The Fool's Freedom

Life was unfair. Alan knew that clear as day and would be one of the last people to give up and leave it to faith, God, or whatever else was out there to correct that unfairness. You got what you got and it was up to you to make the best of it.

However, having some choice words in the process was an entirely different matter. He strongly believed that it was healthy to let go of one’s frustration toward the universe once in a while. And in this case, the target of said frustration was the presumably omnipotent System.

““– itch. Fucking shit System. Is dogpiling on the cripple all you can do?! I swear I will find whatever aliens are behind you – no, I will find your mother and –” his tirade ended as some saliva went down the wrong pipe, sending him into a coughing fit. He bent over, gasping. He had half expected to be struck down by lightning or just popped out of existence. Or maybe turned into one of those ugly imps. This was fair in comparison.

He knew the System was not at fault. It was just reminding him of what was already there, waiting for him. Still, having a literal countdown for when his heart would give up was kind of on the grim side and it was completely reasonable to vent a little. And anger was good. Anger made him feel like he had a fighting chance even if he most likely didn’t.

You have gained a new Trait: Strong-willed!

Strong-willed:

You persevere despite the hardship and pain, earning a 5% modifier to your Will attribute.

Alan blinked. It was almost negligible to the current him, but it was something positive for once. “So, you can be nice too?” Percentage modifiers were always a major factor when it was time for the late game. He waited a few moments more, just in case. When no more messages came, he brought up the screen that promised new magical things. The attribute point could just rot for now.

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.

Spark:

You can produce a spark. Good for starting campfires.

Cleanse Water:

You can cleanse water from impurities and make it safe to drink.

Light Orb:

You can produce a small light orb to chase the darkness away.

Basic Tracking:

You are better at spotting signs of creatures.

Treat Minor Wounds:

Disinfect and slightly aid the healing process of a minor wound.

It was a great selection from a survival standpoint. Both practical, yet somehow disappointing to the ever-present and deeply ingrained desire for the magic that most people raised with books and big screens held. It was still magic, just not flashy and deserving of eight movies.

[Spark] was ruled out, although it was probably the easiest to weaponize. Alan didn’t know how accurate the descriptions were - if he took them at face value this one also seemed the easiest to replicate with a bit of effort and dry wood. Not that he had started any fires recently, but how hard could it be?

[Cleanse Water] was vital and oddly terrifying. Who knew what sort of weird bacteria existed in this world, dying from diarrhea or some alien infection was one of his least preferred ways to go. Better get eaten by the monster toddlers than die from shitting. The imp would have hardly managed that but who knew what sort of other monsters roamed the forest.

[Light Orb] would be tremendous. The few moonbeams that made it through the thick canopy of branches and leaves barely provided enough visibility to stop him from killing himself by tripping headfirst into a tree.

[Basic Tracking] was also good. Someone would have to hunt for food, eventually, unless the System in all its glory offered a better solution, which was doubtful. It was also good for finding the rest of the people he had seen. Maybe. That was a priority as he wasn’t sure he would be any good by himself. Hopefully, someone else would pick the skill and find him.

[Treat Minor Wounds] was insanely valuable. Straight broken when one had to fight alien monsters and bacteria. But how much did it speed up the healing process? Did it reduce a few days or a week to a few hours or a day? Or was it less pronounced than that? When did a wound become more than minor? Alan looked at the few scratches on his chest and sighed. There were too many unknowns. It still seemed better than the rest, though.

The spells all looked like a good choice for a small group of survivors stuck in an unexplored wilderness. None of them help me with my condition, fuck.

There was also the option to trust his luck. He had never really done that considering… everything so far. The wording drew him in, though.

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.

The new selection was tempting. The text in his Title’s description did promise that the skill would be suitable. Would it be according to his stats or his needs? Whoever had designed this system was terrible at allowing well-informed decisions. He looked over the text of his title once again.

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.

He decided to go for it.

Please, wait…

Compatible skills found.

Be amazing, please!

Three new options appeared in front of him. He could still see the first list so he sighed in relief. All that worry for nothing.

With a last mental ‘Fuck you’ to the System, he started reading.

Manage Emotions (Rare)

You have minor control over emotions. You retain clarity of thought even when you are overwhelmed by volatile emotions.

Volatile emotions?! I am well-adjusted as fuck, thank you very much! Alan dismissed the skill despite the (Rare) tag next to its name. While being calm and not losing your shit was important, he had this part covered quite well on his own.

Basic Stealth

You instinctively know how to choose a good hiding spot. You are harder to notice.

That didn’t sound bad. Stealth was always good, especially in a foreign environment. It was the third option that caught his attention though.

Efficient Basic Movement

You know your body and how to move it efficiently, minimizing the strain and energy needed to perform simple physical actions.

It doesn’t roll off the tongue quite as well, but it is a no-brainer. What use is being able to hide if I can’t fuckin’ walk?

You have gained a new Skill: Efficient Basic Movement!

Skill: Efficient Basic Movement

You know your body and how to move it efficiently, minimizing the strain and energy needed to perform simple physical actions.

Alan got up, using the tree he had been leaning on for support. The information of the skill simply appeared in his head and all it took was a bit of concentration to get it going. The effect wasn’t strong by any means, but it mitigated the pain. Alan lifted his cane from the ground and took a few steps. He had grown too used to the extra support, and while it did feel weird it was also easier to move without it now. It required constant concentration and effort on his part to keep up the efficiency of the movement, but it was not too draining. Once it got going it was easy to sustain.

