Chapter 1: Three, Two, One or Something (Patreon)

The world was filled with the chaotic order of nature. Trees grew unnecessarily large, blotting out the sun, and others dwarfed as a repercussion. The birds made nests for themselves and cried and sang in chirping whispers of broken symphony.

Zed woke up with a searing pain and he gripped his shoulder in a vice claw, begging for reprieve. Slowly, as if a deity had answered him, the pain grew numb and subsided. He released his arm and let out a weak breath only for his stomach to churn, and he turned on his side immediately.

Zed vomited once, then twice. Paused for a breath, then vomited again. He stared at the contents of his vomit and found only blue liquid, and everywhere it touched the grass of luscious green withered slowly, turning brown before dying.

He gagged once more, retched up nothing and confirmed he was done. Then Zed turned from his side and laid back down. The ray of sun light that had pierced his darkness now rested on top of his head, hovering just between both eyes.

He took another deep breath and it went in smoothly. It filled his lungs and he exhaled with a gentle calmness. It whiskered out of him just as easily. Whatever it was, he liked it.

He got up, not really tired of laying on his back, and surveyed his surroundings. First, he stood in a large clearing where the ground was a topographic nightmare, rough and disproportional. It was this way on all sides of him before finally smoothening into a plateau where it slipped into a sea of trees gathered around it, interspaced stingily.

In front of the trees demarcating the clearing, as if by someone’s design, was the most minute sign of bramble bushes no taller than his knee that seemed like the beginnings of a hedge.

Each tree was full and alive, rich barks of the most colorful brown, with leaves so green it made him envy colors and a girth wide enough to be called robust even on trees.

Second, behind him was a large tree, not so large as to be too large, but large enough that it seemed to dwarf the other trees around. At its heart Zed thought he saw a tiny spark of light but could not be certain.

Third, and seemingly least important, he was naked. However, Zed had a feeling it bothered him less than it should.

Just because he could, he took another deep breath of the air.

Zed’s mind turned over a few things, picking through what it knew of where he was and how he’d gotten here. Not much came up, and the little that did, came in bits and pieces, like crushed oreos left too long in milk.

He paused, then shrugged. That was a weird analogy, he didn’t even know what oreos were. He decided he’d figure that one out later. For now, he was on to more important questions, like, where was he and what did he do now?

A flash of words came up in front of him, startling him back. His feet stumbled beneath him, threatened to throw him to the ground. As he fell, they moved outside his command, adjusted their placing and stabilized him. It was enough surprise to make him look down at them.

He made an intrigued sound.

“That,” he said, “was impressive.”

Now that that was out of the way, he returned his attention to the floating words still in front of him.

Quest: [A Breath of Fresh Air]

You find yourself in a strange land with strange things and no knowledge of what’s going on. Leave the woods, broaden your mind, and ensure safety.

• Objective: Leave the woods 0/1.
• Reward: [Pocket memory (incomplete)] (who am I?).
• Bonus objective: Getting to know you.
• Reward: [Advancement].

He looked around and the notification remained in place. He ignored it as he took stock of his environment. “I guess this is the woods.”

He didn’t think he needed to leave, though. The Quest was called ‘A Breath of Fresh Air’ but he already had more than enough fresh air here. He saw no reason to leave. Then again…

He read the quest again. The part about ensuring safety bothered him. Was it implying that this place wasn’t safe?

He scratched the side of his jaw and found it mildly hairy. He pulled his hand away then gently touched it again. No, not hairy. It just had a little bit of hair. Somehow it felt odd but he couldn’t put a finger on why.

The final issue was on the reward. What exactly is a pocket memory, and why did it say incomplete?

Item [Pocket memory(incomplete)] (category none)

A corrupted large piece of separated mind with stored information. (Consumable, storage).

• Effects: Information acquisition.
• Requirements: Sentient lifeform.

Corrupted, he scratched his jaw in what he was beginning to think was a habit. Why would I want something corrupted as a reward?

“Besides,” he stepped forward after looking at the bonus quest, hoping to walk through it only for it to move with him. He frowned at it, then poked it with a finger.

It rippled where his finger touched it like a stone dropped in calm waters.

He pulled his hand out, looked between it and the notification, then poked it again. It rippled again and he smiled. “Trippy.”

He stretched, hands raised over his head with interlocked fingers, and yawned. Popping sounds echoed from all over his body, bones popped and muscles loosened. He’d thought a breath of fresh air was satisfying. Oh, how wrong he’d been. This was satisfaction.

“As I was saying, what kind of person doesn’t know who he is?”

Still, it wouldn’t hurt to admit he was curious about what else the pocket memory contained, even if incomplete. Zed waved away the notifications and they disappeared.

He took another step forward and began his journey out of the clearing.

……………………….

Zed was walking the lengths of the woods, noting nothing but trees as far as the eyes could see. He noted they varied widely. The farther he went, the darker it got and the more clustered the trees were, until he couldn’t take five steps without having to climb over a massive tree root or step around a tree.

