Pete steadily walked down the path Morrigan had opened for him. It looked as if the bushes and thickets had simply jumped out of the way to form a linear road. The scene looked out of place in the middle of the forest. There was not even a single blade of grass where he walked.
The path was supposed to be downhill, considering he had climbed a hill earlier to get to the precipice. 'It seems peculiarly flat,' the boy observed.
'But then a lot of things here do not make sense. Opening a nature portal to safety should not be beyond Morrigan's abilities, considering he's a god.'
As Pete strolled under the gradually brightening sunlight, the dark forest sounds beckoned from either side. 'Is it morning already?' he wondered, looking to the east.
'I remember it was evening a few minutes back. Morrigan surprises again. The mysterious man can probably manipulate both space and time.'
'It's so cool to have an overpowered being on my side,' Pete said to himself, laughing nervously. 'Why couldn't he give me this awesome cloak forever? I'd give him my name, my soul, whatever he needs!'
Morrigan had claimed to know Lady Aisling. Perhaps she belonged to the same class of all-powerful entities? The boy figured he would solve such unanswered questions once he got the hang of the game-like world.
'But what kind of game is this reincarnation? I need to figure out the rules.' Pete wasn't exactly a smart guy but figuring out gameplay would not be beyond his intelligence.
The boy had a dashboard that he could switch on and off. There was a game menu and other functions ordinarily present in an RPG. He just had to wait until he reached the checkpoint. 'Perhaps more panels will be unlocked then.'
Pete was still skittish. He threw worried glances to either side. The boy half-expected a blood-thirsty elk or a ravenous direwolf to barge out and gore him to death. Such had been his experience over the last thirteen extra lives.
However, the elevated stats from the cloak gave him confidence. Part of him wanted to test the temporary buffs and powers by attacking a monster. However, he was wary because Morrigan had warned that the cloak's protection was temporary. It would be foolish if he lost it in the middle of nowhere.
The actual game Pete was supposed to play would activate soon since the checkpoint was within walking distance. It made little sense in risking everything for a momentary thrill.
Either way, Pete had finally received some productive help for which he was grateful.
Lost in his thoughts, the boy found himself at the path's end. Ahead lay a clearing which was another crossing in the forest. A direction pole stood at the center bearing four wooden signs.
Every direction mentioned a place, with instructions.
~TOWN OF NOTTINGHAM~
'The home of adventurers, blessed by King Richard the Lionheart.'
~SHERWOOD FOREST~
'Traveler beware, you are in for a scare.'
~TOWN OF DERBY~
'When you have nowhere else to go.'
~BRIDGE OF FORTITUDE~
'The beginning and the end.'
****
The gears in Pete's average gamer mind started to turn.
'Hmm. The Bridge of Fortitude seems intriguing from a gaming standpoint. But most likely, I should go there after I level up a bit. I must stick to Morrigan's instructions until I get stronger. To activate my system, he asked me to reach the checkpoint. Therefore, Nottingham should be my choice.'
"Tally-ho!" Pete announced to the forest and set off in the direction of the Town of Nottingham.
In about ten minutes, he came across another signpost.
~NOTTINGHAMSHIRE~
'Population 15476.'
'Ah, I'm here, finally!' Pete remembered that his cloak would disappear once he reached the checkpoint. It would not be an ideal entrance if his cloak disappeared and he was abruptly naked in the middle of the town. The NPCs were likely to be of the medieval age and not so considerate towards a fat, naked kid.
'But what am I supposed to do? Stitch clothes from twigs and vines?'
'Wait! Let me check out the temporary skills that Morrigan's cloak gave me.
[ Welcom-- to-- the-- Legenda-- He-- ]
[ Error! ]
Crackle! Buzz!
'This damn error that comes up every time! I think it is supposed to be the Legendary Hero System or something like that. Let me see if I can override the error with Morrigan's gift.'
[[ MORRIGAN'S SKIN ]]
[ Processing… ]
[ HP 30010 ]
[ MP 60000 ]
[ 666 skills, 666 attributes ]
[ Level too low ]
[ Failed to unlock skills and attributes ]
'Cool. At least it lets me access panels in my HUD.'
Pete scrolled down the list.
~Invisibility~
~Unlimited Weapons~
~Resurrect the Dead~
~Teleport~
…..
The list seemed to go on and on.
'Whoa! All of these seem to be powerful abilities. Morrigan is like someone with an admin account in the game system. I wish I could transfer at least a handful of these abilities into my dashboard.'
Pete scrolled down the list, and almost every single entry was grayed out. His level was too low!
'Wait! Two attributes aren't grayed out!'
[ LEGENDARY HERO ATTRIBUTES ]
[ Perfect Gene ]
[ Perfect Attire ]
'Hmm. Do these belong to my system or are they gifts from Morrigan?' Pete struggled with his conscience on one end, and the drive of self-preservation on the other. 'Should I put my friendship with Morrigan in jeopardy? Would he be mad at me if I borrowed these skills?'
'Umm. The cloak is going to disappear anyway, right? Why not transfer something to help me in my adventure? I'm sure he left these highlighted for me to use.'
Pete began the installation, trusting his instincts.
[[ LEGENDARY HERO ATTRIBUTES ]]
[ Transfer Attributes? ]
[ Yes ]
Processing…
[ Successful! ]
[ MORRIGAN'S SKIN ] [ Unequipped ]
Poof! The cloak disappeared from around him.
'Oh, no! I used it up! God damn it!'
Pete felt a surge of power under his feet. His body became light all of a sudden. His feet took off and hovered a few inches above the ground. "Whoa!"
Whing! A pillar of energy rose from the ground, engulfing him. The forest came alive and the wind picked up. The sun seemed to burn brighter.
The blinding glare died down and Pete floated back to the forest floor.
The boy looked around anxiously. 'What the hell just happened?'
[ Processing… ]
[ Legendary Hero Attributes ]
[ Perfect Gene ] [ Level 1 ]
Pete stared down at his body. His eyeline appeared to be situated higher. 'What?! Wait! That means… I am taller now!'
His potbelly had disappeared, replaced by perfectly toned abs. The boy pressed his hands against them, unable to believe the transformation.
'My arms and legs are toned and muscular!'
Pete's skin had changed to a tanned white, resembling Greek gods in movies. Golden hair cascaded down his face to the shoulders. He played with his new lustrous hair. 'Wow!"
Most importantly, the boy looked down at his groin, and an extra-large member greeted him. "Ladies, here I come!"
He was bouncing with joy, when another magical change happened to him.
[ Perfect Attire ] [ Lvl 1 ]
[ Equipped Cotton Tunic x1 ]
[ Equipped Cotton Breeches x1 ]
[ Equipped Canvas Hat x1 ]
Within moments, a complete set of clothes manifested on his body. Pete twirled around, looking at himself in admiration. His clothes were nature-green, made from the finest fibers. All he needed was a mirror to admire his looks.
Rumble! Clip-clop! Clip-clop! Rumble!
Before Pete could make complete sense of what happened to him, he heard something approaching. "Is that the sound of hooves? Oh, fuck me! Monsters?"
Even though Pete cursed like a banshee, he felt no fear. Was it the 'perfect gene' attribute working within him? Not bad at all. His heart was full of adventure. His eyes looked towards glory.
"Tally-ho!" he hollered at the upcoming game event.