The lie that everyone is told, is that in life you can achieve anything you want by working hard enough for it. Yet at the end of the day, it is the circumstances of one's birth that forge the rest of their life. This is what Zach had always told himself. A coping mechanism for when he thought someone was better than him.
Zach was sucked into the doorway from the pillar room and when he was spat back out, he was in a room that had a similar size but thanks to lacking the pillars it felt far more open. Upon the back wall there was not the archways he had come to expect but three doors; silver, gold, and red. There was only one exit this time though, and it was to the left.
So, he had the option of the doors or carry on to the left. Left would mean potentially bumping into another team. But then again if everyone had been split up like him, it could mean finding a straggler. Even someone from the other group could help him if he came across another creature like the skeleton before. Deciding he needed to think this through but needing to be quick, so he could wipe the smug grin off Aaron's face. He stepped into the center of the room.
Click
He felt it straight away; his foot began to sink.
Rolling effect...
Augmenting via luck...
Effect:
Curse of the Kleptomaniac:
You may not leave a room until you have opened all doors and collected all items.
"Great! Just what I needed today, huh? That a-hole Aaron gets to go and explore with probably a cool rivalry thing. I get stuck with a curse. I'll have to see my grandmama when I get home to do an exorcism... wait... grandmama... is she even okay?" The weight of the world's changes suddenly hit Zach, slowing his speech and rendering his head numb. It was like a headache, but it felt like he was zoomed out not in the moment, or himself. He swallowed down what felt like sick. Pushed down the feelings of existentialism and focused on the task at hand.
"Okay so I gotta open all these doors. Oh, look, I'm talking to myself, thanks game. No no, focus man. I have to open all these doors to leave. Oh well, what's the best way? Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Mo..." He continued on, before landing on gold.
The golden door had an ornate trim that jutted out. The top of the frame, it swirled like a fancy moustache at the ends. Gold trimming made a wonderfully reflective metal, where the rest of the dungeon seemed rundown and dank this doorway looked new or well taken care of. Upon approaching it a notification appeared:
Most doors require a task to be completed to open
Due to this being your first time finding one the condition is free
With a Shoomph, the door slid down into the floor.
Congratulations
You have discovered your first Treasure Room
In this room you will be provided an item or skill
Your luck stat will help decide the quality of reward.
"Again, my luck? I already hated Aaron. Better batting average, better pitching form, and now he even is better at this skyrim dungeon thing than me." He looked up to see a giant chest in the center of the room. A room that upon a further inspection was much wider than it should be, given there were supposed to be three of these all packed into the back of this wall.
The chest did look like it was openable by force, so Zach instinctively crouched down to lift the lid, before a notification appeared. It was just an outline of a hand. Looking at the window, then down at his own hand there was only one conclusion he could come to. Thus, his hand was placed upon the window. The image of a hand was replaced with a green circle and white tick in the center.
A bright, eye burning, light exploded from the chest where the lid met the base. The chest creaked open. A silhouette rose from the light and sat in the air for a second. Without much hesitation, Zach's hand reached for it. His body moved on his own and upon grabbing it a large bit of text appeared, along with the shape gaining both color and depth:
Skill Book: Magic Dart
★★☆☆☆
Uses: 3/3
You have acquired a skill book.
Skill books are items that can be used to instantly learn a new skill instead of unlocking them via the skill tree.
May be traded
*Uses retain between trading
"Wait I can learn magic? This really is like a video game! I could be a cool wizard." Zach thought for a moment. "Actually, those guys have weird hats, and I can't really grow a beard. Ooh maybe Samuel should have it, he kinda looks like a young Dumbledore. Yeah. I'll save it for now."
Curse of the Kleptomaniac's hidden passive activated
"Huh?" Zach exclaimed looking at the new notification
All skill books are automatically used (regardless of the number of uses left).
Using Skill Book: Magic Dart ...
You have acquired Magic Dart (Level 1) ...
