Kole groggily opened his eyes and the first thing hee noticed was the smell of something burning. He immediately shot up and his eyes widened in shock as he took in his surroundings. So many emotions went through his mind in quick succession. Fear, anger, shock. It took over a minute to process what he was seeing.
All around him was thick forest, teeming with the sounds of the night. The trees were as tall as a two story building and as wide as a car was long. The clearing of the trees that he had woken up in was devoid of anything but the fire burning in the center of the clearing. Not even grass poked out of the hard dirt. The night was dark, but two moons could be seen shining dim light on the land below them. Kole had only a moment to think he was seeing things before being interrupted.
Apprentice System has synchronized with the host. Unlocked options are available. Say or think 'Menu' to view.
Kole fell back down as the almost mechanical voice sounded in his mind. Things kept getting crazier and crazier, but since he didn't have any other suggestions, he did as the voice said and called out for the menu. Immediately a translucent screen superimposed itself over his surroundings. Even if he turned his head, it moved within his eye line. It showed a list of his stats, like a video game, on the left and under a bold 'menu' there was a list of options. Kole studied the screen carefully.
Kole Seeker:
Race: human
Bloodline:????
LVL: 1
XP: 0/20
STATS: MENU:
Mana: 10/10
Health: 10/10 Inventory
Strength: 5 Skills
Agility: 5 Spells
Energy: 5 Quests
Vitality: 5
Charm: 5
Luck: 5
Due to your bloodline, you have 40 stat points available to distribute. You have 50 skill points to distribute.
Kole was beyond bewildered, but pushed it aside and let his curiosity take over. He went through all of the menu options and studied them for a long while, taking as long as necessary to memorize everything. Inventory was self-explanatory, but when he opened it, he could see that the hunting knife he had gotten from his parent was in it. As soon as he thought about how to remove it, it suddenly disappeared from the inventory and appeared in his hand. He thought of returning it and it reappeared in his inventory.
Skills was much more complicated. There were enough options to make your head spin, but for now, all but five had been greyed out. Those five were: Smithing, Alchemy, Inscribing, taming and Accuracy. Each skill had a maximum level of 10, and since there were no other skills available, Kole decided to bring each of the skills to lvl. 5 and leave the other skill points until he understood what was going on.
The spells tab had even more options than the skills tab, but all but one was greyed out. The one available was called Seek. For one energy per use, and a five-minute cooldown, it would send out a pulse almost like sonar and he could see everything in a 10-meter radius around him within his mind.
The quest tab only had one quest. None greyed out. Just a singular lonely quest:
Survive until morning
Reward: 20 XP
Kole took a deep breath as he sorted through his thoughts. Although he didn't understand what was going on, he knew that there would be no answers tonight. The fire was dying down, so he needed to find feel to keep it going. It wasn't cold out, but he knew fire kept many critters away. He had found some dried meats, bread and water in his inventory so he wouldn't die from hunger or thirst in the immediate future.
He got up and began to forage for fallen branches at the edge of the forest so he could stay within the light of the fire. Once he had gotten a sizeable pile stacked near the fire and tossed a few branches in, he hunkered down and stared at the dancing flames. He began to go through everything he remembered that had happened during the day, hoping to understand what was happening.
The night passed that way. Kole deep in his thought and adding more fuel to the fire. Eventually his head drooped onto his knees and he fell into blissful sleep. Unbeknownst to him, the two moons slowly set and the sun began to rise, signifying the start of a new day.
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Survive until morning has been completed. Gained 20 XP. You have leveled up. You are now lvl. 2. You have gained 10 free stat points. You have gained 5 free skill points. New quests available.
Kole woke up to the pings of his notifications. He read them and dismissed them with a thought. Before looking at the new quest, he decided to use the free stat and skill points. He maxed out the 5 skills he currently had, then added 10 points each to his four "main" stats and 5 each to his luck and charm. That left him with no stat points and 5 skill points.
He immediately felt stronger than he'd ever felt before. He also noticed his health had gone from 10 to 50 and his mana had risen to 50 as well. He opened the quest tab.
Find the nearest town:
There is a town to the east of you. This is the first step of your journey. Reward:20 XP.
Kole stretched his arms and legs, adjusted the cloak on his shoulders and equipped his hunting knife. He finally turned himself to face the rising sun and set off with determination. The forest swallowed his receding frame, as the last embers of the fire died out in a small puff of smoke.
The sun slowly rose as he trekked through the trees. He stumbled and tripped a few times, but encountered nothing dangerous. It wasn't until the sun was nearly at its apex that Kole saw a large plume of smoke rising in the distance. He picked up his pace, flying through the trees as fast as he could. Another 10 minutes and he had reached the end of the forest. He stood there and smiled to himself. He had made it to civilization.