by J. J. Thorn
The pedestal was in the figure of a woman, the Goddess in mortal form.
"Hello son" Smiled the Head Priest.
"Hello, sir"
"To get started, can you please stand in front of the pedestal."
The process had been described to Terrence many times before, but hearing about the process and taking part were two completely different matters.
"Now, what is your name"
"Terrence, sir"
"Ok, Terrence. I'm going to go through some information that the Goddess would like me to pass on. I am going to ask that you continue to remain silent during the process, and at the end, I will allow you to ask questions. Do you understand?"
"Yes, I do, thank you, sir" Terrence responded, causing the Head Priest to smile gingerly.
"So, Terrence, the Goddess has seen it fit to bring you into this world. And with that, she has provided you with free will, understanding and goodness. Would she have bestowed an affinity to everyone at birth, you might have used that power for evil. The Goddess has the best of intentions, but to properly assign affinities, she waits until you turn 16 years of age. Should you receive a gift from the Goddess, that means she has seen goodness in your heart. How you decide to use this gift is up to you, but she would ask that you continue to lead a life of purity and fairness. Whatever you may receive, be thoughtful, and remember you are unique, in every single way." With this, the Head Priest finished speaking.
A level of heaviness swept over Terrence. He did not falter, but it was as though his every action and thought was being reviewed and considered in that very moment. His body felt heavy.
"Now, you may ask any question you would like."
"Within reason, of course, we've still got other kids to get through" The mayor added, earning a look from the Priest.
Terrence considered the opportunity for a moment. After feeling the heaviness from a moment ago, his mind was beginning to falter. At that moment, only one thought came to his mind.
"What if I don't get an affinity, can the Goddess be wrong?"
The Head Priest took the opportunity to give another big smile and even started to laugh. The Mayor looked on disdainfully as if it was the stupidest question in the world.
"Can the Goddess be wrong? To that I would say 'No', I do not believe the Goddess can err. With that said, if she should choose to not give you an affinity, I would consider what this means. It does not need to be the end of your journey. Nor is it the end of your life. You are many things, Terrence. Do not let one moment define the rest of your life."
A silence fell over the room again as the Head Priest finished his response.
"Terrence, you must now put your hand on the pedestal. It is time."
Terrence took another moment to consider the Head Priest's thoughts, but after a few seconds began edging their hand closer to the pedestal.
When his hand reached the pedestal, he put his hand gingerly against the robe of the Goddess' statue. For a few moments, nothing happened, and Terrence began to worry that his worst fear might have come true.
.
.
Affinity Unlocked : Weight
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Affinity Unlocked : Weight
A window was floating in front of my vision. I re-read the notification several times trying to understand what I was looking at. Logically speaking, I understand that this is showing me the type of affinity I had unlocked. And logically speaking, that means I had gained an affinity.
Woohoo!...
But what in the hell is a WEIGHT affinity. Is this some cruel joke from the Goddess? I spend my whole life being made fun of for my weight, and more recently I've worked REALLY hard to lose weight... Did the Goddess take all of this as an indication that I wanted it as an affinity?
"Terrence"
Maybe the Goddess had misspelled the word "Wait" and it was just biding it's time to show me my ACTUAL affinity?
"Terrence"
Maybe, if I just pretend I didn't see anything I can do a do-over...
"Terrence" Repeated the Head Priest for the third time.
"Uh, Yes, yes, sorry Sir"
"What do you see Terrence," The Priest asked me lightly, recognizing that I had been startled by the process.
"A blue box with white fringes and some white lettering on the inside"
"Yes, but what does it say inside the box"
"Affinity unlocked, and then it says Weight"
"Weight? That is interesting, I have never heard of that affinity. Have you Mayor?"
"No, but we have other children to test. You must get going Terrence."
Just like that?!
"But sir, I have a blue box in my face. How do I get rid of it?"
"To dismiss the box, just think 'Dismiss' or 'Close' while picturing the window you would like closed. This should cause it to happen immediately." Helped the Priest.
"To re-open the window, think 'Current Progress' or just 'Progress'. This will open a window showing your affinity and your current progress in ranking it up. If you open it now, you should see 0%, but as you continue to increase your affinity with WEIGHT, the percentage will increase."
"Ok, you'll learn most of this on your own and at Prep school. Time to go Terrence. I'll walk you out."
I tried to respond, but the Mayor started walking me out of the room.
While leaving, the Head Priest stated from his spot beside the pedestal: "Remember Terrence, you are many things. Do not let one moment define the rest of your life." When finished, he gave me a final wink and I was once again being shepherded through the corridor.
As soon as we were alone in the hallway, the Mayor started to speak quickly. By his tone over the last few minutes, I could tell he wanted to move on and get this over with.
"I'll be leaving you with my assistant again. She will check that your affinity is what you say it is and have it documented for the Kingdom. As you probably already know, since you received an affinity you are obligated to receive at least one year's education at the nearest Prep School. They will help you understand your abilities better."
