This work is purely made of fiction. All characters, names, groups, places, scenes, etc., that appear in this fantasy story are fictional. If there are similarities, please understand that it is due to coincidence. Happy reading!
♫ (Grizfolk – Waking up the Giants) play this while reading if you want to ♫
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After the old man vanished into thin air, Grian weakly sat on the ground. He sat cross-legged and began to gather his thoughts.
'What should I do? Okay, let's recall everything and decide what to do. The old man said he'll see me soon, that means he'll come back. I just need to wait for him. I need to go to the portal at the center. How do I do that? Should I just walk until I reach it? Maybe I'll find a path on the way. Why should I hide my eyes?, I'm blind anyway, it doesn't matter. But the old man made it seem important, hmmm.' Grian was racking his brain, everything felt so fast and he's having a hard time keeping up with what's happening.
"AAAAH I don't know anymore! Let's just go with what the old man said." He said out loud. He stood up slowly and fixed the bandage on his eyes made of his old ragged burnt shirt. He was now standing topless behind the tree trunk he burnt.
"Okay! I can do this. What could go wrong?" He added talking to himself, then a notification appeared in front of him.
[System Notification]
[Main Quest(s)]
[Unlock all skill slots] : [Reward (500 Exp)]
[Go to the academy] : [Reward (300 Exp)]
'Another one appeared! I guess I should first do them. But how do I unlock a skill?' Grian thought as he recalled the events earlier when he unlocked one.
"So should I do some moves until I get one right? What should I do? AaaarGh you old man, where did you go?" Grian exclaimed then thought, 'Fireball!' as he put both his hands in front, trying to recreate what he did earlier.
[System Notification]
[Cannot use fireball]
"What do you mean I can't? I just did it earlier! Status Screen!" he was frustrated and kicking the air. If someone saw him right now, they wouldn't go near him thinking he was loony.
[Status Screen]
"It must be because I have 0 EV? I also have 0 strength then I should add it to strength. What should I do now? Think, think this is just common sense. Do I wait for it to go back? Does it reset every day?" He asked into nothingness as he put a stat point to strength. 'Okay, since I don't know what to expect at the center or the academy I should go now. Just in case I ran into trouble. I'll figure out a skill when I'm at the academy, right? Because they'll teach me?' He thought to himself then stood up and walked slowly. 'Now, how do I get to the center? Which way should I go?' Grian focused his senses and felt the vibration on the ground, the wind, the noise in the air. "Okay, it's a bit noisy over there, that's where the center should be. I can do this, yes, I can do this." He said to himself, giving himself the courage to go on. ** Grian walked for a few hours in the direction of the vibrations and noise and reached the center. The center is encircled by huge gigantic trees, it is bustling with life, it has the most colorful sky in Mor. The area is surrounded by different stalls that sell different elixirs, weapons, gears, and beast cores, with Arleiths and halflings of different shapes and sizes. The Arleiths were wearing different kinds of clothing from different islands, some of them even have beasts as their company. Some of them were buying elixirs and haggling for the price, some are eating different kinds of exotic cuisines. When Grian saw the center, it was still nothing but wireframes made of white lines, but, different colors of aura enveloped his vision. He was enchanted, the area was also filled with tiny glowing white orbs, which meant that the area was abundant in EV. It was also the first time he saw a beast, it was outlined as a huge snake thrice the size of him. It has two white cores below its head and was following an Arleith with a purple core. Grian was too amazed by the beast and accidentally hit the Arleith. "Oww! I'm sorry." Grian fell and was touching his butt, the part where he landed with. "Oh, I apologize, my bad. Here grab my hand." The Arleith said as he offered his hand to Grian. By the looks of it, the Arleith appears like he was the same age as Grian's, he has short blonde wavy hair and almond blue eyes. He was wearing a brown leather vest on top of a black jacket with chains and a family crest. "No, it's my fault. Thank you." Grian said and took his hand. Other Arleiths started to notice the small commotion and it became bigger due to them noticing the crest. "He bumped from someone from the Hale family, he's a Meith, the blind kid should be begging for forgiveness right now." "He's blind, he couldn't see. Give the kid some slack." "Then he should blame his mother for giving birth