The Fool's Freedom

Alan lay still in the darkness. His whole side hurt and one of his legs had gone beyond numb. Nothing he hadn’t gone through regularly for the past couple of years, even if today was a particularly unique experience. No screams or strange noises had reached him in some time, but he was afraid to move. His broken body wouldn’t allow him to run from whatever was out there. So, he waited.

He didn’t know what happened. He stepped into the elevator ready to grab some much-needed coffee and instead fell out of the world and into the gaping universe.

He had seen swirling darkness hiding untold horrors and light so pure it had made him weep. Galaxies had been born before his eyes and then they had died just the same. Now it all felt like a strange dream, too vivid to be real and too real to be just a dream. The memories of his life up until now felt much the same. His childhood, the daily struggles, the commute to work… all of it was far away as if lived by someone else. It was not gone or hard to remember, just strangely distant. It was disorienting and made him feel like he was not himself. But he was. The pain made sure he realized that.

Currently, he was in a weird forest at night, hiding in the shrubbery like a small animal from a vicious predator, careful not to be found lest he be devoured. He had stopped asking himself what the fuck happened twenty or so minutes ago.

The most fascinating part though, was that throughout all of that, he had managed to hold on to his cane. Alan considered that as a sound argument that he had gone completely and utterly insane. It had to happen. He wondered who had won the bet in the office. He was sure there were bets involving his sanity, or at least date of death. He was only 27, which according to some doctors was a miracle for him.

Trees so tall they made him feel like he was a kid again littered the forest as far as the eye could see, which was not very far at all considering the darkness. The crowns intertwined above him, creating a complicated network akin to a roof that seemed to have its own mind as it silently shifted, making the spots of moonlight piercing through flicker in and out.

And the sky. What a sky it was. The gaps in the trees above his hiding place only showed a glimpse that did no justice to the real thing. None at all.

Alan had gasped when he had first opened his eyes and looked up. Stars shone as jewels upon a dark tapestry, brighter than he thought possible and in all sorts of captivating colors. Some gave off soft blue or purple light, while others glistened with red or even pink hues. It was a magical sight, undirtied by light pollution or clouds.

The moons were a bit cliché; he had to say that much, as there were two of them. One big and bright and one small and dim and oddly familiar, hanging like two mismatched glowing eyes. He had half expected them to blink and turn out to belong to a smiling magical cat. It was still a possibility, considering everything.

His appreciation had been interrupted by the people everywhere around. People always ruin good things. There had been around twenty to thirty figures, barely discernable under the light of the moons.

In the few moments before everything had devolved into chaos Alan had recognized some of those near to him, like the lady from the cafeteria, and a few colleagues that worked on the same floor as him. He hadn’t seen clearly what had happened behind them when the screaming started, but he also hadn’t stopped to ask. A guy like him needed all the advantages he could get when it came down to running away.

Fortunately, or not, whatever was making the people scream didn’t come for him. Using the full range of mobility his cane and half-adequate legs allowed he had thrown himself in the densely grown underbrush, and had crawled, slowly and silently as possible, further and further until he was certain that he was suitably covered by shrubbery and darkness.

It was quite the pathetic experience but it beat being out there facing off with the vicious gremlins or whatever had made those people panic. Some of the sounds didn’t particularly strike him as belonging to fellow humans.

While the events that had transpired didn’t make much sense everything inside of him screamed that this was real. More real than anything from the life he had lived until now. Alan trusted the feeling. It was all he could do even if he was insane or under some sort of control. He would either wake up and continue existing once his alarm ruined his day or if this was the prelude to an aneurysm, die. Either way, this nightmare would end.

Or maybe he already was dead?

He had heard people shit themselves when they died. He didn’t eat much so he was probably safe.

Something gently but firmly grabbed his attention. It seemingly came from inside of his head and made his mind go blank for a few moments.

First Stage Integration complete.

Welcome.

You have been granted the title ‘Pioneer’

You have gained the Trait ‘Tongues of the four corners’

Oh no. He had read stories. A guy’s got to do something at work, after all. The dreaded System. People were thrown into a different world, where death was as common as grass. This was the worst-case scenario, not that he stood a chance in any sort of apocalypse.

