Aetheria

The north gate had drawn a crowd by the time Mira reached it.

She came as quickly as her missing foot allowed, spear striking hard against the road while the whispertail cub jostled inside the satchel at her side. The guild officer stayed near her shoulder, though Mira suspected that was partly to keep her from falling in her hurry.

People had gathered just inside the gate.

Guards formed a loose line across the opening. Several already had weapons drawn.

Beyond them stood a boy.

He was younger than Mira had expected.

Thirteen or fourteen, perhaps. Around her age.

His hair was pale silver, almost white where the sunlight caught it, cut in unruly spikes that rose sharply before falling forward around his face. His clothing was mostly white and silver-grey, layered like a beginner adventurer's attempt at something much grander. A long outer robe had been reinforced across the shoulders and waist with darker straps, while a shorter black layer showed beneath it. The hem was already dirty from travel.

The sword made everything else seem small.

Its blade was absurdly broad, almost as wide as his torso near the base, with a long black centre bordered by pale metal. The hilt was wrapped in white, and a short length of chain hung from the pommel.

He held it with one hand.

Not effortlessly, but naturally enough that Mira stared.

One of the guards was speaking to him.

"You're saying you woke up north of the quarry?"

The boy nodded.

"Near some broken stone buildings. I thought it was a spawn area, but there wasn't anything there except monsters."

His voice sounded young.

He also seemed strangely excited considering he had apparently appeared alone in an unfamiliar world full of monsters.

"Spawn area?" the guard repeated.

The boy blinked.

"Starting zone."

That did not help.

Mira moved closer.

The boy noticed.

His eyes passed the guard.

Then stopped on her.

Mira saw the change immediately.

His body lowered.

The greatsword came off his shoulder.

The guards reacted too slowly.

The boy stepped between them.

Fast.

Mira barely had time to plant the spear before he reached her.

The greatsword swept horizontally toward her neck.

She ducked.

Air rushed across the top of her skull with enough force to pull at her scarf.

Mira's surprise disappeared beneath panic.

She drove the spear upward.

The boy twisted aside.

Its point scraped across the white fabric near his ribs.

He jumped back.

Mira reversed the spear and planted the capped end beneath her before her balance failed.

"What are you doing?"

The boy's eyes widened.

"You talk?"

Mira's grip tightened.

He attacked again.

The sword came down from above.

Mira brought the spear across and caught the flat of the blade against the shaft.

The impact almost tore her good arm from its socket.

Wood bowed beneath the force.

Her right foot slid backwards.

Mira released with the splinted arm before the fracture could take the full impact, turned the shaft and let the greatsword slide away rather than trying to stop it.

The boy recovered before she did.

His hands shifted.

The next cut came upward.

Mira hopped backwards on one foot and nearly fell.

The blade passed beneath her ribs.

She thrust.

The boy stepped outside the spearhead and struck the shaft aside with the face of his sword.

The spear flew wide.

He moved into the opening.

Mira released the weapon.

She caught his wrist with her gloved hand and drove her shoulder into his chest.

The boy made a startled sound.

Mira used the contact to turn him.

His footing changed immediately.

One boot planted.

He rotated with her movement instead of resisting it and pulled.

Mira lost the ground beneath her.

She hit the road.

The boy raised the greatsword.

Several guards shouted.

Mira rolled.

The blade struck stone beside her.

Sparks scattered.

She caught the spear lying nearby and stabbed upward.

The boy jumped aside.

Mira pushed herself upright using the shaft.

Her missing foot made the recovery much slower than she wanted.

The boy saw it.

His attention dropped briefly to the wrapped end of her leg.

He hesitated.

Mira fired Radiant Spark.

The light had already begun condensing around two fingers rather than her entire palm.

The narrow shot crossed the space between them.

The boy twisted.

It struck his left shoulder.

He staggered.

A black mark spread across the white cloth.

His expression changed.

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The surprise disappeared.

A smile took its place.

Mira did not like that.

"Okay."

He shifted the greatsword into both hands.

Something about the way he held it changed.

The oversized weapon had looked slightly ridiculous before.

It no longer did.

Then he moved.

Mira lost the beginning of the step.

The greatsword was already coming when she reacted.

She dropped the spear and threw herself sideways.

The edge caught part of her robe.

Fabric tore.

Mira landed hard on one hand, and pain flashed through her splinted arm when it struck the road.

The boy did not stop the sword after missing.

He turned with it.

The weight carried the blade around his body and directly into another cut.

Mira saw the second attack.

Her body was still recovering from the first.

She moved anyway.

The sword passed close enough that she felt the air move across her ribs.

The next one came even faster.

Mira planted the spear.

Late.

The broad blade struck the shaft and threw it aside.

Mira stumbled.

She could follow him.

That was the problem.

She could see what was happening.

Her body was arriving afterward.

Another cut came.

Mira opened her status.

The window appeared across her vision.

