Sanguine Prince | Chapter 05: Rude Awakening (Second Draft)

Congratulations! Aether use unlocked! You are now able to make use of the mystical abilities tied to Aether manipulation, allowing you to cast and understand magic in all of its many fantastical and myriad forms.

[Dimensional Rift] uses 215 Mana!

Mana cost is nullified by [Soul Chrysalis]!

Mana at 100 / 100. You are regenerating 1.8 Mana per minute!

Arcturus snapped his eyes open to see sunlight streaming in through a layer of water, which he suddenly realized he was submerged in. His limbs flailed in a panic, and terror struck him that he would die as quickly as he’d been reborn—until he abruptly remembered he could swim.

[Strength Check] successful!

[Intelligence Check] successful!

You remembered you could swim before dying of your own shocked stupidity.

He shoved himself to the surface as his subconscious snarked in his mind, chalking it up to a manifestation of his new comprehension of the world. Desperate for air, he broke the surface of the water mere seconds later, squinting against the sun streaming into the clearing he found himself in. He appeared to be in a forest glade, and could smell the various scents and aromas that called to memories of nature hikes with his father.

Treading water, he realized he was in the middle of a large pond that was being fed by a small waterfall set against the steep incline of a plant-covered natural wall. The opposite side of the pond from the waterfall was far more appealing, sloping gently to a mossy bank. First things first, then, was finding his way free of the water and searching for civilization.

The strength of his limbs when he started forwards, however, stunned him—momentarily catching him off-guard with each powerful stroke and kick. He felt… good. Good in a way he never had before, as if he were positively brimming with energy. 

Arcturus reached the edge of the pond quickly and hauled himself out of the water. In that moment, he also realized he was absolutely naked, a fact that caused him to rapidly check the area for any onlookers he might have missed, tensing in pre-emptive embarrassment. Only when he’d certified he truly was alone did he relax, turning to examine the water he’d managed to roll himself into after arrival.

Crystal clear, blue water greeted him, and he raised his eyebrows in surprise.

It was not normal to see water so pure.

In fact, he’d never seen water that wasn’t at least somewhat murky or darker in form. The pond before him, however, was almost translucent in the way someone’s swimming pool might have been. He could have seen someone at the bottom of it as easily as at the top, and there weren’t even fish or animals within it. Had it not been for the clear evidence that he was in some sort of forest, Arcturus would have sworn it was an artificial location.

Looking down, he caught sight of his reflection and froze.

His features were… different, and yet for some reason, he knew they were finally right. His hair was a near-perfect blend of black and platinum blond bordering white, in a mix that was both surprising and somehow natural in a way he never could have achieved artificially. It was as if he had taken both colors and balanced the mix precisely, with neither given more or less favor than the other. 

His features were also different from what he remembered; symmetrical and sculpted in a way that seemed at once both more natural for him, and superlatively unnatural by any genealogical sense. His jaw, his cheekbones, even his nose—they were as close to perfectly aligned as he’d ever seen, to say nothing of his ears, which were slightly elongated, and notably pointed at their tips.

He experimentally touched one, prodding at the soft tissue and whistling in quiet amazement before continuing his study of himself.

Moments later, a sharp breath escaped him when he finally noticed his eyes, and Arcturus realised he didn’t need to bend down to see exactly what had changed.

His eyesight wasn’t the only thing that had vastly increased; so too had his coloration. Where before he had possessed strange, but not overly rare, rusty-brown irises; now instead, he beheld the world with a pair of crimson orbs that were just a shade darker than vivid scarlet. A mild case of heterochromia had even manifested with a perceptible, but thin golden ring around each abyssal pupil that offered a depth and intensity to his gaze he had previously lacked.

Arcturus blinked at his own reflection, nonplussed by the striking nature of the changes to his features—features that were, he somehow knew, finally what they always should have been. It sounded mad, yet the rightness he felt was irrefutable.

