2

Ash could feel a soft wind brush his cheek and he could hear the gentle rustling of trees in the distance. With a grumble and a groan Ash opened his eyes to see a clear blue sky above him. With a bit of a struggle and some leg wobbling he rose to his feet. He looked around but there wasn’t much to see. Woods, far in the distance, encompassed the area. Plush green grass covered the radius of the field with the exception of a large pond in the center. He wondered if it was a large clearing in a forest or something. He looked around some more and saw a few remnants of camping sites. Old fire pits and leftover trash abandoned here and there made Ash think that this place must be used like a rest area for weary travelers. He decided he probably shouldn’t drink from the pond.

He looked to the ground and noticed a large head sized crater in the ground. With a flash of anger he remembered falling through the sky and hitting the ground face first. “Tammy!” He yelled angrily.

Don’t worry she knew you would be fine. After all one of your Earth Magic abilities is Earth’s Might which gives a hefty amount of resistance against physical damage, so even a fall from that height wouldn’t harm you.

“But I passed out.”

From shock most likely.

“Wait, who’s talking?” Ash looks around the field but doesn’t see a single soul. The stranger’s small sweet voice seemed to whisper directly in his ear.

I am.

“And who are you exactly? Also where are you? I don’t see anyone.”

I’m on your hand.

With a sigh Ash looked at his hand at the small silver ring that Tammy gave him. “So, I’m guessing the ring can talk?” Ash asked to no one in particular.

Only to you Ashley Sage, no one else can perceive my angelic voice, which is a shame really.

“Okay, but why do you talk? Also if you call me Ashley again I’ll have you turned into a nose ring and attach you to a pig.”

I am a god item gifted to you from The Great Deity herself. My job is to give you advice using my vast knowledge.

“God item?”

Yes, a god item is an extremely rare item created from a god. I would have thought that you would have understood that from the name. I really am needed here I suppose. A god item is created by a god or goddess by imbedding a piece of their soul into an object.

“You’re a piece of Tammy’s soul?”

Do not worry. I am a mere speck of sand from a vast dessert. She will not miss me.

“Are there other god items?”

Yes. For example there is a sword which can harness lightning and a quiver that never runs out of arrows. There are also other god rings as well. There’s one that can make any enemy cower in fear and there’s another one that can give you the strength of a whole army in one hand.

“Yet I get the one that can only talk. Great, I’m so lucky.”

No need for sarcasm.

“How do you know it was sarcasm? I might have been truthcasm.”

Seriously, Mr. Sage, I really am useful. You don’t know anything about this world; it’s my job to help you. I can give you advice on the right way to do things and can even help you with the right actions to take in many difficult situations. You don’t know how lucky you actually are to have me.

“Fine, okay, I get it. However, my ultimate goal is to gain enough money so I can live a quiet life away from society. I don’t want bothering me and that includes chatty inanimate objects.”

And I can help you achieve that goal. Just listen to my advice and you’ll have enough money in no time. Then you can just deactivate me or put me away. I don’t mind. My purpose is to serve you.

A small wave of guilt rushed over Ash as he looked at the ring. It was the first time he felt pity for a piece of jewelry. “Fine, I’m in your care.”

Yes! You won’t regret it.

Out of the corner of his eye Ash could have sworn he saw something big and red looking at him in the woods. He turned to look but didn’t see anything. He decided it was probably his imagination; after all he did take a pretty big blow to the head not too long ago. Ash decided to turn his attention back to the ring. “So, do you have a name?”

No. You can name me if you like.

“All right, what’s your gender?”

Ring.

“Fair enough. Then how about a gender neutral name like Sam?”

I am fine with any name you give me no matter how uninspiring and off the top of your head it is.

“Sam it is then. Okay Sam, what do I need to do to achieve my goal?”

Well, with your almost non-existing skill set I’d recommend joining a guild and taking on high risk quests.

“A guild? Like with other people? That sounds like a pain”

But first things first, you need to change your clothes, they stick out too much. There should be a change of clothes appropriate for a sage in that bag over there.

Ash looks to the ground and sees a simple brown bag tied with a string. “How did I miss that?” Ash says while picking it up. Inside it is a small knife with a belt, some brown leather shoes, and a long brown hooded robe. “A dress?”

It’s a robe. It’s unisex and well accepted in this world. Mages and the like often wear them. Magic users are somewhat feared in this world so hopefully this outfit will help you blend in and keep ne’er-do-wells away.

“Keep people away? Sounds good to me.”

You seem to not like people. Why is that?

