《Spell Analyst》 Chapter 1 - Bapyrvaurin Yxsneyoem (Prologue) Chapter 1 It was a fine winter''s day as Jude traveled by car to his friend¡¯s place. Murl was a physicist and Jude had known him since college. They had bonded over their love for math and video games. Jude was probably Murl¡¯s only friend, but that was because of Murl¡¯s crazy idea. Murl believed that all information that has existed, still exists, just in another place or dimension. He was a little crazy over the idea and had worked on it for many years, even after college. While the scientific community had dismissed Murl¡¯s ideas, he was still able to get himself a few grants to continue his work. Apparently, Murl had made a recent breakthrough. This was why Jude was heading over to see Murl, not that he had bought into the whole theory. He did find the theory interesting if a bit unrealistic. He was also Murl¡¯s friend, so when Murl told him about the breakthrough and that he might need Jude¡¯s help, Jude would at least go over to take a look and listen. Murl live/worked in an old rundown warehouse that was part of the declining industrial district. So, when Jude drove up to the place it gave him a sketchy feeling. The warehouse was worn down and rusted. Its meager parking lot was cracked and broken, dead weeds sprang up from every place they could. Winter had only given the place an even drearier look. Jude entered without knocking as was Murl¡¯s policy. The entry was an office setup that was converted to be more of a home for Murl. Jude weaved back and forth through the maze until he reached the back of the office area, which resembled more of a computer server room. It reminded Jude of the older days when he worked for a smaller company. The server room was filled with mismatch computers connected by a spider web of cables. It would be easier to cut all the wires rather than attempt to detangle the mess, not that it was his problem. Jude finally found Murl in the warehouse section of the building. Murl was surrounded by large pieces of equipment that looked more like experiments that Tesla would be doing. Electricity flew off coils and the hum of electronics was quite loud, but not overbearing. Murl finally notices Jude and waved him over excitedly, ¡°Come over, it¡¯s working right now!¡± Murl quickly started explaining his science, which went way over Jude''s head. But the gist of it was, he finally solved the problem of viewing the information from the other dimension. This is because the other dimension is filled with information from our world, either written, drawn or printed. It also draws in digital information from computers, media, television, etc. The problem with his experiments before was that if he tried to examine the other dimension it was stored in a computer which would then be stored back into that dimension which would then be stored on the computer. This created a feedback loop that would end up frying the device. Now they were looking at what seemed to be an old tube television from the 70¡¯s taken apart leaving the screen and bowl-shaped enclosure behind it and the electron gun behind that. The screen itself was displaying random information and was constantly changing. I first saw what appeared to be a blog post, then it changed to some random pictures, probably from Facebook, then it switches to a part of a video or movie, and it continued to do so. Then I saw a chapter of what I think was Moby-Dick only to be perverted by a picture of naked people next. Thanks, internet, you¡¯ve ruined an entire dimension with this stuff! ¡°You see, all this information is being gathered from the ¡®Info D¡¯,¡± That¡¯s the name of the dimension that Murl gave it. ¡°This equipment is not tied to any computer, storage array or memory. The best way to explain what you are seeing on the monitor is that it is a live feed. All of this equipment is on a closed circuit, no access to the internet. So the information you see on the monitor is all coming from the Info D!¡± Murl was quite excited and rightfully so. While most people would still question his results as somehow being falsified, Jude knew Murl was not that kind of a person. ¡°This is truly amazing!¡± Jude replied, ¡°but how did you get it to display without some sort of memory?¡± The discussion quickly turned very technical and Jude found it interesting regardless of not understanding everything. After all his technical specialty was programming and data analysis. An hour later they came to the next topic. ¡°So you see,¡± Murl said, ¡°I need help with the data analysis.¡± This was an odd request, so I replied, ¡°How would I be able to do that? If you can¡¯t store any data what will I be analyzing?¡± ¡°That¡¯s just it, over the centuries the data that flowed into Info D was stable and steady. Literature, art and other mediums were limited and unable to be mass produced. That all changed, starting with the printing press. ¡°The printing press and later printing methods put a moderate strain on the dimension with the influx of information into it. But from what I¡¯ve theorized is that it only helped strengthen it for what came next.¡± ¡°Let me guess, the Internet?¡± Jude said.Stolen novel; please report. ¡°Yes and no. Remember the computer came before the internet. But there was also television and movies. In short, the amount of information kept increasing. Starting with printing, then television, then computers, and finally EXPLODING with the Internet. And that¡¯s not even mentioning all the other devices, like phones, cameras, and game consoles. Just think of all those E.T. Atari games that got dumped. That was not just one copy of a terrible game sent over to Info D, but millions!¡± ¡°Wait a second, you said something about exploding?¡± Jude said surprised. ¡°Oh that¡¯s right, you see everything has a tipping point. A glass can only hold so much water, a balloon can only handle so much air and a diver can only go down so deep. Info D can only hold so much information. After a certain point, it will reach critical mass (or critical info in this case) and something spectacular will happen!¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Reaching the tipping point isn¡¯t always a bad thing. Take a star for example, before it becomes a star it¡¯s just a mass of gas. If that gas doesn¡¯t reach a point where it can no longer push itself out faster than gravity compresses it back in and it continues to gain more and more mass, eventually it turns into a star!¡± ¡°So what exactly is going to happen when Info D reaches that point?¡± ¡°A big bang of information! It will no longer be another dimension but rather the start of a new universe! This universe will be like our, but also very different. Its very foundation is completely different than ours and the only reason why it would resemble ours at all is becomes all of its information comes from us. ¡°You see, once that happens the entirety of Info D will begin to stabilize. The flow of new information will be restricted. Much like a star, which is so hot that new gasses will be pushed away from it rather than gathering more. This new universe will be quite resilient to new information which means that we can begin data mining it!¡± Jude replied, ¡°I see. So once that happens there will no longer be a feedback loop. This is even more amazing than I first thought!¡± ¡°Ha ha, that¡¯s just the start! After the universe stabilizes, I want you to program us some avatars, so that we can explore this universe!¡± ¡°Wait, what?!?¡± ¡°Think about it! The universe¡¯s primary principle is data, we don¡¯t need to build probes to explore it, we just need to program data too! We can be the first Digital Explorers! Like Lewis and Clark, we would be Murl and Jude!