Chapter 5 — Inventory ++ Now with autoloot (VB)

Aurelia looked down at Noah, arms folded as she tapped her foot.

“You’re welcome for the help,” Noah replied, trying not to be annoyed at her attitude. He remained where he’d collapsed onto the ground, looking up at Aurelia who could pulverize him in a single blow with an uncertain look.

“Right. My apologies. I do appreciate the help, even though you spent a lot of time standing around staring into space. But nothing about you makes sense, and I’ve already been betrayed once today. So forgive me, if I appear on edge,” Aurelia replied, her voice clipped.

“Fair enough,” Noah replied. He had taken his sweet time. “But in my defense, the quest had ‘don’t die’ as an optional objective, and I wasn’t too keen to jump into it without testing my abilities.”

Aurelia looked at Noah, a confused expression on her face.

“Nevermind. My name is Noah. Noah Brown. I’m from Earth, a very far planet likely nowhere near this side of reality, and I was brought here from the void thing my soul was floating in by these guys,” Noah said, pointing at the dead cultists.

“That’s impossible. You cannot just bring a dead person back to life like that. Not without some god interfering. Undeath wouldn’t exist if it was that easy,” Aurelia said, walking closer, as she frowned. “You even knew my name.”

Noah raised his hands, starting to feel slightly more concerned about the woman’s temper. “Hey, I’m not lying. Can you explain anything that’s happening today? Because I can’t. Magic isn’t even real in my world! Or… at least I thought it wasn’t? Anyway, I know your name from my quest log.”

“From your what?”

“Quest log. It’s a thing I have. It gives me quests and if I finish them, it gives me rewards. I think it gave me an ability tome just now,” Noah said, mentally opening up his inventory to see the tome added into the list of items currently in his inventory. Closing the menu, he looked back at Aurelia.

“Think about it. Why would I help you escape if I wanted to harm you? I’m even more lost than you are about everything. I don’t know where the heck I am, or where to go from here or how come I have magic all of a sudden… honestly, I have so many questions,” Noah said, slowly putting his hand down as he saw Aurelia’s expression beginning to relax.

“I’m sorry, you’re right. I’m just incredibly stressed out. None of this was supposed to happen…” Aurelia said, walking up to where Noah sat, before collapsing as she rested against the wall of the cavern.

Noah watched the woman rest in silence, before the pain in his shoulders became too much to bear. “Sorry to disturb you while you’re resting but… could you maybe do something about this,” Noah said, pointing at the shoulder Viktral had attacked, hanging limp by his side. Likely dislocated.

“Ah yeah, sure,” Aurelia said, as she got up, and walked over. Crouching where Noah remained, she inspected his shoulder, before grabbing it.

“Clench your teeth,” she warned, before pushing the arm. Despite the warning, Noah bit his tongue at the intense pain that assaulted him as the shoulder joint was pushed back into his socket. Leaning his head back, he breathed through the pain as Aurelia resumed to sit by his side, and close her eyes once more.

After a minute or two, as the pain slowly began to fade, Noah glanced sideways towards the woman. “Why’re you just sitting here with your eyes closed?”

Aurelia opened her eyes, glancing back at Noah. “I’m meditating,” she replied.

“I’m as much a fan of that as the next person, but I feel like it’d be smarter to do that when we’ve escaped this place first,” Noah said, glancing around at the corpses littering the area. “Not the most calming of places,” he added.

“You really don’t know anything do you?” Aurelia said, surprised. “I’m meditating to replenish my mana. From the feel of your aura, you’re dangerously low as well.”

“My aura?” Noah asked.

“Yes, your aura. Did you not have any Awakened in your world?” Aurelia asked.

“Nope,” Noah said, before glancing back towards Aurelia. “Maybe? What’s an Awakened?”

Aurelia sighed, leaning away from the wall she rested against. “An awakened is someone who has participated in an awakening ritual, and has access to the Astral Paths. It allows them to channel mana and perform feats of strength others can’t.”

“So basically superpowers. Neat,” Noah said. “How come I have them too? I don’t remember participating in any ritual. Besides the whole sacrificing you to me thing. I just got this crystal and it told me I could awaken.”

“Awakening crystals are another method, but they are not preferred. The process is immediate and painful, instead of the gradual and controlled procedure of a ritual.”

“Definitely felt that,” Noah replied.

Aurelia nodded at his words. “Awakening allows you to pick three paths which bind to three attributes you possess. There are four of those. Power, Agility, Constitution and Mystic. Those three paths then form the basis of the fourth union Path which is the summation of all three, and represents the unity of every attribute you possess.”