Unassigned Attribute Points: 3

She put two into Agility.

The screen vanished.

The sword came toward her head.

Mira moved.

Her right foot left the ground sooner than she expected.

The capped end of the spear landed beside her, took her weight, and her body turned around it before the sword reached her.

The blade passed behind her shoulder.

The boy's eyes widened.

Mira did not stop.

She reversed the spear around the iron cap.

The spearhead whipped around much faster than before.

He blocked it.

Metal struck metal.

The impact forced Mira's arm backwards.

Her grip nearly opened.

He was still stronger.

The greatsword came around again.

Mira caught it near the base of the shaft and felt her shoulder buckle beneath the force.

One point remained.

She spent it.

Strength increased.

The pressure against her arm changed.

Not enough to overpower him.

Enough to keep the spear in her hand.

Mira twisted the shaft.

The greatsword slipped down its length instead of knocking it away.

She stepped inside the arc.

Her gloved hand struck his forearm.

The sword shifted.

Mira drove her elbow into his ribs.

The boy grunted.

She caught the front of his robe and pulled while dropping her weight.

He stumbled forward.

Mira swept her right foot behind his knee.

The joint buckled.

The boy dropped onto one knee.

Mira drew the goblin knife.

She stopped the blade beside his neck.

Everything stopped.

The boy stared at her.

Mira stared back.

His eyes were grey-blue.

Up close, he looked even younger.

The excitement had disappeared.

Several guards reached them at once.

Someone caught Mira's wrist.

Another seized the boy's sword arm.

"Enough!"

Mira resisted instinctively before realizing who had grabbed her.

She lowered the knife.

The boy loosened his grip as well.

His greatsword struck the road heavily enough that several people nearby moved back.

The gate captain forced himself between them.

"What in the gods' names is wrong with you?"

The boy looked at Mira.

Then at the guards.

"I thought she was a monster."

Mira stared at him.

"You tried to cut me in half."

"You're a skeleton."

"That does not improve it."

The captain pointed toward the boy.

"You attacked someone inside my gate."

The boy looked genuinely confused.

"I thought this was a safe zone."

The captain's expression suggested that the explanation had somehow made things worse.

Several people around them began whispering.

Mira understood what he meant.

The people around them clearly did not.

She looked at the boy again.

"What's your name?"

He glanced toward her.

"Kael."

"Mira."

His gaze dropped briefly over her skeletal body.

"You have a name."

Mira lifted the knife slightly.

"Be careful."

Kael seemed to decide that continuing that sentence was dangerous.

The captain looked between them.

"Someone explain what either of you is talking about."

Mira ignored him for a moment.

"Where are you from?"

Kael pointed vaguely north.

"Apparently somewhere around the quarry."

"Before Aetheria."

His face changed.

"Earth."

Everything around Mira seemed less important for a moment.

She tightened her hand around the spear.

"Which country?"

"Canada."

Kael's expression changed when he saw her reaction.

"You know Canada?"

"I lived in England."

He stared at her.

Then at her skeletal body.

Then back at her face.

Understanding arrived.

His expression fell.

"Oh."

Mira waited.

Kael looked horrified.

"I attacked another player."

Her irritation returned immediately.

"You attacked someone before finding out whether they were a player."

"I thought you were undead."

"I am a skeleton."

Kael looked increasingly confused.

Mira looked away.

The gate captain rubbed both hands over his face.

"I understood almost none of that."

The guild officer stepped closer.

"They're from the same place."

"The same kingdom?"

"World," Mira said.

That produced another wave of conversation around them.

Kael looked at her again.

The relief on his face was much easier to recognize now.

His next smile was smaller.

"I really thought I was alone."

Mira looked at the burned patch on his shoulder.

"You nearly made yourself alone again."

Kael winced.

"Sorry."

The apology sounded genuine.

Mira was still deciding what to do with it when the cub pushed its head out of the satchel.

Kael noticed immediately.

His entire face brightened.

"You have a pet?"

Mira shifted the satchel away from him.

"No."

The cub hissed.

Kael leaned back.

"Okay."

Mira watched him more carefully.

Attacking her without checking what she was had been idiotic.

The fight itself had been different.

The oversized sword had never seemed to surprise him. He knew when to release its momentum instead of fighting against it, how to place his feet before each strike, when to move away from the spear point and when to close the distance.

Mira had barely begun learning those things.

"What's your level?"

Kael blinked.

"Three."

Mira looked at him.

He had arrived after her and was already ahead.

"How?"

"I fought things on the way here."

"What things?"

"A few goblins. Two wolves. Some weird cat monsters."

His expression shifted.

"And a lot of slimes."

Mira's hand tightened around the spear.

"How many?"

Kael looked toward the quarry road.

"I don't know. More than ten. Probably less than twenty."

Mira stared at him.

"I found a narrow part between some rocks," he continued. "They couldn't surround me there."

