《The Journey of an Unfortunate Wielder.》 Chapter 0: Prologue A Thieves Promise Author''s Note: This is my first attempt at writing an actual story. Feel free to leave (constructive) criticism. With that out of the way, if you like the story please leave a comment. I will be sure to check the comments while writing new chapters, so feel free to leave some input. Also if anyone has any stat recommendations for when everything kicks of feel free to say something. So far I plan on at least having strength, agility/dexterity (should they be the same or separate?), intelligence, and wisdom. I''m on the fence about charisma, and any other stat choices are welcome. Now, on to the story. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our MC¡¯s journey starts, like many others, in a bed. Not a well-made bed, mind you, but a bed none the less. On this bed is a small boy, age ten. Looking at him you can see that he is malnourished. Each of his ribs can be seen on his shirtless body. Not because his parents couldn¡¯t afford to buy him food, but because they just don¡¯t care if he eats or not as long as he does his chores. His short obsidian hair seems to soak in the moonlight like a sponge, while his pasty white skin almost glows in the dark. Scattered across his body are deep purple bruises, given to him by his parents. They had beaten him the day before because he got in their way. Such was the life of Aziel Piggs. Anyone that glanced at him for more than a second could see that he had already practically given up on life. His forest green eyes open, taking in the scene around him. ¡®Ugh¡­ What is wrong with me¡­ I¡¯m used to hunger pangs, but this is even worse,¡¯ he groans, curling up into a ball. ¡®It feels as if my insides are on fire¡­ Maybe I should go outside and get a breath of fresh air¡­¡¯ With that Aziel stands up and creeps through his parents¡¯ house, being very careful to avoid making any noise until he slips out the door. He silently opens the door and steps outside. ¡®Phew¡­ maybe I ate too much earlier¡­ Of course when mother and father actually let me eat I¡¯m not about to stop at one plate. Actual fresh food is too hard to come by. I could always steal some from the kitchen, but then I would be in worse trouble. Oh well. Maybe a quick walk around will help me calm my stomach down a bit.¡¯ With that he starts to walk around his parents¡¯ property. Looking at it from the outside, you would hardly think that it was a house, but more of a mansion. Aziel¡¯s father is an important man after all. Mayor of the nearby town of Atlas, population 60,000. As such, his father would just take money from the taxes to do whatever he wanted. No one would stop him. No one ever stopped him. While walking around, Aziel sees a flash of silver. Stopping, he looks closer. ¡®If I didn¡¯t know better, I¡¯d swear that that was¡­¡¯ ¡°HEY,¡± he exclaims, ¡°I know you¡¯re there. I promise I¡¯m not going to hurt you. Please come out.¡± A girl with shoulder length silver hair steps around the corner, looking as if she was just caught in the middle of a serious crime. Upon closer inspection Aziel sees that she is only slightly better fed than he is, as her ribs are barely visible through her ragged shirt that was obviously a couple of years old. Her pale blue eyes practically glowed in the moonlight, and it was quite obvious that she was scared, even to someone like Aziel who was never allowed to be around people. She looks to be around twelve or thirteen years old, but Aziel isn¡¯t the best judge of age. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.¡°Wh-who are y-you,¡± she stutters out after an awkward silence. ¡®Speak calmly,¡¯ he thinks. ¡°M-my name is Aziel. Who are you?¡± She glances around, as if ensuring that no one else is nearby. ¡°My name is Alexa¡­ W-why do you look so underfed? Your clothes look to be decent, your family doesn¡¯t seem to lack money¡­ That is if you are the same Aziel that is the son of the mayor.¡± Aziel grimaces. ¡°Just because my parents have money doesn¡¯t mean that I have led an easy life. As you can see by my bruises I¡¯m not exactly valued around here.¡± Alexa gets a confused look on her face for a second. To her, whose parents were always caring, even willing to give up their last dime to someone who needs it more, being unkind a strange concept. She couldn¡¯t fathom how someone could ever mistreat their own flesh and blood. ¡°Why are you out here anyways,¡± she asks, moving on (the plot). ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be inside? It¡¯s the middle of the night and you decided to go out on a walk.¡± ¡°I could ask the same questions of you,¡± he replies. ¡°You don¡¯t even live here and you are outside in the middle of the night attempting to hide from sight. Why are you here?¡± Alexa blushes. She starts glancing around again, as if looking for an escape route. ¡°Well, uh, you see¡­ It¡¯s like this-¡± A voice calls out from inside the mansion. ¡°ROBBED!!! WE¡¯VE BEEN ROBBED!!! WAKE THE MAYOR! QUICKLY OR ELSE HE WILL HAVE OUR HEADS!!!