The changes were quite subtle. His muscles, a bit more adaptive, his mind a bit more involved in the process. He felt like he could make subtle adjustments to the way his joints moved and his muscles activated. It was an elusive feeling and it did make him aware of how weak and stiff he was, but with enough practice, he could probably pass it off as a minor issue. As long as he didn’t have to fight anyone, that is.

Having to practice was also a surprise. The current effect was good but also a bit disappointing. If skills could grow as the user got more comfortable with them that would be amazing news. Alan wondered about the list. He would put them more in line with spells than skills, but then again, the System might not differentiate as long as there was an act of effort and resource drain involved. Would enough practice with Spark result in a more impressive and powerful spell? A fireball? A spark thrower? It was also curious how different the first five skills were compared to the three he was offered after choosing the second option. Questions, questions.

Using the cane together with the skill took him a few minutes, as he made circles around a tree, but in the end, things looked even better for his newly gained mobility. He wondered if he should practice some cane swings while maintaining the skill before moving on. His body didn’t recover nearly fast enough to allow for the needless expenditure of his already shallow stamina pool. Might as well save what strength I have.

Alan looked towards the corpse of the imp again, having briefly forgotten about it. It was gone. He was sure it was dead as there was a notification. Loot?! He took a few hurried steps towards the place where the monster had fallen, forgetting to use the newly acquired skill, and groaned as a burst of sharp pain made him regret his excitement.

“Fuck.”

Alan stumbled and took a few breaths. Having his enthusiasm ruined he carefully examined the ground. There was nothing but grass and fallen leaves. There was not even an outline where the body had pressed against them. I want loot, damn it.

With nothing else to do, Alan tried to put the stubborn free point he still had in Dexterity. Surprisingly it worked. There was no new System message telling him he is further fucked. That was good.

INFORMATION:

Name:

Alan Morgan

Race:

Human

Class:

Adult

Level:

1

Titles:

Pioneer

ATTRIBUTES:

Strength

8

Dexterity

7

Vitality

6

Will

26(+1)

Mind

19

Magic

0

TRAITS:

Severe Weakness; Tongues of the four corners; Limited Vitality; Strong-willed;

SKILLS:

Efficient Basic Movement;

All things considered, it had been a decent first hour and a half post-apocalypse. All that was left was to find some other people and then somehow prevent himself from dying.

You have received a Quest: The Pack Survives!

You have defeated your first foe, but you have become separated from your allies. Find them and regroup.

Reward: Supplies

“Fuck!” he cursed.

There were quests. The reward was vague as fuck but it would probably be good. He wasn’t a fan of the idea of quests though. If he had to run around and do things for this System or whatever being was behind it, it would be no different than having a job. And he would be damned if he was just going to slave away for scraps when there was magic in the world. He was not one of those people who managed to find purpose stuck in the hamster wheel of rampant capitalism.

Alan looked around. Everything was the same – darkness and shadows. There were no signs of a sunrise and he couldn’t tell which direction he had crawled here from. The sunrise would probably not even help all that much considering the fact that the night was oddly bright thanks to the two moons.

Will there be two suns? Will I get my hopes up just to get the legendary trait of skin cancer?

Not much to do but pick a direction and limp on.

He decided on the one that looked the most traveled. All the grass in this place seemed tough as nails as it popped straight back up it had been stepped on, but there were a few bushes that looked like they had taken a beating.

Alan took a step forward and stopped.

Inhuman beady eyes met his. Déjà vu. The imp stared; its head lightly tilted. The act almost made it look like it was trying to think. Alan held its gaze, gripping his cane harder. Thinking foes were dangerous. The Imp took one last look at him, then turned and fled.

“Hey, where the fuck do you think you are going with my levels!?” Alan shouted after it. With curses he had to swallow to save his breath, he ‘ran’ after the creature. [Efficient Basic Movement] helped him achieve the speed of an excited average person’s walk, and it was almost painless which was frankly exhilarating. It had been a while.

Alan felt he was pushing himself to the limit, as his muscles burned and ached from the effort alone. It was a pleasant feeling, not being so weighed down by one’s own body. And while the imp was nimble and quick - for its size - the short legs and inadequately proportioned body made it slow enough so that Alan could keep up without dropping dead.

He panted, straining his eyes to see under the scarce moonlight, imagining what he would do if the monster turned around and attacked him. The cane-in-mouth tactic had gone surprisingly well, but it would be a wonder if it worked a second time. The imps didn’t seem that smart or strong though, so he felt quite positive in trading a few more scratches for experience.

They kept going for a while. The imp had to have sneaked up earlier, as it now made tons of noise through the otherwise silent forest, breaking bushes and stepping on every single twig on its path.

And the forest was silent. There were no birds trading calls, no insects singing in the night, and even the sound of rustling leaves seemed muted as if the wind was afraid to break the unnatural serenity. How did I just notice this? I had an hour in the fucking bush, and I just noticed something so creepy? No, wait. Were there sounds earlier? He couldn’t recall. There must have been and he must’ve put them at the back of his mind. He did do that, like any human, didn’t he?

Alan felt the anxiety rearing its ugly head once again, but it was quickly smacked down by the feeling of constant, strenuous movement. The physical exertion kept him away from delving too deep into scary thoughts. He was not ready to examine the state of his mental integrity. Especially now, considering there was still a slight possibility he had completely lost it. With every passing second things became more and more real though.

The imp paused and Alan stopped at a safe distance, silently thankful for the rest while trying to control his breathing. He leaned on his cane heavily, and watched, ready to react. The tiny monster seemed to be completely ignorant of him, which was strange. It smelled the air and then started creeping. Its long, ragged ears flat on its head, its movements slow and steady. It no longer made noise as it continued through the foliage. It was hunting.

Where are you going, you little fucker?