《Sacrifice》 Prologue - The Ultimate Sacrifice Prologue Freehold, a world of magic and gods. A world where only strength matters. Where monsters, not humans rule. In one of the few ¡°safe¡± cities that humans have managed to maintain, a family of three runs through the dark streets of muck and grime. A young man carrying a one-year old baby boy turns back to see their followers gaining ground. ¡°They¡¯re coming!¡± He shouts, terror taking hold of him. ¡°We¡¯re almost there, keep going!¡± Shouts the woman in front of him, she raises her hand infront of her and with a forceful gesture a sword of light shoots out. An earsplitting boom echoes across the city as the air itself is pierced by the sword, followed by an even louder crashing sound. Dust envelops the threesome as the ground rumbles, and the entire city seems to come to life. Bells ringing, claxons hollering, the pursuers are forced to stop temporarily as the city guard surrounds them. Infront of the woman, a five meter high by three meter wide hole has ripped through the nearly 10 meter deep walls. As the dust clears, the couple disappears from view, into the forest of darkness on the southern side of the city. ¡°FUCK! Master will not be pleased!¡± calls out a non-descript man in a dark-blue robe, standing on top of a building nearby. With a shake of his body, he disintegrates into thousands of bugs. Mosquitoes, beetles, mantis¡¯, and centipedes scurry/fly through the portal the young woman had created, following the small family into the forest of darkness. In a mansion seeming to loom over the city, some centipedes and beetles gather in the throne room. An apparition resembling the young man¡¯s head appeared where they gathered, somehow seeming to bow in supplication, despite being only a head. ¡°Master, they have escaped. She destroyed a section of the walls, using the confusion to escape into the Forest of Darkness. Our men are currently being detained under suspicion of destroying the walls.¡± Above, a wrinkly face loomed out of the darkness, barely visible in the moonless night, ¡°So, she has given up on life. To think that she despises me so much that she¡¯d rather die.¡± ¡°Master, I believe that she has a plan.¡± ¡°Psh¡­ Even I cannot survive in that forest for long. How could she, who is of the light, hope to survive longer than a few minutes?¡± ¡°I do not know, but I heard the man say something about a summoning as they ran into the forest. I am attempting to find them as we speak.¡± ¡°WHAT?!?! I knew he was insane, to actually challenge my claim on her, but to attempt to summon her? He¡¯ll doom us all!¡± As the old-man spoke, he stood for the first time since the bug-man had appeared in his throne room. An aura of pure malice and darkness seemed to sweep through the room, out into the city. Streetlights dimmed, the weak passed out, and the elderly keeled over, never to rise. Directly in front of him, the bug-man nearly died due to his proximity. Purple-green blood seeped from his eyes, mouth, nose and ears as he screamed, ¡°Ma.. Ma.. Master!!!!¡± The old man just snorted before he to seemed to shimmer, turning into a massive dragon that roared it¡¯s fury. A plume of dark-black fire eating the ceiling of the mansion, wrapping around his body as his wings swept back, his legs launching him hundreds of meters into the air. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Deep within the forest, the young woman was now carrying the man and the child as she sprinted as fast as she could. Despite his seeming weakness, the woman was proud of him. For a summoner to keep up with a warrior for so long, he must¡¯ve nearly killed himself. A sad smile spread across her face as she ran deeper into the dark forest. A blinding white light seemed to erupt from her very footsteps, and as she continued to run for hours on end, the strain of it seemed to finally take its toll on her. All around, creatures of the darkness moved, roaring in defiance as they fought to get closer to her. To them, a creature of light represented the ultimate meal, eating just a pinky might cause them to evolve. ¡°I can¡¯t continue much further, I¡¯m nearly out of energy.¡± The woman said tiredly, glancing at the hordes of dark creatures surrounding them, waiting for her aura of light to wear off. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°We are nearly there, once inside they cannot reach us. I need only a few moments to complete the summoning.¡± Responding the weary man in her arms, tears streaking his cheeks as he thought of the sacrifice to be made. Behind, they both heard the roar of the Dragon of Pestilence, despite being nearly 200 miles away. The aura coming from the city filling her with such dread that the woman even stopped momentarily, the light surrounding her dimming and the creatures of the dark approaching ever nearer. ¡°Wake up!¡± Screamed the man in her arms, weakly raising his arm and slapping her, ¡°We are nearly there, just another quarter mile. Once begun, not even he can stop this.¡± The slap seeming to break her of her stupor, resuming sprinting they reaching the building they¡¯d searched out in their desperation. Coming to a halt in front of the massive, crumbling stone edifice, she set down the man as they both stopped breathing, unable to believe that they had truly found it. ¡°The Church of Eternity¡± They both breathed out in awe, finally entering the building. Behind, them, the horde of beings of the dark came to an abrupt halt. Unable, or unwilling to enter. The few beings of intelligence in the horde immediately running, as fast and as far away as they could. Inside, the couple slowly walked down the opulent corridor. Magnificent sculptures of the lesser gods lining the hallways, the ceiling showing scenes from the various battles they undertook in their path to power. The entrance bespoke of the massive wealth and power the Church of Eternity once held. Long, long ago the Church of Eternity was the most powerful organization on the planet. But, that was before the change, before they summoned the first monster from the void. In the greatest disaster ever to occur, the Church of Eternity summoned a Void King; an existence rivaling that of the greatest god¡¯s to ever walk Freehold. In his anger, the Void King struck out at his summoners, killing them and summoning a horde from the void that nearly extinguished all life on the planet. It was then that beasts and man first joined together, fighting the void. Eventually, with the sacrifice of all of the lesser gods as well as all but two of the true-gods, the Void King was destroyed, his horde pushed back, and the summoning circle sealed. It was in this very building that the destruction of Freehold nearly occurred, and it is here that this family will destroy what little is left of it. Passing through chambers of such opulence that only the stigma associated with destroying nearly all the god¡¯s kept people out, the family finally found the summoning room. This room was the true reason behind the power of the Church of Eternity; here elementals of any type, dragons and hydras, mythical beasts of unimaginable power could be summoned and bound to those strong enough to control them. Rushing straight to the only sealed circle, the void circle, the man cut open his wrist, using the blood to alter the circle slightly. Now, instead of summoning the void, something else would be summoned. With a final kiss, the family placed their infant child in the circle and began chanting together, ¡°God¡¯s of the Light, we offer our blood, our bodies, our very souls so that this child may be safe. Please, watch over him, protect him, and ensure his survival.