I woke up to a blinking notification in the corner of my vision, the quest log telling me I had received my rewards! Jumping to my feet, I quickly pulled the screen up, seeing a reminder of that ridiculous quest from the Moderators because they couldn’t keep ahold of those spirits.
[QUEST COMPLETE!]
[ELIMINATE THE SPIRITS OF FANG AND GALE]
Hello Theo! These are the moderators here assigning your quest, sorry for plucking you from your world and whatnot. Anyway! Some of our spirits have infiltrated your Trial and messed with the survival trial. We’ve Punished their moderators and they’ve promised to assign you some unique rewards if you can kill their vessels. We’re not sure what they are however. Good luck, We’ll get in contact with you when you reach the Affinity Trial.
REWARD: [Orb Of the Gale] [Orb of the Fang]
Time Limit: None
CLAIM: Y/N
Excitedly selecting the Y button, the system window dissolved into two separate orbs floating before me, their descriptions appearing beneath them. My jaw dropped, what sort of being could create such amazing items!
Orb of the Gale:
Item Rank: Divine
Description: A fragment of a Divine Spirit, the Divine Spirit of the Gale’s energies suffuse this orb and grant it a great capability. By bounding your soul or an item to this Orb, you will be able to create a unique skill, card, item, or augment an existing skill, card, or formation card. Allowing a Wielder who has yet to awaken an affinity or Formation Card to use this will grant them the Gale Affinity and a Mythical Ranked Formation card using their soul as a blueprint. Note: You will only be able to bind one Spirit Orb to your soul.
Would you like to Bind yourself to the orb? Y/N
It was tempting, that much was obvious by the item rank being of one I had never even heard of. I really wanted to press that button, wondering what skill I could create with the Gale as a base, maybe I could fly or create those weird compressed air elementals that barraged me with screeches and blasts of air. Another part of me, the part that won out in the end, was the one that paid attention to that last effect. If I could get this to Kael, maybe he wouldn’t end up like last time, the cold and calculated person who left the family quickly after awakening. Maybe the new formation card would help.
The other Orb needed to be reviewed before I made any decisions, regardless, I needed strength and I needed it quickly. These orbs would rant me strength no matter which I chose to bind to myself. The question is which one to take.
Orb of the Fang:
Item Rank: Divine
Description: A fragment of a Divine Spirit, the Divine Spirit of the Fang’s energies suffuse this orb and grant it a great capability. By bounding your soul or an item to this Orb, you will be able to create a unique skill, card, item, or augment an existing skill, card, or formation card. Allowing a Wielder who has yet to awaken an affinity or Formation Card to use this will grant them the Fang Affinity and a Mythical Ranked Formation card using their soul as a blueprint.
Would you like to Bind yourself to the orb? Y/N
As I feared, the descriptions were almost identical, the only difference was the affinity. I needed to decide which would be more useful for me. Pulling up memories of the Affinity manuals from the old timeline, I recalled that Gale would encapsulate the domains of air, speed, and often came out as spell type cards due to it's non physical nature, only occasionally coming into a physical skill base. The Fang Affinity had the opposite correlation, it was the domain of Beasts, Earth, and specifically predator based abilities, stuff for hunting, ambushing, and Damage Over Time, or DOT effects. The Fang Affinity almost always manifested in Physical type cards, with few magic based ones, and even fewer that weren’t associated with taming of a particular beast.
Based on my fighting style, which already heavily mixes ranged damage with my Rune carving, and close damage with my chain, I could go either way and still come out on top. “Hm, I think I’ll try to create a skill with the Orb of the Gale, maybe I’ll be able to fly or carve runes in midair even!” my murmur turned into an excited mumble as I finished the sentence, a plan finally forming as possibilities opened before me. Reaching out to select yes, a mental jolt stopped me, not a voice, or even something coherent, but the barest pulse from something that wasn't me.
A feeling of yearning, of wanting life and to grow, a hunger for more than it had known. My right arm, the one with the [Mana Blade Chain] jerked towards the other orb, the weapon extending from the rune all on it's own. A dull thud hitting the gorund as the links extended to the ground without control.
“Ah, so you want to grow too huh?” I smiled at the weapon, the item I had soulbound myself too all those trials ago. Why not indulge it a little? Activating my Formation Card, awakening the chain and having it coil around the brown Orb before me. A notification appeared once more.