¡± *** I started helping Murl in my free time away from work, but it quickly became necessary for more of a commitment. To be honest, I was nervous, but I couldn¡¯t pass up a chance like this. The pay cut was massive and no one seemed to understand. However, visionaries rarely are understood. Then again, neither are people who are nuts, I guess only time will tell which one I am. Will I go down in history with Murl as great innovators and explorers or will I be forgotten by history? I can only work hard to decide which fate I will belong to. Time started to fly by and it was only a month later that Info D had its ''Big Bang'' (or maybe it its Info Bang?) Murl had theorized that there would be a time dilatation between our universes during this period. But I was still surprised, every second here was over 400 years there. Murl theorized that it would slow down and stabilize in two to three years, making time there relatively similar to here. That didn¡¯t mean we didn¡¯t have anything to do, we were actually quite busy. The data mining phase had begun. Our goals were to gain enough data to prove our theories to the scientific community and to find ancient data that no longer exists. These two goals, however, ended up being fruitless. The scientific community treated us like a pariah, we were like Galileo saying the earth was round and we orbited the sun! Luckily we managed to keep our funding, but just barely. Finding ancient data was even harder. We didn¡¯t underestimate the internet and how much information was stored there, but we did underestimate the amount of information that has come and gone with computers. The amount of information that is backed up, backed up again and again the very next day. Every time a document is sent to a printed, it¡¯s stored on that printer, printed, then deleted, each step sends it to Info D. (I really need to talk to Murl about that name...). That¡¯s not even mentioning the 1.9 billion games that are out there, and that¡¯s not even beginning to talk about each copy or how many files each one has! To find the information we are looking for is like trying to find a few grains of sand in the entire universe! All was not bad, however. The universe was stabilizing and I was finally making progress on the avatar program. I started by first sending out pre-programmed avatars, NPC¡¯s basically, to see if the transfer process would work. The universe was still going too fast for a more hands-on approach. It didn¡¯t take long for this process to evolve into setting up the NPC¡¯s to attempt to send us back information. The process had little chance of succeeding, but with the time dilation, there was little else that could be done on the avatar project. So if there was a little chance of success, then multiplying the amount sent should give off a better chance. Murl said my math was flawed, but I wanted to try anyway. To give me better odds, I started to give the NPC¡¯s statistics some randomized variables. I also created different types. Murl and I played MMO¡¯sduring our free time, so I went with the traditional fantasy types. Creating dragons, elves, dwarves, orcs, etc. The universe is big, so I doubt that they would ever meet, but it was fun to think that I had somehow made a fantasy world in another universe! *** The incident happened one day near the end of Info D¡¯s stabilization period. We were trying a new type of avatar insertion. Murl wanted a more direct approach as he was worried that the lag time would make it impossible to actually control the avatars when it came time. Murl was a genius and a visionary, so I, of course, went along with it. However, I did not truly know the danger that we were in. Murl perhaps did, but I¡¯m not sure. Was he just that excited and impatient that he went too far? I was working at a terminal in the warehouse area so that I could control the insertion of the avatar NPC test project. Murl was standing next to what he affectionately called the Portal which to me looked more like five tesla coils. Portal, in the end, was a more accurate term. As soon as we initiated the sequence, Murl¡¯s new addition actually opened a portal into Info D. Murl was the first to be sucked in. Like a black hole, nothing could resist it''s pulled and I too was drawn into the portal while still holding on to my terminal. I¡¯m not sure what happened to Murl. But as soon as I entered the portal the terminal disintegrated and seemed to form a bubble around me. Soon I found myself in the most bizarre place¡­. Chapter 2 - Bajadin Sniry (Prologue) Jude had left his universe. Where he was now however, wasn¡¯t exactly Info D either. It was, but it also wasn¡¯t. He stood on an infinitely flat plan that seemed to be like extremely thick glass. Beyond the glass was pitch darkness, as if nothing existed beyond it. What overlaid the glass was much more interesting. As far as the eye could see was the impression of computer circuitry. But they were only visible for an instant as if they were lit up when an electron ran through it. Except a single electron would not power these thick lines. They were at least 2 feet wide. This lit up the entire surroundings as they were continuously flashing. Jude spent no small amount of time staring at the scene. It was a beautiful golden yellow glow that stretched out towards the horizon. That was when he noticed what was above him. He realized that the horizon was unfathomable for him. The ground was extremely flat, yet it rose at what must have been 1cm per million or so light years! For what was above him was the entire universe of Info D! The ground he stood on seemed to encompasses the entire universe. Viewing the universe however was odd. It was like a lens was affixed between him and the trillions of galaxies. Yet there was one solar system and one planet that always seemed to be in view. Like it was the focus of the entirety of Info D. No matter how Jude moved his head, this planet and solar system would not leave focus. It was neither the center nor the most prominent looking place, but it would somehow always remain visible. The rest of the universe would move as you would expect light to do through a lens. It was at this point that Jude noticed two things. First Murl was nowhere in sight. The second was that he couldn¡¯t move! Everything above the waist seemed fine, but the rest of him felt like it was encased in cement. Jude remained oddly calm, assessing the situation. Panicking would get him nowhere. Right now he had to analyze his new environment. A Systems Analyst is what he was and it was what he is good at. This was clearly the largest system that had ever existed. The more Jude thought about it the more excited he became. Who else would have the chance to study something like this? This was essentially a naturally formed computer system based on the ideas and concepts that his universe had developed! If he could understand what was occurring here he would essentially understand the very base building blocks of the entire universe! This understanding was also probably the only way of him escaping too¡­ Examining both the universe and the ground that he was standing on, Jude started to come to a few conclusions. Most likely all the NPC¡¯s that he had sent here would have ended up on that planet, for the lens would most likely also act like a funnel for data. At least for new data. Duplicates of data would most likely make up the rest of the entire universe. If this was correct then the planet that was in focus could possibly be the condensation of all the first copies ever made. This was probably why he was never able to retrieve ancient data as there wouldn¡¯t be any copies of them. The retrieval process of the data wouldn¡¯t be able to enter the focus of the lens but would be regulated towards the outskirts as it was easier. Jude hoped that Murl was ok. If he had to guess, Murl did not get stuck here but had arrived on the planet of the focus. Now that he was in this place a lot of the theories that he and Murl had discussed made more sense as to why or why not they would be possible. The effect of computers, networks and the internet had a far greater impact on Info D than they had ever realized. That was clear by the very structure that Jude stood on. With this in mind Jude began to study the computer architecture of the universe! *** Time flowed by slowly. The phases of the planet served as Jude¡¯s clock as it seemed to rotate in about the same amount of time that earth did. He didn¡¯t have a watch or phone with him so it was impossible to tell for sure. He wasn¡¯t sure what happened to his phone, but guessed that it also disintegrated like the terminal did. He also felt abnormally sluggish here. His thoughts didn''t seem to come quickly and his memory seemed poor. Another oddity was the lack of hunger and thirst. It had already been a month since he had been here, yet he had not a crumb or drop to eat or drink. He was unsure if it was the Universe Plane he stood on that supplied his body with nutrients or just being here kept his body in a sort of suspended animation. It was also quite possible that he had been completely digitized and no longer had an actual body. But it still felt like his body, so that couldn¡¯t possibly be it, right?! Sleep was also funny. Instead of normal sleep, he woulddazeout for an unknown period of time. It wasn¡¯t so bad, just different andafterwardhe would feel refreshed. Jude''s body was now free as well. It took a while, the whole month in fact. He explored a bit, but the scenery was never changing and ever changing as the flashes of circuitry was always constant, but also ever changing. Or so it seemed at first.