Ash looks up to the sky and takes in its beauty, “The sky here is a little darker than the sky back home. Is it because of a lack of pollution in this world?”

So you’re just going to ignore me huh?

Again, almost out of sight, Ash thought he saw something watching him from the shadows in the woods. He turned to look at it but yet again there was nothing. “Odd.” Ash mumbled as he began to undress. After he put on the outfit he went to go see his reflection in the small pond’s water. He looked just like a mage straight from an RPG. Something was different though. He seemed fitter and almost handsome. It looked like he was staring at a handsome twin brother. “Why do I look different?”

It’s a long story but I can explain later but for now you need to get to a village. Even for you this area can be dangerous at night.

“I really don’t feel like dealing with people but I am hungry. I bet they’ll have some kind of restaurant.”

Most inns serve food but you don’t have any money and no one serves food for free.

Ash thinks for a moment and looks at the pond.

There isn’t any fish in that pond and you wouldn’t want to eat any that came from it. Besides how were you going to catch any?

I could have made a fishing pole.

Wouldn’t have worked. You have no skills in crafting.

Ash thinks again while walking around. He looks at a tree and as luck would have it he sees a ruby red apple. He smiles, “Well, I’m not big on apples but beggars can’t be choosers.” The apple was just out of arms reach, Ash accepted that he’d have to climb the tree to get it. Ash grabs onto a low branch and places a foot firmly on the tree. He tries to hoist himself up but, to his surprise, loses his grip and falls to the ground hard. With an angry groan he tries again but, yet again, loses his grip and falls with a thud. He sits back up and yells angrily, “What in the name of holey cheese is going on?!”

You have no skill points in climbing.

“Climbing is a skill? Is everything action a skill?”

You’d be surprised. Even advanced sleeping is a skill.

“Sleeping is a skill? Ha! Take that Dad!” Ash looks back at the apple. “How am I going to get that stomach filler?”

Try using a skill you do have. Like, I don’t know… Earth Magic?

“How do I do that?”

The skills are inside you, all you have to do is feel for them. Just close your eyes and think about your skills.

“Sounds a little corny but all right.” Ash closes his eyes and thinks about Earth Magic. As if he always knew about them all his skills flood his mind. Hundreds of Earth Magic abilities pop into his head. Some are passive like the ability Earth’s Might which increases his physical resistance and an ability called unmovable Earth which gives him resistance to charm abilities. Other abilities were more aggressive giving him the ability to cause the ground to shake and rocks to jut from the Earth.

Your Earth Magic is so high that your only limitation is your imagination. Now go get yourself an apple.

Ash opens his eyes and looks at the tree. With a small movement from his hand a wide and sharp rock breaks from the ground and slams into the tree’s base shattering it completely. The tree falls to the ground with a loud crash. Ash looks at the rock that he pulled from the ground. He couldn’t help but feel surprised at the fact that he did that, with magic no less. For the first time he finally and truly understood that he was in a whole new world and that things were going to be different. You would probably think he would have realized this when a goddess made him vomit up a seafood platter but you would be wrong; this is the moment.

You know you didn’t have to kill the tree; you could have just shaken the Earth or just threw a rock at the apple. You didn’t even have to use magic for that.

“Well, at least I have my apple,” Ash says while grabbing the apple off the fallen tree.

You kind of disgust me a little Mr. Sage.

“Don’t think you’re special, I disgust me too. Also you’re welcome to just call me Ash… But never Ashley.” Ash pulls out his knife and happily begins to peel the apple.

Ah, so you’re making the recipe, “Peeled Apple?”

Ash looks at the silver ring on his hand, “Recipe? It’s just peeling an apple.” Ash turns his attention back to the apple but instead of seeing the delicious ruby apple he was peeling his hand was now full of a gross purple mush. “Okay…What the hell is this?”

That is a failed dish. After all you do not have any skill points in cooking.

“You got to be kidding me, right? How does that count as cooking? This doesn’t even look like it was ever an apple and is that a chunk of potato in it?”

All failed dishes contain potato.

“Why do I feel like you and the goddess are just messing with me?” Ash looks with disappointment at the putrid mush in his hand. He really is hungry. He looks closely at the mush while weighing his options.

Don’t eat it.

“I wasn’t going to!” Ash yells throwing the mush to the ground. “Guess I could try to find another apple. Why did that tree have just one anyway?”

Apple trees in this world bear little fruit and with all the adventures that pass through this area it’s actually surprising that even one was left.

Ash was about to respond with how ridiculous that sounded when he hears a loud splash. “What was that?”

