The sensation was powerful and immediate, like slipping into a warm bath after spending hours in the cold. Caleb could feel his wounds beginning to heal. His nose, broken just moments before, slid back into place, bones and skin regenerating in seconds. Even his wrist, which he'd hurt a few days ago, felt miraculously better. Better than better, even. It felt perfect!
Blinking, Caleb tested out various parts of his body, poking and prodding at his arms, chest, legs, and back. They all felt better than ever. It was incredible. He hopped from one foot to the other, smiling and laughing to himself at the absurdity of everything.
Looking back now, falling into a crevice, hurtling from the sky, riding a boulder as though it were a glider, then crashing into a mountainside and killing a creature as tall as a two story building… It had been fun. During it all he'd been too distracted at the prospect of dying to realize just how much he'd been enjoying it.
He glanced down at the giant, its head now caved in, the rock lodged in its brow, blood leaking out. "Sorry for killing you, but uh… Thanks, I guess?"
Another screen flashed into his view, much like the ones before, but different.
Caleb Wade
Class: Unlocked at Aether Level 10
Aether Level 9
Truths: None
Bound Inheritance: Skyward Will
Inheritance Aspect: None
Titles:
Skyward WillOriginal KillTitan's Bane
Stats:
Strength: 3.9Dexterity: 4.2Resilience: 4.2Presence: 3.5
Available Stat Points: 9
Skills:
Skyward Will (Passive)
"What the hell?" Caleb said, brushing a hand through the screen. Back when they'd first appeared, he'd never gotten the chance to touch them because he was so busy holding on for dear life. His hand phased through it, as if it weren't even there.
"Is this… me?"
Caleb recalled his childhood playing video games. It was quite a long time ago, but most of this all seemed pretty familiar. Classes, stats, skills, levels. But the other things like titles, presence, and whatever the hell an Inheritance was didn't mean anything to him.
Somehow, he instinctively knew that he had been Aether Level 1 up until he'd killed Bolvun. That meant the giant had leveled him up eight times and was close to leveling again. There was no basis of comparison, but sure sounded like a lot. The Hand had been Aether Level 25 after all.
Caleb started grinning as he read through everything again. His eyes focused on his titles and the screen shifted to display them. Maybe he should have played more video games in recent years. He was already starting to have fun with this.
Inheritance Title: Skyward Will
Claimed through deed or conviction, Bound Inheritances are bestowed upon only the worthy. To hold a Bound Inheritance is to hold a mark of destiny – it sets you apart from all others and binds your future to a path of unprecedented potential.
Reward Granted: Skyward Will (Passive)
Sure, it had been a while since playing games, but even Caleb knew that this didn't sound like a starter ability. An electric shiver raced down his spine, got his heart pumping once more. Despite the frigid cold, he felt hot. He looked toward the mountain peak, toward the sky. Just what path had he begun to take the first step down?
He looked at his other two titles.
Title: Original Kill
Others may follow, but none can claim they did it before you. You are the first to defeat a Dungeon Boss in the entire world.
Reward Granted: All stats +10%
Title: Titan's Bane
You have felled a foe that towered over you. You have slain an enemy over 10 levels higher than yourself.
Reward Granted: All stats +2
Looking at the rewards Caleb got from his titles, he realized that over half of his current stats were from them alone. Without them, his stats would only range from somewhere between one and two. And he currently had nine available Stat Points for him to place wherever he wanted to.
He took a step back and looked down from the snowy plaza. The wind bit at his face as he stared at the mountains stretching endlessly before him. Every jagged peak, every sheer wall, every cliffside said the same thing to him. Climb higher. Move faster. Be the first so that he could take what no one else could.
If he'd gotten a title for being the first to kill a Dungeon boss, what about being the first to complete a Dungeon. Surely that would be worth something even greater.
Caleb felt the thrill of challenge surging through him. This was what he was made for. A world where he could stretch himself to his limits before breaking through them. He flexed his hands and rolled his shoulders, muscles trembling from the cold and excitement.
There was still one more thing for him to look at on his status screen. He pulled it up with a single thought.
