The crowd’s murmurs shifted all around Novus, who was swiping his fingers in the air. Screens reflected in his eyes as he multitasked like a genius computer programmer from crime tv shows.

What a complex magical system. It’s turned magic into something else entirely. The magic scholars would go crazy over all this.

Novus filtered through the various screens while summarizing what he had learned in his head.

He called it a minimap, right?

There was a map in the corner that mainly was a blurred cloud. The immediate vicinity was laid out in a 2D format like a physical map. Only this one had a single blue dot in the center that moved when Novus took a step.

The map opened further to show an expanded version with him as a minuscule dot near the bottom if Novus pressed on it. Novus assumed there was much more to the top of the map, but he hadn’t been there yet to reveal it.

“Interesting.”

Novus finished with the minimap and pulled up another screen that resembled the other word boxes.

Novus

Level: 1

Active Title: ???’s Apostle

Race: Human

Class: Beginner Adventurer

Alignment: Neutral

Body Aspect: Black Iron 10 (Weakened)

Mind Aspect: Black Iron 10 (Weakened)

Soul Aspect: Black Iron 10 (Weakened)

Skills: N/A

Abilities:

Player’s Body lv.???

Novus held mixed feelings about this word box called a status window. There were many parts of it that he didn’t enjoy. One of them he vehemently protested about: his new race. Another was his unwanted gifts: the ??? ’s Apostle title and the Player’s Body ability.

???’s Apostle

You have become the apostle of the god ??? and will passively spread their will around you.

Rank: ???

Active Effect: The ability Player’s Body is enabled. ???

Player’s Body

This body has been readjusted and optimized to conform to video game standards.

Rank: ???

Active effect: ???

Passive effect: ???

It was mostly a bunch of question marks, which made Novus’ brows furrow. The short description he did read made Novus’ face pinch together.

“Damned gods.”

Novus didn’t know what the term ‘video game’ meant, but based on the title’s effect of ‘spreading their will,’ he assumed it was nothing good.

The only relief was the familiar aspects of his very being: The body, mind, and soul. At the very least, the gods hadn’t turned him into some strange form of abomination without one of the aspects.

Novus swiped away his status window and pulled up another word box filled with various shifting rods. At one point, his hearing had been supercharged as the sounds around him blasted at his ears. And then, the world grew so dim that he couldn’t see anything.

Am I able to change my senses with these screens?

Novus quickly hit the reset button and blinked his vision and hearing back to normal levels.

“They’re called settings, right? And I have access to it all?”

A light groan from below Novus acknowledged the question.

Interesting. But then, why doesn’t this button called ‘log out’ work?

Novus hit the greyed button multiple times, but no matter how many times he tried, it didn’t react to anything.

I’ll have to test it another time.

Voices loomed around Novus as he silently pondered on his seat. The thoughts jumping around Novus’ head made it ache. And ultimately, it reached a point where he couldn’t focus anymore. So, he stopped, swiping away all the screens around him.

“The mind is a beast. Let it roam free, and it will slowly dig up the things you bury.”

Novus couldn’t remember where he learned that phrase, but it had stuck with him throughout his life. His previous one, at least.

Another groan escaped from below as Novus got up from sitting atop the young man, whose face was beaten black and blue. Upon realizing the weightlessness upon his back, the young man sprung to his feet like a possum and carefully eyed Novus.

Novus felt the light urge to laugh at the man’s flipped behaviour before more questions flooded his mind. The most prominent question was something Novus hadn’t dared ask the young man.

What are you?

The young man looked human, but like Novus, he was capable of complete rebirth. Not the half-assed resurrection of the angels or the phylactery immortality of the death liches. This rebirth was like his: a full re-manifestation of a physical, mental and soul aspect.

After conversing with him between hits, Novus was confident the young man wasn’t a native to whatever world this was. Yet, the young man could answer questions only a native could know.

Like settings or the fact that this was a ‘beginner’s island.’ Whatever that meant.

The most confusing was when Percival was forced to guide Novus through the ‘VR MMORPG game elements.’

Novus had asked Percival about what game he was referring to, but all he got was a response that solidified one idea to Novus: the rebirth humans were bizarre and quite possibly insane.

…

The silence was tense as Novus broke it with a gesture.

This is what the humans of our world do. Hopefully, it works on them, too.

Novus’ hand extended from his side as he held it out before himself.

“I haven’t gotten your name yet. Mine is... Novus.”

The young man looked suspicious of the hand that had battered him, and after a brief inner turmoil, he cautiously shook the hand with a weak strength.

“Percival.”

Percival kept his answer brief. Likely because his mind was busy with escape routes and potential angles to attack Novus.

After all, Novus had pummeled him hard. An eye for an eye hardly seemed fair when the difference was an accidental boot step and Novus’ hard knuckles.

Novus recognized the look in Percival’s eye as one he’d donned before. He smiled as his extended hand loosened the rusty sword attached to his side and extended back out.

Percival hopped back faster than a rabbit as he watched Novus, who began tapping his finger in the air.

Duel Invitation – Novus vs. Percival

Accept / Decline

The notification popped up before a flustered Percival. His eyes drifted towards Novus, who looked at him with a domineering look. His teeth unconsciously clenched as he looked around the crowd that had maintained their curious wall.

Flashbacks to when he was a kid weaselled their way into Percival’s mind—being beat on while the social circle watched.

Novus spoke out.

“Don’t want revenge for putting a speck of dirt in your eye?”

Novus’ taunt convinced Percival as he gritted his teeth, drew out a spear, and pressed the accept button of the duel system he explained to Novus.

From a point between the two, a translucent sphere gathered around them and cut off right before it met the nearby crowd of people.

The boundaries of the duel. Unless other conditions are set beforehand, anyone outside of it is considered to have lost.

Novus mused to himself as he saw Percival thrust his spear towards himself.

Thwack!

The spear hit nothing but bare ground as Novus used everything he had to shift his body to the side. The flat part of Novus’ blade reared up and hit Percival’s face, felling him to the ground.

Tch.

Novus clicked his teeth as he saw Percival’s face turn red from anger and a leak from his nose.

“Ha!”

Percival swung his spear wide from the ground, hoping to buckle Novus’ legs. But, with a light jump and another slapping blade, Percival’s attack landed him back on the ground.

“You’ll never hit me with a spear like that.”

Percival’s eyes began shining with bloody thoughts that clouded his actions. Oppositely, Novus was analyzing Percival with calm clarity.

Stance is barely acceptable, likely only trained on a dummy with a wooden stick. Does he even know how to hold that spear?

“HA!”

Sigh.

Novus exhaled at the same time that Percival blatantly rushed toward him. He sheathed his sword in a quick motion and side-stepped Percival’s rush. In one action, Novus tripped Percival’s feet and deftly used his hands to snatch the spear from Percival’s hands.

Ptah!

Percival made to get up immediately and attack but paused as the sharp end of his spear pressed into his neck.

“Hold it like your life is attached to this spear. And get in a divine-damn stance with your legs, or I swear you’ll be closer to the ground than your—”

“HA!”

Percival brushed his hand against the spear as he attempted to grab Novus.

Ptah!

Percival ended up back on the ground as Novus spun the spear around and crunched Percival’s nose in. Then, he pushed the spear over to Percival and commented just loud enough for Percival to hear.

“And to think I was going to use a sword against him. He can hardly even hold his weapon.”

Percival ground his teeth as he picked up the spear and tightened his grip so hard that it gave him white knuckles.

“HA!”

Ptah!

And so the cycle went: Novus pounding Percival into the ground, and Percival getting a fighting foundation from the literal ground up.