It came from the lake.

“Told you there’s fish in that lake.” Ash walks slowly towards the pond.

You didn’t. Also that’s a pond at best and whatever made that splash was bigger than a fish. We should stay away from the pond.

“It’s all right; it’s probably just a really large fish. I’ll use Earth Magic to catch it then I’ll get a fire going and cook it.” Ash gets close to the pond and pears into the water.

You don’t have the skills to do any of that.

Ash looks at the water hoping for any signs of movement. He sees something dark and shadowy in the water. It’s long and huge and it’s heading right towards him. “That’s probably not a fish…” Ash says realizing that this was a bad idea. The thing rises from the water confirming Ash’s thought.

It looked like a giant red snake. It was four feet wide at least and no telling how long as most of its body was still in the water. Its green and black eyes were wide with a hungry stare, two long and sharp fangs protruded from its maw, and its thick scales glimmered with a metallic red. Ash looks up at the giant creature as its tongue slipped back and forth in its mouth. Ash points up at it and yells, “That’s not a fish!”

It’s sizing you up! Move away, it’s going to attack!

Before Ash could respond the snake lunges at him. Mostly by accident, because he was startled, Ash barely manages to avoid the strike. The creature slams its head into the ground hissing with rage. Ash knew how that felt. He then realized that this must be the creature that was watching him from earlier. “Hey! You’ve been spying on me since I got here! Mind your own damn business snake!” Ash yells at the creature. The creature rises up again and angrily lunges at Ash once more. Ash backs away out of surprise causing the snake to miss and slam its head again into the dirt.

Ash! That’s a red basilisk! It’s slow but extremely dangerous!

“Is it Poisonous?” Ash said as he watched the creature rise back up for another attack.

Why? Are you planning to eat it? It is venomous, however, so don’t let it bite you!

“Got it!” He says as the creature knocks him off balance and sinks its fangs into his legs releasing a copious amount of venom. With a yell Ash lays limp on the ground as the basilisk releases its grip. A small pool of excess venom spreads from under Ash. The great red snake rises up and watches Ash patiently.

Oh no! Ash, are you okay?!

“I don’t know. I don’t feel any pain. Is that because of the venom?” Ash responds while lying still on the ground.

No. Red basilisk venom paralyzes you and dissolves you allowing the snake to easily swallow you whole. You shouldn’t be able to talk.

“Then what’s going on?”

Your physical resistance must have prevented its fangs from piercing your skin.

“Wouldn’t big red and scaly over there notice that?” The giant snake was still watching Ash quietly.

Red Basilisks are slow in more ways than one.

“What’s it doing now?”

I don’t know. I can only see through your eyes.

“That’s going to make going to the bathroom weird…”

If I had to guess it’s probably waiting for you to start dissolving. As dumb as the creature might be it won’t take it too much longer to figure out that its venom didn’t work on you. Try using your Earth Magic. A creature like this shouldn’t be a match for you.

“Okay.” Ash closes his eyes and thinks about his abilities. He decides to use a trapping ability where he summons two large walls of Earth and clasps a creature between them, restraining it. Ash readies himself and at the same time the Basilisk realizes that the human it bit should be dissolving by now. It decides to give the human another generous dose of its venom. It gets ready to lunge as Ash quickly rises up and holds his palm out at the monster. Before the basilisk could respond two large stone walls spring from the Earth on either side of it, the walls quickly slam together with the snake crushed in the middle. Its innards fly in all directions and Ash looks on in horror and a large amount of it covers him from head to toe with a sickening splash.

That was kind of brutal Ash.

Ash looks at the creature crushed between the two walls and sighs, “I only meant to hold it there. Guess I need to work on that.”

A red basilisk here is unusual but I wouldn’t say rare. It normally sticks to caves. Well, at least you beat it. There was probably a less disgusting way to do it though.

“Probably,” The two walls crumble to the ground in a heap of rock, dirt, and snake parts. “Huh, so they don’t stay up very long?”

You do have the ability to make longer lasting walls and even permanent ones but most offensive Earth Magic abilities are short lived.

“I’ll keep that in mind. You know I was hoping monsters drop money after you kill them but I guess this world isn’t completely like an RPG” Ash looks at the remains of the deceased creature as his stomach lets out a deep grumble.

Don’t eat it. It actually is poisonous as well.

“Yet again, I was not going to.”

Well, make sure to get its fangs, we should be able to sell them for a little bit of profit. Also you might want to wash off in the pond.

“Right.”

