《TWIG - The System Can't Save Me, But It Can't Stop Me Either [a gamelit-portal-fantasy-poem by eric river]》Chapter 001 - Achievements... I guess?
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CHAPTER ONE
Achievements... I guess?
~
Since before the age of written history began
This world has never moved according to a single plan
Goddesses and gods alike guide mortals on their way
Speaking to us through blue boxes, as they do today
Achievement: Birth
Congratulations on beginning your adventure here
You can’t understand this yet, but these screens must appear
You’ve been born in such a world where status screens are blue
Grow up wise and strong and we’ll do our best to help you
This shall be the song of one whose fate was quite unclear
One who stood to lose the very things he held most dear
Challenged by the gods to live a life wroght with mistakes
But will he overcome his curse, if time is all it takes?
~ Name: Twig ~
Title: Toddler
Class: N/A [lv0]
HP
[5]
MANA
[5]
ATK
[5]
INT
[5]
DEF
[5]
SPD
[5]
This kid doesn’t have a chance if he can’t even walk
And don’t most kids by that age already know how to talk
It’s a shame he still can’t read system messages yet
Honestly how slow and unlucky can one kid get
There was a boy who lived within a world of fantasy
Where status messages were hardly uncommon to see
Everything that you achieved was noted by a god
And great achievements made the entire pantheon applaud
This boy was just like any other, human as can be
And he lived in peace inside a warm community
His name was Twig, so named for just how weak he was at birth
And because even a simple twig can be of worth
His parents had five daughters before they had their young son
By the time Twig came along, adventures had begun
His sisters all achieved great things while working in the house
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His oldest sister was a Hunter for killing a mouse
All of them were always bragging of a new alert
“Look, I just got Poison Tolerance by eating dirt!”
The gods and goddess were truly kind to everyone
Blessing every small achievement anyone had done
Heroes came and went with eras, always someone new
And your status screen would tell you everything to do
Anyone who’d ever held a sword had quickly seen
Their own little guide to heroics on a blue screen
Achievement: First Sword
For picking up this sword you’ve earned the title “Young Master”
Now you’ll find your strength increased and you can run faster
Practice as instructed everyday for more rewards
One day you may even unlock many magic swords
Such events were common in this world of status screen
Tripping while distracted by them was a common scene
Children often spent their free time searching for a quest
Playing outside while they put their own skills to the test
Achievement: Enjoying Life
Congratulations on enjoying such a happy day
You’ve impressed a god so here’s some blessings on the way
From now on, while skipping stones, they’ll skip at least ten times
Just don’t use your throwing skills to commit any crimes
Achievement: Having Fun
You’ve played so much today that it has touched an old god’s heart
After all, young children’s dreams are where adventures start
Take this blessing freely, it will open up your mind
Now when you are having fun, you’ll leave fatigue behind
Achievement: Friendship
A god as taken notice to the way you play with friends
He wishes for you companionship that never ends
With this blessing, you’ll make friends without much effort spent
As long as you have companions, you shall feel content
Such achievements made a person’s childhood interesting
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They’d receive a blessing for doing most everything
Twig grew up surrounded by such news from those he knew
But Twig was quick to realize something odd as he grew
When he asked his friends and family about their screen
They told him of the friendly messages that they had seen
But the first that he remembered seeing as a boy
Were not quite the memory that any would enjoy
Achievement: Knowing Your Limits
Congratulations on your mediocre start at life
You’re about as sharp as your old mother’s butter knife
For a five year old you really should know more than this
You should really give a life of adventure a miss
Achievement: Wasting Time
You have too much time and still you squander it on play
Time is wasted on the way you spend your every day
You should stay at home and try to be of use somehow
Get inside and help your mother clean the house, right now
At the time he’d only just learned how to read and write
So he couldn’t really understand that big blue sight
But he took it as a quirky compliment of sorts
And he spent his free time playing with his young cohorts
Twig had several friends who lived in the same town as him
Together they had learned to hunt, make fires, swing swords, and swim
Two nice boys named Leaf and Pebble and a girl named Sky
But Twig could never catch them all, no matter how he’d try
~
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