*DING*
WOULD YOU LIKE TO BIND THE ITEM Orb of the Fang TO THE SOULBOUND WEAPON Mana Blade Chain? DUE TO THE NATURE OF THE WEAPON INVOLVED, AS A SOULBOUND WEAPON, YOU WILL BE UNABLE TO BIND YOURSELF TO ANOTHER ORB, DO YOU STILL WISH TO CONTINUE
BIND: Y/N
“Yes.” Whispering the words sounded right as I selected the button. My weapon binding and melding with the orb, chains sinking into it and pulling back to the rune on my arm. The famil;iar searing pain of a rune being drawn on my skin and soul returned, but it wasn’t overbearing this time. There was another helping bear the weight alongside me.
It was for the faintest moment, but I heard a voice, something from deep within me. “Thank you.” It was faint, the smallest of intentions, but it meant the world to me. The rune on my arm shifted and twisted, the intricate chain markings contracting and coalescing into a small egg criss-crossed by chains, the color of the rune itself changed, turning to a duality of matte black and gold, with small silver markings within it.
*DING*
YOUR SOULBOUND WEAPON, THE Mana Blade Chain HAS ASSIMILATED WITH THE Orb of the Fang, DUE TO THE IMMENSITY OF THE POWER WITHIN, THE NATURE OF THE SOULBOUND WEAPON, AND YOUR UNIQUE SOUL CONDITIONS. THE ITEM WILL ENTER AN “EMBRYO” PERIOD WHERE IT WILL BE UNUSABLE, TO REAWAKEN THE WEAPON AND THE FLEDGELING SOUL WITHIN, YOU MUST SLAY ??????? MONSTERS.
“Wait, it took my weapon?! This is ridiculous!” Shouting in defeat and kicking at the blank floor of the Tutorial space, the loss of my only weapon and instrument a devastating loss. That thing was also my only way to use my Formation Card too! “Ugh, this is ridiculous.” I scoffed in bitterness at the situation, resigning myself to the temporary loss.
“Just kill an unknown amount of monsters Theo. Lose your only way to fight or use abilities Theo. Just kill me now, moderators.” As I finished bemoaning my loss, I heard a chuckle behind me, followed by a slow, methodical clapping. I quickly turned around, coming face to face with an… old man?
“I don’t think we can afford to do that, otherwise i’ll be the only moderator without someone to sponsor.” The man approaching had a jovial smile on his face, his hair wild and grey, with the endings singed and blackened. He wore a workers leather apron, one that had clearly seen years of use. His frame was large and bulky, like a man who spent all his time working and eating, but was used to hard labor and difficult work. I could feel a sense of power from him, something otherworldly about him. This was what the System called a “Moderator” and he was powerful.
As I began to speak, he raised a hand and “Tsk’d” his tongue at me, a signal to not ask questions just yet. He spoke again, the wise voice filling the space. “I’m sure you have a lot of questions for me, or us as a whole honestly, but let me give you some information and hopefully it’ll answer some of your questions.” He held out a flat palm, and a System window appeared above it, depicting a large line going across, with 7 parallel with it, a red mist slowly encroached from the sides of the window. Each time it fully engulfed a line it would offshoot a small line to the central one. 7 in total.
“These are the timelines that we could access before the Crimson Mist got to them, He-” pointing up, “The boss managed to form a small link to each of your worlds before the Mist could hinder the connection, leading to an aspect of himself to implant as a Formation card within 1 child in each timeline at the moment of their awakening. This is why you had a formation card that had a unique modifier, the “Fate” modifier.”
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
The screen changed, showing the red, or I suppose “Crimson Mist” as it enveloped our timelines, all leading to the one we were currently in, slowly approaching. The Moderator took his hand back, removing the window from view and dispersing it. He continued his words, holding my attention like no other.
“You seven were all returned to the moment you awakened your formation cards and Souldecks, though I am sorry to say you were the only one who was cursed.” He had a shy look on his face as he looked at the ground, a clear embarrassment. “However, due to the nature of your souls being fundamentally altered, going between timelines and that space between them. You few are experiencing a phenomenon that hasn’t occured since the first few generations of wielders, you have an affinity that the world doesn’t have yet!” He was getting more excited by the second, and I must admit my curiosity was piquing with this.
I had a Mana affinity that was entirely new, entirely mine. Something this world hasn’t had for a very long time apparently. I needed to learn more about this. It was like a burning curiosity within me, to create and pioneer something new, the very essence of the human spirit to grow and advance!