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. It was actually more like layered circuitry. It had taken quite a while to figure this out, but eventually after focusing on one particular area he finally noticed the pattern. It was a lot harder than one might think. After all he did not have any material or devices to take notes. The flashes that revealed the pattern of circuitry was also quite quick and didn¡¯t stay long. Added to this the fact that there were at least 100 layers of circuitry it was almost a miracle that he figured it out. Not that Jude had anything else to do. There was nothing to eat, nothing to drink, no one to talk to, nothing to read, really all there was the circuitry and stargazing. *** A year had passed. Jude thought back wondered if his hunger and odd dream state had something to do with his old universe. After all, if he was somehow still partially in the other universe, then a second hadn¡¯t even passed by yet. So how would he be hungry? That was kind of a depressing thought though. If it was true then if he was stuck here then it might be thousands of years before he would feel hungry. Only to slowly get more and more so. Perhaps millions of years before his actual body died while his mind suffered! Yeah, depressing. Which is why Jude decided to not think about it and concentrate on understanding his environment. There was still the possibility that he could change something if he could gain enlightenment on it. The only thing he had made progress on this year was the ¡®focus¡¯ of the universe. He found that if he made just the right movements with his head, a tilt here, a nod there, he could get a closer view of the planet. Instead of a distant orb, it was now clearly in front of him. He could see the weather patterns and continents, the oceans and seas. With little else to do, Jude continued to seek answers. *** 100 years pass. By this point, Jude no longer kept track of the time, except maybe the time of day. But even that had become less important. His ability to zoom in the Focus had become much better. Now his view was more like Google Maps but not yet Street View. Still he could occasionally make out people, especially when there was a large battle. It made him wonder if any of the NPC¡¯s he had sent survived. Which then made him wonder if the NPC¡¯s would age? This was another universe, what if nothing aged? Jude had so many questions and as time passed he only continued to gain more. His biggest however was neither the Focus or the Digitial Plane. He found a circuit like structure that resided inside himself, that resembled the Digital Plane. The Digital Laws that governed this universe seemed to slowly be affecting him. He was becoming part of this universe and so he was fundamentally changing as well. He had very little control over this circuitry and he could only sense it when he was in his sleep like state. Whatever the circuitry was, it was still growing inside of him. Like he had yet to be fully part of the universe. Perhaps when it fully manifested, he would leave this Digitial Plane. But if that was true, where was Murl? Maybe getting stuck here had slowed the process down. After all, he was in the universe, yet he was not. Looking up was the universe. He was merely on the edge. *** Untold years later. Jude had now seen the rise and fall of many nations and kingdoms. He had seen people die by the hundreds of thousands, great hero¡¯s rise and dark villains wreak havoc across the world. Yet he knew not a single name. He didn¡¯t know why or what for. All he could do was watch. He wished he could hear. All the sound he heard now was that of himself and the low hum of the Digital Plane. Still, he had hope. His own internal circuitry was now much more robust. No longer did he need to be in the dream like state to access it. But now had full control over it. He called it his Modicuit (combination of Modular and Circuit). Using his Modicuit, he was able to interface into the Digital Plane. He was finally able to do experiments! He wasn¡¯t able to directly connect to the Digital Plane, after all the circuits were far too big being around 2 feet in width. His own circuits were practically imaginary and could only be seen with his mind''s eye. However, Jude had discovered more circuitry that seemed to exist in the air. It wasn¡¯t noticeable at first, as the grounds circuitry overpowered the ones in the air by its mere brightness. The circuitry in the air was so small and thin that the width of hairs would probably be bigger. They only seem to light up if a circuit below activates, but its brightness outshines the ones in the air by a large margin. Jude was only able to discover them after connecting to his Modicuit while awake. The Modicuit seemed to resonate with the air circuits and through much trial and error, Jude was finally able to connect his Modicuit to them. Connecting with his Modicuit was the easy part. It took much longer to get anything useful out of the Digital Plane. Eventually, he was able to open up screens and much like in movies they were holographic in nature. Once he had the screens he then began exploring the data he could find, the amount of which was enormous even if he had limited access. The limited access was surprising as it felt like he was a general user on a highly secured network. But in a way it was a good thing since it limited how much he had to search through. And even then it seemed to go on forever. Most of the information was garbage, totally unreadable. It was like looking at an executable file in notepad. He did have some success and found controls and functions, but there was no description. He played with a few until he realizes that they could have devastating effects as he was literally in the universe¡¯s control room! Things took a drastic change one day when he found the Character Creation tool. *** When Jude directed the electrons from his Modicuit into a new set of air circuits he was pleasantly surprised! A screen popped up with a character creation tool! It was a very nostalgic feeling. While it had been an innumerable amount of years here on the Digital Plane, it was also mostly the same every day. With no one to talk to or anyone to interact with the monotony of life had become extreme. This made his past in the old universe still feel fresh and it hadn¡¯t faded into obscurity. Murl and Jude had spent a lot of time playing MMO¡¯s as it was the most cost effect form of entertainment. They spent most of their time working, so they never got to be uber players, but getting close to the top was possible for them. The character creation tool felt very familiar, it was like every game out there¡¯s interface had been mashed into one, leaving only the best parts behind. The whole thing was easy, seamless and beautiful. Jude got lost in the process, tweaking ever little bit. After all, he hadn¡¯t had this kind of entertainment in eons. When he was finally done¡­ He felt a little bit nervous¡­ Would this free him? Or would this be just another NPC? Or worse, nothing at all¡­ With trepidation, he clicked the Create Character Button. Chapter 3 - I Raw Zeynb Jude woke up in a small patch of grass in the middle of a random forest. For the first time in a long time, his mind felt free! He hadn¡¯t realized how suppressed his mental capacity had been when he was on the Digital Plane. Now he was free! And in more way than one. He had long forgotten the feeling of, well, feeling! The grass beneath him, the smell in the air, the air in his lungs! He hadn¡¯t known how dead he had felt before. Before he had felt neither cold nor hot, but now he could feel the warmth of the sun on his skin. After feeling the joys, he felt the less than joys. The course cloth he was wearing, the small stones in his back and a sudden cold wind, the sign of the seasons changing. This all brought Jude back to reality. Sitting up, Jude assessed the situation. He wore a course cloth light green almost white short robe and some baggie brown peasant like pants. He had a rope for a belt and roughshod leather boots. Looking towards the tree¡¯s near him, he noticed that the leaves were changing. He would need warm clothes soon. He stood up in the waist high grass and found that he stood in quite the picturesque scene. Old wood surrounded him, their leaves while changing still blocked out most of the light. The patch of grass he stood in was free of the lumbering growths, creating a beam of light shining in the darkness. Jude felt safe for the moment. He was well hidden in the tall dead grass. Since he arrived by creating a character, he figured it was safe to assume that this reality had some sort of game aspects to it. And if that was so, he should have a Character Screen or Status¡ªOh there it is.
