“Hmmmmmmm”

My consciousness came to, and I felt something soft beneath me. I tried to open my eyes, but an immediate headache was overpowering every smooth thought I could manage. A constant pounding that rattled my skull. The pain was in stark contrast to the alertness of my mind, but I continued to issue commands. OPEN. MY. EYES. But they refused, held closed by what felt like glue.

I rested there, unable to think with level thoughts as my brain grew and contracted with each passing second. It seemed like hours before my eyes finally cracked, parting the gunk that held them closed. The initial images were nothing but a blur before another sense livened up.

With flared nostrils, I took a slow breath, one that unfortunately smelled like wet hair and mold. “Agha.” I tried to ease my potent feelings of disgust with some expletives, but a burning throat stopped me. With my mind dismayed and another shallow breath, softening my anger with a whisper. “Yark.” This time actually getting the word out, but unfortunately, it didn’t carry the same relief as it normally did.

With the view before me clearing up after some rapid blinks, gray sheets and a white canopy revealed themselves. One more thing adding to the disorientation, as it was unfamiliar.

I took another shallow breath, on the edge of having my throat destroy itself and a smell rotting the insides of my nostrils. I already had enough, so I brought my hands back and fumbled along the bed. “Crk, crk, crk.” Joints cracked in protest, but I couldn't care less, crawling to the edge of the bed and using my hand to push aside the canopy. And, by now, the adrenaline was doing its part perfectly, erasing the pain palpitating from my joints.

Ahead, a dust paradise greeted me. It covered every surface in a thick layer, leaving nothing untouched. Wa.. What? I just stared into the room, confused, trying to make sense of… everything. After blanking out for a second, I snapped out of it, shaking my head.

I pushed with my legs, feeling the strain of my muscles as I left the bed. Immediately, a twisted knee told me to stop, but I ignored it. Sorry body, but I have something more important to do here.

Stumbling a bit, I got up with an icy chill passing through my feet. My back and neck somewhat resisted, but I pushed through. Ow man, am I stiff. I grabbed one bedpost and stretched a little by pulling from side to side. A few cracks propagated through my body, immediately loosening up my limbs “Crk, Crk, Crk.” Ahhhhh, that’s better.

The room was simple in its decoration; A chair, table, and a dresser with 2 boxes next to it. Regrettably, the source of the pungent smell hid itself from immediate view. And finally, on the table, a protrusion laid on its surface.

But the walls were a problem: horizontal planks covering all sides, boxing me in. I looked around again, and an exit avoided my eyesight. My mouth hung open as I realized. I barely pulled myself back from violently expressing my emotions with the most elegant 4-letter word again before going a milder route, whispering of course. “I’m in a goddamn box.”

Realizing the situation, I place my head in my hands, trying to remember what happened. I strained my forehead as I attempted to force out the memories, sorely failing as all else evades me. The straining thoughts aside, I’m reminded of the smell once again. The smell of mildew while in a wooden box. “Son of a backwards witch.” I realized.

The smell was most likely coming from the rotting wood that made up the box. The lack of fresh air, especially considering the thick layer of dust, was certainly not helping. With no immediate solution presenting itself, I regrettably ignored it for now, focusing on the more critical things.

I stiffly made my way over to the table, taking care to not injure myself as everything warmed up. I sat in the chair with some awkward movements, keeping my legs mostly straight.

I brushed off the protrusion on the table, feeling a textured surface grace my fingertips. A symbol? One of two crescent moons intersecting each other. One white and the other black. Hmmmm, nope, no clue what that means. Or anything in here.

Wait… what’s my yarking name? Yark! Great, I don’t even know my own name.

Shaking my head, I looked before me. The object beneath the remaining dust was a book, one with uneven edges and very thick pages. Before opening it, I tried to draw some conclusions. In a room filled with dust, so much that I doubt anyone had been here for years. Especially with how pristine it was. But the weird part was, how am I here? How am I still alive if I’ve been alone?

