Raimond Charles Andrew Sigmund, that was his full name. The one who was chosen for him by his parents. Or to be precise by his father. His mother had died in childbirth and, to honor her, Raimond’s father had given him the name of the men of the family. Raimond was the name of her father, and Charles and Andrew were the ones of her grandfathers. But he had given his son his own family name, Sigmund.

Yes, to honor his deceased wife, Raimond’s father had given him a name with a heavy meaning. A name Raimond had had difficulty to bear during his childhood but had grown to like as a great name.

Over the years he had taken part of his father’s weirdness. His father was passionate by medieval Europe, particularly by the knights. Even if during his studies he had learned that his father was mostly wrong about his view on the matter. Raymond's father viewed them as heroes in shining armor, fighting for honor, justice and the like. But, even if they were fighting for those things, a lot of them were partly corrupted by the gold they could gather, were rapists or violent thieves. In short, they were men like others in a cruel part of history.

But this not the part that interested us here. The important fact is that Raimond grew alone, with his father hammering in his head a strong sense of justice. And as someone with such a strong moral code, he naturally threw himself in front of a truck to save the life of the young boy. Dying in this act of bravery.

Like others before him, he had met Arnold and learned he had been chosen to become a Champion and participate in the fifth God’s Game, representing Modgor.

Modgor, a strange God. The Penguin Knight. It was a knight, that was good in Raymond's book, but it was also a penguin. A PENGUIN! How could a penguin, a fucking bird unable to fly could be a knight? It was a mystery for Raimond. But the worst part of it was the fact he had been forced to become a penguin himself. He was a penguin, and as such he had appeared on ice.

To be precise Raimond appeared on the more north continent of Jezoi, Morniz. A rather small continent composed of a lonely country, the Morniz Kingdom, named after the continent. It is a cold place, covered by ice almost all year long.

Since his arrival, the Penguin Champion had learned that, on Jezoi, Penguins are part of the sentient races.

An old Penguin with almost all white feathers and used beak talks to a younger one. The old one is a retired court high wizard and the young one appeared in his experimental room three days ago. After three days panicking and blabbering about the fact he was human the young penguin had calmed down and the old one is now explaining to him how the country works.

“We may not be the most acknowledged species amongst the Sentient Ones, but when it comes to the international relationships, but our fleet and the knights' orders are a force to consider when you plan to sail the northern seas. If you think about the harsh cold of this place, it is an act of madness to even consider invade them, nobody had tried that since fifteen centuries.

Contrary to what a lot of people think of it in warmer places, Morniz is not a place entirely covered in ice, just mostly. We are used to make most of our buildings in ice, but you can cross some stone or even wooden structure in some regions.

On one hand, the kingdom is ruled by Alexis Jonas Kropol, one of the two known Penguins that had managed to get three Third Tier Skill Trees. He is considered a wise ruler and had led the Ice Knights for years before ascending to the throne. He’s assisted in his task by his wife, Aldeberg, a strong and beautiful witch, she’s supposed to be a descendant of the Great Penguin.

On the other hand, there is a second leading figure in the country. The Pope, the other Penguins that managed to obtain three Third Tier Skill Trees. The penguin is a charismatic and influential old man that lead the Cold Church. Fortunately for the nation, he has good relationships with the royal family if not friendly. Him, the Queen and the King had managed to put the kingdom closer to exterminating the Red Ice.

Do you follow me?”

“I have a few questions already.” Answers Raimond, already bored with the feeling of being back to school. ”What are those knights orders, the Cold Church and the Red Ice.”

“We have five knight orders in Morniz, the two principals are the Sea and the Ice ones, each is actually led by a royal prince. The Cold Church is a gathering of people worshipping the different Gods affiliated with the cold, mostly the Six Penguins Gods, Modgor is the most important, he's the father of the five others. And the Red Ice his the name of the worst calamity Morniz had to face this last fifty years, they are a band of pirates that sailed the sea on ice boats stained red by the blood of their victims, hence their name, Red Ice.”

“Okay, thanks for the information. Now I’m feeling tired, I think I should go back to bed”. The young Penguin’s body was fine, but his mind was still exhausted by the recent events.

“Right, go and rest, next time we’ll talk about your status. I’ve looked at them and I could give you some advice.”

“You’ve seen them? How?”

“I have a Skill for that.” Answers the old Penguin, leaving the room and letting the Champion rest a bit.