“I see,” Noah murmured, looking at his own Union Path. He’d not had any time to pick or choose, but even so, a Path called Realm Devourer being given to him after he made a pact with the Incarnation of Void… Definitely not ominous at all.

“Can you reselect your Paths? Or change them?” Noah asked.

“No, I’ve never heard of something like that. Once selected, a Path is set and cannot really be changed. I’ve heard that some rank advancements cause Paths to change nature, but besides that you cannot go back and pick an entirely new Path,” Aurelia said, looking towards Noah. “Which paths did you pick?” She asked.

Noah hesitated, wondering if he should tell. Perhaps there were some taboo Paths, and if so, this certainly felt like it should be one.

“Are there any taboo Paths?” Noah asked, glancing at Aurelia.

“Many gods forbid certain Paths. But most aren’t outright taboo. Anything that does not dabble in necromancy or ritualistic sacrifice is allowed by the adventurer’s guild.”

“Are you a part of that? The adventurer guild?” Noah asked. He could imagine what an adventuring guild might be like, and the thought of actually being able to visit one filled him with excitement.

“I am. I’m a Silver ranked adventurer. I’d show you my plate but the cultists took it when they captured me,” Aurelia said, a frown appearing on her face.

Noah gave it some thought. On one hand, he didn’t know Aurelia whatsoever. On the other hand, she was the only person he’d met in this world who’d not tried to kill him.

After a moment of hesitation, Noah spoke up. “I have Void Hunter, Astralwalker, Exsanguinator, and a Union Path called Realm Devourer.”

Aurelia frowned at the names of his Paths. “Certainly not the most flattering name for a Union Path, but none of those three draw from the Astral plane of Death so you should be fine. Void and Astral are also rare path affinities, and a Union Path like Realm Devourer sounds powerful, which is all that matters.”

Noah felt a measure of relief fill him at her words. He’d been worried he’d messed things up for himself by hastily picking whatever abilities he could get his hands on.

He glanced at Aurelia, using Identify on her. [Flame Warden - ??]

“You’re a flame warden then?” He asked her, reading the description. Aurelia’s eyes widened in surprise.

“I am… but. How did you know?”

“I’ve got this perk that can show me the paths someone has. Well, just one path, actually,” Noah replied.

“Curious. An ability that can reach out to the Astral script of others as well. I’ve never heard of that before,” Aurelia said, looking at Noah. “I just realized how fascinating you are. The mages would love to open you up and study everything about you.”

Noah regarded Aurelia with concern, moving away from her ever so slightly. “I like being in one piece, thank you.”

Aurelia smiled at him. “I’m messing with you. Though the mages will most certainly be interested in you.”

“Putting mages who’d like to dissect me aside. How did you get your path? And what does it do?” Noah asked, curiously.

“Well. I picked the Pyromancer, Sunlight Sorcerer and Warrior Monk. It gave me the Flame Warden Union Path,” Aurelia said, a distant look in her eyes. “I picked the warrior monk because I did not get the Radiant Warrior Path, but I don’t regret my choice. I always liked using my fists to fight anyway.”

“You seem to love fire powers huh?” Noah said, wondering if he’d just befriended a pyromaniac. “Not that I don’t understand that. Fire has a very primal draw to it.”

“It really does. But that’s not why I picked my Paths,” Aurelia replied.

“Well, why did you pick them then?” Noah asked.

Aurelia grew silent, closing her eyes. Looking up, she opened her eyes as she looked into Noah’s, taking a moment before replying. “I’m afraid of the dark.”

Noah looked at the woman in front of him, before his gaze went to the many burned bodies littering the chamber. “Uh… huh,” he replied, not sure if he was supposed to laugh or not.

“It’s true,” Aurelia replied. “I grew up in a city beneath the surface. It was almost always dark at home and I hated it. I wanted a Path that would allow me to never be alone with the darkness again.”

“Fair enough,” he replied. “How did you get here by the way? You’re clearly powerful.”

Aurelia’s expression fell at his words, as if recollecting a grim memory. “I got set up . I was working temporarily with an adventuring team and we’d gotten a search quest for disappearances around these parts. Turns out, the team I was working with was a part of it. They laced my food and then handed me over to the cult.”

“Sounds like you’ve had a rough day as well,” Noah said.

“Yeah,” Aurelia replied. Folding her knees, she clenched her fists, anger rising on her face. “I really should’ve seen the signs. I got complacent, and nearly died.”

“Tell me about it,” Noah said.

“How did you get here?” Aurelia asked, raising an eyebrow. “I know you were summoned by the cultists but… souls of the departed do not move on to the Void. And if they do in your world, then I pity your reality.”

