by Kong, Aleron
The wasp immediately flew at James with its stinger extended as it curled its body. He quickly rolled to the side hearing and feeling a buzzing pass just by his ear. He tried to activate the HIDE action of his character Silk. The wasp upon missing with its first pass, immediately turned around and flew at him again. It clearly still saw him. This time the stinger punctured his left bicep. Red hot agony seared through his body as he swatted the wasp away, and it flew back into the air.
That pain was worse than anything he had every felt! What the hell was going on? The pain dampeners were not supposed to allow ANYTHING to hurt that much, let alone just the sting of a wasp on steroids! He picked up a rock with his right hand and activated True Aim, throwing it at the wasp. It easily dodged to the side though, the rock missing and accomplishing nothing. That was not supposed to happen, he thought. At his high skill level, there was less than a 1% chance of a projectile missing when he activated True Aim.
With no apparent thought at all to the injustice of the situation, the wasp flew in and stung him again in the other arm. Agony lanced through him a second time, and he noticed a small green skull and cross bones in the bottom right corner of his vision. Unable to fight off the wasp as neither arm was working, he fell back seeing the red horizontal bar in the top left corner of his vision was half gone. When he fell to the ground, the wasp pulled its stinger out of his arm and flew towards his head. He screwed his eyes shut as he awaited a poisonous needle to the face!
But nothing happened. He peeked a glance, opening one eye. He saw the wasp flying lazily around the imp who looked at him dispassionately.
“Well what have we learned?” the imp asked putting emphasis on the last word.
“WTF?!?”
“Well I hope you’ve learned more than that.”
“Why didn’t any of my skills work? And why did that hurt so much? Why is it still hurting?! And why did that hurt so much?!?” James’ voice grew louder and shriller with each question.
“I already told you noob, you’re not your character. I told you twice! You are not a level 167 thief. Those classes don’t exist the way they did in the game. It requires a lot for you to qualify for a Profession, and you are nowhere NEAR that powerful yet. Don’t worry about it. Right now you are just some guy with two wasp stings in his arms, drooling on the moss. You have been sent to The Land from your world. You are really here! Not… your… character. Check out your status page.”
“How,” James asked. He would deny it til his dying day, but there was a bit of a whine in his voice now.
“Will it,” the imp replied simply.
Shutting the throbbing in his arms out his mind for a moment, he focused on wanting to see his status page. Suddenly his vision was blocked by a translucent rectangle.
Name: ???
Age: 24
Level: 1, 0%
Health: 100 Mana: 100 Stamina: 100
Strength: 10
Agility: 10
Dexterity: 10
Constitution: 10
Endurance: 10
Intelligence: 10
Wisdom: 10
Charisma: 10
Luck: 10
Abilities:
Limitless
Gift of Tongues
Skills:
None
Marks:
None
Resistances:
None
Race: Human (Chaos Seed)
Reputation: Lvl 1 “Who are you again?”
Alignment: Neutral
Language: All
Willing the window to go away, he focused back on the imp who started talking again.
“So I guess you now know you’re the definition of a basic bitch.”
“Excuse me?” Richter was convinced that he had misheard. The wasp stings had been embarrassing, but this was just too much!
“I was chosen to speak to you because I have paid attention to your world. It means there is a slightly higher chance of an ape like you understanding when an enlightened being like myself deigns to speak with you. Now seeing as how my wasp has just made you its bitch and your stats are all basic, ipso facto, my earlier assertion of your status. Any more questions?”
James just stared at the imp with his mouth hanging slightly open, swollen arms hanging at his sides, blinking in disbelief.
“Annyywayyy, you’ll be able to examine your stats in more detail later. Do you know the difference between abilities and skills?”
Shaking his head at the imp’s ridiculous attitude, James replied, “Abilities are things you are born with or are given to you, skills can be learned. But I don’t know what Marks are.”
“That makes sense, they weren’t included in the game you played. Marks will appear as small tattoos on your body, they can indicate allegiance or increases in abilities you have picked up. I’m told technically they can represent religious affiliation as well, but since there aren’t any gods in The Land, no one knows for sure. Right now I’m guessing you have nothing in any of these areas. Do you?”
James examined his two abilities more closely.
LIMITLESS – you can proceed to any level in any skill with 100% affinity.
GIFT OF TONGUES – you can speak and understand any language. You cannot speak to lower lifeforms or higher beings.
He related these to the imp whose face took on a look of surprise.
“So that’s why he’s invested in you,” the imp said under its breath. “Well Gift of Tongues is pretty self-explanatory, you can understand humanoids and other sentient beings, but not animals or beings of higher power like myself. For example, shi rine ka frine parul cha. Did you understand any of that?”
“No,” he replied. “What did it mean?”
“Don’t worry about it,” the imp said with a smirk. “Your language ability will definitely be useful, but what’s truly interesting is your other ability. Every creature born has a predisposition to being good at some things and bad at others. You might be a natural dancer so you have an 80% chance to increase your level with practice. You might be naturally clumsy, and so only have a 10% chance of increasing as a pick pocket. In that case you will almost assuredly have a low level no matter how much you practice. Apparently whatever you try to learn you have the ability to increase with no cap. You could one day be very powerful,” it said thoughtfully. “I would keep the knowledge about this ability to myself if I were you, there are those who would kill you now for fear of what you will become.”
