to practice with. Finally, we have Stonebro. Stonebro is an Axehand. He is trained to fight with axes and picks to the exclusion of all other weapons.¡± Noticing that each of the individuals had their own paths Coal was happy to see they were a fairly rounded out party. Coal stands up. ¡°I am Coal Eldrake, as you guessed I am not from around here I was pulled into this cave from my world that we call earth, and the only thing I have left from there is my revolver. I don¡¯t even have any bullets for it left, so it might as well be an extra piece of metal at this time. I don¡¯t know how long ago I arrived here but all I¡¯ve known so far in a world of darkness and violence. Within a couple days of arrival here I was thrust into combat with a cave troll and spent all my ammo on it to only knock it out. I watched as this creature began to heal itself from these wounds, so I took that large axe over there from a pile of refuse and like splitting wood I chopped.¡± ¡°I chopped, and I chopped, and I chopped. I don¡¯t know how long it took but I was able to end that creature. Then after all that I looted all the corpses of its victims to obtain the rest of the possessions I have now.¡± Now in tears Coal began to let out the pent-up emotions and frustrations. He never felt loneliness like he did in the cave. While struggling to survive he did not have time to think of what was going on. Now though it was different. Now he wasn¡¯t alone. He was around individuals who knew how to survive in this area. He was safe again. But the safety only made him think of his loss. He was in another world, something he could only dream about. When he was young he would fantasize about such an experience. Now that it was here all he could think about was his loss. He remembered going on walks with his mom and the goats. A mother he may never see again. Never hug and kiss on the head. He thought of his stepdad a man who helped raise him. A man who goes out of his was to do everything he can to keep his mother happy. One who shared the love of outdoors and was one to try to be as self-sufficient as he could. He thought of how he would never make any more home-made beer or wine with him or help him build his greenhouse. Coal thought of his step-mom another woman he loved. He remembered her brutal honesty and her tough exterior. He also remembered how much she cared, and how she would go out of her way to help you. He remembered how she taught him to ride horses and drive a tractor. He thought of his dad who taught him to drive. He thought of all his step siblings and his nieces and nephews that he would never see again. And last, he thought of his sister, her husband, and that little fireball he had for a niece. The one that had an ear to ear grin with great big dimples and fire red hair. He thought of how he would no longer be able to see them again. Never tell them he loves them. Coal remembered all this while telling these four people in-front of him about his travel through the cave, his manifestation of mana, and the spell he tried. How he was eating grubs to survive, and the point when he finally began to lose it. Somewhere along the way Tashia ended up in his arms, and both Rendrake and Bertram had them in a hug. Leaning down he kissed the little woman in his arms on the forehead and shanked her for the comfort in his moment of weakness. Looking across the room Coal could see Stonebro with red eyes glairing at everyone with his arms crossed in front of himself. Reaching out an arm he waved it towards himself. The little dwarf knocked them all to the ground as he joined the embrace. All going from their crying to laughing the group quickly separated again. Stonebro adamant that no one was to ever speak of this moment again. Seeing a moment to speak his mind Coal explained how even though he may never see his family again, they were not in the same situation, and the sooner they got out of the cave the sooner they could return to their other ones. Still worked up, but feeling better Coal got up and began to pack his belongings back up. He was ready to leave the cave system and see what this world was all about. Chapter 6 Coal was able to find out that the whole cave system was a giant spiral, and if you went to the right areas you could skip sections of it and advance your time faster. This vast network of caves was also why it took the others so long get to him since he was going along the spiral directly he missed all the ledges he could have climbed for a quicker ascent. The trip out of the cave system took them less than two weeks and Coal spent most of time learning what he could from the others. From Natalia he learned how to set traps, and what insects in the cave were edible. Stonebro taught him some of the better ways to swing an axe in combat, and how to recognize some of the minerals found in the rocks around them. Bartram would occasionally stop him and point to a fungus or even the occasional cave moss. He would then show what to do with them, often either eating or sometimes he would mash them up and coat his hammer spike. There was one time that he came across a different moss though. This moss appeared a little thicker than others around it, sticky in texture with a stalk that appeared almost plump and soft. Bartram was quick to point this out to the others that day, and they spent the rest of the evening looking for more. He learned later that it was a well sought-after herb nicknamed Cave Suture. The leaves of it would work as a minor pain killer. The stems when crushed would release a sticky sap that could temporarily close open wounds and the roots were dried and used for low quality healing potions. Bartram also showed that if you dig around the bottom of the plants you can release most the roots. He would then cut the larger portion of it away and place the rest back in the ground. Finally, there was Rendrake. He learned the most from him. In the mornings he would teach him reading and writing in this world¡¯s common tongue then in the evenings he would walk him through the steps he knew about mana manipulation limited though they were. Coal learned how the tree he brought forth was a representation of the world bringing the mana to him. The tree filtered the mana to protect him and made it possible to grab individual threads from it. He also learned that a light touch was much more effective than the rough grabbing he was doing before, and that he can mist his mana into an area and then bring the thread through it. With this he was able to use his first real spell.
