I spun about, looking for the voice that spoke. It sounded like a woman's.
“I am Maia, your System Guide and a part of your System and set to guide you to the Seal. Before you will appear a screen, your System Dashboard, to set you on the path you should go. Now, I will show you the details.” A holographic screen showed in mid air, and when I tried to touch it, it responded. On it were some statistics I could barely understand, but which I reckoned were connected to me, as my name and a small image of myself wearing the half mask were at the very top of the screen. Name: [Alexander] Level: 1 Bronze Coins: 0/500. 0 used. Experience Points (XP): 0/10,000 Health Points (HP): 0/10,000 Magic Points (MP): 0/10,000 Strength: 5/10 Intelligence: 4/10 Agility: 1/10 *Skill Section* Active Skills: NONE Passive Skills: NONE Skill Cooldowns: NONE *Quest and Mission Log* Current Quests: NONE Completed Quests: NONE *Statistics and Analytics* Kill Count: 0/10 Distance Travelled: 0/50 km Resources Gathered: 0/1 *Notifications and Alerts* System Messages: NONE Warning Alerts: NONE Event Notifications: NONE *Equipment and Inventory* Equipment: NONE Inventory: NONE Storage: NONE *Map and Minimap* Loading… I could barely understand this list on the System Dashboard as the counts slowly ran up, except that it was supposed to be mine as my name and image were clearly there and that I'd not done too much on it, not with all the zeros and nones attached. “I will help you to find the Seal, and you can ask me whatever you want.” “Are my statistics empty because I haven't done anything?” “Yes. Do you want me to explain the list of all the counts to you?” “Yes.” I answered. “You are at Level 1, which is the lowest level, and which means that you will not be able to find the Seal, even if it was set before your very eyes. That can only be done when you reach the last level.” “I have a long way to go, then.” I groaned. “Indeed, you do.” “And how do I move to a higher level?” “To reach a higher level, which is Level 2 in your case, you have to do tasks that will earn you coins, and which will take your Experience, Health, and Magic points from 0 to 10,000. Your Level 1 Strength, Intelligence, and Agility also have to reach 10 before you can move forward.” “Do my Active and Passive skills have anything to do with my going from one level to another?” “Partially, as getting the skills will help you earn points. They will also help you to execute the tasks that will gain you points.” “What are my skill cooldowns?” “Your skill cooldowns is the time that must pass before you can use a certain skill again. The less powerful the skill, the longer the cooldowns.” I grunted. That didn't seem too good. I would certainly want to have more powerful skills, but it would become useless as it would not last long and I would be left unprotected. “What about my kill count?” “Your kill count must also hit the maximum of 10 before you can reach Level 2.” “So when all these are completed, then I can move to Level 2?” “Indeed.” “Okay. Let's begin, Maia.” I said. Maybe trying to reach the Seal didn't seem so hard anymore, and all I would need to focus on was reaching the final one. I was already on Level 1, and even though saying I had an unspecified number to go sounded dismal, I still imagined that I would reach the end. My System Dashboard buzzed with new notifications. *1. New System Message* Congratulations on interacting with your system and Maia, your guide. Your journey to the Seal begins. Move to the Quest and Missions Log for information on what you have to do next. Hades wishes you the best of luck. I snorted at the sight of his name, and swiped my finger across my holographic screen to find the Quest and Missions Log. *2. New Quest and Missions Log* Current Quest: Find the Sword of Pella. 200 Bronze Coins reward. Completed Quests: NONE. *3. New Equipment and Inventory.* Equipment: One Steel Katana. Inventory: 1x Bag, 1x Water Bottle, 1x Biscuit Box, 1x Night Goggles, 1x Dark Hood. *4. Map and Minimap.* I saw the image of one red, curving line that marked the way I was supposed to go, set in an area filled with brown. At the point where I was supposed to find the sword was a small graphic, with the ‘Sword of Pella’ written near it. *GOODLUCK.* “Is there anything you would wish for me to help you with?” Maia, my System's Guide asked. “Get me the equipment and the inventory. And where do I go?” In a flash, the katana and the bag were in my hand, containing the water, the biscuit, and the dark hood, neatly rolled up. “Go outside the door.” I did as she said, and was almost lost by the spectacle my eyes beheld. The wide, unending expanse of sand that went as far as my eye could see made it clear that it was a desert, and was why the colour of the area in my map had been brown. The heat from the sun burned into what was left of my skin, and I winced when I remembered the misery I allowed myself to get tricked into. I could not die, until I fulfilled all conditions. Hades had played me, and I had no choice. I threw the hood on, strapped the bag to myself, and stepped into the sand as my metallic feet sank into it, and feeling nothing, began my journey to conquer Level 1. Outside, the room appeared to be a box standing alone, and I walked until the box became even smaller and then disappeared, going so far behind that it was a small dot in the distance when I turned to see it one last time.
