Jay quickly learned his new skill wasn’t the best choice when running through a forest as he crashed into a third tree. He couldn’t turn once the boost had begun unless it was in a wide arc, and tightly packed trees didn’t conform to that very well. He had eventually accepted that he would have to just quit and lose the speed boost. Dealing with reaction time and judging when he needed to stop, however, brought a whole new learning curve. He groaned as he got back to his feet and rubbed his left shoulder, which had taken the brunt of the impact. Cycling his Healing skill lessened the pain and fixed everything up, but he still wanted to avoid doing that again.
Is there a way I can turn this damn skill off? he asked.
“Uhh, no. Well, I guess you could just walk, but no. You can’t choose to have it not apply.”
Fuck this.
“Eh, you will get used to it. Then, it's gonna be all ‘wow, Lan, I can’t believe I ever disliked this skill.’”
I don’t care if you're right. This fucking sucks.
Jay let out a sigh of resignation as he started running again, a bit slower this time, hoping that would make a difference.
Slam!
Motherfucker!
It did not.
**
It took him around four hours to make any good amount of progress. The first three were spent trying to figure out how to make tight turns with his new ability, but after his fiftieth collision, he gave up on that and began walking. According to his phone, he was already pretty close to the edge of the forest. Even so, he still only saw trees stretching out in front of him. He had zoomed in on the map, checking to make sure he was reading it correctly, when he ran into something hard. He jolted back, dropping his phone and shaking his head with a chuckle. His expression went from “oops” to “what the fuck” in less than a second when he looked up. There was nothing in front of him. He picked up his phone, scratching his head as he slowly reached forward. His hand suddenly stopped as it connected with something.
The hell?
“Well, that’s smaller than expected,” Lan said.
What? Jay asked.
Lan sighed, “I don’t think–” she paused for a moment. “Oh, I can tell you about this now, didn’t expect that.”
Tell me about what?
“The sections. Basically, large pockets that capture a certain number of people within them for the first twenty-eight days. I thought you would have guessed that, by now. Did you really think you were in the Top Ten Million in the world for magic despite never touching the skill?”
Ok, well, I just kind of assumed there were only that many candidates. Also, pockets? What the hell and why the hell?
“I couldn’t tell you. Something about wanting to slowly escalate conflicts, but I honestly have never seen the point.”
So I’m just stuck in here? Could I not fly over it, or something?
“Nope. I just remembered that you haven't been checking the news. You honestly should do that more. It’s pretty common knowledge already that these things exist. Actually, it’s probably better you didn’t see those reports. Your planet didn’t really hold back when it came to violent details, huh?”
Yeah, not really. Wait, what happened?
“Oh, anything that isn’t alive can pass through the barrier just fine, so anyone who was flying or has taken a plane or car through one of these barriers learned what hitting a wall at a fast speed felt like.”
Oh, fuck.
“Yeah. That’s only the ones that died instantly, too. The others…”
Well, that’s just… what the fuck? Why wouldn’t the announcement mention that?
Lan sighed. “I can’t really tell you that right now, but there is a reason.”
I’m getting sick of you not being able to tell me things.
“I am, too.”
Jay shook his head and blew out a long breath. So, what am I supposed to do now?
“Well, either go back to charging into dungeons, or head to town again. Tomorrow is reward day, and there is likely gonna be another factor added to shake everything up. Like the dungeons when someone finally hit Level 15.”
Yeah, great, any idea what that’s gonna be? Or, wait, you probably can’t tell me that, huh?
“Bingo, but I’m actually not sure on that one myself. There are a few options, but none of them should matter that much.”
Fair enough, Jay said, resigning himself. Well, I don’t really have any options here. My clothes are all in a pretty shitty state, and I'm almost out of food.
“You sure you're ready to go back?”
Do you think I'm ready?
“I think you should be fine.”
I hope you're right.
Jay walked for the rest of the day, running a few times when he found more open areas. His control was getting better there, at least. He had only crashed four times. Still, he was moving much slower than he had the day before because of his lost mobility. He really wanted to curse these shoes. Even if he took them off, the skill upgrade didn’t go away. He was stuck like this until he finally got better control over everything. He walked for most of the night before drowsiness finally overtook him. The door to the tower opened. He stepped inside, exhausted and ready for some rest.
Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
**
The next morning, Jay woke up early and climbed out of the heavenly bed despite his body's protests. He got up and made himself some breakfast using one of the last bits of canned chicken soup he still had. It wasn’t the best thing he had ever eaten, but it hit the spot. When he was halfway through his meal, the announcement came.
DAY FOURTEEN COMPLETE
Leaderboard Positions:
Level: 14th
Combat Ability: 4th
Magic Ability: 808,418th
Spirit Ability: 1st
Wealth: 6,729th
Survivability: 8th
Chance of Being Crowned: 6th
Overall: 13th
Leaderboard Rewards:
2x Candidate Heads Gained
Level Reached: 19
Class Tier Reached: 2
Reward:
Dungeon Escape Idle
He scowled as he read it over.
Really? 2x Candidate Heads, huh? And Dungeon Escape? Not a chance in hell this shit is impartial.
Lan’s laughter roared through his head.
I’m glad you're enjoying this, at least, he said, unamused.
“Oh, immensely. Also, I never said the system was impartial. Honestly, it tends to have a bit of a sadistic streak.”
