There was a figure with flowing hair, aged and decrepit, with eyes of a deep, crimson red. The man's teeth were jagged, his hand elongated, reaching out towards Alex with unknown intent that chilled him to the bone. Just as the hand was about to grasp him, Alex woke up, screaming and crying, his small body trembling with fear.
The sound of his distress was a clarion call to his parents, who rushed into his room, their faces etched with concern. His mother scooped him up in her arms, rocking him gently, while his father stroked his hair, whispering words of comfort.
"Shh, Lexie, it's okay, it was just a bad dream," his mother soothed, her voice a calming balm to his frayed nerves.
His father began to hum a familiar lullaby, one that they often sang to him, a melody that spoke of safety and love. His mother joined in, their voices harmonizing, filling the room with a gentle, lilting tune that slowly eased Alex's fear.
"Sleep now, Lexie, in the night so deep,
In dreams, let your worries cease to creep.
Stars guard your slumber, serene and light,
In dreams, Lexie, find delight."
As they sang, the terror of the nightmare began to fade, replaced by the warmth and security of his parents' presence. Gradually, his sobs subsided, his eyes grew heavy, and he nestled closer to his mother, the familiar scent of her soothing him further.
"Rest now, Lexie, let dreams take flight,
In the world of sleep, where all is right.
Guarded by love, so true and deep,
In dreams, Lexie, peacefully sleep."
—--------------------
Alex found himself back in his bedroom, covered in sweat.
'Why now of all times did I have such a dream?'
'Wait a second, am I back? Oh thank the heavens. I'm back!' Does that mean I won? Did I actually manage to beat that trial? But I don't remember what happened after I beat the level 3 Skulker.
Hurrying to the bathroom, he looked in the mirror and was pleasantly surprised by what he saw. He looked much better and healthier! His hair partially regrew. He now looked like a balding man! His skin was no longer super pale.
'Ahahahaha, I can work with this! I'll simply shave it all off. I don't need to keep putting a hoodie on anymore!' Alex grinned widely. As he did, he was still grossed out about his teeth.
'Guess can't have it all, eh.. But still, this is fine, I can go out in public, as long as I don't open my mouth often I should not get into any weird scenarios.
I want to check on my stats and daily quest, but it's really cumbersome to always have to use my other hand to touch the ring in a specific way. I wonder if I can just rotate it instead.' With his pointing finger (finger beside the thumb) and his thumb, he did a sort of pinch to get a grip on the ring, and he rotated it clockwise.
Character: Alex Walker
Character Level: 2 → 3
Personal Stats:
Upperbody Strength = 5 → 6
Lowerbody Strength = 3 → 4
Stamina = 2 → 3
Speed = 4 → 5
Aesthetic = 2 → 3
Combat Stats:
Defense = 20/30
Unarmed combat = 20/30
One-handed weapon = 20/30
Throwing/Archery = 0/30
Two-Handed weapon = 0/30
'Awesome, two more levels to go. I'd love to get my other combat masteries up, but based on that last dream phase, I need to be very strategic about this. Also, it may be best if I start thinking of a specialization. When I go into the Hunters school, I will have to choose which faction I want to belong to.'
There are five different factions, and each was very unique at what they would teach their hunters. One can think of these factions similarly to belonging to a clan, or a guild in games.
'From what I remember, there's the Iron Claw faction. Their thing is a bear claw on their flag. They're all about being strong and smashing stuff. Which is what I pretty much focused on in the game. The image of Lena flashed in his mind, and his heart skipped a beat.
'Would she be part of Iron Claw? Strong, fierce... just like her,' he mused, the memory of their fight bringing a warm blush to his cheeks.
He quickly shook his head, trying to dispel the distracting thoughts, but a small part of him hoped that their paths would cross again soon.
'Then there's the Shadow Step faction, with a sneaky figure on their flag. I never liked their faction name, and they're the quiet, sneaky type. They also train in secret, so there is not much knowledge about them in the outside world at all. I don't think I'd enjoy being in that type of clan, but who knows, I really don't know much about them.'
'Next, the Soaring Hawk. Their flag has this hawk flying high. They're super quick and like hitting things from far away. I never really practiced using long-range weapons, such as bows or throwing daggers, but most teachers in my old school would usually say great things about them.'
'Although, I would hate to have someone like that standing behind me in a fight. What if he misses, or even worse, aims at me while I'm fighting? No thanks…'
'Then there were the Stone Hearts, the opposite of the soaring hawks. Their flag's got a mountain, and they're all about toughing it out and not budging. There is not much to say about them, I would imagine them being the "big and dumb" type of kids, I think I'd find a big portion of my bullies in that faction.'
'And then, there's the Alchemists. They're the brainy bunch. Their flag has this cool flask and DNA thing. They make potions and stuff, which is pretty wild. They can enchant items, and overall very useful. I should make sure to be friends with some of them so they can help make my items stronger when I find new stuff.'
One month has passed since the school year ended. Alex, now approaching his 11th birthday in a little less than two months, has to try and reach level 5 before then. Since he plans on joining the Hunters Academy, he wants to make sure that at least aesthetically, he won't stand out!
With his current status as a rank 1 hunter, he should not have any issues enrolling into the academy.
'Time to see what a level 3 body can do,' Alex thought while rotating and stretching his body.