“But not you,” James asked.
“I was well paid to advise you. Trust me when I say that you’re lucky to have me. For an eternal being like myself, if I can’t be trusted to do a job, I don’t get many more.”
“Fair enough,” James said. He was still trying to breathe through the pain, and it was starting to make focusing on the conversation more difficult.
“Now, I’m sure by that pained expression on your face, you’ve realized that your health is not restoring. Lower health means more pain, and total loss of health will cause death of course. Low mana makes it harder to think and low stamina makes you sluggish. While magic and stamina will replenish over time, your health will not without prolonged rest or healing magic. As a Chaos Seed you will heal faster than others, wounds improving over hours rather than days, but still it will take time without help. As so,” the imp waved its hand and shadowy tendrils extended to touch James’ arms finally providing relief to the burning ache of his arms.
James immediately started breathing easier seeing the red bar of his health growing, “Thank you very much! I’m obviously completely lost here, and despite that first cheap shot, I appreciate your help. Would you please tell me your name so I can address you properly?”
The imp smiled genuinely for the first time, “You may call me Xuetrix. That is of course not my real name. You must never give your real name as with the right knowledge or abilities it might allow great power over you. Now with that said, what should people call you?”
A translucen
t screen appeared in front of his gaze again. It simply said, “Name:” and had a blinking cursor after it.
James thought for a moment, happy with the advice. His character Silk had served him well, but if what Xuetrix said was true then his power could increase exponentially. If he was really in a new world, he planned on getting as strong as possible and making an impact. He would shake the ground and his accomplishments would only be measured by…”
James smiled and looked at Xuetrix.
“My name is Richter.”
CHAPTER 2
“What’s a Chaos Seed,” Richter asked looking at his race.
“It is the type of human you are. I am actually not sure what that means exactly, so you will have to discover that by yourself. Everyone from your world is a Chaos Seed is what I was told, though. That also might be a piece of information that you will want to keep to yourself. It doesn’t exactly sound warm and cuddly, and the various peoples of The Land might take it the wrong way,” the imp advised. Richter accepted the advice silently.
“Very well Richter. It’s time for us to part ways. The last advice I will give you is that though you should advance as quickly as possible, always remember that it’s not all about level. After all, a level 100 rabbit could never kill a level 1 wyvern. It is the application of power that rules the day, not the simply having power. THINK! Learn what you can, and be careful how you treat those you encounter. You never know when the actions of today will impact the outcome of tomorrow.”
“Thank you Xuetrix, I really you owe you,” Richter said, extending his hand.
“What?” Xuetrix said looking confused.
“I said I owe you.”
“Really?”
“Yes,” Richter said with some exasperation.
“Thrice heard and witnessed,” the imp said with a sly smile.
A notification popped into Richter’s view
You have agreed to do Xuetrix a favor. Failure to do so when asked will cause a decrease in your reputation with all beings, and other unknown consequences. Keep in mind, your word means everything!
By the time he cleared the message he was greeted by the sight of the imp hovering with its wasp, a small smile on its face. Then the devilish creature just snapped its fingers, and they both vanished to the faint smell of sulfur.
“I’ve got to learn to keep my trap shut,” Richter said aloud with a deep sigh.
“Enjoy my gifts, Richter,” Xuetrix’s disembodied voice said. “I like powerful friends, especially when they owe me favors. Hahaha.” Four items dropped to the ground in front of him.
Picking up all four, he was awarded with new message notifications.
You have received: Simple short bow. Damage 8-13. Durability 15/15. Item class: Common. Quality: Average. Weight: 4.1 kg
You have received: Basic arrows with quiver. Quantity x10. Damage 3-5. Durability 2/2. Item class: Common. Quality: Average. Weight: 1.1 kg.
You have received: Minor ring of healing. Will heal 30 health on wearer. Cool down 10 minutes. Can be used twice per day. Durability 8/8. Item class: Common. Quality: Average. Weight: 0.1 kg
You have received: Dull bronze knife. Damage 2-4. Durability 20/20. Item class: Common. Quality: Average. Weight: 2.0 kg
Slipping the ring on his finger and the quiver over his shoulder, he finally took in his surroundings and attire. He was wearing a sleeveless tunic and rough spun brown pants. On his feet were dark tan moccasins. He actually might be extremely stylish on Rodeo drive as he remembered hearing something about the “peasant” look making a comeback. Only thing missing was… Yup! Richter definitely needed to be the first person to invent both cotton and boxer briefs in this world. Whatever ‘roughspun’ was, it was definitely NOT the fabric of his life!
Looking around he examined the small glade. The pool of crystal clear water abutting the rock face was surrounded by multicolored plants. A line of trees hid the small glade from view, creating a hidden enclave. Walking up to the pool he looked down at the plants, but could not identify any of them. Herbs always came in useful in games though, so he decided to grab them.
