The sound of ancient tribal hymns awoke Ezra, who realized he had no clue where he was nor slowly bleeding to death. The exceptionally green grass beneath him tickled his body, and as he rose his apparel came to view. A set of soft white wool clothes and bare feet made him question if this was reality. Then he looked up and saw the broad purple sky, coming to the conclusion that he had to be in the afterlife or dreaming.

Rising from his spot what entered his view astonished Ezra. A savannah seemed to stretch endlessly in all directions, while the stone bridge in front of him served as an entrance to a seemingly empty tribal village. Although multiple plumes of smoke rose from village, he neither saw nor heard any people. Ezra followed the dirt pathway into the village, withholding his curiosity to shout in case it was home to monsters.

Instead of wood or stone buildings, the local residents seemed to live in giant tipis. Totems of varying creatures stood tall at junctures of the village, each carefully crafted to resemble creatures that were mostly unrecognizable to Ezra. The whole place gave off an ancient aura, as if it were untouched by magic or the larger part of society.

It should’ve been a deserted tribe, yet racks were filled with various drying animal leathers while an unknown meat was roasting over a giant fire pit. At the peak of his confusion that was when Ezra finally saw “it”. A thick grey substance floated near one of the tipis. Unsure if the substance was harmful or not, Ezra avoided it but saw another. Then another one that was white. There were tens of the odd substances around the area, Ezra was just unable to perceive them until now.

He felt a tug at his consciousness in the direction of the biggest tipi, images that seemed to shift and warp inscribed on its walls. Two totems grander than the others were placed on the side of its entrance. Ezra clueless of what to do followed the tug inside, and was greeted by a fire pit burning with purple flames.

“What kind of magic is this…?” He couldn’t help but shout, as the flames grew bigger with each step forward he took. Before he knew it the flames grew so tall they touched the top of the tipi, but neither the wooden nor the animal skin burned from its touch.

Ezra took a step back from shock, however the flames seemingly came alive and whipped towards him easily consuming his body.

His eyes shot open and as his erratic breathing settled down, multiple dinging sounds playing out in his head.

Skill acquired! Hand to Hand Proficiency (Rank III) Skill acquired! Pain Tolerance (Rank I) Skill acquired! Spiritual Dream (Rank I) Spirit +1 Skill acquired! Spiritual Awareness (Rank I) Spirit +1! Requirements for Classes have been met! Please choose one from your status window.

The blue screens seemed to be intuitive but before he could inspect these notifications closer, Ezra felt a weight shifting on his leg. He saw Claire sleeping on him, maintaining a firm grip on his body. More importantly the furnished surroundings was clearly different from the bare tavern rooms they purchased.

Not wanting to wake his sister up Ezra slowly shifted off the bed. There were bandages on his leg, as he noticed the previous excruciating pain was replaced with light soreness. While he was inspecting his leg, Claire’s voice broke the silence.

“You finally woke up?” She slowly stretched her body as she rose from her chair. She gave a halfhearted smile that was unable to hide her worry.

“Where are we?” Ezra took a closer look at the oak wood floor, the smooth stone walls, and the glass window in front of the bed showcasing the busy streets.

“The guild base of the Glory Brigade. If it weren’t for them you would’ve died…” Claire’s expression darkened but as he was about to comfort her the door opened.

A group of five people entered the room, three men and two women, all of them well equipped. Their group gave a sense of diversity with only two humans with the rest being an elf and two beastfolk. The human with short black hair and milky white skin spoke out, her amber eyes radiating a sense of comfort as she spoke.

“Thank Moanke we arrived in time. It would have pained me to see another young adventurer lose their life.” She offered a quick prayer to her goddess as her white robe fit around her body nicely, revealing her abundant curves. A silver cross hung from her neck, which only served to amplify her holy persona. Realizing that these adventurers saved their lives, Ezra prostrated himself on the ground.

“Thank you so much for saving our lives!” Although he was being as sincere as possible, he was met with a raucous laughter. As he looked up, one of the beastfolk was pointing at him and laughing to the point tears were coming out of his eyes.

Although they’re called a beastfolk, they’re really just humans with animal like qualities. His shaggy grey hair complimented an attractive face warped in arrogance. Ezra could tell he was a wolfkin by the pointy ears on top of his head. He also wore leather armor, but unlike the siblings his was of much higher quality. It was black featuring an attached hood with holes for his ears, with an extra layer of chainmail underneath.

“Do you realize how much of an idiot you are? Whew you’re killing me kid.” His voiced oozed with arrogance and despite gritting his teeth, Ezra couldn’t yell at his benefactor even as he continued his lecture.

“First you go inside the dungeon with only two people. Second you pick a fight while making no preparations for any awry situations. Third yo-”

“That’s enough Hiro.” A taller elf gripped Hiro’s shoulders. Orange, shoulder-length hair almost fully covered his sharp, gloomy face. His sharp green eyes conveyed his seriousness, as Hiro shrugged his shoulders and left with the other two adventurers. Although he could only look at the other two for a moment due to his prostration and Hiro’s jeers, Ezra assumed they were some type of front liner and ranged support by their equipment.

