1.10

Pain

On the bright side, despite their resemblance to black widow spiders, the spiderlings that had attacked Harold did not seem to have venom focused upon killing their enemies.

Pain

That being said, it was little consolation to Harold, who had spent the last several hours clutching his leg. The venom from a spider dozens of times larger than its Earthen cousins had left him writhing in-

Pain

His life, at least in the few days that he and Amber had been plopped down in these mysterious caverns, had been filled to the brim with conflict and-

Pain

That day, Amber travelled with Rocky to an unoccupied cavern to train her skills. Their absence left him in more discomfort than he had ever felt in his life. The calm, determined fury that had filled him when they fought in the tunnel had left him, it now left him in abject-

Pain

In the absence of the inexplicable calming presence, and with the ever present pain that his body constantly endured, his mind cleared for moments at a time.

Pain

It was an interesting resource, this pain. One the one hand, Harold had never wished to be rid of something so fervently in his life. Yet at the same time, he did not wish for it to leave.

Pain

Don’t misunderstand, Harold was not a masochist. Rather, this pain allowed his mind to think clearly, free of an influence that even he was unaware was present in his very soul, guiding him to battle.

Pain

It wracked him, a lightning bolt out of a blue sky, but it made him remember things that had somehow slipped his mind for however long they had been down here. His friends. His family. How had he not remembered? How were they so vague, even in his most cherished memories? He had not been here that long, right? Birthday parties, Friendsgivings, even the pranks that Robb would constantly play, each one fading from his grasp, faster and faster in every moment that he was without-

Pain

He considered why he had been so willing to venture forth into darkness. Was it the terrifying presence of the fang brood mother? It could be, except he had been willing to fight the spiderlings even in his first moments here in the caverns. He had plucked a crystal from the wall, summoned a war hammer, and endured the-

Pain

These thoughts went on and on and on, an endless waterfall of memories and joys, forgotten to the void of conflict that had consumed him. If it wasn’t the brood mother that was influencing his mind to fight. What was? His momentary consciousness was interrupted by yet another bout of-

Pain

And all of this, he had considered in two minutes. Two minutes. It would be a long time yet before he would be granted reprieve.

Hours later, he had reprieve. That horrible reprieve washed over him, as he felt the influence return to his soul, urging him to do battle once more.

#####

Amber had reluctantly left Harold in the small room where they had slept. He had seemed to calm down after Rocky moved to hug him several hours prior. The little rock had stayed next to him, leaned up against Harold’s arm, until he had fallen asleep.

She never saw his face, twisted in agony mere moments after they stepped away.

#####

Seeing that there was nothing left for her to do after having bandaged his wound, Amber helped Harold choke down some food, and decided that she would hone her magic skills, so that she would be able to prevent this kind of thing in the future.

This determination, as well as her burning desire to do magic in the first place, prompted her to lead Rocky to a nearby, uninhabited cavern. He sat atop his golem, watching from the far side of the large expanse as Amber prepared herself.

‘Ok, I should start by figuring out how to manifest my fire element skill.” She began by imagining the simplest kind of fire magic she could. Nothing extreme, no lobbing fireballs or summoning walls of flame to cordon off their opponents. No, what she looked for instead was a spark. A spark that she could grow into an inferno.

But it was easier said than done. Unlike her [Mana bolt], a spell that she could cast by simply speaking a couple words, this skill, this first element was much more broad. It might take her days, if not weeks of practice to get even a single flame.

But that didn’t matter to her. She concentrated on her right hand’s pointer finger, trying to evoke a feeling of loss, in the same manner that she felt the loss of her mana when she cast a [Mana bolt].

Then, she imagined a spark to accompany that loss, a breath of new life in abject darkness.

She cracked one eye open aaaaand… nothing

Amber sat down, maybe meditation might help. She started anew, generating a feeling of loss, of an outpouring from what she understood to be here mana pool. She imagined the flame, ‘just a spark’ she thought. A spark is all she would need to light the torch, to guide the way.

She opened her eyes again and… there was no flame. Not even a warmth in her fingers that could be misconstrued as the beginnings of the spark.

Not dissuaded, she tried once more. Then when that failed, she did it again. And again.

In frustration she tried once more, more in rage than in determination. The loss, then the imagination. “SPARK, damn it! Come on, spark already!” A red hot flame burst from her finger, taking the form of a jet of flame flying high into the cavern ceiling. Then the remaining flame hovered like a little candle’s flame, just a few centimeters from her pointer finger.

Amber felt the warmth even before she opened her eyes. She looked on in wonder as the small flame continued to burn on the tip of her finger. Was this what the first human who had ever made fire had felt? What did they think in response to this ethereal beauty of their own making?

Nevertheless, she was determined to learn all she could manage in however long she could sustain this fire. The first thing she observed was that the use of the flame did not result in an immediate draining of her mana. Or at least, that was what she theorized as she felt a constant draining sensation tug on her chest.

She willed the flame out of existence, and it left far quicker and easier than it had appeared. She brought it back with a whisper. “Spark”. This time, however, she didn’t imagine the great draining that she had when she first summoned her flame. Instead, she imagined a gentle ebb and flow, a slow, methodical stream of mana leaving her being and manifesting as… there!

