Chapter 1

Alec woke up and quickly checked his character sheet.

//Name: Alec Montaine

Age: 16

Level: Locked

Experience: Locked

Condition: Healthy

Health: 94

Health Regen: 4.45 per minute

Mana: Locked

Mana Regen: Locked

Physical

Strength: 6

Agility: 5

Dexterity:5

Perception:5

Constitution:6

Mental

Magic: 5

Intelligence: 9

Wisdom: 7

Willpower: 6

Fortitude: 6

Traits: Locked

Skills: Locked//

“Today’s the day.” He whispered, full of excitement as he slid off his poorly constructed bed. It had been more difficult than he had assumed to build a raised level platform to sleep on, but his work paid off when he quit waking up throughout the night with bugs, or worse, skittering across his face and hair.

He moved to the wash basin in the corner and began rinsing off the sweat from his night of half-rest with the last of his hard-earned soap. He had been too excited to fall fully asleep, dreaming of what this next day would bring. He was 16 today. This meant he could finally visit the town’s temple and unlock his trait. In his mind he unlocked a powerful one, the likes of which had never been seen. He wielded powerful magic, slinging fire and calling down lightning. He flew high above the ground, peppering his foes with arrows of blazing light. He stood tall and proud, muscles bulging beneath his fine clothing.

He knew he was dreaming, and in all honesty, almost anything would be a vast improvement over his current lifestyle. Alec eked out a living doing whatever odd jobs he could find. Anything from moving boxes at a local shop, shoveling horse dung to keep the streets clean, even helping on the farms during planting and harvesting. He took any job that was offered and did it with a smile on his face. He spent as little as he could, saving the rest until he had finally saved up enough to cover the temple’s cost for awakening several months before. It had taken him three full years save that much. Three years of living in this poorly repaired lean-to set against old granny Yessip’s barn.

As he finished running his fingers through his unkempt blonde hair, he realized that he would need to spend the money to get it cut properly in order to be allowed into the temple. Fortunately, this last season’s harvest had been larger than expected, and he was able to put away much more than he had originally planned. Old man Watter’s son had been conscripted into the local militia, leaving him with only his wife and two daughters to help him unearth almost half again as many sweet potatoes as he had expected. Alec used a small portion of his excess money to purchase a decent quality tunic and pair of trousers. The temple wouldn’t permit entry to anyone that didn’t show what they called the “absolute minimum level of respect” to the temple by not dressing up to their standards and being as clean and kempt as possible. Alec would barely be able to pass those standards, even with a new haircut and his better clothes.

“Here goes nothing.” Alec said to himself. He grabbed his money pouch, did one last pat down of his hair and clothes, and set out to finish his preparations for the temple. He stopped by the main house to find granny Yessip already out to market. He took a deep breath of the warm morning air and started walking toward his goal.

------

Alec arrived at the temple just as the sun was pulling away from the horizon. Golden light gleamed off monolithic white marble towers. Giant stained-glass windows told the story of the goddess, her trident skillfully felling scores of monsters on a plain dyed red with blood. The story was one he knew well, but he followed the stained glass, nonetheless. The goddess, once a mortal warrior, led her human army against a horde of demons guarding the portal from to their home plane. They flowed through it like a dark river, skin blackened from the fires of their home, killing or burning anything in their path. The goddess pushed her armies through the sea of enemies, her men both dying and being devoured even as their fellow soldiers pushed deeper. They had but one goal, one suicidal hope that would stem the tide of locusts that had plagued humanity for centuries. They had to close the portal. There was no room for failure.

Alec continued around the side of the building, continuing to follow the art-made-story with his eyes. As the Goddess’ army finally approached the portal, their numbers greatly diminished, a behemoth rose among the ranks of the demon army. Thrice as tall as any other, it towered over its brethren. Wielding a sword half as long as it was tall. It cleaved through several men with each swing as it harvested its way towards the human leader. In an act of selflessness, the goddess burned both her mana and life force, utilizing her trait, sacrificial blood, to its fullest potential. Her trait allowed her to use her mana and health to temporarily increase her strength and speed. She skillfully manipulated the behemoth back towards the portal and, missing one arm at the elbow from the beasts wild attacks, drove her trident and herself into the monster’s chest sending them both plummeting into the glimmering waves of energy that made up the portal.

The last stained -glass picture was of the portal shrinking into nothingness as the human army fell to the hordes of demons that surrounded them. They had known that this was a battle they wouldn’t be returning from. No one knows how the goddess closed the portal, as it was a known fact that anyone who entered the portal previously was lost forever. It was said that the goddess sacrificed the last bit of here lifeforce to somehow overload the portal as she passed through, but the truth is, no one will ever know. All they knew was that once the portal had been closed, the human woman was said to have reappeared in the sky over the human capital city in a display of fire and lightning, heralding her ascension.