to a defective Arleith? What's a blind kid doing here? Is he an Arleith?" Nearby Arleiths started talking about them, whispering. Grian heard them all because of his sharp senses but he just ignored them. He thought that if he ever was in any trouble he could use his blindness to his advantage. "I'm sorry Sir Hale, let me guide the blind kid back to the Bocht where he belongs. He must've wandered here." Another Arleith spoke, attempting to pull Grian from where he was standing. "No, it's fine, it was my fault. Leave us be." The Meith said and signaled the Arleiths to go away, then he looked at Grian that was busy staring at his beast. "Come, follow me, you can hold my hand if you need a guide." "Are you talking to me? Sorry, I don't swing that way. By the way, cool beast, what's his name? or her?" Grian responded while his gaze was still on the beast. It was his first time seeing two cores in one creature, and it was moving too, overlapping with one another. Everything that's happening seems to come to Grian naturally. He thought that it was the system, the same thing it did with his emotions. It's making everything easier for him. "Hey! I'm not into men!" The Meith disgustingly said and noticed that Grian was still facing his snake-like beast. "Return!" He exclaimed and the huge snake-like beast dissipated into thin air like what happened with the old man, and a small tattoo shaped like the beast appeared on the Meith's neck. 'Is this kid really blind?' he thought. "There's nothing wrong with liking men, you don't have to be shy. I can hold your hand if you really want to, in exchange I need to find the portal. Do you know where it is?" Grian said as he was facing the Meith with a blank expression thinking about what happened to the beast. 'I wonder if that's what happened to the old man? But I don't have any new tattoos on me?' Grian thought. He then offered his hand to the Meith. Staring at the blind kid's hand, the Meith was in deep thought. 'What the fuck is this kid on to? Is his head not right? Wait- portal, is he fucking going to the academy too?' He stared at Grian from head to toe. 'Is he really an Arleith? But he looks, ehh, he must be a crazy slave fucker that escaped. I shouldn't involve myself with crazy motherfuckers and I helped him too and pretended to be kind, shit, what a waste!' The Meith thought to himself as he calmed himself down, his family's image is important, he couldn't be seen being his usual self. "Look, I'll just forget you said that. About the portal, are you going to the Academy too?" he gritted his teeth in annoyance and asked. "Hey, I was just kidding, you don't have to be so serious." Grian chuckled to himself and replied "Yeah, what of it? And where did your beast go? I'm Grian by the way." He said while still offering his hand. "The name's Acastus Hale, it's just that you blind and naked. You look like a slave that escaped your owner. Are you sure you're an Arleith?" Acastus asked with a weird look at Grian, he still wasn't sure if this blind kid in front of him is messing with him. After a few seconds of staring at Grian's hand, he sighed and finally shook it. 'What could a blind fucking kid do to me anyway.' Grian looked down at his bare malnourished chest, then faced Acastus and asked, "Oh, my clothes were burnt by a crazy old man I passed by earlier. So which way should I go?" "The portal only opens tomorrow when the 5th sun rises. I just went here early so I could buy Sai food." Acastus said pointing to his neck where the tattoo is. The flatlands never experience night, there are 24 hours of daylight, because of the suns and clear skies. That's why it is the center of trade and commerce. There are also fewer thieves because it was easy to spot them in daylight. 'Fuck this kid is blind, why am I pointing fucking shit. That was fucking embarrassing, damn.' Acastus thought and immediately pull his hand down. "Oh, so your beasts' name is Sai! Pretty cool pet you have, it's the first time I saw one." Grian replied excitedly. "So where is the portal? I'll just wait there, I don't have any place to go." Acastus both felt pity and annoyance for the kid in front of him, he looks like his slave next to him. 'This is such a hassle! Damn it! What will the Arleiths think of me when they saw a fucking kid looking like that beside me. Motherfuckers will think I abused him. Fucking shit!' "You should come with me since we're both going to the academy tomorrow. Do I need to continue speaking so you could follow my voice?" Grian was about to say the same joke he said earlier but remembered Acastus did not take it well. "No need I can follow you just fine, I have sharp senses." "Sure, but first I need to get you some decent clothes," Acastus replied. The rest of the day was spent with Grian and Acastus looking at the items that are being sold. He bought a bunch of different plants and small beasts for Sai. Acastus also bought Grian a shirt and a black bandana to use for his eyes, so he could at least look decent beside him. "What's up with your eyes?" Acastus asked, while Grian removed his old burnt shirt and changed it with the bandana without opening his eyes. Grian tied it firmly and answered with a serious face, "A pig blinded me. Thanks for this, I'll repay you, back at the academy." Acastus was becoming more concerned if helping this kid was the right thing. 