Fuck the intro onto the story.
Quite a bit of time had passed since Michael left Carne Village. He knew much of the outer layers of the forest but did not let himself venture any deeper. When he ran low on supplies he would raid Goblin Camps and sell whatever he could in E-Rantal he didn't fully grasp just how much anything was worth so he acknowledged he was possibly getting cheated but the amounts he received was enough to replenish his supplies and buy food if he hadn't acquired sufficient energy from hunting and gathering so he paid it no mind. He did explore E-Rantal when he had the chance, he didn't appreciate the architecture when he first arrived but now it was a sight for him.
'Guess I got used to forest life.' Michael thought to himself, he chuckled a bit but his voice was weak. All this time and stress had taken a toll on him. He struggled everyday to find the willpower to do anything. Almost every waking hour of his day was spent training but he had to. No matter how stressed he was how sore he was how tired he was he recognized it wasn't about him. He had to keep Carne Village safe and if that meant dying at the hands of a forest creature or at the hands of Ainz himself it's what he had to do. Michael was ready to end his tourist trip and head back to the forest but stopped and headed back to the store he always sold whatever he found to.
"Back so soon traveller?" The store clerk asked
"Do you have any herbs or flowers?" Michael replied. The store clerk pointed him to an area around a corner with a small selection of herbs spices and flowers.
Michael took out his book of teas and tried to identify anything out of the bunch. One he recognized on his own was the blue shade, so he grabbed a few. One he saw from the book the green lotus was said to have a taste that was buttery, nutty, and earthy so he grabbed some of those. He also grabbed three more flowers and herbs to experiment with. He returned to the clerk paid for what he had and went on his way.
Michael returned to the forest and continued grinding for xp, with a sword and bow he cleared enemies many times faster than before. He continued to level up and unlocked new skills but during a down moment he had a concerning thought. What if he was spreading his abilities too thin? There were perks to being a jack of all trades but with a human's max potential being much lower than other races he doubted he would be an expert at anything in particular. He remembered that humans could only attain so much growth in their lifetimes and him multiclassing would effectively lock him out of higher tier abilities. He thought long and hard and came to the solution that he would have to fully commit to specialization in one job class, but which one would he choose? He closed his eyes and focused on his stats and abilities.
Michael Woods
Human Race
"He Who Embodies Wrath."
Job: None
Residence: None
Alignment: -40 Neutral
Job Level
Monk: Level 4
Striker: Level 2
Grappler: Level 1
Ki User Level 2
Farmer:Level 5
Ranger (Hunter): Level 2
Abilities
Unarmed Strike
Cutting Edge
Ability Boost
Iron Fist
Fortress
Evasion
Passive Recovery
Withstand
Piercing Shot
U̵͔͇̳̲̘̻̟͖̯̦̭̤̝̜̬̭̤̼̦͖̮̦̙͛̉̽͛̊̾̆́͆̀͗̒̄̀͑̕͝͝͠n̵̙̟̜̤̲͚̫̥͍̜͒̍́̎̓̄̀͌͊̿̅̈̄̒̀͛̆̋̏̐͌̈́̈́̄͋̚R̵̻̓͊̉͌̅̀͌̆̃͋̈́̔̃͂͗́̾̈́̔̕̕̕ẻ̶̢̢̘̠̼̭͎̄̄̿̆̍L̶̢̨̞̰͇̻͔͉̪̩͎͍͊̔̆̈͒̈́̇̇̇̄̈́̇̂͑͌̓̆̍͂̕͜͠ę̸̨̨̨͔̪̼̖̜͖̪͔͖̣̖̯͑̌̒͛͊͋͆͗͊͑̉̓͌̔͑͒̈́̍̇̾͛̇̈̅N̴͇͐̀̎̾̔̕͝t̸̡̛̬͕͈͎̗̋̋̎̌͗̉̓͒́̆̀͐̿͋̑̇͐͐͆̅̾̒̕͘Ī̶̛͔̜͈̓͊̽̇̾́̂̑̈́̐̎̾͊̀̀͘͠͝͝ň̵̫̲͙̘̟̓͊͑̂͑̏̅͊̓̂̏̈͐̕̚G̸̷̡̡̧̡̧̡̨̛̛͕̹̥̜͕͍̥͎̥̳͙̩̤̰̼̖̼̰͗̅̐̾̏͆̆̈͊̈́͘͘͘͠ḩ̴͍̹͎̟̣̩̠̽̂͑̌̈͝Ä̵̢̡͕͓͖̖͓̪͈͍̙̭͖̰͍̹͎̫͉̯̝́́̍̀̅̏́̈͆͌̒̽̅̋̽͐͐̅̈̌̉͛͊͑͆͘͝͠t̵͉̠̋̓̈́̈́̇̍͋͒͗̈̐̊̊̄̕̕Ę̸̢̛̪̪̫̺̰̲̫̣͍̼͓̠̳͈̳̗̣̲̟̳̤͉͊͐̐͆̎̄̈́͛̓̆͐͘͠
Stats
HP: 25
MP: 0
PHY ATK: 30
PHY DEF: 25
AGI: 20
MAG ATK: 0
MAG DEF: 15
RESIST: 0
SPECIAL (KI): 5
Talents
Martial Affinity
Way Of The Long Death
'Nice to see the glitch hasn't gone anywhere.' Michael sighed. He was never able to figure out what the ability said but hopefully given its mysterious nature it would be powerful.