Despite the mild touch of discomfort, he took an interest in the trees. Some of them were rough barked, dry and firm with the deep brown of oak wood, whatever that was. Some had grasses growing all over them that were soft to the touch. Each time he touched them, his hand always sank into them. It gave him an odd feeling like countless tiny, crawling creatures and two attempts sufficed to dissuade him from further attempts. One out of curiosity. Another to be sure they all gave the same effect.

As for the ground he walked on, it was very earth-y. That was the best he had for it. It was thick with more soil than grass, dominated by overgrown tree roots that refused to remain buried under and only the smallest bits of actual grass—most of which preferred to grow on the tree roots than the actual soil.

After walking in a straight line for a long time with no new notification, he took a random right and strolled on.

“It did say explore, after all.”

He found new trees with newer characteristics, but while they differed and stood out as unique they eventually dipped into a plateau of monotony. Apparently, there could only be so much diversity before it looked like everything was striving to be diverse.

He’d taken enough turns and enough corners before he gave up on the quest and sat on a tree root. He’d even come across a chasm with great depths that separated one part of the forest from another. He’d considered jumping across it after a running start and had discarded the idea before taking a right turn and moving on.

“Well, that was a waste of time.”

He adjusted on the root, uncomfortable from the sensation of his bare skin on the rough surface. It took him a while and a few scratches before he found a position with the least discomfort and settled into it.

Apparently, he needed more to pass the quest, especially so if he was going to get his hands on what was in the pocket memory.

“Now,” he wondered, “how do I call it back up?”

He swiped the air up, hoping it would work just as it had when he’d swiped it away.

It did.

Quest: [A Breath of Fresh Air]

You find yourself in a strange land with strange things and no knowledge of what’s going on. Find out where you are and ensure safety.

• Objective: Leave the woods 0/1.
• Reward: [Pocket memory (incomplete)] (who am I?)

“Nope,” he shook his head and swiped up, “I need more than just that.”

Item [Pocket memory(incomplete)] (category none)

A corrupted large piece of separated mind with stored information. (Consumable, storage).

• Effects: Information acquisition.
• Requirements: Sentient lifeform.

“Nope.” He swiped up again and nothing came. He pursed his lips and scratched his stubbles with his free hand. “Let’s try opposite.”

He swiped down until he was past the quest and found something new. He scrolled all the way to the top until it petered out as it had done at the bottom.

• You have entered a mana dense zone.
• You are under the effects of mana surge.
• You are losing memory.
• You are eroding.
• Consciousness of life form is being preserved.
• Mana recovery increased by 419%
• Stamina recovery increased by 482%
• Health recovery increased by 304%

“Looks interesting enough,” he mused. He pointed at the screen, trailing a finger along the words as he read. “Mana. Have no idea what that is. I know the numbers, those are high. Seems this mana thing was a lot.” He raised his arms and studied himself, seeing nothing out of place. Nothing missing. “It says I’m eroding but everything seems in order. I guess health took care of that. Or it means something different.”

He shrugged.

He was moving on to the next notification when he paused and scrolled back. “Wait, wait, wait.” He stared at the notification that caught his attention and his mouth dropped. “Losing memory?” he asked, panicked. “Why the hell would I be losing memory? And how much did I lose?”

He scrolled back down, all the way to the quest and read the reward again.

• Reward: [Pocket memory (incomplete)] (who am I?)

A touch of worry filled him as he asked the veritable question he’d once discarded as comedic. “Who am I?”

?????zed??? ?????

• Specie: Human.
• Category: Three.
• Rank: Unranked (Pending rank 1/1).
• ??????????/??????????

Skills

Titles

Attributes

• Equilibrium [Physical].
• Regenerate [Physical, mana].
• Hypersensitivity [Physical, mana].

Affiliations

??????????????

• ?????????
• ?????????
• ?????????
• ?????????

??????? ????? ?????????

He dropped his head in his hands and laughed bitterly. “What kind of person doesn’t know who he is?” he asked, bitterly. “Tell me, Zed? What kind of person?”

He shook his head, trying to banishing his growing sense of self-pity and his hair fell over his face. He touched it and pulled a lock forward. It was long enough for him to see, auburn and unruly. It was an interesting color to look at; a deep reddish-brown. Oddly enough, as unruly as it was the locks did not tangle. He combed his fingers through it and they passed gently.

Somehow it brought a sense of normalcy, of familiarity. It calmed him, even if just a little. He pushed it from his face and returned his attention to the notification.

“What else can I find out from you?” he asked, determined.

• ??????????/??????????

“Well, I certainly won’t be getting anything from you,” he noted. “Whatever you are. Or the other question marks asking me questions, and if I’m being honest, I don’t like the fact that you’re keeping secrets from me.”

Moving on from it, he thought of his attribute, deciding to start there, and raised his hand to touch it. The notification slid to the side before he reached it.