An abrupt ringing in his ears drew forth a wince, and he reflexively grabbed his head, squinting against the noise and blinking rapidly, jaw working as if to try to rid himself of the intrusive sound. Sound assailed him suddenly, attacking his hearing in a growing cascade, and forcing him to clamp his palms over his ears. The pain abated, albeit only mildly, and he swept his eyes around the clearing.

Was someone attacking him? He didn’t sense anything in the way of hostile intent, but that wasn’t always a clear indication.

Wait, sense? Since when did he sense things?

Don’t ask me, this is your mental breakdown.

Ignoring the voice he already regretted missing, Arcturus blinked when the ringing eased up. Cautiously, he removed his hands from his ears as the sound assailing them evened out.

“Well, that was new…” he muttered to himself, only for his eyes to widen at how crisp and clear his voice had sounded. He could even, very nearly, judge the volume he’d used to the decibel, and could tell that he was speaking in what most would consider a smooth, almost musical, masculine baritone.

Are my ears more sensitive? That… no, wait, I was remade. Do I have no hearing degradation and no erosion from ambient noise? Oh my God, I have perfect hearing!

Yet somehow, the more he thought about it, that also didn’t quite fit.

Once again, he reached up, touching the tips of his ears and frowning. Better eyesight, almost supernaturally good looks, sensitive hearing, a feeling of powerful energy inside himself, the ability to sense the world around him—his eyes widened with sudden realisation.

“Holy shit. I’m a fucking elf.”

[Intelligence Check] successful! Insight Gained: “Elven” features. 

Despite your supposed understanding that they only exist in fairy tales, you nonetheless have stumbled upon the inescapable truth that you bear a striking resemblance to a supposed Fantasy species. Are you sure you didn’t mess up that rebirth process, Arcturus?

The voice of his subconscious, apparently also his personal in-built universal guide, was ignored as he set his new senses to task and searched for the most likely avenue out of the forest.

He didn’t know how deep inside he was or whether the people he encountered would be hostile. He should have stipulated a friendly location when he’d willed himself to… wherever he was. Earth, it seemed, despite the implausibility of the pond he’d encountered. Perhaps he’d found himself in some eccentric billionaire’s private resort—that would have been just the sort of thing he’d expect to happen to him. 

"Well, what now?" he muttered aloud, before falling back on his ass in surprise as a screen appeared before him.

⚜️MAIN QUEST⚜️

Quest Name: New World, New Life

Difficulty: Moderate

Status: On-Going

Description

Following a catastrophic encounter with mysterious, otherworldly individuals at your school, you were killed and transported to an astral plane known only as 'The Highest'.

There, you encountered a being of extraordinary power named 'Order', who informed you of the new reality of your existence. Refusing to accept the paths forward offered by the closest being to God you will likely ever encounter, you recklessly threw yourself out of The Highest and into Oblivion, where the energies of the void promptly tore you apart.

Despite this, and through methods unknown, you managed not only to preserve a shard of yourself within the void of non-existence but also to construct a Chrysalis of pure energy that served as a means to facilitate your rebirth into existence within non-existence itself.

Following this, you were transported to what appears to be Earth—except you were issued a quest by some sort of video-game-esque status screen that defies your understanding.

Current Objective: Survive.

"Survive? What the hell does—"

A prickling of his senses, or some sort of extrasensory warning, flared up in Arcturus’ mind, and he spun on his heels.

From one edge of the clearing, seemingly undetected until it no longer needed to remain careful, the most enormous wolf he’d ever seen—in life or in fiction—came into view. Its fur was black, with two gleaming yellow eyes and a mouth large enough to swallow both his legs in one bite. He scented blood, foliage, and forest aromas on its pelt, as well as the faint odor of rotted meat from its mouth.

"Oh, come on!"

Based on its size and approach, Arcturus didn’t kid himself by believing he could chase it off simply by shouting or waving a stick—especially since he didn’t have a stick. Instead, he dug into the lessons his father had taught him about unarmed combat, swallowing as he tried to think of a way not to become lunch barely an hour after his emergence into new life. If only he had a means or a way to measure the animal’s strength or speed, either by comparison to normal wolves or some sort of sheet like the one he had for himself, he might have been able to judge his chances.