Name Jude
Gender: Male Age: 15
Race/Echelon Human/Freeman 1
Primary Class Wizard 1
Other Classes 0
Stats
HP MP Str Spi Agi Char
17 22 10 11 10 10
Job Skills Special Skills General Skills
Spectral Magic I Common V (Lang)
Equipment Other Stats
Clothes (Starter Set) HP Rgen .01 HP/M
Basic Shortsword MP Rgen .37 MP/M
Stats Description
HP Health Points This represents how much health you have.
MP Mana Points MP is the amount of magical power a creature has to use magic and skills.
Str Strength Strength is the representation of not only one''s physical power but also the life force that resides inside the person.
Spi Spirit Spirit is the combination of one''s innate magical power, knowledge, intelligence, and wisdom. The higher the Spirit, the better at magic one will be.
Agi Agility Agility is the combination of all things dexterous. Whether it is making something with fine detail, to avoiding danger. It all depends on your Agility.
Char Charisma Charisma can affect many different aspects of life. From rulershipto commanding others, to drawing attention to one''s self and to draw it away. Of course, Charisma also affects things like bartering. In the end, it can determine how much someone likes you.
That¡¯s interesting, Jude thought, if there is a status screen, then I wonder if there is an Options screen? Ah good! After perusing the Options menu, Jude turned on what he thought would be helpful. Like Name Plates, Threat, Health Bars, Object Names, HUD, etc. Jude looked around, not much had changed. Now he had a visual of his Health and Mana in the corner of his vision, or perhaps mind, it was hard to explain with words. Next was the fun part. Jude had always wanted to be able to do Magic and now he was an honest to goodness Wizard! But he was unsure of how to actually do magic. So he opened up his Status screen again and read the description for Spectral Magic:
Spectral Magic Rank I A magic of pure ether and mana. Using nothing but the power of your mana you can create objects and manipulate them to your will. Spectral Magic is considered one of the weakest magics, but the most versatile. Rank 1. Spectral Weapons Unlocked. Spectral Weapons: Using a weapon as a focus, create ether images of that weapon to fight for you.
Jude was still not sure how to activate the skill. Was he supposed to chant something, or maybe he had to say the name out loud? But wait, he didn¡¯t have his weapon equipped. During character creation, he had selected a staff and a sword. But it wasn¡¯t anywhere near him. Inventory? It worked! Just like a game, Jude had opened his inventory. He had a 20 stack of food and water, which was a relief that he hadn¡¯t thought of yet. He also found the staff, sword, some health potions, and bandages. He had taken the staff because wizards usually use something like that. The sword was just too cool to pass up. He had always wanted one! But taking both weapons meant that the staff was not much more than a walking stick. The sword was a little better but still pretty basic. He took the sword out and immediately felt its weight in his hands. Jude had never held a sword before, but in an unknown world filled with dangers, it was a weight of comfort. Now that he had his sword, he focused on it and said, ¡°Spectral Weapons!¡± And nothing happened. At least not in the physical world. Jude felt something in the back of his head similar to the Modicuit that he had used back on the Digital Plane. This time he focused on the Modicuit while he said the words. ¡°Spectral Weapons.¡± There it was! There was a flash of circuitry inside of his Modicuit. Back in the Digital Plane, the Modicuit had been very limited. Now it seemed to have expanded some to include this new skill. But nothing had happened outside of the Modicuit. Jude continued to experiment. Next, he added hand movements. This seemed to map out more of the Spectral Weapons circuit. It didn¡¯t take long for the movements to somehow become familiar to him. It was akin to using a mouse and keyboard on a computer, the movements came without thinking.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Jude still hadn¡¯t succeeded yet, but then he remembered that he had to use the weapon as a focus. That¡¯s when he realized that he had to connect the skill circuits to the sword! Jude wasn¡¯t consciously aware how to do this, but he felt that the right gesture would accomplish the task along with a little mental fortitude. If he could stretch out the output circuit down his arm to the weapon. ¡°Spectral Weapons!¡± POP! A loud sound banged in his head, leaving him with a glaring headache and a burning sensation along his arm and into his hand. However, there floating in front of him was a dazzling replica of his sword. The only difference was that it was tinted a color that changed from violet to blue. ¡°This doesn¡¯t seem to be too ethereal to me,¡± Jude commented to himself. He clanged the floating sword and real sword together and found the Spectral Sword to be quite real. This felt a little off from the description and Jude wondered if it had something to do with connecting the Spectral Weapons circuit to the sword itself. He played with the Spectral Sword a bit, having it move around like a remote control flying sword. It didn¡¯t last long as the skill ended and the sword disappeared. That was when Jude found that he had no mana left! He hadn¡¯t used much mana mapping out the Spectral Weapons circuit, but manifesting the sword for a short period of time depleted all his mana. Jude sat still waiting for his mana to return. He took this time to examine the Spectral Weapons¡¯ circuitry. From his observations, he knew there should be several ways to use the circuitry. Using different paths and how he entered mana into the circuitry would have different effects. He quickly came the conclusion that the mana cost he had just experienced was not due to the skill, but rather his unconventional way of connecting to the sword. He had created a new circuit. One that wasn¡¯t there before. That was when Jude noticed something new and mentally clicked on it.
Title Gained: SkillSage One who is able to transcend the normal to achieve the improbable. To rank up a skill in an extraordinary way. 5 Spi
Well, that was cool, Did I just get smarter? At least it confirms my suspicion. Now I just need to find out how much mana it will cost me to use the skill normally. Then I can refine it down to make it more efficient. *** Jude couldn¡¯t wait for his mana to fully regenerate before he started playing, err analyzing, his new Spectral Weapons skill. He found out that with his current understanding the skill cost 4 MP, which meant he could cast it 6 times when at full MP. This didn¡¯t seem very efficient to Jude as it was his first and only skill that he had to rely on. In most games, your very first skill was one that was practically free, albeit weak. Since he could see the inner workings of the skill with the Modicuit, it didn¡¯t take long for him to make the skill more efficient. He found that duration played a big factor in the mana consumption, so he focused the skill so that it only activated during the swing. This limited the range as the sword always manifested right in front of Jude. However, it did bring the mana cost down to 1mp. Success. During his testing, he also found a looping effect that allowed him to duplicate the sword up to 8 times. As long as he didn¡¯t use a routine that keeps the swords out for more than an instant the mana usage remained at 1 mp, otherwise keeping it out for an extended period of time multiplied the mana drain. By this point it was mid-day and a good half of the grass had been mowed down. Jude decided to take a break, eat lunch and recoup some mana. He headed into what was left of the tall grass when his foot hit a hard stone and made him stumble, falling to the ground. ¡°What the heck is this?¡± He asked as he picked up the strange stone. Jude was quickly greeted with new information as soon as he picked it up.