He did well to level up multiple job classes quickly but his proficiency in any particular field suited for fighting was severely lacking. It took some thought but he decided he would focus purely on his Monk abilities. Although the bow and sword did help him farm xp more efficiently he assumed higher leveled enemies would require specially enchanted or high leveled gear that he wouldn't have the funds or time to buy and maintain. So he abandoned his sword and bow but kept a knife more for utility purposes. He would struggle far more with combat but it was the most likely method to succeed in the late game.
'I know a cap in my level should be arriving at some point, this is gonna suck.' Michael sighed at the thought but proceeded to search for an opponent. He found a goblin camp despite having no weapons his overall stats made him strong and slippery enough to defeat the horde and leader. He would be wounded but with a full day of rest he would be fine.
That night Michael left the forest to camp just outside of the city walls of E-Rantal. He received a few dirty looks and comments. They referred to him as a lowly beggar or street rat but he didn't care. All he cared for at that moment in particular was tea. He brewed teas from all of the samples he had bought earlier that day and had positive results around the board. The green lotus tasted almost exactly like green tea though it was a bit bitter. One set of herbs a dried collection of leaves brewed a dark tea that was very strong but had hazelnut taste. The second were dried leaves like the first but instead created a light fruit flavored tea though it was a bit watery. The third a white flower brewed a tea that was gold in color, it was sweet and tasted of vanilla. By far this was his favorite. He pulled out his book and jotted down the results. He couldn't think of what to call them nor did he know how to draw so instead Michael cut a small slit in three pages and after letting the herbs dry stuck the unnamed plants into each one.
'I'll name you someday.' Michael laid back stared into the starry night sky and drifted to sleep.
Michael woke the next morning to an old man lightly tapping him.
"Ugh, wha- Who is that?"
"My apologies young man, I simply wished to see if you were okay. Quite the number of homeless in this town but none so bold to sleep outside city walls." The old man spoke lightheartedly.
"Well I am just fine no need to worry for me." Michael replied flatly.
"Ah yes well I should tell you, that your book over there is open. The Angel's Heart produces a tea most delicious."
"Angel's Heart?"
"Yes, The white flower, in your book. My apologies do you happen to be a foreigner to these lands? I should've noticed your strange writing."
"I am from a place far from here. Very far."
The old man took a seat across from Michael and Michael sat up in response.
"Far land huh, Care to talk about it?"
"I'd rather not discuss my life and home with a stranger."
"As would most, but in my experience talking is the best way to deal with hardship."
"Hardship?" Michael questioned the old man but he was silent. He reached into his bag and pulled out a small stand two cups with a bag of herbs in each one and a tea pot. He grabbed kindling to start a flame and poured water into the pot before speaking.
"Your hands are full of scars, you've been fighting something. Your eyes are terribly blood shot worse than someone who hasn't slept for several days, but your voice. Your voice is dead something has forced out the life and let in the dark." When the old man finished the water was howling, he poured the water in both cups and handed one to Michael. Michael took the cup but was speechless that the man was able to deduce so much about him by his mannerisms alone.