Finished following the story, Alec walked back to the temple entrance, two guards standing bored but vigilant on either side. It was later than he would have liked, as the barber was especially talkative today, more so after Alec had mentioned that he needed to look as good as possible for his awakening. The barber had spent nearly half an hour reminiscing about his own awakening, rather than cutting Alec’s hair. He had, however, applied a small amount of after shave on Alec’s cheeks and chin for the smell, even though Alec hadn’t needed a shave.

He approached the ornate double doors, struggling to push one open.

“What do we have here?” A deep, smug voice asked as Alec took stepped into the temple. He had a smile on his face as he watched Alec struggle with the door. “The temple’s kindness is held on weekends after the sixth bell, which you should rightly know.”

Alec turned his head to the voice, seeing a man of middling height wearing plain, but expensive silks. He was looking down upon Alec, his nose high enough in the air that Alec imagined he could see a tiny brain in its depths.

“I do sir, though I’m here to kneel before the goddess and be awakened, if you will allow it.” Humility combined with stroking a priest’s ego were by far the best-known approach when forcing a priest to deal with their “lessers”.

“Your name day, is it? On such a fine day as today, I could be persuaded to grant you entrance. You must, of course, show your respect to the goddess with a small donation first. Say, 55 silver?” The priest’s eyes gleamed with greed as Alec forced himself to keep his mouth shut. The normal “donation” was supposed to be 50 silvers. The man apparently thought himself clever. Alec could only awaken here, as this was the only temple in town. Without his awakening, Alec’s life would continue as it had been, and the priest knew it. Alec swallowed, pushing down the anger that was building in his chest, forced a smile onto his face and replied.

“Gladly good sir priest. It would be my honor to donate to the goddess.” His fingers curled too tightly around the coins in his pouch as he counted them on a nearby counter. After the agreed amount was laid out, Alec glanced into his pouch to see that he had a mere 3 silvers and some coppers left to his name. If his trait was a bad one, his future would be bleak. He steeled his nerves, silencing his depressing thoughts. Following the smiling priest, he made his way to a side room where an altar of marble and white gold stood prominent in the center. It wasn’t the main alter of the temple, merely one used for lesser rituals by junior priests. Alec couldn’t care less, as the priest that brought him here walked away muttering something under his breath about there being nothing to steal here.

Alec moved to the altar, went to his knees, and pressed his forehead to the floor. He said a prayer to the goddess, thanking her for her coming blessing, and to the Architect for his unending wisdom. His prayer didn’t last long, only enough that any ease droppers be appeased at his show of respect. He stood, and with one last breath to fortify himself against his growing anxiety, he touched the alter.

//Congratulations, you have met the requirements to awaken your trait. Would you like to continue?//

Alec let out a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding. His excitement built as he spoke aloud.

“Yes.”

//Awakening complete.

Trait unlocked:

Enhance: Spend experience points to modify the properties of an object or entity targeted by the user. May not be used on self. Object must be under the ownership of the user. Sentient beings must give their consent. Non-sentient beings must be under the control of the user.

Cost: Variable Experience Points//

Alec blinked. He was honestly taken aback at the skill. It wasn’t that he truly understood what he was looking at. It was the cost, experience points. A thing greater than gold. There were only two known ways to gain experience points. The first was through crafting. It was a safe, slow method most people used to level. You didn’t get much, just a handful of points for the creation of an item for a crafter, like a fully cooked meal for a chef, or a successful harvest by a farmer. He knew that cutting a head of hair gave the barber from this morning ten experience points. The higher your level, the more points you needed. The average person in town was between levels ten and twenty, with the better craftsmen being mid-twenties.

The other way to gain experience was to fight. Preferably monsters, but humans counted as well. The experience gained there was a bit more complicated. It depended on the type of monster, its age, its level compared to yours, and many other factors Alec wasn’t fully aware of. It was faster, but far more deadly. Most of the guards in town were in the early to mid-twenties, with a few officers in their thirties, at least, as far as he knew.

From his status sheet he knew that level 2 required 200 experience points. He had no idea what the experience cost would be to use his skill, but the thought of it made him lightheaded and a little sick. Ok, a lot sick. He didn’t even have any experience points to try the skill at the moment. Oh no... How was he even going to get any?

His original hope was to get some kind of combat trait. Offensive, defensive, supportive, it didn’t matter. Any of them would allow him to apply to the hunter’s guild. They typically nurtured trainees until level 5, and then allowed them to start taking on small jobs of their own. If he hadn’t gotten a combat trait, then a crafting one would be just fine. They were the most common by far, after all. Anything that could have gotten him an apprenticeship would have allowed him a steady supply of experience, as well as room, board, and a very small stipend. Now, well now he had nothing. No crafter would take him on without at least some kind of trait related to their trade. And no guild in their right mind would accept a member without a combat trait. He would be seen as essentially useless when out with a party. Being laughed out of the hunting guild was more than just a possibility now.