[Stone of Stumbling] Quest Item Quest: Find the Origins of [Stone of Stumbling] Do you accept? [y/n]
Yes! Jude, of course, accepted his first quest! Then he looked at the stone. After closer examination and a little cleaning, he found the [Stone of Stumbling] to be a broken part of a stone tablet. The words on it, however, were unreadable by him. It was a language that he did not understand. After eating he picked up the stone again and examined it while he waited for his mana to recover. The side with the text was very smooth and the characters beautiful. Whatever language it was; it was at least pleasant to look at. The other sides seemed to be uncut nor crafted, yet they retained an elegant nature about them that was hard to describe. The only sad part was the broken edge. All he had was the corner of what must have been an exquisite piece of work.
By meditating on a holy object you¡¯ve gained a new skill! Special Skill Gained: Meditation Rank I Gather mana quicker by sitting down and meditating. 10% Mana regeneration while active.
Jude sat quietly and activated the skill. He looked to the Modicuit to see what happened and noticed a new circuit that looked like a spring with capacitors at one end. Once the skill was active, it started working on its own, and Jude didn¡¯t see any way to interact with it, so he left it alone. Having his mana restored, Jude made off in a random direction as he had no clue which way to go. Inside the forest, he found level 1 or 2 small wolves. He knew this because they had ¡°small wolf¡± written over their head and were considered of equal power. Each one was viewed neutral and just like a game, it would stay that way unless he did something to anger them. Like attacking them. Jude wasn¡¯t sure if they would ¡®link¡¯ like in a game if they saw him attacking another one, so he waited and found one alone. This was like a game, so to level, he needed experience and to get experience, he had to hunt things. At least it wasn¡¯t a bunny. He had found some, but they were classified as ¡®critter¡¯ and he was pretty sure they wouldn¡¯t give him any EXP. He hadn¡¯t used Spectral Weapons before on an actual opponent, so he readied his sword in case it came down to melee. The modified Spectral Weapons was pretty close range so he was only guaranteed the first hit with it. After steadying himself he began! ¡°Spectral Weapons!¡± The eight blades swished through the air so fast you could barely make them out before they disappeared. Jude had attacked the from behind just in case, but quickly found it unnecessary. What happened next nearly made him throw up and in fact, he had to swallow a bit of it down. The received the attack like butter against hot knives. After the attack happened it merely stood there for a second before falling to the forest floor in many chunks. The smell of blood quickly filled the air and made Jude nearly hurl once again. Video games had not prepared him for this. He had played gory games before, but the real thing was much different. Worst of all, it was a complete waste. There was no way to recover the pelt or anything else that might have been useful. He didn¡¯t know how to do these things, but he would have at least tried. But now he wasn¡¯t sure what to do with ¡®wolf chunks.¡¯ After this, Jude decided to modify his Spectral Weapons yet again. He clearly didn¡¯t need all 8 weapons, even if it was just as efficient as one. As he was preparing to leave something peculiar happened. The corpse, despawned! It wasn¡¯t anything flashy, all it seemed to do was melt into the soil without leaving a stain behind. Did it despawn or did the forest reclaim it? At least I don¡¯t have to worry about leaving behind a trail of dead bodies! Feeling a little better, Jude continued on towards his next victim. ¡°Spectral Weapons!¡± This time the weapon shot out in a piercing motion rather than a swinging one. ¡°YIP!¡± The sounded. It didn''t die! It was barely hurt when it turned around and lunged at Jude! He put the sword up defensively and somehow blocked the wolf¡¯s charge receiving only a few scratches. The wolf was wounded and hence slowed down, this allowed Jude the advantage to do a sword strike! He stabbed his sword forward much like he had done with the spell and delivered yet another blow! The wolf, however, had yet to give up its life and quickly followed Jude¡¯s retracting arm. The then landed a bite on his thigh and latched on! The wolf was now too close for Jude to make good use of a sword swing, so he quickly reversed his grip on the sword and drove it down into the wolf. The made one last moan before collapsing to the grown dead. Jude had lost 5 hp, about a third of his hitpoints. This time he had taken his opponent too lightly, next time he would be more prepared. It was disturbing, but dicing a wolf into small chunks was much better than losing his life! He had some bandages and health potions in his inventory as starting equipment. He was about to use a bandage but then noticed that it was primarily for bleeding effects. Oddly enough, he wasn¡¯t really bleeding that bad after being bit by a wolf and losing a quarter of his health! Now he continued on a little bit wiser. The next wolf he saw, ¡°Spectral Weapons!¡± he said. This time 8 weapons slashed out, cutting the wolf into little chunks. Without blinking an eye, Jude continued on to his next target. ¡°Spectral Weapons.¡± This time all 8 swords pierced the target leaving the small wolf mostly one piece. Jude was getting better at control. *** Jude continued on like this as he went through the forest. Slowly experimenting with the number of blades and how they attacked. This time, however, he was much more careful and didn¡¯t go to any extremes like he did the first time. He gained a level which fully healed him and after a while gained yet another one, putting him at level 3. It wasn¡¯t until later that he noticed that he had gained something else. Killing the wolf in a melee action gave him access to another job, Warrior. Chapter 4 - Peyjir Once Jude reached level 3, the exp he gained from killing decreased dramatically. He could still get to level 4, but it would be more efficient if he found something harder. But since he didn¡¯t know where he was or where the nearest town was, he decided to put more effort into finding civilization. It didn''t take long before Jude heard the noise of battle in the distance. Being careful he made his way towards the sound, he didn¡¯t want to just jump out in front of potential combatants. He made his way through some hedges and thick undergrowth and between the branches he peered out to see what was happening. He saw four young kids around the age of 15 and another man, possibly in his early 30¡¯s. The man wore a long free flowing brown robe tied cord at his waste. His hands were wrapped in a metal like cloth. Clearly, he was the most dangerous of the group. The others wore simple clothes and had simple weapons. Three boys and a girl. *** Hildred walked through the forest with her companions and the assigned Trainer Morgan. She found the three boys to be mostly annoying, especially after spending the last week and a half with them. Morgan said that their progress was fairly average, but to her, it felt dreadfully slow. They were only level two after more than a week of killing ! And she knew that the higher in levels you got, the longer it takes! Wardell, one of the boys aspiring to be a warrior, said angrily, ¡°Ugh, why is it taking so long to level! I¡¯ve heard there are people who can get level 2 in a day! Yet we have been here for weeks and just barely got level 2, who knows how long it will take to get level 3.¡± ¡°Now, now, Wardell,¡± Hildred tried to make her voice sound older than it was, ¡°Even two weeks to get level 2 is considered average. Since we did it in less than two weeks, it means we are above average!¡± Hildred sounded cheerful and convincing, but she didn¡¯t believe her own words. ¡°My older brother got to level 2 in five days,¡± said Dorman. ¡°But that was years ago, he¡¯s leveled so much now that he¡¯s already achieved the next class up!He he. And that job is-¡° ¡°We know, he¡¯s a knight,¡± Estel interrupted. Dorman had bragged more than once that his brother was a Knight, but Hildred doubted that to be true. After all, if his brother really was a Knight, then why didn¡¯t he help his brother level, or at the very least give Dorman better equipment. Dorman¡¯s equipment wasn¡¯t any better than Hildred¡¯s and she was a Healer. That¡¯s right, she was one of the rarer classes. Out of the four starting combat classes, Healer was one of the rarest, second only to Wizard. Warriors like Wardell and Dorman were the most common combat job and Estel was a rogue which was still pretty normal. Wizard was the rarest, and commoners like them didn¡¯t have one in their party. Morgan, their guide/teacher, was a Warrior who advanced to Monk. His overall level was over 30 which was quite impressive. ¡°Estel,¡± Dorman replied, ¡°you don¡¯t seem to know the true essence of a story. You can¡¯t just cut someone off like that. My dramatic pause and slight laugh were all ruined because of you.