“No, I'm pretty sure that’s just me. It’s a long story, but simply put, I punched my boss this morning, met an angel, found an eldritch monster, died, then got put into the void by the angel, met the bigger version of the eldritch monster in the Void and now I’m here. So, you know, the usual,” Noah said. To his surprise, Aurelia smiled at his words, glancing back at him with an amused look.

“Well, outworlders are not without precedent in Erandir. They’re not exactly common, but common enough that we have a word for them. Perhaps you’ll even meet someone from your home.”

“Is that so? That would be… an experience,” Noah replied, trailing off.

“You don’t sound too thrilled by the idea?” Aurelia asked.

“I mean, I’d probably be happy at the time. But it would remind me of everything wrong I’d done in my previous life as well. After my mom died from cancer four years ago, I just drifted along. Didn’t talk to my friends. Couldn’t, really. I’d been horrible to them. So I just left. Moved somewhere far away and worked paycheck to paycheck to escape having to think about just how wrong everything in my life was,” Noah said, looking up at the dark cavernous ceiling above him. “Honestly. Despite almost dying multiple times today, I still have no desire to go back. I’m not sure what I’d even go back for.”

Aurelia remained silent by his side, making Noah glance at her. The brown haired woman was regarding him silently, as if looking into his expression for something to find.

“Is there something on my face? Or are you just taken away by what you see?” Noah said, flashing her a grin.

Aurelia broke off her gaze, chuckling as she shook her head. “No, I was merely surprised.”

“Surprised that someone as handsome as me had a shitty life back home?”

“Surprised at how similar we were. Running from our homes and past because we are too afraid to face what we left behind. Perhaps I could take your place in your world,” Aurelia said, before leaning back against the wall once more. “Tell me, what’s your world like? You said it didn’t have any magic.”

“We have magic tricks. Sleight of hand and stuff like that. Nothing like the awesome magic you have here. Oh, but we do have the internet, so I guess it balances out.”

“The internet?”

“It’s a network that connects these devices that you can use to look up anything. Any question you have, it’ll probably have the answer to. The world’s majority of information and data is stored on the internet. Although most of it is just porn.”

Aurelia hummed. “That sounds like the Astral script, but more accessible. And not limited to magic.”

“I’ve heard that word a few times now, what does it mean?” Noah asked.

“The Astral script is… hmm. It’s like the collection of information of all Paths. It lets you interact with your spirit, and grow your Path stronger. The source of all our magic,” Aurelia replied. “You should have seen something of the sort when you awakened. A book, or a scroll with your name on it, telling you what your path was. It varies from person to person what their Astral script looks like.”

“And mine picked a weird RPG system. Why am I not surprised?” Noah muttered to himself.

“What’s…” Aurelia’s mouth moved as she tried to pronounce the word, before she gave up with a shake of her head. “the thing you said just now,” she asked.

“RPG system? It’s a kind of game— actually, I’ll explain that later, too much context needed in between before it’ll make sense,” Noah said.

Aurelia looked at him weirdly for a while, before turning her sight away. “You should meditate as well,” she said, crossing her legs and straightening her back. “A place like this is bound to have a storage chamber with magical artifacts. There’s no way I’m leaving all of that behind. I also need to find any belongings of the person who I’d originally come here to find.”

“There’s other people here?” Noah asked, feeling a bit better at the idea that he wasn’t the only one trapped far outside his depth.

“None alive. They kept us in a small dungeon underground. I was the last one there,” Aurelia said, and Noah felt his mood turn sour.

Closing his eyes, he straightened his back, and tried to focus on meditating. It took him a while to settle his thoughts from running into a thousand different tangents. Thoughts of the fight and the events of today kept flashing in Noah’s mind, playing themselves over.

He’d killed two people today. Not by accident, but intentionally. He’d killed even more, if he counted freeing Aurelia. He knew they would’ve killed him too if they could’ve. Viktral almost did. But despite the knowledge, despite knowing that these people deserved what they got, Noah found the sight of the dying cultists, his eyes wide in shock, firmly stuck in his mind. He let out a breath, before dismissing the image as he focused on the warmth swirling in his abdomen instead.

You are meditating.

Mana regeneration increased by 100%

You’ve obtained the skill [Meditation].

Noah startled, his eyes fluttering open at the sudden chime in his head. Glaring at the words, he watched them disappear.

“My soul’s user interface sucks,” Noah grumbled, before closing his eyes once more, as he reactivated Meditation.

Even without the mana bar increasing twice as fast, Noah could sense something in his body starting to fill. After just a few minutes, Noah felt his spirit start to stir, like a container with too much water that was just about to spill.

