"Finally! Jeez took you long enough, oh wow, you're like really sick, have you ever seen a doctor, guess n-"
"Y-You again, what did you do to me!" He sputtered out, his eyes frantically scanning around for the stone.
"Uh exactly what I told you I'd do! I gave you some buffs duh. I'll let you figure them all out on your own. Not that I don't know what they are, I totally do." The nervous way she said it brought up doubts.
"I was passed out for hours and you're just- Wait… Where are you…?" He gulped, fearing her answer as he searched around again for the heavy pendant.
"Oh come on I'm an Arcana Stone, you knew we'd be bonded didn't ya?" She laughed nervously.
"We're what…"
"Look, don't be mad, please! Y-You get a bunch of skills! Now you can get outta this shithole, safely! So let's get out of here, go see the world! I wanna adventure and explore!" She almost begged again, she was starting to overload the nameless boy's senses.
"Tch… And go where…? I don't think the elves or dwarves would welcome a human. And in case you didn't know, this is the remains of human civilization. And I'm the last human. The last living human." He touched the side of his head, not used to being crowded out of his own head, or speaking this much.
The words felt awkward and stilted as they tumbled unceremoniously from his lips, and his voice rose in slight panic at the end. He couldn't help but feel he was in over his head, what if someone kills him for his new power? The promise of Spiritcasting abilities had just been so enticing, but now he had a power he didn't know how to use let alone safely. He had also forgotten to ponder the toll it might take on his body, even if he could learn how to use it.
"Uh I was human too, before I got put in this necklace!" Chimed the voice, grasping for shared ground.
"Is that really a living human, then..?" The silliness of a pendant pleading its humanity seemed to pull
him back to the here and now.
"I see your point, but still, let's go meet the world! Look, I'll show you some super cool spots, the kind you would have loved if you were like, normal."
"Normal…?" The nameless boy snorted, pondering what normal was for the humans of the past
"Ahhhh, don't worry about it. Come on, let's go! Let's go!"
"G-Go where?! T-There's bandits a-and militia everywhere?"
"Yeah but, I just gave you some buffs useful for a hunter or a ranger, didn't I? Try to Sense Life."
"Sense Life?"
"Yeah, try to Sense a creature."
He stared at the wall of the den, hard, trying to see if he could sense the life of any nearby bugs, nothing happened. But then he focused on things he knew would be nearby, and it was like a fog lifting over his consciousness, and he almost felt like one with the forest entirely, he could tell there were rabbit-ducks about to fall into one of his snares, sense the raccoon-vultures diving down towards a carcass more than a mile off from his Den.
"Whoa…"
"You're not very high level yet, so you can still get fooled by a Concealment Cast or similar ruse used by a higher ranked Spiritcaster so always stay alert!"
"Okay…" Putting the amulet on was starting to seem like a good idea after all. Even if it didn't do anything else for him, this was definitely a useful tool to have.
"See, I told you I could help out!" The once-amulet said, sounding pretty happy with itself.
"Thanks, Miss Amulet." His voice was quiet, but he was also genuinely grateful, any new skills would come in handy.
"Oh no no, call me… Uh… Hm… Let's see.. You can call me Alice."
"Alice…"
"Yeah, and what do I call you?"
"Uh… What did you call me earlier.. Son of the gray wolf? Gray son?" He asked, trying to remember.
"Haha, it was kind of a joke. But that names being used by an acrobat-"
"Acro… bat…. is that a large bat?"
"A large bat, that's a good one."
"What's so funny..?"
"Nothing, but we'll call you… Endymion."
"E-Endymion…?" The vowels felt funky in his mouth but so did most words, he'd need to practice more before talking to strangers.
"Endy for short! Anyways let's head east! The local bandits and treasure hunters should have their little outpost where they trade with the dwarves, orcs and MFC and anyone else brave enough to cross the badlands."
"I don't know…Orcs… Bandits… Sounds… Scary…" The newly named boy pondered, feeling out with Sense Life once again. With this power, maybe he could do something other than just survive day to day.
"Come onnnnnn, please! I promise it'll be fine, the local monsters should all be lots more powerless than you are now, unless you meet a rare species or something."
"I… Well… Fine… So… The east…?" He asked, a little nervous but a part of him was excited. He was lonely, plain and simple. The recently named Endymion had a new outlook, one that involved more than just surviving day to day.
"Yeah, it's like a day's walk from here. But I need a nap, so I'll check back in with you after I snooze, I won't be able to talk that much to you again, unless you start getting more Spirit. So get more Spirit." She said flatly, an order and not a suggestion.
"W-Wait, how come? And how do I do that?" He stammered.
"Because you're really, really malnourished. I'm having to use a lot of my reserves just to make up for your lack of vitamins, no wonder you seemed so small. Oh, and you can help me do that by getting more Ore. It doesn't matter the quality, I just need to convert it to Spirit." She could tell he was losing track of priorities and sliding headlong into anxiety again, so she dangled something she thought might interest.
"Once you're fully up to snuff, we'll take you to school!"
"School…?" He was almost hopeful, he had read about school. Teachers and students and learning and school lunches, all seemed like nice things to Endymion. Endymion. The name was seeming more and more like his own.
"But first get some Ore! It's sort of like food for Arcana Stones that are as strong as me, should be a vein not far from here." She yawned, no doubt getting cozy in the confines of his mind, or heart, he wasn't sure of the meta-physics or anatomy involved.
"W-Where-"
"Just follow the arrow, it's within 100 metres so it's possible with your Advanced Find skill."
"I'm gonna need more information!" Endy almost whined, but no response. Maybe she was already on a cooldown. "Fine… Advanced Find..?" He asked meekly. No response on that front either.
Endymion sucked in a deep breath, and templed his fingers, focusing on how the Arcana Stone had felt in his hands before he had acquired it.
"Advanced… Find!" He shut his eyes tight and pointed his fingers in an arrow shape, jutting it forward and mostly just feeling a little silly. But thankfully it worked.
A faint yellow arrow rose from his hands and pointed in a western direction. His heading, acquired, he gathered the few things he owned, mostly just pelts he used as blankets and bedding and his rucksack.
Endymion strapped the bundle of fabrics to his back. His rucksack he filled with a few days worth of dried meats, a spare pair of pilfered leggings that were a size too small for him now, a large scavenged fur coat with some patches going bald, and thick rope about thirty feet long.
He also stashed a small bag full of every type of coin he had found throughout the ruins, they were of varying colors, metals, and even countries. Endy wasn't sure any of the coins were valid payment anymore but it was worth a shot to keep as a potential bargaining tool. If only there had been any books on economics left in the ruins, but something made him figure those got used as kindling first.
Looking a bit overstuffed, he stepped out into the forest, a few more hours of light left in the day. Endymion popped a piece of hard, dried meat into his mouth to chew on, the fatty end melting into his mouth. He covered the opening of his den up with the handmade hatch, and pulled the hood of his cape up over his head.