¡± As their life dimmed, the two felt their power leave them as a voice laughed in their very souls. ¡°HAHAHAHAHA, By stepping here no God or Goddess of Light will ever hear you again, AHAHAHAHA, but don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll keep your child safe! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA¡± A sudden burst of reddish-light flashed and the couple watched as their son was summoned, disappearing into nothingness. Their last sight a fireball with such force behind it that it drilled deeply into the planet. Massive earthquakes, magma breaking it¡¯s way free unto the surface, lightning striking constantly. Tesselth, Dragon of Pestilence, escaped from the planet along with several other powerful beings. They all turned back to watch it break apart before heading their separate ways, to search the universe for another world to rule. Chapter One - Beginnings Chapter One - Beginnings ¡°In the year 7,123 the first great calamity struck Frore for the first time. Just a thousand years previously, the world shook as those strong enough to see watched and spoke of the destruction of a nearby planet. The planet we called Ieblanus was struck by a bolt of fire that reached down into it¡¯s very core and destroyed the planet from the inside. On that day, the Great Seer Obitus watched as the greater beings of that planet fled and felt fear. For, he knew that a great wave of destruction would reach out from Ieblanus and touch all worlds nearby. A thousand years later, the Dragon of Pestilence, Tesselth came to this world and attempted to take dominion over it. Fortunately, the dragons of our own world destroyed him. The greater beings of a world are granted great powers, but also great responsibility. The Council of Dragons met, and came to a verdict. In allowing his own planet to be destroyed, he broke faith with the creators and thus must be punished. Thus, the Dragon of Pestilence and all others who followed him from that damned place Ieblanus, were destroyed. Today, you can find their bones in the great wastelands to the north and dungeons spread throughout the world. The Great Seer Obitus once again warned us of impending doom in the March of the year 8,500, for in the year 10,000 we will be invaded again. This time, by the enemy that brought about the destruction of the Ieblanus. If we wish to not be damned then we must ¡­.¡± My concentration was interrupted rudely by the shrill scream of my mother, ¡°Keselth, get your ass down here right now!¡± Sighing, I marked my place in, ¡°The Great Seer¡¯s and Their Prophecies¡± and looked at the calendar in my room. ¡°Friggin monday already! Hmm, its March of 9,450, seems I won¡¯t have to worry about whatever got Ieblanus. Sweet!¡± As I was dragging myself across my room putting on my uniform, I heard the shrill voice once again, ¡°Keselth, if you don¡¯t get your skinny ass down here right now no dessert for two weeks!¡± Suddenly alarmed, I rushed down the stairs like a tornado... picking up and moving random pictures, knocking over a vase, picking up a pair of pink panties¡­. ¡°Huh?¡± I looked down, wondering how in the hell they wound up in my hands when my little sister opened her door. *SMACK* ¡°PERVERT!!!!!!!!!!!¡± Somehow, I was at the bottom of the staircase, looking up my sister¡¯s skirt as she walked down the stairs. Groggily, I thought, ¡°Still wearing those cute bear panties I see¡­¡± *SMACK* For the second time in less than a minute my sister punched me, this time in the gut. ¡°Didn¡¯t mean to say that outloud.¡± *SMACK SMACK SMACK* As I was coughing up my lungs, mom walked over and saw her standing over me while I attempted to ward off her flurry of punches. ¡°That¡¯s enough Shia.¡± ¡°But MOM!!!¡± She pouted and pointed to the pink panties still in my hand as I weakly shook my head, gathering my bearings. ¡°He stole my panties again!¡± ¡°No, you left them in the way because you know when he¡¯s in a rush he can¡¯t help grabbing everything is his path¡­ and he¡¯s always in a rush.¡± ¡°Moooooooooooooooom!¡± She screamed, blushing. ¡°I would never do any such thing!¡± As I finally managed to gather my bearings, I saw that upstairs my dad was straightening up the mess that my sister and I always made every morning. ¡°Enough, let him up. I need to talk with him about the ceremony today.¡± ¡°Hpmh! Fine.¡± As I stood up I turned back to look at my sister, and under my breath said, ¡°Brute.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± She started to attack me again but my mother stopped her and pointed at her room forcefully. My sister left in a huff, going back upstairs and giving us all a view straight up her too-short skirt. ¡°Ha, she still wears those cute things?¡± Asked my mom with a weird grin on her face. ¡°I know, right?¡± I asked, matching her weird grin. Turning to face mom, I asked, ¡°What did you want to talk about the ceremony for? I¡¯ve known about it since I was a little kid.¡± ¡°Well son, your dad and I need to tell you about something so that if it appears on your status you won¡¯t freak out, ok?¡± ¡°I¡¯m starting to freak out already, what¡¯s with that look of contrition on your face?¡± ¡°Well¡­ We meant to tell you this a long time ago, but we just didn¡¯t want to make you hate us.¡± This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Hate you?!?!¡± ¡°You¡¯ll understand once your dad tells you.¡± ¡°Ha! Always forcing the bad things onto me are you?¡± My dad had made his way downstairs, and with a somewhat forced smile he put his arm around my shoulders and led me into the dining room. With the door now closed behind us, and my sister safely in her room out of eavesdropping range, my parents finally proceeded to drop the bomb on me. ¡°Son, you¡¯ve heard the tale of how your mother and I met, right?¡± ¡°Urghh, not that again! The tale of the intrepid summoner and the beautiful archer, the great dungeon boss fight! Please, not again!¡± ¡°Hehe, well maybe I¡¯ve told a few times too many¡­¡± ¡°A few?¡± My voice cracked as I asked him incredulously. Looking embarrassed, my dad said, ¡°Well, what I always leave out is that your mother was seriously injured in that fight. So injured that she shouldn¡¯t have been able to ever have children.¡± ¡°WHAT?!?!¡± I couldn¡¯t believe what they were saying! ¡°You¡¯re not saying I¡¯m adopted?¡± ¡°Of course not! Just look in a mirror, you¡¯re a spitting image of me!¡± ¡°He has my eyes!