At that moment, that very information abruptly appeared in the form of a large monochromatic status panel, causing him to stumble in alarm and elicit a snarl of anticipation from the watching beast.

Congratulations! [Inspect] (Passive, Infinite Scaling) Unlocked!

You have succeeded in achieving a basic mastery of the System and unlocked the ability to view the details of items and individuals. Due to the low level of the initial skill, however, this ability will not function on most higher forms of life! Unlock further progress in the [Inspect] skill to enable higher levels of information access.

Arcturus ignored the narration of his subconscious and set to quickly assessing the beast’s composition.

Survival came first; the questions could come later.

INFORMATION PANEL

BASIC INFORMATION

Name: Dire Wolf | Age: 8 | Sex: Male

Level: 3 | Title(s): Omega

Anima: 10

Health Points: 100 / 100

1.75 Health Per Minute (HPM)

Aether: 1

Mana Points: 10 / 10

0.25 Mana Per Minute (MPM)

ATTRIBUTES

Strength: 17 (14+3) | Agility: 15 | Intelligence: 7 | Vitality: 7 | Perception: 13 (10+3) | Arcana: 0 | Willpower: 11 | Charisma: 3 | Luck: 2

CORE SKILLS

[Lone Hunter] (Passive)

This Dire Wolf is a lone hunter, and has survived due entirely to its ferocity and capacity for violence. It is not to be underestimated!

+3 to Strength.

[Blood Hunter] (Active)

This Dire Wolf can track a target from miles away, even using days old blood! There’s no escaping this creature no matter how far you run.

+3 to Perception.

Arcturus grimaced at what his mind told him, quickly comparing his own numbers to the Dire Wolf. He was surprised by how even the match-up was, even considering the fact that he was utterly naked. Swallowing back his trepidation, he widened his stance and raised his hands before him with grim determination—locking his eyes to the wolf’s own. 

“Come get me,” he growled more confidently than he felt, which seemed to be exactly what the beast had been waiting for. Quicker than Arcturus anticipated, it charged, launching itself at him with a vicious snap of its jaws.

Arcturus reacted instinctively when the wolf leapt, snapping his right hand up to grab the wolf’s throat and reaching for its central mass with his left, bending his knees and using the creature’s own momentum to toss it over and behind him. He felt the powerful muscles in his new body exert themselves as he flung the beast away, slamming it into the grass and narrowly missing the water.

Despite his success, he felt a sting as its claws grazed his shoulders, leaving a painful reminder of exactly how lethal it was even without its bite force.

Congratulations! [Unarmed Combat] (Passive, Level 1) Unlocked!

Your life’s-worth of extensive combat training has borne fruit! Several styles of martial arts and close-quarters combat training have blended into something uniquely your own, allowing you to be lethal even while buck-naked! Go get ‘em, Arcturus!

[Light Wound] suffered! You have suffered 8 Damage from the Dire Wolf’s claws!

[Condition: Bleeding]! You are suffering 1 point of Health Damage per 8 seconds from your [Light Wound]!

[Warning]: You are [Bleeding]! If your Health is reduced to zero, you will die!

Health at 92 / 100. You are [Bleeding]!

Arcturus didn’t dwell on the rapid-fire alerts his subconscious was throwing at him, and instead tried to use his magic—struggling to force it out in some useful capacity while the Dire Wolf turned back to face him with a low snarl.

“Fireball!” he shouted desperately, while winding his arm into a throwing motion…

…to absolutely no effect.

Excellent work, Gandalf.

“Shit,” he muttered, moving back as the wolf reoriented to stalk back toward him. Its golden eyes narrowed on him in consideration, and the creature’s muscles visibly tensed as it prepared itself. Arcturus knew he had only a few precious seconds left before it charged again. He was grimly certain, as well, that the throw he had just used wouldn’t work a second time.