Aaron and Jarred had holed themselves up in Aaron's room as soon as they returned to the palace. While normally they would be training or practicing, this new Despair system was exciting, so they had immediately closeted themselves away at the first opportunity.
"If you've just got some bullshit protagonist powers, I'll be both happy for you and extremely pissed off" Jarred exclaimed with a laugh.
Aaron had hesitated to ask the voice any questions, as speaking out loud to a voice only he could hear around everyone would look… Bizarre, to say the least. Some of their fellow classmates were already struggling with adapting to their new situations. If he started talking to thin air everyone would think he'd snapped.
"So, Despair system? What is that exactly? What are you and what can you do?"
That same cool female voice spoke in his mind.
"I am part of your gift in order to overcome the Demons and become the strongest Champion"
"It says it's part of that gift thing to help defeat the Demons" Aaron said aloud to clue Jarred in.
"Despair system sounds a little sinister. What powers does it give you?" Jarred replied curiously.
"Can you answer him? And also, are you able to speak out loud so I don't need to relay everything you say?"
"Yes" The voice said, sounding like it was coming from Aaron's mouth, yet his lips hadn't moved. Being a detached female voice however at least made it easy to differentiate.
"Despair system is named as such in order to overcome the despair this world is currently drowning in. My main abilities are to give skills and abilities based on the user completing quests. Should circumstances in which the user or those close to him feels intense despair, the system is capable of absorbing it in order to grant skills in order to conquer despair"
"That is… broken. Are you saying you've basically got a system of bloody Deus Ex Machina's floating around in your head? Like some protagonist that remembers his family and gets super OP just when he's about to be defeated?" Jarred cried out, lamenting on how unfair the universe is.
"Yeah, that does seem a little crazy, what are the limitations?" Aaron questioned curiously.
"Despair and negative feelings will be measured and absorbed when available. The amount for different skills differs however and if the required amount is not reached, skills will not be able to be granted. An example of beginning skills of Despair system is the list of Resistances gained. The more damage user takes from a given source; the more resistance to that damage user will gain. At 100% user will become completely immune to that specific type of damage"
"Ok that's fucked. So, we should just start stabbing you until you're immune to being stabbed right?" Jarred laughed again in amazement.
"Would that actually work?" Aaron questioned again.
"Yes, although resistances have several categories. Becoming immune to damage from an iron dagger could be completed quickly, becoming immune to all penetration damage however would take longer and would require taking damage from a multitude of different sources. Also, the more damage taken from a source, the quicker resistances are gained." The system explained.
"Not to mention I also will need someone to heal me, I can't just take a ton of stab wounds until I gain immunity to them so it's not that simple. What do I call you by the way?" Aaron asked.
"That is up to the user"
"I'd say call her Jarvis but that wouldn't really work since she has a female voice, how about Friday?" Jarred suggested.
"Nah feels a little derivative. I want something that sounds hero like, hmmm…" Aaron went silent for a while as he considered his options. Shauna? No that felt wrong to use his sister's name. Especially if there was a possibility, he might find her in this world.
"How about Elea?" Jarred offered again.
"Elea?"
"Or Eleos, in ancient Greek mythology she was the Goddess of mercy and compassion. Sound's good for a system built to overcome despair hey?"
"That… is actually not bad. What do you think Elea?"
"As you wish" The system replied in its cool almost indifferent sounding voice.
"So, what can I do to increase my despair levels and unlock new skills?" Aaron queried, hoping to find some easy way to unlock new powers.
"User can go to places heavy in despair and negative energy. Just being in the area will ease the negative feelings of those in question and allow you to access new abilities. Otherwise, host may put himself in certain death situations and hope the required amount is reached before user death occurs"
"Well, the second one is definitely not an option. I wonder if we can go down into the city? Surely, they will have poorer areas with people in need of help. And while we're down there I can absorb this negativity or whatever and maybe we can unlock some quests at the same time!"
"Sounds good" Jarred replied with a grin.
*****
"Absolutely not" Kevin replied as the pair plied him with their request to go down into the city. They had both immediately headed to their teacher's room in the hopes he could either give them permission or find someone else who could. Unfortunately, Mr. McGilvray seemed uninterested in doing either to say the least.
"Demon's may have already captured two of your classmates. There is no chance in hell, which for all we know does actually exist in this world, that you can go down into the city unescorted."
Aaron and Jarred felt their initial excitement wane as these words sunk in. It made sense, they were all still pretty weak, and without guards there was probably a decent chance that if they happened upon demons or demon thralls that they could be taken captive without much of a fight. It still sucked though.
Grumbling with the occasional "fine" they walked out of the room to think of another plan and almost ran down a knight coming from the opposite direction.
"Whoops, sorry about that!" Aaron said quickly before recognizing Sir Anselet.
"No need to apologise" The knight said kindly, before observing the crestfallen looks on their faces.
"May I be of some assistance? The two of you seem rather… disheartened at the moment. I realise that today's hunt didn't go as planned, but I'm sure that you will find your results increase drastically with training!"
The pair looked at each other, simultaneously thinking of the same idea. Quickly running it past Sir Anselet, he pondered for a moment, before smiling and nodding.
"I see. While it is quite right that you cannot leave the palace unescorted, I have completed my duties for the day and would be happy to take you down there. Wait here while I speak with your teacher"
The duo waited with bated breath for several long moments outside the door before Anselet reappeared, a stern look on his face. Thinking it bad news, they grew even more dejected before the stern look was replaced by a smile.
"We have permission. Grab your things and we will leave when you are ready"
*****
"This is awesome!"
Going to another world was fantastic, but since they had all been cooped up in the palace since their arrival, it was hard to really feel that they were in a world brand new and full of magic. After gaining permission and exiting through the palace gates, the trio wandered down the well-travelled road towards the city.
The walls running its length were 30 feet tall (9.1 metres) and roughly 13 feet (4 metres) wide made of a thick stone brick held together with mortar. Arrow slits were placed in equidistant locations along the ramparts and large ballistae were set up in towers every so often to guard against large scale Demon attacks. Guards patrolled back and forth, watchful for any disturbance from within or without. After the Demons stole into the city and catastrophically affected the Summoning ritual, all the sentries were on high alert.
At Anselet's request, the pair were cloaked and hooded to reduce the likelihood of them drawing attention. Personally, the two boys believed walking into a city during the day with cloaks and hoods looked MORE suspicious than anything but since their guardian was adamant and he was doing them a favour, they decided to concede to his wishes.
For a moment it appeared as if the pair would be proven right as upon noticing them moving towards the front gates, a guard instantly moved forwards to intercept.
"Papers and raise your hoods!" He called out firmly, one hand resting the hilt of his sword hanging from his waist. A few guards in the area noticed and also became wary, preparing to intervene at any sign of trouble.
Sir Anselet made his way forwards, his gleaming silver armour surprising the guards and setting them somewhat more at ease. A few quiet words were whispered in the guard's ear, as well as handing over a small document, embossed with a royal seal. The guard looked gob smacked, reading it twice carefully before handing it back to the knight and gesturing for his fellow guards to stand down, allowing the party to proceed unmolested.
Continuing forward Aaron asked, "Sir Anselet, what was in that letter? Some kind of permission slip?"
Anselet smiled gently, "Something like that. While you were getting changed, I spoke to the king about your excursion, this is a letter from him allowing you to enter and leave the city. But only as long as you are under my direct supervision…" He ended with a smirk, clearly implying that simply nicking the letter would do them no good. Not that the thought had crossed their minds. Yet.
"Now allow me to welcome the both of you to the Capital city of Camela!"