¡± ¡°What a load of bull!¡± Wardell cut in. ¡°How are my words bull?¡± ¡°How are they not bull? Anyone can say their brother became a knight without proving it. And where is your proof? You are dressed in the same rough clothing we are and the samecosh''ing sword too. Then you bash Estel, the only person who actually believes you!¡± Wardell laughed at the last part. Then he continued to dig it in, ¡°I mean look at him! Every time you mention something about your great and knightly brother he turns green with envy!¡± The whole situation was about to blow up when Morgan cut in. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough! If you guys put as much effort into training and leveling as you do bickering, you would have been level 2 in less than a week! Now stop the squabbling and attack the next wolf.¡± They all grumbled but still complied. Wardell lead the way to the next wolf with Dorman not far behind. Estel circled around and Hildred stayed back. She wasn¡¯t much help in the fights, except for healing. Morgan had led them to the area were the were level 2. Their HP had doubled and their speed wasn¡¯t bad, but their strength was still pretty low. Wardell rushed in toward the closest one and slashed downwards with his sword, chipping off a little bit of the wolfs HP. The retaliated with a bite back. Dorman came along the side of the wolf and swept up with his sword barely making contact. Estel came in from behind with his dagger and gingerly pierced towards its hind flanks. He missed and the jumped out of the way of all three. Wardell lunged at the wolf but missed miserably only to take a counter attack to the face. ¡°AAAAhh!¡± he cried. ¡°By the grace of healing and life, !¡± Hildred threw up a small roll of a bandage and as it sored up it unrolled. As the bandage unrolled it sparkled brightly and vanished. The sparkles floated down and landed on Wardell healing his HP. The fight lasted for another 10 minutes, leaving the youths tired and bruised. Morgan frowned, ¡°Have we learned anything new?¡± ¡°Yeah, level 2 enemies are hard to deal with!¡± Wardell said. This was the first level 2 they had fought. ¡°Wrong answer,¡± Morgan replied. ¡°We need to aim for critical areas.¡± Estel tried. ¡°Better, but still not there,¡± said Morgan. Hidred shrugged her shoulders, she was a healer so she stayed out of it. Dorman was about to raise his voice when a new voice sounded. ¡°You need to raise your skill level and not just your job level.¡± *** A boy around the same age of Morgan¡¯s charges came out from the thicket. Morgan was surprised that he hadn¡¯t noticed the boy sooner. Part of him went on alert, yet this being a newbie zone, so the boy shouldn''t be a true threat. ¡°Young man, where have you come from?¡± Morgan asked. ¡°From that way,¡± the boy replied jerking his thumb behind him, ¡°I¡¯m Jude.¡± ¡°I am Morgan, these here are Wardell, Dorman, Hildred, and Estel¡± ¡°By the way was I right?¡± Jude asked. Morgan was surprised at the boy¡¯s answer, ¡°That¡¯s right, increasing the rank of your skill is just as important as increasing your level. What is the use if you make it to level 100, yet cannot even command the power that you have?¡± He now turned toward his charges, ¡°I watched every one of you. None of you correctly executed a single skill. Even if you don¡¯t have a skill to Rank II, you should be at least competent at your most basic actions.¡±Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Morgan knew that some of them weren''t even at Rank I on their skills. They were truly pathetic. Training skills, however, had to come from one''s own work and talent. Morgan could show them the path, but they had to walk it. "What about me?" Hildred asked. "My skill was good wasn''t it?" "Did you not notice? You waste half of your healing effects as they fall to the ground rather than on the person. Then you almost always heal too quickly, which further wastes the amount you heal. You want to heal up to their maximum HP or slightly below. Once they hit max, the rest of the healing is wasted. ¡°How about this?¡± Jude asked as he walked up to a Level 2 . He held one hand on the hilt of his sheathed sword while waving his hand and said, ¡°!¡± Before Morgan could warn the boy about the wolf¡¯s level as he had clearly come from the level one area, Jude had already made his attack. What first surprised Morgan was that the boy was a Wizard, but once he saw activate, he was even more surprised. Morgan had worked with a couple Wizards before. He knew that they would abandon as soon as they gained access to for was deemed too weak. Yet this boy, no older than the level 2''s he was teaching. Plus, his looked incredibly real and deadly. This was nothing like what he had heard before. Then Morgan got his third surprise, the blades didn¡¯t merely hit the wolf then leave a shallow wound. Instead, the 8 blades seemed to form a cohesive whole dicing the wolf into several meat chunks. It all happened in an instant, yet it left Morgan and the other teens speechless. Morgan knew that the teens wouldn¡¯t understand what had just happened, all they would have seen was a flashy spell of a Wizard, but Morgan knew that this kid, Jude, had some real talent. ¡°I could do that if I was a wizard,¡± Dormal silently said. ¡°I wish I was a wizard,¡± Estel also mumbled. Wardell heard the two and tried to sow some discord, ¡°You guys would still be garbage even if you were wizards.¡± Morgan ignored the comments and went right back into teaching mode, ¡°Excellent! That¡¯s exactly how it should be. Don¡¯t be mistaken and think that just because he¡¯s a wizard that his job does more damage than your job. The reason why he does more damage is not because he has a better weapon either. Weapons do play an important role, but they are only as good as the skill that is being used!¡± He then turned back to Jude, ¡°To see such an exquisite it must mean that your Spectral Magic must be at least Rank III, or have you reached the Legendary Rank IV?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure. How exactly does the ranking system work?¡± Jude replied. He could check his status, but that would take his attention away from the conversation and who knew what kind of glazed look would be across his face when that happened. It would just be rude. Morgan was a natural teacher. And while it surprised him that Jude didn¡¯t know this information it wasn¡¯t too far out of his expectation for someone Jude¡¯s age. ¡°The Ranking system for skills is pretty simple. The first three ranks of a skill, like , is easily gained through using them. As long as you keep using them they will naturally rise. To go beyond Rank III you will either need a teacher or be a genius yourself. Finding a teacher, however, is quite hard, in fact, I¡¯ve never heard of one that could teach passed III for .¡± Jude asked, ¡°Ok, so I understand the skills and rankings but what about something like , doesn¡¯t it also have a ranking?¡± ¡°Ah, very good question. A skill class, or magic class in your case, will mirror your highest ranked skill in that class. Each rank of class will unlock new skills to use. However, for a skill class to go beyond Rank III, even I do not know much about it.¡± ¡°I understand. Thank you for your help. By the way, I¡¯m kind of lost and was wondering if you could¡­¡± ¡°Yes, we can lead you back, however, we still need to finish our training mission.¡± ¡°How about you join us!¡± Hildred butted in. ¡°No,¡± Morgan said, ¡°Have you not learned anything? Didn¡¯t I just say that you needed to work more on your Skills and not just your levels? If Jude joins, then he¡¯ll end up doing all the work. You might get a lot of experience, but in the end, your Skills will only get farther behind. If you want to be like Jude, then you need to work without him. At least for now, once your Skills rank up then you can think about joining him!¡± Morgan turned to Jude, ¡°Return here just before dark and we will lead you back. Or if you need to, head due East and you should find a trail. Head north on the trail and it will lead you back to town. ¡°Also, watch out for the tougher variants of wolves south west of here.¡± *** After Jude and Morgan¡¯s party parted ways, Jude opened up his status screen.