¡± My mom spoke for the first time. ¡°So what are you saying?¡± "After the fight your mother and I fell in love with each other, and I decided that even if we could never have children it¡¯d be ok. We could live the life of adventures until we were old and rich enough to live out our days in peace, and quiet¡­ Sometimes I still wish that.¡± ¡°Hey! Are you saying you wish I was never born?¡± My mother smacked my dad, then said, ¡°Of course not, just that you can be trying sometimes my love.¡± Then she smacked me on the back of the head. Wow, thanks mom. *Cough* ¡°Anyway,¡± my dad went on as he rubbed the back of his head in mirror image of me, ¡°the day that we were to be married, I met the avatar of Zitana, the Goddess of Life. She said that she required a service of me, and in the process of doing so your mother would be completely healed.¡± ¡°What service?¡± I asked, suspicion in my voice. ¡°Well, I¡¯m quite the accomplished summoner, and she said that she needed a home for a soul, a very special soul. She gave me the diagram to summon this soul and said that as long as I summoned this soul into your mother it¡¯d heal her, and that we would have a child, and this soul would be the soul of the first of our children.¡± ¡°What?!? So you¡¯re saying that I¡¯m summoned? Why don¡¯t I have to follow all of your orders like your other summons?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t work like that, I studied the diagram for nearly three years before finally using it on your mother. It took me that long to finally understand what it actually does, but this spell is not really a summoning spell. Rather, it¡¯s a conduit that allows a God or Goddess to directly touch a mortal being without causing harm. When I completed the diagram, it was a contract that healed your mother instantly, then went dormant until your mother got pregnant. When she got pregnant, the contract allowed her to choose exactly which soul got in the fertilized egg. At first, we were worried about who you might¡¯ve been in a previous life; but frankly we are just so happy to have children that we stopped caring. We couldn¡¯t be happier with you as our child!¡± At that, my mother and father both attacked. Hugging me so tight while crying that I thought I was going to die. ¡°Ca.. Can¡­ Can¡¯t¡­ Breathe¡­¡± ¡°What? O, sorry son.¡± My dad released me, allowing at least one of my lungs to function for the first time in nearly a minute. It took another minute before my mother released me. Just how strong is she? ¡°So, I¡¯m your son and the reincarnation of someone or something special? Well, I can¡¯t remember anything before I was like four so I think there was a mistake made.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why we had to tell you; we don¡¯t know what titles or abilities you¡¯ll gain after completing your coming of age ceremony. So, just don¡¯t freak out and be careful who you tell about your abilities.¡± My mom spoke for the first time since dad dropped the bomb. ¡°Right,¡± said my dad, ¡°just play it cool, and know that whatever you may or might¡¯ve been you¡¯re our son now!¡± Mom attacked me again, sniffling, ¡°I love you Keselth! Never forget it!¡± ¡°Yeah, I got it mom.¡± I said, exasperation beginning to creep into my voice. ¡°Now, go get cleaned up! You have to look good for the ceremony.¡± ¡°Yea, I got it mom¡­¡± Chapter Two - Ceremony Chapter Two - Ceremony Despite how calm I may have seemed when my parents told me about their deal with the goddess, I was freaking out the entire day! There are always rumors about some people carrying grudges through to the next lifetimes and beyond. Some insanely powerful people at level 1000 live for WAY too long, and they keep an eye out for old rivals. Also, there are some really bad people who are on the Kill-On-Sight list for the government. Whenever these people are reborn, they are immediately put to death as soon as the government finds out. For, these people committed crimes so heinous that no second chance is ever allowed! Of course, these are all just rumors. I looked it up after my parents told me, the last time someone on the KOS list was reborn was nearly a thousand years ago and there¡¯d only been two other incidents of this in the entire written history of the world! According to some of the books in the libraries, the chances of being reborn on the same planet after death is one in two-hundred quadrillion¡­ I had to look up the number¡­ it''s big. That being said, according to my parents I have a ¡°very special soul¡±. In the past, some people had been killed because their gifts were too good, or their titles bespoke deeds that¡¯d shaken entire universes. What could I have done to make a deity think I¡¯m ¡°Very Special¡±? Before today, I¡¯d just been a normal kid who was looking forward to the coming of age ceremony with a little trepidation, but not much. Many people learned of their true callings, were forced into certain lines of work, for instance certain titles require you to receive education at a military or magic academy, while others find themselves ostracized because of their weird, or seemingly useless titles. Although, if there¡¯s anything that history has taught me, there is no such thing as a useless title. Before the ceremony, it is nearly impossible to increase your stats. Through insanely tough physical training you might increase your strength by one or two points, by reading a ton and focusing on the sciences, attempting to understand how the world and universe works you might increase your intelligence or wisdom. By gambling a lot, you might increase or decrease your luck. But, overall every race has a set base-line that everybody starts at when they reach their coming of age ceremony. For humans, most have 3-4 strength, 4-5 agility, 4-5 intelligence, 1-2 wisdom, 1 toughness, 0-2 perception, 0 defence and 0-1 mental defence, 1-10 charisma, and willpower 1-25. However, after your coming of age ceremony every race gains stats based on their effort. If you truly attempt to increase a stat with all of your might, it will increase. What sets people apart at their coming of age ceremony is not their stats, but rather their titles. Some come with passive increases in stats, while others decrease how much training you need to gain certain stats. Others allow your magic or physical attacks to deal extra damage, make the food you make taste better, or even passively make you look better. Despite how this makes it so some people are able to leap off to a massive head-start in life, the best thing about the system is it allows those who truly wish to become more powerful and are willing to work at it succeed. Thus, instead of training for stats most great families, educational institutions, and empires value people who are determined and have an enormous amount of willpower. Because of this, testing to get into prestigious schools, as well as the education of noble children tends to focus almost entirely on mental toughness. Anyway, my father is a summoner and I always figured I¡¯d just follow his footsteps. From a young age I¡¯ve enjoyed books, I¡¯m quite certain that I¡¯ll get the common ¡°Bookworm¡± title that increases reading speeds by 50% during the ceremony. Because of the massive amount of learning, intelligence, and wisdom required to become a mage or summoner the most important factor is an endless desire to learn that seems to be ingrained in certain people from the moment of their birth. I¡¯ve already had meetings with my dad¡¯s alma mater, and unless the ceremony goes horribly wrong I¡¯ll likely go to school there. It helps that dad is friends with the current headmaster and I¡¯m fairly certain that he has some dirt on him¡­ Hopefully, my plans won¡¯t be changed today. ¡°.... and we wish all of our students graduating today the best of luck in any and all of their endeavors. May you seek your dreams to their fullest and live bright, happy lives.