"So, young man what is it that pains you so?" Michael sighed and spoke and the old man listened.
'He was an interesting man to say the least... not to mention the tea was good, but why?' Michael questioned himself. Although he didn't tell him everything, he did tell the old man who came to be called Jiyu about his struggles. He told him how he left his village, his friends, his home, his love all for strength. The strength to defeat a demon who threatenedeverything if he didn't obey. Jiyu listened intently and when Michael finished you could tell he was tired and broken. He had all of the targets to vent his anger but nothing to vent his despair.
"You fight for a noble cause Michael, you abandoned everything you knew and love to protect it. Not many could survive what you've been through. I'm terribly sorry." Michael sat there silent trying to fight his tears but to no avail he heard Jiyu but his mind was clouded by his bottled emotions. Jiyu smiled however he stood up and offered a hand to Michael.
"A burden has been forced on you, but I believe we can make things right." Michael looked up at Jiyu he gave off a warm aura and for some reason Michael accepted it. Michael followed Jiyu to his home. Jiyu lived far from E-Rantal. In the mountains past the forest of tob. Michael voiced his concern but Jiyu told him to relax with some convincing Michael followed but stayed on his toes. They arrived at the foot of the mountain surprisinglu unharmed. Michael was amazed no creatures had any thought to attack them the deeper they went into the forest. Michael saw a staircase that was ancient. Some parts were cracked, or broken others had vines and roots growing through them and more were buried within the mountain itself.
"Come Michael 10,000 steps should be a walk in the park for you." Jiyu turned to Michael chuckling a bit at his comment before proceeding.
Michael didn't know how the he did it. 10,000 steps through a snowy mountain. The wind was strong and it blew snow with it. Michael could barely see a few feet in front of him. Even with extra layers Michael was freezing but Jiyu with nothing more than a robe seemed unbothered by it.The two arrived hours later at the foot of what Michael thought was a castle or maybe a fort. Whatever it was however was in dire need of repairs. Cracks lay everywhere and it was clear no one had lived here for many years, but Jiyu did and he wasn't alone.
"I have returned and I have brought company."
Jiyu spoke as he opened the doors. The immediate room was large and open there was a large fire in the middle that was raging and from various areas people came to greet the two.
"Welcome back Master Jiyu and hello there traveller." One man bowed. He was a bit older than Michael 10 years at best.
"Good afternoon Master Jiyu, you've brought another one? Greetings." Another man much older closer to Jiyu's age.
A third almost came to greet them but hesitated and stepped back. Michael looked to see it was a young girl. She couldn't have been any older than 10.
"Come Rozu this is Michael. Michael this is Rozu." Jiyu urged The young girl to come closer she approach but remained behind Jiyu grabbing his robe staring at Michael. Michael could tell she was scared of him. So he squatted to her level and extended his hand.
"Hello Rozu it's nice to meet you." Michael put a smile on his face to try to calm her down. She was hesitant but took his hand and shook it.
"Go with the others Rozu our friend and I must talk."
"Who are these people and what is this place?"
Michael sat with Jiyu demanding answers.
"These people are individuals who had nothing and accepted my help. These people are my family and this is our home."
"This some plot to get me to join a cult?"
"There is no trickery here, you may leave anytime but I'd like to help you Michael. "
"Help me how?"
"Bori the first man who spoke lost his wife quite some time ago, Matthew the second man spent his life as a bandit and repents for what he has done, and poor Rozu. She had spent her whole life an orphan abandoned by her birth family."
"I'm sorry for your family but what does this have to do with me?"
"Don't you see Michael. Everyone here even the ones you haven't met. They've all dealt with pain, loss, betrayal, and regret. Yet they all have found happiness a reason to live again, to laugh and enjoy those around them and as such a young man like you with such a burden on your shoulders. It would be painful to watch you fall into self destruction."
End of chapter. So what do we think? It may seem difficult to follow but I'm telling you now this is where we're going to be picking up the story. If any of you have played an assassin's creed game. This would be the point where the camera pans into the sky and the logo shows up. Exposition is over and the story begins now. This chapter took a bit longer for me to get out. My family haven't seen me for a long time so I spent all of my christmas period with them. With a new year comes a new invigoration however, and I am determined to make this story and hopefully future ones of mine into good reads, Until next time!
WU TANG!
