Chapter 8

Alaric soon arrived to the front door to his home, and legs crossed as he sat on his new cloud. He opened the door, and he moved in. "I'm Ho-"

Before he could finish, his parents rushed in and he was brought into an embrace by his mother. He blinked,

"Alaric baby! You're okay! I was so worried!" She exclaimed, worry and panic laced in her voice. Alaric didn't realize how long he was out.

She pulled back and rubbed his hair, "We kept calling the school-" She paused as her face showed even more concern. His father took over, "What happened?" He asked, clearly pointing to his sever injuries. He took a breath, he hoped they believe him. 

"W-Well...I was on my way home, and some guys started beating me up..." He said, there was no way he could reveal that he went to a dungeon, he would get in a lot of trouble.

His father clenched his fists, "Who were the bastards?!" He shouted as Alaric held up his hands, "No no, it's okay, I was...able to run them off. They said they won't mess with me again!" He panicked, as his father's aura flared up, clearing showing his anger. 

"Just because you ran them off, doesn't mean I should let them get away with this..." He said, as Alaric held up his hands, showing visible pain.

"It's okay, seriously...After I ran them off, some other people were able to handle them. So, you don't have to worry." He felt like his story was all over the place, but he hoped it was believable. "Let's not worry about that right now, we can talk about it later. You're clearly hurt! Let me patch you up." His mother said as she grabbed his hand and led him towards her room, with the cloud holding Alaric.

Alaric was now laying in his bed, his face and body covered in bandages. He glanced over as his cloud began to just roam his room, giving Alaric a smile. "You know, I should give you a name." He said, as the cloud responded by coming near his bed.

Alaric began to think about a possible name for his new cloud, "How about...Puff?" He asked, holding back a small laugh. The cloud turned gray, like a rain cloud, showing it's obvious disapproval.

"Don't like it huh? Hm, how about, Skydancer? We can use sky for short." He said, as the cloud returned to normal and began to bounce, brightened, swirling around the room in delight. Alaric smiled, "Alright, Skydancer it is!" He said as he flew next to him. Alaric gave it a small pat, the soft cushion soft under his hand.

Alaric was then reminded, "Oh, I have some Attribute point I can use." He said, as he brought up his status window.

Name: Alaric Vandale

Occupation: Monkey King

Class: Warrior

HP: 100/100 (+18)

MP: 50/50

Stamina: 150/150

[ Attributes ]

Strength: (12+5) [enhanced by Monkey King Buff]

Agility: 10

Intelligence: 5

Vitality: 15 (+10) [enhanced by Monkey King Buff]

[ Skills ]

- Power Strike

- Dash

- Barrier

- Endurance

- Strength boost

- Weapon Mastery

[ Equipment ]

- Weapon: Ruyi Jingu Bang

- Cloud Ride

As his eyes scanned his Attributes, he put his finger to his chin. "My main selling point is my strength, so I should put most of my point into strength. And I can take hits, so I think my Vitality is fine. As for my intelligence..."

Intelligence in rpg games usually boosts your mana and overall magic use. He frowned, "I'm able to use quite a bit of my spells without losing too much mana, though having more mana wouldn't hurt. But I don't have much magic skills at the moment, so I shouldn't put too many into that category for the moment." He said, as the cloud next to him shook softly.

"And then there's agility, being faster is never a bad thing. Alright, here's what I'll do," He pointed to the screen and began to distribute the points.

He put three points into strength, one into agility, and the last into his intelligence. He nodded, he thought this made the most sense. He sighed and folded his arms, laying back. He took a look at sky, "So, I know you're just supposed to be a ride, but, do you get skills too?" He asked as the cloud flew up and moved up and down, "Is that, yes?"

Alaric, pulled up sky's status window. He read through it, and there was nothing the suggest he had skills. But, like his staff, he does have a level. "For now, I'm going to assume that maybe you can. Maybe you level up if you are used." He suggested, as he nodded. "We'll just have to see."

Alaric laid back again and stared up at his ceiling, he wondered what was next for him. He was able to gauge his power, and he isn't as strong as he thought he was.

He was almost killed during his run through of that dungeon. He can't afford to do that again, he might end up getting caught. But, was he just supposed to sit back and wait till he was eighteen so he could attend A.A.A?

He frowned at the thought, he waited all this time already, and now that he had his system, he was barely able to use. Of course, this how most people lived their lives, but this isn't what he wanted. He wanted to live in excitement, become strong, and fight stronger opponents. But, how could he do that now? 

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Alaric was heading to school, sitting on sky. Alaric was staring down, sighing heavily. His mind was drawing a blank. He absentmindedly stroked sky's soft surface, but his mind was elsewhere. He wondered what to do next.

He didn't know what to do anymore, but of course he didn't have time to try and think, before his name was shouted, "Alaric!!" He turned and his friend Arthur was sprinting towards him. Arthur finally reached him,

"Whoa, dude. What's up with the cloud?" He asked, as Alaric looked down,

He gave a small smile, patting Sky affectionately. "This is skydancer, sky for short."

"Oh wow! But, dang what happened to you?" He asked.

Arthur gave a concerned expression as he noticed Alaric's bandages and exhausted eyes. Alaric looked around before, hopping no one would be listening. "If I tell you, you CAN'T tell anyone else." He said, his voice serious, as Sky flew closer as he spoke to him.

Arthur nodded, having a cautions look, "Alright, I promise.

Alaric took a breath, and whispered. "I went to a dungeon..."

Arthurs eyes went wide. Alaric quickly covered his mouth, knowing he was going to scream it out loud, "Not too loud. Yes, I went to a dungeon."

He slowly removed his hand as he looked shocked, "What the heck were you doing at a dungeon...!?" He whispered in extreme shock. "You could've died Alaric. Do you know how dangerous those places?"

"I know, of course I know. But, I had to," He replied, his voice firm. "I wanted to test out my strength. Yeah, but, I needed to know how strong I currently am." 

Arthur shook his head, worry etched across his face. "T-That's crazy! There's reason people train for years and go in packs before even thinking about taking on a dungeon."

"I get it, okay? But sitting around and waiting isn't enough for me. I had to know what I was capable of." His eyes darkened, and his mind raced back to those deadly battles that took place in the dungeon.

The two continued in silence on their way to school.

Alaric folded his arms, "You know Arthur, I have a question," Arthur looked over and gave a curious expression. "Besides training and completing dungeons, what's another way you could get stronger?" 

Arthur shrugged, "I don't know. As far as I know, those are the only ways."

Alaric frowned, 'So, I really have no choice?' He really had to wait.

He looked forward, "When do you turn ten Arthur?" He wondered.

Arthur smiled, "In November!" Alaric nodded, 'A month huh? I see...' 

The two reached the front of the school gate, and Alaric looked up. 'Eight years, until we can attend A.A.A.' He knew he couldn't afford to slack off during that time, he had to do something. Whether that be working out, studying martial arts, it didn't matter, he wasn't going to be left behind. 'When the entrance exams come around, I will be ready.'