¡± The speaker on stage finally finished speaking after what seemed like three hours, shaking me out of my day-dreaming and worrying. ¡°Thank god, I was about to kill myself.¡± whispered a girl behind me to her friends. ¡°Look, I think the vice-principal fell asleep! Look at all that drool.¡± The girls behind me started to giggle as the watched the VP wake himself up and walk forward for his speech. Up on the stage, the VP pulled out a status crystal and placed it in a special pedestal. Afterwards, he walked up to the podium and cleared his voice before saying, ¡°Students, parents, congratulations on surviving the most boring speech of your life.¡± Pausing for the expected applause and laughter he turned to wink at the Principal. The look of exasperation on his face was priceless, even from nearly three-hundred feet away. ¡°Now, for the exciting part! Peter Alliston please come up and place your hand on the status crystal¡­ ¡° --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Going by the name of Keselth Sagefang, I had a loooooooooong time to wait. There¡¯s a reason I¡¯m sitting nearly three-hundred feet from the stage surrounded by virtual strangers afterall. I go to Skycrest Academy, the number one readying school in the Vox Dynasty, an empire covering the entirety of the Continent of Aileth. Skycrest Academy is incredibly expensive, and a mark of prestige. The Vox Dynasty oversees the school and its curriculum, which focuses heavily on discipline, including mandatory military conduct classes, swordsmanship, archery, and survival classes that match the harshest conditions of military bootcamps. They also manage to somehow pack arithmetic, history, science, and two elective classes into the 12 hour long school-days. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. All nobles and rich merchants save up in order to afford the exorbitant entrance fees. The only ones exempt from the fees are the children of military men and adventurers who have served the Dynasty with great bravery and accomplished great feats. The Dynasty goes so far as to send every single member to Skycrest, seeing this as a way to have their children interact with the children of famous, powerful men and women whose levels surpass the average adventure by hundreds. The Vox Dynasty even goes so far as to encourage their children to marry the children of these famous adventures and military men thus binding them to the Dynasty with blood. As the son of Allisa and Vathum Sagefang, the sole survivors of the only successful dungeon clear in the last thousand years, I got in for free. Unfortunately, the popularity of the school and my last name means that I sat nearly two-thousand seats back from the stage¡­ thank god my name doesn¡¯t start with a Z... Bored¡­ On stage, people excitedly announce their titles, and show their stats to the world while the most prestigious military and magic academies in the world watch. Even some exceptionally powerful individuals attend in hopes of finding a new disciple, or just because being invited to sit on the stage in incredibly prestigious. Looking up, I see my parents sitting directly next to the Crown Prince of the Vox Dynasty talking animatedly¡­ Somehow, I just know they¡¯re talking about setting me up with the princess again¡­ Every now and then, a name I recognize or title that surprises me would be announced that caught my attention¡­ ¡°Kersiie, Prince of Puneum¡± was announced, Puneum was a small island kingdom that maintained its independence from all empires but has close ties with the Vox Dynasty. Kersiie was one of the few people I actually enjoyed talking too¡­ ¡°has received the title of Bookworm which is incredibly useful for those wishing to pursue magics and summoning. He has also recieved the title of Royalty which multiples charisma by 3, and Wise Beyond His Years, which grants two wisdom!¡± At the last, various people started clapping. Any title that increases stats is incredibly rare; I hollered, surprising everyone seated near me since I had been apathetic to almost everyone else. ¡°What? I can¡¯t cheer on my friends?¡± I asked the people sitting near me. I¡¯m awakened from my stupor as the person to my left stands up and enters the short line waiting to go on stage. In order to cut down waiting time, the next ten people in line walk to the stage early so they don¡¯t have to wait for the people to traverse the entire distance to the stage¡­ by the time it gets to the back it''s nearly a thousand foot hike. Not wanting to wait any longer, I stand up and start walking to the stage early, my ass was starting to go numb. Finally, ¡°Keselth Sagefang¡± is announced and as I walk onto the stage a hush instantly descends on the entire auditorium. ¡°Freaking famous parents¡­¡± I muttered under my breath. On the stage, I see the Principle of the Academy I wish to attend straighten in his chair and nod at me. My parents smile widely, while the in the stands surrounding the stage many nobles and merchants pay close attention. ¡°Fucking famous parents¡­¡± I said it a bit louder, and this time the Vice-Principal heard me. He had to hide his smile behind his hands, while my mom¡¯s smile turned into a glare¡­ damned high-level archers and their enhanced senses. As I placed my left hand on the Status Crystal, I felt a force within me react to it. I could feel my soul twisting, and for just a moment a pain so great that I lost control of my body. Unable to scream, move, or even breathe. It lasted for only a moment, but once it passed I regained control of my body as if nothing had happened. In front of me, a screen had appeared automatically announcing my stats and titles to the world.
Name
Keselth Sagefang
Age15
ClassN/A
GuildN/A
ProfessionN/A
Level1
Health94
Health Regen.22/second
Mana65
Mana Regen.36/second
Strength3Intelligence6
Agility4Wisdom3
Toughness1Perception3
Defense0Mental Defense1
Charisma4Willpower21
Titles
BookwormSummoners Legacy
Reading Speed Increased by 50%Summoning Spells require 15% less mana
Archer''s LegacyBorn Famous
Attacks with a Bow deal 15% more Damage; Perception increases 50% quickerCharisma is multiplied by two
The Ultimate Sacrifice
Stats Increase 50% Faster ????? ????? ?????