Latest Chapter
HALF A MAN
I decided not to ride the Pegasus on the way back.This decision was driven by a variety of factors. First, I did not want to rush back to the tent, most likely because I did not want to find Inar waiting for me, or anyone else who wanted to congratulate me on my participation in the war and claim the Pegasus. Second, I wanted to be alone, to reflect on my death and how far it was from me. Certainly, I wanted to be able to die, but seeing so many dead men who had been marching to kill only the day before had touched my heart. Third, I wanted to admire the Pegasus and bask in its splendor. There could have been more, but I ultimately walked back."Will you not allow me to take you back?"I jumped back in fear, looking around for the voice that spoke. I was certain that no one had been close, but I still could not see anyone."I am here, the Pegasus."My gaze returned to the animal by my side, which shook its head in response."Can you speak?" I inquired, unable to think of any other qu
A CURSE
I felt much better when I washed all the blood off.With enough water in the pot, I watered both my Camel and my Pegasus, before settling to cook my own meat. It was an already dried and salted piece, and all I had to do was heat it up.As I cooked, some soldiers moved past with ragged, unsteady steps, and I waved them all, wishing them a good morning. They were quick to hail me, and some even stopped to give me their narratives of my action in the past day's battle in drunken tones. Others walked by with loot — horses and Eagle men's armour for the most part, and sometimes women. They, who I had not seen since I stepped foot in this camp, now appeared to have crawled out of their holes.When I was done cooking, I went back in to eat, and after that, set out to go bury my Pegasus' previous owner. He had been good while he lived, and might have been interesting if he wasn't fighting on the other side.The time to go came and I mounted the Pegasus, following the animal as it flew me to
BLOOD ON MY SKIN
The sky was lighting up when I woke up again.Nevertheless, I was groggy, and then went into the tent, forgetting that I had allowed myself a roommate, until I went in and saw her lying on the floor, clad in her armour. It cleared my eyes at once and I felt sympathetic, praying for the sun to rise so that she would meet Bruma. I was quite sure that he would take her in and still permit her the freedom she wanted without any sexual demands as well. He had Seni, and did not appear to be interested in women.With this in mind, I went back outside. There, I felt regret that I did not ask for any of the wells. I still carried the blood from the previous day’s battle, and now I needed a wash to keep me clean.I moved around, admiring the sight of my Pegasus and Camel together, both of them gifts to me. I did not have any plans on what to do with them, but I loved the beasts too much to let go.Once again, I looked down at myself and could still see the bloodstains. It amazed me that I had c
A CAMEL AND A PEGASUS
I did not turn until I reached my tent.Once there, I stopped the Pegasus and stepped back, in awe of the animal. Its magnificent white fur showed even in the dark, and I took off my armour — which had discomforted me so much that my body adjusted itself to the discomfort, and then threw it in the tent. I then returned to the animal and threw my arms around it.“Tomorrow, we'll bury your old master, and I'll take care of you.” I said to the beast.It huffed, and I laughed at the sound. It made me think of my camel as well, long forgotten in my inventory, and I asked Maia to bring it to me. This she did, and I had both of them with me, a Camel and a Pegasus. I tied both to the same anchor knocked in the sands, and sat on the ground not far from them, watching when something caught my eye from the side — a shadow.I took the pains to sit still and watch, curious about the spy. Whoever it was had their sights on me so hard that they did not even move while watching me, which allowed me t
THE PARTY BEGINS
My Pegasus had come with a saddle, a parting gift from its previous owner.Gently, I mounted it to even louder cheers, almost falling off as it rose. The wing caught me just in time, and I held even tighter to the bridle, giving the Pegasus a gentle rub when I maintained my balance, shifting my helmet to one hand to enjoy my ride.They started to call for me to fly, and I gave it another gentle pat, which sent it into a trot. An even harder one set it running, and a pat on the wings sent it off the ground, and the body stopped swinging from side to side, giving way for a smooth, gentle motion through the air as we went even higher and higher. Our men and their torches were now reduced to tiny, candle-sized lights, while the Pegasus flew in a circle, going round and round without stopping.I was soon weary of flying, and we slowly descended to the ground, settling on a patch of clear ground the men vacated for us. More applause followed, and when I got down from the Pegasus, I was lift
ANDREAS
Andreas was a man I thought had gone mad.Certainly, I knew I was the one who killed the man. I pulled the arrow that killed him. I did it for the Warlock. How was he then going to feel if the Pegasus refused him in front of everyone else?“Which of you will go first?”I did not want to. So Andreas stepped forward amidst rounds of cheers and applause from the men, especially those who claimed to have seen him shoot at the Pegasus. Funny enough, I found that my mind started to play tricks on me too, and I even began to wonder if I had truly killed the man or if I had imagined myself doing it. Even now, the events of the battle were surreal as I thought of them, like things that had happened in a dream while I slept. The darkness was coming over, and a few men were holding torches to offer light. Andreas went closer to the Pegasus under their watchful glares, backed away when it snorted, and stood, as if uncertain of what he started to do. It made me roll my eyes.Still, he refused to
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