I knew all this, of course. My cousin is just one of the many people that had been sent away to the nearest Prep School to the West of Huag.
Whenever a new person gains an affinity, they have the rest of the summer to spend with their family and friends before a series of guards come to take them to the wagon.
Some come back, some remain at the school for longer than the mandatory year, while most take the opportunity after school to begin their Dungeon diving career.
"Sir, what happens to those who don't go to Prep School?" I asked, not realizing that I had never seen this happen within Huag.
"You're not thinking of running or hiding are you?"
"No sir, just a curiosity"
"When that happens, the person is added to the 'Wanted' list across the Kingdom. You do not want to be added to this list."
No, you do not.
"Understood, thank you," I said as we reached the place where I started beside the pews at the beginning of the hallway. A few new faces were in the pews, most of the other kids I knew from school. Some that had come from the country-side to take their test. And a couple I had no clue about.
"Melony, could I have the list again please" The Mayor requested of his assistant once again. I took the opportunity to look at the nervous faces of some of the other people in the pews. Whatever they receive will undoubtedly be better than an affinity to WEIGHT, so they have nothing to worry about.
"Zane Teller. Is there a Zane Teller here? Oh, ok perfect, come with me this way Zane, chop-chop" A skinny boy with incredibly pale skin started walking with the mayor. The boy's hair was golden and his eyes shined a bright blue. Oddly enough, he did not look the slightest bit nervous. As he walked by, he gave me a big smile then started walking towards the assessment room.
He gave me the impression of one of the heroes in the stories - I be
t he would get an affinity to something amazing.
"So, Terrence was it," remarked the assistant, Melony, as she took the list from the Mayor and started noting down some added information on another sheet.
"Yes, Terrence Stine."
"Ok, Terrence, this shouldn't take long at all, just a couple of questions. First though, can you please put on this bracelet for a moment." Melony handed me a bracelet made entirely of silver. At the top sat a large yellow stone. As I slipped on the bracelet, a window abruptly appeared above the bracelet.
Affinity : Weight
Rank 1 – View Weight – 0%
"WEIGHT affinity. I don't think I've heard of that one before. I guess you're special Terrence!" She said with a smile.
"What are the details below it, ma'am?"
"Did the Mayor not explain it to you? Sorry, he's been grumpy ever since he got back from Lunch. Long days and all that. That is your current Rank, 1, your Rank 1 ability, 'View Weight', and your current progress towards the next Rank. Since you're at 0%, I'm guessing you haven't even tried it as yet."
I shook my head.
"Ok, well it isn't the same for all affinities, but if I'm understanding your affinity correctly, you should be able to test it out here. Look directly at this pen and think of your skill name 'View Weight'"
Following Melony’s directions, I looked towards her and thought of my skill. It didn't happen instantly, but after what felt like 30 seconds, a number appeared in my vision.
140 pounds!
"It says 140 pounds, ma'am."
"140, that seems way too high for something like a pe... Terrence, you've now used your affinity for the first time. I'll warn you to go around telling ladies their weight. Did the Mayor put you up to this little prank of yours?" It appears I wasn't concentrating on the right object in front of me and might have caused a misunderstanding.
"Sorry Melony, I promise I have never used this before. I didn't know what would happen." My face had turned a bright shade of red and all of a sudden I had no idea what to do with my hands.
"You're lucky, you still have the bracelet on, otherwise, I wouldn't believe you. Take a look now."
As I looked down once again at the bracelet, I was startled to see that my percentage had gone from 0% to 1%. I had done it!
"It's at 1%! Thank you, Melony!" I beamed, this was what I had always dreamt of. I was so focused on the abnormal affinity that I didn't take the time to recognize that I had done it! I was an affinity user! I had gained an affinity, and that meant I could rank up!
I had to get home and tell my family. I started walking towards the exit until Melony grabbed my shoulder.
"Terrence, you need to return the bracelet..."
"Hahaha, oh, yeah..."
I took off the bracelet, thanked Melony yet again, and went on my way.
Thank the Goddess!
I had done it.
Chapter 4
Initial Testing
I wanted to get home as quickly as I could after leaving the church, but that didn't mean I had to remain idle. As soon as the church doors closed, I began using my new skill on the people walking in front of the church.
165! ... 190!... 201!...115!...124!...245!...
It took at least 20 seconds for a person's weight to appear and after it did, it only remained in my vision for a moment. By the time I reached the town square, I was beginning to realize the skill had several deficiencies:
One, the time it took to gather someone's weight was ridiculous. While the skill wasn't ground shattering, I could only hope skills in the future would take way less time to trigger or use. Otherwise, I would be standing in front of a monster barreling towards me yelling "HOLD ON, I haven't gotten your weight yet!"
Two, my ability to retrieve someone's weight was directly related to my concentration on that person. On a couple of attempts, I lost track of the person I was watching and this caused me to lose track of their weight. A couple of runners really got the better of me.
