After dinner, Puffy asked the group to return to his bar tomorrow whenever they were ready to pick him up.
Phil was sad that he never felt the heat from his wings, declaring that they forgot to make them spicy, but Fred took a bike and confirmed it was extremely hot. Ultimately, the party agreed to come back tomorrow and they departed from their first meal in their new world.
Bard spent the entire trip back to the cathedral catching Pebble up on the events of their trial, "It was sick, bro. Phil was able to go invisible and assassinate the enemy mages before the encounter even began! Fred summoned 3 swords behind the enemy frontline and wreaked havoc. I, haha, I on the other hand… I simply rocked out and asked them to rebel against authority. Needless to say, they loved my suggestion." His enthusiasm was electric.
"I'm proud of you buddy," Pebble laughed. "You're finally a Rockstar."
Bard looked down, "Yeah, I guess you're right. Shame I never made it work back home, huh?"
Pebble sighed, "This might be our home now, Bard."
Bard scrunched his face, "How did your test dungeon go? You mentioned gods when you were summoned, did something crazy happen again?"
Pebble shook his head, "I'm a little distraught, bro."
Bard looked at him earnestly, "What's up man? We're here together, so you don't got to do the challenge mode stuff alone."
Pebble looked at his life long friend and felt a new distance between them. He could not bring himself to tell Bard about his deeds. Bard was a good friend and he knew that he would do anything to help him out. This wasn't a game, this was their new lives and he couldn't drag Bard down this path with him. He decided to settle on a different issue for their conversation.
"My class is a support." Pebble said with dread apparent on his face.
Bard furrowed his brow, "Hmm, I can't recall you playing a support character even once in my lifetime."
"It isn't pretty. The worst part is that I'm not even sure how my class works yet. I unlocked a Fireball skill, but I can't use it…" At this moment, Pebble remembered that he never got a chance to try the skill again after getting the mana bonus from Pack Mule and Energizer. He thought maybe even the outward mana channels in his hand from the Charge skill will make a difference too.
"Wait, actually let me check again real quick." He curled his fingers up, as if to hold a glass orb, and summoned his mana from within him as he envisioned a ball of fire.
Nothing happened.
"Yup, can't cast sh*t!" Pebble was truly frustrated. "Why the hell did it even let me put a point into Fireball if it's useless to me? I feel scammed!"
"Don't suppose you can submit a GM ticket?" Bard shrugged.
Pebbles eyes lit up, "Hold up, Artia gave me a coin that I can flick to speak with her. Should I ask her?"
"Who's Artia and why are you trying to flick her coin?" Bard asked intensely.
"Yo, chill. She's just this god I met." Pebble said nonchalantly. He quickly went into his inventory and pulled out the coin. "By the way, real coin. Not a figure of speech or anything, you weirdo. See?"
Bard put his fingers to his temples "Do you hear yourself right now? You can speak with a god?" Bard was incredulous.
"I've spoken with several actually. They are like man children with the power to end everything you've ever loved. On second thought, maybe I don't flick the coin just yet." Pebble reconsidered his original plan and put the coin back in his inventory.
While Pebble was in his menus, he realized there was an option he had still not explored. He clicked on the Status menu.
<48/48 HP>
Pebble found the City buffs that Artia mentioned to him. "That would explain the instant healing when I'm here," he said.
"What's up?" Bard asked. Pebble was looking at the Rising Star bonus from Divine Favor and questioned its purpose, but closed his menu and spoke with Bard.
"Have you checked your status screen?" Pebble replied.
"Oh, not yet." Bard's eyes began to twitch as he briefly checked, "There's where the traits are!"
"That's a good point, I haven't even looked at my traits yet!" Pebble said.
"Well, take a look!" Bard replied. Phil and Fred were trailing behind a few paces, having a conversation of their own, but they quickly sped up when they heard Alain was about to check out his traits. They were extra curious because these traits were apparently selected by gods. Pebble's eyes twitched as he dug deeper into the Status menu and selected Traits.
<Strong - Bonus Strength.>
<Enduring - Injuries do not impede movement or attacks.>
<Unyielding - Persistent, the longer you're in a fight, the stronger you become.>
<Dexterous - Bonus speed and accuracy along with better control over one's body.>
<Berserker - Boost to all fighting capabilities when in danger.>
<Blood Luster - Blood can trigger an unstoppable frenzy, boosting fighting capabilities during effect.>
<*Natural Disaster* - ???>
<*Aethereal Calamity* - ???>
Pebble was at a loss for words. At a quick glance, there seemed to be a lot of synergy within his traits, "Three traits they selected for me apparently triggered a bonus trait. Then that bonus trait combined with my two other base traits triggered a second bonus trait."