Light. One of the simplest spells to learn, it is a single thread of essence given shape and form through mana. The more you use this spell the easier it is to maintain.
Current cost to maintain spell. 15 mana/minute.
Coal was able to maintain it for 83 minutes now while producing the light equivalent of a 60wat bulb. He tried lower brightness to see if he could reduce the consumption of mana to be less than what he regained, but the light production was not linear to cost. Producing a 5-10wat light took 14 mana/minute, and a 250wat light would cost 20 mana/minute and burn him out in just over half an hour. Coal also tried to have Rendrake teach him some of the body enhancement spells that he knew, but they proved too advanced for him to understand at this point in time. The trip out of the cave was both anticlimactic, and exciting. The four individuals he traveled with proved both knowledgeable and willing to teach, which left Coal to learn everything he could on the trip out. For every horrid atrocity this world had shown him so far it was more than making up for it with the shier majestic beauty that greeted him once he was outside of the caves. There was life everywhere from deer to horned rabbits, evergreens that would take ten of him to reach around. Off in the distance he even thought he saw some aurochs. The world was alive with more colors than he ever thought to see in nature. Though it didn¡¯t take long to notice something was off in the distance. While looking around and waiting for his eyes to transition to the now lit world again Coal couldn¡¯t help but smell the trace scents of smoke, rot, and decay. It permeated the area like a soft blanket after a rough night of work. Clinging to some areas while leaving others open. ¡°What is that smell in the air?¡± Tashia stopped what she was doing and sniffed the air as well. ¡°Good catch, your senses must be high I smell it too. If I was to guess id say that a small goblin camp moved into the area in the last month since we were in the cave. I''ll scout ahead to see what¡¯s up¡± With a grin on his face Stonebro speaks up. ¡°We are in the Nazan province near the capital of Pandora. Pandora is less than a week away, and goblin ears fetch10 copper each, not including what they have in them. If there are enough of them we can possibly recoup our losses for this quest taking so long.¡± Frowning at the mention of losses, Rendrake quickly speaks up. ¡°We are D rank adventurers so in out line of work we make around a silver coin a week. This doesn¡¯t make up wealthy, but it will keep you comfortable. This task was an assignment though. Something the local lord requires of the guild in place of part of the taxes.¡± ¡°The quest would normally be good pay, at twenty fivesilverfor completion, but split four ways and taking almost three months to complete it is a bight in the pocket." "By the way, you are currently indebted to the crown for one gold piece. Payable within five years.¡± Bartram touches his badge and waves it in front of Rendrake for a minute. ¡°Really Bartram you think he has what it takes?¡± With a quick nod he signaled his thoughts. ¡°Well since it was mentioned you can always join the guild, and they take on your current debt to the crown, but a percent of all your earnings go to it until the debt is payed back. This will also have them send you to schooling for what ever vocation you choose to specialize in. You will need to proove yourself proficient in battle to obtain a full badge though." With no better option than the guild at this time Coal shook his head in agreement to work with them until there help was not needed. That, or he came across better options. He was sure they did not just spend nearly three months getting him out of the cave just to get him killed in some random battle out in the woods. After spending two weeks with them so far everything they did appeared to be done without malice, and in complete honesty. And in this harsh world where the strong got stronger, and the week could easily be trampled he was committed to being among the strong. He had a new body that was already capable of standing up to twice the punishment his old frail self could. He could run faster, hit harder, and now he had magic. That word that was used to describe hopes and dreams. That which allowed impossible to become real. Actual magic, and he was going to do everything he could to learn all there was about it.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°I will learn all the magic I can and fight for strength. I want to get to the point that I don¡¯t half to rely on others to survive out here.¡± While Coal talked Tashia was returning from scouting. She reported a goblin band of around forty to fifty goblins in a valley over the next hill. There was also a path around them, so it would be easy enough to avoid them if they wished. Coal remembered how much it took to take down the troll and asked about the strength of the goblins. He found that they were considered weak creatures but are a nuisance because they attack indiscriminately and breed like rabbits. There biggest threat was their numbers and intelligence. They may not be intelligent when compared to humans, but they were still on par with young children and seemed to relish in making other beings suffer. With this thought process in mind they decided to fight the goblins. Both to get them away from the town, and as experience for Coal. The plan was simple enough. Tashia and Bartram would stay in the vicinity, while Rendrake would use this experience to practice his body magic and staff work. Meanwhile Stonebro would take on the majority of the goblins, and Coal would get what he could. Coal was quick to ask if they had a partying system and was told they would engage it before the fighting. They also argued over the loot split for the fighting since he was not likely to provide any actual support and would be mostly a hindrance for this fight. He eventually relented and gave up his share of loot drops under the condition he got the bounty on the any ears he personally obtained. Decisions made they decided to wait for mid-day to start the fight, so the sun was in their favor.