I’m not hungry, a little sore, but reasonably able to move. That would mean I hadn’t been in here for long, but the pristine dust conflicts with that. The room even seems closed off, so the dust should’ve taken longer to accumulate.

Just a bunch of questions and no apparent answers. Fun times. A somewhat annoyed sigh and I opened the book before me, hoping the answers laid in front of me. The first page was mostly blank, but a few words laid in the center.

If you’re reading this, your name is Ayla. I have prepared a message and some information in this book. Take your time to digest it all.

They were unfamiliar characters, but the words naturally flowed into my head. Why is it always more questions instead of less? “At least it doesn’t seem like I’m in any danger, but this is all… bizarre.” I whispered to myself and grabbed the next page, moving on, and not prepared for the words before me.

My Dear Ayla,

I know the situation must confuse you, but you are currently safe and far beneath Ignet’s surface, so don’t go around punching the walls. Take a moment if you need to calm yourself and remember to think critically about the situation before you.

For reasons I’ll explain later, you have lost your memories, but some knowledge will persist subconsciously. You will still know how to read, write, and what the most common objects are, but you have lost the more complex information.

Before I get to explain the details, some background is necessary. I’m an alchemist of sorts, one who focuses on perfecting my craft and bringing knowledge to the world, well, the world among other alchemists, as the kingdom's highly restricted that information. I developed elixirs for many, from rulers, and merchants to monster hunters and explorers. Using mana, the lifeblood of the world, along with specific ingredients, to create small vials of immense power.

My customers used these vials for things impossible otherwise. To be specific, my area of study was class augmentation, creating or changing classes by drinking an elixir. These classes were tools, gracing every human with abilities to do such things otherwise impossible.

Classes are infinitely variable and granted by the will of mana and the world.

And depending on which class mana and the world grants you, the outcome could drastically change. To reiterate, classes are tools, bringing abilities either to the body or outside the body and enabling the aforementioned impossible feats.

Everyone has one, but not all are equal. And that’s where I came in.

Many followed their parents, choosing the same class or something similar, but others wanted to reach for the stars, doing something impossible. There was everything to gain and everything to lose, a risky bet. Some would win, becoming the inspiration of many, but others would lose the dark reality of the many that failed.

But, it wasn’t over. By using a class augmentation elixir, it expands the class options mana would bless you with. A little weaker and choices limited, but the far ‘safer’ option in a dangerous world.

Because of my unique profession, I’ve been able to gain access to information for research and add more classes available via this method. And that eventually led me to discover a unique attribute in class selection.

Time, or rather, the passing of time.

At age 14, mana would grant a class, but you could wait, letting time pass, and mana would offer more class opportunities. Waiting to choose a class is normally not possible in order to survive, especially with danger around every corner, but for some, like the children of nobles, could wait a year or two to set up an alchemist like myself to help them gain such a class.

And, as I worked with the nobles long enough, I saw this ‘time’ aspect hidden in the wordings of the class selection process.

My colleagues laughed at me for even suggesting such an impossible thing, but it didn’t stop me.

I have confidence that I only saw a miniscule of the benefits, so much room for opportunity, potential. The classes I observed with this requirement were not necessarily more powerful, but different enough to set yourself apart from your peers. And the longer you waited, the better, on average, they were.

This led me down the path of how to make this a reality. How could I have someone delay their original class selection so far that the benefits would be worth the delay? The longer you waited, the shorter amount of time you had to grow with your class. This is the main reason my colleagues thought this to be problematic and futile, but I still set my mind to it.

It took quite a few tries, but In time, I created something, the Longevity Elixir. It would shut down and preserve someone’s body for an extended period or, more accurately, a coma.

With my limited lifespan myself, there was no reasonable way to test this properly. I could test an extremely diluted solution on animals. I didn’t figure out much, but memory loss seemed to be a consistent factor. Unfortunate, but not a hurdle too big.

Now that I had an elixir, a dilemma presented itself. Who should I give it to? It wouldn’t be useful for me or anyone in my family, so I needed to find someone. Someone without connections or attachments to the current day. Someone who could make full use without malicious intent.

