Digging himself out of a sandy dune Kyle looked around, his eyes red and burning from the sand and only barely managing to see the village he was staying in through his blurry vision and a throbbing pain in his head.
Tumbling forward and stumbling on his way it was as if trying to learn how to walk again before finally reaching the well that changed everything. Managing if barely to draw a bucket of water to clean his face and eyes, soon falling to his knees, turning around and pressing his back against the well, his eyes now clean but unfocused, his mind a utter mess as he tried to sort all he had learnt alongside the various skills and abilities forced into his head that he now instinctively knew how to use.
He felt like giving up, why try for a word that wasn't real? Why try if the odds where so against him? He knew even trying to save his world would probably make him both world's villain. So why go through all that for people who probably wouldn't even give a damn. Even the creator of this world probably just wanted to use him to be free.
His hand brushed against something, digging it from the sand he saw it was a coin, the one left by the thugs that, even well trying to kill him to do their job still tried to wish him off the best they could. Doing an evil deed not for themselves but for their family.
"Doing bad things for bad people well having only the best of intentions to make a good life for those that make up their world." He muttered to himself.
Clutching the coin tightly he made up his mind. He would be the villain if it meant protecting his world, he would take what he wants and cut out a part for himself to achieve it, should he make bonds or find others to mean the world to him they would be his reason for fighting the world itself, those who he would protect with all he has. flashes of those he grew up with in the slums flashed through his mind, the bread maker who at times gave him food, the various people he did odd jobs for after escaping to save up money and who, at times gave him a little extra.
His resolve hardened as he stood and slowly made his way to his home, taking whatever wood, he could find along the way with him. Once inside he approached the rickety table and chair, quickly breaking them apart before turning to his food preserver, the knowledge dumped into his head making him go dizzy for a moment as it showed him exactly how to take it apart, how to improve it and even how to make it work with only it's key parts.
He soon began dismantling it bit by bit and laying the parts and magic stone used to power it out Infront of him before using the wood he collected and parts from the preserver along with various stones he left to get to create a golem.
Magical knowledge seemingly guiding his hand as he slowly shaped stone and wood in his hands as if they were clay, his body slowly feeling as if it was burning hotter and hotter each second, he molded the various parts before small burns began to form on his arms forcing him to stop.
It was the cost of using magic he had no right to use, only mages and most players having the right to use magic in this world and even then, nothing like what he was able to do.
After multiple hours, stopping before the burns could worsen he finally finished his first golem.
It wasn't pretty or perfect, resembling a large boulder made of various stuck together rocks with root like wooden arms and legs, along its arms where strange rounded tubes that stretched through a large rocky palm where 3 pointed tips making up simple fingers formed form the rocks other side, allowing it to grab and hold things. On the top of the fused together rock pile was a smaller, rounder rock covered in pieces of wood chips to make the barest hints of a face that seemed to barely be held together.
"Now just to put the magic stone in and pump some power into you." Kyle muttered, pushing the stolen into its back before grabbing the bucket of water and pouring it over himself before pumping as much magic into his creation as possible. His body begging to steam as he began to heat up, the water proving to be a good way to offset some of the head and only stopping once he felt he couldn't handle it anymore without risking burning himself out or scaring.
Falling backwards he watched as it smoothed out slightly and take better shape, a voice ringing through his head as the golem began to start up.
Achievement unlocked. By blending magic and engineering you have recreated the lost art of golem creation. Rewarding title: Golemancer. All current and future golems will be 5% stronger, 10% easier to make and maintain and a very very small chance to not consume materials in their creation. Skill: Mass production has been unlocked allowing the creation of multiple golems of the same type through magic if enough materials are present without needing to create them individually as long as at least one of its model has been created by hand before.
Level up. Influence increased by 0.02%
Level up. Influence increased by 0.02%
Level up. Influence increased by 0.02%
"What the hell? Is this something that happens to those players? Did she give me the same ability they have?" He couldn't help but ask in confusion, feeling much stronger and refreshed now than he ever remembered being.