¡°Keselth Sagefang is the holder of the common title bookworm. The uncommon Title¡¯s Summoner¡¯s Legacy, Archer¡¯s Legacy, and Born Famous, as well as the Unique Title, The Ultimate Sacrifice which effects are unkown not only to us, but also to Keselth himself.¡± Chapter Three - Obitus Chapter 3 - Obitus After walking off the stage the fatigue hit me, and I found myself walking automatically to the nurse''s office. Before I even knew what I was doing, I laid down and went to sleep. *SNORE* Unfortunately, I only got a few minute, I woke up to my dad yelling at me, ¡°Hey! GET UP!¡± ¡°Ughh¡­ 5 more minutes.¡± *Smack* ¡°HEY! You kicked me!¡± I bolted upright, ready to fight only to see my mom smiling wider than I¡¯d ever seen before. Before I knew it, I was enveloped in a bear hug for the third time that day. ¡°I¡¯m so proud of you!¡± *Ding* As I was attempting to breathe, I heard a sound I¡¯d never heard before. When I thought about it, a screen popped up in front of me. Reading it, I grinned.
Achievement Granted:
Skycrest Academy Graduate
Skycrest Academy is considered to be one of the toughest schools in the world. Managing to graduate is not a trivial accomplishment.
Willpower +2
Willpower is one of the most important stats in existence, period. Not only does it effect your maximum health and health regen, it affects your concentration in battle. Many mage and summoner spells involve chanting and/or gathering mana in abundance. It requires your entire concentration, and the ability to block out dying comrades, swords hitting you, or even multi-task (ie. run and cast) is all dependent on Willpower. Not only that, but it¡¯s the hardest of all stats to gain, because the only way to gain it is titles/achievements and surviving situations that should¡¯ve killed you. Part of the reason my parents are so famous is they have over 60 willpower, most of it gained after killing the final boss in that dungeon clear. *Knock Knock* ¡°Come in!¡± Says my mom, and before I get the chance to say anything an old man walks in the door. ¡°Hello, I¡¯m sorry but I don¡¯t know who you are.¡± My dad says, surprised to see a stranger walking in the door. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t, few know my face.¡± As I look closer, I notice a bite mark on his neck. It''s as if a huge bear had taken a bite out of him. The old man had the straightest back I¡¯d ever seen, with a confident gait and imposing posture. My 6th senses started tingling instantly, this man was dangerous My parents recognized it as well, both of them straightening up and shifting their body weight. In an instant, the tension in the room had risen to an unbearable level. The old man seemed to radiate a strange pressure that made me unable to move. *Ding*
Status Change
You have been affected by a formidable presence, the intimidated debuff is in effect.
-3 to all stats while intimidated
¡°Who are you? Why are you here?¡± Asked my mom, gritting her teeth as she fought against the pressure. ¡°My name is Kenoth Obitus, and I¡¯m here for your son.¡± My dad made a motion with his arm, and a blinding light swept the room. Suddenly, the pressure lessened dramatically as he moved forward with a cold light in his eyes. ¡°You¡¯d best leave, now!¡± He growled, and I noticed that his eyes had slit vertically like those of a demons. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. ¡°O ho!¡± The old man cried out in surprise and delight, clapping his hands in excitement. ¡°Your reputation is not unfounded. Able to merge with a demon-spirit in an instant, what a shame you retired.¡± The pressure suddenly redoubled as my father went to grab the old man. My father fell to his knees, unable to stand. ¡°You can¡¯t have him!¡± My mom yelled as a bow materialized out of thin air and an arrow made out of pure mana flew in an instant. The arrow dissipated a full foot from the old man, but it seemed to change something in him as he looked around the room a second time. The air around him changed, he no longer seemed to dangerous. *Ding*
Status Change
Debuff Removed
I ignored the window that had popped up, this time it was only visible at the corner of my eye and mostly transparent; as if it knew not to disturb me. ¡°Please, forgive my manners.¡± Spoke the old man, ¡°It has been many, many years since I last spoke with another human. The reason I¡¯m here is that I¡¯ve spent the last couple of hundred years building an academy, I finally completed it a few months ago. At first, I thought that I¡¯d find people for my school easily; but little did I know that over the last few-hundred years humanities strength had fallen so far. You two,¡± His gaze seemed to drill into my parents, ¡°are considered to be among the strongest humans alive right now. A few hundred years ago you¡¯d be beginers with a good amount of talent.¡± ¡°Anyway, a few weeks ago an avatar of Zitana came to visit. It wasn¡¯t the first time that I¡¯d met with a Goddess, but it¡¯d been a while. Frankly, I thought I was past the point in my life where they would bother meddling in my life, but it seems that she came not for me, but for you.¡± At that, his gaze on me. I felt as if this old man knew everything about me, as if he could read my very soul. ¡°Zitana said that if I were to come here, I might find someone suitable to be my first disciple. Excited, I hurried over from the Asura Continent only to get here just in time to see you. I know now why she said you¡¯d be suitable to become my first disciple; for you see, the title Ultimate Sacrifice is not unique.¡± A prolonged silence fell upon the room, a minute later my mom finally broke the silence. ¡°So, you want to take our son to your unproven school on the most dangerous continent in the world where no human has set foot for hundreds of years! What kind of drugs are you on?¡± ¡°Hehe, I don¡¯t want to take him; I will take him.¡± The pressure suddenly returned, this time even stronger. I could almost hear the screams and feel the blood run as I saw the thousands, no millions, of people, beasts, and monsters this man had killed. My parents and I fell to the ground, unable to move. As I was slipping into unconsciousness, I heard him say, ¡°This world will need him, and those like him in the future. You two need to start training again, you have the talent and ability to change the world if you¡¯d but try.¡± And then, it all went dark. Chapter Four - Screaming... Chapter Four - Screaming I think I¡¯m going to die down here¡­ I slowly, groggily woke up. I was sore, everywhere. My face was burned raw, not by fire, but by wind. I was laying on a solid stone bed, in a cave illuminated by mana-stones hanging from the ceiling. Looking around, I saw desk, a bookcase, and a door. Ignoring everything else, I rushed over to the door in an attempt to get away from whatever the hell this place was. Before I set a finger on the door, I slammed into an invisible wall nose first. ¡°Fuck!!!!¡± My eyes watering, copious amounts of blood running from my nose I laid back down on the bed, trying to get the bleed to stop. Sometime later, the bleed had stopped and my nose only throbbed a little bit. I¡¯d felt it, it didn¡¯t seem to be broken. Sitting up slowly, so as to not dislodge the clot in my nose, I walked towards the door with my arms outstretched. In a semi-circle surrounding the door, an invisible barrier kept me from approaching any further. ¡°FUCK! SHIT! BALLS! FUCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!¡± I screamed, and screamed, and screamed. I¡¯m fucked. I have no food, no water, no matter how much I scream no one answers, and a fucking scary, OP, old fart kidnapped me and locked me in a dungeon to die! Finally, I felt a warmth flow down my throat and started choking. Coughing, I spit up blood, fell to my knees, and started crying. A few minutes later, I was amazed to realize that the bleeding had stopped and my throat no longer hurt so much. I was finally too tired to continue panicking, the adrenaline leaving my system as the mental exhaustion of screaming for hours on end took it¡¯s toll. That was when I noticed the a persistently blinking light in the corner of my eyes. Focusing on it, a screen was pulled up.