Status

Name: Raimond Charles Andrew Sigmund

Race: Penguin / Champion

Gender: Male

Age: 23 years

Characteristics

Level

1

Experience

0%

Strength

75

Mental

110

Endurance

125

Abstraction

150

Agility

100

Understanding

115

Perception

75

Sagacity

100

Skills

Skill trees

Name

Level

Experience

Type

Evolution

Champion

Linguistic

1

3%

Passive

Unavailable

Personal map

1

1%

Special

Unavailable

Small body enhancement

1

0%

Passive

Unavailable

Penguin

Cold resistance

2

86%

Passive

Unavailable

Hard feathers

1

0%

Passive

Unavailable

Swimming

1

8%

Active

Unavailable

Squire

Sword mastery

1

0%

Passive

Unavailable

Titles

Modgor’s Champion

“Now that we have covered the explanation about the Status, comes the pieces of advice. First, considering you already have the Squire Skill Tree and the Small body enhancement Skill, you should probably go for a fighter's build and, of course, take the Ice Tool Skill in the Penguin Skill Tree. It will allow you to always have a crude tool made of ice with you when you have a better level in the Skill, you’ll be able to maintain a poor sword, and it will allow you to buy some Skills more suited to a fighter, like the Ice Sword Skill.

My second advice is to save your Skill and Stat Points, don’t visit too often the Sacred Places. You’ll probably have the impression that your growth is slowed, but it’s a false impression. It will allow you to better understand the effect of the Characteristics and to buy more Skill to work on.”

“Do you think I should specialize in something or tried to be good at everything?”

“It’s up to you, but don’t disperse yourself in too many directions. Keep in mind that some Skills are in multiple Skill Trees, lowering a bit their price and that possessing some Skill Trees can unlock or change Skill in other Skill Trees. Especially you Champion Skill Tree, I’ve never heard of it, but it seems to be a really powerful one, concentrate on it can’t be a bad idea.”

“It’s a lot of stuff to think about, and it seems I’ll have to really think it through before making my choice. Without forgetting that my “starting period” has ended.”

“Indeed, so eat and rest. We will soon have guests.”

“Really? Who?”

“That’s a surprise.” And with a cunning look in his eyes, the old wizard turns around and leaves the room.

Some hours later the old Penguin talk with a young female Penguin. They are seated in a room made of ice. There is a small hole in the floor, allowing for a fishing line to hang from the roof directly in the water. On a side of the room is another room, but with wooden walls, it’s there that Raimond is resting. Outside the house are six warriors waiting and standing guard. They are wary and on edge, the area is known to house some dangerous creatures, and they are to escort the princess.

Back in the seating room, the young Penguin princess is questioning the old Penguin.

“Come again Great Wizard? I don’t follow you.”

“You were faster than that before, Mia. But fine, I’ll tell you again. I felt a strange magic in the air four days ago, I was conducting an experiment with transportation magic, and this young Penguin appeared in a flashy way right in the middle of the room, perturbing my experiment and sending us both below the ice. The time to go back in my home, he was unconscious, I put him to rest in my guest room and care for him. He only awoke two days ago.”

“But why did it take so long? With your power, you should have been able to heal him immediately.”

“His body I did, but the mind is a more delicate case. My experiment completely emptied his mana pool. And for what I gather, he had lived a rather exhausting experiment.”

“He died on another world and been sent here by Modgor himself? You think I will believe such a kid story?”

“It is your right to not believe me, but the current court high wizard, your grandmother, will confirm my sayings.”

“And why would she examine him?”

“Because, once he is strong enough to travel, I plan to bring him to the Ice Palace. He will certainly bring glory to Morniz and Modgor.”

“What? Why?”

The Penguin Princess was completely lost by what the old Penguin was saying. It was the stuff of kids tales, the ones she had stopped to believe in since she was eleven. Moreover, the old teacher of her grandmother, the Queen, was looking at her with his mysterious glance. The exact one he always had when he was explaining something he considered of the utmost simplicity but most people had a hard time to follow, and that he was enjoying their frustration.

“I can’t tell you that yet.”

“But-”

“He’s awake and coming this way. I think you’ll find him pleasant to watch after he’ll have a good bath and a good combing of his feathers.”

“Wha-”

While Mia was starting to blush under her feathers she heard the creaking sound of the only wooden door in the mention. Turning to look at the origin of the sound she saw a strange Penguin in the door frame. He was quite tall and his beak looked in such a good state he could pass for nobility, but his feathers were all messy. It was to be expected from someone confined to bed for four days. The deep black feathers of his shoulders, his back, and his arms were strongly contrasting with the pure white of his belly’s feathers, the line separating them could be more defined be a good combing session, after which it would probably look beautiful.

“Raimond Charles Andrew Sigmund, Champion of Modgor, Otherworlder I hereby present to you Ellemia Astrinni Talula Kropol, Sixth Princess of Morniz, Second daughter of the Crown Prince. Isn’t she the cutest Penguin you ever saw? Mia, this is Raimond, he’s a nice man, I’m sure the both of you would make a nice couple, and your grandmother would probably agree to that.”

“What?!” Exclaimed in unison the two young Penguins under the amused eyes of a very old, wise, powerful and bored Penguin.