Wait, what?
“Did you not pick up on that?”
Well, kinda, but you're talking about it like it's more than just some force in the world.”
“And that's as far as I can take that conversation, but nice job reading between the lines.”
Come on, can’t you give me anything else?
“Nope.”
Jay sighed. Another announcement came less than a second later, pulling his mind from the conversation.
**Requirements Have Been Met: Upgrading Non-Humanoid Entities**
**
Changes:
Non-Humanoid Entities can now gain candidate status.
40% of Non-Humanoid Entities have been granted candidate status.
Non-Humanoid Entities with candidate status have been enhanced to between Level 15 and Level 24.
Non-Humanoid Entities with candidate status will gain a Tier 2 class selection.
Non-Humanoid Entities with candidate status have had their intelligence buffed by 10.
Non-Humanoid Entities with candidate status have gained the skill Translation: (Level - 1) - Uncommon
Process Complete! All Non-Humanoid Entities have been upgraded.
**
“What the…” Jay muttered, his mouth hanging open.
“Well, that’s not great. On the bright side, that Candidate Head bonus is gonna come in handy.”
It’s not gonna do shit if I'm dead…
“Why would that kill you?”
Do you know how many animals were on this planet? There are quadrillions of ants alone, and 40% of them just became Level 15 candidates. How am I not fucked?
“Oooh. You’re thinking about this wrong–”
Am I? Like, actually, how am I thinking about this wrong?
“You have a fundamental misunderstanding of what Level 15 means.”
I do? I remember how much of a boost it was for me.
“Yeah, it’s around the same amount of a boost to an ant, but at the end of the day, it’s still an ant. Beings are limited by how much XP they can hold in their body. One point may be a drop in the bucket for you, but for an ant, it’s probably enough to level up a skill multiple times. Basically, what it comes down to is that, while a Level 15 ant could probably decimate multiple other colonies, a single person, even at Level 1, would still one-shot it. The real dangers of this planet are gonna be the whales.”
The whales? Really?
“Yep. It might sound weird to you now, but those fuckers can hold so much more XP then you. Just wait until they start coming on land and proclaiming themselves as the true rulers of the world because they already own 80% of it.”
Huh, is that actually going to be an issue?
“Yep. A Level 15 whale is probably around the equivalent of a Level 25 human. And that’s being generous to the human.”
Fuck.
“Eh, you will probably be fine. You should be at least Level 40 before they start emerging.”
Okay, you should know by now that I hate when all you can give me is a probability.
“Tough shit. I’m not a fortune teller, Jay. Sometimes, you just need to deal with not knowing the outcome.”
Jay let out a groan. She was right, but he still didn’t like it. He looked over the notifications one last time before sighing and making his way toward the tower exit. He wasn’t going to gain anything by staying in here, and had even more of a reason to get back to town now.
“Gahh!” he yelled out involuntarily as a small, chittering creature impacted his face right as he stepped outside.
Its claws scratched harmlessly against his helmet for a moment before it jumped away, screaming something. He shook his head and composed himself as his eyes locked with a small squirrel glaring at him from the trunk of a nearby tree. It chittered at him. Jay squinted at the creature, wondering why it had attacked him, when his eyes went wide. He could understand it.
“Leave now, or face my bite!”
He blinked several times before remembering something the notification had said. Non-Humanoid Entities with candidate status have gained the skill Translation: (Level - 1) - Uncommon.
“Uhh, hi, there,” he said, scratching his head.
The squirrel's tail twitched with annoyance as it stared at him. “I said leave! This section of the forest now belongs to Kazontin Squirrel Musketeer! Do not make my claws taste blood today!” it shouted, holding one of its little hands out in a threatening gesture.
Jay couldn’t help but chuckle at the absurdity of the situation. A squirrel was making threats at him. It was the cutest damn thing he had ever seen.
“I’m leaving,” he said, still laughing while raising his arms in mock surrender. “I wouldn’t want to make an enemy of the great Kazontin.”
Kazontin glared at him. “Do you mock me, human? I should tear your throat out for that.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean any offence by it. It’s just that… Well, you’re so damn cute!”
Kazontin lunged at him, trying to dig its teeth into his neck, but it couldn’t even leave a scratch on his armor. Jay grabbed the squirrel by the back of the neck, pulling the animal away as it continued to claw at him while yelling expletives about his character and family.
“Well, that's just rude.”
“You deserve far worse, you furless freak!”
“Hmm, I haven’t eaten yet today, and squirrel stew wouldn’t be the worst option.”
“Unhand me this instant, you worm!”
“Stop trying to attack me, and I will.”
“Never! You must pay for your insolence!”
Jay sighed. This little ball of fur was entertaining, but he had things he needed to do. “Fine,” he said, letting Kazontin fall to the ground.
The squirrel lunged at him once more, gnawing at his ankle. Jay laughed, watching it bite away. The little guy had determination. He had to give it that. He started walking, expecting the creature to lose interest eventually. The stubborn thing didn’t, however. Even as he walked for the next hour, it continually tried to find a gap in his armor--to no avail. It finally tuckered itself out after a bit more scratching, but instead of leaving, as Jay had expected, the squirrel had fallen asleep on his shoulder. He thought about setting it on the ground and continuing, but one look at the creature killed all thoughts of that. It really was damn cute.