He took a deep breath, attempting to calm his spiraling thoughts, and opened his character sheet for the second time that day.

//Name: Alec Montaine

Age: 16

Level: 1

Experience: 0/200

Condition: Healthy

Health: 94

Health Regen: 4.45 per minute

Mana: 46

Mana Regen: 2.375 per minute

Physical

Strength: 7

Endurance: 6

Perception: 5

Agility: 5

Constitution: 6

Mental

Magic: 5

Intelligence: 9

Wisdom: 7

Fortitude: 6

Willpower: 6

Attribute Points available: 3

Traits:

Enhance: Spend Experience points to modify the properties of an object or entity targeted by the user. May not be used on self. Object must be under the ownership of the user. Sentient beings must give their consent. Non-sentient beings must be under the control of the user.

Cost: Variable Experience Points

Skills: None//

Alec swallowed again, He would figure this out, he had to. He would not go on living the way he had for the past 3 years. As kind as it was for granny Yessip to allow him to live on her land, the lean-to was cold and dirty. He would figure out how to gain experience, use his trait, and gain the freedom to be whoever he chose to be, instead of some orphaned homeless child. He had lived like this for far too long, it was time to take control of his fate.

He arrived home in a bit of a fugue. Try as he might, he could think of no way forward. Well, almost no way. The suicidal thought of trying to hunt a monster on his own outside the town gates had entered his head, then left it just as quickly. There was a near 100% chance that he would be killed if he attempted something so idiotic. The hunter’s guild kept the area around town free of the monsters. If he wanted to find one, he would have to enter the forest proper. Also, the lowest level of monster around was probably level 5 or so, too high for him to attempt by himself. Especially without any equipment.

He kicked a stick toward the pile of branches he kept on hand for the fire before stopping and looking at it more closely. It was a sturdy looking piece of dry wood; of what species he couldn’t tell. He collected them in the early mornings, following hunting parties that were leaving for the day. It was the safest time to collect herbs and wood from the nearby eastern forest, as the hunters would quickly take care of any beasts that strayed too close to the town.

He bent over and picked it up, willing his new trait into being. A warmth spread through his chest as a notification appeared before him.

// Oak Branch

Condition: Dry

Durability 7/10

A solid branch, two inches in diameter. It can be used as a crafting material.

Would you like to Enhance this item?//

A large smile formed on Alec’s face. Not at the stick itself, but at his skill. He had an identification ability. While not rare, they were definitely uncommon. The reason for the smile however, was that it was considered a crafting trait. He could easily get an apprenticeship at any number of shops with this ability. He jumped in the air, letting out a loud whoop as his anxiety crumbled like a week-old piece of dried grass.

“Alec?” A feminine voice brought him out of his revelry.

“Sam?” He replied, pulling aside the wall of twigs that acted as his door.

“Thank the goddess you are ok. When you didn’t come by after your awakening, Claira and I began to worry.” Sam, or Samira Watter, was the eldest daughter of old Farmer Watter. She had taken on most of the farm work when her brother was conscripted into the local militia. Whenever he did the odd job for Farmer Watter, he usually ended up working closely with Sam. Under her father’s very, very watchful eye, that is. She was stout from life on the farm, with a sunbaked tan from working in the sun for hours on end. Long brown hair cascaded past her shoulders in a fancy looking braid, tied with a yellow ribbon. Her brown eyes looked at him, and he could see concern there.

“Oh! I did mean to come over after my awakening, the thought of your mom’s apple strudel has been on my mind for days!” Alec said, trying to put her at ease. “I just got caught up in my trait, trying to figure out how best to put it to use.”

“Well,” she replied, “from the noises I heard as I walked to your door, it seems like you have figured something out?”

“I have! I am going to become apprentice at the first shop that will have me! My trait should allow for that at least.” He told her. He didn’t want to share the exact details of his trait just yet, as he himself didn’t truly understand it.

“Are you going to keep me in suspense?” She asked, eyes narrowing just a little too much for Alec to consider himself safe.

He laughed. “My trait allows me to identify the basic properties of an item. I’ll use it to get an apprenticeship, then work for a few years to save up the money to open my own shop.” The words flew out of his mouth, and he found them to be true. It would be nice to finally sleep under a real roof again.

“That’s fantastic!” She exclaimed. Happiness, and a bit of relief radiating from her. She looked over him, something in her eyes appraising.

“Well, let’s not keep mother’s strudel waiting any longer. Shall we?” He accepted her invitation, lending her his arm. This day was turning out to be better than he could have hoped.