Refocusing my attention on the old man, his words full of life and vigor. “Since you have a new affinity, you matched one of the very few qualities required to take an Enhanced Trial! While you, and the others like you, were going through these trials, we were watching. The other Moderators and myself are required to have at least one of us sponsor every person with a new affinity in this world, to take them under our domain depending on their affinity and who it is closest to.” He held out his palm and I could feel Mana come from it, coalescing into a molten mass of metal that slowly altered and turned into a sword, then a spear, and then a shield in front of me.
“I am the Moderator of Items.” His voice felt warm, like a hearth or forge, a comforting presence filled with hard earned pride. “However, I’ll allow you to call me by my original name, since I am your sponsor and all.” He leaned in conspiratorially, his eyes exaggeratedly darting around as if to ensure no one else could hear us, even though there was no one else around. He whispered into my ear, “My original name, or at least the closest to it given how it's been millenia since I heard my mortal name, is the Spirit of the Forge.”
“What!?” Leaping away from the Moderator, or Spirit, or whatever happened to turn it from one to another, A shocked look on my face. “You-” my voice caught as my mind tried to keep up, “You were a Divine Spirit, wait, wait! You also said you used to have a mortal name! Did you use to be a human?” Humans can become Divine Spirits, even Moderators it seemed. But he said it was a millennia ago that anyone has called him by his human name. How old is this guy?!
“Before you ask your questions, please allow me to finish explaining your current situation as a new affinity wielder.” He stood back up straight, having the shield he made go through a system window he conjured.
“Every Wielder who awakens a new affinity gets a sponsor who aligns with their affinity. We help guide you through some of the finer points but otherwise I’ll be leaving you to your own devices as you grow and advance. Every new affinity wielder receives a small ‘Spark’ of Divinity within themselves, a ‘Divine Seed’ as my predecessor called them. If you manage to grow and advance to the Iron rank, you will be eligible to become an ‘Archon’. Trust me you’ll want to become one of those as soon as possible as it will be your insurance.” Insurance? What could this geezer be talking about, ‘Divine Seeds’, a ‘Spark’ of Divinity within me?
“What do you mean by ‘Insurance’?” Oh no, I didn’t mean to say that aloud. Sweat formed on my brow as the gaze of an ancient and mighty System Moderator fell upon me, only alleviated by the beaming smile on his face.
A mighty laugh let loose, “Excellent question my boy!” he slapped me on the shoulder, “I mean that if an Archon dies, they will turn into a Divine Spirit! The higher your rank as a Mortal, the stronger your initial power will be as a Divine Spirit, and the easier it’ll be to gain followers as people will likely know you already.”
Taking a mental step back, my mind reeling at the thought of dying again and coming back again, only this time as one of the things that tried to keep me trapped in the trials for eternity. It seems the worried state of my mind must have been reflected on my face as the Moderator quickly went to reassure me.
“Don’t worry, as a Spirit your sense of self is perfectly preserved, you won't do anything you wouldn’t already want to do. Those spirits that infiltrated you and the other’s trials have all been punished by having a piece of their essence stripped away, that Orb your weapon ate contained a piece of the Spirit of the Fang’s very being. Excellent choice by the way, thanks to your decision to have it be related to an item, you got to have lovely old me as your sponsor instead of that stuffy librarian.” He had a look of pride in his eyes again, though not at himself, but at me for allowing my weapon to absorb the Orb.
“Wait, didn’t you say that the Moderators chose who they could sponsor based on Affinity? wouldn’t I be yours regardless since my affinity didn’t change when i used the Orb?” I pointed out the contradiction before he could ramble on again, needing an answer or even a clue as to what my Affinity was.
That shy look fell upon the Moderator's face, this one more abashed. “So, about that. Me and the Moderator of Magic might have… made a bet to see which one of us got to sponsor you. Since your affinity fell under both of our domains and our Gardens had several Divine Seeds available for you, so to say. We made a wager to see if you would use an Orb to create a skill of magic, or if you would use it to craft or improve an item. Luckily, you chose correctly and get to have a Sponsor who will actually help you, and not try to confuse you with riddles and ‘Sage advice.’” He said those last words with air quotes, clear mockery on his face at a fellow Moderator. “Regardless, since you chose to use it with an item, I will be the one granting you your Divine Seed and Sponsoring you!”
“So, let me catch up. Since I decided to feed the Orb to my Soulbound Weapon, I get Sponsored by the Moderator of Items instead of the Moderator of Magic? And this changes the Divine Seed I would be getting?”
“Correct, and what a good one I have for you!” He excitedly said. “Oh, that reminds me, you don’t know your affinity yet do you?” He stared at me, a look on his face I couldn’t quite put together.