Mana: 100%

Noah opened his eyes, finding his energy replenished, as if he’d woken up from a nap. He glanced sideways and saw Aurelia meditating still. Deciding to use his time to explore his system, Noah opened up his menu.

Name: Noah Brown

Race: Human (Primordial Vessel)

Level: 8

Rank: F

Attributes:

Power (F): 9

Agility (F): 8

Constitution (F): 9

Mystic (F): 8

Attribute points: 6

Selecting his attribute points, Noah thought over it for a moment, before putting two in Mystic, two in Agility, one in Constitution, and one in Power, to bring them all to a nice and round ten.

Power increased to 10

Agility increased to 10

Constitution increased to 10

Mystic increased to 10

He looked at the two bars at the corner of his vision and found them ever so slightly larger.

Satisfied by the choice, Noah closed the menu, before opening up his [Skills] menu. A new window popped up.

Skills:

Meditation (Basic) - lvl 1

“Just one skill?” Noah murmured, before selecting the Meditation skill.

Meditation (Basic)

[Active, Arcane]

Increases natural mana recovery rates by 100% during the meditation period. Increases physical recovery rates while active.

“That’s quite neat,” Noah said, closing the menu. Changing options, he went to his [Resistances] menu.

Resistances:

- Blood Magic (Basic)

- Astral Magic (Intermediate)

- Soul Magic (Advanced)

- Void Magic (Advanced)

“I understand Blood, Void and Astral, but Soul magic?” Noah murmured, selecting the option curiously.

Soul Magic Resistance (Advanced):

Your soul had weathered the void, absorbing the Primordial Phoenix seal and the Astral interdimensional rift, before being put back together. It has grown resistant and rigid, resilient to change. Soul magic will struggle to take hold of you, and you will find yourself capable of perceiving the souls of other creatures as well as your own in greater detail.

“Perceive the souls of other creatures, huh?” Noah said. Before he could move on to the other resistances, he felt Aurelia stir near him as she stretched her limbs.

“Alright, I’m full. Let’s move,” she said, standing up.

Noah followed after, standing up from where he’d sat as well. Aurelia walked ahead, where she’d fought Viktral. Noah stood a ways behind, watching her go through his clothes. She picked out items from the dead man’s robes one by one, before letting out an aha! as stood up with a bracelet in her hand.

“What’s that?” Noah asked, trying to ignore that she’d just looted a corpse of a person he’d helped her murder.

“A storage device. It has a pocket dimension inside where you can put things. We can get the contents inside it if we take it to the city,” Aurelia said.

“Sounds like a convenient tool,” Noah replied, looking at the bracelet in wonder.

“It is, but it’s also annoying. Storage devices are all blood bound. You need special tools to open one up, even after the owner has died. If I don’t find a key for him then we’ll have to make a trip to the nearest city to open the bracelet and hope it’s in there, so that we can come back here and pick the area clean,” Aurelia said, as she continued to search through the dead man’s robes.

“Can you show it to me for a second?” Noah asked.

Aurelia threw the bracelet towards him in response and Noah scrambled to catch the thing without dropping it.

Inspecting the bracelet, he noticed the various gems and little symbols carved in it that lit up with light if turned at the current angle. An idea came in Noah’s mind, as he opened up his inventory.

Pushing the bracelet into the menu, he tried to store the item into his inventory, but found it touching the menu screen as if it were solid. Words flashed in front of Noah’s eyes a moment later.

Storage device detected. Would you like to transfer the items from [Viktral Nayfar’s Storage Device (Rare)] to your inventory?

Yes/No?

Noah selected the yes option, and a myriad of notifications erupted in his vision.

67 x [Mana Stones - F] obtained.

22 x [Mana Stones - E] obtained.

3 x [Mana Stones - D] obtained.

1 x [Potion of Healing (Uncommon)] obtained.

1 x [Tome of Sight (Uncommon)] obtained.

1 x Ritualist book of Abyssal Call obtained.

1 x [Twin Bleed Daggers (Uncommon)] obtained.

1 x [Ring of Abyssal Eye (Rare)] obtained.

1 x Cellar key obtained

1 x Abyssal Cultist robe obtained.

Scrolling through his inventory, Noah briefly glanced at all the items, before picking up the one with the key symbol. The key was iron and rusted, and Noah could not detect anything magical about the item.

He used identify on it, to check just in case.

[Cellar Key]

“Aurelia?” Noah called out.

“What is it?” Aurelia asked, not looking back as she continued to search through Viktral’s robes.

“I think I found the key.”