Rendrake has asked you to join the party.
accept decline
Notice party is set on (shared) experience and all experience will be split evenly between (5) party members.
After accepting the invite Coal got a popup for each of the people in his group.
Name Rendrake Position Leader Rank C
Level estimation 21 outings 126
Warning level estimations are based on past fights and are not based from actual level.
Name Bartram Position Druid/Healer Rank D
Level estimation 18 outings 86
Warning level estimations are based on past fights and are not based from actual level.
Name Stonebro Position Damager Rank D
Level estimation 14 outings 45
Warning level estimations are based on past fights and are not based from actual level.
Name Tashia position Scout Rank D
Level estimation 16 outings 68
Warning level estimations are based on past fights and are not based from actual level.
Name Coal Position recruit Rank N/A
Level estimation 8 outings 1
Warning level estimations are based on past fights and are not based from actual level.
Surprisingly coal was much higher than he would have expected and was hoping he would not be as much of a hindrance in this fight as expected. Rendrake seamed to stop talking for a second and looked over at Coal as though he was reading his thoughts and spoke up. ¡°You fought a level twelve troll and survived. I don¡¯t know how much was luck, how much was skill, or how much was the weapon you had with you, but don¡¯t get too confident with your rating. Most won¡¯t recognize it unless it is from at least ten outings. Fight with care, and we will watch your back. Don¡¯t push yourself and let us support you. You are here to learn and survive. Don¡¯t let confidence scour your judgement.¡± On that note we were off to the goblin camp. Tashia took her place in the trees, and I could see Rendrake begin one of his incantations. Stonebro was swinging his arms back and forth, and Bartram was nowhere to be seen. With a simple nod Rendrake set it all into motion. Stonebro screamed as he shot through the brush, and Rendrake was quick to follow. They were at the top of the vally that the goblin camp was in, and the goblins could be heard just below. For some reason at first his legs refused to move. he started to second guess himself. These were intelligent creatures that had their own life and society, there short heights reminiscent of ugly children, and they were killing them because they were a nuisance. This is what Coal thought till he saw what spilled out of their stew pot when it was knocked over. There lying on the ground in-front of their pot was a small humanoid arm. It was too small to be one of Tashia¡¯s kin and that did not leave a lot of options in his eyes. The next thing he knew he was in the middle of them with one of the hatchets leaving his hand as he threw it at a foe outside of his immediate reach. He saw the axe embed itself into the forehead of one of the goblins and twisted as he swung the other axe at another goblin. Seeing the goblins converge on all sides of him he split his focus momentarily gathering the threads of light in one hand. This time instead of one long strand for continuous light he grabbed little pieces of thread and squeezed them together. He then poured over two-hundred of his mana into it before release. For a brief moment it was as though another sun appeared above Coals head. All the goblins in the immediate area began to scream in pain and attempt to cover their eyes. Not one to miss the opportunity Coal buried his axe in the chest of one of the goblins getting it stuck in its ribs. Leaving it there he quickly grabbed one of his daggers and stuck it to the hilt into another¡¯s head, causing its handle to snap off. Feeling something knock him to the ground Coal was stunned long enough for one of the goblins to burry a stone axe into his shoulder causing him to shout out in pain. Grabbing the handle of the axe he tor it out and swung it wildly, ripping off most of his gambeson in the process. Now with one arm useless he was beginning to fight more defensively, he used the stone axe to hold off three of the goblins at once by smashing their own weapons into each other. Then the stone axe head came loose flying across the area and disappearing. While jamming the handle of the axe into the face of one of the goblins he had his legs swept out from under him by another. As soon as he was on the ground it sunk its teeth into his good shoulder and began to shake itself unable to move his arms he kicked his legs about wildly until he felt something grab his head. Looking up he could see into the ugly grinning face of the third goblin. It was pulling back on his hair with one hand and holding a Kris shaped dagger in the other. Raising the dagger into the air in begun its decent. All coal thought was that he would watch this till the end, and if he was fortunate then this world would have a Valhalla. He could go there and watch the Valkyries. He could die and know that magic was real. Watching as the dagger came down at him he followed its motion as it came closer and closer. With