Amber very nearly jumped for joy when the flame appeared in her hand. Her first inclination was to check her notifications, maybe she would get something for this?

[Subskill learned: Spark - Create a small fount of flame, size and intensity varies based upon mana expenditure; Base skill - First Element: Fire]

[Achievement Acquired: The First Spellcrafter - First person on your planet to create a spell]

[Title Granted: Pyromancer - Increases fire affinity]

‘Next step then, what’s my limit?’ Amber picked her staff up from the little pile of supplies she had brought along. Holding it vertically and slightly away from her body, she thought about the manifestation of a fireball.

She now knew that there were multiple ways in which her mana could be used. Her [Mana bolt] was a good example of the first type, a single charge if you will. Buy it once, get the whole thing, in other words, a single expenditure of mana would conjure the bolt.

In contrast, her [Spark] was the second type, a consistent drain on her mana pool until she inevitably shut it off, or it presumably burned itself out, along with her entire supply of mana.

She noted that a fireball would likely be the first, a single burst of mana was what she needed.

Amber willed it to be so. She willed a flame to ball up just in front of the orb of her staff, making it swirl in the same manner a mana bolt did. Visualizing the loss of mana, she shouted. “FIREBALL!”

At once, a ball of fire burst forth from her staff, white hot, burning brighter and hotter than her red flame ever could, streaking towards the cavern’s stone wall, and impacting against the hard stone surface.

It was a surprise to be sure, to see some of the rock face had been sheared off by the strike. And Amber wondered if a piercing lance of flame couldn’t be more deadly to foes than a normal fireball, which would dissipate its force in a wider area.

She took a look at her notifications.

[Subskill learned: Fireball - Fires a ball of flame, carving a path through through the air until eventually impacting, dissipating a huge amount of force, amplified by [Pyromancer] title; Base skill - First Element: Fire]

Filled with elation, she tried to summon a fire lance. Instead of an orb-like structure, she imagined a spear of flame. Spinning it as she would with her bolts or fireballs, she yelled, “FLAME LANCE,” and let the attack fly.

It sputtered out before it had even formed, and only now did the facts pull Amber away from her happiness, a familiar tugging and exhaustion pulling at her very soul. She knew now that she was out of mana, and grabbed her things, beginning the trek back to their room.

#####

The honourable Sir Rock Hard had been doing a lot of thinking lately, and that meant far more than anyone could, or would, ever guess.

The rock had noticed a trend. When the ‘things’ appeared in his view, he got… harder, better, faster, stronger. Its last pop up had led to its discovery that it could summon golems, and better yet, order them around.

Of course, Rocky never understood what these symbols meant, or that they even made him stronger on the whole. All he knew was that whenever they came up, they would make him remember things, think of things. They would remind him to summon the golems for example, they would tell him to exude the feeling of calm around his allies.

It was almost a self fulfilling prophecy that Rocky would gain power at an unprecedented rate. Like a boulder kept at the top of a large hill. When pushed downwards, it’s speed would only grow exponentially until it reached its maximum velocity.

And so it was that with each passing day, the little rock’s intelligence grew. And with it went his understanding of the world, prompting even more growth. The pondering of a proper strategy could give him intelligence, the aura he exuded could grant him charisma. Rocky could question the meaning of life while shadow boxing, and come back with an increase to every stat.

Harold and Amber were none the wiser. After all, how could they know? None of their status pages showed stats in the first place, and Rocky’s was no different. All they saw was his level, his class, and his accomplishments. No precedent existed for a being such as he.

Rocky watched as Amber shot fire from her staff. He was awestruck at the pretty colors, never before had he seen such a vibrant display, having been born such a short while ago, and in the dark and dimly lit caverns of this tunnel complex.

He had gained enough points in charisma to know not to disturb her concentration, instead whispering his fourth favorite word to himself. “Sttsuts.”

Despite the ah, unconventional pronunciation of the word, the system had at all points understood what he was asking for, and had obliged him with a view into his own status page.

#####

[Rock Hard]

Age: ???

Race: Rock

Class: [Noble of Stone, Level 4]

Constitution: Rock

Achievements: [First Light]

Titles: [Progenitor]

#####

Along with his status, Rocky was presented with dozens of notifications. The little rock had never had the intent to delete them forever, and unlike Harold and Amber, had kept them all, only desiring to close them, for viewing at a later date. He considered them an indispensable part of his fourth favorite word.

His most recent acquisitions were all of the leveling variety, and though he didn’t know it, they had made him one of the most potent beings in the world for his level.

[Congratulations! Level Up! Level 3 Noble of Stone]

[Nobilis Skill learned: Language interpretation - As a noble, you must converse with a number of dignitaries from different races and cultures. Your speech will now be understandable to all sentient races, and vice versa]

[Congratulations! Level Up! Level 4 Noble of Stone]

The notifications were ever present, along with the string of stat boosts that Rocky had garnered over his several days with Harold and Amber.

One day, Rocky might turn the tides in a war spanning the stars. But today? Today he was happy, more than content to sit and enjoy a view of the summoned flames.