27 Notices
The notice just pissed me off even more. My parent were supposed to spend the next couple of days teaching me about stats, skills, status effects, notices, etc¡­ Now, I have 27 notices and I have no FUCKING clue what they mean. ¡°ARGH!!!¡± Pissed, I focused on it and it started flashing messages up from oldest to newest.
Status Effect(Fear)
Bloodlust so strong causes fear so powerful that it paralyzes you
Scrolling through the messages, I found a further twenty messages about being either paralyzed, feared, or knocked out by bloodlust¡­ twenty!!!!
+1 Toughness
For prolonged exposure to hurricane force level winds you gain 1 toughness.
I found two of these, I have no clue how.
Status Effect (Bleed)
Minus 4 health per minute until healed.
Another two, one from my nosebleed and one from my throat.
Zone Notice
You have entered a Special Dungeon; while in this Dungeon your strength is reduced to .5
WTF AM I DOING IN A DUNGEON! To make matters worse, I read the final notice.
Disciple of Kenoth Obitus
The Immortal Seer, Kenoth Obitus has taken you as his first disciple
Skills are learned 50% faster.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I nearly started crying again, the last person in the world I want as my master is the man who kidnapped me and stuck me in a god-damned dungeon! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- An entire day passed while I sulked, laying in the bed and feeling sorry for myself. It was at that point that my stomach rebelled¡­ I was hungry. For the first time I noticed another blinking bar in the right corner of my vision. There were four bars, three of them full. Focusing on them, they came into the center of my vision just like the notice messages and writing superimposed itself over them. Red, Blue, Green, and Flashing red; Health, Mana, Stamina, and Satiety. I¡¯d never been awakened by a worse alarm clock in my life. I started screaming again, ¡°If you''re going to make me your disciple then don¡¯t just leave me in here to die!!!¡± That was when I noticed an envelope with a ring sitting on top of it on the desk. Sitting down, I read it. ¡°Keselth, Welcome to the Dungeon! You¡¯re here by yourself for now. I¡¯m off to search for more talented disciples. This ring is a spatial ring, inside is enough food and water for a month along with some clothes. You open it by pouring your mana into it. In this room are books that will teach you what you need to know to survive this floor of the Academy; you are only required to read and learn, ¡°The Principles of Mana Manipulation, The Basics.¡± to leave this room, but I advise you to read every book in this room. They are here for a reason. Good luck, I hope you make it to the second floor before I get back.¡± The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Kenoth Obitus WATER!!! FOOD!!! I grabbed the ring and tried to pry it open with all my strength. Nothing¡­ Rereading the letter, I realized that I had to pour my mana into it. But, I didn¡¯t know how to do that! Reading it again, I decided to check out the bookcase. The first book in there was The Principles of Mana Manipulation, The Basics. Yes! Not only do I get water I get to read!\ Taking advantage of my 50% faster reading time from the Bookworm title, I speed read the relatively small, eighty-five pages, book. I was so excited that I didn¡¯t even bother to read who it was written by or the publication dates¡­ What an idiot I am. ¡®According to the book, mana is just pure energy that can be manipulated consciously. Every living being has a mana pool somewhere in their body where they store it for use, and in those not knowing its usage it passively releases energy into the body to support it. In humans, the mana pool is located just above the navel and by focusing on it while meditating you can find it within yourself, which is the first step.¡¯ Excited, I quickly sat down on my bed cross-legged and began to meditate like the pictures shown in the book. At first, I found it extremely difficult to meditate. I¡¯d always been easily bored, and spending time with my eyes closed sitting on a hard, uncomfortable bed is¡­ boring. Eventually, I lost track of time as my brain slowly shut down and my body stopped moving, stopped feeling. I began to feel my perspective slowly shifting, shifting, shifting... Somehow, I could ¡°see¡± my body from the inside. Focusing just above the navel, I found the mana pool that the book talked about. I could simultaneously feel and see the clear-blue fluid slowly move out of the pool and into my body, then back in. Excited, I woke up and jumped in joy! I did it! ¡®Now for step two. The book says that after you can clearly sense the mana in your mana pool, you can begin to move it around your body and finally outside of it by focusing on it. The fastest way to gain control is to flood your body with mana.¡¯ ¡°Hehe, let''s do it!¡± I quickly started meditating again and found it much easier to find my mana pool this time. After finding it, I focused on emptying it into my body all at once. At first, only a trickle flowed but as a few minutes passed it turned into a stream. A few minutes later, a tsunami of mana flooded my body. ¡°AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!¡± I had doubled over into a fetal position, unable to twitch my body in anyway. Ever since I had managed to find my mana pool, I had gained a much greater feel of control over my body. However, that came with it¡¯s downsides as I could literally feel the mana in my body reconstructing every single part of it. For the second time in as many days I screamed so much that my throat began bleeding; then the mana flowed upwards and started changing the very structure of my brain! There aren¡¯t supposed to be nerve endings in the brain, so why does it hurt so goddamned much!!!!! I think I¡¯m going to die down here¡­ After recovering from the debacle with the mana, I crawled over to the mana-manipulation book and reread it. Apparently, it was written over a thousand years ago¡­ and it included a warning at the end of the book in fine print. "Do not to attempt this unless you have over 10 toughness and mental defense. Attempting this form of mana-manipulation without the requisite stats can result in death and/or madness." WHAT THE FUCK YOU STUPID MASTER!!!! Why leave a technique here you know is impossible for me to use, then force me to use it if I want to live?!?!?! Also, "Death and/or madness." How can you be dead and mad?!?! The good news is that I survived, and despite some residual aftershocks of pain, my body felt amazing now that it was over. Reading the messages from the system, I was shocked¡­
EvolutionDetected:
Evolution is usually confined to beasts and monsters who unconsciously and instinctively use their mana. However, a sentient race can evolve by overloading their body with mana purposefully.