¡± An astonished look makes its way onto Aziel¡¯s face as he realizes that the prime suspect is right in front of him. ¡°You?¡± he whispers as quietly as he can. She nods with a sad look on her face. ¡°I had no choice. My parents need the money, and while they wouldn¡¯t like the fact that I stole it, It¡¯s better than them starving to death. Please don¡¯t tell anyone that you saw me,¡± she whispers, ¡°I don¡¯t want my parents to get into trouble over this.¡± Seeing the look on her face, Aziel couldn¡¯t help but agree to not tell on her. ¡°Just do one thing for me Alexa¡­ please¡­¡± She gets a questioning look on her face as lights start turning on around the mansion. ¡°Please come back when all of this calms down. I never get to talk to anyone¡­ all the servants are scared of me, my parents ignore me unless I get in their way, and I¡¯m rarely allowed outside the mansion grounds. So please come back and be my friend¡­¡± She can see the sincerity in his eyes. ¡°Alright. I promise that I¡¯ll come back when the security calms back down.¡± With that said, she stands up and takes off at a sprint, avoiding the people that were starting to pour out of the mansion in search of her, and climbs over the fence along the edge of the property. Just before she jumps over to the other side, she glances back to where Aziel was standing. Looking at him, she could swear that his eyes glimmered with something that they didn¡¯t before. That something¡­ was hope. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Phew. That is the prologue out of the way. I would like to thank not being able to sleep a twelve thirty in the bloody night for me deciding to start writing. Also my friend J for giving me some ideas. And of course everyone that reads/comments on this story. Like I said before, please leave a comment letting me know if there are any issues that I need to fix and please leave a comment if you like the story so far. I hope to put another chapter up either tomorrow (today?) or the day after. Thanks for reading the prologue! Chapter 1: So it begins... Author¡¯s Note: From now on Aziel¡¯s thoughts will be written ¡®like this¡¯ so that it is more distinguishable from the rest of the text around it. Six years have passed since Aziel found Alexa sneaking out of his parent¡¯s mansion. It took two full months before Aziel¡¯s father relaxed his security enough that Alexa could sneak back in to talk to Aziel. Since the night that she came back to talk to him, she has been coming back at least once a week, always in the dead of night. During this time the two of them have become close friends. Aziel has developed amazingly in the looks department, to the point of stunning any women(woman) that do(es)n¡¯t know him. His hair, black as midnight itself, perfectly frames his bright green eyes, drawing out his natural beauty. He has a slender, but muscular, build, implying future growth and development. He is about five and a half feet tall (167 cm). He no longer looks underfed, as his father has been dealing with pressure from his higher-ups and has been getting frequent visitors, forcing him to ensure that his child looks decent. Alexa has developed just as beautifully. To others she looks like a model, despite her attempts at downplaying her looks. Her silver hair, once grown out to her shoulders, is now cut in a more tomboyish look. Her eyes, now a vibrant sky blue, stand out even more with her hair cut short. She has grown to be five feet tall (152.4 cm), but her slouching makes her look about two inches shorter. Since meeting Aziel, she has developed a name for herself in the city, coming to be known as ¡®The Silver Thief¡¯ since all that anyone has ever been able to see of her is her hair as she runs away. The authorities can¡¯t even guess her gender, as any videos of her are blurry. As such, she is no longer malnourished, and has even put on a few pounds of weight, much to her chagrin. Luckily, or unluckily, depending on your viewpoint, all the weight has gone to (just) the right places. (Auth: AND THAT IS ALL YOU ARE GETTING FOR THAT DESCRIPTION. I REFUSE TO DESCRIBE A WOMAN¡¯S SIZE IN A FICTION. NO. I PAINTED THE PICTURE, YOU LOT CAN DRAW THE LINES.) It is currently midnight, and Aziel and Alexa are in the middle of one of their meetings. ¡°---and then my father threw up on one of the maids, making himself look really bad in front of that other important guy,¡± Aziel says with a smirk. ¡°I still can¡¯t believe he fell for that. You would think he would have some sort of food tester or something, what with how suspicious he is of everyone.¡± Alexa chuckles a little bit, but then gets a serious look on her face. Aziel, confused at her expression, asks, ¡°what¡¯s wrong Alexa? Usually you would be laughing at how stupid my father can be sometimes.¡± She stares at him for a moment before asking, ¡°Your parents have been treating you a lot better recently, right?