Chapter 1: Beyond the Limit
Conor felt the cold rain pour on his face, he could still vividly remember the events leading up to this point. His body was aching from the pain and the blood loss. His vision was blurry, his body was heavy. His entire life seemed to flash before his eyes.
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Conor and his little brother (though admittedly not that little, they were only separated by a few months at most), grew up in a small peaceful town called Miri living with their parents. The village itself wasn't that remarkable. It wasn't far from the capitol but it wasn't too close, the herbs and crops that were grown there were average at best. What made it popular for travelling merchants and tourists was the large number of people with "Spirits", often called "The Spirited". Once citizens became of age, they were often sent to their village priests to try and have their hidden abilities awakened. While most Spirits were hereditary, it wasn't uncommon for new spirits to manifest or for a spirit to not manifest at all. Tomorrow was the day that Efrain would supposedly get his spirit, and go on a grand journey across the land of Arcyon. Conor wanted to wait to get his spirit so he and Efrain would start at the same time. He had also wanted to help Efrain study to live as a Merchant Adventurer, one who would become legendary through his sales and his tales. Money was measured in coppers, silvers, and golds. A man could live off of five gold pieces for a year if he wanted. 100 of each kind of currency leads up to a higher grade. 100 copper pieces were worth 1 silver piece, and so on. Ever since the original Spirited came into existence, a magical system was agreed upon to help younger Spirited develop properly. Though stats aren't set in stone and can be improved with training, the average set of stats looked something like this.
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Name
Spirit
LVL 1
Job - (citizen)
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HP - 500 (Normal HP/LVL gain is 50 HP/LVL)
MP - 200 (Normal MP/LVL gain is 30 MP/LVL)
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STR - 10
VIT - 10 (2 VIT points = 1 extra HP gain per LVL.)
DEX - 10
AGI - 10
INT - 10 (1 INT point = 2 extra MP gain per LVL)
WIS - 10 (5 WIS points = 2 extra MP/hr regen per LVL)
CHR - (?)
LUC - (?)
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Skills:
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"Got it?"
"What?"
"Conor, Efrain has already learned all of this. I thought you helped him study for tomorrow?" Conor laughed it off and scratched his head.
"Sorry Dad. I just spaced out. I did help him study, kinda. Though he did explain a lot of what you just said pretty perfectly if that makes you feel better."
Conor was the adopted child of the Forte, a wealthy merchant family from Northern Balthazar. Conor had dirty blonde hair, (not from playing in the mud), and tan white skin. He was stocky but well built over years of chores and farmwork for the village. The family he grew up in always had a darker complexion and black hair. The father of the house, William Forte was tall and the very definition of masculinity, if masculinity was skinnier. The mother, Abigail Forte was similar in form but far more graceful. Conor's brother Efrain was scrawny but intelligent. While they were wealthy, they lived a modest lifestyle in the meantime.
Today was the Spirit awakening ceremony that was hosted by the town priest. Within the last couple of months Conor and Efrain had turned fifteen, the required age for spirit awakening. They were excitable walking to their seats, but calmed down after they were hushed by their neighbors. The Ceremony took place in the nicest building in the village. Conor and Efrain could hardly hold their excitement, this awakening would reveal a deeper part of themselves that would make them stronger than ever. The priest conducting the ceremony was a level (LVL) 434 Mottled Tiger Priest. He shot a sideways glance at the two as they came forward, and the ceremony started quickly afterwards.. Most people didn't have any truly significant spirits, ending up with plant or tool spirits due to the nature of the town, such as grass and a shovel. Though there were several that had gained unique Spirits. Once the ceremony had almost concluded, the priest turned towards them and spoke with a powerful voice.
"You two know that you mustn't be too hopeful right? There are many types of worthless spirits out there, and you may get one of them." The Priest had a very old voice, yet there was clearly experience in his voice. He couldn't have been much older than the temple itself.
However, Efrain didn't approve of the way the priest brushed off minor spirits as "worthless". Until they had proved otherwise, everyone had worth in Efrain's eyes. Conor however, was too excited to care about the old man's views.
Conor and Efrain glanced at each-other and then back at the Priest before blurting out. "Just awaken our spirits!" The excitement granted some awkward looks.
"Eager are we?" questioned the Priest.
The man placed his palms above theirs, and soon their hands began to glow with a golden light. The veins of light ran up their palms and into their arms, traveling quickly through them. The light continued to move into their chests before finally pooling in their hearts. Almost immediately, Conor and Efrain could feel the light running through their body. The power grew warmer and warmer, before culminating at a slightly uncomfortable heat. All of a sudden, the two boys heard a *ping* from in front of them.