Most importantly, as I reached the 10th weight I had registered, I had a glaring headache. Registering someone's weight seemed to take some unseen amount of effort out of me. I had to struggle to get the weight of the last person, and it took at least twice as long to get the weight as well. This even includes the people who I lost track of. ANY attempt to register someone's weight caused my headache to worsen.
While walking through the town, I tried to identify smaller objects as well, to no avail. Whether my rank 1 skill didn't allow me to gather the weight of objects or I wasn't concentrating for long enough was hard to tell.
By the time I reached the town's gates my headache was enormous. Temp and Booth were still here, but I was lucky to catch them at a time when the captain of the guard was speaking to all of the guards. I could vaguely hear some words about remaining "Vigilant" and "Make him proud", but in all honesty, my head felt like it was about to crack open.
I took the lucky break, and my slightly improving headache, as a sign to stop trying to look at the weight of people while I walked. That, luckily, didn't mean I had nothing to do.
Despite all I'd learned today, I still remembered the Mayor's words in the hallway.
'Current Progress'.
Affinity : Weight
Rank 1 – View Weight – 7%
My affinity had gone up to 7% already! I can only assume this is because I just got it. Could it have gone up a bit quicker because I tried to view the weight for a variety of people and things? Could that also be why my head hurts so much?
I can't imagine it is this easy for everyone; otherwise, why isn't everyone at Rank 6 by now?
I had so many questions, and this was only the first rank of my affinity! Why do Dungeoneers always look so gruff? They have this amazing view into a world that only some see... how does that not make them happy all the time?
I hope I can get some time with Dad tonight to try and talk through some of my questions.
I closed the window and continued the rest of my walk in silence.
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Mom and Elisa were waiting for me outside the house. Mom was gardening and Elise was playing with a stick in the yard. To Elise, I bet that stick was some Holy Sword and the bush she was currently attacking a dragon of epic proportions.
By this point, the headache was all but gone. I took the opportunity to use the skill on Elise, and after a few seconds, the numbers returned just like before.
75!
"Thank goodness"
"Thank goodness what T? First you stare at me and don't say anything, then you say something weird like that. Why are you acting weird?"
"Haha, sorry Elise, I was just using my new Skill" Elise's face went blank.
"Your new Skill?..." She finally mumbled.
"Your new Skill dear?" Mom had now walked up and had apparently heard my last few words.
"Yes, my new Skill! Mom, Elise, you are looking at the newest Dungeoneer in Huag!"
I asserted a bit too loudly.
"Terrence, you are not Dungeoneer. Congratulations on your Affinity, but maybe you can use it in the town when you get back from School? What is it?
"Ya T, what is it! I bet it's something boring like SHIELD. Or was Cousin John right, is it EATER?"
"Eater? What is Eater, Elise?" Mom asked in confusion.
"Ignore her Mom, it's WEIGHT"
Once again, they both remained silent for a little too long.
"Why aren't you guys reacting?!"
"Well honey, you told me to ignore your sister then told us to WAIT" Mom replied matter of fact.
"No, Mom, I didn't tell you to WAIT, I told you that my affinity IS WEIGHT!"
"What's that?" Elise asked.
"I've never heard of that affinity. Maybe it will have something to do with time dear. That could be very useful. You've always been bad at punctuality. Perhaps this will help you get to your classes on time and-"
"No! WEIGHT affinity. L
ike, how much something weighs, how heavy or light something is, stuff like that," I had taken some of the time on my walk to consider what my affinity might mean for me in the future. If my first ability is to view the weight of things, who knows what I'd be able to do in the future?
"Oh, honey! I understand now. Still, I haven't heard of that before. You know your father and I have never cared how much you weighed. Those kids were always so mean to you, but you have always been the most handsome boy. Who cares what those kids say!"
Mom's mind went to a similar place to my own. For my own sanity, I chose to believe that that wasn't the reason the Goddess gave me this affinity.
"I'm OK mom. At first, I was shocked and a little disappointed, for sure, but I've had a while to think about it since leaving the church. I'm going to use this to become an amazing Dungeoneer!"
"Yes, we'll discuss your future Dungeoneering career when your father gets home."
"But T, what were you doing when you walked in? What does your skill do?"
Elise brought me back to her original question.
"Like I originally said, I was using my first skill 'View Weight'. It allows me to view the weight of people, and I think things, but I haven't been able to get that to work as yet. When I walked in, I looked at how much you weighed - 75"
"So I'm going to be fighting dragons in the south with my justice sword and you'll be weighing farmer Cane's Potatoes after a harvest?" Damn, I was half right - I should have known she had been appreciating Justice more than Holy lately.
"This is just the first Rank. I don't know what it will give me yet, but I'm going to keep training and the Goddess will grant me something really cool for my second rank. I just know it!" Hope you're listening Goddess, don't let me down.
"And Elise, if I have anything to say about it, that Dragon will already be dead by the time you get there!"
"What! You wish T! Maybe that was just the tiny Dragon, the baby, I'll kill the Mother"
"What mother will you be killing?"