And for the children, and the elderly. What about people who had it worse than him? He couldn’t really remember, they weren’t important for the readers, apart from the occasional badass grandpa.

He sighed. There was only one thing left to do.

Alan opened his mouth, ready to summon the iconic status screen and see what great fate-defying skill he would break the game with, but then stopped himself. He hadn’t spent an hour hiding in the fucking bushes only to die because he was too stupid to keep quiet. He took a breath and focused. It came easy and he felt like a missing part of him finally clicked into place. As if the information had always been there but he hadn’t known how to access it.

INFORMATION:

Name:

Alan Morgan

Race:

Human

Class:

Adult

Level:

0

Titles:

Pioneer

ATTRIBUTES:

Strength

8

Dexterity

6

Vitality

6

Will

25

Mind

19

Magic

0

TRAITS:

Severe Weakness; Tongues of the four corners;

SKILLS:

The screen did not float. It was inside of his head, completely unobstructive to both thought and sight. That’s handy.

The stats were expected.

He didn’t know if the Will and Mind were good or just decent, but he was quite sure that his physical stats were on the lower end – the way lower end. The vitality was worrying. He had been weakening a lot in recent years, but he still felt like he had life in him. Alan focused on his title and traits, surprised to find himself… excited.

Title: Pioneer

A title given to all intelligent beings that have been newly integrated. A new age is upon your people and you stand first in line.

Grants the option of choosing between a basic starting skill or a suitable starting skill without the requirement of a class at level 1 and level 5.

Grants access to at least one basic combat class during class selection and you can advance one skill without meeting the requirements upon choosing your class.

Trait: Severe Weakness (Epic)

Your body is weakened due to a genetic error. You suffer from muscular dystrophy.

The growth of your physical attributes is limited and they deteriorate with time.

Trait: Tongues of the Four Corners

You understand most widely spoken languages in the merged worlds.

Epic, huh? I am finally special like Dad always wanted. The [Severe Weakness] trait was not a surprise, although it was vaguer than he expected. Maybe this new world didn’t suffer many such ailments. He was not looking forward to alien flu.

[Tongues of the Four Corners] was self-explanatory. It would certainly be fun to speak so many languages. He tried thinking in Chinese but nothing happened.

This all looked like an elaborate practical joke though. System of all things? Or maybe… Aliens? Was my uncle right all along? Are they going to probe me after they have a laugh like they did to him in prison?

[Pioneer] was very interesting. It promised skills and mentioned a class. Just like his games. He felt a smile creep on his face despite himself. Hope was a luxury he had given up a while ago. But if this was real, if this was not a dream and he was not insane, currently thrashing in a straitjacket in a padded room, then there was a real possibility for him to fix himself. To live.

And all of this boiled down to one simple word in his status screen – Magic.

Which he had absolutely none of.

Alan stirred. Slaughtering hordes of monsters to level up and become amazing would have to wait, but he would not die hiding when there was a real possibility that he was a frontrunner in the greatest event humanity would ever experience. When he could be healthy. Better.

His muscles protested with bursts of pain but Alan paid them no mind. Slowly, trying to be as silent as possible, he rose out of his hiding place and took a deep breath. He hadn’t noticed until now how good breathing made him feel.

It must be the cleanest air I’ve ever had.

Alan froze. Inhuman eyes met his. A creature stood before him. It was barely the size of a five-year-old child, and it was ugly. Truly ugly.

Even worse than most babies.

It was colored a sickly shade of purple, patched with brown and black as if someone had stitched parts of different salami over it. The skin looked leathery and wrinkled in all the wrong places. Its nose pressed close to its face and turned upwards, giving Alan a clear peek into its differently-sized nostrils. Disproportionate limbs and a head too big for its body made it look like a nightmarish bobblehead. The small, empty, beady eyes and a wide mouth with protruding sharp teeth hung open in what Alan assumed was a surprise.

He swung with the cane, groaning from the sharp pain that followed the sudden movement. The cane hit it square on the side of the head, making the thing topple over. Alan quickly adjusted his cane to support himself while he kept his eyes on the monster. This swing alone had taken a lot out of him and he needed a few moments. Usually, he would spend a lot of time warming up carefully before moving like that… not that he moved like that, except maybe in therapy.