Skill: Skyward Will (Passive)
As long as the bearer of Skyward Will continues to strive toward growth, Aether Levels are gained at an accelerated rate, allowing them to rise faster than normal. This effect only functions while the user is actively progressing – stagnation causes it to fade until a new, worthy pursuit is undertaken.
It was as though he'd read the System's mind.
No, he had that backwards. The System had read his mind. He was the reason he had this Inheritance, this skill. It was tailor made for him. The Inheritance had chosen him. Of course it would reflect his desires and strengths.
Caleb reached down and picked up another small piece of rubble. He rolled it over in his hand, studying the lines and strata as he had countless times over the years while trying to read his way up impossible boulders. Then he squeezed.
Veins and tendons on his forearm bulged. The rock held firm.
Caleb loosened his grip, then opened his stat screen and placed one of his nine available Stat Points into strength. He squeezed again. Still, the rock didn't break.
He did this two more times, bringing his total strength to 7.2. This time, the rock cracked straight down the middle, splitting cleanly into two pieces. Caleb looked at his open palm, grey dust clinging to it like chalk, and grinned.
"Now this is what I'm talking about."
Next, he placed two points into Dexterity and two into Resilience, bringing both to 6.4. The effects hit him immediately and profoundly. His fingers moved with sharper precision. Movements that would have required immense focus now felt fluid, almost instinctive, like his body remembered how to twist and balance before he consciously thought about it. The cold, though still unpleasant, no longer bit through his skin. His arms and legs felt lighter and more responsive.
There were still two points remaining. He had no clue what Presence did, but he figured it was still important and placed one point into it, bringing it to 4.6. Unlike the other stats, there was no discernable difference upon allocating the stat. He didn't feel any stronger, faster, smarter… anything.
He shrugged. Whatever it was, he would learn about it at some point. The corner of Caleb's mouth flicked up. It was a strange feeling for him to realize that he wanted to learn about it. It had been a long time since he'd wanted to do anything but climb. Now, as he looked out at the mountains and rocks around him, he realized he wanted to grow stronger – to climb both literally and metaphorically.
Whatever had happened to this world, he was growing to embrace it.
***
The plaza was not the only structure on the mountainside. Caleb walked across the frozen tiles, toward a giant-sized entrance – like the mouth of a cave. It too, was not naturally forming, instead made of carved bricks that were placed in a high arch. The keystone was set with a cool blue gem.
Caleb stood at the entrance, staring into the shadows inside. If one of the hands was out on the plaza, it reasoned that the others would be inside. Should he go in and try to kill the rest? Probably not, right? Even though he was much stronger than any normal human – able to break hard stone with nothing but his grip – Bolvun had been Aether Level 25, and Caleb was still only level 9. He'd just happened to get lucky that Bolvun had been right in the path of his meteoric descent. A fair fight would likely just end with Caleb smeared across the wall.
A pattering sound echoed from inside. Caleb immediately ducked to the side, hiding behind the wall. The sound came closer, sounding like small feet running across the stone.
Either that's not one of the Dungeon bosses, or the other ones are a whole lot smaller than Bolvun.
Caleb was about to poke his head around the corner when something burst from the entrance, skidding to an icy halt on the tiled ground.
An overly large, bald head, sharp teeth, wide yellow eyes, with skin such a dark grey it was nearly purple. Ratty clothes hung awkwardly to its misshapen frame. It snuffled, gripping a small spear in its hands as it whipped its head back and forth as though looking for someone.
Boggart
Aether Level 7
Caleb stood frozen, staring at the nasty thing. Bolvun had at least looked humanoid, clean, perhaps not kind, but at least not monstrous. This little rat was anything but. It shrieked as its eyes fell upon the corpse of the giant, smushed beneath the massive boulder, and scuttled toward it on its tiny legs.
Caleb watched as the boggart fell to its knees beside Bolvun, dropping its spear and grabbing the corpse with its grubby hands. It looked like the thing was mourning the loss of a friend.
Yeesh. The thing looks like its sister and mom are the same person, but I can't help but feel a bit bad for it.
