Chapter 4: A book

The sensation was blinding. Eden's eyes locked into an involuntary squint as he struggled to combat the overwhelming presence of the heavens above. Yet, such an attempt at battle was an effort spent in vain, for with every step the youth took towards the biblical curtain he would find his ocular senses more and more skewed, to the point where his eyes might as well have been painted in a thick slather of white. The boy's eyelids faltered, his mind appeared numb, drunk on the sudden stimulus that was clearly lacking from the dingy land he once inhabited.

Still, before the youth could give in to the intoxication such angelic brightness presented, it dimmed, going from an overwhelming attack on his senses to little more than a tickle against the surface of his sealed eyelids that now radiated a warmth unbefitting of Eden's former sodden appearance. Though such a change in luminosity wasn't the only sensation the boy detected, for from the soles of his feet, he felt the earth metamorphose, no longer anaemic and granulous in texture possessing a body akin to that of the most fibrous of sands, the land felt callous, substantial, the response his body gave was akin to that of walking on an actual planet as opposed to the former shore one may have mistaken the rabbit hole for, yet the heat that occupied the prior land did not dissipate, for the warmth still eerily remained ever-present on Eden's mind and body.

'Am I outside now?' Eden inwardly questioned, detecting the sudden shift in environment and the now receded shroud of light that no longer dominated his figure, yet, before the youth even conjured such an answer to his own query, his body continued to move. However, its motions were utterly different, for his form stopped, remaining paralysed in its place while other appendages resumed action.

His eyes were first as the fleshy valance that was his eyelids shot open, revealing a scene that could only be described as otherworldly, one that his hollow-brown organs seemingly didn't possess the right to behold, for the landscape was unequivocally fantastical in nature.

Green, endless fields of emerald acreages spread infinitely before the youth's gaze. Full of vivacity, such ungroomed land swayed in the passing breeze, unbothered by the feverous breath that wished to heal all with its existence. Mountains lay listlessly in the distance, encircling the land around the youth, slumbering and never to awake, with peaks barbed in fresh blankets of snow. The sight of them was odd, for despite the apparent humidity of the realm Eden occupied, their bodies remained forever frost-bound.

Still, the boy paid such trivialities no heed, for his eyes befell more beauties of the land, those in the form of a seemingly impenetrable, almost maddening woodland, with an emerald veil skyline that sought little more than the destruction of the light it appeared to be the only land in such a realm that opposed the warmth of the heavens, the sight perplexed Eden, for his entire life he had known that even in forests as compact as the one before him such breaks in the syrupy canopy were only natural, after all, light was a vital concept to such shrubbery.

For but a moment, Eden felt the urge to explore such supposedly dingy land blossom within his soul. However, before he could even make his first move, he was deprived by the reality before him, for separating the youth from such umbral woodland existed a pool, no, calling it a pool would be an understatement, it was a lake, a vicious domain of water, one that deceptively sparkled with a crystalline effulgence, its surface a resplendent blue it wouldn't be uncommon to find a myriad of creatures drinking from its body and yet, there were none, no signs of life despite the sweltering heat of the day in this world of seemingly perpetual summer.

The boy's body moved, slowly wandering to the surface of such water, curious to its every wile, why it was alone, isolated, without either friend or acquaintance to hold its company, yet even when he placed his body by the surface of such a lake he still couldn't fathom why. It looked perfect, without detriment or flaw, a freshwater creation that any creature would wish to drink from, a statement that didn't exclude the youth himself who, without a second thought, found the tips of his fingers wet with the water's excrement.

It was warm, too warm, even despite the apparent heat of the Everlong sun. The water felt too tepid to the touch, akin to a freshly spilt tear. It wet the tip of Eden's fingers with its bloodcurdling presence seeping into his every pore until little remained, and with such little amount Eden in all his hypocrisy, sampled the supposedly fresh substance bewitched by its avant-garde existence.

Instantly the boy recoiled from the surface of the lake, his face forced into a frozen grimace, for what he had sampled was not the supposedly fresh water that he oh so expected and desired but a mouth-draining sip of salt, one that taxed his very tongue and soul with its presence, for though it was vile in nature, Eden suspected that its origin did not belong to that of an ocean for its flavouring was far too mild.

The boy's actions erupted more out of shock than repulsion. He was confused by the entity before him and its abstract nature, which once again left him questioning how such a thing could exist. 'What's wrong with this place?' Eden inwardly asked, examining the crystalline surface of the supposedly natural creation once more whereupon he would imminently halt, for what he spied atop the lake's body was an image of himself.