“Don’t take offense to his crude remarks, he’s just as concerned as the rest of us about your well-being.” The elf offered his hand to me, which Ezra grasped as he got up. Although Ezra was tall for a human, the elf clearly towered above him. He wore a green robe, an insignia of a giant tree adorning the back of it. A gnarled staff that looked as if it was ripped off a tree by the stray leaves was in the man’s grasp.

“My name is Feyrith, and my fellow companion is Elizabeth. You’re aspiring adventurers correct?” He clapped his hands in delight, Claire more shocked that his staff didn’t move from its spot.

“That’s perfect! Your sister already knows this but we’re part of the Glory Brigade. Our guild leader has been recruiting newbies lately, and seeing as you’re both inexperienced we wanted to invite you. Of course you’d still have to go through the interview process.”

Ezra looked at Claire only for his grin to wipe off his face. She was still frowning and having sensed the mood, Elizabeth and Feyrith both promised to come back in a few minutes.

“Claire why are you acting like this? This can be the opportunity we need to progress our career.”

“Acting? Ezra you nearly died yesterday! How can you just brush that off like nothing happened?!” Only now did he really get a good look at his sister. Unkempt hair unlike its usual pristine appearance, her bloodshot eyes showed her lack of rest last night.

“Isn’t this what we signed up for? You were the one who convinced me to be an adventurer, yet now you want me to quit and go back home?! Besides I’m the older sibling so I should be the one worrying over you!”

“That’s not the point Ezra! Do you know how I felt watching the life slowly drain out your body? Arrgggggh you’re so infuriating, I’m going out for a bit!” She stomped towards the door and slammed it shut leaving Ezra alone.

He understood where Claire was coming from, since he would be reacting the same way if their situations were reversed. He hoped she would come around once he gave her some much needed space. For now though he brought up his status.

General Information

Attributes

Class

Name

Value

Name

Rank

Progress

Name

Ezra Wilmont

Strength

11

Available!

Race

Human (Amazon)

Physique

11

Age

19

Agility

10

Sex

Male

Perception

11

Guild

Spirit

13

Ezra knew trying to tap the screen wouldn’t work, so he thought about choosing a class. Before his eyes a different set of blue screens appeared in his view.

Class - Fighter Level I Description: Fighters are beginners to combat, thus are able to learn the basics of multiple styles of combat. However given proper time and training, any fighter can become a formidable powerhouse. Class - Adept Level I Description: Adepts have just discovered their magical abilities and are now spell casters in training. Whether it be calling forth fire and ice, or summoning creatures from other planes their potentials are limitless. Class - Initiate Level I Description: Initiates serve the god they worship, and harness the power of their deity in the form of divine magic. As they progress they can use more of their deity’s power, without suffering backlash from wielding such divine power. Class - Mystic Level I Description: Mystics are people through accident, training, or heritage that have discovered a connection to the spiritual plane. They can see and speak with the dead, and manipulate souls once they become skilled enough.

It wasn’t hard to put two and two together, that weird dream resulted in Ezra’s new abilities and this class. Although he wanted to embark on the path of a martial artist, to say he wasn’t tempted by the Mystic class would be a lie.

However if he chose the Mystic class, there could be a chance he was throwing away the results of all his training…but that same unarmed training resulted in a near death experience.

Ezra still wanted to fight with his body, despite seeing its dangers firsthand. Part of the reason why he got injured was due to his overconfidence, however how differently would the battle progressed if he used a weapon?

After pondering for a few minutes, Ezra decided to choose the Mystic class. He believed there was no reason he couldn’t keep using martial arts, and it was more of an instinctual feeling that he should choose that class. The same feeling that led to him fighting with his fists.

Mystic Class has been chosen! Spirit +2! Perception +1! Please choose a starting skill. Aura Reading

The ability to perceive and read auras from living things. Increased ranks result in being able to perceive information from auras, and other capabilities.

Rank I Soul Bolt

Project a concussive bolt of soul energy damaging your enemy. Increased ranks result in increased damage, and less strain on your soul.

Warning: Excessive usage of soul related skills can result in injury or death.

Rank I

Ezra easily chose Soul Bolt, as he lacked offensive skills and needed survivability. Although he was concerned by its warning, he doubted he would use it much except in dire situations. While there weren’t any other distractions, he also decided to look at his other skill descriptions.

Hand to Hand Proficiency Level I One’s ability in fighting with their fists and feet. Increased ranks result in better application, combination strikes, counters, and other techniques. Rank III Pain Tolerance Level I The ability to tolerate and withstand pain. Increased ranks increases tolerance. Rank I Spiritual Dream Level I The ability to visit the spiritual world in your dreams. Increased ranks result in increased interaction and sensitivity with the other world. Rank I Spiritual Awareness Level I Possessing knowledge and awareness of spirits in the mortal world. Increased ranks result in increased interaction and sensitivity with spirits, ghost, and other spectral oddities. Rank I

Knowing that the dream was another plane of existence shocked Ezra, as he lived a seemingly normal life with the Wilmont family. Ezra never discovered any secret artifacts nor world-breaking secrets when he was younger. The only explanation for this Mystic class and his newfound spiritual powers would be the Amazon tribe.

If what his skills implied were true, he would be waiting for the next time he goes to bed.