You do not have mana circuits ...
Assessing aptitude for magic ...
Assessing luck...
Zach rolled his eyes at the luck, still trying to process the rest of the spam he was getting.
Generating Mana Circuits ★
"Great, can I use magic no-" he was cut off by the generation.
How would the body feel if you suddenly gained blood vessels for the first time? How would it feel to have muscles grafted onto your bones? Magic Circuits are not something human beings naturally possessed, so the system that had taken control had to make do and create them. For those who had low luck with their magic circuits it meant that even with stimuli their body could never naturally learn magic.
It was a painful process. It began at the heart. First, an electronic pulse is sent out, numbing most of the body and stopping you from moving around and disturbing the process. Then the circuits begin to form and spread. Most people who had a single star awakening like Zach described it like lava or lightning slowly moving out from the heart. Dozens of burning strands snaked their way through the body, each second more sickening than the last.
But the pain subsided not too long after it began. There were aches and Zach's body now moved sluggish yet weightless. It would feel odd to suddenly be aware of all the processes your body goes through and thus our brain ignores those feelings. However, this new variable, this new sensation, had yet to be registered. It felt like a viscous fluid was circling inside him. It reached his fingertips, his toes, and even his hair. It was such an off-putting feeling.
You have discovered a new Skill Tree:
Basic Magic (0/5)
For obtaining your first skill you have gained 1 skill point
You currently have 2 unspent skill points
"I wish you would crack a joke or something... these are boring." Zach said, pushing down the vomit in his throat. A request that was heard.
Recalibrating to match user preference...
"Yeah, that's going to bite me in the ahh later. Oh, really you count ahh as a swear? Man, this day could not get any better for me. But at least let me see my new skill."
Magic Dart
Level 1
Mana required: 5 (Insufficient Mana)
You fire a small, concentrated ball of Mana. To cast this spell, you must envision a clear motion to cast and call out the name of the spell.
"Insufficient? But its only five, I definitely have more than that." Saying those words magically made his status window appear.
Health: 20/20 (8.5 p/h)
Stamina: 25/40 (12.25 p/h)
Mana: 3/3 (2.75 p/h)
p/h = Per hour regeneration
"Three? I have three!" He stopped himself "Calm down man. Do your exercises." Zach told himself to which he responded to his own instruction by taking a deep breath in. He held the breath whilst bending all the way down until he comfortably touched his toes. Then as he slowly came back up, he raised his arms above his head, clasping his palms together. Finally, he separated his arms allowing them to fall back to his sides, which he did whilst simultaneously releasing his breath.
You have discovered a new skill tree:
Cool Headed (0/3)
You really got stressed out from having no mana?
A message box that immediately made Zach's eyebrows twitch with a quelled anger. "I asked for funny, not mean." He said grinding his teeth for the second time today. "But thank you for the reminder." He said as he opened up his skill tree and put his two unused points into the Basic Magic path
Basic Magic (2/5)
You have gained 2 Magic Stat Points
Would you like to distribute them?
"Yes"
Please select stats to increase:
Intelligence
Wisdom
Focus
Will
Spirit
Magic
Luck
Perception
"I wish I played more games now. I bet Jake would know, that guy was always on World of Warcraft." He scratched his head, searching for answers. "I'll just go with Magic for now, that's simple right?" He put two points into Magic
Mana Increase: 3 -> 5
Mana Regen Increased 2.75 -> 6.75 p/h
Magic Dart's Damage Increased: 3.75 -> 5.75
It seems like your low intelligence stat might be wrong after all!
"Look at me go! I knew I was right!" Which caused Zach to perform a celebration dance only reserved for homeruns.
"Now that I'm a certified wizard let's go figure out the other two rooms and then beat Aaron to the boss. Wait a sec did I drop the book?" Zach began to pat himself down and checked the floor
Your skill book has been placed in your inventory.
"Inventory?" A question that allowed the pop up to show an inventory screen with a club and a book in.