New Race:
High Human
High-Humans are Humans that are specially adapted to handling more mana along with strengthened bodies and longer life-spans.
Mana per INT and LEVEL Doubled; Strength +2
Evolved¡­ I EVOLVED!!! I¡¯d heard of high-humans before, they were supposedly extinct. Right then and there, I resolved to NEVER attempt anything written in these books without thought again! Fortunately, I could now manipulate my mana to leave my body. It only took me a few minutes to figure out how to open the ring. Water is soooooooooooo good. Chapter Five - Manacuffs Chapter Five - Manacuffs Today, I ran out of food. For the last month, I¡¯ve been hiding in this room listening to the roars of hydras, dragons, unicorns, and something that sounds like Mothra!!! I really wish I¡¯d never opened that seal¡­ A month ago, I learned Mana-Manipulation, and after sating my hunger and thirst, I decided to figure out how to open the seal around the door. The note left by that ass who kidnapped me said that after learning Mana-Manipulation I could unseal it, and I¡¯m a bit of a claustrophobe¡­ I know it also said I¡¯d be better off if I read all the books but the walls! THE WALLS!!! THEY¡¯RE CLOSING IN!!! I slowly approached the door, hand in front of me so I don¡¯t run into the seal face first again. This time, when I touched the barrier, I could actually feel how it¡¯s made. Standing with my eyes closed, I took my time and slowly came to understand it. After a few hours, I nearly gave up. I had no idea how the hell to open the barrier. Irritated, I threw a punch at the seal while coating my arm in mana¡­ My hand went through the barrier as is if wasn¡¯t there. This threw my body off balance, and I fell forward my face slamming into the barrier again. Bloody nose, watery eyes, and a nearly dislocated shoulder later I knew how to get out. Coating my entire body in mana I walked through the barrier and opened the door¡­ only to be greeted by a DRAGON!!!! Ok fine, it was an insanely cute bunny, but it might as well have been a dragon! If I¡¯d bothered to read the rest of the books in that room, I would¡¯ve realized that this floor of the ¡°Academy¡± is dedicated to training agility. Because of that, all creatures on this floor have their strength reduced to .5. That¡¯s not that big deal, I didn¡¯t even notice the difference at first¡­ Looking at this pure-white rabbit standing nearly three feet tall on its hind legs, I started to imagine this creature with a top hat, bow tie, and cane¡­ I couldn¡¯t help it, I started walking towards him as it looked at me curiously. As I got closer and closer to it, a blinking light telling me of a notification popped up, but I didn¡¯t care. I was entranced, getting closer and closer until finally¡­ *BAM* I got blindsided by ten more of the furry devils at the same time. They seemed to fly around the room at the speed of light, I could barely even see them as they slammed into my knees bowling me over. Then, they started to slap me in the face, bite my arms, poke my eyes. One of them went for my neck, but I managed to hit him with a flailing arm (pure luck) sending him flying away. Thankfully, they backed off after that; apparently I got lucky and hit their leader. Standing up shakily, unable to see out of my left eye, blood streaming down my face, I ran for the door back to my room. I started searching frantically for the status of my eye, I still couldn¡¯t see out of it!
Status Change:Partial Blindness
Your left eye has been damaged
Recovery Time:Two Weeks
Racial Passive Discovered
Mana Regeneration:
Racial Passive Discovered
Mana Regeneration LVL 1 (0.0%)
When at Maximum Mana, your body will automatically use mana equal to your Mana Regeneration to heal itself slowly overtime.
THANK GOD!!!! My blindness was caused by a scratch on my eye deforming it slightly. Thankfully, the system seemed to deem this a minor injury so I would be able to heal. Asshole, thanks for making me evolve!!!! I carefully cleaned myself off, wrapping a bandage around my face and covering my still blind eye. When I was done dealing with my wounds, I read the rest of my notifications and found this.