¡± Confused, Aziel thinks for a few seconds. ¡°Around everyone else, sure. They still get mad at me for no reason a lot of the time though. Just yesterday my father took a leather belt and started beating me in the stomach for no reason, and he didn¡¯t stop until I started to bleed.¡± She gasps. ¡°For what reason?!?¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t really have one. I was nearby and he was angry because some deal or another fell through. Does it matter? It¡¯s not like anyone can really do anything about what he¡¯s doing. It¡¯s the same thing he has been doing since I was little.¡± Alexa gets a sad, then determined look on her face. ¡°Hey Aziel¡­ Why don¡¯t you leave with me? I have enough money to support us, and I am old enough to live on my own. We could even go to a different city, start over there. No one would know us and you would be free from your parents¡¯ abuse.¡± Aziel looks wistful for a moment before shaking his head. ¡°As much as I would love to, we can¡¯t. You still have your mom and dad to worry about, and my father wouldn¡¯t take kindly to my running away. We would have law enforcement officers chasing us within a few hours. Also, with how corrupt and amoral this city and its citizens can be sometimes, we might as well be leaving a trail of fluorescent paint and a note saying ¡®follow this line to find us.¡¯¡± Her face drops, and she blushes a little when she realizes how bad her idea could be. ¡°Yeah, I guess you are right¡­ Still, at least think about it. If we moved fast enough we might be able to leave the city before your father noticed you were gone.¡± He sighs. ¡°Maybe. But he would catch up to us quick enough. Can we move on to a more fun topic?¡± He smiles. ¡°How about that last theft you pulled? I heard from some of the staff that ¡®The Silver Thief¡¯ managed to get into the jewelry box of one of the more prestigious ladies in the city. Care to give me some details?¡± Like this their night passed, and before they knew it it was five o¡¯clock in the morning. ¡°Sorry Aziel, but I need to leave soon. If I get caught here, we can¡¯t keep meeting. Someone would put two and two together and realize who I am. I¡¯ll be back in a couple of days.¡± Aziel nods, and then gets a look on his face, like he is debating something, but he doesn¡¯t say anything. ¡°Before I go though, there is one more thing Aziel.¡± He looks confused. ¡°What is it?¡± She leans in and pulls him into a brief kiss. ¡°That,¡± she says with a smirk. ¡°I¡¯ve been wanting that for years. Since you would never go through with it, I decided to take initiative. See you in a couple of days!¡± With that she starts running towards the gate, blushing like a schoolgirl the entire way. ¡®That was¡­ Wow. I had no idea that she felt the same way¡­. Wow.¡¯ He turns around goes back to his room to think about what just happened. It has been two full years since Aziel and Alexa had their first kiss. Since then the two of them have grown even closer, even though they have been hiding their relationship from Aziel¡¯s father. Today is Aziel¡¯s eighteenth birthday. His father is has planned an elaborate party for this occasion, mostly because he needs to sway public opinion of him for the upcoming election, and has invited half the city to attend. Aziel has decided to declare his intent to leave his father¡¯s mansion at the party, regardless of what his father might think. ¡®The worst he can do in public is say no, right? If he does anything too bad, then he will lose votes. He wouldn¡¯t dare to hurt me while I am in the eyes of the public.¡¯ Right now, the party is about to start. All everyone is waiting on is Aziel¡¯s father to show up and make a speech about how amazing he is and talk about all of his achievements. (For those of you asking if I am talking about Aziel or his father, the answer is yes.) Aziel snorts. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.¡®As if. I¡¯m sure that he is just going to spin a web of lies for these people, and I am probably supposed to play along with whatever he says. Whatever. I¡¯ll play along for as long as it suits me.¡¯ Some time passes. Aziel¡¯s father finally shows up and immediately walks over to Aziel. ¡°Hello son,¡± He says, making the word son sound like the worst insult he can think of. ¡°How are you enjoying your party that I poured so much money into? Enjoy it while you can, you are going to be cleaning this up later.¡± Aziel blinks. ¡®Great. He is in a bad mood. Well then. Guess I¡¯ll play along for now. No point in throwing a fit until I¡¯ve said my peace at the end of the party.¡¯ ¡°It has been fine so far. I have spoken with a couple of other guys my age, and was thinking about something they told me.¡± His father raises an eyebrow. ¡°Oh? And what might that be? Some crude imagery I bet.¡± ¡°No, they were just talking about how something seems off about today, and I have to agree. It¡¯s almost as if there is something strange in the air.¡± His father nods. ¡°Now that you mention it, I feel it too. I¡¯ll have to---¡± Screams start breaking out across the ballroom as a strange holographic window appears in the middle of the room.