That explained considerably more.

The guild officer stepped nearer.

"What else did you see?"

"Some of the darker slimes followed me farther than the others."

Mira's attention sharpened.

"Did they start moving toward you when you used skills?"

Kael looked at her.

"Yeah."

"Before you hit them?"

"Before."

That matched what she had seen in the guild samples.

The guild officer swore quietly.

"Bran's party is already out there."

Kael frowned.

"There's a party inside the quarry?"

"Five people."

Kael looked toward the wooded hills.

"What are they like?"

"Experienced hunters. Elaine went with them."

Kael considered that.

"They might be okay near the entrance."

Mira watched him.

"Why?"

"The ones near the surface weren't individually that strong. The problem is that once you start using skills, more of them come toward you."

"I found the same thing."

Kael turned toward her.

"You tested them?"

"Samples."

A grin appeared.

"That's smart."

Mira ignored the compliment.

Her missing foot shifted beneath her robe when she adjusted the spear.

Kael followed the movement.

His attention settled on the wrapped ankle.

Then his expression changed.

"No."

Mira already knew what was coming.

Kael covered his mouth.

"A slime did that?"

Mira stared at him.

He tried not to laugh.

He was unsuccessful.

Mira lifted the spear.

The guards stepped between them immediately.

Kael raised both hands.

"Sorry."

He was still smiling.

Mira reconsidered accepting his earlier apology.

A bell rang from the north wall.

Once.

Then again.

The captain turned.

A guard above the gate shouted down.

"Movement on the quarry road!"

Everyone looked north.

A figure appeared between the trees.

Running.

Bran.

He stumbled into the open road with blood covering one side of his clothing.

Two more figures followed.

Elaine was one of them.

The shield-bearer supported her.

The archer was missing.

So was the red-robed Elementalist.

Behind them, the forest moved.

Colour spilled between the trunks.

Green.

Dozens of shapes.

The captain began shouting.

"Close the gate! Archers on the wall! Get the guild!"

Kael picked up his greatsword.

Mira planted her spear.

One of the guards looked at her.

"Inside."

Mira looked beyond him.

Elaine was still outside.

Bran fell.

The first slimes reached him.

Mira moved.

The guard caught her shoulder.

"You can't fight like this."

She twisted free.

"I can heal."

Kael stepped beside her.

"And I can get us through them."

Mira looked at him.

The smile was gone.

He rested the huge sword against one shoulder and watched the approaching slimes with the same concentration he had shown when their fight became serious.

The captain looked between them and the road beyond the gate.

"Get those three inside. You do not chase anything beyond the marker stones."

Kael nodded.

Mira was already moving.

The gates opened just wide enough for them to pass.

Mira went through first, the capped end of her spear striking the road beside her.

Her body still felt different after the attribute increases.

The timing of each movement came more easily. The spear was lighter in her hand than it had been minutes earlier, and turning around the support point no longer required quite as much effort.

The cub forced its head out of the satchel.

Its ears flattened as it saw the approaching mass.

A growl started in its chest.

Mira touched the top of its head.

"Stay close."

The first slime bounced into the road ahead.

Mira's entire mood worsened.

Kael looked at it.

Then at her.

"Easy, right?"

Mira turned the spear slightly toward him.

"Kael."

He looked over.

"Don't."

His grin returned.

Then the slimes came.

Status

Mira

Species: Human

Class: Cleric

Level: 2

Experience: 70 / 140

Strength: 5

Agility: 8

Endurance: 5

Perception: 8

Intelligence: 10

Spirit: 9

Essence: 43 / 45

Unassigned Attribute Points: 0

Individual Abilities

Simplification — Common

Improves the ability to reduce complex problems into their most relevant components using available information.

Skills

Minor Heal — Common

Radiant Spark — Common

Blessing of Shelter — Common

Equipment

Temple Spare Robe — Common — Torn, Stained

Temple Cleric Scarf — Common — Stained

Training Gloves — Common

Beginner Boot — Common — Right Foot Only

Goblin Knife — Common — 9 / 21 Durability

Goblin Spear — Common — Modified — 11 / 28 Durability

Novice Cleric Token — Common

Worn Leather Satchel — Common — Repaired

Inventory

Copper Coins ×10

Small Silver Coins ×2

Dried Fruit Strip ×1

Folded Cloth ×1

Low-Grade Flint ×1

Cord ×2

Bent Iron Buckle ×1

Broken Iron Awl — Common — Bent

Leather Strap ×1

Crude Whetstone ×1

Lesser Whisperstone — Uncommon ×1

Whispertail Claw — Common ×1

Whispertail Pelt Fragment — Common ×1

Black-Tipped Tail Fur — Common ×1

Condition

Left Foot — Missing

Left Radius — Fractured, Properly Splinted

Left Ulna — Cracked

Rib Damage — Moderate

Back and Shoulder — Recovering

Right Leg — Strained

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