In front of Efrain, there was a floating screen. The screen was a blue color, with yellow words and red buttons. Occasionally the screen flickered, like an old television. Efrain waved his hand through it, causing a slight distortion. On this screen was Efrain's stats:
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Efrain
Spirit - Probabilitizer
LVL 1
Job - Jobless
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HP - 350
MP - 300
LP - 3000
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STR - 6
VIT - 8
DEX - 3
AGI - 6
INT - 20
WIS - 19
CHR - 5
LUC - 4
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Skills: None
Unique Skills: (Create LVL 1)(Edit LVL 1)(Grant LVL 1)
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Money - 0G, 23S, 72C
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Floating by Conor was a similar screen, albeit of a different color. Conor's screen was a pearly white, with red words and green buttons. As the people watching the ceremony took a glance at the screen, their faces visibly paled as whatever was on the screen petrified them. With a growing sense of dread in his heart, Conor turned around to look at the screen, fearing the worst.
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Conor
Spirit - Maestro
LVL 1
Job - Jobless
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HP - 10
MP - 1000
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STR - 12 (-6) = 6
VIT - 16 (-15) = 1
DEX - 6
AGI - 30 (-15) = 15
INT - 4
WIS - 3
CHR - 4
LUC - 1
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Skills: (Play LVL 1)(Natural Mana LVL 17 [13.48%])
Curses: (God's Anger LVL MAX)(God's Hatred LVL MAX)(God's Fury LVL MAX)
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Money - 0G, 13S, 22C
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The Priest's somber expression grew into one of shock..
"I must admit that I have seen many things, but never have I seen something like this. The potential the both of you wield cannot be measured. Do not reveal your skills under any circumstance. I've seen far too many lost due to greed. Conor. Your first spirit essence is something called Maestro? Your Skills worry me, Curses are only given by those considered as deities, be very careful. Efrain, your spirit essence is the Probabilitizer? I've heard whispers of those who manipulate the flow of reality from the Wise Men of The North. You also have those three skills, and something called LP. Be careful who you show these things to."
Efrain and Conor looked at each other with a gleam in their eyes. Conor wasn't worried by his stats. The curses had never affected him before that he had seen, so what does it matter? They shouted in joy before yelling thank you to the priest, then they ran home to give the good news to their parents. On the way back everything seemed brighter than it had before, as if the very world was cheering for them. They could feel the vibrations in the air and were more excited than ever before. When they finally came home they burst through the door. Silence plagued the house. The furniture was torn to shreds, and the ground had warped and cracked. The wallpaper was tearing, and the house was frozen solid. The floorboards under them cracked and squealed much louder than usual. They rushed to their parent's room quickly, only to find everything in ruins. There were giant spikes of ice everywhere, and it felt even chillier, they could feel the cold soaking the heat from their bones. The ice became thicker as they approached a broken window at the end of the room. There was no trace of their parents, not even a drop of blood.
Efrain shivered. "Where did they go?"
Conor kneeled close to the ground. "I don't know."
Although they were frightened out of their wits, the two boys scavenged the wrecked house for clues. They searched and searched, to no avail. The only hint they had of their parent's whereabouts was the shards of ice embedded in the walls and furniture.
After a while, the village elder showed up on their doorstep.
When he arrived, he greeted the boys politely "Hello boys, where are your parents?"
Conor and Efrain spoke almost together "They went missing, and we looked in the house but they weren't there and the only thing we could find was some dark ice and we're scared so help us please!!" Their breathing was exasperated, they were talking at a thousand miles per hour.
The elder's face darkened "They went missing and you only found dark ice? That means one thing. Glacias."
"Who's Glacias?" Efrain asked.
"Glacias was an adventurer with an absolute ice essence, he could even control other adventurer's ice. He was rising rapidly through the ranks, quickly becoming one of the strongest adventurers the world had ever seen, but tragedy struck. He heard that his parents were killed, and in a fit of rage he used a forbidden cultivating technique to get revenge. Now, he is an evil person, and is constantly killing people to get stronger."
Just then, Efrain and Conor felt something, the reality finally sinking in that their parents were gone. They fell to their knees and began to bawl. Seeing this, the elder took them to his house and let them rest for the night.
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Curse Explanation- (God's Anger) Reduces STR and AGI by 50%. (God's Hatred) Reduces VIT by 99.9%, increases damage reduction by 99%. (God's Fury) Prevents the person with this curse from living past the age of 20 if they are below level 500.
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