the last of his energy he threw his shoulder forward. The one with the other goblin bighting on it directly into the path of the oncoming blade. The blade stuck, and the goblin screamed as it jerked it back and forth. Coal screamed with it as the tip of it was pinned through the scull and into his shoulder. The screaming seamed to last an eternity before it finally stopped. The silence was caused by the sudden growth of a crossbow bolt out of the goblins forehead. Lost in the fight Coal forgot about the others out there fighting beside him. Finally taking a moment to look around he could see the other four members standing there looking at him. Seeing himself from there point of view he had a damaged leg and two mangled shoulders making his arms useless he used the remnants of his adrenalin high to say the most appropriate thing he could think of before passing out ¡°Tis but a flesh wound¡±. chapter 7 I once again awoke to bindings. At least this time it was the soft cotton wrapping of bandages. As I lay there I think back to the battle we just had. I look at my skills and the way I fought and can¡¯t help but cringe. Every move was rigid and uncoordinated. Every thrust was unskilled. I was week. I needed to learn what I could. I needed to not just level but learn how to proceed. Out of the fifty goblins there I got eight. While I know that is high for a normal un-leveled player, I need to realize that I have the stats of a person of approximately lvl 11. The level 1-2 goblins should have ben small fries for me, but if I did not have support, the ninth one would have had me. My arms are still numb from the wounds I received, and I still feel exhausted. I try looking over to try to see what is going on around me. I see Tashia being looked to by Bartram. He is summoning a faint light and slowly waving it back and forth in-front of her eyes, she was a slight glassy look, and appears as if she was crying. Stonebro had a stoic look on his face, and Rendrake is pacing back and forth muttering something to himself. I stop and look at my status updates.
Congratulations a member of your party has slain 11 goblins you have received 33exp.
Congratulations a member of your party has slain 12 goblins you have received 36exp.
Congratulations a member of your party has slain 6 goblins you have received 18exp.
Congratulations a member of your party has slain 13 goblins you have received 39exp.
Congratulations You have slain 8 goblins you have received 48exp.
Congratulations you have broken the first lvl threshold you now have (5+2+3+5) 15 attribute points to spend. Attributes must be spent t a minimum of every five levels. You have 48 hours to spend all points upon reaching the 5thlevel.
Congratulations you have reached level 1 in the system. You have unlocked System Abilities.
System Abilities allows the system to permanently enhance abilities through repetitive use and uncommon feats. System Abilities are less predictable but easier to obtain than increasing your abilities at level zero.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Congratulations Due to the Full Body, Full Body II, Full Body III Trait your body more easily handles the increase of Abilities. All circumstances where the body receives an ability point the point will be increased by 3 for each point earned. (0.25 for Full Body, 0.75 for Full Body II, 2.0 for Full Body III.) Your system is now fully synchronized to this world. Your new level estimation based on the previous fights level 9. Looking to the others I spoke up. ¡°Is Tashia going to be ok?¡± ¡°She will be fine in a day or two, she just underestimated your light spell and didn¡¯t shield her eyes properly. Of she had then you may have had a couple less wounds.¡± I could visibly see Tashia flinch at Rendrake¡¯s words. ¡°Take it easy on her, how was she to know what spell I would be using. I should have said something before I cast as a warning, but I didn¡¯t know how much the goblins would understand and was more focused on them.¡± Looking to Tashia I said what I thought at the time. ¡°I am sorry you were injured while looking after me. I hope you will forgive my ignorance in fighting in a group.¡± With tears in her eyes Tashia ran over to me and wrapped me in her arms ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I almost got you killed I didn¡¯t think you would be able to cast strong enough to affect me, so I ignored the spell and I couldn¡¯t see, and I heard screaming, and then I could see but not well, and then when I could see enough to shoot you were already on the ground so I shot and I thought it was too late.¡± She rambled on while all I could say was ¡°OW. Ow ow ow ow ow. Ssssssssssss. Tashia that hurts!¡± Looking at me with fear in her eyes she quickly let go and began backing away. Before she could start apologizing again I quickly spoke. ¡°Chest and head can be hugged, just watch my shoulders and knee.¡± Without another thought her look of fear turned into a tear-filled smile, and she wrapped her arms and legs around my torso and started to sob. I comforted her in what way I could and rested my cheek on her head whispering to her. ¡°It¡¯s all right, we will be fine now. It all worked out. We survived that¡¯s what matters.