Outside of Aegis, on the city's southern docks, Pebble and Puffy watched as Fred, Bard and Phil opened the supply crate and observed the contents. There was plenty of food and water inside, but the team was having a hard time finding space for it all. It seemed that their inventory systems were limited.
Pebble approached after a moment, grabbed two parachutes and passed one to Puffy. He then held the crate and put the entire thing into his inventory. He was just as surprised as the entire party at his success, "What the hell? I was able to grab the whole thing?" Pebble looked around and made eye contact with his friends.
"This is actually starting to get a little frustrating. What part of challenge mode is a challenge for you? From what I'm seeing you just get a bunch of benefits." Phil looked down at his snake body and pouted.
"To be honest, he's got a point," Fred agreed.
"I mean, I was also blessed with a super awesome build in this new world, but yeah, 'Challenge Mode' feels like a stretch. You seem straight up overpowered." Bard nodded as he spoke.
Pebble shrugged, "I know, it seems unfair from your perspective, but everything has a price."
"Yeah, what's your price?" Phil replied sardonically.
"I have a price, don't worry about it. Right now we have to put on these parachutes apparently." Pebble ignored the discontent and focused on the task at hand. The team rolled their eyes, but began equipping their parachutes.
Pebble accessed his menu and looked into the contents of the crate. He was able to immediately sort it and have an understanding of its contents. His inventory was an extremely convenient tool as Pebble was able to identify a small box with a red button on it within seconds. The small box also had letters on it that read "Press when ready." He summoned the button from his inventory and looked at his friends. They all had their parachute on so he quickly began equipping his own.
"Okay, are you guys ready?" He asked as he put his arms through the parachute backpack.
"Ready for what?" Bard asked.
"I dunno, I was just going to press the button if you guys said yes." Pebble said. His parachute was now fully equipped.
"You might want to rethink pressing the button before you figure out what it will do." Puffy said with concern.
"Okay, I'm ready!" Phil said cheerfully.
"Me too," Fred replied.
Pebble pressed the button.
For a moment, nothing happened, "Huh, maybe it's broke…" Pebble was interrupted by a strong gust of wind. The wind lifted the entire party off their feet and sent them out over the edge of the city. They were now miles up in the sky.
"Oh f*ck!" Pebble shouted.
"WoweeWOWee" Puffy yelled as he was spinning like a top with his limbs sprawled out.
Fred was falling with his robe above his head. His bare body was only covered by his red and white striped underwear and his vision was now blocked, "Jesus H. Christ! Don't go pressing red buttons!" He shouted but everyone was too busy dealing with their own sudden shock to register his complaint.
Phil was struggling. He was not used to his snake body and had an extremely hard time figuring out his center of gravity. As a result, he looked like a worm squiggling in the air as he emitted a high pitched scream. "EEEeeeEEEEEEEEeeeee!"
"And I'mma FREEEEEEE," Bard was strumming his guitar as tiny clouds assisted him in achieving a controlled fall. He was activating a Bard skill that required him to sing and he was truly enjoying this moment. "FREE FALL…"
"I'm so sorry guys!" Pebble shouted as he flailed in the air.
"It's okay, just try to fall that way!" Puffy had stopped spinning and was pointing to the south. Pebble wanted to attempt to help Fred with this fashion crisis, but remembered stories of skydivers having mid air collisions and decided against it.
"I think I'm getting the hang of this!" Phil was now in control of his fall as well. He was sporting a giant goofy smile as he soared through the air.
"Puffy, you lead Bard and Phil,. I'm going to keep an eye on Fred!" Pebble shouted.
"How will you find us?" Puffy shouted back.
"I don't know, I'll just be very loud if I have to!" Pebble shouted again and Puffy gave a thumbs up. Puffy, Bard and Phil started drifting more south and Pebble stayed a good distance behind Fred as he fell straight down.
"Halp!" Fred screamed as his arms flailed
"I'm here, I'm here!" Pebble's mind was racing. He was trying to think if there was any skills that he had unlocked that would be able to assist here, but he had nothing. He checked the inventory again, "Should I throw you some rope?"
"I can't f*cking see!" Fred replied.
"THEN TRY TO TAKE OFF YOUR DAMN ROBE OR SOMETHING!" Pebble was trying not to panic as he watched the ground get gradually closer.
"I can't! The parachute is on over the robe!" Fred was now also panicking.
"I am not about to lose a friend to a damn red button!" Pebble tucked his arms closer to his body and angled his body, face first, towards Fred. The gap between them started to shrink. Pebble untucked his arms and reached out to grab Freds robe.
Bard looked back towards the north and saw Pebble with outstretched arms reaching down towards a panicking Fred with his robe completely over his head. The sun was angled perfectly between them. Pebble's face was fierce with determination and his arms glistened in the sunlight. He finally managed to grab the robe and he pulled himself onto Fred like a baby sloth clinging to its mother. He then straddled Fred with his legs and started pulling the robe back down over his body all while still free falling. The sight was glorious and Bard made sure to engrain it into his memory.
