Milo stared at the large wooden door for a moment for placing his hands on the metal hoop to pull open the double-sided door. What awaited him inside was a large room similar to an old gymnasium of sorts. The floor was cobblestone up to a certain point but ended at more towards the center of the room before becoming dirt. At the end of one aspect of the room, there were wooden dummies placed. Behind the dummies, you could tell the wall was slightly damaged from what could have only been done by magic. There were racks of weaponry that ranged from swords, halberds, and many others. Armor was placed on wooden mannequins that ranged from robes, leather armor, and metal.
Before he took a step in, a man appeared from another door while holding a clipboard. It took a moment, but Milo remembered this man as the one who had initially brought him his mask and outfit. He was a middle-aged man whose attire consisted of a strange cap and a simple brown robe that was tied at the waist with a short rope.
"Ah! You've finally awakened! Come here, please." he said before promptly running right back into the room he came from. Milo was slightly confused, but the sound of rustling and objects could be heard as he approached. After a while, the man had yet to come out, so he turned around to look for Emelia, but she was nowhere to be found.
"Ahah! Here it is." the man's voice sounded out from within the room before he came out slightly disheveled. Within his grasp was a glass orb that seemed like it contained a murky fog inside. "Well, come here now, I won't bite," he jested with a toothy grin that held no elongated canines.
When Milo came within reaching distance of the man, his hands were grasped suddenly and placed on the orb. "Oh wait, take off your gloves first," he said in realization. Milo took them off as instructed and put them back onto the orb awkwardly.
"Now I want you to close your eyes and focus your thoughts as if trying to push your blood into the orb." the researcher said with anticipation. Milo thought the analogy was somewhat weird, but he closed his eyes and tried to do what he was told. Soon he felt a prickling sensation on his hands that slowly intensified until he felt a sharp stab on each of his fingertips. Soon a menu appeared within his sight even while his eyes were closed.
Name: Solus
Race: Imperfect Homunculus
Level: 1
Strength: 10
Dexterity: 8
Constitution: 7
Intelligence: 12
Wisdom: 10
Racial passive:
Soulless Abomination: As a creature who was not created by the Gods, you have no soul. The Gods shun your existence, and divine spells can not heal you, while soul spells don't affect you at all. Nature itself seems to reject you as the air you breath harms you.
On top of the status menu, there was another tab which said Skill Tree, as he focused on the tab it shifted over into the Skill Tree menu. There was a skill tree that showed only one skill that was locked, and every option above that was blacked out.
Alchemic Affinity (Locked: 1 Skill point to unlock): Due to the nature of creation, you gain the ability to understand and learn how to use alchemy at a faster rate. Potions made, and alchemic spells cast by you have a higher effect when used.
As it was the only option, Milo immediately unlocked it, but the other skills still did not light up nor showed what could be learned next. He assumed that it might be locked behind a level requirement, or perhaps it was because he lacked any knowledge regarding how alchemy worked in the first place. Patiently, the researcher waited without a word as Milo tried to grasp everything. When Milo opened his eyes, the researcher immediately questioned.
"Well, what are your talents?" he asked with a look of excitement. Realizing that the researcher was unable to see his abilities and that only he could view it, Milo decided to withhold some information, but he was unsure if it would work. He briefly explained that he had a natural affinity with alchemy and because he had no soul that divine healing spells didn't work on him. The researcher raised his brow in question as he asked skeptically, "That's it?"
Milo nodded while saying, "I think there may be more, but it's unclear, and I just can't seem to grasp the meaning of anything else."
"I see..." he said with a disappointed look before jotting down notes onto his clipboard. "Lord Archus might be disappointed in the results, but I believe you're unable to understand the full meaning of your abilities because you lack the general knowledge of magic and alchemy." He ranted as he seemed entirely focused on writing. The researcher continued to probe him with a plethora of questions back to back, and Milo tried to answer them to the best of his ability.
"So from what I've deduced, it seems like when you were created, you had basic bodily functionality and common knowledge, but you've no inkling of how to use magic. Can you speak elvish by chance?" he probed once more.
When Milo thought about it, he smoothly thought in a language that he never heard about before. "Is this Elvish?" he asked skeptically as he was unsure if he was speaking gibberish or not.
"Ahh! You do! Then could it be due to the brain used in your creation that you retained certain memories? Perhaps the more complicated memories were lost in the process. We'll have to figure that out when we create more." he mumbled under his breath as he got lost in his own thoughts.
After several minutes of Milo and the researcher just standing there, Milo wanted to ask some questions as well, but he realized he didn't know the man's name.
"Uhm, excuse me, mister..." Milo deliberately paused to allow the man to introduce himself.
"Oh, I'm Velkan Kelgorn, but you may call me Professor Kelgorn." he casually said as he continued to write.