Orphanages within the kingdom were the start of my search, but I struggled to find someone who could take full advantage of the unique situation. I had duties with the Gyor Kingdom, so traveling was difficult for a while. But when I eventually finished my duties at an old age, I could look outside the kingdom. It took a year until I was in a border village, preparing to go to the next kingdom, and that’s where I found you.

When we first met, you were of 11 years, beating up some unlucky people behind a barn. You didn’t seem to like it, especially with the hesitation in your eyes. It was a spur-of-the-moment thing, but with [Knowing Heart], I felt refreshed knowing you were the one, the one for my life's mission.

After the ordeal, I walked up to you. You were cautious but opened up after knowing I had no ill intentions. Apparently, those people who received ‘the end of your fist’ were kids bullying you, since you were homeless and without family.

Regardless, I ended up taking you as my adopted daughter, but the task wasn’t over. Now that I finally found you, preparations had to be done, mainly in the bunker you are currently in. I withheld the information about the longevity elixir as we started building the bunker. You found it a little odd, but went with it since we had some goodwill.

You aided in the construction, and I taught literacy, but it didn’t end there. I spared no effort and taught you everything I knew. You wouldn’t remember the specifics because of the side effects, but the core understanding would help you. This continued for a few years, taking time to do things right.

But the time finally came. I needed to bring up the Longevity Elixir. It was rough at first, since you didn’t seem to like it, but I convinced you after some back and forth.

Forgive this old man for being selfish, but I knew you would have a better life than anything I could offer. I didn’t have long to live by myself, so forgive this old man for being pushy.

And now, with the bunker built above ground and the last of my teaching delivered, it was time. We said our goodbyes, and I sealed you in. With the use of a Transference Scroll, I placed it very far underground, so far that no one could discover it. I needed you to be protected during your slumber, and I was taking no chances. I also placed the bunker in a mana dense location, in hopes of further aiding your class selection. Mana is very mysterious in its ways, but we know one thing, the more the merrier.

I wrote this before I transported the bunker to its current underground location, so everything from then on out is beyond me. The elixir does more than just put someone to sleep; it maintains the body and mind without constant resources. You may be a little stiff, but some movement should fix that. I’ve also placed a longevity enchantment on all the items in the room to ensure they could remain useful.

I have written all the immediate things you need to know on the following pages, but please take some time to read all the other books I prepared inside the dresser.

Practice with your new abilities and become comfortable with them. There is a month’s worth of supplies in the crates next to the dresser, so you should plan to leave in two to three weeks to find an alternative source of supplies before the month is over. Be prepared for anything once you leave. The world has undoubtedly changed significantly. Death is always near.

It’s regretful that I couldn’t see you grow up, but I’m also thankful. Thankful that I could give you a better chance. If you can, even without our memories together, remember me as your father.

Your Father,

Hollow

I continued staring at the words before me, not believing the situation. With my head in my lap, I ran my hands through my hair. My fingers pressed along my scalp as I forced my mind to understand, one which hadn’t fully dawned on me yet.

Sitting in complete silence, I soaked in the words written on the paper. It washed over me, but eventually, my heartbeat rose. The pounding in my chest rattled my body as I breathed heavily, trying to get more air into my lungs without burning my throat. A bit of panic set in as the air doesn’t seem to be enough, starving me of oxygen.

Hyperventilating, I closed off my thoughts. Attempting to reclaim control over my mind, I focused on my breathing. In... and out, in.. and out, in... and out.

The concentrated effort generates some success as it plateaus my pounding heart. Barely preventing the runaway train. Never really thought I’d almost have a panic attack, but here I am.

“Ah, what have I gotten myself into?” I whispered.

There’s no rush and I’m in a goddam box.

A goddam box that’s been keeping me safe for who knows how long. A stupid goddam box that smells so bad. After a few more breaths, I shook myself while pinching my eyes shut.

This is my life.