"There you go Fred!" Pebble said as he dismounted his friend.
"You're my Hero!" Fred said earnestly.
"Pull your chute!" Pebble said as he set the example. His parachute opened and he immediately started slowing down. Fred opened his a moment later and was a small distance below Pebble, they would be able to land in the same area without a problem. Pebble looked back at Bard, Puffy and Phil and did his best to look for landmarks between them.
"Okay Fred, it looks like we will have to hike for a little while to catch up with them. The crate had compasses so we should be able head south without a problem." Pebble projected his voice down at Fred.
"Alright, yeah… Sounds like a plan!" Fred yelled back at Pebble before he pulled out his staff and started waving it in a small circle. After a moment a floating lantern appeared next to Fred. "Hey buddy, welcome to the world! You see those guys over there? I need you to follow them for me. Please stay directly above them like a beacon!" The lantern nodded, its handle clanked on the side of its glass as it did so. It then began flying off towards the others' direction. Fred looked back at Pebble, "I created a waypoint of sorts for us. It will only last a minute or two, but it should help us get an idea of where we need to go."
"That's a great idea!" Pebble shouted down at Fred. About thirty seconds later, Fred and Pebble both landed safely next to a dirt path that cut through a forest. It was the only area they could safely fall without landing in a tree, so they took it.
The sun was getting low in the sky and now it could not be seen behind the trees that Fred and Pebble now found themselves in. Pebble looked around and could not locate Fred's lantern either.
"Can you make it fly higher or something?" Pebble questioned.
"I've only been doing verbal commands, but I'll try… I might just end up looking a little dumb if nothing happens though." Fred held his head with the tips of his fingers and closed his eyes. Pebble kept looking around in all directions, moving in a slow circle until finally, he spotted a speck of light over the trees to the southeast.
"Nice, I see it!" Pebble patted Fred on the back. Fred opened his eyes, re-summoned his staff and lowered his hands. As soon as Pebble's hand touched Fred's back, he received a system notification, but still no voice.
"Uhh," Pebble said as he instinctively selected 'Yes.'
Pebble's hand started glowing gold and Fred's posture straightened, "Whoa!" Fred jumped away. "What the f*ck was that?"
"I don't know, did it hurt?" Pebble deactivated the skill and scratched his head.
"No, it felt nice actually, but what was that?" Fred was reaching back to feel the spot on his back where Pebble had his hand.
"It allowed me to activate a 'Charge' skill that it gave me, but I have no idea how this thing works." Pebble informed Fred.
"You have a Charge skill? What's it do?" Fred looked Pebble in the eyes and Pebble shrugged.
"It simply says, 'Added outward mana channels to your hands.'" Pebble said.
Fred's eyes went wide, "No way!"
Pebble twisted his face into a confused expression, "What?"
Fred looked at Pebble with a wild grin, "Touch me the way you did before, you mongrel of a man!" He made a breathy voice and turned his head to the side while lifting his limp wrist over his head.
"Whoa, don't make it weird, bro." Pebble activated Charge again and offered Fred a firm handshake.
Fred grabbed his hand and nodded in thought, "Yup, looks like I was right."
"Hmm?" Pebble tilted his head as Fred held his hand.
"My mana started regenerating as soon as we started touching. How much mana do you have?" Fred asked.
"How do I tell?" Pebble's eyes began twitching and a frown appeared on his face.
"It's the blue bar underneath your health bar, dude. What are you a noob?" Fred gently bonked Pebble on the head with his staff.
"There's no blue bar there." Pebble said defensively.
"Oh, well that's odd. I guess until we figure out your limit, we just won't know, but the good news is that my lantern can last longer as long as you keep recharging my mana."
"Well that's kinda cool. I guess that's another support aspect of my build in that case." Pebble was excited but starting to get concerned about his intelligence points again. He should have immediately figured out what Charge did when he read that it provided outward mana channels. Fred was able to determine what his skill did without any hesitation. 'Just another reminder that I really need to level up my intelligence.'
"Kind of cool? Alain, you and I could conquer this planet." Fred looked at the sky and cackled, "You and I, the Wizard and the Battery. Imagine me casting spells nonstop as you supply me with unlimited power!" He started wiggling his fingers and pretended to cast spells at invisible enemies.
Pebble slapped him on the back of the head, "Stop daydreaming. Let's go catch up with the team and get started with our proper adventure."
—
The Throne Holder was sipping tea out of a set of fine china as he sat across from Artia within her celestial garden. Gorgeous plants were thriving, they were a mix of dark blue and violet and they released mist that looked like a nebula, filled with brilliant twinkling stars.
"It looks like Little Rock is finally out of the cradle." Artia smiled as she poured herself a glass of tea.
"Indeed, thank you for having me on such short notice." The Throne Holder replied with a tiny nod.
"Are you worried about the bandits?" Artia inquired. A butterfly flew around her glass and landed on her hand.
"I'm worried about his brain." The Throne Holder said seriously.