Then it opened its mouth, jaw extending further than should be possible, and sank its teeth into Bolvun's shoulder.
Oh, shit! Nevermind, I don't feel bad for it anymore. It's definitely not mourning. God, that's disgusting.
Caleb gagged, but the sound barely left his throat before the boggart jerked its head up, spotting him. In a blur, it leapt, spinning midair, spear brandished, fangs bared and dripping crimson.
The thing was only Aether Level 7, but Caleb had never been in a real fight. And the tip of its stone spear was anything but inviting. A part of him felt like running away to hide, live another day.
He squished that part of him mercilessly – harder than the boulder had squashed Bolvun. Adrenaline surged through his veins like liquid fire, each heartbeat hammering in his chest. His blood boiled with the same intoxication he felt on the cliffs – the raw, electric rush of danger, of life pushed to its absolute edge.
He wanted this. He needed this.
The boggart streaked toward him. Caleb waited until the last moment, narrowly ducking around the spearhead as it sliced through the air by his neck. He twisted, the movements feeling strangely natural despite his lack of fighting experience, and punched the creature in the side of the head.
With his empowered strength, the boggart was sent sliding across the ground. However, credit to it, it got right back up.
Bubbly red saliva flung from its mouth as it waggled its head. Beady yellow eyes settled back on Caleb and the thing scowled and hissed.
It charged again, spearhead first, running straight at him in a dumb line. Caleb dodged to the side, but his foot caught on an ice patch. It wasn't enough to make him trip, but he lost his momentum and balance and earned a burning cut across his ribs.
Then the little shit dropped the pointy stick entirely and lunged at him, claws out. The two went down in a tussle, the back of Caleb's head slamming into the ice. Pain exploded across his skill, but it only fueled the adrenaline coursing through his veins.
Caleb rolled with the impact, twisting just enough to avoid the worst of the blow. The boggart shrieked in frustration, claws scraping against ice, against stone, against Caleb's flesh, sparks of blood flying where their bodies collided. He grabbed the creature's wrist mid-swipe, yanking it toward him as they tumbled across the frozen plaza in a blur of limbs and bloodlust. His hands were raw, arms strained, but the sensation was intoxicating.
The creature lashed at him with its teeth. Caleb twisted his head just in time, a grazing nip tearing a strip of flesh from his cheek. Gripping the boggart's shoulders, he slammed his elbow into its side with all the strength he'd built through years of climbing.
He could feel the cold biting less. The resilience he'd invested in was doing its work – letting him shrug off small injuries that would have crippled him before.
Finally, Caleb found his opening. With a heave of his legs, he flipped the boggart onto its back, pinning it with an iron hand pressed against its chest. The thing thrashed and hissed, spittle and blood mixing into the snow beneath them. Caleb's chest heaved with exertion, his heartbeat loud in his ears.
A clawed hand whistled toward his face. He snapped his head to the side, dodging the first, then caught the claws in his grip as they went for the second.
Caleb grinned like a feral wolf staring down its prey. His fist clenched, and the boggart's hand shattered. The monster shrieked, a terrified mixture of pain and horror, pulling back its mangled fist as Caleb let go.
Warm breath hissed between Caleb's curled lips, blood dripping from his mouth. He struck the boggart in the face, then again and again until it stopped moving.
Skill Learned!
Brawling I (Passive)
Imprints the fundamentals of barehanded combat, improving strikes, blocks, and balance. Mastery increases at higher levels.
Imprints? The System can affect my brain? I don't like the sound of that… Though it's not like there's anything I can do about it.
The familiar light swam from the boggart's corpse, entering Caleb through his chest. Compared to Bolvun, this was practically nothing. He felt warmed, but there was no sensation of healing – his wounds were still open and raw. But he'd already been close to leveling up. All he'd needed was a tiny push.
Level Up!
Aether Level 10 reached. Please select a class.
But Caleb didn't even get a chance to look at his options before something else stole his attention. The sound of distant patters like falling rain. More Boggarts were coming from the mouth of the cave.
A lot more.