¡± ¡°Now how long will I be down, and what are we doing with the goblins?¡± ¡°You will be able to move within the day, but it will be a couple days for your bones to mend the rest of the way. Remember having all your hit points does not mean you are fully healed.¡± Seeing the confused look Rendrake elaborated. ¡°Think of your hit points as a way to view your blood and most your soft tissues. When you take damage, your regenerative ability will be able to repair and replenish the essentials to keep you alive, but some of the other parts are considered less essential so your body spends less energy on them. Only massive amounts of mana or imminent life-threatening harm such as head trauma or if your body is unable to support its own weight and begins to suffocate itself will cause your body to heal itself to higher extent. This method is incredibly painful. Therefore, most adventurers carry healing potions on them. Potions tend to have a numbing effect as well as a healing one that will heal you to your core. They are also incredibly expensive starting at 2 silvers for the cheap ones of quality. Before you ask I say of quality because cheaper potions can be made, but they often lack some of the abilities like the numbing effect that prevents the individual from passing out from the pain, or some that only have the numbing effect but don¡¯t heal you.¡± ¡°In fact, Tashia is trying to advance her skills in alchemy and could probably sell you some poor-quality potions she created for a few coppers. Fair warning though, she makes potions to make better poisons.¡± ¡°What is the value of the copper piece then? I know that a copper is ten copper pieces, and ten of them will make a silver chip. But what can I buy for a copper?¡± ¡°Well 20-30 coppers will get you a night in a cheap inn. 2 coppers will get you a loaf of fresh bread. 1 copper chip will get you a loaf of stale bread. A full meal will normally run between 5-10 copper.¡± ¡°You half-to remember that anyone, can go out and kill a couple creatures for their coins. This is considered culling the wild and is encouraged, since it reduces monster populations near most cities. The kingdom makes a point of providing food and lodging for cheap rates to encourage non-leveled individuals to hunt the spawn points for a few coins. This tends to greatly reduce the homeless. Therefore, essentials are easy to get. But it becomes expensive for luxury items and advanced weapons. Most quality metal weapons will start at silver and go up from there." ¡°It is cheap to live but cost a lot to thrive. Luxury is expensive.¡± chapter 8 80 Copper was my take from this excursion. I then spent 30 on a potion for pain. (Tashia felt guilty and gave it to me at half price).I went to my tent to lay down before I drank the potion and tried to activateMana Burn. My mind, my body, everything went numb as the potion took hold. It took every ounce of my willpower for me to activate the ability while trying to push past the numbness. I had no feeling in my body. I felt like a surgery victim of an inept anesthesiologist. Numb all over but still aware of what was happening around me. That is until I managed to activate my ability. One of the first things my mana burn ability ¡°healed¡± was the effects of the potion. My body was so overwhelmed from the pain that it just locked up. Full body spasms shot through me. I was forcefully flexing and releasing muscles I didn¡¯t existed. Rapid twitching of the nervous system far faster than I thought possible. It was like my body was vibrating but I couldn¡¯t scream. In an attempt to keep my ability to myself I moved away from the companions I was traveling with, and into the furthest tent from the group. This seemed to have backfired. They knew where I was but were keeping their distance, so I could ¡°rest¡±. It felt like hours, but I knew it was only minutes before the spasms receded. Now all I had to wait for was having my mana regenerating. It was this time that Tiana came in to check on me. ¡°Oh no your burning up¡± Since my mana burn was still in effect I was still unable to respond until regaining all my spent mana. Tiana quickly ran out and returned with her bag. She was quick to pull an unlabeled bottle out of it and proceeded to pour it into my mouth. Unable to refuse the potion I began to choke on it as it slid down my throat and the spasms began anew. All the shivering and twitching all the aches and pains returned. Tiana trying to help grabbed me and tried to steady me keeping me from hurting myself. My hips thrust, and my shoulders shot to the ground. My much more powerful muscles combined with Tashia¡¯s tiny frame caused her to launch into the air like a rubber ball bounce off one of the poles and roll back out the tent. I could hear her scream for help as the tent slowly began to collapse around me. In a moment of surreal enlightenment, I was able to sense all the mana and threads of magic in the air