'Pig? This kid is really fucking weird!' he thought while thinking of the pork he ate earlier. "You don't have to it's just a few units. Have you eaten yet? We still have a few more minutes before the portal opens." Acastus asked while looking through a bunch of exotic foods on a stall. "Yea I ate fish, by the way-" Grian was about to ask what his affinity was but he remembered he could use the system. He slightly hit his head and grabbed his hair because he didn't think of it sooner. [Inspect] 'Oh, he's strong! So purple core is lighting!' With the system in mind, Grian thought he could learn more about it if Acastus introduced him to a game. "What?" Acastus asked. "Nothing, uhh, could you show me to those things called games? I haven't tried it before." "Games? I don't think they have one here, this area mostly sells foods. It's usually from a more advanced island, so It will be hard to find. Don't worry I think they have it at the academy. Let's go play when we arrive." Acastus said while he paid for a bag of weird-looking fruits. "Let's go, I think the portal will open anytime now." Acastus walked towards an empty street and at the end, there was a sea of golden grass. "It's somewhere here, oh there it is." He said about to point at a rectangular structure in the middle of the golden grassland but realized quickly that he was talking to a blind kid. The portal was made of the same magical material as the wall in the Bocht. The difference was, it was in the shade of gold, like the color of the grass that surrounds it. And was twice the size of Acastus' beast, Sai, and has a ton of markings on its surface. In Grian's sight, the portal was in white lines that releases a faint white glow. "Let's go what are you waiting for?" Acastus said as he was walking towards the portal and immediately, Grian followed. Grian and Acastus just came out of the portal, they arrived at the plateau, it was empty, unlike the flatlands. Acastus continued walking towards the gate of the Academy. It was the same golden rectangular shape but it was 5 times bigger. The plateau they were at was higher compared to the other plateaus. When standing at the edge, you can see the Meith's houses on different plateaus. Grian was observing the location they were at, he was amazed, he was in a different place after going through the portal. There were a lot of first times Grian experienced in just a few days and he was very enthusiastic. He noticed a few more small outlines, running past him towards the gate. In his vision of black and white lines, the only thing that has color are the auras inside Arleiths and their tattoos. It was the first time he saw so many different auras and symbols at once. Some Arleiths were huddled up showing each other their affinities. He saw that one kid has a green circular orb in their chest, the other has a clear orb that looks like it was filled with water. He observed a bit more and saw another kid that has an orange flame. 'Flames and their color are fire, green is earth, purple is lightning, what about the transparent ones is it water?' He thought to himself and continued walking towards the gate, following Acastus. He saw a few more kids that have red flames burning, while another one has the same red flames but burning brighter the most. "You're so slow, come on!" Acastus said while signaling Grian to follow. He then again, remembered he was with a blind kid. 'Ahhh fuck me sideways! I keep forgetting he's fucking blind. I look like a damn idiotic shit, fuck!' he thought. "I'm gonna go now, see you on the other side," Acastus said nicely with a face that says otherwise. "Yeah, thanks!" Grian replied as he reached the gate and looked up. There wasn't any structure built or erected behind the gate. The plateau was empty, with just a single rectangular portal in the middle, but bigger than what he went through before. It was made of a golden stone with a white faint glow with no doors. Other students started entering, one by one disappearing into the gate. "Here goes nothing! Good luck to me." Grian said to himself as he nervously went through the gate with an optimistic mindset. Grian did not know that this will be the starting point of a hellish journey. If only he knew what would happen in the future, he would choose not to go through the gate at all. ----------------------------------------------