Attributes

• [Equilibrium] (Physical).
• [Regeneration] (Physical, mana).
• [Hypersensitivity] (Physical, mana).

“Alright,” he dragged the word out. “Let’s see Equilibrium."

Attribute: [Equilibrium] (Physical)

• Increased resistance to stun effects and knockback. You      have bathed in the stasis of a mana surge and now understand the concept      of stability.

“I guess that explains why I didn’t fall. Still don’t know what mana is, though.”

He raised his hand to swipe it aside and changed his mind. Instead, he thought of the next attribute and the notification moved. He made a satisfied sound and continued reading.

Attribute: [Regenerate] (Physical, mana)

• You have bathed in raw concentrated mana. It flows      through you; blood, skin, bones. You are as much mana as you are human.
• Increased life force.
• Heal simple injuries.
• Increased healing to complex injuries.
• Increased recovery rate in areas with higher mana      density.

“Sounds like I won’t have to worry much about falling down then.”

He moved on to the next.

Attribute: [Hypersensitivity] (Physical, mana)

• Your awareness of mana is abnormal and so are your      already heightened senses.
• Careful, lest you hurt yourself.

“Okay,” he stared at it, skeptical. “That one was ominous.”

The first option just under where he guessed his name was supposed to be seemed explanatory enough. He guessed he was what a human was. He had no complaints there. As for the second…

[Category] (Three)

• There is a degree to the power of every mage, three      boons to every advancement. Three boons to every rank. It is a mage’s duty      to advance.
• Categories left to next rank 0/0.
• You have reached Category 3/3.

“What’s an advancement?”

[Rank] (Pending rank, 1)

• The strength of a mage is determined by their Rank. It      is their duty to seek out the acme of mana and advance to its highest      point.
• You have a pending advancement 1/1.

“Well, then,” Zed stared at the notification. “One pending advancement. How do I advance; is it something I have to feel; like the breath in my lungs; the air on my skin; the—”

• You have pending advancement 1/1.
• Would you like to advance to [Beta Rank]?

“Oh. Just like that,” he grumbled. “Way to take the fun out of it. Anyway…” he looked around. There were only trees and grass as far as the eyes could see. “I guess that’s a yes, then.”

Something prickled in his senses. It was a soft touch like a ray of light. It roiled within him, rumbling from somewhere in his stomach, yet not his stomach. It was an odd sensation. Then it grumbled loudly and he got up from the root he sat on.

“That doesn’t sound promising.”

He took a cautious step away from the tree, looking around as the rumbling continued and he clutched his stomach.

• Advancement to [Beta Rank] in progress.
• Gathering [Innate mana].
• Forging [Mana core].
• [Raw mana] detected.

“Tell me that’s not what’s giving me an upset stomach,” he groaned, looking around. “It would be a shame to mess up all this beautiful nature.”

The rumbling lessened but didn’t cease. It at least gave him a brief reprieve.

• You have successfully gathered [Innate mana].
• You have obtained [Mana core].
• [Mana core] has absorbed [innate mana].
• [Raw mana] detected.

“Yeah, you’ve said that before,” he groaned, the eased rumbling morphing into a biting pain. “I’ve got raw mana. Noted.”

The pain rose and he had to place his hand against a tree for support.

• [Mana core] is absorbing [Raw mana].

“Yup, I guess that’s it’s job.”

The pain doubled as if responding to his words and he clamped his mouth shut and groaned louder. Something warm rolled down his cheeks and he promised himself it wasn’t tears.

• [Mana core] is full.
• [Raw mana] detected.

He was no expert but somehow he knew that didn’t sound good.

• [Mana core] is attempting to absorb [Raw mana].
• Absorption failed.
• [Mana core] overloading.
• [Raw mana] detected.
• Rerouting [Raw mana].

Pain shot through him like a lance through a stick of butter. It reminded him of an old pain he could not remember and he stumbled to the floor, curled up in pain.

“S…so much for Equilibrium,” he stuttered, body trembling as pain wracked through it.

• Rerouting [Raw mana].
• You have obtained [Mana channels].
• You have obtained [Mana veins].
• [Mana core] is attempting to absorb [Raw mana].
• Absorption failed.
• Rerouting [Raw mana].
• You have obtained new attribute [Bone density].
• You have obtained trait [Mana blessed].
• Advancement in progress.

The pain swelled in his stomach, then it burst and colonized every part of him. It consumed him. His only response was a word with a meaning he did not know.

“FUUUUCK!!!!”

• You have gained the ability to draw on [Ambient mana]      to recover.
• You have gained the ability to use [Mana].
• You have been cleansed of impurities.
• You have advanced.
• You have reached [Beta rank].

The pain eased from Zed and he bled from his skin.

He read the final message one more time but couldn’t bring himself to care. He didn’t even know what exactly he’d benefited from all the pain.

“You could’ve given me a heads up, you know?” he croaked, knowing he would get no answer. “Like a countdown. Three, two, one or something.”