around me. My continuous spasms and state if near asphyxiation caused me to release control of my body. Once I loosened my grip on the world around me I was able to observe the aspects of the threads as the drifted in the air around me. I could see what I assumed to be threads of air leaving the tent as it was still collapsing. Reaching out with my senses I was briefly able to grasp the threads before the last of them left the tent. I spent no mana of my own, I just touched it with my conscience I touched it with thought and watched as it moved around it. I was holding what I believed to be air and wind in my thoughts. I then knew that if I was to feed mana into these strands then I would be using wind in a spell. I was now excited. All I needed was to heal myself and get back to work. The spasms quickly left this time and my body was relaxed again and attempting to recover the spent mana. It took Bartram and Rendrake over half an hour to convince Tashia that I did not need another potion and that my body was purifying itself of all toxins. Any more potions and my body would go into another spasm to try to burn it off again.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. All this did was cause her to cry again. Soon enough my mana was recovered, and I was greeted by some unexpected popups. You have gained 8(2+6) strength. You have gained 4(1+3) speed. You have gained 8(2+6) constitution. Total hp 220 You have learned Partitioned mind. You have gained 20(5+15) willpower. Partitioned mind allows the individual to separate thought from their physical body to focus on the world around them. More advanced versions will allow the user to cast multiple spells simultaneously. Also allows clear thoughts through pain. Total mana 350 Mana fully recovered I was quick to get up and go to Tashia who was still crying. She was too upset to notice me approach her, so I did the most reasonable thing I could think of. I picked her up into my arms and gave her a big kiss on the forehead. ¡°Thank you Tashia you were a big help.¡± I succeeded in stoping her crying and left her there in a state of confusion before I helped reassemble the tent and prepped myself for bed. I awoke early the next day to assist in packing the camp. Excited to be leaving the valley we were in, we skipped having a morning meal and headed out as soon as camp was packed. I was depending on my traveling companions as I lost myself in thought trying to study the strands of energy around us. I would watch the birds in the air and see how the wind blew around their wings. I watched as it would curl in the air on the downstroke and seem to be pulled in on the up. Watching these birds was how I was able to form my first ¡°useful¡± spell. While I Watched the birds, I saw one of them pull the strands of wind towards itself and shape it into a ball, I could then see it fill the ball of wind with mana and push it away from itself. The ball shot across the air close to a hundred yards before hitting a larger bird, knocking it out of the sky. This couldn¡¯t be the how easy the spell was to cast. Could it? ¡°Guys I want to try a spell out, is there something safe to try it on? Last thing I want to do is attack a bird and find out that it is more powerful than all of us combined.¡± As long as you don¡¯t hit a pack animal or a hive we should be fine here. The crown regularly has harvesting weeks for the lower class where there is triple reward for all creature bounties. This tends to keep all the creatures in the area to a low level since they don¡¯t have the time to gain strength. If you wait an hour we will be at a steady horned rabbit warren. They are almost impossible to wipe out all the way since they have a rapid reproduction.¡± As soon as we came to the warren I was greeted by a large area where all the trees and vegetation were torn up with partially collapsed tunnels and holes in the ground. I was also quick to spot multiple horned rabbits using their horns to dig new holes, and uproot roots in the area to eat. ¡°What¡¯s the bounty for horned rabbits?¡± 3 coppers for the horns 5-10 for the pelt, and 1-2 for the meat if its fresh. Bounty is only on the horns, the other items are market prices.¡± ¡°Why go after goblins at all if you get so much for rabbits?¡± ¡°It is actually the other way around.¡± Replied Rendrake. ¡°Goblins might only have a 10 copper bounty on there ear, but they often carry other items like iron knives or earrings. That kris blade from the one Tashia got before he stabbed you will fetch close to a silver. They also have larger amounts of coins inside them. Goblins can have as many as 20 copper on them, though you would be pressed to get 5 on a rabbit. This is just these grunts we have out here. I hear that some of the tribal goblins will even have enchanted blades¡± Looking back at the rabbit there was one thing I was quick to notice. They were big. The average size came up to around mid-thigh not including the horn. The second thing I noticed was that they were not running or hiding in fear. They were defensive and looked ready to attack.