His face, in all its average glory, reflected back with an expression of utmost bewilderment and self-imposed frustration. His shaggy head of brown hair appeared dried without even the faintest semblance of the water that had formerly contaminated his person, a statement that rang true for the rest of his person, for on no point of his body spare for the tips of his fingers that he had just wet did water reign supreme, though it was not this fact that left the boy gawking at the presented reflection, but rather something else, something regarding the vanity who wore, for gracing Eden's form no longer rested the dampened cowl of a tattered and frayed uniform but rather a new creation, one that graced his figure perfectly, not too tight nor too loose.

It appeared in the style of a long-gone era, akin to that where kings and queens ruled the land. Emboldened upon Eden's chest existed a tunic with fabric bearing an opaque white colouring such that no light shone through, it felt tactile, almost grating to the touch, yet when thrown across flesh, it rested smoothly in a manner akin to an invisible blanket with little chance of chafing, two buttons lay strewn across the chest both of which appeared to have been done without the youths notice for he seemed prim and proper in his forced garments.

A pair of black trousers was guarding Eden's legs and shrouding them from the world. However, its existence was without definition. Neither too loose nor tight, it was without worthy of additional comment aside from its pristine ability to cowl him thoroughly with its lengthy body, a feat his clothes in the real world appeared to lack.

'Is this the default clothing you receive?' Eden inwardly speculated, none too wise on the principles such a game that was Fantasia online forced upon its players, 'It's…nice,' the boy continued, an unwanted smile blessing his lips at the thought that for once in his life, he could be like the many, that he wouldn't be ostracised for his wealth nor the way he dressed. After all, since it was the first day since the game had launched, all should have been supposedly equal, though such equality would not last for long if it ever existed in the first place.

'Thinking about it, I still haven't seen any players have I?' Eden deliberated, his gaze lifting from the lake in a manner narcissus saw unfit to scan the world around him, an effort ultimately spent in vain, for no matter how much the boy searched he would never find a player dressed in the same garments as him, for unknown to all at the time, he would be the sole player to arrive at such a mystical wonderland.

Still, that did not mean that his time spent in search would be wholly wasted, for with the breeze of the humid air, an idea sprung into the mind of the youth. He remembered the screen that once befell his view and the title it bore. 'Status?' Eden questioned, much to his own self-bemusement. The boy had expected nothing of such monologue, so then why, why was it that now before him appeared a translucent screen stained a mild shade of blue.

{Status}

{Username: Grimm_Eden}

{Race: Human}

{Sex: Male}

{Titles: —}

{Class: —}

{Level: — (Please complete the tutorial to earn the right to level up }

{Stats}

{Strength: 1}

{Agility: 1}

{Fortitude: 1}

{Mana: 0}

{Total Stat points: 3}

{Allocatable Stat points: 0}

{Quests: 1!}

{Tutorial}

{Kill 2 goblins}

{Recommended level: 1}

{Description}

{Welcome player: Grimm_Eden to the fantastical world of Fantasia Online. This world is fraught with many perilous encounters and horrific beasts, such that strength is a necessity. Kill two goblins to prove that you are truly worthy of venturing in such a land.}

{Reward(s)}

{The ability to level up}

{+50 exp}

The screen read to which Eden could only wonder, for despite his apparent short venture into the land, he had yet to see even the slightest hint of life let alone the full existence of a creature bearing the name goblin, yet despite the urging of the status before the youth Eden did not immediately return to perusing his surroundings in search of the mystical creature but instead looked downwards from that point on, to where two more options appeared.

{Skills: }

{Inventory !}

And it was there that Eden saw it, an alert similar to that of the quest that only served to probe his mind, though this time it belonged to a different category, his inventory, a subspace where items could reside. Immediately upon seeing such a sight, the boy looked down to his palms, alert from the word where he saw…nothing. The bottle of splendiferous make he had previously pocketed was nowhere to be seen, having supposedly vanished into thin air.

'Is that thing in my inventory?' Eden posed a query, one he would immediately set out to resolve with another thought, as without missing a beat, the boy inwardly chanted the name. 'Inventory,' and immediately, the panel shifted.

The display of his status dissipated, leaving little more than a supposedly blank border titled {Inventory}. Yet, it was neither empty nor blank, for inhabiting the first square of such an option appeared an item, one the boy could not make out from the miniature portrait portrayed to him.

'What's this?' Eden inwardly stated, his hand absentminded reaching towards the illusory screen that hovered hauntingly before him. Though unaware at the time, Eden wasn't in control of his motions. He simply moved as though guided by a string of fate that connected him to the item behind the screen, ignorant to the sense of foreboding that would surely build within any spectator's stomach.