You have picked up an unknown plant. Due to a lack of herbalism you have destroyed the plant. Maybe you can use what is left to apologize to your mom.
Shaking his head, Richter thought, What is with these messages? Seeing nothing else that could be of use he turned to leave the glade, but stopped as he was thirsty. Going over to the pool he paused as he saw his reflection in the still water. A man’s face stared back at him. The expression was curious and kind. He had chestnut colored skin, and hazel eyes. His hair was cut short and was a mop of black curls close to his head. It looked like his old face, but leaner and more rugged. It was a visage he could live with.
He knelt down to scoop some water in his hands, but hesitated. Should he drink this? Everything here seemed to have some meaning. What if this was the Pool of Eternal Firerrhea? He was already thirsty though, and drinking from an unknown source would always be a risk.
Taking a deep breath, he sipped from the water in his hand.
You have tasted the Waters of Clarity. You can see the way forward with greater ease than any others. Experience increased by 25% for the next twenty four hours.
Score! Let’s get this going!
Happy with his lucky starting point (falling into an ocean or volcano would probably not have been super fun), Richter walked out of the glade, and into his new life.
Leaving the glen, he felt a slight tingling. After walking through the trees for several yards, he looked back and saw what appeared to be only a stand of trees next to a cliff face. No one would be finding the glade without help. For some reason, knowing that his starting point in the world was hidden away brought him a sense of security. He realized then that finding it himself might be a problem later. Losing something as clutch as that Pool of Clarity would be a bone head move of epic proportions. He spent about half an hour rolling medium-small rocks to the base of trees. They would look innocuous enough individually, but taking a larger view, they formed a rough line toward the glen.
The forest seemed old. The trees grew massive, hundreds of feet into the air. There was large spacing between the large trunks, but the floor of the forest was littered with detritus from fallen branches and thick undergrowth. The air was filled with the song of birds that filled the branches above his head. The sun filtered through the leaves, but the canopy was thick enough that its position could not be clearly pinpointed. Walking forward he began to hunt. He was already a bit hungry. After only a short time, he heard a faint snuffling up ahead of him. Moving forward slowly he looked over a dip in the forest floor. A red fox was rooting through the leaves, hunting for some morsel or other. He slowly nocked an arrow making sure to avoid any extra noise. He paused a moment with the string taut as he exhaled, then released! The arrow flew through the air, and hit the fox in its side. It let loose a high pitched squeal and attempted to run. Richter quickly nocked another air and let fly. It fell a foot short!
He ran to cut the fox off before it could leave the gully it had been searching in. Luckily the fox seemed to have trouble running with the arrow in its side and he was able to jump on it and drive his knife into its side.
Congratulations! You have reached skill level 1 in Archery.
Congratulations! You have reached skill level 1 in Small Blades.
Red Fox (Lvl 1) has died. You receive 8(+2) experience.
The prompts were translucent, and filled a small amount of his visual field. They disappeared at a thought and he looked down at the fox. Killing it was more real than anything had been in the game. The blood was warm and sticky on the hand that held the knife. It had kicked and moaned right before it died. The death of this small creature made his situation real in a way that nothing else had. Looking down at his vanquished foe, at the blood on the ground, at the life that was forever extinguished, something welled up inside of him. He fought the impulse, but he was helpless against it and shouted, “What does t
he fox say? Ba ring ring ring ba ring ba ring ring!”
Chuckling to himself he retrieved his arrow, and then picked up the fox by the tail for later as well as his missed arrow. He kept moving forward. Over the next few hours of walking through the forest he killed several more foxes and more than a few rabbits. He collected them until:
TRING!
You have reached level 2! Through hard work you have moved forward along your path. As a Chaos Seed you gain 6 points to distribute to characteristics instead of the usual 4. You also get 25% advancement to the skill of your choice! Crush your enemies, honor your allies, LIVE!
Not bad, not bad! Seeing as his most valuable skill so far was Archery, he added his 25% there and was rewarded with another screen.
Congratulations! You have reached skill level 2 in archery. +2% bonus to aim. +2% bonus to damage.
Not a bad day’s work, Richter my boy!
With that thought, he collected all of the game he had hunted, and then headed back to his glade for a rest.
CHAPTER 3
Upon waking, he quickly obtained his 25% exp bonus from the Pool and left the glade. He decided not to place the points of his new level in any one area until he knew more about the world around him. He decided he would follow a river that he had crossed yesterday. His stomach rumbling he wished he could have cooked the foxes that he had killed, but without the ability to make a fire he had simply tossed the carcasses a small distance from the glen for the local wildlife to consume. His hunger had not gotten to the point of eating raw meat. Getting the trots from some weird alien bacterial infection was NOT on his to-do list. He had left the pelts to dry on a rock in the glade in full view of sunlight.
Making his way to the river, he quickly started walking upriver. It wasn’t overly large at this point only about two dozen yards across. After about half an hour of walking, he found a bush with large bluish berries. Hunger outweighing caution, he took a handful, and placed them in his mouth. Upon swallowing he received the notification.
