Once again, the bright light dissipated and Ryan came stumbling through. It was happening so frequently now that he was almost getting used to the feeling of being transported around at his will, though he wasn't quite there yet.
Just as last time, he calmly gained his bearings and surveyed his surroundings. Looking around him caused him to suck in a breath of hot, stifled air. Both of the times he had been transported elsewhere prior to this. Being surrounded by an intangible void, being bathed in endless white light, neither of them could compare to his situation now.
He was inside a volcano!
He looked around in dismay, the lava pooling in the crater beneath him and the magma flowing from the walls nearly scared him out of his wits! Suddenly he reverted back to his calm self as a seemingly mystic power washed over him.
It was the Mental Strength buff from the blessing saving him once again. He looked down to realise that it was far below him, too far for anything but the hot air to reach him.
As he steadied his breath, he looked around once more, only to find that he had missed something within the volcano's crater, directly below him.
It appeared to be a flat stone platform, about 100 metres wide. At each of the four corners was a statue of stone dragon, covered in all manner of intricate carved scales and claws, displaying its ferocity in full.
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[[Welcome Herald! To the final area before you begin your adventure! This is a secret location however so the time you can spend here is only limited to 15 minutes!]]
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The way the... whatever it was addressed him had changed. It changed from 'Adventurer' to 'Wanderer', befitting of his new-found class. Taking the message to heart however, he began to walk. or float, towards the the stone platform closer to the lava. As he did, the hot air blew against his face, making it extremely difficult to breath.
["Screw the time limit! I wouldn't stay here for more than 15 minutes even if I could!"] {Ryan}
In his flustered anger, he slowly descended, not taking note of the mysterious force that forcibly calmed him again. He already knew what it was.
Placing his feet down on the platform, he thankfully thought of the salvation of solid ground. Something that he hadn't felt for a long time. Or at least thought he hadn't.
As he was unable to see it clearly from his previous position, he looked at the platform once more only to realise that the statues that he couldn't help but disdain for their flashiness earlier completely dwarfed him in size. He couldn't help but shudder to think what would happen if they were the real thing.
With its constant impeccable timing, another window appeared in front of Ryan, bearing new information for him to use.
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[[Welcome Herald, to the summoning altar! Because you chose a 'Epic' rated class, you have been given a bonus 'Companion Token' to start your adventure!]]
[[Within the next window, you may choose to summon a companion to follow you on your adventures!]]
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Ryan waited with bated breath for this so called, 'Next Window' to appear, but to little success. Before he reached his boiling point, he quickly noticed something. A small white circle at the edge of his vision, placed upon a brazier on the floor of the platform. As he edged towards said circle, a window appeared once more. Ryan, his face flushed red in embarrassment, swiftly moved on and read the window.
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[[Here is a list of the summon-able companions!:]]
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[[Name: Grimash]]
[[Job: Warrior]]
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[[Name: Orklonz]]
[[Job: Mage]]
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[[Name: Wulfarth]]
[[Job: Beast Master]]
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[[Name: Yobrek]]
[[Job: Rogue]]
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Ryan looked at his limited options, with a seemingly clear and focused look on his face now, completely replacing the red flush of before. He contemplated in his mind, which of the distinct options to choose from. Thinking from a gamer's point of view, he needed to choose his first, or maybe final, companion based on something that would synergize well with himself.
Based on the job that he picked, 'Nature's Herald', seeming to be fairly balanced in its stat distribution at the beginning, it meant that it was open to most if not all styles of combat. Due to this, Ryan was simply going to go for the style that suited him the best, a simple sword and shield warrior.
As a result of his decision, the first companion, 'Grimash', was completely removed from his selection of choices. Within his mind anyway. Similarly to this, the Rogue, 'Yobrek', was also removed and for the same reasons. Ryan didn't like to have too many important people on the front lines, where they could be hurt and possibly killed. He had bad experiences with death.
Only two options remained, the Mage and the Beast Master. After careful deliberation, Ryan chose to go with the Beast Master. Even though he said that he didn't like to lose important people, important people stayed as such. He wouldn't mind the deaths of a few lower-rung minions that he hadn't even made an emotional connection with. The Mage had many uses in theory, but Ryan didn't know the extent of magic's power and how useful it would be to him, so he decided against it.
After choosing to summon 'Wulfarth', the window reverted back into a small white circle, before disappearing completely. Upon its disappearance, the same white light descended, only, not on Ryan this time.
The white light fell on all four of the dragon statues, placed within each corner. As if absorbing its energy, the dragon statues slowly cracked and twisted, revealing the glimmering scales underneath. Ryan was taken aback, no, shook aback. The dragon statues, were actual dragons!?
Before he could think further, the dragons pointed their heads towards the centre of the platform and let out a breath of searing flame. A similar mysterious force to the one that forcibly calms him caused the 4 flames to mingle and intertwine, before fusing into one primordial power, squirming in the air like a serpent before letting itself fly down.
The combined flame forcibly tore itself through the bottom of the platform after slamming into it. The shockwaves as a result blew Ryan from where he was standing and back into the air atop the volcanic crater.
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[[Congratulations, Herald! You have chosen the loyal and fierce Beast Master, 'Wulfarth'! He will join you on your adventure and aid you with his life]]
[[As a result of choosing your first companion:]]
[[All Stats +1]]
[[As a result of choosing the loyal Beast Master:]]
[[Strength +2]]
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Ryan's consciousness faded once more, as the ever so familiar white light descended upon him.