Bard stopped in his tracks, "You mean you got TWO bonus traits?! Sh*t, bro, I was finally going to one up you and brag about my bonus combo, and you have TWO of them?!" Bard rolled his eyes. "What'd you get?"
Phil and Fred were very interested as well. They didn't get any bonus combos and didn't hear about Bard's yet, so they didn't really have any clue about what this meant.
"Eh, it's nothing special. It doesn't even give me information on what they do." Pebble lied.
"Okay, but at least tell us the titles?" Phil probed.
"Yeah! Don't leave us hanging back here!" Fred agreed.
"Okay, okay. Here's what they gave me. Strong, Unyielding, Dexterous…" Pebble listed off a couple traits, but he hesitated at Berserker and Blood Luster. He really didn't want his friends to view him differently. He's already seen what these two traits could do back in the arena and he himself wasn't sure how to feel about what he's done.
Pebble made a decision. He couldn't do it. He had to lie or come up with an excuse, which he was not good at. His eyes twitched and the next moment his Coin of Communication was in front of him. He pretended to try and catch it and let it fall to the ground.
"Oh? This hasn't popped up like that before, I wonder if they are calling me?" He grabbed the coin, "Hello? God?"
"What the hell is going on here?" Fred asked.
"He met a god who gave him a cell phone shaped like a coin so they can flirt remotely." Bard informed the others.
"Not at all how that works, but I have to take this. The cathedral is that way right? I'll meet you guys in the morning. We all need some rest, I'm sure." Pebble said as he shooed them away.
"Tell me your traits later, then!" Bard waved and they were about to leave until he stopped and turned around, "You're alright, right? I mean, it's a whole new world and everything. I'm half expecting to wake up in my own bed and this whole thing being a dream, but in case this is real." He paused, "I just want to make sure you're good bro, you seem a little off, but all things considered, I can't blame you."
Pebble looked at his closest friends and smiled heartily, "Listen, you guys are the best friends I could have asked for. If I really am stuck in this world, then I'm glad it's with you three." Pebble felt horrible for not telling everything to his friends, but he needed to take things one step at a time right now. The idea of making himself the center of attention when they all just experienced a life changing day, just did not sit right with him. "I'm good, I just need a sec. I'll catch you guys up another time, I promise."
Bard, Fred and Phil gave Pebble a nod and departed for the cathedral. Pebble watched as his only friends on this planet walked away by his own doing, 'Why am I isolating myself?' Pebble questioned.
—
Pebble waited on the side of the street for a moment as his friends walked back without him. It was a quiet evening in Aegis. Most vendors were already closed after the Day of Summoning events from earlier in the day and the only remaining traffic on the street were a few rats and the occasional wandering adult.
The air smelled of honey and incense. Pebble realized he stopped outside of a bar named The Clipped Wing Meadery. Pebble eyed the path back to the cathedral, but ultimately decided that after today's events, the beer he had with his crew wasn't enough. He opened the door to the bar.
The place was brimming with nightlife. A few patrons eyed Pebble after he opened the door, but didn't stare long as he looked terrifying and this was not the type of place to make enemies. There were a few tables placed about the building with an area that was cleared out. That area turned out to be a dance floor with a disco ball and speakers. They currently had a microphone hooked up and there was a Dwarf singing karaoke about digging a hole.
Pebble walked past the excitement and right up to the bar, "Hey bartender, how's the day been?" He realized he had no money yet, but he was going to see if he could talk his way into obtaining some sweet liquor.
The bartender was a burly man with a gut that could only be obtained by someone who sampled their own product, "Hey, newcomer. Business ain't bad today, with the festival and everything. Is that what brings you in?" His voice sounded like a two pack a day smoker.
Pebble laughed, "Yes sir, that's exactly what brings me in today!"
The bartender raised an eyebrow and passed Pebble a drink without even a question.
"Oh, uh. Thanks for this! I really want it, but you should know that I have no money right now." Pebble was a little confused by the drink, but wanted to make sure the bartender knew about his financial situation.
The bartender nodded slowly, "Of course you don't. You don't get summoned with a wallet," he said.
Pebble's eyes went wide, "do you mind keeping this on the down low, please?"
"As long as you take a picture with me." The bartender said as he brought out a disposable camera that Pebble used to see back in the 1990s on Earth.
"Alright, deal." Pebble ended up taking multiple pictures throughout the night as he enjoyed mead and company for hours. Pebble ended up stumbling back to the cathedral. The guards merely laughed at his drunken state.
"Every Day of Summoning has at least one Hero who gets sh*t faced! Don't sweat it, you're just carrying on the age-old tradition!" A friendly guard said as he patted Pebble's back and led him safely to his room..
Pebble slept like a rock.