SYSTEM MESSAGE
Welcome to your new world. In this world you can do whatever you want as long as you have the power to back up your actions. Take charge of your lives. Be who you have always wanted to be. Whether that is a hero or a villain is up to you to decide. Have fun. We will be watching you¡­
¡°What is that supposed to mean?!?¡± -random guy number 1 ¡°What the heck?!?¡± -random guy number 2 As everyone starts to freak out, another screen pops up, this time in front of each person, with only the person in question able to see their specific screen.
SYSTEM MESSAGE
Class system unlocked
Race Locked: Human
Basic Spell Unlocked: Inspect
SYSTEM MESSAGE
WARNING: WHILE THIS WORLD WILL START TO ACT LIKE A VIDEO GAME, YOU ONLY GET ONE LIFE.
¡°A GAME?!?¡± ¡°THE HECK IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN???¡± -Random woman ¡®Hmm¡­ Might as well check this out. Let¡¯s check the classes available. Not like this can be real right? Alright, so how does this work¡­ maybe¡­ Show class!¡¯
SYSTEM MESSAGE
Class Select
In this world, your class is only limited by your imagination. If you can picture yourself being able to do something you will be able to do it. Whether it be flight, super strength, or magic, as long as you have a sufficient understanding of how it would work and can picture yourself being able to do it, you can create it as a class.
WARNING!
You can only make one main class, so choose wisely. A bad choice here could easily spell your death.
¡®What? That doesn¡¯t really make any sense, does it? So basically I can do anything I already know how to do? How does that help anybody? And what does it mean by the flight, super strength and magic? Hmm¡­ Well, if this is supposed to be a game world, I wonder if it has a character sheet?¡¯
Character Information
Name: Aziel Piggs
Class: Undecided
Stats: Undetermined
Level: 1
Experience to next level: 10
¡®So it does have a character sheet¡­ It appears that a lot of things aren¡¯t determined yet. I guess that is what it meant by a poor choice of class could kill you? Hmm¡­ Maybe I should wait for other people to start picking classes before I start messing with it. This is probable going to start a mass panic though, so I don¡¯t know if I should wait too long.¡¯
SYSTEM MESSAGE
For making a choice and to wait until you understand more about this new system, you have been awarded +1 Wisdom to your base stats.
As soon as the newest window appeared, Aziel feels like a flood gate just opened in his mind. ¡®Strange¡­ I feel¡­ not smarter¡­ more like¡­ wiser? Like my decision making is leagues better than it was before. There is no way that was fake. Some sort of serum maybe? No¡­ father pays too much attention to let something like that get into his system¡­ Mass hallucination? Nah, that¡¯s even less likely. Hmm¡­ Oh well. Not really in my job description to figure this stuff out. I¡¯ll just leave that to the scientists to try to puzzle out.¡¯ Suddenly Aziel¡¯s father calls out. ¡°Nobody panic! I¡¯m sure there is a perfectly reasonable explanation to all of this!¡± Another window pops up.
Aliens.
Aziel¡¯s father blanches. ¡°I¡­ What?¡±