Cursed body.

The creature shook its big head and stood up. There was a small cut and a bit of grey goopy liquid where the solid wood cane had hit it, but otherwise, it was completely fine. It once again turned its eyes towards Alan and screeched. A ghastly sound, a mix between a human scream and a chainsaw.

It lunged at him, claws leading the charge. Alan lifted his cane to block and the forest spun as his legs betrayed him and he felt himself falling backwards. The monster was upon him, the cane barely stopping it from reaching his face. It clawed in a frenzy, screeching and grunting. Alan’s muscles burned from the effort and he too screamed.

The flurry of flying claws made it impossible to think calmly and with a curse he used all his strength to push up and to the left. The monster was lighter than he thought and he managed to throw it to the side and it rolled a few times before stopping.

Alan gave up on getting up as that would be too slow and he wasn’t even sure he would manage with how much he was shaking. His body didn’t wish to cooperate today and the adrenaline both helped and didn’t. He turned towards the creature and managed to get up in a kneeling position just as it stood up, shook its comical head, and rushed at him again.

He raised the cane like a spear, getting the creature right under the chin. The only force behind the hit came from the monster’s rush. It gagged and wheezed for a few seconds, before deciding that attacking was more important than breathing.

The second stab found its open mouth with a precision that surprised both of them. Alan felt the cane hit sink deeper. The monster’s eyes widened and he was sure it was rethinking some of its choices. Too late.

Alan summoned all the strength left in his body to propel himself forward, using his weight to press the cane further into the monster’s mouth. It tried to claw at him, but the cane was long enough to prevent it from reaching him.

It felt like he was falling as he forced himself to push until he had it pressed into a tree. He watched the monster gurgle and thrash until finally, he heard a crunching sound and the movement stopped. Alan stood still, pressing the corpse to the tree with his cane. His legs were killing him.

You have slain: System Tutorial Imp [1]

Level up!

You have reached level 1!

+ 1 Attribute Point

Due to the effect of the Pioneer, you have been granted a choice. Please choose one of the starting skills or let the System offer a new selection.

Sweat dripped down Alan’s face and he leaned on one of the many trees to gather his breath as he watched the corpse cinematically slide down the tree. He half expected it to disintegrate or drop some loot but apparently, that was off the table for now.

At least he had won. He had fought and he had won. This was the first proper fight in his life. Sure, he had been close to getting his ass whooped a few times, but no one wanted to beat up the guy with the cane, even if he deserved it.

And as far as fights went, this had been exhilarating. Different. Alan felt more alive than he had in years. The imp’s claws had caught skin a few times without him noticing, but it was a little more than cat scratches on his chest and arms.

It must be what it feels like to beat up an annoying kid. Awesome.

He smiled in anticipation as he focused on what was important now. He tried to mentally direct the free point towards the most important attribute of all – magic.

You cannot assign Attribute Points to unawakened Attributes.

What? The fuck does that mean? He tried again.

You cannot assign Attribute Points to unawakened Attributes.

Okay. Disappointing. But it’s not like one point would have made a difference. It probably wouldn’t have. Maybe. Awakening his magic attribute was next on the menu, whatever that meant.

The next most important attributes were the physical ones, although he didn’t know what a point would do for his condition. Mind and Will could wait. While he was sure they would play a significant role further down the road, they were probably useless for now.

He tried putting the point in Vitality. Being alive was important, right? Maybe not back on Earth, assuming this wasn’t Earth, but here… Damn, he wanted to live here. Hopefully, the point would help a bit with the lack of stamina and the looming threat of death.

WARNING!

You have gained a new Trait: Limited Vitality (Epic)!

Trait: Limited Vitality (Epic)

The effect of raising your Vitality is greatly lessened while the requirements for raising it are greater.

Your Vitality grows weaker with time. Straining your body will speed up this process. If Vitality reaches 0 you will die.

Due to [Limited Vitality] the effects of raising your vitality are lessened. You need [3] attribute points to raise it by [1]. Do you wish to proceed?

“Motherfucker!”