Chapter Four

Jason felt for the changes within his body as he looked at his phone. "I don't feel any different." He muttered to himself.

He heard Selena chuckle behind him. "Of course you wouldn't feel anything with such a small change in your level."

"What are these skills?" Jason eyed hurricane kick and arcane thrust. "Are they something I should be training?"

"You should be training more than that, what is your movement ability?" Selena asked as she looked over his shoulder.

"Movement ability?" Jason asked as he looked at the skills list. "I don't see one listed."

Selena let out a low whistle as she found what she was looking for. "Temporal shift, and it looks like it's already complete." She looked at him with a slight smile. "Why didn't you use that while fighting the rabbits?" She asked cooly. "The battle would have been done in seconds."

"Maybe if I hadn't just found the book yesterday and completely altered the way I think of things within the last few hours, I would have thought to use a technique I didn't even know existed." He rolled his eyes. "Is there any way I can train these abilities?"

"Just think of the ability you wish to use." Selena said plainly. Jason felt as if he were a child, yet it seemed right. He was only in the beginner levels after all.

Jason thought of Temporal Shift and something clicked within his mind. He looked at a sturdy branch up a large tree, and then he was there. He felt no wind rustle, he felt no force, he just appeared where he wanted to go.

Jason grabbed the tree as he balanced on the sturdy branch. "That was unexpectedly easy." He said as he felt slightly underwhelmed. "So I suppose I can teleport now."

"Is that what it's called now?" Selena asked from below. She jumped through the air and landed next to Jason who nodded at her.

"Teleportation is a theory within this world, only hinted at through television, books and games." Jason explained as he sat down on the branch. "I guess it's not so hard to believe that such a thing exists. The idea had to come from somewhere."

Selena chuckled slightly. "You seem to be getting used to the idea of the impossible." She smiled as she rustled his hair. "I think I'll miss 'what the hell?!' just a little." She mocked him as she jumped back to the ground.

"Come back down here, but use shift. Your body isn't strong enough for such a fall yet." She called up to the tree.

Jason focused on the ground and activated temporal shift once again. He found himself moving to the spot he had started at without taking so much as a step. He began to feel slightly light headed, yet it was still an exhilarating experience.

"Good. Now we can focus on your combat abilities." She said without so much as a flinch when he appeared from nowhere. He raised his eyebrow as he took a seat on the ground using the tree as a support.

"Arcane thrust and hurricane kick." Jason mused as he took out his phone and checked his abilities. He then noticed that all of his combat proficiencies besides temporal shift were at 0.00%. "How come my movement ability was mastered before I even used it?" He looked at Selena only to see an eyebrow raised. "Not that I'm complaining!" He added while waving his hands defensively. Why exactly was he defending himself?

"You are the holder of the Temporal Tome."

"Is that supposed to mean something to me?" Jason raised an eyebrow.

"It's the verse of the mage's academy which accepted you. Temporal magic is your specialty." She said simply.

Jason remembered when she said he was the safe keeper of time, he supposed it made a little bit of sense that such an ability would be in the welcoming package. "Alright then, I guess I'm ready to begin."

"Good," Selena began, but then looked at the yard. "We might want to take your training somewhere else though."

"Where do you have in mind?" He asked skeptically. It wasn't as if she knew anywhere around East Grand. At least nowhere that would still exist after a few thousand years.

"Another way of building experience is going to dungeons." She said simply. "You can either go to them with someone else, or you can travel there yourself for some solo training. Either way, it can help you keep the normal world from seeing too much of your new world, if you understand my meaning."

"Okay. So how do we get to these dungeons?" He asked hesitantly.

"Usually you get to them by means of the tome." Her eyes grew slightly dim as she said this. "It should transport you where you need to go. All you have to do is think of the word 'dungeon' and a prompt should appear."

Jason looked at the haunted expression in her eyes and realized that such a means of travel was probably what she had been trapped in for the last few thousand years. "So, how long does it take to get there?"

"Don't worry, it's not going to take as long as it took for me to get here." She said reassuringly. "I was placed within the tome until someone suitable came along and unlocked it. We should be able to travel outside of time to the dungeon."

"You're coming with?"

"Of course. I am bound to the master of the temporal tome. Where you go, I go."

"For how long?" Jason had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He felt as though he knew the answer already.

"Well, for as long as you are the owner of the temporal tome, of course." She looked at him dubiously. "So, possibly forever?"

Jason let that last statement sink in. He already knew he could die, yet come back to life again later. If that were the case, could he actually die for real? He knew he needed to know that answer, yet couldn't bring himself to ask it yet. He gulped once before raising his phone and thinking the word 'dungeon.' As soon as the thought was formed, a prompt appeared.

'You are about to enter a level 1 to level 5 Dungeon. Continue?'

[Yes] [No]

Gathering his courage, Jason clicked yes on his phone. When his thumb left the glossy screen, a black hole appeared where it once was. In moments, his world became black.