Status Change:Charmed
Charmed by Devil Eared Bunny Rabbit, Temporary Loss of Higher Cognitive Function
Debuff:-4 INT; -4 WIS
That bastard!!! I started towards the door to beat the shit out of that wascally wabbit. Only to be stopped by the barrier... again¡­ I forgot to coat my body in mana¡­ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- That was the last time I went outside of this room. Since then, I¡¯d spent the last month recovering from my injuries while reading the remaining books in the room. I think that ass who kidnapped me gave me a month of food precisely because he knew that was how long it¡¯d take me to read through every book there. At first, I was seriously disappointed with the selection. I was hoping to find skill books, learn how to summon my first spirit or demon so I could laugh as they roast alive. MUHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! Instead, they¡¯re history books¡­ HISTORY!!! Not that I hate history, I just really needed a way to kill those damned wascally wabbits. I glanced through the titles, but the skill books seemed to be near the bottom of the bookcase and when I went to open them a barrier that I couldn¡¯t move through blocked my way. It seems that I must read them all! Thank god I¡¯m a bookworm¡­ Anyway, the next book was a copy of ¡°The Great Seer¡¯s and Their Prophecies.¡± Seeing as I¡¯d already read most of the book, I skimmed through it quickly and was able to move on. A couple of weeks later, I had read the histories of this world, the great prophecies, the Council of Dragons and their laws, a random book on monster droppings¡­ Today, I opened a small, old, handwritten book called, ¡°Perception¡±. It had no author¡¯s name attributed to it, and only being 20 pages long I thought I¡¯d breeze through it in a few minutes and move on. ¡°...it was my third day in Tlali, and the death count just kept rising. I¡¯ve spent my entire life traveling the world fighting great evils, curing sickness, negotiating with dragons. Never, have I seen such a menace before. Everyday, at least ten people disappear from their beds, foundries, bathrooms, the middle of the streets!!! One moment they¡¯re their and the next they¡¯re gone. As if some monstrous beast had eaten them whole in an instant. It was on that day it happened, it came for me. As I walked down the main street, towards the only restaurant still open in the once sizable town, I felt it. A killing intent nearly matching that of the greatest dragons locked onto me. I reacted instantly, conjuring a barrier of stone nearly two meters thick and pouring all of my mana into it making it nearly as hard as adamantium. The sound was unbearable, I could almost feel it as an invisible maw of a great beast bit into the stone and sank deeper and deeper. It actually managed to punch through and I threw myself to the floor as I felt something graze over my head. Looking up, my once impervious stone fortress had a gaping hole in it. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. The creature roared, causing me to relieve myself in sheer terror. Next to me, lay a chipped, curved tooth longer than my height, wider than my width. For the first time I heard it move as it ran from the town while roaring in pain¡­.¡± I read and reread the journal, over and over again, as if something seemed off. The story ends with him killing the beast and becoming the hero of a nation, but how? He says he spent nearly a year tracking it, trying to sense it. The book just ended with him finally sensing it and killing it. All he said was he was able to sense it¡­ As I was rereading it for the 10th time, I noticed the book was glowing. Staring at it in surprise, I realized that it was absorbing a little bit of my mana and then dispersing it into the air. Forcing more of my mana into it, I felt my mana dispersing and returning in pulsing pattern. It would go a few feet from me and then return, but when I focused on it more clearly, I could feel that it returned quicker when it hit an obstruction.
New Skill Acquired!!!
Mana Sense
Wait, I¡¯ve heard of this before! My parents said that they used a similar technique to find traps in dungeons. They danger sense, and it only found traps or dangerous enemies not everything nearby. They also said that it was dangerous to use it sense it would alert everyone to your presence. Closing my eyes, I could sense the chair, half the stone desk, a bit of the floor and wall. Everything within three feet of me I could sense. Even the nearly microscopic bugs that flew around the room, feeding on my dead skin¡­ ICK!!!!!!!!!! The final book was also the longest; ¡°The Art of Manacuffs¡± by Kennoth Obitus (Kidnap Artist, Asshole, Lower than Wabbit Shit, etc¡­) It was the longest book by far, and it focused on moving mana around your body efficiently. Apparently, that old man created an entire fighting style is based solely around using Mana Manipulation to defend, attack and move all at the same time. The basic fundamental of it all is balance; apparently when a practitioner reaches the pinnacle of ¡°The Art of Manacuffs¡± no matter what position his body is in, he¡¯s able to move in any direction instantly by using mana to propel his body. It says that in order to do this, your body needs to relearn how to balance so you balance not on your body, but on your mana pool. After reading the entire book, I reached the final page and the book began to absorb my mana and flash just as the previous book had. Just as I received the notification for gaining a skill, I read the final paragraph... ¡°...While Manacuffs is at the pinnacle of martial arts, the equal of any other martial art in existence, it¡¯s requirements are nearly impossible to meet. In order to fight even the weakest of monsters one must have a minimum of level 5 in Mana Manipulation. This is because in a fight, a practitioner must be able to react and move his mana at an instinctual level to keep from being killed while balancing around his mana pool¡­¡± ¡°WHAT A WASTE OF TIME!!!!!!!!!!!¡± I screamed, throwing the book down. I focused on the skill window, opening up my skills menu to check them out and distract myself from the fact that I¡¯d just spent a month to learn a skill that is pointless for me¡­ and the bugs I sensed crawling towards me¡­ ICK!!!!!!!!!!!
Skill Window:
Active Skills:
Mana Sense LVL 1 (0.9%)Cost:10 Mana/Minute per foot
Description:By pulsing your mana in a mysterious pattern, you are able to sense anything the mana comes into contact with
Range:Equal to Maximum Range of Mana Manipulation
Mana Coat LVL 1 (1.2%)Cost: Variable (Mana only used when dealing or absorbing damage)
Description:Coats the body with a layer of mana which absorbs damage equal to 50% of mana allocated and increases attack by 50% of mana allocated. By focusing mana on attack or absorption can use up to 100% of mana allocated on either attack or damage absorption. +10% to Damage Absorption or Attack Rating per level.
Instantaneous Movement LVL 1 (0.0%)Cost: 1 Foot/10 mana
Description:Change direction and instantly move in any direction by propelling your body using mana. (Only usable when perfectly balanced.) Cost lowered by 10% per level
Passive Skills:
Mana Manipulation LVL 1 (8.2%)Cost:N/A
Description:You are able to manipulate your mana inside your body at will and control it with great difficulty outside of your body.
Range:Three Feet at current proficiency. Error: Unknown Growth Ratio
Manacuffs Mastery LVL 1 (0.0%)Cost:N/A
Description:Increases Damage, Defense, and Movement speed of all skills associated with Manacuffs by 10% per level.
Current Skills Associated With:Mana Coat, Instant Movement
Growth:Unable to surpass the level of Mana Manipulation
Racial Skills: High Human
Active Skills:
N/A
Passive Skills:
Mana Regeneration LVL 1 (1.2%)Cost:Equal to Mana Regeneration
Description:When at Maximum Mana, your body will automatically use mana equal to your Mana Regeneration to heal itself slowly overtime.
CapabilitiesMinor Injuries only at current level
¡°Great! The only skills I have are nearly impossible to use, and I¡¯m out of food so I can¡¯t even train before I go out and die! GREAT!!!¡± I''m gonna die tomorrow...