Eden's hollow brown eyes remained ever entranced by the sight of such an item, entirely unbothered by the apparent disappearance of the creation he would have indeed gone on to sell. Whatever lurked behind the ethereal body of the display occupied his every machination. His fingers collided with the fleeting form of the screen, selecting the item that bore no name despite the apparent room for such a title. The sight of Eden was eerie, his mind far gone. He simply moved to extract the item, ignorant to whatever subscreen options may appear. He chose the only one that mattered.

"Withdraw", The boy apathetically muttered, his voice chilling. Without even the faintest spark of cognisant reason nor emotion, he simply demanded. And the system obliged as, with the faintest of lights an item appeared within the grasp of the absentminded Eden, one that could be described as the epitome of useless.

Bearing a bland black leather binding, what rested within Eden's grip was a book bearing neither title nor purpose. It simply rested before the youth, who had abruptly returned to his senses and now analysed the item with crucial interest. Its pages numbered little, sporting maybe four or five at tops, of which the parchment that rested within could only be described as thin. The item looked anaemic, with most of its bulk or rather lack thereof coming from the unintrusive binding, yet it still managed to captivate Eden's interest.

He felt odd. His emotions regarding the item could only be described as mixed, for though it appeared invaluable, it was the sole item to exist within his inventory. 'I wonder if there's anything written in here?' Eden bemusedly questioned, grasping a corner of the leather-bound item and turning it open, at which point he would imminently freeze, for though what reflected in his gaze was little more than unfilled parchment, his brain told another story, and likewise, so too did the status he had been blessed with.

{Ding}

{User Grimm_Eden has acquired the skill: Language comprehension (Level 1)}

{User Grimm_Eden has acquired the skill: Appraisal (Level 1)

{Language comprehension (Level 1)}

{Description}

{The user gains the ability to speak, read and understand any language. The rate at which they can process such knowledge however is determined by the level.}

{Appraisal (Level 1)}

{The user gains the ability to appraise objects and people alike, allowing one to see the name, rank and requirements for wielding items, skills etc. This ability is currently limited to items of Rare grade, and below, any item above such class will have their abilities name etc., remain anonymous. If one wishes to thoroughly examine the status of another person, the user must be of a higher level and or have a tumultuously larger level appraisal.}

Immediately Eden was assaulted by such coagulation of text to the point his entire vision was permeated with little more than tinged blue screens; however, within seconds, they dissipated, leaving the youth alone with the item he held tight against his figure, the book that had kick-started such barrage of information, yet one that he still couldn't decipher the meaning of, why was it that turning just a page graced him with such skills, Eden did not know, and to be frank, he didn't really care. Spare for the habitual turning of the rest of the item's contents, he discovered nothing except the same monotonous blank pages.

'Appraisal', Eden inwardly declared, hoping to analyse the so far unnamed item that lingered by his person, as immediately a faint screen, much smaller than the one that listed his statistics, appeared hovering mildly above the unknown creation.

{Item name: —}

{Grade: —}

{Description: An unknown item found in the inventory of player Grimm_Eden}

'Nothing, which can mean two things, either the book's completely useless, not even worthy of a grade and label, which is highly likely, or, it's currently above my capabilities which is less compelling, but still holds ground.'

The appraisal was useless, a venture sporting nothing but ill game, for it revealed nothing as to the book's use, nor purpose for it being within the boy's inventory, spare for the fact that it couldn't be identified, which Eden believed to be a hint in its own right, though his skewed way of thinking only came to be due to the sudden torrent of skills he received upon the books opening, skills every player, neigh every character in such a world was blessed with upon their initial arrival though that was a fact the youth remained oblivious too.

'I suppose I'll just leave it in my inventory for now,' Eden continued urging the item to depart with a brief mumble of "Deposit", yet, it refused to leave, for its weight still pressed against the youth's form. However, before Eden had time to question the book's adamant refusal to return, he was greeted by yet another message from the status, one that hovered listlessly above the item it barred contact with.

{Item cannot be deposited}

Such words rang in the mind of the boy for but a second. Why? Why wouldn't it go back? Was there something wrong with his way of asking? No, that wasn't the case. It couldn't have been, for the status approved of his notion, of his call, yet denied him, it rejected Eden's plea or rather the existence of the book and wished to thrust it upon the motionless youth who could do little more than stare at the blank screen while stuffing the item abruptly in his pocket, a feat he was solely capable of due to the diminutive size of the leather-bound article.

'I won't lose it, will I?' Eden questioned, much to his own dismay, for he didn't wish to lose the item that had abruptly appeared out of nowhere, the mystical article that even the status or system refused to reclaim.

Still, before the adolescent could answer his own question by moving from his place, he would freeze yet again, for across the lake from once he viewed….stirred life, as an obscured figure stood limpid by the shore.