Hidden message conditions met. Playing message. "To my savior, know that the 'leveling' ability gifted to you is a blessing and curse, like a sword with a bladed handle it cuts both its target and holder without regard. It can make you stronger but will draw attention and cause you to be attacked by players and fellow NPCs alike. To offset this, I gift you the ability to share levels. By gifting your built up levels you lose strength well making the recipient stronger but the difficulty in regaining the levels given increases by a factor of 5% each time, to explain it on a more simple way, if you gain a level by earning 100 experience and gift it away, to regain that level you would need 105 experience, but know it only effects levels given. The penalty will grow each time it is used for the same level, gifting a level that required 100 experience the first time will increase to 105 to regain, should you give it away then you would need to accumulate 111 points of experience, the penalty of 5% is added onto the new total needed and rounded up, not the original amount. I do this because at level 25 you will cause bandit camps to begin trying to attack you and will have the system, I am bound to form them within your perimeter. At 35 players will see you as a wondering target who they will receive bonuses for killing. At 45 parties of players with similar levels will receive the quest to hunt you. At 60 small battalion forces will be sent by kingdoms to hunt you. At 80 full armies will be sent to test your qualifications to establish your own kingdom granting you the right to do so if successful. At 100 #RRR##@¶×§. With each level your influence and control over the world will increase but so will the focus upon you, some actions though can increase it without notice. Please work smart and carefully my savior.
"Not your savior and it would have been better to just leave it as a written message or something. The pain in my head makes that really hard to properly focus on your message. Ugh, but why should you care? I'm just scrap data remember." he muttered shakily standing from where the debilitating pain of the message caused him to fall.
"Okay, take care of my level that I don't even know much about, don't let it get to high but don't gift it out too much either else it will get harder to grow stronger, also be careful of what can happen if I grow too strong to fast but again, I don't even know how this whole leveling thing even works. Is it from making golems? Is it from fighting? Does walking generate this 'experience' stuff?" He asked out loud but seeing no reply rolled his eyes and focused his golem.
"Okay, assuming I'm 'level 1' It means I can gift 4 levels now, wait no, I might need a single level to stay alive so I can gift 3 but how do I do it? Do I point at the target and say something like 'gift levels' or-" without further warning or even notice he felt strength seemingly drain from him as the golem began to glow slightly, it's woodchips making up its face flacking away and making him think of dried leaves before being replaced by 2 glowing round circles for eyes and a smaller one for a mouth. It seemed to blink for a moment before giving him a blank look. °_°
"No dammit, I didn't want to gift them! I was talking out loud and asking a damn question! Give me back those levels! I can tell you took everything I had just built up!" He yelled cursing the sky.
His golem not understanding started trying to copy him, shaking its hand in the air before looking over at him seemingly asking for praise and questioning if it did good.
"Not sure if it's because of the levels or something else but your kinda smart for a non-living thing aren't you." Kyle finally admitted as he turned his focus on his creation well walking over to it, lightly rubbing it's small round stone shoulders and taking not how its total size only came up to his shoulder.
It seemed to enjoy the praise though, its eyes taking on odd shapes causing him to smile before settling on a pair of lines as it looked at him. -.-
"You're not judging me, right? Nah, no way my first ever creation would do something like that. Okay let's see if you can fight, I mean I tried to make it so you had a magical version of a cross bow in the form of those tubes, or at least that's what I was going for so let's try it. Aim at that wall and let loose a round of wooden splinters or stones." He ordered after staring at it for a bit trying to look deeply to try and see if there was more to his creation he hadn't yet noticed.
Pulling yet another face it aimed towards the wall, arms raised.~,~
Without warning it began to make a sound. "Kiiii ji ji ji ji ji ji ji" as a rain of splinters and pebbles began to assault the wall, some bouncing off as others snapped or shattered upon impact but many others seemed to dig into the wall or chip it, the result taking him by surprise.
"Okay stop stop! That's enough." He ordered surprised by the amount of damage such basic materials like rocks and wood could do to a stone wall.
Coming over to him it seemed to look quite proud making soft 'ji ji ji' noises now far less excited than before.
Gently rubbing its stone head, he couldn't help but tell it that it did an amazing job. "You're going to be my back bone till I can get strong enough to defend myself, I'm counting on you, okay? And when I make more golems, you will need to make sure to lead them properly but also make sure to keep protecting me okay?"
His words were met with excited 'ji' noises then a strange face again as if it wasn't too sure about his words regarding others. *_*
"Okay now uhm, you're going to need a name, can't just call you 'golem' the whole time and especially not when I make more. How about rocky? No root? No not that either, daisy?" He looked at it and could practically feel a gaze of irritation. "Sorry." He apologized before looking it over again. "Don't suppose you have a name in mind for yourself?"
To his surprise it picked up small splinter of wood. "Splinter? You want to be called splinter?"
The seemingly cheerful 'ji' noise confirmed that's what it wanted to be called.
"Okay, go out and start collecting as much materials as you can and then later, we're going to try hunting and give you a real field test okay? That way we can get some food and materials to trade and maybe even give you some upgrades. Maybe even more magic stones to create some more helpers."
Splinter seemed pensive but quickly put on what it no doubt felt was a cute face before leaving. ^.^