After Ash gives his robe a quick rinse in the pond he tries to remove the fangs from the basilisk. Due to a lack of skill it takes him several attempts to remove the two fangs and unfortunately one of them got cracked from being crushed by the walls of earth.

If we go to a village you should be able to sell those for some quick cash, enough for a meal and a bed to sleep on.

“Great. Where’s the nearest village?”

Honestly I’m not sure. There’s a dirt road not far from here that leads to a village, but I don’t exactly have my bearings just yet so I’m not sure which direction to go. I’m sorry to say navigation is not my strongest ability. I was hoping an adventurer would wonder into this clearing so we could ask them.

“So, what now? Do we wait?”

I think you have an ability called Earth Sense. Using vibrations from the ground you should be able to sense if there’s someone close. It has a short range but it might work.

“Or we could just go that way,” Ash points to a tree that someone carved an arrow pointing up into and left a red ribbon tied to one of its branches. “I hope that means exit.”

It seems likely. Worth a shot anyway.

“If it doesn’t work I can always try the Earth Sense thing.” Ash drops the fangs into his bag and ties it to his belt. He turns to look at the clearing one last time and makes a vow to never return here. He covers his head with his hood and walks towards the assumed exit. “I’ve been meaning to ask, Sam, why is Earth Magic even called Earth Magic here? Is this still planet Earth?”

I don’t know anything about a planet but we refer to soil, rocks, and similar things as Earth.

“Huh…” Ash walks past the marked tree and sees another tree with an arrow carving and a red ribbon tied to it a little bit in the distance. Past that one was yet another one hopefully leading them to a way out of this wilderness. The woods thick canopy already blocked out most of the light that desperately trying to brighten the area but Ash was getting a little worried as the woods began to darken even more as the sun sank lower. Ash past the thirteenth marked tree and finally in the distance he could see some light from an opening in the trees.

That looks like our exit Ash.

A sense of relief washed over Ash as he ran and stumbled towards the exit. He emerged from the woods and was pleased to see a flat dirt road spread out before him but not so pleased to see a large group of intimidating people glaring at him. They stood in the middle of the road in two separate groups across from each other. One side consisted of mostly people in full body armor in various colors and they all rode upon sturdy looking horses. One of their members was holding a pole with a dark purple flag that had some weird symbol in the middle that looked like a mutated bat.

The other side looked more like a band of thieves with shifty and dangerous looking people making up their ranks. They had a little more diversity with their members it seemed. There was a few archers with their bows already strung and ready, a couple of mage looking people wearing robes similar to Ash’s, one bald and extremely muscular man wearing red chestplate armor and wielding a mace, and a few other unsavory characters that Ash couldn’t begin to guess what kind of skills they had. They didn’t have a flag but Ash did notice that most of them wore red colored clothes and armor and most had what seemed to be a drawing of a flute embroidered into their clothes.

Wow. Out of the frying pan and into the fire, am I right Ash?

Ash wanted to tell Sam to shut up but was unable to speak or even move as the large muscular mace wielder of the red group glared and pointed at him.

“You there!” The man bellowed. “The Red Pipers guild demands your assistance!” Before Ash could respond someone from the other group spoke first. It was a well armored and formidable looking woman wearing black armor astride an even blacker steed. Unlike the other members of her group she did not wear a helmet which revealed her rather young face, pretty dark skin, short black hair, and a deep long scar just below her right eye.Her voice carried an unmistakable sense of authority and superiority.

“Is that any way to ask for a favor? It seems the swine of The Red Pipers guild are as uneducated and barbaric as we’ve heard.” The woman said with the smuggest of sneers.

“You know nothing of our guild trespasser, but I’d be more than happy to show you how I crush skulls with my mace!” The large man yelled at her while hoisting up his mace.

Ignoring him the woman continued talking to Ash. “Are you a mage?”

“Don’t ignore me you pompous-!” The man bellowed at the armored woman.

The lady continued to ignore him while speaking over him. “You are a mage I assume?” She said addressing Ash who, at a loss for words, only nodded. “Excellent, we were hoping you would help us with an argument our two groups are having. We just need you to decide which of us are so obviously in the wrong. With you being a neutral party your opinion will carry a great deal of weight and hopefully end our little disagreement with as little bloodshed as possible.”

Ash looked back and forth between the two groups. Their members looked at him with expectations. The armor clad lady looked at him with a wide confident smile while the muscular man glared at her with vein throbbing anger most likely because he was ignored a few moments ago. Ash realized that there was probably no way he was getting out of this mess easily and with a loud sigh he accepted his fate. “Okay, let’s hear it.”