“Uh- that would be correct.” Trying not to fumble my words at the rollercoaster of a conversation we were having. “I only know it's a pain to actively gather, feels like banging my head against a wall to get even a sliver of mana in me. I’ve needed to be efficient to keep functioning, thank you again fro the Mana Enhancement skill, it’s the only reason I managed to survive those trials.”
“Ah, About that…” He got that look again, the one that said ‘This is embarrassing but it’s not my problem in the end’. “You’re probably going to end up losing those skills at the end of this conversation, and you’ll definitely lose your items, all the ones that aren’t soulbound at least.” He looked pointedly at my arm with the egg shaped tattoo on it.
“Before I grant you release back into the main world, and give you your Divine Seed. It’s time you fully receive your affinity.” My status window opened in front of me, showing my race, name, mana core rank, and in the area that was once filled with question marks. Shone a brilliant and deep gold, slowly changing the question marks into letters and words.
I exhaled in awe, never having seen a spectacle like this from the system, in this timelines or my own. Though thinking on it, it may be time to start calling this timeline my own, since the old one was nothing but ruins and corpses now.
“Mana Construction.” Saying the words aloud felt like a weight being lifted off my shoulder. Finally I knew what the golden energy within me was, the fog within my soulspace becoming more definable, the golden blade of my weapon finally clicking. Gently rubbing my arm, I sent a thought to the egg, the place from which I had heard it talk mentally. “You’ve been my perfect partner since before I could know properly. Thank you.” A feeling of warmth came from it, just a small flicker, but enough to comfort me.
“Correct, my dear sponsor. Your affinity, and only yours in this entire world, is Mana Construction.” He gently patted me on the shoulder again, a look of… Pride, Joy, Remembrance? “If it grows into one the world, system, and Moderators adapt to? Well that depends on how far you go before dying, if you die at all.” He winked at me with those last words, before a distant look appeared in his eyes. “It seems I need to get back to my business, the Harbingers are attempting another Incursion.” A glowing set of armor appeared on him, weapons and various other items began to appear in the air near him.
“Before I go, I will grant you your divine seed and give you as much information as I can before we both go. Bear with me, it's more than a little bit.” Taking a deep breath, the Moderator of Items continued, “After I grant you your Divine Seed, most if not all of your skills will be consumed by it. You won't lose your skills fully, they just need to be used via the Divine Seed, which will have them manifest in different ways. I cannot share any secrets on how to use your Divine Seed to use your skills. Do not fear about your Rune Pathway, you will maintain it's effects regarding dimensional affects, you just wont be able to use it's active effects until you learn how to use it through your Divine Seed. That is the basis for how this will impact you.” At those words, he held out his hand again, palm facing upwards.
A glowing, golden Orb appeared, an anvil within it. My Mana Core yearned for it, my soul wanting to reach out and grab ahold of it. It was like seeing a part of you you never had, but had lost thousands of times.
“Before I give this to you, I need to tell you where you're going, as this WILL knock you unconscious.” He caught my attention, letting me see that I had unconsciously reached my arm out towards the orb. “You are going to be dropped off into the world in a random one of the 7 Continents, I'm sorry to say it is random as the other 6 are going to be sent out at the end of this as well. Your job is to survive and grow as quickly as you can, get allies, but do not leave that continent until you are at least iron rank. We cannot have any of you 7 meeting until then. When you reach the Iron rank all of you will receive the ability to communicate with each other using the Divine Messaging system.” My status window appeared before me again, the tab for Divine Messages fading out from the top of the bar.
“You’re just going to throw me into the world? What about my family, what about my brother! I need to get the Orb of the Gale to him so he can have a different affinity, so he doesn't get that twisted formation card again!” Anger bubbled up from me as I saw the Moderator prepare to hand me the Divine Seed. A pained expression went through his face.
“Look Theo, your brother isn’t even twelve years old, if you can’t find him in the next 4 years and get the Orb to him, I will personally remove it from your inventory and give it to him myself! Now you need to take this and I need to go, before they manage to get a foothold, the other Moderators are already outnumbered as it is, with me missing it’s only going to get worse Theo!” As he finished, a shout at the end. He plunged the Divine Seed into my chest, right where my Mana Core lay.
“Survive!” The last things I could hear as the world faded to black, a barrage of skill loss notifications blanketing what little vision I had left as my body was wracked with pain.
Finally, after what felt like hours of pain, my mind and body allowed me to fade away into the deep levels of unconsciousness. The last feeling being something refreshing, something I hadn’t felt in a long time. Was that “Snow…” as I fell fully unconscious.