Spectral Weapons Rank: V Using a weapon as a focus, create ether images of that weapon to fight for you. 30% Bonus damage. Can summon up to 8 weapons. Connecting to the weapon directly creates a real manifestation of that weapon, utilizing 100% of its damage. Spectral Magic
Spectral Magic Rank: IV Special Magic allows you to manipulate the ether. Calling forth your power from Spectral to Reality. Spectral Magic now is 40% more powerful. Skill''s Unlocked:
  • Spectral Weapons V
  • Spectral Objects I
  • Spectral Eye I
  • Spectral Shield I
***Interesting, so he had unlocked Rank V in , but had yet to meet whatever requirement for Spectral Magic in general. By the time Morgan and party came back, Jude had gotten Spectral Shield to a castable point, though still Rank I and killed enough wolves to reach level 4. In a game, it is easy to go out and explore as death has very little meaning. But now that Jude was ¡®living¡¯ the game, he decided to play it more slow and steady. If Morgan and party knew that Jude¡¯s ¡®slow and steady¡¯ was reaching level 4 in one day they would probably collapse. It was just too far outside their understanding. Still, it took Jude more time to get to level 4 as it did to get from 1 to 3. It would have taken him even longer if he hadn¡¯t found the and the occasional . The would occasionally take two whole hits and have a pack of wolves. Luckily Jude now had Spectral Shield and was able to get away very safely. The only downside was that Spectral Shield took up too much mana. They quickly meet up and greeted each other. Morgan¡¯s youths looked worse for wear. Jude was tired, but they looked downright ragged. ¡°You seem to have done well,¡± Morgan said. ¡°I did thanks. The wolf packs were a little troublesome but I did survive.¡± Smiled Jude. Jude got some strange looks from the other youths, he decided that it was best not to say too much about what he could do. It might incite jealousy and not in a good way. Jude¡¯s comment seemed to have put a damper on any conversation and silence ruled the group. Perhaps a change of topic was in order. ¡°I found a strange rock a while back and I was wondering if you guys knew anything about it.¡± Jude discreetly pulled the Stone of Stumbling out of his inventory. The was a fantastical thing to Jude, so he wasn¡¯t sure if he should be overt with it or not after he had alreadyincitedjealousy in them already. Dorman was the first to look and said, ¡°Oh that¡¯s a very important Quest item, good job!¡± Estel looked a little jealous until he saw the object. But he didn¡¯t say a word. Wardell got right to the point, ¡°What an idiot, you might have a little skill as a Wizard, but you can¡¯t even see a junk quest item when you see one.¡± ¡°Oh, what¡¯s wrong with this quest?¡± Jude asked honestly. ¡°Everything is wrong with it,¡± Wardell said. ¡°It¡¯s bad luck! You can only find the stone if you ¡®stumble¡¯ on it.¡± Now Wardell started to mock Jude, ¡°That quest is legendary in town! The quest description is non-existent. No one knows how to complete it. Of course, that wouldn¡¯t matter much, except you can''t even drop this quest. It will always stay with those who accept it.¡± Wardell chuckled at Jude as he turned way, apparently done talking. Hildred tried to comfort Jude, ¡°It¡¯s ok, it¡¯s only one quest after all. There¡¯s not really any downsides to having it. And the bad luck is just a rumor, it¡¯sprobablynot true.¡± ¡°Except you will always have to carry the stupid rock with you!¡± Wardell came back. ¡°It¡¯s arock of offenseif you ask me!¡± That¡¯s when it clicked for Jude.A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense! This was from the bible back in his world, which of course would be here. It made sense since in Jude¡¯s universe it was the most printed book ever. Much of early printing had been invented for the bible to be mass produced. The Stone of Stumbling was a representation of God. But this stone seemed quite ordinary, not to mention it was broken. However, it did have an interesting shape and beautiful words written on it. Perhaps it was because it was only one piece of the stone. Maybe it was the stone of God. ~Ding Jude heard a chime and got a quest notification.
Quest Completed! Rewards: +Exp Boots of Peace
He was now a level 5 wizard!
Quest: Restore the Stone Part 1: Find the stone fragments. The stone you now hold was once a part of a great tablet. Find all the pieces so that one day it may be restored. The second piece lies in the Grimwar Caves. Accept Quest [y/n]
Yes! Chapter 5 - Lurjbiny Longdale was a bustling little town situated just outside of the Allur Forest. The stone walls were thick, nearly 10 feet (3m), but that also accounted for the rooms built into the wall. Their height reached 25 feet topped with a proper crenellation that one would expect to see on top of a castle wall. This town was popular far and wide for the low-level forest of Allur. Allur Forest provided an easy training ground for youths who were born with combat related jobs. Even low-level non-combat jobs aggregated here as the need for low-level equipment was high. Trainers, like Morgan, also gathered here. The best, of course, charged for their service, but most people couldn¡¯t afford them. The majority of the trainers were part of some sort of military, from mercenary companies to town guardsmen all the way up to the kingdoms army. The last group of trainers were like Morgan and worked for the Temple. The Temple was one of the few sources of benevolence in the kingdom of man. Every year they took a lottery of poor youths and offered training to them. These were the few that didn¡¯t have any obligations to fulfill once they reached a certain level. Morgan, being a Monk, was part of the Temple. So the only choices when using trainers was to pay, serve, or be lucky. Those who were not lucky or didn¡¯t want to serve and didn¡¯t have money to pay still came, they were called the freelancers. Jude was considered one of these. This was a lively town of youths. The average age that was considered to be an adult, or at the very least able to start leveling was the age of 15. Coincidently was also the lowest age Jude could pick when using the Character Creator. It was typical to spend 3 to 5 years in Longdale, after which you would go off to your profession. Those who were not trained or trained by the Temple often became adventurers. Although the ones who did not have trainers more than likely died within the first year. After all, trainers like Morgan could easily protect his students in the field. Those in the military obviously went to serve, but the ones who paid for their trainers were usually noble¡¯s or wealthy merchants. They often went into the family business. Jude, Morgan, and crew came into town with little problem. Longdale only required that they prove to be human and other than that there was no inspection or toll. Jude was happy about this as he had no money. ¡°You can stay at the Temple this night,¡± Morgan said, ¡°but after that, you will have to fend for yourself. The Temple will put up travelers in most places, but here there are too many who need lodging.¡± ¡°I appreciate the offer. I don¡¯t suppose you know how to make money here in this town?¡± Jude asked. ¡°There are a number of ways. The pelts of the wolves are one thing. If you can manage to not dice them up. The canines of the can also be sold. If you know herbs, there are plenty to pick and sell to an apothecary. And once you reach level 5 you can join a group and hunt goblins.¡± Jude was already level 5 so that was convenient. When they entered the temple courtyard Morgan said, ¡°You will have to wait here, a Temple Maiden will come by and offer you some bedding and a meal.¡± ¡°Thank you for your generousity,¡± Jude said with a nod. I guess I¡¯m not getting a room? Makes sense I suppose. If I remember right, travelers often slept in courtyards or town squares in ancient times. This is definitely better than out on the street. Jude didn¡¯t realize how hungry or tired he had been until he sat down. Jude found a ¡®comfortable¡¯ place in the corner near the entrance. He wasn¡¯t the only one here on the Temples hospitality. There were a dozen or so other youths, some milled around but most seemed too tired to make much of an effort. The courtyard was rectangular and very spacious. A wide wooden walkway surrounded the yard and two large braziers were spaced out evenly in the center. As it grew darker, they were the only warmth in the yard, so Jude ended up moving closer and found his own little spot. He noticed that the other travelers carried large packs with them, which made him wonder if they really did have access to the or if they just took with them more than they the could hold. If most or none had the then perhaps it was best to keep it to himself. He already saw the gazes of the youths that Morgan taught and the jealousy in their eyes. Another¡¯s jealousy could do wonders for your own ego, but could also present a knife in the back as well. Especially this world, it seemed much more barbaric than the one he had been born in. Jude had always fantasized himself in a situation like this, but experiencing it first hand was much more daunting. It was well past dark by the time the Temple Maidens showed up. The offered food of soup and bread. It wasn¡¯t the best food Jude had ever eaten, but after this long day and the eternity of the Digital Plane, it seemed like heaven to him. He made sure to savor every bit. He was then given a blanket that was barely more than a burlap sack. So not much worse than what he was already wearing. Better yet, they told him he could keep it. Jude wasn¡¯t one to turn away charity, especially when he needed it. He made sure to thank the maidens for everything.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Then sleep then hit him hard and fast. *** Jude woke up stiff and cold. Dawn was just barely making its first bit of light. Jude had always enjoyed sleeping in, but as he turned from teen to adult on Earth, he had learned to temper his indulgences. So he woke up early. He took this time as everyone else was still asleep to store his free blanket and put on his new boots.
Boots of Peace 10% Movement speed 1 Spi 1 Agi
Then he did some stretches to warm himself up and start moving his sore muscles. There had been some bowls of water left out for washing, so he walked over to one and saw his reflection for the first time. He was young, a lot younger than when he and Murl got sucked into this dimension. His long dark brown hair looked like it needed a wash, but his eyes shown with a fresh green that brightened his face. Sharp features and sincere eyes were what he had gone for and it looked successful. It wasn''t too far off from what he remembered was his original face either. Afterward, he quickly cleaned what he could without taking clothes off. That was a little outside his comfort zone. By this point, others who worked at the temple were now up and busy. One of the Temple Maidens noticed him and waved him over. ¡°Since you don¡¯t seem to be like one of these lazy ones, come this way and have some breakfast.¡± She said with a smile. ¡°Thank you,¡± Jude replied. He was lead through a maze of hallways to a dining hall that was probably only used for temple workers. Morgan was there who called him over to sit by him. ¡°I see that someone of your age to have skills like you must have already developed good habits,¡± Morgan said. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯m as good as you said, but I appreciate the compliment,¡± Jude replied. Morgan chuckled, ¡°You''re even humble too. I wish I had a companion like you when I first started out. Things may have turned out differently.¡± ¡°Can you tell me about the temple?¡± Jude asked. ¡°Yes, we worship the Unknown God, said to be the creator of worlds. Our mission, however, is a little different than other religions, we wish to return the Message to the Sender.¡± Jude¡¯s scalp went numb, this sounded all too similar to the objective he gave the NPC¡¯s he had sent into this Universe long ago. He truly hoped that he wasn¡¯t responsible for this religion.¡± ¡°Who or what is the Unknown God?¡± Jude asked, not wanting to know more about the Sender. ¡°We believe that the Unknown God is the God of the Sender who sent the first peoples to this world.¡± Yup, Jude was pretty sure he knew who the sender was now. Though he was unsure how they knew that the Sender had a God. Still, it seemed to fit, since it was true. Morgan talked a while more about the Temple giving Jude a basic understanding of it by the end of breakfast. Interestingly enough the ¡®Myth of Murl¡¯ was mentioned. Though Morgan didn¡¯t personally know much about it. ¡°There¡¯s not much else I can do for you, but that doesn¡¯t mean you can¡¯t take advantage of the Temples services. Why don¡¯t you come with me and we can use the Status Orb.¡± Morgan suggested. There was no reason to reject his offer so Jude went with him. ¡°Just place your hand here,¡± Morgan said after they entered a room near the entrance. On a pedestal was a large glass ball the size of two hands put together. Jude placed his hand on the object and it lit up. He felt a tingling sensation as if something connected to his Modicuit. Then above the ball, his full status was shown, it looked exactly like it did when he called it up for himself. *status ¡°A rank V skill! That¡¯s really impressive. And you are already level 5.¡± Morgan was surprised. Jude decided to ask how multi-classing worked, ¡°I see I also have the Warrior job, how do I level that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s true, you do have the Warrior job, but it¡¯s one of the easiest to get. I would recommend that you stick with Wizard. It¡¯s better to specialize rather than to spread yourself out. If you start leveling every job you get, eventually you will be average at everything and not very good at anything. ¡°For example, if you got to level 30 with Wizard, you would have access to